Australian technology news, reviews, and guides to help you
Australian technology news, reviews, and guides to help you

Pickr 2024 Holiday Gift Guides: Android Owners

Know someone who loves their Android phone and won’t stop talking about it? Gift them something made to go with that droid.

We all know someone who loves their phone, and just won’t stop telling you about it. That could be anyone with an iPhone, but it could also be someone who loves their Pixel or Galaxy or even their foldable.

Right now, anyone who talks about a foldable of any kind is very likely in the Android camp. Foldables don’t yet exist for iPhone, and so if you know someone who shouts to the world how awesome their foldable phone is, they have an Android, and the same is true if they mention how good their Pixel or Galaxy or Oppo anything is.

So if you know someone who loves their Android, consider something made to make their life with their phone of choice that little bit better all around.

Anker Nano 10K Power Bank

Price: $99

Power banks are rarely the sort of thing we’d typically see as a good gift, but there are exceptions. Specifically when they’ll make life easier for everyone involved.

The Anker Nano is one of those power banks, and one this reviewer still regularly relies on.

A clever and compact accessory, it includes a USB-C plug built-in that also doubles as a carry loop, while also supporting both a USB-C and rectangular USB-A port for charging other devices. There’s a good 10K of power inside this 30W charging brick, plus a small screen to let you know how much battery life is left.

And if all of that is a bit too much spec and jargon, know that this power bank is an easy carry that has saved the battery of this journalist and his partner many, many times since we initially reviewed it.

Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1

Price: $150

The world of Android hasn’t quite jumped onto the magnetically-held Qi2 bandwagon yet, but it is coming. You just now 2025 will be that year, especially since HMD beat every other Android to the punch with the first Qi2 Android phone.

While Qi2 isn’t there for current Android owners, it is coming, and any Android phone with wireless charging supports the existing Qi wireless standard, too. So upgrading an Android owner’s charger ahead of time could be a nudge in the right direction.

Belkin’s BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 is a handy gadget with that in mind. The peripheral includes a main and slightly elevated charging pad that will handle both old and new wirelessly charged gadgets, though it will magnetically hold those with Qi2. Meanwhile, the second charging pad on the right is handy for wireless earbuds with wireless charging, as well.

We actually use one to keep a Yoto Player charged for the little one, because Belkin’s charging pad is a rather nice platform to leave wirelessly charged gadgets, as well.

Backbone One for Android

Price: $179

Android owners into gaming may want something to help them game that little bit better, and that’s where Backbone’s neat gaming peripheral comes in.

The PlayStation-themed Backbone One snaps to the side of pretty much any USB-C phone — which is pretty much all of them — and add support for modern game controls, complete with a solid app to help you find other games to play.

It’s a whole lot better than relying on touchscreen controls alone, and a great way to transform the mobile gaming experience on any phone.

Motorola Moto Tag 4-Pack

Price: $179

Android users can’t make good use of the iPhone-only Apple AirTag, and if you don’t have a Samsung phone, the Samsung equivalent of “SmartTags” is off limits. So what can you do to help out a friend or family member who has an Android device? Consider Motorola’s equivalent.

Motorola’s Moto Tag is one of those handy gadgets that aims to do what the AirTag does, only a little differently. It lacks the ultra wideband radio technology, but offers gadget tracking using the crowd-finding tech found within Google phones and Google’s tracking network.

But best of all, it’s designed to work on all Android phones, not just ones made by a certain brand.

DJI Osmi 6 Mobile Gimbal

Price: $219

Content creators with an Android phone likely rely on a tripod of some sort, but they might want to up their game considerably with a bit of technology.

Drone-maker DJI has been getting into gimbals in a big way, and its Osmo Mobile 6 aims to be a step in the right direction, using a portable design complete with an extension rod, a tripod, 3-axis stabilisation, and support for Android phones aplenty, too.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

Price: $450

Easily one of our favourite pairs of truly wireless earbuds, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (also known as the QC Ultra!) deliver some of the bests for earphones you can find today on Android.

The noise cancellation is up there, as is the comfort level, and these earbuds even boast spatial support with head tracking regardless of whether you use a service that supports Dolby Atmos or not. They work incredibly well, so much that when we’re reviewing Android phones, this is the first pair we turn to.

Google Pixel Watch 3

Price: from $579

Owners of an Android phone can’t just play with an Apple Watch — you need an iPhone for that — but they have their next best equivalent: the Pixel Watch 3.

It turns out the third time really was the charm for Google’s Pixel Watch, with this year’s iteration a solid improvement over what we’ve seen in prior years.

Android owners keen for an elevated smartwatch experience made for every Android, not just those running Samsung, will see a great screen with a minimalist design, IP68 water resistance, solid health features, and at least one full day of battery life. The battery could still be a little better, but you could say the same thing about the Apple Watch, too.

TCL Nxtwear S Glasses

Price: $699

A definitely different take on how to extend an Android experience, TCL’s Nxtwear is a pair of glasses with tiny Full HD panels, one for each eye.

Plug a pair into a phone and throw them on, and your eyes will see a massive screen version of what’s on the phone, essentially providing a big screen experience in a gadget you can keep in your pocket, and doesn’t weigh much more than another pair of glasses.

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