Tech gift ideas under $50
'Tis about to be the season of gift-giving, but — right now — we are in the season of gift-buying. Promo deals are all around and all you need to do is pick the right thing to buy. But that there is the tricky part, is it not?
Amazon's Fire TV Stick fits the price perfectly. It allows the user to stream from their favorite services — Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, HBO, YouTube. If you don't need 4K, you can nab the HD version for slightly less money, too. 4K version | HD version
Well, have no fear. As long as your close person is a fan of smartphone tech, or anything that can pair with their phone and is therefore considered "mobile tech", we have a bunch of ideas for you. Gadgets and gizmos, gifts for smartphone fans for up to $50 that will — at the very least — put a smile on their face. Though, we hope they get some use out of them as well!
In no particular order of importance, here we go:
Amazon's Fire TV Stick fits the price perfectly. It allows the user to stream from their favorite services — Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, HBO, YouTube. If you don't need 4K, you can nab the HD version for slightly less money, too. 4K version | HD version
Fast charging for iPhone users: If your gift recipient has an iPhone 8 and above, their device supports fast charging, but it never came with a fast charger from the box! And they likely haven't spent the extra $50 to get that nifty feature. Well, give them the gift of charging up to 50% in just 30 minutes this christmas! They will need this fast charger and this USB Type-C Lightning cable. Note: if your gift recipient has an iPhone 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max, they did get a fast charger in the box, so this gift would be nice, but mostly redundant.
Tile stickers: never lose your things. Attach a Tile to your precious belongings and you will be able to track them via Bluetooth. Can be "rung". Pill shaped | Card shaped
Belkin outlet mount with smartphone cradle: triple outlet with two extra USB outs and an embedded phone holder. Shop here
Echo Dot with TP Link Kasa plug: turns any "dumb" home appliance into a "smart" one with voice control. Available in 4 different colors
Wireless charging pad or stand: there are plenty of those to go around. Check out these two fast-charging stations from Samsung (shop here) and Belkin (shop here). Note that both are available in "pad" and "stand" form. And, there's the triple-charge mat for iPhone lovers (iPhone + AirPods + Watch) – shop here.
Or, to mix form and function, you can go fancy with a bedside lamp that doubles as a wireless charger. Multicolor lamp-pad | Tall and stylish | Cool desk lamp
A charging station for the whole family — keep all the phones and tablets in one tight spot with a 6-dock charger.
A hefty powerbank — a mobile user can never have too many of those. iPhone users will enjoy the convenience of the Belkin Boost (shop here), which charges with the same Lightning cable as their phone, eliminating the need to carry extra cables. The Duracell powerbank (shop here) looks impressive and instantly recognizable.
A Bluetooth speaker is always nice to have — even if you already own one. The extra one can always go in a different room, stay always in the backpack, or just be a backup in case the main one's out of battery. This one sounds amazing, especially for the price: Anker Soundcore 2
Since we are talking about music — Bluetooth headphones have been very popular over the past couple of years. Here are a couple of suggestions: In-ear Aukey | Over-ear Anker | Over-ear Skullcandy
Camera lens kit — these are always fun to play around with. The kit contains 4 different clip-on lenses that bring a different effect to the phone's camera. This one also comes with a tripod! Mactrem lens kit
Selfie sticks and tripods are still a handy tool to have. If you happen to have an aspiring "influencer" around, you can even get them a stand with a ring light so they look prettier in their videos. Selfie stick + tripod 2 in 1 | Tripod with ring light
A fitness band. While you can't really get an Apple Watch or a Galaxy Gear for as low as $50, there are some pretty good fitness bands in that range. For example, check out the Xiaomi Mi Band 4
Got more gift ideas? Drop them in the comments below for your fellow readers!
Things that are NOT allowed: