Top 10 Cutting-Edge Technology Presents - Insights

One of the main objectives of tech products is to enhance the users’ lives in some way, typically making their lives easier. For that reason, everyone, regardless of technological savviness or age, can benefit from a new tech gadget for the holidays.

However, the market is so saturated with new tech products in nearly every category that finding the best product to buy can be an overwhelming task. For that reason, ZDNET identified all the different people who might be on your shopping list and the best gift for each one of them.

Also: The 110 best holiday deals: Apple products, TVs, laptops, and more

Whether you’re shopping for someone who loves listening to music, cooking, working out, reading, drinking coffee, or more, we have got you covered with a tech product that they will absolutely love, and the best part is some are even on sale.

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The best tech gift ideas

iRobot Roomba j7+ Best all-around gift

Beth Mauder/ZDNET

Price: $1000 (on-sale for $743 at Best Buy)

Whether the person you are shopping for has been a long-time homeowner or just moved into their college dorm, there is one thing they can all use a hand with–cleaning. Although cleaning your floors can be one of the most dreadful chores, it is something that has to be done on a pretty consistent basis to upkeep your living space.

That’s why a robot vacuum is such a great gift everyone can enjoy. The Roomba j7+ earned a spot as ZDNET’s best robot vacuum overall because of its impressive capabilities, which include a self-emptying auto-empty base, PrecisionVision Navigation to recognize and avoid common household objects, and multi-surface compatibility.

Although the price may seem steep, you can score a deal multiple times throughout the year, including Black Friday, which is right around the corner. Right now, you can score the Roomba j7+ for almost 25% off on Walmart.

For full review: Roomba j7+ review: A life-changing robot vacuum

View now at Best Buy

Echo Show 8 display Best gift for the smart home

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Price: $150 (on sale for $105 on Best Buy)

Amazon just recently released its all new, third-generation Echo Show 8, which boasts major upgrades from its previous models, including a better 13 MP camera, a faster processor, a sleeker design, spatial audio, and more. In addition to providing Alexa assistance on a variety of tasks, the Echo Show 8 can be used to make video calls, stream content, display photos, and, most importantly, double as a smart home hub.

Users can connect the Echo Show 8 to their other smart home devices, including cameras, lights, plugs, and more from compatible brands, such as Zigbee, Matter, and Thread, giving them the ability to control their entire smart home ecosystem from one device. For this reason, if you know someone who already has some smart home devices, this piece would be the perfect addition to round out their ecosystem.

For full spotlight: I tested the Amazon Echo Show 8 for a week. These are its best features (and misses)

View now at Best Buy

Oura Ring Best gift for the fitness aficionado

Sherin Shibu/ZDNET

Price: $299 (on sale for $100 off until Nov 27 on the Oura Ring website)

Have a loved one that likes to stay active, work out, or hit the gym? The Oura Ring is a gift sure to impress because of its advanced fitness tracking features, long-lasting battery, and, most importantly, its aesthetic design, which sets it apart from bands and smartwatches that track the same data.

Everyone who has ever owned a smartwatch knows the struggle of forgetting to take the smartwatch off before a major occasion and then having it ruin your look in every photo. With the Oura ring, both men and women can enjoy a sleek, compact wearable that is better fit to match every occasion.

Despite its fashionable design, the ring still has impressive data-tracking features and is capable of monitoring your sleep, activity, recovery, temperature, heart rate, stress, blood oxygen sensing, period prediction, personalized recommendations, and more. The ring can last up to seven days without a charge, making it similar to the rest of the rings in your collection.

View now at Ouraring

AirTag Best gift for the person who loses everything

Maria Diaz

Price: $29

If you or anyone you know is anything like me, losing things is an everyday activity. Whether it’s my keys, wallet, or remote control, I’m always frantically searching for my belongings–until I started pinging them with AirTags.

AirTags are so simple to set up and track with your iPhone detecting the tag as soon as you unbox it and pull the paper insert out. Then, all you have to do is name it and place it on what you’d like to track, and it will automatically appear on your Apple’s Find My Network.

There are so many uses for AirTags; I have even opted to place two AirTags on my dogs to make sure that if they ever get loose, I will be able to find them. Because of its low price-point and compact size, this product could be a great stocking stuffer as well as a stand-alone gift.

View now at Amazon

KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixer The best gift for the person whose happy place is the kitchen

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET

Price: $330 (on sale for $240 on Best Buy)

Whether the person you are shopping for loves to cook or bake, this product will facilitate it all. KitchenAids have become a staple in the stand mixer space, and for good reason. This stand mixer has incredible power, making even the most tedious of mixing tasks an easy lift.

For example, meringue cookies are one of my favorite things to make. However, if you have ever made meringue, you know it takes a while to beat the eggs until they fluff up to the perfect consistency. With the KitchenAid, what would typically take me about 40 minutes to beat by hand is finished in a fraction of the time.

There are also many attachments that make the KitchenAid more than just a stand mixer; it is also a pasta maker, ice cream maker, slicer, shredder, and more. Even though it has a higher price tag than many competitors, the high quality of the appliance is worth the investment.

View now at Best Buy

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (without Lockscreen Ads) Best tech gifts for avid readers

Amazon

Price: $160

If you know someone who is an avid reader, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is an exceptional gift. This reader boasts some excellent features that will for sure elevate their reading experience, such as an adjustable warm backlight for late-night reading, a glare-free screen for reading in any light, a lightweight and slim design, ten weeks of battery life, and more.

One of the biggest perks is that the Kindle can hold thousands of books with its 8GB storage, minimizing the clutter and space that comes with reading and collecting lots of books on a consistent basis. This Kindle is so impressive that it even landed first place for ZDNET’s best Kindle overall , and is sure to make for a gift that doesn’t disappoint.

Read the review: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite review

View now at Amazon

Linq card Best gift for working professionals

Price: $15

If you know any working professional who would use a business card, this gift will blow their mind. Whenever I go to a professional event and whip out my Linq card, it always causes an amazed reaction from the person seeking my contact information.

Instead of handing out an antiquated physical business card that most people lose anyway, all you have to do is have the person tap your card with their phone. Since the card is NFC-enabled, the other person will have your contact information that you set up on the Linq app automatically appear. Then, they can click on a save contact option, and your details will be automatically saved to the phone.

View now at Amazon

Ember Coffee Mug 2 Best gift for coffee and tea lovers

June Wan/ZDNET

Price: $130 (on sale for $99 on Amazon)

If you are a slow coffee sipper and often end up having to sip on less-than-ideal lukewarm coffee, the Ember Smart Mug seeks to end all lukewarm beverage problems. It can hold 10 ounces of any beverage of choice and can be controlled from a smart app (or without, if the person you are shopping for isn’t tech savvy).

The temperature is set to 135 degrees out of the box, and for safety purposes, it shuts off after two hours. However, it can be customized to last between 120 and 145 degrees Fahrenheit, completely customizable to the user’s liking

View now at Amazon

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Best tech gift for the audiophile

Jada Jones/ZDNET

Price: $430 (on sale for $379 on Bose website)

If you know someone who loves listening to music at all times, gifting them the new Bose QuietComfort Ultra will elevate their entire listening experience. These headphones boast excellent Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), great sound quality, and comfort that make the high price tag worth it.

The headphones are available in the colors White and Black Smoke and sport a clean, sleek design, making them aesthetically pleasing for anyone on your list. Another major plus is that the are geared towards Apple and Android users equally, making them a great fit for everyone, regardless of their device’s operating system

View now at Bose

Philips - B-Line 346B1C 34” LCD Curved Monitor Best for remote workers

Best Buy/ZDNET

Price: $450

If you know someone who has to stare at a screen for hours a day for work but doesn’t own a monitor, this gift will make the perfect addition to their work setup. A monitor not only helps me keep a better posture while working but also helps me be more productive by being able to have multiple tabs open at once.

The curvature of the monitor also adds to the comfort of staring at a screen by reducing eyestrain. This particular monitor was picked as ZDNET’s best mid-range Phillips large monitor because of its lower price point, compared to other monitors of that size. Despite the lower price point, it still has compelling features such as a built-in docking session, multiple ports, and a widescreen 21:9 aspect ratio.

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How did we choose these tech gift ideas?

To put together this list, we first thought of all of the different types of people that you might find on your holiday shopping list and then carefully picked a product that would interest them. To pick those products, we combined our personal experiences ‘s expertise, which can be found in reviews, best-list, and product spotlights, leading us to pick gifts that are sure to impress your family and friends.

What are the best holiday deals?

ZDNET’s experts have been searching for holiday deals across sites like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and more. Here are the top deals by category we’ve found so far.