Lay on some SPF, throw on your swimsuit, pack your favorite beverage in your insulated Yeti, and head to the beach!
While I would argue that the beach is best left tech-free or, like Lorde, toss your phone in the water, there are some gadgets you can bring along to enhance your relaxing experience. If you’re heading to the beach on Independence Day to relax in the sun, I recommend bringing along some of my favorite gadgets:
MORE: Memorial Day Deals
From a portable, waterproof Bluetooth speaker for your beach playlist to a handy fan for when it gets too hot, we’ve rounded up some gadgets to take to the beach this summer that you can try yourself. Read on to find out.
Let’s talk music. This Sony speaker is my favorite to listen to at the beach, at the park, or in my bedroom at home. I used it to play music at a dinner party, and the sound was clear and powerful, even with 15 friends sitting around the table. It’s loud enough and has crystal clear sound. It’s also waterproof, dustproof, and rustproof, so splashing water on it or kicking up sand won’t be an issue. The speaker comes with a little strap for easy carrying, and has a 12-hour battery life for playing by the water all day.
Plus: Finally, a portable Bluetooth speaker that sounds great but won’t break the bank
Another great thing about this speaker is that Sony has packed a lot of quality into a relatively affordable Bluetooth speaker with great sound quality. For $130, you get a quality speaker that’s well worth the price. We highly recommend the Ult Field 1 for summer beach days. We can’t wait to blast our favorite tunes on this speaker while lounging in the sand this season.
When you can’t get enough of the ocean breeze and want a little more cool air on your face, this handheld mini fan will be your best ally. A friend who took this fan to the beach last summer to cool off said she still carries it everywhere because it’s compact and portable. What’s even better is that this fan is not only a fan, it also doubles as a flashlight and power bank, so you can plug in the charger at the end of the day to charge your phone.
This mini fan has over 50,000 reviews on Amazon, with customers praising its great design and functionality. It’s perfect for those breezy, muggy summer days at the beach, at a crowded outdoor concert venue, while waiting in line at an amusement park, or even on a sweaty subway ride.
If you don’t have space for books in your beach bag, I recommend a Kindle instead. I know that an e-reader is not the same as a paperback, but there are times when an e-reader like the Kindle Paperwhite is better than a physical book.
Plus: The best Kindle readers you can buy
The beach is one of those occasions for a few reasons. First, the Kindle is waterproof and can withstand splashes and sand, unlike a wet paperback book. Second, it’s slim and portable. With the Kindle, you don’t have to choose your books. Instead, you can take them all to the beach and save room in your beach bag. The Paperwhite has adjustable warm light and a glare-free display, so you won’t have any trouble reading your e-book, even in direct sunlight. If you have a ton of books to read this summer and plan to finish some of them while lounging on the beach, this Kindle will keep you on track to reach your reading goal.
Spending a day at the beach will drain the batteries in your various devices, so bring along a portable charger like the Anker PowerCore to keep them charged. The PowerCore charger is lightweight, small enough to toss in your bag, and features USB-A and USB-C ports. ZDNET’s Adrian Kingsley Hughes says he uses it a lot to charge his action cameras and devices on the go. While the chargers aren’t disposable, Kingsley-Hughes likes that they’re affordable and easy to replace if you lose one. “If you break or lose one (or in one case it falls off a cliff), you’re not losing a lot of money,” he writes.
Plus: The best portable power banks you can buy
When I was thinking about the best gadgets to take to the beach, I had two important things in mind: practicality and portability. I made sure to pick tech gadgets that regular people would actually use and benefit from during a day by the water. If you’re like me and your nearest beach is a 50-minute subway ride away, you know that your beach bag can get heavy fast. I made sure to pick products that would lighten the load in your beach bag or give you some relief from the heat. Since I make a living testing and reporting on tech products, I picked products that my colleagues and I can vouch for, many of which we’ve reviewed ourselves.
Hot weather drains cell phone batteries more quickly because heat accelerates chemical reactions in the battery. To make my phone battery last longer while at the beach, I wrap it in a towel and keep it out of direct sunlight, and I only use it when I need it.
My beach bag contains the classic essentials: beach towels (I like to bring one to sit on and one to dry off on), sunscreen, sunglasses, a water bottle, and a cooler with drinks and snacks. I also like to bring earphones so I don’t annoy my friends while I’m listening to my favorite tunes on the water.
Other beach-friendly technologies
These Nothing Ear (a) earphones have recently become my favorite accessory for listening to music on the go. They’re bright, easy to find in my book bag, and offer a great balance of clear sound and moderate noise cancellation. I plan on taking these earphones to the beach and on road trips all summer long.
With this Casely Power Pod, you can take a battery booster to the beach and look stylish doing it. The MagSafe battery pack fits into any Casely phone case, so the bulky battery fits seamlessly into your phone without looking like a brick.
