SAN ANTONIO – If your holiday shopping list is long, but you’re short on ideas, Consumer Reports offers some options for the gadget gurus in your life.
One of the hottest new additions to the wireless headphone category are the Apple AirPods Pro for $260. The Airpods are Apple’s first noise-canceling, truly wireless headphones. They come with three earpiece sizes, an upgrade from the one-size-fits-all original AirPods.
Consumer Reports said the AirPods Pro deliver excellent active noise reduction and very good sound quality. Because they’re brand new, don’t expect steep discounts on the AirPods Pro just yet.
Looking for a more affordable wireless option that’s similar to the original AirPods?
Anker’s SoundCore Liberty Air headphones are a Consumer Reports Best Buy at around $80. They’re not noise-canceling, but CR experts said they deliver very good sound quality and are a good choice for the more critical listener.
If you have an early tech adopter on your list and you’re looking to splurge, consider the Samsung Galaxy Fold smartphone for around $2,000. Although it struggled with durability problems early on, the Fold did well enough in CR’s tests to become a recommended smartphone. It scored very good or excellent in every category, including camera quality, ease of use, and battery life, which is 31 hours on a single charge.
If you’re looking for a good gift and a good deal, you can get an Apple Watch Series 3 starting at around $200. It’s not Apple’s latest model, but in CR’s tests it rated excellent for ease of use, ease of pairing, and readability in both bright and low light. It’s a CR Best Buy.