Author Archives: Sarang Sheth

World’s Comfiest Mouse looks legitimately ugly… but it somehow works

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I remember being in the third year of design college when I was introduced to this massive book titled “Indian Anthropometric Dimensions.” For the uninitiated, this book contained practically all the dimensions of the average (and non-average) Indian person, male and female, old and young. The purpose of such a book was to understand ergonomics numerically, rather than visually. And for designers, this meant adding the ultimate constraint to our wild designs… so humans could actually use them.

This YouTuber’s take on an ergonomic mouse is the antithesis of everything I was taught. The problem is, however, it works! See, designers have to balance this ergonomic approach with actual aesthetics. That’s why ergonomic mice actually look stylish, rather than being shaped exactly like the inverse of your hand. It’s why gun grips look the way they do; why bike seats, or car seats have an abstract-ness to them, and don’t actually have your individual buttocks molded into their designs. The world’s comfiest mouse works, but at a rather painful aesthetic cost!

Designer: Play Conveyor

Play Conveyor’s design process ignites a pretty strong debate between aesthetics and comfort. The Apple Magic Mouse, for example, is a prime example of the former completely ignoring the latter… and almost every mouse (even the ergonomic ones) aim at trying to achieve a balance between the two. Play Conveyor’s experiment swings the pendulum the absolute opposite way – what if a mouse was hideous as sin, but legitimately comfortable?

The process starts fairly simply. Play Context first ripped apart a wired mouse to see what the inner components looked like. He then 3D printed a plastic chassis on which he added play dough, filling in all the negative space created by his hand. This basically turned the mouse into a direct inversion of his hand, creating something that quite literally fit like a glove. After the play dough model was made, he scanned it, refined it, and printed it. What we see here is pure anthropometrics at work – no design, no aesthetic study, nothing.

What’s interesting is how accessible the whole process has become. A decade ago, this would’ve required industrial equipment, professional 3D scanners, and a hefty budget. Now it’s an iPhone, a 3D printer that costs less than a decent laptop, and some squishy molding compound. The democratization of manufacturing tools means anyone can now ask the question: what if products were designed for me, specifically me, and nobody else? It’s selfish design in the best possible way.

The first iteration (top left) was way too sharp, with jagged edges left behind either during the molding process or the scanning process. Play Context merely softened the edges down to create something that looks like, well, the Millennium Falcon covered in goo. Cutouts was added for left and right clicks, but soon ditched for actual hinged buttons, along with a central groove for the scroll wheel.

The final result is, well, a mouse that’s too ugly to be seen in the outdoors. It’s also a mouse that uniquely ONLY fits the ergonomic grip of one user. The justification for this can be two-fold: First, just accepting that there’s no way a company would be able to mass-produce this. People have different grips, different hand sizes, and even usage frequencies. That’s why companies like Logitech or Razer make mice the way they do, blending ergonomics with a healthy dose of aesthetics to have peripherals that actually look good while functioning flawlessly. The second justification, however, is for more edge-cases. Maybe a mouse designed for someone with Parkinsons, or with a genuine handicap or special need. We’ve seen special-needs gaming controllers from Sony for the PlayStation and Microsoft for the Xbox, but they’re mass-produced too. What if we could somehow build outer bodies of gadgets to suit our anthropometric needs? As Play Context demonstrates, the process is fairly easy, requiring only a 3D printer as a specialized equipment. All you need is a fair bit of free will, determination, and play dough!

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Stanley’s Pour Over Kit Might Be the Last Coffee Brewer You’ll Ever Need to Buy

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The brand famous for its tumblers (and how incredibly durable they are) is looking to upend the coffee industry too. Stanley’s ‘Perfect Pour Over Brew Set’ is the company’s take on pour-overs, redesigning them in a way that’s simple, robust, and reusable. The set features a pour-over top (with a metal filter) and and a Stanley cup for its base. No coffee filters, no disposable liners. Every inch of this brew set is designed for travel, durability, and sustainability.

The Perfect Pour Over Brew Set’s design feels unmistakably ‘Stanley’. The simple metal outer construction, with powder-coated color-ways. The Stanley logo front and center, and a 2-part design that’s simple yet ruthlessly effective, whether you’re brewing a cuppa in your kitchen or the great outdoors. I guess the Perfect moniker suits it, no?

Designer: Stanley

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The pour-over set is capable of brewing anywhere from your standard 8oz cup, to a whopping 1.4 quart (44.8 oz) bottle. Its wide top holds enough grounds to make a large batch for an entire family or your average caffeine-addict. You don’t need anything more than what the Perfect presents you with. No scales, no fancy kettle to pour water, not even a coffee filter. The Perfect’s upper element features a 2-part design, with a lower half that unscrews to reveal a fine perforated mesh filter. This reduces waste but also ensures cleaning remains a breeze… but as far as pouring goes, all you do is load the top over your Stanley mug (it even fits the larger Stanley bottles), add the grounds, and pour hot water up until the line marked on the inside.

Once you’ve poured out the hot water, the process takes anywhere in the 5-10 minute range depending on how much coffee you’re making. A single cup doesn’t take long, and once the water’s percolated, your cup of coffee is ready to enjoy – either immediately, or on the go, thanks to a sipper lid that comes with the brew set, designed for the mug. Cleaning the upper portion out is simple. Just suspend it over a waste bin and tap vigorously against the sides to make the grounds fall out. Then, just rinse with water and your brew set is ready for round 2.

Just like their tumblers, this one is built to survive pretty much anything. Whether it’s your standard LA girlie brewing coffee in her boutique apartment’s kitchen, or the average outdoor lover taking this to the campsite for a cup of joe, the Perfect Pour Over Brew Set travels really well, and its color palette lends itself perfectly to the outdoor landscape, your tailgating setup, or even that KitchenAid mixer or Smeg fridge adding vibrant life to your kitchen!

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Finally, You Can 3D-Print Real Silicone Molds and Gaskets on Your Prusa 3D Printer

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Anyone who’s worked with flexible 3D printing filaments knows their limitations; TPU and TPE only go so far, and nothing on the desktop market has matched the heat resistance and elasticity of real silicone. We’ve been stuck making parts that feel rubbery but fail the moment they get too warm or need to seal properly. That’s all changed with the arrival of Prusa’s new XL printhead, developed in collaboration with Filament2. This toolhead uses a pioneering dual-filament system to produce actual, industrial-grade silicone prints, a feat that moves desktop printing into a whole new category of material science.

Instead of extruding a simple thermoplastic, this system feeds two liquid-core filaments into the nozzle, where their outer sheaths are stripped away. The liquid silicone components are then mixed and cured in real time as they are deposited. This is not some rubber-like substitute; it is genuine silicone with all its useful properties, created right on the print bed of a standard Prusa XL. The elegance of containing the entire two-part mixing process within a clean, self-contained filament and toolhead system is a massive engineering win, solving the mess and complexity that has kept liquid printing out of reach for most people until now.

Designer: Prusa

This method completely sidesteps the need for the clumsy pumps and reservoirs seen in previous experimental liquid printers. The genius is in the filament itself. By encasing the two liquid parts in a stable sheath, Filament2 has created something that handles just like a standard spool of PLA. The printhead does the heavy lifting, performing a micro-scale version of what you would do with a two-part epoxy, but with incredible precision. You get the benefits of a reactive polymer without the hazardous mess, which opens up a world of possibilities for creating functional, end-use parts, not just look-alike prototypes.

Think about the immediate applications for this technology. In the automotive world, the ability to print custom, one-off silicone gaskets, seals, and vibration dampeners is a game changer for restoration and prototyping. No more waiting weeks for a custom mold or settling for a close-enough part. For product designers, this means creating truly functional prototypes with soft-touch grips, flexible waterproof seals, and even custom ergonomic components for wearables. Because silicone is skin-safe and can be sterilized, it also opens up possibilities for custom medical models and assistive devices. We are talking about end-use parts, not just look-alike models.

The choice to launch this on the Prusa XL platform is also incredibly clever. The XL’s main selling point is its automatic tool-changing capability, which suddenly makes it the perfect machine for true multi-material fabrication. You could print a rigid nylon housing with one toolhead, then have the printer automatically swap to the silicone head to print integrated waterproof seals and vibration-dampening feet onto the same part in a single, uninterrupted job. This elevates the machine from a multi-color printer to a genuine multi-property manufacturing station. It’s a level of automation and material integration that was previously reserved for machines costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Now, it’s important to keep expectations grounded. This will not be as simple or cheap as printing with standard PLA. The specialized filament from Filament2 will undoubtedly carry a premium price, and I anticipate a learning curve. The process requires incredible precision; any imbalance in the mixing ratio or inconsistency in the liquid cores could lead to failed prints where the silicone doesn’t cure properly. We still need to see long-term reliability data and learn about the maintenance requirements for a printhead that handles what are essentially reactive adhesives. Still, even as a niche application, it pushes the entire industry forward by showing what’s possible when you rethink the entire printing process, from the filament spool to the nozzle tip.

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I Replaced My iPhone Alarm with this Literature Clock and it made my mornings 5x Stress-Free

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Your phone tells you it’s 7:23 AM and cloudy. NovellaMate tells you the same information through a passage from Dickens or Neruda, transforming raw data into something you actually want to read. The difference matters more than you’d think, because most of us have forgotten that time and weather aren’t just functional details to be consumed and discarded. They’re the backdrop to our lives, the quiet constants that shape mood, memory, and even creativity. A clock that treats them like poetry instead of spreadsheets isn’t just a novelty; it’s a quiet rebellion against the way we’ve been conditioned to interact with technology.

I’ll admit, when I first heard about the NovellaMate being a smart clock, my skepticism flared up like a bad WiFi connection. Another “smart” gadget for the nightstand? Another Kickstarter darling promising to revolutionize the way we wake up? But then I watched the demo video, and something clicked. This isn’t about smarter alarms or better sleep tracking. It’s about designing an object that respects the ritual of timekeeping, that understands how deeply literature can embed itself in the mundane, and that for some people, life isn’t a routine, it’s a movie or a book being played out as the main character. The kind of thing that makes you pause mid-morning, coffee in hand, because the clock just read you a line from One Hundred Years of Solitude that somehow fits the way the light is slanting through your window. That’s not a feature; that’s an experience. And in a market flooded with devices that prioritize efficiency over emotion, an experience like the NovellaMate feels magical.

Designers: Mark Chow, Jueer Lee, Stan Lee & Natto Kang

Click Here to Buy Now: $179 $279 ($100 off). Hurry, only 142 of 150 left!

The specs, when you dig into them, reveal a product that’s been thought through with unusual care. NovellaMate’s database doesn’t just pull random quotes from a generic pool; it’s a curated collection of handpicked literary passages, each tied to a specific minute of the day or a weather condition. Rain at 3:47 PM? There’s a quote for that. Clear skies at dawn? Another. The clock doesn’t just tell you it’s 10:12 AM; it finds a way to make 10:12 AM feel like a moment worth noticing. The team behind it claims to have spent over a year compiling and categorizing these quotes, working with literary experts to ensure the selections aren’t just famous but meaningful. That’s the kind of detail that separates a gimmick from something genuinely compelling, the difference between a product that gets used for a week and one that becomes part of your daily rhythm.

NovellaMate inspires us everyday.

Unlike most smart displays that shout information at you, NovellaMate leans into subtlety. The time and weather are presented through literature, either displayed in text or read aloud in a voice that’s designed to feel more like a friend sharing a favorite passage than a robot reciting data. The audio is paired with soft, adaptive lighting and ambient music, creating a wake-up routine that’s closer to a sunrise than an alarm. NovellaMate compares it to being nudged awake by a particularly thoughtful librarian, which, let’s be honest, is a vibe we could all use more of. The physical design reinforces this ethos: walnut grain, vegan leather, a warm glow that acts as an earthy antithesis to the plastic, glass, and metal boxes we associate with IoT devices today.

NovellaMate telling the time.

Of course, the elephant in the room is whether this thing actually works as a clock. The short answer is yes, but don’t expect this to replace your Swiss Chronograph. NovellaMate does tell the time, and it does so accurately, but it’s not designed for glance-and-go utility. If you’re the type of person who needs to know the exact second to time your morning sprint to the office, this isn’t for you. The device prioritizes immersion over immediacy- that’s a deliberate choice, one that forces you to slow down, which people with tight mechanical schedules will see as a trade-off, but to the target audience, it feels like being a protagonist of a book. The weather functionality relies on an internet connection to pull local data, so if your WiFi is acting up, you might get a generic quote instead of one tailored to a sudden downpour. These aren’t dealbreakers, but they’re worth noting if you’re someone who values precision over poetry.

NovellaMate telling the weather.

And sure, with time the same quotes may just become a tad bit repetitive, which is why the NovellaMate promises to constantly add newer quotes to its vast database. The team has hinted at regular updates, with new quotes and even seasonal themes added over time, which suggests they’re thinking long-term. There’s also the quote-saving feature, which lets you build a personal collection of favorites, turning the device into a kind of interactive anthology. That’s a smart move, because it gives users a reason to keep engaging with the clock beyond the initial charm. Still, the success of this hinges on execution. If the updates are sparse or the quotes start repeating too often, the illusion shatters.

What’s most striking about NovellaMate is how it reframes the role of technology in our lives. So much of what we interact with daily is designed to optimize, to streamline, to make us more efficient. NovellaMate does the opposite. It asks us to linger. It turns the act of checking the time into an opportunity for reflection, a tiny pause in the rush of the day. Given how all our devices are constantly demanding our attention, a clock that whispers instead of shouts feels like a small act of resistance, a refreshing reminder that technology can do more than just solve problems. Sometimes, it can make life a little more beautiful.

The NovellaMate comes in across 2 variants – an 8GB one and a 16GB one, which determines how vast its internal database of quotes will be. The 8GB variant is priced at $179, while the 16GB costs $199 (just an extra 20 bucks). Each NovellaMate ships with a 1-year warranty, starting January 2026, so your new year can begin on a much more poetic note!

Click Here to Buy Now: $179 $279 ($100 off). Hurry, only 142 of 150 left!

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This Tiny 1TB SanDisk Drive Solved My Biggest MacBook Storage Problem

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Imagine doubling, or even quadrupling, your laptop’s storage without opening the chassis, voiding a warranty, or so much as busting out a screwdriver. That’s the promise of SanDisk’s Extreme Fit USB-C. Plug it in, and it all but disappears, silently transforming your laptop, tablet, or car into a storage powerhouse. For anyone who’s hit the dreaded “disk full” warning, this tiny drive is a compelling solution, a simple fix for the sin of buying a laptop with too little built-in storage. It’s the kind of gadget that feels like it was designed out of pure necessity in an era of soldered-down SSDs.

The appeal is almost entirely in the name: “Fit.” This new USB-C model continues the legacy of its predecessors by being so comically small that once you plug it in, you can genuinely forget it’s there. The entire proposition hinges on its physical footprint, or lack thereof. You can slide a laptop into a tight sleeve without the drive catching or creating a pressure point on the screen. It turns the USB-C port from a temporary data gateway into a semi-permanent expansion slot. This is a fairly clear admission that sometimes, cloud storage isn’t the answer, and a dangling external SSD is just another piece of gear to carry and potentially break.

Designer: SanDisk

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The Extreme Fit comes in 4 sizes, a puny 128GB, a 256GB, a reasonable 512GB, and finally the big boss, a 1TB variant (all the exact same size). But let’s be clear about what this is, and what it is not. This is a capacity play, not a performance one. SanDisk claims read speeds of up to 400MB/s, and while that’s respectable for a drive this size, it’s a far cry from what you’d get from a proper external SSD, let alone your internal drive. For context, a decent portable SSD like Samsung’s T7 will hit speeds over 1,000MB/s, and your laptop’s internal NVMe drive likely operates anywhere from 3,000 to 7,000MB/s. So, no, you will not be editing 4K video directly from this thing. Its tiny chassis also means it will almost certainly throttle under sustained load, a basic law of thermal dynamics.

So, the ideal use case is specific. This is the drive for your permanent media library, your collection of documents, or as a secondary backup target that just lives in your machine. It’s for the user who bought a 256GB MacBook Air and now regrets it. You offload the large, infrequently accessed files to the Extreme Fit and free up your precious internal storage for applications and active projects. It’s a set-it-and-forget-it solution for static data. If your workflow involves constantly moving gigabytes of data back and forth, you should look elsewhere. The convenience of its form factor is paid for with a performance compromise.

The Extreme Fit is a fairly calculated bet from SanDisk. They know that for a large number of users, the pain point is not transfer speed, but the sheer inconvenience of external storage. By creating a drive that effectively merges with the device it’s plugged into, they have solved a real-world usability problem. It’s a clever piece of engineering that knows its limitations and leans into its strengths. For the right kind of user, the one who prioritizes capacity and invisibility over raw throughput, this drive is an elegant and incredibly practical fix.

Click Here to Buy Now

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This LEGO Reflexology Mat Turns a Parent’s Worst Nightmare into Physical Therapy

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The only thing worse than ‘Floor is Lava’ is probably ‘Floor is LEGO Brick’. LEGO bricks are famously torturous to step on. The studs, the sharp corners, the unforgiving plastic, all of these combine into creating something that feels like modern day torture. Step on a lego brick with enough body-weight and that thing practically digs into your tissue, causing probably one of the most painful experiences according to the internet. However, what if there was a ‘right’ way of stepping on LEGO bricks?

No, I’m not talking about some mind-over-body nonsense where you overcome your ability to feel pain. LEGO builder eat.sleep.build.repeat. designed a foot reflexology mat using just LEGO bricks, tapping into ancient eastern healing techniques to create a stimulating mat that helps you boost blood flow to your legs and to even other parts of the body. Made from just 820 bricks, this piece, titled ‘How to Step on a LEGO Brick?’ is a rather fun and informative hat-tip to old culture, using modern-day plastic bricks. One might say it puts the LEG in LEGO!

Designer: eat.sleep.build.repeat.

“Foot reflexology is an ancient practice, extremely common in China, where people step on mats with pressure nodes that practitioners believe produce beneficial effects elsewhere in the body,” says eat.sleep.build.repeat. “Decades later, their popularity remains strong as people continue to embrace simple, natural methods for daily wellness.”

The 820-brick MOC comes with the foot mat itself, color coded to perfection with different zones that supposedly stimulate different parts of the body. Each kit also comes with a coded legend that lets you see which color is assigned to which body part. Not that we’re medical professionals (please don’t take this as medical advice), but standing on the mat while having pressure applied (thanks to the LEGO studs) on different parts of the foot is known to be able to cure diseases and boost recovery. Who knew standing on LEGO bricks could be this therapeutic?!

The MOC (My Own Creation) is currently gathering steam on the LEGO Ideas website, an online forum dedicated to enthusiasts who build and vote for their favorite LEGO creations. If this particular build sounds enticing to you (apart from the prospect of stepping on LEGO bricks of course), head down to the LEGO Ideas website and cast your vote for this build!

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Teenage Engineering’s latest Microphone is the most unserious yet brilliant piece of music tech we’ve seen

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Teenage Engineering has never been content to stay within conventional product categories, consistently pushing boundaries between instruments, toys, and art objects. Their approach to music hardware combines Swedish design sensibilities with genuine technical innovation, creating devices that feel both familiar and revolutionary. The company’s latest announcement signals another bold expansion into uncharted territory, moving beyond synthesizers and samplers into the world of vocal performance.

Today’s unveiling of the “Riddim N’ Ting” bundle showcases this adventurous spirit, pairing the recently released EP-40 Riddim sampler with the brand-new EP-2350 Ting microphone. The Ting represents Teenage Engineering’s first foray into microphone design, but it is far from a traditional vocal mic. Instead, it is a compact effects processor, sample trigger, and vocal manipulator rolled into one handheld device, complete with motion sensors and live-adjustable parameters that let performers tilt and move the mic to control everything from echo intensity to robotic voice modulation in real time.

Designer: Teenage Engineering

So the Ting itself is this ridiculously lightweight object, weighing a scant 90 grams, that feels less like a piece of serious audio equipment and more like a prop from a retro sci-fi film. That’s the point. It houses four primary effects: a standard echo, an echo blended with a spring reverb, a high-pitched “pixie” effect, and a classic “robot” voice. A physical lever and an internal motion sensor allow you to manipulate the effect parameters by physically moving the mic, turning a vocal performance into a kinetic activity. Four buttons on the side are dedicated to triggering samples, which come preloaded with sound system staples like air horns and lasers but are fully replaceable. It’s a dedicated hype-mic, a performance tool designed for immediate, tactile fun rather than pristine vocal capture.

Its lo-fi audio character is a feature, not a bug, leaning into the saturated, gritty vocal sounds that define dub and dancehall sound system culture. While you could draw parallels to devices like Roland’s VT-4 for vocal processing or Korg’s Kaoss Pad for real-time effects, the Ting’s genius is its form factor. It integrates these functions directly into the microphone itself, removing a layer of abstraction and making the performance more immediate. It connects to any system via a 3.5mm line out, but it’s clearly designed to be the perfect companion for its partner device. This is where the workflow becomes a self-contained creative loop.

That partner, the EP-40 Riddim, is the anchor for all the Ting’s chaotic energy. While it follows the established format of the EP-series, its focus is sharp. It’s a sampler and groovebox loaded with over 400 instruments and sounds curated by legendary reggae producers like King Jammy and Mad Professor. The specs are solid: 12 stereo or 16 mono voices, a 128MB system memory, and a subtractive synth engine for crafting classic bass and lead tones. It includes seven main effects and twelve punch-in effects, all tailored for dub-style mixing. Connectivity is standard for Teenage Engineering, with stereo and sync I/O, MIDI, and USB-C. It’s a capable sampler on its own, but its true purpose is realized when paired with the Ting.

Together, they form a portable, battery-powered sound system in a box. The workflow is obvious and effective: you build a beat on the Riddim, then plug the Ting directly into its input to lay down vocals, trigger hype samples, and perform live dub-outs with the effects. For their launch, Teenage Engineering is bundling them together and offering the Ting for free, a clever move that ensures this new, weirder device gets into users’ hands immediately. It’s a compelling package that champions spontaneity and play. It proves that the most engaging technology isn’t always about higher fidelity or more features, but about creating a more direct and enjoyable path from an idea to its execution.

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B&O Just Launched a $5,000+ Soundbar That Costs More Than Your First Car

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Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound Premiere lands like a spaceship in a room full of toasters. That’s not an exaggeration; it’s just what happens when a company known for treating speakers like sculpture decides to rethink the soundbar. This thing doesn’t just sit under your TV. It commands the room, a slab of pearl-blasted aluminum that looks like it was milled from a single ingot of the future. And yes, it costs £3,900, which is about as much as most people pay for rent, but let’s be real, if you’re the kind of person who buys a soundbar as a statement, you’re not exactly shopping for Black Friday deals.

The Premiere’s design is what happens when industrial designers are given free rein and a budget that doesn’t flinch. The up-firing tweeter sits center stage like a jewel, surrounded by 1,925 precision-machined perforations, a nod to Bang & Olufsen’s 1925 founding year, because of course it is. The aluminum chassis isn’t just for show; it houses ten custom drivers, including four racetrack woofers and a tweeter that looks like it belongs in a museum. The side-firing and up-firing drivers are part of the visual language, a reminder that this isn’t a black plastic slab pretending to be invisible. Then there’s the lighting: 90 LEDs that pulse and shift with your adjustments, because why should your soundbar be any less extra than the rest of your smart home?

Designer: Bang & Olufsen

You’d think all this design flair would come at the cost of actual performance, but the specs tell a different story. Ten amplifiers push 70 watts to the woofers and 50 watts to the rest, delivering a frequency range of 32 Hz to 23 kHz. The Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 decoding is paired with Bang & Olufsen’s proprietary True Image algorithm, which supposedly creates a soundstage wider than the unit itself. The company calls it Wide Stage Technology, and while I haven’t heard it yet, the idea of a soundbar that can convincingly fake a surround setup without extra speakers is intriguing. The max output of 102 dB at 1 meter means this thing can get loud, but the real test will be how it handles the subtleties: dialogue clarity, spatial separation, that kind of thing.

The connectivity suite is what you’d expect from a flagship product in 2025, but with a few Bang & Olufsen twists. HDMI eARC with 8K passthrough is table stakes at this point, but the inclusion of an Ethernet switch with three 1Gbit ports is a nice touch for anyone tired of juggling network cables. Bluetooth 5.4 and AirPlay 2 are here, obviously, but the real party trick is Beolink Surround, which lets you wire up additional B&O speakers for a true multi-channel setup. The fact that you can still use analog audio via USB-C (with an adapter) feels like a nod to the audiophiles who refuse to let go of their turntables. And yes, there’s a voice assistant option, but it requires an external Google device, because Bang & Olufsen would rather you use their app than bark commands at a microphone.

Now, the elephant in the room. £3,900 is a lot for a soundbar, but let’s put it in context. The Premiere isn’t competing with Sony or Sonos; it’s competing with high-end AV receivers and speaker setups that cost twice as much. The Haute Edition, limited to 25 pieces and priced at £11,000, is another story entirely. That’s not a soundbar; that’s a flex. Each one is hand-milled with a pattern that takes 17 hours to carve, because why not? It comes with a numbered certificate and a wooden box for the remote, because at that price, you’re not just buying audio equipment; you’re buying a piece of design history. Or at least, that’s the pitch.

The real question is whether the Premiere can justify its existence beyond being a conversation piece. Bang & Olufsen has a reputation for building products that sound as good as they look, but the soundbar market is crowded with solid performers at a fraction of the cost. The Premiere’s trick will be convincing people that its spatial audio and design justify the premium. For now, it’s hard to deny that this is one of the most interesting pieces of audio gear to come out in years. Whether it’s worth the price of a used car is another matter entirely. But if you’re the kind of person who sees a soundbar as an extension of your aesthetic, the Premiere might just be the centerpiece you’ve been waiting for.

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Mudita’s $553 Minimalist Watch Has No Logo, No Apps, and 300% More Peace Of Mind

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Your phone tracks your steps. Your smartwatch tracks your heart rate. Your earbuds track your location. At some point, we stopped using technology and started being used by it. Mudita Radiant is a field watch for people who’ve had enough. Built in Switzerland with the same minimalist philosophy that made Mudita’s “dumbphones” award-winners, it’s a mechanical timepiece that promises exceptional legibility, everyday durability, and absolutely zero notifications. Available now on Kickstarter in five nature-inspired colors and three sizes, it’s already raised over $58,000, proof that the anti-smartwatch revolution is just getting started.

If you don’t know Mudita, here’s the quick version: they’re the Polish company founded by Michał Kiciński (yes, the CD Projekt Red guy who helped create The Witcher) that’s been championing digital minimalism through products that harmonize with your life instead of competing for your attention. Their Mudita Kompakt phone features an E Ink® display and an Offline+ switch that cuts all wireless signals at the hardware level. Their previous watch, the Mudita Element, launched on Kickstarter and hit “Fully funded” in 23 minutes. They’ve won awards from the Calm Tech Institute for respecting attention and peace of mind. Now they’re applying that same philosophy to a proper field watch.

Designer: Mudita

Click Here to Buy Now: $553 $806 ($253 off). Hurry, only 1/80 left! Raised over $58,000.

What makes the Radiant watch actually interesting is how it fits into Mudita’s broader ecosystem. Their phones use E Ink® displays, hardware-level privacy switches, and custom operating systems designed to minimize distraction. Their alarm clocks use breathing features and calming interfaces. Everything they make pushes back against the attention economy. The Radiant continues that philosophy on your wrist. It’s mechanical, so there’s no battery to charge, no software to update, no notifications to silence. You set it, you wear it. The automatic movement keeps running because you’re moving, which is a level of symbiosis that smartwatches can only simulate with step counters and haptic feedback.

The Radiant runs on a Sellita SW 200 Elaboré movement, the enhanced grade that’s regulated in three positions instead of the standard two. It beats at 28,800 vph, giving you that smooth seconds sweep, with accuracy rated at ±7 to ±20 seconds per day and a 38 to 41 hour power reserve. The movement is protected by an Incabloc shock protection system, which is exactly what you want if this watch is actually going to see daily wear. Everything is manufactured and hand-assembled by Chrono AG, a company that’s been making Swiss Made private-label watches since 1981. Their headquarters sits in a historic building from 1915 that once housed one of Switzerland’s first watchmaking schools, which feels appropriately poetic for a watch that’s trying to return to fundamentals.

The Radiant comes in 32mm, 37mm, and 40mm case diameters, all with a profile between 10 and 10.5mm. Finding a 32mm automatic field watch is nearly impossible in 2025, when most brands seem convinced everyone wants a 42mm wrist anchor. Mudita clearly designed this to actually fit different wrists, which sounds obvious until you realize how few brands bother. The case is brushed 316L surgical-grade stainless steel with different finishing techniques: circular brushing on the case top and crown, linear brushing on the sides. The brushed finish serves a practical purpose beyond aesthetics, it masks the inevitable minor scratches and fingerprints that come with daily wear. There’s also a crown guard, which protects against accidental bumps without making the watch look like it’s trying too hard to be tactical.

Given that dumbphones still have screens but watches don’t, a lot went into channeling Mudita’s minimalist philosophy into the watch’s dial. There’s no logo. None. The only branding is a small lotus carved into the crown, which you’ll feel when you wind the watch but won’t see unless you’re looking for it. The dial uses a custom Mudita typeface with a full 12-hour layout, every number present and accounted for, which makes reading the time genuinely effortless. The hands and hour markers are coated with Swiss Super-LumiNova BGW9, one of the brightest luminescent materials available. Mudita tested this thing in various lighting conditions, from bright sunlight to total darkness, and paired the lume with a sapphire crystal that has triple anti-reflective coating. The sapphire rates 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, second only to diamond, so unless you’re deliberately trying to scratch it, the crystal should stay clear for years.

The dial’s colors tell you everything about Mudita’s design ethos. Natural White like fresh snow, Sand Beige like silent coastlines, Moss Green drawn from forest trails, Baltic Blue mirroring the ocean, and Charcoal Black echoing raw charcoal texture. These aren’t vibrant, look-at-me colors. They’re muted, grounded tones that pair with the six available strap colors, which include all five dial colors plus Pebble Gray. The straps use a quick-release mechanism, so swapping straps takes seconds without tools. This matters more than it sounds because it means the watch adapts to different contexts without requiring you to own multiple watches.

Water resistance sits at 10 ATM, which translates to 100 meters. That’s enough for rain, hand washing, swimming, even a shower if you’re not fiddling with the crown underwater. It’s not a dive watch, but it’s legitimately waterproof for everyday life, which is exactly what a field watch should be. The caseback features a unique engraved number for each watch, making every Radiant technically a limited edition piece. Mudita is transparent about this being a collectible item, but they’re not using artificial scarcity as a marketing gimmick. The numbering is there because they’re making these in controlled batches, not churning out thousands.

Searches for “dumbphones” have risen over 300% in the past year. Feature phone sales in the UK reached 450,000 units in 2024. This isn’t a niche movement anymore – people are genuinely exhausted by devices that demand constant attention, and Mudita is building products for that exhaustion. The Radiant isn’t trying to replace your smartphone or compete with your Apple Watch. It’s trying to be the thing you wear when being punctual is important, nothing else. Not your fitness, not your step count, not your Slack or Teams notifications, and not someone calling you on your phone and having a buzzing sensation on your wrist. In other words, it’s trying to be what watches used to be before technology somehow convinced us it could be everything else.

The Ultra Early Bird tier sits at €479 ($556 USD), saving €220 off the planned retail price of €699 ($810 USD). There’s also a Bundle option at €879 for two watches, which saves a decent chunk off retail if you’re buying pairs. All tiers include a 14-day trial period where you can return the watch for a full refund if it’s undamaged, and all prices include taxes and duties, no surprise tariffs suddenly catching you off guard. Mudita is committing to delivering every single watch by May 31, 2026, although they’re aiming for a moonshot of delivering it just before Christmas this year. They’ve however offered backers a full money refund just in case shipping doesn’t work out pre-Christmas. Either that, or hold on to your pledge and you’ll definitely get the watch before May 31st, 2026.

Click Here to Buy Now: $553 $806 ($253 off). Hurry, only 1/80 left! Raised over $58,000.

The post Mudita’s $553 Minimalist Watch Has No Logo, No Apps, and 300% More Peace Of Mind first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Compact Portable Grill Hits 1,000°F in 10 Minutes and Looks Better Than Most Furniture

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The Thaan Grill is one of those rare products that makes you question why nobody thought of this sooner. Charcoal grilling has always been a ritual of compromise. You either get the flavor and deal with the bulk of a full-sized grill, or you settle for the convenience of a portable unit that can’t hold a steady temperature to save its life. Thaan, the brand that’s been supplying fruitwood charcoal to Michelin-starred kitchens for years, just dropped a tabletop grill that refuses to ask you to choose between performance and practicality. It’s just debuted on Kickstarter, and if the specs hold up, this might be the first grill that actually deserves a permanent spot on your patio table instead of getting banished to the garage after two uses.

The thing that immediately stands out is how Thaan has packed professional-grade engineering into something that looks like it belongs in a Muji catalog. The grill’s triple-wall insulated body isn’t just for aesthetics, it means you can plop this thing onto a wooden table, a glass patio set, or even your apartment balcony without worrying about heat damage. The bottom-up airflow system, a feature borrowed from their commercial Thaan Grill XL, is the kind of detail that separates a decent grill from one that can actually hit restaurant-quality sears consistently. And because it’s designed around their own Thai-style fruitwood charcoal, which burns cleaner and longer than standard briquettes, you’re looking at 4 to 6 hours of cook time on a single load. For anyone who’s ever babysat a finicky portable grill, that’s a game changer. The removable ash tray and quick cooldown time mean cleanup isn’t a chore, which is half the battle with charcoal cooking.

Designers: David Lujan and Hudson Rio

Click Here to Buy Now: $429 $569 ($140 off). Hurry, only 56/100 left! Raised over $151,000.

The grill grates are 304 stainless steel, which means they won’t rust or warp under high heat, and the body is 430 stainless steel, chosen for its ability to handle thermal stress without degrading. The powder coating isn’t just for that sleek, matte finish, it’s high-temp rated so it won’t bubble or peel after a few uses. Even the handles are Bakelite, a material that’s sanitary, heat-resistant, and more durable than wood or plastic. The vermiculite insulation is the same stuff used in high-end fireplaces, so it’s lightweight but incredibly effective at containing heat. At 25 pounds, it’s heavy enough to feel substantial but light enough to toss in the trunk for a tailgate or a beach day. The dimensions, 18.75 by 10.75 by 8.5 inches, make it compact without sacrificing grilling space, offering 110 square inches of cooking real estate. That’s enough to handle a few steaks, a batch of skewers, or a mix of veggies without feeling cramped.

The real test for any grill is whether it can deliver on the promise of flavor… By positioning the charcoal tray closer to the grate and using a ventilated design, they’re maximizing heat transfer and smoke exposure, which is how you get that elusive crust and smoky depth that gas grills just can’t replicate. The bottom-up airflow isn’t just marketing fluff, it’s a feature that professional pitmasters rely on for consistent temperature control. Pair that with their fruitwood charcoal, which burns hotter and cleaner than standard lump charcoal, and you’ve got a setup that can actually pull off the perfect crust on a reverse sear or continuous waves of skewers for a crowd without turning into a temperature rollercoaster. It’s the kind of performance you’d expect from a grill twice its size, and that’s what makes the Thaan Grill interesting. This isn’t some gimmicky gadget designed to collect dust, it’s a tool that’s been thoughtfully engineered to bridge the gap between backyard BBQ and professional live-fire cooking.

What’s refreshing is how Thaan has considered the entire experience, not just the cooking. The grill’s minimalist design brings a sense of modern elegance to any outdoor setting, which is a big deal if you’re someone who values aesthetics as much as function. The insulated body heats up fast and cools down just as quickly, so you’re not waiting around for the thing to be safe to touch after cooking. The ash collection system is simple, just remove the tray, dump it, and you’re done. No fuss, no mess. It’s clear that this grill was designed by people who actually cook, not just engineers chasing specs. The fact that it’s built to last, with materials that can handle years of use, means it’s not just another disposable grill that’ll end up in a landfill after a season or two.

The Thaan Grill starts at $429, which includes the grill itself but also a 5lb box of Thai-style Charcoal. Sure, it’s on the pricey side when you compare it to the cheap mass-produced stuff you find on Amazon, but you’re paying for high-quality materials, great engineering, and a ridiculously compact design that quite literally embodies the EDC principle but applies it to the idea of having great food anywhere and everywhere. If you’re the type who treats grilling as more than just a way to cook food, if you care about the ritual, the flavor, and the experience of cooking over fire, this is the kind of tool that could easily become a centerpiece of your setup…at home, on the beach, or in the great outdoors.

Click Here to Buy Now: $429 $569 ($140 off). Hurry, only 56/100 left! Raised over $151,000.

The post This Compact Portable Grill Hits 1,000°F in 10 Minutes and Looks Better Than Most Furniture first appeared on Yanko Design.