Tag Archives: Accessories & Fashion

These Japanese watchmakers are designing stunning full skeleton Tourbillon watches that rival any Richard Mille

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You won’t have to dissolve your 401k to flaunt this skeleton tourbillon wristwatch. A good skeleton tourbillon watch (think Richard Mille) can cost you more than a house… ZEROOTIME’s watches, on the other hand, look just as luxurious, but at 1/100th the price.

Designer: SYUU / Chief designer of ZEROOTIME

Click Here to Buy Now: $1286 $2625 (51% off). Hurry, exclusive for YD readers only!

The word Tourbillon’s usually synonymous with luxury… and there’s a pretty interesting story behind it. Invented more than 200 years ago by Abraham-Louis Breguet, a Parisian watchmaker, the tourbillon’s purpose was to fight off the pesky effects of gravity on a pocket watch’s intricate movement. To circumvent this, Breguet devised a small cage in which to mount the most important components – the escapement and balance wheel – and had it constantly rotate so as to negate positional errors. He called it a “tourbillon”, meaning “whirlwind” in French, and earned a patent for it in 1801. While watches today don’t really rely on a tourbillon to accurately depict the time, the tourbillon’s incredibly intricate design is considered a work of true art and craftsmanship, and luxury brands charge a premium to decorate their timepieces with this preciously assembled ‘mechanical jewel’.

Left: T3 The Leo. Right: T4 The Archer

However, the watchmakers at Japan-based ZEROOTIME are challenging that notion with their affordable Skeleton Tourbillon Watches. By relying on crowdfunding (where you circumvent barriers like retail costs, brand markups, showroom fees, expensive exhibitions) and delivering to-order watches directly to passionate consumers, ZEROOTIME’s been able to make and sell watches at their ‘true cost’. ZEROOTIME debuted their 2021 collection with the T1 and T2 in August, and are now unveiling the next timepieces in the series – the T3 and T4, both of which come with a skeleton tourbillon encased in a design that reveals exactly how brilliantly complex the watches are.

T3 The Leo in Silver Case, Silver Dial.

​Named LEO (after the constellation), the T3 is a stunning watch to look at. Armed with a self-winding mechanism that sits within the T3’s absolutely skeletal body, the T3 LEO comes with a 316L stainless steel case, capped with sapphire crystals on both the front and the back, revealing different facets of the watch’s bare-bones design. The front presents the watch’s crown jewel – its skeleton tourbillon – and lets you see not one but two mainsprings that power the watch’s mechanism, giving it a 72-hour power reserve. The watch even comes with SuperLuminova coatings, ​designed to look like the fangs of a lion. All in all, the T3 LEO is haute horlogerie at its finest and most affordable… but it’s no match for ZEROOTIME’s T4 ARCHER.

*For Indiegogo edition, the corner texts (i.e. The Archer, Tourbillon T4, Full Skeleton and Limited Edition) will be removed.

Christened ARCHER for the way the tourbillon sits within the watch’s bow-shaped armature, the T4 ARCHER is a Tonneau-shaped full skeleton timepiece that truly rivals your quarter-million-dollar Richard Mille, while costing a fraction of the amount. The T4 shares its name with its predecessors, the T1 and T2, both of which also sported the bow-shaped skeletal framework… and just like its predecessors, the T4 takes the term skeletal all too seriously.

In the pursuit of creating a watch that’s as skeletal as possible, the T4 ARCHER comes with transparent sapphire crystal on the front and back, but pushes boundaries by having a transparent rim running along the side of the watch too. The watch’s case, with its sparingly minimal design, comes made from 316L Stainless Steel, and offers a look into the watch’s inner workings from 4 different sides, letting you observe the tourbillon’s choreographed dance. The tourbillon on the T4 is classified as a full-skeleton, since it gives you a glimpse of the tourbillon from all sides without any obstruction. Alongside the tourbillon that sits at the 9 o’clock position, the T4 also lets you see the watch’s double mainsprings that allow the watch’s automatic movement to have up to 70 hours of reserved power.

Both the T3 and T4 come in a variety of colors. The T3 LEO comes with a stainless steel strap in an all-silver or an all-black design with the option of a blue skeletal dial. The T4 ARCHER, however, explores as many as 12 color variants, brought about by the fact that the watch is accompanied by a rubber strap that gives the ARCHER a pop of color while also blending in with the case’s Tonneau shape. The ARCHER’s crown sports a rubber accent too, creating just the right balance between the materials to make a timepiece that has a strong character, even though it sports a skeletal design. Both watches are nominally water-resistant (the T3 is resistant up to 5ATM and the T4 up to 3ATM) and come with a 2-year warranty. At $2,800 and $3,000 respectively, the T3 LEO and T4 ARCHER are perhaps the most cost-effective skeleton tourbillons you’ll ever find on the market. Their design comes with careful consideration, supply-chain planning, and Japanese watchmaking mastery, without those pesky brand markups that you find with upper-echelon brands like Tag Heuer, Breguet, and Richard Mille. The watches also ship in an incredibly alluring transparent vanity case (the kind you’ll definitely keep on your dressing table for years to come), and begin deliveries in April 2022.

Click Here to Buy Now: $1286 $2625 (51% off). Hurry, exclusive for YD readers only!

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Travel Accessories designed to meet all your techy needs on your post-pandemic travels!

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I love traveling! And although I may not be able to do much of it during this pandemic (although travel is opening up slowly), that doesn’t stop me from daydreaming about it or planning my next vacation in my head. My travel bucket list is brimming to the top with exotic holiday destinations. And, as any experienced traveler (not that I am one…YET) will tell you, having a set of handy and trusty travel tech accessories is essential! These are the nifty little gadgets that can help you out in the most impromptu and sudden of situations, and you’ll never regret having packed them in your suitcase. So, we’ve curated a bunch of travel tech designs that we think you will absolutely need in your travel kit when you’re jet-setting across the globe next! From an incredibly rugged 8TB SSD that can travel to remote locations to a 65W GAN travel adapter – these handy tech products are sure to make your next vacation much more comfortable and easier.

An SSD that’s waterproof doesn’t really cater to someone who uses it in an office, and an SSD that has a fingerprint scanner may not matter to someone who uses it to dump videos from a DSLR or a drone. By that yardstick, LAMBOGO knows exactly who its audience is. Designed for the great outdoors, this rugged, waterproof, wireless SSD comes with up to 8TB of storage, has an internal fan to keep the drive and circuitry cool when you’re not in the cushy environment of an air-conditioned office, and lets you wirelessly preview and share files between your devices. LAMBOGO comes with a card slot and a single button interface for quickly dumping data from your DSLR and Drone, and lets you easily preview your files on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or even desktop and edit them on third-party apps… without connecting wires.

Agile Travel Adapter provides a safe interface to plug all your gadgets into a power socket, no matter where on the face of the planet you are. International travelers who’ve gone through the frustration of figuring out which plug type fits where will appreciate the user-friendliness of this world’s first 2 AC Outlet 45W travel adapter. The freedom of fast charging electronics is a considerable time-saver. For example, Agile can charge your Macbook entirely in just an hour! That functionality is a lifesaver when you need to charge up your phone, tablet, or laptop with a flight to catch.

Designed by industrial design team KIWI DESIGN, the portable washer employs a quick sanitization technology to do the dirty job of cleaning your messy underwear, vest, and socks in a jiffy. Anything that fits the small dryer and washer is good to go –handkerchiefs, masks, or gloves being one. The bottom section of the portable machine made from super-elastic nickel-titanium alloy expands to the shape of an inverted lampshade to support the drying bag. Since sanitation is an integral part of our current lifestyle, the portable dryer gets rid of any bacterial or fungal build-up in the undergarments thanks to the high-temperature sanitization. This in fact doubles as a dryer for the clothing in the consequent step. In just 15-30 minutes the gadget readies you for a fresh start to the day.

The Esino is the ultimate travel gadget-kit that allows you to snap multiple modules to a central battery pack, turning it into an iron, an electric shaver, an electric toothbrush, a fabric shaver (for removing lint and pilling), or even a UV disinfection light. The modular set is perfect for travel (although it can be used at home too) and creates a compact universe of useful products that are easy to carry around with wherever you may be. The idea behind the Esino Go is a pretty interesting one. All your gadgets require batteries, so why not make the battery a hub around which you could build an ecosystem of products? The Esino Go comes with what’s essentially a 5,000 mAh battery pack enclosed within an ergonomic handle-shaped form.

Relying on Hydroxyl and Plasma purification technology, the ridiculously tiny RAYCONO gives you fresh deodorized air that’s been purged of bacteria, VOCs, and other stuff you don’t want in the air… and unlike your bulky, boxy air-purifier or expensive HVAC system, the RAYCONO is about the shape and size of a power bank. The air purifier + deodorizer was originally envisioned for pet-owners, although it works just as easily in regular homes, kitchens, offices, basements, smoking rooms – basically anywhere plagued by strong odors and bad air quality. Designed to be tiny yet efficient, the RAYCONO relies on two cutting-edge technologies to help improve air quality and freshness – Hydroxyl technology, and Plasma purification.

Designed to function as an international 5-in-1 adapter, as well as a power-brick for your laptop/tablet/smartphone, the Nan-Fuse comes with multiple ports that let you charge multiple gadgets simultaneously. Powered by GaN semiconductor technology, and with an output of up to 65 watts, the Nan-Fuse is the only charging accessory you need to travel with, apart from a bunch of USB cables, of course. The GaN (Gallium Nitride) semiconductor tech on the inside of the Nan-Fuse is what makes it so incredibly small. The cutting-edge technology outperforms silicone in multiple areas and allows adapters and power bricks to be much smaller while supplying power more efficiently. Nan-Fuse capitalizes on GaN’s ability to supply power more efficiently in a smaller avatar by introducing it to perhaps the most fitting industry… travel-tech.

This space-saving travel system is a combination of a handheld vacuum pump, and a set of vacuum bags that come with an innovative design that helps you compress clothes easily, fast, and for as long as an entire month. The pump, no larger than a bottle of deodorant, weighs a mere 172 grams and is powerful enough to compress clothes in mere seconds, removing enough air to make garments occupy a fraction of their original space. The vacuum pump comes without an internal battery so you can pack it in your suitcase without any TSA issues, and works right off any external power source, including a power bank. The pump works with AIRDOT’s proprietary vacuum bags that offer a long-lasting seal that lets your clothes stay compressed for as long as an entire month. The bag comes with a double-zip-lock on one end to secure its tight seal and an innovative air valve that works with the AIRDOT vacuum pump as well as with any regular vacuum cleaner. In fact, the valve even works without a pump. Just roll your clothes up inside the bag and you can force air out with your hands.

The SkyTrek has a lot to offer. Aside from taking inspiration from our interaction with wardrobes, the travel case also looks at the pain points of how we usually travel. It ditches the pesky combination lock for a fingerprint scanner, another familiar experience… and even features an onboard tracking system that activates when on the ground, and goes into flight mode when you’re in the sky. The bag arms itself with extra compartments on the outside, for your quick-access belongings like your phone, laptop, passport, etc., letting you go through the security checks like an absolute pro, while also giving you the peace of mind of not mixing your tech with your clothes. The outer compartments are shock-proof too, protecting your tech from any rough luggage handlers either at the airport or at the hotel. Lastly, no smart-travel case is really complete without a battery pack, and the SkyTrek comes equipped with its own 5200mAh battery that you can easily remove if and when needed. The battery lets you power your smartphone and even simultaneously powers the case’s smart features, while SkyTrek’s flat top doubles up as a working space that you can rest your laptop on.

Passakorn Kulkliang designed PAWSPAL in order to help better facilitate the typically difficult task of traveling with animal companions. The product has three main functions: a fully integrated, chargeable air ventilation system, a bottom deck used to roll the carrying cases, and the individual crate’s inbuilt stackability. If the user were to choose to roll their pets through the airport, just like the common rolling suitcase, then the case or cases can be placed atop the removable base for easy maneuvering throughout any space or building. In addition to the stackable feature and the wheeled base, users can opt out to carry the case as it is. Lastly, inside the crate, you won’t have to worry about your pet overheating because each case comes equipped with an operating air ventilation system that keeps your animal cool at all times. Each crate from PAWSPAL includes a charging hole for USB C cables so that keeping your pet cool is a given.

Bags like the B-One & D-One Series, seem to be a wise investment in the name of secure travels. As the first connected Backpack and Duffle Bag in the world, the duo are fitted with a Smart Lock – Face ID, Touch ID, Morse Code – and a removable battery pack. Needless to say, a Travel Companion App completes the whole deal. This one App connects all of the Plevo bags (old and new). I like the fact that you can check on your flight status through the Travel Assistant App and ensure that you get to your gate on time. The removable battery pack ensures you can juice up your devices on the go. Available in two sizes each, both the backpack and duffle bag are stylish and complement the latest ‘travel look.’ If you happen to move too far away from the bags, they will alert you via the app, ensuring you stay close to them. The B-One & D-One Series are intelligent bags that are spacious and secure.

iPhone 13 Accessories designed to elevate Apple’s latest smartphone + fulfill every tech lover’s dream!

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On September 14th, 2021, the iPhone 13 series was launched at Apple’s event. Everyone had major expectations for the latest iPhone family – some were met, some were not. This year’s iPhone has a smaller notch, bigger battery, better chip, and not too many major changes. Whether you were disappointed or excited by this year’s iPhone launch, whether you found it compelling or a tad bit boring – there’s always scope to amp up your iPhone with a bunch of exciting accessories! And by accessories, we don’t simply mean the same old covers and cases that we’ve all gotten pretty much accustomed to. Designers have been leveling up their accessories game, creating unique and handy products that will totally elevate your iPhone 13! From a MagSafe iStorage that adds a snap-on physical drive to your smartphone to a tiny 20W power bank that can charge multiple Apple devices – these innovative accessories are what your iPhone 13 truly needs!

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Touted as the most powerful power bank for its size, the Pixy Mini is this pocket-friendly, granola bar-shaped power bank with a capacity of 5,000mAh and a 20W power delivery, making it capable of recharging practically any portable gadget you’ve got on hand… even your laptop. What’s so impressive about the Pixy Mini is its deceptively small size. Tinier than a credit card, and hardly bulkier than a Zippo lighter, the Pixy Mini was designed to be carried around… but not even in your backpack, rather in your pocket. Outwardly, it looks like any other power bank, with a USB-A port and a USB-C port on either side, and 4 LED indicators that tell you how much power the Pixy Mini’s battery has.

Designed in California (quite like the iPhone shown inside it), the Moshi Crossbody Holster is a slick little piece of EDC that carries your phone as well as your cards. Perfect when you want to head out for a quick coffee run or to meet a friend (when you don’t need to carry anything more than your phone, wallet, and keys), the Crossbody Holster serves in a pretty stylish fashion accessory that’s just as functional. The holster comes built out of vegan leather and is wide enough to hold all sorts of phones (from the smaller ones to the larger Pro/Max/Plus ones too).

Chau is a wireless charger that can be either mobile or stationary. Much like wireless chargers already on the market, Chau comes in two parts: a wireless charger and its charging dock. The charging dock can be plugged into any outlet and features two charging stations for Apple products. The raised charging station holds the auxiliary charger in place so users can either leave their phone to charge on the dock or dislodge the auxiliary charger from its magnetic port and charge on the go. Working from home, we don’t have all of the supplemental charging accessories that fill up the office and our appliances with juice.

Designer Abdelrahman Shaapan has an idea – Magsafe Storage. Designed to resemble Apple’s newly launched MagSafe Battery Pack (although Abdel came up with this design all the way back in May), the iStorage is a nifty wireless drive that lets you add extra storage to your phone in literally a snap. How would the iStorage even work in theory? Clearly, the MagSafe is built just for hooking accessories to the iPhone and chargers to the wireless charging coil. How would the iStorage even transfer data? Well, even though Abdelrahman’s iStorage is just a fan-made concept, the real device could easily communicate with the iPhone or any other Apple device using AirDrop protocols. The snap-on feature would probably be just something of a convenience, but I could easily imagine the iStorage as being Apple’s own hard drive… something that the company hasn’t really ever worked on.

The Alto Metro Leather Wallet Case completely protects the iPhone 13 series! The case features a card pocket with anti-magnetic properties and is compatible with the iPhone 13, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max. You can insert a contactless card within the pocket, and you don’t even have to remove it to make purchases! The interesting wallet case has been crafted from leather, which exhibits an elegant and unique color and texture. The leather also cushions your iPhone and protects it from any damage. At the same time, it also manages to wirelessly charge your smartphone!

The OMNIA Q5 is a nifty docking and charging station that replaces your drawer of cables. Designed as a slick, compact dock that can fit on even the smallest night-stand, or the corner of your work-desk, the OMNIA Q5 lets you organize and charge all your Apple gadgets at once, supplying the right amount of power to each one of them to charge them rapidly and simultaneously. Designed to be an integral part of your ecosystem of Apple products, the OMNIA Q5 acts as an organizer for your gadgets. It docks them in individually assigned areas (so they’re always neatly arranged) and charges them too – wirelessly for the most part, except the iPad which needs a cable with a USB-C input.

The Native Union CLIC Case & Bundle helps you customize your iPhone 13 the way you want! The bundle includes a CLIC Pop or CLIC Classic Case and a Sling or Leather Sling. You can create a style of your choice – either with a simple case or a case attached with a sling (which is easy to detach via the Click Lock mechanism). The leather case comes in a classic black or tan, whereas the sling has eight unique color options! You can wear the sling crossbody or as a necklace. The options are unlimited – you can customize and carry your beloved smartphone in your true style!

Inspired by the daily sunrise, industrial designer Taesung Yoon has thought of the 2 in 1 Apple Devices Charging Stand (yes, that’s the name of this accessory) that does what it says. Designed after feedback from the data-driven research and realizing what people actually want in their unified Apple charging stand, this accessory has been cleverly designed for form and function. The charging stand’s vertical stance with a slightly arched top means that the iPhone sits comfortably without the fear of accidentally toppling it over with an accidental shove.

The Fjorden turns your iPhone into a hybrid DSLR. It physically snaps onto the back of your iPhone, giving you analog camera controls including a two-stage shutter button, a jog dial, a zoom slider, and even an extra multi-function button you can use to do stuff like trigger the flash. The overall form is comfortably tactile and grippy (and comes with the same texture found on cameras) and orients the buttons in a way that’s intuitive and easy to use (so you don’t have to sprain your thumb to reach the shutter button while holding your phone with the same hand). Moreover, the actual physical buttons allow you to use the camera with gloves on, an understated-yet-impressive upgrade to the iPhone camera experience).

The Nimble Wireless Convertible Stand makes wireless charging more flexible than ever! It charges your smartphone on contact and the built-in stand lets you place your iPhone in either a flat or propped-up position. This allows you to use your phone, and continue binging on your favorite Netflix show, while your phone is charging. The stand also features an additional port, so you can charge a second device as well. The built-in thermal management ensures a safe and hazard-free charging experience.

Bicycle Accessories designed to elevate your cycling experience, keeping you safe + secure!

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If in this era of pollution, pandemic, and panic, you aren’t already a bicycle person, it’s high time you convert into one! Bicycles are slowly becoming people’s preferred means of transportation. People are ditching the fossil fuel consuming and air pollution causing automobiles for the more eco-friendly option of bikes! Not only are bicycles a boon to the environment, but they also promote good health and ensure we get our daily dose of physical exercise done. In fact, you can even upgrade and amp up your bicycle with some fun and functional accessories! From an ultra-portable adventure light that snaps onto your bicycle to an air-purifying bike helmet  – these accessories are the perfect sidekicks to your bicycle.

“You’re used to changing your shoes and jacket to match the location or weather. Why shouldn’t you be able to do the same with your bike?” reTyre’s zippable tire-tread system gives your city bicycle the versatility to work off the road too. A simple zipping mechanism allows you to add a secondary, tougher tread on your tires, letting you go from riding on smooth asphalt to traversing through tough terrain. No matter the speed, the distance, or the condition, reTyre’s selection of treads make it the only set of wheels your bicycle needs… and in turn making your bicycle the only bicycle you’ll need too. reTyre’s special bicycle tire comes with a zipper lining and a selection of treads or skins that you can clad on your existing tire. The original tire works great on asphalt, and the wide variety of skins allow you to ride your bicycle on mud, gravel, rocks, or even snow.

Inspired by his desire “to reinvent the ways we use and produce energy,” on small-scale levels, Vento is not merely a bicycle light, as Bestenheider describes, but “a power plant, a way to question energy consumption, and an object to connect like-minded individuals. Vento is a mindset.” Composed of four main components, Vento is like a miniature wind turbine. Constructed from recycled plexiglass and aluminum, Vento’s microturbine harvests wind energy while the bicycle is in motion. Then, the energy is converted into electricity through electromagnetic induction that takes place in the turbine’s generator. The bicycle light’s battery then stores this energy and the LED bulb generates light. While moving in your bike, the wind is always whipping past you, so the light will always work when needed. Positioned conveniently right between the handlebars, Vento also features on/off and blinking switches for day use.

This Garmin bicycle computer takes a detour from the design language for the brand’s current line-up of Edge GPS bike computers for bicycle riders. Industrial designer WuShuai has thought of a refreshing design for the next Garmin computer for your ride to next get stranded on any hiking trail. His design has a more contoured aspect to it, the convex display is a telltale indicator of the fact. Being a bike enthusiast himself, Wu wanted to create a softer design language for a future Garmin Edge product. However he himself admits that the screen is more susceptible to breakage in this new form if there is an accidental fall. That’s a story for another day if this design is referenced by Garmin for consideration.

Cha Hongkun, a designer from China has pondered over tweaking the design of a portable light to an extent where it addresses an even wider array of activities. Cha calls it the “Ray” – an outdoor accompanying portable light with a never before seen form factor. It’s essentially a wide strap that can be hooked onto your bike, backpack, or anything one can think of. It goes without saying – Ray is an outdoor essential accessory that’ll never let you down. The ease of use and portable credentials make it one accessory I would want in my absolute essentials for a trip anywhere. The portable LED light can be charged with a USB-C compatible power bank or via a wall outlet. What’s got me hooked on here is the cool choice of colors the designer has penned for Ray.

Among hundreds of entries for the YD x KeyShot Design Challenge that asked participants to redesign the Envoy Helmet to make it safer, António Martins’ redesign turned the bicycle helmet into a versatile piece of headgear that could even offer full-face protection while riding motorcycles. “To make ENVOY Helmet safer, I designed a removable chin protector along with a practical snap system. Its clean design makes the chin protector look like part of the helmet”, said Martins about his Silver Award-winning design. The redesigned Envoy proposes having a separate, detachable chin-protector that can easily and securely be snapped in place using tabs on either side of the helmet. Just attach the chin protector and the Envoy goes from being a cycling helmet to something perfect for motorbiking, quad-biking, and even snowmobiling in.

Among hundreds of entries for the YD x KeyShot Design Challenge that asked participants to redesign the Envoy Helmet to make it safer, Jonathan Hatch’s redesign presented a clever feature – a pair of pull-tabs that allowed the helmet to split into two, making it easy for emergency medical technicians to easily and safely remove the headgear in the event of an emergency. “My addition to the Envoy helmet concept is to improve safety for the user after an accident occurs”, Jonathan told Yanko Design. “Typically, removing an injured user’s helmet after an accident requires one EMT to stabilize the head and neck and another to cut the chin strap and pull the helmet off. The helmet removal often results in accidental repositioning of the head and neck, potentially causing additional injuries or taking up precious seconds during the rescue.”

Christened Airban, the urban bike helmet aims to take on the unavoidable air pollution crisis. The advanced helmet sucks polluted air, filters it, and then beams pure air onto the fixed face shield that’s at a slight distance from the face. As the rider keeps moving forward, the air passes through the front vents on the front and enters the air channel. Simultaneously air is drawn from the rear via a small brushless fan that projects the air to the breathable position. Air entering the Airban helmet from both these channels is filtered through the HEPA filter which removes 99.97% of 0.3 μm particulates. The activated carbon layer eliminates any smoke, odors, or other pollutants – therefore, beaming the rider with clean air even in the most polluted environment.

Just when you thought tubeless bike tires are the best thing on the road for your bicycle, the next revolution has arrived. The very technology that NASA uses in its Mars rover and lunar mission, has now made it through to the consumer-oriented arena in the form of METL tire developed by the startup Smart Tire Company, which has licensed the technology to bring to the bicycle lanes in the near future. The airless METL bike tires are crafted out of the Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology (SMART) – made from strong (like titanium), lightweight yet ultra-elastic material (like rubber) known as NiTinol+. This magic material according to Smart Tire Company, “rearranges its molecular structure when you bend it, but instantly goes back to its original shape, perfectly.” In fact, these tires are so good, they can last your bicycle’s lifetime – meaning you don’t even need to bother about flat, tires, or ones with the tread wearing – needing to change to a new one.

German startup DroidDrive wants to brush off all the reasons that make users shy away from such trailers with the Trailerduck. This electric-powered cargo trailer is a great option for urban deliveries as it syncs its speed and direction of propulsion with the bicycle or e-bike that’s towing it. This way the four-wheeled trailer is able to haul much more cargo than the current conventional options. In a way, it is a standalone trailer that in the coming years may not even require a towing vehicle to do the job.

More than 700 cyclists are killed every year by other motorists in the U.S. alone, and the graph hasn’t seen any significant drop in the last few years. Thinkable Studio wants to curb this with an innovative helmet design that equips cyclists with their own set of spatial awareness tech to avoid accidents. Called the savAR helmet, this piece of bicycle accessory is loaded with augmented reality and artificial intelligence components to naïve the traditional helmet protection methods. The ever-evolving smart software of the helmet and the AR waveguide technology enhances the rider’s awareness of the crowded streets and other motorists nearby by quite a few notches.

This smartphone accessory scans your skin for underlying problems, the hassle-free way

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Always worried about your skin’s health? Then this camera-like attachment is exactly what you want.

Skin is the first line of defense that the complex body mechanism has developed to keep all the billions and trillions of external elements from reaching the internal organs. As civilizations progressed forward this largest and most important organ of the body became the most sought after in terms of care. Take the skincare industry for example which is one of the biggest out there and so much money is poured into it for mere looks. In fact, the skincare segment amounted to $18,702 million in 2021, and it is following a growth pattern of 5.01 percent annually.

After all who doesn’t want some me-time, especially with their skincare. Seeing the importance of skincare in daily routine, Borderless Design Consultancy (BDCI) has an interesting take on smartphone accessories that go beyond contemporary use. We’ve seen high-end smartphone camera attachments, medical-related accessories, and other weird gadgets, but this one is actually interesting. Dubbed At Skin, it scans the skin for any signs of skin diseases or cancer DNA for early detection of serious problems. On the skincare front, the gadget scans the skin for tissues and overall healthy signs.

You can attach this cool gadget to your smartphone, placing it just over the primary sensor and the accessory’s hardware does the rest. The device works like a dermascope to detect any skin lesions or melanoma cells at a very early stage so that you can take the precautionary measures ASAP. Since At Skin can be attached to any smartphone’s camera module, hassle-free skincare is actually possible the right way with BDCI’s attachment. The product is still in the prototyping stage and we hope to see it hit the market soon in the future.

Designer: BDCI

Sleek MacBook Stands that are the ultimate sidekicks designed to perfectly support your laptop

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To be honest, I could not survive without my MacBook! It stores almost everything I hold sacred, and I need it for various purposes – from work to leisure! And most of us do spend the majority of our day working on laptops, and hence maintaining a consistently high level of productivity and efficiency is extremely integral for our work routines. However, spending hours on our MacBooks can cause immense strain to our hands and neck. And this is where laptop stands come in! The right laptop stand offers ergonomic angle adjustments and helps us work in a posture that does not cause physical pain and strain on our bodies. And hence, we’ve curated a collection of ergonomically designed and highly functional laptop stands that help you work in the most comfortable position possible, in turn boosting your work productivity and efficiency! These are the ultimate sidekicks to your MacBook!

FLIKK Laptop Stand by Jexter Lim

FLIKK Laptop Stand by Jexter Lim

The designer came up with this idea after observing the irking drawbacks of traditional laptop stands. Most of them don’t provide the desired elevation and the right viewing angles. Also, they are very complicated to deploy which mars the whole purpose. This prompted Jexter Lim to plug all the gaps that spoil the user experience and function of the accessory. The laptop stand gives you the desired viewing angle for a comfortable working regime anytime, anywhere. The goodness doesn’t end there, as it seamlessly transforms into a laptop sleeve to head to your next destination without all the bulk of a traditional laptop stand.

The RLDH Alto Standing Desk is a thoughtful flat-pack accessory designed keeping in mind your multiple needs if you can’t invest in a height-adjustable desk. It is simple to carry and disassemble, with the option to adjust the height of your keyboard and mouse tray, giving it the flexibility of use with your laptop. Yes, this stylish yet functional standing desk is tailored for use with your laptop – virtually transforming your table into a standing desk when the need arises. Its flat-pack and lightweight (weighing just 6.5 lbs) nature give you the freedom to tuck it away when not needed or even to take it along during travel for remote work regimes.

Designed to be portable and compact, HUB–OX initially comes as a lightweight, palm-sized USB-C hub, which splits into two halves, both equipped with plenty of charging slots, HDMI connections, and ethernet ports. HUB–OX is compatible with MacBook Pro models that have four USB-C ports, generally any MacBook Pro from 2016 or any of its succeeding generations. When HUB–OX is split in two, users can plug the USB-C chargers into all four of their MacBook Pro’s ports, lifting their laptops to an angle of 7.7° to keep them charged and at eye level for the rest of the day.

The MOFT Z was designed keeping the original MOFT brief in mind but was made to push limits. It does come with the ability to prop your laptop at three angles, but that’s not all. The MOFT Z even transforms your sitting setup into a standing one, elevating your laptop up by as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters). The MOFT Z does this using an innovative Z-shaped folding system along with its signature PU and fiberglass material which allows the laptop stand to have a high strength to weight ratio while being thin enough to slide right into a Manila envelope. The MOFT Z was designed to be used independently, without being stuck to the back of your laptop (like the original MOFT). Slightly larger than a sheet of A4 paper, and at nearly half an inch thick, the MOFT Z can be kept on your desk, stored in a drawer, or a shelf, among folders.

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The durable stand has multiple height adjustable angles and forward and backward position adjusting liberty for laptops or even tablet – tested for over 20,000 uses. This adjustability gives you the ability to orient the laptop/tablet screen position in more ways than not. Adding to the inherent feature of keeping the device sturdy in place without any lateral movement and the intuitively positioned ventilation holes, Maotoam’s offering has something more! The world’s first ergonomic laptop stand with an integrated 13-in-1 USB-C hub, making it a one-stop solution for connectivity to all your gadgets.

With a minimal, sculpture-esque design, PILLR looks pretty darn good even without the laptop on it. Its strong presence gives it the appeal of a desk sculpture, and once you place a laptop on it, the PILLR enters a functional mode, elevating your laptop to reduce neck pain and boost productivity. PILLR’s 3-part design comes together to create its minimal, simple form factor. Made from three individual anodized aluminum pieces, PILLR is light and minimal, with clean lines and basic shapes, giving it an appeal that matches the expensive laptop that rests on it. Designed to support (both physically and visually) any laptop you put on it, PILLR was designed keeping the MacBook in mind… which makes sense considering it’s the world’s most popular portable computing device.

With minimal material and maximal robustness, the Curve SE elevates your laptop 6.5 inches from your desk, allowing your neck to rest at a much more comfortable angle. Made from a single curved piece of anodized aluminum, the Curve SE’s clean design complements your MacBook perfectly although it works universally with all laptops. Silicone grips ensure your expensive machine is held well in place so any accidental nudges don’t knock it over. The Curve SE’s elevated (in the literal sense) sense of design even helps keep your laptop ventilated, promoting proper airflow so your machine doesn’t heat up. In the event that it does, though, I imagine the metal body serves as some sort of heat sink to help dissipate heat and cool your machine down faster.

This one-piece aluminum laptop stand has a two-fold purpose. It serves as a barrier between your heated laptop base and your lap (or your desk), and its unique slatted design helps it act as a massive heatsink, pulling the heat from your laptop and distributing it across the multiple aluminum ‘fins’ at the base, and then dissipating it into the air. The fins/slats help increase the surface area so the heat gets lost at a faster rate, allowing the laptop stand to effectively cool the laptop without having to be plugged in. They even go as far as helping with wire-separation/segregation. Plus, its machined aluminum design goes together rather well with laptops having an aluminum body (case in point being the Macbook, obviously).

Whether you’re in bed and binging Netflix and simultaneously munching on dinner or spending the workday in bed, using the laptop in bed has probably become the world’s favorite pastime just with this past year’s WFH orders. iSwift Pi was primarily created to help those working from home feel a lot more comfortable when they choose to work from the comfort of their beds. Designed to be compact and portable, iSwift Pi boasts an ultra-thin form when folded or unfolded. When folded, the iSwift Pi is as thin as a small stack of paper, which then unfolds to two different heights, either 7.5 inches or 8.6 inches, depending on your lap situation. Then users can adjust iSwift Pi’s sitting placement to four different angles, so the screen can always meet your eyes.

The Triyards Laptop Stand borrows a clever trick from a product we’ve been using for decades. Inspired by the thin-yet-effective kickstands found in most keyboards, the Triyards Laptop Stand sits flat against your machine, adding a mere 0.2 inches of thickness. Made from durable aerospace-grade aluminum, the stand adheres to the back of your laptop using a non-harmful 3M glue strip and comes with two fold-out legs that allow you to easily prop your laptop up, angling it in a way that helps it stay cool while angling the keyboard in a way that makes it easier to type. It comes with rubber legs too, to make sure your laptop doesn’t slide around or damage the surface you’re working on.

The Nefer perfume comes in a hauntingly beautiful skeletal bottle created through 3D printing

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Getting its name from the Egyptian word for beauty, the Nefer perfume bottle embodies sheer elegance on the inside and out. The bottle’s design is derived from the curved lines of the female figure (possibly as an ode to the ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti), and comes with an organic skeletal design that could only be fabricated using 3D printing. In fact, Nefer’s design reminds me of Ross Lovegrove’s 3D printed line of fragrances, created in collaboration with Formula 1.

The bottle’s intricate design comes with a sculptural exterior and an interior that contains the liquid fragrance. Given that 3D printing isn’t a conventional form of mass manufacturing (and also removes various design constraints), it made sense for the Nefer to showcase a luxurious bottle design that used 3D printing in a bid to look eye-catching but also exclusively limited.

As large as the bottle may look visually, it holds a mere 90ml (3 fl.oz.) of liquid in its inner chamber. While under most circumstances I’d call that wasteful, the more fitting characteristic term here would be opulence.

The Nefer perfume bottle comes in a decorative box that uses a combination of black and rose-gold to create an eye-catching visual contrast. Open the lid and it reveals the highly alluring bottle on the inside, set within a specially formed inner chamber with the bottle’s negative form, allowing the bottle to snugly fit inside it. Ultimately the bottle doesn’t come with any branding of its own, although designer Amr Ibrahim Mousa believes that the bottle’s iconic design is enough to serve as its visual branding.

The Nefer perfume bottle is a Silver Winner of the A’ Design Award for the year 2021.

AirPods Accessories that Apple lovers need to get their hands on in 2021!

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My AirPods are one of my prized Apple possessions! I use them multiple times in a day, whether’s it’s for calls, to watch videos during work breaks, or to listen to some pumped-up tunes during my evening jogs. You’ll find them around me almost all the time. I’m sure there are other AirPods addicts in the house, and for those individuals, here’s a collection of AirPods accessories that we swear by! From earrings that hold your AirPods in place to a dual-tone leather AirPods case, these nifty product designs will completely elevate and enhance your AirPods experience. They serve as the perfect sidekick to your AirPods, either by taking the best care of them, boosting their functionality, or making sure you never lose them again. These are a must-have for all AirPods fanatics!

Suhani Parekh of MISHO designed a series of earrings that keep your beloved Apple AirPods accessories in place! Named the Pebble Pods, these earrings wrap and clip around your AirPods to prevent them from falling out of your ears. Not only do they keep your AirPods in place, but they also function as earrings individually! The product comes in three versions-Pebble Pods, Minimal/Active Tall Pods, and Minimal/Active Tiny Pods. I love how they not only support your AirPods but also double up as the cutest earrings ever. They’re a stylish personal and AirPods accessory!

Elago Snapshot Apple AirPods Case with AirTag

The Snapshot case for the AirPods Pro comes with a camera-shaped design that neatly houses an AirTag inside the faux camera lens. Aside from looking like a tiny little point-and-shoot, the Snapshot protects your AirPods Pro from physical damage as well as theft. The all-silicone design helps absorb shock, while still enabling wireless charging… and the fact that you’ve now got an AirTag strapped to your AirPods Pro makes it really easy to use the Find My feature to track the exact location of your earphones.

Bullstrap’s Leather Case (codenamed Terra) for the Apple Airpods definitely gives it a lovely handcrafted appeal. The case comes with black and tan leather trims, double-stitched together with robust Nylon thread, and lined on the inside with microfiber to protect your AirPods. The Bullstrap Terra’s V-shaped design detail feels unmistakably like a popular cigarette brand, but while I’m the last person to ever endorse tobacco, it’s definitely memorable and visually striking. The V’s slightly offset though, creating a little bit of drama (which I really like, if I’m being honest), and the soft leather feels incredible to the touch.

Power1 takes portability and functionality to a new level giving you a system that’s doubly useful because it doesn’t just charge and protect for your iPhone… it charges and protects your Airpods too and ensures they are always with you and ready for use. Designed as an evolution of traditional battery cases, Power1 not only holds an extra battery but also manages your Airpods like no other system. Armed with a proprietary design, Power1 comes with two modes. One, where it charges your Airpods only (up to 30 times on a full battery), and a second mode that charges your Airpods as well as your phone, giving both gadgets full advantage of Power1’s 3000mAh internal battery. Power1 uses its intelligent power monitoring system to see which device is running low on charge, supplying power to them accordingly. Using its USB-C port, when you plug Power1 into an outlet, its priority charging feature kicks in, routing power to your phone and Airpods first before charging its own internal battery.

Antón’s redesign turns the Apple AirPods Pro case from something that looks like a ‘box of floss’ to a really classy-looking ‘chewing-gum-stick dispenser’. The rounded-box shape gets ditched for a taller and sleeker capsule shape, with lids on both ends, allowing individual earpieces to fit into each end of the case. Sure, the redesign presents some structural issues – like where would one place the Qi charging coil or the battery, but what Antón’s concept really provides is a sense of variety, while sticking to Apple’s design philosophy of building sleek products. The redesigned AirPods Pro case also fundamentally changes the UX of the AirPods. The two separate openings house the left and right earphones, and while they do that, they also hint at behavior that’s common within the AirPods user community of using just one AirPod at a time to maximize battery life.

The Air Omni’s biggest defining feature is that it comes built to dock the iPad too, which should honestly be given the same status as the iPhone, Watch, and AirPods… after all, the iPad is a mobile device too. Designed for not just charging but docking too, the Air Omni comes with a dedicated pop-up wireless charging hub for your Watch, specified wireless charging zones for your phone and AirPods, and a stand that lets you dock the iPad vertically and charge it via a cable – all while complying with Apple’s MFi charging standards. The docking zone’s unique design is truly innovative as it shapeshifts to let you alternate between docking your iPad as well as your iPhone.

Zens’ Magnetic Dual Powerbank comes with an internal 4,000 mAh battery that’s good for 1.5 full smartphone charges. The power bank is MagSafe compatible on one side too, allowing you to easily snap your iPhone to it without worrying about alignment. The other non-magnetic side is good for your AirPods, or potentially even a second smartphone (if you’re that kind of person). The power bank is perfect for all your on-the-go charging needs, although it comes with its own flip-out kickstand for when you’re working at a desk and want your phone angled towards you.

Designed as a sleeker upgrade to Genki’s Bluetooth adapter from 2018, the Genki Audio Lite is a tiny, plug-and-play Bluetooth module that fits right into your Nintendo Switch Lite, allowing you to connect Bluetooth earphones and speakers to your gaming console. The Genki Audio Lite’s tiny size adds a great deal of functionality to the already capable device. You can now use your TWS earphones, AirPods, or even the AirPods Max with it, allowing for a portable, private gaming session. The Genki Audio Lite comes with Bluetooth 5.0 and is equipped with aptX™ high fidelity low latency codecs that provide lag-free audio while you game.

The dock/stand’s choice of wood as a material gives it a classic appeal, making it look elegant even when it’s empty. The underlying tray provides a nice surface to keep your keys, USB sticks, and even AirPods; while channels running along its base you cleverly organize your charging cables. The stand’s waist provides the perfect place to stash/charge your Apple Watch, and the lightning port on the upper surface lets you easily dock your iPhone vertically, so you can charge it while you answer calls, view your calendar, attend conferences, or just browse through social media!

Elago’s AW6 cases for the AirPods help cover Apple’s musical journey from beginning to end. Designed to mimic the iPod Classic’s jog-dial, the silicone sleeve for the AirPods is a nice bookmark in time, while also acting as a protective cover for your AirPods case . Compatible with 1st and 2nd gen AirPods, the sleeve comes with a slot for the charger as well as a carabiner clip so you can hang that piece of audio-nostalgia from your belt-loop or your backpack… and that tiny hole right above the menu for the charging light just sweetens the deal!

Meet IKEA’s Sjömärke – a gadget that turns any desk/table into an invisible wireless charging surface!

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Looking for a minimalist accessory that can turn your boring desk or side table into a wireless charging hub? A gadget that hides away from plain sight and charges gadgets just by placing them on the furniture surface?

It’s a fact, no one likes the mess of cluttered wires. Reason enough for wireless charging technology to gain traction in a very short period of time. IKEA also boarded the bandwagon with its earlier released furniture embedded with wireless charging coils. But won’t it be great if you could turn any piece of furniture like a desk, side table, bedside table, or shelf into a wireless charging station that’s hidden from plain sight?

This is Sjömärke wireless charger by IKEA – designed to be a niche product in its own rights. Why I say that is because it doesn’t sit on top of your furniture – rather it hides underneath. The cool accessory is fully capable of juicing up your gadgets by beaming electric charge through a wooden or plastic material furniture 8mm – 22mm thick. With a metal furniture top, it won’t work- that’s the only catch. It shouldn’t be much of a problem as most of us prefer wooden furniture for our homes.

According to IKEA, the accessory is perfect for interiors that are themed on a minimalist, clean look. Sjömärke is compatible with the latest Qi 1.2.4 baseline power profile – giving it comparable power to a 5W charger. The biggest advantage being, you simply put your phone, earbuds or any other wireless compatible gadget on the desk, and, voila, it charges seamlessly like magic. IKEA even provides a transparent ‘X’ sticker to stick on the sweet spot right above the seven-inch by three-inch charger.

As a standard safety feature, Sjömärke has LED lights indicating charging status along with temperature and power monitoring. The cool charger comes for a price tag of $40 and will be up for grabs in IKEA stores and online as well in the US and other regions in October.

Designer: IKEA

This London-based sustainability start-up is building urban backpacks out of ocean waste… and bananas

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Call it irony or simply a funny coincidence, but the lab.inc backpacks (which are designed to hold your stuff) are made from the stuff you throw away! The bag explores an entirely sustainable approach to fashion with fabric that’s made from recycled ocean plastic as well as vegan leather made from banana plants. It simultaneously reduces planetary clutter thanks to its sustainable materials, while organizing the clutter in your life by giving you a dapper backpack to carry stuff in!

Designer: Min Kim

Click Here to Buy Now: $169 $279 ($100 off). Hurry, only 89/100 left!

Upcycling ocean-bound plastic.

lab.inc’s backpack combines an approach to designing a backpack for an urban city-dweller, along with a focus on ensuring it’s not ‘just another bag’ made with more virgin materials. To execute their vision, lab.inc partnered with #tide Ocean SA, an Award-winning Swiss upcycling company that turns ocean-bound plastic trash into reusable raw materials. The result is a backpack that’s made almost entirely out of recycled plastic, from its waterproof outer fabric, to even the straps and robust plastic clasps.

On purely an aesthetic front, the lab.inc backpack is every bit an urban classic. Its design is simple yet sophisticated, and tries to blend in while standing out. The bag boasts of an all-black exterior that’s punctuated by a strap that vertically cuts through its volume. Designed to help the bag and the wearer stand out, the strap comes with a replaceable design that can be swapped out based on your mood or need. You can choose a bright vibrant-colored vegan leather strap to provide visual contrast against the black backpack or a reflective strap that’s perfect for biking or trekking in the dark. lab.inc also offers a third strap variant made from Bananatex® – a durable, waterproof, sustainable fabric made entirely from the banana plant.

The backpack stores up to 21L, giving you enough space to carry your work + life with you on your daily commute. It comes with padded interiors and designated areas for your laptop, tech accessories, stationery, EDC, and anything you might need to carry around during your daily travel to work, the gym, the supermarket, a friend’s place, and back home. Even the clasps, buttons, buckles, and zippers are sustainably designed out of recyclable materials that can be repurposed using the same techniques used by #tide to turn ocean waste back into raw materials.

Ultimately, the broad appeal of the lab.inc backpack lies in its modern design and use of modern, high-performance, sustainable materials. The fabric developed by #tide is rugged enough to take on the fast-paced hustle-bustle city life, while being waterproof so your bag can withstand rainy outdoors, and also having a reduced carbon impact because of all the recycled plastic. The interchangeable overlying strap (which forms the lab.inc backpack’s most visually defining feature) gives you the unique ability to customize your bag based on your mood and need… and the folks at lab.inc are building out an ecosystem of different strap designs that offer even more functionality – from straps that let you hang sports equipment like your basketball or skateboard, and even solar-panel straps that let you harness solar energy to charge your gadgets inside the bag!

Click Here to Buy Now: $169 $279 ($100 off). Hurry, only 89/100 left!