Top Tech Gifts for Mom
It can be difficult to find just the right gift for Mother’s Day. Here are some ideas from the best new tech gifts in 2020 to make it easier for you as you make life easier for Mom.
S ome moms are open to technology that simplifies life, but they’re not interested in learning yet another smartphone app. If that’s your mom, a simple and elegant gift that will save her time is the Larq self-cleaning water bottle. It uses a UV light inside the cap to purify its contents every two hours. The bottle only has to be charged once a month and it never needs to be programmed or washed.
Hydration is the best gift a woman can give her own body, but a busy schedule can make it hard to remember to stop and drink. The Hidrate Spark Smart Water Bottle comes to the rescue. This water bottle glows at set intervals to quietly remind its owner to hydrate without interrupting her flow of concentration. It connects to her phone via Bluetooth and comes with a free app that automatically tracks how much she drinks while providing encouragement to meet each day’s water goal.
If Mom isn’t on the fitness wagon yet, you can get her interested in monitoring her own health with the new Fitbit Versa 2, which doubles as a smart watch. It automatically tracks her sleep and activity throughout the day, plus it has bonus features such as a Bluetooth music player, guided breathing sessions based on her heart rate, and even an optional app to log menstrual cycles. She can customize the digital display and choose watch bands in multiple colors and materials on their website when she sets it up.
If there is a mom in your life with small children who keep her running all day long, you know she doesn’t need any more notifications beeping at her during the day. The best gift for her health is the Motiv Ring, which will unobtrusively monitor her heart rate, calories burned and sleep, all from the security of her finger. It needs to be charged only about every three days. The ring monitors how many minutes of activity she gets during the day, so she might find herself pleasantly surprised and affirmed to see how much exercise she is already getting chasing after the kids.
Moms with school-aged kids face new challenges in this era of smartphones and connectivity. It’s hard to keep kids safe on electronic devices, but it’s also necessary to have a way to communicate with them about after-school pickups and plans. Thankfully, this dilemma has been solved with smart watches for kids. One is the Verizon Gizmo Watch, which links to an app on Mom’s phone and holds up to ten contacts for kids to call or text. It also allows them to send voice messages, which they can jazz up with voice filters. The watch has a GPS tracker and a silent mode for school. It includes only one game, which is an engaging exercise tracker to encourage kids to be more active and limit their screen time.
For moms who are out and about as much as the kids, there are tech gifts to help keep an eye on the house during the day. One is the Ring, a smartphone-connected doorbell with a built-in motion-detector camera that records front porch activity. Ring offers multiple doorbell cameras that allow Mom to get notifications on her phone, see live video feeds and even interact with guests via a speaker every time the doorbell rings.
For on-the-go moms with pets, another tech gift that will make the whole family happy is the Furbo dog camera, which links to a smartphone to give Mom a real-time view of what the dog is doing while she is out. It also allows her to speak to the dog and tap a button on her phone app that will launch a treat out of the in-home device. She can opt to receive notifications about excessive barking or if the camera detects a person in the home, so the Furbo device can double as a home security camera.
If the mom in your life is already fit, hydrated, safety-conscious and has her dog well trained, she probably just needs a good way to unplug and relax at the end of a long day. Consider giving her an eye mask with integrated Bluetooth speakers. These wraparound masks are soft against Mom’s eyes and ears to make listening to music comfortable in any position. A wide range of brands and price ranges are available online. ■
Sources: livelarq.com, hidratespark.com, fitbit.com, mymotiv.com, verizonwireless.com, ring.com, shopus.furbo.com and amazon.com.
