Apple’s handy location trackers are a no-brainer if you’re an iPhone user. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
If you’re the type of person who always forgets where they parked or put their car keys, it’s probably a good idea to invest in a location tracker like Apple’s AirTag. They can help you quickly locate just about anything, and they’re currently matching their lowest price to date. Right now, you can buy a four-pack at Amazon and Best Buy for just $69.99 ($29 off), which amounts to $17.50 apiece.
If you’re an iPhone owner looking for a Bluetooth tracker, Apple’s AirTags remain our top pick. That’s largely because the ultra wideband (UWB) trackers can tap into Apple’s extensive Find My network, which allows for ultra-precise tracking. Apple also offers several software perks that make it easier to recover lost items, including the ability to share the trackers with up to five people. Thanks to iOS 18.2, you’ll also soon be able to temporarily share the location of lost AirTags with more than 15 airlines — including United, which just recently rolled out support for the feature.
In terms of hardware, Apple’s AirTags offer user-replaceable batteries that last about a year, so you don’t need to keep buying a new tracker every time one dies. They’re also relatively durable, with an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance, allowing them to withstand a wide range of conditions.
Woot is selling the original Google Pixel Buds Pro for an all-time low of $109.99 ($90 off) until 9:59PM PT on January 7th. The comfortable wireless earbuds continue to offer great noise cancellation and sound, even if they’re not as powerful or as light as the second-gen model. They’re a particularly great option for Pixel phone owners, as they offer head-tracking spatial audio, native controls, and several exclusive features. Read our review.
Anker’s MagGo Wireless Charging Station (Foldable 3-in- 1)is available at Amazon for Prime members in select colors for $71.99 ($23 off), its best price to date. The macaron-like foldable pad uses a rubber strap to connect three wireless pucks, including a Qi2-certified 15W charger you can use to quickly juice a MagSafe-compatible smartphone. It also comes with a 5W Apple-certified Apple Watch charger and a 5W Qi puck (with a USB-C power input port), so you can charge a pair of AirPods.
Best Buy is selling the N-Edition of the 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard with a joystick for $69.99 ($30 off), which matches the bundle’s all-time low. As the name suggests, the NES-inspired mechanical keyboard comes with a joystick, along with a pair of programmable “Super Buttons.” The keyboard also offers clicky, hot-swappable switches and support for USB-C, Bluetooth, and even 2.4GHz wireless via a dongle.
The Philips Hue app already offers a lot of customizable lighting effects, but soon you’ll be able to created personalized ones with the help of AI. | Image: Signify
Philips Hue users will soon be able to create their own AI-powered lighting scenes, the company announced on Tuesday.
Philips Hue’s new generative AI lighting assistant lets users create personalized lighting scenes based on occasion, mood, or style. They can do so by typing commands like “Give me a scene for a garden party” into the Hue app and also by using their voice. The assistant will then either recommend scenes from the existing Philips Hue gallery or create a new one entirely. In addition to creating scenes, the AI assistant can also be used to adjust the settings of existing lights, including brightness levels and color.
Image: Philips Hue
The assistant will recommend scenes based on prompts.
The news comes after Hueblog reported that Philips Hue was working on a generative AI feature in October. According to Hueblog, the “AI Playground” lets users create lighting scenes based on typed text like “Create a scene for a children’s birthday party,” but there was no mention of voice commands.
Philips Hue isn’t the first to offer an AI-powered lighting assistant. Govee’s AI Lighting Bot generates similar dynamic lighting effects and also responds to voice prompts. Meanwhile, Nanoleaf’s “Magic Scenes” feature creates similar scenes, too, but only responds to typed short phrases like “tropical paradise.”
Philips Hue says the AI assistant will be compatible with all of its lights. The company hasn’t divulged details about its exact availability, but stated it’ll start rolling out in the first quarter of 2025.
The AI-powered lighting assistant isn’t the only piece of news Philips Hue announced on Tuesday. The Philips Hue Sync TV app now supports LG TVs, while the color-changing Philips Hue Datura ceiling light is now available in the US starting at $299.99. The frameless ceiling panel offers a pair of individually controllable lights and customizable color effects.
Philips Hue also announced new smart home security features, including smoke alarm sound detection and the ability to stream live camera feeds to Amazon Alexa and the Google Nest Hub. Users can also now check out live camera views or schedule system settings straight from their devices.
Shelly introduced the Wall Display X2 at CES 2025, a new smart panel designed to fit into a wall electrical box that you can use to control your smart home.
The display makes it easy for anybody in the household to control smart lights, thermostats, and more by simply tapping its 6.95-inch touchscreen. It also has built-in temperature, humidity, and light sensors.
The Shelly Wall Display X2 stands out from rivals with its built-in relay functionality, which means you can add smarts to switches, outlets, fixtures, and more. So, for example, it will add smart capabilities to an existing circuit if you wire it up where there was a light switch.
The panel can also be used to create customizable scenes, play music, and show information like real-time power usage and the weather.
The Wall Display X2 works with all Shelly devices and Home Assistant. It supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Shelly didn’t announce pricing or a release date but said that the Shelly Wall Display X2 should be available internationally in Q1, with US availability to follow.
On Monday, Flic announced the Flic Duo, a wall-mountable smart button you can pick up to control other gadgets using customizable gestures.
The dual-button remote allows users to create over 30 programmable motion-based commands, so you could, for instance, program the smart button to play a specific music playlist with a swipe. You could even configure the Duo to perform different tasks based on its location, so it turns into a light switch when mounted to the wall and functions like a music controller in your hand.
Flic’s also added other conveniences designed to make it easier to integrate with other smart tech. It’s compatible with Matter, for example, which means it works with all major smart home platforms, and offers up a replaceable battery that should last up to three years. And if you were to ever lose the button, you can easily keep tabs on its location via the companion Flic app.
In addition to being a smart home controller, the Flic Duo also includes safety features targeted toward senior adults and “lone workers.” These include fall detection capabilities and the ability to use it as a personal alarm via a built-in speaker. Flic says the remote should last for three years off a single coin-cell battery.
The Flic Duo will be available to preorder on January 28th at an “early bird price” of $49. It will ship sometime in the second quarter of this year.
Intuition Robotics introduced the ElliQ Caregiver Solution on Monday, an AI-powered system that includes the ElliQ companion robot and a new Caregiver app to help caregivers monitor the health of homebound seniors.
Originally, the bobblehead-esque animatronic was mainly a friendly looking Amazon Alexa-like voice assistant designed to offer companionship to seniors living alone. Unlike Alexa, though, the ElliQ is proactive, prompting seniors to talk to it and have conversations, while also offering entertainment, health and wellness support, and more. The company also offered a Connect app that let caregivers keep in touch via video calls but not much else.
But with the debut of the ElliQ Caregiver Solution at CES, the companion robot is now a much more helpful care assistant. For example, if the robot detects an elderly parent hasn’t slept well or is feeling sick, ElliQ will send alerts to the caregiver. It can also send updates about any significant behavioral or health changes. This way, caregivers can monitor their loved ones’ health and activity in a way that doesn’t feel as intrusive as a camera or sensor.
Caregivers can set personalized care goals that ElliQ will promote at home and receive other “proactive updates powered by AI-driven insights.” Basically, it’s like having a “friend” keeping you up to date about your loved one — without requiring you to physically check in.
The ElliQ Caregiver Solution is now available to purchase. Its price is comprised of a one-time enrollment fee of $249.99 and a subscription that costs $59.99 per month. For now, the Caregiver app will be available at no additional cost. Later this year, Intuition Robotics will charge new users an extra $9.99 per month for the Caregiver Solution.
Targus-owned Hyper introduced the HyperSpace Trackpad Pro, a premium haptic trackpad for Windows, on Sunday. The company plans to add basic compatibility with macOS via a firmware update later this year.
Like the Magic Trackpad does on a Mac and other precision trackpads do on Windows laptops, the wireless HyperSpace Trackpad Pro supports multitouch gestures. However, Hyper’s trackpad software grants Windows users an advanced level of customizability, with the ability to set up shortcuts in the trackpad’s corners. That includes general functions like copying and pasting but also specific actions within apps like Adobe Suite, Figma, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint.
For instance, users could customize the trackpad’s bottom-right corner so clicking on it will add a new slide in PowerPoint. Users can also create and assign their own gestures instead, assigning — in Hyper’s example — a two-finger deep click to enter presentation mode in PowerPoint.
Hyper also lets users adjust the haptic feedback and pressure sensitivity, tweak the click force, and create customizable sound modes. After they’re done, they can share these custom configurations or discover others via the “Hyper Learning Cloud” community.
The trackpad has other things going for it beyond customizability. Hyper says it has independent force detection for up to 10 fingers as opposed to Apple’s four. It also features a 240Hz report rate, which should allow for high responsiveness and extremely smooth tracking. Finally, the trackpad can support multiple devices and comes with detachable magnetic palm rests.
The HyperSpace Trackpad Pro will arrive in the second quarter of 2025 and cost $129.99, the same as Apple’s Magic Trackpad.
You can keep tabs of Twelve South’s PlugBug 50 charger through the Apple Find My app. | Image: Twelve South
It’s easy to lose small stuff like laptop chargers when you’re constantly on the go, which is why Twelve South’s PlugBug is handy. It’s a USB-C wall charger that Apple users can keep tabs of via the Find My App, and it’s currently down to its best price yet. Normally $69.99, right now you can buy the 50-watt version for $55.99 at Amazon and Best Buy. The 120-watt PlugBug is also on sale for $97.99 ($22 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is one of its better prices to date.
The 50-watt wall charger features a pair of USB-C ports, so you can choose to slow-charge a laptop or simultaneously power up your smartphone and tablet. If you require faster charging, the 120-watt might be the better option and comes with four USB-C ports. But the PlugBug’s real standout feature, as mentioned, is its support for Apple’s extensive Find My App feature, which allows you to keep tabs of the charger via your iPhone, iPad or Mac. And conveniently, the charger can beep for easier tracking.
As a nice bonus, the PlugBug is also useful when you’re not using it to charge your devices. After all, it’s essentially a location tracker, so you can use it to keeps tab of your bag, suitcase, or wherever else you may have stored it.
Some more ways to save
Bose’s SoundLink Max has returned to its all-time low price of $299 ($100 off) at Amazon and Best Buy (for My Best Buy Plus and Total members). The Bluetooth speaker offers powerful, room-filling sound along with a 3.5-millimeter aux input for lossless listening. It’s rated IP67 for dust and water resistance, and offers up to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge, rendering it a top-notch portable Bluetooth speaker, great for any occasion. Read our review.
The latest version of Samsung’s 55-inch The Frame TV is on sale for $867.99 ($630 off) at Woot until January 10th, which matches its best price to date. Samsung’s The Frame can easily pass for home decor, thanks to an anti-glare matte OLED screen that displays artwork as well as photos when idle. Yet it’s also a good 4K TV, with a new energy-saving feature that drops its speedy 120Hz refresh rate to 60hz while displaying art.
If you’re on the market for an excellent handheld vacuum, the Black & Decker Furbuster is on sale for $67.98 ($32 off) at Amazon, which is its second-best price to date. The 20-watt cordless vacuum does a good job of sucking up dirt as well as fur and is portable, so you can use it as a car vacuum. It also features a long, extendable crevice tool, allowing you to easily clean hard-to-reach spaces.
The SwitchBot S10 offers a nearly hands-free cleaning experience for $699.99. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
If you’re somebody who likes to clean and declutter in preparation for a new year, one way to speed it up is by investing in a good robot vacuum. The SwitchBot S10is one of our favorite vacuums that also happens to be a terrific mop, too, and is currently down to its all-time low price of $699.99 ($500 off) when you clip the on-page coupon at Amazon. It’s also available for the same price directly from SwitchBot when you apply the promo code BFCM500A.
Of all the robot vacuums we’ve ever tested, the SwitchBot S10 offers the most hands-free experience, so you really can set it and forget it. The self-cleaning roller mop does an excellent job of polishing up your floors, and is even capable of lifting itself up to keep carpets dry. What’s more, the Switch S10 comes with an auto-empty dock as well as a separate battery-powered dock water station, which means the bot can empty and refill its own water tank. Just bear in mind you’ll have to hook it into your water supply.
Aside from offering a fantastic mopping and hands-free experience, the SwitchBot S10 is also a good vacuum with 6,500Pa suction power and decent AI-powered obstacle avoidance, although it admittedly can’t rival specs from competitors like Roborock, Dreame, and Ecovacs. That said, the SwitchBot S10 costs about $1,000 less, and for the price it does a great job of leaving the floor mostly spotless.
The Mobvoi Home Walking Treadmill is on sale for $79.99 ($160 off) at Amazon, which is an all-time low price. The under-desk walking treadmill supports Bluetooth and can connect to Android smartwatches, allowing you to keep tabs on your steps and other metrics from your wrist. That said, it works best if you own a Mobvoi smartwatch, given you’ll need the Mobvoi Health app if you want to save your data on your phone. Read our review.
Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 Wireless headphones are on sale for $199.99 ($200 off) at Amazon, which is their best price to date. The over-ears headphones deliver impressive battery life and can last a whopping 60 hours on a single charge, which is why they’re amongst our favorites. They also offer other impressive capabilities, including excellent noise cancellation, comfort, and sound. Read our review.
The Twelve South AirFly Pro is on sale for $39.99 ($15 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is its second best price to date. The Bluetooth transmitter features an integrated 3.5mm cable, allowing you to pair two sets of wireless Bluetooth-equipped wireless headphones or earbuds to in-flight entertainment systems. It works with other tech as well, like treadmills and the Nintendo Switch, while offering an an aux input for older devices.
The Beats Fit Pro offer built-in wing tips and excellent noise cancellation, making them a great pair of gym-friendly earbuds. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
If you need help shedding pounds from all the junk food you indulged in over Christmas, music is a great activity motivator — which is why wireless earbuds are a useful investment. Luckily, today the Beats Fit Pro — our favorite pair of earbuds for working out — are matching their all-time low price of about $149 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart.
The Beats Fit Pro offer a wide range of features that’ll help you keep motivated while working out. They sport excellent noise cancellation and a transparency mode that sounds natural, so you can tune distractions out and allow outside sound in when needed. They’re also designed for vigorous workouts, with built-in wing tips to keep them firmly in place and IPX4 rating for water resistance.
Even more conveniently, the wireless earbuds offer a host of Apple-centric features typically reserved for AirPods, like support for head tracking spatial audio, Find My, and automatic device switching. They also work well with Android devices, though you won’t be able to take advantage of native Android features like Fast Pairing that are found in newer models like the Studio Buds Plus. All in all, these are a fantastic pair of fitness-friendly earbuds that most people will find helpful, even if they do lack a wireless charging case.
Epicka’s Universal Travel Adapter has returned to its all-time low price of $19.99 ($5 off) at Amazon. The all-in-one adapter features four USB-A ports, a single USB-C port, and one AC socket, allowing you to simultaneously charge smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other gadgets. The adapter also works in over 150 countries, ranging from the UK and Canada to Japan, China, Australia, Argentina, and more.
Target is still selling the green Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 Instant Camera Gift Set for $79.99 ($10 off) and throwing in a $5 gift card. The instant camera is my top pick for most people, as it’s easy for all ages to use and prints relatively true to life photos. The bundle also includes a pack of ten sheets, a photo album, camera case, and stickers, making it an excellent value all around even if you just plan on gifting it to yourself.
Kobo’s Elipsa 2E is a good e-reader that offers an intuitive note-taking experience. | Image: Kobo
Amazon might have released a new Kindle Scribe earlier this month for $399.99, but after testing it, I still don’t think it can compete with its rivals. If you’re looking for a good e-reader with more useful note-taking capabilities, the Kobo Elipsa 2E is still one of my favorites, and it’s down to an all-time low of $349.99 ($50 off) at Amazon or Target. Rakuten Kobo will also throw in $10 in credit when you buy a $50 gift card, which you can use toward buying books or styli.
If you’re the type of person who likes to scribble in margins while reading ebooks, you’ll likely prefer the Kobo Elipsa 2E. The Elipsa 2E lets you directly write on ebook pages, taking notes in margins or anywhere else you’d like, just as you would on paper. The new Kindle Scribe lets you directly write on pages, too, but it’s a lot more complicated and you can’t even circle phrases or words.
The Elipsa 2E also offers other helpful features beyond just a more natural note-taking experience. It boasts double the storage (32GB) as the entry-level Kindle Scribe, for example, and accurately converts handwriting into typed text faster than the Scribe. The biggest drawback, of course, is that it doesn’t natively support Kindle ebooks, so you’ll have to convert your library if you want to read them from your Kobo device.
Just a few more deals
Sony’s WH-CH720N noise-canceling headphones are currently down to just $74.99 ($75 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, which is their all-time low price. Their noise cancellation isn’t as effective as rivals like Sony’s WH-1000XM5, but for the price, they do a decent job of tuning out noise. They also deliver good sound, support for multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, and up to 35 hours of continuous playback, rendering them a great option if you’re on a budget.
If you’re in need of USB-C chargers, you can buy the Anker PowerPort III and the eco-friendly version of the 30-watt Anker 511 Charger bundled together for $24.99 ($29.99 off) from Best Buy. Both are USB-C chargers that’ll quickly power up your phone, laptop, tablet, and electronics, but the 30-watt Anker 511 Charger is smaller and thus more portable with a single port. In contrast, Anker’s PowerPort III is a 65-watt wall charger that lets you quickly juice up to three devices at once.
If you’re looking out for porch pirates, the Blink Outdoor 4 camera is on sale for $49.99 ($50 off) — one of its better prices to date — at Amazon with a Sync Module 2 included. Blink’s 1080p security camera offers better image quality than its predecessor, two-zone package detection, and an impressive two years of battery life. You don’t need a premium subscription to record motion events either, thanks to the included Sync Module 2, which lets you record motion-activated video locally (with a USB stick) for free.
Xbox Game Pass, Spotify subscriptions, retail store gift cards, and other digital products make for great last-minute gifts. | Image: Meta
Yes, Christmas is a couple of days away — and yes, we know you have yet to buy a gift. We understand that life gets busy, though, and sometimes it feels like the holidays creep up on you out of nowhere. But before you spiral into a full-blown panic attack, take a deep breath. Luckily for you, the internet is filled with a treasure trove of gift cards, subscriptions, and other great digital gifts you can buy as late as Christmas Day itself.
To help make your life a little easier, we’ve curated a list of some of the best digital gifts we’ve either used ourselves or gifted to our friends and family. We’ve organized the list by interests, too, so you can find the perfect present whether your loved one is into the arts, exercise, or something else entirely. That way, you’ll at least be able to gift something more thoughtful than a generic Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart gift card — even if those are still totally viable options in our book.
Gifts for film and TV buffs
Regardless of whether you’re shopping for a movie buff or an avid sports fan, there are a number of subscriptions on the market that’ll grant your giftee access to a wide range of content. Below are some of the most popular, as well as a few catered toward anime diehards, horror lovers, and those looking for something more niche.
A Criterion Channel gift card grants access to over a thousand classic and contemporary Hollywood, international, art house, and independent movies. It also features programming spotlighting directors, stars, genres, and themes, including a “15-minute-a-month film school.”
For the anime lovers in your life, a Crunchyroll gift cardprovides access to hundreds of anime shows and films shortly after they air in Japan, including Jujutsu Kaisen, Blue Lock, and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. They caneven use the gift to purchase Crunchyroll’s extensive collection of anime figures, vinyl records, and clothes.
Gifts for the gamers
If you’re not sure which type of games your giftee prefers, you can gift them an Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo subscription. Not only will these memberships grant him access to free digital titles but they also come with perks such as online multiplayer and cloud-based saves, among other incentives.
If your giftee is a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 owner, a membership to PlayStation Plus grants them access to free titles and discounts every month, lets them play games online, and allows them to access cloud-based backups. PlayStation Plus memberships start at $9.99 a month, and you can subscribe directly via PlayStation or buy a subscription with a PlayStation Plus gift card, which is available at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target in denominations starting at $10 and going up to $250.
Nintendo Switch lovers, meanwhile, might enjoy an annual subscription to Nintendo Switch Online, which starts at $19.99 a year (Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop). The membership lets giftees play with more than 70 retro games released during the NES, SNES, and original Game Boy eras. They can also play online with friends and access cloud saves.
If you’re willing to fork out extra money, you can also buy an annual Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. In addition to offering all the same benefits as the Switch Online membership, it also grants access to Game Boy Advance, Sega Genesis, and Nintendo 64 games, as well as DLC content for some titles. Individual plans cost $49.99 (Walmart), while a family plan — which allows for up to eight accounts — is currently available via gift card at Walmart for $79.98.
Alternatively, you could buy a gift card to a store like GameStop (Amazon, GameStop), which is useful if you don’t know which console your giftee prefers or want to give them the option of buying accessories and games.
Gifts for the adventurers and globe-trotters
Is your giftee in dire need of a screen break? Fortunately, the internet is filled with travel-oriented gifts, ranging from the obvious — like airline gift cards — to national park passes.
For aspiring polyglots, a Rosetta Stone membership will make it easy to learn everything from French to Arabic to Japanese from the comfort of their home. Along with lessons, memberships come with helpful extras, including speech recognition tech to get the accent just right. At the moment, Rosetta Stone is offering up to 50 percent off of its plans, with the 12-month tier for learning just one language starting at $126 ($42 off).
Finally, a gift card to a rideshare service like Uber (also usable for Uber Eats and available at Amazon, Best Buy, Target) or Lyft (Amazon, Best Buy, Target) will come in handy when they need a ride to the airport or for a ride home if their New Year’s Eve plans include popping a few celebratory shots.
Gifts for health and wellness fans
For health and wellness enthusiasts, many services offer a wealth of streamable fitness classes to help them get fit at home. Other gifts can help your giftee practice self-care and lighten their load with meditation or even massages. Below, we’ve listed out a range of options that’ll help your giftee take care of both their body and mind.
A gift card for Headspace, a popular mindfulness app, offers members access to hundreds of expert-taught meditations, each designed to help them relax, sleep better, and improve their mental health. A gift subscription will run you $38.99 for three months, or you can save by getting 12 months for $48.99 ($21 off).
Fitbit Premium subscriptions start at $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year (33 percent off) and are available to all, even if your giftee doesn’t own a Fitbit (though, they’ll be able to enjoy more in-depth metrics if they do). A membership comes with thousands of guided and customizable workouts, which cover everything from martial arts and dance to meditation. Fitbit also offers guided programs covering topics like nutrition, along with the option to one-on-one with a professional health coach for an extra $54.99 per month.
For those who prefer in-person classes to virtual, a gift card that goes toward aClassPass subscription will let your giftee try out thousands of gyms and fitness studios in their local area, not to mention nearby salons and spas.
If your giftee is too busy to prepare healthy meals every day, a gift card to Blue Apron, HelloFresh, or any meal prep service that offers a healthy selection of meal kits will be very welcome.
Gifts for foodies
Whether they’re a diehard foodie, a wine connoisseur, or a caffeine addict, the internet is filled with subscriptions and gift cards for all types. Here are just a few of our favorites:
A Sur La Table gift card (Sur La Table, Kroger, Staples) is a great gift for the beloved chef in your life. They can use it to buy whatever they need for the kitchen, as well as to take online cooking classes where live instructors help students make everything from chicken piccata to tiramisu. Classes start at $29 per household, with each taking between 90 and 120 minutes a pop.
For those with a sweet tooth, Goldbelly’s monthly ice cream subscription allows them to enjoy up to six pints of ice cream or 24 ice cream sandwiches a month, all of which are sourced from small creameries all over the country. It’s a pricey subscription, however, with a three-month plan going for an eye-watering $298.95. You can explore other types of subscriptions, too, from BBQ to New York City staples, or get a gift card to let your recipient order whatever they like.
These days, it feels like there’s a Starbucks pretty much everywhere you look now, meaning a Starbucks gift card (Amazon, Best Buy, or Target) can help your giftee get their caffeine fix whenever, wherever.
Sometimes, it’s better to leave the cooking to somebody else. For foodies, a gift card to a food delivery service like DoorDash (Amazon, Best Buy, Target) means they can nab some crab rangoons from their favorite Chinese restaurant without leaving home.
Gifts for music lovers
Whether your giftee is a musician or just loves to unwind with some music, there are a lot of digital presents you can buy. We all know about Spotify gift cards (Amazon, Best Buy, or Target), but there are also other streaming services that you can gift as a subscription, some of which we’ve highlighted below.
For the true audiophiles out there, a Tidal gift card (Walmart, PayPal, or Best Buy) is great because it will allow them to stream music in the highest audio quality possible. The ad-free service starts at $10.99 per month and allows giftees to enjoy support for lossless FLAC audio, Dolby Atmos Music, and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio formats. If they happen to be a DJ or aspire to become one, paying an extra $9 per month gives them access to the DJ add-on, which offers high-quality catalogs of more than 110 million songs that they can mix on popular DJ software and hardware.
If you know somebody who’s always wanted to learn to play the guitar, a Fender Play subscription can help them do so thanks to a continuously updated catalog of hundreds of instructor-led video lessons. A subscription typically starts at $19.99 a month, but you can gift them six months for $79.99 or 12 months for $149.99.
A Vinyl Me, Please subscription is perfect for those who love spinning records. Every month, giftees receive vinyl records from their choice of music genre, whether that’s hip-hop, rock, or jazz. The packages also come with booklets so they can learn more about the record, along with access to exclusive discounts. Three-month subscriptions start at $148 and come with a total of four records (one of which is a limited-time bonus).
Lastly, a Ticketmaster gift card is a present that’ll allow your loved one to buy a ticket to watch their favorite musicians perform live, whether that’s Shakira, Garth Brooks, or The Rolling Stones.
Gifts for the bookworms
Obviously, you could just gift a bibliophile a book and they’d probably be happy. But what if you don’t know what your giftee is into or simply want to give them more options? In that case, a gift card to their favorite bookstore or a subscription to something like Kindle Unlimited, which grants members access to millions of ebooks and even select audiobooks, is a good idea. That said, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite alternatives below.
For fans of Marvel and DC comics, as well as manga like Fairy Tale, a Comixology Unlimited subscription is perfect. For $5.99 a month, they’ll be able to enjoy over 45,000 comics and graphic novels, not to mention more than 2,400 manga titles from their phone or tablet. Subscribers also get discounts on select digital books.
You can also gift a Book of the Month membership, which currently starts at $59.99 for a three-book plan. The company curates a small selection of five to seven bestsellers and classics for members every month, making it easy to quickly choose something to read.
If your giftee prefers to pick up books from brick-and-mortar bookstores, a gift card to Barnes & Noble (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or Best Buy) might be a good idea. For those who want to support local bookstores, there’s also a gift card for Bookshop.org.
Movie buffs and bibliophiles are easy to shop for, but what do you get the creative type? It’s actually not that hard — just buy them something to help them create, whether that’s an online course or access to a new tool. Below are a few subscriptions and gift cards creators will love that you can also buy last minute.
A MasterClass membership (which normally starts at $10 a month but is currently 50 percent off for all tiers) provides access to classes taught by world leaders and other subject matter experts, including screenwriters, musicians, and business experts. Going for a Masterclass Plus or Premium subscription allows concurrent viewing on two or six devices, respectively, and also unlocks offline viewing.
An Adobe Creative Cloud subscription ($59.99 per month) is a good gift for both aspiring and experienced creative professionals alike, providing access to popular services like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, InDesign, and other Adobe apps. Adobe doesn’t yet support gifting subscriptions, so you’ll need to create a new account or login to an existing account your recipient may have. You can also purchase digitally redeemable Creative Cloud subscription codes from partner retailers like Best Buy, which has a 12-month plan on sale for $428.92 (about $231 off) right now.
If you know somebody trying to learn how to code, a subscription to the coding educational platform Codecademy ($29.99 per month) can help them build their portfolio with online courses, a community, fun events, cheat sheets, and other resources. There’s even a $39.99 a month plan for those looking to change career paths, one that offers all the above as well as technical interview help.
For giftees into arts and crafts, a Craftsy membership ($123 a year) grants access to more than 2,000 live and on-demand classes led by experts covering everything from baking and cake decorating to woodworking and painting. Members also get to connect with other crafters in the Craftsy community and attend live events.
Gift cards for pretty much anyone
Sometimes the best gift card is one that’ll give your giftee a ton of options, especially if you’re having a hard time figuring out what they want. Gift cards from major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target are perfect in these situations, namely because they’ll let your giftee choose whatever they like from a wide range of departments.
Update, December 23rd: Updated links, pricing, and info for several digital gifts.
Google Keep is being upgraded to a system app on Android 16 devices, joining the ranks of other Android apps that provide essential services like calling and messaging, reports Android Police.
Google’s free note-taking app appears as a system app on the latest Android 16 beta, Android 16 Developer Preview 2. Anyone upgrading to this OS version will no longer be able to uninstall the app unless they have root access.
Google integrated Keep with its Tasks feature in April after last year’s upgrades broke a trend of ignoring its note-taking app. Yet all of a sudden, it’s apparently considered a core feature vital to Android’s operating system, like Google’s Phone, Contacts, and Google Play Store apps.
Google has yet to explain the change, but this suggests the company could be planning on upgrading Google Keep with more powerful features so it’ll play a more central role in Android 16. It’s possible Google could be planning on integrating it with other core Android features, for example.
The Echo Pop is a tiny speaker with Alexa-enabled smarts, and is currently down to its best price. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Believe it or not, we’re now just a few days away from Christmas. Don’t panic if you’ve yet to start your holiday shopping, though! While it might be too late to order some of the gifts on your holiday wish list, plenty of other great presents will arrive in time.. if you know where to look.
After doing some digging at various retailers, we’ve found a bunch of gadgets and goods you’ll still be able to tuck under the tree if you order them soon enough. They encompass a wide range of categories, too, from noise-canceling earbuds and fitness trackers to smart lights, e-readers, and smart speakers. Best of all, a bunch of them are currently on sale, so you can save some money while you’re at it.
However, keep in mind that Amazon purchases are not likely to arrive on time unless you’ve signed up for a Prime membership. Don’t worry, though, because there are plenty of other retailers — including Best Buy, Target, and Walmart — that will ship your gift in time without requiring you to sign up for a premium subscription.
Headphones, earbuds, and speakers
If you prefer a pair of noise-canceling headphones, Sony’s WH-1000XM5 are available for about $279.99 ($120 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, and $20 more at Target. The XM5 tune out noise remarkably well, deliver excellent sound, and are extremely comfortable to wear, which are just some of the reasons why they’re our favorite headphones on the market. Read our review.
If you want to gift a pair of AirPods to the Apple aficionado in your life, you still have time to do so. The second-gen AirPods Prowith USB-C will arrive before the holiday when you purchase them for $189.99 ($60 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. You can also buy the cheaper AirPods 4 for $119 ($10 off) at Amazon, or at Target and Best Buy for their full retail price of $129.99. The latter earbuds lack noise cancellation, onboard volume controls, and a built-in speaker on the case, but they still offer great voice call quality and good sound. Read our second-gen AirPods Pro and AirPods 4 reviews.
If you want to gift a portable speaker, the UE Minirollis available for $49.99 ($30 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. Ultimate Ears’ puck-like Bluetooth speaker is small enough to fit in your pocket and features a built-in strap, allowing you to easily attach it to a set of handlebars, your bag, and other objects. The speaker also offers a robust IP67 rating against dust and water, making it a particularly great option for outdoorsy types.
Smart home tech
The Blink Video Doorbell will offer your loved ones peace of mind and arrive in time for Christmas if you pick it up at Amazon, Best Buy, or Target for $35.99 ($24 off). The 1080p video doorbell is our favorite budget-friendly option, one that nails the essentials with motion-activated recording, alerts, night vision, two-way audio, motion zones, and up to two years of battery life on a pair of AA lithium batteries.
It’s not too late to pick up a pair of Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Bulbs (L535E) for $17.99 ($12 off) at Amazon and B&H Photo. The color-charging, 1,100-lumen bulbs can display more than 16 million colors and don’t require a hub; they’re also compatible with Matter, so your giftee can connect them to any major smart home platform.
Tablets and e-readers
The latest entry-level Kindle, which will arrive in time for Christmas, is available in its ad-supported base configuration at Best Buy or Target for $109.99. The new 6-inch model is faster than its predecessor and offers longer battery life, but it doesn’t feature a waterproof exterior like the Paperwhite. That being said, it does boast a sharp 300ppi display, USB-C support, and a pocketable design.
You can get the 2022 iPad with 64GB of storage and Wi-Fi in time for Christmas when you order it for $279 ($70 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The entry-level tablet sports a large 10.9-inch display and a USB-C port for fast charging. It’s also relatively snappy thanks to the addition of Apple’s A14 Bionic chip and Wi-Fi 6 support, making it a great tablet for streaming, video chatting, and other tablet needs. Read our review.
If you’re looking to gift a budget-friendly tablet, the latest Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy with ads and 32GB of storage starting at $54.99 ($45 off). It’s no iPad, but if you just need a cheap slate for playing games, reading, streaming, browsing the web, and other basic tasks, it does the job just fine.
Gaming gifts
The white Xbox Series X Digital Edition with 1TB of storage launched in October, but it’s already on sale and will arrive in time for Christmas when you buy it for around $398 ($52 off) at Best Buy or Walmart. The latest Series X is identical to the original model aside from the new look and expanded storage, with support for 4K gaming at up to 120Hz. Read our original Xbox Series X review.
The second-gen Backbone Oneallows your giftee to turn their iPhone or Android phone into something akin to the Nintendo Switch, and you can buy both the Lightning model and USB-C version in multiple button layouts for $99.99 ($30 off) at Amazon. The handy mobile controller offers an improved D-pad and face buttons over the first-gen model; it also sports a 3.5mm audio jack, a comfortable design, and magnetic adapters so you can use it while your phone stays in its case, provided it’s compatible.
Health and wellness tech
If you’re looking for a budget-friendly health and wellness gift, the Te-Rich Weighted Jump Rope is a good option that should arrive by Christmas when you order it for $20.99 at Amazon. The adjustable smart jump rope features a built-in LCD display with a timer and an accurate jump counter, and even provides a rough estimate of calories burned.
You can still order the Oura Ring Generation 4 in time for Christmas when you pick it up for $349 at Amazon and Best Buy. The smart ring makes for an excellent sleep and recovery tracker you can use to keep tabs on basic health metrics, including light exercise. It doesn’t offer as many advanced fitness tracking features as a smartwatch, but it’s a lot more stylish and discreet. Plus, it does offer some cool perks of its own, including a new Symptom Radar feature that sends notifications when it thinks you’re getting sick.
TVs, streaming devices, and soundbars
If you’re looking to gift a 4K streaming stick, the latest Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is a good option that’s available at Amazon and Best Buy for $59.99. Along with offering support for Wi-Fi 6, Dolby Atmos / Vision, and HDR10 Plus, the streaming device offers impressive integration with Amazon Alexa for hands-free control. It also displays artwork and widgets when idle, which is a cool trick that turns your TV into an Echo Show-like display.
Other great gadgets you can still gift
Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 12 should ship in time for you to wrap it up under the tree if you order it at Best Buy or Target for $69.99 ($10 off). We consider it to be our best instant camera for most people and a good gift for budding photogs of all ages, namely because it’s incredibly easy to use, comes in all kinds of fun colors, and produces relatively true-to-life prints.
If you’re looking for something to gift a kid or a Star Wars fan, the Goliath Power Saber is on sale at Amazon for $35.63 ($15 off) when you clip the on-page coupon (it’s also available starting at $49 at Target and Walmart). The “power saber” isn’t an official Star Wars toy, sadly, but it’s a fun light-up blade that can automatically extend and retract; it will also collapse when you actually press it against something, making it a safe gift for kids.
The Glocusent Bookmark Style Reading Light is a great gift for bookworms that should arrive in time for Christmas when you buy it for $15.99 ($5 off) at Amazon. The clip-on USB light is a handy accessory for those who like to read at night, as it will illuminate pages with a soft, warm glow that’s not likely to disturb their sleep.
You can still gift Lego’s Plum Blossom set when you buy it at Walmart for $23.95 (about $6 off). The set consists of 327 pieces, which come together to form an eye-catching floral display that looks great on a mantle or in a home office space.
Update, December 20th: Adjusted copy to reflect current pricing and availability.
The Roomba Combo j7 Plus is a highly capable robot vacuum / mop hybrid that comes with its own auto-empty dock. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Cleaning up after holiday parties can be a real pain, but a robot vacuum like the iRobot Roomba Combo j7 Plus can speed up process. And thankfully right now it’s just $669 ($331 off) at Wellbots, which is just $20 shy of its Black Friday all-time low price. If you want to gift the robot vacuum / mop hybrid, you can get it by Christmas when you buy it for $30 more at Amazon and Best Buy.
Everything about the Roomba Combo j7 Plus is designed to make cleaning easier. Like our favorite Roomba, the newer Roomba Combo j9 Plus, it comes with its own auto-emptying docking station and a retractable mop that lifts itself up over the vacuum to keep carpets dry. It also has features like AI obstacle avoidance, allowing it navigate around shoes, gifts, and other clutter left on the floor, and dual rubber roller brushes that does a great job of sucking up dirt from carpets. And if you run into trouble with it, The Verge’s smart home reviewer says that Roombas have “a history of being easy to repair,” unlike pricier rivals like Dreame X40 or Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra that may mop better.
Unlike the Combo j9 Plus, though, the last-gen Combo j7 Plus can’t refill its own mop tank. It also doesn’t come with iRobot’s Dirt Detective system, which lets it prioritize and really hone in on particularly messy areas. That said, given the Combo j7 Plus is currently about half the price of the Combo j9 Plus, we think those are fair-trade offs.
The Loop Experience 2 earplugs are on sale starting at $27.95 ($7 off) at Amazon, which is their all-time low price. The earplugs do a great job of cutting down loud noise, which is why we highlighted them this year in our budget-friendly holiday gift guide. They reduce noise by 17 decibels so you can still hear your surroundings but at a safer volume. The earplugs offer a secure universal fit, too, making them a great gift for frequent concertgoers or anybody else yearning for some peace and quiet.
If you’re looking for a good video doorbell to keep an eye on porch pirates, the Aqara G4 Video Doorbell is down to its best price of $89.99 ($40 off) at Best Buy. It’s one of our favorites, party because it’s the only battery-powered video doorbell compatible with Apple Home that also works with HomeKit Secure Video. Yet the 1080p doorbell also has other things going for it, including 24/7 local video recording, facial recognition, and smart alerts for people, packages, animals, and vehicles.
The Beats Solo 4 have returned to their all-time low price of $99.99 (about $100 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. It’s a shame they lack noise cancellation, but the headphones still offer good value with bass-rich sound as well as features like spatial audio and lossless playback over USB-C (or 3.5mm). They also offer native support for both iOS and Android, making them a good buy if you want some platform flexibility. Read our review.
Sony’s XM5 deliver impressive noise cancellation, sound, and comfort. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
The holiday season is a time of celebration, but it can also be chaotic. With all the parties, travel, and family obligations, it’s difficult to carve out time to recharge. That’s why noise-canceling earbuds like Sony’s WF-1000XM5 are so helpful, as they can help you enjoy some peace and quiet even in the busiest of environments. Thankfully, they’re currently on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for around $198 ($102 off), their best price to date.
Sony’s WF-1000XM5 are our favorite pair of wireless earbuds on the market. Along with drowning out background noise well, they offer exceptional, detailed sound and clear voice quality. They’re also relatively small and lightweight, and come with four foam-style ear tips so you can comfortably wear them on long flights. Battery life is good, too, so you won’t need to worry about them dying midway through a flight. They should last eight hours with noise cancellation turned on, and when you do need to charge, they do so extremely quickly.
Additionally, Sony’s flagship pair of earbuds offer a handful of other conveniences that make them a great investment. They include support for multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, for one thing, so you can pair them with multiple devices simultaneously. They also boast IPX4 water resistance, so they’ll even be able to withstand some light rain.
Amazon’s Smart Plug is on sale for $14.99 ($10 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is just $2 shy of its lowest price to date. You can use the smart plug to easily add smarts to various traditional gadgets, including Christmas lights, lamps, coffee makers, fans, and kettles. You don’t need a smart home hub either, though bear in mind that the plugs are only compatible with Alexa, so you might want to steer clear if you’re embedded in another smart home ecosystem.
You can buy Google’s 128GB Pixel Tablet (and speaker dock) for $399 ($65 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is $20 shy of its best price to date. The 11-inch Android tablet is a great entertainment device with stellar performance, but it’s the included speaker dock that really makes the Pixel Tablet stand out. The latter lets you turn the tablet into a smart display with Google Assistant support akin to the Nest Hub Max, so you can use it to set alarms, display photos, and even control smart home devices with your voice. Read our review.
The latest Beats Pill has returned to its Black Friday low of $99.99 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, which is just $2 shy of its lowest price to date. The pill-shaped Bluetooth speaker delivers good sound for its size but also comes with some handy perks, including support for lossless audio over USB-C and native support for both Android and iOS. It also features IP67 water and dust protection and a built-in lanyard, so you can easily carry it on the go. Read our review.
If you’ve been contemplating signing up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate so you can play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, you might want to head on over to Woot. Now until 1:59AM ET on December 13th, the retailer is offering a three-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $28.99 (about $31 off) with promo code GAMEPASS. Only customers making their first purchase on Woot are eligible, though; everyone else will have to pay $33.99 to redeem the digital code.
In addition to granting access to a wide range of games — including EA Play titles — an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription lets you take advantage of exclusive deals, online multiplayer, and other perks, some of which aren’t available on the cheaper Game Pass tiers.
Other deals and discounts of note
Elgato’s Stream Deck Neo is on sale for an all-time low of $79.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, Target, and Best Buy. The excellent macro controller comes witheight LCD buttons, which you can program to easily control your smart lights, pause Slack notifications, and perform a variety of other shortcuts with the press of a button. It also comes with some other handy conveniences, including a tiny info display that shows the time and a pair of capacitive buttons that let you quickly cycle through multiple pages of macros.
The Onn Google TV 4K Prois selling for $39 (about $11 off) at Walmart right now. The streaming device is a higher-end version of the excellent Onn Google TV 4K Streaming Box. It delivers even more value in some ways, though, as it functions as a smart speaker that’s compatible with Google Assistant. The 4K streaming device also adds support for Dolby Vision and Atmos, as well as Wi-Fi 6, while retaining built-in Chromecast support.
Amazon is selling the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (formerly known as the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2) with a Chime Pro for $199.99 (about $90 off), which is $10 shy of the bundle’s best price to date. The wired Pro is one of our favorite video doorbells, one that works with Amazon Alexa and integrates well with Ring Alarm and other Ring cameras. It offers top-notch video quality and a square aspect ratio, though many features — including person alerts and the ability to save and share clips — require a premium Ring subscription plan. The Chime Pro, meanwhile, doubles as a speaker for notifications and a Wi-Fi extender, so the doorbell receives a strong signal.
Google is rolling out two new updates to its unknown tracker alerts feature that should make it easier for Android device owners to detect unfamiliar trackers, the company announced on Wednesday. Introduced in July 2023, the safety feature automatically sends notifications if an unwanted Bluetooth tracker is traveling with you.
The first update lets Android phone owners temporarily stop sending location updates to the Find My Device network if an unknown compatible tracker is detected. Google will pause these updates for up to 24 hours, so your location will no longer be visible to whoever could be monitoring your location via the tag.
Second, anybody who receives an unknown tracker alert will be able to locate the unwanted Find My Device-compatible tracker using the “Find Nearby” feature. Once you’ve found it, Google will also offer instructions for how to physically disable the tag.
Over the years, Bluetooth trackers have been increasingly misused. Domestic abusers and stalkers have, for example, used it to keep tabs on victims, with one class action lawsuit claiming AirTag stalking had contributed to “multiple murders.” In response, Apple and Google have made various efforts to combat stalking, including an announcement earlier this year indicating support for a new industry specification, Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers, that works on both iOS and Android.
Google’s Pixel Tablet uniquely turns into a smart display of sorts when you buy the charging speaker dock. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge
Google might soon stop selling tablets altogether, which is a shame, because we were fans of the Google Pixel Tablet when it was released last year. Yet while we may never see aPixel Tablet 2, luckily the original slate is still around and receiving a steep discount. Normally $399, right now the base Google Pixel Tablet with 128GB of storage has returned to its Black Friday price of $279 at Amazon, Best Buy, and directly from Google. You can buy it with a charging speaker dock starting at $459 ($140 off) from the Best Buy and Google.
If you’re looking for an Android tablet that’s great for watching movies, web browsing, video chatting, and other basic tasks, the Pixel Tablet remains an excellent option. Powered by Google’s Tensor G2 chip, it’s a snappy entertainment device. Its sharp 11-inch LCD display offers wide viewing angles ideal for streaming, while its four speakers provide clear audio.
It’s the optional magnetic charging speaker dock that really makes the Pixel Tablet stand out, though. The dock effectively turns the Pixel Tablet into smart display similar to the Nest Hub Max, allowing it to deliver a full, room-filling sound quality that outperforms the tablet’s built-in speakers. That means you can also enjoy some Nest Hub Max capabilities, using the tablet to control smart home devices with just your voice via Google Assistant, for example.
The UE Wonderboom 4 is on sale at an all-time low price of $59.99 ($40 off) at Amazon and B&H Photo. Unlike its predecessor, the Bluetooth speaker now supports USB-C for faster charging and sports a new megaphone feature that amplifies your voice. It also still sports an IP67 rating, meaning it’s waterproof and dustproof so you can take it outdoors without worrying.
The new Kindle Paperwhiteis back on sale for $134.99 ($25 off) at Best Buy and Target, which is $5 shy of the all-time low price we saw first set during Black Friday. The latest Paperwhite is faster than its predecessor, with a larger seven-inch display and long battery life. It also retains all the features we loved in the last-gen model, including IPX8 waterproofing and a USB-C port.
The 1080p Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam is down to $49.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, matching its all-time low. Its mechanically rotating head offers 360-degree panning and is capable of tilting up and down, so you can see every corner of the room it’s in. The camera also supports two-way talk and can even sound a siren, while you can get motion alerts with person detection if you subscribe to the Ring Protect Plan.
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24241346/226425_Roomba_Combo_Review_JTuohy_0007.jpg){kind=link}