Best Outdoor Tech for 2024 [CNET]

Article updated on July 27, 2024 at 7:00 AM PDT

Outdoor tech doesn’t have to plug-in to be the perfect addition to your backyard enjoyment.

Our Experts

While the summer heat may be borderline unbearable, there are plenty of products that can not only make your backyard tolerable, but enjoyable during the blazing summer months. In preparation for all the festivities, we’ve tested grills, coolers, outdoor projectors and audio equipment, as well as kept tabs on various outdoor lighting and other great gadgets for your outdoor space. These are some of the best outdoor tech devices for 2024.

You can (and should) go down the rabbit hole on other outdoor tech, particularly grilling accessories and outdoor security cameras. Still, this list is all about entertaining in an outdoor space. If you spend your warmer days — or cooler ones if you have a good fire pit — with your friends and family, have a large enough backyard space and want to make the most of it, then any or all of these great tech choices are for you.

other fire pits we’ve tested, but you want some smoke to add to the flavor and ambiance when cooking food over a flame. If you are looking for something more than just a hotdog while sitting around the fire, there are some excellent accessories to cook nearly anything you’d like — even pizza.

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Roasting marshmallows over a fire pit is a tried-and-tested good time, I think we can all agree. But what if we want to take it to the next level? This cowboy fire pit from Pit Boss lets you cook hotdogs, burgers and chicken legs over a fully open flame as if you were hanging out in the wild west.

The entire fire pit is very sturdy, and though it’s designed for pellets, it can easily burn logs too. It isn’t smokeless like some of the other fire pits we’ve tested, but you want some smoke to add to the flavor and ambiance when cooking food over a flame. If you are looking for something more than just a hotdog while sitting around the fire, there are some excellent accessories to cook nearly anything you’d like — even pizza.