19 Tech Gifts For Teenagers, Chosen by Actual Teens

Amazon Prime Student Membership ($7)

Amazon offers student and young adult subscription options, which are designed with young shoppers in mind. Through this Prime Student membership, users aged 18 to 24 years old can enjoy a free six-month trial of Prime, with a membership cost of $7 per month after the trial ends. The subscription offers everything from fast and free delivery on bestselling Amazon products, plus access to live sports, songs, and games through Prime Video and Amazon Prime Music.

Photo Clip LED Fairy String Lights ($9)

This string of lights offers a unique way for the sentimental teen in your life to cherish their most-prized memories. Our resident teen Winter recommends pairing the photo-clip lights with a photo printer or taking your teen to the copy shop to get hard copies of their pics. It is 17 feet long with 50 LED lights and comes with 50 clear clips.

Tsrare Sunset Lamp ($20, originally $26)

This projection light takes mood lighting to a whole new level — its head can be rotated 180 degrees to adjust the size and shape of the projected light. It has over 20 colors to choose from as well. It's small enough to be placed anywhere, whether it be a nightstand, dresser, or shelf, making it a great gift for practically anyone to enjoy.

"This is cool," says Winter. "It adds depth to a room and is good for taking pictures."

Bwllni Hollywood Makeup Mirrors With Lights ($30)

Both Ella and Winter named a light-up mirror for doing their makeup as must haves. This model — which is under $50 — has multiple lighting settings that allow you to adjust the brightness and warmth. Bonus: reviewers on Amazon say it also makes a great selfie light.

Wake Up Light Sunrise Alarm Clock ($36, originally $53)

This alarm clock is designed with heavy sleepers in mind. The alarm has a "sunrise stimulation light" that adjusts from 10 to 100 percent brightness 30 minutes before your alarm's set time. The alarm comes with a radio, a snooze function, and seven color-changing light settings. What does the teen say? "Really fun alarm clock," says Winter. "It's a unique idea, and it's really pretty." High praise.

Case-Mate Glossy Magnetic Lip Gloss Holder ($35)

Shopping for the teen who always carries a lip balm or lip gloss with them? This Case-Mate Glossy Magnetic Lip Gloss Holder is a detachable phone accessory that lets them store their go-to lippie on the back of their phone. They can use this on a wide range of MagSafe phone cases, even if they upgrade their phone. Our editor loves how convenient it is while on the go. Read more about it in her review of the Case-Mate Glossy Magnetic Lip Gloss Holder.

Editor Quote: "I can easily slide in my current go-to lip product or gloss and reapply my lippie whenever I want. The holder has a strong grip on the lip product, ensuring that it doesn't fall out while I'm out and about. The holder fits a wide variety of popular lip products, including the popular Rhode Lip Peptide Treatment, Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm, Olehenriksen Pout Preserve Peptide Lip Treatment, Laneige Lip Glowy Balm, and more." - Anvita Reddy, former assistant shopping editor

Miisso Ultra-Slim Power Bank ($27)

The only person who hates it more when your teen's phone runs out of battery than you do is . . . your teen. You'll stay saner knowing the teen you love is safe when they carry this credit-card-size portable charging bank with them. The Miisso comes in a rainbow of colors and includes both lightning and USB-C cables.

Retrolife 3-Speed Vinyl Record Player ($47, originally $60)

Vinyl lovers will adore this Retrolife 3-Speed Vinyl Record Player. It's a portable suitcase-style record player that is belt-driven with built-in speakers. It's equipped with Bluetooth and an AUX cable, merging modern tech with vintage vibes. They can play their favorite vinyl records or stream their go-to playlists, and it even doubles as stylish room decor.

Hiacinto Digital Point and Shoot Camera ($50, originally $63)

If you're shopping for a teen who loves to create TikToks or is just obsessed with photography, you can't go wrong with a compact digital camera. This one captures 64-megapixel photos and 4K videos, and it has a 16X zoom capacity with a 32GB card. It's perfect for beginners and tiny enough to fit into a purse.

Cooluli Mini Fridge ($56)

There's something about having your own stash of snacks, a cold bubbly water at the ready, or perfectly-chilled skin-care products that makes this affordable mini fridge a must for teen bedrooms. It even comes in a variety of colors, so you can coordinate it with their bedroom decor.

Apple AirTag 4 Pack ($75, originally $99)

If they're constantly misplacing things, these Apple AirTags will become life rafts. They can attach them to everything from keys to handheld gaming devices.

HP Sprocket Portable Instant Photo Printer ($90)

The pictures on their iPhone no longer have to stay in the cloud. Thanks to this portable printer, your teen can print out photos instantly and choose to save them in a photo album or scrapbook. Its slim design allows them to take this photo printer anywhere: a friend's house, on vacation, or to decorate their locker.

Apple Watch SE ($175)

Screen time can be just as draining for teens as it can for adults. Ella says she'd love to get an Apple Watch so that she can track her progress (and stay reachable) on her runs without getting pulled down a rabbit hole on her phone.

In addition to fitness tracking, the Apple Watch SE has sleep-tracking and crash-detection capabilities. It's also waterproof, if your teen is a swimmer.

Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition ($280)

If your teen is an avid reader, they'll obsess over the new Kindle Colorsoft. Unlike other Kindle models, this one is able to showcase and display colors. Readers can enjoy travel guides and graphic novels, and highlight in color. It's waterproof and ultra-durable, and it provides the best visuals in direct sunlight.

Nintendo Switch OLED Model With White Joy-Con ($369, originally $400)

Get the gamer teen in your life something they'll obsess over. The Nintendo Switch has three modes of playtime — TV mode, tabletop mode, and handheld mode — for gaming whenever, wherever. When played in handheld and tabletop modes with the seven-inch OLED screen, they can enjoy an enhanced experience with the system's built-in speakers. It comes with a wide adjustable stand, a dock for TV mode, and 64GB of internal storage.

Marshall Stanmore III Bluetooth Speaker ($400)

If you're shopping for a teen who adores music, this speaker will fill their home with melodies for an immersive, concert-like experience. This piece of tech allows you to adjust the bass and treble for a customized sound, comes in three colors (black, a vintage cream, or a relaxed rustic brown), and can be connected via an aux cable. It's an editor favorite as well: read our in-depth review of the Marshall Stanmore III Bluetooth Speaker.

Editor Quote: "The way it plays music is incredibly captivating and fills my entire 750-square-foot apartment with rich sound. Simply turn on any song and you'll be sucked into details you've never noticed before like deep bass, a prolific melody, or a song's grand instrumentals. The listening experience is almost immersive, and that's what I love about the Stanmore III: you close your eyes and it's like the band is playing in front of you." - Haley Lyndes, shopping staff writer

PlayStation 5 Console ($449, originally $550)

If the teen in your life is super into gaming, and has been asking for the coveted PS5 for months, now's your chance to snag one as the ultimate splurge gift. It's got vivid graphics, speedy reaction and processing times, and offers an immersive gaming experience. They may have everything, but maybe not the PlayStation 5 Console.

Apple AirPods Max Wireless Over-Ear Headphones ($499, originally $549)

If you're teen has been vying for the Apple AirPods Max Headphones, there's no better time to surprise them with this stylish tech must have. Not only are they a durable, high quality pair of noise-canceling headphones, but they also come in a ton of different colors. The price and color options vary depending on if you decide to get the older model with the lightning charging port or the newer model with the USB-C charging port. Even our own PS editor had "no regrets" making the splurge, as detailed in this Apple AirPods Max Headphones review.

Editor Quote: "The sound on the AirPods Max is extremely clear — I've never had any issues with music sounding far away or "tinny." I can hear every single word of Death Cab For Cutie's "Title and Registration" as if Ben Gibbard himself were singing into my ears." - Renee Rodriguez, beauty senior staff writer and social producer

HP OmniBook 7 Flip 16" FHD 2-in-1 ($500, originally $1,000)

This laptop can convert into a tablet to work seamlessly for school and play. The Windows 11's AI tools also assist with research, organization, and note taking. Our editor gave this a test spin and says it's the "most versatile tech she's ever owned." For more details, check out our HP OmniBook 7 Flip 16" FHD 2-in-1 review.

Editor Quote: "What I immediately appreciated about the HP Omnibook 7 Flip Laptop is how much thought went into making it durable and versatile. As someone who's constantly tossing my laptop in a tote between work events, I love that it's built with a sturdy aluminum casing that can actually keep up with my lifestyle. The two-in-one design also speaks to me — I can see myself using the tablet mode to quickly edit photos or jot down ideas on the go. For students, that same flexibility makes it easy to transition from typing notes in class to streaming shows in the dorm at night. The high-quality display is another win in my book; I've always been picky about screens (blame my MySpace coding and photo-editing days), and the crisp resolution makes everything from essays to creative projects feel more polished. Plus, the fast processor means I don't have to worry about my laptop lagging when I've got dozens of tabs open — something I know every student can relate to during crunch time." - Hayley Lyndes, shopping staff writer

Haley Lyndes is a shopping writer and editor with more than seven years of experience in the publishing space. Specializing in home and lifestyle, she covers everything from furniture and mattresses to beauty products and fitness gear. Her writing has appeared in BuzzFeed, Travel + Leisure, and Real Simple.

Kyley Warren (she/her) is an award-winning writer and editor with more than four years of experience in the publishing space. She previously worked as an assistant editor on PS Shopping and is an expert on all things related to shopping and fashion. Before joining PS, Kyley worked with Entertainment Tonight as a style commerce writer, and her byline has appeared in publications globally.

Anvita Reddy (she/her) is a former assistant editor for PS Shopping. She has a passion for products and reviews home gadgets, cookware, tech, and more. Having dealt with acne as a teenager and into adulthood, her expertise lies in beauty. At PS, she tested skin care, makeup, and hair care, plus countless other beauty products.

Abbey Stone is a former interim content director of Wellness at PS.

Angela Elias (she/her) is a contributing editor for PS Shopping, where she reviews everything from beauty products to kitchen gadgets, curates can't-miss sales, and creates "best of" shopping roundups. In her former roles at PS, she led the relaunch of its Latine identity and family-focused verticals, directed its Home vertical, and hosted shopping segments. She has nearly 15 years of experience working in the lifestyle space as a writer, editor, content strategist, director, on-camera talent, and publicist.