Laptop and tablet gifts for dads for 2021
Treat your dad (or yourself) to choices from these great laptops and tablets.
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Father's Day in the US this year is Sunday, June 21, and given how the coronavirus pandemic is causing shipping delays and inventory shortages, you might need to jump on getting your dad a gift earlier than you normally would. This seems to be especially true if you're looking to give Dad a new laptop or tablet, which are in short supply with more people working from home.
With that in mind, here are some options that are currently readily available, at a range of prices. These gift ideas would add premium style to his tech collection, and allow for a little fun, too.
Apple's least expensive laptop continues to be one of the best choices for most people. The latest model drops the starting price down to $999 again and gets an improved Magic Keyboard and twice as much built-in storage as its predecessor.
Dell XPS 13 (2020)
If your dad prefers Windows, Dell's small-but-mighty XPS 13 continues to be one of our favorite ultraportable laptops. This year's model starts at a little over $1,000, but the 2019 XPS 13, which is nearly as good, starts at around the $900 mark. Whichever way you go, he'll be getting a top-notch display, great performance and more than 11 hours of battery life.
Acer Aspire 5
For dads who prefer more screen to mobility, try the 15.6-inch Aspire 5. This
Lenovo Yoga C940 2-in-1
Lenovo's top two-in-one -- meaning the display rotates around the keyboard 360 degrees so it can convert from a laptop to a tablet -- is one of the best in the category in terms of performance, battery life and features, including an active pen that stores and charges in the laptop's body. All of that tech isn't cheap, though: The 14-inch C940 starts at $1,049. However, its linemate, the 14-inch C740, offers great performance and battery life, but dials back on some of the extra features to give you a lower starting price of $800.
HP Pavilion Gaming 15
Your dad, or you, getting interested in PC gaming? You're not alone, which is a good thing for you and your wallet. There are a number of powerful entry-level gaming laptops available now and this HP is a solid choice. Gaming models tend to be pricy but this one starts at about $800, although if you can afford to spend more its sweet spot is just less than $1,000. That gets you newer, faster discrete graphics, more storage and memory and a higher-end Intel Core i7 processor.
Apple iPad (10.2-inch, 2019)
Like the MacBook Air, the least expensive iPad is the best bet for most people. It has a Smart Connector for an attachable keyboard as well as Pencil support like the higher-end Pro models and has snappy performance and long battery life, too. If you're looking for a good versatile tablet, this is it.
Amazon Fire HD 8
Amazon's 8-inch tablet is getting updated just before Father's Day on June 3. Past models have been excellent devices for what tablets do best -- media consumption, casual gaming, web browsing and shopping. Starting at $90, the new model should perform even better, thanks to a faster processor, 2GB of RAM (up from 1.5), USB-C charging and 32GB of storage in the base 8-inch model (up from 16GB).
Amazon's newest Fire HD 8 models add more storage and USB-C, among other features.
