Tag Archives: Red Dot Product 2023

Lenovo Is Secretly Building Its Metaverse Empire For The Enterprise And Industry

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Long before Apple reinvigorated the ‘spatial computing’ industry, while Meta was struggling to popularize consumer-grade VR headsets, Lenovo was hard at work, building the metaverse in its own vision. The ThinkReality VRX is a part of Lenovo’s ThinkPad ecosystem, and is targeted towards using VR (virtual reality) and XR (extended reality) to help enterprises reach their goals. The ThinkReality VRX pokes fun at Meta’s own pitch, highlighting that VR is a little too conceptually powerful to be reduced to playing games like Beat Saber. Instead, Lenovo sees the metaverse as something quite useful, to help people reimagine their workplace, to help train employees, and to help remove the barriers that screens create to usher in an immersive 3D work environment. Given that businesses are much more open to radical change than consumers are (laptops were first designed for businesses, Bluetooth headsets too), Lenovo’s new pitch may be the home run the metaverse really needs.

Designer: Lenovo

The ThinkReality VRX is Lenovo’s answer to the enterprise’s VR needs. A headset built specifically for work, productivity, meetings, and training, the ThinkReality VRX fits well into Lenovo’s ThinkPad ecosystem. Starting at $1299, the ThinkReality VRX works as a standalone device as well as plugged into your laptop or desktop for wired use. Think of it as the productivity-focused version of Meta’s Quest Pro headset… without any of Zuckerberg’s dark design pattern and data-grabbing tendencies.

The sleek, all-black design of the VRX resonates beautifully with its serious personality. The device is sleek but not flashy, and has all the features of a cutting-edge VR/XR headset. It’s got 3DoF as well as 6DoF tracking abilities, along with full-color passthrough, so your physical and virtual worlds can seamlessly combine, just like on the Quest Pro or Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro.

6 camera lenses on the front (including two perfectly lined up with your eye placement) help the VRX accurately position you in your space. The headset, relatively light for its category, weighs just 1.76 lbs (marginally heavier than the Meta Quest Pro), and straps to your face rather comfortably, with a tightening knob on the back securing it in position so it doesn’t slip around as you turn your head. On the inside, each of your eyes are treated to a 2280×2280 pixel display with a 90Hz refresh rate, immersing you in crisp, responsive, high-definition visuals.

The headset supports cloud-based rendering solutions like the NVIDIA CloudXR, however, unlike the Quest Pro or Apple Vision, the ThinkReality VRX doesn’t come with eye-tracking abilities. It has 12Gb of RAM as well as 128Gb of built-in storage, runs Android 12, and is powered by the Snapdragon® XR2+ Gen 1. Yes, you also still have handheld controllers with the VRX, although hand-tracking sounds like a software feature that could easily be integrated in the future (just like how this engineer built out a Vision Pro user interface for the Quest Pro device). The headset also comes with WiFi 6E, BlueTooth Low Energy 5.2, a USB 3.1 jack, and a 3.5mm audio input. There’s a battery pack mounted in the rear module, helping easily disperse weight on both sides of the head, but Lenovo hasn’t officially mentioned how long it lasts.

The ThinkReality VRX is currently Lenovo’s flagship offering in the enterprise VR category. Perfect for everything from executive meetings to soft-skill and hard-skill training, the VRX integrates right into your existing workflow, empowering it in the process.

However, Lenovo’s metaverse ambitions don’t just end there. The company’s also been working on hardware like the Glasses T1, a pair of consumer-grade AR glasses that create a massive virtual monitor for your work needs. For Lenovo, the metaverse pivot seems much more thought-out and planned, given their laser-like focus on particular use-cases (like the enterprise) instead of building out powerful hardware and expecting the user-base to just show up. Moreover, the company is also being explicitly clear that its metaverse hardware will be backed by Privacy, Security, and Support – Lenovo’s top priorities for its consumer base.

The Lenovo ThinkReality VRX is a Winner of the iF Design Award as well as the Best of Best Winner of the Red Dot Award: Product Design for the year 2023.

The post Lenovo Is Secretly Building Its Metaverse Empire For The Enterprise And Industry first appeared on Yanko Design.

Nothing Launches Ear (2) TWS Earbuds in Black with Hi-Res Audio, Active Noise Cancellation, and a $149 Price Tag

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Riding on the heels of the Phone (2) unveiling, Nothing has also finally announced a black variant for its flagship Ear (2) TWS earbuds, for people who want to embrace the dark side. Just like its white counterpart, the Ear (2) Black comes with Hi-Res Audio certification and LHDC 5.0 technology. The earbuds come equipped with an 11.6 mm custom driver, delivering deep, powerful bass and crystal-clear highs. The new dual chamber design enhances the overall sound quality by improving airflow. Additionally, the earbuds feature Dual Connection for seamless device switching, Personal Sound Profile for a personalized audio experience, and improved wind-proof + crowd-proof Clear Voice Technology. The Personalized Active Noise Cancellation feature adapts to the unique shape of the user’s ear canal, providing bespoke noise-canceling that’s tailor-made to your needs.

Designer: Nothing

A recent winner of the Red Dot Award: Product Design, the Ear (2) has that familiar design that we all know and love. Now in a black finish, it explores the use of transparency, glossy black plastic, and matte-black housing and ear-tips. This contrast allows the Ear (2) to stand out so wonderfully, as does its unique case, which still remains one of our favorites in the aesthetics department.

Along with the Ear (2) black variant, Nothing announced upgrades to both the Ear (2) and the Ear (stick) in the form of a new, advanced equalizer. “This new advanced equalizer gives users even more freedom to control how they want to hear their music through an intuitive and simple graphical interface,” says the Nothing team. “It allows a deep level of customization through a parametric 8-band equalizer with a real-time preview of the changes, the full Q factor, and frequency control.” Available via the Nothing X app, this new feature will also let users share their EQ profile or download others through a QR code.

The Nothing Ear (2) Black is available now via a limited drop on the Nothing.tech website and will be more widely available from 21 July.

The post Nothing Launches Ear (2) TWS Earbuds in Black with Hi-Res Audio, Active Noise Cancellation, and a $149 Price Tag first appeared on Yanko Design.

Lenovo’s ThinkBook KB Pro Mechanical Keyboard Delights With Its Color-Coded Functional Areas

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Designed to be serious but with a slight hint of quirkiness (the kind most creatively-inclined professionals will relate to), the Lenovo ThinkBook KB Pro mechanical keyboard pleases with its well-thought-out keyboard layout that color-codes functional areas. The keys come with a unique rectangle-to-circle design that has a retro appeal to it, reminiscent of typewriter layouts and are color-coded in a way that intuitively clubs them into functional groups that are easy to access while within your peripheral vision. Important conference functions such as volume control, locking the screen, or showing the desktop can be done at the touch of a button. Additionally, the keycaps are interchangeable, allowing users to choose between two different color schemes.

Designer: Lenovo

Designed with a focus on functionality, the ThinkBook KB Pro features 83 keys and is built using durable and wear-resistant PBT polymer. Notably, this mechanical keyboard offers the convenience of hot-swappable keys, allowing you to customize your keyboard layout by creating color-coded zones. It supports wireless connectivity in two modes: 2.4G wireless and Bluetooth, while also providing the option for a wired connection. The keyboard is equipped with a substantial 2,400mAh battery pack, delivering a week-long battery life even with the backlight turned on. Pre-orders for the new Lenovo ThinkBook KB Pro mechanical keyboard will commence on June 9, 2023, with a price tag of 699 Yuan (approximately $98 USD).

The ThinkBook KB Pro is a winner of the Red Dot Award: Product Design for the year 2023.

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Cleverly Designed Pill-Bottle With Gumball Mechanism Will Dispense a Single Pill Every Time You Press Down

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Every memory I’ve had of opening a pill bottle (whether for vitamins, painkillers, or even a bottle of Tic Tac) has involved me shaking the bottle in my hand, dispensing way too many pills, and then putting all the excess pills back one by one. No matter how small or wide the pill bottle’s opening, you’re either struggling to open the bottle, take the pills out, or put the pills back in because the bottle vastly overestimated how many you’d need. While that isn’t really one of life’s biggest problems, it’s definitely one worth solving – even more so for people with limited control over their mobility. Designed to make dispensing pills easy every single time, the SoloPill is an award-winning pill bottle that uses a mechanism borrowed from the popular gumball machine.

Designer: Solopill Inc.

With a form factor that’s reminiscent of a pepper mill, the SoloPill comes with a unique mechanism that segregates the pills before dispensing them one by one. The mechanism is quite similar to the one you’d see on a gumball machine, and to activate it, all you do is press down on the top. A single press causes the mechanism to collect and segregate individual pills into a ratcheted rotating funnel, dropping them one by one out of the opening at the bottom and into the SoloPill’s collecting plate. Need two pills? Press twice. Simple!

While taking medicines is by no stretch a fun activity, the SoloPill makes one aspect of it easier. It’s perfect for people who struggle with pill bottles due to limited mobility or even visibility, allowing you to easily dispense the right amount of pills even in the dark or at night. While designed to be used with relative ease, the SoloPill has a built-in child lock to prevent kids from getting their hands on your medication. Its clear design makes it perfect for seeing the pills inside, so you know when you’re running low, and there’s ample space for branding or labeling, so you know which medicine you’re taking.

The SoloPill is a winner of the Red Dot Product Design Award for the year 2023.

The post Cleverly Designed Pill-Bottle With Gumball Mechanism Will Dispense a Single Pill Every Time You Press Down first appeared on Yanko Design.