Sometimes, picking the best gift can be pretty hard, but if you’re looking for something tech-related, believe it or not, it’s way easier. If you know where to look, that is! However, things change a bit when you’re on a budget and don’t want to spend more than $100.
We’re not saying that you can’t get anything nice, though. On the contrary, there are a lot of excellent tech gift ideas under $100.
Also see: 14 awesome gifts for photographers
In fact, we made a short list with ten of the best choices you can make this Christmas! Let’s begin, shall we?
1. Tile Mate
First in our top comes the best Bluetooth tracker ever made! Tile Mate can be easily attached to keychain or anything else that you don’t want to lose, enabling you to use your smartphone to make it ring, in order to find your possessions.
Also, it’s great if you can’t find your phone as well, since everything you need to do is to double-press the button on the Tile Mate to make the phone ring! Basically, with this little thing, you’re enrolling in the world’s biggest lost and found network. How cool is that?
2. Toshiba Canvio Connect II
Hey, everybody likes a bit of extra space, that’s why we decided to include this Toshiba portable HDD in our ‘best tech gift ideas under $100’ top. It has a capacity of 2 TB and it’s able to backup and restore just files and folders or perform a full system backup for disk recovery.
Also, what we really like about it is that you can access and share content from any device anywhere, via the Internet, thanks to the special PogoPlug software. This pocket-sized drive is available in multiple colors, by the way, for an excellent price.
3. UE Roll 2 Volcano Wireless Speaker
Portable Bluetooth speakers sold like crazy this year and you can’t go wrong with one this Christmas.
For example, you can get this model from Ultimate Ears, featuring a rechargeable Li-Ion battery, able to last for up to 9 hours.
It can also pair with up to 8 Bluetooth-enabled devices and it’s IPX7 rated, meaning that you can use it in in 1m deep water, for up to 30 minutes. It’s also available in a few great looking color combinations!
4. Omron Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor
…because you never know when you need one!
Coming from one of the top brands, recommended by doctors and pharmacists all over the world, this blood pressure monitor is more advanced than you can think.
The Heart Zone Guidance helps ensure consistently accurate readings by activating the monitor when your wrist is at heart level. Also, the Irregular Heartbeat Detector alerts you of irregular heartbeats while your blood pressure is being taken.
5. Amazon Echo Dot 2nd Gen
The perfect gift under $100 for anybody that’s into this whole Smart Home idea. The all new Echo Dot is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that uses Amazon’s Alexa to play music, control devices, provide the information you ask, read the news and much more.
It can connect to speakers or headphones, using a 3.5mm cable, if you want to listen to it in style, while the 7 far-field microphones inside can hear you from across the room, even in noisy environments. Definitely one of the greatest gifts you can think of!
6. Holy Stone Drone with HD Camera
Believe us, if you decide to make a gift like this for Christmas, it doesn’t really matter who you’re getting it for…he or she will definitely be grateful!
Holy Stone’s model comes with an HD camera, able to shoot HD videos at 30 fps and a great headless mode, making flight easier and improving the control.
It’s very easy and fun to fly and you don’t really need to worry about it flying away, as you can always call it back with a press of a button.
7. Samsung Gear VR
Besides Bluetooth speakers, virtual reality is also one of this year’s biggest trends! If you have a friend who owns a Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 edge, Note 5, S6 edge+, S6 or S6 edge, you can opt for the manufacturer’s Gear VR headset.
Developed with Oculus, it’s one of the best options of the moment, featuring a wide field of view, precise head-tracking a low-latency mode, so virtual reality can be enjoyed in great conditions!
8. SanDisk iXpand 128GB Flash Drive
Let’s think a bit about iPhone and iPad users, shall we? It’s a bit frustrating to run out of space on your device, but with this really cool flash drive from SanDisk, with a Lightning connector, this can be an issue of the past.
You can easily backup all your photos, movies or contacts, as well as enjoy some of your favorite movies, directly from this little thing. Thanks to the flexible connector, it fits through most iPhone cases and it works great with the iXpand Drive app.
Related: 10 best iPhone 7 accessories
9. Philips Wake-Up Light
If you know somebody who has a hard time waking up in the morning, this is one of the best tech gift ideas under $100 you can consider!
Simulating the sunrise, it wakes you up gradually, using natural sounds or the FM radio. It includes a tap-to-snooze function and it can also be used as a bedside light, thanks to the ten different settings.
10. Sphero Ollie Robot
Finally, we have a funny little toy for you, going by the name of Ollie!
It’s basically a smartphone-controlled robot, compatible with both iOS and Android, and able to travel with a speed of up to 14 mph.
It doesn’t do anything special, but it can provide insane amounts of fun!
You might as well buy two of them and start racing around the house!
Our Pick
Ok, fellas, so there you have it, ten of the best tech gift ideas under $100, in our opinion. As usual, we had to decide upon one and this time it wasn’t hard at all, since the Amazon Echo Dot 2nd Gen is just too awesome to ignore it!
For just $50, you can get your own personal assistant, blending in with ease in your room. I mean, come on, this thing can answer questions for you, play music and order stuff from Amazon! What more could you ask for?
On the other side, we’re convinced that you have your favorites too. Well, don’t keep them just for yourself and let us know about them, using the comments section below!