Mother’s Day Gift Guide 2022: From Google gadgets to kitchen pros

With Mother’s Day coming up, the inevitable choice anxiety is starting to settle in. “Mother’s Day Gift Guide” is frantically being searched on Google in the hopes that dependable publishers will sort through the product bog and serve up some curated suggestions. We aren’t sitting this one out at the AU review. Here’s our annual Mother’s Day gift guide, featuring gift ideas we’ve handpicked out of the hundreds (literally – e-mail is packed) of ideas being pitched, as well as a few we’ve stumbled across online.

From one of the best smartphones of 2021 to a new tablet, a beast of a kitchen device or just some LEGO that mum will actually want to play around with, here are our favourite gift ideas for Mother’s Day 2022 (Sunday 8th May).

Magimix Cook Expert

There’s your standard, everyday food processor that does a good enough job helping you nail those recipes, and then there’s the Magimix Cook Expert. It’s a real powerhouse; a high-end French-made dream come true for anyone who spends a good chunk of their day in the kitchen and wants more time, to do less. The award-winning food processor is powerful enough to do the job of 15 other kitchen appliances, given it’s able to chop, mix, cook, steam, whisk, and even make dough, as well as slice, grate and mince using a full food processor attachment. Couple that with endless easy-to-follow recipes and it won’t even matter if you’re buying for someone who is completely useless in the kitchen.

$2,299 | Magimix

Corvin Sparkling System

If your mum is passionate about her sparkling wine then grabbing her the top-tier wine preservation tool on the market is going to go a long way this Mother’s Day. Coravin’s tools are used in some of the top wine bars and restaurants across Australia, used for their very specific way of preserving bottled wine so no one has to feel any pressure to polish it all off in one sitting. Bottled wine can be extracted without the nasty effects of oxygen creeping in once the cork is popped, meaning your mum and her mates can enjoy a great variety of sparkling wine without the guilt. It leads to better drinking, better wine and an overall better experience without compromising on quality.

$700 | Coravin

Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid

Eufy has finally entered the Australian market by picking up the robot vacuum scene in a big way, with their world’s first twine Turbine Powered RoboVac X8 and the X8 Hybrid. Whichever one you choose, these next-generation robot vacuums will surely impress whichever lucky person you decide to gift them to, with an immersive power that increases overall airflow by 80%. Other features include BoostIQ technology fueling suction power that can clean all levels from a hard floor to a rug. AI Map Technology 2.0 is refined enough to fully construct a real-time map of homes to detect areas to avoid while cleaning, and pet owners will be very satisfied as the robot uses LiDAR to go around easily picking up everything, even pet hairs.

$1,299 | JB Hi-Fi

Google Pixel 6 Pro

And the best Android phone of 2021 goes to… Google has knocked it out of the park with the Pixel 6 Pro, presenting their newest high-end flagship at a very reasonable price point and some truly premium features. Of course, most of the attention is going to go to the boss rear camera system, which is led by a primary 50MP lens, an ultra-wide 12.5MP lens, and a telephoto sensor. No one is beating Google when it comes to software, so you can expect bright, vibrant, and detailed photos and 4K 60fps videos from this thing. The performance ain’t bad either – in fact, it’s one of the most impressively efficient 5G smartphones moving into 2022. Even the standard variant, the Google Pixel 6, is outperforming the competition in all kinds of ways. If you know an Android user who actually cares about their photos, performance, and quality of life features, there really is no better gift.

You can check out the full specs at the Google Store, linked below.

From $1,299 | Google Store

Withings Scanwatch

Most people know how far wearable tech has come, with the ability to identify potential issues, track sleep, and encourage action. The Withings ScanWatch is possibly the most comprehensive on the market, with a variety of sensors to scan vital parameters to detect heart health conditions and help improve overall fitness. An Sp02 sensor can give you comprehensive blood oxygen reading within seconds; the sleep tracking is second to none and even features a professionally calibrated algorithm to monitor oxygen saturation, breathing frequency, and movement throughout the stages of sleep to identify possible issues like sleep apnea. Then you’ve got the typical fitness tracking features like a 3-axis accelerometer and 10 years of algorithm improvements, plus activity detection and a built-in GPS. It’s Withings’ most impressive product to date and now comes in a Rose Gold edition which looks even more attractive on the wrist. Serious presence, serious smarts.

$399 | JB Hi-Fi

LEGO Birds of Paradise

Surely mum has outgrown LEGO? Right? Wrong. A lot of people don’t seem – or care – to realise but LEGO is still for all ages, which includes those that just love creating something from a bunch of disparate bricks and using their work to decorate the home. When it comes to LEGO, it pays to think botanical, and luckily enough LEGO sell this new Birds of Paradise kit that would look great in the home. The blocky South African native flower won’t need any water or nurturing beyond mum’s ingenuity.

$170 | LEGO

HP Chromebook x2 11

A powerful hybrid and the most valuable Chromebook to date, the x2 11 is an obvious travel buddy for those who want to stay connected on the road, whether that’s for work or expressing creativity on the go. The ultrathin Chromebook is small enough to take anywhere, although the clever design still manages to fit in a full-size keyboard and kickstand that’s easily detachable, seamlessly switching between a tablet and a personal laptop. With up to 10 hours of battery life, a powerful performance coming from the Qualcomm Snapdragon SC7180 processor, and 128GB storage with 8GB RAM, this Chromebook can perform with the best of them. If you know anyone after a new hybrid tablet & laptop, get them this bad boy, with its attractively crisp 11″ 2.1K multi-touch IPS display and a sleek design that’s worth showing off.

$999 | JB Hi-Fi

Nanoleaf Shapes Hexagon Starter Kit

Know someone who is a bit of a design lover? Smart home lighting has gone through all kinds of evolutions over the past few years, but few steps have been as fascinating as Nanoleaf. Flexible, colourful, and incredibly smart, the Hexagon Start Kit provides 9 light-up tiles that dad can arrange in any pattern he likes, giving any room a huge boost in personality. The starter kit lets them create any panel design she pleases, and then control it either via an app or with a voice assistant.

$249 | JB Hi-Fi

Dyson Supersonic

The Dyson Supersonic hairdryer is a revelation when it comes to grooming. You just know someone who is sick of that lockdown fluff on their head. Help your loved one feel a bit more himself by grabbing them the most high-end hair dryer on the market; one that utilises advanced technology to truly make a meaningful difference when it comes to heat control and self-care. They’ll love the fast and focused airflow from the Dyson Supersonic, which is specially engineered for perfect balance in hand and uses intelligent heat control to help prevent hair from extreme heat damage. Even if they’re thinning on top, they won’t have an issue using the Dyson Supersonic.

$599 | Dyson

De’Longhi La Specialista Arte

You’re already familiar with the dependable, high-end coffee machine that is the beautiful De’Longhi La Specialista Maestro, which we gave 4.5 stars in our review. Well, the La Specialista Arte represents a happy medium for those after something a bit more affordable, but still want a stylish manual coffee machine that doesn’t compromise on quality. Giving people access to barista-quality coffee each morning is a true gift year-round, and this is more than capable with 8 grind settings, 3 infusion temperature levels, and a MyLatte Art steam wand included.

$699 | De’Longhi

Jabra Elite 7 Pro

There is no name as reliable when it comes to sports-minded earphones as Jabra. Building off the success of their acclaimed fitness earbuds is the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, the brand’s new flagship product sitting at a very attractive price point with a fulls suite of features including adjustable ANC, 8 hours non-stop playtime (with a total of 30 hours), sturdy IP57 rating, and build-in smart assistant support for Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. Coupled that with Jabra MultiSensor Voice for professional-grade audio and you’ve got some of the best earbuds you’ll find all year, especially if you’re taking them for a sweat-sesh.

$299 | JB Hi-Fi

Truff Black Olive Oil

You probably already know Truff from their premium truffle-infused pasta sauces that are a cut well above what mum would usually grab from the supermarket shelf. The premium brand now plays around with truffle-based olive oil, which will give mum a new dimension to cook with and quickly become the latest favourite pantry staple. It’s not cheap, which is why Mother’s Day is the perfect occasion to grab some of that preservative-free, gluten-free Truff Black Olive Oil to go along with one of the other gifts.

$40 | truff.com.au

Skullcandy Push Active Sport True Wireless Sport Earbuds

If mum’s looking for a pair of sports earbuds but you’ve already blown your budget on something a bit more expensive, you’ll be happy to know that Skullcandy’s Push Active Sport TWS Earbuds are the real deal. You won’t have to fork out anything more than $180 for these bad boys, which feature hands-free voice command, premium audio quality and up to 44 hours of battery life. If mum likes taking her tunes to the gym, they are also IP55 rated so will easily shrug off any sweat. She’s unlikely to lose them either, given they have Tile Finding Technology built-in so earbuds can simply be “rung” from a connected smartphone and the Tile app.

$180 | Skullcandy