Editor's Choice: The Best Tech Gifts for Everyone on Your Holiday Lists

Mode Sonnet Keyboard

Next to your phone, your keyboard is likely the piece of tech you touch the most every day. Why shouldn’t it be as nice as you can make it? Enter the world of custom keyboards. Now, this isn’t quite a one-stop shop, as you’ll have to configure and build it. You can choose colors for the case, the accent piece, and then to finish out your aesthetic: the keycaps.

Mode actually sells all the parts you need (no soldering required if you buy the hot-swap PCB) to make a keyboard that maybe no one else in the world has.

My goal was to make a new keyboard that looks right out of the 1970s. So, for my keyboard, I went with a beige top, a wood accent, and keycaps that have big legends on them. Those keycaps come from elsewhere, but Mode’s keycaps are not only an excellent set for the price, but they are also excellent, period.
–Bob Schulties, Senior Editor

STM Dux Backpack 16L

I recently went on two trips, one to Las Vegas and one to New York. The Dux backpack was essential travel gear for both. It has a ton of volume, so you can pack in as many tech accessories as possible. 

There’s a padded, soft zipper pocket on the back for a laptop and tablet that can also fit books and file folders in with ease. The main compartment opens from either side, and those flaps have pockets on them as well—I dropped my Kindle into one and a water bottle into the other. 

The inner compartment has two little shelves that attach via hook and loop tech, so you can portion out different areas within. I put the included wire organizer into the bottom compartment, headphones and a light hoodie in the middle one, and my Ziploc bag full of medication in the top area. There’s even a little compartment on top of all that has another padded zipper compartment. I dropped keys and glasses, and an AirTag clipped on the keyring holder in there. 

Honestly, this is the most lush backpack I’ve ever used, and if you need to get from point A to point B or C with a ton of gadgets, consider getting the Dux backpack from STM.
-Rob LeFebvre, Editorial Director, News

Paradigm Pro Heat Regulating Case

I’ll be honest, I expected to dislike this case. It’s not my Apple case. I was wrong! This case is fantastic. The bit about slowing battery depletion? It’s true. Prior to adding this case, I charged my phone daily. Now, I’m back to charging it every other day again. The buttons work great, and the drop protection… Let’s just say I didn’t expect it to be so good. I dropped my phone recently. My other case would not have protected my phone (it BOUNCED!), but the Paradigm Pro did. Oh! And it’s still MagSafe compatible. Even if you have doubts, try it. I think you’ll be as surprised as I was.
-Jerri Ledford, Senior News Editor

Soundboks 4

If you need a big Bluetooth speaker for your party or event, look no further than Soundboks. The new Soundboks 4 can easily fill a large room or outdoor space with music that sounds crisp, clear, and full of bass. 

I’ve been using this huge speaker at home and at rehearsals to play music through at volume. I even set it outside during trick-or-treating to play a spooky soundtrack for all the kids that came by. The battery slides in and out and is the same unit as on other Soundboks speakers, which can let you swap in a new battery if you want to keep the party going and have it last longer than the advertised 40 hours of battery life. 

The grille comes off easily, making for a fun customizable speaker. Paint it, sticker it, do whatever you want to it, and then put it back on the Soundboks. Boom—instant customization. 

You can connect the Soundboks 4 to other Soundboks speakers in Team Up Mode, too, which lets you play the same music across more than one speaker, which is great for multi-room parties or larger venues. There are also two XLR connections on the back that give you more options like connecting PA systems or power amps and microphones—battery-powered karaoke, anyone?
-Rob LeFebvre, Editorial Director, News

Surface Laptop Go 3

I’ll admit it: I’m a Microsoft Surface fan. I’ve owned variations over the years, and the new Surface Laptop Go 3 is so lightweight (two and a half pounds) and easy to tote that I can’t wait to get my hands on it. 16GB RAM and 256GB storage mean that you can do pretty much anything you need to, plus the fast charging capabilities (15 hours) and a full keyboard offer the flexibility to work and play online from pretty much anywhere (cough, cough, the beach!) Santa has strict orders to stuff my stocking with the Laptop Go 3 this year! 
–S.E. Slack, Senior Strategy & Editorial Director

Anker Soundcore Space One Headphones

I took these bad boys on two long airplane trips this year and found them to be really solid, less expensive over-ear headphones with noise cancellation that work great in airports and on the plane. If you’re looking to get a pair of quality cans for not a lot of scratch, give the Anker Soundcore Space One headphones a try. 

They do all the things you want from a pair of Bluetooth headphones; making and receiving calls sounds great, as do all kinds of music. The active noise cancellation has three modes, too, on/off/transparency, and they have a little voice that announces which mode they're in when you press the button on the earcup to switch between them. The headphones also stop playing when you take them off your head, like many other models do. The killer feature here, though, is how you can touch the left earcup to stop noise canceling and the music playing so you can hear what’s going on around you. This is invaluable when the air stewards come by and ask you what you want to drink, for example.

Not having to remove my headphones to talk to someone in real life is a whole vibe, and honestly makes these headphones my go-to day after day for work and relaxation. And at this price, they’re hard to pass up.
-Molly McLaughlin, Senior Editor

Waterfield iPhone 15 EDC Pocket Organizer

What happens when you have more than just a phone to carry around but don’t need a big bag to sling on your back? You get a little pouch to keep your small stuff together, that’s what happens. As a person who loves all manner of gadget bags, this cute little pouch exceeds even my admittedly high expectations. 

This Waterfield everyday carry pouch holds my iPhone 15 and its charging cable in the main, Ultrasuede-lined compartment, while a little pocket hides an Airtag to keep track of the pouch and its precious cargo, too. The opposite side has a zip pouch that can hold various small things, like a pocket knife, cash, slips of paper, or whatever you like. The whole water-resistant thing carabiner clips to a backpack or belt loop or can slide into a jacket pocket with ease, making for a no-brainer when I head out on errands for the day.
-Rob LeFebvre, Editorial Director, News

DreameBot L20 Ultra

What’s better than a robot that automatically vacuums for you? One that vacuums and mops. This robot vac has been one of the best additions to my home! I have three dogs, and they shed. A lot. Keeping up with the dog hair is a full-time job. And that’s before you get to the mopping that comes along with also having hardwood floors.

The Deamebot L20 Ultra has been my best friend. It tackles the dog hair on my rugs and my hardwoods, including corners and the base of my baseboards. It mops with the same precision without getting the carpets dirty or damp. And it’s much quieter than my previous robot vacuum.

The other thing I really appreciate about this unit is that it tells me what it’s doing. When it starts cleaning, stops to clean the mop pads, or is recharging, I get an announcement, so I never have to wonder where in the cleaning process it is. Any gift that gives a little time back is sure to be much appreciated.
-Jerri Ledford, Senior News Editor

Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra Resin 3D Printer

Are resin printers easy to use? No, they are not. Are resin printers intuitive and problem-free? Again, no. Is resin 3D printing a whole heck of a lot of fun? Yes, yes indeed. If you’re ready to take the leap into the deep end of high-resolution resin printing, you can’t go wrong with the Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra. It prints in 4K resolution (provided you use the 4K resin), and you can print files from USB or over Wi-Fi from your laptop (Mac or PC). I’ve got almost an entire chess set printed, a little jewelry bowl that looks like a tiny hand, and a couple of characters from role-playing games I’m in, all printed and ready to go. 

While the software is a bit fiddly and printing failures are common, the Elegoo takes most of the guesswork out of the process and provides a really well-made hardware setup. I’ve paired the Saturn 3 Ultra with an Elegoo curing and washing station for the best little 3D printing system you can find, especially at this price point.
-Evan Killham, Research Coordinator/Developmental Editor

Yeedi Cube Robot Vacuum

Roomba may have popularized the robot vacuum revolution, but it’s not the only company out there making great cleaning devices. The Yeedi Cube provides solid vacuuming and mopping capabilities along with an easy-to-use self-emptying system that looks great to boot. The white finish on both the charging/emptying station and the vacuum itself matches the rest of my decor, too. 

The mop cleans the entire floor when I set it loose because of the 1000ml water tank and keeps the wet parts out of the way when it switches over to rug vacuuming. It squeezes out the dirty water and cleans the mop head all on its own, too, making my life less of a hassle, for sure. The Cube is quiet, powerful, and fantastic for everyday cleaning to keep my house unexpected-guest-ready at all times. 
–Tim Fisher, General Manager

Razer Blade 18

If you want a beast of a gaming laptop with more refined design cues (taken right from the Apple MacBook Pro line), then you’ll want to give the Razer Blade 18 a good look. The slim, stunning aluminum chassis and black back-lit keyboard make it look right at home in any Apple household, but it runs Windows and all your favorite PC games. 

The laptop I got to try out has an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 in it, which means I got to run all my favorite games like Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3 at high graphics settings without a hit to performance. The Blade 18 can have up to a 4090 in it, as well, so you’re well sorted when it comes to gaming visuals. 

The charger is much smaller than comparably-sized gaming laptops, too, as Razer uses the GaN technology for higher power in a smaller space. This is great because you’ll need to keep this desktop replacement plugged in most of the time; gaming is a battery suck, for sure. 

There are cool little visual touches, too, like Razer’s famous keyboard light designer, letting you make your own or choose from several pre-made keyboard light designs. I have the Fire design enabled so the backlight looks like a little LED fireplace on my keyboard. The entire experience has been fantastic, and you won’t go wrong with this pricey-but-worth-it 18-inch gaming laptop.
-Rob LeFebvre, Editorial Director, News

Logitech G PRO X Lightspeed Gaming Headset

If you've got a gamer on your list, then these high-end headphones from Logitech should be on there, too. They connect to darn near everything I can throw at them, including my PS5, Xbox One, MacBook Air, Windows PC, and iOS and Android phones. The Logitech G PRO X features both Bluetooth and a little dongle that you can plug into any USB-A port and get a low-latency connection for all those twitchy games your giftee plays (or you, we don't judge). The little microphone attaches and detaches with ease, and the folks I chatted with over Discord and PS5 said my voice was super clear.

These cans are super comfy, too, and the soft ear cups allow for my glasses to stay on while gaming without a lot of discomfort. The headband is similarly cushioned, making for a lovely set of gaming headphones to leave on a long time.
-Rob LeFebvre, Editorial Director, News