Tag Archives: Technology

Clevetura S Keyboard Review: Swipe Across the Keys Instead of Reaching for a Mouse

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PROS:


  • Innovative combination of keyboard and touchpad in one

  • Compact, lightweight design

  • Customizable gestures and sensitivity

  • Supports 3 Bluetooth and 1 USB-C connections

CONS:


  • Has a bit of a learning curve for accuracy and speed

  • Premium price tag

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The Clevetura CLVX S brings typing and navigation together in a compact design that gives your mouse hand less traveling to do.

Keyboards and mice have shared our desks for decades, but our hands still have to travel between them whenever typing gives way to clicking. That familiar shuffle becomes especially noticeable when there’s barely enough room for a laptop, let alone another accessory. The Clevetura S offers an interesting solution by turning the keys themselves into a touchpad, giving your fingers another way to get around without leaving the keyboard.

Also known as the CLVX S, this compact, 78-key keyboard brings Clevetura’s TouchOnKeys technology to a more portable design. The Windows version reviewed here can handle familiar gestures without additional software, although there’s plenty to customize if you want to. More importantly, it makes an unusual interaction surprisingly useful, even if sliding across letters and keeping resting fingers from triggering gestures take a little getting used to.

Designer: Clevetura

Aesthetics

Upfront, the Clevetura S looks almost like someone forgot to leave space between the keys. The flat keycaps sit unusually close together, giving the 78-key layout a tidy, almost tiled appearance. There’s a practical reason for that, of course. Fingers need to travel across the surface as comfortably as they press down on it, and generous gaps would make that second job considerably less inviting.

An anodized aluminum base gives the keyboard its silver lower half, while polycarbonate covers the top and ABS plastic forms the keycaps. Both black and white versions retain that silver body, which is particularly noticeable against the darker finish. I would have preferred an entirely black option for a simpler look, though the contrast does make the thin profile a little more obvious when viewed from the side.

Otherwise, there isn’t much to distract from that continuous field of keys, save for the extra markings explaining their secondary functions. Two buttons below the spacebar provide physical left- and right-click controls, recalling the arrangement on older laptops. Then there’s the per-key RGB lighting, which can turn this relatively understated keyboard into something considerably more colorful. Fortunately, those lights also have practical roles beyond decorating your desk.

Ergonomics

At roughly 403g, the Clevetura S doesn’t ask for much commitment when you’re packing a laptop bag. Its body measures approximately 11.5 inches wide, 5.12 inches deep, and just 0.49 inches (12.4mm) thick, making it easy to accommodate on smaller desks, too. The closely fitted keycaps don’t leave many edges sticking out, although I’d still use the included fabric pouch rather than let them rub against everything else.

The scissor switches feel familiar if you’re coming from a decent laptop keyboard, with around 1.2mm of travel. Typing is perfectly serviceable, though it probably won’t steal the attention of someone devoted to mechanical switches. Folding feet let you raise the back, but there’s only one elevated position. That keeps setup simple, provided you’re comfortable with either the flat profile or the available incline.

The more interesting benefit shows up when you need to scroll through a reference or reposition the cursor between sentences. Instead of reaching sideways, you can make that movement right where you’ve been typing. Your chair and screen position still matter, of course. The Clevetura S simply reduces the back-and-forth, although its flat, closely fitted keys take some getting used to when finding your usual typing rhythm.

Performance

The central key area doubles as the touchpad, automatically switching between recognizing finger movements and registering keypresses. Sliding across letters feels a little peculiar at first, but my fingers didn’t catch on the edges, and pointer control worked well. Scrolling through a document becomes especially convenient when you’re jumping back into writing every few moments. A light tap handles clicking without requiring you to press a letter.

That automatic switching does have to contend with personal habits, however. Mine involves keeping fingers on the home row, which happens to sit inside the touchpad area. This frequently triggered three-finger gestures when I hadn’t intended anything of the sort. Sensitivity adjustments and the option to disable unwanted gestures provide useful flexibility, though finding the right balance is something to budget time for rather than expect immediately.

Clevetura’s Adaptive Intelligence, or AI, can help by selecting a sensitivity level after studying 10,000 typed characters. Training requires the TouchOnKeys app and a USB connection, with touch recognition disabled while it runs. A separate mouse is handy during that process, although you can pause training if necessary. Thankfully, this particular AI has a fairly modest assignment: learning when your fingers mean to type rather than swipe.

The lighting makes that second role easier to follow, and a little more entertaining, too. In my setup, a white trail followed my finger across the keys, almost like leaving a trace of magic behind. Checking the battery dims the surrounding lighting and uses illuminated number keys to show the remaining charge. Even the function row gets involved, with touch sliders for volume and backlight brightness.

Windows recognizes supported touchpad gestures without installing additional software, but TouchOnKeys opens up more settings, including profiles for different apps. Three Bluetooth slots and a USB-C connection let you select between up to four devices, one at a time. That’s useful if your desk serves more than one computer. The cable also handles charging and provides the wired connection required for firmware updates.

Clevetura advertises up to 44 hours of continuous use without backlighting, which is an important qualification for anyone drawn to those colorful effects. That’s the manufacturer’s estimate rather than a result measured here, so it shouldn’t become a promise of weeks between charges. Wired operation remains available at a desk, while wireless endurance deserves particular attention if you’re planning to travel with the lighting switched on.

Sustainability

The aluminum and plastic construction follows a fairly familiar recipe, and there’s no documented recycled content to give the CLVX S a particular advantage on materials. Clevetura rates its keys for 3 million presses, although that remains a manufacturer specification rather than a prediction of service life. The more useful question is how easily this unusual keyboard can be maintained once everyday use starts leaving its mark.

Here, the same integration that makes TouchOnKeys possible also limits what owners can replace. Clevetura warns against removing or swapping keycaps because doing so can damage the keyboard, and the battery isn’t easily user-replaceable either. Routine surface cleaning and manufacturer support therefore matter more than they would on a board designed for tinkering. It’s worth understanding that arrangement before expecting mechanical-keyboard levels of customization or straightforward repairs.

Value

At $199, discounted from $209, the Windows model sits well above the price of many conventional compact keyboards. The extra cost is easier to understand when you consider what you’re paying for: typing and pointer control in the same footprint. Separate devices offer more freedom to choose each component, but they also need more space. Clevetura’s appeal is having those everyday functions share one portable object.

That could be particularly attractive when you’re writing code, checking references, or moving between shortcuts and controls in creative software. Quick navigation stays close, even if detailed drawing or extended pointer work still calls for a separate mouse. The Clevetura S doesn’t have to handle every task equally well to be useful. Its value depends on how often you make those small trips away from the keys.

Verdict

Combining a keyboard and touchpad sounds simple enough until your fingers have to tell the two jobs apart. Clevetura gives that idea a thoughtful physical form, from the closely fitted keys to lighting that explains what’s happening beneath your hands. My habit of resting on the home row made gesture sensitivity especially important, but the pointer control itself worked well and gave the unusual surface a practical purpose.

The Clevetura CLVX S makes the strongest impression when space is limited and typing is regularly interrupted by a scroll or a click. Its price deserves consideration, and the flat surface won’t replace everyone’s favorite keyboard feel. Still, there’s something pleasing about editing a sentence, sliding across the letters to move the cursor, and carrying on without sending a hand off to find another device.

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DUO STOVE Concept Air-Fries and Steams Without Two Appliances

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Dinner can be a one-pot meal and still leave a small collection of appliance parts in the sink. Add a separate steamer or countertop cooker, and the equipment starts taking up as much attention as the food. DUO STOVE, a concept by designer Eunseo Yun, tackles both kinds of clutter by rethinking where an appliance’s heating unit belongs.

The central move is a reversible heating module. It sits beneath the cooking vessel in multicooker mode. In air fryer mode, it flips over and moves above it, directing heat down into the food chamber. Yun’s presentation treats the appliance as two essential parts: something that holds food and something that heats it. Rearranging those parts offers two cooking setups without asking you to find room for two separate machines.

Designer: Eunseo Yun

The exterior makes that reversal look intentional. Its fluted sides pinch inward around the middle, giving the body a sculptural silhouette that works in either orientation. The pale and amber-toned versions shown in the presentation look closer to serving vessels than the usual black countertop box. I like that restraint. A device meant to sit beside dinner should look comfortable there, even when nobody is admiring its specifications.

In multicooker mode, a wire insert turns the vessel into a steamer. Remove it, and the proposal supports other methods, including boiling; a lower temperature setting is intended to keep food warm while you eat. That last use feels especially relevant to the dining-table placement. A pot of soup could remain part of the meal instead of becoming another trip back to the kitchen.

The air fryer arrangement brings the cleanup argument into focus. Yun proposes using the lower inner pot as a bowl after cooking, reducing the need to transfer food into separate serving ware. The presentation shows a perforated insert holding chicken pieces inside the outer vessel. The useful detail is the continuity between cooking and eating, with the appliance’s lower half doing a job beyond containing a basket.

That doesn’t mean washing disappears. Food-contact parts still need cleaning, and a perforated insert still has holes to deal with. I’d read the concept’s cleanup pitch as an attempt to shorten the sequence, rather than a promise of a magically empty sink. Serving from the cooking vessel is a modest improvement, but modest improvements are often the ones that make sense on a busy weeknight.

The controls follow the same pared-back thinking. Two dials handle time and temperature, with an interface intended to remain readable when the heating module is flipped. There’s no menu of food presets to navigate in the proposed system. I’d take that trade, provided the markings were clear. Choosing a temperature yourself can feel less fussy than deciding which tiny food icon most closely resembles tonight’s leftovers.

Yun also gives the timer a visual presence beyond the controls. Light shines through a translucent lower housing, with its intensity changing in proportion to the remaining cooking time. The illustrated sequence moves from a brighter glow toward darkness. It’s conceived as both an ambient progress indicator and a nod to a campfire at the table. That’s an appealing role for lighting, although it wouldn’t replace a precise time reading.

The questions are practical ones. How safely could you handle and reposition the heating module? Where would the cord go in each arrangement? Would the cooking capacity justify the space it occupies? The supplied presentation establishes the design proposal, not answers backed by cooking tests. Before treating DUO STOVE as a genuine replacement for two appliances, I’d want to know how well it performs both jobs.

Still, the premise is worth exploring because it addresses more than appliance count. It considers the route from preparing food to serving it, then clearing the table. Combining functions only helps if the transitions don’t become chores of their own. DUO STOVE’s strongest idea is giving those transitions some attention, with a bowl you can keep using and a heating unit that changes position instead of demanding another permanent spot on the counter.

The post DUO STOVE Concept Air-Fries and Steams Without Two Appliances first appeared on Yanko Design.

The 8 Retro-Inspired Gadgets Of October 2026 That Bring Back the Rituals Smartphones Replaced

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Turning a radio dial asks something different of your hand than tapping an app. So does loading a game cartridge, pressing a calculator key, or framing a photograph without checking the result. Smartphones gathered these activities onto one surface, making them convenient and strangely similar. The appeal of a good retro gadget is getting some of those differences back, through controls and objects that give each activity its own character.

These eight designs approach that idea with different degrees of commitment. Some restore an older mechanism; others translate its habits into digital hardware. A cassette silhouette alone cannot bring back tape playback, and a dedicated writing machine won’t automatically improve a sentence. What matters here is the action each object makes possible, alongside the compromises it introduces. This is a collection about choosing an experience, rather than collecting vintage costumes.

1. RetroWave 7-in-1 Radio

The RetroWave 7-in-1 Radio begins with a familiar gesture: turning a tuning dial until something worth hearing comes through. AM, FM, and shortwave reception let you listen without opening a streaming service, while Bluetooth, USB, and microSD playback cover more contemporary habits. Its compact body keeps those choices in one physical object. For a kitchen shelf or workbench, the attraction is straightforward: the radio can supply a soundtrack without turning your phone into the control panel for every listening session.

The extra functions give the nostalgic form a practical purpose. A flashlight, SOS siren, clock, and 2,000mAh battery with phone charging capability broaden its role beyond entertainment. The power arrangements deserve a closer look, though. The USB is the primary charging method, the hand crank is the emergency backup, and solar is the supplementary support. Think of it as an everyday radio with contingency features, rather than assuming that its small solar panel can replace regular charging from an outlet.

Click Here to Buy Now: $89.00

What we like

  • Broadcast radio without internet.
  • USB and microSD music playback.

What we dislike

  • Solar charging is supplementary only.
  • Hand cranking is an emergency backup.

2. Await Camera

Await borrows the disposable camera’s discipline without using film. Rolling Square’s digital camera organizes pictures into rolls of 24, with no image preview to inspect after each shot. An optical viewfinder handles framing, while a small OLED shows status and remaining frames. The translucent body and interchangeable magnetic faceplates connect it to playful consumer electronics of the 1990s. Its most consequential choice is removing the immediate review, encouraging you to decide before pressing the shutter rather than shooting endless alternatives.

The proposed workflow carries that restraint beyond the camera. Its free companion app processes rolls with a vintage-inspired filter and offers optional mailed prints, while USB-C lets you export original files directly to a computer. You can keep photographs digital without paying for printing. That makes Await interesting for trips or gatherings where reviewing pictures can wait.

Click Here to Buy Now: $100 $145 (31% off). Hurry, only 6/800 left! Raised over $109,000.

What we like

  • Optional prints without buying film.

What we dislike

  • Printing introduces ongoing costs.

3. Freewrite Smart Typewriter Gen3 Valentine Edition

Freewrite’s Valentine Edition draws on the Olivetti Valentine, translating that typewriter’s red personality into an aluminum digital drafting machine. A mechanical keyboard with box brown switches sits below an E Ink display, giving writing its own dedicated surface. The appeal is especially clear for someone whose journals and first drafts currently live in a phone’s notes app. Sitting down at this keyboard creates a specific activity, rather than adding another task alongside messages, browser tabs, and social feeds.

The typewriter reference doesn’t extend to paper or ink ribbons. Drafts save locally, synchronize to Freewrite’s Postbox service over Wi-Fi, and can also transfer through USB. A matching carrying case and strap are included, extending the red treatment beyond the machine itself. This is a tool for getting words down before finishing them elsewhere, so it suits a deliberate drafting habit better than general computing.

What we like

  • Mechanical keyboard and dedicated drafting display.
  • Local saving with cloud and USB transfer.

What we dislike

  • Drafting focus limits its broader usefulness.

4. Tivoli Audio SongBook MAX

The SongBook MAX revives the boombox as something you carry into a room and operate directly. Tivoli Audio gives it a handle, a large tuning knob, physical switches, and separate sliders for low, middle, and high frequencies. Those controls make adjusting music part of listening, rather than a menu buried inside an app. FM radio adds another useful distinction: you can let a station make the selections. Bluetooth remains available when choosing your own soundtrack matters more than broadcast discovery.

Where the RetroWave offers compact utility, the SongBook MAX makes a larger commitment to shared listening. It weighs 11.5 pounds, and its quarter-inch input and built-in preamp also allow compatible instruments to join the session. Tivoli specifies up to 10 hours of battery life and IPX4 water resistance, which means splash resistance rather than waterproofing. Its multiple drivers form a mono speaker system, not stereo.

What we like

  • Physical EQ sliders make adjustments accessible.
  • Radio and instrument input broaden its role.

What we dislike

  • Heavy for a portable speaker.
  • Mono playback, with current stock limitations.

5. TWEMCO BQ-38 Calendar Flip Clock

The TWEMCO BQ-38 gives the date somewhere to live outside your lock screen. Its long rectangular face combines an analog clock with three calendar windows displaying the weekday, date, and month on physical flipping cards. That distinction matters: the hands tell the time, while the cards handle the calendar. The orange version makes the arrangement particularly expressive, with white lettering against dark cards and a bright surrounding case. It reads as an object designed to remain visible, rather than disappear.

For a desk or shelf, the useful consequence is modest but welcome. You can check the date without picking up anything, entering a passcode, or encountering a notification. Retrospekt lists a battery-powered quartz movement and a single C battery, so there’s no charging cable to accommodate. The BQ-38 has no alarm, though, making it a calendar clock rather than a complete bedside replacement for your phone. The supplied retailer listing also currently shows it sold out, so finding stock comes first.

What we like

  • Real calendar cards beside an analog clock.
  • Battery power avoids a visible cable.

What we dislike

  • No alarm function.
  • Currently sold out at Retrospekt.

6. Casio CA-53WB Calculator Watch

Casio’s CA-53WB makes a miniature piece of computing hardware part of getting dressed. Its design references the Casio Mini calculator introduced in 1972, carrying over green characters on a negative LCD, grid lines between the number keys, and a red mode indicator that recalls a power light. Black, blue, green, and ivory versions draw from the calculator family’s palette. These details give the watch a specific design history, rather than relying on a vague suggestion that anything digital looks retro.

The calculator performs basic arithmetic with up to eight digits, alongside dual time, a stopwatch, and an alarm. That won’t replace a scientific calculator, and the small keypad makes this a deliberate alternative to reaching for your phone, not an obvious shortcut. Its stronger everyday argument is having time and simple calculations immediately available on your wrist. Casio specifies a 25-gram weight and approximately five years of battery life, avoiding the regular charging routine associated with many more elaborate wearables.

What we like

  • Specific, carefully carried-over calculator details.
  • Time and arithmetic without a phone.

What we dislike

  • Tiny keys require careful input.
  • Eight-digit arithmetic has clear limits.

7. Analogue Pocket

Choosing a cartridge gives a gaming session a physical beginning. The Analogue Pocket preserves that gesture, accepting original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges directly. Its directional pad and buttons also keep controls separate from the image, unlike a touchscreen overlay. The modern part is the 3.5-inch, 1600 × 1440 LCD, with display modes that reproduce characteristics of older handheld screens. It’s a way to revisit the games while choosing how much of their original presentation to retain.

Analogue uses FPGA hardware to implement the supported systems, while modern conveniences include USB-C charging and save states. The built-in Nanoloop synthesizer and sequencer give the handheld a second life as a music-making device. For this collection, though, the cartridge slot remains the defining feature: picking one game can make play feel more intentional than browsing an app library. Other systems require separately sold adapters, and television output needs the optional Dock. The original handheld ritual comes with an accessory ecosystem.

What we like

  • Original cartridges and physical controls.
  • Modern display with vintage presentation options.

What we dislike

  • Other cartridge systems need adapters.
  • TV output requires a separate Dock.

8. Side A Cassette Speaker

The Side A Cassette Speaker needs one distinction made immediately: it looks like a cassette, but it doesn’t play tapes. Its transparent shell and Side A label borrow the mixtape’s visual identity, while the hardware inside handles Bluetooth 5.3 and MP3 playback from microSD. The more interesting connection to old listening habits is that second option. Loading a card with a chosen set of tracks gives the little speaker its own music supply, rather than making it another destination for phone audio.

Its clear storage case doubles as a stand, turning the familiar cassette-and-case pairing into a small desktop arrangement. That makes sense for a speaker intended to sit nearby rather than occupy an entire shelf. The nostalgic shape earns its place when paired with an intentionally assembled card, not simply by resembling something older.

Click Here to Buy Now: $49.00

What we like

  • microSD playback can leave the phone aside.
  • Storage case doubles as a stand.

What we dislike

  • Cannot play actual cassette tapes.
  • Card playback supports MP3 files only.

Give One Habit Its Own Object

The useful starting point is a habit you already enjoy, rather than a decade you wish your home resembled. A dedicated object earns its space when its controls, limits, or physical presence improve that particular activity for you. Otherwise, it becomes another thing to charge, store, and occasionally dust. Nostalgia can make an introduction, but it shouldn’t have to carry the entire relationship once the novelty of ownership wears off.

There’s no need to reconstruct a whole room of separate devices to recover one satisfying interaction. Start with the moment that feels least rewarding on your phone, and consider what you actually miss about doing it another way. It might be a button, a visible calendar, or the decision to choose before beginning. The worthwhile purchase is the object you’ll keep using after you stop thinking of it as retro.

The post The 8 Retro-Inspired Gadgets Of October 2026 That Bring Back the Rituals Smartphones Replaced first appeared on Yanko Design.

ADHD ONE Lets You Answer iPhone Calls on a DIY 1980s-Style Brick

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Answering a call on your smartphone can easily turn into checking messages, opening an app, and forgetting why you picked it up. ADHD ONE keeps that familiar temptation out of your hand, at least while you’re talking. This DIY, 3D-printed Bluetooth handset borrows the shape of a 1980s brick phone, letting you answer iPhone calls while the touchscreen stays tucked away nearby.

The deliberately bulky body puts a speaker grille at the top and a projecting mouthpiece at the bottom, with a narrow OLED display between the grille and keypad. Rounded physical buttons take over from glass, giving dialing and ending a call their own controls. It’s a very recognizable arrangement, even if younger owners might wonder why anyone would willingly carry something this conspicuous.

Designer: Kevin Noki

Of course, the oversized antenna doesn’t mean you’ve escaped modern technology completely. The handset connects to an iPhone over Bluetooth, so that phone still handles the cellular connection and must remain within range. You can leave it in a drawer while reading or working, with the iPhone’s Focus settings deciding which callers are allowed to interrupt your afternoon in the first place.

That retro character isn’t fixed to a single appearance, either. The printable enclosure comes with three speaker grille styles, ranging from perforations to horizontal stripes, plus three antenna designs. There’s even a housing that leaves the antenna opening closed. Builders can choose a cleaner outline or keep the exaggerated silhouette, although removing that long protrusion does take away a rather obvious visual joke.

The shape also came together through a surprisingly hands-on process. Before committing to the printed enclosure, its proportions were explored using foam and a hot-wire cutter. That’s an old industrial design habit with a practical purpose: you can hold a full-size shape and remove material as needed. A digital model can describe a handset without telling you how it occupies your hand.

Getting one, however, involves more than choosing a color. The available product is a €29.99 (around $34) digital download, not a finished handset. It includes printable parts, compiled firmware, circuit-board manufacturing files, a component list, and a build guide. You’ll need to source the required electronics and assemble everything yourself, while editable design files and firmware source code aren’t part of the package.

A boxed DIY kit isn’t available, and its release hasn’t been scheduled. There’s also a standalone 4G version under development, according to the maker, but that shouldn’t be confused with this Bluetooth build. For now, the brick remains an accessory to the smartphone you’re avoiding. Leaving your iPhone at home and taking only this handset would miss an important detail.

Having a separate handset does mean finding room for another device and remembering to charge it. Its bulky outline also makes the idea easier to imagine on a desk than in a jeans pocket. But once you’ve finished talking, there isn’t a social feed waiting behind the call screen. You can put the brick down without deciding what else to do on 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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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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Ato’s Radio-Inspired AI Assistant Trades Touchscreens for a Button and Knob

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Keeping in touch shouldn’t require learning another app, but small icons and unfamiliar menus can turn a simple family message into an unwanted chore. Ato approaches that problem with a screen-free AI voice assistant for older adults, packaged more like a tabletop radio than a computer. Designed by Boostep for Ato, the new version has progressed through physical prototypes, with customer deliveries scheduled for the future.

The rounded cream housing and woven front borrow their character from familiar domestic electronics. There’s no glossy display competing with the room, just a textured face and a bright orange button. The resemblance is intentional, drawing on radios, record players, and televisions. It gives the assistant something recognizable to wear without pretending that everyone over a certain age wants the same thing.

Designer: Boostep for Ato

That orange button gives the voice-first interface a physical starting point. Press it and begin talking, rather than remembering which icon opens a conversation. A large volume knob projects from the side, with small dimples around its edge. Turning something you can locate by touch seems a sensible alternative to searching for tiny volume symbols on a smooth and otherwise featureless surface.

The family side of the arrangement still uses a smartphone app. Relatives can set reminders and send messages, while the person at home interacts through speech. An appointment reminder or a note about Sunday lunch could arrive without making the recipient navigate the same interface. The complexity hasn’t disappeared altogether; it’s been placed where family members can manage it more conveniently.

Of course, Ato isn’t intended to wait silently for instructions all day. The company describes proactive check-ins and conversation, alongside radio and spoken information. That gives the device reasons to stay near a favorite chair instead of becoming something used only for reminders. Companionship is the intention, though, not evidence that an AI conversation can replace time spent with other people.

At approximately 5.5 inches tall, the enclosure is small enough to sit beside a chair rather than dominate a shelf. USB-C supplies power, and there’s no battery inside, so its place on a shelf still needs an outlet nearby. Wi-Fi is required too. You can move it between rooms, but power and network access determine where it can actually keep you company.

A familiar exterior doesn’t settle questions about listening and privacy, however. Ato says it doesn’t retain audio recordings or let relatives read conversation transcripts, although it stores selected personal facts for future conversations. That matters when conversation is the product’s main purpose. The company also states that Ato isn’t a medical device and cannot contact emergency services, so it isn’t a substitute for dedicated emergency equipment.

The device is listed at $179 plus shipping, with deliveries scheduled for February 2027. Basic messaging, reminders, and radio remain free, while unlimited conversations require an optional membership listed at $249 annually. The upfront price therefore isn’t the whole decision. Someone expecting long daily chats would need to budget for the service, not just find a place for the speaker.

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Arc’s Bracelet Concept Quietly Nudges You to Stop Scrolling

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A lot of us have become more conscious about how much time we spend scrolling through our smart devices. Some are using apps and other software designed to limit how we use specific apps that get us doomscrolling on a regular basis. There are also devices whose main purpose is to get us away from our screens. So, for some of us, the solution to limiting our screen time is still found on a screen.

Belgian studio Futurewave has come up with a concept to help you deal with that, and it wants you to look fashionable doing so. Arc is a sculptural bracelet designed to connect to your phone. Through a phone-accessible portal, you’d select apps and set a time limit for uninterrupted use across them. When time is up, the bracelet would give you a tactile nudge to remind you to put your phone away. It’s a discreet approach that doesn’t add another screen to check.

Designer: Futurewave

Arc looks like a bracelet that you’d wear on any day, and its proposed Argentium silver construction makes it easy to pair with your OOTD. It serves as a screen-time reminder, but there is no display to constantly check or any button to push. Instead, a piezoelectric component would send a brief tactile pulse through the silver into your wrist. After the first reminder, you’d get another identical pulse if you kept using your phone, but after that, you’re on your own. So don’t worry about getting continual nudges until you obey the bracelet. These are mechanical pulses, not electric shocks.

Some people don’t like wearing trackers, or at least those that look like trackers, so the jewelry-first design could also be an attractive draw. You get a continuous, organic metal form to wear on your wrist, which could become part of your aesthetic. Those who don’t know about its intended function might think it’s just a new bracelet you got. Its unusual shape could be a conversation starter, while the reminders themselves are intended to stay discreet, without a display announcing what you’re doing.

The shape also has more behind it than simply hiding electronics in something shiny. Arc reinterprets the torc, an open-ended metal ornament, with rounded volumes following a single curve. Futurewave cites rib cages, wishbones, and seed pods among its references. There is no clasp or hinge, so those connected forms carry the design without a separate fastening mechanism interrupting them. The studio says development included 3D-printed form studies and prototypes in stainless steel and titanium.

Inside, the proposed design uses a flexible circuit board that follows the bracelet’s curve, along with Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity and a curved 25 mAh battery. The electronics are meant to remain hidden from the outside. Those details explain how Futurewave intends to fit the technology into the jewelry, although a battery capacity alone doesn’t tell us how often someone would need to charge it.

The important distinction is that Arc wouldn’t actually stop you from opening an app or continuing to scroll. Futurewave’s proposal leaves that choice with you. That could appeal to someone who wants a reminder rather than a lockout, especially when a quick check has quietly turned into a longer session. Of course, it also means you could ignore both pulses. The bracelet might help you notice the habit, but following through would still be your job.

Arc remains a concept, with no announced launch date, so its ability to change screen-time habits shouldn’t be treated as proven. Futurewave also intends it to remain wearable as jewelry after its electronics stop working. That’s a practical reason for making the bracelet something you’d want to wear in the first place. Even if its digital function eventually gives out, you wouldn’t necessarily have to retire it to the drawer where your old gadgets live.

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Amazon’s new Bee AI devices help you remember more without taking notes

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Remembering details from meetings, conversations, and everyday interactions is hard when you’re splitting your attention between listening and taking notes. Amazon is addressing this with Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse, two personal AI devices designed to capture conversations and turn them into summaries, reminders, and actionable tasks.

Both devices connect to the Bee app, where users can revisit key details without manually documenting every interaction. Integrations with Gmail, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Outlook turn discussions into follow-up emails and scheduled events, while Alexa+ lets you access personal notes and reminders hands-free.

Designer: Amazon

With one device worn on the body and the other attached to a phone, Amazon offers two ways to bring AI-assisted note-taking into everyday life without adding another screen to manage.

Bee Frontier Wearable AI Companion

Bee Frontier is designed for people who want to keep track of conversations without repeatedly reaching for their phones. Worn on the wrist with a soft silicone band or clipped onto clothing, the lightweight device can accompany users through meetings, lectures, interviews, and everyday interactions. Someone attending back-to-back work meetings, for instance, could stay focused on the discussion instead of splitting their attention between colleagues and a notebook, then review the main decisions and follow-up tasks afterward.

The wearable features dual microphones with noise filtering to pick up conversations in everyday environments. Its summaries can be organized using templates for different situations, including meetings, lectures, care plans, and brainstorming sessions. This gives users a way to revisit the information that matters, whether that means remembering a client’s requirements, reviewing a class discussion, or keeping track of tasks agreed upon during a team meeting. Available in Onyx, Lavender, and Sage, Bee Frontier also offers IP67 water resistance, USB-C charging, and up to seven days of battery life.

Bee Eclipse Adds AI to Your Phone

Bee Eclipse brings similar functionality to a familiar device rather than introducing something users need to wear. The slim magnetic attachment sits on the back of a compatible smartphone, making it a potential fit for people who prefer to keep their everyday technology consolidated around their phone. Its design also lends itself to situations where conversations move between calls and face-to-face discussions.

Measuring approximately 4.6mm thick and weighing 48.9g, Eclipse is roughly the size of a credit card. It uses four MEMS microphones and a vibration microphone to capture in-person conversations and both sides of phone calls. That could be useful for someone handling client calls throughout the day who wants to revisit important instructions later, or for professionals who need a record of discussions without interrupting the flow to type notes. Its battery is rated for more than 21 days on a single charge.

Privacy remains important for both devices. Amazon says its Bee Private Compute architecture processes audio in real time and deletes it afterward rather than retaining audio recordings. Transcripts are encrypted using keys controlled by the user’s device, and users can delete their summaries and transcripts. A physical button controls audio processing, while an LED indicates when the devices are active. Users should obtain permission from other participants before capturing conversations.

Bee Frontier is available for $74.99, while Bee Eclipse is expected to launch soon at $99.99. Both include basic conversation summaries and a 14-day memory history. The optional Bee Pro subscription costs $11.99 per month and adds expanded integrations, daily memories, suggested tasks, a personal AI assistant, and desktop access, with a 30-day trial for new customers.

By offering a wearable and a smartphone attachment, Amazon gives users two ways to make everyday conversations easier to revisit, with the choice largely depending on how they prefer to carry and use their technology.

The post Amazon’s new Bee AI devices help you remember more without taking notes first appeared on Yanko Design.

Fyne Audio’s Speaker Uses Hidden Glass to Tame Ringing

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A glass diaphragm is an unlikely detail to get excited about in a speaker that looks like expensive furniture. Yet it’s the detail that makes Fyne Audio’s F1-10 Anniversary interesting to me. Beneath the walnut finish is an attempt to solve a familiar audio problem: keeping the speaker’s own unwanted vibrations from coloring the music it’s supposed to reproduce.

Offered as a limited-edition passive stereo pair, the floorstanding speakers also address how serious hi-fi fits into an actual room. Their acoustic geometry aims for more coherent sound and less fussy placement. Fyne is making just 30 pairs, so the practical thinking comes wrapped in a decidedly exclusive package.

Designer: Fyne Audio

Hand-built in Scotland, the Anniversary revisits the original F1-10, launched in 2017. Its curved birch-plywood enclosure wears glossy burr walnut and walnut veneers, with solid-wood trim and champagne-gold details. I like that it looks unapologetically like furniture. The grain gets as much visual attention as the driver, although this isn’t a solid-walnut sculpture. Internal bracing is part of the cabinet’s engineering, too.

The most unusual component is a 75mm aluminosilicate glass dome inside the high-frequency driver. Fyne chemically strengthens the thin glass and says its damping suppresses unwanted resonances. The idea is to hear less of the diaphragm’s ringing and more of the recording. Its size also lets it operate down to the 750 Hz crossover, extending its contribution into the vocal range rather than restricting it to the highest notes. That’s a material choice I can appreciate without pretending I’ve heard the result. Its real advantage over alternatives still needs independent listening and measurement.

The driver layout matters just as much. Fyne’s IsoFlare system places the high-frequency unit at the center of the bass/midrange cone, rather than separating them across the cabinet. The goal is to make those frequencies behave more like one source, helping voices and instruments hold their positions in the stereo image. For listeners, the intended benefit is a presentation that stays coherent beyond one precisely chosen seat.

Up top, the integrated SuperTrax super tweeter fires upward into a shaped diffuser that redirects high-frequency output around the room. That upper driver uses a thin carbon diaphragm, giving the Anniversary two very different material approaches to reproducing the upper end of a recording. Fyne claims this adds spaciousness and atmosphere. The sculptural assembly gives the speaker an unusual silhouette, but it has an acoustic job beyond looking expensive. Importantly, its 360-degree dispersion applies to that high-frequency system, not the entire speaker. It isn’t a promise of identical sound in every seat.

At the bottom, a downward-firing port meets the BassTrax diffuser, which spreads its output around the base. Fyne says this makes room positioning less critical. I’m more interested in that practical intention than another enormous frequency-range number. A design that acknowledges furniture and walls makes sense, though I wouldn’t read the claim as permission to ignore placement altogether.

The tonal controls are an especially sensible touch. Separate adjustments let owners change high-frequency energy, presence, and super-tweeter output by up to 3 dB either way. That gives people some say in how the speakers suit their room and preferences. These aren’t automatic room correction, but I’d rather have useful adjustment than be told there’s one universally correct balance.

Reality arrives with the dimensions and price. Each cabinet stands about 49 inches tall and weighs nearly 130 pounds, so this is a deliberate installation, not something you casually shuffle around. Gear Patrol reports a $50,000 price for the pair, and you’ll still need external amplification. The woodwork may help the speakers belong in a living room, but it won’t make them disappear.

I like the willingness to make the engineering visible, from the prominent central driver to the odd little structure on top. At this price, though, a fascinating materials list is only the beginning of the conversation. I’d want an audition in a room resembling my own before treating any promised improvement as a reason to buy. Beautiful cabinetry earns a place on the shortlist, not an exemption from listening.

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