17 Great Gadget Gifts for the Guys on Your Holiday List

If the man in your life wants to shut out the outside world, get him these Bluetooth earbuds, which, according to our testing, are the absolute best at active noise-cancelling. Additionally, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds offer bright, warm audio, complete with user-adjustable EQ control. These second-gen buds come in black, white, gold, violet, or deep plum color.

The smartest lock we've ever tested, the FamiLock S3 Max is a Matter-enabled deadbolt replacement that features palm recognition (or a touch screen) for opening the door. Plus, it's a video doorbell. On the inside, there’s a video screen that serves as a digital peephole, allowing you to see who’s there. It’s hands-down the Editors’ Choice pick for locks, and something any man looking to secure his abode will want for the holidays.

The SoundSticks of today harken back to the original design by Jony Ive and Apple from 2000 (the iSub subwoofer actually came first, in late 1999). Revamped for their 20th anniversary by current brand owner Harman Kardon, they continue to provide balanced, powerful 2.1-channel sound, and now also offer Bluetooth support.

Whether he has an older Apple Watch that could use replacing or is new to the whole wrist computer thing, an Apple Watch Series 11 will be a welcome gift. It has everything the 10 had—like audio playback capabilities and sleep apnea protection—plus the new features that no man of a certain age should go without, like FDA-approved hypertension notification. Additionally, the watch now supports 5G, is more scratch-resistant, and offers nearly two days of battery life on a single charge.

The powerful 80-watt Soundcore Boom 2 from Anker boasts a modernized boombox look in a small package (less than one foot long). It's fun to listen to and watch: The ends feature cool LED effects that vibrate in sync with the sound. The larger (17.4 inches long) Boom 2 Plus, a PCMag favorite from CES, almost doubles the wattage and adds a second woofer for $120 more. Both of them are not only waterproof, but they’ll also float if they get dropped in the pool. 

Is your favorite fellow concerned with online privacy? (He should be!) Free or paid, Proton VPN is our only five-star VPN. The free plan has plenty to recommend, but it’s limited to one device. The paid version (starting at $9.99 per month) offers the best value among VPNs, supporting up to 10 devices simultaneously. It also enables multi-hop connections to Secure Core servers and provides access to the Tor anonymization network. If your guy's the type to know what those things are, he’ll want them. 

Gardena makes the most affordable robot mower we recommend here at PCMag. It’s a perfect option for a dad or any dude who you feel is spending way too much time powering through his small lawn when he could be kicking back and enjoying the afternoon. And it won’t disturb: This 16-pound mower’s 57 decibel sound is super-quiet. Not bad for a triple-blade grass chopper. 

The Aqara G5 Pro delivers (and stores) sharp 2K (2,688 x 1,520) 133-degree field of view video from weather-proof (IP65) outdoor-mounted cameras. In addition, it supports Matter, Thread, and Zigbee protocols, allowing it to act as a hub that allows full control via Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, and more. It also has AI options—specifically super-smart face and vehicle recognition capabilities—and will work with Aqara’s door locks, lights, and security sensors. 

Deemed “the best AI hardware product I’ve used” by PCMag AI expert Brian Westover, Plaid Note is a credit card-sized voice recorder with post-processing AI. You can use it for straight dictation, as well as to get annotated transcriptions of meetings or conversations. Its dual HD digital microphones can pick up group recordings, as well as record phone calls when placed on the back of a smartphone. Note: Your giftee will need to upload the audio to get it fully processed by Plaud.

Skillshare is an educational service primarily focused on the arts—encompassing everything from cooking to filmmaking. However, it also offers courses for more business-y topics, such as web design and marketing. Courses are sometimes created by Skillshare (Originals), while others are uploaded by third parties, giving things a more YouTube-like vibe. It’s expensive at $167.88 per year, but good learning seldom comes cheap. (Though Khan Academy and MasterClass are less expensive options.) 

Want to give the man in your life hours of edifying reading? Readly delivers magazine subscriptions—to the tablet. Get him a gift card for three months ($38.97), six months ($77.94), or a full year ($155.88) so he can peruse as many as 8,000 magazines a month, over 400 of which are US-based, including Time, Men’s Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Family Handyman, and more.

Nothing makes a man feel as powerful as having pure electricity in the palm of his hands. The Anker Solix is a 25-pound power station measuring 15.1 x 9.6 x 8.2 inches (WHD). It features 10 ports for charging and powering multiple devices indoors or outdoors—or large appliances like a fridge—without the noise of a generator. The output is 2,000W, but can reach as high as 3,000W at peak. It can fast charge from dead to 100% in 49 minutes at an outlet, but also supports solar charging with optional Anker solar panels.

Save him from a tangle of cables with the Rolling Square inCharge XL 6-in-1 Multi Charging Cable. Its sleek design features every combination he could possibly need, and it measures 10 feet, so he won't have to sit right up against an outlet to use his devices while they're charging.

Whether he's already a dedicated bird watcher or just curious about what might fly by outside, the Birdbuddy Smart Bird Feeder will provide hours of entertainment. It captures close-up snapshots and videos of whatever winged friends drop by for a snack and renders them in a vertical format, making them easy to share on social media. Get the pro version and you can buy a solar roof for $69 to constantly power the camera.

The Tile Slim tracker lives up to its name. Its sleek profile allows it to slide easily into wallets or luggage so that he can locate his items if lost. It features a three-year battery life and is compatible with both iOS and Android.

This one's for the man who wants to document everything he does: The HoverAir X1 Pro Max is an 8K-capable camera-equipped drone that follows him pretty much anywhere. It’s small and light (0.42 pounds), launches from the palm of your hand, and folds up to store in a pocket. The camera features a 107-degree field of view and is capable of following him from behind or the side, as well as dolly-tracking from the front. The standard HoverAir X1 is $300 cheaper and still pretty capable.

Made from recycled materials, this 2.2-pound backpack is waterproof right down to the zippers and features a fleece-lined pocket that accommodates a 16-inch laptop. And since Hyper offers many power banks (sold separately), the pack is full of pockets and pass-throughs for cables to power up devices while he's traveling. There’s also a special pocket for placing a tracker, such as an Apple AirTag or Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2. Alternatively, upgrade to the $199.99 HyperPack Pro, which features an integrated Apple Find My module and other advancements.