Pools are hard. This is not news to anyone who owns one, but the uninitiated may not know about the inordinate amount of daily labor and chores that lie behind a pool’s clear, sparkling, perfectly chlorinated (or salted) water.

Luckily, pool tech has come a long way in the past decade—gone are the hours spent scooping leaves and dead bugs out of the water with a long-handled net, laboring over pH strips, and trying to relax on floaties too small for your adult-sized behind. We've now got robots that clean your pool, apps that monitor water quality from your phone, and even a slushie machine for proper pool-party margs.

With gas and plane ticket prices soaring to astronomical levels, there's never been a better time for a staycation at your own pool. (If you don't have a pool of your own, you can always rent one nearby on Swimply.) My colleague Christopher Null has a 12- by 36-foot, L-shaped in-ground pool lined with PebbleTec, and I have a 20- by 12-foot above-ground pool lined with vinyl. Between the two of us, we have pretty much tried it all, so whether you've got a custom-built in-ground complex or an Intex pop-up from Walmart, these time- and life-tested swimming pool accessories are sure to level up your backyard pool game.

For more yard-tech tips, check out our guides to the Best Pool Cleaning Robots, Best Smart Sprinklers and Irrigation Systems, Best Robot Lawn Mowers, and Best Smart Bird Feeders.

Updated July 2026: I’ve added a new pool-cleaning robot; resort-style towels; floating sunglasses; and safety gear, including a pool alarm and security camera.

The Best Pool Alarm

If you (or your neighbors) have small children, investing in a pool alarm may very well be an invaluable insurance policy. Lifebuoy’s Bcone is the blue-chip alarm option on the market right now. It’s a bright red, double-ended cone that floats in your pool (or hot tub) and sounds a siren if something ends up in the water that isn’t supposed to be there.

The system works by detecting disturbances to the water’s surface, analyzing wave patterns to distinguish between the splash of a person (or pet) falling in and ripples caused by the wind. If the Bcone detects an event, it fires off its internal Klaxon and relays the alarm to a Wi-Fi bridge that remains inside the home (plus the Bcone app). The bridge and app both let you easily disable the alarm when people are swimming—and can even turn the system back on automatically when the water is clear, so “I forgot” doesn’t become a deadly excuse. —Christopher Null

For Keeping an Eye on Things

This is WIRED reviewer Simon Hill's pick for best outdoor security camera after testing many models. Though I personally have an older Arlo model, I agree that the brand makes the most consistently user-friendly security cameras on the market right now. Recorded footage of your pool is another important investment in safety and potential liability, especially if you have children or curious animals living nearby. A camera can also function as a tool to help proactively spot potential issues while you're away from home, such as the water level, cleaning-equipment functionality, and cover positioning.

Stop Skimming Leaves

As someone who manually fished leaves and dead bees out of their pool with a net for years, I can attest to the utility of an automatic skimmer. It's not cheap, but if you have a large pool that doesn't have an in-wall skimming system, a robotic skimmer is a must-have, and this is the pool-cleaning robot reviewer Christopher Null likes best. It's solar-powered, so you never have to take it out to charge, and it's got sensors that help it avoid damaging itself by running into your pool walls. Read the full rundown in our guide to the Best Pool Cleaning Robots.

Outsource Your Water-Quality Chores

Cleaning out debris is only one part of regular pool maintenance. Equally important, if not more so, is keeping chemicals in balance. If things get out of whack for even a few days, you can be left with a green, algae-ridden mess that is a major challenge to remedy. Test strips and kits have long been standard, but they're a hassle to use and only give you a snapshot of your pool’s chemistry at a specific moment in time. Smart technology offers a much more elegant solution; it lets you keep tabs on chemistry in real time and alerts you if something’s amiss. Of the handful of smart-pool chemistry monitors I’ve tested, I like Iopool’s Eco Start the best.

This floating gadget monitors temperature, pH, and ORP (a stand-in for free chlorine), together giving you a solid picture of your pool’s disinfection capabilities. It automatically updates every 15 minutes. While many chemistry monitors require replaceable supplies (which is a costly approach) and regular battery replacements to work, Iopool’s solution is solid-state, needing no maintenance at all except for storing it out of the pool in winter months. I used mine for two full swimming seasons until it died (at which point it must be replaced)—and I like it so much I just dropped its successor into the water for the summer. —Christopher Null

For Floating Around With a Drink

When our first 90-degree-Fahrenheit day popped up on the forecast last month, I immediately started searching for an affordable floating cooler for drinks with a sun-blocking canopy, and I ended up buying this Funboy model off Amazon. It can easily handle a six-pack of cans on a raft of ice, the canopy is removable, and there's a drink holder on either side so you and your buddy can push it back and forth between your floats. The striped design with the fringe is very St. Tropez (or ’80s-era pool umbrella, depending on your age and station), and I ended up liking the vibe so much that I have since added its companion matching inflatable pool float rings, which come in 16 colors on Funboy's site or six on Amazon. I've had the rings in my pool for over a month now, in direct sun, and while I wish they had handles for easier on-and-off movement, they have held up great. The 48-inch size is big enough for most adult butts, and also comes with the requisite cupholder. However, note that the cupholder design is very small and very shallow, so you may want to stick with the more forgiving holders on the cabana bar.

For Cannonball Soundtracks

No pool party is complete without some tunes, and this is our favorite Bluetooth speaker, which JBL touts as being “life-proof.” I can confirm that assertion; my family's long-suffering Flip 7 has been rained on, splashed with water, strapped to the back of my son's mountain bike while he did jumps, and survived all manner of falls and other misadventures. It's fully waterproof and IP68-rated, so you don't even need to worry if it falls into the pool. I have not tested this, but JBL says it can survive being submerged in about 5 feet of water for 30 minutes.

Never Vacuum Again

Manual pool vacuums are so last century. WIRED reviewer Christopher Null has been testing pool-cleaning robots for four years, and this one from Beatbot, he says, is the best he's tried. It not only excels at its prescribed cleaning tasks, but its battery charge is also phenomenal at six hours, it has AI-powered debris detection, and its companion app is great. It can also skim your pool's surface if needed. Best of all, it floats when it's done, so you don't have to retrieve it from the bottom of the pool. (Which is good, he says, because it's quite heavy.)

A More Affordable Robot

If your pool-robot budget is more pool noodle than Portofino, you may want to take a look at Beatbot's Sora 30. WIRED reviewer Christopher Null found it had outstanding performance for the price and excellent battery life, and, just like its pricier sibling above, floats when it's done. It doesn't have a whole lot of smart features, but you'll still have the option of multiple modes through Beatbot's app.

Win Your Water Fights

Not exactly a pool toy, but if your household or neighborhood engages in water fights, you need a top-of-the-line water weapon, and nothing hits quite like a Spyra. Literally—this thing is strong enough to dent cans. My son received the SpyraTwo ($200) as a gift some years ago, and he found it fun for target practice even when there wasn't a water fight happening. I like that it sucks up the water automatically, so you don't have to worry about awkward filling. The SpyraFour is Spyra's newest version, which offers a more detailed screen and special gameplay modes like Ultra Rapid Fire and Scattershot. In fact, former WIRED commerce director Martin Cizmar deemed it the new best water gun ever made.

The Best Resort Towels

Any respectable pool day begins and ends with a quality towel, and Cozy Earth’s are the best I’ve ever tried. My favorite from the brand’s lineup is the Seaside Resort Towel. Made from OEKO-TEX–certified 100 percent cotton, it’s perfectly thick and plush and large enough to drape over a chaise. One side has a low pile, which works well for the beach, as it will trap less sand. The Classic Stripe Resort Towel is also solid but slightly less plush, with a cotton-viscose blend but more color options (six, compared with the Seaside's two).

For Peak Margarita Szn

You haven't properly pool-partied until you've languished on your pool float on a hot day with a frozen margarita in hand. Or a cup of frosé, frozen lemonade, or just about anything else you can think of—it will probably slush in one of our favorite slushie machines. High-sugar drinks work best, but you can even slush diet drinks by adding allulose. If you want to keep two drinks going at a time, Ninja has you covered with its just-released dual-reservoir version, which WIRED reviewer Matthew Korfhage crowned as the best for parties. It can auto-adjust temperatures to ensure drinks with different consistencies are ready at the same time.

Sunglasses That Float

Drop your sunglasses in the pool? (Or lake? Or river? Or ocean?) Typically, that's the last you'll see of that pair. But not now! These lightweight, inexpensive frames from no-slip, no-bounce sunglasses giant Goodr will float, so you can easily grab them next time you pass them on your inflatable lounge. They come in five colors (including Seafoam Party Favor, shown) and are great for all kinds of athletic pursuits, from running to paddleboarding and beyond.

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