Geeky gifting galore

Diwali is around the corner, and if you are still scrambling to buy nerd-tastic gifts for your in-house tech support, here are a bunch of ideas

Ultra Budget

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is currently Apple’s biggest and most expensive smartphone. It has a huge 6.7-inch display, the latest A17 Pro chip with a 6-core GPU, a 48MP rear camera paired with two 12MP cameras, a titanium-reinforced body and out of Apple’s own volition (not forced by any EU laws), a USB-C interface/power port. It is insanely expensive but a perfect gift for Apple enthusiasts. 
Rs 1,59,900

Samsung Jet Bot+
No one likes to clean, and most cleaning robots need to be cleaned almost daily if you want them to perform at peak cleanliness. The Samsung Jet bot+ reduces that interaction by several folds, and in a way, you never have to touch the dust that your robot collects. It comes with a clean station that collects all the dust, and you have to clean it maybe every 15 days. The robot itself is pretty good at cleaning, with built-in HEPA filters and ample suction to take on any flooring. It is also equipped with Lidar that automatically maps your home, so the robot can take the best route while cleaning. 
Rs 1,29,900

LEGO Millennium Falcon
You may be wondering in what world would a LEGO set cost more than an Apple Watch Ultra 2. Well, this set is actually a little special. It is not only huge, but it is also a highly sought-after set. People spend months building it. It is a thing of beauty featuring over 7,500 bricks, seven mini figurines, and it has accessible cockpits, removable hull panels and a lowering entry ramp, amongst other features. Expensive and totally worth it.
Rs 1,42,499

Bambulabs X1 Carbon with AMS
The Bambulabs X1 Carbon with the AMS system is right now one of the fastest, easiest to use and most consumer-centric printers you can buy. If your techy is into 3D printing, this 3D printer will be one they will cherish for a very long time. Not only is this printer fast, it can also use up to four filaments at a time, allowing users to print multiple colours or even multiple materials without ever having to change a filament mid-way. The company is not officially present in India. However, there are several 3D printing resellers that have the machine in stock if you have the money. I have personally used this machine, and I can tell you there is no other 3D printer that comes close in terms of ease of use. If the X1 Carbon is a bit out of budget, look at Bambulabs P1P or even the newer Bambulabs A1 Mini if you can find it in stock. 
Rs 1,89,999

ROG Zephyrus duo 16 (2023) GX650
Everyone knows a hardcore gamer is a PC gamer, and the ultimate in PC gaming mobility is a top-of-the-line gaming laptop. For just under the going rate of a black-market kidney, you can buy this bad boy. It features an AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX with 16 cores, 32 threads and 64MB L3 cache for unparalleled gaming performance. The graphic card is an impressive Nvidia 4090 with 16GB of GDDR6 RAM. The screen is a QHD+ 16-inch mini-LED screen with a refresh rate of 240Hz. It also comes with a second screen near the keyboard, which is 14 inches and has a 4K resolution. The laptop has 16GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD for storage, a whole host of input and output ports and an RGB backlit keyboard. 
Rs 4,19,990

Apple Watch Ultra 2
If you have the ultimate Apple phone, you might need the ultimate Apple watch. Aptly named Watch Ultra 2, this one is a chonky watch with a titanium case, a bright 3,000 nits display and a battery capable of lasting more than a day on a single charge. It has a lot of sensors built in which can tell you the ambient temperature, check your blood oxygen and even save your life in some instances. 
Rs 89,900

ASUS ROG Ally Z1 Octa Core Extreme
ASUS launched this a while back in India, and they are surprisingly still in stock. What you get is essentially a portable gaming PC in a handheld form factor. It doesn’t have the best battery life, but it can play pretty much all the PC games in your library. It can also do emulation well, just like any PC. As a bonus, you can dock this device with a monitor, keyboard and mouse to make a PC. 
Rs 67,990

Sony WH-1000XM5
For audiophiles, this wireless headset is a perfect gift. The Sony WH-100XM5s are some of the most cost-effective and beautiful wireless headphones you can buy. It has multiple mics and many cool features, including a 30-hour battery life, a Speak-to-Chat feature, and a quick attention mode to figure out ambient sounds. The headphones come with a case and are available in three colours. A bonus tip: if you want to spend a little less, you can opt for the XM4, which is just as good for under R20,000.
Rs 26,000

Modest Budget

LEGO Ideas Lighthouse
Instead of going with a themed kit, why not go with something that you can put on a shelf and turn on? This Lego kit is a working lighthouse, and while it may not save any ships it will certainly save you from lots of boredom. The kit has over 2,500 pieces and comes with two figurines that include the lighthouse keeper and the sailor seated on a rowboat. The rotating light has a motorised box and a Fresnel lens that takes this lighthouse to the next level. You can remove walls and other external panels of the lighthouse to reveal its insides, including stairs and a secret treasure chest in the cave below.
Rs 25,700

Micromini X-ninja R35S
The Micromini X-Ninja R35S is a decently priced retro console that can emulate pretty much any console all the way up to the PlayStation1 and some select PlayStation Portable titles as well. The key configuration allows the game to have almost all the functionality required for PSP and PS1 games while easily catering to oldies like Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo. It has a nice 3.5-inch IPS panel capable of producing a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, which is ideal for a lot of the games supported by it. The 3500mAh battery lasts a good few hours, perfect for travelling around Mumbai.
Rs 6,999

Lenovo Legion 5
The Lenovo Legion 5 is a decent gaming rig featuring an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD storage and a sweet 15.6-inch 2560 x 1440 display with 165Hz refresh rate. The keyboard is full-size and of course, features RGB backlighting. The machine comes preinstalled with Windows 11 and has a free three-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. The laptop is pretty functional and has several IO ports, including a headphone/Mic combo jack and an RJ45 port for LAN. Despite its gamer pedigree, this laptop knows well how to hide its gamer credentials and blend in—making it an ideal work laptop as well. 
Rs 99,990

Tecno Phantom V Flip
Having a mid-tier budget doesn’t mean your phone doesn’t need to look like a million bucks. The Tecno Phantom V Flip is possibly the cheapest folding phone available right now and packs a wallop when it comes to specs. This phone runs on a Dimensity 8050 6nm processor and comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage space. The screen is a 6.9-inch AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate. It has a 64MP rear main camera and a 13MP ultrawide, and the selfie camera is a cool 32MP. The external 1.32-inch circular has a peak brightness of 800 nits, which means it is fairly visible in day light. All this is powered by a 4000mAh battery. To make things more interesting, it comes with a custom cover for your phone and an actual power brick. 
Rs 53,499

Monoprice BT-600ANC
Monoprice might not be a brand most of us have heard about, and that’s because it’s probably because it is a small China-based headphone manufacturer. However, a quick search for the BT-600ANC will reveal that it is a product that is hitting way above its price range, offering audio quality that could wow even the most decerning audiophile. It also happens to have a lot of the creature comforts we have now come to expect out of a good pair of earphones. This includes touch controls, 40 hours of battery life, HD audio support and active noise cancelling. It also performs well on calls and is extremely comfortable to wear.
Rs 15,700

Amazfit GTR 4
The Amazfit GT4 is a pretty good watch. It has a fantastic 1.43-inch screen with a stainless-steel navigation crown and over 200+ watch faces. The 475mAh battery can last up to 14 days and it has over 150 sport modes. The sensors on the watch can track heart rate, stress, SPO2 and sleep. Most importantly, it has extremely good GPS, which is crucial if you like to track routes or get yourself from point a to point b. You can use it to answer calls and control various things on your phone. It also has Alexa built-in. 
Rs 39,900

Low Budget

Sup Game Box
It is a given that this device will show up on our gift guides. For a measly R600, you essentially get 150-170 retro games that you can play with and reminisce about simpler times. With the Sup you get what you paid for, it consists of a horrible LCD screen, the worst sound box you have ever heard and buttons that feel mushier than a motichoor laddoo. It lasts under two hours on a single charge. That said, it more than pays for itself with all the nostalgia. I have spent hours playing Super Mario Bros, Contra, Circus, and Excite Bike. 
Rs 568

LEGO medium creative brick box
The cost of a LEGO kit can get pretty high pretty fast, and sometimes, just a box of good old mixed blocks can bring about as much joy as those expensive kits. For those who are not fussy about their LEGO, this medium pack of bricks promises hours of family-friendly fun. These are LEGOs, so you can rest assured of the quality and longevity of the plastic bricks. Just make sure you pack them all back because LEGOs hurt a lot when you step on them… 
Rs 2,999

Jlab Studio Pro 
We could have gone with a cheaper JBL or Skullcandy product here, and there is nothing wrong with those. However, if you want quality wireless audio on a budget, you might want to get the JLab Studio Pro. This thing features a really cool retro design, custom equaliser settings, and 50+ hours of audio playback on a single charge. It has neat little buttons on the headphone cups to control the music, activate your digital assistant or even adjust the volume. The cushions on these headphones are comfortable and can  be worn all day.
Rs 8,262

Haier Robot Vacuum
You need a robot vacuum cleaner without breaking the bank, and this one is ideal for the job if you have a hard floor. Along with vacuuming, this robot can also mop your floor and can be connected to the Haier Smart App for scheduling.
Rs 11,990

iQOO Z6 Lite 5G
Who doesn’t love a new phone? For the more budget-conscious readers, we have this beauty from iQOO, the Z7 Pro. It runs on a 4nm Dimensity 7200 and comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The 6.78-inch AMOLED+ screen features a brightness of 1300 nits and a 120Ghz refresh rate. It has a matte glass finish at the back, making it look much more expensive than it actually is. For cameras, the iQOO Z7 Pro has a 64MP main camera and a 16MP selfie camera. The battery capacity is 4600mAh, which is more than sufficient for a full-day charge. The phone comes with a charger, USB cable and a case. 
Rs 13,999

Cozen 3D Pen
We get it, 3D printers cost a fortune, and not everyone can afford them. However, this Cozen 3D Pen kit costs next to nothing. A quick internet search will reveal artists who can produce magical things with this small device, and it is essentially a 3D printer with all the smarts and the automation removed. That said, this is not an ideal gift for kids. It contains a true hot end that can reach insanely high temperatures, and generally, molten plastic is not something that should ever touch the skin. So please reserve this gift for a person who is not in school. 
Rs 999

beatXP Flux
The beatXP Flux is way too cheap for all the features it has. At just around R1,000 this little watch offers a 1.45-inch display with 500 nits brightness. There are over 100 sports modes and a bunch of sensors. The sensors can detect your heart rate, monitor your sleep and measure your blood oxygen. While the screen is touch-capable, this phone can also be operated with a tiny rotating crown. The interface on this watch is fairly straightforward. It also does Bluetooth-based voice calling, but the built-in speakers are weak, so the voice quality is not the best. For the price, though, this product is a steal. 
Rs 1,099

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