The 2017 Ars Technica gadget gift guide: On-the-go and travel tech edition

It’s the holidays, which means it’s once again time to rack your brain in search of the right gifts for the right people. If someone on your list is into tech, though, we’ve got your back.

For this year’s edition of the Ars Technica holiday gift guide, we’re breaking down our favorites into themes. The following crop of recommendations is centered on travel—from smartphones to headphones to portable batteries, these are the gadgets we’d take with us on our next road trip. Feel free to show your loved ones the list below for your own benefit.

Smartphone gift ideas

Google Pixel 2

No, it’s not perfect. Google’s second stab at a flagship phone has needed its share of post-launch updates for potential security vulnerabilities and weird audio glitches alike. There’s no headphone jack, either, and those bezels are big. But in the realm of top-tier Android phones, Google still knows its own operating system best. The Pixel 2 has a fantastic camera, stellar battery life, a newly waterproof design, and by far the smoothest and most highly optimized build of Android ever put on a smartphone. Add in the years of guaranteed timely software updates and you have the best Android phone on the market.

Note that we’re talking about the regular $650 model here; the Pixel 2 XL is much better looking and similarly commendable if you're willing to pay extra for a larger handset, though its LG-made display has its share of annoyances.

Check out our comprehensive review of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL for more.

Apple iPhone X

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are fine. If you know someone who’ll only use iPhones, they’ll be perfectly iPhone-y enough for that person. But the iPhone X is on another level. The X’s near-bezel-less design fits a Plus-size screen in a significantly smaller and more comfortable form factor; its new OLED display looks great; and there isn’t a faster commercially available smartphone in existence.

Yes, it has clear weaknesses: the $999 price, the just-decent battery life, the fragile glass back, the little awkward bits Apple has created in translating iOS to a phone without buttons, and that price tag again. Maybe this is the year that it’s savvier to buy the older iPhone 7 or iPhone SE, wait a year, and jump in when Apple smooths some of the edges. But the iPhone is its own world; if you want the best it has to offer right now, the iPhone X is it.

Check out our comprehensive review of the iPhone X for more.

OnePlus 5T

The OnePlus 5T only just launched, but it’s already far and away the best smartphone available for $500. The slim-bezel design, top-of-the-line Snapdragon 835 chip, and vibrant OLED display—of the good Samsung variety, not the iffy LG kind—are all things you’d find on an $800 phone.

OnePlus may not be as timely with software updates as Google, but neither is any other Android manufacturer. What the OS OnePlus does provide is at least free of bloat. And while the 5T’s camera still can’t touch the best of the best, it’s improved enough to not be a major detriment. There’s also a headphone jack! The lack of water resistance or microSD expansion hurt, but the OnePlus 5T is fundamentally a good deal.

Check out our comprehensive review of the OnePlus 5T for more.

Motorola Moto G5S Plus

The state of the budget smartphone market has deteriorated in recent years, but if you have no choice but to cheap out, go with the Moto G5S Plus. It doesn’t look sexy, its camera is nothing special, it still uses microUSB, and who knows when the Lenovo version of Motorola will ever get around to updating it to Android 8.0.

But the 5.5-inch 1080p display is solid, the Android build is fairly clean, the all-metal design feels sturdy, and the battery lasts a long, long time. The Snapdragon 625 chip and 3GB of RAM are really meant for simple browsing and app usage, but for that they're still smooth enough. The device also works on all four major carriers in the US. For $279, that all makes for good value. If you prefer a smaller screen and lighter design, the 4GB RAM/64GB version of the Moto G5 Plus works just as well for $299.