Author Archives: JC Torres

Cute modular robot is designed to keep your pets happy and fed

Posted on by

Robots are slowly but surely invading our homes, but most of them come in the form of cleaners or toys for our amusement. We might not be the only intelligent lifeforms in the house, however, and the small members of our family also deserve their due, especially when we have to leave them alone for the day. Smart home security cameras are fine if you just want to watch or talk to your pets while you’re away, but that still leaves your furry friends to their own devices. And you still have to figure out ways to get them fed on time and with the right amount without having to call in favors. Unlike others of its kind, this rolling robot is made specifically for your cats or dogs (or both) to keep them entertained, healthy, fed, and even comforted when you’re not at home.

Designer: Enabot

Parents warn their kids that raising pets isn’t an easy job, but even grownups have a difficult time considering their own busy schedules. It isn’t enough to just keep them well-fed either, as pets need to be interacted with, talked to, and entertained for both their physical as well as mental health. The Enabot ROLA PetPal robot tries to take a load off your shoulders, especially when you’re not around to give what your pets need, and you can change what it does simply by switching out the load it carries on its back.

Unlike Enabot’s ball-like smart home robots for humans, the ROLA PetPal looks a bit more like the popular disc-shaped robot vacuum cleaners in the market, except it has two large wheels on its side and a discernible “face” on its front. The rolling robot alone can already be a source of curiosity for pets, but its real value comes from its modular design. It can switch from providing entertainment and even exercise to providing nourishment just by switching between the Interactive Toys module or the Treat Dispenser module.

As the name suggests, Interactive Toys keep your furry friends preoccupied with a playful stick, laser games, or rolling balls. The more interesting module, however, is the Treat Dispenser which uses AI to identify your pet’s face and drop the small treats in its wake when it’s time for food. It can also capture all these moments while your pets play or eat and send you photos or video clips for posterity’s sake.

More than just standing in for you when you’re away, the Enabot ROLA PetPal also tries to deepen your relationship with your pets in absentia. Not only can you talk to your pets remotely, you can also train them to put their paw on a specific part of the robot to send a “Hello” message to your phone. And, of course, the robot’s 5MP 2.5K camera “eye” not only keeps an eye on your pet but also makes sure you’ll never miss a precious moment when you’re not around. It’s not easy being a furry parent, but the cute robot helps lighten up the load and care for your pets in a unique and advanced way.

The post Cute modular robot is designed to keep your pets happy and fed first appeared on Yanko Design.

Cooler Master MasterHUB modular control system adjusts to creators’ workflows

Posted on by

Content creation these days looks so simple the way influencers like to show off in behind-the-scenes videos, but the reality is that they can be overwhelmingly complex as the content they create, especially as they level up their craft. While it’s definitely possible to stick to the tried and true keyboard, mouse, or drawing tablet, the demands of today’s creators and their audiences call for better tools that help make their lives easier. That said, no two artists or designers are alike, and they work in different ways with different techniques, tools, and processes. Most gadgets and devices try to force users to a specific way of working, but this modular stream kit lets you decide not only the specific controls that you need but even the layout that you want.

Designer: Cooler Master

As the name implies, stream kits were originally designed for live streamers as they usually need to access some functions quickly without having to perform finger calisthenics over their keyboard. Over time, however, the flexibility of these programmable buttons with tiny LCD displays has become a favored tool by many content creators, from designers to artists to video editors to general enthusiasts. The MasterHUB comes from this lineage but has one special power that very few have: it can change its shape to adapt to your needs, workflow, or even your whim!

The MasterHUB’s foundation is a base where you can mix and match modules that each deliver a different kind of control. The most common of these is the App Control with 15 programmable keys, each with a customizable display, that can be used to trigger an action or launch an app. Another module is the Encoder which is a large dial with an integrated circular LCD display that can be used for something like scrubbing through audio and video timelines. A Knob Module has three knobs that can be mapped to changing brush sizes, undoing and redoing steps, and similar actions. Completing the set is a Fader Precision module with five sliders and a Roller Scroll Module with two rolling bars.

This modular system allows creators to define the layout out of their control center. They can even set it up vertically instead of the conventional horizontal layout, and you can pretty much change the combination on a whim, presuming you’re prepared to do the work of setting up the configuration again. Such a flexible control hub will also benefit even computer users who don’t create content, like gamers and power users that need more knobs and buttons than their keyboard can provide. Availability details for this powerful creativity tool, unfortunately, are still unavailable at the moment.

The post Cooler Master MasterHUB modular control system adjusts to creators’ workflows first appeared on Yanko Design.

OPPO generative AI features coming to all phone lines to make AI accessible to everyone

Posted on by

Like it or not, and some definitely don’t, AI is the current buzz in the tech industry, and it will still be for quite a while. But as impressive and sometimes frightening as the advanced features of AI may be, the truth is that these features are only available to a very select few people who either have the high-end hardware to support them or the resources to maintain monthly subscriptions to services. For AI to truly become life-changing, it has to become available to everyone, even those with less expensive phones and computers. That’s the new commitment that OPPO is making, to bring generative AI features to as many as 50 million phones in an effort to make AI accessible to everyone.

Designer: OPPO

Up until recently, most of the talk about AI revolved around powerful computers and cloud-based solutions. After all, AI needs very capable hardware and loads of data to perform its magic. That said, making AI relevant to ordinary people requires actually putting the technology into their hands, and there is no better device for that purpose than one that they literally hold in their hands: their smartphones. It’s no surprise, then, that Google’s recent developer event focused on making AI features available not only through its Search engine but on smartphones as well.

That has generated quite a lot of buzz on AI-powered features on the latest and greatest handsets, but that leaves the majority of the world’s population out in the cold. With dozens of millions of smartphones out in the market across all tiers, OPPO is in a unique position to change that situation, and it’s doing exactly that. It’s making a promise to push its generative AI features to all its smartphone product lines, from the flagship Find series to the camera-centric Reno to the mass market OPPO F and A lines.

In fact, it has already started that change by bringing features like AI Eraser, object recognition, and advanced image processing to many of its smartphones already out in the wild today. Granted, most of these focus on the photography side of the AI, but that’s just the beginning. Collaborating with key industry players like Google, MediaTek, and Microsoft, OPPO will be bringing smarter features across the board. The OPPO Reno 12, for example, will be able to harness the power of Google Gemini’s Large Language Models or LLMs for features like AI Writer and AI Recording Summary. Its collaboration with Microsoft, on the other hand, will bring more natural voice and text conversions to next-gen OPPO phones, as well as more seamless connectivity between phone AI and desktop AI, a.k.a. Microsoft Co-pilot.

Smartphones are already very powerful computers in our pockets, devices that are used not just for entertainment but also for work, education, and health. These are the very same areas where AI can shine best, making sense of large quantities of data to bring us the answers and information we need. Harnessing the growing power of on-device hardware as well as secure cloud services, OPPO envisions a future where everyone will be able to enjoy the benefits of AI, preferably on an OPPO phone, of course.

The post OPPO generative AI features coming to all phone lines to make AI accessible to everyone first appeared on Yanko Design.

Dual screen laptop proposes a unique design to solve the laptop monitor problem

Posted on by

In exchange for portability and mobility, laptops give up some power and flexibility, especially when it comes to things you can connect to. Sure, you can still connect plenty of peripherals, but you’re limited not only by the amount of ports available but also by the space you have around your laptop. A dual monitor laptop, for example, is inconvenient and even impossible in some circumstances, so a few solutions have been designed to address that limitation, from portable monitors to laptops that are just two screens and nothing else. The latter has been billed as “dual laptops,” though their appearance and use are far from what most people expect from laptops. This “true dual screen laptop” wants to fix that problem with a design that is both intriguing but perhaps also questionable at the same time.

Designer: GPD

You can’t change a laptop’s screen after the fact, so you can only expand it with an external portable monitor that adds yet another thing to your bag. Dual-screen laptops like the ASUS ZenBook Duo and Lenovo Yoga Book 9i are actually more like two monitors with integrated computer hardware rather than like a laptop with two screens. One of the biggest problems is requiring the use of a Bluetooth keyboard in ways that are unfamiliar to most laptop users.

The GPD DUO’s solution is to combine all these parts into a single whole, delivering a completely traditional laptop experience when needed and a dual-screen or even tablet when wanted. It does this by actually having two folds, one with a traditional laptop hinge that can fold open up to 135 degrees, and another for the second monitor that can fully swing 360 degrees. This second screen is permanently attached to the top of the first, creating a vertically stacked dual-screen setup when unfolded. But unlike ASUS’s and Lenovo’s designs, the keyboard is still attached to the primary screen and functions as expected.

This rather unconventional design means that, if you don’t want or can’t use a tall dual-screen setup, you can simply fold back the second screen and use the GPD DUO as a regular laptop. That said, the second screen in that position could actually still be used to present content to people in front of the user, sort of like the “tent mode” of some 360-degree laptops. And when you close the laptop down in this configuration, you get a tablet that you can draw on.

While the design of the GPD DUO sounds reasonable, it does raise a few concerns, especially in terms of the weight and bulk of the laptop. Although GPD claims that the 13.3-inch laptop is only the size of an A4 paper when folded, it hasn’t yet revealed the thickness or weight of the device. The design also forces the dual screen orientation to only be vertical, and you have no other option on how to use or position the screens. It does seem that the GPD DUO trades one feature for another, so it remains to be seen how this design will resonate with laptop users.

The post Dual screen laptop proposes a unique design to solve the laptop monitor problem first appeared on Yanko Design.

Bigme HiBreak E Ink smartphone takes another stab at eye-friendly mobility

Posted on by

As powerful and as helpful as smartphones have become, they have also become sources not only of distraction but also of poor health. Staring at screens all day is bad enough, but they can also affect our sleep if used late into the night. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible for many people to detach from their phones or even reduce their use, so a few designers and manufacturers have tried to come up with alternatives like minimalist phones. eReader maker Bigme is proposing a different kind of answer, one that smashes an eBook reader and a smartphone in one pocketable design, creating a phone-sized E Ink device that is actually a functional phone.

Designer: Bigme

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a phone-sized eReader. We reviewed the Onyx BOOX Palma a while back and found it to be quite capable as a pocket reader. But despite its phone-like looks, it’s technically a tiny Wi-Fi-only device. In contrast, the Bigme HiBreak can plug in a SIM card and connect to 4G LTE networks. Yes, 4G LTE speeds only, which is probably fine because the device’s screen won’t be able to catch up with the network speed anyway.

1

The HiBreak comes in two flavors with different 5.84-inch E Ink screens. One is a pure black and white screen like a traditional eReader, while the other supports a few colors at a lower resolution than black and white. Despite the advancements in E Ink technology, the ultra-slow refresh rates of these panels will take the fun out of scrolling and swiping through social media, which is probably for the best. What it offers, instead, is a gentler reading experience, especially if you’re the type who likes to read text-only documents on the go.

Of course, the Bigme HiBreak is a true smartphone, one that runs Android 11 on practically mid-range hardware. It does have Google Play support, so you can install any app available that supports that old OS version but don’t expect the experience to be as smooth as on a regular phone. On the flip side, that 3,300 mAh battery is going to last you for days rather than just hours. It has a 13MP main camera, more for “scanning” documents than taking pretty pictures, and a 5MP front camera for emergency video calls.

In terms of aesthetics, the Bigme HiBreak is truly a shrunken-down eReader, complete with wide bezels and a rather plain design. It’s almost like it’s intentionally uninspiring in order to cut down on your smartphone use unless that use is for lots of reading. But while it does solve the problem of eyecare, a device that runs a full Android stack with cellular connectivity won’t do any wonders for those distracting notifications unless you decide to ignore them since they won’t look that nice on the E Ink screen anyway.

The post Bigme HiBreak E Ink smartphone takes another stab at eye-friendly mobility first appeared on Yanko Design.

ASUS ProArt PZ13 detachable laptop brings Windows on ARM to creators on the go

Posted on by

Although Windows on ARM has existed before, the latest iteration of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X processors is coming out in full force to redeem the platform’s previous image. Part of that means having more PC makers on board who are willing to dive head-on into the arena, branding not just more capable silicon but, more importantly, AI-powered features that are all the buzz these days. ASUS, unsurprisingly, isn’t going to be left behind, and it’s bringing all that goodness into the new ProArt PZ13 detachable laptop that offers an ultra-portable form factor aimed to give creators an edge to let their creative juices flow whenever and wherever inspiration strikes them, even if it’s just on their living room couch.

Designer: ASUS

Given the uninspiring legacy of previous Windows on ARM attempts, it’s quite a bold move for ASUS to pitch the platform to one of the most discerning audiences in the market. Artists, designers, and content creators need more than just light, portable devices or long-lasting batteries, they need the performance that will be able to meet the demands of the software they use. At only 9mm thin, weighing only 1.87 lbs, and carrying a large 70Wh battery, the ASUS ProArt PZ13 definitely gets the first two aspects right. The new AI-enabled Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor promises to deliver that last and most critical part.

If it wasn’t painfully obvious yet, this processor harnesses the power of AI to boost its performance, particularly with paired with the Windows 11 operating system. It isn’t just your run-of-the-mill AI voice assistant that answers your search queries but a deeper, more encompassing tool that optimizes the system’s operation to save time, power, effort, and other resources. ASUS is also throwing its own AI-powered creation tools, like a StoryCube media hub for organizing digital assets, and a subscription-based CapCut for dynamic video editing. And, yes, Microsoft’s CoPilot is also onboard to make the other menial tasks more efficient as well.

The ASUS ProArt PZ13 comes in a 2-in-1 detachable design that is reminiscent of the Microsoft Surface, complete with a full-width kickstand and a keyboard cover. The 13.3-inch 3K ASUS Lumina OLED touch screen promises to meet the demanding requirements of creators when it comes to brightness, color accuracy, and precision, supporting an optional ASUS Pen 2.0 stylus for creating digital masterpieces. Unlike the existing line of ASUS ProArt laptops, this tablet and laptop in one is clearly designed for mobility, and the IP52 dust and water resistance rating, along with MIL-STD-810H certification, offer some peace of mind when you need to take the device places.

Of course, the real question will be whether Windows 11 on this new Snapdragon platform will perform just as well as on Intel and AMD processors. Early reviews seem to be promising, but the final judgment will really depend on the compatibility of creators’ tools on this still rare combination. The ASUS ProArt PZ13 AI-powered detachable laptop will go on sale sometime in the third quarter of the year, with pricing details to be released closer to the product’s launch.

The post ASUS ProArt PZ13 detachable laptop brings Windows on ARM to creators on the go first appeared on Yanko Design.

ASUS ROG Ally X gaming handheld PC brings small changes that have a big impact

Posted on by

After numerous leaks and rumors, the cat is finally out of the bag. The next ASUS Republic of Gamers handheld PC isn’t the Ally 2 but the ROG Ally X as expected. While some might see it as simply splitting hairs, the naming does make a difference. It still has the beating heart of the first ROG Ally, but with a few extras that respond to the criticisms and requests of the gaming community who embraced this more portable form factor right off the bat. From some perspectives, those extras are really small and subtle, especially if looking at it from the outside. But with enough of those changes working together, the ROG Ally X is positioning itself to be a more powerful companion that will let you play more games longer.

Designer: ASUS ROG

Just from a glance, you might not be able to tell that this is in any way different from the OG ROG Ally, at least except for its new all-black motif. It still boggles the mind why ASUS chose white for its first iteration, a color that’s almost alien to gamers’ palettes, though it did help the ROG Ally stand out from its rivals. If you look more closely, however, and hold the device in your hands, you might notice how things are somewhat different, hopefully for the better.

The handles, for example, are rounder now, which helps improve the grip that’s critical to a handheld device. The back triggers now come at an angle for better ergonomics, while the joystick and D-pad have been improved to be more durable and more precise. The biggest changes, however, are on the inside, where every little thing counts if it’s meant to improve the gaming experience.

It’s still the same AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme as the original ROG Ally, but that mobile gaming processor is now paired with 24GB of DDR-7500 RAM, up from 16GB in the first iteration. The storage capacity has been doubled to up to 1TB, but the bigger surprise is that ASUS is making it easier to upgrade it. The battery has also been doubled to 80Wh, which means you’ll have more time playing before you need to plug the little monster in. To compensate for this newfound power, ASUS ROG promises an improved thermal cooling solution so you won’t burn your hand while you play.

There is at least one change that some might consider a downgrade, depending on how attached they’ve become to ASUS’ proprietary XG external graphics port. In its place, the ROG Ally X uses a more standard Thunderbolt-compatible USB-C port that could still work with external GPUs but also with a lot more devices as well. Given all these changes, it’s no surprise that the ASUS ROG Ally X will cost more than its predecessor at $799.99. Then again, this version is squarely aimed at power gamers, and those who can live with the bare minimum can still get the older model, at least for now.

The post ASUS ROG Ally X gaming handheld PC brings small changes that have a big impact first appeared on Yanko Design.

Handheld printer and scanner concept sticks to tried and true methods of document handling

Posted on by


We live in a world filled with apps, multimedia content, and digital data, but there are and will always be things written on printed on paper. Official documents are still printed, receipts are still physical, and some people still prefer writing on notebooks and notepads. The gap between physical and digital isn’t that easy to bridge for people who want or even need to have the best of both worlds, even though there are, ironically, a handful of products claiming to offer the perfect solution. As some say, there is no perfect answer, but the best one might actually be the simplest and most straightforward. This concept device, for example, offers what looks like a traditional printer and scanner combo, except it’s something that you can easily store and take from your bag whenever and wherever you need it.

Designer: John Branca

There are quite a few product designs these days that try to unify physical and digital documents, from notebooks and pens that can record your handwriting to smartphone apps that can convert printed or even handwritten text into digital ones. The former doesn’t exactly work for digitizing what’s already printed, while the latter puts the burden on the person taking a perfect photo of the paper. These solutions also don’t work in the reverse, like turning digital files into their physical form, especially when you’re out of the office or not at home.

Scribe is a concept design that combines two things that already exist today, a portable printer and a portable scanner. In a nutshell, it shrinks 2-in-1 printer and scanner combos into a compact design that you can even carry in your hand if necessary. It has an industrial-inspired aesthetic that moves away from the predominant minimalist style, making it distinctive and memorable. It also has a large touch display that makes operating the device simple and intuitive without having to fumble on your computer or phone.

The device uses a feed-type mechanism where a piece of paper slides through the box to get printed or scanned. This does have the limitation of accommodating certain paper sizes only, though that will most likely be the most common use case for scanning receipts and printing out notes. That said, you won’t be able to scan any bound material like notebooks and books, so forget about taking this to the library. Due to size constraints, there’s also only room for a single black inkjet cartridge. ZINK technology might be more compact, but that also requires using special, non-standard paper.

1

Scribe is definitely an interesting break from all the app-based, smartphone-centric solutions out there, though it still raises the question of whether it’s more convenient or not. Then again, you can’t print from your phone either, so if you’re going to bring a portable printer with you, might as well have something that can also scan those documents as well.

The post Handheld printer and scanner concept sticks to tried and true methods of document handling first appeared on Yanko Design.

Acer SpatialLabs Eyes 3D camera adds a new dimension to meetings and live streams

Posted on by

Although the buzz around the Apple Vision Pro has died down, there’s little doubt that spatial computing, mixed reality, and the metaverse will be our unavoidable future. We still have ways to go, of course, but the industry is already trying to get us used to seeing digitally in 3D, whether we’re wearing glasses or just looking at specially-designed monitors. Those 3D objects, however, don’t just pop out of thin air and have to be created one way or another. Not a problem for fabricated 3D models, but it’s a big problem when you want to make real-world physical objects into believable digital 3D objects. As part of its own push for spatial computing, Acer is launching a consumer-friendly stereoscopic 3D camera that lets anyone capture the real world in a way that can be easily viewed in 3D glasses and on glasses-free 3D monitors.

Designer: Acer

Video conferencing and live streams have become quite common these days, the latter even turning into a lucrative business opportunity. But while these mediums are able to bridge distances, there are some things that are still difficult to convey in flat, 2D monitors, things such as miniature models of architectural designs or merchandise you’re trying to sell online. While some online stores now offer 3D views of products or spaces, it’s something that’s way out of reach of regular people because of the lack of accessible and affordable tools.

The Acer SpatialLabs Eyes puts one such tool in the hands of the masses. The rather unassuming compact box packs the hardware necessary for a computer to see in stereoscopic 3D, especially thanks to an 8MP sensor per eye and plenty of controls for both beginners and experts to tweak the video quality. The hardware is encased in a weather-proof shell that has a built-in selfie mirror for easier framing, as well as a touch-sensitive LCD screen on its back.

Although the SpatialLabs Eyes is quite capable of capturing still 3D images, it really shines in its capability to record and stream stereoscopic 3D video in real-time. This makes it a powerful tool for making presentations in video calls, showing off products during live selling streams, or simply committing special, once-in-a-lifetime moments to memory in an extra special way. Of course, you’ll need a way to actually view these videos in stereoscopic 3D, and, not by coincidence, Acer’s SpatialLabs brand has a line of monitors and laptops that won’t require you to wear headsets or even glasses just to do that. The Acer SpatialLabs Eyes stereoscopic 3D camera launches in Q3 of this year for $549 in the US.

The post Acer SpatialLabs Eyes 3D camera adds a new dimension to meetings and live streams first appeared on Yanko Design.

Cyberpunk device is actually a functional 4-in-1 charger for Apple devices

Posted on by

There are plenty of wireless chargers now in the market, many of which are designed for iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods. And just like the Apple devices they support, the majority of these have designs that try to match the minimalist aesthetics of Apple’s products. There’s no argument that they’re appealing and even beautiful, but sometimes the uniformity of design can be a bit boring and unsatisfying. There’s always room for variety, and thankfully, some accessory makers are indeed taking up the challenge without going overboard. This design, for example, still manages to adopt a clean look even while adopting a more cyberpunk or sci-fi style that puts a new flavor to the typical charging pad.

Designer: Aulumu

It’s common for Apple-compatible wireless chargers these days to support all three devices. After all, it’s highly likely that an iPhone owner would have the other two accessories and would want to charge all three at the same time. The conventional design is to either have a flat surface for these devices or to have one raised and angled platform to have the iPhone charge at a more usable angle. The Aulumu M01 4-in-1 Wireless Charging Station’s foldable design supports both modes, but that’s not exactly the most interesting thing about it.

What makes it special is its style, particularly the cyberpunk-like aesthetic it adopts. Rather than a straightforward row of circles for the wireless charging contacts, it alternates their arrangement to have a more visually interesting composition. The colors also alternate, with the white Apple Watch pad flanked by the black circles for the iPhone and AirPods case. It has the typical lines, text, and visible screws you’d find in this technology-centric design language, clearly separating it from the crop of wireless chargers.

Another interesting and uncommon detail is an LED light encased in what looks like a miniature vacuum tube bulb. It functions as a desk night light with three different levels of brightness, though not bright enough to be your only source of light. It gives the charging station a retro-futuristic image that you’d often find in cyberpunk designs.

In terms of functionality, Aulumu M01 even goes beyond your typical 3-in-1 charger by supporting the iPad as well, though you’ll have to connect that using a USB-C cable. The cyberpunk design definitely won’t sit well with everyone, but it offers a breath of fresh air for those who’re already tired of looking at minimalist designs everywhere they turn.

The post Cyberpunk device is actually a functional 4-in-1 charger for Apple devices first appeared on Yanko Design.