At CNET, our job is to play with all the new gadgets. It's fun and cool, but it also gives us the serious responsibility to figure out which ones are actually the best. Hundreds of devices and thousands of hours of testing later, we're proud to present our Editors' Choice awards for giftable tech.
The mobile, computing, gaming and home entertainment gear below represent the cream of the 2024 gadget crop. For that reason they make great gifts. Chances are someone on your list wants a new phone, Chromebook, soundbar, streaming device, smartwatch, projector or set of earbuds.
Below you'll find the ones our editors liked best. Best phones and smartwatches to give in 2024 Whether the person on your list wants something iPhone or Android, budget or high-end, foldable or camera-focused, one of these phones will fit the bill. We've also awarded the Editors' Choice to not one but two smartwatches this year, one for Apple users and the other for everyone else.
Apple’s cumulative camera and performance upgrades come together impressively in the iPhone 16, making it the ultimate general-purpose phone. iPhone owners upgrading from a phone that’s a couple of generations old that want a better camera. The iPhone 16’s most notable new addition -- Apple Intelligence -- isn’t here yet.
But if you’re upgrading from an iPhone 13 or earlier, you’ll notice a big leap in camera quality, plus you’ll get other handy features that Apple has added in recent years, like the Dynamic Island .
