Stocking stuffers

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Shopping for a tech-enthusiast during this season can be overwhelming - never fear, we have your back.

Handheld gaming

Handheld gaming has taken off, and it doesn't seem like it will be going away anytime soon, thanks to the ever-improving chipsets that can sip power while churning out mind-boggling performance. There are a slew of new ones that will be announced early next year. However, it's Christmas soon, and if you want to buy one, we recommend the ROG Ally X. Technically, it has the same chipset as the previous ROG, namely the Z1 Extreme from AMD, but the newer one comes with almost double the battery life and with all the flaws of the ROG Ally ironed out. If you can't afford it, we still recommend the previous-generation ROG Ally Z1 Extreme, which can be refurbished on Amazon for around R35,000. If that one is out of budget too, think about picking up the Anbernic RG35XX. It is a retro handheld that can emulate any title up to PS1 with no effort. The XX in the model number means it can run on Linux, which gives your geek the option to customise and run various custom operating systems on it. Trust us, they will love that.
Lux: ROG Ally X
Price: Rs 95,000
Super saver: ROG Ally Z1 Extreme
Price: Rs 49,000
Slumming it: Anbernic RG35XX Price: Rs 5,517

Smart watch

For most people looking to buy in this category, Apple watches are the de facto king. However, you will need at least one Apple device to connect to your watch to get the most out of it. If you don't, I would say checkout the Withings Scanwatch 2. It is an analogue watch that hides within it a tiny screen and a bunch of sensors. Letting you discreetly monitor all the health metrics without carrying a bulky screen on your wrist. However, for this luxury, you will have to fork out a tidy sum. For tighter budgets, we recommend looking at Noise Halo 2. It's a nice, chunky metal watch with a full touch screen, halfway decent battery life and features that are way beyond its budget price. For the frugal, the Xiaomi Smart Band 6 is a better bet. The amount of features packed into this watch offers the best price-to-performance ratio.
Lux: Withings Scanwatch 2 PRICE: Rs 34,999
Super saver: Noise Halo 2 PRICE: Rs 4,499
Slumming it: Xiaomi Smart band 6
PRICE: Rs 2,399

Mini PC

Computers have become really affordable, and if you have ever had the desire to jump ship from Windows to MacOS, Apple offers an affordable option with the Mac Mini. While the base model is a great deal considering the overall performance, any sort of spec increase will cost an arm and a leg, and probably half a liver. If you can live with the base specs, we recommend the M4-based Mac Mini and pairing it with an external hard drive, as 256GB is ridiculously low for a home PC. However, if your geek is a Windows or Linux fan, go for the Skullsaints Ryzen Mini PC atR37,999. It packs a whole fifth gen Ryzen 5 in a tiny frame. This isn't the newest AMD chipset but it should work well as a desktop PC or even a Linux-based Steam gaming console running something like Bazzite OS. That said, for those on a shoe-string budget, look at picking up one of the refurbished office computers off of Amazon. Prices range from R8,000 to R15,000. We found a decent 9th-generation Intel PC for just R13,480 - keyboard, mouse and monitor will cost you extra.
Lux: Apple Mac Mini PRICE: Rs 59,900
Supersaver: Skullsaints Ryzen Mini PC
PRICE: Rs 37,999
Slumming it: Refurbished Lenovo Thinkcenter Intel 9th gen
PRICE: Rs 13,480

Android smartphone

Looking for a new phone and money is no object, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra should be on the top of your list. However, these are frankly a bit overpriced. Phones with similar chipsets are available for upwards of R60,000. What you are paying for is brand and polish. For second choice, tave a look at the Honor 200; it packs a pretty decent processor and nice camera setup that will make most people happy. For tighter budgets, we recommend the iQOO Z9 Lite, which delivers performance way beyond its pocket friendly price.
Lux: Samsung Galaxy
S24 Ultra Supersaver: Honor 200
PRICE: Rs 29,999
Slumming it: iQOO Z9
Lite 5G
PRICE: Rs 11,499