7 Super Stylish Gifts For Your Gadget-Loving Dad

Good speakers are good speakers, regardless of the relentless technological advancement in the home audio world. Thankfully, there’s a way to augment your music-loving dad’s classical audio set-up with modern streaming smarts.

The Wi-Fi-enabled Google Chromecast Audio dongle makes it easy to send music from a mobile device to any speaker set with a standard 3.5mm output.

If you’re feeling saucy and want to buy dad a bundle of Google Home dongles, he can create an affordable multi-room audio set up using the array of speakers he probably already owns.

Does the dad in your life regularly waste time and energy hunting for his wallet? The affordable and simply Tile Slim will consign those frustrations to history. The Bluetooth-connected gadget slides into his wallet, allowing him to easily track it down. Simply press the button within the phone app and the Tile Slim will ring.

Alternatively, if he can’t find the iPhone, he can press the Tile Slim to make the phone ring, even when it’s on silent. And, oh look; it was in yesterday’s jeans he already checked twice.

Does your dad like to prattle on and tell embarrassing jokes? Amazon’s latest Fire Stick might be the answer then.

Not only does it give any TV the ability to stream from the like of Netflix, CBS, ESPN and AMC it also comes with a smart assistant. Now dad can happily chat away with Alexa and even order a pizza through the TV when hunger strikes.

When each member of the family likes their steak cooked differently, manning the grill stops being fun and becomes a highly delicate balancing act. One slip and grandma’s well-done steak is indistinguishable from the charcoal it was cooked on.

Enter the Weber iGrill 2 accessory, which accommodates four (count ‘em!) food probes, each of which are synced back to the iOS and Android app. Dad will receive a notification when each steak reaches the desired temperature.

This year, the affectionate term “dad bod” made it into the online dictionary. Essentially, it means that between fatherly duties, work and maintaining a healthy beer consumption regimen, the hours once spent in the gym are now accounted for.

While smartwatches and fitness wearables might not suit dad’s style, the Withings Steel HR matches a classic timepiece design with top-notch fitness tracking tech.

It’ll track distance, calories, heart rate and sleep and automatically discern activities like running from swimming (yep, it’s waterproof) and cycling. Unlike some smartwatches and fitness trackers it boasts a whopping 25-day battery life and syncs just as easily with iPhone as it does with Android devices.

If your family bonding sessions include a rowdy round of Mario Kart, the Nintendo Switch is a must have for your gamer Dad's set-up. It plugs into your tv screen for shared playing and then quickly transitions to an on-the-go device which will let Dad continue his play without any interuption. The cushy Joy-Con controllers allow for comfortable single or multiplayer play and come in black or red and blue combos. He'll be setting new high scores in no time. 

Dads fiddle with the thermostat and fret about the energy bill; it’s what they do. But with the Nest learning Thermostat from Google, reducing stress and saving money becomes easy. This Wi-Fi-connected thermostat learns your schedule and adapts the temperature to suit your comings and goings.

It automatically turns things down a notch when no-one’s around, so there’s no more ire raised by leaving the house with the heating blazing.

You can also change the temperature from anywhere using your phone. So, for example, if commuting from work on a particularly balmy summer’s day, dad can adjust the air conditioning to ensure it’s nice and cool when the family walks through the door. Although not too cool, because “have you seen this bill?!”