8 Cool New Gadgets for Summer 2023: Wearables, Smart Home And More

CRN rounds up eight cool gadgets that can up your summer game, whether you want to take better videos of your adventures, go out in style, upgrade your smart home or stay connected while on the go.

Summer is almost here, and that means you may soon find yourself going out for adventures—or staying at home when the weather’s a little too hot and humid.

In any case, it’s a good time as ever to upgrade your gadgetry, whether it’s to help you take epic videos of impressive sights on big trips, stay connected to the world or automate your home.

What follows are eight cool new gadgets that are a good fit for the summer. They include wearables, IoT devices, drones, tablets and more. All prices are as of publication

DJI Mavic 3 Pro

Price: $2,199

If you’re planning to see impressive sights while traveling this summer, the DJI Mavic 3 Pro drone will help you capture majestic views from up high, thanks to its triple-camera system that provides “next-level imaging performance” with three sensors and lenses with different focal lengths. The camera system consists of dual telephoto cameras and a single 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad camera. The drone can fly for up to 43 minutes and it has the ability to sense obstacles in all directions. It can also transmit HD video from up to 15 kilometers away.

Pixel Tablet

Price: Starting at $499

Trips often have downtime, even if it’s a few minutes here and there in between hitting up attractions or waiting at airports, and going to sleep for the night. For those times, Google’s new Pixel Tablet may be a welcome companion thanks to its “immersive” 11-inch screen, a long-lasting battery and Google’s Tensor G2 processor that makes apps fly. It will serve as a welcome addition to any household too, with a changing dock that doubles as a speaker and turns the tablet into a smart display.

Nanoleaf Essentials Matter Smart Bulb

Price: $19.99

It’s time to change up the look of your pad and drape your rooms with vibrant and dynamic colors. Nanoleaf’s color-changing E26 Smart Bulb will do just the trick, thanks to the more than 16 million colors and gradients of white that can emanate from the LED lightbulb. What makes it more appealing is that it’s compatible with Matter smart home hubs, which work with smart home devices and accessories across a plethora of different brands.

Vindstyrka

Price: $49.99

For the times you find yourself in your home, you may want to have a better idea of what the air quality is like inside. Swedish furniture juggernaut Ikea has an affordable solution in the form of Vindstyrka, a smart air quality sensor just shy of $50 that complements Ikea’s other smart home offerings and provides a simple display for temperature as well as humidity, particulate matter and total volatile organic compound levels. The sensor readings can also be accessed through the Ikea Home app via the Dirigera smart hub. It can also link to the Starkvind smart air purifier, which will then adjust fan speed based on the particulate matter content in the room.

Vívomove Trend

Price: $299.99

If you’re heading to snazzy places this summer, you might as well make a statement with what’s wrapped around your wrist. Garmin may trick onlookers with the Vívomove Trend, a smartwatch that definitely doesn’t look like a smartwatch at first. Instead, it looks like an athletic analog watch with a hint of luxury. Despite its appearance, the watch can display smartphone notifications and it can also facilitate contactless payments via Garmin Pay. All the smarts can be revealed with a simple tap or swipe.

Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Slim

Price: $34.99

For those days when it’s too hot to do much outside, why not take some time to convert your dwelling into a smart home? The Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Slim is a building block for your smart home apparatus, giving you the ability to regulate and monitor the electricity flowing to a variety of devices and appliances. In addition to monitoring energy use, this smart plug can help estimate electricity bills, set a schedule for when devices are on or off, and automatically shut off devices when a power usage reaches a certain level. This product is compatible with Matter smart home hubs.

Insta360 Flow

Price: $191

Taking smartphone videos by hand is for amateurs. If you want to capture videos with smooth movement, a gimbal like the Insta360 Flow will make a world of difference. The Insta360 Flow uses AI technology to stabilize camera tracking, and this enables it to do things like slow motion tracking and tracking individuals or objects even if they get obscured or moved out of frame.

Jabra Elite 4

Price: $99.99

Great-sounding earbuds don’t have to cost a fortune, as is the case with the Jabra Elite 4. These earbuds have been designed to pair quickly with devices and switch seamlessly between them, thanks to its implementation of Bluetooth 5.2. The earbuds also come equipped with active noise cancellation technology and a four-microphone array for making your voice clear on calls.