There’s just 1 week left until Father’s Day in 2019 and that means you need to get your skates on and organise a present. We’ve compiled a list of technology gift ideas for the gadget-loving dad in your life.
These ideas for presents should be diverse enough to find something that matches your price range and hopefully the likes and interests of your dad. If it doesn’t there’s always gift vouchers, but generally, we try and avoid that if possible.
Fitbit Charge 3 – $169.00
For the dad that’s into health and fitness, the Fitbit offers a great way to track your physical activity and sleep quality. It’s perhaps the data and analytics side of the product that most don’t appreciate. You can share your results and compete with friends, or analyse your progress over time.
While fitness is fun, the Charge 3 does a whole lot more. You can connect it to your phone and receive call and text alerts, you can even configure it for use with FitBit Pay. This allows you to tap and pay and the list of supported banks in Australia is impressive.
You can buy the Fitbit Charge 3 in Black/Graphite Aluminium for A$169.00 from JB Hi-Fi.
Tile Mate Pro Bluetooth Tracker (2 pack) – $99.95
For the forgetful father, Tile is the perfect gift he’ll never forget. Tile is a clever Bluetooth tracker that is easily attachable to the things that matter the most. From keys to backpack to his wallet, the Tile Mate is the best-selling versatile tracker to help Dad find everyday things.
The latest Tile Mate provides a 50% increase in Bluetooth range (45m) and ringing volume compared to the original. Guaranteed to last for 12 months, Tile Mate now has replaceable batteries to let Dad keep his favourite Tile for longer.
Available at: Harvey Norman, Officeworks and JB HI-FI.
Amazon Echo (2nd generation) – $74.50
Voice Assistants in the home are awesome, they allow you to play music, make calls, set alarms and timers, ask questions, check your calendar, weather, traffic and sports scores, manage to-do and shopping lists, control compatible smart home devices, and more.
The Amazon Echo features Alexa, and with the 2nd generation offering a nice fabric exterior, they’re more likely to suit with your home’s interior. Even if your dad already has a couple of Echo’s around the house, you can always add another to bring the experience to a new room.
The Echo (2nd gen) is available in Charcoal, Heather Grey, or Sandstone fabric colours. You can pick it up for just A$74.50 from Amazon Australia and it’s Prime enabled, that’s great for fast and free delivery.
Eve Aqua Smart Water Controller – $143.20
Often garden maintenance is something parents have to spend far too much of their weekends on. One way to ease that burden for dad is to make the watering system smart.
The Eve Aqua Smart Water Controller sits between your tap and hose and can allow water to flow on a schedule, or on-demand from the phone. Thanks to support for Apple’s HomeKit, if your dad is an Apple guy, he could turn off the sprinkler by asking Siri to do it for him.
Available at JB Hi-Fi for just A$143.20, it’s one of the cooler IoT products you could add to your home. This is a fairly new product, so for the dad that has everything, maybe he doesn’t have this.
LIFX Z LED Strip – $139.00
Smart lighting can be a great way to bring new life to spaces in the home. With this Wi-Fi enabled LED light strip, it can set to one of 16 million colours, or the real trick here is you can set it to be multiple colours. There’s also features in the LIFX app that allows you to animate the light giving your dad’s office, or his favourite screen (the living room TV) an amibent, animated glow of colours.
With IFTTT compatibility, the light can be activated based on other smart home events and even controlled by voice assistants like Google Assistant.
The LIFX Z LED Light Strip Starter Kit costs A$139.00 from JB Hi-Fi.
Amazon Prime Subscription – $59.00
If your dad shops online, then consider an Amazon Prime Subscription for father’s day. This enables free delivery on a majority of purchases, video streaming with Amazon Prime Video, access to stream 2 million tracks with Prime Music and access to 1,000 e-books.
There’s also early access to exclusive deals and if dad’s into gaming, there are even perks for Twitch Prime. When shopping on Amazon, items are clearly labelled with the Amazon Prime Logo.
The cost of an Amazon Prime Subscription is A$59.00 per year, or $6.99 monthly, buy it from https://amazon.com.au/prime
Got suggestions?
If you have more great ideas for gifts, then leave them in the comments below.
