Valve’s new “Steam Frame Verified” standard sets a clear benchmark for standalone VR games, requiring a minimum frame rate of 90 FPS to ensure smoother visuals and reduce motion sickness. This initiative, highlighted by Gamertag VR, emphasizes the importance of consistent performance in maintaining immersion, especially in fast-paced or graphically demanding games. By introducing this […]
JBL just released two new pairs of headphones in its pre-existing Live line. There's the over-ear Live 780NC and the on-ear Live 680NC.
Both sets of headphones have similar specs, despite the difference in design. The biggest news here is likely the battery life. They max out at 80 hours per charge with regular use, which is a fantastic metric. This shrinks to 50 hours when using ANC, but that's still fairly remarkable. We truly live in a golden age of wireless headphone batteries.
JBL's new headphones can also fully charge in just two hours, which is nice. They also offer the option for multi-point connections. There are two dedicated microphones for phone calls, with clarity assisted by an AI algorithm.
JBL
Both can stream high resolution audio via Bluetooth or a wired connection. The models even look similar, with availability in the same seven colorways. The 680NC, however, is slightly lighter.
There is one major difference between the two. The 780NC includes six microphones for ANC, while the 680NC features four. This likely means that ANC performance will be better with the former, which will be assisted by the design itself. Over-ear headphones offer passive noise isolation.
Those extra microphones do boost the price up a bit. The JBL 780NC headphones cost $250, while the JBL 680NC headphones cost $160. Both are available for purchase right now, with shipments going out by March 15.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/jbls-two-new-live-headphones-offer-80-hours-of-battery-each-120044416.html?src=rss
We're all holding onto our phones for longer now, and in order to do that, you'll need some protection. Now, with so many good phone cases on the market, you don't have to compromise if you're also trying to live a more eco-conscious life. The best eco-friendly phone cases offer a great blend of durability and sustainability, helping to reduce plastic waste and better the planet.
Made from natural materials like biodegradable plastics, recycled ocean waste or even sustainable bamboo, eco-friendly phone cases and compostable phone covers prove that you don’t have to sacrifice style or protection to make the greener choice. Whether you’re looking for something sleek and minimal or bold and artistic, there are a number of eco-friendly options to choose from. And remember, even if you can't find a sustainable phone case that fits all your requirements, any phone case that allows you to get a few more years our of your smartphone instead of buying new and upgrading is eco-conscious in itself.
Best eco-friendly phone cases
Eco-friendly phone case FAQs
What makes a phone case eco-friendly?
A phone case can be considered eco-friendly when it’s designed to protect not just your phone but also the planet. What sets these cases apart is the use of sustainable materials like biodegradable plastics, recycled plastic waste or even natural materials like bamboo or flax straw. Instead of contributing to plastic pollution, these materials break down naturally over time, or are made from recycled content that reduces waste.
Eco-friendly cases can also go a step further by being compostable, meaning you can toss them in a compost bin at the end of their life and they’ll decompose into the earth without leaving harmful residues. Plus, many brands behind these cases focus on sustainable practices, like reducing carbon emissions during production or offering recycling programs for old cases.
Are compostable phone cases actually biodegradable?
Yes, most compostable phone cases are designed to break down naturally, but how fast they do depends on the material and the conditions. In a home compost bin, some cases may take months to decompose, while in industrial composting facilities the process is quicker. These cases are usually made from plant-based bioplastics, flax or starch blends which return to the soil without leaving behind harmful residue.
Can you recycle old phone cases?
It depends on the material. Standard plastic cases are tough to recycle because they’re often made with mixed plastics and additives so they usually end up in landfills. Some brands run take-back programs where you can send your old case in and they’ll reuse or up-cycle it into new products. If your case is made from single-type plastic or a recycled blend, check with your local recycling facility but in many cases specialized programs are the best option.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max is shaping up to be one of Apple’s most noteworthy releases in recent memory. With production validation testing now underway, Apple is finalizing its design and preparing for a September launch. This year’s lineup emphasizes refinement over radical innovation, focusing on display enhancements, camera upgrades, and a more seamless user […]
For decades, the concept of “primary energy” has dominated discussions about global energy systems, shaping how we measure and compare different energy sources. However, this metric often fails to account for the inefficiencies inherent in fossil fuel systems, such as the significant energy losses during conversion processes like combustion. In a recent explainer by Just […]
Vinyl outsold CDs in the U.S. for the first time since 1987 back in 2022, with 41 million records moved compared to 33 million compact discs. That number was not driven by audiophiles chasing warmer bass response. It was driven by people who missed the ritual: pulling a record from its sleeve, lowering a needle, and sitting with an album the way its creators intended. Streaming made music frictionless, and in doing so, it made music forgettable.
The turntables on this list understand that tension between convenience and ceremony. None of them are trying to replace a Spotify subscription, and none of them should. What they offer instead is a physical relationship with music that no algorithm can simulate, wrapped in design languages that range from invisible minimalism to brutalist sculpture. These five are worth the counter space.
1. Miniot Black Wheel
The turntable has not changed much in form since the 1970s: platter, tonearm, plinth, visible mechanism. Miniot’s Black Wheel throws all of that away. Every electronic and mechanical component sits inside a thin circular body that disappears completely once a record is placed on top. What remains visible is the record itself, spinning in what looks like mid-air.
Standing the Wheel upright amplifies the illusion, turning a turntable into a floating disc of sound. A tactile Slide Track hidden along the edge handles volume, track selection, and even stylus weight adjustment through a single physical interface. Slide or push, and the controls respond without ever breaking the visual spell. Despite the impossibly slim profile, Miniot has not sacrificed audio quality for the sake of the trick, which is the part that separates this from a design exercise.
What we like
The disappearing-body design makes the record the only visible element, turning playback into a visual experience as much as an auditory one.
The hidden Slide Track control system is intuitive and tactile, eliminating buttons and knobs without removing physical interaction from the equation.
What we dislike
The minimal form factor means no dust cover, leaving the record and stylus exposed to the environment between listening sessions.
Repairing or servicing the internals of such a tightly integrated body is likely far more complex than working on a traditional turntable.
2. Vivia CD Turntable
Here is where this list takes a deliberate left turn. Vivia is not a vinyl turntable at all. It is a turntable designed for compact discs, and the audacity of that idea is exactly why it belongs here. The concept takes the ritualistic appeal that drove vinyl’s comeback and applies it to a format that the industry abandoned in favor of streaming, even though CDs deliver superior audio clarity to most compressed digital files.
Vivia reimagines the CD listening experience as something tactile and intentional. Loading a disc, watching it spin, and physically interacting with playback controls recreates the ceremony that made vinyl appealing again, but for a format that has spent two decades collecting dust in storage boxes. The design borrows the visual grammar of analog turntables (the platter, the visible rotation) and translates it into a CD context that feels more like a statement about how we consume music than a product trying to compete on specs alone.
What we like
Visual design language borrows from analog turntables in a way that makes CD playback feel deliberate and special rather than outdated.
What we dislike
This remains a concept with no confirmed production timeline, pricing, or technical specifications to evaluate.
CD collections have shrunk dramatically, so the audience for a premium CD turntable is narrow compared to the growing vinyl market.
3. McIntosh x Sun Records Limited Edition MTI100
McIntosh has been building audio equipment since 1949, and the MTI100 carries that lineage into a format that appeals to listeners who want a complete system without a rack full of separates. This special edition, created in collaboration with Sun Records (the label that launched Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis), packs a turntable, preamplifier, and amplifier into a single integrated unit with Bluetooth and auxiliary inputs.
The catch, and it is a deliberate one, is that speakers are not included. McIntosh recommends pairing with their own XR50 bookshelf or XR100 floorstanding speakers, but the unit connects to any audiophile-grade loudspeaker or even a pair of headphones for private listening. That flexibility is the real design move here. Instead of locking buyers into a closed ecosystem, the MTI100 acts as a hub that adapts to whatever speaker setup already exists in a room. The Sun Records branding adds a layer of music history that gives the limited edition a collectible weight beyond its audio performance.
What we like
The all-in-one integration of turntable, preamp, and amplifier eliminates the need for a multi-component audio rack while preserving high-fidelity output.
Bluetooth and auxiliary inputs mean the unit pulls double duty as a hub for digital sources alongside its vinyl playback function.
What we dislike
Speakers sold separately means the total system cost climbs well above the sticker price, especially if pairing with McIntosh’s own recommended models.
The limited edition Sun Records branding, while collectible, adds a premium that does not change the underlying audio performance of the base MTI100.
4. Samsung AI OLED Turntable
Samsung’s concept entry takes the turntable form factor and fills it with a 13.4-inch circular OLED touchscreen, turning the platter into a display surface that shows images, videos, and ambient visuals while music plays. It is part music player, part art installation, part conversation piece, and it makes no apologies about prioritizing spectacle over audiophile purity.
The circular OLED display becomes the centerpiece of whatever room it occupies, commanding attention in a way that most modern tech actively avoids. Imagine hosting friends and having the turntable surface shift between album art, ambient animations, and visual patterns that respond to the music. The design asks whether a turntable needs to be functional in the traditional sense to earn its place in a room, or whether the experience around the music matters just as much as the playback itself. Samsung has not confirmed production plans, but as a direction for where music hardware could go, this concept is more provocative than most finished products.
What we like
The 13.4-inch circular OLED display transforms a turntable into a visual centerpiece that adds ambiance to any room, not just sound.
The concept pushes the definition of what a music player can be, treating the listening experience as multi-sensory rather than purely auditory.
What we dislike
Concept status with no production timeline means this exists as a provocation rather than something listeners can actually buy and use.
The emphasis on visual spectacle raises questions about whether audio quality is a priority or an afterthought in the design.
5. RA84 Reycycled Plastic Turntable
Ron Arad’s original Concrete Stereo from 1984 was a brutalist statement piece that treated audio equipment as sculpture. Stu Cole’s RA84 revives that same energy, but swaps the concrete for recycled plastic that mimics the look and weight of stone so convincingly that the difference is nearly impossible to detect without touching it. Available in concrete grey or a black finish that reads like expensive terrazzo, the RA84 is a turntable that doubles as furniture.
The material choice is more than an environmental gesture. That heft and density kill vibration, which is the enemy of clean vinyl playback. Recycled plastic performs surprisingly well acoustically in this application, delivering isolation results that rival traditional stone or concrete builds. Built-in speakers make this a complete system out of the box, and the deliberately chipped corners reveal the recycled material’s texture in a way that turns sustainability into a design detail rather than a hidden compromise. Cole’s execution proves that environmental responsibility and luxury do not need to compete with each other.
What we like
Recycled plastic construction achieves the vibration-dampening performance of concrete while being lighter and more environmentally responsible.
Built-in speakers deliver a complete, ready-to-play system that does not require separate components or additional purchases.
What we dislike
The brutalist aesthetic is polarizing, and the sheer visual weight of the RA84 will dominate a room whether the owner wants it to or not.
Built-in speakers, while convenient, limit upgrade paths for listeners who want to evolve their audio setup over time.
The needle and the algorithm
These five turntables (and one very bold CD player concept) share a common argument: that music playback is a designed experience, not just a data delivery mechanism. Streaming solved the problem of access. Every song ever recorded lives in a pocket now. But access without friction created a generation of listeners who consume music the way they scroll feeds, passively and endlessly. The turntable is the antidote to that passivity.
What makes this current wave of designer turntables different from the vinyl nostalgia of a decade ago is the ambition of the design thinking behind them. These are not retro objects cosplaying as vintage gear. They are new ideas about what a music player can look like, what it can be made from, and what role it plays in a room and a life. The best turntable in 2026 is not the one with the flattest frequency response. It is the one that makes someone sit down and listen to an entire album, start to finish, without reaching for their phone.
Uber has teamed up with UK self-driving car startup Wayve and Nissan to launch a pilot program for a robotaxi service in Tokyo in late 2026. The program will use Nissan Leaf EVs powered by Wayve’s AI Driver automated vehicle technology, which will then be connected to Uber’s platform. Trained drivers will be behind the wheel at first, as the deployed vehicles gather real-world data to be able to navigate Tokyo’s driving conditions and complex streets that are also a lot narrower than the roads in the US.
Another company backed by Uber, Nuro, will also test its vehicles on Tokyo’s challenging streets soon. Nuro has been trialing its self-driving tech in the US for years now and plans to launch a robotaxi service, as well. They’re not the first companies to take on Tokyo streets, however: Waymo deployed its Jaguar I-PACE autonomous vehicles in the metropolis last year to collect data on its roads and the driving patterns of locals.
The pilot program in Tokyo is just part of Wayve’s and Uber’s plan to roll out a robotaxi service in more than 10 cities around the world. In the future, the companies are planning to offer self-driving vehicles as an option in the city through a licensed taxi partner in Japan.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-is-piloting-a-robotaxi-service-in-tokyo-112133871.html?src=rss
Meta’s recent acquisition of Moltbook has sparked significant interest in the AI community, as the platform’s focus on autonomous AI agents aligns with Meta’s broader ambitions. According to Universe of AI, this move includes both Moltbook’s advanced technology and its founding team, who will now contribute to Meta’s Super Intelligence Labs. With applications spanning platforms […]
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are more than just earbuds; they are a gateway to a premium audio experience. Whether you are an audiophile or someone who simply enjoys high-quality sound, these earbuds offer a wide range of features designed to customize, optimize, and enhance your listening. By understanding and using these features, you […]
Gemini Embedding 2 offers a unified framework for embedding and retrieving multimodal data, including text, images, audio, videos and documents, within a shared vector space. As explained by Sam Witteveen, this approach eliminates the need for separate models and indexes for each content type, streamlining workflows and allowing cross-modal comparisons. For example, the system allows […]
