It’s the 12th and final day of Tech Guide’s popular 2024 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas. We made it! This guide was designed to help you find the perfect gift for your family and friends.
Today we’re looking at computers and accessories and other related products.
Here are Tech Guide’s 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas:
DAY 12: Computers
APPLE iMAC WITH M4 – From $1,999
Apple has boosted the iMac that’s now powered by the new M4 chip built for Apple Intelligence with faster connectivity and sporting fresh new colours.
The popular all-in-one desktop computer is up to 2.1x faster when it comes to demanding tasks like photo editing and gaming compared to the iMac with M1.
Onboard is a 24-inch 4.5K retina display which now has a new nano -texture glass option along with a new 12MP Centre Stage camera with the Desk View and up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports.
NETGEAR ORBI 770 MESH SYSTEM – $999 (Two Pack), $1,499 (Three Pack)
The Netgear Orbi 770 tri-band mesh systems offer speeds of up to 11Gbps across 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz and 6Ghz bands and can connect up to 100 devices in homes up to 540 square metres.
Connection speeds are improved using multi-link operation by combining 5Ghz and 6Ghz bands to offer both fronthaul to connect devices and backhaul to link the router and the satellites.
It also includes 2.5 Gig LAN ports on the router and satellite which can be used for multi-gig wired connection between the two.
HP OMNIBOOK ULTRA FLIP NEXT GEN AI PC – $3,399
Boost your efficiency this new year with the Next Gen AI PC featuring Microsoft’s CoPilot+ and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon engine.
This laptop learns from you to enhance creativity and productivity, offering an impressive 26-hour battery life.
Its convertible design allows for easy transitions between laptop, tent, and tablet modes.
Available from JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman
MAC MINI WITH M4 – From $999
The Mac mini is like the Yoda of Apple’s line-up of computers – small but incredibly powerful.
As Yoda the wise and diminutive Jedi Master said: “Size matters not. Judge me by my size do you?”
You can say precisely the same thing about Apple’s latest M4 tiny but mighty computer.
So to complete the analogy the new Apple M4 is the computing version of the Force – it can empower you to do some amazing things.
NETGEAR NIGHTHAWK RS600S ($799) AND RS200 ($499)
The Netgear Nighthawk RS600S and RS200 are standalone Wi-Fi 7 routers and provide high speeds, low latency as well as high capacity.
There are patented omnidirectional internal antennas under the slender chassis which provides coverage to every corner of your home.
Customers have the choice of a Nighthawk router with either 2.5 Gig or 10 Gig internet port that suits their requirements and the size of their home.
14-INCH MACBOOK PRO WITH M4 – From $2,499
Just when you thought the MacBook Pro couldn’t get any better, Apple has released the brand new 14-inch and 16-inch models running the latest M4 family of Apple’s very own silicon.
Tech Guide reviewed the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the base M4 chip.
Our review model had the M4 with 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB unified memory and a 1TB SSD drive.
It also includes the new Nano-texture display which greatly reduced annoying glare and reflection.
This configuration of the 14-inch MacBook Pro is priced at $3,029. The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $2,499.
ESPRESSO DISPLAY 15-INCH DISPLAY AND STAND+ – $499
Australian tech company espresso Displays has released its new espresso Display 15 and Stand+ which is designed to make it easier to stay productive on the go.
The new espresso Display 15 works together with the new Stand+ that’s part of the $499 bundle and tall enough so users can raise the screen above a laptop screen.
The espresso Display 15 is cheaper because it does not have touch screen capabilities, but it still offers remarkable quality with the ability to display 16.8 million colours in 1920 x 1080 full high definition resolution, with 300 nits brightness and a 60Hz refresh rate.
NETGEAR ORBI 970 WI-FI 7 – $4,299
Netgear has always led the way creating a robust and reliable wireless network with its Orbi products and its latest offering – the Orbi 970 – packs in the latest Wi-Fi 7 technology and raises the bar in terms of speed and quality.
Tech Guide replaced all the networks at our place with the new Orbi 970 and it gave us high speed connectivity in our two-storey home from the front of the house all the way to the back, upstairs and down.
Today it’s not uncommon for a household to have more than 40 or 50 connected devices or maybe even more from your smart TV, laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, printers, smart devices, security cameras and much more.
HP SPECTRE X360 – From $2,999
the HP Spectre x360 16, a big, bright and beautiful laptop that has left us incredibly impressed.
The Spectre x360 range from HP is the premium convertible laptop range with 360 degree hinges and touch displays of either 14- or 16-inch in size.
The HP Spectre x360 16-inch laptop we were sent is their most premium Spectre laptop with a touch 2.8K OLED display, with 32GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 3.80GHz processor and a NVIDIA GeForce RTX4050 GPU.
ASUS ZENBOOK S16 – $3,499
The Zenbook S16 comes with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Processor, 32GB LPDDR5X and 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD.
The laptop includes a large 16-inch 3K ASUS Lumina OLED display powered by AMD Radeon 890M Graphics.
Light and thin, the Zenbook S16 incorporates a brand new material, a Ceraliminum coating which brings strength to the chassis, as well as a durable finish which has a ceramic feel, in a Zumaia Gray colour way.
READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE
Dell XPS 13 – From $1,999
The Dell XPS 13 is the thinnest and lightest XPS in the range. It boasts a stunning InfinityEdge display for immersive viewing and has powerful, on-device AI for on-the-go productivity.
With up to 27 hours of battery life, it ensures they stay productive and entertained throughout their journey.
SAMSUNG PORTABLE SSD T9 – 1TB ($309), 2TB ($519), 4TB ($969)
Who doesn’t like space to do more of what you love? Perfect for creators, photographers, or the gamers in your life, the T9 has lightning-fast transfer speeds boasting sequential read/write speeds of up to 2,000MB/s1 through its USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface.
For those always on the run, T9 offers up to 3 metres drop resistance, and is backed by a 5-year limited warranty.
Available at samsung.com.au
ASUS VIVOBOOK S15 – $2,699
The ASUS Vivobook S15 is the company’s first Copilot+ PC model and the first to have the ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite processor to enable the laptop to process AI tasks on the device.
For the moment the Copilot+ PC AI features offer a lot of promise – there’s not a whole lot you can do for now – but you do have the platform that will serve you well into the future when these features flourish and mature.
The ASUS Vivobook S15 has a sleek look with 14.7mm thickness and a weight of 1.42kg.
The laptop has a stunning Lumina OLED 15.6 inch display with a resolution of 2880 x 1620. But it’s not a touch screen.
SURFACE LAPTOP COPILOT+ PC – $1,899
The AI-accelerated Surface Laptop 7th Edition, a Copilot+ PC, brings next-generation technology to your fingertips, blending seamless productivity and immersive experiences whether you’re working, playing, or creating.
Powered by the advanced Snapdragon X Elite and Plus processors, this sleek laptop is 86% faster than its predecessor, the Surface Laptop 5, ensuring lightning-fast performance for every task.
Whether you’re on the road or in the studio, the Surface Laptop is built to keep up, offering up to 20 hours of video playback on a single charge. With 45 trillion operations processed per second, you can supercharge your creativity and productivity like never before.
SEAGATE GAME DRIVE FOR PLAYSTATION CONSOLES – 2TB ($185), 5TB ($319)
Game Drive for PlayStation makes it easy to stay ahead of the game.
The high-speed USB 3.0 drive connects seamlessly to PS4 and PS5 consoles, allowing you to archive PS5 games and store and play PS4 games directly from your HDD.
With plenty of space for classics and new releases, it’s portable and ready for gaming wherever you go.
SEAGATE GAME DRIVE FOR XBOX – 2TB ($185) 4TB ($279)
Take your gaming experience to the next level with Game Drive for Xbox. It’s slim and sleek design perfectly complements the Xbox Series X, Series S, or any generation of Xbox One.
Perfect for expanding your Game Vault, this lightweight drive is easy to take on-the-go. With plug-and-play setup, you’ll be gaming in minutes while the built-in LED bar adds a vibrant Xbox green glow to your gaming setup.
