Author Archives: Sarang Sheth

Samsung Ditches Galaxy S26 Edge plans for an even slimmer handset called the ‘More Slim’

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Samsung‘s flagship phone strategy has been all over the place lately, and the latest twist in this saga is honestly kind of wild. After months of rumors and contradictions about whether the Galaxy S26 Edge would exist, it turns out the answer is no, but not for the reasons you might think. Samsung apparently has something even more ambitious in the works.

The whole thing started when rumors emerged that Samsung would replace the Galaxy S26 Plus with a new Edge model. Then those plans seemed to reverse, with reports suggesting the Plus was back and the Edge was getting axed entirely. It looked like Samsung had cold feet about the whole slim phone concept. But according to a new leak from Dutch site GalaxyClub, the truth is more interesting. Samsung didn’t abandon the idea of a super-thin flagship. They’re just going bigger, or rather, thinner.

Designer: Samsung

The company is reportedly developing a new device with the internal codename “More Slim,” which has been in the works for a few months now. The name is a pretty obvious nod to the previous S25 Edge, which carried the codename “Slim” during development. It suggests Samsung isn’t backing away from thin phones at all. They’re doubling down on the concept and pushing it even further.

Here’s where things get puzzling though. The Galaxy S25 Edge, which did make it to market, had some pretty significant compromises. You got just a dual-camera setup with no telephoto zoom capability, and Samsung crammed in only a 3,900mAh battery to keep things thin. For the premium price tag attached to it, those trade-offs felt steep. Now Samsung wants to make something even slimmer? The engineering challenges alone would be intense. You need custom components that can fit into tighter spaces, which drives up manufacturing costs considerably. And the elephant in the room is how they plan to address battery life when they’re already starting from a modest capacity.

The math doesn’t immediately add up from a consumer perspective. Making a phone thinner for the sake of thinness is a questionable strategy when it means sacrificing features people actually use every day. Unless Samsung has figured out some breakthrough in battery technology or component miniaturization that we don’t know about yet, it’s hard to see how More Slim won’t face the same criticism the S25 Edge received.

Still, Samsung must have a plan. Maybe they’re betting on a specific market segment that prioritizes aesthetics and portability above all else. Maybe there’s new tech in the pipeline that makes these compromises less painful. Maybe this will help bolster the tri-fold they just recently teased. Whatever the case, we’ll probably hear more details in the coming months as development continues. For now, it’s just another chapter in Samsung’s increasingly chaotic flagship phone strategy, and one that leaves more questions than answers about where they’re really headed with their premium lineup.

The post Samsung Ditches Galaxy S26 Edge plans for an even slimmer handset called the ‘More Slim’ first appeared on Yanko Design.

Vosteed Vombat Review: Why This M390 Pocket Knife Is an EDC Modder’s Dream Come True

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Picture the typical launch cycle for a new folding knife. The company teases a product on Instagram, drops some specs, maybe partners with a YouTube reviewer or two. Enthusiasts argue about blade steel and lock mechanisms in comment sections. Someone complains about the price. Someone else points out the handle color options are boring. Launch day arrives, and the knife goes out into the world exactly as the manufacturer intended, sealed behind screws most buyers will never touch. Months later, modders start posting custom scale builds, aftermarket clips, and anodizing projects. The manufacturer either ignores this entirely or, in some cases, sends cease-and-desist letters.

Vosteed took one look at that cycle and designed a knife that skips straight to the modding phase. The Vosteed Vombat arrives as something closer to a platform than a finished product, complete with swappable scales, adjustable internals, and a construction system so deliberately user-friendly that all the body screws use the same T8 driver. They even provide the 3D files for printing custom scales, turning what’s usually a gray-market activity into an official feature. Pair that openness with a 2.92-inch M390 blade and a patent-pending Ball Roll Bar crossbar lock, and you have a knife that refuses to choose between performance and personalization.

Designer: Vosteed

Click Here to Buy Now: $83.40 $139 (40% off). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hours! Amazon Here.

It’s a hell of a gamble, trusting your customers not to mess things up. Most brands are terrified of this, preferring a locked-down ecosystem where they control every aspect of the user experience. Vosteed is basically handing over the keys to the kingdom, admitting that their vision ends where yours begins. This transforms the Vombat from a static object into a dynamic project. It’s a brave move that says more about their confidence in the EDC community than any slick marketing campaign could. But it also raises the stakes. An open platform is only as good as its foundation, so the core knife has to be absolutely dialed in from the factory.

And deliver it does. The whole thing is built around their Swappable Adjustable Scale, or SAS, system. This is the beating heart of the Vombat. Sure, you can swap the slick, CNC-textured aluminum scales for aftermarket kits in G10 or micarta, or go wild with your own 3D-printed designs. The real magic, though, is under the hood. You can actually tweak the crossbar’s omega spring tension using clever little “music note” indicators on the liners, letting you dial in the perfect action. There’s even a dedicated service hole that gives you access to the pivot for fine-tuning blade centering without having to perform the dreaded full takedown. This is the kind of obsessive-level tuning that knife nerds live for, and it’s all part of the stock package.

A tinkerer’s dream is a user’s nightmare if the knife itself can’t cut worth a damn. Vosteed knows this, which is why the Vombat is rocking a 2.92-inch blade made from Bohler M390, a super-steel that holds an edge forever and laughs at corrosion. You get two blade shapes to choose from: a classic, clip-point Bowie and a beefy Zulu spearpoint for more demanding utility work. They’ve also milled in their signature dual jimping, one set on the spine for your thumb and another up front for when you need to choke up for detail work. It’s one of those tiny ergonomic details that feels incredibly right once you use it, making the knife feel both secure and nimble.

Even the crossbar lock, which is everywhere these days, gets a thoughtful upgrade. Vosteed noticed that some crossbar locks can develop a bit of grit or stick over time, so they developed what they call a Ball Roll Bar. It’s a tiny, polished sphere at the heart of the mechanism designed to make the action smoother and more reliable over thousands of deployments. That’s the kind of obsessive detail that separates a good design from a great one. They didn’t just copy a popular feature; they identified a point of friction and engineered an elegant, almost invisible, solution.

So what we have here is not just another knife release. The Vombat is a premium folder built like a kit car. It gives you a fantastic M390 engine, a cleverly refined chassis with that Ball Roll Bar lock, and then invites you to build the rest of it exactly how you want. Everything from the single T8 screw size to the etch-friendly wire clip plate is designed to be pulled apart and personalized. With the current 40% launch discount bringing the price down to $119, it’s a no-brainer for anyone who’s ever looked at their EDC and thought, “I could make this better.” I’m genuinely stoked to see the weird, wonderful things people do with this knife.

Click Here to Buy Now: $83.40 $139 (40% off). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hours! Amazon Here.

The post Vosteed Vombat Review: Why This M390 Pocket Knife Is an EDC Modder’s Dream Come True first appeared on Yanko Design.

Top 10 World’s Thinnest MagSafe Power Banks That Give Your Phone Battery Without Any Bulk

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The current war in the tech industry isn’t about megapixels anymore. It’s moved on from cameras to folding displays to AI… and now the battleground is slimness. Companies like Samsung, Tecno, Honor, and Apple are actively locking horns here, shaving off precious millimeters off their phones to make them slimmer and sleeker, without really any strength tradeoff. The iPhone Air is a legitimately strong phone, and took over 200 lbs of pressure to break according to JerryRigEverything’s strength test. The problem, however, with a slim phone isn’t bendability or breakability… it’s battery capacity.

These slim phones end up boasting pro-grade performance, but at the cost of battery life. To be honest, nobody ever asked for ultra-slim phones – go on the streets and ask anyone and they’ll tell you day-long battery is more important than a slick gadget. The solution exists in broad daylight too – MagSafe power banks… but slap a chunky power bank on even a regular phone and it ends up looking like you’re using a massive Nokia Communicator phone. So we sifted through the internet to find the slimmest MagSafe power banks out there. These power banks are all under 10mm, which means they should attach to your phone without adding too much visual bulk. We’ve zeroed down on 11 power banks that fit this unique problem statement… I’ve added the 11th one not just because it’s technically impressive, but also I begrudgingly had to add Apple’s MagSafe Power Bank for the iPhone Air to this list (even though it literally only works with one smartphone). Here are our picks and what we love about them.

01. SnapWireless PowerPack Slim 2 (5.8mm)

You know what, shame on me for assuming that only legacy companies like Apple, LG, Samsung, Xiaomi, and Huawei have advanced battery R&D. The thinnest power bank on the market comes from a company you’d least expect. SnapWireless is known for its smartphone accessories like cases, chargers, and MagSafe wallets, but they also hold the title for selling the world’s thinnest power bank. The SnapWireless PowerPack Slim 2 may just pack 5,000mAh, but it does so in a form factor nearly as slim as the thinnest part of the iPhone Air.

The Slim 2 comes in 5 colors that match the iPhone 17’s palette (so you can get a power bank that matches your phone), and boasts a nifty matte metallic outer body that works as a heat sink, dissipating heat while your phone charges away. Snap the power bank on and it barely adds any thickness or weight to your phone (the thing weighs just 82 grams or 2.8 oz), and it gives your iPhone (or even Qi2-ready Android phone) an extra 5,000mAh, or just enough to get through a weekend.

Why We Recommend It

At 5.8mm, this thing is as thin as 7 credit cards stacked together… Snap it onto your phone and it practically blends in, considering most camera bumps are a comfortable 4-5mm thick anyway. At $45.56 on the SnapWireless website, this power bank is dirt cheap thanks to the Black Friday promo… let’s not also forget that it literally managed to beat stalwarts like Apple, Baseus, and Anker for the title of the ‘World’s Slimmest MagSafe Power Bank’.

02. Apple iPhone Air MagSafe Battery Pack (6.5mm)

Apple had a MagSafe Battery Pack that was discontinued in 2023, just 2 years after it launched. That battery pack notoriously got the nickname of ‘Camel Hump’, because of how it added this strange malignant growth to the back of the phone. Apple, however, quietly relaunched the MagSafe Battery Pack in September, as an iPhone Air exclusive. The reason? Because the iPhone Air’s battery could only pack so much power.

That being said, this $99 Battery Pack basically doubles your iPhone Air’s extra battery. The Air has a 3,149mAh battery itself, and the MagSafe Battery Pack adds an additional 3,149mAh to the phone. It does so while being just 6.5mm thick, and iFixit managed to tear it apart to reveal that the actual battery cell inside the pack was just a mere 2.72mm. The rest of the thickness can be attributed to the insulation/cover, the wireless charging coil, the MagSafe magnets, and the microcontroller that runs the battery pack along with its charging status LED.

Why We Recommend It

We don’t. Well, unless you’re one of the rare few people who splurged on the iPhone Air (apparently the Air only accounted for 3% of iPhone sales since September), this power bank really doesn’t make sense. It’s oddly shaped (and won’t mount on any other iPhone except the Air), and it also has the lowest mAh rating of any power bank in this list, making it an extremely niche product. But despite all that, a 6.5mm-thick power bank is quite the feat.

03. KUULAA Magnetic Power Bank (6.9mm)

Here’s what I love about this list – companies that most consumers wouldn’t have heard of are genuinely pushing boundaries by building well-engineered, slim devices. KUULAA’s slimmest power bank is just 1.1mm thicker than the thinnest power bank in the world. At 6.9mm, it sits third on this list, packing 5,000mAh of battery capacity, which is enough to charge most phones from 0-100 all the way through.

This power bank sports a glass back that matches most glass-back iPhones, and offers 7.5W standard MagSafe charging, but a pretty neat 20W when plugged in using the USB-C port on the bottom. At 110 grams (3.88 ounces), this thing is lighter than Apple’s own MagSafe Power Bank mentioned above, while still having nearly an extra 2,000mAh of capacity.

Why We Recommend It

What’s not to recommend? This thing’s a full $20 cheaper than Apple’s power bank. Super-strong N52 magnets hold the power bank on securely, and the thing supports dual-charging, working simultaneously as a wireless as well as a wired charger. The power bank comes in black or white, and if you want a pop of color, there are purple and pink variations too, although I’m personally a fan of subtle classic colors.

04. KUULAA MagOn Power Bank Ultra-Thin (7.2mm)

Back again on this list, KUULAA’s MagOn Power Bank sits at 7.2mm thick, making it just a fraction of a millimeter thicker than its own sibling. The specs are exactly the same – 5,000mAh on the inside, 7.5W wireless charging, 20W wired charging, and the ability to support dual charging. The difference, apart from the thickness, is its use of materials.

While the KUULAA Magnetic Power Bank had a glass-encased design, this one boasts an aluminum outer shell with a glass panel on the back (where the wireless coil is). The aluminum shell does two things – it helps dissipate heat efficiently, keeping the MagOn power bank cool, but it simultaneously also blends well with more premium Pro-grade iPhones that have muted metallic tones. The MagOn’s Titanium and Grey finishes complement the Pro-series iPhones wonderfully, making them a great pick if design matters to you.

Why We Recommend It

It might be thicker than its sibling, but it’s somehow lighter, clocking in at 104 grams or 3.67 ounces. I personally prefer the aluminum back because it visually blends in with my 15 Pro Max wonderfully well. That 0.3mm size bump is negligible, and your eyes (or even your hands) will never be able to tell the difference. The MagOn’s also priced at $76.5, making it even more affordable than its marginally slimmer sibling.

05. Baseus Picogo Ultra-Slim (7.6mm)

We’re sort of venturing into this grey area where all the power banks begin offering the same features. The Picogo Ultra-Slim comes from Baseus, known for their chargers and dongles (I swear by mine), measuring 7.6mm, tying it in with the TORRAS MiniMag which is next on the list. The one (actually two) thing/s giving the Picogo Ultra-Slim its edge remain, firstly, the fact that it’s the lighter of the two, measuring 3.8 ounces or 107.7 grams in weight… The next pro is just pure affordability.

As of this article, the Picogo Ultra-Slim is just $34.99, making it the most budget-friendly power bank on this list. That does matter to most people, and to seal the deal, Baseus also makes some pretty wild claims, like the Picogo Ultra-Slim having its own AI chip for monitoring and managing the power bank’s temperature for ‘cooler charging’. It also helps that the Picogo Ultra-Slim has an aluminum outer shell, helping dissipate heat.

Why We Recommend It

I recommend it for the sheer price. Baseus’ Black Friday discount gives this power bank an undeniable edge (apart from the one its slim design already has). It also supports pass-through charging, and has a 2-year warranty, which feels pretty compelling considering it’s double of what most companies offer.

06. TORRAS MiniMag (7.6mm)

TORRAS is an interesting company because while they make some pretty remarkable personal cooling wearables, they’re also absolute masters at casemaking. I still have (and cherish) their Ostand cases with the built-in rotating kickstand, but that’s not what this is about. Aside from neck-based phase-changing coolers and slim creator-friendly cases (and tempered glass protectors), TORRAS also owns bragging rights to the MiniMag, a 7.6mm-thin MagSafe power bank that packs 5000mAh of power in a deceptively thin form factor.

The MiniMag is the size of a playing card, and measures 0.01 inches thinner than the iPhone 17 (which clocks in at 0.31 inches). This, along with the fact that it weighs 115 grams or 4 ounces makes it a perfectly portable pack of power, phone and pocket-worthy. The limiting factor with thin power banks is usually being capped at 5,000mAh (and the MiniMag is limited by that too), but TORRAS also sells a thin 10,000mAh MagSafe power bank that’s a mere 0.5 inches thick… although that one clearly doesn’t make this list.

Why We Recommend It

It’s small, it’s light, and as of today, it’s $43.99 on TORRAS’ website thanks to Black Friday deals going live well in advance. The thing supports super-fast wired charging, making it faster than standard power banks, and the battery’s rated to last 500+ cycles, which easily gives you years of use without any signs of slowing down.

07. SAVEWO EVA MagCell (8mm)

Here’s an unexpected one – truly, because not only have I never heard of SAVEWO as a company, their 8mm-thick power bank looks nothing like any of the ones before it. The EVA (short for Evangelion) comes with an anime-inspired aesthetic, with graphics, characters, and motifs from the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. That outer aesthetic adds character to the otherwise fairly template-ish internals.

5,000mAh, 15W of wireless power delivery, 20W of PD3.0 thanks to the USB-C on the bottom – there’s nothing extraordinary here if you purely look at the spec sheet, but that’s a pretty scummy way to judge a design. The design is how it looks too, and the EVA MagCell definitely gets our vote in that department.

Why We Recommend It

At $40, this one feels like a good bargain. You get a power bank that’s slim and looks good enough that it won’t get lost or mixed up with your friends’ power banks any time soon. You’ve also got multiple designs to choose from, making this the only themed product in the entire series.

08. Native Union (Re)Classic MagSafe Power Bank (8.6mm)

If the EVA was the edgy one, Native Union’s (Re)Classic power bank is the classy one, sporting not a plastic or metal outer casing, but one made from faux leather for that extra oomph. You’ve got 5 very dapper colors to choose from, all echoing very pristine leather tan hues, blending in perfectly with any leather case you may put on your phone.

At 8.6mm, this isn’t the thinnest of the bunch, but it’s certainly impressive in its sleekness, and comes with a 5,000mAh internal, along with both MagSafe and Qi2 support (so that works for newer Android phones too). Each power bank gets paired with one of Native Union’s braided USB-C cables, upping the class-factor on this gizmo.

Why We Recommend It

Why rock plastic or glass when you could rock vegan leather? And this isn’t some run-of-the-mill vegan leather – Native Union designed it to be durable, and even gave it a gorgeous diamond texture that your fingers will love. At $69.99, it’s on the pricier side, but then again, you’re paying for style and substance as well as sleekness.

09. Anker Nano MagGo Power Bank (8.6mm)

About time Anker made it to the party. The company that practically pioneered an entire industry of charging accessories, Anker’s Nano MagGo barely makes the cut, tying in with Native Union’s (Re)Classic power bank at 8.6mm in thickness. I dock points for being basic looking, given that Anker’s power bank sort of looks like a mirror image of Apple’s own MagSafe power bank.

The only difference is that the Nano MagGo comes in 4 colors as opposed to Apple’s singular white. This bad-boy packs a 5,000mAh capacity too, with 15W fast wireless charging as well as fast-recharging for the battery pack itself. Anker claims it charges an iPhone 16 to 25% in just half an hour if you plug it in (delivering 20W of power), but marginally longer if you rely on the MagSafe charging protocol.

Why We Recommend It

Is it thicker than Apple’s own power bank? Yes, but it packs more capacity, works with all iPhones, and costs $54.99, which makes it cheaper than what Apple offers. I’d pick this if the only other option was Apple’s MagSafe power bank, but if you want style and substance, or even a competitive price point, there are others on this list.

10. PITAKA Aramid Fiber Magnetic Power Bank (8.8mm)

Vegan leather is nice, but Aramid fiber is infinitely cooler. Made from the same material used to make Kevlar, PITAKA’s power bank has a reputation that precedes it. Sure, it won’t deflect bullets, but that Aramid fiber weave is genuinely one of the coolest things I’ve seen on a power bank. PITAKA’s perfected the ability to weave the fibers in different patterns, creating unique designs that truly stand out. While blending in thanks to the sleek 8.8mm profile.

Sure, 8.8mm isn’t the slimmest, but if you’re trying to find a power bank that truly is a treat for the eyes, this one’s your bet. It packs 5,000mAh on the inside (a standard at this point), has MagSafe and Qi2 support, and even packs a 4 LED battery indicator that tells you exactly how much juice you’ve got remaining on the bank.

Why We Recommend It

At $69.99, it’s not your budget option, but one look at the Aramid fiber weave and you’d never think of using the word ‘budget’. This thing looks gorgeous as heck, and pairs rather well with PITAKA’s woven Aramid fiber cases too. Here’s the best part, each case comes with a magnetic array on the inside, which means the Android cases all instantly become MagSafe compatible in seconds!

[Bonus] KU XIU 2025 Solid-State Magnetic Portable Charger (9.9mm)

This otherwise-unheard-of brand gets a special mention on this list – not for just being slim, but for pioneering a technology that no company on this list has managed to so far. This KU XIU power bank features a solid-state battery, which is significantly more advanced than any of the Li-ion batteries on the competition. Solid state batteries are pretty much the holy grail of consumer-grade battery technology at this point. They’re a lot more durable than Li-ion, and unlike the latter that tend to catch fire or explode under duress, solid state batteries can literally get crucified with a nail and a hammer and they’ll still work. Don’t do that though. Just know that your battery is ridiculously durable.

It’s going to be a while before we see this tech in phones, but the fact that you’re getting them in power banks this slim (at a respectable 9.9mm) is still impressive. Go to KU XIU’s website and you’ll see someone literally hammering the power bank’s battery cell, puncturing it with nails, even clipping the corner off with pliers. The thing still works without catching fire or heating up. I’d call that mighty impressive considering it isn’t even a decade since the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco we had in 2016.

Why We Recommend It

Three words. Solid State Batteries. One more word. $49.99. You read that right, this 5,000mAh solid state power bank is literally cheaper than most of the other contenders on this list. Is it thicker? Yes, but is it also safer, more long-lasting, and quite literally the future of battery tech? Also yes.

The post Top 10 World’s Thinnest MagSafe Power Banks That Give Your Phone Battery Without Any Bulk first appeared on Yanko Design.

DJI’s Latest Drone Was Designed To 3D-Scan Landscapes (And Maybe Find Hidden Treasure)

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DJI just made professional-grade aerial LiDAR look affordable – for companies, governments, and organizations, at least. The Zenmuse L3, launched November 4, packs technology that would typically cost $150,000 to $250,000 into a $14,600 package that weighs just 1.6 kilograms. Its dual 100-megapixel cameras and laser system can map 100 square kilometers per day with centimeter-level precision – capabilities that open doors far beyond traditional surveying into realms like archaeological discovery and terrain analysis that were previously the domain of well-funded research institutions.

While the L3 targets professional surveyors, utility companies, and mining operations, the technology has captured imaginations far beyond its intended audience. DJI’s launch video has racked up over half a million views, suggesting that even those who can’t justify the five-figure price tag (like me, for example) are fascinated by what the system can do: strip away forest canopies with laser precision, reveal hidden terrain features, and create detailed 3D models of landscapes that might conceal everything from ancient ruins to forgotten infrastructure – or perhaps even treasure waiting to be discovered.

Designer: DJI Enterprise

So here’s the thing about LiDAR that makes it fundamentally different from just strapping a really good camera to a drone. Cameras see surfaces, whatever light bounces back to the lens. LiDAR shoots invisible laser pulses at the ground, measures how long they take to bounce back, and uses that timing to calculate exact distances. Fire enough of these pulses fast enough, in enough directions, and you’re essentially building a 3D point cloud of everything below you. The L3 fires up to 2 million laser pulses per second, which is an absurd number when you think about it. Each pulse that hits something creates a data point in three-dimensional space, and when you’ve got millions of them, you can reconstruct terrain with the kind of detail that makes traditional surveying look quaint.

What gets interesting is how far these lasers can actually reach. DJI claims 950 meters at lower pulse frequencies, which means you can fly this thing higher than most photography drones and still get usable data. Fly at 300 meters and you’re covering massive ground while maintaining accuracy within a few centimeters. That’s the kind of precision that lets utility companies inspect power lines without getting dangerously close, or lets mining operations map their entire site in a single day instead of sending survey crews out for weeks. The laser spot it creates is tiny, about 41mm across at 120 meters up, which is roughly the size of a golf ball. Smaller spots mean more precise measurements, and the L3’s spot is apparently one-fifth the size of what the previous model could do.

But the real party trick is how this thing handles obstacles like trees. When a laser pulse hits a forest canopy, it doesn’t just bounce off the first leaf it encounters and call it a day. Modern LiDAR systems can capture multiple returns from a single pulse. Think of it like the laser passing through gaps in the leaves, hitting a branch, continuing down, hitting more foliage, then finally hitting the ground. The L3 captures up to 16 of these returns, which is double what high-end professional systems typically manage. Every return gives you another layer of information about what exists in that vertical column of space. For someone trying to map terrain under dense vegetation, this is the difference between seeing a green blob and actually understanding the ground elevation beneath it. Archaeologists have used this exact technique to discover ancient Mayan cities hidden under jungle canopy, and while DJI isn’t marketing this as a treasure-hunting tool, the capability is absolutely there.

The dual 100-megapixel cameras add context that pure laser data can’t provide. Point clouds are incredibly accurate but they’re also just clouds of points, no color, no texture, nothing that helps a human brain quickly understand what they’re looking at. High-resolution cameras flying alongside the LiDAR capture regular photos that get mapped onto the 3D point cloud, giving you models that actually look like the real world. At 300 meters up, each pixel in those photos represents 3 centimeters on the ground, which is detailed enough to see road markings, individual shrubs, basically anything larger than a soccer ball. The system takes both types of data simultaneously, so you’re not making multiple passes or trying to align datasets captured at different times under different lighting conditions.

Traditionally, capturing LiDAR data was the easy part and processing it was where everything ground to a halt. You’d come back with terabytes of raw laser measurements that needed heavy computation to turn into usable maps or models, often requiring expensive software and workstations that could actually handle the processing load. DJI bundles their Terra software for free, no additional licenses, and they’ve optimized it so you can open massive datasets on fairly modest hardware. They’re also doing something clever with real-time preview, letting you see the point cloud data and take measurements while you’re still flying. You’re not waiting until you get back to the office to discover your flight parameters were wrong or you missed a critical area. That kind of immediate feedback changes how you approach the actual data collection because you can adjust on the fly instead of scheduling another expensive flight mission.

The whole package weighs 1.6 kilograms and mounts exclusively to DJI’s Matrice 400 drone platform, which is their heavy-lift enterprise model. You’re looking at around $34,000 for the complete system, drone included, which puts it firmly in the realm of business investment rather than hobbyist experimentation. But that price point is what makes this notable. Five years ago, getting this level of LiDAR capability meant spending six figures on specialized equipment. DJI’s approach has been to take technology that existed only in high-end professional contexts and compress it into something that mid-sized organizations can actually justify purchasing. A regional utility company, a municipal government, a decent-sized construction firm, these are entities that can suddenly afford aerial LiDAR when they couldn’t before. And apparently, based on those YouTube view counts, a whole lot of people who will never touch one of these systems are still captivated by what it represents. There’s something fundamentally cool about technology that lets you see through forests and map the world in three dimensions, even if the only treasure most users will find is more efficient powerline inspections.

The post DJI’s Latest Drone Was Designed To 3D-Scan Landscapes (And Maybe Find Hidden Treasure) first appeared on Yanko Design.

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.

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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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