We live in a time when many people are considering detoxing tech. But I’ll defend to the hilt that gadgets can be great, affordable and appealing to most. There’s value to be had, solutions to real life problems and, perhaps most importantly, the opportunity to tick a name of your shopping list – all thanks to tech.
After a year of reviewing the latest tech over on Goosed.ie, here are some of my tech tip gift ideas for Christmas this year.
Brick
Given my strong open there on people wanting to detox tech, I feel it’s only responsible for me to open with something that encourages that. The Brick is a fantastic little gadget that helps you manage your attention and social media usage.
The Brick is a physical object that you place somewhere in your home. For example, in my gaff I have it downstairs – away from my office.
Using the Brick app, you select which apps you want to lock down; think social media apps, YouTube and the likes. When you want to access these apps, you have to get up and go to where your Brick is and tap your phone off it. This gives you access to your locked apps for an allotted time – say 15 minutes.
After that, it’s back to work unless you go to your Brick again.
The idea here is making your usage of these attention and time draining apps more conscious and it works really well. The Brick is available online for under €50.
MagSafe Powerbanks
I don’t want to get drawn into a debate on iPhone vs Android, but historically, iPhone batteries have lacked power versus their Android counterparts. The iPhone 12 brought MagSafe into the world, a magnet on the back of all iPhones that lets you snap on accessories.
The most popular accessories are MagSafe chargers. These are clip on batteries that wirelessly charge your iPhone, usually up to doubling the time you need between charges. It can really get you out a bind and for that reason, it’s a great gift to give someone who’s always on their phone with a battery on 10%.
There are plenty of these on the market, usually under €50. I usually recommend Anker, uGreen or Energizer.
ThermPro Cooking Probe
This is probably the best value gift on my list and it’ll repay you 100 times over in great meals. I started cooking with a thermometer probe a few years back and it completely changed my understanding of how food cooks. I suddenly understood internal and external temperatures and got to make the perfect roast beef my auld lad had been trying to cook for years.
There are smarter versions of these available on the market too, but honestly, after trying that out I prefer just a simple digital meat probe. This will utterly change how you, or your loved ones, cook. Which is good news for you too.
Xiaomi Smart Band 10
New year, new them. Fitness trackers are offering more features for less money than ever before. The Xiaomi Smart Band 10 is packed with fitness and sleep tracking. You’ll get well over a week of battery life too in between charges.
Give some thought to ensuring you’re not offending anyone by getting them a fitness tracker for Christmas, but beyond that this wiil work with iPhone and Android without breaking the bank.
Chipolo Loop and Card
Chipolo is a Slovenian company that makes trackers, not all that dissimilar to AirTags. I was going to write about how I usually use this when I’m leaving the house in a rush and can’t find my keys or my wallet. That was until I lost my keys for the first time ever. My dedicated to testing tech products knows no limits.
Fortunately, my keys had a Chipolo Loop attached. I opened the Find Hub app on my phone and could see my keys were across the other side of Dublin. They’d fallen out of my pocket when riding my electric scooter.
The tracker can be pinged by other Android or iPhone phones depending on how you’ve set it up, so everyone passing my keys were giving me live updates on it’s location. When I got nearby I could connect and get my Loop to start making noise.
Adrian in Crest and Arms in Temple Bar had kindly saved them from the middle of the road and had them waiting for me.
This is the perfect gift for someone who’s always losing something, and unlike Apple’s AirTags these are now rechargeable too.
PagoPace Payments Ring
Every single time I use this I get the most amazing reactions. The PagoPace is a payments ring. When I pay for my morning coffee or a round of pints in the evening, I fist bump the card machine. It’s a very simple idea, but it’s mind-blowing at the same time.
Nearly always, this sparks the question of “what the hell did you just do there”. At times I feel I may have the only one of these in Ireland. Now, this isn’t my main use case, but imagine going for a run in the morning. You’ve left your wallet at home and want to buy a coffee. Lucky enough, you’ve got a payments ring on. Problem solved.
It doesn’t do fitness tracking nor does it ever need to be charged. The ring links to the Curve App where you can add any, and multiple, cards allowing contactless payments up for €50.
To gift this, you can order online. They’ll send you a sizer kit and a voucher so the person you’re gifting to can pick the style they like with the correct size.
Shokz OpenFit 2
Audio accessories remain one of the more reliable gift categories, there’s genuinely something worthwhile at every price bracket. If you’re shopping on a budget, JBL and Soundcore consistently deliver solid performance. Prioritise active noise-cancelling (ANC) if your shopping for someone that commutes regularly; it’s a game changer on public transport.
AirPods are predictably popular for iPhone users, and rightly so. She eco-system integration is seamless. Samsung’s Galaxy Buds offer comparable quality for Android users, with similarly tight platform integration. These are safe choices that rarely disappoint. But I’m recommending something else.
My personal favourite this year comes from a less mainstream brand: Shokz. Their OpenFit 2 takes a fundamentally different approach: open-ear design that loops around your ear rather than sealing inside the canal.
The design idea here is situational awareness. If you run, cycle, or commute on a scooter like I do, staying alert to your surroundings isn’t optional. I’s safety-critical. Traditional earbuds isolate you completely, which creates blind spots in traffic or on shared paths.
Here’s where these genuinely surprised me: they’re exceptional for sleeping. I know that sounds niche, but plenty of people struggle to find earphones that stay put through the night. These lock onto your ears so securely that even when I’m shifting positions constantly, I wake up with them still firmly in place. No other buds I’ve tested have managed that and I sleep like a rotisserie chicken.
The trade-off is obvious: open-ear means less bass response and zero noise isolation. If you want immersive sound or need to block out ambient noise, look elsewhere. But for specific use cases, active commuting, running, or overnight wear, the Shokz OpenFit 2 solves problems that traditional designs simply can’t address.
Loco Motion Pro Electric Scooter
I regularly navigate Dublin city centre, and during last week’s Uber strike, the chaos barely registered for me. The reason? I’ve been commuting on an electric scooter from Irish company Loco, specifically their Motion Pro model.
What makes the Motion Pro particularly relevant for Irish users is that it was designed explicitly around Irish regulations on weight and speed limits.
In practical terms, it gets me across Dublin faster than any alternative. Another big bonus is that this model is among the few genuinely rated for water resistance, which matters significantly in Irish weather. Loco backs this up with a replacement guarantee if water damage occurs. That level of confidence from the manufacturer tells you something about the engineering behind the IP rating.
Just be clear on the regulations: these aren’t suitable for anyone under 16, and you need to follow the standard road rules that apply to e-scooters. It’s worth checking the current regulations if you’re unfamiliar, as enforcement has tightened considerably.
Google Pixel Watch 4
I’ve been wearing the Pixel Watch 4 daily for several months now, and it’s become the Android smartwatch I’d actually recommend few caveats.
The essentials are covered comprehensively: fitness tracking with accurate heart rate monitoring, mobile payments, sleep analysis that’s genuinely useful rather than just novelty data, seamless control over smart home devices, and messaging from your wrist that doesn’t feel like a compromise. These aren’t revolutionary features individually, but the execution across all of them is unusually solid for the Android ecosystem.
You also get Gemini integration, which (fair warning) means AI is part of the package. I know that’s divisive. But being able to ask contextual questions or issue smart home commands directly from your wrist does work smoothly, and the capability will only expand as Google refines the integration. If you’re already invested in Google’s ecosystem (Home devices, Assistant routines), this feels like a natural extension rather than a gimmick.
This sits in the mid-to-upper price bracket, so it’s not an impulse purchase. But if you’re buying for someone who’s frustrated with their current Android smartwatch experience, or who’s been delaying getting one because the options felt underwhelming, the Pixel Watch 4 addresses most of the historical pain points including a slightly better battery life that usually covers about two days.
Nintendo Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 is the big new console on the market for 2025. It released earlier this year and it’s great. The game selection right now – is a little limited, but the majority of the original Switch 1 catalogue is compatible with it.
This console is popular with everyone – gamers and families looking for a console. If people remember the Wii – this is the closest modern equivalent.
It’s a handheld console for mobile gaming, but comes with a dock for gaming on the TV with others. You can connect up to 8 JoyCon controllers, typically games support 4 players, so check that what you need for Christmas morning. You can play Mario Kart with friends, or explore the world of Zelda on your own in bed or on the bus.
The stock levels on this one could be a little tricky, so make your move early if you’re after this one. Also – internet connection is important for set up from updates to game downloads, so you might want to ask Santa to have some of the set-up done before putting the console under the tree Christmas morning.
You can listen back to me speaking on RTÉ earlier this week about most of these products.
Disclosure: Products in this article are linked to using affiliate links. That means that while there’s absolutely no extra cost to you buying through the affiliate link, the shop may share some of the profit with us – to say thanks to sending you over. It supports us, so thanks!
