Photo courtesy of OnePlus
OK, so getting a special gal a brand spanking new smartphone might be slightly out of the budget, especially if she’s into premium devices that can cost upwards of $1,000 off contract. But, I’ll bet there’s someone on your list who has already taken the plunge and bought the expensive phone she covets, like the new Apple iPhone 11 or Samsung Galaxy Note 10. Which means now, it’s time to get a gift for her to help her accessorize her mobile device!

Smartphones are with us 24/7, and used to do a ton of different things every day, from basic e-mailing and web surfing to watching videos, gaming, taking photos, posting to social media, and more. Which means there are tons of tech gadgets you can buy to help a special lady enhance the experience.

Gift for her: fashion-ize her phone

For the lady who views her phone as a fashion accessory as much as a functional device, a sleek and sexy smartphone case would be a great gift idea. Most of us own more than one case, which we use for different purposes and activities. For example, I have a regular everyday folio case, a battery case for when I attend trade shows or other work-related
events, and a waterproof case when it’s vacation time.

Consider grabbing her a cute and fashionable case to add to the mix that she can pop onto her phone for nights out on the town, like the Speck Presidio Fitted Hard Shell case in a cute pink speckled finish, or the Case-Mate Waterfall Fitted Hard Shell Case. Both are, as the name notes, fitted to the device and hard shell cases so they will offer great protection in addition to unique design. If you want to go floral, the kate spade new york Hollyhock case is also hard shell and features an adorable and playful understated design with white and pink flowers.

Gift for her: maximize fitness functions

Health and wellness is always on the mind, but the holiday season is the time when people most start thinking about making better choices about what they eat, how much exercise they get, improving sleep, and drinking more water. It’s needed, after all, following the stress of the holiday season and an overindulgence in chocolate, wine, and rich foods!

A fitness tracker or smartwatch, then, is a great gift. One of my favourites is the Fitbit Versa, which comes in a smartwatch design and can track activity, sleep, heart rate, and even your menstrual cycle, along with calories burned and calories eaten through integration with third-party apps. You can also follow quick on-screen workouts that you can do right at home, right from the watch screen, and do short breathing exercises when you need a moment of calm. The new Fitbit Versa 2 adds fun features like Alexa voice control.

Gift for her: help enhance photos

Today’s smartphones can take pictures that rival those snapped with dedicated digital cameras. Which makes it a shame that the images are usually kept in digital format. Help her with scrapbooking and art projects with a gift like the HP Sprocket 200 wireless inkjet portable photo printer, which she can use to make shareable, stickable prints of the best pics. I love the idea of being able to print and stick the images into a scrapbook, onto a notebook, or even the back of a plain phone case. Use the free app to print photos directly and wirelessly from your phone’s library or social media sites to the portable printer, which outputs them in seconds onto special 2” x 3” Photo Paper. Don’t forget to grab her an extra pack of paper so she can have fun right away experimenting with lots of prints.

Gift for her: cell phone wallet

In addition to a standard hard shell case, consider a wallet case for the busy working woman, student, or other lady who might want to keep all of her essentials on her phone so she can leave the purse at home. The Uolo Universal Smartphone Wallet Case is a neat option that can fit many different devices, up to 6.5″ high. It has five credit card slots and a pair of currency sleeves for keeping a bit of emergency cash, along with a zipper design to secure everything. It even comes with a wrist strap so she can use it as a clutch purse.

Gift for her: keep her phone or camera going

I rarely ever leave home without my power bank, and certainly never go on vacation without it. When using my smartphone for everything from navigation to social media, casual gaming, e-mails, and Web surfing and messaging, the battery can deplete pretty quickly. Grab her a handy power bank that will offer multiple charges of her phone, camera, and other portable devices. Opt for one that can charge a device (or two) multiple times over like the Mophie Charge Station Powerstream that has a 10,000mAh battery and can charge two devices at once. It is also Qi-enabled for wirelessly charging a device, along with including a USB-A port.

Gift for her: using her smartphone at home

If she’s like me and loves to cook and bake using recipes online, she probably uses her phone a lot in the kitchen. Maybe it’s to follow along with bookmarked recipes (I have tons, and use the Paprika app to organize them, which I’d highly recommend), to look up measurement conversions, or find ingredient substitutes. This can be made so much easier with a smart speaker, like the Google Home Mini. Rather than get her grubby fingers all over her expensive phone’s screen, she can simply ask “Hey gift for her - google home miniGoogle, how many ounces is 250 grams?” to get the proper conversion for measuring ingredients; or ask for a reminder of how long she should roast a 12 lb. turkey. I find Google Home particularly useful for setting timers in the kitchen when I have multiple dishes going for a big gathering, like Christmas. Simply ask Google to set a timer to go off every 20 minutes for the next 4hours, for example, so you can baste the turkey or ham as needed, and keep it moist. And, of course, the tiny speaker is handy for playing background tunes: just ask it to queue up a favourite playlist, or song, and she can jam while she cooks. If she likes funky colours, opt for the Coral finish instead of the gray or charcoal.

Gift for her: smartphone as a music player

Let’s be honest: most of us use our smartphones for playing music at home, and certainly on-the-go. She will appreciate a great portable Bluetooth speaker to satisfy her listening needs, wherever she might be. The JBL Extreme 2 Wireless Speaker is rugged and waterproof up to one metre, perfect for the adventurous gal who will want to take it out and about with her. It offers up to 15 hours of playback on a single charge and can connect to twi devices at once so her and a friend can play DJ. Connect multiple ones together for a more immersive sound experience. It even comes with a convenient carry strap and a bottle opener.

Find lots more gift ideas for everyone on your list at Best Buy Online

Christine Persaud
With 20+ years of experience in trade and consumer tech journalism, I have covered the tech space since before social media was a "thing" and the smartphone as we know it was even invented. Writing for various technology, lifestyle, and entertainment sites, I have covered and reviewed hundreds of tech products, from home appliances to wearables, fitness tech to headphones, TV entertainment products and services, and more. I'm also a passionate foodie who loves to cook and bake, a TV show fanatic (happy to give what to watch recommendations!), and proud mother to a 12-year-old son.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Really like the cellphone wallet idea as the cases that hold a card or two on a phone seem inadequate or not secure. Plus the wrist strap helps to carry the wallet’s contents. Very pleased I found this article-future gift ideas for a friend with a phone! Yes, I’ve been eyeing an HP Sprocket printer for her too.

  2. Well, I am a grandmother to 3 beautiful girls that I am having to raise & you talk about this gift..my phone burnt up about 3 weeks back & at this time I do not have a cell phone due to not having the funds–but I would probably cry for weeks if I had these wonderful gifts..GOD BLESS–Best Buy & their hearts forgiving…Thanks

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