With only mere days until the holiday buying season wraps up, what last minute gifts will grab you? We’ll offer some gadget ideas complete with where to find them.
Buying on a budget is one thing, but waiting to the last minute to get your gifts is another holiday tradition so many people keep. If even our over 10,000 words of holiday gift guides wasn’t enough to tempt you to buy for a specific type of person and their interest, and you find yourself now in the category of a “last minute buyer”, we have something you can use.
With only a day or two to go until folks crack open the wrapping paper and see their gifts inside, you probably can’t rely on the timeliness of a delivery from a courier or another service. Fortunately, you can go out to Aussie stores and find what’s below, with a few gadgety ideas for you maxing out at $250.
Our 2024 Last Minute Gadget Gift Guide is a list of some of the easiest gift ideas and where you can find them.
Consider this the last minute cheat sheet, covering the great gadget ideas you can find from sales at Big W, Bing Lee, Harvey Norman, JB HiFi, Officeworks, and The Good Guys, as well as a few others. We’ve organised it by product category, but if you’re at a store, search this page by the store name, and find the answers you’re looking for that way.
Headphones and earphones
Beats Solo Buds
Price: $129
If you’re buying for someone who prefers big brands to big features, you might want to check out the Beats Solo Buds. They’re essentially what happens when big brand Beats (owned by Apple) does a pair of truly wireless earbuds made to be a little less expensive.
You won’t find noise cancellation or head-tracked spatial audio in this pair, but you will find a decent comfort, nice sound, and a really compact design with an interesting take on the battery: the Solo Buds has 18 hours of charge, but no charger in the case. Instead, they turn off when they’re in the case, waiting to be recharged until they’re plugged back in.
Most retail stores are selling the Beats Solo Buds for their standard $129 price currently in Australia.
Sony WH-CH720N headphones
Price: between $149 and $199
A surprisingly decent pair of noise cancelling headphones, Sony’s CH720N scores a nod of approval from this reviewer because of what you get: great sound and solid active noise cancellation.
You won’t get the flagship controls or feature set, nor will you get a case or a foldable design, but the Sony WH-CH720N delivers enough of what people would want in a pair of noise cancelling cans that doesn’t break the bank.
JB HiFi is selling the CH720N for $145 alongside Officeworks, which is matching that price. Look around and you might find them for less, or get a store to price match and see if the price can fall.
Google Pixel Buds Pro (first-gen)
Price: $149
A solid half-price deal currently found around Australia now that the second-gen Pixel Buds Pro exist, the first-gen model are basically what would happen if Google made an AirPods Pro-like model for Android owners.
They’re compact, easy to use, and pack in great sound, making them an ideal choice for Android phone owners.
The Pixel Buds Pro are normally a $300 pair, but 2024 holiday sales seem to have the earbuds at JB HiFi and Officeworks for $149, while the Qantas store has them for $155.
Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless
Price: $179
A compact and comfy pair of truly wireless earphones from the Sennheiser brand, this pair of ANC earphones has also seen a bit of a price drop for the holidays, falling from its $350 RRP to something a little more last-minute budget buyer friendly.
Sennheiser itself has cut the price practically in half to $179, but you can find the Accentum True Wireless for a little less if you look around, with Bing Lee, JB HiFi, Officeworks, and The Good Guys all seeing the pair as high as $174.
Apple AirPods 4 (without ANC)
Price: from $198 to $219
If you can live without the noise cancellation, Apple’s AirPods 4 has a version sans ANC.
The AirPods 4 comes in both an ANC and a regular non-ANC model, but both are designed well, fit better, and sound solid, too. If you’re buying for an iPhone owner that listens to Apple Music, they’ll find spatial audio with head-tracking is supported, too.
The AirPods 4 are normally $219 from Apple, but if you look around, you’ll find them for $198 and $199 and Harvey Norman and JB HiFi respectively.
Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds (2024)
Price: $249
This year’s replacement to the Bose QC Earbuds II is a reinvention of the first-gen model made a little bit better. They’re designed a little easier to wear and come with a custom app, and were a surprising entry priced at $299 when they launched only the past couple of months ago.
Fast forward to now, and Bose has dropped the price a little bit for the holiday season. In Australia, we’ve seen the Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds for $249 at The Good Guys and Bose, while the second-gen model is $289 at Bose, and our favourite pair in the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds is $350 at the same stores for the holiday season. If you can extend the budget that little bit more, they’re one of the best pairs around hands down.
Speakers
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom
Price: from $69 to $149
Water resistant speakers are a dime a dozen these days — everyone sells them, and you can typically pick up a compact model for between $30 and $70 — but the brand worth checking out may be the one that kicked off the category ages ago: Ultimate Ears.
In Australia, its Wonderboom provides a solid sound in a chunky yet compact battery, and it appears to be on sale for the season. ‘Tis the season, and all that jazz.
There are a couple of generations out there, namely consisting of the Wonderboom Play and the Wonderboom 4, the latter of which is technically superior, but if you’re buying for someone young, they may not care. You’ll find the Wonderboom Play for as little as $69 at Big W, while Bing Lee sees the Wonderboom 4 for $118 across the country.
Amazon Echo Show 5
Price: $99
Smart displays aren’t the big deal they used to be, but if you’re looking for a speaker that can show pictures, the weather, and maybe the odd spot of news, you might want to check out Amazon’s Echo Show 5, a smart display and speaker that can sit on a desk or by a bedside, and works with Spotify and Apple Music.
It’s a 5 inch smart display with a little speaker inside, and like most products on this list, the retail price has fallen for the 2024 holiday season. The Echo Show 5 normally retails for $169, but can be found for $99 from pretty much all the usual suspects, including Amazon, JB HiFi, Officeworks, and The Good Guys.
JBL SB510 3.1 soundbar
Price: $129
A soundbar for under $150 sounds like a crazy idea, but it’s one you can find from JBL around Australia right now.
The 3.1 SB510 includes three channels for left, right, and centre, as well as a built-in subwoofer in its simple soundbar body, designed to be plugged into HDMI for the TV, but also includes Bluetooth for wireless sound.
It’s not a premium soundbar, but given the price, you may not need it to be. Found in Australia at $129 down from its regular $199 price point, JB HiFi and The Good Guys will see the $129 price, while Telstra runs the soundbar at $139.
Apple HomePod Mini
Price: $149
If you’re looking at buying a speaker for someone living in the Apple world who also has a desk or a bed, or maybe even a kitchen counter, you might want to consider the HomePod Mini.
Colourful and clever, it’s basically Siri in a pint-sized speaker made to work specifically for iPhone owners, handy for folks living in that world.
It lacks the full Atmos spatial experience of its more expensive full HomePod sibling, but the HomePod Mini is still a great sound experience for people who have an iPhone, and it connects with other aspects of an Apple HomeKit-enabled smart home, of which there is more gear coming out.
You won’t typically find the HomePod Mini on sale per se, with most places keeping to Apple’s $149 price point, though Officeworks does have the Mini for $139 in Australia.
Toniebox
Price: $199
Buying a speaker for kids comes with the added problem of “how do they control the media”. Enter the Toniebox, a clever take on the speaker that can be used with little figures.
Each figure includes a soundtrack built in, basically telling kids that when they use the Moana figure, they’re playing a Moana music and storybook, and when they play Paw Patrol, well, you can see where this is going.
The sound quality could be a little better, but your kids won’t notice, and there’s also another interesting feature: kids have to tap or bang on the side of the speaker to get it to change tracks. It’s basically a more interactive style of speaker focused on the little ones, and can be found for $199 at Baby Bunting, Big W, and David Jones.
IKEA Symfonisk Picture Frame WiFi speaker
Price: $249
Fancy a trip out to IKEA for some last minute shopping? This speaker can only be found at IKEA, but provides a Sonos-experience made by someone else.
In what is literally a picture frame with art customisable only from IKEA, the Symfonisk Picture Frame speaker is what happens when you get a Sonos inside of a picture frame with ready-made art from the Swedish furniture maker.
The sound is nice, the design clever, and it’s definitely a way to bring a little music to a wall you didn’t expect. IKEA has lowered the price from its regular $299 tag, now sitting at $249 in Australia.
Sonos Ray
Price: $249
Another of those really solid price cuts found for the holiday season, the entry-level Sonos two channel soundbar that is the Ray has fallen from $499 to $249, effectively cut in half.
The Ray is a great little entry to the world of Sonos and for folks who need a soundbar, providing decent two-channel movie and music renditions, while also being compatible with other Sonos speakers, including the compact Roam and the aforementioned IKEA Symfonisk.
We’ve seen the $249 Sonos Ray deal around Australia pretty uniformly, found at JB HiFi, The Good Guys, while Harvey Norman has the Ray for a few bucks less, between $243 and $246 depending on the colour you pick, white and black respectively. Even Sonos’ own store is selling it for $249 for the 2024 holiday season.
Phones
Motorola Moto G04
Price: $149
Decent phones for low prices aren’t exactly a common thing, but if you’re buying a new phone for someone and intend to keep the price down, there are options, such as the Motorola G04.
An Android phone made for budgets, you’ll find a big screen, fingerprint sensor, and NFC for Google Pay in the budget-friendly Moto G04, which is also a little less expensive for the holiday season.
Normally priced at $179, Big W has it for $149 outright and unlocked, while Retravision has it for $138. And if you’re buying for someone who doesn’t care which telco they use, or they already use Telstra, a locked Telstra Moto G04 can be found at Woolworths for $99.
HMD Barbie Phone
Price: from $158
Alternatively, if you’re considering a phone for someone and you don’t want them to get sucked into the black hole that is apps aplenty and doom scrolling, consider a phone option designed with the intent of used as a classic phone.
HMD’s Barbie Phone is more of an old-school phone, designed for calls and texts using the classic button number pad. It comes with only a handful of apps, and the screen is so small, you won’t be spending time doing much on the device, allowing you to experience the world sans-phone.
Normally priced at $199 for the Barbie kit complete with a bracelet and stickers, this real phone can be found for around $160-ish if you look, with JB HiFi selling it for $158, Harvey Norman for $168, and Big W for $169. Alternatively, consider getting the more expensive stores to price match with the less expensive one.
Refurbished Apple iPhone SE
Price: from $189
If nothing but an iPhone will do, good luck finding one new for under $250. That doesn’t really exist. However, you can find used and renewed “refurbished” models for lower prices, thanks to stores such as Reebelo and even Boost’s refurb program.
Depending on how old you’re happy to go, the iPhone SE second-gen can be found in a refurbished state online from JB HiFi for $189, while Boost sells a refurbished 2020 SE from $203. Reebelo’s online refurbished marketplace can find even lower, but be aware, models older than the iPhone X aren’t going to see anymore updates, and you’re basically buying outdated technology for the sake of owning an iPhone.
Alternatively, consider checking out our guide to buying iPhones, which also covers refurbished iPhones.
Other gadgets
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
Price: $
You’re not going to find a TV for under $250 of seriously high quality — TVs under that price exist, but they’ll basically be house brands, or maybe low-end HD-only models from the likes of Hisense or TCL.
But you can upgrade a TV with a new operating system, something Amazon’s Fire TV Stick makes possible. It’s a smart TV in a little stick, and now that the Google Chromecast is no longer made, it’s one of the easiest choices to convert a TV into a smart TV, complete with a remote to help you do it.
The basic HD Fire TV Stick can be found for around $39 at the moment, but the 4K model is only $10 more from most stores, with Amazon selling it for $49 alongside JB HiFi and Officeworks.
Nespresso Vertuo Pop
Price: $98
You won’t find many new and clever appliances for the home under $250, but we’ve found one that could make a fun gift idea, and it brings caffeination with it.
Nespresso’s compact “Pop” style of Vertuo makes it possible to create long and short styles of coffee with ease, provided you keep to the Vertuo pods Nespresso makes. It’s about as easy at it gets, and you can’t really insert the Vertuo pods into a Nespresso Vertuo machine the wrong way.
The only obvious downside is you’re limited to using pods from Nespresso, something we noted in our review, but grab a couple of extra sleeves, and it’ll make a holiday gift that sends a message of staying awake more regularly.
Normally $228, The Good Guys is selling the Vertuo Pop for $98, Big W for $99, while the Nespresso store has cut the price down to $129.
Fujifilm Instax Mini 12
Price: from $99
Not technically a digital camera, Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 12 brings fun almost Polaroid-like experiences to a new generation, complete with an app aimed at helping you digitise those instant photo shots.
Fujifilm makes the Instax Mini camera from around $99 by itself, but if you look, you can find a couple of kits with camera and film for between $119 and $149, found at places such as Big W, Kmart, and JB HiFi.