Author Archives: JC Torres

Samsung Galaxy A15 and A25 launched with an odd design element

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Compared to its rather rowdy past, Samsung has been changing its phone designs less frequently these days. This allows the brand to cement its image, especially when those designs remain unique to it. The absence of a large camera bump, for example, has become a signature element in Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S phones, espousing a level of minimalism not found in other brands. It’s also becoming a standard even in its mid-range Galaxy A family, almost turning into Samsung’s design DNA. That’s not to say it no longer experiments with different designs, as demonstrated by its latest mid-range models that bear what might be the strangest design detail to have come across a Samsung phone in recent years.

Designer: Samsung

At first glance, the new Galaxy A15 and A25 look quite plain, almost like the smaller versions of the Samsung Galaxy S flagship. In fact, given what we know so far about next year’s upcoming Galaxy S24, you could almost say they prefigure Samsung’s next big thing. The Galaxy A15 and A25 feature very flat edges on all sides, at least except where the volume and power buttons are.

In most smartphones, the volume and power buttons are the only pieces that protrude from the side of an otherwise flat or featureless edge. It’s a necessary style to allow the fingers to immediately locate and press the buttons even without seeing them. Samsung, however, seems to have gotten the idea to raise not the buttons themselves but the area surrounding the buttons. It calls it “Key Island,” and it seems to be inspired by the common camera island or camera bump design on most smartphones.

The area flanking and in between these two buttons are raised almost to the same height as the buttons themselves. The sides of this mound gently curve upward while the island itself has a curved surface that contrasts with the flat edges of the rest of the phone. It’s not immediately clear, but it seems that the volume and power buttons still rise a little bit higher than the island, making it a two-step elevation also like some smartphone camera bumps.

While it adds a bit of visual uniqueness to the Galaxy A15 and A25, it is still puzzling why Samsung decided to go with this Key Island design in the first place. To some extent, it defeats the purpose of tactile physical buttons since it will be harder for fingers to sense where the correct buttons or areas actually are. The extruded portion might also snag more than simple buttons, not to mention taking up more space and becoming incompatible with cases that would have otherwise fit these two phones. Thankfully, these are mid-tier products and Samsung can afford to play around with what might become unpopular designs. Hopefully, this isn’t a foreshadowing of what the Galaxy S24 will have in a few months.

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Figma Creator Micro Keyboard gives designers all the shortcuts they need

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Computers are powerful tools that enable all kinds of workflows, including designing products, architectures, or artwork. As powerful as they may be, the devices that we currently have for creating these digital artifacts aren’t exactly conducive to the creative process. Keyboards are large and clunky, and while there are indeed styluses that act like electronic pens, they still require the use of keys at some point or another. Keyboard shortcuts are supposed to help manage those dozens if not hundreds of actions available, but the finger gymnastics and memorization required create more stress and break the creative workflow. That is why custom-made keyboards are becoming popular among creators and designers, and this newest addition offers plenty of power in a small and cute package.

Designer: Figma x Work Louder

Almost all software for designers and creatives makes use of keyboard shortcuts so that you don’t have to dig through countless menus every time you need to do something. Sadly, the way keyboards work means you have to string a series of keys that may or may not have anything related to the action like Ctrl and Z keys to undo and Ctrl and Y to redo. Not only does it make it harder to remember these shortcuts, they can also be painful for your fingers in the long run.

Enter the Figma Creator Micro Keyboard, a small square keyboard with only 12 mechanical keys arranged in a cross formation. The idea is that you can map each of the keys to a single function so you don’t have to press two or more keys to get the same outcome. Of course, 12 keys won’t be enough for many software (Figma itself has over 150 possible actions), but the Figma Creator has four “layers” so that each key can actually have four actions. That gives you a total of 48 keys in groups of 12, available by simply tapping a capacitive sensor in the corner.

In addition to these keys, there are two analog controls available as well, a dial and a wheel, both of which are also clickable. These can be mapped to changing brush sizes or going through a sequence of undos and redos in rapid succession, basically, anything that would involve a slider or list of some sort. These are must-haves for digital painting and design software, proving how this keyboard was made with this kind of work specifically in mind.

The design of the keyboard itself is quite captivating and fun, using a frosted polycarbonate case that lets the RGB lighting inside shine through. The low-profile concave keycaps are replaceable, so you can pick your theme or design to match your mood and workflow. The catch is that the keyboard costs $139 and is currently still on pre-order, though it does make for a worthwhile investment if you find your fingers always aching and sore after an intense work session.

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ASUS ROG Phone 8 design takes a very different direction

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Almost every smartphone these days can play games, especially the expensive high-end ones, but there are a few that definitely take the cake. They’re labeled gaming phones not just because of some special feature, such as a tiny fan spinning inside, but also because of the gamer aesthetics that they embrace. For years now, the ASUS ROG Phone has held the crown of having the most gamer-friendly design, but it seems that it’s finally willing to let that title go next year. Based on its own teasers, the next Republic of Gamers smartphone might be embracing a more mainstream design in exchange for what might finally be more capable cameras as well.

Designer: ASUS (via GSMarena)

ASUS ROG Phone 7

To be fair, there is no guidebook on how to apply a gamer aesthetic to products, but you can bet it will have plenty of RGB lighting and lines going in multiple directions that suggest the presence of machine panels. Indeed, the previous ROG Phones have employed those design elements, sometimes even going as far as using small LED screens for more dynamic accents. Of course, none of these are essential to the actual gaming experience, but they do add a nice touch that marks the product as something truly designed with gamers in mind.

ASUS ROG Phone 6

ASUS ROG Phone 6

ASUS ROG Phone 6

Given its history, it’s a bit surprising that the ASUS ROG Phone 8 might do away with those design elements almost entirely. Although nothing’s set in stone yet, the brand’s official teaser suggests that it might be adopting a more minimalist and subdued design, one that eschews the lines and RGB colors. What we see instead is a clean dual-tone composition that, given the gray colors, looks more industrial than futuristic. There could still be some lighting underneath the ROG logo, but could very well be the only place it shows up.

Perhaps more curious is the camera bump design, a thick pentagon laid on top of a square. For generations, the ROG Phones have carried mediocre cameras, so a switch to a triple camera system could be big news for fans of the brand. It’s not a clear win yet, of course, but it’s commendable that ASUS is willing to shake things up to improve its performance.

To its credit, the ROG Phones have slowly been moving towards more conventional and less spectacular designs, but the ROG Phone 8 could have the most drastic changes if the teasers are to be taken at face value. On the one hand, it does help make the ROG Phones more acceptable in “regular” scenarios and won’t stand out as much. On the other hand, if you want a more conventional-looking smartphone that can handle mobile games, there are already plenty of those in the market, making the ROG Phone 8 redundant.

ASUS ROG Phone 7

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Minimalist wall-hanging CD Player visualizes your music in a unique way

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Although digital music, especially through streaming channels, has become the most common way to listen to music these days, they are hardly the only options available. Vinyl has made a comeback in the past years, and audio CDs haven’t really disappeared despite their lower sales. Physical media such as these still have their advantages, especially when it comes to the jackets and sleeves they are packaged in. These usually have images and art that were carefully chosen to visually complement or represent the collection of music the album contains. For convenience’s sake, these jackets and sleeves are often set aside once the discs start turning, but this rather charming portable CD player gives them a special spot so that you can enjoy the art of both the music as well as the cover wherever you go.

Click Here to Buy Now: $179 $199 (10% off at checkout).

Anyone who has used a music streaming service or media player app will probably be familiar with how these display the album art associated with the currently playing track. In a sense, these have replaced those jackets that come with physical CD cases, though the irony is that there is no physical equivalent to the way they function. Once you pop a CD into a player, the case and the jacket are practically forgotten until it’s time to put away the CD again. While practical, it loses the unique flavor that these CD jackets provide by adding a memorable visual element that can be associated with the music.

This minimalist CD player delivers a rather distinctive listening experience that combines the pleasure of audio with the impact of visual art. Rather than having to set aside the CD jacket or sleeve, you can slip it inside the specially-designed pocket so that you can show it off to anyone in view. It’s like the physical equivalent of displaying digital album art, except you have the opportunity to boast about owning the physical original CD, especially if it’s a rare, limited run.

What makes this unique CD player extra special is its portability. It has a built-in 40mm full-range speaker as well as a woofer unit, ensuring that you can listen to your favorite albums wherever you are or wherever you place it in your room or home. The 1,800mAh rechargeable battery promises 7 to 8 hours of playback before you need to plug it in again. Of course, you can still connect an external speaker via the 3.5mm headphone jack or Bluetooth 5.1, but those would probably be the exception rather than the norm.

Despite the addition of a speaker and a battery, this Portable CD Cover Player retains a simple, minimalist, and thin design at only 27mm thick. Thanks to this and its wireless operation, the player can even serve as a piece of decoration, whether standing on a shelf or hanging from a wall. With this ingenious and elegant portable CD player, you get to enjoy your favorite music not just with your ears but also with your eyes.

Click Here to Buy Now: $179 $199 (10% off at checkout).

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Moment iPhone 75mm macro lens lets you get close and personal

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Smartphones are wonderful tools that enable a great deal of functionality, from productivity to gaming to creativity. Their cameras, in particular, are powerful enough to threaten even point-and-click and entry-level cameras, but there are still some things that aren’t possible to achieve because of limitations in size and price. DSLRs, for example, have a wider variety of applications because they can swap out lenses depending on the need. That’s impossible with smartphone cameras, but a compromise has been developed that lets you augment or change the way those cameras work by attaching a separate lens, like this new accessory from Moment that enables a powerful macro shot that’s not normally available on the iPhone.

Designer: Moment

Some Android phones advertise having a macro camera, but those really don’t do justice to what macro lenses are truly capable of. Not only are the magnification levels low, the imaging sensors are also so substandard that it might be better to have no macro camera at all. The only way you’ll be able to pull off a pleasant or dramatic close-up shot is to pair an appropriate lens with a decent sensor.

That’s exactly what the new Moment macro lens brings to the table by attaching a lens with a 75mm focal length equivalent to the powerful wide or ultrawide camera of a smartphone like the iPhone 15 Pro. This kind of lens allows the mobile photographer to capture crisp foreground details with pleasant blurring in the background, even from a distance of four inches from the subject. With a 10x magnification, you can achieve an intense shallow depth of field while still including more of the background in the shot.

Normally, you wouldn’t be able to attach a different lens on a smartphone, but Moment’s T-Series lenses use an innovative yet easy-to-use system to make that possible. In a nutshell, you put a special protective case on the iPhone and then attach compatible lenses on the specially designed mounts to expand the camera’s capabilities using lenses that would have never fit inside the cramped space of a smartphone. This ingenious design means that this new Moment macro lens can also be used on other phones, including the Pixel 8 or Samsung phones, provided you use the matching case or special mount made for the T-series lenses.

With the Moment 75mm macro lens, you can take breath-taking close-up shots of natural objects or even moving subjects, allowing you to create better memories or even win some awards. The $119.99 price tag is a bit tough to swallow, but professionals will probably be able to justify such an expense if they can get more stunning images in every shot. Of course, there’s also the hidden cost of requiring that case to always be on, at least while you’re using the lens, and the lens jutting out from the phone’s back awkwardly, but these are the things that your social media followers will probably never see anyway.

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Small iPhone 16 camera design change could have important implications

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Apple is known for moving slowly but surely, changing things only when it really makes sense and after numerous tests. That can be especially seen in the iPhone’s cameras, which don’t change year after year, unlike the general trend in the mobile industry. Whether it’s the hardware itself or the design of the camera bump, Apple has been careful and meticulous in introducing changes. That’s why it’s a bit of a big thing that Apple is rumored to be changing the iPhone 16’s camera design for the first time in three years, but it’s a change that will bring a significant change in functionality, at least for the base iPhone models, and possibly a very different aesthetic as well.

Designer: Apple (via MacRumors)

Apple has traditionally been modest with its camera hardware because it is able to pull off great images even with sensors that look outdated on paper. It also doesn’t change the design of the camera island as often as other brands, introducing a pill-shaped bump in the iPhone 8 Plus in 2017 and only switching to a square enclosure in the 2019 iPhone 11. In the 2021 iPhone 13, it moved the position of the lenses so that they’d be diagonally opposite to each other, creating a visually more interesting composition than the plain vertical arrangement of the iPhone X.

According to rumors, however, Apple is switching back to a vertical design for the iPhone 16 cameras, and it’s unlikely just on a whim. There is a chance that this change will enable the Spatial Video function that’s only available on the iPhone 15 Pro models, a feature that allows recording video in three dimensions. This, however, requires using both the main wide camera and the ultrawide shooter in tandem, in which case these two sensors have to be aligned vertically or even horizontally.

What’s a little more interesting is that Apple is reportedly testing a different design for this new camera as well. There is one that looks exactly like the iPhone 11 and 12, with the cameras vertically arranged. Another potential design, however, places the vertical pill shape of the iPhone X on top of the square bump of the iPhone 15. As interesting as that may look visually, it’s a rather distracting design and would be a bit complicated and inconsistent with the current iPhone design language.

Changing the camera arrangement to enable Spatial Video recording is another sign that Apple is aiming to bring Pro features to the base iPhone 16. An earlier leak claimed that a redesigned Action Button will be available on all iPhone 16 models. That button will supposedly switch from a mechanical button to a pressure-sensitive capacitive surface, a feature that could expand what the button is capable of doing.

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Portable Battery-free iPhone Speaker for Immersive Music Anywhere

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The ubiquity of smartphones has made these communication tools the perfect portable media players as well, allowing owners to enjoy their tunes, podcasts, and even videos at any given time or place. But while smartphones are great for private listening, even the most powerful smartphone speakers have limits, especially once the sound starts to distort at maximum volumes. Speakers can help spread the sound, but only as much and as far as their batteries or power cords take them. This distinctive smartphone speaker, in contrast, harnesses the laws of physics to take your tunes farther and immerse you and your friends in moving sounds, all without using any power and looking quite handsome to boot!

Designer: Ooi Masato of Pit-A-Pat for Shimawa

Click Here to Buy Now: $152 $179 (15% off at checkout). Hurry, Holiday Sale ends in 24 hours!

At one point in time, there was a breed of speakers that boasted requiring no electricity, no batteries, and absolutely no power at all to operate. These accessories acted as echo chambers to naturally amplify sounds, offering a simple and sustainable option to common speakers. Most of these, however, used plastic or at most wood to avoid the effects of vibrations, leaving their aesthetics and textures much to be desired.

The speaker is an innovative and unique take on this kind of no-power smartphone speaker that, unlike the rest of its kin, uses metal to offer a product whose value goes beyond its function. It uses Duralumin, a type of aluminum alloy that’s used in the aviation and aerospace industries because of its vibration-resistant properties and durability. Thanks to this, all you need to do is insert your smartphone into the speaker and feel the sound envelope you from all sides.

The choice of metal for this speaker’s material also gives the battery-free speaker a unique aesthetic you’d be hard-pressed to find in similar products. With a minimalist and retro industrial style, the speaker adds some character to any surface or space it is placed on. This elegant design is achieved through the use of the famed golden ratio to create a more natural proportion of the form’s shapes, particularly the different sizes of the speaker holes. Whether standing on its own or holding your smartphone, the speaker easily grabs your attention without being dominating or distracting.

And if you want to give the speaker a little more oomph, figuratively and literally, there are custom accessories you can screw into the holes to tweak the experience a bit. Reminiscent of airplane engines, Jet focuses and delivers sound in the direction the attachments are facing. Bloom, on the other hand, diffuses sound along the curves that try to resemble a blooming flower. Enjoy an immersive audio experience with this electricity-free smartphone speaker that requires no power to use and looks captivating anywhere you place it.

Click Here to Buy Now: $152 $179 (15% off at checkout). Hurry, Holiday Sale ends in 24 hours!

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Bubbles chandeliers create an atmosphere of playful wonder in any space

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As kids, we would often find joy and fun in some of the simplest things. Bubbles, for example, would send children into a fit of giggles as they try to chase and maybe pop these ephemeral spheres. As such, bubbles and similar shapes have always been used to portray such a childlike sense of wonder and bliss, employed in media, art installations, and even interior designs. The gentle yet mesmerizing play of light on a bubble’s reflective surface, however, is a seemingly perfect metaphor for artistic lighting. And that is exactly what this collection of hanging lights tries to offer, bringing the innocence and beauty of childhood memories to elevate the mood in any room or space.

Designer: Brand van Egmond

It’s both a tragedy as well as a deep message that some of the most beautiful things in nature are short-lived, from rainbows to butterflies to bubbles. Whether occurring naturally or made through soapy machinations, bubbles have always delighted the eyes and hearts of all ages. Recreating those blissful feelings indoors has become the mission of many bubble-inspired designs that mostly hang from the ceiling. But if you’ll be dangling something from that height, why not turn it into a chandelier or pendant lamp as well?

That’s precisely what the Bubbles lighting collection brings to the table, or rather to your room. As if floating in the air, the chandeliers and hanging lamps attach orbs of varying sizes to a metal frame of twisting and bending rods that give the fixture a more natural form, almost like branches of a tree. Even with this design alone, the piece of structural art is already ornamental and eye-catching, adding accents that will undoubtedly be a conversation starter for your visitors.

Once the lights are turned on, however, the entire space transforms into an almost magical atmosphere. The lamps cast a warm glow on the area, and the lights bounce against each other, creating a symphony of reflections that truly mesmerize the eyes. Not all the spheres contain lighting elements, so there is a bit of variation and randomness in each group. After all, not all bubbles are created equal even in real life.

The Bubbles collection also comes in different forms, with Swirl offering a more compact arrangement that you can use in smaller spaces or as a group. Flow, as the name implies, takes a longer horizontal form, as if the bubbles were flowing across the air. Whether used in a living room, above a dining space, or as mood lighting for restaurants, these bubble-inspired hanging lights will make you daydream and long for those happy, innocent moments of childhood when every little thing inspired awe, wonder, and joy.

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Dual-screen laptop clone puts a tempting price tag on poor design

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Foldable smartphones are starting to become more mainstream, so it’s not that surprising that even laptops are slowly starting to follow suit. These computers with large foldable screens are admittedly a harder sell, but it’s not the only “foldable” design available for laptops. There was a point in time when it seemed more feasible, not to mention more practical, to have a dual-screen laptop than a single foldable screen. But while those do exist, they tend to carry a pretty hefty price tag for what can be considered new and experimental technologies. An affordable option like this dual-screen laptop that seemingly popped up out of nowhere would normally be a welcome arrival, except for the fact that it fails to deliver the benefits of having two screens instead of one.

Designer: SZBOX

A dual-screen foldable device isn’t exactly that new and smartphones with this design came out way before there were foldable phones. Those designs were a bit awkward, though, especially considering a phone or tablet is often considered to have a single, unified screen. A laptop with two screens, on the other hand, seems to be a bit more useful. You still have a whole screen if you need it but can span the content across two screens if you want to. It’s like having a second screen permanently attached to the laptop, except that that second screen can function as your keyboard or drawing canvas as well.

In theory, this design should be more practical and less expensive to make since there are no experimental or expensive components like flexible displays and specially designed hinges. In practice, however, they’re still just as expensive as foldable laptops because of production and market dynamics. The SZBOX DS135D dual-screen laptop from a lesser-known Chinese brand is trying to impress buyers with its $699 starting price. The only problem is that the specs, design, and configuration of this device will prove to be more trouble than it’s worth.

The Intel N100 processor is an underwhelming piece of silicon, even when paired with 16GB of RAM. Since it’s running Windows 11 on two, large 13.5-inch touch screens, it will have to take on more work than it should normally be capable of. And while you can use one of the screens as the virtual keyboard for the laptop, experience has proven time and again that people will only use that as a final resort. Most will prefer a Bluetooth keyboard in this situation, and that price tag doesn’t include one. Neither does it include the stylus it advertises to be such a helpful tool, leaving buyers trying to figure out which pens are compatible in the first place.

The design of this dual-screen laptop also differs from others in that it doesn’t seem to fold beyond 180 degrees. In other words, you can’t fold it backward and use it like a tablet, let alone in a tent mode for sharing content with others around you. The SZBOX DS135D functions pretty much like a laptop with a second screen permanently attached, and that is also how it’s advertised to be used. While it could still potentially do more than a regular laptop, its mediocre hardware might not be up to the task anyway. Making a product more affordable is definitely commendable, but not if it results in a crippled and unpleasant experience.

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Modular mixed reality goggles aim for a fusion of fitness and fashion

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Smart eyewear is back in fashion, especially thanks to Apple finally announcing the Vision Pro. Although its design pretty much still falls under the “headset” category, the ultimate goal of many of these wearables is to be as inconspicuous are regular spectacles or sunglasses as possible. Easier said than done, of course, especially when you need to cram plenty of electronics in such a small space. There are advancements in that area, of course, to the point that it might be possible to fit almost all the necessary components on or near the lenses. That kind of technology will open the doors to a wider variety of wearable designs, including one where you can swap frames to be as sporty or as classy as you need your mixed reality eyewear to be.

Designers: Ben Melvin, Jo Barnard, Dan Lloyd, Harry Mason (Morrama)

There are actually quite a number of designs for smart eyewear, depending on how complicated they need to be. Some include more complex computers and the usual design involves a headband that you wear around your head. Others simply mirror the screen from your phone or computer, so they can just look like overgrown sunglasses. But if you can settle for something even simpler, you might be able to condense everything around the lenses so that the frame is really just a frame, one that you can even replace more easily than with prescription glasses.

Morrama Issé is a concept for mixed reality eyewear that takes advantage of such a design by making the lenses and the frame two connected but independent pieces. The lenses are not your average pair and look more like sports visors. The rim of the visor is quite thick which is where all the electronics will be hidden. In other words, the visor can function on its own without the frame, and the frame only provides the structure that will hold the visor up on the wearer’s face.

This means that the frames are interchangeable, letting the wearer choose the style of the frame depending on where they want to wear the mixed reality goggles. These can be rugged or elegant, at least as elegant as possible considering the rather thick frame required to support the weight of the visor part. More importantly, however, the frames can be made using more sustainable and recyclable materials since this part usually has a shorter lifespan.

The Morrama Issé design is no Minority Report or Tony Stark, and you will still look conspicuous if you will be wearing such eyewear in public. Of course, the primary use case for the wearable will be for fitness, where the goggles will provide the relevant biometrics and information that people need when training or exercising. It’s pretty much the same data that your smartwatch would show, except it will always be within your field of vision. Not everyone will find the aesthetic that pleasing, but Issé’s innovation is how it is able to envision a more modular approach to designing mixed reality eyewear, especially with a bent towards more sustainable options.

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