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The new and amazing stuff of the world is our bread and butter here at Popular Science. In each month’s magazine and online, we bring together a list of all our favorite things hitting shelves, app stores, and big screens. Now, all the gadgets, games, movies, and other gizmos we loved in 2014 are together in one place.
Philips Norelco BeardTrimmer 9100
Meet the first beard trimmer with a laser. You read that correctly. The laser serves as a guide to pre-align the razor for precision and symmetry. $90
128GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC
The original micro SD card, released in 2004, was 128MB. A decade later, the highest capacity is 128GB—providing 1,000 times more storage than its progenitor. Designed for Android devices, the removable card can hold 24 hours of HD video. $120
The Insect Cookbook: Food for a Sustainable Planet
For better or worse, eating insects for protein is a growing likelihood for us all. So why not develop a taste for them now? This book offers 32 recipes, from grasshopper kabobs to mealworm ravioli. $28
Contigo Autoseal Pitcher
This is the only pitcher that automatically seals its spout between pours. Margarita hour never went so smoothly. $30
Tribord Easybreath Snorkeling Mask
Unlike other snorkeling masks, the Easybreath won’t fog up. Both the mouth and the nose are connected to the breathing tube, which has separate channels for inhaling and exhaling. These channels help divers breathe normally, dissipating condensation. $55
ike Spike
Using your phone’s camera, this laser-based device can capture the height, width, and distance of any object within 2 percent accuracy. With those specs, an app can calculate the volume of the object and then model it in 3-D. $619
Hexbug Aquabot 2.0
The Aquabot aquarium doesn’t come with a don’t tap the glass! sign. Tapping the bowl is what makes the fish swim; a motion sensor picks up the vibration and wakes the robot from sleep mode. $13
Callaway Big Bertha Alpha
The Big Bertha Alpha is the first driver with a center of gravity that is adjustable horizontally and vertically. That means a golfer can tweak a ball’s spin independently of launch angle—something never before possible. $499
Samsung Power Sleep
With this Android app, you can contribute to cancer research while sleeping. By taking advantage of the unused processing power of a smartphone or tablet, it decrypts protein sequences provided by scientists at the University of Vienna. Free
O-Grill Portable Gas Barbecue Grill
This über-portable grill has retractable legs and a larger grill area than most camping models of the same weight: 225 square inches. $170
Modarri
A driver’s license may be years away for many toy-car owners, but that’s no reason why their vehicles shouldn’t handle like the real thing. Each Modarri car has an interchangeable suspension and front-wheel steering. $25
Deep
James Nestor’s book Deep begins above the ocean surface, steadily working down to researchers camped out at 60 feet below. It bottoms out at 28,700 feet, where autonomous bots comb deep trenches. $27
Whirlpool Microwave with AccuPop
Making popcorn is stressful: A few extra seconds and you have inedible charred chunks. Sound sensors in the new Whirlpool measure the duration between pops and adjust cooking time to ensure the perfect batch every time. $469
Black & Decker AutoSense Drill
This wireless drill is the first to stop itself before it strips heads or cracks surfaces. A microprocessor senses the changing torque of the screw as it bores into wood and signals the motor to stop in time. $80
SnapPower SnapRays Guidelight
Traditional nightlights can hog one or more outlets, so SnapPower embedded three LEDs into the Guidelight’s faceplate. The clever design keeps both outlets free. $20
Quirky + GE Aros
Until now, apartment dwellers have been mostly left out of the smart-home revolution. No longer. The Aros A/C window unit pairs with an app to learn a user’s behavior, power itself down when appropriate, and help keep energy bills in check. $300
Philips Hue Luminaire
Connected LED bulbs aren’t much to look at, which is why we tend to hide them beneath lampshades. But Philips’s 3-D–printed luminaires are bulb and shade in one high-design package. £1,999.00
Dinosaur Polo Club’s Mini Metro
Mini Metro is like The Sims for transit geeks with nerves of steel. In this multiplatform game, players satisfy demanding passengers by redesigning subway-system layouts to suit ever-changing needs. $5
HTC One (M8)
This smartphone could make you a better photographer. Two rear-facing lenses serve distinct purposes: one captures the image; the other, depth information. Users can refocus images even after they’ve taken the shot. $200 with contract
RoboReel Water Hose
Stop playing tug-of-war with your garden hose. RoboReel senses when you pull on the hose and starts a motor to help you unwind it. When you’re done watering, press a button to initiate retraction. $699
Mission Bicycles Lumen
Biking at night means extra accessories—unless you’re riding the Lumen. Mission Bicycles worked with reflective-coating company Halo to turn an entire bike frame into a reflector. Like a cat’s eye, it looks dark gray until light hits it and bounces it back to its source. $500
Drop
Cooking is an art; baking, a science. To remove the guesswork, the Drop kitchen scale pairs with an app to take stock of ingredient quantities and adjust the recipe accordingly. $99
Castakite
Merge a kite with a fishing rod and you’ve got Castakite, a device that eliminates snarl-prone spools of string. To launch, point the handle toward the sky, wait for the wind, and press the trigger to release the reel and let the kite fly. $30
Haiku with SenseME
Big Ass Fans is bringing the ceiling fixture into the 21st century. Temperature, humidity, and motion sensors on SenseME-equipped fans detect when someone enters the room and adjusts fan speed based on climate. $1,045
Smartsun
Developed at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, this waterproof wristband alerts wearers when they’re in danger of sunburn. An acid-release agent decomposes with sun exposure, changing the band’s color from yellow to pink. $8 for 7
Shocked
In his book, Dr. David Casarett chronicles the science of resuscitation. The eerie narrative wends from stories of drowned patients in 1700s Amsterdam to futuristic cryonics labs, with hints of humor in the retellings of extreme survival. $28
Query
There’s a strange poetry in search-engine auto-complete. A new card game called Query gives players the task of predictive text writing. The group then guesses which phrases were created by other players and which came from a computer. $28
mySleepButton
This app, developed by a cognitive-science professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, prompts you to visualize simple objects and scenes in random order, distracting your mind from thoughts that keep you up. Free
Lucy
What if you could tap into every reservoir of your brain and develop superpowers? In director Luc Besson’s latest film, Scarlett Johansson plays a woman whose drug overdose allows her to absorb knowledge instantly, mentally move objects, and more.
Worx AeroCart
Is it a wheelbarrow or a hand truck? The answer: yes. The AeroCart, in fact, does the job of eight carts in one. The two-wheel design adds stability, and a host of attachments lets you reconfigure it to carry propane tanks, yard debris, or planters. $160
TI CC3200
The “first single-chip programmable microcontroller platform” is a technical way of saying this little piece of hardware could help add your household devices to the Internet of Things. Part of a family of Texas Instrument products, SimpleLink connects via Wi-Fi. $30
What If?
Randall Munroe, creator of popular Web comic xkcd and former NASA roboticist, answers some of his wildest reader questions (“How long could a nuclear submarine last in orbit?”) with science and amusing illustrations. $24
KORG DSN-12
The latest synthesizer software from KORG turns the Nintendo DS into a handheld music-production device. Twelve monophonic synths feature a range of effects (such as delay or reverb), and a 3-D oscilloscope gives the music-making process an immersive feel. $37
Planet Series Beer
In the early 1900s, composer Gustav Holst wrote “The Planets,” so that each movement corresponded to one of Earth’s neighbors. Bell’s Brewery salutes that piece by releasing a new beer every two months starting in August. The first is Mars, a double IPA. Price varies
Jumping Sumo
Parrot’s new rolling mini drone is piloted through an app with help from an onboard camera. Sumo can hop into your hand and kick over objects on the ground. $160
Garmin Approach S6
This watch could put your golf pro out of business. Garmin packed a group of sensors into its most advanced golf watch yet. It measures wannabe Phil Mickelsons’ upswings and downswings for strength and tempo. $400
LEGO Fusion
Give your LEGO creations a digital home with this new game. Unlike similar hybrid games, Fusion was designed by the folks at LEGO to balance playtime between physical blocks and a tablet screen. $35
Craftsman 2-in-1 Pliers
Clear some space in that toolbox with a set of transforming pliers. After a 180-degree rotation, the long-nose pliers become diagonal, so users can cut wire, grip, and turn without switching tools. $25
Marco Polo
Imagine, an app that almost makes you want to lose your phone. When your iPhone goes missing, call out “Marco,” and the phone—using one of 30 voice recordings—responds “Polo” until you locate the device. $0.99
Maui Jim’s Bamboo Forest Sunglasses
Nine layers in these lenses work to protect your eyes while enhancing the colors, contrast, and clarity of what you see—in comparison to what you’d get with most average sunglasses. Polarizing films reflect glare, bigradient mirrors deflect light from above, and two ultrathin layers absorb light at different wavelengths. $219
Blackout Buddy H2O
Ill-prepared for inclement weather? This emergency light can run for 72 hours without any batteries. Developed by Etón Corporation with the American Red Cross, the device needs just a few drops of water to activate it. $10
Civilization: Beyond Earth
Beyond Earth is the first game in the Civilization series to be set in the future (a departure from previous releases). Players can build and tear down societies and even explore maps inspired by real exoplanets. $50
Nike Vapor 360
Breaking in a new baseball glove is tough. The Vapor 360 makes it easier. Built with a perforated and nearly seamless construction into the palm, Nike designers made the Vapor 360 ready to use right out of the box—no need to perform feats of strength trying to cool, warm, and stretch it into submission. $400
BACTrack Vio
The size of a key chain, the Vio is one of the smallest breathalyzers available. It measures blood alcohol content, and even estimates when the level will drop low enough to safely drive. $50
Jabra Pulse
Your heart rate monitor has a new home, and it’s in your ears. Jabra’s wireless headphones can measure heart rate (more accurately than on your wrist), step count and pace, and can record a given route. And because it includes a microphone, you can still field calls mid-workout. $200
Nerf Combat Creatures
The company’s first remote-controlled dart blaster has six legs, walks like an insect, and can shoot darts 360 degrees and up to 45 feet. Plus, it will almost assuredly scare any opponent into submission. $60
Climendo
Climendo aggregates data from popular forecasters including Wunderground, Forecast.io, and NOAA, and then compares it with weather outcomes to show which is the most accurate for your area. $2
WTF Evolution?!
Sometimes, animals just defy logic. Mara Grunbaum asks evolution to answer for those odd quirks—such as a weevil with a long neck, a primate with venomous elbow pits, and plenty more bizarre creatures—in her new book. $13
Milwaukee Jobsite Scissors
Thanks to cutting edges made from iron carbide, the Jobsite scissors are 10 times more durable than ones made from standard stainless steel. Cut through tough materials with abandon. $15-25
Yeti Hopper
At first blush, a cooler made of fabric sounds dicey. But Yeti made its crushable, packable one from DryHide material (borrowed from whitewater rafts) and reinforced it with fully sealing zippers (borrowed from hazmat suits). Then they lined it with up to 1.5 inches of insulation, ensuring that everything in the 6.5-gallon cooler stays ice cold. $300
Bloom Blanket
Who decided blankets need to be flat? Design studio Oak Form took inspiration from origami (and tessellations). The result is a cashmere blanket that looks like it belongs in a geometry book. $300
Humin
This app aims to replace your phone’s built-in contacts list by remembering contacts as you would: based on how you met, where they live, and who your mutual friends are. Free
Things To Make And Do In The Fourth Dimension
What would it take to get you to try a math problem? A little humor could help. In his latest book, stand-up comedian and former math teacher Matt Parker shows the fun (and funnier) side of the much-maligned subject. $28
Mo-Fi
No matter how hi-fi your music player, if you’re listening on cruddy headphones, you’ll be disappointed. Blue Microphones’s first foray into the space includes a built-in amp that delivers powerful, smooth bass like no others can. $350
Micro 8050
Thanks to a specially designed 8-volt max lithium-ion battery, the Dremel Micro 8050 packs the power of a large tool into a body small and light enough to hold like a pencil. Added bonus: An LED at the tip illuminates any project, making fine work easier. $89
BatteryBox
GBatteries has figured out how to build an external battery pack that can add six hours to your laptop’s battery life or 80 hours to an iPhone 5S. The pack uses technology called BatteryOS, charging it to 100 percent capacity without draining performance. $215
TouchPico
This portable projector, the size of a smartphone, includes a stylus with an embedded infrared emitter. An IR camera captures the stylus’s image and maps it as it moves around the display, turning an 80-inch projection into a giant tablet screen. $379
goTenna
There are still places without cell service or Wi-Fi. That’s where you need goTenna. With the device, you can share your location with other goTenna users via GPS and send text messages via Bluetooth and long-range radio waves. $300/pair
Withings Activité
Most fitness trackers look pretty much the same (not pretty). Withings’ latest, on the other hand, is a stylish watch with sensors inside. A small meter on the face shows steps or sleep progress. For data on distance traveled or calories burned, it connects to an app via Bluetooth. $450
Interstellar
Christopher Nolan glams up astrophysics for the most anticipated science-fiction movie this fall. It follows a group of explorers as they travel vast distances in space using a newly discovered wormhole—to save the future of humanity, of course. Read our complete Interstellar package
Ryobi Phone Works Infrared Thermometer
Ryobi’s new tool plugs into a smartphone’s audio jack, allowing it to measure temperatures from -22°F to 662°F—in real time, no less. $50
ButterUp
Sure, it’s the kind of problem you’d see in a late-night infomercial, but spreading cold butter on toast isn’t easy. Struggle no more: Australian industrial design group Design Momentum embedded a grater into a butter knife, turning clumps into thin ribbons. $15
Camera51
Filters improve photos only so much. Camera51 helps before the shutter snaps. The Android app analyzes the subject and surroundings, then guides users toward the ideal frame. It will even flag objects that might otherwise ruin a perfect image. Free
Blade 98S
Wilson’s Blade series is the first set of tennis rackets to incorporate basalt, a natural
shock absorber, into the weave and the base. In tests, the Blade gave players better control over the ball, and it filtered and absorbed forces from impact. $230
EC Lync System
If there’s one thing closets and luggage always need, it’s more space. Eagle Creek solved that conundrum with a full-size rolling suitcase that can collapse—frame, wheels, and all—to a fraction of the size. From $280
ResMed S+
Most sleep trackers are mattress pads or wearable devices, which rely on your movement to tell if you’re asleep. They’re uncomfortable and can be inaccurate. S+ sits on a bedside table and uses
low-frequency radio waves to measure breathing and determine when you’re actually sleeping or lying awake. $150
“Things Come Apart”
January means it’s time for a fresh perspective. “Things Come Apart,” a calendar based on photographer Todd McLellan’s book of the same name, shows the inner workings of objects, like telephones and telescopes. $12.45
Uncharted Play Pulse
Soccket Ball inventor Uncharted Play has created a jump rope that turns rotational energy into electricity. Five minutes of jumping powers an LED lamp for an hour. $99
Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-I
SanDisk has created the largest-capacity SD card available. To pack a half-terabyte (512 GB) of memory into an object the size of a postage stamp, SanDisk arranged two vertical 16-die stacks side by side. $640
Blackhat
In director Michael Mann’s latest thriller, the world’s cybersecurity lies in the hands of a convicted hacker (Chris Hemsworth). He’s part of an international team that tries to stop criminals threatening to undo networks, nuclear reactors, and more. Jan. 16
![Making popcorn is stressful: A few extra seconds and you have inedible charred chunks. Sound sensors in the new Whirlpool measure the duration between pops and adjust cooking time to ensure the perfect batch every time. <a href="http://www.whirlpool.com/-[WMH73521CS]-1021970/WMH73521CS/">$469</a>](https://www.popsci.com/uploads/2019/03/18/FAFFHYAOIT4UEANRQFH4ILUS5Y.jpg?auto=webp&optimize=high&width=100)
