Father’s Day has a habit of sneaking up on us. And while Dad might insist that he doesn’t need anything, turning up empty-handed this Sunday probably isn’t the strongest way to test that theory. Gifts still matter, especially when it comes to parents.
Fortunately, buying for dads has become a bit more interesting than defaulting to socks, whisky and something vaguely related to a barbecue. Technology is obviously well represented in our annual Father’s Day gift guide, but we’ve also thrown in something Dad can wear and a new Australian fragrance that should give his usual cologne some competition.
We’ve been playing around with a few products over the past couple of months and have curated them into this last-minute Father’s Day gift guide to give you a few ideas before Sunday 6th September rolls around.
Under Armour The Bouncy Tee
For the dad who refuses to throw out his old T-shirts
There’s a point where a beloved T-shirt stops looking comfortably worn-in and starts looking like something Dad should probably retire. Under Armour’s new Bouncy Tee makes a pretty convincing replacement.
This isn’t really workout gear despite coming from Under Armour. The fabric uses premium Peruvian Pima cotton blended with the brand’s NEOLAST material, so it feels like a soft everyday tee while offering four-way stretch, sweat-wicking and odour control. More importantly, it looks normal enough to wear almost anywhere. The regular cut is relaxed without looking sloppy, and the branding is kept relatively restrained with a tonal logo on the chest.
If you’re working with a Father’s Day budget under $100, this is an easy win.
$80
Ultrahuman Ring AIR
For the dad who has become obsessed with his health data
Smart rings have continued to become more useful, particularly for people who want detailed health information without wearing a smartwatch around the clock. The Ring AIR tracks sleep, movement and recovery, pulling all of that information together in an app that can help Dad understand what his body is actually doing throughout the day.
The biggest advantage is how unobtrusive the whole thing feels. A watch can be annoying in bed, whereas the Ring AIR is small enough that sleep tracking becomes something you can largely forget about. There’s also no recurring subscription required to access the core data.
It remains one of the better gifts for a dad who has suddenly discovered HRV and won’t stop talking about it.
$599
Under Armour UA Charged+ Rogue 6
For the dad who keeps threatening to start running again
If Dad’s running shoes have spent more time sitting by the front door than actually moving this year, Father’s Day presents a useful bit of encouragement.
The UA Charged+ Rogue 6 sits at the accessible end of Under Armour’s running range, with a lightweight engineered mesh upper and Charged+ cushioning designed to soften the impact underfoot. There’s a proper rubber outsole for durability, while the neutral setup should suit runners who don’t need additional stability built into their shoe. They’re also fairly restrained by running-shoe standards, particularly in black, so Dad can get plenty of use out of them when he isn’t exercising.
At $130, they’re a relatively inexpensive way to get him moving again.
$130
Narwal Flow 2
For the dad who has better things to do than mop
Robot vacuums have reached a point where the expensive ones should be judged less on whether they can vacuum and more on how convincingly they can replace you.
Narwal has gone very hard on that idea with the Flow 2. Suction has jumped to a monstrous 31,000Pa, although the more interesting development is underneath. Its wide track mop is continuously cleaned with 60°C water while working, with 12N of downward pressure helping it attack stubborn marks instead of simply running something damp across the floor.
The dock takes care of much of the dirty work afterwards, including washing the mop with water up to 100°C and drying it with hot air. Narwal has also overhauled navigation, with the Flow 2 able to recognise more than 200 types of objects.
It’s expensive, but this is about as hands-off as household cleaning gets right now.
$2,999
Sennheiser MOMENTUM 5 Wireless
For the dad who takes his music seriously
Sennheiser has spent years making its MOMENTUM headphones one of the safest choices for anyone who cares about wireless audio, and the new fifth generation lands just in time for Father’s Day.
At $749.95, these are unquestionably premium headphones. That money buys you Sennheiser’s latest over-ear flagship, designed around the same basic proposition that has made the MOMENTUM line so successful: make wireless listening convenient without flattening the personality out of the music.
That makes them particularly easy to recommend for the dad whose Spotify library jumps from Steely Dan to Miles Davis and somehow ends up at Wu-Tang Clan. Adaptive noise cancellation also makes them useful for flights and the daily commute, while the over-ear design gives Dad something substantial enough that, unlike earbuds, he’ll have a much harder time losing them.
$749.95
Jabra Evolve3 85
For the dad whose office is wherever he opens his laptop
There’s a strange gap between headphones made for music and headsets designed for work. Jabra has been trying to close it for years, and the Evolve3 85 might be its most convincing attempt yet.
Gone is the conspicuous microphone arm that usually makes business headphones look like they belong in a call centre. Jabra instead uses six microphones and its ClearVoice system to isolate speech from background noise, while adaptive ANC changes according to the environment and how the headphones are sitting on Dad’s head.
Battery life is absurdly generous, reaching up to 25 hours for calls or 120 hours of music with ANC switched off. A five-minute charge can also provide another five hours of use.
For dads who bounce between the office, home and work trips, these are considerably more versatile than the average corporate headset.
Goldfield & Banks Sunset Hour Dark Peach
For the dad still wearing the same fragrance he bought in 2008
Goldfield & Banks has built an entire fragrance house around interpreting Australia through scent, and its new Sunset Hour Dark Peach is an appropriately local choice for Father’s Day.
Inspired by Broome at sunset, this is a darker spin on the original Sunset Hour. Australian desert peach remains part of the composition, but there’s now Jamaican rum and pink berries up top before organic ginger, benzoin and ylang start pushing through. Vanilla, woody amber and tonka bean give it a warmer finish.
That sounds sweet on paper, although Dark Peach has enough spice and depth to avoid smelling like someone emptied a fruit bowl onto Dad. It’s also a genuinely interesting option if his fragrance shelf has been dominated by the usual designer bottles for the past decade.
$280 for 100ml / $54 for 10ml
iPhone 17 Pro
For the dad who knows the newest iPhone isn’t always the smartest buy
September is a funny time to buy an iPhone. Apple’s annual upgrade cycle means attention inevitably shifts towards whatever comes next, but that can make the previous Pro generation much more interesting.
The iPhone 17 Pro is still an exceptionally powerful phone. Its A19 Pro chip has years of life left in it, the 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display runs ProMotion up to 120Hz, and Apple fitted this generation with a 48MP Pro Fusion camera system that includes Main, Ultra Wide and Telephoto cameras.
So rather than seeing the arrival of a new generation as a reason to avoid last year’s model, think of it as the point where an already excellent phone starts becoming better value. Retailers tend to get more aggressive with pricing as attention moves elsewhere.
If Dad is hanging onto an older iPhone, watch the discounts around Father’s Day and pounce when the right one appears.
Google Pixel 10 Pro
For the dad who wants Android without the clutter
Google’s Pixel phones have always made the strongest case for Android when you want the software and hardware to feel like they were actually designed together. The Pixel 10 Pro remains the sweet spot in the current family.
Its 6.3-inch Super Actua display can dynamically move between 1Hz and 120Hz and gets exceptionally bright outdoors, while Google’s Tensor G5 chip powers the increasingly AI-heavy Pixel experience. Photography is still the main reason we’d point Dad towards one. Google’s computational processing continues to make getting a great photo remarkably straightforward, which is useful if Dad’s approach to photography consists entirely of pointing the phone at something and hoping.
Google also promises seven years of new features and updates from launch. Pixelsnap brings Qi2 wireless charging into the mix as well, fixing one of those small omissions that became increasingly irritating on older Pixels.
From $1,699
OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G
For the dad who doesn’t need to spend flagship money on a phone
The upper end of the smartphone market has become brutally expensive, which makes phones sitting just below the major flagships much more compelling.
OPPO’s Reno13 Pro 5G is a good example. There’s a huge 6.83-inch 120Hz OLED display, 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, while the 5,800mAh battery supports 80W SUPERVOOC charging. Dad also gets a 50MP main camera alongside a 50MP telephoto with 3.5x optical zoom.
Durability is another unexpected strength. The Reno13 Pro carries IP69, IP68 and IP66 water and dust resistance ratings, which should offer some reassurance if Dad has a habit of treating expensive electronics with alarming casualness.
OPPO has packed in plenty of AI photography and productivity tools as well, but the bigger attraction is simple: this feels much closer to a flagship than its position in the market would suggest.
Ecovacs DEEBOT T80S OMNI
For the dad who wants the robot to actually mop properly
We reviewed the DEEBOT T80S OMNI earlier this year and came away convinced that Ecovacs had addressed one of the most irritating problems with robot vacuums: dirty mops dragging themselves around the house.
The big improvement is the OZMO Roller 2.0 system. Rather than using the familiar spinning pads, the T80S has a roller that applies serious downward pressure while continuously refreshing itself. On hard floors, the difference is obvious. We found that it handled kitchen spills and tracked-in dirt much more like a quick manual mop than the light wipe you get from many robots.
There’s also 24,800Pa suction, automatic carpet detection and a dock that washes and dries the roller once the job is done.
It earned four stars in our review and remains particularly easy to recommend for homes dominated by hard flooring.
$1,799 RRP
Dreame H16 Pro Steam
For the dad who takes suspicious pride in his floors
A wet-and-dry vacuum might not sound like the most exciting Father’s Day present until you give one to someone who genuinely enjoys having an immaculate house. Then you may struggle to get it back off them.
We tested the Dreame H16 Pro Steam recently, and its biggest party trick is how low it can go. The body can drop completely flat, allowing the cleaning head to slide underneath furniture where bulky floor washers usually give up. Dreame has paired that flexibility with 28,000Pa suction, hot-water mopping and high-temperature steam for more stubborn messes.
That combination makes considerably more sense in a kitchen or open-plan home than dragging out a traditional mop whenever something hits the floor. The self-cleaning dock also takes much of the unpleasant maintenance out of owning a wet-and-dry cleaner.
We were impressed enough to call it one of Dreame’s most successful designs to date.
$999
