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The holidays are almost upon us, if you're struggling for ideas for tech gifts this Christmas, here's my picks from $20 all the way to $5000.
PRODUCT LINKS//
Tile Mate: http://weav.me/~k5pc
Tronsmart T6: http://weav.me/~k5pw
Tronsmart Mega: http://weav.me/~k5pV
Apple Watch Sport Loop: http://weav.me/~k5ps
Zhiyun Tech Smooth-Q Gimbal: http://weav.me/~k5py
Mujjo Folio MacBook Sleeve: https://goo.gl/QTr4ze
Ben-Q e-reading lamp: http://weav.me/~k5pd
Ben-Q e-reading lamp (UK): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017NOD2PU
Arcido Faroe Backpack: http://weav.me/~k5pS
DJI Spark: http://weav.me/~k5pJ
iMac Pro: http://weav.me/~k5pQ
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0:00
What is up guys, Stephen Cult of Mac here and it's time for the yearly holiday
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gift guide. This year I've tried to pick products in every price range from little stocking
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fillers all the way up to if you're feeling super generous. Links to all the products featured
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can be found in the description below but let's dive straight in. First up and in the
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sub-25 category is the tile mate. This will be perfect for any friends or family who are
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constantly losing their keys or backpacks and so on. It's a small square blue tooth tracker that
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attaches on to keys, land yards, anything you can hoop into it and then connects to your iPhone
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or Android device. Simply download the app, follow the setup instructions, and once complete, you can use
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the app to get the tile to ring whenever you can't quite find it and locate it on a map
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as long as it's within the 30 to 100 foot range. If you travelled further away and lost connection from the tile, all hope is not lost
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The app marks the last location known on the map so you can travel back. On top of that, it will also look for any other tile users that are close by to that last known location
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where you're then able to contact them and ask if they can spot it. The tile is also handy for reversing the trick and finding the iPhone it's connected to
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So if you've lost your iPhone, but you've got the tile on you, say on your keys, you can double
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tap the logo to make the iPhone start ringing, the same way you can with an Apple Watch
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The battery will last around a full year of use, but the only downside is the battery isn't
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removable and you can't charge it back up. You can however replace your old tile with a new one with a discount through tile themselves
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The TileMate is currently on sale on Amazon for just 1999. Moving up to the sub-50 dollar mark, and if you're looking for some pretty awesome speakers
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at a low price point, then look no further than TrondSmart. In particular, the T6 and the TrondSmart Mega
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Starting with the T6, and its small portable design makes it ideal for throwing in a backpack
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and taking on the move. All of the controls are on the top of the speaker to skip forward and back, play, pause and
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answer calls thanks to the built-in microphone. The tubular design is intended for the speaker to transmit
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sound in a total 360 degrees. Although I find that placing the Transmart logo to the back gives
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me the best sound quality. Inside, there's a 5,200 milliamp hour lithium battery which gives
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you around 7 to 10 hours of battery life depending on the volume. The sound is crisp as long
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you don't turn it up to the max, as then some distortion does start to creep in, but the 25
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watts DSP drivers deliver a decent enough sound for most occasions. It's not going to blow anyone
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away, but it's great for the size and price tag. I know the Transmart speaker worth taking
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a look at is the Mega. While the name isn't something to brag about, the styling and functionality
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is great for a product that falls just short of $50. Speaking of styling, it's definitely
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been influenced by some of the older Bose SmartLink models but its minimalist design does mean that it looks great in any room Unlike the T6 speaker the mega has no physical buttons apart from the power switch on the back and instead employs the use of capacitive touch buttons which makes the speaker feel more expensive
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than it actually is. The sound quality and battery life is improved upon over the T6
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with a 40 watt output, and up to 15 hours of battery life. What's more, it also has NFC
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a built-in mic for calls, and you compare two mega speakers up together via Bluetooth to play left and right
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channels separately for a surround sound type setup. Again, these speakers aren't going to compete with the big players, but for the price
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they are more than impressive. For the Apple Watch wearer in your life, check out my new favourite band, the Apple Sport Loop
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When the Apple Watch Sport Loops were first released, I didn't pay much attention, as I thought
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the Velcro-looking bands would be too sweaty for workouts, and be uncomfortable for long periods of time
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That was until I came across them at an Apple store and found out I was completely wrong
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about them. The bands look great in person, coming in eight different colour combinations, the work
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over nylon bands are super soft and lightweight. I can easily wear this all day, before and after workouts, and it still feels just as comfortable
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as when I first put it on. Its design is similar to the Milanese loops that were so popular with the original Apple Watch
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but the double layer nylon has dense loops on the skin side of the band, which allows
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moisture to escape and ensures a soft cushion. On the other side, the band has attachment loops which securely keep the watch on your wrist
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basically like a super strong Velcro. I've personally got the black loop, as I love how understated it is with the Black Apple Watch
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and when you look closely, it's full of little specks of colour, which just make it stand out from the norm
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For $49, I also think it's one of Apple's best priced products. Moving up to the $150 and below mark, it's one of my favourite products I've checked out this year
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This is the Giant Tech Smooth Q Gimble. It's the best way to achieve smooth and stable footage with your iPhone, and it just adds another level to any family video you shoot
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It's a three-axis gimbal, and the setup is super easy, you simply slide your iPhone in, turn it on, and you're ready to go
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The smooth queue comes with an app which you can connect via Bluetooth and then you use the control interface on the handle to change the orientation and tilt of the phone, switch between portrait and landscape mode, which is handy if you need to shoot portrait video for Instagram and use the record button
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Also, it's currently priced at around $99 on Amazon, meaning it's a much cheaper alternative to something like the DJI Osmo Mobile, which is double the price
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The battery lasts around 12 hours, which means I very rarely have to charge it, so I can just throw it in my backpack and it's ready to go
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If you want to buy your loved one a truly luxury accessory for their MacBook, then my pick would be the folio sleeve from Mujo
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Mujo is a brand of champion for years, their quality and attention to detail is second to none, and all of their products look great
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Their Foliowl MacBook sleeves are no different It perfect for travelling with as it super slim and doesn add any particular weight On the front there high quality full grain leather which is combined with wool felt to
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add some protection to your MacBook and prevent scratches. I love the curves it has in the top and the bottom, which add a bit more style than the
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standard rectangular sleeves and cases, combined with all of the little design touches
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and attention to detail, it makes it the ideal sleeve for me
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This one is for my 13 inch MacBook Pro, but they also have sleeves for pretty much every MacBook
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whether it's the newer 12-inch variants or the larger 15-inch MacBook Pros
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in a variety of different designs. Plus, if you want the style and quality
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some of their other sleeves are under 100 and even the $90 mark. I just seem to have expensive tastes
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But you do definitely get what you pay for. If you're buying for someone who often works late into the night
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burning the midnight oil, then the BenQ-E-reading LED desk lamp will be perfect
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There's a whole lot of lamps out there designed to be used with laptops and computers. But the BenQE reading desk lamp is the first one I've come across where they've actually
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seem to think of everything. The light itself is 35.5 inches across, meaning it creates an expansive range of cover, lighting
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up more of my desk, hitting the keyboard, my mouse, and just results in a much nicer lighting
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setup than a usual lamp with a standard bulb, which just creates a circular halo around
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a certain area. There's a ring towards the back which is adjusted with a touch to turn the lamp on and off
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Then there's also a built-in sensor which automatically detects the light levels in the
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room to adjust its brightness accordingly. You can then further tweak it with the dial on top, so you can twist it left or right
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to adjust the brightness up to 1800 looks, which is well, bright, press the dial in and
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now you can control the colour ambience between warm and cool, acting like a true tone display
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for your room. It also adjusts to any angle you need thanks to the ball joints
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The light is completely flicker three thanks to its zero flicker technology, and the LEDs
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will last a staggering 50,000 hours, which works out at eight hours a day for the next 17 years
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There are thousands of backpacks designed for lugging tech around, and I've checked out
7:22
some awful lot over the past year. My pick of the bunch would be the Faroe from Arsido
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The furrow is made from a rugged material called Blended Codra, which I'd never heard of
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either, but I've been using this bag for the last six months or so, taking it on holiday
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and from place to place, and it stood up to half a year without any signs of wear and hair
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It also feels really smooth despite its strength, and I love the heather grey colour it comes in
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The bag itself is super lightweight, coming in at just 900 grams. Stadium, which is the average weight of an adult guinea big, making it perfect for travel
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Everything on the bag just feels solid, the zippers, the handle on top, the straps, both of
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which are padded really well so the bag stays comfortable, no matter how much you throw in
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Speaking of which there plenty of room to store all of your tech clothes and shoes as the main compartment is 35 litres I never had such a big backpack but it has come in handy so many times while I been testing Plus the bag practically splits completely in half so accessing all of the items is super easy The second
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main compartment is designed for a MacBook with this really nice system to keep the MacBook
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in place and quickly release it. Just to split the straps on the backpack, the Faroe
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also has a super nice padding on the back side with EVA foam, so the MacBook feels safe and
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it's not going to dig into your back at all. Jumping to almost $400, but it's definitely one of the products I've had the most fun with this year, and it's the DJI Spark
8:40
The DJI Spark has got to be the drone of the year for me. While the MaVic Pro is going to be the go-to for most people, the spark is the entry-level offering from DJI, and it's got to be the most fun
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For $39, you just get the Spark on its own, but if you're starting out, that's all you really need
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Throw in a micro-sd card, and you're ready to go. You sync up to your iPhone through the free companion app, and control the drone from there
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as well as record to the iPhone itself. Once up, the drone is ridiculously easy to control
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Unfortunately, I can't go out and fly this baby right now as the rain is coming down thick and fast here
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but here is some I shot in Florida recently. Unlike the Mavik, the Spark can't shoot 4K
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but its HD footage is superb. All of this was filmed on my first and second flight ever
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after never touching another drone. Within the app, you've also got the control over the gimbal
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and image settings, so you can either leave everything on auto or fine-tuned settings like the brightest
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If you're buying for someone who would definitely love this and it won't be a part-time hobby
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then going for the Flymore combo would be ideal, which means you get the remote
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some more batteries and a multi-charger all for $579. Having the remote unlocks the full range of the spark up to around 1.3 miles
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and its full sport mode, 30 mile an hour speed. Finally, if you just won the lottery or just really want to show off this Christmas
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the new IMAQ Pro is out just in time for the holidays. The new iMac Pro's starting price is an eye-watering $4,99, but what you get for it is actually pretty fairly priced
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It features a 3.2 gigahertz 8-core Intel XeonW processor, 32 gigs of RAM, are 1 terabyte SSD, and their superb 5K-27-inch display
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It's not designed for the casual web and Facebook browser by any means, but if you're buying for a designer or video editor in your life, then this is the perfect machine
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Plus, the new space grey finish is stunning. Well, there's my picks for some of the best tech gifts for the holidays
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But let me know what you're hoping to get off Santa in the comments section down below. If you enjoyed this video though, go ahead and hit that like button
10:40
It really helps me out. Subscribe if you haven't already, and I will catch you in the next one
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