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The best subscriptions and gift cards to buy as (last-minute) gifts
Need a last-minute gift? No one will argue if you buy them a gift card to a streaming service. Included in our holiday gift guide are all the usual suspects: Apple Music, Amazon Prime, Netflix in UHD, Hulu, Sling TV and HBO Now. (And there were many others that we considered that didn't quite make the cut, but that still make for solid options.) Assuming you order soon, you also still have time to pick up a streamer with which your loved one can actually enjoy these services. We recommend two in particular: the Apple TV 4K at the high end, and the Roku Ultra in the $100 range.
The best movies and music to give as gifts
Not everything in our holiday gift guide is a gadget, per se. We know that media, including physical media, make good gifts, so made sure to include a few DVDs, plus some manga and a vinyl record, to boot. Depending on your loved one's taste, you'll want to buy them Blade Runner: The Final Cut in 4K, Spider-Man: Homecoming (also in 4K) or Planet Earth II -- another great way to make the most out of a UHD TV. For the binge-watcher in your life, you might consider scooping up the soundtrack to Netflix's Stranger Things, available in several volumes. And, for that person in your life who loves graphic novels, we recommend the hardcover version of Ghost in the Shell, volumes 1, 2 and 3.
The best gifts for a console gamer
Don't worry, we're not out to start a console war in our comments: If you're in the market for a new games system, the Xbox One S, PlayStation VR, Nintendo Switch and 2DS XL all made it into our holiday gift guide, for different reasons. Once you figure out which platform is best for your intended, we have a wide assortment of games and accessories, from a 400GB microSDXC card to a custom Xbox controller to the PlayStation Gold wireless headset, among other things. Find all that and more in our gift guide at the link below.
The best gifts for the PC gamer in your life
Of the more than two dozen sections in our massive holiday gift guide, the PC gaming is one of the largest. That's because there are so many directions you can go in here: You can splurge on a laptop (we recommend three here) or pick up any number of accessories like headphones, a mouse, keyboard, mic or webcam. Or, you know, you can pick up some actual games. Find all that in our guide at the link below, and while you're there, check out the 100-plus other items in there.
The best VR headsets and games to give as gifts
Virtual reality headsets were once so expensive that they would have only made suitable gifts for early adopters and serious gamers. By now, though, prices have dropped across the board, and there are enough compatible games that we're willing to recommend these headsets to a broader audience. The VR section of our holiday gift guide includes items at both the budget end of the spectrum (think: Samsung's Gear VR and Google's refreshed Daydream View) alongside higher-end offerings like the PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift and Touch bundle. Need some games to go with it? We suggest Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Fallout 4 VR, Superhot VR and Rez Infinite. Need some accessories for someone who already owns a headset? Try the PSVR Aim Controller Farpoint bundle or the HTC Vive Deluxe Audio Strap.
The best TVs and media streamers to give as gifts
Unless the person on your list already owns a smart TV, media streamers are almost fool-proof as far as gift ideas go, and they're reasonably affordable too. We put several in our holiday gift guide, including the Apple TV 4K at the high end and the Roku Ultra, which is nearly half the price. Rounding out the list, we recommend this universal remote from Logitech (though the company's cheaper models are solid, too). And, if you have the means to gift a TV (whether to yourself or someone else), we included two models in different price ranges.
The best audio gear to give as gifts
Maybe there's an audiophile on your list, or maybe you're shopping for someone who recently acquired a new phone and could use something better than the pack-in headphones. Either way, we have a slew of recommendations in the audio gear section of our holiday gift guide. On our list you'll find smart speakers from Google and Amazon alike, along with Sonos, whose new "One" speaker includes Alexa built in, with Google Assistant support coming soon. When it comes to headphones, our selections run the gamut from the affordable (Jabra's Move headset) to the high end (Bragi's Dash Pro wireless earbuds and these noise cancelling headphones from Sony), with a couple mid-range options in between. Rounding out the list, we have a soundbar, drum machine, synth app, the Amazon Echo Show and one of our favorite portable Bluetooth speakers. Find all that and many more items in our holiday gift guide, at the link below.
The best smartwatches and fitness trackers to give as gifts
If a plain-Jane fitness tracker seems like too uninspired of a gift, we have some other ideas. You could buy any number of smartwatches that fared well in our tests. Engadget's resident runners also say Garmin Forerunner watches are a good bet for athletes (the Forerunner 935 is the top-of-the-line model, though the 235 is just fine, too). We also recommend Under Armour's standalone heart rate monitor and Adidas's slick-looking shoes made from 3D-printed ocean plastic. And while you don't need to be a fitness nut to enjoy Bragi's Dash Pro wireless earbuds, their built-in fitness tracking and music storage make them ideal for workouts. Find all that and other gift ideas right here in our 2017 holiday guide.
The best computer and mobile accessories to give as gifts
Perhaps the person on your list is already quite happy with their laptop or mobile device (slash, you're not up to buying them a new one). There are plenty of accessories that make for affordable, and dare we say, practical gifts. Included in our holiday gift guide are two styles of keyboards, a high-end mouse, a battery pack, selfie and battery cases, a 400GB (!) microSDXC card, Bluetooth trackers and a wireless charging pad -- useful for, say, a new iPhone owner.
The best toys and coding kits for kids
This is the first year that Engadget has included a toy section in its holiday gift guide, and it's already one of the biggest (and in our opinion, best) sections. Here you'll find both coding kits from Lego and others intended to teach little one basic programming skills, as well as toys that just happen to be electronic in nature. And yes, the re-released Tamagotchi pets made the list -- you know, for the nostalgic millennial on your list.
The best smart home and kitchen gadgets to give as gifts
For the smart home and kitchen gadget section of our holiday gift guide, we skipped past the WiFi-enabled toaster ovens and what-have-you, and narrowed our list down to the stuff that's actually useful. For starters, yes, we agree that the Instant Pot -- a darling in food and tech circles -- is worth the hype. With this one gadget, you get a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, cake maker, egg maker, with modes for sautéing, steaming, warming and sterilizing. The cook in your life might also enjoy the Tasty One Top, a much-buzzed-about induction cooktop, which tracks the time and temperature, and automatically adjusts as necessary. Outside the kitchen, Philip's Hue lighting kit now works with Alexa-, HomeKit- and Google Assistant-integrated gadgets. We also recommend the Alexa-enabled ecobee4 smart thermostat and the Amazon Echo Show for playing back both music and video. And yes, speaking of the sort, smart speakers make a good (if safe) gift. We recommend options from both Amazon and Google -- their products are well matched enough that your decision will mostly come down to which ecosystem your giftee prefers.
The best smartphones and tablets to give as gifts
Let's be real: Smartphones are pricey and as far as gifts go, they're hard to keep a surprise. But there's also a good chance someone in your life is due for an upgrade, and as the holiday season approaches, you're likely to spot some good deals. For Engadget's 2017 holiday gift guide, we recommend four phones: the iPhone 8/8 Plus, the Google Pixel 2 and 2XL, the older-but-still-good Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, and the Moto G5 Plus, for the budget conscious. We also threw in some tablets for good measure: the basic iPad for Apple fans and the Galaxy Tab S3 for Android users. Certain folks requiring more power might be better served by the 10.5-inch iPad Pro or Microsoft's Surface Pro, but unless your giftee also needs a laptop replacement, you can easily get by with something less expensive.
The best laptops to give as gifts
There's a reason we didn't include many computers in our 2017 holiday gift guide: They make fairly expensive gifts! For those of you who have the means, though, we did name-check a few, most of them meant for mainstream use. (Most of them, too, have a portable design, because we figure that's what most people want.) Topping our list are the 12-inch MacBook; the ASUS Chromebook Flip, for folks on a budget; and two Microsoft offerings, the Surface Laptop and latest-gen Surface Pro. And that's not counting a few notebooks in our PC gaming section, including the Alienware 13, ASUS ROG Zephyrus GX501 and the Razer Blade. If all of the above are pricier than what you were hoping to spend this holiday season, our guide includes 112 other items, many of them under $100.
Introducing Engadget's 2017 holiday gift guide!
Behold: our 2017 holiday gift guide, where we've curated 119 recommendations, running the gamut from laptops and fitness trackers, to smart speakers and kitchen gear, to apps and services, to video games and Blu-ray box sets. Oh, and for the first time since Engadget started publishing gift guides, we have a section dedicated to toys and coding kits. That might just be our favorite. One difference this time around: We've formatted our guide not in galleries, but in one neatly laid-out page that's as easy to navigate on mobile as it is on the desktop. Feel free to peruse everything at once, or try filtering by price. You can also jump straight into the Gear, Gaming and Entertainment tabs, at which point we'll give you some sub-categories to help you narrow down your selections further (say, if you wanna get something for the PC gamer in your life). Enjoy, and happy shopping! A note on prices: We've mostly included MSRPs, but if we noticed what appeared to be an across-the-board price drop, we went with that. Keep in mind that real-world prices are likely to vary -- sometimes you can find a surprise deal, and sometimes short supply means you'll pay a premium.
