Gift Guide

Ben’s 9to5Google Gift Guide: Android accessories and Smart Home products for everyone

Ben Schoon | Dec 12 2018 - 8:53 am PT

As the end of the year quickly approaches, you’re probably looking for gifts for friends and loved ones. Over the years, I’ve had the tremendous pleasure of using dozens of great tech products, and I’ve rounded up some of my recommendations for Android accessories and smart home products in this gift guide.

In case you’ve missed some of our previous gift guides, we’ve already rounded up some of the best smartphones, best smartwatches, best affordable phones, Chromebooks, and much more. In this guide, though, I want to talk about two things mainly – accessories, and smart home products.

ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR NEW SMARTPHONE

– Fossil Sport

For a while, it wasn’t particularly easy to settle on a solid smartwatch for Android. Now, though, things are getting way better, and the Fossil Sport is leading the charge. Packing Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset into a compact, lightweight body, the Sport is a winner in my book.

Battery life is solid, the design is great, and at $255, it’s far from overpriced. Running on Google’s Wear OS, it’s open to a huge ecosystem of apps and watchfaces too. For the holidays, Fossil is also offering 2-day shipping on any $125+ order. Unfortunately, heavy demand has the product out of stock at the moment. If you can get your hand on it, though, it’s worth every penny.

Fossil Sport at Fossil Shop

– Mobvoi Ticwatch C2

Mobvoi has been producing some of the most surprisingly great Wear OS watches for the past couple of years, and the Ticwatch C2 is another winner. This slim watch may run on an older chipset, but it has above average battery life, a gorgeous design, and solid performance too.

It may lack some features such as a “watch-only” mode, wireless charging, or a rotating button for navigation, but it’s still a great device across the board. Better yet, it’s also very affordable at $199. It’s available exclusively on Mobvoi’s site at the moment and should ship before the holidays.

Ticwatch C2 at Mobvoi Store

– Moment Cases & Lenses

Smartphone photography is getting just insanely great. Pick up basically any flagship phone nowadays and you’ll find a shooter that’s entirely capable. However, it’s still not as flexible as a proper camera most of the time. While nothing is going to make your Galaxy as good as a DSLR, one thing that can help is an additional lens.

Moment lenses have been some of my favorite Android accessories for a while now, and this year they support more devices than ever with more lenses than ever. For obvious reasons, I like using Moment lenses most with my Pixel 3 XL. However, they also support the Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 9, OnePlus 6, and iPhones if you swing that way.

If there’s someone in your life who’s a photographer on the go, I think Moment lenses are sort of an ideal gift. The case itself is $29.99 for all devices, and lenses start at about $90. Personally, the kit I’d recommend going with is a case and the new Tele 58mm lens. It produces some killer shots. For those who love video, the anamorphic lens is also pretty crazy.

Unfortunately, due to heavy demand, it’s going to be tough to get either of those before the holidays. If you really want one by Christmas, some are available on Amazon with a slight upcharge, but 2-day shipping.

– OnePlus USB-C Bullets Earbuds

As the headphone jack continues to die off, wired headphones don’t necessarily have to. USB-C is a pretty solid alternative, and OnePlus’ USB-C Bullets earbuds are pretty excellent. They have solid sound quality, a nice build, and a Cirrus Logic DAC built-in. At $19.99, they’re some of the best USB-C headphones out today and they make a great gift for anyone with an Android phone, or USB-C equipped laptop.

OnePlus USB-C Bullets Earbuds at OnePlus Store

– Sony 1000XM3

If you’re doing a fair bit of traveling this season, noise-canceling headphones are a must. Whether they’re a gift to yourself or to a loved one, Sony’s 1000XM3’s are some of the best on the market. They’re crazy comfortable, offer Google Assistant integration, and USB-C for charging. You can connect over Bluetooth for stellar sound quality too. They’re not cheap at $349, but if you ask me, they’re worth every penny.

Other Gift Guides

SMART HOME PRODUCTS

– Google Home Hub

As for smart home products, you’ll want a central hub to control everything, and there’s no better product for that than the Google Home Hub. It’s 7-inch screen fits well in almost any area of the home, isn’t intrusive with no camera on board, and has a built-in software hub for all of your connected smart home devices. At $149, it’s an absolutely killer deal too which you can buy from retail stores too if you’re running late for a gift.

Buy Google Home Hub:

– Google Home Mini

If the Home Hub is a bit too rich for your blood, the Google Home Mini is another excellent option. It’s priced at $49 normally, but you’ll often find it for under $30 around the holidays. It comes in four colors, Charcoal, Chalk, and Coral being pictured below. With a quick “Hey Google” voice command, you can control any connected devices in your home. Honestly, it’s a no-brainer for most people for music alone.

Buy Google Home Mini:

– Nest Cam

Security is a concern at all times of the year, but towards the holidays it can be especially important – haven’t you seen Home Alone?

Nest offers an excellent solution for that, and the company’s various cameras are excellent. Personally, I’ve been using a Nest Cam IQ in my apartment for over a year and it’s provided huge peace of mind when I have to leave.

Granted, at $299 that’s an expensive camera, but Nest’s other cameras offer similarly excellent hardware for less money. The standard Nest Cam costs $199 and outdoor cameras are also available.

Buy Nest Cam:

Buy Nest Cam IQ:

Buy Nest Cam Outdoor:

– Philips Hue Lighting

The core of any smart home, if you ask me, is smart lighting. For me, I’ve found no better, more reliable option than Philips Hue. From bulbs to lightstrips and more, you just can’t go wrong with Hue. A starter kit with color bulbs can cost as little as $129, and a kit with simple white bulbs can run $69. With that starter kit, you can expand at any time too.

Buy Philips Hue Color Starter Kit