48 Smart Holiday Gift Ideas That Everyone Will Connect With: WIRED Wish List 2018 (original) (raw)
From electric wheels to smart home hubs, this year's holiday picks will delight tinkerers, travelers, and lovers of timeless design.
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VanMoof Electrified S2
The Night Sky Postcard Set
Vanmoof banishes bulky batteries by hiding a 504-watt-hour cell inside this ebike’s 42-pound frame. The front-wheel motor has a city-shrinking 93-mile range, can pump out 500 hill-killing watts, and will hit 20 mph. Even if some knucklehead conquers the built-in lock, a GPS tracker will help you (well, the cops) recover your steed.
Joseph Shin; Night Sky card set courtesy of papress.com
The Night Sky
Postcard Set
Perhaps the best gift is a gentle reminder of how tiny we are in the universe. Each postcard in this set of 50 features an image of the cosmos, from ancient star maps to NASA archival photos, like Apollo 16’s shot of the far side of the moon. Pin them up for inspiration, or buy some stamps (remember those?) and mail them to distant stargazers.
How do real campers tame fire? With Bluetooth! Ignite your fuel (charcoal or dead trees) in the FirePit’s mesh body, then dial the flames up or down in the app, which controls 51 teeny air jets in the burn chamber. In addition to stoking the fire, the jets keep the smoke in check. The rechargeable power pack is good for up to 24 hours of computer-controlled burn.
Cameras and watches share mechanical DNA, which Leica is celebrating with its new line of timepieces. Assembled at the company’s Leitz-Park campus, this 41-mm manual watch ticks for 60 hours between windings and features a jet-setter-friendly GMT complication. The brushed steel L2 even sports Leica’s iconic red dot on its crown.
Playtime Engineering
Blipblox
Blipblox might be designed for DJs ages 3 and up, but this is no rinky-dink xylophone. The easy-to-use synthesizer has pro-ready features like MIDI support, multiple modulation filters, and an integrated drum machine. So your tot can mix beats before bedtime, then you can “borrow” it for your own midnight set.
Kano
Harry Potter Coding Kit
Skip the trip to Ollivanders and pick up this coding wand instead. The Kano app for tablets and computers gives Hogwarts hopefuls step-by-step instructions to build JavaScript routines. A wave of the wand casts an enchanting onscreen spell to levitate a feather, play a ghostly harp, or float a butterbeer.
The latest Apple Watch is an upgrade over the last version in almost every way, with a display that’s 30 percent larger and a new sensor array that can perform an electrocardiogram to spot an irregular ticker. Just remember, you’ll need an iPhone to use the thing.
Firewire Surfboards
Go Fish
With shapes optimized by computational fluid-dynamics software, Firewire’s surfboards would be a blast to ride even if they didn’t meet the eco-friendly standards set by Sustainable Surf’s Ecoboard program. This versatile keel-fin fish is meant to tackle midsize waves and keep the ocean a little bit cleaner along the way.
HamiltonBuhl
STEAM Robo-Arm Kit for Arduino
Tireless, indestructible—every kid wants to be part robot. Now your offspring can live the cyber dream. This programmable arm has grippers with treads to help grasp objects. Your budding engineer can teach it up to 100 movements as they learn coding, automation, and the basics of its Arduino brain.
Joseph Shin; Shark Kinetic Toy Kit courtesy of artofplay.com
Heavy Eyes
Shark Kinetic Toy Kit
This flat-pack sculpture kit is a crafty take on the bloodthirsty terror of Amity Island. Bend the 16 vinyl flaps, secure them with the included screw-pegs, and a 14-inch great white slowly emerges. Gently wiggle the assembled elasmobranch to admire the serene swing of its tail.
- Attach one of these wireless trackers to anything you might lose—wallet, phone, remote, dog—and see its last known location in the app or make it chirp audibly so the precious is easier to find. The newly updated Tile Pro has an extended range of 300 feet and runs on replaceable coin cell batteries that last at least a year.
Microsoft
Xbox Design Lab Controller
You wouldn’t play Fallout without carefully crafting your character. Xbox Design Lab lets you give the same bespoke attention to your controller. Choose from a variety of colors and finishes for the body of the controller. If you’re feeling extra proud, you can get your gamertag stamped on the front.
Learn a new wind or reed instrument, minus all the skronking. Finger the keys of Roland’s digital horn to draw out the simulated tones of 11 instruments, including flute, clarinet, and four types of sax. Unlock 50 more sounds— from bagpipes to strings—in the app. Practicing late at night? Plug in headphones to jam in private.
Amazon’s Echo speakers are fun to chat with, but they don’t really get down. The Echo Sub is here to help and will pump a lot more bass into Alexa’s DJ sets. The 6-inch downward-firing speaker, powered by a 100-watt onboard amp, wirelessly pairs with an Echo or Echo Plus speaker—or two of the same Echo devices for stereo sound.
"The Game Console"
Evan Amos
Gaming obsessives will love Evan Amos’ historical book, which offers vividly detailed exploded views of every canonical console from the Magnavox Odyssey to the Nintendo Wii. It’s the next-best thing to taking apart vintage machines yourself, and it looks much nicer on your coffee table.
Your cat thinks it’s so smart. Let’s see if it can outwit a semi-sentient toy. The sensors in this “mouse” detect your cat’s movements so it can react accordingly, flicking its tail or scurrying to and fro. With three levels of robotic excitability, an app-controlled mode, and 10 swappable tail types, your clawed menace will never get bored.
A collaboration between eyewear designer Salt Optics and outdoor clothing outfit Aether Apparel, these shades are handmade in Japan, with polarized, photochromic lenses, light titanium frames, and wind-blocking silicone side shields. Like James Bond, they’re meant to tackle adventure and look sharp peering over a martini.
A Facebook device with a camera on it? We hear you—but the Portal+ makes video chat so delightful, you might be won over. The AI-powered camera software zooms in to tightly frame whoever’s speaking. And it comes with a privacy cap you can snap over the lens when you don’t want Mark Zuckerberg to see what you’re up to.
The new Legends helmet series from AGV replicates the designs of brain buckets worn by Moto GP superstars like Giacomo Agostini and Renzo Pasolini. The Agostini helmet’s old-school style is matched with modern safety and comfort features, such as sturdy double D-ring fasteners and machine-washable padding.
Symbol Audio
Modern Record Player
If you want to enjoy the past while living in the present, give this record player a spin. Its audiophile-grade turntable sits atop a case housing a 25-watt-per-channel amp and a trio of speakers. When it’s time to go digital, there’s a compartment for hiding a Chromecast, Airport Express, or Sonos Connect.
Lomography
Sprocket Rocket Teal 2.0
This funky camera is an unexpected treat for the photographer who has everything. It shoots wide panoramic images across multiple frames of 35-mm film, exposing the whole surface, even around the sprocket holes. Toss in some rolls of Lomochrome Purple film and they’ll be snapping artsy panos for weeks.
Most table lamps fade into your decor, but Blu Dot’s light leaves an impression. Instead of a simple shade, it uses perforated, powder-coated steel plates on either side to diffuse and soften the shine. It comes in four eye-catching colors, and the cloth cord includes a mood-altering dimmer switch.Surprise the inquisitive photographer in your life with a clever macro device for their DSLR. Designed to capture close-ups of tiny subjects, this 24-mm, f/14 lens has a waterproof barrel and built-in LEDs that lets them snap portraits of insects or ambush fish in a stream, unlocking an exciting new world for exploration.
These new wireless buds from Master & Dynamic have a striking acetate finish and the sound to match, with high-performance beryllium drivers and wings that help fasten them to your ears to form a bass-optimizing seal. Battery life is solid too—good for 3.5 hours of rocking between visits to the charging case.
Sure, Audi’s first fully electric car comes to the US without the drag-cutting, range-boosting cameras that replace side-view mirrors in the EU version—blame our regulations. But you can still go around 200 miles per charge and hit 60 mph in sub-6 seconds, in an SUV stuffed with the design savvy that comes with the four-ringed badge.
The Charge is Fitbit’s best-selling activity tracker, and for good reason: It offers step counting, workout tracking, and heart-rate measuring, all without the weight, expense, or complexity of most smartwatches. The third generation has a more accurate heart-rate-sensing module and lasts up to seven days on a single, er, charge.
Along with doodling album covers and dreaming up groovy names, tripping over your cables is part of being in a band. Tidy up your practice space with Boss’ wireless amplifier. Plug the included transmitter into your ax and get everything from a glassy shimmer to a raw crunch from the 30-watt amp. It even wakes up automatically when you pick up your guitar.
Rothy’s 3D-knitted footwear uses a proprietary yarn manufactured from recycled plastic water bottles. Like the company’s other shoes, the Sneaker is a machine-washable, sockless slip-on and comes in nine vibrant colors (garnet!). It’s comfortable enough to become the shoes your feet request every morning.
"All Over the Map"
Betsy Mason and Greg Miller
This beautiful tome by WIRED alumni Betsy Mason and Greg Miller charts the fascinating history of cartography. The scores of maps in the book range from the whimsical (origins of meats supplied to Parisian butchers) to the political (North Dakota fracking sites) to the fantastical (Jerry Gretzinger’s imaginary world).
Nimble
5-Day Fast Portable Charger
Battery packs are handy, but the environmental impact of electronics is out of hand. Let your giftee rest easy—this juice box is made from eco-friendly bioplastics and recyclable aluminum. Support for USB-C and the new Power Delivery standard means they can top off any device without ticking off Mother Nature.
Joseph Shin; Penato Knife courtesy of umamimart.com
Yoshiharu Hamono
Penato Knife
The century-old Japanese firm Yoshiharu Cutlery earned its stripes handcrafting chisels. Now it makes elegant knives like this pocketable specimen. Its take on a Kiridashi utility knife pairs a carbon-steel blade with a brass body. Keep it on your desk to slice open packages, or simply display it as a sharp conversation piece.
- Joseph Shin; DOT Pocket Puzzle courtesy of artofplay.com
Hanayama
DOT Pocket Puzzle
That fidget spinner is so last year. This three-dimensional matrix puzzle is a far more attractive way to keep your fingers busy, and its relatively low difficulty is perfectly suited for novice puzzlers. Once you’ve cracked the code, the DOT becomes a clever challenge for all those chatterboxes who stop by your desk to sabotage your productivity.
This tool bag from Mythbusters host Adam Savage is based on Neil Armstrong’s McDivitt tote. But while the astronaut’s lunar pack was pure white, Savage’s newest satchel is deep-space black. Each bag is sewn from repurposed sailcloth by San Francisco's Mafia Bags, so it’s durable enough to take your lunch, headphones, and bike lock to the moon and back.
Photograph: Ultimate Ears
UE’s Boom series has topped our list of favorite Bluetooth speakers for a few years running. The shiny new Boom 3 inherits that portable party crown. It’s the same size as a tallboy of Budweiser, but it sounds like a magnum of Veuve Clicquot—which is to say, outstanding. The waterproof design (it floats!) comes in a variety of beach-ready colors.
Step out of yoga class feeling fresh in this odor-minimizing sweatshirt made from a moisture-wicking blend of recycled polyester, hemp, and Tencel, a material derived from wood pulp. The addition of fleece lining lends a hint of luxury, and stitching details elevate the silhouette from schlubby sweatshirt to Savasana chic.
You won’t find many knobs or levers on the underside of Herman Miller’s new Cosm chair, but rather a four-point suspension system that constantly tilts and adapts to keep you balanced. The flexible Y-shaped frame and one-piece mesh seat offer responsive support as you fidget during those endless conference calls.Dyson
Cyclone V10 Absolute
Our go-to stick vac gets a reboot with Dyson’s latest sucker, the V10. New to the mix is a torque-drive head with a motor inside the rotating brush, designed to give carpets and hardwood floors a more thorough scrubbing. A larger bin and an increased run time of up to an hour can handle even the gnarliest holiday-party messes.
Your rarest whiskey deserves a most worthy vessel. Molten crystal is formed into this curvy, faceted, 1 1/4-pound chalice, then a unique process cools the varying thicknesses at different rates to keep the glass from cracking. Prefer an old-fashioned? The ridged bottom grips your ingredients for superior muddling.
Brilliant
Two Switch Panel
Programming your smart home from your smartphone is easy, but what does your family do when you walk off with the all-in-one door lock, music player, and TV remote in your pocket? Brilliant’s two-switch touchscreen panel lets everyone turn on the lights, crank up the Sonos, switch off the thermostat, and bark at Alexa.
Espro
Ultralight Travel Press
This multitasking travel mug has a French press inside that brews coffee or steeps loose-leaf tea. Prepare your concoction right in the cup, or pour in your elixir of choice. Drinks stay hot (or cold) for hours, thanks to double-wall vacuum insulation. And at just 1 pound, the Espro won’t weigh down your adventures.
Microsoft
Surface Go (with Type Cover)
If you’re not yet sold on the tablet PC future, try the Go, Microsoft’s 10-inch touchscreen computer with a kickstand. Pair it with the Type Cover ($100 and up) and the Surface Pen ($100) for easier swiping, tapping, and doodling, and you’ll see how well the tiny Go fits—and works—in places other Windows machines can’t.
Why wait for tech support? This handy kit from the nerds at iFixit contains all the tools you need to replace or repair parts deep inside your devices. With an 87-piece suite of bits, tweezers, drivers, and spudgers, you can MacGyver pretty much anything from a current-gen iPhone to your vintage NES.
Death's Door Spirits
Wondermint
Crack open this bottle of schnapps for an aperitif, or simply freshen up your bar cart with its bright aqua-green hue. The Wisconsin craft distillery Death’s Door Spirits uses a special blend of peppermint extract, almond, rosewater, and absinthe to create the minty flavor. Enjoy it neat, mixed with hot cocoa, or as the highlight of a Mint Mule.
The flashy metal cones on KEF’s newest speakers can’t camouflage their smartest design detail: The concentric driver nestles the tweeter at the center of the mid-range speaker, creating a single acoustic point of origin for the high and mid frequencies that keeps your Floyd from getting flabby. Hook them up to your stereo and they’ll intensify every track on your playlist.
Phones make convenient shooters, but even the best of them can’t beat a real camera for quality. This point-and-shoot packs DSLR-grade imaging into a trim body. With its 28-mm-equivalent lens and gorgeous film simulation modes, the pocketable XF10 is well suited for candid street photography, landscapes, and portraiture.
Joseph Shin; Oloid courtesy of stillhousenyc.com
This precision-machined, 2-inch-tall brass sculpture by artist Pat Kim rolls across a flat surface with a gentle push. Based on the dual-circle oloid shape discovered by inventor and mathematician Paul Schatz in 1929, this update is the perfect desk-topping gift for the contemplative (or procrastinating) creative in your life.
Joseph Shin; Black Panther by Marvel/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Everett Collection
Samsung
65-Inch Q8FN 4K TV
This set is primed for movie night: It can accurately display the panoply of colors supported by the film industry’s DCI-P3 projection standard. And when you’re streaming 4K encoded for HDR playback, its backlight control handles extreme lights and darks—_Black Panther_’s nighttime car chase will thrill, even in bright rooms.
Joseph Shin; Eames Radio courtesy of store.moma.org
It’s easy to buy an Eames chair; the design duo made scads of them, and they’re still in production. But their 1946 table radio was never manufactured—until now. The revived radio gets a 21st-century update with the addition of Bluetooth connectivity. Fewer than 1,000 have been made; it’s a true Eames original.