WIRED has updated its 2026 pool accessory guide with a telling priority order: before the floating bar, towels and sunglasses, the list starts with a pool alarm and a security camera. That is the right kind of boring. Pools are maintenance machines with a drowning hazard attached, and the guide treats automation as something more useful than backyard cosplay.
The July 2026 update adds a pool-cleaning robot, resort-style towels, floating sunglasses and safety gear, including a pool alarm and security camera, according to WIRED. The publication says its editors independently select featured products, though it may receive compensation from retailers or purchases made through its links.
WIRED’s testing base is practical rather than laboratory-perfect. Contributor Christopher Null has a 12-by-36-foot L-shaped in-ground pool with a PebbleTec lining, while another tester uses a 20-by-12-foot above-ground vinyl pool. Between those setups, WIRED says its writers evaluated gear for both custom installations and cheaper pop-up pools.
Safety gear gets top billing
The guide names Lifebuoy’s Bcone Floating Pool Alarm, listed at $395 at Amazon and Walmart, as its pool alarm pick. WIRED describes the device as a red, double-ended cone that floats in a pool or hot tub and triggers a siren when it detects an unwanted entry into the water.
The mechanism is less mystical than the marketing probably wants it to sound. According to WIRED, the Bcone watches disturbances on the water surface and analyzes wave patterns to separate a fall into the pool from wind-driven ripples. If it flags an event, it sounds an internal alarm and sends the alert to an indoor Wi-Fi bridge and the Bcone app. The bridge and app can disable the alarm while people swim, and WIRED says the system can rearm itself after the water clears.
For video monitoring, WIRED points to Arlo’s Pro 6 camera. Reviewer Simon Hill picked it as the best outdoor security camera after testing many models, according to the guide. WIRED says recorded pool footage can help with safety and potential liability, and that a camera may also show water level, pool-cover position and whether cleaning equipment is working while the owner is away.
Robots take on the chores
For surface debris, WIRED recommends Beatbot’s iSkim Ultra Robotic Pool Skimmer, listed at $699 at Beatbot and Amazon after a 30 percent discount from $999. Null, who reviews pool-cleaning robots for WIRED, likes it best among robotic skimmers, the guide says.
The iSkim Ultra is solar-powered, so it does not need to be removed for charging, according to WIRED. It also uses sensors meant to keep it from damaging itself by repeatedly colliding with pool walls. That is not glamorous engineering. It is the kind that saves owners from standing around with a net fishing out leaves and dead insects like it is a character-building exercise.
For water chemistry, WIRED picks Iopool’s Eco Start Smart Water Monitor, listed at $409 on Amazon. The floating monitor tracks temperature, pH and ORP, which WIRED describes as a proxy for free chlorine. It updates every 15 minutes and sends chemistry information to help owners spot problems before the pool turns green.
Null says the Iopool device is solid-state and does not require replaceable supplies or routine battery swaps, aside from taking it out of the pool for winter storage. His unit lasted two full swimming seasons before dying, at which point the device had to be replaced, according to WIRED.
The fun stuff is still there
WIRED also includes Funboy’s Vintage Stripe Floating Cabana Bar and Tube Floats. The floating bar was listed at $33 on Amazon after an 11 percent discount, with the companion float listed at $29. The guide says the bar can hold a six-pack of cans on ice, includes a removable canopy and has drink holders on both sides.
The remaining sections of WIRED’s guide point readers toward a waterproof speaker, pool-cleaning robots at different prices, a water gun, resort towels, a slushie machine for pool-party margaritas and sunglasses that float. The larger pattern is clear enough: the useful pool upgrade in 2026 is less about showing off and more about paying machines to do the tedious parts without pretending the tedious parts disappeared.
This story draws on original reporting from WIRED.
