Step Up Your Gadget Game with This Month's Coolest Gear

The Eufy Genie's capabilities match the Echo Dot's almost exactly. It can plug into speakers or work on its own; it can set timers, play music, answer questions, and access thousands of Alexa skills. It's optimized especially for Anker's own devices; rather than saying, "Alexa, let me talk to Eufy," you can just tell it to turn off the lights. It's speaker won't blow you away, but it delivers pretty decent sound. The biggest difference between the Genie and the Dot? The Genie’s only $35, a downright bargain next to the $50 Echo Dot. Read the story here.

You learn a lot about the Essential Phone just by picking it up. This sharp-edged, slippery slab of titanium and ceramic conveys power, all tool and no toy. It has no camera bumps, no branding. It’s not perfect yet: The camera takes too long to open, and the built-in speaker sucks. But the $700 phone is the first in a line of products that Essential believes will bring innovation back to the smartphone market—essentially, the anti-iPhone. Read the review here.

Yes, it's a smartphone add-on, but make no mistake: The Essential 360˚ Camera boasts a lot of impressive tech. It's the first accessory sold with the new Essential smartphone, intended to demonstrate the versatility of the company's Click docking system, which uses magnets and a wireless USB connection to mate phone to accessory. For a first-generation product, the camera's output is almost as impressive as more mature devices, and the Click system makes spherical photography just a little more convenient. Read the review here.

Ori, short for origami, is a robot disguised as plywood furniture and transforms your room at will. Push a button or dictate a command and the unit unfolds itself into a bed or walk-in closet. Tell Alexa to fold out your bed when it’s time to crash, then tuck it away to turn your bedroom into a living space. That is, if you have $10,000 to shell out for a unit. Read the story here.

When you think of Leatherman, you probably think of its nifty multitools packed with pliers, knives, bottle openers, and other things you might need while camping, soldering, or drinking (or all three). This month, the company announced its entrance into the wearable game with the Tempo Tread, a watch that packs some nifty tools into an attractive timepiece. The watch is shielded by a sapphire crystal, and it has glow-in-the-dark hands and hour markers. It's water resistant for up to 200 meters, and it's TSA-friendly, so all your handy tools can accompany you on all your travels without any hiccups. Read the story here.

Your photos might look fine on Instagram and Facebook, but when you want to display one on your desk or give one as a gift, real photos still rule. The Instax Share SP-2 lets you quickly and easily print photos from a smartphone onto Fujifilm’s vivid, colorful Instax instant film. You can also pull photos from social networks, and embed the number of likes or a timestamp onto the pic. The only snag is the $200 price tag. Read the review here.

You want a fish, but you don't want the hassle of cleaning out a gunky fish tank all the time. Good news: You don't have to with this compact, self-cleaning aquaponics tank. It provides a nice place to house your fish, with a miniature garden on top that filters the water and repurposes fish waste as fertilizer. Voila! A self-sustaining ecosystem that requires little maintenance. The $100 starter kit comes with a 3 gallon tank, a water pump, gravel for the floor of the tank, grow stones for the planter tray, and packets of wheatgrass and radish seeds. The company also throws in fish food and a bottle of beneficial bacteria to kick-start your little ecosystem. Just add water—and fish. Read the story here.

The perfect city bike comes with a long wishlist: It has to be comfy and safe to ride, easy on the eyes and the wallet, without any high-maintenance demands. You'll find all that and more in the Priority Continuum Onyx. The bike comes with everything you need in an urban commuter, from disc brakes and fenders to a no-maintenance drivetrain. Best of all? The company brings it in at just under $1,000, a steal for a ride this sweet. Read the story here.

Allow us to introduce you to "the bothie." It's not a selfie, nor a normal photo, but a composite shot from both cameras on your phone, showing both you and whatever else is out there. Sound crazy? That's the idea behind the new Nokia 8. The phone has three cameras: two 13-megapixel sensors on the back, one color and one monochrome, and another 13-megapixel shooter on the front. You can fire up the camera, switch to dual-sight mode, and either capture or livestream both views from your device. Even the audio has been tuned for 360-degree sound, making this phone the perfect pick for the YouTubers and Instagrammers of the world. Read the review here.

The Pulse 2 throws a big sound for a wireless speaker. The $700 device comes with two tweeters and a single woofer, and presents tight bass and nice clarity. The Pulse Flex, which has the smaller form factor of a traditional bookshelf speaker, costs $300. It enjoys the same simple design standards as the Pulse 2 and looks just as neat. When played on its own, it sounds a bit flat—but that's not really what the Flex is for. Play the Pulse 2 and Flex at the same time and you get magic. The bass on the Pulse 2 compensates for the thinness of the Flex, while the Flex adds a more immersive feeling to the room at a relatively lower price. Read the review here.

Think of Temi as a moveable version of Amazon's Echo Show. It has a 10-inch tablet for a head and a thin, curved body on top of a base that looks like an industrial vacuum. It can roll around for eight hours on battery power, and uses facial recognition to identify and track you. Temi's not an artificial best friend or a robo-sidekick; instead, it's a machine that lets you video chat, watch TV, or listen to music while you amble around the house. Read the story here.

The Aer Fit Pack 2, part of the company’s latest Active collection, holds all your essentials in a stylish and thoughtful package. It’s designed for commuters who bounce between work and the gym and don’t want the hassle of carrying around two bags. Sure, $135 is a little steep for a backpack, but this one is water-resistant and comfortable enough to wear around all day. Bonus: Built-in compartments come with ventilation, so you won't stink up the bag even if you shove your gym clothes in there. Read the review here.

Don’t gunk up your artfully appointed living room with artlessly boxy speakers. The Danes at Bang & Olufsen have designed a sonic solution for you. With the BeoSound Shape, you can mix and match modules like speakers, amplifiers, and noise dampers to build a unique array that's ideal for your dwelling, then select a color scheme that matches your Mondrian. The modules all connect to a brain called the Core, and its algorithm spreads the signal to the speakers. By ditching the typical left-right stereo arrangement, it transforms every seat in the room into a sweet spot. Read the story here.