Wireless chargers are becoming more common, and there is also a growing number of designs for these accessories, some of them more interesting than others. Despite the different appearances and functionalities, all these chargers often become practically useless the moment you remove the smartphone from its surface. Some might look interesting and pretty on your desk or bedside table, but they remain passive objects that offer nothing more beyond decoration. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for improvement, especially when it comes to adding additional though unrelated functions. This design concept, for example, gives the wireless charger something else to do when nothing is charging on it, allowing it to provide added value in a way you might not have expected.
The earliest wireless chargers all came as flat horizontal pads because devices are required to stay still on a specific area right above the wireless charging coil. While the technology still remains limited that way, the introduction of magnets, courtesy of Apple, afforded a little more flexibility. You can now have chargers that are inclined at an angle or even raised a little above the base because they can hold the smartphone in the correct position all the time. What hasn’t changed, however, is that the charging surface remains flat and that this flat area remains unutilized when nothing’s charging on top of it.
The Dino Charger changes the formula a bit by adding one small component to the charger. The charger itself looks a little typical, just a pill shape with one end chopped off to provide a flat surface for a phone to latch on. When that phone isn’t there, however, you will be able to see a small circular display in the middle of the area, and that is where the charger’s other life begins.
The screen is around the same size as a circular smartwatch, and it functions almost like one as well. Despite its small screen real estate, it can easily show a few pieces of data through icons and images, like the weather, battery levels, and, of course, the time. It can even show a Bitmoji (or Apple Memoji), though the exact use of that function is left up to the imagination. Of course, this circular display will be useless when there’s a phone charging on top, but it’s possible for the phone itself to provide those functions while it’s charging.
The Dino Charger concept doesn’t drastically change the wireless charger’s nature, but neither does it take anything away from it by adding an orthogonal feature. It’s a simple redesign that turns what looks like a normal and boring wireless charger into an exciting multi-functional device, one that can potentially add value to your digital life without taking up additional space.
Escape the scorching heat of summer and discover the ultimate solution to stay cool wherever you go! Hot days are just around the corner, and while some are dreaming of beaches, tans, and ice cream, many are just hoping to survive the unbearable and uncomfortable heat. It’s hard to deny that our days and even our nights have now become warmer than ever before, and conventional ways of staying cool just aren’t cutting it anymore. We’ve all experienced those sweltering summer days when even the slightest breeze feels like a blessing, making us wish we could carry our air conditioners with us everywhere. Of course, that isn’t going to happen, at least not with these conventional boxes. Fortunately, some people have thought outside the box to make that dream come true with a neck-worn device that lets you keep cool anywhere and also look cool at the same time.
Designer: Torras Design
Click Here to Buy Now: $199$299 ($100 off total with coupon code “yankocool”). Hurry, deal ends in 48 hours!
There are a few products out there that claim to be portable air conditioners, but most of them are just fans that push the same hot air toward your face. TORRAS, however, isn’t cutting corners to deliver you unprecedented comfort anywhere you go, and its Coolify 2S wearable cooling device brings an honest-to-goodness air conditioning experience even when you’re outdoors under the blazing heat of the sun.
Unlike simple fans and water-cooled devices, the Coolify 2S utilizes high-efficiency semiconductor cooling plates to really pull the temperature down by as much as 30°F in just a second. This TORRAS Coology technology works in tandem with targeted airflow to blast that icy-cool air in four directions, making sure that your temperature-sensitive neck and face are kept at a comfortable temperature anytime, even while you’re out for a run. And since each person has different cooling needs and preferences, the Coolify 2S offers three optional speed modes to tailor the experience to their personal comfort. Enjoy a gentle 1.0m/s wind speed in first gear, a more discernible 1.3m/s speed in second gear, or a gusty 2.0m/s wind in third gear, depending on your preferences.
Air conditioners are commonly seen as power-hungry machines, but Coolify 2S pulls off a miracle by sipping only 6W from its 5,000 mAh battery, allowing you hours of use on a single charge. Using the fans alone can last you as much as 28 hours on first gear, but even when using both cooling and fan at the same time, you can still squeeze out 6 hours before needing to top up the portable air conditioner again. Along with its quiet operation, this freedom from cables allows you to enjoy refreshing, cool air anywhere, whether outdoors on your own or indoors with other possibly jealous people.
Best of all, the TORRAS Coolify 2S is designed to be comfortable to wear and stylish to look at. Thanks to smart engineering, it can fit any neck size, and its upgraded IMD material and premium texture give it some class. Whether you’re doing outdoor workouts, going for a leisurely walk, or just trying to survive a stuffy office, this wearable air conditioner is going to be your best friend and life saver. So, why waste energy fretting about how to stay cool this summer? Embrace the great outdoors and experience true innovation with the TORRAS Coolify 2S neck-worn air conditioner, available exclusively for Yanko Design readers at a discounted price of $199 (originally $299). Stay cool, refreshed, and stylish with the Coolify 2S – your ultimate companion for beating the heat!
Click Here to Buy Now: $199$299 ($100 off total with coupon code “yankocool”). Hurry, deal ends in 48 hours!
Although it might seem like it, controllers for different devices and gadgets are actually designed to help make users’ lives easier. The overwhelming number of buttons on a traditional TV or set-top box remote, for example, are there to give nearly instant access to functions without having to dig your way through menus. Needs and trends change over time, however, and devices need to adapt with them, just like how those TV remotes have become significantly minimal, some with no more than five buttons. There are controllers, however, that can’t really be distilled down to half a dozen switches and buttons. Complicating matters is how different people might have different ideas on how to best use those controls. Straddling the fine line between those two camps, this design concept puts users in complete control of one of the busiest controllers in the market.
When there are so many things happening quickly that need your attention, the last thing you need is to fiddle with menus to remain in control. Sometimes, you don’t even get a few seconds to think about your next move and just function on autopilot. This is often the case with complicated controllers like the decks that DJs use to mix, scratch, and direct the flow of music at any given moment. A deck controller would have dozens of buttons, sliders, switches, and dials, but not everyone uses those same controls in the same way all the time.
This modular controller concept brings one of the rising trends in product design to the world of DJing, allowing the user to decide exactly how to arrange those controls or which ones to actually have present in the first place. The idea is to have a platform where one can easily add, remove, or relocate those gizmos where they’re most convenient. There are parts that are permanently attached to the deck, like the two large dials on each side, but the rest is fair game for the DJ.
This design is made possible by a grid of Pogo connectors in the middle of the deck, similar to those gold dots you’d find in older smartwatches as well as tablet keyboard covers. Here you can make any arrangement of buttons, sliders, and dials, some of which take up more than one “block” on that grid. In a way, it becomes a fun puzzle activity for DJs to build their own personalized deck.
The base design for this modular DJ controller leans more towards minimalist trends with its white coating and lack of decorations. Admittedly, this might look a little out of place among a DJ’s other tools, so there’s also a variant that brings those familiar accent lighting on a predominantly black deck, a better representation of a DJ’s vibrant and unpredictable style.
Too heavy for holding with one hand for a long time
Expensive
Optional keyboard cover is a dirt magnet
RATINGS:
AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
EDITOR'S QUOTE:
A handsome device with a gorgeous eye-friendly screen, the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C pushes the envelope of what E Ink devices are capable of, making it worth its price and weight.
E Ink devices have long grown past the simplistic and often unattractive slabs of plastic they can shove inside purses and bags, though there are definitely still plenty of those around. Even Amazon has added the ability for readers to also be curators and creators, adding the all-powerful pen to at least one of its Kindles. Other manufacturers, however, have really pushed the envelope of what these eye-friendly gadgets are capable of, blurring the boundary between simple eBook readers and multi-functional tablets. Onyx is one of the most prolific brands in this space, and its recent Boox Tab Ultra, which we reviewed last year, redefines this device category. Now it has taken that to the next level by adding a splash of pastel colors to the Boox Tab Ultra C, and we take it for a spin to see how much farther it has gone to break free of stereotypes and expectations.
From the very first moment you take it out of its box, you immediately sense that the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C is nothing like a typical eBook reader. There’s that heft you wouldn’t have expected from this class of device, especially since many of its kind are uninspiring pieces of plastic. More importantly, however, its visual design will strike you as something more refined and stylish, something you won’t be ashamed to bring out in a board meeting. Even compared to colorful tablets like the iPad Pro, the Boox Tab Ultra C can stand proud with its minimalist yet elegant design.
The E Ink Kaleido 3 screen that sets this device apart from both eReaders and regular tablets sits flush with the bezel, allowing the protective glass to be one continuous and flat surface that leaves no obstruction for your finger or your pen. In line with modern mobile design trends, the sides are completely flat, with only the corners curving where the edges meet. The back is equally flat, save for a rare 16MP “document scanner” camera sticking out in a corner.
Camera Output
Branding is minimal and unobtrusive, with only the “BOOX” name on the “spine” and the back of the device. There is an unusual strip of matte plastic with decals on that same side, giving the tablet a bit of personality while also providing a better grip. Otherwise, most of the Boox Tab Ultra C’s body is made from sturdy and aesthetic aluminum, another point of departure from regular eReaders.
Onyx ships the device with a Pen 2 Pro that matches its color and build quality. This aluminum stylus magnetically latches onto one edge of the Boox Tab Ultra C, so you won’t have to fumble with a separate holder or sheath. The barrel is mostly round, save for the flat edge that sticks to the tablet and also prevents the pen from rolling off a flat table. The ridged cap of the pen is, unfortunately, only for show. It functions as an eraser in the built-in Notes app, but you can’t twist or turn this part, despite what its design suggests.
Onyx sells an optional magnetic keyboard case that really drives home the fact that the Boox Tab Ultra C leans more toward the tablet side of the fence. The keyboard connects to the tablet via Pogo pins, so you won’t have to worry about flaky Bluetooth or dead batteries. The cover is supposedly made with artificial leather, but it feels more like rubbery silicone than any premium material. It doesn’t attract fingerprints as advertised, but it’s a dirt and dust magnet instead, making that “feature” moot.
Ergonomics
The first thing you’ll notice when you lift the Boox Tab Ultra C from its box is that it is substantially heavy. At 480g (1.06 lbs), it is probably one of if not the heaviest E Ink reading devices you can get your hands on, at least within the same 10-inch size category. Part of that is due to the use of more durable but also heavier aluminum, and part of it is simply due to the amount of hardware inside. More on that in a bit.
What this means, however, is that the Boox Tab Ultra C is uncomfortable to hold unsupported with one hand for a long period of time. Some might even already feel some strain for just a few minutes, let alone half an hour of continuous reading. Admittedly, leisurely reading books isn’t the core purpose of this device anyway. Instead, it’s a device that brings together the power and flexibility of an Android tablet with the comfort and longevity of an E Ink screen, making it more of a productivity tool than a mere eBook reader. It is, in a way, closer to an iPad Pro or a Galaxy Tab S8 in function and closer in weight class as well.
The Pen 2 Pro that Onyx ships in the box is light and well-balanced, making it a great tool for writing and sketching. The flat edge of the barrel is a natural resting spot for the fingers, adding to the pen’s grip. There are no buttons to be wary of, though that also means there is no additional functionality available. The top of the pen only works as an eraser, at least in apps that can recognize it as such.
The Boox Magnetic Keyboard Cover adds protection to the tablet, but at 408g (0.9 lbs), it also doubles the tablet’s overall weight. It’s definitely something you’ll want to take off if you’re not using the keyboard or carrying the Boox Tab Ultra C around. Thankfully, the magnets align the tablet and the cover perfectly, so you won’t lose too much time putting it on again. Like almost all keyboard covers of its kind, there’s only one viewing angle, which isn’t exactly the best ergonomic position. For typing on the go and away from your desk, it’s practically the only feasible position anyway.
Performance
It may have an E Ink screen on top, but the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C is an Android tablet at its very heart. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 with 4GB of RAM and a generous 128GB of expandable internal storage, it is the equivalent of a mid-range Android tablet, at least from two or so years ago. It’s no racehorse, of course, but it’s definitely the most powerful chipset to grace an E Ink device. This is especially important since the Boox Tab Ultra C comes with Google Play Store pre-installed, which means you have access to all the Android apps you can ever want.
Thanks to this potent combination, the Boox Tab Ultra C is possibly the most capable E Ink tablet in the market to date. Onyx’s custom UI is snappy and responsive, and apps launch quickly and perform quite decently. Those coming from regular tablets might point out the small pauses when using apps, but this is more due to the ePaper panel refreshing its contents rather than sluggishness on the tablet’s part. Those used to regular eReaders will definitely come off impressed by the device’s smooth performance.
The tablet comes with a 6,300 mAh battery, which is definitely plenty for an E Ink device. That said, the tablet’s actual uptime is going to be shorter than your typical eReader if you tend to use more apps outside of basic reading and note-taking. With access to so many apps, you might be tempted to run wild, especially since the device is more than capable of supporting those. The stereo speakers are plenty loud, for example, and the Ultrafast refresh mode even makes YouTube usable. You can even play some games if you’re up to some grainy graphics and plenty of ghosting.
The Boox Tab Ultra C’s killer feature is, of course, its 10.3-inch Kaleido 3 E Ink screen, the current king when it comes to colored ePaper displays in the consumer market. When displaying Black and White content, the screen boasts a high 300dpi pixel density. With color, the density dips to 150dpi, which is actually still higher than previous colored E Ink technologies. What this means is that content will always be sharp and crisp, whether colored or grayscale. Of course, not all content is the same, so Onyx provides controls that let you mix settings to your tastes. With warm and cool brightness settings, you can also tweak the display to your comfort, ensuring that you don’t lose the eye-friendly benefits of E Ink even with all the color and power the device offers.
Sustainability
Onyx deserves props for choosing aluminum over plastic for the Boox Tab Ultra C’s body, even if its other models haven’t made the switch yet. Its packaging is also simple and compact, though it still has the customary plastic wrappings and sections. Onyx doesn’t ship a charger with the device, though it comes with a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging and data transfer purposes. Unfortunately, this is the bare minimum effort that consumer electronics companies are supposed to make, and we’re hoping that Onyx will differentiate itself further with a stronger sustainability commitment soon.
The slight upside is that Onyx’s devices are made to last, both in hardware and especially in software. People don’t switch eBook readers as often as, say, phones and tablets, and the Boox Tab Ultra C is no different. This particular tablet has just enough power to carry it for years, which is also how long Onyx usually pushes out software updates. For its purpose and design, you won’t be going after the most resource-intensive apps anyway, so you’re unlikely to chase after new specs and features for a long while.
Value
As powerful and as impressive as the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C is, it’s probably not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, just as not everyone might be in the market for a regular tablet. Even those who have been dreaming of reading colorful comics and magazines ever since the earliest days of eBook readers might be on the fence about whether to grab this particular device or not.
While its A5-sized screen is great for reading magazines, PDFs, comics, and documents, it isn’t the most convenient thing to read on, especially if you consider its heft. The biggest deal breaker, however, is the $600 price tag attached to the device, making it one of the most expensive eReaders out there. And that’s not yet considering the $110 magnetic keyboard cover that turns the device into a convenient and eye-friendly productivity tool.
That’s not to say that there’s no market for the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C because it happens to be one of the company’s recent successes. You just have to approach it with the right frame of mind, not as a large colored eReader but as an Android tablet with a colored E Ink display. From that perspective, the device is actually on par with mid-range devices, at least those that truly offer notable functionality wrapped in a decent design. In that regard, the Boox Tab Ultra C checks all the right boxes, delivering unmatched value for its price.
Verdict
We have all become dependent on device screens, whether it’s the computer we use for work, the phone we use to connect with people, or the TVs we use to chill. As vibrant and as beautiful as those screens may be, they have an adverse effect on our health, especially our eyes. E Ink devices like eBook readers have long been hailed as the solution to that, but those have only benefited avid readers, at least until now.
The Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C brings that same eye-saving technology to an Android tablet that will satisfy your reading craving and then some. Although its weight is no small matter, and its price is a bit on the expensive side, it easily pays for itself with all the things you can do on it that go beyond just consuming content. Whether you’re a huge comics buff, a budding artist, a novelist, or even a programmer, the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C has got you covered, and your eyes will definitely thank you for it.
3D printing is one of those revolutionary technologies that truly changed the world even years after it became a hot topic. Whether you’re a lone hobbyist or a small company, these seemingly magical boxes are able to bring ideas and dreams to life or at least help jump-start the process of testing and refinement. Despite its amazing achievements, 3D printing technology is actually still at its puberty stage, with plenty of room for growth and, more importantly, experimentation. Fortunately, there are plenty of designers, engineers, and dreamers who are willing and eager to push the boundaries of what 3D printers are able to accomplish, whether it’s in manufacturing, food, or design. This experimental shoe, for example, makes you look like you’re wearing some sort of sci-fi wireframe footwear, and its complex structure really puts 3D printers to the test.
In the beginning, 3D printers naturally had very limited capabilities, able to build only closed forms or relatively simple shapes. The materials used would be variants of plastic that would be unsuitable for anything but the gentlest and driest applications. Over time, though, 3D printing has moved onto a wider variety of materials, like metal or even chocolate, and more complicated structures. EXPLR 02 builds on top of that to create a design that is one part made of geometric structures and another part inspired by nature.
The result is a pair of shoes that look like the wireframe that you’d see in 3D modeling software, though with an even higher resolution and number of empty spaces. The design, however, takes its inspiration not from those digital artifacts but from nature itself. Repeating patterns, organic forms, and an almost chaotic composition all come together to create footwear that is both beautiful and intriguing.
This kind of design also pushes the envelope of what can be produced by 3D printers, particularly because of structural and material requirements. The complex mesh structure of the shoes requires an agile and flexible 3D printer, while elasticity and durability would need to be provided by unconventional materials that might not yet be available on these printers.
Whether EXPLR 02 can be a useful and practical footwear design, however, is still an open question. The myriad holes on the shoe’s surface provide better ventilation but also has less protection for the foot inside it. The structural integrity of such a design can also be in question since the thin intersecting lines could make it less durable under rugged conditions. Once resolved, though, it could open the doors to usable 3D-printed footwear, which could, in turn, unleash the floodgates of creativity in coming up with fresh shoe designs.
Although technology and progress have definitely made many aspects of our lives easier, we’re also bombarded with so many things that make those same lives stressful. From visual or sensory overload coming from computers and phones to the information overload that we have to juggle for work and personal life, our brains and even our bodies are sometimes screaming for a break at the end of the day. Fortunately, you don’t need to drop and abandon everything to go on a month-long retreat to recover your sanity. Even simple things can help you rediscover the joys of life, and here are five great gift ideas that will not only help you relax but also solve some of the problems of everyday life, thanks to some Japanese design creativity and ingenuity.
1. Miniature Bonfire Wood Diffuser Set
Different people have different preferences and tolerances for scents. While some might love the fragrance of vanilla, others might prefer the smell of different flowers instead. Still, others might have a fondness for the smell of the woods and the mountains, something that isn’t always offered by most essential oils and aroma diffusers. The Miniature Bonfire Wood Diffuser Set easily sets itself apart with a cute collection of mini wooden logs and a tiny pocket stove that recreates not only the smells but also the experience of a memorable outdoor campfire.
The miniature hardwood, collected from branches that would normally be thrown away, gives off a smoky scent when burnt on the stainless steel miniature stove. Add a few drops of essential oils extracted from Mt. Hakusan trees, and you’ve got an authentic outdoor scent that will bring your mind to the soothing embrace of nature. And with a piece of solid fuel, you can even use the same stove as an actual cooking or heating tool, completing the circle of an outdoor experience at home or in your backyard.
Aroma diffusers are a popular tool people use to relax, but some produce more stress than they relieve. Some overwhelm or irritate your nose with vapors, while others leave you praying for a good breeze to carry those calming scents to you. Rather than leave it up to chance, this beautiful Stress-Free Aroma Diffuser really lets you just sit back and relax, making sure you’re breathing in the perfect mix of aromatic blends to soothe your tired mind. It creates its own gentle breeze to softly disperse the aroma evenly, while a porcelain filter soaks up the oil for a longer-lasting experience. Cleaning that filter is equally stress-free since you only need to rinse it under the tap.
The diffuser’s polished metal base creates a beautiful contrast with the more organic-looking porcelain disc on top, forming an elegant decoration that looks just as appealing as it smells. And thanks to its built-in rechargeable battery, you can place it anywhere you want, and it will work just as well, not to mention standing beautifully on top of any desk or shelf design.
While our noses can give us a bit of a reprieve from hectic and stressful days, our eyes are the ones that probably need the most help in stepping back from visual information overload. We can’t always keep our eyes closed, of course, so the next best thing is to always have something pleasing to look at nearby or in places we often look at. Pictures of loved ones and pets will always bring a smile to our faces, but a minimalist yet beautiful flower arrangement can also keep us thinking beautiful thoughts, especially when they’re set on a vase as unique as these Modular Flower Tubes.
Instead of a single container for a large bunch of flowers and stems, this “modular” vase uses thin copper tubes of different heights placed on a circular wooden base. The size of the tubes limits how much they can hold, letting you be more creative in how you arrange different elements, including empty tubes, just for effect. These Modular Flower Tubes not only bring a one-of-a-kind vessel for plants and flowers, it also helps give your creativity an outlet to keep your mind off more stressful concerns.
One of the biggest sources of stress is when things don’t go according to plan or when things don’t work like they’re supposed to. The latter is especially applicable to gadgets, particularly computers and smartphones, that we often rely on to keep everything, including our notes. As they say, simple is best, and nothing gets simpler than pen and paper. Actually, that’s not entirely true because this Personal Whiteboard not only gets simpler but also removes some of the worries and concerns surrounding plain pen and paper.
Imagine the liberating experience of never running out of paper. With an A4-sized whiteboard that you can carry with you everywhere, that dream easily becomes reality. The Personal Whiteboard, however, brings those little extras that truly make life worry-free, like a cover that protects what you wrote but also acts as an eraser that is with you all the time. There’s even an innovative Mag Force system that is both a handle and a pen loop, so you never have to stress over losing that all-important whiteboard marker ever again.
There is probably nothing more stressful, frustrating, and dangerous than falling over while putting on your shoes when you’re already in a rush. While shoehorns try to make it easier to, well, shoehorn your foot into your footwear, they aren’t exactly the easiest to use nor the safest. They aren’t also the most attractive tools in your house, which is why they’re often hidden and then get lost when you need them the most.
The Invisible Shoehorn, in contrast, is something you’d proudly put on display precisely because it looks nothing like a shoehorn. The stainless steel tool combines with a clear acrylic handle to form a beautiful rod ornament that hides the shoehorn in plain sight. The shoehorn’s sturdy metal body and elongated shape also make it easy to put on a shoe without bending and breaking your back. Finally, you can have an ergonomic tool that’s also beautiful to behold, presuming you can even see the shoehorn masquerading as a unique piece of home decoration.
Coffee tables, sofas, side tables, and shelves have all become points of interest and pride these days. Since they usually become the visual centers of a room, owners take the opportunity to use furniture that either reflects their interests and personality or, at the very least, shows off their design tastes. The variety of designs for tables and chairs can range from the ultra-minimalist to the highly elaborate, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. You don’t have to go overboard, however, just to make a memorable impact. This table, for example, is nothing but a few circles, one of which isn’t even full, and three colors, but the asymmetric combination gives it a vibrant and playful character, especially once you start looking at it from different angles.
Dutch artist Pier Mondrian showed that it doesn’t take much to leave a lasting impression. His famed “Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow” simply used three colors, aside from black and white, and asymmetrical shapes to create a masterpiece that would be remembered for decades. This harmony of contrasts and economy of colors are what inspired this peculiar table design, resulting in a piece that, while artistic, also conveys some of that tension between elements in a lively manner.
Instead of squares, the RYB Coffee Table uses two circles and a half circle joined by transparent rods that make the circles look as if they’re floating on air. The three pieces serve different functions, like a tabletop, a secondary table, and a magazine or vinyl record holder. The top circle can even be removed and placed in a different position, making the design a bit modular.
While the main parts can be made of different materials and use a monochromatic scheme, the best effect is achieved with translucent or transparent material and sticking to the original red, yellow, and blue triplet. This particular combination really brings out the table’s personality, making it look like hard candy or stained glass. Even better, looking at the different pieces through each other can bring out other colors, like green resulting from mixing yellow and blue.
In terms of functionality, however, the RYB Coffee Table is probably better as a side table, though it will still manage to grab anyone’s attention, regardless of its location. Its arrangement makes it look a little unbalanced visually, which could make some people hesitate to put anything fragile on top. That’s also why it’s probably better off to the side rather than as a centerpiece, lending a bit of vibrancy and life to the room without getting in the way.
For people whose lives and livelihoods depend on computers, having more than one or even two monitors is both a necessity and a luxury. You can only have so many screens on your desk, and you won’t be able to carry them around to bring your preferred workflow anywhere else. That’s why there has been a sudden increase of “multi-monitor laptops” on crowdfunding platforms, most of which are just short-term fixes to a lingering problem. Unfortunately, the ideal solution of having virtual screens floating before our very eyes is still a distant dream, but engineers and designers have been working on stop-gap options in the meantime. A new contender has just loudly announced its arrival, and while it looks a bit less ambitious than other AR solutions we’ve seen so far, it could also become the most usable and approachable of them all.
In a nutshell, Spacetop is a laptop without a screen, whose lone monitor is replaced by AR glasses similar to those marketed by companies such as Nreal. Similar to those AR platforms, it promises a nearly infinite screen space where you can have as many windows open as your eyes can see. A key difference, however, is that you still have the usual keyboard and touchpad that sits on top of the computing guts, exactly like a laptop, making it sound more realistic compared to “air typing” in VR or AR. But while Spacetop sounds like a dream come true, it might also become a disaster for the well-being of already taxed and strained computer users. To see the forest for the trees, here are five ways Spacetop can be a boon to computer users and five ways it can be a bane instead.
5 Reasons Space is Great for Business
Infinite Monitor
Let’s face it, most of us would probably like to have as much screen space as possible if it were only physically possible. Although you will most likely just focus on one to three windows at a time, having easy access to other information without having to click around is still a great time saver. Monitoring the home security camera off to the side, keeping an eye on social media trends, and just having entertaining or inspiring content within your view are a lot better than seeing the clutter on your desk all the time.
Since that’s not possible in the physical realm, Spacetop’s solution resides purely in the virtual one. It’s not exactly the first to make that proposition, but it could turn out to be the most accessible one. AR glasses that don’t weigh your head down, a normal physical keyboard and touchpad, and a potentially more approachable price tag could finally make that infinite screen space dream come true.
Total Privacy
One reason why you wouldn’t want to have too many physical monitors is that you can’t really block off other people from nosing around your business. That’s also why those multi-monitor laptop accessories aren’t ideal in public places because it only increases the risk of people seeing what should be private and secret information. There are laptops and monitors that now implement a sort of privacy screen, but that only works on a single monitor.
Spacetop solves this by removing monitors altogether. In your own virtual bubble, you’re the only one that can see the contents of your screen unless you start sharing it with others virtually. But while this does address the problem of unauthorized eyes peeking at your non-existent monitors, it also means those next to you who need to see them won’t be able to unless you hand over your glasses.
Better Posture
While laptops are great at being portable, they’re terrible at being comfortable. The fact that the screen is permanently attached to the keyboard means you’ll always be craning down your neck, even if you have a gigantic laptop screen. That’s why even laptop owners would attach a desktop monitor at the office or at home to relieve some of the pain coming from that improper posture. Spacetop doesn’t have a screen, of course, so you’re free to raise your head to a more natural and comfortable height. There’s no need for ergonomic monitor stands or arms because there’s no monitor to speak of in the first place.
Laser Focus
Given Spacetop’s design, it supports a very specific use case, one that revolves around productively using computer programs for work and a bit of personal time. It puts everything you need in front of you and around you, effectively blocking out visual distractions coming from the outside world. Whether you let virtual distractions get to you is something you get to decide on your own rather than having other people decide for you.
At the same time, Spacetop is a bit restricted in the applications you’ll be able to use. Its Android-based operating system and mobile hardware dictate what apps you’ll have access to, which won’t include every software under the sun, especially those that require Windows or macOS (unless you have access to a remote desktop of some sort). It also means little to no gaming, which might sound ironic for an AR platform. There will probably be some ways to get past these limitations, but it won’t be as convenient an experience as on a normal computer.
Complete Freedom
With basically just the lower half of a laptop, Spacetop removes almost all physical restrictions of computing. The world effectively becomes your office, and you can set up your workstation anywhere you want or need to. You might not even need a table if you can comfortably balance Spacetop on your lap, just like what a laptop should be able to do.
This practically means you don’t have to worry about not being productive just because you’re away from home or the office or that you won’t be able to respond to emergencies without your trusty desktop monitor. In a nutshell, Spacetop frees you to be able to do your work or hobbies anywhere, but is that really a good thing?
5 Reasons Spacetop is a Bad Idea
Diminished Awareness
Augmented reality technologies have progressed significantly over the past years, but they still retain one significant flaw. Most implementations still cover a large part of your vision, and Spacetop pretty much makes it worse by having dozens of windows blocking the full range of your vision. Yes, you can limit the number of windows to just a handful, but that wouldn’t be getting the best out of its capabilities.
This, in turn, could affect your spatial awareness, effectively making you blind to what’s happening around you. Yes, there will be parts of your vision that won’t be covered by windows or the glasses, but these will just be in your periphery. This will be especially dangerous in public places where you should be more attentive to your surroundings than when you’re at home or in the office.
Social Isolation
Being able to focus on work in the middle of a bustling cafe is a good thing, but doing that among family, friends, and peers might be in poor taste. Sure, we’ll find people who are always glued to their phones, even in a circle of friends, but Spacetop takes that a step further by actually advertising your detachment from present company.
Even if socially acceptable, such isolation can also have practical downsides in a workgroup setting. Spacetop is a very personal and private experience, which also means you can’t quickly show your work to others unless it’s being shown on an external display. Even then, you won’t be able to see their natural reactions to your presentation unless all of them are on a virtual call anyway. Then again, that lack of natural response has been a recurring problem with Zooms and Meets, and those happen even on a normal screen.
Ergonomic Concerns
The lack of a laptop monitor does give our neck a bit of relief, but Spacetop doesn’t exactly solve everything else. You won’t need to lean to look at the monitor, but this virtual space won’t stop you from slouching instead. Neck strain can also come from a different source this time, like when you have to constantly turn sideways to view the nearly infinite amount of screens at your disposal. You’ll also have to wear the AR glasses the whole time, which can become uncomfortable for long periods, even for those used to wearing eyeglasses. Lastly, having displays or lenses so physically close to the eyes might have even worse ramifications compared to regular monitors.
Spacetop makes the dream of an AR laptop a bit more approachable by reusing the familiar keyboard and touchpad combo. Unfortunately, this combo is also one of the big sources of repetitive strain injuries, and this screenless laptop doesn’t exactly address that. In fact, it could make things worse by encouraging a mindset that thinks working anytime, anywhere is actually a good thing.
Limited Utility
The Spacetop’s laser-focus advantage could also be one of its weaknesses. Most of the examples shown off so far revolve around what would be considered “regular” office work, like making presentations, analyzing charts, responding to emails, and the like. This definitely covers a large part of what people use laptops for, but it’s hardly the most important one, especially for those who need unlimited screen space and the freedom to work anywhere inspiration strikes.
Designers and creatives, in particular, would benefit from having a larger canvas to put their digital content and tools on, and Spacetop can definitely help with that. These users, however, also often need specialized peripherals to do their work, like pens, MIDI instruments, and the like. You can probably attach these to the Spacetop as you would with a normal laptop, but it will be difficult to use them because of the visual occlusion. Suffice it to say, Spacetop’s design and focus seem to be biased towards office and knowledge workers that toil for hours on documents and data, which they can now do anywhere with fewer excuses.
Unbalanced Lifestyle
Spacetop is an interesting application of AR technology that makes this dream of an infinite number of monitors more relatable and approachable, not to mention a little bit more affordable. It lets people carry the equivalent of a gigantic screen that no one else can see, enabling them to truly work anywhere. It’s kind of liberating but also a bit worrying because it pretty much empowers a workaholic mentality.
People’s computers are often overloaded with desktop icons, files, and browser tabs, reflecting their own mental overload and often unbalanced lifestyles. Instead of helping them gain control over these and learn how to properly manage these things, this screenless AR laptop pretty much just gives them more room to stack more tabs and windows and do more work. And this time, their bosses can probably expect or even demand work to be done anytime, anywhere since they’d have all the space they need. At the end of the day, healthy well-being is the most important factor in productivity, and that’s not something you can gain just by having more screen space.
Let’s face it. No matter how we sugarcoat or gamify it, household chores won’t always be fun and exciting. The very word itself has become synonymous with “burdensome,” and there will always be aspects of the task that will always be unpleasant. Unfortunately, these are also tasks that are critical to living a comfortable and healthy life, such as doing the laundry or cleaning up after pets. Since there’s no way to avoid doing them, the best solution would be to complete these chores in the easiest and fastest way possible without compromising on efficiency and safety. Fortunately, we’re at a point in history where technology and design have given us so many products to assist in household work, perhaps even too many to choose from. To help narrow down those choices, here are Yanko Design’s Top 10 home appliances that let you breeze through those chores so that you can spend your time on things that matter the most.
1. OSOTEK HotWave Mop Vacuum
Robot vacuums might be good for regular maintenance of floors, but they might not cut it for heavier workloads and more stubborn dirt. That doesn’t mean you have to fall back onto less efficient and harder-to-use appliances, especially when there are smarter alternatives available. This one, for example, might look like a typical upright vacuum cleaner, but its innovative use of hot water to mop floors easily sets it apart from the crowd.
The OSOTEK HotWave’s built-in water heater makes sure that you’ll be able to get out those pesky stains, something that robot mops still can’t get right these days. Its intelligent suction power automatically adjusts how much suction you need depending on how much dirt its infrared sensor detects. And with its self-cleaning and self-drying features, all you really need to do is to take the OSOTEK HotWave from its base, walk around with it like a regular vacuum, and return it to its base so that it will be clean and dry for your next use. No dirt, no stains, no sweat.
When parents tell kids that a pet is a big responsibility, they’re probably referring to more than just feeding them and giving them baths. Cleaning up after our furry friends, especially when they’ve “done their thing,” can be the least enjoyable part of having a pet. That’s especially true when dogs leave their traces outdoors, much to the annoyance of other people and the embarrassment of their owners. Fortunately, you don’t need to get down and dirty anymore just to pick up after your canine pal, thanks to PUPSULE.
It may look like some prop from a kid’s sci-fi or secret spy show, but this leakproof mechanical arm is exactly what you need to safely and easily pick up your dog’s brown treasure. It almost feels like a game where you deftly pull out a poop bag, drape it over PUPSULE’s claw, and use the plunger to get the job done with the filled bag safely stowed inside the capsule, ready for dropping into a garbage bin. It’s a no-fuss, no-mess solution that will make walks with your dog a lot less stressful.
Even before the present smart home wave, there was already a small number of robots rolling around some houses. Robot vacuum cleaners have been around for years now, and although they haven’t exactly changed their basic circular design, they have definitely become smarter and more sophisticated, offering features and perks that help take our minds off the dirt and stains on our floors. There is, in fact, a dizzying number of choices now available in the market, and ECOVACS ROBOTICS has one for every need and budget.
Those just getting their feet wet to keep their floors dry won’t go wrong with DEEBOT N10 PLUS, an entry-level option that offers a solid set of features, including laser-based navigation as well smart mopping. The DEEBOT T9+ takes cleaning to the next level with TruDetect 3D 2.0, which can avoid the objects that kids and pets tend to leave lying around. It even has a built-in air freshener to make sure that the room smells good while the floor stays clean. Right at the top stands the DEEBOT T10 OMNI, offering self-cleaning mop pads and voice control, ensuring that you’ll never have to stoop down just to keep your floors spic and span.
Keeping your house clean is important for hygienic living, but drinking clean water is even more critical to a healthy life. There are plenty of water purifying devices and products in the market, ranging from pitchers with filters to full-blown machines, but many of them ironically end up polluting the rest of the planet’s waters in the long run, directly or indirectly.
LARQ is a more sustainable solution to keeping both our bodies and our planet healthy. Using innovative carbon-derived, plant-based filters, this purifying pitcher not manages to clean water from pollutants but also makes water taste crisp and pure. Whether it’s for drinking plain water or making better-tasting smoothies, this sustainable water filtering pitcher quickly delivers pure and crisp water that will help sustain you for your next round of chores.
After all those chores, sleep is a most welcomed respite where we finally let our tired bodies rest. But even our seemingly peaceful bedrooms can be home to invisible things that still need to be cleaned out. In fact, we’re pretty much defenseless from these harmful substances when we’re asleep, so we have to rely on external help to clean up the air around our beds. That’s the kind of peaceful slumber that the AirTulip Sleep smart headboard is aiming for, and it does so in a rather unusual and creative way.
Unlike your typical air purifiers, the AirTulip Sleep integrates a medical-grade laminar flow purifier into a stylish headboard that you can match with any bed or linen design. Its unique technology practically creates a purified air bubble around you that doesn’t mix with other air in the room, effectively keeping contaminants away. As a bonus, the headboard integrates features like wireless charging, ambient light, reading lamps, and power outlets, making sure you can get the most out of your time in bed, whether asleep or just chilling out.
It isn’t just cleaning up after pets that is a chore. Cleaning up after humans, including ourselves, can be just as stressful. Of the many places in the house that requires the most cleaning, the kitchen is probably one of the highest. Never mind the pots and pans used for cooking, even just washing the plates and utensils we use every meal can be a tiring and wasteful activity. Of course, there are dishwashers nowadays, but these convenient machines turn out to be quite inefficient and ineffective at what it’s supposed to do.
It might look like an odd part of the kitchen, but Dayoo is an innovative alternative that combines the best of dishwashers and manual washing. Using a showerhead-like nozzle, it utilizes a high-pressure jet of steam to clean plates, bowls, pans, knives, and anything in between. Not only does it help save water, it also makes it easier to reach areas that neither dishwashers nor faucets can access, ensuring a thorough job of making your kitchenware clean and ready for their next use.
Cat owners have a different problem when it comes to their friend’s regular discharges. While these furballs can be trained to do their thing in litter boxes, making sure that those remain clean and odor-free isn’t as easy as it sounds. That can be especially problematic with fussy felines, though that can now be a thing of the past thanks to Smarty Pear’s latest contraption, Leo’s Loo Too.
Looking more like a toy washing machine that almost functions like one, this smart litter box promises a hands-free and worry-free experience for humans and a comfortable and safe life for the cat. Not only does it automatically clean after the cat, it can also log your pet’s visits and weight so you can keep tabs on their health as well. It will even alert you when its waste bag is full, so you don’t have to constantly check the drawer for yourself. It’s the purrfect fix for feline fans.
Along with washing the dishes, doing the laundry is one of the inevitable chores that almost everyone experiences. Thankfully, there is also an abundance of technologies that make life easier for humans, though they sadly come at the expense of our planet’s own life. Very few realize that the dirty water that comes out of even the smartest washing machine has tiny particles that end up polluting the Earth’s waters. Cleaning our dirty laundry shouldn’t have to mean keeping our planet dirty, and that is what this simple, sustainable solution is delivering.
Gulp is a small machine that attaches to the wastewater output of any kind of washing machine, filtering the microplastics that our clothes shed during the washing process. Since it drains the excess water on its own, you don’t have to do anything afterward except empty the filter cup of the dried microfibers. Even better, Gulp’s creators will accept this captured material for research and recycling, ensuring that they won’t touch our planet’s waters ever again.
Almost like our furniture, not everyone will be happy with a single robot vacuum cleaner design. Indeed, there might be too many options available, and they can vary greatly in terms of features and core functions. Of course, most advertise vacuuming as the main purpose, which is what the majority of people look for anyway. As if to turn that idea on its head, the Narwal T10 seems to make sucking up dirt its second-best feature only, putting most of its focus on mopping your floor clean.
Make no mistake, it’s still a good vacuum cleaner, but the Narwal T10 really shines when it comes to mopping the floor and then cleaning those mop heads without getting your hands dirty. Its LIDAR-based navigation makes sure it knows exactly where to go, or at least where you allow it to go in each room. Its “squircle” design also makes it stand out visually, driving home the image of being different from your typical large robot pucks.
Robot vacuum cleaners might be smart and useful, but their utility ends at your doors. When it comes to keeping lawns trimmed and clean, most have to settle for less efficient and less effective tools. Some smart lawnmowers, for example, aren’t smart enough to really know where to go, and you often end up having to set up ugly wire fences to keep them from going astray.
The LawnMeister robot lawnmower practically brings all the brains and technologies enjoyed by robot vacs from indoors to outdoors, allowing this roving grass cutter to know where they should and shouldn’t go, avoid obstacles and furry critters, and even spray fertilizer where it’s needed. Neighborhood kids might be bummed out at having less employment, but your lawn will definitely appreciate the smarter attention you can now give it without even lifting a finger.
The venerable computer mouse hasn’t changed its basic format in decades, though there have been additions like the middle mouse button or scroll wheel and shifts from trackball to laser. That means that this essential tool for modern-day life still bears many of the ergonomic flaws of its ancestor, an almost literal pain point in the age of computing. There have been a few design ideas centered around fixing this problem, though many of them pretty much change the mouse to the point that it has become unrecognizable. This particular design concept, however, has none of those and is instead focused on making the mouse a little bit more sustainable, mostly by letting you reuse keyboard parts that you might already have lying around.
There has been a surge of interest in mechanical keyboards, especially among workers and gamers that rely heavily on precision, comfort, and satisfying experiences. Because of this, there are plenty of keyboard switches and keycaps available in the market for those who not only love customizing their keyboards but also repairing them on their own. In contrast, computer mice have barely reached that point where you can easily replace broken buttons, let alone change certain parts to your heart’s content and delight.
That is the kind of limitation that the Gima mouse concept tries to overcome, and it does so in a rather curious and almost whimsical way. The typical mouse buttons are replaced by what looks like keyboard keys because they are actually keyboard keys. Underneath the keycaps are actual mechanical keyboard switches that you can mix and match with whatever spares you might be lying around.
The general idea is to offer the same level of customization and flexibility that mechanical keyboards have, but on the other computer peripheral that barely offers such features. You can, for example, use the level of resistance you prefer using different switches, or you can use different keycaps to reflect your personal style. You might settle for simple L and R letters, or you can use specially-designed caps with different graphics. This also means that should one or even both of the buttons break, you can easily replace it with any other keycap or switch.
While the design is definitely interesting, Gima, unfortunately, doesn’t address the mouse’s ergonomic problem and may, in fact, make it worse. The resistance offered by mechanical switches for keyboards might not exactly be ideal for repetitively clicking with the same finger. The soap bar shape of Gima might also lead to incorrect positioning of the hand and the wrist, and the location of the touch-sensitive slope for the mouse wheel exacerbates the situation. To its credit, Gima does touch on the need to have a repairable and customizable mouse, much like their larger keyboard partners.
