Tag Archives: accessories

SolidSafe Duo Magnetic Power Bank Is Shaped to Fit Apple’s Folding iPhone

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Magnetic charging makes attaching a battery easy, but it doesn’t guarantee that the battery will fit your phone’s shape. Apple’s folding iPhone Duo introduces a shorter body that gives accessories less room to stretch. BMX’s SolidSafe Duo responds with a compact, 5,000mAh power bank designed around those proportions, bringing a rotating stand, color display, and attached USB-C cable along for the ride.

The difference starts inside, where a custom-shaped battery cell lets the enclosure follow the Duo’s footprint instead of extending beyond its edges. The black, CNC-machined aluminum housing has rounded corners and a broad face that sits below the cameras. That gives the accessory a more deliberate relationship with the phone, although matching its outline doesn’t make the added thickness disappear, of course.

Designer: BMX (Better Mobile Experience)

A circular ring folds out from the back and rotates 360°, giving the phone support in portrait or landscape orientation. Reading a recipe on the counter could give way to watching a video over lunch without detaching the battery. The stand makes particular sense for an unfolded screen, which offers more room to watch but also more phone to hold in your hand.

Nestled inside that ring is a full-color display showing the power bank’s remaining charge and live charging wattage. The distinction matters because the percentage belongs to the accessory, not your iPhone. It also gives you a way to check both your reserve and the current power output, rather than assuming that an attached battery is always charging at its advertised maximum speed.

The attached USB-C cable doubles as a lanyard, so wired charging doesn’t begin with a search through your bag. Plug it into a compatible device for up to 20W output, or use it to refill the power bank at up to 15W. It’s a simple detail, but it keeps the wired option available even when the rest of your charging gear is elsewhere.

Wireless charging, meanwhile, tops out at a claimed 15W, below the iPhone Duo’s supported 25W maximum. You’re getting a tailored shape rather than the phone’s fastest wireless charging. Connecting two devices also changes the numbers, splitting output between 10W over USB-C and 5W wirelessly. That could help another device through the afternoon, but neither connection retains its single-device maximum in that arrangement.

The SolidSafe name also needs a little unpacking. BMX uses semi-solid-state cells and says their reduced liquid electrolyte content helps lower fire risk compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries. That’s a reduced-risk claim, not a promise that the battery can’t fail. The rigid aluminum enclosure also helps dissipate heat, according to BMX, rather than preventing the pack from becoming warm while it charges your phone.

Available for $79.99 in the US, SolidSafe Duo adds about 0.43 inch of thickness and 4.47 ounces to your phone. Those numbers deserve as much attention as its compact outline, particularly when the phone itself already folds shut. Having a stand and cable built into the battery means fewer loose accessories to pack, but a thicker stack to slide back into your pocket.

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Benks’ new Kevlar iPhone 18 Pro cases look like they’re ready for a holiday cruise

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Kevlar has spent most of its career in serious places, like bulletproof vests, racing tires, and the occasional helmet. Chemist Stephanie Kwolek invented it at DuPont in 1965, and I doubt anyone in that lab imagined a functional fabric like Kevlar would one day be asked to look classy. Today the fiber basically has a second life as a fashion fabric. I find that delightfully absurd, like learning your bodyguard also had a career as a swimsuit model. Benks has been leaning into that split personality for a while, and its latest drop takes it somewhere sunnier.

Meet Haven Azure and Haven Rouge, two Kevlar cases for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, priced at $69.99 each. Benks weaves the pattern directly into the Kevlar fiber using a 600D floating jacquard technique, rather than printing it onto the surface. That means the design is part of the weave itself, not just a layer of color that can scuff off. Azure ripples in layered blues, Rouge glows in warm reds, and both wrap the phone in a slim, full coverage shell. Building on the ArmorAir, the Haven series features a taller raised metal camera frame for enhanced lens protection, along with an upgraded ArmorKey that fully covers the Camera Control button. The result is a slim, full-coverage case that offers more comprehensive protection without compromising its refined design. Same tough stuff, just dressed for vacation.

Designer: Benks

Click Here to Buy Now: $69.99 Haven Azure | Click Here to Buy Now: Haven Rouge.

An 1800s Loom Trick, Now Running on Kevlar

Jacquard weaving builds a design into the cloth by lifting individual threads in a programmed order, a trick Joseph-Marie Jacquard automated with punched cards in the early 1800s. Silk mills near Lake Como, Benks’ stated inspiration, have long used the technique for ties. Benks applies the same logic to Kevlar, letting some threads float over others so colors and shapes appear in the weave. The 600D figure is a denier rating, which tells you how thick the yarn is. According to Benks, strands finer and more densely woven than the common 1500D give a smoother surface and a slimmer case. A loom from 1804 would recognize the idea instantly.

Getting color into Kevlar takes effort, and most of us picture the fiber as black and nothing else. Benks says the Haven colorways are woven into the fiber structure, with no laminated surface layer to peel, so the texture you feel is the weave itself. The brand has been heading here for a while, from the Knight ArmorAir with its champagne horse that reads like pixel art made from industrial fiber, to these flowing ripples. Benks bills the 600D Kevlar jacquard as an industry first, and the product shots show why it wants the credit. Big diagonal sweeps also suit a phone better than tiny repeating logos ever could.

Azure Cools Things Down, Rouge Warms Them Up

Azure sets a deep navy base and runs a diagonal band of lighter blues down the back, a bit like sunlight breaking up on lake water. Benks describes the pattern as gentle ripples in layered blue tones. Look closely at the product shots and the lighter threads read like tiny stitched pixels, which gives the band a cross-stitch charm. Rouge flips the mood with a burgundy base and a pale gold band, and Benks calls the shade Rouge Valley Red, with woven contour lines meant to recall warm valleys at dusk. Honestly, Azure feels like a lake breeze and Rouge feels like a glass of wine.

Benks shows both cases on all four iPhone 18 Pro colors, which are Black, Glacier, Burgundy, and Silver. Rouge on Burgundy looks like the obvious match, since phone and case speak the same dark red language. Azure beside Glacier makes sense too, though the blues also look sharp against Silver and Black. Each colorway has a matching ArmorPop grip and stand at $29.99 for anyone who wants the full set. The Haven tagline is “somewhere between here and away,” which also describes my mental state every Friday afternoon. Pick the mood first, then let your phone color follow.

Metal Frame, Enclosed Keys, Built-In Magnets

The iPhone 18 Pro is the first iPhone with a physical variable aperture, so its camera plateau deserves a proper guard. Haven wraps it in a raised metal frame that Benks says helps shield the lenses from scratches and bumps. Raised screen edges keep the display off flat surfaces without adding bulk. Enclosed ArmorKeys cover the side buttons, camera button included, and Benks promises crisp, responsive clicks. Cutouts line up with the ports, and the Kevlar texture wraps around the edges for a slip-resistant grip. A built-in magnetic core handles MagSafe accessories, so your charger, wallet, and grip stay where you put them.

Haven Azure and Haven Rouge are listed at $69.99 each on Benks’ site, with versions for the iPhone 18 Pro and the Pro Max (they’ll fit the 17 Pro series too). The cases boast a one year warranty, free shipping on orders of $39 or more, and a 30 day return window. Matching ArmorPop grips sit on the same product pages if you want to coordinate. Protection and personality have usually sat on separate shopping lists for phone cases, and weaving color straight into Kevlar is a neat way to merge them. Kevlar went from body armor to brunch, and I suspect it has a few more lives left.

Click Here to Buy Now: $69.99 Haven Azure | Click Here to Buy Now: Haven Rouge.

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Kojima x CASETiFY: Game-World Gear You Can Actually Carry

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A miniature piece of sci-fi equipment becomes more appealing to me when it has a job beyond occupying a shelf. The KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS x CASETiFY collection addresses that small but familiar dilemma for fans: how to bring a favorite fictional universe into everyday life without buying another display piece. Here, game references become phone cases, earbuds covers, and accessories with somewhere to go besides a glass cabinet.

Launched October 15, 2026, the limited-edition collaboration was developed with Hideo Kojima and art director Yoji Shinkawa at KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS’ Tokyo studio, according to CASETiFY. Its strongest idea is translating the studio’s visual identity into physical forms, rather than treating every accessory as a blank surface for a logo. That gives the collection something to offer readers who appreciate industrial design but couldn’t identify every Death Stranding reference.

Designer: Kojima Productions x Casetify

The centerpiece is the Yoji Shinkawa Original Design 3D Crafted Aluminum Case. In the product images, silver panels are crossed by diagonal lines, circular fasteners punctuate the edges, and a black component cuts across the back. The camera openings become part of that mechanical composition instead of an awkward interruption. I like how the design makes the phone look like a component removed from a larger machine, complete with details suggesting assembly and maintenance.

That black component also folds out as a kickstand, giving the elaborate back a practical purpose. It supports the phone horizontally in the promotional images, which makes sense for watching video at a desk without carrying a separate stand. More importantly, its angular shape belongs to the overall design. It doesn’t look like a generic accessory attached afterward. That integration is the detail that makes the case feel considered rather than merely decorated.

I’d still separate the armored appearance from any assumption about protection. Looking like equipment designed for a hostile landscape doesn’t establish how a case handles a kitchen-floor landing. The available images also can’t settle questions about grip, pocket comfort, or how pleasant those edges are during a long call. For me, this is an appealing collectible design first. Its everyday usefulness needs to earn its place alongside the visual appeal, especially at the listed $184 price.

The BB Pod Collectible AirPods Case makes a more immediately playful argument. Its yellow translucent-looking upper section, orange lower enclosure, and black carabiner turn a familiar charging case into a tiny equipment pod. Small labels and molded details carry the reference without requiring a huge title across the front. I think this is one of the collection’s clearest translations: a fictional container becomes an actual container. The listed AirPods Pro 3 version costs $56, so the novelty carries a premium, but the connection between inspiration and function is easy to understand.

The $70 Qpid Wristlet takes another route, adapting a Death Stranding motif into a phone-carrying accessory. Its silver-toned loop and dangling tags give it a jewelry-like presence in the collection imagery. I prefer that kind of reinterpretation to a replica that needs an explanation before it has a use. Here, the reference can remain meaningful to a fan while reading as an unusual accessory to everyone else. It invites recognition without demanding it.

The graphic cases are worth attention, too. Cargo ID and Damage Sensor Tape designs borrow the visual language of shipping labels and marked equipment, while Ludens imagery offers a more direct studio connection. These are the options I’d consider for someone who wants the aesthetic without the aluminum centerpiece’s sculptural treatment. Magnetic cardholders, grip stands, and charging accessories extend that approach to other routines. Their appeal is personalization, not evidence of better charging or some hidden technical advantage.

My preference would be to choose one strong piece and let it interrupt an otherwise ordinary setup. The BB Pod makes the most sense to me because its form and purpose reinforce each other. The aluminum case is the more ambitious design, but ambition alone wouldn’t persuade me to put it around an expensive phone. I’d want to know that carrying the collectible remained as enjoyable as looking at it.

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TypAir’s Wearable Keyboard Prototype Lets You Type Without Speaking Aloud

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Typing through smart glasses can mean speaking messages aloud or reaching for another device. MindRove’s TypAir offers a quieter option, attaching a gesture-based Bluetooth keyboard to your clothing so your fingers can enter text without a conventional set of keys. Still a working prototype, it puts the typing surface beside a pocket rather than asking you to find room on a table.

The device has a compact, roughly square body, with a strap that attaches magnetically to clothing, pockets, or other straps. That placement is central to the idea. Worn near your hip, TypAir could let you enter a short reply with your hand close to its natural resting position, although comfort will depend on the attachment point, the garment, and the hardware’s eventual proportions.

Designer: MindRove

Typing itself requires a different rhythm. There aren’t any lettered keys to press, because TypAir translates a predefined set of finger gestures into characters. Its browser guide assigns A to a tap in the bottom-left corner, for example. Other letters use different movements, so the small footprint comes with a clear compromise: you’ll need to learn an alphabet before typing becomes familiar.

MindRove also plans customizable gestures for letters, symbols, shortcuts, and commands. That could give the device a purpose beyond spelling out sentences. Someone entering the same instruction repeatedly might prefer a single learned movement, while occasional messages could use the standard alphabet. The interesting design question is how much you can simplify an everyday action without making its gesture harder to remember later.

There’s a visual decision here, too. A keyboard worn on clothing becomes part of an outfit, so the module and strap can be paired in different colors. Black-on-black offers a quieter presence, while brighter combinations make the attachment more noticeable. That flexibility acknowledges something wearable electronics sometimes overlook: people might accept the function but still dislike having another gadget attached to them.

The appeal is clearest in moments when speaking would be intrusive. A message composed while waiting for an appointment could stay unspoken, provided the connected glasses support Bluetooth keyboard input. Inside a headset, the same approach could offer somewhere physical to enter text. These are plausible conveniences, but their value depends on gesture recognition being dependable enough that corrections don’t interrupt every exchange.

Compatibility and power place more ordinary limits around that promise. MindRove lists Android and Windows support, while iOS and macOS remain under development; the connected app matters, too. The company also claims more than six hours of use per charge. That adds another battery to your routine, and the stated runtime doesn’t establish that it’ll stay available throughout a full working day.

MindRove says the wearable design, gesture recognition, and manufacturing preparation still need further work. Those unfinished details will determine how practical the idea becomes, particularly when your fingers have to locate the controls without looking down. Learning the alphabet is only part of the adjustment. Wearing TypAir also means finding a position you can return to comfortably, across the clothes you actually wear.

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No Wood, No Ash, No Smoke: This Modular Propane Torch Turns Any Outdoor Space Into a Gathering Spot

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Camping gear has a habit of living in the garage for 51 weeks a year. Camp Torch, built by three friends in Boise, Idaho, took a different route: it was made for camp, then wandered onto the founders’ porch and never left. It is a modular propane torch with a flame up to four feet tall that packs down into a bag. Because there is no wood, ash, or smoke, your patio smells like a patio on Monday. One knob dials the flame from a low glow to a full blaze.

I like a product that picks one job and does it properly, and this one’s job is giving a gathering a center. Founders Prince, Jimmi, and Boyd strapped the first rough prototype to a raft and went through six prototypes before landing on this one. Some of the nights they most wanted a fire were the nights a wood fire wasn’t allowed, which is why it runs on propane, with a controllable flame and a shutoff valve. To refine it, they brought in engineers who had worked on products like Jetboil. Stack the poles and you get a 6 ft 4 in Beacon. Drop to the tripod and you get a low Campfire that pulls everyone into a circle. It runs on a standard 20 lb propane tank, so there is no proprietary fuel to hunt down.

Designer: Camp Torch

Click Here to Buy Now: $499 $599 ($100 off). Hurry, only a few left! Raised over $530,000.

A single knob controls a four-foot flame

The flame is the whole point, so it gets the simplest control possible: a knob on the side of the burner head. Turn it low for a small dinner or crank it up when the group grows and the stories get louder. At full flame the light reaches about 60 feet in every direction, enough to cook and wander around after dark without a headlamp. One tank gives about 9 hours on high and more than 20 on low. That covers a full weekend of evenings, and I suspect you’ll be the one who wants to stay up for the last one.

Height is the modular part. The poles stack into four configurations: Campfire on the bare tripod, one pole, two poles, and the full 6 ft 4 in Beacon. Campfire mode sits low and central so the warmth lands right where the circle is, while Beacon goes tall to light up the whole site. Base Camp takes it further, with three torches running off a single tank through a splitter. Put one by the table, one near the chairs, and one where everyone keeps ending up. Back home, that height adjustment earns its keep again. Drop it to Campfire beside the chairs for a quiet evening on the porch, or raise it to Beacon and let it light the whole patio when friends come over. You don’t need a trip on the calendar to pull it out, which makes the price easier to justify: the same torch rides along on the weekend and gets used again the night after you unpack.

Steel, brass, and legs borrowed from precision machinery

The base is a three-foot tripod whose legs end in Hirth-joint tips, the interlocking serrated geometry you usually find in precision machinery. Each leg micro-adjusts, so the torch can sit level on a lumpy campsite or a lawn, and the tips drive into the ground when you want it locked down. Every knob and fitting is steel, aluminum, or brass, and the structure has zero plastic. The quick-connect that joins the poles sets your height without tools and takes future accessories the same way. The entire design is patent pending. I’m a sucker for a joint that does real engineering work, and a serrated leg on a camp torch made me smile.

An anti-tip shutoff cuts the gas the moment the torch tips. Camp Torch was designed with stability in mind, and the flame control is fully manual. Rain has nothing to soak and no coals to drown, while wind moves the flame around the way it moves any fire. A precision controlled flame, no embers, and an instant valve shutoff are why it’s often allowed where a wood fire isn’t, including under many Stage 1 and Stage 2 restrictions. Stricter restrictions and full closures ban propane too, so check with your local fire authority before every trip.

Packing, setup, and what comes in the box

The whole system breaks down into the included 11 x 22 inch bag at about 18 lb, so it slides in behind a seat next to the cooler. Setup takes under a minute and needs no tools: level the tripod, stack the poles and connect the head and fuel line, then attach your propane tank, light it through the port, and adjust the flame. The box also holds silicone heat-resistant covers, a quick-connect regulator and hose, and handling gloves. Heat shields, patio and deck bases, and cooking accessories are in development.

Camp Torch ships to the US only, with delivery estimated for February 2027. One torch is $499 and a two-torch set is $899 at launch pricing, ahead of a planned full retail price of $599 per torch. Each torch includes the carry bag, propane hose and regulator, heat-resistant covers, and gloves, while Base Camp is the three-pack. Returns are accepted for 30 days after delivery for a full refund, with return shipping covered, and Camp Torch is backed for life: if something fails in normal use, they fix it free, usually shipping the part before you send anything back. After all that, the garage is the one place this torch won’t be spending its winters.

Click Here to Buy Now: $499 $599 ($100 off). Hurry, only a few left! Raised over $530,000.

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Awekeys RGB Neon gives metal keycaps two ways to light up

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Metal keycaps bring a distinctive look to a desk, but opaque surfaces can block the keyboard lighting that’s meant to illuminate the lettering. Awekeys RGB tackles that limitation with cut-through lettering that lets the keyboard’s lighting shine through. Its Neon edition adds another surprise: a white daytime finish that glows after exposure to light, even with the keyboard’s RGB switched off.

By day, the appeal starts with the material. Awekeys specifies recycled cupronickel, a copper-nickel alloy, keeping metal at the center of the collection rather than treating it as an accent. That matters on a desk where the keyboard sits beside a monitor, lamp, and other deliberately chosen objects. Its surface finish gets to contribute to the arrangement even when there’s no colorful lighting running underneath the keys.

Designer: Awekeys

Click Here to Buy Now: $159 $269 (41% off). Hurry, only a few left! Raised over $73,000.

Metal, however, doesn’t offer light an easy route through. The answer here is in the legends, the letters and symbols on the keys. Cut-through openings give the keyboard’s RGB a path to the surface, turning the characters into illuminated details within the metal. Awekeys calls this its first shine-through metal keycap collection, bringing backlit lettering to a material that would otherwise block it.

Once an evening session starts, that lettering becomes the point of interest. A single lighting color could keep a writing setup relatively subdued, while a brighter palette might suit a few rounds of gaming. Either way, the color appears within the characters instead of relying solely on light spilling between the keys. It’s a change in how the keyboard presents itself, without replacing its familiar layout or controls.

Neon introduces a different kind of restraint. Its white daytime appearance makes the glow-in-the-dark option less conspicuous than its name might suggest. You could pair it with a pale desk and keep the overall setup quiet during work hours, then enjoy the change after sunset. The unexpected part is that the finish itself becomes luminous, rather than leaving all the visual work to the lettering and surrounding backlight.

The luminous finish absorbs light and releases an afterglow in darkness, and the finish’s afterglow is separate from the keyboard’s powered RGB lighting, which needs power from the keyboard. Neon can glow with that lighting off, provided it has been exposed to light beforehand. The result is a luminous surface that doesn’t need the keyboard’s LEDs to keep supplying its light after the room goes dark.

The other finishes offer room for a different taste. Satin Gold and Satin Copper bring warmer tones, while Satin Silver, Titanium Black, and Obsidian Black lean toward a more restrained metallic palette. Selected metallic finishes also have a hand-brushed option, introducing directional texture. That detail gives the daylight side of the collection its own interest, especially for anyone who prefers surface character over a glowing finish.

These are replacement keycaps, though, not a complete mechanical keyboard. The practical appeal is giving an existing setup a different character without replacing its switches or electronics. Fit still matters: the switch mount, key sizes, and layout have to match the chosen set. Keeping that distinction clear helps separate the attraction of the finish from the everyday requirement that each cap belongs on your particular board.

Awekeys also turns the keyboard into a ritual, especially with the Neon colorway. At the end of an evening session, switching off the RGB usually puts an end to the light show. With Neon, a finish that’s been exposed to light can leave an afterglow instead. The desk doesn’t need another lamp or another cable for that small change. You can close the game, step away from the keyboard, and let the white keys have their last little glow.

Click Here to Buy Now: $159 $269 (41% off). Hurry, only a few left! Raised over $73,000.

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