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00:00Hey guys, I'm Tom the Tech Chap, and if you fancy buying yourself, or someone you
00:04clearly like very much, a nice shiny gadget-y gift around Black Friday, Cyber Monday, the
00:09holidays with some good deals on, then I've put together 10 of my favourite gadget gifts
00:14that cost around or under £500 or $500.
00:17Yes, quite a lot of money, but you can get some really good stuff for that price, and
00:21I'll leave links in the description below.
00:22Let me know in the comments if you've got any other great recommendations, and if you
00:25do enjoy the video, a thumbs up and subscribe would be lovely.
00:29And let's kick off with the Steam Deck.
00:31It's back!
00:32We've got a new OLED model.
00:33The Steam Deck is basically a portable PC, and with the new refreshed model, which is
00:37kind of like a Steam Deck 1.5, they've added an OLED screen.
00:41It's also a bigger screen because they've reduced the bezel around the edge, which makes
00:44it look a lot smarter as well.
00:45Battery life is up to 50% longer, they've improved the speakers, and there's plenty
00:49of quality of life upgrades, like we've gone from Wi-Fi 5 to 6E.
00:53And while performance won't be drastically different because it is essentially the same
00:56chip, although on a smaller nanometer design so it's a bit more efficient, early reviews
01:00are showing a more consistent frame rate.
01:02Now it does have some pretty stiff competition, we've got the ROG Ally, you've got the Legion
01:05Go from Lenovo, and yes, while this is definitely at the upper end of our budget, they are fantastic
01:10bits of kit.
01:11And I think with the OLED screen, with the improved efficiency, battery life, quieter
01:14fans, better speakers, the new Steam Deck from Valve, I think it'd be the one to buy.
01:19Okay, next up, we have these.
01:22The new X-Real Air 2 and Air 2 Pro Augmented Reality Glasses.
01:26They're basically a slightly chunky pair of sunglasses, but you simply plug in the USB-C
01:30cable into your laptop, your phone, your games console via an HDMI adapter, whatever you
01:34like, and then it'll project, or mirror, a 130-inch display right in front of your eyes
01:40using the dual micro OLED screens in the lenses.
01:43I think these are absolutely fantastic, and the best bit for me is they're so much more
01:48comfortable than the original Airs that came out about 18 months ago.
01:51And they're incredible for watching movies, for gaming, for working even, and exclusive
01:56to the Air 2 Pros, which are about £50 more expensive than the regular Air 2s, but it
02:00adds this electrochromic dimming.
02:02Just press this little button on the side, and like magic, it gives you three different
02:06levels of dimming.
02:07Or, if you don't fancy augmented reality glasses, why not consider a pair of regular sunglasses
02:13that have a camera and a speaker?
02:14These are the Meta Ray Bans, and I can press this button once to take a picture, I can
02:19press it for a couple of seconds and it starts a 60-second 1080p recording in vertical, and
02:24actually the quality is really bloody good, especially in good light.
02:27And you've also got a pair of speakers here as well, and you can adjust the volume.
02:30Really nice, smart glasses.
02:32I'm not seeing anything on the screens, they're not augmented reality, but you can also get
02:35away with the fact that they kind of do look like regular glasses.
02:38So ex-real Air 2 Pros, Meta Ray Bans, and while we're talking about things that you
02:43put on your head, let's talk about the MetaQuest 3.
02:46Now this is a proper VR and also MR, or mixed reality headset, and it's a lot of fun.
02:51There's tons of fun games, from skeleton slaying, to solving puzzles, to busting ghosts, with
02:56new titles arriving all the time, including Assassin's Creed Nexus.
03:00And with mixed reality, where you interact with virtual objects in your actual room,
03:04it's a bit of a game-changer with the new colour pass-through cameras.
03:08So whether it's playing games, suspended in mid-air, learning piano, defending yourself
03:12from cute aliens, or just watching your favourite YouTuber on a big screen while you do
03:16chores, you can do a lot with this.
03:18Plus it's a cinema, a massive TV, a work monitor, a workout buddy, and it can even
03:23moonlight as a great value wired or wireless PC VR headset.
03:28I do recommend buying an aftermarket headstrap to make it a lot more comfortable, and the
03:31battery life is a bit short, and it's also quite a lot more expensive than the Quest 2,
03:36but I dare anyone to not put this on and have a lot of fun.
03:39Now from smart glasses and headsets to, well, smart watches, this is actually the Apple
03:43Watch Ultra 2, which is my current go-to watch, but it is a little bit over budget,
03:48it's about £800.
03:49So my recommendation for the best smart watch for most people is the Apple Watch Series
03:549, which just comes in under our budget, and while the Series 9 doesn't add a tonne,
03:58a slightly faster processor, a brighter screen, you've got the double tap, I still think
04:01it's the best all-round smart watch, and also fitness tracker.
04:05Top tier health and sleep tracking, this gorgeous design with lots of different colours and
04:09band options, and it's kind of like having a mini-iPhone on your wrist.
04:12However, I probably wouldn't get an Apple Watch if I didn't have an iPhone, and so
04:15if you are using an Android phone, I would recommend the Pixel Watch 2, which is where
04:19Google are putting all its clever Fitbit technology, or alternatively, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6.
04:25Although if you can stretch your budget, I do think the Ultra 2 is the best smart watch,
04:28a little bit chunky for a lot of people, but the battery life, it's like 36 hours, and
04:33it's also like a crazy bright screen, this is my favourite smart watch right now.
04:36However, in terms of my favourite smart phone, and again keeping it under that $500 budget,
04:42it's this guy, the Pixel 7a.
04:45The cameras are fantastic, we get the pretty powerful Tensor G2 chip from last year's flagship
04:50Pixels, and also a lovely, comfortable 6.1-inch OLED screen, with a nice smooth 90Hz refresh
04:56rate.
04:57Plus there's face and fingerprint unlocking, we get 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage as
05:01standard, and being a Pixel, we have one of the best cameras on any phone really, especially
05:05at this price point, and also it's the first to get updates, you'll always get the latest
05:09version of Android first on these phones.
05:11You're getting a lot for your money here, and Google offer up to 6 years of support
05:15for this.
05:16Next up we have these, the Sony WF-1000XM5s, and to my ears at least, these are the best
05:23wireless noise cancelling earbuds you can buy.
05:25Now to be fair, there are lots of other options out there, I love my Apple Airpods Pro 2s,
05:30and also I think the Nothing Earbuds 2s are worth mentioning, but as a package, particularly
05:34with noise cancelling in mind, the XM5s are a step up.
05:37They have a ton of great reviews, the sound quality is clear and detailed, the call quality
05:41and the noise isolation is on point, the battery lasts about 8 hours and you'll get an extra
05:4516 from the case, and you get multi-point Bluetooth, so you can connect two devices
05:49at the same time.
05:51Now sound is of course very subjective, and while they're my favourite earphones, one
05:54of the questions I get asked a lot is what's the best soundbar to enhance your audio experience
05:58with a new TV, and while you could spend a fortune if you want an all-in, great soundbar
06:03that just does everything you need, it's the Sonos Beam 2.
06:07With 5 speakers, Dolby Atmos, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, it's a nice compact sound
06:12system with fantastic sound quality.
06:14The setup is ultra simple, then you can tune the sound to your room using Trueplay, and
06:18being Sonos, there's a whole ecosystem of extra speakers that you can add wirelessly
06:22down the line.
06:23But paired with a Sonos Mini Sub, this is a serious setup.
06:28Now alternatively, if you fancy yourself a speaker that can, well, move, we've got the
06:32new Sonos Move 2 in this delightful green, olive green colour here.
06:37It's a pretty hefty, chunky speaker, but you can take it anywhere you want.
06:40It's got a 30-something hour battery life, the sound is incredible, and so for moving
06:45this around rooms, taking it on your travels or camping or whatever, this is a really impressive
06:49portable speaker.
06:50It is quite expensive at about 450 quid, but I'd argue it's one of the best.
06:55Now buying someone a TV as like a gift or for Christmas, is that a little bit excessive?
07:01Probably, but you can actually get some stunning TVs for under £500.
07:06Mostly from the likes of TCL or Hisense.
07:08You can get this TCL 65-incher for just over £400, which offers solid 4K picture quality,
07:15HDR10, Android TV with all the usual streaming apps, or spend a similar amount of money on
07:19a 55-inch and get more premium features like Mini-LED Quantum Dot Tech for higher brightness
07:24and more vibrant colours, and the likes of 120Hz and low-latency modes for gaming.
07:29Genuinely, this is all the TV most people will ever need.
07:33Now speaking of gaming, if you don't already have a PS5 or an Xbox Series X perhaps, then
07:37now's actually a really good time to buy one, not just because there are tons of games
07:40and good deals, but Sony have just released, they're not calling it the PS5 Slim, but
07:45essentially a slimmer PS5.
07:47It's 30% smaller by volume, it's 18% lighter, and with a slightly larger 1TB SSD storage
07:53drive.
07:54The new PS5 is also a little bit more expensive, and to my eye, I don't know if it actually
07:58looks quite as good, but it's certainly a lot smaller, which for some people, if you
08:02want to put it into your TV cabinet, then that could be a good selling point.
08:05The other big news is it gets a modular 4K Blu-ray drive, so you can either get the version
08:09with the drive, or if you go for the more affordable digital-only one, then you can
08:13add the drive after.
08:14The downside, aside from being a little bit more expensive, is that while it is being
08:17released in the US right now, there currently isn't a release date here in the UK and a
08:21lot of other countries.
08:22Or, if you know someone with a PS5, then the new PlayStation Portal handheld will let them
08:27play the console remotely over a WiFi network anywhere in the world.
08:31It has the same DualSense controller feel and haptic feedback, but with a lovely 8-inch
08:351080p 60fps screen stuck in the middle.
08:38Just remember though, you do need a good WiFi connection to make it work well, and this
08:42is not a console.
08:43It's a peripheral that just mirrors your PS5, which also has to be on at the time.
08:47It's not a standalone console.
08:50And at number 10, this little guy.
08:51This is the Insta360 GO 3, and what makes this really special is if I press this little
08:56button here, it actually pops out.
08:59So it's like an action camera that you can make even smaller.
09:03It's tiny size, plus the fact that it's magnetic, opens up loads of creative options for getting
09:07cool and pretty unusual shots.
09:10So it shoots up to 2.7K at 30fps, and image quality, particularly in good light, is actually
09:16really good, especially the colours.
09:18Plus we have their FlowState stabilisation, which takes all the shake out of this very
09:21bouncy RC car shot.
09:23You can record for up to 45 minutes and then pop it back into the action pod to recharge.
09:27And when it's in the action pod, it's just a normal action camera with all the regular
09:30mountings, plus you get this flip screen for your selfies and vlogging.
09:34But take it out of the action pod, and you can easily clip it onto this pendant mount,
09:37or just use your own ingenuity.
09:39Other great action cameras include the GoPro Hero 12, we've got the new DJI Pocket 4, which
09:44is a really cool device, and there's another one from Insta360 which I actually can't talk
09:47about yet, but keep an eye out for that, and make sure you have subscribed for my full
09:51video on that coming very soon.
09:52So those are just 10 of my favourite gadgety gifts that maybe you could treat yourself
09:57or someone else to.
09:58I will leave links in the description below to everything I've talked about, and if you've
10:01got any other great recommendations, share it below and you might help someone out who's
10:04struggling to know what to buy.
10:05Thank you so much for watching guys, and I'll see you next time, right here, on the Tech
10:09Chat.