New Delhi [India], November 5 (ANI): The festive season has started, and with it comes the excitement of travel, family gatherings, and shopping. However, picking the right products is not easy, as every brand will try to grab your attention. So, I spent a lot of time testing a few products that will surely have your interest, as I’ll be focusing on health, connectivity on the go, family movie nights, and, of course, a reliable smartphone. After all, having the right set of tech products is essential. Here are detailed and organic, hands-on reviews of four standout products that I would recommend you consider this festive season.
1. Google Fitbit Air
Category: Smart Fitness Tracker / Smart Band
During festive seasons, I believe in striking a balance between delicious holiday foods and maintaining your personal fitness as a top priority. This is where the right wearable comes in handy, and to choose the right one that fits into my lifestyle, I want to focus on something that makes me forget that I’m even wearing it. Just like that, if you’re having a great time with your loved ones, you definitely don’t want to have flashy displays or be bombarded with notifications. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been using the Google Fitbit Air, and it has fundamentally shifted how I look at fitness tracking. In a market flooded with glowing wrist-screens, Google has done a fabulous job going the opposite route. This is, without a doubt, the best screenless smart tracker you can buy in India right now.
The biggest compliment I can give the Fitbit Air is that I simply do not realise I’m wearing it. At just 12g, it is the lightest smart band I have ever tried. If you’re like me, who relies on wearables day in and day out, then you can relate to this feeling of fatigue from wearing all those chunky smartwatches. The Fitbit Air strips away the screen, the bulk, and the distraction. What I have is a minimalist band that seamlessly blends into my day-to-day life. Whatever task I do, it never gets in the way.
When you remove the screen, the sensors have to do all the heavy lifting, and the accuracy here is absolutely bang on. Clocking anywhere between 12,000 and 18,500 steps daily, I need a tracker that doesn’t artificially inflate numbers when I’m just moving my arms. The Fitbit Air tracks steps with surgical precision. The automatic workout detection is equally impressive, logging activities in the background without requiring a single tap.
Hardware aside, the real magic happens on your smartphone. Google has overhauled the Google Health app, and the integration of AI is tremendous. It doesn’t just dump raw data; the updated Google Health app acts as a deeply intuitive AI Coach. It analyses my sleep quality, daily steps, and heart rate to give actionable insights, tailoring its coaching to push me when I’ve rested and pull me back when I need recovery. Add in the exceptional battery life that eliminates ‘battery anxiety’, and I have the gold standard for fitness tracking.
The update also includes improvements to health metrics, customisation, Coach memory and Apple Health integration. For instance, with the updated Google Health app that syncs beautifully with my Google Fitbit Air, 100+ activities are now being automatically detected, with nearly 2x more accurate detection and over 50% fewer missed workouts.
It’s currently priced at Rs 13,999.
My Rating: 4.5 / 5
2. ACT Stream TV 4K
Category: Smart Home Entertainment Hub / Streaming Device
At home, the festive season should be about bringing your loved ones together to enjoy movies or shows with a seamless, high-quality viewing experience. However, with content scattered across a dozen different OTT apps and Live TV channels, finding something to watch often takes longer than the actual watching. ACT Fibernet’s new Stream TV 4K aims to fix this ‘search fatigue’, and after testing it out this streaming device, I can safely say it stays true to its claims of delivering premium entertainment.
The set-top box is compact, square, and lightweight. The remote features a full numeric keypad. While it feels a bit old-school, it’s a good inclusion for seamlessly switching between the 400+ Live TV channels, blending the traditional TV viewing experience with modern streaming.
Beyond that, the remote is packed with thoughtful features. It includes two completely customizable buttons, C1 and C2. I mapped one to instantly launch my favourite app and the other to toggle a 30-minute sleep timer. On the hardware front, it packs 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, which is enough for installing commonly used streaming apps. It offers great versatility with an Ethernet port for a rock-solid wired connection, two USB ports, a microSD card slot for offline 4K media, built-in Chromecast, optical audio output, and Bluetooth for connecting an external soundbar.
The standout feature here is the content-trained AI search. Instead of opening individual apps, I can just voice a specific intent like ‘comedy in 30 min’ or ‘show with the chess girl’. The ACT Stream TV 4K impressively pulls up the right content across multiple platforms, saving me the hassle of endless scrolling. The voice assistant is highly responsive, currently supporting English, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, and Tamil.
These AI capabilities are also very good. Pressing the AI button opens an ‘AI Companion’ and a ‘Smart Discovery’ panel that serves up personalised recommendations based on my viewing habits, complete with IMDb ratings and cast details. The ‘Spotlight’ section also neatly curates live event highlights, trending titles, and reviews. Furthermore, it allows up to six individual user profiles, so watchlists don’t get mixed up. You can even set up a dedicated Kids profile secured by a parental lock PIN to ensure it only displays U and U/A 7+ rated content. Any OTT apps included in the ACT plan are authenticated automatically without requiring a separate login, making setup a breeze.
When it comes to performance, the Stream TV 4K handles 4K HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos effortlessly, which offers sharp audio and video quality. The UI is generally smooth and clean. However, daily use did reveal a few limitations. Application launch times aren’t the absolute fastest, usually taking a few seconds to load. Also, while switching between the Live TV menu and OTT apps is instantaneous, the actual channel switching speed is noticeably slower than traditional satellite DTH. Another slight annoyance is that not every Live TV channel plays natively within the interface; some redirect you to their respective OTT apps (like JioHotstar), which adds waiting time and slightly breaks the unified experience.
Despite these quirks, the hardware remains cool during extended usage without throttling. Available through flexible ownership models (a rental option at Rs 99 per month or an outright purchase for Rs 4,499), it is a highly practical and capable entertainment companion. It shifts the living room experience from just ‘connection’ to smart ‘curation’, provided you are already in the ACT ecosystem.
My Rating: 4 / 5
3. iQOO 15R
Category: Smartphone
If your festive tech budget hovers between Rs 55,000 and Rs 65,000, you can look at the iQOO 15R. After using it extensively for over six months, I can confirm it is one of the best smartphones you can buy at this price point. A lot of phones in this segment start showing their age after a few months of use, but not this one. The sturdiness of the iQOO 15R is exceptional, as the build quality feels premium and robust in the hand, easily shrugging off the rigours of daily use. Up front, the display continues to be a treat. Irrespective of whether I’m scrolling through social feeds or streaming holiday content, the panel remains vibrant, sharp, and highly responsive.
If I had to single out one reason to buy this phone, it would be the battery life. It is simply fantastic. In an era where flagship devices often have you hunting for a charger by late afternoon, the iQOO 15R just keeps going. Even on days filled with heavy navigation and content consumption, the battery endurance refuses to cave.
iQOO has built its reputation on gaming, and the 15R does not disappoint. The gaming experience is rock solid, handling heavy titles with high frame rates and excellent thermal management. While I did notice a slight dip in raw gaming performance when I tried placing it side-by-side with the flagship iQOO 15, it still delivers one of the smoothest outputs on the market. For those restricted by budget constraints, this device also manages to pull its weight in the camera department for everyday holiday snaps, even if it isn’t aiming to be a pro-grade photography powerhouse. Six months in, it remains a phenomenal value proposition. Its current starting price is Rs 53,999.
My Rating: 4 / 5
4. Xiaomi Power Banks (5i 20000mAh 67W & Magnetic 10000mAh 45W)
Category: Portable Chargers / Power Banks
To keep your devices charged on the go during your festive travels, reliable power banks are essential. But I’m sad to report that the market is flooded with so many low-quality options. I’ve seen so many reports of these cheap power banks catching fire mid-flight, and it’s scary to even imagine such instances. This mostly happens when brands cut corners on safety protocols. Xiaomi has a different philosophy where the focus remains on quality products at affordable price points. They’ve recently launched a whole range of new power banks, and I’m happy to report that they continue to strike a perfect balance of elite performance and rigorously tested safety.
I have tested two of Xiaomi’s latest power solutions—the Power Bank 5i 20000mAh (67W) and the Magnetic Power Bank 10000mAh (45W), and I find them solid options in their respective categories. If you enjoy raw and uncompromising power, then the Power Bank 5i 20000mAh (Rs 3,199) is the heavyweight champion in my opinion. It delivers 67W output and handles rapid charging effortlessly. However, it’s bulky and quite heavy for daily use. It weighs 420g, and Xiaomi has packed three high-density 6700mAh lithium-ion cells to deliver 20000mAh (74.374Wh) capacity. This one has an integrated USB-C cable, alongside a secondary USB-C port and a traditional USB-A port for legacy devices. Whether I’m topping up a flagship smartphone or a laptop, it pushes a 67W maximum output and supports the latest QC3.5 and PD3.0 (PPS) protocols. When it is time to recharge the bank itself, it takes in up to 65W, meaning I don’t have to wait all day for it to juice back up. One of my favourite additions, however, is the smart digital display. Rather than just guessing the remaining charge from a few blinking LEDs, you get precise battery levels, charging status, a low current indicator for smaller gadgets, and even a malfunction alert.
If the 20,000mAh model is the heavyweight champ, the 10,000mAh Magnetic Power Bank (Rs 3,699) is the king of daily carry. Weighing just 238g with dimensions of 109 × 68.5 × 19.8 mm, it cleverly houses two 5000mAh lithium-ion batteries (37Wh total). What I like is the built-in USB-C cable; it means one less wire to remember when packing my bag. When plugged in, it delivers a 45W maximum output across both the built-in cable and the secondary USB-C port, supporting QC 2.0, PD, and PPS protocols to fast-charge practically anything. If you prefer going wireless, the newer Qi 2.2 technology pushes up to 25W of wireless output. I never have to worry about my phone slipping off either, as the 13N magnetic attraction holds the device quite securely. It even recharges itself quickly with a 30W maximum input, making it the right blend of high-end specs and everyday convenience.
However, one standout feature across both devices is thermal management. They feel sturdy, never overheat at dangerous levels even during peak output, and bring peace of mind when I toss them into a carry-on. Pick any one as per your needs with zero regrets and travel wherever you want to this festive season.
My Rating: 4.5/5
In the end, whether you are looking to track your health invisibly, upgrade your home entertainment, lock in a reliable smartphone, or keep everything powered on the go, these devices have you covered this holiday season.
(Disclaimer: Himank Tripathi is an expert in the fields of consumer technology, lifestyle and the automotive world. Views shared are personal.) (ANI)
