10 Romantic Tech Gift Ideas for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to show that special someone how much you care. But chocolates and flowers don’t always cut it—sometimes, a memorable gift, like a gadget or smart accessory, feels a lot more special.

Of course, electronics aren’t inherently romantic or sexy. If you’re going to go on this journey, then  you need to find a gift that can somehow fit into the Valentine’s Day vibe. To take some of the load off your shoulders, we’ve put together 10 of our favorite tech-oriented Valentine’s Day gift ideas.

Set the Mood with Philips Hue Smart Bulbs

Light bulbs may not seem very romantic, but smart bulbs, which can dim to a candlelight level or fill a room with soft-colored light, are intensely romantic. They connect to your phone or smart assistant for quick and easy control, and you can program schedules or “scenes” for any occasion.

We think that Philips Hue’s line of white and color-changing smart bulbs are the best on the market, mainly because they connect to one another through a Philips Hue Bridge, which is more reliable and snappy than your average Wi-Fi connection. Still, LIFX and Wyze bulbs are fantastic alternatives to Philips Hue products, and they’re worth looking at if you want to save a bit of cash.

Show You Care with a Smart Display

Smart displays seem a little geeky, but they’re packed with features that can warm anyone’s (including your partner’s) heart. At the most basic level, smart displays can be used as digital photo frames, voice-controlled Netflix machines, video-calling platforms, or music players. Your partner doesn’t need any other smart devices to benefit from a smart display—although a few smart bulbs certainly couldn’t hurt.

The Google Nest Hub is our favorite smart display gift, but Amazon’s Echo Show and the Facebook Portal or vertical Portal+ (which run on Alexa) are also solid options. These displays work with just about any smart products. Just know that Google’s Smart display has a slant toward Google services (like Google Calendar), while the Echo and Portal displays are aimed more at the Amazon ecosystem (Prime Video, Fire TV, etc.).

A Smart, Easy-to-Use Digital Photo Frame

Photos make for a sweet Valentine’s Day gift, but it’s hard to pick out just one or two favorites. So, that’s where the Nixplay smart photo frame comes in. It’s a high-quality digital photo frame that connects to the internet, so you don’t have to hassle with SD cards or USB cables. Just open the Nixplay app, pick out some pictures, and the Nixplay photo frame turns them into a magical slideshow for your significant other. You can even add photos via email, or create and jump between custom slideshows on the fly.

The Nixplay photo frame comes in a variety of sizes, from 9.7 inches all the way to 15 inches. And while it is wall-mountable, it does need to be plugged into an outlet to work.

Make a Photo Book From Your Phone’s Gallery

Have a bunch of cute photos on your phone? You can easily turn those photos into a wonderful Valentine’s Day photo book through Shutterfly or even Google Photos. Just download the Shutterfly or Google Photos app, find your sweetest photos, customize your book, and wait for it to arrive at your door. This is a fairly inexpensive gift (about the price of flowers and chocolates), but it’ll reinforce some of the special memories in your relationship and help you build more memories in the future.

A Smartwatch: Like Jewelry, But Better

Jewelry is a staple of Valentine’s Day. But with the popularity of smartwatches, it almost makes more sense to buy an Apple Watch or Fitbit instead of a standard piece of jewelry. It’ll get a lot more use than a regular bracelet, after all.

And, while there are a metric ton of smartwatches on the market, we have a preference for just three brands. The Apple Watch is obviously fantastic, and it’s the best smartwatch for anyone who owns an iPhone. The Galaxy Watch Active2 is the closest thing that Android users will get to the Apple Watch experience, and the fantastic (and affordable) Fitbit Versa 2 is perfect for any iOS or Android users who are interested in their health and sleep patterns.

The Most Unique Gaming Laptop

The MSI Prestige 14 is a beautiful laptop that’s won the hearts and minds of countless gamers. It runs on an impressively fast 6-core Intel i7 laptop CPU, an NVMe SSD, and a killer GEFORCE GTX 1650 graphics card, so it’s perfectly capable of tackling modern AAA titles or rendering video and 3D images.

What does this have to do with Valentine’s Day? Well, MSI just released its new rose-pink Prestige 14 kit, which includes a pink Prestige laptop, a pink MSI mouse, a pink laptop bag, and a pink MSI dragon keychain. It’s a unique super-sweet Valentine’s Day gift that’ll see years of use and stand up to even the most demanding games.

Pass the Controller!

Gaming isn’t the most romantic pastime, but a great multiplayer console, like the Nintendo Switch, can enable you and your partner to have fun experiences together without ever leaving the house. Its removable controllers are built specifically for multiplayer games like Mario Kart and Smash Bros, and with the new Animal Crossing coming out in March, you’ll have the opportunity to share a town (and test your relationship) with your sweetheart.

If you want to save $100 on your Nintendo Switch, then you could always buy the Nintendo Switch Lite instead. It plays all the same games, it’s just a little smaller and can’t plug into a TV.

For a Nerdy Valentine

If your significant other is a certified nerd, then they’ll love the Divoom Pixoo pixel art frame. It’s a relatively large (9-inch tall) display that’s separated into 16 different blocks or “pixels.” These blocks can be programmed to show different pieces of pixel art through the Divoom app, which includes some premade designs. You can even program the Pixoo to act as an alarm clock or notifications device, or program the Pixoo to connect to other Divoom pixel art devices.

Make New Memories with an HP Sprocket Phone Printer

The HP Sprocket is a portable printer that connects to your phone via Bluetooth. It’s the size of a pack of Kraft cheese slices, and it can print small, Polaroid-esque photos from anywhere without being plugged into a wall. And since it prints using heat instead of ink, you don’t have to worry about buying expensive ink cartridges every few months.

Like a Nintendo Switch or a smart display, the HP Sprocket is a memorable gift that just keeps giving. it’s perfect for creating new memories—especially when its paired with some fun (or mischievous) sticky-backed printer paper.

A Foot Spa, the Ultimate Valentine’s Day Gift

A foot spa is the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift. After all, everybody’s feet could use a little more attention, and a simple foot spa is the best way to get the job done without leaving pleasantries of home. It’s a gift that keeps on giving, and your Valentine may even let you give it a whirl (if you’re lucky).

We like the MaxKare foot spa because it has simple temperature controls, built-in massage rollers, bubbles, and even a vibration feature. It’s a steal for the price, and it’ll hold a very special place in your partner’s heart for years to come.