Tech Gift Ideas for Someone Who Has Everything

Start with what they already own

Look at what they use every day and ask what is slightly annoying about it. A phone that lives on a tangle of cables suits a 3 in 1 wireless charging stand, like the Belkin BoostCharge Pro. A laptop bag, a decent case or a second set of earbuds for the gym are the same kind of idea. Accessories rarely get bought by the person who owns the main item, so they land as a pleasant surprise rather than a duplicate.

Audio is the safest big upgrade

If they listen to music, podcasts or take a lot of calls, a proper pair of headphones is one of the few tech gifts that nearly always lands. Noise cancelling is the feature people notice most, so look at the Bose QuietComfort range or the Sennheiser Accentum Plus if they already have a basic pair.

For a home listener, a Roberts Revival DAB radio is the opposite of a gadget pile: one object that looks lovely on a shelf and gets used every morning.

Tech for a hobby beats tech for its own sake

A gadget aimed at something they already love will always beat a random one. A Backbone Pro controller turns a phone into a handheld console for a gamer. A Bird Buddy camera feeder suits anyone who watches the garden. An Apple Watch SE suits the person who has been saying they might start running. Pair the gadget with the interest, not the other way round.

For the bigger upgrade, let a few people cover it together

The tech people really want but will not buy themselves is usually the expensive kind: a good pair of headphones, a smartwatch, a new console. That is where a group pot works well, because a few of you can put towards one proper upgrade instead of each buying a smaller thing they will not use. On HintDrop everyone can see what has been claimed, so nobody doubles up.

What to skip

Skip anything that needs a long setup, an account or constant updates unless they have asked for it. Avoid novelty gadgets that look clever on a gift guide and end up in a drawer by February. And do not buy the same category they own, such as another smart speaker, unless you know theirs is old or broken.