Rating Apple Gift Ideas 2021

Here are some gift ideas from Apple and other sources for Apple fans. I'll talk about each idea and rate them depending on how good of a gift i think each one really is.

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Video Transcript: Hi, this is Gary with MacMost.com. Today let's look at Apple related gifts for 2021. 
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So now is the time of year where every blog, podcast, and YouTube channel talk about gifts for Apple fans. Of course Apple has its own gift guide as well. I'm going to do the same thing. But instead of pretending I've come up with my own ideas I'm going to talk about what I found on all these other locations and rate those ideas. When I think of gifts I think of affordability, usability, and enjoyability. A lot of gifts are way out of the price range for most families. They are not giving a thousand dollar gifts to each other. But of course most of these gift guides, including Apple's own, start off by suggesting things like iPhones, iPads, and Macs as gifts. While those may be gifts for appropriate occasions like graduations, they are probably not great holiday gifts. They're extremely expensive of course. They're very useful. But maybe not as enjoyable because they are very practical gifts. You probably need one of these so getting them as a gift kind of isn't as fun as it should be. So I'm just going to group all those together and rate those at 2 out of 10.  
Now one gift you'll hear mentioned a lot this year is the AirTag. AirTags are pretty affordable. $30 for one. A pack of four for $100. They are definitely useful. But are they a lot of fun to get as a gift? I mean you get them. You set them up and then that's it. Hopefully you never actually need them unless you loose something. So I'll rate those a 3 out of 10.
Another gift with a lot of mention this year is the HomePod Mini. Now unlike it's predecessor it's actually pretty affordable. It comes in at $99. They can be useful even if somebody already has one because you could have multiple ones and use them in different rooms. But they really are for people that have Apple Music Subscriptions. So you want to check to make sure the person is using Apple Music and not some other service or no music service at all. Else they're not that great. So I'll give these a 7 out of 10.
AirPods are a little bit more of a universal gift because you can use them with any music source or listen to audio books or just about anything you use earphones for. They are expensive though. The cheapest they come is $129 and that's for the old version. The newer models are going to cost a lot more. So they are expensive but extremely useful. Even people like myself that didn't really think I needed those love them. So I'm going to rate these pretty high at 9 out of 10. 
Now Apple, of course, has Beats so there are various Beats that you can get somebody. Check to see if they are really into this brand. If they are in to Beats more than AirPods then this may make a good gift. Now they start off expensive but there are cheaper versions and you could even get some Beats that are only $50. So they may be a good option for some people. I'll rate these a 6 out of 10. 
Now there are a lot of people that think high-end earbuds like AirPods and Beats are over rated and you could certainly find some cheap off-brand versions of these for $20 or $30 if you look. So that could be a good option. But be prepared fro the receiver to be disappointed. If they really wanted some AirPods or Beats and they get some knockoff cheap ones they're probably not going to be that happy with them and they may not last as long or be as good. So I'll put these in at a 4 out of 10.
Now if the receiver has an iPad already and it's compatible with Apple Pencil getting them an Apple Pencil, one that matches their iPad, is a decent gift idea. It's not super expensive at $129 and if they can draw or you think they would enjoy doing that on their iPad that makes a great gift. If they already have a stylus note that the Apple Pencil is much higher quality and is much better for drawing. So it's still a good gift even if they are using a third party stylus right now. I'll give these a 4 out of 10.
Another expensive gift mentioned a lot in gift guides is the Apple watch. There are a variety of prices. The cheapest you can go is $199 and they run up from there. But one thing you want to find out is if the person you're getting it for doesn't have an Apple watch now. Find out why. They may not want one. They may like their current watch of they may like not having a watch at all. I'll give these a 5 out of 10. 
Now if they do have an Apple watch a fun and cheap gift to get them is a new band or a variety of bands. They come in all sorts of different colors and styles and fabrics and materials and all sorts of things. So you might want to think about getting them a band, maybe one they use sometimes for some occasions. It's a neat gift to get them. I'll give this a 7 out of 10. 
Another good gift for an Apple watch user is another charger. Apple just gives you this really long cable but you can get something nicer for putting on your nightstand or for bringing with you on trips. This is kind of a 5 out of 10 idea. It's more useful than fun. 
Likewise if the user has an iPhone 12 or 13 then they can use MagSafe Charging. But they may not have ever bought themselves a MagSafe Charger. They may just be using the cable. Once they get a MagSafe Charger they'll really like it. So you may want to look for either the official Apple one or for a third party model that you can get them. Maybe even if they have one they would like one for travel or for another room of the house. This is an 8 out of 10. 
Another MagSafe gift is the leather wallet that Apple sells. You can get them this. It's a little bit expensive for a little wallet and one problem is that it is a big commitment to have somebody switch from however they are carrying their cards and cash now to using a completely different way by attaching it to the back of their phone. So it may not be for everybody. It's a little risky to get as a gift. I'll give it a 2 out of 10. 
A MagSafe Battery Pack might be another idea. Apple sells an official one for $99 and you can find some third party ones a little cheaper. This idea is a 7 out of 10 but you may want to consider just giving them a regular battery pack. Avoid the ones that are really small. They usually don't last and don't have much of a charge anyway. If you're going to get them one, get them one that's relatively big and can recharge their iPhone completely. There are MagSafe ones but I would get one that connects directly with a cable because they are more efficient. If they are someone who runs down their battery all day and could really use this, this is an 8 out of 10 idea.
Then just getting them a multi device charger is a good idea as well. You can get these really small ones now that have multiple ports on them. So somebody could charge their iPhone, iPad, and Mac, even Apple Watch too with one single charger. It's great for people that travel and these come in all sorts of different price ranges. So useful more than enjoyable but it's a decent extra gift, maybe. I'll give it s 5 out of 10.
A better gift for iPhone users might be a tripod. If they're like me they use their iPhone mainly for taking photos. It's one of the main reasons they get a really good iPhone. So getting them a little tripod is useful. Maybe you want to get them a full size tripod, especially if they've never had something like that. It's great for taking pictures. They don't weigh much. It's a really good gift idea at all sorts of different price levels. This is a top idea for me. A 9 out of 10. 
Another iPhone idea is a Car Mount. They don't have any way to hold their iPhone in the car and it's always sitting on the seat next to them or something. Getting them something where they can actually see it, especially if it's giving them directions, is really useful. These usually are pretty cheap. 6 out of 10. 
Now I've seen a few gift guides mention the Magic Keyboard for the iPad. So somebody has an iPad. So somebody has an iPad that's compatible with the Magic Keyboard. You've got to get them the one compatible with the iPad that they've got. It's expensive. $300. Useful but not really very enjoyable. It's more of a practical type of thing. I'll give this my lowest rating at 1 out of 10.
I also see lots of other very practical suggestions like screen cleaners. I mean this is okay. It's a good stocking stuffer. I'd give it a 3 out of 10. A screen protector though I'd put down at 1 out of 10. You don't really need screen protectors for most devices and this is no fun to get as a gift. A standard gift is a Bluetooth speaker and there's a wide range of them in prices and sizes. Make sure you get one that really matches what the person wants. They may want something big to fill the room with sound or something small to bring with them when they travel. This is always a decent idea even if somebody has one already. They could maybe do with a second one. So 7 out of 10.
HomeKit is the automation system that Apple uses so anything that's labeled as HomeKit can be controlled from Apple devices. So getting something like a HomeKit compatible light bulb or light strip or lamp or something like that could be a fun gift idea. Give it an 8 out of 10. 
If the receiver plays games on their iPhone or iPad or their Mac, or even their Apple TV then they might want a game controller. A lot of the newer games coming out, especially with Apple Arcade, can use controllers and they work better that way. So Apple has a variety of them at the Apple site and they are priced decently for gifts. You can also find lots of other ones and other brands that will work with Apple products. So I'll rate this idea a 7. 
Here's another stocking stuffer kind of idea. That's  Skins for AirPods. So if the person already has AirPods you can get these skins that fit around the AirPods or around the case. Make sure you get the right ones that will fit. That way they can be some different color than the standard one or they can have little hooks or things onto them as well. The is a 7 out of 10. 
A traditional holiday gift if you get somebody gloves, if you're going to do that make sure they are TouchScreen compatible gloves. Gloves where you can use your iPhone even if you wearing them. These are really great gifts. Once you get one of these you basically stop wearing all your other gloves because you see how much easier it is to use your phone without having to take the gloves off first. Of course, they're not very expensive and really good gifts. 8 out of 10.
Finally, I'll end where all the other gift guides end talking about Apple Gift Cards. You know Apple gift cards probably bring a little bit more of a smile to people's faces than a standard big box or restaurant gift card does. The great thing about them is you can use it in the store for products. You can also use them to buy services. So if the person is saving up for their next iPhone or Mac that they can use a gift card or if they just want to use it for their Apple Music subscription, buying books, or buying apps. They could use it for that as well. If somebody owns Apple products then they are probably going to welcome a gift card as a gift. 
So there are a whole bunch of different gift ideas and what I think about them. Hope you found this useful. Happy holidays everyone1

Comments: 3 Responses to “Rating Apple Gift Ideas 2021”

Lee

1 year ago

I loved your Apple gift ideas. Thanks for thinking of doing it. However, you forgot to mention that one can also give software as gifts. There are are some real great software ideas up for grabs in the next few days. There are direct discounts directly from the developers themselves as well as great software bundles from groups like Bundle Hunt and Stacksocial. Very affordable and can be useful and/or fun depending upon what you decide to give. Hope you'll be able to mention this at some point.

Nan Sansone

Gary, what a great bunch of ideas with a relevant rating system! I almost skipped reading this post but I needed one more gift for my husband. The multi-device charger will look nice on the table next to his chair - and eliminate a couple of cords - a gift for me! Ha!

nick

Gary: I know that Apple Music goes well with the Homepod Mini, but just wanted to add that, I put one of these in my garage/shop and then use the Music app on my Mac to stream it to the pod. So, if you don't subscribe to Apple Music you can still enjoy your own music. Cheers.

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Rating Apple Gift Ideas 2021

Comments: 3 Responses to “Rating Apple Gift Ideas 2021”

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