Gear Up for Summer Adventures: Innovative Products for Every Journey
Summer is the season of exploration, fun, and making unforgettable memories. To help you enhance every outdoor escapade, from family holidays to pet-friendly trips, we've handpicked some of the most innovative and useful products across three key categories. Get ready to embrace your summer adventures with smart tech designed to make life easier, safer, and more enjoyable for everyone!
Kids Fun & Smart Activities
Keep the little ones entertained and engaged outdoors with these clever gadgets, designed to spark their curiosity and keep them active.
Toca Life world
Interactive digital play world.
Encourages creativity, storytelling, and exploration without ads or competitive pressure.
Geocaching (Official Geocaching® app)
This app turns any walk into a real-world treasure hunt! Using GPS, kids (and adults!) can follow clues to find hidden containers called "geocaches."
Pokemon playhouse
Educational for younger kids (3–6)
Combines gentle play with early learning—shapes, emotions, patterns.
Seek by iNaturalist
Spark a love for nature! This app uses image recognition technology to identify plants, animals, and fungi from photos. Kids can snap a picture of a bug, a flower, or a bird, and the app will tell them what it is, along with fascinating facts.
Go Noodle
Movement & mindfulness at play.
Gets kids physically active with silly songs, dances, and calming exercises—great for garden fun or rainy days.
SkyView® Explore the Universe / Star Walk 2 Plus
For clear summer evenings, these augmented reality apps are magical. Point your phone at the night sky, and they identify stars, constellations, planets, and even satellites in real-time.
Smart Pet Care Apps
Puppr
Dog training app
Step-by-step lessons from pro trainers, with progress tracking and a built-in clicker.
Tractive GPS (Companion App for Tractive GPS Tracker)
If you have a Tractive GPS tracker for your pet (and this app often comes as a primary recommendation with the device), it’s invaluable. It provides real-time GPS tracking of your pet's location, allowing you to set safe zones and receive alerts if they wander off.
11pets: Pet Care
All-in-one pet health manager
Tracks vaccinations, vet visits, grooming, meds—great for holiday planning or pet-sitters.
Pet First Aid (e.g., British Red Cross Pet First Aid, or similar apps)
This is a crucial safety app for any pet owner. It provides clear, step-by-step instructions and videos for common pet emergencies, from choking to heatstroke. It's the kind of app you hope you never need, but are incredibly glad to have in a crisis, especially when away from your usual vet.
Rover / PetBacker
When summer adventures take you away from home, these apps connect you with trusted local pet sitters and dog walkers. You can find vetted individuals for house sitting, doggy daycare, or even just a walk, complete with reviews and secure booking. It offers peace of mind knowing your pet is well cared for, even when you can't be there.
Smart Travel Apps
Travel smarter and stress-free this summer with these innovative apps designed to make your journeys smoother and more secure.
PackPoint
Smart packing assistant
Generates custom packing lists based on weather, trip type, and activities.
TripIt
This ultimate travel organiser app automatically creates a master itinerary from your booking confirmation emails (flights, hotels, car rentals, etc.).
It keeps all your travel details in one place, accessible offline, and can even provide real-time alerts for flight delays, gate changes, and more. It's a lifesaver for busy travel schedules.
Rome2Rio
Smart Travel planner
Shows all ways to get from A to B—trains, buses, ferries, flights—across the globe.
Google Maps / Apple Maps (with offline maps capability)
While ubiquitous, their offline map features are truly "smart" for travel. Before you head out, download maps of your destination.
This allows for navigation, finding points of interest, and public transport routes without needing an internet connection, saving data and preventing you from getting lost in areas with poor signal.
Google Translate (with offline languages downloaded)
Real-time language help
Offers camera translation for signs/menus, handwriting input, and offline packs—perfect for city breaks or multilingual events.
PackPoint Travel Packing List
This smart packing app generates a customised packing list based on your destination, travel dates, length of stay, planned activities, and even the weather forecast.
It helps ensure you don't forget essentials and avoid overpacking, making your travel preparations much smoother.