10 Last-Minute Tech Gifts For Dad: Father’s Day Gift Guide
Father’s Day is approaching fast, and you’re running out of time to get a gift for tech-loving dad. No worries. CRN has you covered with a gift guide consisting of tech gifts you can get shipped quickly.
Father’s Day is always closer than you think it is, and if dad’s special day is a gift-giving occasion for your family, you’re likely running out of time to get him something.
Worry not, for modern advances in logistics and distribution have made it easy to get an item shipped quickly to your doorstep in a couple of days. But you already knew that.
[Related: 8 Cool New Gadgets for Summer 2023: Wearables, Smart Home And More]
What you need is a curated list of gifts for dad that can arrive quickly before Father’s Day arrives June 18. If your dad is a techie, good news: We have a list of 10 last-minute tech gifts for Father’s Day, and they encompass a wide range of price points.
What follows is CRN’s 2023 Father’s Day Gift Guide, and it includes modern tech staples such as wireless earbuds, laptops and Bluetooth speakers as well as some items you may have not considered.
Sony WF-C700N Wireless Noise-Canceling Earbuds
Price (as of publication): $98.00
Where to buy: Amazon
“I should really get some of those,” dad said for what felt like the thousandth time in the past year. You know what he’s talking about: wireless earbuds, which would make his life so much easier when he’s mowing the lawn, making dinner, etc. Good news: Sony’s WF-C700N wireless noise-canceling earbuds are up for the job, and they seem well-liked by those who purchased them. The earbuds come with noise-canceling technology, they can quickly switch between two devices, and they last for up to 15 hours.
APC 1000VA Smart UPS
Price (as of publication): $497.94
Where to buy: Amazon
He’s had it up to here with all the power outages lately. Dad has been binge-watching “The Sopranos” using his home media server, and these blackouts are wreaking havoc on his first meaningful exposure to the benefits of therapy. Now you have an opportunity to quell dad’s blackout woes with the APC 1000VA Smart UPS, a backup battery that provides 750 watts and 1,000 voltage-amperes of uninterruptible power for servers, switches and other IT devices—might as well include a TV and speakers in that list for dad’s purposes. The battery comes with APC’s SmartConnect remote monitoring web portal, which is great for dad, given his passion for monitoring things.
HP Envy 17T Laptop
Price (as of publication): $1,055.00
Where to buy: Amazon
There was a time when dad’s laptop was the fastest in town, but years after deciding that he could “get most things done” with a smartphone, the portable computer’s quantities of Gigahertz, cores and Gigabytes just aren’t up to the task of even running a web browser with a few tabs open. But dad has now realized his mistakes and knows that writing that novel on a phone isn’t viable nor is it realistic to conduct boatloads of research into Boston’s Great Molasses Flood of 1919. We know he likes to play some old games once in a while and look good while doing it. Fortunately, the HP Envy 17T, with its 17-inch screen and Intel Core i7 processor, is up to the task. The laptop also comes with a 512-GB SSD, 16 GB of DDR4 memory, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, Intel Wi-Fi 6 and touch-screen functionality.
Bose SoundLink Revolve (Series II) Bluetooth Speaker
Price (as of publication): $179.00
Where to buy: Amazon
We know smartphone speakers have come a long way, but you would agree that it’s time dad listens to his “Influenced by Madonna” playlist on something with a richer and bolder sound. For that, we can recommend the Bose SoundLink Revolve (Series II) portable Bluetooth speaker and its 360-degree sound. Now he can go to the room over and still jam just as hard to Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Dua Lipa. And hey, the speaker is water-resistant, and that could go a long way, given his propensity to dance with a mug full of coffee.
Nintendo Switch–OLED Model
Price (as of publication): $349.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Dad’s students at school keep raving about this new “Legend of Zelda” game where they can glue objects together to create war machines, and there are also a lot of holes? Anyhow, it’s been years since he’s played a game, and he needs to see if he can create a contraption that flings the game’s protagonist, Link, into the air and immediately spikes him back to the ground. The good news is that Nintendo Switch systems—where you can play the latest “Zelda” entry, “Tears of the Kingdom”—are readily available now after being hard to get during the first couple of years. Game on, dad.
Garmin inReach Mini 2 Satellite Communicator
Price (as of publication): $349.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Dad really loves hiking—and getting lost—quite often. He almost always finds his way back to the trail, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a better way to talk to him when he loses cell reception? For that, there’s the Garmin inReach Mini 2 satellite communicator, which has global satellite coverage to ensure you can reach dad wherever he ends up traipsing to. The inReach Mini 2 will also let dad send an interactive SOS message to Garmin’s coordination center in case he really does get lost. But the satellite communicator may cut down on that happening since its TracBack routing feature can help him reorient himself.
Ivation Electric Cooler & Warmer
Price (as of publication): $119.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Dad has been let down by his old cooler for the last time. No one likes lukewarm beer less than dad, so it’s time to throw out the old playbook and start anew with the Ivation Electric Cooler & Warmer. You read that right: This portable 25-liter container can not only cool drinks and food down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, it can also keep food hot at a maximum temperature of 130 degrees with the flip of a switch. The receptacle comes with a standard AC power cord for plugging into standard wall outlets and a DC adapter for plugging into a vehicle’s cigarette lighter.
Otamatone Unicorn Japanese Electronic Musical Instrument
Price (as of publication): $39.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Dad got rid of his instruments long ago, and you know he’s been missing his music-playing days. If you really want to tickle him with something unexpected and silly, there’s the Otamatone, an electronic musical instrument from Japan. With the Otamatone, dad can slide his finders up and down the instrument’s touch-sensitive stem to create different notes, and he can squeeze its silly-looking face to accentuate notes with a “wah” effect.
Panasonic Streaming 4K Blu Ray Player
Price (as of publication): $217.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Dad is feeling vindicated about his hoarding of Blu-ray discs for movies and TV shows now that streaming services are getting increasingly expensive as some start to unceremoniously dump titles from their lineups. The problem is, many of these Blu-ray discs are Ultra HD Blu-ray, and he doesn’t actually have a way to play them. That’s a big problem, given that he really wants to see Al Pacino and Robert De Niro spar on the opposite ends of law and order with his new Ultra HD copy of the 1995 classic crime film “Heat.” No problem: The Panasonic Streaming 4K Blu Ray Player is capable of playing Ultra HD Blu-ray discs on top of running streaming services for the rest of the family, so you won’t have to keep dad from playing his favorites in glorious 4K resolution any longer.
Tile Bluetooth Tracker Starter Pack
Price (as of publication): $43.99
Where to buy: Amazon
You know there are better ways to spend time than helping dad find his wallet and keys. But despite creating a designated place for him to hold regular pocket contents, he just keeps losing them. He’s known about this “Tile thing” for a while, so you know it’s time to hook him up and ensure there’s a better and quicker way for him to find his belongings. This Tile Starter Pack comes with two Bluetooth trackers, the Tile Mate, which can be attached to a key ring, and the Tile Slim, which can easily fit inside a wallet. Using the Tile app on a smartphone, dad will be able to find where he left his wallet and keys much quicker. And, on the oft chance that he left them outside the home, the app will tell him of their last known location. He can even use the trackers to locate his phone should he end up losing that.