With Father's Day just days away, there's a gift for every gadget-loving or gamer dad to unwrap on 19 June, whatever his interest. Here's a round-up of some of the best.
For the sport-loving dad who'd rather not leave the house, 'Nintendo Switch Sports' allows him to try his hand at a variety of pursuits, including tennis, badminton, bowling and even chambara. What's more, multi-player mode allows for some quality family bonding - just don't get too competitive. For father figures missing the football season, they can get stuck into all the action and none of the rules with 'Mario Strikers: Battle League'. It's frenzied and fun for all the family, so don't let dad hog all the best players for his team!
Both titles are available from the Nintendo Store, with 'Nintendo Switch Sports' (https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-games/Nintendo-Switch-Sports-2168292.html) available for £39.99 inclusive of leg strap, and 'Mario Strikers: Battle League' (https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-games/Mario-Strikers-Battle-League-Football-2169139.html) is £49.99.
But if retro gaming is more his thing, the A500 Mini harks back to the 80s. It's a tiny reimagining of the Amiga 500 home computer (he probably had one in 'the good old days' and the console comes pre-loaded with over 25 classic and retro titles including 'Simon the Sorcerer', 'Speedball 2', 'Another World' and 'Worms'. Thankfully, it's a lot more straightforward to use than the computers of days gone by, as it just needs to be connected to a HD TV, plug in the joystick and then it's ready to go.
The A500 Mini is available from the likes of Smyths, GAME, and Amazon, with the latter currently selling it for £119.99 at https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-A500-Mini-Electronic-Games/dp/B09BW8N7JZ/ref=asc_df_B09BW8N7JZ/?tag=googshopuk-21 linkCode=df0 hvadid=534913857270 hvpos= hvnetw=g hvrand=599744163776707295 hvpone= hvptwo= hvqmt= hvdev=c hvdvcmdl= hvlocint= hvlocphy=1007237 hvtargid=pla-1409801168871 psc=1
Give dad the gift of communication with the Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro from Google. Both models boast powerful 50MP rear cameras, while the former has an 8MP front camera and the Pro has an 11.1MP one, and if dad's still not got to grips with framing the perfect shot, the Magic Eraser tool can make distractions disappear in just a few taps. The phones' Adaptive Battery reduces the risk of him dropping out of contact as it remembers favourite apps and reduces power to the rarely used ones, while custom-made chip Tensor makes many applications more intelligent and adds an extra layer of hardware security.
Pixel 6 starts at £599 and Pixel 6 Pro is priced from £849 and are available from retailers including the Google Store at https://store.google.com/gb/product/pixel_6?hl=en-GB.
Fitness fanatic fathers will love the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic and its many tracking features, including sleep cycles, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels and daily steps - and dad can customise the device with different backgrounds, fonts, and colours, as well as analogue or digital watch faces.
Galaxy Watch4 Classic is available from the Samsung store for £249. Visit https://www.samsung.com/uk/watches/galaxy-watch/galaxy-watch4-black-bt-sm-r870nzkaeua/
If you've got a father figure who loves to know how things work, buy him the Lomography Konstruktor Flash DIY SLR Camera so he can build his very own fully-working 35mm plastic SLR camera from scratch it's got a top-down viewfinder, multiple exposure setting, detatchable 50mm lens, bulb setting for long exposures and even a PC socket for flash photography, though no flash gun is included.
The Lomography Konstruktor Flash DIY SLR Camera costs £29.99 from Wex Photo Video at https://www.wexphotovideo.com/
Organised dads can keep track of their keys, bags, and even their pets with the Samsung SmartTag+ - or you can keep track of a less-than-organised dad by fitting one to his possessions! The clever gadget can be found by tapping the ring button from a phone and following the calling sound, or if the item has gone further away, scroll through its location history to refind it.
Samsung SmartTag+ is RRP £39 and can be found at https://www.samsung.com/uk/mobile-accessories/galaxy-smarttag-black-ei-t5300bbegeu/
Music-loving dads would be delighted with the Google Nest Audio thanks to its great sound quality. If there's a few of you, you can club together to buy a number of the speakers so he can wirelessly connect them together to creative a home stereo. Ambient IQ adjusts the volume according to any background noise, while the sleek design is sure to even please mum!
Google Nest Audio is priced £89.99 and available from retailers including the Google Store at https://store.google.com/gb/product/nest_audio?hl=en-GB