My granddaughter Jess texted me last week asking if I'd seen the new gadget roundup over on The Verge, and I'll admit, I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole. Late summer always brings a fresh wave of tech, and I'm not sure when that started. August used to mean back-to-school laptop deals and not much else. Now it feels like a second mini-CES.

So what's catching my eye from the latest batch?

Smart home gear keeps showing up in the launches. If you read my piece from a couple weeks ago about the Schlage smart lock, you know I've been on a bit of a security kick lately. The category keeps getting more interesting too. We're seeing more devices that solve actual everyday problems rather than just connecting things to Wi-Fi for the fun of it. I will keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, technology should work for you. It should remove friction from your day, not give you a new chore to manage.

Wearables are also having a moment. The new crop of health-tracking features keeps getting more specific, which I appreciate. We've moved well beyond step counting here. Sleep analysis, blood oxygen, temperature trends... it's genuinely useful data if you actually look at it. And if your doctor asks, which mine has started doing recently. My only caution, and I told Jess this too, don't buy a wearable for features you might want someday. Buy it for what you'll actually use this month.

The phone space is as crowded as ever. Samsung's foldables are still fresh on my mind from my recent coverage, and the preorder promotions were generous enough that I told several people to jump on them. But I'm also seeing some interesting movement in the mid-range phone market, where you can get 85 percent of a flagship experience for less than half the price. That math makes sense to me in a way it didn't three years ago.

And speaking of prices that make you think twice, the premium gadget space is getting bold. Dyson keeps pushing price points that make me raise an eyebrow. I mentioned in my product launches column that I'm waiting on full specs for their newest vacuum before I render judgment. Some premium products earn their price tag. Others are just banking on the name. I'll let you know which is which once I've done my homework.

If you want to browse the full stream of new arrivals yourself, The Verge's gadgets section is always worth a scroll. I check it most mornings with my coffee.

I'll be pulling a few specific products from this wave for deeper looks in the coming weeks. My colleague Marcus Pitts has been digging into the chips powering several of these new devices, and when Marcus goes under the hood I always learn something. Look for my hands-on impressions soon.