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GameSir x Hyperkin modular controller could be the endgame accessory for mobile gamers

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Hype around mobile gaming controllers is not going away any time soon. More people are gaming on mobile, and controllers that make it possible are in demand. GameSir very well understands the needs of gamers who play on multiple devices and platforms, and they’ve brought a transforming controller to CES 2026 in collaboration with Hyperkin, which will have you sold for good.

The X5 Alteron controller gets the best of both worlds: GameSir’s ergonomic engineering that makes it the first choice for gamers, and Hyperkin’s knack for designing retro controllers. What sets the modular controller apart is the swappable module system that allows gamers to completely change the layout from symmetrical to asymmetrical thumbsticks, to changing the D-pad and face buttons.

Designer: GameSir and Hyperkin

This level of customization gives mobile gamers the option to carry just one controller, whether playing on Switch, Android, PC, iPhone, or iPad. The ability to swap and replace buttons, or add the mouse-level precision trackpad (yes, this controller can do that), gives you tactical advantage in all genres of games like racing, strategy, RPGs, and, in particular, FPS titles. GameSir already impressed at CES with the Swift Drive controller, and the X5 Alteron is even better. The gamepad is a literal transformer of the gaming controllers world, as it changes shape, style, and size depending on what device you are playing it with.

Want the Xbox-style layout, or the feel of the N64 controller setup? The modular controller makes quick work of that. It even has a module dedicated to fighting titles for maximum precision. The possibilities are endless as the controller sets a new yardstick for customizable gaming hardware. Of course, it has all the essentials of a gaming controller intact while doing this. There are Hall effect triggers and capacitive sticks for zero stick drift, mouse click, rumble motors, and hot swappable ABXY buttons. Transformable D-Pad and much more. Alteron can be extended to 213mm to fit all devices you throw at it.

The gaming accessory charges via USB-C port, and the connectivity with the devices is made via Bluetooth 5.2. Latency should not be a worry as GameSir and Hyperkin optimize their accessories very nicely. The GameSir x Hyperkin X5 Alteron controller will be released in the coming months, but there is no detail about pricing yet. Given how GameSir controllers are tactically priced, this one should be right there in the sweet zone. Could it replace all your controllers going forward for a one-stop solution? It pretty well can be the prime contender!

The post GameSir x Hyperkin modular controller could be the endgame accessory for mobile gamers first appeared on Yanko Design.

GameSir x Hyperkin modular controller could be the endgame accessory for mobile gamers

Posted on by

Hype around mobile gaming controllers is not going away any time soon. More people are gaming on mobile, and controllers that make it possible are in demand. GameSir very well understands the needs of gamers who play on multiple devices and platforms, and they’ve brought a transforming controller to CES 2026 in collaboration with Hyperkin, which will have you sold for good.

The X5 Alteron controller gets the best of both worlds: GameSir’s ergonomic engineering that makes it the first choice for gamers, and Hyperkin’s knack for designing retro controllers. What sets the modular controller apart is the swappable module system that allows gamers to completely change the layout from symmetrical to asymmetrical thumbsticks, to changing the D-pad and face buttons.

Designer: GameSir and Hyperkin

This level of customization gives mobile gamers the option to carry just one controller, whether playing on Switch, Android, PC, iPhone, or iPad. The ability to swap and replace buttons, or add the mouse-level precision trackpad (yes, this controller can do that), gives you tactical advantage in all genres of games like racing, strategy, RPGs, and, in particular, FPS titles. GameSir already impressed at CES with the Swift Drive controller, and the X5 Alteron is even better. The gamepad is a literal transformer of the gaming controllers world, as it changes shape, style, and size depending on what device you are playing it with.

Want the Xbox-style layout, or the feel of the N64 controller setup? The modular controller makes quick work of that. It even has a module dedicated to fighting titles for maximum precision. The possibilities are endless as the controller sets a new yardstick for customizable gaming hardware. Of course, it has all the essentials of a gaming controller intact while doing this. There are Hall effect triggers and capacitive sticks for zero stick drift, mouse click, rumble motors, and hot swappable ABXY buttons. Transformable D-Pad and much more. Alteron can be extended to 213mm to fit all devices you throw at it.

The gaming accessory charges via USB-C port, and the connectivity with the devices is made via Bluetooth 5.2. Latency should not be a worry as GameSir and Hyperkin optimize their accessories very nicely. The GameSir x Hyperkin X5 Alteron controller will be released in the coming months, but there is no detail about pricing yet. Given how GameSir controllers are tactically priced, this one should be right there in the sweet zone. Could it replace all your controllers going forward for a one-stop solution? It pretty well can be the prime contender!

The post GameSir x Hyperkin modular controller could be the endgame accessory for mobile gamers first appeared on Yanko Design.

FLIR iXX: An App-Based Thermal Camera for the Deskless Office

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Traditional thermal inspections are messy. Technicians capture images, transfer them from SD cards to laptops, manually enter notes into spreadsheets, and spend hours back at the office generating reports. Around 60% of maintenance teams report a shortage of skilled thermographers, which makes the problem worse. Reporting alone can eat up half a technician’s time, turning straightforward inspections into documentation marathons.

FLIR’s iXX-Series is a response to that reality. It’s a handheld thermal imaging camera that behaves more like an app-enabled platform than a single-purpose tool. Built on FLIR’s ACE operating system, the iXX combines high-performance thermography with smartphone-style connectivity and an open app ecosystem. It’s designed for what FLIR calls the “deskless office,” where technicians need their camera to be rugged and smart.

Designer: FLIR

From Camera to App-Driven Platform

The iXX-Series comes in four models, i34, i35, i64, and i65, with thermal resolutions up to 480 × 640. Sensitivity sits under 40 mK at 30 °C, and accuracy hits ±2 °C or ±2%. Those specs matter as the foundation for structured, cloud-connected workflows that didn’t exist on older cameras.

According to the FLIR team, the focus is on “the importance of the deskless office, making sure data can flow in a seamless and customized way according to our customer needs.” That shift from hardware-first to workflow-first changes what the device is for. It’s about getting usable data into the right systems immediately.

The iXX integrates directly with FLIR Assetlink and Ignite, cloud systems that link thermal images to specific assets. Capture an anomaly on a motor, and it tags to that motor in your system, complete with trend data and inspection history. Reporting time, which traditionally consumes up to 50% of a technician’s day, can drop to nearly zero.

One electrical testing company using the iXX with the Condoit app cut their reporting from eight to 12 hours down to under five minutes for large jobs. That’s the kind of time savings that changes how teams actually work.

Designed for the Deskless Office

The hardware is built to survive. IP54 rating, 2 m drop test, 0.8 kg body, and a 5-inch touchscreen that works with gloves. Operating range runs from -15 °C to 50 °C. The battery lasts around four hours with quick charging. It’s industrial-grade housing with a consumer-grade interface layered on top.

The FLIR team explains that “with ergonomics and usability in focus as always for FLIR, it is a balance to address multiple different customer needs and applications with different levels of expertise.” You can hand this to a senior thermographer or a junior tech, and both will find it usable, just configured differently.

You also get an 8 MP visible camera, MSX image enhancement, a work light, and a laser pointer. These let a technician capture context and document conditions without juggling three devices. The touchscreen and app model make the iXX feel closer to a field computer than a traditional instrument.

Open Apps and Tailored Workflows

Where the iXX really diverges is the app ecosystem. It supports FLIR apps, third-party apps, and private apps built by customers. According to FLIR, “having the open approach is critical… now making sure it is easy for anybody to develop something tailored for their use case is a success factor.”

No two plants or facilities run inspections the same way, so the camera should adapt to the team. Apps can guide inexperienced technicians step by step, auto-link images to asset hierarchies, generate work orders with one tap, or enforce security policies. There’s definitely flexibility built into the platform.

A technician walking through a data center can scan electrical distribution gear, flag temperature anomalies, and sync everything to the cloud before leaving the room. By the time they’re back in the truck, the office team already has the data and dashboards updated automatically.

Always-Connected Inspections

Connectivity is built in via Wi-Fi across the line, and certain models, the i35 and i65, include LTE. The FLIR team notes that “a safer and more stable connection is key for having all the data at hand out in the field for taking correct and quick decisions, which can be time critical where cellular connectivity is crucial.”

Many outdoor or industrial sites don’t have Wi-Fi, making LTE the only option. With LTE, technicians can send images, messages, and video calls directly from the device. A junior tech scanning a substation can loop in a senior engineer via video without leaving the site. Office teams see data appear in dashboards in real time.

Inspections stop being isolated tasks and start looking more like live, collaborative workflows. That’s a pretty significant shift for teams used to working solo in the field.

Growing with the Platform and Closing the Skills Gap

Longevity is baked into the design. FLIR emphasizes that it’s “very important in our design decisions, from material choices to how to assemble and disassemble for service purposes… with the capability of growing with the platform and constantly increasing functionality through software updates and also with the app ecosystem where new functionality and features will be added by FLIR and others.”

The camera you buy today isn’t frozen. It’s a platform that keeps evolving through firmware updates and new apps. That also helps close the skills gap through app-guided workflows, onboarding tools, and configurable interfaces.

“With the ability to tailor for any customer needs, the data collections are made easier… and the fact that you as a user can choose what apps to download or even develop yourself makes it suitable for anyone, no matter the level of experience,” FLIR explains. A senior thermographer can load advanced apps while a junior tech follows a guided workflow.

The iXX-Series represents a shift in how handheld inspection tools are designed. It’s a connected, app-driven platform built for the deskless office, where technicians need their tools to be rugged, smart, and collaborative. If this is the future of inspection devices, hardware and software are finally being designed together from the start.

The post FLIR iXX: An App-Based Thermal Camera for the Deskless Office first appeared on Yanko Design.

Roborock’s New Flagship Line Brings Sculpted Design to Smart Cleaning at CES 2026

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The idea of a smart home has long been defined by individual devices, each designed to solve a single task in isolation. But modern homes no longer operate in clean lines. Multi-level layouts, pets, kids, and yards that stretch from kitchen tile to sloped grass create environments where a single device rarely finishes the job. At CES 2026, Roborock is using that complexity as a design brief, especially for households across North America where scale and texture demand more than one kind of intelligence.

Roborock’s “The Greatest Meeting the Greatest” theme frames this as a meeting between world-class engineering and the realities of everyday living. This year’s lineup is less about one hero product and more about a family of specialists, from a flagship robot that can see and adapt in three dimensions, to a one-pass floor-care robot, a foam-based floor washer, and an AWD mower that treats the yard as part of the home.

Designer: Roborock

Click here to know more.

Greatness in Intelligence

Intelligence in a home context means mastering complexity without constant supervision. The Saros 20, the brand’s flagship product for 2026, introduces StarSight Autonomous System 2.0, with dual-transmitter 3D time-of-flight LiDAR and 21,600 sensor points. This innovation allows the Saros 20 to map spaces, recognize over 200 obstacle types, and distinguish cables from socks or pet bowls, making it even smarter than the previous-gen Saros 10R flagship. At 7.98 cm tall, it slides under low furniture while understanding the space in three dimensions, which matters in homes with layered messes and tight clearances.

AdaptiLift Chassis 3.0 is the mechanical side of that intelligence, lifting and adjusting three wheels independently to cross double-layer thresholds up to 8.5 cm tall, climb onto carpets as thick as 3 cm, and free itself when stuck. Layouts where balcony lips, thick rugs, and split-level transitions trap lesser robots become manageable terrain. Saros 20 learns the best way to cross each threshold and remembers it, treating obstacles as solvable puzzles rather than dead ends.

That philosophy extends outdoors with RockMow X1 LiDAR, Roborock’s first-ever lawnmower for the US market, using 360-degree mechanical LiDAR and dual-camera fusion to map properties up to two acres with trees, slopes, and visually sparse patches. Centimeter-level accuracy and AWD traction let it handle uneven terrain and stay oriented in yards where GPS or boundary wires struggle. It understands a yard the way Saros 20 understands a living room, identifying obstacles and terrain changes autonomously.

Greatness in Performance

Performance shows up as power that delivers consistent results when the mess is layered or the surface changes mid-run. Saros 20’s 35,000 Pa HyperForce motor and dual anti-tangle system, the DuoDivide main brush and FlexiArm Arc side brush, pick up hair and debris without wrapping. Dual spinning mops with up to 13 N downward pressure handle dried stains, managing pet hair in thick carpets, kitchen crumbs, and seasonal grit.

Qrevo Curv 2 Flow is positioned as a one-pass floor-care specialist. Its 270 mm extra-wide roller, 15 N downward pressure, and 220 RPM scrubbing cover more ground in a single sweep. The Roller Shield lifts and covers the mop before carpets, preventing damp spots, while the Edge-Adaptive roller mop gets within 10 mm of baseboards and furniture legs, handling mixed flooring without constant re-passes or wet carpets.

F25 Ace Pro brings foam chemistry to wet-dry cleaning. JetFoaming technology turns 1 ml of Foam Cleaning Solution into 167 million microbubbles that cling to grease and dried spills, softening and encapsulating them before 25,000 Pa suction, 30 N pressure, and 430 RPM scrubbing lift them away. This is designed for kitchens with oil splatter, entryways with mud, and pet zones where layered messes need more than just water.

Greatness in Design & Everyday Living

Fitting into daily life means handling hygiene and maintenance without becoming another source of work. Qrevo Curv 2 Flow’s self-cleaning dock separates clean and dirty water, washes the roller at 75 °C, and dries it with warm air. The dock handles sticky spills and pet zones without turning into another thing that needs scrubbing every weekend, keeping the system fresh and ready without manual intervention.

F25 Ace Pro’s ergonomics focus on the moments when you are holding the device. FlatReach 2.0 lets it lie flat at 180 degrees to reach under furniture at 12.5 cm height, while SlideTech 2.0 uses AI-powered wheels to sense push and pull strength and assist movement, making it feel lighter and more responsive. The 0 mm edge cleaning on three sides and 95 °C self-washing and drying keep the roller fresh.

Saros 20’s RockDock and app ecosystem extend that design philosophy. The dock uses 100 °C hot water to wash mops, bi-directional scrubbing and soaking modes, heated air drying, and auto mop removal before carpets. The Roborock app’s SmartPlan 3.0 learns room types and habits, while pet-friendly intelligence, built-in “Hello Rocky” voice control, and Matter support help the system blend into routines rather than adding another app to babysit.

Greatness Beyond the Room

RockMow X1 LiDAR handles the seasonal realities of yard maintenance. AWD traction and 8 cm obstacle clearance manage wet spring grass, summer growth, and autumn leaves, with a 24 cm cutting width and 40-90 mm cutting range tuned for common lawn types. It is built for properties with trees, slopes, and visually sparse patches where GPS alone would struggle, using LiDAR and cameras to stay oriented across terrain that changes throughout the year.

RockMow represents a broader shift from room-by-room cleaning to full-property autonomy. While Saros 20 and Qrevo Curv 2 Flow handle floors and carpets, and F25 Ace Pro tackles kitchens and hard floors, RockMow extends that philosophy to the yard. The result is a set of tools that treat the home as a continuous environment, indoors and out, rather than a collection of disconnected chores that each require their own app, setup, and maintenance schedule.

Roborock’s CES 2026 lineup feels less like a handful of new gadgets and more like a coordinated attempt to match the scale and texture of modern living. Intelligence, performance, and design show up differently in a kitchen, a living room, and a sloped backyard, but the throughline is the same across North America and beyond: systems that adapt to the mess, the layout, and the people, instead of asking households to adapt to them.

Click here to know more.

The post Roborock’s New Flagship Line Brings Sculpted Design to Smart Cleaning at CES 2026 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Mudita Minimalist Phone and Alarm Clocks Design a Calmer Day at CES 2026

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The day often begins and ends with a smartphone, from checking notifications before getting out of bed to scrolling in the dark when you should be asleep. Even people who care about design and well-being end up with glowing rectangles on every surface, and that constant presence quietly shapes attention, sleep, and mood more than most of us like to admit. The usual fix is another app that promises to help you use your phone less, which is like asking the problem to solve itself.

Mudita has been quietly building devices meant to step in where traditional smartphones can cause the most trouble. At CES 2026, that takes the form of three products: Mudita Kompakt, a minimalist E Ink phone, Mudita Harmony 2, a mindful alarm clock with an E Ink display, and Mudita Bell 2, an analog-style alarm clock with a few carefully chosen digital tricks. Together, they sketch out a different way to move through a day, keeping connections and routines intact while pushing screens out of the moments where you may choose to be “disconnected.”

Designer: Mudita

Mudita Kompakt: A Phone That Does Less on Purpose

Kompakt looks more like a small e-reader than a slab of glass, built around a 4.3-inch E Ink screen that is paper-like, glare-free, and easy on the eyes. It runs MuditaOS K, a de-Googled operating system based on AOSP, with only essential tools on board: calls, SMS, offline maps, calendar, up-to-date weather forecasts, music, notes, a meditation timer, and an e-reader. There is no app store by design, keeping the interface focused on what you planned to do instead of what a feed wants to show you next. But if you do need some very specific functionality, your favorite apps are just a sideload away.

Offline+ Mode physically disconnects the GSM modem and microphones, while also disabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the camera, turning Kompakt into a sealed, offline device when needed. That hardware-level privacy goes beyond airplane mode, which matters when you want verifiable disconnection. Long battery life, up to six days on a charge, and both USB-C and wireless charging mean it can live on a desk or in a bag without constant topping up.

A dedicated Mudita Center desktop app handles contact syncing, music, and file transfers from a laptop, keeping the phone itself simple and uncluttered, its user experience reflecting its mission. As a primary phone for someone stepping away from feeds, it keeps communication and navigation intact while stripping away most reasons to pick it up mindlessly. As a secondary focus phone for anyone who wants to disconnect from the hustle of a smartphone, it can handle calls and texts without the usual app notifications to help nurture balance and peace of mind.

Mudita Harmony 2: A Bedroom Without a Smartphone Glow

Harmony 2 is an E Ink alarm clock with three physical knobs on top for light, volume, and alarm settings, designed to live where a phone usually sits on a nightstand. The E Ink display is easy to read and uses an adjustable warm backlight that minimizes blue light, so you can check the time at night without a blast of white light or the temptation to swipe through notifications that make it harder to fall back asleep.

The wake-up experience is built around a gradual, ascending alarm that starts softly and increases in volume, paired with a pre-wake-up light that mimics a sunrise by slowly brightening five to fifteen minutes before the main alarm. Harmony 2 offers seventeen melodies, including real nature sounds, and lets you enhance alarms with light or upload custom audio via the Mudita Center app. The goal is to make waking feel less like an interruption and more like a natural transition.

Extra features support a phone-free bedtime, Relaxation mode with customizable sounds and white noise, a Bedtime Reminder to nudge you into a consistent routine, a Meditation Timer with gong sounds, and a Power Nap Mode. With over forty days of battery life and USB-C charging, Harmony 2 can stay on a nightstand without becoming another device you plug in every night, reinforcing the idea that the bedroom can be a low-tech space.

Mudita Bell 2: Analog Mornings with a Few Smart Tricks

Bell 2 is the more analog-leaning sibling, an alarm clock with a clear, minimalist dial and an internal quartz mechanism, but also an E Ink display and a light-enhanced gradual alarm. It offers nine gentle melodies and a pure-tone alarm that starts quietly and grows to a set volume, plus a warm wake-up light that can be activated before the alarm to mimic sunrise, easing you out of sleep without a harsh jolt.

A built-in meditation timer starts and ends sessions with a gong, and the deliberate absence of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth means Bell 2 does not compete for attention or add to the ambient connectivity load in the room. It runs on a 2,600 mAh rechargeable battery that can last up to six months on a full charge, with USB-C for the rare times it needs topping up. It is designed to be set and then mostly forgotten.

Bell 2 has been awarded a Platinum Calm Technology Certification, recognizing products that respect attention and promote well-being. Available in charcoal black and pebble gray, it is meant to blend into different interiors while still feeling like a considered object. In a home shaped by Kompakt and Harmony 2, Bell 2 completes the picture: a simple, focused object that reflects Mudita’s belief that technology can be present without being intrusive.

Mudita at CES 2026: Technology for Mindful Living

Together, Kompakt, Harmony 2, and Bell 2 create intentional, screen-free moments throughout the day; focused time on the go with Kompakt, a calmer evening and wake-up routine with Harmony 2, and a simple, analog-leaning start to the morning with Bell 2. None of these is meant to replace a smartphone entirely. Instead, they offer a considered alternative for the moments when a screen adds little value. This is an approach that stands out at CES, where innovation is often defined by more features, rather than more thoughtful use.

The post Mudita Minimalist Phone and Alarm Clocks Design a Calmer Day at CES 2026 first appeared on Yanko Design.

An’An at CES 2026: Biomimetic Wool Panda That Responds to Your Hugs

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Loneliness quietly settles into homes where older adults live alone, where families are spread across cities, and where evenings can stretch out with no one to talk to. Technology has tried to fill that gap with video calls and smart speakers, but those tools are still built around tasks and commands, around asking for something rather than simply being there when someone needs company or a gentle reminder that they are not forgotten.

An’An is a robot less interested in showing off and more interested in listening, remembering, and responding gently over months and years. It is a panda-shaped companion designed from the fur inward to offer long-term, stigma-free emotional support for people who might never ask for help directly, treating emotional care as something that can happen quietly through touch, voice, and the kind of daily rituals that build trust without demanding much in return.

Designer: Mind With Heart Robotics

A Panda Built for Feelings, Not Tricks

An’An is a biomimetic panda cub companion built around the simple idea that people relax more easily around animals than around machines. Its body is handcrafted from Australian wool and sheepskin for natural tactile comfort, inviting stroking, hugging, and lap-holding in a way that cold plastic or silicone never could. The form factor is intentionally soft and low-key, closer to a plush toy than a science fiction robot.

An’An is not designed to juggle, dance, or navigate obstacle courses. Its job is to be present, to respond to touch with gentle, lifelike behavior, and to make it feel safe to express emotion without judgment. The panda shape, the weight, and the way it settles into a lap are all tuned to trigger nurturing instincts, especially for older adults who may miss the feeling of holding a pet or a grandchild who has moved to another state.

This focus on emotional comfort extends to how An’An fits into a home. It can rest on a sofa, bed, or desk without looking like medical equipment, which matters when someone is already sensitive about needing support. The goal is to make companionship feel natural and dignified, not clinical, so people will actually reach for the robot when they feel low rather than hiding it in a drawer or treating it like another gadget they were supposed to use but never really warmed to.

Emotional Intelligence Under the Fur

Under the fur, An’An is a dense network of sensors and affective AI. A full-body tactile sensing system with more than 10 sensor suites recognizes how and where it is being touched, distinguishing between a gentle stroke, a firm squeeze, or being picked up. That information feeds into an emotional AI engine that also listens to voice patterns and tracks interaction habits over time, building a model of who you are and how you prefer to communicate.

An’An’s long-term memory allows it to personalize responses as it learns. Over weeks and months, it can adapt to a user’s routines, noticing when someone tends to be quiet, when they like to talk, and what kinds of interactions seem to lift their mood. The hybrid offline-online architecture, with four to five hours of continuous battery life and USB-C charging, keeps core functions running even when connectivity is limited or when someone prefers not to share everything with the cloud.

This combination of multimodal sensing and memory means An’An can move beyond scripted novelty. Instead of repeating the same phrases, it can vary its behavior, initiate interaction during long periods of inactivity, and gradually build a relationship that feels more like a familiar presence than a toy. Preliminary studies suggest that this sustained, personalized engagement can measurably improve mood, which is the metric that matters most when the goal is helping someone feel less alone.

From Living Rooms to Care Facilities

In a private home, An’An can simply be a companion that is always available. It can offer gentle conversation, respond to touch, and provide a sense of being seen and heard without the stigma some people feel around therapy or medication. For older adults who may not want to bother their families with every worry, having something that listens without judgment can make a surprising difference to how a day feels, especially during the long stretches between calls or visits.

In eldercare settings, An’An takes on an additional role. A clinical version can capture objective interaction data, such as touch patterns, conversation cues, and changes in engagement, and surface those trends to authorized clinicians through secure dashboards. That gives caregivers another lens on cognitive and emotional status, helping them notice when someone is withdrawing, agitated, or unusually quiet without relying solely on brief check-ins or self-reported surveys that people might downplay.

Because An’An delivers clinical-grade capabilities at roughly one-fifth the cost of traditional therapeutic robots, it becomes more realistic for care homes and institutions to deploy multiple units rather than a single shared device. The unified affective AI platform, backed by more than 30 patent filings and 18 granted patents, is designed to scale across different environments while keeping the core promise the same: emotionally meaningful companionship over time.

A Different Kind of Robot

When it appears at CES 2026 as an Innovation Awards Honoree in the Artificial Intelligence category, An’An represents a quiet shift in what people expect from robots. Instead of another on-stage demonstration of agility or speed, it offers a case study in emotionally intelligent, human-centered design, showing how biomimetic form, tactile materials, and affective AI can come together to support people who need comfort more than spectacle, and companionship more than commands, at a scale and cost that makes it a viable part of everyday care rather than a research curiosity.

The post An’An at CES 2026: Biomimetic Wool Panda That Responds to Your Hugs first appeared on Yanko Design.

Nuon Medical: Why the Future of Skincare Isn’t Another Serum

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The beauty industry has spent decades perfecting what goes inside the bottle. Formulas have become more sophisticated, actives more potent, ingredient lists more transparent. Yet the objects that deliver those formulas have stayed mostly the same. Glass jars, plastic tubes, pump bottles, they’re passive containers designed to hold product, not enhance it. Meanwhile, beauty gadgets promised professional results at home but ended up in drawers, forgotten.

The real opportunity isn’t another breakthrough ingredient or another device. It’s that split second where formula actually meets skin. That’s the insight behind Nuon Medical, a company founded by Alain Dijkstra with roots in medical devices rather than traditional cosmetics. While everyone else obsessed over formulas, Nuon started looking at the packaging itself. We interview Senior Consultant Benny Calderone to get deeper insights into the company’s origins and perspectives.

Designer: Nuon Medical

From Chemical to Physical Innovation

According to Nuon Medical, “For decades, the beauty industry focused on ‘Chemical Innovation’—the juice inside the bottle. Nuon is pioneering the era of ‘Physical Innovation.’ In short: we are solving the ‘Last Inch’ of skincare.” It’s a shift that treats packaging as a performance-critical interface, one that determines whether those actives reach their biological targets or just sit on your skin doing nothing.

Nuon’s journey started with standalone light therapy devices used for hair growth and wrinkle reduction. After nearly two decades making those tools, founder Alain Dijkstra noticed they had a retention problem. They added steps to already crowded routines and mostly ended up unused. For clinical tech to work at scale, it had to disappear into something people already do every day.

By embedding tech into packaging, Nuon eliminated the compliance gap. “We realized that for clinical tech to scale, it must be invisible. By turning the packaging itself into the ‘treatment engine,’ we eliminate the compliance gap.” You’re not being asked to do something new. You’re just upgrading what you already do. From a business angle, this transforms a throwaway bottle into something worth keeping.

Frictionless Intelligence at the Point of Contact

Nuon doesn’t start with sketches or aesthetics. They start with human-factor engineering, figuring out how an applicator should guide contact, path, and speed to deliver the formula correctly every time. The result is what they call frictionless intelligence. “We design for ‘frictionless intelligence.’ If a user has to read a manual, the design has failed,” the company states.

Intelligence gets built into the haptics, the ergonomics, the physical interaction logic itself. The tool quietly guides your motion without you realizing it. The applicator steers where you press, how fast you move, the path you follow, all without instructions. Light therapy, microcurrent, thermal elements, vibration, they’re woven into the interaction, supporting the formula instead of distracting from it.

There’s a tricky balance here. Clinical devices can feel intimidating. Beauty objects need to feel inviting, something you want to pick up every morning. Nuon often prioritizes consistency over intensity. “A tool used daily with proper motion and interaction is far more effective than a high-intensity device left in a drawer,” they note. A lower setting used correctly beats a powerful tool that stays in the drawer.

The Hidden Operating System of Beauty

Nuon isn’t a consumer brand. They’re a B2B partner working behind the scenes with global beauty companies. Their modular tech stack works like an operating system, offering a validated foundation that brands dress up with their own materials. Luxury labels use glass and heavy metals. Mass brands use lighter plastics. The intelligence underneath stays the same.

“Nuon is the ‘Innovation Engine’ behind the world’s leading brands. Our philosophy lives in the UX Framework, not the visual skin,” Calderone explains. Brands can apply their aesthetic identity without messing with the validated technology underneath. “We provide the ‘Intelligence’; they provide the ‘Identity,'” he adds. It’s systems thinking applied to beauty packaging.

Data, Sustainability, and the Death of the Dumb Bottle

Once packaging gets smarter, it starts collecting data. Nuon’s applicators can measure skin hydration, texture, UV exposure, and more. But the company is deliberate about how that information gets used. “Data should be a concierge, not a surveillance tool,” according to their philosophy. Diagnostics should inform care, not flood you with vanity metrics. Nuon provides privacy-by-design infrastructure where consumers stay in control.

Then there’s sustainability, where Nuon takes a blunt stance. “Sustainability only scales if it improves the user experience. ‘Green theater’ is asking consumers to settle for less; True sustainability is ‘Assetization,'” the company states. They design the high-tech applicator as something durable that you want to keep. The formula becomes a refill that plugs into that base, separating Durable Intelligence from the Circular Consumable.

It’s not sustainability through guilt. It’s sustainable because the design makes refills the logical choice. You’ve invested in the smart hardware, so of course you’re going to buy the refill. Nuon’s vision is bold. “We are witnessing the death of the ‘dumb bottle.’ In a decade, a passive plastic cap will feel as obsolete as a rotary phone.”

Packaging will become responsive tools that sense conditions and guide your hand in one motion. “Scalp and hair care is the next great ‘blue ocean.’ It’s a category where wellness meets clinical results, and users can immediately feel the benefits of microcirculation and stimulation,” Nuon notes. The broader idea is that everyday objects on bathroom shelves are about to become quietly intelligent without looking like sci-fi props.

Companies like Nuon are writing that next chapter from behind the scenes, proving that clinically meaningful technology doesn’t need to sacrifice what makes beauty objects appealing. It’s a shift from containers to interfaces, from passive to active. If Nuon’s right, we’ll look back at today’s plain bottles the way we look at rotary phones, functional once but hopelessly outdated now.

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Dell debuts world’s first 52-inch curved monitor to replace multimonitor setups

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Multimonitor setups have taken over professional and creative spheres in a big way, boosting productivity like never before. Dell has upped the ante at CES 2026 with the world’s first 52-inch ultrawide curved monitor that’s designed for data professionals who demand maximum screen real estate. The 6K IPS Black display is your command center with connectivity options that’ll leave nothing to chance.

Dell UltraSharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor is essentially a combination of a 43-inch 4K display with two 27-inch QHD vertical monitors combined into one display. It eliminates the need for multiple monitor setups, the accompanying organizing hassles, and the wire clutter.

Designer: Dell

The numbers are crazy in every aspect with the 52-inch beast. It has an ultrawide aspect ratio of 21:9 compared to the 16:9 used on most monitors. 6,144 x 2,560 resolution (at 129 pixels per inch) and the 120 Hz refresh rate supporting variable refresh rate ensure it displays any kind of content with maximum precision. Gaming is theoretically possible on this, but you’ll need to match it with a beast of a PC. The IPS Black panel might not be as sharp as an OLED, still it delivers deeper blacks, a 2000:1 contrast ratio, and professional-grade color accuracy according to Dell.

Watching such a big screen for long hours can take a toll on your eyes, and Dell has it covered with the 80 percent less blue light courtesy of the eye-comfort features. The ambient light sensor reduces the strain to a minimum by adjusting the display settings accordingly. Best of all, the monitor connects to four PCs or Macs simultaneously with the two HDMI 2.1 ports, two DisplayPort 1.4 ports, and a Thunderbolt 4 port with support for Power Delivery up to 140W. In addition to these, the monitor features three USB-C 10Gbps upstream ports, four 10Gbps USB-A ports, and an RJ45 Ethernet port. For quick access, the curved monitor has two USB-C ports and a USB-A port on the front. Both these ports support 10Gbps transfer speeds.

When connected to multiple systems, the wide screen can be partitioned into two sections. The KVM (keyboard, video, and mouse) feature allows users to connect their keyboard and mouse independently to the display. The monitor can be height-adjusted by up to 90 mm with support for tilting, swiveling, and slanting positioning for maximum work freedom. The monitor carries a price tag of $2,800, and if you want the stand, that’ll cost an extra $100. Surely, this is not a curved monitor for everyone; still, it is worth every penny for individuals who have required something like this all along.

If this huge monitor is a bit too much, Dell also announced the 32-inch UltraSharp display with 4K resolution and a QD-OLED panel. The 120 Hz refresh rate display has True Black 500 HDR and Dolby Vision support. The Dell UltraSharp 32 4K QD-OLED (U3226Q) is expected to launch in February 2026 for $2,599.

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Leion Hey2 Brings First AR Glasses Built for Translation to CES 2026

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Cross-language conversations create a familiar kind of friction. You hold a phone over menus, miss half a sentence while an app catches up, or watch a partner speak fast in a meeting while your translation lags behind. Even people who travel or work globally still juggle apps, hand-held translators, and guesswork just to keep up with what is being said in the room, which pulls attention away from the actual conversation.

Leion Hey2 is translation that lives where your eyes already are, in a pair of glasses that quietly turns speech into subtitles without asking you to look down or pass a device back and forth. The glasses were built for translation first, not as an afterthought on top of entertainment or social features, and they are meant to last through full days of meetings or classes instead of dying halfway through, when you need them most.

Designer: LLVision

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Glasses That Care About Conversation, Not Spectacle

Leion Hey2 is a pair of professional AR translation glasses from LLVision, a company that has spent more than a decade deploying AR and AI in industrial and public-sector settings. Hey2 is not trying to be an all-in-one headset; it is engineered from the ground up for real-time translation and captioning, supporting more than 100 languages and dialects with bidirectional translation and latency under 500 ms in typical conditions, plus 6–8 hours of continuous translation on a single charge.

Hey2 is designed to wear like everyday eyewear rather than a gadget. The classic browline frame, 49g weight, magnesium-lithium alloy structure, and adjustable titanium nose pads are all chosen to make it feel like a normal pair of glasses you forget you are wearing. A stepless spring hinge adapts to different faces, and the camera-free, microphone-only design, which follows GDPR-aligned privacy principles and is supported by a secure cloud infrastructure built on Microsoft Azure, helping keep both wearers and bystanders more comfortable in sensitive environments.

Subtitles in Your Line of Sight

Hey2 uses waveguide optics and a micro-LED engine to project crisp, green subtitles into both eyes, with a 25-degree field of view and more than 90% passthrough so the real world stays bright. The optical engine is tuned to reduce rainbow artifacts by up to 98%, keeping text stable and readable in different lighting conditions, while three levels of subtitle size and position let you decide how prominently captions sit in your forward field of view.

The audio side relies on a four-microphone array that performs 360-degree spatial detection to identify who is speaking, while face-to-face directional pickup prioritizes the person within roughly a 60-degree cone in front of you. A neural noise-reduction algorithm uses beamforming and multi-channel processing to isolate the main voice, which helps in noisy restaurants, busy trade-show floors, or classrooms where questions come from different directions, without forcing you to constantly adjust settings.

Modes That Support Work, Learning, and Accessibility

In translation and Free Talk modes, foreign speech is converted into your language as subtitles in your line of sight, so you can mix languages freely and still follow long-form speech without constantly checking a screen. In Free Talk, Hey2 provides subtitles for what you hear and spoken translation for what you say, turning a two-language conversation into something that feels more like a normal chat than a tech demo, with the charging case extending total use to 96 hours across 12 recharges.

Teleprompter mode scrolls your script in your line of sight and advances it automatically as you speak, useful for lectures, pitches, or keynotes where you want to keep eye contact without glancing at notes. AI Q&A, triggered by a temple tap, taps into ChatGPT-powered answers for discreet look-ups, while Captions mode turns fast speech into clean text, helping students, professionals, and Deaf or hard-of-hearing users stay on top of what is being said, even in noisy environments where handheld devices struggle.

A Different Kind of AR Story

When Leion Hey2 steps onto the CES 2026 stage, it represents a quieter kind of AR story. Instead of chasing spectacle, it narrows the brief to something very human, helping people speak, listen, and be understood across languages and hearing abilities. For a show that often celebrates what technology can do, Hey2 is a reminder that sometimes the most interesting innovation is the one that simply lets you keep your head up and stay in the conversation.

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Aukey’s 200W Cube Has Retractable Cables That Disappear Inside

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The modern desk holds a laptop, phone, tablet, earbuds, maybe a camera or handheld console, all needing power at different times. The usual sprawl of wall warts, USB hubs, and cables creeps across the surface, claiming outlets and desk real estate. Most charging solutions still assume you have infinite outlets and space under the table, even though desks keep shrinking while the number of things competing for power keeps climbing.

The Aukey MagFusion DeskHive 5X Pro is a 5-in-1 desktop charging station that tries to pull everything into one small cube. It combines four wired outputs, including two retractable USB-C cables, with a Qi2 25W magnetic wireless stand on top, all powered by a 200W GaN engine. The idea is that one object in arm’s reach quietly replaces the pile of bricks and cables, sitting visibly on the desk instead of hiding behind the monitor.

Designer: AUKEY

Plugging a power-hungry laptop into the USB-C1 port gets you up to 140W with PD 3.1, enough to keep big machines happy. While that runs, there is still room for a second USB-C device, a USB-A accessory, and the two retractable USB-C leads that stay hidden until you need them. DeskHive can be the main charger for a workstation, not just a phone dock sitting on the side waiting for occasional use.

The two retractable USB-C cables spool out to about 75 cm when needed and disappear when they are not. That changes the desk, no more permanently snaked cables waiting for a device, just a quick pull when a tablet or camera needs a top-up, then a satisfying click back into the cube. It is a small interaction, but it keeps the surface visually calmer and makes charging feel less like tending to clutter.

The top of the cube is where the Qi2 25 W magnetic stand holds a phone at an adjustable angle between 0 and 65 degrees. That makes it natural to drop the phone there during calls, video meetings, or for quick reference, charging while staying in view. The aluminum-alloy hinge is tested for 10,000 adjustments, so tilting it up and down becomes part of the daily rhythm without feeling fragile or like something you have to baby.

The smart digital display shows real-time power output for each wired port and the total system draw. A quick glance tells you which device is fast-charging, which one is trickle-charging, and whether you are pushing the 200 W budget. It turns charging from a black box into something you can read and manage, which is oddly satisfying when you live with a lot of gear and want to know what is happening behind the scenes.

DeskHive layers in the expected protections, short-circuit, over-current, over-voltage, over-temperature, and over-charging, so running it all day does not feel risky. The compact 3.76-inch footprint and single power cable clean up the visual field, replacing a cluster of chargers with one object that looks intentional. For a desk that already does too much, having one small cube quietly handle the power side feels like a relief, freeing up mental space and physical outlets for the things that actually need them.

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