December — and, more importantly, ‘Black Friday’ — are both right around the corner. So, to help with your holiday shopping, we put together an editorial gift guide to show off some of our top gift ideas for this year.
This year’s list includes fun iPhone 12/13 MagSafe accessories, drones, a robot vacuum and even a weird coffee subscription.
MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links.
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Wiz smart light
Hopefully, Phillips lets Wiz keep operating independently because these are the best budget smart lights on the market. While the colours might not be as vibrant as the Hue system, they don’t require a hub and the app offers several advanced features for a lot less cost than other systems. Walmart also sells this same light with Great Value sub-branding.
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$24Home Depot -
iPad mini
The new iPad mini is more expensive than ever, but it’s still the best small tablet out there. Plus, the addition of USB-C makes it much more versatile, allowing you to plug in several accessories and devices. For example, this makes it a suitable photography companion out in the field since it features lots of power and fits into small bags.
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$650Best Buy Amazon Apple -
iRobot j7+
If you’re in the market for a robot vacuum, iRobot’s j7+ is an excellent option. It features a dock like the more expensive i6+ and S9+, offers room mapping and features a high-quality onboard camera that allows it to identify and avoid specific objects. This means that you’ll need to do less “pre-cleaning” before running the vacuum.
$1049Amazon -
AirPods (3rd-gen)
If you’re buying wireless earbuds for someone that uses multiple Apple devices, AirPods are the obvious choice. The new models even feature Spatial Audio head tracking, which can add a lot of immersion to songs on Apple Music. This helps these little buds punch way above their weight class.
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$239Best Buy Amazon Apple -
Aperture MC light
This little light is useful for making videos or taking photos and it even features cool RGB effects as well. Plus, it includes magnets in the back so it can stick to a wide range of wacky places. You can also link it with other Aperture-branded lights and control a whole lighting system right from the app.
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$140Best Buy Amazon -
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Coffee subscription
This is a bit of a wildcard, but we saw tons of YouTubers shilling for this coffee brand a few months ago, and it seems really convenient. What’s not to love? If you know the person you’re buying a gift for is very busy and needs a cup of coffee to wake up in the morning, the afternoon and before bed, this could be a very nice gift.
$65Cometeer -
Desk lamp
Depth in lighting is key to making any room look good. Therefore, the more lamps the merrier. There are hundreds of options on Amazon, but we’re a fan of this minimal rectangular one because it looks cool, clamps to a desk and features adjustable brightness and colour temperature.
$35Amazon -
Fabric phone stand
These fabric phone stands are great for people that don’t like to use a case. Not only do they add a fun pop of colour compared to a regular metal or plastic stand, they also won’t scratch your phone or your desk.
$14Amazon Toddy gear -
Galaxy Z Flip 3
The hands-down coolest phone on the market now is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3. It looks and feels very polished compared to the other foldable smartphones and it’s reasonably priced. Plus, you can fold it up and there is no denying how cool that is in a world where most phones don’t.
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$1129Best Buy Amazon -
Lego
Everyone loves getting Lego as a gift. It’s an excuse for some me-time as an adult, teen or child. Need we say more? As always, make sure to maximize that price per piece count to get the best value on the set your purchase.
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$40Best Buy Amazon -
Mavic Mini 2 drone
Giving the gift of flight will step up anyone’s photography by quite a few notches. The Mini 2 is the perfect gift since anyone can fly it without needing a license. It also takes really clean photos and videos that are comparable to most modern cell phone cameras.
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$450Best Buy Amazon -
Microfibre clothes
Everyone knows how dirty screens can get, so why not be equipped to clean them? You can order fancy screen cleaning gear online, but your local hardware store or Canadian Tire likely offers a pretty wide range of cloths in the automotive detailing section. We recently discovered a glass ‘streak-free’ cloth (linked below at Canadian Tire) and it’s fantastic.
$20Canadian Tire -
Moment Fanny Sling
The best thing about buying someone a bag for a gift is that it doesn’t need to be overly practical. Fanny packs -- or as people call them now, ‘cross-body slings’ -- fit neatly into this category since they look cool, but can’t fit that many large items. This option from Moment features a few trendy colours and enough pockets to justify its $60 USD price (roughly 75 CAD).
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$60Moment -
More digital storage
More storage space is a must for anyone, period. If your giftee has a laptop, a portable SSD is a solid option. If they own a desktop PC, then a nice fat SATA drive will allow your giftee to save more photos, download more games and worry less about filling up their computer with junk.
$200Best Buy Amazon -
OnePlus Buds Pro
Android users who are looking for a solid pair of wireless earbuds can’t go wrong with the OnePlus Buds Pro. These earbuds even feature a cool Zen mode that plays relaxing spa sounds at the touch of a button for those stressful situations. They also sound great, last decently long and feature active noise cancellation.
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$200Best Buy Amazon OnePlus -
Pixel 6
Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are the company’s freshest redesign in years. Not only does the phone look ultra-modern, but it also snaps much sharper photos and videos. This year Google also revamped its mobile OS to change colours to match your wallpaper. It’s a small change, but a welcome one that gives the iPhone and iOS 15 a run for its money.
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$800Best Buy Amazon Google -
Point and shoot film cameras
If you know that you live near somewhere that still develops film, then gifting a film camera offers up a fun analog experience. There are tons of point-and-shoot camera models on eBay for under $40 -- just make sure you’ve also found the right batteries for it. If you don’t live in a city that develops film, a Fujifilm Instax camera or printer can be a fun alternative.
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$40eBay -
Pop Wallet with MagSafe
If you’re buying a gift for someone with an iPhone 12 or iPhone 13, this MagSafe compatible wallet features a little extra functionality that makes it the best MagSafe wallet on the market. Plus, with the Popsocket functionality, it works as a handy stand for your phone.
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$50Best Buy Amazon -
Sonos Move
This big portable speaker is the best of both worlds. It’s loud and clear enough to use all night to dance to and it also works for podcasts in the morning. It’s pretty expensive, but it’s also built to last and provides the best sound quality in a great package that transforms between a smart speaker and portable speaker better than most.
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$449Best Buy Amazon Sonos -
iPhone 13 Pro
Apple’s iPhone 13 series offers top-level specs and an awesome camera. One of the coolest features this year is the new ‘Cinematic Mode’ that brings a depth-of-field effect and automatic focus changes to video. It really makes it look like you’re filming a movie.
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$1400Best Buy Apple
