It's the most wearable time of the year!
Christmas socks and Lynx are as sure a sign of contempt for your family as undercooking their sprouts. 2015 has truly been the year of the wearable, so get them something nice, eh?
Wearable Christmas gifts
Here we have the perfect wearable gifts, from luxury smartwatches to stylish Fitbit accessories. There’s something for everyone.
Typeset in finest, officially-licensed Helvetica, this fully Swiss-made, impudently chic smartwatch serves two purposes. Firstly, if pops is out with his technophobe chums swigging sherry at the Rotary Club, no one needs to know he’s packing wrist tech. But for those other times, pater can rely on trusted Silicon Valley boffins MotionX’s apps to track his sleep, steps and distance via the small hands on the wee clock face at the bottom. Plus, there are none of those vexing email and message buzzes. Dear old dad would hate those.
Where to find it
UK: £550 from John Lewis
For the human closest to your heart, it’s advisable to simply get the best all-round wearable of 2015, and that’s the Gear 2. The design is unfussy and uniform, but that’s no bad thing. And behind the crowd-pleasing 1.2-inch Super AMOLED screen, Samsung’s bespoke Tizen OS keeps everything ticking over nicely, including some pretty decent health support, alongside all the expected notifications. It’s all controlled by a rotating bezel which (like the Apple Watch’s movable crown before it) is so obvious, it’s a true facepalm moment, and makes the watch a delight to use.
Where to find it
Where to buy: £399 from Samsung
Worn as a necklace, ring or bracelet, this is a smartphone companion which vibrates to alert you to important messages, but tunes out notification noise thanks to the app, which allows the user to select what’s important to them. Prices range from £195 to £275, so it’s not cheap, but the jewellery is designed in-house and made from sterling silver, so they’re quality pieces.
Where to find it
UK: £195-£275 from Vinaya
He checks the time with his mobile, right? So introduce your bro to possibly the world’s best fitness tracker. Sure, there are more expensive, more feature packed trackers out there, but this hits all the sweet spots for features, price and looks. Features include step counter, calories burned and stopwatch, plus a sleep mode which monitors duration and quality and will wake you up with a smart alarm. All of this syncs to a truly great app and is slid into a boss design boasting textured aluminium, with a rubber strap that no self-respecting chap would be shy to stick on his wrist. And the price? Well, look. In short, a winner.
Where to get it
UK: £89.99 from Jawbone
At 7.5mm thick and 28g, this – the thinnest smartwatch in the world – is the antithesis of the classic, chunky, massive-faced smartwatch, while still multitasking like a dervish. Those tasks include events, texts, app alerts, incoming call, fitness and sleep tracking – all on one beautiful 1-inch, e-paper screen. Plus, a 15-minute charge will give you a day of juice. Pebble have been doing this a long time, and they’re getting really good at it.
Where to get it
UK: £199.99 from Pebble
With a classic Art Deco design, Fitbit’s Tory Burch Metal Fret Pendant will fit in seamlessly with your grandma’s jewellery box. But it’s got more to offer than just good looks, of course: paired with a Fitbit Flex, the pendant gives access to a sturdy range of fitness tracking expertise, including step and distance tracking, calories burned and active minutes with sleep tracking and smart alarms. Left to right is the 16k gold-plated stainless steel, stainless steel and gold plated stainless steel.
Where to get it
UK: £155 itbit
Gramps deserves something elegantly simple – something fine enough to grace the wrist of a true gentleman. This in-between model from Withings mixes a swish 316L stainless steel case with a silicone strap and all-auto movement tracking. So just by wearing it, your grandad will be saving his running, walking, swimming and sleep cycles. Download this info to a smartphone and it will give him incredibly in-depth metrics and personal coaching.
Where to get it
UK: £139.95 from Withings
Stick this on your beloved Woofer’s collar and you’ll never worry about their location again. Accurate to 2.5m, it works via text message, so a simple text will ping back your dumb, hairy friend’s location on a map. You can also set up geo-fences, and if your mutt exceeds these safe zones, you’ll get another text ping of warning. And unlike most American systems, this doesn’t require a monthly subscription.
Where to get it
UK: £115 from Tracker Expert
The most-anticipated thing from the biggest company in the world is still in search of its mojo. A thoroughly nicely-made time piece, it notifies you of texts and emails excellently and its heart rate monitor is as good as anything you can strap to your chest. Apple Pay’s OK. So is the navigation. But the Watch still just doesn’t possess that thing forcing you to grab a mate by the shoulders and go: „For the love of God, look at what this thing does!“ And for all of Apple’s resources and expensive brainpower, this has to go down as a disappointment. Maybe an app or two in 2016 will save it. If not, onwards to V2.
Where to get it
UK: £299 from Apple
This slice of Swiss loveliness is almost certainly the best smartwatch in the world, so treat yourself, eh? Marrying TAG build quality and luxury cachet with AndroidWear OS, Intel’s new Atom chip and exclusive Carrera watch faces, this is a brilliant match of craft and cutting-edge tech. And when the insides fall out of favour and become defunct, you can just lob another, similar amount of money at TAG and they’ll swap out the Intel chips and screen for a beautiful, mechanical time piece that you can treasure forever. All for just £250-odd a pop every time it needs a service.
Where to get it
UK: £1,100 from TAG Heuer
