Best holiday tech gifts for less than $250
Got someone on your holiday gifting list who deserves a bit of a splurge? Or maybe you just want something really nice for yourself. These four devices are some of the best gifts CNET editors have found for under $250.
Sonos One
CNET rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding)
The good: The Sonos One integrates full-fledged
Alexa voice control, just like an Amazon Echo speaker but with better sound quality. It offers most of Alexa’s smart home controls and its far-field microphone performs similarly to an Echo. The
Sonos One works seamlessly as part of a Sonos multi-room system, and can pair with another One for stereo sound. Apple AirPlay 2 is now supported and Google Assistant is coming, too.
The bad: The One costs twice as much as the new Echo. It cannot form a stereo pair with an existing Sonos Play:1. Google Assistant may not arrive until 2019. It doesn’t work the way you’d expect if you have an Echo within earshot. There’s no Bluetooth.
The cost: $199
The bottom line: The Alexa-powered Sonos One is the first smart speaker that actually sounds good with music — and even more new features will be coming to it in the months ahead.
Apple TV 4K
CNET rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstand
ing)
The good: The Apple TV 4K delivers the best streaming video available to compatible 4K, HDR and Dolby Vision TVs. It offers the most polished streaming experience today, the best remote on the market and excellent Siri voice options. It’s just $30 more than the non-4K box.
The bad: The Apple TV 4K is expensive. It doesn’t stream YouTube in 4K or HDR. Cheaper streaming devices from Roku and others offer similar image quality and capabilities, as well as more 4K apps.
The cost: $169 to $259.96
The bottom line: If you can swing the price and want the best streamer available today, get the Apple TV 4K.
Logitech Harmony Companion
CNET rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding) The good: The Logitech Harmony Companion is a unique universal-remote system that makes it possible to control your entire home theater using your phone or tablet, or the included simple remote, via the Harmony Hub. The remote is remarkably light and thin, and operates via RF, rather than IR, so you don’t need line-of-sight to your components. Harmony’s activity-based buttons offer easy operation for functions like “Watch TV.” The updated app makes initial setup much easier than past versions.
The bad: It’s relatively expensive. The updated app can be frustrating to use. The remote isn’t backlit. It has only three dedicated activity buttons which support six activities, requiring a non-intuitive long-press for the secondary activities. The option to control via a smartphone is cool, but not that useful. Initial setup requires an Android or iOS device. The cost: $105.34 to $149.99
The bottom line: The Harmony Companion delivers the best universal remote experience for the money, making your home entertainment center easier to use than ever.
Bose SoundSport Wireless
CNET rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstand
ing)
The good: The SoundSoundSport Wireless is a very comfortable in-ear wireless Bluetooth sports headphone that’s sweat-resistant and sounds great. The earphones fit securely in your ears thanks to winged tips. The headphone works decently as a headset for making cell-phone calls and has an auto-off feature to preserve battery life.
The bad: The ear pieces protrude noticeably from your ears (they’re a little bulky but don’t feel heavy); battery life tops out at 6 hours.
The cost: $149 to $149.99
The bottom line: The Bose SoundSport Wireless is the most comfortable, best overall in-ear Bluetooth sports headphone you can buy right now.