Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
If you're still making your way down the Christmas gift shopping list and are stuck on what present you can delight a tech-enthusiast with, not to worry, CRN sister site Computing has you covered.
This year's list is tailored around both the spread of remote work and the state of the economy, so as well as a mix of presents to suit all budgets, we've included essential money-savers and quirky items to enhance the home office.
Meta Quest 2 - £399.99
We're starting strong with the Meta Quest 2, perhaps the most accessible VR headset on the market. That doesn't mean it's cheap, but it's certainly the most affordable way to get into VR.
The Quest 2 has a great display resolution of 3664 x 1920 on a fast-switching LCD, refreshing at 90Hz. A fast refresh rate is essential for near-eye displays, and gaming on the Quest 2 is fluid and vibrant.
As for the games themselves, the Quest 2 enjoys one of the most extensive marketplaces of any VR storefront. As well as staples like Beat Saber and Superhot, you'll find more niche titles like Little Cities and the absolutely adorable Moss. And hey, Skyrim's here, too.
It's not just a gaming device, though. Other apps let you visit the African savannah, swim with dinosaurs and improve your IRL fitness with a boxing sim.
The best part about the Quest 2, of course, is its cordless nature. The guardian zone is fast and easy to set up, with no external cameras or leads of any kind; few other rival headsets can boast anything like this.
Our only complaint is the casting feature, which can be tricky to get working and does rely on some external tech (a Google Chromecast simplifies it, we hear, but we didn't have one to test).
If you're looking for a device to explore the fledgling metaverse efforts that have sprung up this year, you could do much worse than the Quest 2.
Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
Nanoleaf Shapes Hexagon Starter Kit - £174
Hybrid working is still in full swing, and many of us are loving the new lifestyle, but the flood of Zoom calls has revealed the stark truth of home office setups across the country: they're really boring.
Some people revel in beautifully stocked bookshelves or inspiring artwork, while those of us without space or in rented accommodation look on in envy.
Well no more, thanks to Nanoleaf.
These hexagon-shaped panels can light up in 16 million different colours and shades, and you can mount them in any design you like to create your own unique mosaic. The best part? If they're on a standard wall, you can stick them up using an adhesive patch: quick, easy and no lost deposit.
In this starter kit you'll find nine hexagon light panels and linkers, a controller and a power pack - and if you don't want to use the hardware controller, you can also change the panels using a smartphone app.
Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
Google Nest Thermostat 3rd Generation - £154.99
Saving both energy and money, a smart thermostat could be a great gift this year.
Like other smart thermostats, Google's Nest can be controlled remotely via an app, but its true USP is in its learning tech. This third-generation device learns your temperature preferences to create a schedule, using energy only when needed and disabling both heating and hot water when you're not at home.
It also works with most smart home control units, like Amazon's Alexa and - of course - Google Home.
Normally listed at £220, Screwfix is currently offering the thermostat at a serious discount of £154.99.
Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
Backbone One smartphone controller - £99.99
Know someone who only puts down their phone to pick up a gamepad? This is the gift for them, especially with the wealth of titles that have popped up in recent years like Diablo Immortal, Genshin Impact and Call of Duty Mobile. Forget about Angry Birds - modern mobile gaming is closer to console quality than ever.
The Backbone One (available for the iPhone since 2020, but new in an Android flavour this year) gets rid of pesky touch controls by clamping a phone right in the middle (the backbone, ah ha, ah ha) of a dedicated tactile controller set-up. Your lucky gift recipient will get the classic gamepad feel, with movement controls on the left and action buttons on the right, as well as shoulder buttons and analogue sticks.
If dedicated mobile games aren't your jam, the Backbone One supports Xbox and PC game streaming. Want to play your PC library from the sofa? Now you can. The iPhone edition also supports PS Remote Play, so Apple fans can stream Playstation games, too - perhaps using the fancy Playstation Edition controller, with square, triangle, circle and X buttons.
Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
Ember Mug² - £99.95
A hot drink is the perfect way to keep warm this winter, but we've all found ourselves stuck on a call and unable to reach the mug as the tea crosses through the magic point between 'scalding' and 'dishwater'. Thanks to the Ember², no more.
Perfect for home workers - or, really, anyone who's easily distracted enough to forget about their tea - this smart mug features a warming function to keep beverages anywhere from 50° to a toasty 62.5°. It'll last 90 minutes on a full charge, or all day on the included coaster, which doubles as a charging stand.
Owners can use an app to set the mug to their preferred drinking temperature (60°-65° is apparently the optimal range) and be notified when it gets there. Ember will do the rest, maintaining tea (other beverages are available) at the perfect range between tepid gulping and indelicate slurping.
Drunk to the dregs? The mug turns itself off until you refill it with hot liquid, maintaining battery life.
If the £99.95 asking price is a bit steep, cheaper options for hot drinks are available in the form of heated coasters - like these ones from Welltop (£29.99) and Joom (£11.60).
Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
Logitech K780 - £75.99
Hybrid working and hot desking have been all the rage in 2022, but sometimes you don't want to use that office keyboard that's been lying around for months, getting slowly covered in crumbs from other peoples' lunches.
Enter the Logitech K780, one of the most versatile wireless keyboards on the market. Super easy to set up, it will connect to either a PC or Mac using the included wireless dongle and can even pair with a mobile device via Bluetooth. A built-in cradle also works to prop up your smartphone, tablet or 2-in-1 while you work.
Rechargeable batteries might have been a nice addition, but the K780 will still run for up to two years on a pair of AAAs.
Of course, the typing experience is the most important thing with any keyboard, so how does Logitech's peripheral handle? The circular keys might put a few people off, as could the integration of the navigation keys like Home and End into the numpad; but if you can get past that the K780 is a crisp and clean experience. Just don't forget the USB dongle.
Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
Swan SK22110 retro pump espresso coffee machine - £59.99
Following the hot drink theme we started with the Ember Mug², this stylish retro coffee machine can whip up an espresso, cappuccino, latte or flat white in the comfort of your own home. It also includes both a milk frother and steamer, bringing a touch of barista authenticity to any kitchen.
This is one of the best semi-professional coffee makers for under £100, and a great starting point for beginners who want to ditch the takeaway cup for something home-brewed. Set-up time is reasonable, cleaning is simple and it produces - by all accounts - a great cup of coffee, although it must be said that the 1.2L tank only holds enough water for two or three cups.
It also looks pleasingly retro, and is available in a range of colours to suit any kitchen: black, cream, sage, pastel blue, grey, pink, purple and more.
A bonus is that the SK22110 is packaged in fully recyclable materials, giving it a relatively low environmental footprint in-transit.
Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
Sphero App-Controlled Robot Ball - £54.99
The best way to improve the IT recruitment pipeline is to start teaching tech skills early, and this robotic ball from Sphero offers a great way to get kids coding from a young age. They can learn the basics using drag and drop coding commands in the Sphero Play app, then move on to more advanced commands in the Sphero Edu app, using Scratch Blocks and JavaScript.
The traffic cones and bowling pins included with the Sphero only add to the fun - and coding complexity.
Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
theFube infinity cube - £21.95
Desk toys hold a special place in the office, adding a (tiny) bit of fun to an environment that's otherwise all about work. Sure, they're not as common in the hot desking era, but research has shown that keeping your hands occupied while you work can lower stress and raise cognitive performance.
Hot desking, though, makes pocket-sized toys preferable to the classic Newton's cradle, which is why we're recommending this metal infinite fidget cube (or the cheaper plastic version). The toy, made of eight smaller aluminium alloy cubes, has a nice heft and can rotate around multiple directions and angles, keeping your hands busy on those tedious Zoom calls.
As well as stressed-out office workers, reviews also point out that the cube is great for people with ADD or weak joints.
Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
Flare Audio Calmer - £14.99
Awareness and acceptance of neurodiversity is on the rise in the workplace, but certain neurodiverse conditions like ADHD and autism can make it difficult to function in a busy office environment.
The Calmer is a small silicone device worn in the ear that cuts out certain (high) frequencies without muffling sound overall, taking the edge off loud noises and conversations. It's a low-cost option for people with neurodiversity or misophonia; the maker also claims it can help tinnitus, although the science is out on that one.
Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
INIU 10,000mAh Power Bank - £14.99
Portable power banks are a great tool for the mobile worker, with the best holding enough charge to deliver an emergency shot of life to phones, tablets and even larger devices like laptops. But all are not created equal: there is huge variance is terms of size, weight, charging speed and, of course, capacity.
INIU's 10,000mAh bank features dual USB-A outputs and is charged via USB-C, meaning if you're using a modern Android phone, Nintendo Switch or 2-in-1, you'll probably only need to carry a single lead. It also weighs a mere 195g, putting the 'portable' into 'portable power'.
That does mean some concessions. While the charger's capacity is easily enough to fill up two modern smartphones, it's not going to deliver full charge to a laptop. Still, it will get anything up and running fairly quickly; charging times are comparable with the top brands on the market.
Christmas gift guide: 12 techie gifts to buy this festive season
Lost on what to buy your tech-savvy friends and family? Check out this list of the top gifts techies will love in 2022
USB heated gloves - £4.99
There's been a lot of talk this year about 'heat the human, not the home,' and heated clothing is a seriously efficient way to do this: these gloves cost about 4p a week to run, based on using them for five hours a day, making them a great option for home workers seeking to save money this winter.
The gloves themselves plug into a USB port, so you are tethered to your workstation (try to ignore the dystopian vibes), which isn't great if you like to wander, but they're a fine option for people who spend long hours in front of a desk.
When plugged in, the gloves heat both the top and bottom of your hand up to 40°-50°. The half-finger design makes the gloves ideal for typing, and they have extra material (normally buttoned out of the way) to convert into mittens. The only downside is that they need to be plugged in to warm up, so you can't take them out on the go - unless you pair them with a power bank, like the 10,000mAh model from INIU we recommended earlier.