Last-minute gift ideas: Here's what to get family and friends when you're short on time
AppleInsider Staff
Time is running out if you want to buy a holiday gift for friends and relatives. Here are some ideas for last-minute purchases you can secure to give to your loved ones for Christmas.
While the last few weeks have given people ample opportunity to get all of their holiday shopping completed, there are always some who leave things to the last minute.
With so little time left on the clock and supply chain shortages affecting holiday shopping in general, finding the perfect gift can be a tall order with only days left before Christmas.
Bearing that in mind, here are AppleInsider's suggestions for last-minute gift ideas designed to arrive by Dec. 25.
Babbel Lifetime Subscription
If you know of a budding linguist, give them the gift of language, with a lifetime subscription to Babbel. Normally priced at $499, the lifetime subscription is currently available for $199, saving you $300.
Babbel provides learning tools for a variety of skill levels, from beginner to advanced, so it will help those starting out as well as anyone keen to brush up on their high-school lessons. You'll get access to learn 14 languages in the package, including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, and Russian, with more than 10,000 hours of learning on tap for both desktop and mobile devices.
New Babbel account users in the U.S. are eligible for the promotion, and you must redeem the code within 30 days of purchase.
Lifetime Learning Subscription Bundle with Rosetta Stone
Continuing the education theme, the Unlimited Lifetime Learning Subscription Bundle featuring Rosetta Stone provides a wide selection of things to learn, for a very low price.
The star of the package is the lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone, which lets you learn from 24 languages using the company's award-winning software. This includes speech-recognition technology that can analyze words you say 100 times a second, to make sure you're pronouncing words correctly.
That's not all, as it also includes lifetime access to StackSkills Unlimited online courses. Offering over 1,000 StackSkills courses, this deal can teach you about many topics, such as iOS development, graphic design, business, finance, marketing, and IT.
The range is also expanding by over 50 new courses per month, so there's always something new to learn.
Valued at $1,794 in total, the package is currently discounted to $179, but if you use code LEARN10NOW, that price goes down to just $161.10.
Setapp 1-Year Subscription
For the Mac user in your life, Setapp is a subscription-based service that provides access to a library of over 210 apps for macOS. The apps can be downloaded and installed straight to your Mac, complete with regular updates and without any extra fees or in-app advertising.
The apps available cover a variety of areas, including maintenance, lifestyle, productivity, task management, creativity, personal finance, developer tools, and others. There's also no limit to how many apps you can download to your Mac from the curated list, with the included personalized app recommendation system providing suggestions for what you should try next.
Normally $107 per year, the deal provides new users with a year of access for just $69.
TruGolf Mini Golf Simulator
Treat the golf fan on your shopping list to a fun tool designed to help golfers improve their game. The TruGolf Mini is an interactive swing studio that analyzes swing data after every shot through the E6 Connect software. This training simulator, which normally retails for $399, is discounted to $239.20 with coupon code GREEN20.
Apple Hardware
While gifting access to online services is an almost guaranteed way to make sure your intended recipient gets their gift on time, sometimes a physical gift would be more appropriate. In such cases, it's hard to beat a gift of Apple hardware, especially with Amazon and B&H making sure it gets to you as soon as possible.
AirPods Pro
Compatible with all of Apple's Macs, iPads, and iPhones, the AirPods Pro are a premium personal audio accessory that can round out the user experience. The upper-end of the AirPods range, the Pro are well known for offering Active Noise Cancellation, as well as Transparency Mode for when you want to hear key parts of the world around you.
They also include support for Siri, customizable silicone tips for a nice fit, and up to 4.5 hours of listening time, extended to more than 24 hours with the included Wireless Charging Case.
Get AirPods Pro for $179 from Amazon, down from their $249 usual list price.
Apple Watch Series 7
For those who say they want to get fit as part of their New Year resolutions each year, here's an idea to make them stick to it: Get them an Apple Watch.
The Apple Watch Series 7 has an always-on Retina display with a 20% larger screen area than the previous model. It's also the most durable version yet with Apple's strongest front crystal, IP6X dust resistance, and swim-proof with WR50 water resistance.
On the fitness side, there's blood oxygen monitoring alongside an on-demand ECG, heart rate monitoring, and tracking of activity throughout the day. If the nudges to close their rings won't get them off the couch, the three free months of Apple Fitness+ may do the trick.
Normally sold for $399, you can get the Apple Watch Series 7 41mm model in a Blue Aluminum Case and the Abyss Blue Sport Band for $349 from Amazon.
Apple Mac mini
If you want to introduce someone curious about Mac ownership to macOS, one great way to switch them over is by handing them the Mac mini. The M1-equipped edition offers all of the benefits of Apple Silicon, including its 8-core CPU and GPU, and the 16-core Neural Engine.
What's more, it's in a compact package that could easily replace an existing PC, using its array of ports on the back. You might even be able to convince the recipient that they could have the Mac mini running alongside their PC, if their monitor accepts multiple inputs.
The 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD model is normally priced at $899, but Amazon is selling it for $749.99 thanks to bonus savings at checkout. B&H Photo is also offering AI readers exclusive savings on the standard model with 256GB of storage.
Even more Apple deals
AppleInsider and Apple Authorized Resellers are also running specials on Mac and iPad hardware that will not only deliver the lowest prices on many of the products, but also throw in bonus savings on accessories, software and more. Here are just a few of the deals running this week, many of which are in stock and ready to ship:
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