December is here, which means it’s that time of year to pick up interesting gifts for the holidays. When I’m getting my Christmas shopping done, it’s always the youngest members of my family I have a hard time with. A gift card here and there slides with an adult, but the same strategy doesn’t work with someone younger. For situations like these, there are plenty of Android gifts that any teenager or even a tween will love. This can mean anything from Android devices, like phones and tablets, or accessories, like external speakers, headphones, or power banks. There’s a huge haul of gifts to choose from, so let’s start narrowing it down.
Android Accessories that Make Great Gifts
Let’s start with some smaller gifts first. These Android accessories are great for teenagers and work well no matter what Android items they already have. I’m separating these by price from the least expensive to the most, to work with any gift giving budget.
Gifts From $35 and Below
1. SoundBot SB510 HD Water Proof Bluetooth 3.0 Speaker
Next up is a portable speaker that’s great for the inside of showers, and anywhere else with its water-resistant surface. The Soundbot works just as well indoors as it does outdoors, and sticks to surfaces to make sure it doesn’t go anywhere other than where you want it.
As long as the teenager you’re buying for has a Bluetooth ready Android device (which pretty much every Android phone or tablet is now), this makes for an easy and inexpensive gift.
2. SUNKY – Android Phone Clip Holder for PS4 /PS4 Slim Controller
Does the teen you’re giving a gift to have a Ps4? With this clip holder and another micro USB cable, they can connect their controller to their phone and get a good view of the screen while they play. Depending on the model of the Android phone, a Ps4 controller won’t work without rooting, but this stand is still useful for keeping a phone handy and in sight.
The stand itself is inexpensive at $9.99, so it’s easy to pick up and purchase.
3. MoKo Wireless Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard
The MoKo wireless keyboard is great for any teenager that uses an Android device for school, or for fun that needs an easier way to type. The keyboard is Bluetooth enabled, extremely portable because of its collapsible design, and priced well for the package you’re getting.
$33.99 for a wireless keyboard that’s as portable as this one is a steal, and is a fantastic gift for any teenager that spends a good chunk of their time typing. I know I would have appreciated it at that age.
Gifts From $40 and Up
These next gifts are a little bigger than stocking stuffers, but are still just as useful, if not more so, for any Android owning teen or tween. These retail for around $40 or higher, but you can usually catch them on sale for much lower, especially now that it’s around the holidays.
4. SteelSeries Stratus XL Bluetooth Wireless Gaming Controller
This SteelSeries controller takes after the Xbox One controller in design, and easily pairs with any Android device over Bluetooth to enhance a gaming experience. It doesn’t just work with Android devices either. This controller easily pairs with Windows computers running Windows 7 or higher, so if the teenager this is going to plays games on mobile or PC, this is a great gift.
With its familiar design and feeling this controller is easy to pick up and get used to within seconds. It even works well with VR, so what’s not to love? The Stratus XL uses two AA batteries and retails for $59.99, making it a fairly priced controller with a decent battery life of upwards to 40 hours.
5. Anker Astro 10000mAh Portable Charger
I use a smaller version of this charger almost every day when I leave the house, but a power bank with this big of a charge lets anyone use their phone as much as they want without worrying about their battery.
There are plenty of games that I used to love playing on my phone that I didn’t play nearly as much as I wanted to because of how much battery they used. After I had got a power bank, that was never a problem anymore. For a standard retail price of $59.99, no teen or tween ever has to worry about their phone dying in the middle of the day.
6. Sunnyfair 3D VR Headset
You don’t need $1000+ worth of computer equipment and VR technology to experience basic VR. With the right headset, all it takes is a good Android phone that fits into the front, and a well-made pair of headphones. The Sunnyfair 3D VR headset helps immerse anyone in what they’re viewing, no matter if they’re in their teens, tweens, or adulthood.
7. The Gift of Headphones or Earphones
These prices are going to be all over the place, but a good pair of headphones is a gift that lasts and keeps on giving. I have plenty of them to recommend, but if I had to choose one just for this list, I’d pick the Paww WaveSound 3. However, since they’re out of stock at the time of writing this, the WaveSound 2 is a headset that comes close.
The style isn’t right for everyone, and not every teenager likes over-ear headphones, but this is a Bluetooth set that’ll provide quality sound, and helpful noise canceling.
Let’s go back and say I can pick two instead of just one. If I can do that, something that has more general appeal are Skullcandy’s Titan earphones.
These are a pair of earbuds with a big kick for something so small, and a stylish appearance that only draws attention when you want extra eyes on you. There’s a mic attached that comes with the package that helps make the set feel complete, and easily lets anyone answer the phone without pulling out the buds.
Android Devices that Make Great Gifts
It’s time to pull out the big guns and get ready to give the great gift of a new Android experience to someone. Just like the accessories above, I’m separating these into price brackets. Not every Android device will run you over $400, and each device on this list is a great gift for any teen or younger tween
Gifts From $99.99 and Below
Let’s start off small and work our way up, because there are plenty of inexpensive Android devices that are just as useful as more expensive ones. Any of these will make a great gift teen or tween, no matter how much they hate either title.
8. Huawei MediaPad T1
The Huawei MediaPad T1 is one of the best deals you can get for a starter tablet. It comes in at just under $100 at $99.99, and despite running on Android 4.4, it’s still a good tablet for moderate use. It’s in no way a gaming powerhouse, but for watching videos, or browsing the web, it gets the job done with an inexpensive price tag.
The only real downside I can see is the 1024×600 resolution and the older operating system. If the recipient of the gift has never had a tablet before, this isn’t a bad place to start. If you’re looking for more bang for your buck, look at the next section for some more impressive tablets.
9. AKASO M8S 4K Android TV Box
Let’s talk about Android TV, if you’ve never heard of it before, or aren’t very familiar with it, we’ve covered everything you need to know about the service. If Android TV sounds like something you’d like to give the gift of this season, this box is a great way to accomplish that.
The AKASO M8S is one of many Android TV setups, but this is the one that I recommend at this price level. The box comes with its controller, but you can always buy a different one that better suits the box and the recipient. Android TV is thankfully easy to setup, and easy to enjoy for teenagers and adults as a gift, or something you buy for yourself. The AKASO M8S retails for $66.99, but if you’re lucky, you’ll catch it on sale.
10. Moto G Play (4th gen.) – Black – 16 GB
Other than that, you get a solid Moto G4 Play for half the price of its normal retail cost at $149. Well, there is one more problem, and that’s shipping. The special version of the Moto G Play can take up to two months to ship, making the ship date pass the holidays by a large margin.
However, the more expensive version without lockscreen ads is set to arrive before Christmas. Because of this, I’m more than a little hesitant to put it on the list, especially at this spot, but the Moto G4 Play is still a fantastic budget phone. It makes for a great gift for any teenager with an older Android phone or a tween that wants their first one.
Standard G4 Play
11. Samsung Galaxy Tab A7
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 is another tablet in the budget range, making it a good first tablet for a teenager or tween. Between the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 and the Huawei MediaPad T1, I’d pick the Samsung model. The resolution and performance are slightly improved on the Tab A7 over the T1, making it a better pick, but only if you can order it.
Shipping gets slower and slower the closer we get to Christmas, and between the A7 and the T1, one is going to be faster to ship than the other. I can’t see which one will ship out first since this can change almost daily, but if you can, take the A7 if you’re looking for a budget tablet that still makes for a great gift this season.
Gifts From $100 and Up
From here we’re talking about some of the best Android gifts you can buy for teens and tweens, no matter the price. Not all of the gifts below are extremely expensive, but some of the latest and greatest Android devices this year don’t come cheap, so brace your wallet before taking a look at these gifts.
12. ASUS ZenPad Z300M-A2-GR
Let’s stay on the tablet train for a little while longer. The ASUS ZenPad is a mid-range tablet that has a wide selection of accessories to choose from, and an impressive amount of power for such a cheap device. It retails for $179.00, but at its current sale price of $149.00, it’s tough to beat that kind of value in a tablet.
The ZenPad runs on Android 6.0 right from the factory and is one of the best value propositions for a tablet for a teenager that I can think of this holiday season. I still have one more tablet on my list, but the ZenPad is my most recommended Android device out of the whole lot. I’m way past being a teenager now, but I’d still love to get this as a gift today.
13. Samsung Galaxy S6 SM-G920P 32GB – Sprint Unlocked
I’m not sure I can mention any Android gift list without talking about the Galaxy S6 at least once. I’m not talking about the Edge, the Edge+, or even the Active, just the standard S6, in all of its technical, and aesthetic glory. It was an impressive phone when it came out, and it’s still an impressive phone now.
There isn’t much I can talk about that hasn’t already been said, but if you’re looking for one Android phone to buy for a teenager, this is one that’s impossible to go wrong with. The model I’m talking about here retails for just under $300.
If you think the S6 makes for a good gift, don’t forget all of the great Android accessories out there that pair with it!
14. Google Pixel C 10.2-in HD Touchscreen Tablet 32GB
The Google Pixel C is one of the most expensive tablets on the market right now, but it’s a hot ticket item that boasts some impressive features. In contrast to previous tablets I’ve talked about, the Pixel C has a 2560 x 1800 resolution, 3GB of RAM, and has a NVIDIA Tegra X1 inside of it. This thing is a beast, with a beast of a price at just over $600.
The Google Pixel C is without a doubt an amazing tablet, and one of the best you can find online this season, but it’s in no way cheap. If you want the best of the best, and have a beautifully wrapped boxed to match, this makes for an amazing gift for anyone, no matter if they’re teenaged or not.
15. Moto Z Play – Black – 32GB
There’s only one more Android device to talk about, and it’s my favorite phone this year, the Moto Z Play. One of the phone’s biggest perks is the modular design, which lets you snap on different mods like accessories and add functions to the phone. It’s a fun idea that lets users get creative with not only the inside of their phone but the outside too.
Down the list, the Moto Z Play has an impressive amount of battery life, and charges back up to the full mark in fifteen minutes or less when it’s about to die. Combine this with a power bank, and you’ve got a phone that never quits. For $449.99, any teen or tween gets the gift of a phone that’s always ready for a long day, and has the power to see it through.
Conclusion
The holidays are almost here, and if you’re still wondering what to buy, any of these android gifts will make sure any teen or tween has an amazing winter break. If there isn’t anything on this list you think will work, take a look at some Android gifts and apps that’ll see use once January swings around. Have any great Android gift ideas we didn’t mention here? Please let us know about them in the comments below! Featured Image Credit
