With 2019 almost coming to an end, we still got a some reviews left to tackle but there’s one big feature to discuss. More specifically, we’re talking about but our holiday gift guide for the year. Many of our selections might be familiar because the products are still that good and then we have several new ones entering the mix. We got many picks catering towards the creatives, consumers, gamers, and everyone in-between. Beyond gift-giving for a loved one as well as white elephant or a secret santa.
The folks over at Nomad Goods specialize in crafting various accessories for your smartphones, Apple Watch, & more utilizing treated Horween Leather. You can get everything from Kevlar charging cables, phone cases, leather/metal bands, charging solutions, and more. Any one of their products are well made and you truly can’t go wrong.
Fro all of you who already grabbed a new smartphone or plan on picking one up for the holidays, you gonna need to case up. Our favorite casemaker that we would suggest to you is Tech21. They can cover all of your tech w/ choices of slimmer, thicker, wallet cases and more. You got coverage up to a 12ft drop, antimicrobial to protect against germs, and options to use different color buttons on select cases.
The mouse is an important accessory for most users & power users. And while there are several companies that make them, Logitech makes the best in our opinion. And the best mouse you can buy is the MX Master 3. This gives you the most ergonomic way to access many features of your computer or apps w/ customizable buttons + scroll wheels to be all accessed comfortably.
Now there are several different companies out there that make battery packs and probably for less $$. But the newest one from Anker is the one to have to power – pretty much everything. Its heavy 1.6lbs power brick that offers a massive 45W 26,800 mAh battery w/ 60W wall charger that can fast power phones, tablets, & laptops – yes laptops. This is the last one you would need.
Despite Sony dropping maybe one too many mirrorless cameras for 2019, this does give you a lot of affordable options. One of them was the a6400 mirrorless camera which offers more of what you need to create content. You can shoot 4K video @60fps, 1080p @120fps slow motion, real-time eye-tracking auto-focus, and finally a flip up LCD display for vlogging/monitoring. Sony makes it hard to not pick up one of their mirrorless cameras – namely this one.
Canon finally came back from a bit of a slump of the same old, same old this year w/ their new full-frame mirrorless cameras: the EOS R line. Small body, 30.3MP sensor w/ fast auto-focus, in-body stabilization + ND filter, a long-lasting battery, 4K video, and Canon’s amazing color science. The only thing missing is the lack of 4K video @60fps on this guy. This is definitely offers the least amount of compromises on a full-frame mirrorless shooter.
The most recent installment of Call Of Duty brings back to Modern Warfare. We got Activision handling the reigns this time around. You got CIA teaming up w/ the SAS to combat terrorists in the campaign side of things, a Special Ops co-op feature and no Zombies mode for the 1st time since the feature debuted a few years back.
Back in our guide for now the 3rd time in a row, the Nintendo Switch. Now there’s an updated model w/ slightly better battery life and improved performance. There’s even a Switch Lite for $100 less but it lacks the versatility you get from the Switch. That and the games keep dropping so there is no shortage of titles to play.
For those of you who game stream, take gaming seriously, or aspire to be an e-sports gamer, you need the best stick to play on. This is the series 2 and gets even better than before. You got interchangeable sticks w/ adjustable tension + rear paddles, short hair trigger locks, rubber grip, USB-C charging + Bluetooth support, 3 controller profiles + 1 default, giving you 30 ways to play – all w/ a 40-hour battery life.
We can all agree that one of the problems of recent console gaming is running out of storage. The good thing is you can add additional storage. The folks over Western Digital got their new WD Black line dedicated to game storage. They got everything from external SSDs to desktop HDs and even NVMe SSDs for PCs as well.
The quintessential idea for tablet is still and now the only real tablet that matters: the iPad. Apple always had the apps available to make it worth while but this year it got even better. Now along w/ the slightly larger display at 10.2inches instead of 9.7inches, you got even more useful features thanks to iPad OS. Now you can do a little more w/ it rather than it being just a large iPhone. The entry-level iPad is always recommended but keep in mind you got the iPad Air and the iPad Pro line to suit your needs. Either one you pick, you can’t go wrong.
While Google’s WearOS still has yet to present a solid option, we point all Android users to Samsung’s line of smartwatches. Namely, the Galaxy Watch Active 2. You got sleep tracking, heart-rate monitor that can detect low or high heart rate, workout tracker/pace coaching, and Samsung Pay. Its the closest thing to an Apple Watch for Android.
After now 5 iterations, Apple remains the prime example of what a smartwatch should do beyond notifications on your wrist. In series 5 of the Apple Watch, they added an option for always-on display on top of their ECG for heart rate, a fall detection in case you pass out, Apple Music, Workout support, & more. All at the same price point.
This was the year when everyone actually dropped good earbuds. One of our favorites are the BackBeat Pro 5100 earbuds from Plantronics. You got an IPX4 body, a 6.5-hour battery life, great for phone calls, and can be used independently. You just gotta deal w/ a microUSB port though.
I think Jabra put together the perfect balance of features, battery, and sound on a pair of headphones. The Elite 85Hs offer Smart ANC, on-ear detection w/ smart sensors, amazing sound quality, and a long-lasting 36-hours of juice. All while being comfortable to wear all-day.
For 2019, Bose went back tot he lab to give their new headphones a new design, look, and features to go along w/ the new NCH 700s. Their newest cans offers a refreshing new look, even better best-in-class noise canceling, better for phone calls, and USB-C fast-charging.
It’s gonna be hard not recommend any version of the iPhone 11 over anything else this year. You got amazing battery life on an iPhone for once, best-in-class 4K video, versatility w/ multiple camera angles, and the best apps on a phone. The latest from Apple offers more value than ever and undercuts the competition.
Google’s flagship smartphone has a lot more to offer this year than ever before. Despite polarizing reviews, you got superior photos in any occasion, an actual telephoto lens you can use, Motion Sense gestures, 90Hz display, and a faster Google Assistant. We would suggest the 4XL due to battery though.
Samsung’s high-end flagship is their Note series in the 10th iteration of it. You got 2 sizes this year for some reason but still has its bezel display, a more powerful + Bluetooth-powered S Pen,up to 12GB of RAM, massive battery, and triple cameras on the rear. If you can afford it, the 10+ is better option.
Google’s Pixelbook Go is their new laptop – not a tablet, not a 2-in-1 one but laptop. You get a 13.3inch touchscreen display, Intel chips from an M3 to a Core i7, up to 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and a 12-hour battery life. Powerful and lightweight to live up to its name to take it on the go. The latest flagship Chromebook from Google is now more appropriately-priced to be considered for you to pick one up.
Apple’s premium laptop is even powerful and arrives in 2 sizes of 13inch and now 16inch sizes. You can grab the 13inch model and go mid-tier and still be powerful enough to handle big tasks like editing 4K video on the go, photo editing, and much more. All while still being small enough to carry in most bags w/o being massively heavy either. But for those of you who have the $$$, you can get a base model 16inch model and be golden.
Being one of the more quieter updates from the Made By Google Pixel 4 event, the updated Nest Mini or the Home Mini 2nd-gen. You got new drivers to give you louder sound, double the bass, a 3rd far-field mic, faster Google Assistant, and a built-in wall mount. Although more or less identical at 1st glance, you got a lot more to offer at the same price point.
The folks over at Ikea teamed up w/ Sonos to create the Symfonisk line of audio products. We think this lamp speaker will suit the needs of many if not all. This is a lamp w/ a Sonos speaker (specifically a Play:1) inside that pumps out amazing sound. Not only that, it works w/ the other Sonos speakers as well as support Apple’s Airplay 2.
Google’s Nest Hub Max is the big brother to the Nest Hub or the Google Home Hub from last year. Google made your all-in-one hub for all of your smart home products in now a larger 10inch display, louder stereo speakers + woofer, and a 6.5inch motion-sensing Nest Cam. All of this while working w/ hundreds of smart home products as well as other Google Home/Nest products.
The latest from Sonos combined their signature high-end sound w/ Bluetooth connectivity for a portable speaker : the Sonos Move. It is battery-powered so you can take your Sonos sound w/ you outside the realms of your home. Complete w/ an IP56 rating to handle the great outdoors and a 10-hour battery life when in Bluetooth mode.
Amazon Prime has been a staple for cord-cutting/streaming for many years now and only gets better. This streaming option serves more than one purpose as it offers content as well as free 1 or 2-day shipping on items, discounts at Whole Foods and more.
Disney is the newest kid on the streaming block w/ their streaming service. They made sure to offer all of your favorites as a kid (no matter what age you are), films from Marvel Studios, Star Wars content, and more. And this is w/o all of the original content coming.
From listening to your favorite song/album to crafting and sharing playlists to your friends and the Internet. Once the leader of streaming music, Spotify is slowly becoming the go-to spot for podcasts as well. Its not one of the most popular music streaming services for nothing.
This one is dedicated for the big kid in you/your loved one or the Batman fanatic that we all know and love. We already got the Tumbler version and now we got the Lego version of the 1989 Batman Batmobile. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the film, Lego dropped this 23inches long Batmobile comprised of 3306 pieces as well as Batman, Joker, & Vicki Vale. You still got grappling hooks as mini machine guns on the vehicle as an added touch.
FYI: There are affiliate links present as we get a cut from your purchase. However our picks weren’t influenced by them.