Wish List 2022: 42 Incredible Gifts to Give and Get 

Take a spin through this photographic history of the phono­graph. Each chapter of Gideon Schwartz’s 250-page book covers a decade in the record player’s evolution, with essays on key technological advances and—of course—tons of photos of cutting-edge designs. Audiophiles will find curiosities to salivate over, like the Philips 113 portable record player from the 1970s (the cutest turntable ever) and Yoshiaki Sugano’s $11,000 phono cartridges crafted from jade and onyx.

Some people hear a bird’s song once and remember it forever. Other folks have probably thought, “Why isn’t there a Shazam for birds?” That’s what the Haikubox is. The device listens for nearby birds, sends a clip to a server where the species is identified by a neural net, then alerts your phone to tell you which feathered friend is currently serenading you. (The cloud-based ID service costs $59 a year.) It’s one of the rare pieces of technology that actually increase your connection to the real world.

Always forgetting to charge your earbuds? Urbanista has you covered. The solar cell on this charging case slurps energy from any type of light, from sunshine to household light bulbs, to fill the battery inside. That means there will almost always be some juice available to top off the noise-canceling, touch-controlled buds. If you live in total darkness, you can still refill the case over USB-C, and it will hold enough zap for 32 hours of play time.

Despite its meager size and relatively light 36 pounds, the Mini 4 Pro is one powerful scooter. With a 1,360-watt hub motor in back, you can hit 28 mph on the highest speed mode. To help the battery last 20 miles or more, set it to the second level, which maxes out around 18 mph. It even handles hills at a respectable pace. The Mini 4 folds down easily (once you figure out the foot-activated mechanism), and you can collapse the handlebar to stow it in tight spaces.

We like this iteration of JBL’s Clip speaker more than its predecessors, and more than the other super-portable sound machines out there. The waterproof Bluetooth speaker is about the size of a hockey puck, has a 10-hour battery, and sports a spring-loaded carabiner up top for snapping onto a backpack, bike handlebars, or a nearby tree branch. Its sound is surprisingly bold, given its diminutive size.

Portable PCs with dependable gaming oomph at a reasonable price are hard to find. But this low-cost machine, outfitted with 16 gigs of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050Ti graphics card, outperforms the expectations set by its spec sheet. The abundant horsepower and smooth graphics are matched by a very good keyboard and relatively quiet cooling fans. There are some sacrifices—the screen is not the brightest, and the trackpad isn’t the springiest—but you can’t expect perfection at this price.

In this handsomely illustrated hardcover, former WIRED editor Brian Barrett traces the history of the Lego minifigure, the semi-articulated friendlies with fixed smiles that have populated brick castles, towns, airports, and space stations since the late 1970s. Each chapter uses dozens of photos to examine the design decisions and manufacturing innovations that helped these tiny plastic “minifigs” evolve from police officers and construction workers to Jedis and Slytherin wizards.

Handmade in Austin, Texas, out of sinker cypress reclaimed from riverbeds, these gorgeous loudspeakers will vibrationally elevate your listening room. Each solid wood enclosure houses a 7-inch paper cone woofer and a 1-inch textile dome tweeter, both produced by the high-end driver-maker Seas. The boxes can be paired with amps that put out anywhere from 25 to 250 watts. Spin your favorite track and you’ll experience a soundstage as big, warm, and open as the Texas sky.

With inflation through the roof, it’s nice that at least one audio company is still serving up great sound for not a lot of money. The Bluetooth version of Audio-Technica’s popular M20x headphones offers gorgeous audio quality, excellent frequency response, and solid mics for Zooms. The battery powers a truly impressive 60 hours of wireless play time. And while there’s no noise-canceling tech, the snug earpads keep the sonics isolated and pristine.

Stepping off the grid is fun and often necessary, but sometimes you need to check in with loved ones or (gulp) call for help. This pocket-size messenger connects to the Iridium satellite network to send and receive text messages in areas where there’s no cell service. It can also regularly report your location so worrywart family members can see where you are. Use it conservatively and you can squeeze 28 days of alone time from the battery. It requires a satellite data plan for off-piste pings, but month-to-month options are available for under $60.

These super-soft microsuede bandanas are our new favorite workout accessories. The absorbent, 2-foot-square fabric—made from post-consumer recycled plastic—can be tied around your neck on runs, pocketed on bike rides, or kept next to your yoga mat for a quick wipe-down after Chaturanga Dandasana. At the campground, they pull double-duty as shower towel and dishrag.

You don’t buy a TV like Samsung’s latest flagship 8K LED because you want to watch all the 8K content out there at full resolution; 8K streams are still too scarce to justify the leap. No, the reason to buy this TV is that it’s the prettiest and most sensible set we’ve seen all year. The company’s One Connect box attaches to the center-mounted pedestal, where it supplies the TV with power and A/V signals through a single cable. All the connections route into the box, allowing you to hide the wires below the TV or mount the set on the wall without annoying multi-cable runs—a nice touch. An integrated Dolby Atmos sound system actually puts out a decent amount of bump as well. And when the 8K revolution finally arrives, you’ll have all the pixels you need to fully enjoy it on the huge, nearly bezel-free screen.