Our favorite new gadgets and apps in August

During the last month, we’ve covered a lot of interesting gadgets and apps and thought we’d highlight a few that caught our attention the most. We have a robovac that can mop the edges of your walls (something that my manual mop usually fails at), a charging cable that will hopefully last a long time, a waterproof drone, and the latest and greatest Pixel 10 Pro phone. And what’s cooler than 3D printing a lightsaber? Let’s dive in.

While the Made for Google event on August 20th felt more like a rather awkward talk show than a product launch, the phones it introduced are worth paying attention to. The new Pixel 10 Pro, for example, struck our reviewer as not only an excellent flagship phone, but also as one of the first examples of a device that makes AI make sense. It also includes a Tensor G5 chip, an AI-enhanced telephoto camera, and Qi2 support with built-in magnets, which is really convenient, especially for people who don’t use cases with their phones. (Personally, I love using cool-looking cases, but to each their own.)

One issue with many drones is that if they take a dive into a body of water, then that is pretty much that. But that’s not the case with HoverAir’s new Aqua drone, which is not only waterproof but can also take off and land on water — pretty handy if you’re using it to, say, look for marine life. The company’s latest drone is its most expensive, but it boasts the ability to capture up to 4K / 100fps slow motion video and to use a self-heating lens to get rid of those pesky water droplets. It’s currently available for preorder via Indigogo and has an estimated shipping date of December 2025.

Bluetooth trackers can be incredibly useful, especially if you’re constantly misplacing your keys or leaving your wallet on a bus. However, for most of the existing trackers, you do need to either eventually replace their batteries or purchase an entirely new tracker. If you find either issue really annoying, you may want to check out Chipolo’s new rechargeable trackers, the Loop (a traditionally circular tag) and the Card (a flat, credit-card-sized device designed to fit in a wallet). The former is charged via USB-C and the latter via a Qi charger; according to Chipolo, each charge lasts about six months.

While you can microchip your pets in case they get lost, the chip won’t tell you where they are — for that, you need GPS, and for that, you need a pet tracker. The new Fi Mini pet tracker is scarcely bigger than an Apple AirTag but small enough to be added to almost any collar. It is rated IP68, so it’s waterproof and dust resistant, and its GPS (using the Verizon LTE-M cellular network) supplies real-time alerts and live tracking. It requires a subscription — $79 for six months or $129 for a year — but if it means that you can find your wandering pet, then it may just be worth it.

One of these years, I will get myself a robovac — hopefully one that will clean and mop the floor, pick up stray detritus, and wash the dishes. (Okay, maybe not this last one.) One of the latest to hit the market is the Narwal Flow. It shipped on August 27th, and has already sold out; the next batch is due to ship in mid-September. It is distinguished by a mopping pad that can extend to reach the edges of walls. There are two versions: a standard model and one with a more compact dock that can connect to plumbing; both are currently discounted for preorders.

One of the obsessions of The Verge’s staff these days is senior reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy’s chicken coop (yes, really), which has been outfitted with a variety of smart devices. Most recently, Jennifer installed what she describes as “the biggest smart home antenna I’ve ever seen,” the 12-inch-tall Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 ($69), which she says has added smart accessibility “from the attic to the chicken coop.” The antenna plugs into any Home Assistant system via USB and can connect to any Z-Wave device.

Cables may not be the most exciting things to cover, but what would we do without them? And even better if the cables boast of both a higher level of durability and a fair amount of sustainable manufacture. Fairphone’s new USB cables are all C-to-C (there’s a removable USB-A adapter), and use entirely recycled copper wires and recycled plastic braiding and cable jackets. They come in 1m (3.3ft) and 2.5m (8.2ft) versions using the USB 2.0 spec costing from €19.95 (around $23), and a 1m (3.3ft) version using USB 3.2 for €34.95 (around $40).

iPad fans may find it frustrating that their tablets are still not capable of wireless charging, but there is a solution. Kuxiu’s new M30 Magnetic Smart Connector Charger magnetically attaches to the back of an iPad Pro or iPad Air and uses the same Smart Connector pins that iPad accessories like the Magic Keyboard rely on to transfer power. And it’s not slow: iPad models using Apple’s M2 and M3 chips will charge at up to 18W, while those with an M4 chip can charge at 35W speeds.

I don’t have the high-powered creativity needed to justify a Mac Studio, but if you do and need more storage or more connectivity for your computer, check out RayCue’s Thunderbolt 5. The dock, which sits under the Studio, expands the device’s connectivity with two additional HDMI ports, a front-facing headphone jack, DisplayPort, and extra USB-A ports. It also lets you add up to 16TB of storage. It ships September 10th, but is available now for preorder.

I’ve been a fan of old-style Star Wars for a while, but unfortunately, I’m not a 3D creator. And I wish I were. Because if you’re a 3D creator who’s into Star Wars, you can now create your own glowing, humming lightsaber with Bambu Labs’ Motion-Activated Sound and Light Props Kit. This will take some expertise to put together (in fact, Bambu rates it for experienced users), but if 3D is your thing, then it could be a lot of fun.

A new, AI-driven Copilot function is being tested by Microsoft for use in Excel spreadsheets. By using the function followed by a natural language prompt, you can use the new feature to classify information, generate summaries, create tables, and more. It could be a really useful tool — however, in the support documentation, Microsoft warns: “Copilot uses AI and can give incorrect responses.“

Keep an eye out for Google’s new AI-powered Flight Deals tool, which will help you research where you want to go depending on your likes, dislikes, and budget. Emma Roth tried it out and found it was useful — up to a point. When she asked for “trip to Europe with hiking,” she got suggestions for a couple of cities that she wouldn’t have considered; on the other hand, it couldn’t find any deals for Japan during cherry-blossom season, which was disappointing. If you want to try it out (and if it’s rolled out to your account), you can find it on Google’s standalone Flight Deals page or in the top-left menu on Google Flights.

There was some uncertainty when The Browser Company, which created the Arc browser, announced that it was introducing a second, AI-powered browser called Dia. And now, not long after Dia’s introduction, the company has launched a $20 per month subscription for Dia Pro, which gives you unlimited access to the browser’s chat feature. If you don’t subscribe, you can still ask the AI engine questions about the content in your tabs — but you may run into some limitations.

Having gone through college before AI was available to anyone below a PhD, I can’t help but envy the access that today’s students have. However, teachers are probably concerned that students may be using Gemini to do their work for them. Google is trying to ameliorate that situation by introducing a guided learning mode (something like ChatGPT’s study mode) to its Gemini AI. The idea is that instead of just giving you the answers, Gemini Guided Learning helps you figure them out yourself.

Update, August 30th: This article was originally published on August 18th, 2025, and has been updated to add several new entries.