Smart gifts for techies that cost less than $100

The holiday season officially arrived and you'll have to start shopping soon if you haven't already. Luckily, you don't need to spend a lot of money to get a great gift. There are plenty of awesome options for tech lovers for less than $100. These gifts will make their day, and you'll surely be happy to see their reactions when they open them.

WHAT Amazon Smart Thermostat

THE COST $59.99

AVAILABLE FROM amazon.com

Amazon's Smart Thermostat sets a new standard for the category. It has a clean, modern touch screen design, and it's easy to use, whether you're adjusting the temperature at the thermostat, through the Alexa app or via Alexa voice commands with a compatible Alexa-enabled speaker or display. This affordable gift earned a CNET Editors' Choice Award for best value smart thermostat.

WHAT Razer Kishi V2 mobile game controller

THE COST $99.99 

AVAILABLE FROM razer.com

Buying for someone who likes to game on their phone? Whether he or she is an iPhone user subscribed to Apple Arcade or an Android or iPhone user using Xbox Cloud PS gaming, PS Remote Play or Google Stadia, the improved second-generation Razer Kishi smartphone controller is a good option.

Similar to the iPhone-compatible model (the iPhone version is MFi-certified and will work with the iPhone 6 Plus and any newer model), the Android version allows Android phone owners to play Xbox Cloud gaming with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription. It connects via USB-C instead of Lightning and like the iPhone version, has pass-through charging but no built-in battery to supply extra juice. The controller allows you to game in style with mobile games that have game-controller support (and benefit from it). Just make sure you're matching the right model to their phone. 

WHAT Google Nest Hub second-generation solid smart display

THE COST $49.99

AVAILABLE FROM store.google.com

There are plenty of great Alexa-powered Echo products, but in this price range, everyone is sure to be a fan of the new Google Nest Hub. The upgraded smart display delivers more bass along with a new Sleep Sensing feature. It also gives you instant access to a world of answers whenever you say, "Hey, Google," and allows you to cast content directly to the screen from any Android device.