Apple is preparing to launch the highly anticipated iPhone 17e on February 19, 2026, through a website update rather than a traditional keynote event. Priced at an accessible $599, this smartphone is Apple’s most affordable offering to date, designed to appeal to users in emerging markets and enterprise environments. With meaningful upgrades over its predecessor, […]
The post iPhone 17e Launch Imminent? New Leaks Point to a Surprise February 19th Release appeared first on Geeky Gadgets.
YouTube is experiencing an outage across the United States, with users in other countries like Canada, India, the Philippines, Australia and Russia also having problems with accessing the website. The issue seems to have started at around 8 PM Eastern time and reached 338,000 reports on Downdetector before starting to taper down. More users reported having issues accessing the app, but I personally lost access to the web homepage first.
As of 9:22 PM, users are still reporting being unable to access YouTube on Reddit. As of 9:33 PM, users are complaining that they still can’t access the service, though others say it’s back up for them. Some people are reporting partial restoration of service, with the homepage now being accessible but not seeing any recommended videos.
Downdetector also got thousands of reports of Google being down at around 8 PM Eastern time. As of 9:53 PM, Engadget Managing Editor Cherlynn Low reports that both YouTube and Google Home Assistant are still inaccessible for her. As of 10:12PM Eastern, Team YouTube posted on X that the issue has been completely fixed. While it didn’t say why YouTube went down, the team acknowledged the problem before 9PM and posted an update 20 minutes later that its recommendation system was having issues, even though its homepage was back.
Update, February 17, 2026, 10:27 PM ET: YouTube says the issue has been completely fixed.
Update, February 17, 2026, 10:08 PM ET: Updated with reports that certain Google services are also down for some users.
Update, February 17, 2026, 9:34 PM ET: Updated with reports from users.
Update, February 17, 2026, 9:26 PM ET: Updated to correct time of outage, added new countries where it’s out and added new reports of YouTube still being inaccessible.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/youtube-was-down-for-thousands-of-users-in-the-us-020718788.html?src=rssYouTube is experiencing an outage across the United States, with users in other countries like Canada, India, the Philippines, Australia and Russia also having problems with accessing the website. The issue seems to have started at around 8 PM Eastern time and reached 338,000 reports on Downdetector before starting to taper down. More users reported having issues accessing the app, but I personally lost access to the web homepage first.
As of 9:22 PM, users are still reporting being unable to access YouTube on Reddit. As of 9:33 PM, users are complaining that they still can’t access the service, though others say it’s back up for them. Some people are reporting partial restoration of service, with the homepage now being accessible but not seeing any recommended videos.
Downdetector also got thousands of reports of Google being down at around 8 PM Eastern time. As of 9:53 PM, Engadget Managing Editor Cherlynn Low reports that both YouTube and Google Home Assistant are still inaccessible for her.
Update, February 17, 2026, 10:08 PM ET: Updated with reports that certain Google services are also down for some users.
Update, February 17, 2026, 9:34 PM ET: Updated with reports from users.
Update, February 17, 2026, 9:26 PM ET: Updated to correct time of outage, added new countries where it’s out and added new reports of YouTube still being inaccessible.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/youtube-is-down-for-thousands-of-users-in-the-us-020718165.html?src=rssMost lighting is still sold as fixed objects: a floor lamp for the living room, a task lamp for the desk, a strip for the TV, each designed for one spot and one job. That clashes with the way people actually live now, moving desks, rearranging rooms, switching from work to play in the same corner, while the lamps stay stubbornly tied to a single idea of the space.
LumiBlocks V1 is a magnetic RGBCW block lamp that treats light as something you build and rebuild. Instead of one rigid bar or panel, it is made from individual light blocks that snap together magnetically, power up as soon as they connect, and can be added or removed to match the length and shape your current setup needs, whether that is a short strip behind a monitor or a longer run along a wall.
Designer: Peter Wu (Decktok)
Click Here to Buy Now: $79 $149 (47% off). Hurry, only 9/27 left! Raised over $53,000.
Each block can rotate a full 360 degrees, so you aren’t locked into the direction the base is pointing. You can twist segments to throw light onto a keyboard, bounce it off a wall for a softer wash, or angle a few blocks down for a reading nook while others point up for ambient glow. The magnets handle alignment and power, which turns rearranging into a quick, almost fidget-like action rather than a wiring project.
The blocks emit RGBCW LEDs that can handle both full color and practical white light. With ten blocks, you get up to 1,500 lumens, enough to light a small room, and you can tune the white from a warm 2,700 K to a crisp 6,500 K. That means the same strip can be a focused work light during the day, a neutral wash for video calls, and a low, saturated accent at night.
Control layers on top of the physical system. Simple buttons when you’re standing next to it, an app when you’re on the sofa, and voice control through Alexa or Google Home when your hands are busy. The app lets you treat each block as its own pixel, adjusting brightness and color per segment, or you can lean on the 49 built-in scenes and music-reactive modes when you just want the room to feel different with a tap.
LumiBlocks V1 is not locked to one mounting style. With the right kit, the same blocks can sit on a desk as a low ambient bar, hang on a wall as a linear sconce, or drop from the ceiling as a pendant. Because the system runs on low-voltage DC and talks over Bluetooth and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, you’re mostly thinking about where you want light, not where the original lamp designer assumed you would put it.
This shifts the way you think about buying lights. Instead of collecting separate fixtures for every corner, you start with a set of blocks that can follow you from apartment to apartment, desk to desk, and phase to phase. The magnetic joints, 360-degree rotation, RGBCW output, and per-block control turn LumiBlocks V1 into a kind of lighting toolkit, one that can keep up as your spaces and routines keep changing.
Modularity is not new, but LumiBlocks V1 executes it well, making the blocks easy to snap and rotate, the app intuitive enough to actually use, and the mounting options flexible enough that the same kit can cover a bedroom, office, and gaming corner without needing three separate purchases. For people who rearrange often or who want their lighting to feel as adaptable as their furniture, a system that you can literally pull apart and rebuild feels more honest than another fixed lamp pretending to be smart.
Click Here to Buy Now: $79 $149 (47% off). Hurry, only 9/27 left! Raised over $53,000.
The post These Magnetic LED Blocks Snap Together Like LEGO Lighting first appeared on Yanko Design.
Magnus Carlsen banging the table. That image alone tells you everything about what Gukesh Dommaraju means to the world of chess right now. At Norway Chess in June 2025, the reigning World Champion, a 19-year-old from Chennai, sat across from the greatest player the game has ever seen and dismantled him in classical format. Carlsen, a man who has made a career out of psychological composure, was so rattled he slapped the table before collecting himself and patting Gukesh on the back. That moment, quiet and electric all at once, was the clearest signal yet that the throne had genuinely changed hands, and that its new occupant had no intention of warming it for anyone else.
Titan was paying attention. The Indian watchmaker’s “Titan of the Year” platform exists precisely to freeze moments like this in metal and mineral, and for 2026 they had an obvious, irresistible choice. The result is the Grandmaster X Gukesh Dommaraju Special Edition, a 500-piece limited run that takes the geometry, hierarchy, and quiet intensity of chess and presses it into one of the most thoughtfully designed Indian watches in recent memory.
Designer: Titan
The centerpiece of the watch, quite literally, is the dial. Titan’s design team went well beyond printing a chessboard pattern on a disc and calling it a day. The dial is a hand-crafted stone marquetry composition in tiger eye and black agate, two minerals with very different personalities that together produce the warm amber-and-dark-grid texture of a real wooden chess board. Closer inspection rewards patience, and the design team clearly understood that a chess player’s watch should reveal itself the same way a brilliant move does: slowly, deliberately, with growing appreciation.
The hour indices follow the movement logic of chess pieces. The Queen sits at 12, the Rook at 9, the Bishop at 3, and the King at 6, while the remaining markers take the shape of pawns. The red seconds hand carries a Knight counterpoise, a nod to Gukesh’s favorite piece on the board. Every glance at the time becomes a subtle re-engagement with the game. Then the lights go out, and the watch transforms entirely. The lume application on this dial is genuinely dramatic. The chess piece indices, rendered as sculpted rose-gold markers with lume fills, blaze a vivid green against the dark textured chapter ring. The hands, with their open-worked cutouts, carry the same green charge.
The case is 316L stainless steel with a rose-gold finish, warm and contemporary without being flashy, much like the man it honors. A sapphire crystal sits over the dial, and the whole thing rides on a calf leather strap with a butterfly clasp. Flip it over and the caseback gives you the real collector’s moment: a rotor embossed with the Grandmaster Knight motif, personally signed by Gukesh, alongside the inscription marking his achievement as the youngest World Chess Champion at 18.
Inside, Titan’s in-house calibre 7A20 automatic movement does the work, 22 jewels, 40-hour power reserve, and entirely built without outsourcing the mechanical heart of the watch. That’s a point of pride for Titan, and rightly so.
The watch ships in specially designed packaging with a personal note from Gukesh, and it’s priced at Rs. 69,995 (roughly $840). With only 500 pieces in existence, each one numbered, this is a watch that exists at the intersection of cultural moment and material craft. Whether you’re a chess obsessive, a collector of Indian design milestones, or someone who appreciates a dial that rewards long, careful attention, the Grandmaster X Gukesh is already playing its own quiet, masterful game.
The post This Titan Grandmaster Watch Hides a Chessboard Inside It, and Only 500 People Can Own One first appeared on Yanko Design.
Cardboard was once seen as just packaging, but it is now becoming a design hero. As sustainability and cost efficiency drive modern innovation, this humble material is being reimagined for far more than shipping boxes. Lightweight, strong, and easily recyclable, it inspires designers to create accessible, eco-friendly products without compromising on aesthetics or performance.
From furniture to sleek electronic casings, corrugated fiberboard is proving its versatility and value. This shift marks more than a passing trend. It represents a lasting transformation toward renewable, low-impact materials that are redefining how we think about design and environmental responsibility.
Cardboard’s greatest strength lies in its sustainability. Unlike plastics or materials that demand heavy mining and energy use, it’s made mostly from recycled paper and can be recycled repeatedly. Choosing cardboard means supporting a circular economy where resources are reused instead of wasted, a vital step toward protecting the planet’s future.
Its end-of-life journey is equally impressive. Rather than lingering in landfills, cardboard quickly breaks down and returns to the pulp stream within weeks, ready for reuse. This natural, non-toxic cycle makes it an ideal material for brands aiming to cut waste and attract eco-conscious consumers.
Imagine a sustainable construction material made from just soil, water, and cardboard. Researchers at RMIT University in Australia have turned this simple idea into reality with cardboard-confined rammed earth, or CCRE. By replacing traditional concrete and cement with cardboard tubes as permanent casings, they compact moistened soil inside these tubes to create strong, load-bearing structures. This method drastically reduces the carbon footprint, producing only one quarter of the emissions of conventional concrete while costing less than a third. It also repurposes cardboard waste, addressing both environmental and construction challenges simultaneously.
The process is accessible and adaptable, allowing construction teams to work on-site using local soils and lightweight cardboard. CCRE achieves comparable strength to cement-stabilized rammed earth after 28 days of drying, making it suitable for low-rise buildings. Its high thermal mass naturally regulates indoor climate, reducing energy needs.
Cardboard’s reputation for weakness is outdated. Modern design has transformed it through advanced corrugation, folding, and layering methods that turn flat sheets into strong, load-bearing structures. By combining principles of origami with structural engineering, designers now produce interlocking components with impressive compressive strength that can rival lightweight wood composites.
This innovation enables the creation of durable, practical items like shelves, exhibition displays, and even temporary shelters. Lightweight and tool-free to assemble, these designs cut shipping costs, reduce fuel use, and store flat for convenience. It’s a perfect example of achieving maximum strength and function with minimal material.
The Cardboard Chair Process Book is a design concept that creates custom cardboard chairs based on client interviews and anthropometric studies. Lissette Romero emphasizes that comfort depends on the chair’s intended use—a lounge chair for watching movies differs greatly from a desk chair for studying or gaming. Her process ensures that each chair is tailored to the sitter’s body, tasks, and personal aesthetic. By considering function, ergonomics, and context, Romero crafts designs that feel both practical and inviting, making comfort a personalized experience rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.
Each chair is constructed from five 4′ x 4’ sheets of single-ply corrugated cardboard and requires no adhesives, fasteners, or hardware. Romero begins by observing seated tasks and conducting detailed interviews, then develops three conceptual prototypes exploring different design languages. This method enables iterative refinement, resulting in chairs that are not only functional and structurally sound but also uniquely tailored to the client’s lifestyle and preferences.
Cardboard introduces a clean, tactile aesthetic defined by its matte texture and understated appeal. Its natural tones, warm brown or crisp white, reflect honesty and simplicity, resonating with today’s love for raw, authentic materials. Designers are embracing it as a symbol of mindful minimalism, where beauty lies in restraint and function blends seamlessly with form.
Beyond looks, cardboard is highly adaptable. Its surface welcomes printing, laser cutting, and embossing, allowing endless customization. Picture a lamp or storage box embossed with a brand’s logo, elegant yet eco-conscious. This flexibility makes cardboard ideal for small businesses, creative branding, and rapid prototyping.
The Paper Tube Chair reframes design as a democratic act rather than a luxury pursuit. Conceived by the Dhammada Collective in Bhopal, founded by Nipun Prabhakar, it echoes Pierre Jeanneret’s library chairs yet replaces teak with discarded cardboard tubes. The studio advocates “joyful frugality”, applying strong design principles using overlooked materials so good furniture need not remain a metropolitan privilege. Cardboard cores from a print shop, destined for landfill due to glue layers that prevent recycling, are intercepted and cut like bamboo. Surplus vermilion rope from weaving workshops binds the tubes in a continuous figure-eight lashing that tightens under load and allows later repair.
Early collapse of prototypes informed a tension-based system with nested tubes at stress points. A light varnish preserves handling marks as a visible record of origin. The chair assembles and disassembles with simple tools, making replication viable in low-resource contexts. Released as open-source, it invites adaptation using local waste streams. Modernist geometry softened by vernacular craft creates an object that feels both contemporary and culturally rooted.
Cardboard is reshaping how products are shipped and stored. Structural designs like flat-pack furniture and packaging inserts can be transported completely flat, reducing shipment volume and cutting costs. This efficient approach lowers carbon emissions and benefits manufacturers and consumers by making logistics more sustainable and affordable.
Designing for disassembly and flat-packing also helps reduce clutter at home. Products become easier to move, store, and recycle once their use is over. This blend of practicality and sustainability highlights cardboard’s brilliance as a material that simplifies life while promoting conscious, eco-friendly living.
Innovative design often starts with a simple problem, and the Cuna furniture collection is a smart response to one we all recognise, and that is excess cardboard. Designed by Valeria Coello, Cuna turns ordinary packaging material into a functional, eco-friendly bench. Made from just two sheets of sturdy cardboard supported by five interlocking pieces, it requires no screws or glue, relying instead on joinery principles that make it both lightweight and structurally sound. The result is a sustainable piece that proves what is usually discarded can become useful, attractive, and durable.
Cuna’s appeal lies in its versatility. When set upright, it offers a curved, single-seat bench with side portions that act as armrests or holding space. Flip it over and it becomes a flat bench or a low table; two units together create a complete seating set. Comfortable, adaptable, and affordable, it is ideal for students, renters, and anyone seeking practical, responsible design.
Cardboard’s affordability and flexibility make it a designer’s dream for fast prototyping. With simple tools, complex ideas can be cut, folded, and tested within hours, enabling quick exploration of structure, form, and usability. This hands-on approach encourages creativity without the expense or delay of specialized machinery.
Such rapid iteration dramatically shortens the path from concept to market. Businesses can respond swiftly to shifting trends and consumer needs, while everyday users benefit from faster access to innovative, affordable products. Cardboard has become the quiet driving force behind a more agile, democratic era of design and development.
Furniture must work before it pleases the eye; otherwise, it is just a decorative object taking up space. Most pieces today rely on metal, wood, or plastic because these materials are familiar and sturdy, but they are not the only possible choices, and they are not always the most sustainable. With growing waste, reusing discarded materials can be a more responsible path. When designers think beyond convention, even unlikely resources can become viable solutions, as seen in this modular furniture system made from cardboard.
HIDDEN: PAPERS reimagines cardboard, typically discarded after packaging use, as a structural core. Thick tubes form the main frame, wrapped in removable linoleum sheets that are stitched rather than glued, so they can be replaced without damage. Recycled plastic nodes and a simple hex key allow the tubes to be assembled into shelves, side tables, or chairs finished with wood or metal surfaces. The result conceals its humble origins and proves cardboard can anchor refined, durable design.
Cardboard’s evolution from utility to design essential shows how simplicity fuels innovation. With its strength, affordability, recyclability, and natural charm, it empowers creators to craft sustainable, beautiful products that respect both people and the planet. This shift reminds us that true progress lies in simple, conscious design and is a blueprint for a smarter, greener future.
The post 5 Products Made from Cardboard: The Bench Supports 300 Pounds first appeared on Yanko Design.
Most jewelry stands are passive objects. They sit quietly on dressers, functioning as background tools for storage. But jewelry stand challenges that expectation by repositioning the humble organizer as an active curator, one that stages jewelry the way a gallery stages art. Designed exclusively for the MoMA Design Store and distributed internationally, the piece reframes what a daily-use object can be: not just a holder, but a display system, a sculpture, and a small architectural experiment.
Instead of approaching the project as a decorative accessory, Arora treated it as a spatial design problem. The stand consists of two powder-coated iron panels that interlock to form a stable three-dimensional structure. This construction method eliminates fasteners entirely, allowing the object to assemble intuitively while maintaining structural strength. The gesture feels architectural, like slotting together planes in a scale model, suggesting that the designer is thinking less like a stylist and more like a builder of systems.
Designer: Nihaarika Arora
What makes the object particularly compelling is how it transforms jewelry into part of its visual composition. A rhythmic field of geometric perforations allows stud earrings to pass directly through the surface, effectively turning the panel into a customizable exhibition wall. Integrated hooks accommodate necklaces and bracelets, suspending them in clean vertical lines. Rather than hiding accessories, the stand frames them, making everyday items feel intentional and composed. When empty, it still retains a sculptural presence; when filled, it becomes collaborative, co-designed by the wearer’s collection.
This sense of precision did not emerge accidentally. The project evolved through an iterative prototyping process that included cardboard mockups, laser-cut tests, and extensive material trials. Arora adjusted metal thickness, balance, and joint tolerances repeatedly to achieve an equilibrium between stability and visual lightness. Early prototypes were reviewed with MoMA’s editorial and buying teams, whose feedback informed refinements to perforation spacing, detailing, and color direction. The process reflects a designer committed to testing assumptions and refining decisions through interaction rather than relying solely on intuition.
Historically, the design draws subtle influence from early modernist thinking. The interlocking planes recall Bauhaus experiments in structural clarity, while the perforation patterns nod to Josef Hoffmann’s explorations in metalwork geometry. Yet the stand never feels retro. Instead, these references are distilled into a contemporary language defined by restraint, proportion, and disciplined form. Color selection developed through trend and material study leans toward cool, playful tones that complement the iron substrate while allowing the piece to integrate into a wide range of interiors.
Arora has described her practice as driven by a desire to design with purpose and to imagine equitable and sustainable futures through collaboration. In this context, the jewelry stand becomes more than a product. It becomes a manifesto in miniature. It demonstrates that even the smallest domestic object can embody architectural logic, historical awareness, and user-centered thinking. By elevating storage into display and function into form, the Modern Geometry Jewelry Stand does not just organize belongings. It reorganizes expectations of what everyday design can be.
The post The Sculptural Stand That Curates Jewelry Like a Miniature Modernist Gallery first appeared on Yanko Design.
Anyone who's been paying even a little bit of attention to tech news lately could have made a reasonable guess that AI will be a big topic at Samsung's Unpacked next week. Ahead of the event, Samsung teased some of what's to come for AI in terms of the Galaxy S26 smartphone lineup's photography tools.
The S26 phones will feature a new camera system using Galaxy AI that combines capturing, editing and sharing of photos and videos. "Users will be able to turn a photo from day to night in seconds, restore missing parts of objects in images, capture detailed photos in low light, and seamlessly merge multiple photos into a single, cohesive result," a company rep said. The video clips Samsung shared demonstrated the before and after results of using its AI tools, which will all be housed in a single app rather than needing to switch between multiple image editing programs.
Updated cameras are just part of what will be on the schedule for Samsung's big mobile showcase. The expected Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra will likely have a lot of AI-centric features.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-teases-mobile-ai-photography-tools-ahead-of-unpacked-233000358.html?src=rss
Most people who move into a tiny house learn to accept certain realities. You’ll climb a ladder to bed every night. Your kitchen will be little more than a hot plate and a mini-fridge. Storage means shoving things under furniture. The English Garden, crafted by South Base Tiny Homes in New Zealand, refuses to accept any of this. This dwelling challenges every assumption about what compact living must entail, delivering a residential experience that feels remarkably unrestricted despite its modest footprint.
Stretching twelve meters in length and four meters across, this dwelling occupies a permanent spot along the New Zealand coastline. Unlike the majority of tiny houses built on trailers for mobility, this one stays anchored to its site. The homeowners drew inspiration from their British roots, seeking a design that would blend traditional English sensibility with the easygoing nature of coastal living in their adopted country. The exterior combines timber cladding with metal roofing, creating a cottage-like appearance that feels appropriate for both its heritage inspiration and its beachside setting.
Designer: South Base Tiny Homes
Step inside and you’ll notice something immediately different. Everything exists on a single level. No loft bedrooms requiring acrobatic climbs. No steep staircases eat up precious floor space. The layout flows naturally from one area to the next, creating sight lines and openness that smaller homes typically can’t achieve. Sunlight filters through well-positioned windows, warming timber surfaces and highlighting the careful attention paid to material selection. The openness throughout makes the interior feel more like an apartment than what most people imagine when they hear “tiny house.”
The kitchen operates as a genuine cooking space rather than an afterthought. A breakfast counter accommodates two people comfortably, while the cooking zone includes a full oven beneath a gas-powered stovetop. The farmhouse sink adds character without sacrificing functionality, and a proper refrigerator-freezer combination means you can actually stock groceries for more than a day or two. Cabinet space lines the walls in quantities that would surprise anyone expecting tiny house minimalism. This isn’t a space where you warm up takeout and call it dinner. It’s designed for people who actually cook.
Down at one end, the bedroom provides genuine separation from the shared living areas. The owners made a specific request during design: they wanted the bathroom accessible only from the bedroom, creating a private suite arrangement similar to what you’d find in a hotel or upscale apartment. Their bathroom includes a fully enclosed glass shower, a vanity with integrated storage, and standard flush plumbing. Everything functions exactly as it would in a conventional home, without composting toilets or cramped wet rooms that serve multiple purposes.
This design draws from South Base Tiny Homes’ Abel model series, with pricing beginning around two hundred thirty thousand New Zealand dollars, or roughly one hundred thirty-seven thousand American dollars. That represents the higher end of the tiny house market. What makes the English Garden noteworthy isn’t its size but its philosophy. Many tiny houses treat limitation as a design virtue, celebrating cramped quarters and asking residents to adapt their lives around spatial constraints. This home reverses that equation entirely. It treats compact dimensions as a design challenge requiring intelligent solutions, not romantic sacrifice. Each room serves its intended purpose without asking occupants to compromise their daily routines. The space might measure smaller than average, but the living experience doesn’t feel diminished.
The post This New Zealand Tiny House Delivers Apartment-Sized Living Without the Usual Compromises first appeared on Yanko Design.
There are motorcycles built to go fast, and then there are motorcycles built to make you feel something. The Ducati Formula 73 sits firmly, defiantly, in the second camp, and Ducati knows it. Unveiled on February 12, 2026, as part of the brand’s centenary celebrations, the Formula 73 is a love letter to one of the most consequential machines ever to roll out of Borgo Panigale, the 750 Super Sport Desmo, wrapped in modern engineering and limited to just 873 numbered units worldwide.
The story starts in 1972, at the 200 Miglia di Imola, Europe’s answer to the Daytona 200 and the first major competition for production-derived motorcycles. Paul Smart and Bruno Spaggiari crossed the finish line in a 1-2 sweep aboard the 750 Imola Desmo, a moment so electrically important to Ducati’s identity that the brand built a street-legal replica for the public the very next year. That replica became the 750 Super Sport Desmo, the first road bike Ducati ever equipped with its now-legendary desmodromic valve timing system. The Formula 73 name connects all the dots: the FIM Formula 750 series began that same year, 1973. History, compressed into two words on a steering plate.
Designer: Ducati
Fast forward to 2026, and Ducati’s design team dug deep into the company’s historical archives to resurrect the look with surgical accuracy. The result is a silver and aqua green livery that mirrors the original 750 SS almost note for note, right down to the vertical gold stripe running down the fuel tank. That stripe, easily the most poetic detail on the whole bike, references the unpainted strip on the original Imola racer that allowed the team to check fuel levels at a glance without adding any instruments or weight. On the Formula 73, it becomes a design flourish that ties the bike to its racing lineage without saying a single word.
The silhouette is pure café racer: clip-on handlebars with bar-end mirrors, a short and sharp front fairing, tapered tail section, single seat, and a steel trellis frame painted green to echo the original Desmo’s frame. Spoked 17-inch wheels reinforce the period-appropriate aesthetic, swapping out the standard Scrambler’s cast units in favor of something with far more visual character.
Under all that gorgeous bodywork beats an 803cc Desmodue engine, an air-cooled L-twin with two-valve desmodromic distribution that happens to produce exactly 73 horsepower at 8,250 rpm. That number is deliberate, almost theatrical, and completely perfect. Torque comes in at 48.1 lb-ft at 7,000 rpm, and while those figures won’t rattle any Panigale V4 cages, that’s entirely beside the point. The engine’s voice, amplified through a custom Termignoni silencer developed specifically for this model, is the real headline. Raw, characterful, and loud in the best possible way.
The Formula 73 rides on the Scrambler platform, which turns out to be a genuinely smart choice. That means KYB suspension front and rear (a 41mm inverted fork up front, preload-adjustable shock out back), Brembo four-piston radial-mount brakes, and a wet weight of 403 pounds. It handles like a Scrambler, which is to say it handles accessibly, predictably, and with enough personality to keep city riding engaging and canyon roads entertaining. Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV tires add a layer of grip that the original 750 SS could only have dreamed about.
Ride-by-wire throttle, cornering ABS powered by an inertial measurement unit, Ducati Traction Control, a bidirectional quickshifter, two ride modes, and a 4.3-inch TFT display with Ducati Multimedia System and navigation are all standard equipment. Rizoma billet aluminum components including brake and clutch levers with integrated oil reservoirs, footpegs, and a fuel cap add premium texture to every surface your hands and eyes land on.
Each of the 873 units comes serialized on the steering plate, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a collection of period images and sketches from the Ducati Style Centre, all presented in a special collector’s box. Ducati has also produced a short film called “A Piece of Timeless” featuring Italian actor Stefano Accorsi, a committed Ducati enthusiast, exploring the emotional experience of riding the bike for the first time. It’s the kind of cinematic treatment usually reserved for something you’d hang in a gallery.
Pricing starts at $19,995 in the US, and £15,095 in the UK. European dealerships get first crack at the 873 units this spring, with global distribution completing before the end of summer 2026. For a machine built on half a century of mythology, with the kind of detail obsession that makes collectors and riders equally weak in the knees, $20,000 feels less like a price tag and more like a conversation starter.
The post Ducati Formula 73: Bologna Reaches Back 50 Years to Build Its Most Soulful Cafe Racer in Decades first appeared on Yanko Design.