What do you get someone who has everything? They're always the hardest to buy for at Christmas - and often not the cheapest.
So if you're looking to get a top gift for a tech lover in your life this festive season - and have don't mind paying premium prices - then we have the perfect Christmas gift guide for you.
Here, we've collected the cream of the tech crop. These are some of the best tech gifts on the market, the crème de la crème across headphones, TVs, laptops and more.
We are under no illusion that some of these gifts aren't within everyone's price bracket. But maybe you prefer to just have a look at some very expensive tech while sighing and saying "oh, how the other half lives" - we're totally fine with that.
So, without further ado, here's TechRadar's Christmas gift guide for those who have everything - AKA, let's have a look at some fancy tech.
Sennheiser is best known for its range of headphones and professional microphones, but it recently extended its ambitions to home audio as well, with the introduction of its Ambeo Soundbar.
The bulky soundbar is packed with the latest audio technologies, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for surround sound audio, as well as Sennheiser's own Ambeo 'virtual 3D' sound system. Sennheiser clearly has its sights set on the home cinema market with the Ambeo, although the bar's Wi-Fi connectivity means that it can double up as a pretty impressive music system as well.
It’s not perfect – Sennheiser’s reliance on Google Home to provide Wi-Fi streaming seems like an odd choice – but the sheer sound quality of the Ambeo Soundbar ensures that it justifies its wallet-breaking price tag and makes it a great Christmas gift for the audiophile in your life.
Read the full review: Sennheiser Ambeo 3D Soundbar review
The Focal Stellias sound absolutely fantastic. Their wide-open soundstage and detailed, accurate sound treatment means they make any genre of music sound brilliant.
If you listen to songs you think you know inside out, the Stellias' precise separation of the frequencies means that you will probably hear details you’ve never noticed before.
Priced at $3,000, the Focal Stellias are prohibitively expensive for most people but one of the most premium headphone options on the market.
Read the full review: Focal Stellia review
This is the world's first true 8K TV, and while it's easy to be critical about the Samsung Q900R, it truly does usher in a new era of TV picture quality.
The native 8K pictures are incredible, looking just like the real world – only better. But even more crucially given the dearth of true 8K content for the foreseeable future, the 85Q900R makes all today’s lower resolution sources look better than they do anywhere else, too.
Whether 8K delivers the same impact on smaller screens remains to be seen, but if you have a big enough room and budget, the Q900R is a vision of the future that’s spectacularly worth buying. In the UK you can find 65, 75, and 85-inch models, ranging from £4,999 to £14,999 – not quite for any budget, but with a few options for those weighing up the cost.
Read our full review: Samsung Q900R 8K QLED TV
The Q2 is a thing of beauty, and right now it's arguably the best compact camera around. It's not for everyone but if you are genuinely looking for the best compact - and don't mind spending a little more - you'll be hard pushed to find a finer one than the Q2.
Leica hasn't compromised on the spec sheet, with the 47.3MP sensor producing masses of detail and keeping noise impressive low, while the 3.68 million dot electronic viewfinder is bright and sharp.
Also bright and sharp is that 28mm f/1.7 lens, while 4K videos show plenty of detail. It's not the easiest to handle (although you can get an optional grip) and some may have preferred a tilting screen, but its build quality is near-faultless.
While we are sad that Apple has retired the 15-inch MacBook Pro, we’re more than happy to see the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) hit the shelves. As thin, light and sleek as ever, this doesn’t feel like a 16-inch behemoth.
If you’re worried that this was going to be bulky and awkward to use, don’t be. Yet, despite its svelte frame, you’re still getting that extra real estate on that stunning display, as well as the latest and greatest components behind it.
Apple then rounds those out with amazing (and loud) speakers and a much, much better keyboard. This is truly the best MacBook for content creators, designers and other creative professionals.
Read the full review: MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
Here’s the thing about the Sonos Move – it’s so good, you might want to consider it not only as your on-the-go party station, but also as your main in-the-home speaker too.
With two quality drivers, a solid app that unlocks playback from hundreds of wireless sources, multi-room capabilities and smart audio-tuning tech which tweaks the output based on the speaker's immediate surroundings, the Sonos Move is engineered well beyond your average Bluetooth speaker. It's a versatile speaker, one that stands solidly alongside the built-for-home Sonos speakers that the company made its name on.
A few things to bear in mind – it’s heavy as a byproduct of its incredible sound, it’s expensive due to its rich feature set, and it sadly can’t be used as rear channels for a home cinema set-up. But if you’ve got the money, it’s hard to fault the Sonos Move when it comes to hunting down the very best Bluetooth speaker in the world.
Read the full review: Sonos Move review
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the most formidable graphics card short of getting a professional graphics solution.
If you need the best graphics card, and you don’t want to settle, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti may be one of the best graphics cards for you. This is the most formidable graphics card you can buy without jumping for a professional graphics solution.
And, now that games like Battlefield V, Metro Exodus and Shadow of the Tomb Raider actually implement the RTX features, there’s never been a better time to jump on the ray tracing bandwagon. Just prepare yourself for that sky-high price.
Read the full review: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
Looking for the best of the best when it comes to phones? Then look no further. The smartphone lover in your life will be delighted (and probably mildly surprised) if you pick them up a Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.
The Galaxy S10 5G is a smartphone for early adopters who don’t mind paying for the privilege. Its huge display is great for videos and gaming, it’s a sleek phone despite its size, and Samsung’s UI is smooth.
Just how good it is will come down to where you are, but if you want to futureproof your smartphone, you won’t find a 5G phone with more bells or whistles than the S10 5G.
Read the full Samsung Galaxy S10 5G review.
This is the best smartwatch you can get if you own an iPhone. It works seamlessly with Apple's phones, and it's well worth considering if you plan to stick with the iPhone range for at least a few years.
There aren't many huge upgrades over the Apple Watch 4, but the main change is it comes with an always-on display for the first time. That means you won't have to raise the watch to see your key stats, and instead it'll display most of the information you need on a dimmed screen.
The design is similar to the Apple Watch 4 - a look that we loved - so you'll get a larger display than earlier iterations of the device, and it comes in either 40mm or 44mm sizes.
All of the fitness features you'd expect come on this watch, and that includes a variety of top-end features such as the ECG monitor, GPS tracking, impressive heart rate monitoring and more.
If you're looking for the very best Apple Watch, this is it...
Read the full Apple Watch 5 review
The Garmin Fenix 6 is perhaps the ultimate multi-sport smartwatch, and certainly the ultimate one offered by Garmin. Or, well, the Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar is anyway, but the entire Fenix 6 range is truly top-end as wearables go.
The Garmin Fenix 6 will track almost any outdoor activity you could possibly want, with GPS along with a heart rate monitor that even works underwater.
GPS locks on fast and works reliably in our experience, battery life is impressive, and the watch feels robust – if bulky.
This is a great gift for serious athletes and adventurers, particularly those who don’t stick to just one sport.
Read our full Garmin Fenix 6 review
Continue reading...
So if you're looking to get a top gift for a tech lover in your life this festive season - and have don't mind paying premium prices - then we have the perfect Christmas gift guide for you.
Here, we've collected the cream of the tech crop. These are some of the best tech gifts on the market, the crème de la crème across headphones, TVs, laptops and more.
We are under no illusion that some of these gifts aren't within everyone's price bracket. But maybe you prefer to just have a look at some very expensive tech while sighing and saying "oh, how the other half lives" - we're totally fine with that.
So, without further ado, here's TechRadar's Christmas gift guide for those who have everything - AKA, let's have a look at some fancy tech.
Sennheiser is best known for its range of headphones and professional microphones, but it recently extended its ambitions to home audio as well, with the introduction of its Ambeo Soundbar.
The bulky soundbar is packed with the latest audio technologies, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for surround sound audio, as well as Sennheiser's own Ambeo 'virtual 3D' sound system. Sennheiser clearly has its sights set on the home cinema market with the Ambeo, although the bar's Wi-Fi connectivity means that it can double up as a pretty impressive music system as well.
It’s not perfect – Sennheiser’s reliance on Google Home to provide Wi-Fi streaming seems like an odd choice – but the sheer sound quality of the Ambeo Soundbar ensures that it justifies its wallet-breaking price tag and makes it a great Christmas gift for the audiophile in your life.
Read the full review: Sennheiser Ambeo 3D Soundbar review
The Focal Stellias sound absolutely fantastic. Their wide-open soundstage and detailed, accurate sound treatment means they make any genre of music sound brilliant.
If you listen to songs you think you know inside out, the Stellias' precise separation of the frequencies means that you will probably hear details you’ve never noticed before.
Priced at $3,000, the Focal Stellias are prohibitively expensive for most people but one of the most premium headphone options on the market.
Read the full review: Focal Stellia review
This is the world's first true 8K TV, and while it's easy to be critical about the Samsung Q900R, it truly does usher in a new era of TV picture quality.
The native 8K pictures are incredible, looking just like the real world – only better. But even more crucially given the dearth of true 8K content for the foreseeable future, the 85Q900R makes all today’s lower resolution sources look better than they do anywhere else, too.
Whether 8K delivers the same impact on smaller screens remains to be seen, but if you have a big enough room and budget, the Q900R is a vision of the future that’s spectacularly worth buying. In the UK you can find 65, 75, and 85-inch models, ranging from £4,999 to £14,999 – not quite for any budget, but with a few options for those weighing up the cost.
Read our full review: Samsung Q900R 8K QLED TV
The Q2 is a thing of beauty, and right now it's arguably the best compact camera around. It's not for everyone but if you are genuinely looking for the best compact - and don't mind spending a little more - you'll be hard pushed to find a finer one than the Q2.
Leica hasn't compromised on the spec sheet, with the 47.3MP sensor producing masses of detail and keeping noise impressive low, while the 3.68 million dot electronic viewfinder is bright and sharp.
Also bright and sharp is that 28mm f/1.7 lens, while 4K videos show plenty of detail. It's not the easiest to handle (although you can get an optional grip) and some may have preferred a tilting screen, but its build quality is near-faultless.
While we are sad that Apple has retired the 15-inch MacBook Pro, we’re more than happy to see the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) hit the shelves. As thin, light and sleek as ever, this doesn’t feel like a 16-inch behemoth.
If you’re worried that this was going to be bulky and awkward to use, don’t be. Yet, despite its svelte frame, you’re still getting that extra real estate on that stunning display, as well as the latest and greatest components behind it.
Apple then rounds those out with amazing (and loud) speakers and a much, much better keyboard. This is truly the best MacBook for content creators, designers and other creative professionals.
Read the full review: MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
Here’s the thing about the Sonos Move – it’s so good, you might want to consider it not only as your on-the-go party station, but also as your main in-the-home speaker too.
With two quality drivers, a solid app that unlocks playback from hundreds of wireless sources, multi-room capabilities and smart audio-tuning tech which tweaks the output based on the speaker's immediate surroundings, the Sonos Move is engineered well beyond your average Bluetooth speaker. It's a versatile speaker, one that stands solidly alongside the built-for-home Sonos speakers that the company made its name on.
A few things to bear in mind – it’s heavy as a byproduct of its incredible sound, it’s expensive due to its rich feature set, and it sadly can’t be used as rear channels for a home cinema set-up. But if you’ve got the money, it’s hard to fault the Sonos Move when it comes to hunting down the very best Bluetooth speaker in the world.
Read the full review: Sonos Move review
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the most formidable graphics card short of getting a professional graphics solution.
If you need the best graphics card, and you don’t want to settle, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti may be one of the best graphics cards for you. This is the most formidable graphics card you can buy without jumping for a professional graphics solution.
And, now that games like Battlefield V, Metro Exodus and Shadow of the Tomb Raider actually implement the RTX features, there’s never been a better time to jump on the ray tracing bandwagon. Just prepare yourself for that sky-high price.
Read the full review: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
Looking for the best of the best when it comes to phones? Then look no further. The smartphone lover in your life will be delighted (and probably mildly surprised) if you pick them up a Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.
The Galaxy S10 5G is a smartphone for early adopters who don’t mind paying for the privilege. Its huge display is great for videos and gaming, it’s a sleek phone despite its size, and Samsung’s UI is smooth.
Just how good it is will come down to where you are, but if you want to futureproof your smartphone, you won’t find a 5G phone with more bells or whistles than the S10 5G.
Read the full Samsung Galaxy S10 5G review.
This is the best smartwatch you can get if you own an iPhone. It works seamlessly with Apple's phones, and it's well worth considering if you plan to stick with the iPhone range for at least a few years.
There aren't many huge upgrades over the Apple Watch 4, but the main change is it comes with an always-on display for the first time. That means you won't have to raise the watch to see your key stats, and instead it'll display most of the information you need on a dimmed screen.
The design is similar to the Apple Watch 4 - a look that we loved - so you'll get a larger display than earlier iterations of the device, and it comes in either 40mm or 44mm sizes.
All of the fitness features you'd expect come on this watch, and that includes a variety of top-end features such as the ECG monitor, GPS tracking, impressive heart rate monitoring and more.
If you're looking for the very best Apple Watch, this is it...
Read the full Apple Watch 5 review
The Garmin Fenix 6 is perhaps the ultimate multi-sport smartwatch, and certainly the ultimate one offered by Garmin. Or, well, the Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar is anyway, but the entire Fenix 6 range is truly top-end as wearables go.
The Garmin Fenix 6 will track almost any outdoor activity you could possibly want, with GPS along with a heart rate monitor that even works underwater.
GPS locks on fast and works reliably in our experience, battery life is impressive, and the watch feels robust – if bulky.
This is a great gift for serious athletes and adventurers, particularly those who don’t stick to just one sport.
Read our full Garmin Fenix 6 review
Continue reading...