Who says high-tech gift does not necessarily mean expensive gift. If the latest smartphones and laptops are obviously dreamy, they often exceed 1,000 euros, which reserves them for truly exceptional occasions.
So let’s start very reasonably, around 20 euros, with a good connected bracelet for athletes, the Mi Band 5 from Xiaomi and for 20 euros more, the Band 6 from Huawei.
Connected bulbs, you know: no need to flip the switch. We turn them on and off by talking to our smartphone. Count 8 to 40 euros per bulb at Xiaomi, Awox, Meross or Philips Hue. For lighting and decoration, we fell in love with the light panels from Nanoleaf. Several kits, triangular or hexagonal to be fixed to the wall. Guaranteed success. From 99 euros.
A watch ? Yes, but even better: a connected watch and this one is French: it’s the Withings ScanWatch. Elegant, intelligent and autonomous with three weeks without having to recharge it: 250 euros.
Come on, we put 50 euros more and we offer a real good audio headset with noise reduction: 299 euros for the WH-1000XM4 from Sony or one of its competitors with a simpler name to remember, the Bose 700. For a great sound with a budget halved – 149 euros -, Sony’s WF-1000XM3 may date from 2019: they compete with the AirPods 3 while being cheaper.
Failing to offer the latest iPhone 13 Pro, the Samsung Galaxy S21 + or the Google Pixel 6 Pro (which requires registration on a waiting list), a so-called “fast” smartphone charger will be a really useful gift. .
These chargers are four times faster than the chargers supplied as standard: charging lasts four times less time and when the phone is really empty, these chargers “wake up” it in record time. Rarely will 25 euros have been used so well! But no kidding, play it safe, favor the big brands: Belkin, Anker, Apple, Samsung, mainly.
Another idea: an induction charger, wireless. No cable to connect: you simply put your smartphone on it, provided that it is compatible – the iPhones in particular are since the iPhone 8 – and it recharges. Ideal on a desk or a bedside table: between 20 and 100 euros at Belkin, Google, Apple, Logitech or Mophie. And then, very trendy, a charger or an external battery powered by the sun, via its own photovoltaic panels: count between 20 and 100 euros.
This Christmas 2021 is marked by the shortage of components, the consequence of which is the shortage of certain products in stores and on the Internet. For game consoles, the situation is dramatic: unless there is a miracle or you spend a fortune on eBay or on certain sites which offer a few rare second-hand models “like new” almost three times the official price (from 689 to 1,150 euros for the version without Blu-Ray player instead of 399 euros), you will not find a Playstation 5 between now and December 25. At Amazon, FNAC, Micromania, everywhere the same message: “Unavailable“.
Ditto for the new Xboxes that were robbed, the postponement of those who could not find a PS5 further amplified the demand. Even refurbished PS4s – yes, the previous generation – appear to be “sold out”. Also out of stock for the new Nintendo Switch with OLED screen. If you really want a console, all that’s left is the original Switch, which launched in 2017.