12 Futuristic Gifts for the Early Adopter
A "hoverboard"? Pshaw. Those don't really float on air. Get a supersonic jet plane instead.
EHang 184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle
Insanity is a prerequisite for riding around in this one-seat, eight-prop drone. The 440-pound [EHang 184](http://www.ehang.com/ehang184) may never come to market, but it debuted at CES 2016 with a target price tag of around $300,000. There are no pilot controls; you just select a destination, let the drone’s navigation software plot its course, and pray that its 23 minutes of flight time per charge is enough to get you there.
Boom Supersonic Airliner
A flying armchair is cool, but you’re going to need a bigger boat to bring your friends. The as-yet-unavailable Boom plane is designed to travel faster than the speed of sound—faster than a Concorde even, with a top speed of Mach 2.2. There are two convenient sizes: A 45-seater slated for release in 2020, and a “Baby Boom” two-seater scheduled for takeoff next year. Just keep those supersonic flights over the ocean, because [the FAA doesn’t take too kindly](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/apl/noise_emissions/supersonic_aircraft_noise/media/noise_policy_on_supersonics.pdf) to [sonic booms](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMc9t8U-oC0), dig?
Sharp 8K Television
It’s [a great time to buy a TV](https://more-deals.info/2016/10/4k-hdr-television-buying-guide/). Even 80-inch TVs with screen resolutions sharper than any content currently available are getting cheaper. This [HDR-capable Sharp 8K set](https://sharp.com.sg/web/products/prodDetail.asp?prodId=644) is only available in Singapore, Japan, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia, but it’ll upscale 4K video to something that looks more like 8K—that’s 16 times the resolution of HD video. Seeing as a Sharp 8K TV [cost $133,000 last year](https://more-deals.info/2015/12/gift-guide-early-adopter-2/#slide-9), the $7,000 to $15,000 tag on this set seems like a steal. Just fly your supersonic jet to a foreign land to pick it up.
Plum Wine Appliance
After a long day of watching 8K TV and flying to a bodega in your drone, it’s time for a nice glass of Chardonnay. But you only want one glass, you’re droning to the Hamptons tomorrow for a week, and you don’t want to waste a nice bottle. [The $1,500 Plum](https://www.plum.wine/) does all the opening, decanting, optimization, identification, and preservation for you. You insert a bottle, it scans the label, sets the ideal temperature, drills into the cork with its argon-emitting needle, and dispenses a measured pour when you raise a glass. The argon keeps your Pinot perfect for 90 days, and you can read about what you’re sipping on the web-connected touchscreen.
Staying ahead of the curve costs a fortune, but for one futuristic loved one on your gift list, it’s worth it. They were the first person you knew to buy a 4K TV, and they somehow had a Tesla Roadster before Elon Musk got his. They were even rocking a Saehan MPMan long before anyone had an iPod. Adopting early means getting burned sometimes: Exhibit A is that attic full of CueCats, HD-DVDs, and Google Glass. Still, it’s a small price to pay for living in the future. You’ll need a deep bank account and a deeper Rolodex, as much of this stuff isn’t available yet. For normal people, at least.
ehang18401EHang 184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle
Insanity is a prerequisite for riding around in this one-seat, eight-prop drone. The 440-pound [EHang 184](http://www.ehang.com/ehang184) may never come to market, but it debuted at CES 2016 with a target price tag of around $300,000. There are no pilot controls; you just select a destination, let the drone’s navigation software plot its course, and pray that its 23 minutes of flight time per charge is enough to get you there.
Boom02Boom Supersonic Airliner
A flying armchair is cool, but you’re going to need a bigger boat to bring your friends. The as-yet-unavailable Boom plane is designed to travel faster than the speed of sound—faster than a Concorde even, with a top speed of Mach 2.2. There are two convenient sizes: A 45-seater slated for release in 2020, and a “Baby Boom” two-seater scheduled for takeoff next year. Just keep those supersonic flights over the ocean, because [the FAA doesn’t take too kindly](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/apl/noise_emissions/supersonic_aircraft_noise/media/noise_policy_on_supersonics.pdf) to [sonic booms](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMc9t8U-oC0), dig?
Sharp03Sharp 8K Television
It’s [a great time to buy a TV](https://more-deals.info/2016/10/4k-hdr-television-buying-guide/). Even 80-inch TVs with screen resolutions sharper than any content currently available are getting cheaper. This [HDR-capable Sharp 8K set](https://sharp.com.sg/web/products/prodDetail.asp?prodId=644) is only available in Singapore, Japan, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia, but it’ll upscale 4K video to something that looks more like 8K—that’s 16 times the resolution of HD video. Seeing as a Sharp 8K TV [cost $133,000 last year](https://more-deals.info/2015/12/gift-guide-early-adopter-2/#slide-9), the $7,000 to $15,000 tag on this set seems like a steal. Just fly your supersonic jet to a foreign land to pick it up.
Plum04Plum Wine Appliance
After a long day of watching 8K TV and flying to a bodega in your drone, it’s time for a nice glass of Chardonnay. But you only want one glass, you’re droning to the Hamptons tomorrow for a week, and you don’t want to waste a nice bottle. [The $1,500 Plum](https://www.plum.wine/) does all the opening, decanting, optimization, identification, and preservation for you. You insert a bottle, it scans the label, sets the ideal temperature, drills into the cork with its argon-emitting needle, and dispenses a measured pour when you raise a glass. The argon keeps your Pinot perfect for 90 days, and you can read about what you’re sipping on the web-connected touchscreen.
Yamaha05Yamaha YSP-5600 Dolby Atmos/DTS:X Soundbar
You can’t watch 32-megapixel moving pictures on your TV without treating your ears to the ultimate in surround sound. This [$1,600 Yamaha soundbar](http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/digital-sound-projector/ysp-5600_u/) handles both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X content—those object-oriented soundtracks in movie theaters that match up with action above, behind, and all around you. You don’t need to install speakers in the ceiling, either: The YSP-5600 fires a few channels upward, pinging audio off the ceiling and down into your ears. Just bring your own subwoofer, because this ‘bar doesn’t serve one.
Sennheiser06Sennheiser Orpheus Headphones
That fancy soundbar is just going to wake the baby when you want a late-night jam session. For private aural bliss, cop these [$55,000 Sennheiser cans](https://more-deals.info/2015/11/sennheiser-orpheus-new/). They’re way more than just a pair of electrostatic over-ears with impossibly thin slices of vaporized platinum vibrating perfect sound into your ears. Also included in the price is a V8 engine of tube amps, a control center encased in a slab of marble, and a motorized boot-up routine that gets *all* your senses ready to rock.
Satechi07Satechi Type-C Pass-Through USB Hub
This list can’t be all moonshots and million-dollar playthings. Score one for practicality: If you’ve bought a MacBook recently, you might be struggling to adapt to a port-free future. [This Satechi hub](http://www.satechi.net/index.php/type-c-pass-through-usb-hub-silver) has several input/output options covered for the reasonable price of $45: Two full-size USB 3 ports, microSD and full SD slots, and a pass-through port for USB-C charging in a little slab that plugs into the side of your laptop. Don’t think of it as a dongle. Think of it as a bridge between the past and the future.
Nike08Nike HyperAdapt Shoes
Real talk: Someone who can’t wait for 8K TV or supersonic private travel has no patience for shoe-tying. Or even manually tightening Velcro straps. The latest from Nike’s labs are [these self-lacing shoes](https://more-deals.info/2016/09/nike-self-lacing-design-hyperadapt/), but to get your feet in them, you’re going to need $720 and a trip to a Nike store in New York City. Motors in the soles loosen and tighten the laces once you press the integrated buttons, and the kicks juice up via magnetic induction points on their soles. A few hours of charging gets you two weeks of robo-lacing, accompanied by a light show.
XIAOMI09Xiaomi Mi MIX
One of the most beautiful phones ever built is a China-only release. The [Philippe Starck-designed Mi MIX](https://more-deals.info/2016/10/xiaomis-bezel-free-mi-mix-phone-beautifully-bonkers/) devotes nearly all of its front real estate to a 6.4-inch touchscreen, so this phone has no forehead: Its selfie camera has been relocated to the chin. Under the hood, there’s an up-to-date Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chip, an ample 4,400mAh battery, and up to 6 gigs of RAM and 256 gigs of storage. Surprisingly, it’s also really well-priced, with a $590 top configuration that costs less than most stateside flagships.
BAAM10Cincinnati Inc. BAAM 3D Printer
There are two flying contraptions on this list, but dude, where’s the car? It's not an oversight, we just suggest you print your own automobile with [this gigantic $1.5-million 3D printer](http://www.e-ci.com/baam-gallery/). The job should take less than a day: BAAM has already made replicas of a [Shelby Cobra](https://vimeo.com/146030156) (12 hours), an [Orion Spacecraft](https://vimeo.com/166536005) (two days), a [dinette set](http://wwwassets.e-ci.com/PDF/Products/baam-3d-printed-projects-sheet.pdf) (9 hours), and [a kayak](https://vimeo.com/146030165) (3 hours) using carbon fiber and ABS plastic. The biggest version of the printer weighs 20 tons and is 12 yards long, and the DIY beast prints 80 pounds of material every hour.
FOVE11Fove Eye-Tracking VR Headset
Sure, your giftee may already have a VR headset (or five), but none of them are capable of replicating the [$600 Fove headset’s](https://www.getfove.com/) marquee trick. Other headsets can track your head and body movements, but Fove knows where your eyes are looking. That means on-screen objects react to your gaze, coming into focus when you look at them and selecting menu items without having to operating anything by hand. The headset jacks right into your computer, and it works with existing SteamVR and Oculus games.
Omni12Virtuix Omni (and Ugly Shoes)
A positional-tracking VR headset is just a gateway drug. The ultimate accessory for an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive is [this 360-degree treadmill-like rig](http://www.virtuix.com/), which lets you walk around virtual environs without knocking over your 8K TV or stepping on your $55,000 headphones. When it comes out early next year, it’ll run $500. But don’t forget the weird $60 bowling shoes, because they're essential for using the Omni. They have low-friction soles, which helps you virtual-walk inside the Omni's scooped-out bowl.
Tim Moynihan covers hardware for Gadget Lab, with a concentration on cameras, TVs, Ultra HD video, virtual reality, and the weirdest things he can find. He has 17 years of tech journalism experience, serving as senior editor at PCWorld, homepage editor at CNET, and an online producer at TechTV prior ... Read more
