Valentine's Day is here, an annual excuse to give the person you love something special, to remind them that you're always thinking of them. Especially if you both love a bit of tech.
Since a well-chosen bit of tech can make our lives substantially easier, it can be a great way to show you're paying attention. Whether it's solving a daily problem for them or giving them an upgrade to make things better, we've gathered a list of 12 tech gifts that could be perfect as a Valentine's Day gift.
We're not talking crazy-expensive gifts like the best TVs or the best laptops or the best phones either, these are ideal Valentine's gifts including streamers, headphones, toys, speakers and more. So let's get to it, tech-lovers!
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max
Plugging in a Fire TV Stick 4K Max is basically the quickest way to massively upgrade this part of your daily lives, making it a more thoughtful gift than you might first think. It has all the best streaming services you could possibly want, is nice and powerful for incredibly quick response times, and it's super-easy to use.
Almost regardless of what TV you or your partner have – whether the best OLED or the best set under £1000 – there's a solid chance that its built-in software is somewhere between rubbish and laggy, with unresponsive apps and slow load times.
Lego Wildflower Bouquet
Lego might seem like a nerdy option, and perhaps it is, but the Danish firm has been putting out some really quite romantic kits for years now. There's nothing quite like cooperating on a build to bring you together in a shared zen activity.
This lovely bouquet won't take you too long to build, but it's a perfect couple's activity for a quiet night in, building together and making something that's really nice to look at. There are also multiple variants of its flower kits to pick from, so if you're aware that your partner favours a particular type of bloom, be sure to see whether you can find the right version. Or perhaps this list of the best Lego sets will inspire you instead.
Kindle Paperwhite
It might not be everyone's favourite pastime, but reading is a gorgeous way to end any day, and whether your partner is a commuter or packing for a big holiday, a Kindle Paperwhite can be a superb way to make their life easier. It's easily among the best Amazon Kindles on sale.
It's the difference between having to weigh out your books to see if you can bring the ones you want abroad, and just slipping an entire library into a pocket of your suitcase or backpack. Of course, back home it's also ideal for nighttime reading since the subtle but excellent backlight on the display means you can read all night without disturbing a bedmate.
Sony WF-C500 earbuds
Earbuds come in all shapes and at all prices, but if you think that your partner is looking to listen to more music on the go, and you can't break the bank to get them the most premium set of earbuds on the market, these 'buds from Sony are a five-star option.
They're down to just over £50 right now on Amazon, a perfect price for an extremely reliable and solid bit of hardware. They'll be just as useful for running or working out as they will for everyday use, making them a great thoughtful gift.
JBL Charge 5
Whether you're looking for one of the best Bluetooth speakers that could power a lovely outdoor date in the park, a bumping indoor party around yours, or basically any other use you could think of, the Charge 5 is a really brilliant choice.
If your partner loves music, it sounds quite excellent, and it's rugged enough to make it through basically any use case you can think of thanks to water and dust resistance. Bluetooth is so easy to connect to, making it something that anyone could find a use for.
Nintendo Switch OLED
Nintendo's unbelievable hybrid console is years into its lifespan now, and is undoubtedly one of the best consoles ever released, continuing to get new classics released onto it every few months. Although a Switch 2 is rumoured to be appearing this year.
If your partner is a lapsed gamer or has never dipped their toe, it's the perfect choice, with countless games that cater to all ability levels and loads of co-op options for you to tackle together if you want a more collaborative approach. The OLED version is the best, with a beautiful display, but the Switch Lite is amazing if you want a console for their bag.
Fujifilm Instax Mini 40
An instant camera is simply romantic in a way that almost doesn't need explaining – the spontaneity and one-off nature of all its photos is so heartwarming. If you're feeling more flush then check out the best mirrorless cameras instead.
Fujifilm has been dominating this space for a long time – its cameras are reliable and well-priced, and crucially its film is also affordable. Of the current options, we love the Mini 40 the most thanks to its retro stylings and more mature designs. This makes it an easy choice this Valentine's Day, offering a great way to capture some new memories.
Amazon Echo Pop
You'd be amazed how useful an Echo speaker can be in your home, and weirdly we think it's the perfect gift if your partner is a keen home cook.
It's the best way to set a timer that we've ever encountered – Alexa can handle many timers at once, and you can name each of them to let you run multiple ones per ingredient or cooking method, which helps so much if you're juggling a complicated recipe.
The Echo Pop is the most affordable of Amazon's new speakers and looks and sounds great, so it's the best choice for a gift right now. If you're not into Amazon, however, and want to look at one of the best smart speakers from Google and others then take a browse at our guide.
Philips Hue
We all know the power of mood lighting for any romantic occasion, and while lightbulbs themselves might not be the most impressive gift if you just hand them over in the box, there are ways to plan it out better.
For example, if you stealthily install a couple of these in your room of choice and then switch them on at an opportune moment, you could get quite a reaction – Philips Hue can be like a makeover for your lounge, since you can suddenly light it literally however you like. It's not the cheapest system, but that makes it an even better gift.
Garmin Forerunner 55
Again, the Forerunner 55 might not exactly look soft and cuddly, but if you have a partner who's exercise-obsessed then they'll almost certainly love it, since Garmin's reputation in that space is so huge.
It's built that reputation on a foundation of superb, almost unimpeachable tracking accuracy, and the Forerunner 55 is one of its best running watches, full of great features and tracking modes, with excellent battery life, but without the bank-breaking price tag of the flagship Fenix watches, especially as it's down to just £150 right now on Amazon.
Apple iPad 10th Gen
If we've been hedging our bets somewhat in this Valentine's Day gift guide so far, on the basis that most people might be looking for good gift ideas that don't cost an arm and a leg, when you embrace the sheer quality that is Apple's device lineup that becomes a bit harder.
So, there's no getting around the price of the best new iPads, but it happily comes with the easy caveat that there really isn't any better tablet ecosystem out there right now, and either the standard 10th-generation iPad or the 6th-generation iPad mini would surely make basically anyone thrilled if they received them.
Apple TV+ subscription
On that note, the world of streaming has only been getting more expensive in the last few years, with Netflix ratcheting up its prices and Disney following suit. We'd make a big argument that the best deal in streaming is now Apple TV+, not just because it has simple (and lower) pricing but because its smaller library has a way higher hit rate.
It's got loads of buzzy shows across a range of genres, and plenty of lovely romantic content if you want to get a subscription as a gift and settle down for a Valentine's Day movie night.
Dyson AirWrap
This is a product that has become iconic in beauty circles – Dyson took the question of hairdrying and styling, and engineered it to within an inch of its life.
The result is the AirWrap, a simply brilliant tool that can help you shape and sculpt your hair into exactly the shapes and styles you imagine, all without damaging it with the excessive heat of traditional (or cheaper) equipment. It comes with a steep price tag, of course, but there's no substitute for this sort of quality.
