The best tech gifts for teens in 2023

From revamping your bedroom to capturing epic photos and videos, here are the best tech gifts for teens – whether they’re tech savvy or a complete technophobe.

By Alice Tuffery

Published: Wednesday, 31 May 2023 at 12:00 am

It can be all too easy to resort to a gift voucher when it comes to buying presents for teenagers. As new tech seems to emerge – and go viral – every week, it can be hard to identify the products worth buying, and find the items a teenager will truly love.

Our list includes a whole range of great tech gifts to buy for teenagers, from cutting-edge gadgets for epic selfies to the ever-popular items that’ll instantly turn a bog-standard bedroom into the ultimate teenage retreat. We’ve got products to suit any budget and every level of tech-savviness; you don’t have to be a digital-whizz to use these clever devices.

These are the tech gifts that’ll really impress.

For even more gift ideas, skip to our buyers’ guides to the best gaming gifts, or find more articles on other great tech gifts for teens.

The best tech gifts for teens

TP-Link Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Multicolor Light Strip

Adding a sticky strip of colour-changing LED lights can instantly transform a boring bedroom into a glowing multicoloured sanctuary – perfect for giving wow factor to sleepovers, gaming sessions or just relaxed evenings at home. In fact, the humble LED light strip might just be one of the ultimate tech gifts for teens.

The Philips Hue range might be the most famous product out there when it comes to smart LED strips, but this version from Tapo is a great budget-friendly option.

To set it up, stick the strip around shelving, screens or other bedroom features – it’s 5m long and you can cut it to the size you want. Then, use the Tapo app to choose preset lighting moods, effects and timers to automatically turn the multicoloured LEDs on and off. It works with standard home Wi-Fi and connects to Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control.

Insta360 X3

For a slightly lower-priced option try the Insta360 ONE RS, Insta360 GO 2 or Insta360 ONE X2

At first glance, this little gizmo seems to have a pretty big price tag for such a small device. But take a look at its jaw-droppingly impressive features, and you’ll soon see why.

The Insta360 X3 has a 5.7K, 360° camera with image stabilisation, horizon lock and HDR mode, among other useful features. You capture footage with an extended selfie stick, which the camera cleverly edits out in any footage to give an impressive third-person perspective – as if you’ve got your own personal videographer.

While the camera captures 360° action, you can select the best angles for the video afterwards.

Other features include:

360° timelapse videos in 8K quality
15 or 30 seconds of automatically saved footage before you press the shutter button
Easy automatic editing functions and live 360° streaming to let audiences watch any angle
Lock onto one person, animal or moving object to keep them centred in the frame
Waterproof to depths of 10m, or 50m with the dive case (available to buy separately)

Know a teen who’s into science?

Here are some great science gifts for teenagers.

Crosley Voyager Portable Turntable

A portable record player like this one makes a fun and quirky gift for teens. Anyone who’s into their music will love creating a stylish turntable set-up in their room.

The great feature of this particular turntable is its portability. For parties, holidays and other events, you can easily pack it up and take your tunes with you.

Of course, this record player may have a vintage look and feel, but it still comes with its fair share of mod-cons. The case has built-in stereo speakers and Bluetooth, so you can stream music straight from your phone. There’s even a headphone jack for times when you don’t want to blast out the bangers.

As for playing traditional records, the turntable has three speed settings, so it should work with any vinyl.

The Crosley Voyager is a relatively inexpensive option when it comes to turntables, but if it isn’t quite right, see more of our favourite record players on sale right now.

Mini Projector

A portable projector is a must for sleepovers and movie nights at home. Whether or not your teen has a TV in their room, this little gadget will take the viewing experience to the next level, with a projection size up to 210” across.

Projectors can be pricey, but this one balances low cost with high-quality construction; the customer reviews speak for themselves. It supports full HD at 7500 lumens and you can select your preferred projection size from 35” up to 210”, starting at a distance of 3.7ft from the wall.

There are built-in Hi-Fi speakers, but you can also connect your own or use a headset, thanks to the audio output port. Once it’s set up you can link up your phone, tablet, laptop or games console to view TV shows, films and photos (you may need an HDMI cable, depending on the device).

For other fantastic options, see our guide to the best projectors for your home.

Know a teen who’s into gaming? Check out these neat gaming gifts:

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

Not many speakers look as good as they sound, but this one is truly striking. With its ‘unicorn’ aesthetics, this Ultimate Ears Boom 3 isn’t your everyday speaker – and it comes with some truly impressive tech specs.

The Boom 3 is completely waterproof, so it can blast out music underwater for half an hour and floats to the top if you let go – pool parties will get a serious upgrade. And if your recipient or their friends already have Ultimate Ears speakers, they’ll be able to connect up to 150 of them to synchronise music across a location.

The speaker creates 360° sound and is finished with a highly resilient material originally designed for motorbike jackets and fire equipment. Ultimate Ears has put it through over 25 durability tests, so it should be safe even in the clumsiest of hands.

The rechargeable battery lasts up to 15 hours on a full charge. Add the Power Up dock to your basket for a seamless charging experience.

Browsing speakers? See our top portable speakers and shower speakers.

Auraglow LED USB Wall or Desk Word Clock

If you’re after a neat little gift for under £25, consider this unusual clock from Auraglow. Rather than display the time numerically or on a traditional clock face, it writes it out in five-minute increments. Using a selection of words cut into the black panel, LEDs light up the relevant letters to spell out the time.

The clock comes with a USB cable to connect to socket ports, computers and power banks, and you can add an adapter to plug it into the mains too. There’s a hanging slot for mounting it to the wall, but the base is also flat enough to prop it up on a desk or shelf.

You can also get this clock in copper if black isn’t quite right.

Apexel 10-in-1 Phone Camera Lens Kit

For keen Instagrammers, budding photographers or selfie lovers, how about some smartphone lens attachments? They’re a great option when you don’t want to go all-out on a new camera, and make a perfect gift for anyone who loves snapping shots on their phone.

This set is a good choice as it comes with 10 different lens attachments, all stored in a handy pouch. It’s compatible with most smartphones and tablets, including iPhone, Samsung, Huawei and Sony models.

In the kit, you’ll get a macro, wide-angle and telephoto lens, as well as fun extras like fisheye, star filter and kaleidoscope attachments. There’s also a polarising filter for removing glare and reflections on sunny days.

See more of our guides to these other great tech gifts for teens: