Serious Insights

Research and reviews from strategist, futurist and analyst Daniel W. Rasmus

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2023 Holiday Gift Guide. Person tying ribbon on purple gift box

Serious Insights 2023 Holiday Gift Guide

Black Friday Edition

Last Updated: November 24, 2023

An expansive list of potential gift items drawn from current reviews and products in our evaluation queue.

We spend all year, from CES to Black Friday, from Mobile World Congress to Chanuka and Christmas, evaluating all types of technology. Our gift guide includes products we have reviewed and a few still in the queue. This guide will be updated until the end of 2023.

Serious Insights is an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases.

We are not affiliated with any product. Links to sites other than Amazon do not result in compensation.

All prices are list prices rounded to nearest dollar.

Visit the Amazon Holiday Shop For Additional gift Ideas

Select a Category or Scroll to Explore

Audio and Music

Work From Home

Road Warriors

Toys and Collectibles

Stocking Stuffers

Ecofriendly

Fun and Games

Books and Media

Audio and Music

Tranya T6

Tranya’s T6 are beautiful earbuds that come in an equally attractive case. They don’t offer all the features of Tranya’s flagship Nova, like ANC, but they will make a better-looking gift that delivers solid audio.

$59/Amazon/Review

Cleer Audio Alpha

We tested several over-the-ear headphones, and many offer great sound and noise-killing ANC. But when taking a long trip, it’s the Cleer Audio Alpha Bluetooth ANC headphones that travel with me.

$199/Amazon/Review

JBL Charge 5

Powerful, loud, and waterproof. Perfect for pool, camping or BBQ. Also an excellent backup speaker when [resenting in aa room with audio challenges.

$180/Amazon/Review

Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3 Earbuds 

Top-of-the-line earbuds with outstanding ANC. Beautiful fabric-covered charging case

$279/Amazon/Review

Sennheiser Momentum 4

Outstanding premium headphones with large earcups and a very comfortable fabric headband.

$380/Amazon/Review

Monoprice DT-3BT 50-Watt Multimedia Desktop Powered Speakers with Bluetooth

Great sounding and versatile desktop speakers.

$100/Amazon

OneOdio Monitor 80

Open back wired headphones for mixing and editing. Velor earmuffs for great sound isolation. Outstanding sound reproduction and comfort at a budget price.

$97/Amazon/Review

TOZO OpenBuds

Lightweight and comfortable open-ear sports-style earbuds with a unique ratchet design that adjusts to ear size. Waterproof. Bluetooth 5.3. 14.2mm dynamic driver with ORIGX acoustic audio tech.

$70/Amazon/Review

Visit Amazon Deals for additional technology ideas and savings

Work From Home

EPOS IMPACT 1061 Headset

Excellent, wireless conferencing headphones with wireless charging and a smart boom microphone.

$345/Amazon/Review

STM Goods MagArm

Mount an iPhone on a MacBook using suction and MagSafe.

$50/Amazon/Review

Xebec Tri-Screen 2

A well-engineered solution for adding multiple monitors to a laptop.

$500/Amazon/Review

obVus Solutions minder Laptop Tower Stand 2.0

A sturdy, functional stand that offers a wide range viewing positions. Also provides a stand for a phone.

$75/Amazon/Review

Wacom One HD

A powerful graphics tablet and display that brings drawing to Macs, PCs and Chromebooks.

$400/Amazon/Review

Monoprice 15-in-1 Triple-Display MST Docking Station

A docking station that brings multiple USB ports, audio, SD and RJ45 connections through a single USB-C connection.

$170/Amazon/Review

a gingerbread house beside a lit candle
Photo by Leeloo Thefirst on Pexels.com

Jabra Speak2 75

Jabra’s latest speakerphone offers improved speaker size, better microphones, and Teams compatibility. One of the best speakerphones on the market. USB-C or Bluetooth.

$389/Amazon/Review

Road Warriors

VisionTek GaN II 65W Charger

A small 65W charger that will handle laptops, phones and other devices. Compact and easy to pack.

$41/Amazon/Review

Fold-N-Pack Smart Hanger™

Keeps shirts folded and ready to hang upon arrival.

$20/Amazon/Review

ESR Rebound 360 for iPad 12.9

A combination of an iPad case and a removeable stand and cover held in place by magnets.

$37/Amazon

Mujjo Tech Case

A large, well-made case for for holding all your tech essentials.

$75/Mujjo/Review

Serious Insights is not a Mujjo affiliate. We are not paid for clicks to Mujjo.

obVus Solutions minder Portable Folding Bluetooth Keyboard

An excellent folding keyboard with a trackpad. Works with tablets and laptops.

$60/Amazon/Review

Monoprice 13-in-1 USB-C to Dual HDMI + DP Triple Display Docking Station

A versatile USB-C dock that travels well and turns even the most anemic USB-C devices into well connected workstations.

$60/Amazon/Review

Tribit StormBox Micro 2

Powerful portable speakers that not only offer great sound, but also include a strap for wearing or attaching to a bicycle or other item. Buy two to create stereo sound.

$60/Amazon/Review

red ribbon near gold ribbon
Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

AirFly Pro

Twelve South’s AirFly Pro turns 3.5mm audio jacks (and older dual output ports) into Bluetooth connections on flights and any device with 3.5mm that finds itself Bluetooth-challenged. Eliminate headphone wires with the Bluetooth audio dongle.

$55/Amazon/Review

JBL Go 3

Smaller than the StormBox Micro 2, an ultracompact speaker that is happy to dangle. IP67 rated for beach or desert use…or Burning Man in a hurricane.

$50/Amazon/Review

Toys and Collectibles

Visit the Amazon Toy List for additional ideas and deals

Fametek Star Trek Borg Cube Bluetooth Speaker

A must have addition to any Star Trek fan’s tech collection.

$70/Amazon/Review

Toniebox

A musical and storytelling box that is plush and huggable and easy to master by even young children. Several starter kits and Tonies to choose from

$70/Amazon/Review

StoryPhones

Bluetooth headphones that also include Shields containing offline stories and music.

$100/Amazon/Review

Star Trek Shuttle Advent Calendar

Twelve nights of high-quality Trek treasures in a collectible 1701-D shuttle box.

$150/Insight Editions/Review

Little People Collector Star Trek Special Edition Set

Just look at the picture. Too cute! We purchased ours as a 2023 San Diego Comic-Con exclusive from Entertainment Earth.

$25/Amazon

cookies for hanukkah
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

Stocking Stuffers

ZAGG Pro Stylus 2

An alternative stylus for iPad. Also includes capacitive tip for iPhone or other devices. Magnetic mounting on iPad, Qi charging and tilt support. Multiple colors.

$80/Amazon/Review

Carved Wood and Resin Phone Case

A beautifully artistic case that combines natural wood burl slices with complementary resin. Each case is unique.

$59/Amazon/Review

GravaStar Delta35 GaN Charger

A cute USB-C charger styled as a mecha robot. Supports up to 35W with Power Delivery.

$30/GravaStar/Review

Serious Insights is not a GravaStar affiliate. We are not paid for clicks to GravaStar.

magHANDL O with Popl

A clever rethinking of the “socketed” adhesive phone grip, magHANDL O leverages Apple’s magSafe to provide a versatile and removeable handle, stand, and even webcam holder for iPhones. Comes with Popl contact NFC chip.

$30/Amazon/Review

Cord Brick

A new weighted silicon block that can help organize cords or even hold up a smartphone.

$15/Amazon/Review

Clckr MagSafe Stand and Grip

A thin and light handle and stand for magSafe Apple iPhones.

$30/Amazon/Review

Factory Entertainment Star Trek: The Original Series Phaser Bottle Opener

A fun bottle opener that looks like a TOS phaser. Factory Entertainment also makes a triangular one from Starfleet Academy only available on their site.

$26/Amazon

Mujjo Full Leather Magnetic Wallet for iPhone 

A leather wallet that attaches to an iPhone via MagSafe. Great for a night out.

$44/Amazon/Review

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Ecofriendly

Infinity Labs Accessories

The most environmentally thoughtful products we reviewed all year. Includes cables and chargers.

$Various/Amazon/Review

Urbanista Phoenix Earbuds

These true wireless earbuds punch above their price with solid performance and respectable ANC. The solar panel on the case for charging proves the differentiator.

$149/Amazon/Review

Seagate Ultra Touch HDD 

Our featured Earth Day selection. A solid USB-C Seagate HDD housed in a 30% post-consumer recycled housing and 100% recyclable packaging.

$80/Amazon/Review

Targus Ecosmart keyboard

A light harvesting keyboard made of 85% Global Consumer Recycled (GRS)-certified post-consumer recycled plastic. Connects to 3 devices. Supports Chrome OS, Windows, macOS, iPadOS, iOS, and Android.

$116/Amazon

person holding a green plant
Photo by Akil Mazumder on Pexels.com

JBL CLip 4 Eco

My latest shower companion for listening to Podcasts from Neil deGrasse Tyson on Star Talk and Shakespeare Unlimited from the Folger Shakespeare Library. Replaced the Clip 3 that was still going strong. Now made with recycled materials and delivered in plastic-free packing.

$50/Amazon/Review

Fun and Games

Govee Glide Hexa Pro LED Light Panels

Govee Glide Hexa Pro LED Light Panels offer a bevy of lighting effects available after selecting a design and installing the panels.

$199/Amazon/Review

Dark Matter Hyper-K Wireless Mouse

A light, rechargeable mouse with LED effects. Perfect for gamers looking to make swift moves.

$70/Amazon/Review

IOGEAR Kaliber Gaming Hver Stealth

A solid gaming keyboard that can do double-duty as a work keyboard. Easily accessible RGB lights might bring fun to otherwise dull workspaces.

$55/Amazon/Review

Mars Pro BT Speaker

The most impressive alien invasion Bluetooth speaker design on the market, and it sounds good too. 2 subwoofers and 2 tweeters for rich sound, and an LED light show. Very fun.

$230/Amazon

Casetify Spider-Man iPad 12.9 Case

Well, it’s a Spider-Man case for an iPad 12.9. Supports magnetic Apple Pencil and instant on cover magnets. Extra bumpers on the corners.

$82/CASETiFY

Serious Insights is not a CASETiFY affiliate and receives no paymnt for clicks to their site.

Seagate Spider-Man 2TB FireCuda Hard Drive

A 2TB HD with configurable LED lights. Your iPad with a Spider-Man cover (or you Mac, or your PC). With great amounts of data comes great responsibility for backing up that data.

$110/Amazon/Review

Books and Media

Barbie

The movie of the year comes to Blu-ray and digital with a lot of fun extras. Digital code included.

$40/Amazon/Prime Video

Blue Beetle

I really enjoyed this movie. A lot more heart than many of the recent superhero outings. Blu-ray with a digital code.

$35/Amazon/Prime Video

Star Trek: Designing the Final Frontier

Explores the midcentury design influence on Star Trek, the original series. Told through stories, drawings and images of the furniture and art that shaped the Star Trek aesthetic.

$40/Amazon/Review

Star Trek Costumes

A coffee table book that provides deep insight into the design and influence of Star Trek fashion. Showcases over 50 years of costumes from twelve films and six series.

$60/Amazon/Review