Haven’t got your dad a gift yet for Father’s Day? Never fear, MobileSyrup has compiled a list of tech-related presents for the modern-day dad.
From eReaders and smart speakers, to low-cost smartwatches, there are a wide variety of options available.
Read on for our full list.
Olloclip for the iPhone X
Is your dad into photography but can’t fathom the idea of jumping from a smartphone shooter to a DSLR? Then Olloclip might be the accessory of his dreams.
While Olloclip offers a variety of different attachable lenses for the iPhone, the company’s most recently released accessory is specifically designed with Apple’s iPhone X in mind.
The easy to slide on and off Ollloclip for the iPhone X features a fisheye lens that gives users a unique 180-degree spherical effect, a super wide lens with an approximately 120-degree field-of-view and macro 15x shooter that’s great for close-ups.
All of these lenses can also be swapped in a matter of minutes.
Olloclip for the iPhone X is available for $129 on Amazon Canada. Other versions of the Olloclip for other, older versions of the iPhone, are often much cheaper.
Sonos One
If there’s one commonality between dads of different stripes, it’s a penchant for telling bad jokes and a love for dad rock. While you’ll be hard-pressed to find a product that will help with your dad’s comedic abilities, the new Sonos One is the perfect gift for fathers who love bands like Steely Dan and Wilco.
Not only is the Sonos One an excellent Wi-Fi connected speaker, it’s also the first Sonos speaker to feature support for Amazon’s Alexa voice-activated assistant (later this year, it will also support Google Assistant and Apple’s AirPlay 2 protocol). With Alexa onboard, your dad doesn’t even have to use the excellent Sonos mobile app to control their new toy.
Instead, they can say, in their most assertive voice, “Alexa, play the Dad Rock playlist on Spotify” and the personal assistant will take care of the rest. It’s a feature that makes an already easy-to-use device even more user-friendly, making it perfect for even the most curmudgeonly of fathers.
AfterShokz Trekz Air Wireless Headphones
For the dad who won’t compromise comfort for a gadget, the AfterShokz Trekz Air is the ideal jogging headset. Bone-conduction tech means there are no earbuds, eliminating frustrating slippage. There’s just a bone-conducting speaker that rests gently above your ears’ entrance and connects around the back of the neck with a secure but ultra-light titanium-core wraparound design.
Shake your head as hard as you can -- these bad boys won’t go anywhere. Plus, the headset is IP55-certified for sweat, dust and moisture. Since the headset is open, it doesn’t silence ambient sound, which isn’t ideal for cutting the lawn but is great for a jog on the trails. Currently, the Trekz Air is on sale for $129.99 CAD for Father’s Day -- a discount from its usual $190 price tag.
Unihertz Atom smartphone
The Unihertz Atom is the excellent gift for active fathers. With it, there's no need for a dad to carry that awkward fitting BlackBerry in their pockets. There's also no need to lug around their expensive iPhone Xs when going on hikes.
Instead, fathers can simply bring their Unihertz Atom. For father’s who love joyful bike rides, they can put the Unihertz Atom in their pockets and not worry about their phone dropping out.
The Unihertz Atom is available on Kickstarter for approximately $285 CAD ($249 USD).
Kobo Clara HD
The Clara HD is Kobo’s latest low-cost e-reader, making it a great gift for the bookworm dads out there. The Clara HD sports a 6-inch eInk Carta screen, 8GB of storage (which Kobo says is enough space for over 6,000 books) and a 1,500 mAh battery that can last for several weeks on a single charge. A new anti-glare coating also improves screen legibility in direct sunlight, letting your dad use the e-reader outside in the summer weather.
The Clara HD is available for $139.99 CAD directly through Kobo's website. It’s worth noting that until July 6th, Kobo promises to cover the cost of express shipping and returns if customers aren’t satisfied with their purchase.
Mobvoi Ticwatch
Let's face it dads are hard to shop for. What do you get for the person that has everything?
If your dad likes gadgets, the Mobvoi Ticwatch series are some great budget smartwatches that run Google’s Wear OS. Both of the watches have the same internals but one of the models has a sportier look.
These watches aren’t the top of the line when it comes to smartwatches but they have fitness tracking and lots of apps via Wear OS that makes them a great jumping off point for someone who’s never owned a smartwatch before.
Essential Earphones Mini and HD
While the future of Essential seems to be in flux, it’s tough to argue with the quality of the products it’s released so far, and that includes the company’s line of USB-C earbuds.
Essential’s Earphones come in two flavours -- HD and the cheaper Mini -- and both are fantastic earphones for their price. Both earphones are stylishly designed and are available in a striking, yet subdued, grey colour. Additionally, the HD and Mini earphones come with three sizes of interchangeable ear tips that should form a comfortable fit within most ears.
Of course, there’s no denying that the HD earphones produce the crisper, richer sound, but the Minis are no slouches in the audio department either.
Samsung Dex Pad
The Samsung Dex Pad is the ideal gift for the business dad. Dex allows Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ users to plug in their phones and transform them into a desktop experience.
Dads can slide their phone onto the USB-C port on the pad and turn it into a desktop. The pad features two USB ports, a USB-C charging port and an HDMI port which can be used to connect a screen.
While in the pad, the phone acts as a touchpad. Dads who prefer the old mouse and keyboard approach can connect those as well. Dads can utilize windowed Android apps and can run a virtual Windows desktop as well.
The Dex is available on Amazon for $149.95.
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