Valentine's Day 2022: Best gadget gift options | Deccan Herald

In the good old days, a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates would have been enough for the loved ones to feel special on the Valentine’s day.

But not anymore; now, people expect better and more thoughtful presents. Given how we have evolved into digitally savvy, to work and study online, smart gadgets are better gift options.

With three days left before the D-Day, DH lists some of the best gadgets to present your loved ones:

Smartphones

Apple iPhone 13 seriesApple's iPhone 13 series comes in four variants-- iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max. They feature a super Retina XDR OLED display with True Tone technology, Wide colour display (P3), Haptic Touch, and 1,200 nits max brightness (HDR).

Apple iPhone 13 Pro and the 13 Pro Max also support ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz.

Inside, all the four iPhone 13 series models come packed with an Apple A15 Bionic chipset with a new 6-core CPU with two performance and four efficiency cores and a new 16-core Neural Engine.

However, the iPhone 13 and 13 mini feature 4-core GPU, whereas the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max have 5-core GPU.

The biggest improvement we see in the iPhone 13 series are camera hardware and battery life. They excel far better than any other rival in terms of the aforementioned aspects.

Must read | Apple iPhone 13 review: Packed with features that matter

The iPhone 13 and the 13 mini come with dual 12MP camera system (Wide: ƒ/1.6and Ultra-Wide: ƒ/2.4). On the other hand, the iPhone 13 Pro and the 13 Pro Max boast-- Pro 12MP camera system (Telephoto: ƒ/2.8, Wide: ƒ/1.5 and Ultra-Wide: ƒ/1.8 ).

The new iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will be available in graphite, gold, silver, and sierra blue in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and all-new 1TB storage options with prices ranging between Rs 1,19,900 and Rs 1,79,900.

Must read | Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max review: Fully-loaded!

The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini will be available in pink, blue, midnight, starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED in a new entry-level capacity of 128GB (double the storage compared to iPhone 12 series), as well as 256GB and 512GB capacities. The price ranges between Rs 69,900 and Rs 1,09,900.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FEThe Galaxy S21 FE retains most of the design language of the flagship S21 series. It features a punch-hole display design dubbed as 'Infinity-O' with the front camera at the top center. And on the back, it sports an artistically crafted triple camera module. It comes in four colours--Lavender, Olive, White and Graphite.

It flaunts a 6.4-inch full HD+ (2340 x 1080p) dynamic AMOLED Display, Android 12-based One UI 4 OS,6GB/8GB RAM with 128GB/256GB storage, 4,500mAh battery with 25W fast charger, and also support 15 wireless charging and revere power share feature. Connectivity features include 2G GSM,3G WCDMA,4G LTE FDD,4G LTE TDD,4G 4×4 MIMO band,5G Sub6 FDD,5G Sub6 TDD,and 5G 4×4 MIMO band.

Samsung is offering one of the two Galaxy S21 FE 5G variants in select markets-- one with 5nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 octa-core processor and another with Exynos 2100 octa-core chipset.

It houses triple-camera module-- main 12MP camera (with Dual Pixel AF, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation), f/1.8) +12MP Ultra-Wide camera(f/2.2; Field-of-View: FoV: 123-degree) +8MP telephoto camera ( f/2.4, PDAF: Phase Detection Auto Focus, OIS, 3X Optical Zoom, 30X Space zoom) with LED flash. On the front, it features 32MP (f/2.2, FOV: 80-degree). It's price starts at Rs 49,999.

Must read | Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review: Reasonably fine premium phone

Vivo V23 Pro 5GIt features 6.56-inch full HD+(2376 × 1080p) AMOLED with HDR10+, 90Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, up to 1300 nits peak brightness, triple-camera module-- 108MP (f/1.88) backed by 8MP ultra-wide camera with f/2.2 aperture, 2MP (f/2.4) macro camera with LED flash, record 4K videos at 60fps, dual front-cameras-main 50MP autofocus camera (f/2.0) + 8MP (f/2.28) 105-degree ultra-wide camera with dual-tone spotlight flash, 6nm class 3GHz MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI silicon with ARM G77 MC9 graphics engine and is backed by 8GB/12GB LPDDR4x RAM with 128GB/256GB storag, Android 12-based Funtouch OS and4,300mAh battery with 44W charger.

Vivo V23 Pro 5G comes in two colours-- Sunshine Gold and Stardust Black. he V23 Pro is priced at Rs 38,990 (8GB RAM + 128GB storage), and Rs 43,990 (12GB RAM + 256GB storage).

OnePlus 9RTIt comes with a 6.62-inch full HD+ (1080 x 2400p) fluid AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, pixel density of 397 ppi (pixels per inch), HDR 10+, offers peak brightness of1300 nits and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.5nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 silicon backed by Adreno 660 graphics engine with Vapour Chamber cooling system, Android 11-based OxygenOS 11, 8GB/12GB LPDDR5 RAM, 256GB (UFS 3.1) storage and a 4,500mAh battery with 65W fast charging support. Just 15 minutes is enough to charge the device from 1% to 65 per cent and get to 100 per cent in just 29 minutes.

OnePlus 9RT features triple camera module--50MP (with Sony IMX766 sensor, 1μm pixel size, f/1.88, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) + 16MP 123-degree ultra-wide camera (Sony IMX481 sensor, f/2.25, EIS: Electronic Image Stabilisation) +2MP 4cm macro camera ( f/2.4) with LED flash and is capable of recording up to 4K video at 60fps, 1080p slow motion at 240fps, 720p at 480fps. On the front, it houses a 16MP (1/1.43-inch Sony IMX471 sensor, f/2.4, EIS) sensor. Its price starts at Rs 42,999 in India.

Samsung Galaxy M52It comes with a 6.7-inch full HD+ (1080×2400p) super AMOLED Plus screen with Infinity-O Display design, 120Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 shield, side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and a hybrid dual-SIM slot tray ( nano SIM-1 + nano SIM-2 or microSD card).

Under-the-hood, it comes with 6nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset, Adreno 642L GPU, Android 11-based Samsung One UI 3.1, 6GB / 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, 128GB UFS 2.1 (expandable up to 1TB), support 12 bands of 5G, Samsung Pay (NFC),Knox security system, a triple-camera module-- 64MP (f/1.8) +12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide-angle camera + 5MP (f/2.4) macro camera with LED flash on the back, a 32MP (f/2.2) front camera, and a 5,000mAh battery with 25W charger in-box.Its price starts at Rs 29,999.

Must read | Samsung Galaxy M52 5G review: Cool powerful phone

Realme GT Master EditionIt comes with a 6.43-inch (2400 × 1080 pixels) full HD+ OLED screen. It also supports a 120Hz display refresh rate, and offers up to 1,000 nits peak brightness, Snapdragon 778G octa-core chipset. It is backed by Adreno 642L GPU, Android 11-based Realme UI 2.0, 6GB/8GB LPDDR4X RAM,128GB / 256GB UFS 2.2 storage, triple-camera module--main 64MP (f/1.8) +8MP (f/2.2) 119-degree ultra-wide sensor+ 2MP (f/2.4) macro camera with LED flash on the back, a 32MP(f/2.45, Sony IMX615 sensor) selfie camera on the front and a 4,300mAh battery with 65W charger.

Realme GT Master Edition comes in three configurations-- 6GB RAM + 128GB storag, 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage-- for Rs Rs. 25,999, Rs 27,999 and Rs 29,999, respectively.

Must read | Realme GT Master Edition review: Decent mid-range phone

Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro MaxIt comes with a 6.67-inch full HD+ (1080 × 2400p) with AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate, 20:9 aspect ratio, supportHDR10+, up to 1200 nits brightness, IP52 water-splash resistant rating, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 shield, side-mounted fingerprint sensor, IR blaster, 8nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G octa-core CPU, Adreno 618 GPU, Android 11 with MIUI 12 (new v12.5 coming soon), 6GB/8GB LPDDR4X RAM with 64GB (UFS 2.1)/128GB (UFS 2.2) storage ( expandable up to 512GB), 16MP front camera, a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging, and triple slots (nano SIM-1 + nano SIM-2 + microSD).

The Redmi Note 10 Pro Max comes in three configurations--6GB + 64GB, 6GB RAM +128GB storage and 8GB + 128GB storage-- Rs 18, 999,Rs 19,999 and Rs 21, 999, respectivel

Xiaomi Redmi 10 Prime It comes with a 6.5-inch full HD+ (2400 x 1080p) IPS LCD screen with 90Hz adaptive refresh rate. It is protected with the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield and also a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, Infrared Blaster, and triple slots ( nano SIM-1 + nano SIM-2 + microSD).

Inside, 12nm class MediaTek Helio octa-core with ARM Mali-G52 2EEMC2 GPU, 4GB/ 6GB LPDDR4x RAM, 64GB/128GB eMMC 5.1 storage (expandable), Android 11-based MIUI 12.5 OS and a 6,000mAh battery with 22.5W charger in-box.

The Redmi 10 Prime boasts quad-camera module-- main 50MP (f/1.8) +8MP(f/2.2) ultra-wide sensor + 2MP macro + 2MP (f/2.4) depth sensor with LED flash. On the front, it features 8MP (f/2.0) snapper. It comes in two variants-- 4GB RAM + 64GB storage & 6GB RAM + 128GB storage--for Rs 12,499 and Rs 14,499, respectively.

Must read | Redmi 10 Prime review: Top-notch budget phone

Smartwatches

Apple Watch Series 7Right now, it is the most advanced smart wearable in the industry. It boasts ECG (electrocardiogram) to detect AFib (Atrial Fibrillation), irregular heart rhythm, sensitive fall detection sensor, which is the gold standard for smartwatches. Even Series 5 and 6 too are good options and they have saved thousands of lives around the world with timely notifications.It comes with watchOS 8 and offers several value-added features including sleep pattern tracking, female health monitoring, and also control music on any of the connected Apple devices.

The Activity Rings ensures the owner completes all the three activities-- move, stand and exercise-- for the day. The idle alert is also very intuitive and makes sure the device user takes a walk at least once every hour.

The new Watch Series 7 is touted to be most durable Apple watches to date. It comes in three variants-- aluminium, stainless steel and titanium- in 41mm and 44mm-- sizes with prices ranging from Rs 41,900 to Rs 87,900.

Samsung Galaxy Watch4The Galaxy Watch4sports a high-quality bright super AMOLED screen supports full colour Always On Display, and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass with DX+ shield. It comes with 5 ATM, IP68, andMIL-STD-810G military-grade durability standard ratings. The company is offering Steel and Aluminium case options.

It boasts Samsung BioActive Sensor (Optical Heart Rate + Electrical Heart + BIA: Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, and Light Sensor.

The most notable aspect of the Galaxy Watch 4 is the BIA sensor. It can measure skeletal muscle mass, basal metabolic rate, body water, and fat percentage of the body. It's price starts at Rs 29,999 onwards.

Must read | Samsung Galaxy Watch4 review: Ideal choice for Android phone users

Fitbit Versa 3It features a 1.58-inch AMOLED screen and the enclosure comes with a water-resistant coating, capable of surviving up to the depth of 50 meters.

It also boasts in-built GPS, PurePulse 2.0, and a built-in speaker with a microphone, which allows users to make or answer calls right from the wrist.

Also, it also promises to offer close to six days of battery life and can track heart rate, SpO2, skin temperature, sleep pattern (deep, light, and REM), and sports activities. It comes with a free 90-day premium fitness coaching service to improve health and lead a disciplined life. It also supports both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa smart assistant.

Furthermore, based on the heart rate, it can estimateVo2 max (maximum oxygen consumption during exercise). It is available for as low as Rs 16,999.

Fire-Boltt AIIt comes with a 1.7-inch HD display with 240x280 pixels resolution. It has 10 in-built sports modes and a stress management system. It supports both Google Assistant and Siri voice assistance.

The IP67 certification makes the smartwatch ideal for continuous usage, even while indulging in water-based sporting activities. it can last for 10 days with a full charge. It comes in three colours--Black, Blue and Pink-- for Rs 4,499.

Boat Watch MatrixIt features a 1.65-inch 2.5D curved colour AMOLED screen with a 3 ATM rating, support an always-on display. It comes with a smart activity tracker to count burned calories, steps taken, distance covered, guided breathing exercises, 24/7 heart rate monitor, SpO2 (blood-oxygen saturation), sleep tracker, menstruation tracker, control music on the phone and it can last up to seven days with a full charge. It costs Rs 3,999.

Redmi Watch It comes with a 1.4-inch touch-sensitive color LCD(320×320p) display with a pixel density of 323 ppi (pixels per inch) and supports 350 nits brightness, good enough to view contents even under direct sunlight. Also, it comes with a water-resistant (5ATM or 50 meters) rating.

It comes with 24x7 heart-rate tracker in addition to a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, Barometric Press sensor (altimeter), Compass, and Ambient light sensor.

It can also track 11 sports activities including outdoor running, treadmill, outdoor cycling, open water swimming, freestyle, swimming (only in water pool), cricket, trekking, trail run, walking, and indoor cycling.

Other notable features include sleep Monitoring, Breathing, Notifications, Weather, Clock, Alarm, Flashlight, Music Control, and Idle alerts.Also, it comes with a 230mAh battery and can last up to 10 days on a single charge. It costs Rs 3,999.

TabletsApple iPad mini (6th Gen)It features an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display with narrow borders. It offers a peak brightness of 500 nits, P3 wide colour gamut, and comes with an anti-reflective screen coating, True Tone, and full lamination. It also boasts new landscape stereo speakers.

To keep the slim bezels, Apple has moved the Touch ID to the top button of the iPad mini.

Under-the-hood, the new iPad mini ships with the new and powerful Apple A15 Bionic chipset. It features a 6-core CPU, which promises a 40 percent jump in performance, and the 5-core GPU to deliver an 80 percent leap in graphics performance compared to the previous generation of an iPad mini.

It also features a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera on the front. It will also support the Centre Stage feature for video calling.

On the back too, it houses a 12MP sensor with Focus Pixels and a larger aperture to capture sharp, vivid photos. It supports True Tone flash, for capturing images in low light. With a new ISP in A15 Bionic, it promises to capture natural-looking photos with Smart HDR, which improves image quality by recovering details in shadows and highlights. The new iPad mini supports Apple Pencil (2nd Gen). This will help users to utilise the accessory for creative works such as caricatures, cartoons in addition to taking notes. Its price start at Rs 46,900.

Apple iPad 9th GenIt features a 10.2-inch Retina display with True Tone technology to ensure the images and videos appear more natural. This helps users to have a more comfortable viewing experience.Inside, it houses a powerful A13 Bionic chip, which promises to deliver up to 20 percent performance boost over the previous generation. Also, it is touted to be 3x faster than the best-selling Chromebook, and up to a whopping 6x faster than the best-selling Android tablet.

The iPad features an ultra-wide-angle 12MP front camera with a powerful Neural Engine. It now supports the Centre Stage feature, which ensures the users are placed at the center of the frame, even while moving during a video conference even on third-party apps such as Zoom and Webex. Its price starts at Rs 30,900 in India.

Galaxy Tab A8It features a 10.5-inch (pixel) WUXGA(2000×1200p) TFT display and comes with a 3.5mm audio jack, quad stereo speakers tuned with Dolby Atmos sound system.

Inside, it comes with a 12nm class UNISOC T618 octa-core chipset, which can clock CPU speed up to 2.0GHz. It is backed by Mali G52 MP2 GPU, Android 11-based One UI OS, 3GB RAM/4GB RAM with 32GB/64GB internal storage (expandable up to 1TB), and a 7,040mAh battery with a 15W charger in-box.

The Galaxy Tab A8 also features an 8MP camera with autofocus on the back and a 5MP sensor for video chatting on the front. It also supports SIM with 4G-LTE, Bluetooth 5.0 (Low Energy), GPS/Glonass and comes with Type-C USB 2.0 port. Its price starts at Rs 17,999.

Realme PadIt comes with a 10.4-inch WUXGA+ (2000 x 1200p) LCD screen with up to 360 nits brightness.

Inside, it features a 12nm class MediaTek Helio G80 chipset, 950MHz ARM Mali-G52 2EEMC2 GPU, Android 11-based Realme UI, 3GB/4GB RAM with 32GB/64GB (eMMC 5.1) storage (expandable up to 1TB), and a 7,100mAh battery with 18W fast charging with reverse charging.

Realme Pad features an 8MP rear camera and an 8MP 105-degree ultra-wide front-facing camera. Also, it features Quad Speakers, Dolby Atmos, Hi-Res Audio Certified, Adaptive Surround Sound, and Smart PA.Smart speakers. Its price starts at Rs 13,999.

Smart speakers

Amazon Echo Show 10 Echo Show 10 comes with MediaTek 8183 processor, an inbuilt smart home hub that supports Zigbee smart home devices.This means users can control thousands of IoT (Internet-of-Things) gadgets at home including smart bulbs, lights, plugs, AC, fans, TVs, geyser and more by asking Alexa to do the needful.

With the big 10.1-inch HD (1280x800p) display, users can watch trailers, movies, TV Shows on their favourite OTT apps, and even summon favourite food recipe videos from the web and start cooking in the kitchen with step-by-step guidance. It costs Rs 24,999 and there is also Echo Show 5 for Rs 8,999.

Must read | Amazon Echo Show 10 review

Apple HomePod miniIt features a3.3-inch tall and comes with colour-matched details such as tinted touch surface, mesh fabric, volume icons, and woven power cable.

An interesting aspect of the HomePod mini is that it is made of environmentally friendly methods. It has 99 per cent recycled rare earth elements, with the neodymium magnet in the speaker driver utilizing 100 per cent recycled rare earth elements. The mesh fabric is made with more than 90 per cent recycled plastic, and all of the packaging wood fibres are from responsibly managed forests or from recycled sources.

It boasts a proprietary acoustic waveguide design, which can direct the flow of sound down and out toward the bottom of the speaker for an immersive 360-degree audio experience. The three-microphone array is tuned to hear 'Hey Siri,' and a fourth inward-facing microphone help isolate sound coming from the speaker to improve voice detection when music is playing.

Inside, the HomePod mini comes packed with an Apple S5 chip, an Apple-engineered full-range driver, a neodymium magnet, and a pair of force-canceling passive radiators, which enables deep bass and crisp high frequencies. It costs Rs 9,900.

Google Nest Hub 2nd GenIt features an edgeless glass display design language with no visible housing plastic. It makes it easy for users to clean and also if they have a good number of memorable family photos, they can be uploaded to the device and make it function as a beautiful digital photo frame. Its sensors are capable of understanding the light conditions of the room and automatically adjust the temperature of colours on the screen so the photos aren’t too bright or too dim.

A notable aspect of the new Google device is that it is made using recycled materials with its plastic mechanical parts containing 54 per cent recycled post-consumer plastic.

The new Google Nest Hub 2 is said to offer 50 per cent more bass than the original Nest Hub. It supports all the popular apps including YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Gaana and JioSavvn. It can also play your favourite movies, videos, and TV shows with a subscription from providers like Netflix, and YouTube Premium.

Like any other smart display, users can also ask for the latest news, sports updates, real-time weather information, and even play videos including food recipes with step-by-step tutorials.

Also, Google has consciously decided not to incorporate cameras into the Nest Hub 2. Furthermore, it comes with a physical sliding button to switch off the microphone.

Furthermore, users get full powers to control voice commands and inputs recorded (only stays temporarily) in the device and they just ask it to delete all. For instance, you can ask—‘Ok Google, delete everything I said last week’. It costs Rs 7,999.

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