4 New Makita Tools Released In August 2026

Makita is one of the major cordless power tool brands, and a big part of its appeal is the sheer variety of tools available across its battery platforms. The company has continued adding to that selection throughout 2026, including five new tools released in July alone.

Now, it's following that batch with four more additions for August 2026, covering both its 18V LXT and 40V max XGT cordless platforms. This month's lineup includes a backpack blower, metal connector nailer, impact driver, and a multi-directional tower light. It's a smaller drop this time, but there's still plenty of variety, spanning landscaping, construction, fastening, and jobsite lighting.

More importantly, these aren't simply new kits or battery combinations for existing products. All four are new tools, and each brings something different to Makita's already huge cordless lineup. Here's a closer look at what arrived in August and what makes each one worth knowing about.

The first addition on this list is the 40V max XGT Brushless Backpack Blower, which brings gas-level performance to Makita's cordless 40V max XGT platform, which has already powered some of Makita's best tools. Makita says it delivers performance comparable to that of a 65 cc gas-powered backpack blower. At full tilt, you're looking at 32 newtons of blowing force, 675 CFM of airflow, and air speeds reaching 215 mph.

The GBU04 carries two XGT batteries at once and automatically switches to the second when the first runs out of juice, rather than requiring you to stop and swap packs manually. It works with 40V max XGT batteries, including Makita's standard 8.0Ah pack and the newer 8.0Ah High Power version, which can deliver up to 35% more power.

What's arguably more impressive is that Makita didn't get there by making the thing enormous, and the two 8.0Ah batteries don't make it especially heavy, either. The GBU04 weighs under 20 pounds with both batteries installed, undercutting a similarly capable gas backpack blower by about 23%, according to Makita. It also has a 60 dB(A) sound-pressure rating, so you're getting gas-level performance without having to deal with fuel or exhaust.

The XNB09 is one of those niche Makita tools a casual DIYer could easily overlook, because it isn't a normal framing nailer. It's a positive-placement metal connector nailer, built specifically for fastening things like joist hangers, framing anchors, and other structural connectors where the nail needs to land directly through a pre-punched hole. The tool uses a 50% longer nail guide, making it easier to line the fastener up with the pre-punched holes in those connectors.

It accepts 30- to 35-degree metal connector nails from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches long, with shank diameters ranging from .131 to .162 inch. The rear-loading magazine holds 31 nails, while tool-less depth adjustment lets you fine-tune how far they're driven. There's also an anti-dry-fire mechanism to stop the tool from firing once the magazine runs too low, plus a built-in LED for darker framing jobs.

The bigger advantage is that all of this runs from a standard 18V LXT battery, so there's no compressor or air hose to drag around the jobsite. With a 6.0Ah pack, the XNB09 can drive up to 1,000 metal connector nails on a charge. The new XNB09 weighs just under 12 pounds with the battery installed, which isn't exactly lightweight, but that's still a fairly compact package for a cordless nailer capable of driving structural fasteners up to 2-1/2 inches long. Just keep in mind that if you buy the bare tool, you'll need to supply the 18V LXT battery separately.

Next up is the XDT21, another entry in Makita's already strong cordless impact driver lineup, and the biggest change over the XDT20 is exactly where you'd expect it: torque. It still runs on Makita's 18V LXT platform, but its brushless motor makes 1,860 inch-pounds of torque, 3,700 RPM, and 4,400 IPM. The XDT20, by comparison, tops out at 1,590 inch-pounds, 3,600 RPM, and 3,800 IPM. In torque alone, the new model gains roughly 17%.

You still get four selectable speed ranges, topping out at 1,100, 2,100, 3,200, and 3,700 RPM. Beyond those manual settings, there's the Quick-Shift Mode, which electronically adjusts speed and torque during fastening, and Tightening Mode, which gives you more control with self-drilling screws in thin metal. The XDT21 comes with a rubberized soft grip and a new dual ball-bearing chuck, which helps keep the bit steadier and reduces wobble while driving.

The biggest talking point, though, is what changed rather than what stayed. The XDT21 drops the XDT20's distinctive 360-degree LED light ring for separate LED lights. It's also slightly longer, going from 4-1/2 inches to 4-3/4 inches in length. The interesting part is how little the top speed has changed. RPM rises by less than 3% over the XDT20, while torque and impact rate make much bigger jumps.

The last new tool in Makita's August batch is also quite a leap over its previous tower light. The ML014G puts out as much as 15,000 lumens, or five times the maximum output of the older 3,000-lumen DML814. Instead of three fixed brightness levels, the new model can easily go from 1,100 to 15,000 lumens, so you're not limited to a handful of presets this time.

The ML014G also accepts both 40V max XGT and 18V LXT batteries. You can power it with either battery system on its own, which is handy if you already use Makita tools, though the battery and charger are sold separately. With an 8.0Ah XGT battery alone, runtime stretches from about two hours at maximum brightness to 28 hours at the lowest setting. Using both battery slots can extend that considerably.

The light itself sits on an integrated tripod that extends to almost 8 feet tall, compared with 7-1/4 feet for the DML814. For outdoor jobs, the tripod can also be anchored to the ground with spikes to help keep it steady. Its three LED heads can each rotate 180 degrees horizontally and vertically, letting you spread the light around a large work area instead of concentrating all 15,000 lumens in one direction. If you're moving between floors on a multi-story building or around a large jobsite, the built-in handles and shoulder strap should also make it easier to carry around.