9to5Mac Holiday Gift Guide

9to5Mac Gift Guide: Tech stocking stuffer ideas from under $10

Chance Miller | Dec 15 2019 - 8:30 am PT

There are less than two weeks left in the holiday shopping season, and time is running out to buy online. If you’re struggling to find the perfect gift for a tech fan in your life without breaking the bank, read on as we highlight some must-have technology gifts under $50 that will arrive before Christmas.

AirFly

If you know that the person you’re shopping for will be getting AirPods as a gift this year, one excellent accessory is the Twelve South AirFly. The AirFly dongle allows you to connect any pair of wireless headphones to wired headphone jacks, such as on a plane, in a car, or in a gym.

AirFly can be had for as low as $40. It makes the perfect companion gift for someone already receiving AirPods or another pair of wireless headphones this Christmas season.Other potential companion gifts under $50 for AirPods include silicone cases, the EarBuddyz tips, and wireless chargers.

Native Union Key Cable

One of the most useful accessories I’ve purchased recently is a small Lighting cable that can attach directly to your key ring. My personal favorite pick is the Native Union Key Cable, which attaches directly to your keys and gives you a flexible Lightning cable that you can use anywhere.

If the person for whom you’re shopping travels a lot, this is a great gift. They can use it to charge up in rental cars, airport lounges, hotel rooms, and so much more.

Native Union makes other excellent budget tech gifts as well:

Satechi 75W Charger

If you’re shopping for someone who has all of the latest technology, chances are they’re constantly looking for new and more versatile ways to charge their devices. One of my personal favorite products of 2019 is the Satechi Type-C 75W charger.

This charger packs USB-C fast charging support, as well as two USB-A ports and an LED indicator light so you know when it’s charging. It’s currently available for $45, and it comes in space gray to match all of your newest Apple products.

iPhone accessories

If you know someone who is lucky enough to be getting a new iPhone this holiday season, you can piggy back off of that in a few different ways. First and foremost, everyone will want to protect their shiny new iPhone. Thankfully, there are a variety of cases available for far below $50.

Best iPhone XR leather cases:

Best iPhone 11 cases:

Best iPhone 11 Pro cases:

Best iPhone 11 Pro Max cases:

Apple now includes a fast charger in the box with the iPhone 11 Pro, if you know someone getting an iPhone XR or iPhone 11, we highly recommend an 18W wall adapter and a Lightning to USB-C cable. This setup can charge an iPhone to 50% in just 30 minutes.

Apple Watch bands and chargers

Much like the iPhone, there are a host of popular accessories to choose from this holiday season. Ranging from Apple Watch bands to charging docks and more, here are some of our favorites. Even some of Apple’s first-party Apple Watch bands come in at under $50 – and some are as low as $25 right now.

Best Apple Watch bands:

Best Apple Watch charging accessories:

Amazon Fire TV Stick

The Amazon Fire TV Stick is something that I never thought I would recommend to someone immersed in the Apple ecosystem, but things have changed in 2019. Apple’s powerful TV app is now available on a variety of third-party platforms, and the Fire TV stick is one of the best ways to try it out.

The Fire TV Stick starts at $35 and should arrive by Christmas. You can also pick up the Fire TV Stick 4K for just under the $50 price point, with delivery by Christmas. Also check Best Buy for in-store availability as we get closer to Christmas.

Smart scale

If you’re shopping for someone who is already fixated on their New Year’s resolutions, a great way to kickstart that is with a smart scale. This is a change I’ve made in 2019, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

One thing to watch out for is finding a scale that integrates with Apple’s Health platform. This means that every time you weigh-in, your weight is recorded directly in the Health app on your iPhone. The most affordable way to do this with the Renpho Bluetooth Scale, which comes in at under $30 with Apple Health support.

Smart home

There are actually quite a few smart home accessories you can get for under $50, ranging from Philips Hue bulbs to the Eve Degree and much more. For as little as $20, you can get someone a HomeKit-enabled smart plug that can give lamps, fans, and more smart home capabilities.

More budget smart home gift ideas:

Be sure to check out our full smart home gift guide for all of the best ideas this year.

AirPods alternatives

If you’re looking to get into the truly wireless earbuds game this holiday season, but don’t want to splurge on AirPods, we’ve got options for you. Our favorite AirPods alternatives under $50 are the Anker Soundcore Liberty.

These truly wireless earbuds offer Bluetooth 5 connectivity, IPX7 waterproofing, a charging case, and over 5 hours of listening time. You can currently pick them up for $35 on Amazon when you clip the on-page coupon. Read our full review here.

Subscriptions and gift cards!

Almost everything is a subscription nowadays, and the holidays are a great way to ease the monthly burden of that for people. For instance, an iTunes gift card can be used for Apple Music, iCloud Storage, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, and much more. You can also buy standalone gift cards for streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify.

If you’re struggling to come up with ideas for the tech fan in your life, you can’t go wrong with gift cards: