The festive season is on and that can mean shopping and buying gifts but that often involves going through a dozen options to choose. With a host of deals available on many categories, including electronics, here’s a curated list of what smartphones, TWS as well as home speakers you can choose from to gift something that’s good value for money while offering a good user experience:
Smartphones:
Poco M6 (6GB + 128GB): For phones under Rs 10,000, the Poco M6 Pro is a really nice option with its large and sharp 6.74-inch LCD display. A decent set of cameras for the price tag, plus you also get a 3.5mm audio jack as well as NFC for contact-less payments if you want to use that feature via payment apps. Five minutes of adjusting and tweaking after the initial setup and you can get rid of unnecessary promotional notifications and apps to get a highly customisable OS in place and get a reliable day long battery life.
CMF Phone 1: With a different looking back panel that’s also interchangeable, the CMF Phone 1 is a well-performing smartphone that stands out from the crowd for not only its looks outside but also a neat and smooth UI inside. IP52 dust and water-resistant device comes with a fingerprint sensor and a nice 6.67-inch AMOLED display, plus a camera setup, including the front camera, that can take sharp photos given the price tag of Rs 14,999 it starts with.
Realme GT 6T: If your budget is more around Rs 30,000, then the Realme GT 6T offers a lot of value that isn’t low on looks, performance as well as software support. Promised to get three Android upgrades and four years of security patches,the device is equipped with a quality higher refresh rate 6.78-inch AMOELD display, a capable set of cameras that are quick to capture and can take vivid shots when outdoors.
TWS
Oppo Enco Air3 Pro: While some of you might say these are over a year old, but the sheer audio quality and even noise cancellation offered by this Oppo pair are still the best for a price of Rs. 3,199. On top of that, these are comfortablo wearfor longer periods -- be it while working or commuting. Also, it can be connected to two devices simultaneously so you can have your work and personal music playback sorted.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4: Available at Rs 17,990, these higher-end pair of true wireless earbuds offer clean and clear vocals, decent bass as well as good representation of background instruments. The pair is comfortable wear and does not disappoint in terms of battery life for calls or music. These buds are IP54 water and dust-resistant; in the box you not only get extra pairs of eartips of different sizes (which is standard) but also some silicone rounded stability fins for a betterfit.
Speakers:
GOVO GoSurround 975: This soundbar is among the most bang for bucks in the Indian market today at Rs 8,499. With a host of connectivity options to use, the GoSurround 975 has a 2.1.2 audio system with a 6.5-inch sub-woofer included giving 400watts of output in total. You get clear dialogues, something a lot of TVs would struggle with, while also handling music playback well enough to fill in a medium sized room, plus, it doesn’t lack in giving deep bass for those who prefer that with their TV series and movie watching experience.
Beats Pill: For a price of Rs 16,990, given its size and weight, the Pill is heavy on the loudness and can be used for any music playback outdoors for a very small gathering. You can pair it over Bluetooth as well as with a USB type C cable for lossless playback. Bass output is heavy while having clear vocals alongside smooth background instruments playback.
Smartwatch:
Redmi Smartwatch 5 Active: Available at a discounted price of Rs 2,599, the watch has reliable tracking for step counting and for pushing notifications from your connected smartphone. It’s fitted with a heart rate monitor, SpO2 as well as has stress monitoring and sleep tracking functions. The smartwatch has generally smooth UI when in use, plus you get over two weeks of battery life (no always-on display) on it.
OnePlus Watch 2: For a bit higher end, available for Rs 19,999 currently, there’s the OnePlus Watch 2 that has a great battery life, good looks (probably more targeted towards men) as well as a responsive WearOS. The 1.43-inch display is bright for outdoors use and it can also connect with a pair of wireless earbuds for music playback on the go. Though there’s no 4G/LTE option, the watch itself has many sensors for fitness conscious such as accelerometer, gyroscope, optical heart rate sensor, optical pulse oximeter, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor, barometer, and PPG.
