Gifts for petrolheads – and other people

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We have listed our favourite gadgets in this guide. Here you’ll find gift ideas for him, for her, for them — video gamers, frequent travellers and pretty much everyone else in between. If the past year has taught us anything, we all deserve some spoils, as tiny or insignificant as they may be.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 LTE

There’s no doubt that Samsung’s smartwatches remain some of the best on the market for Android users. With the Galaxy Watch 5, Samsung has crammed a plethora of valuable features into a small package. One standout feature is the health and fitness tracking system to help users stay active. Its auto-detection is among the most accurate in the industry, and it tracks an impressively long list of workouts, including swimming. 

The Watch 5 is also an efficient sleep tracker, and although it doesn’t offer as many mindfulness-related features as Apple and Fitbit, Samsung does have some meditation guides in its Health app. 

It’s also the only smartwatch on this list with a round face, which fans of traditional watches may prefer. (R7 499)

Ideal presents: The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 LTE is crammed full of useful features such as a fitness tracker.

Oppo Reno 8 Pro 5G

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro is clearly a cut above the rest. Although its camera borders on the obscenely huge, it is easily masked and forgotten thanks to its novel and beautiful, minimalist design. Power is definitely not something that the phone lacks, both in raw performance, thanks to its MediaTek Dimensity 8100 5G chipset and 4 500mAh battery life. The 50MP main sensor does excellently, especially with some help from the MariSilicon X NPU. One could always opt for a cheaper mid-range phone or a cleaner Android experience, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a phone that brings all these features together in a single package. (R19 999)

Sony LinkBuds S

With the LinkBuds S, Sony debuted a more “traditional” design akin to its premium WF-1000XM4 of yesteryear. This model is much smaller and lighter, leading to a more comfy fit. These tiny buds muster some punch when it comes to sound quality and support for high-res listening are both on board. Capable ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) lends a hand with environmental noise, and transparency mode can keep you tuned in when needed. Moreover, the handy Speak-to-Chat feature is present, and Adaptive Sound Control can automatically change settings based on activity or location. That’s a lot of premium features at a mid-range price. (R3 699)

TCL C735 QLED 4K TV

This Chinese electronics company has finally arrived in South Africa and is here to revolutionise how you look at televisions. When I say the new 2022 TCL C735 is a dangerously good TV, I mean it as a compliment. You get a Quantum Dot and ONKYO sound system powered by Google TV. 

Elsewhere there’s High Dynamic Range (HDR), 120 Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision and tech that makes this the ultimate gaming machine. (R12 999)

Samsung TCL C735 QLED 4K TV

Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 

Over the years, I’ve found it hard to find fault with Microsoft’s Xbox controllers. This latest iteration comes with heaps of refinements to a design that was already excellent with the Xbox One but 

lacks customisation. That’s something you can get with Microsoft’s Elite Wireless controller. The Series 2 model comes with six thumbsticks, four separate paddles and two D-pads. With all those components included, even the most discerning players should be able to tune the controller to their liking. (R4 500)