Cool Gadgets For The Home That Will Elevate Gatherings During CNY — And Any Time Of The Year, Really

When it comes to Chinese New Year house visits and gatherings, the first things that come to mind are feasting on goodies and countless rounds of mahjong or card games. But there are more ways to elevate your CNY gathering.

Whether you’re a house-proud new homeowner or the designated host in the family or friend group, finding new ways to keep guests entertained this Chinese New Year — and beyond — is always a welcome idea, and here are a few fancy gadgets that can help you do just that. 

Apple TV 4K

This sleek little device may be small in size (it’s more compact than its predecessor), but it could turn your home into party central, or be the perfect companion for a chill movie night in. 

One of the best crowd-pleasing functions that you can use on the Apple TV 4K (prices from $199) may be the new Apple Music Sing. It has real-time lyrics and lets you adjust vocals so you can have a massive singalong sesh, or even perform duets, sing back-up vocals and more. It’s unlike an actual karaoke sesh where the music video is played, but who’s to say you can’t bust out your own TikTok dance moves and make your own MV instead. The Sing function is available on several devices, but on the Apple TV 4K — and the big screen TV — these singalong sessions would undoubtedly be so much more epic.

But there’s nothing quite like bonding over a few games over CNY, and if you’re not into mahjong or Blackjack, choose something from Apple Arcade’s collection of over 200 games, including multi-player games such as SongPop Party and Warped Kart Racers and duke it out with your guests.

The best part? After the guests leave, the Apple TV 4K comes in handy for winding down or staying in for movie night as well. Not only is finding stuff made much easier — the Siri-enabled remote control lets you give voice-activated commands (“Siri, show me the best action movies!”) to search for shows, music, games and more in a fuss-free way — the Apple TV 4K also churns out recommendations based on the profiles of users, so you spend less time deciding what to watch, and more time catching up on the shows you love. More info

Pico 4 VR headset

Teleport yourself to virtual reality to escape nosy relatives asking if you’re attached/getting married/having babies soon. But more than that, the real draw of the latest VR headset is its sleek, lightweight design, and what the brand touts as better picture quality, improved tracking and positioning for the headset and controllers and a larger field of view.

If you’re looking for hours of entertainment this CNY, you may want to take advantage of Pico’s Chinese New Year promotion (until Jan 27). With every purchase of the Pico 4 VR headset ($499 for 8GB + 128GB; $599 for 8GB + 256GB), you’ll receive free Pico 4 accessories and six games for free. More info

Coravin’s Timeless 6+

You don’t have to be a wine connoisseur to appreciate a fancy gizmo that would keep wine fresh for longer. Enter Coravin, a wine tech company that’s introduced its Timeless Six System for wine preservation — it’s designed to let you pour wine without pulling the cork. No need to worry about not finishing a bottle of wine, or if you just want to sample a portion of it — this gadget lets you save the rest of the vino for months, perhaps even years.

And for CNY, the Coravin Timeless Six+ Lotus Red Gift Set ($718) available for Chinese New Year includes the Timeless Six System in a totally huat red colourway. It also includes wine accessories that are part of the system to help preserve the wine, purportedly without affecting its taste. A pack of red packets and a carry case are also in the gift box, making this a viable CNY gift option as well. More info