Pools are hard work. Not the swimming part, necessarily, but the rest of it. If you haven’t owned one, you might not realize how much invisible labor keeps water clear and safe.
But times have changed. The era of manually scooping dead bugs with a plastic net is dead. Long live the robots. We have apps that tell you if your chemistry is trash before you even dip a toe in. We have machines that make margaritas cold enough to hurt. With travel getting pricey and exhausting, the backyard pool is making a comeback. If you don’t have one, rent one. Swimply makes it easy.
My colleague Christopher Null swims in a massive L-shaped concrete beast. I use a modest above-ground vinyl rectangle. Between our two pools, we’ve tested everything from $3,000 vacuums to cheap Walmart floaties. Here is what actually matters in 2026.
Updated July 2026: We added new robots, towels that actually feel like hotel linens, floating glasses, and safety gear. Because panic is bad for the vibe.
Don’t Let People Drown Quietly
Lifebuoy Bcone Floating Pool Alarm
Price: $395
If kids live there, this isn’t optional. It’s an insurance policy for your soul. The Bcone is a red floatation device that sits in the water. It listens.
It doesn’t just scream because of a breeze. The tech analyzes wave patterns to tell the difference between wind, rain, a dog jumping in, and a human falling in. When something unexpected happens, it screams. It sends the signal to a hub in your house and your phone app. You can turn it off when swimming, but forget? The system turns itself back on once the water is calm. No “I thought it was on” excuses.
“If you have small children, investing in a.pool alarm may very well be an invaluable safety net.”
See What You’re Not Seeing
Arlo Pro 6 Security Camera
Price: Starts at $99
Simon Hill reviewed every camera out there. His winner is the Arlo Pro 6. It’s easy to install. It’s stupid simple.
Why do you need it on the pool? Safety, sure. Liability is bigger. If someone slips, or a dog chokes, or the neighbor’s kid jumps in at midnight, you have proof. It also helps you check things from your couch. Is the water level okay? Is the robot stuck against the wall? You can look without standing on the deck in your bathrobe.
Stop Chasing Leaves
Beatbot iSkim Ultra
Price: $699
Manual skimming is torture. It’s tedious, repetitive, and humid. If your pool doesn’t have an auto-skip built into the wall, you need a robot skimmer. This one is solar-powered.
That’s the best part. It never needs a charger. It chugs around the surface, eating leaves and bugs, avoiding walls with sensors so it doesn’t whack the tile. It costs more than a used car payment, but your back will thank you.
Chemical Balance Without the Strip Hassle
Iopool Eco Start Smart Monitor
Price: $409
Green algae pools are embarrassing. They happen when pH goes haywire or chlorine drops. Old school testing means strips that look like candy canes and give you one data point for one moment in time. By the time you treat the water, the balance is wrong again.
The Iopool Eco Start floats and works. It measures temperature, pH, and oxidizing power (free chlorine). It updates every 15 minutes right to your phone. It has no batteries to change. It is solid state. Just throw it in. Take it out in winter. Christopher Null used his for two whole seasons before it died, and immediately bought its successor. That is the mark of a good gadget.
Drink Without Spilling
Funboy Floating Cabana Bar & Tube
Price: $33 – $37
When it hits 90 degrees, you don’t want to walk to the table for a drink. You want the drink to come to you. This raft holds ice and a six-pack.
It has a little canopy to shade the beverage. The stripe design feels like Saint-Tropez in 1985. It looks nice. It functions okay. There are drink holders on both ends so your friends can share it without stealing your spot. I also bought the matching inflatable rings. They float well, they last through a month of sun, but the cup holders are tiny and shallow. Don’t put a heavy glass in the ring’s holder. Put it in the bar’s. You’ve been warned.
Music That Won’t Drown
JBL Flip 7
Price: Starts at $100
You need music. Silence at a pool party is awkward. This speaker is practically indestructible.
My son has strapped it to his mountain bike. It has rained on it. It has been dropped on concrete. It survived all of it. The JBL Flip 7 is IP68 rated. Drop it in the deep end? Fine. JBL claims it can survive underwater at 5 feet for half an hour. I haven’t tested that limit, but it handles splashes with zero care.
Never Push a Vacuum Again
Beatbot AquaSense 2 Ultra
Price: $2,199
If money is no object, buy this. Christopher Null called it the best robot he’s ever used in four years of testing. It cleans the bottom. It cleans the walls. It has AI to identify debris. It has six hours of battery life.
Here’s the trick: when it’s done, it floats to the top. It weighs a lot. Retrieving a heavy vacuum from the bottom of a deep end is bad for the knees. Let it swim to the surface, grab it, and be done.
The Budget Robot
Beatbot Sora 30
Price: $699
Maybe $2,000 feels excessive for a vacuum that swims for you. This model does most of the same work for half the price.
It floats when finished, just like the big one. It lasts a long time on a charge. It lacks the fancy smart features of its sibling, but through the app, you still have control. Performance is excellent. It eats dirt and leaves well enough for most backyard pools.
Win Every Splash War
SpyraFour Water Blaster
Price: $169
Not a pool accessory, technically. A weapon. The SpyraFour shoots water with enough pressure to dent aluminum cans.
It sucks its own water in. No awkward dipping buckets into the deep end mid-battle. My kid used the previous model years ago just to shoot cans on the driveway. The new one has better screens and game modes. One former WIRED editor called it the best water gun ever invented. I believe him. It feels illegal this powerful.
Towels That Actually Dry You
Cozy Earth Seaside Resort Towel
Price: $68
Cheap towels stay wet. Heavy towels drag on your shoulder. Good towels are hard to find.
Cozy Earth makes linen-like cotton that dries fast but feels thick. The Seaside version has low pile on one side, meaning it traps less sand if you’re going to the beach too. The Classic Stripe version has more colors but is a cotton-viscose mix. Either way, they feel better than anything at Target. They are worth the price tag because you actually want to dry off.
Slushies by the Pool
Ninja Slushi Machine
Price: $249 – $350
Margaritas are better when they are slush. This machine freezes them as they drip. You just put liquid in the top, set the dial, and wait.
High sugar drinks freeze best. Diet soda? Add some allulose. The Ninja system lets you keep two different drinks ready at once. One reservoir for tequila, one for fruit punch. They auto-adjust temperature so everything is slush-ready at the same time. It elevates a cheap party snack to something that feels expensive.
Sunglasses You Can’t Lose
Goodr Tidal G Sunglasses
Price: $45
Drop your glasses in the lake? They’re gone. Forever. These ones? They float.
They’re made by Goodr, the company that makes running sunglasses that don’t slip. These frames are light. They cost next to nothing. And if they fly off your nose into the water, they stay on top. You can grab them with a pole. Five colors. Five dollars is too low to lose forever. This is smart design for lazy humans.
