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2014 Christmas Gift Ideas: Top 7 Options of Apple Products

Since Thanksgiving's Day, we have been entered the biggest shopping and gift-giving season of the year, and this means it is also one of the biggest Apple shopping and gift seasons of the year. Now the Christmas is around the corner, and most of you are busy with picking up the Christmas present for yourself, your family and friends. You always know how difficult it is to select the perfect gift for everyone, but if there are some Apple geeks in your life, you won't be wrong to get them an Apple product as Christmas gift.

When it comes to getting an Apple product as gift for the Apple lovers, the first idea is selecting one from the newly released iDevices and Macs. Absolutely, it is definitely right, because some Apple products haven't been updated for several years, and their functions, features and configuration are not as good as newly released products'. While not all the newly released products are worthy of purchasing, for example, some iDevices or iMacs just become bigger or have more options of colors than their siblings.

Therefore, in order that you can make a wise choice and get a perfect Christmas gift for the Apple geeks in you life, we provide you a series of articles about 2014 Christmas Gift Ideas for Apple Lovers, which covers the newly Apple products, the best Apple Accessories and the most practical Apps for iPhone/iPad/iMac users. Let's cut to the Apple buying guide of 2014 Top 7 Newly Released Apple Products and select the most suitable Apple device for the one you love as Xmas gift.

1. iPhone Gifts – iPhone 6/iPhone 6 Plus

Price: Start at $199

Suitable Crowd: Almost for everyone

Rating:

iPhone is the phone everyone wants, especially if your family and friends are Apple geeks without the fire-new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. Buying them a luxurious iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus would be a great Christmas gift.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

Apple released the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 plus on September 19th, and also adds many fantastic features to the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus, like Apple Pay and iCloud Drive, and refines the original functions, such as, iCamera, Apple Retina display and Touch ID. iPhone 6 (Plus) is working with iOS 8 and running over a million App Store Apps and games. By the way, iPhone 6 starts at $199, and iPhone 6 Plus starts at $299.

Note:

- iPhone 6 plus maybe is too large for some people like kids, or female users.

- According to your family and friends' preference and your budget, and decide the model and capacity. And then get them an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 plus as Christmas gift.

Also Read: How to Upgrade to iPhone 6 and iPhone Plus Smoothly

2. iPad Gift – iPad Air 2/iPad Mini 3

Price: Start at $399

Suitable Crowd: Almost for everyone

Rating:

It is no exaggeration that iPad is the best tablet ever. With its large multi-touch screen, hundreds of apps and options for both Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, you can use it as personal computer. Although it is not as powerful as Mac, it can be even more empowering. If you are hesitant and don't what what present you should buy for the Apple fans in your life, an iPad Air 2 or iPad Mini 3 can a nice choice.

 iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3

iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3

On October 16, Apple introduced its second-generation iPad Air, it is also the Apple's 6th generation tablet. Compared to the old iPads, the new iPad Air 2 becomes more powerful, thinner, lighter and much faster. And it is fitted with some new highlights like Touch ID that was only available on iPhones, and A8 X processor that is even faster than the A8 in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. With it you can shoot 8mp photos and take 1080p videos, and play or run hundreds of thousands of tablet – specific iPad apps.

On same day, Apple also released the second-generation Retina iPad mini, but unlike its larger sibling, it is not added with too many new features except a Touch ID fingerprint sensor and a gold color option. By the way, the iPad Air 2 starts at $499, and iPad Mini 3 starts at $399. If your budget is enough, iPad Air 2 is a better choice.

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3. Mac Gift – Retina iMac/Retina MacBook Pro/Mac Mini

Price: Start at $499

Suitable Crowd: for school kids and office workers

Rating:

If you already have an iPhone or iPad at your hand, you won't hesitate to get a Mac computer to make your Apple products perfectly work together, especially your iPhone or iPad is running iOS 8. Because some nice features of iOS 8 like iCloud Drive and Continuity are available to Mac users who have upgraded their Mac to the latest Mac OS X Yosemite. Naturally, if you have some Apple fans family or friends who don't have any Macintosh computer, don't hesitate to get them a Mac computer, and they will appreciate what you did for them.

Retina iMac, Retina MacBook Pro and Mac Mini

Retina iMac, Retina MacBook Pro and Mac Mini

In October of this year, Apple introduced the new designed 27–inch iMac desktop – iMac with Retina 5K display, whose screen can display a stunning 5120 x 2880 pixel – twice the vertical resolution and twice the horizontal resolution of the other 27-inch models. And while the rest of the lineup are remained unchanged. By the way, the Retina 5K iMac starts at $2,499.

If you prefer to laptop in comparison to Apple desktop, the 13 and 15 –inch MacBook Pro with Retina display released on July 29 look great choices. The models of the new Retina MacBook Pro starts using Intel Haswell/Crystal Well processors at the same time, and with the new family of processors, the Retina MacBook Pro gets longer battery life, the 13-inch model of MacBook Pro with Retina display offers nine hours of battery life, and the 15-inch mode offers eight hours. Except battery life, the new Retina MacBook Pro also offers you 60 percent faster read speeds than old products. And Apple's 13-inch Retina MacBook Pros are available, starts at $1,299, and the 15-inch version starts at $1,999.

If your family or friends are Windows desktop users and plan to make a transition to Mac computer, Apple Mac Mini is a great gift for OS X fresher. Compared to other Apple desktop offerings like iMac and Mac Pro, Mac Mini is less powerful, but it is the most affordable and compact desktop computer that is a device without a display, keyboard or mouse. More than anything, on October 16, Apple last updated the Mac Mini, which hadn't been updated for more than two years. Therefore, if your family or friends are Apple fans but working with Windows computer, you can give them a surprise by purchasing them a Mac Mini. By the way, the newly released Mac Mini starts at $499.

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4. 2014 Newly Released Apple Products Comparison

We have talked about the top 7 newly released Apple products above, and also mentioned some of their top features, and prices. Next we will make them a comparison among their pros, cons, capacities, prices and released date so that you can make a wise choice and pick up the best gift for the Apple lovers in your life.

  Pros Cons Capacities Released Date Price
iPhone iPhone 6

1. 4.7-inch Retina display

2. Available in silver, gold, and space gray

3. Features an A8 chip, Touch ID, faster LTE wireless

4. A new 8MP iSight camera with Focus Pixels

5. Running with iOS 8.

None 16, 64, and 128GB options Sep.19, 2014 Starts at $299
iPhone 6 Plus

1. 5.5-inch 1080p Retina display

2. Available in silver, gold, and space gray

3. Features an A8 chip, Touch ID, faster LTE wireless

4. A new 8MP iSight camera with Focus Pixels

5. Running with iOS 8.

Too big for some people 16, 64, and 128GB options Sep.19, 2014 Starts at $399
iPad iPad Air 2

1. 9.7-inch laminated screen

2. Available in space gray, silver, or gold

3. Shoots 8mp photos and takes 1080p videos

4. Cellular/LTE available

5. Running with iOS 8

None 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB options. Oct.16,2014 Starts at $499
iPad Mini 3

1. 7.9-inch Retina display.

2. Available in space gray, silver, and gold.

3. Shoots 5mp photos and takes 1080p videos.

4. Cellular/LTE available

5. Running with iOS 8

1. 1-year old chipset.

2. No laminated display

16GB, 64GB, and 128GB options. Oct.16,2014 Starts at $399
Mac MacBook Pro with Retina Dispplay

1. 13 or 15-inch Retina display

2. Dual-core i5 or quad-core i7 processors

3. Up to 16GB of RAM

4. 9 to 8 hours of batter life 6. Weighs only 3.46 or 4.46 lbs

1. Less battery life

2. No optical drives.

Up to 1TB of flash storage July.29,2014 Starts at $1,299
iMac with Retina 5K Display

1. 27-inch (disgonal) Retina 5K display

2. Quad-core Intel Core i5 or i7

3. Apple wireless keyboard and magic mouse or magic trackpad

Only RAM can be internally upgraded Up to 1TB of flash storage Oct.16,2014 Starts at $2,499
Mac Mini

1. Dual-core i5 or i7 processors.

2. 2GB, 8GB, or 16GB of RAM

1. Requires separate display

2. No internal expansion ports

3. No more quad-core option.

Up to 1TB of flash or Fusion drive. Oct.16,2014 Starts at $499

As you can see, all the Apple produces released in this year are listed above as well as their pros, cons, capacities and prices. About what product you should buy for yourself, your friends or family as Christmas gift, it totally depends on the need of your friends or family, what they have now, and your budget. So take all of them into consideration and then make a wise purchase. Absolutely, in this Apple buyer guide we just cover the newly released Macs and didn't mention those old Mac computers, if you are especially fond of some old mode of Apple products, you also can consider buying it except some products haven't been updated for several years, like iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, Apple TV, etc.

Except purchasing a fire-new Apple product, if you also can buy some Apple accessories as Christmas gift, you can read this Top 10 Apple Accessories for iPhone/iPad/iMac users to pick up one or two. Absolutely, if you haven't enough budgets, you also can choose to buy a practical App as gift for Apple users. It is also an excellent choice. Anyway, the most suitable is the best, and by the way, Merry Christmas!

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