10 Unique Connected Gift Ideas

Taron Foxworth
Taron Foxworth | 4 minute read

Christmas is coming! There are no better gifts than ones that are connected. While the Phillips Hue Bulbs, Amazon Echo, and Canary security system are best-in-class devices, they are not featured in this article for a good reason. Sometimes we need our gifts to stand out a bit more, so, we gathered a list of some rather unique connected gifts to give someone special. Enjoy!

For the Lazy One With a Green Thumb

First, we have the Click and Grow Smart Herb Garden. It comes with everything you need to grow fresh herbs in your home, even without light. All you need to do is just plug in the garden, fill its water tank and let the magic happen. The garden will grow the herbs itself. This garden is a great gift for someone who loves to have fresh herbs in their kitchen. Best of all, since it monitors itself, this works for the lazy, traveling, or busy individuals with a green thumb as well.

For the Insomniac

Sense is a voice-controlled sleep monitor and alarm. The device will analyze sleep patterns and give recommendations to improve sleeping habits. It comes with an accelerometer-powered clip that attaches to a pillow to provide you a sleep score. Every morning one can wake up and use this score to determine the quality of rest. You can even integrate this device with third-party hardware like the Nest thermostat — to have the perfect temperature when you fall asleep or wake up.

For the Mad Scientist

Give a gift of a Bluetooth-controlled ... cockroach! RoboRoach is a kit that comes with everything you need to build a robotic roach. Backyard Brain has a ton of awesome kits for a budding scientist. For this kit, this scientist must be ready to get his hands dirty. By overriding the electrical signals in the roach's antennas, you can send new signals to control its actions. According to Backyard Brain, this process is entirely unharmful to the cockroach. It's also an exceptional way to start learning about neurology.

For the Coffee Snob

Make sure the coffee snob in your life is never cranky or without caffeine again. Imagine a life where one can wake up, and their coffee just automatically starts brewing - talk about perfection. The Nespresso Prodigio makes that dream a reality.  It is internet-connected to schedule brewing, manage refills, and maintenance alerts. This coffee maker is the perfect gift for that someone who can't wait that extra second to enjoy the oh-so-sweet caffeine.

For the Biohacker

Measurement is the greatest tool of any biohacker. Every biohacker needs to track their goals meticulously. No better way to do that than with a Withings Scale. This device can measure weight, fat mass, muscle mass, and more. Now, your biohacker can keep track and measure how all the experiments they run affects their body. In reality, this is the perfect gift for someone who wants to make sure that they are hitting their fitness goals. 

For the Juicer

Juicing is hard and messy. The wonderful people at Juicero made this mess-free and as simple as pressing one button. They even ship you pre-made juices. They offer the pre-made juices in a subscription that you can easily control via a mobile app. This juicer is the perfect gift for that health nut in your life.

For the Forgetful Master Chef

Toast, bake, and reheat in an oven that knows exactly what's cooking and also cooks it to perfection. The June Intelligent Oven is a microwave-sized appliance that adds a ton of smarts to the kitchen. You can even watch your food in real-time as it's cooking and get a notification when done. June adds a whole new experience to cooking. This oven is the perfect gift for the master chef in your life. 

For the Dog Lover

Well, a dog needs to be healthy too! FitBark is an activity and sleep tracker for pups. This tracker allows one to set activity and health goals for a dog. They can see how their dog's activity compares to other dogs of the same breed. As a bonus, all this information can be sent to a veterinarian to diagnose if something goes wrong more efficiently. Now, the whole family can be healthy and fit. This tracker is the perfect gift for ones who love their dog more than you.

For the Helicopter Parents

Bye, plastic cups! The Toymail Talkie is a new aged walkie talkie for kids. The cute little plush toy allows kids to send messages back and forth with other children. Most importantly, the talkie can be connected to their parent's phone so the parent can send and receive messages too. This toy is a great gift for the parents who think a five-year-old should not have a phone. 

For the One With Hot Breath

From the people who brought us the connected breathalyzer: The Mint Breathometer is a small device that can let one learn about the health of their mouth. By measuring bacteria in the mouth, a lot can be determined - like the quality of your cleaning routine and diet. This gift is perfect for the friends who deeply care, or you want them to deeply care, about their oral health.

Happy Gifting!

If you need more ideas, here are some pretty good ways to find them:

  • Check out the IoT Podcast. Stacey Higginbotham did a show for Black Friday that featured a ton of more popular gifts. 
  • B8ta is a great store to go and try out all the new toys before you can buy, but they are only in select locations.
  • IoT List contains a smorgasbord of internet-connected products.

Did I miss anything good? Let me know in the comments or reach out on Twitter.