The earbuds’ answer to open-ear headphones is the clip-on style that doesn’t sit deep in the ear canal, therefore less chance of permanent hearing damage if you listen to music at high levels. Bose Ultra Open earbuds created quite the buzz at CES 2024 for this new earbuds design but a price tag of $300 only attracted enthusiasts.

Now JLab has come up with a similar open clip style design called Flex Open earbuds. The pair offers most of what the high-end earbuds offer and that too at a fraction of a price. Being only $50 makes this open-ear accessory worth the try if you are eager to try out new audio accessories.

Designer: JLab

For those who want to be aware of the ambient sounds around them, the open-ear design is perfect. That’s where the Flex Open excels for a sixth of the price offered by the best in the industry. They even manage to beat the Bose’s earbuds with an IP55 rating and multipoint connectivity right out of the box. Battery life is also impressive at seven hours on a single charge and 21 more hours on the charging case. Compare that to the Ultra Open which lasts a couple of hours less in real-life testing. While you cannot expect the audio quality to be anywhere close to Bose, still the 12mm drivers deliver a thumping sound.

The only thing you can complain about is the lack of spatial audio with head tracking, but most people like me don’t bother much. Call quality in noisy environments can be a bit of a hit-and-miss with these, but if you’re using them majorly for music listening, they are a bang for the buck. After all for that price, how much wrong can these go? One thing that’ll make you ditch these earbuds is the lack of the latest lossless Bluetooth codec from Qualcomm if you care about those things.

The companion app for the Flex Open lets you toggle the sound signature to stay close to the preferred curve. In a way, these earbuds tick all the right boxes if you are on a budget and want to try out this new open-ear earbuds trend for once without breaking the bank.

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There is no denying that modern graphic resolutions have reached unachievable heights. Yet, there are many with an emotional connect to pixelated style: an art form that rekindles memories of early computers and video game graphics. If you’re one of them, who rejoices the blurring the lines between analog and digital, you can (when available) lay hands on the Pixel Mirror that creates an inverted pixel image of what’s behind it.

The wearable Pixel Mirror, developed by Hakusi Katei aka Monoli, a Japanese material designer and Ph.D. in engineering, is a crystal that reduces the resolution of what’s behind it – regardless of distance and movement – leaving you with a pixel art of what you are looking at.

Designer: Monoli

Made from light-colored transparent crystal in forest green, gray, and colorless variant, the Pixel Mirror is designed for use in bright environments. While for some of us, it’s only a gimmicky wearable (more on the aspect later) it might have real utility for artists and painters, who can leverage from the immediate, readable fat swatches of the scene behind the prism you’re looking through.

The Pixel Mirror measures 16mm x 16mm x 10mm, which means it’s small enough to be worn as a pendant in a necklace. Monoli’s series of wearable and handheld prisms are all handmade, and because of the nature of polishing natural stones, they are not perfect square “pixels”. They are handmade to suit the condition of the available stone.

After the Pixel Mirror, Monoli now has the Pixel Window in works, which as the artist puts it, “the lens minecrafts scenery without electricity.”  Pixel Mirror is on sale in Japan for ¥ 19,800 (roughly $120). If you’re outside of Japan, you’ll want to keep an eye on Monoli’s tweets for information on international availability.

The post This Crystal Fragment turns everything you see into 8-bit Pixel Art, and it’s FASCINATING first appeared on Yanko Design.

Dual screen laptops are still in their infancy. Whether there are takers for such a technology, doesn’t matter; OEMs are constantly developing laptops with multiple screens. Chinese company Acemagic is the latest entrant in the category. After having surprised us with a gaming router-esque mini-PC previously, Acemagic has now announced the X1 laptop: considered the world’s only horizontally foldable 360-degree laptop.

It was back at the Computex 2024 in Taiwan when Acemagic first revealed its dual screen laptop. It was then called the Z1A, but eventually now, when it was launched, it was called the X1 and it is meant for consuming different content simultaneously, working on different screens, or multitasking work without switching between screens – as I end up doing all day, with a 27-inch monitor attached to my usual single screen laptop.

Designer: Acemagic

The Acemagic X1 is a usual laptop with another screen attached horizontally, which can swivel all the way back, flush against the primary display. Comprising two 14-inch 1080p displays, the laptop allows users to fold the screens down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode with one screen. Whatever the use case you choose, the 360-degree rotation and folding dual screen laptop is meant for business and productivity usage.

So, you can during work, swivel the second screen backward and present the slides to your team sitting across the table from you. Or maybe, when your little one is disturbing you while working; you can swing the additional screen all the way back to play their favorite cartoon while you continue working unhindered. There are a lot of use case possibilities, but it’s not the most powerful machine for your needs.

Under the hood, the Acemagic X1 dual screen laptop runs a two-year-old Intel Core i7 1255U processor. It’s paired with 1 TB 3.0 SSD for onboard storage and features 16GB DDR4 RAM.  For connectivity, the laptop supports up to 5Gbps of transfer speeds and has a USB-A, 2 USB-C (one only for charging), and an HDMI 2.0 ports. With its distinctive appeal, the laptop will make a buzz but for now, we don’t have a price or its release date to share.

The post This Chinese dual screen business laptop is first horizontally foldable 360-degree laptop ever first appeared on Yanko Design.

McLaren is currently in an intense dog fight on the track and on the paddock with Red Bull as tensions are rising between star drivers Max and Lando. You as a fan, have the opportunity to own a special edition electric scooter to root for the underdog. Yes, we are talking of an official McLaren edition e-scooter developed by Pure Electric.

The Britan-based company founded in 2018 is in hot pursuit of building the best electric scooter on the planet is owned by Adam Norris (Lando’s father) and the collab is not surprising. Coming on the back of another successful venture between the two brands, this e-scooter is based on the popular Advance+ model.

Designer: Pure Electric and McLaren

Pure Electric is 100 percent focused on just one goal, which is to build an e-scooter that changes the complexion of urban transport for good. The foldable commuter gets a bump up in electric motor power and a better range for this special edition version in the signature papaya color and the deep black finish. The e-scooter delivers 710 watts of peak power for better acceleration and much better performance on ascending hills. The range of 31 miles on a single full charge is reassuring if you’ll commute the city in one go.

The all-weather-proof ride comes with an IP65 rating and has 10-inch puncture-proof tires to complement the sturdy frame. Just like the Pure Advance+ model, the Pure x McLaren Special Edition has a natural forward-facing stance for a stable and comfortable riding experience. McLaren’s expertise comes from the valued design approach that’s honed by sharp aesthetics and a deeper knowledge of how hybrid powertrains work.

According to Adam who’s set the company on a success path, the partnership further cements the future of e-mobility, reflecting the engineering and design ethos. Pure x McLaren Special Edition scooters are all set to be available on July 4 in the aforementioned color options. Also, keep in mind, that there’s an Ayrton Senna anniversary edition e-scooter draped in the Brazilian flag skin released just a few months ago.

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Nocs Design is known for its intricately crafted audio accessories that hone minimalism. Purely focused on the acoustic signature and the build quality, the Sweden-based studio has revealed its new wireless speaker as a follow-up to the popular hand-crafted Monolith speaker.

This is the Nocs Monolith Aluminium speaker designed for audiophiles who give high weightage to minimalism in their lifestyle. The material choice for this wireless speaker is a deep research exercise for eliminating recycled plastics. According to Founder Daniel Alms, the result is a single block of aluminum CNC machined to achieve a classy look. Most of all the speaker is fully recyclable, making it the ideal choice when it comes to sustainability that the brand is highly conscious of.

Designer: Nocs Design

According to Daniel, a lot of time and effort was put into crafting the perfect symmetry for driver positioning inside the anodized aluminum housing. Unlike any other product design, minimalism isn’t just a fancy word here. Nocs refrains from using any logos, highlighting the sleek appearance of the solid aluminum form. This speaker is well positioned in the lineup, right between the Mini and the Monolith. To top it all, the ‘cradle-to-cradle consumer product’ is fully repairable and boasts easily replaceable parts.

Those grilles lie just above the five drivers are precisely positioned to deliver a rich and wide sound in any room. Alm has tuned the sound signature in collaboration with musicians and DJs which speaks highly about the speaker’s capability when it comes to satisfying audiophiles. The idea behind this distinction is to foster a “deep connection between the artist and the audience.”

Nocs Monolith Aluminium speaker is all set to be delivered to interested buyers in November 2024. Along with the classic aluminum option, you can also choose the more muted yet classy matte black finish. The price tag of $1,000 is on the steeper side but it’s all worth for purists who known what Nocs stands for.

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If you have been wanting a custom-built van home for your journeys around the US, Beachside Custom Vans has delivered 2024 AWD Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based Fam Van: a van home for a family of five to travel together. A van that can accommodate five people seems a cramped-up idea that no one would want to invest in. At least, that was my perception in the beginning. But the way the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, comprising a 170″ wheelbase, has been configured, I have a different take. When you reach the end of this article, I’m sure you will have a revised perception as well.

Atlantic Beach, Florida-based Beachside Custom Vans is known for designing van homes that rival tiny houses. The vans are custom-built for people, in a manner they want, to make life on the road smooth, comfortable, and feature-packed. These Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based vans, including the Fam Van, are designed with accessories inside and an exterior that catches the eye at first glimpse.

Designer: Beachside Custom Vans

Offering seating and sleeping space for five people, along with a full kitchen, toilet, and enough storage sections; the Beachside Custom Vans’ Fam Van is a superior option for any adventure family. The exterior of the van is delivered in ceramic-coated gray and blue dual-tone. Its suspensions and wheel rims along with all-terrain tires facilitate off-the-road travel.

Even when the Sprinter is custom-designed for adventures off the road. It is not entirely off-grid. The van home is provided with 200 Ah batteries, a 3,000 W inverter, but there are no solar panels (presumably you should get it as an addon, if you may). Inside, the Fam Van is pretty spacious and open with oak plywood cabinetry marine vinyl flooring, grey upholstered wall paneling, and white ceiling with strip LED lights.

The front portion of the van home has seating for the family comprising the driving seat and a bench for other passengers. Overhead is a shelf featuring the van’s heater control panel and a touchscreen monitor. Moving back on the passenger side is the kitchen that features a white countertop, white subway-tiled backsplash, a countertop with a fold-away table, sink, fridge compartment, a pull-out pantry, and under-sink and overhead cabinets for storage.

The water of the Beachside Custom Vans family van home is managed by a 28-gallon freshwater tank and a 5-gallon graywater storage, which can be emptied appropriately on the press of a button. Opposite the kitchen are two large closets for storage along with a slide-out section for the dry-flush toilet. If you’re thinking of how to wash up and bathe; opening the two rear doors you can access an outdoor shower. Here a large drawer also slides out which you can use for various requirements, including keeping your gear.

When the day is over and the family wants to dine and retire, there is a dinette with a pair of benches and tables that can transform into a bed. The main queen-size bed hangs down from the ceiling, leaving good headroom for the sleepers on the couch below. The entire van home conversion is possible for $75,000.

The post Modified Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van doubles into a 5-Person Camper with Bunk Beds first appeared on Yanko Design.

Smart glasses are the most practical wearables when it comes to your daily style statement. Compared to current generation AR headsets that are bulky, smart glasses are feasible and the buck only stops at how much tech can be fitted inside the compact frames keeping the overall weight down and form factor indistinguishable from a regular pair.

The idea has gone mainstream in the last year or so with Ray-Ban Meta and OPPO coming on board the bandwagon. The latter brought AI-capable Air Glass 3 to the industry in the early half of this year, and Solos has now upped the ante. They’ve revealed a smarter pair of wearables that are the world’s first to have OpenAI’s latest generative AI.

Designer: Solos

This is the AirGo Vision, the next iteration of the AirGo 3 glasses. Powered by OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT-4o, the wearable is also compatible with Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude models. You can expect hands-free operation aided by voice commands to answer any queries or provide real-time inputs for things like reading foreign language hoardings or getting assistance for city directions. The latter is aided by the latest versions of the GPT-4o and generative AI applications, first for any smart glasses. In essence, the glasses will be a visual extension of search information and bring interactive features to make them wantable.

The wearer can capture pictures hands-free and instantly inquire about information. Solos is also giving the option for swapping the main frame with a secondary one that doesn’t have any front camera. Yes, unlike other smart glasses, this one has the camera lens embedded in the arms, instead of the frame. This swap comes in handy for places where a more formal style is acceptable. To keep the wearer aware of any important notifications or calls, there are flashing LED indicators on the frame.

Solos hasn’t yet revealed details about the specific release date or the price, but we can safely assume they’ll cost more than $250.

The post Solos AirGo Vision are the world’s first ChatGPT-4o powered smart glasses for interactive input first appeared on Yanko Design.

You must have heard a lot of hue and cry about electric vehicles. How they reduce carbon emissions, and how governments are incentivizing citizens to adopt EVs as the new mode of transportation. Silently in the background, more impactful zero-emission vehicles – that emit only water vapor – are doing the rounds, but are much rarer at this time. These are hydrogen-powered vehicles that remain in the shadow of EVs but are not too far from becoming the potent future.

An embodiment of which are the first hydrogen-powered VTOL aircrafts by Sirius Aviation AG, which made their global debut at the MOVE Expo in London recently. Conceived to be the epitome of luxury and sustainability, the new Sirius clean energy aircrafts can bring a paradigm shift in the private air travel experience with high-end design and zero-emission tech.

Designer: Sirius Aviation AG

Sirius has unveiled two hydrogen-powered VTOL aircraft: CEO Jet model and an Adventure Jet version. These are made in collaboration with BMW’s Designworks and the Sauber Group and are likely to make their first official flights with humans onboard in 2025. Yes, these thrilling aircrafts are designed to carry humans. More on that below.

The CEO Jet for instance is, as the name gives up, the high-end executive aircraft of the two. Unlike the Adventure version designed for thrill seekers, the CEO is aligned with business travel needs in mind. It can accommodate three passengers and is meant for point-to-point landings with top speeds of up to 323 mph and a range of 1,150 miles. The interior of the CEO Jet is outfitted with tan brown leather, ambient lighting, and a large window for panoramic views outside. A bezel-less monitor is also installed to display flight information.

The adventure model of the VTOL is designed for five passengers and a pilot to glide over jungles and mountains, exploring the unexplored from unseen heights, for over 650 miles on a single charge. The rugged aircraft is equipped with off-grid abilities, it also has emergency landing gear including floaters for landing on the water. Both aircrafts have 28 ducted fans, 20 of which are located along the wings while the remaining eight are positioned in the canard. All of these are driven by separate electric motors.

The post The first ever hydrogen-powered VTOL aircrafts are designed for luxury and adventure first appeared on Yanko Design.

This takes Pavlov’s bell to a completely different level!

Pets react to different music in different ways. For instance, my doggo would curiously nod his head from left to right and right to left at every note he heard. But he would instantly forget it all and run for the bowl on the first note of his food dropping into it.

Food is dearer to music, but music is a certain entertainer: this is not only true for humans, but for cats and dogs as well. If you agree, there is a musical way to keep your pet entertained and fed when you’re at home or away with the Pet Piano, a cross of an automated pet feeder and a piano.

Designer: The Pet Piano

Essentially a DIY project carried out by YouTube channel Smart Solutions for Home on the behest of YouTuber Aaron’s Animals, the smart piano pet feeder is now a buyable product, available on preorder from the pet piano website. If you’re a DIYer, you can still follow the step-by-step instructions to build a piano for your cat (as it was initially intended to be), otherwise, you can buy a ready-to-ship product and get your pet trained to play Beethoven while keeping her fed even when you are away.

The interesting pet piano is created to release a measured quantity of food whenever the pet presses the key(s). Treat from creating music will be a phenomenal experience for your pet considering that a reward mechanism inculcates a behavioral change in a dog or cat’s cognitive development and mood. So, a reward (food) in return for pressing keys – that make melodious sounds – a positive behavior can in inculcated. As a safety measure, the Pet Piano is created to dispense treats at a moderate pace, which also promotes healthier eating habits.

Further, your pet can also leverage the auto tutoring mode of the pet piano, which automatically trains your pet to level up her piano skills over time. And for days when the pet is not in the mood to play the instrument, the feeder can be scheduled to dispense food – at a scheduled time – through the dedicated mobile app which can also be used to control and monitor the meal portion and other features.

In comparison to other plastic and visually jarring pet feeders, the Pet Piano is made from durable MDF wood in a matte black finish so it can easily merge with your home aesthetic. Usable with cats and dogs of all shapes and sizes, it is provided with a locking mechanism to prevent break-ins and runs off batteries or can be plugged into a power source for nonstop functioning. We can’t guarantee your pianist pet will trend on TikTok, but it’s worth a shot, no?

The post The Pet Piano turns your furry friend into an amateur pianist to dispense treats! first appeared on Yanko Design.

Nothing as a transparent brand reflects its vision in the see-through aesthetics of each of its offerings. The intricate working of the tech is visible, highlighting the beauty of simplicity which has resonated with many fans of the Carl Pei. They’ve focused on audio products, mainly earbuds with an official pair of headphones not far from fruition.

The inspirational transparent design of their phone and earbuds has captured the imagination of designers who’ve mustered up their thoughts on presenting what a pair of Nothing headphones would look and feel like. Case in point, the concept AIAIAI Headphones, Headset 1 and head (1). Now yet another concept pair dubbed Head.Phone (1) caught my attention for all the right reasons.

Designer: Niloy Lahiri

Where this concept design sets itself apart from those other iterations is the smart use of the Glyph interface in the headphones. It’s more aggressive looking with physically moving Glyphs that can be customized to send cool messages to the on-lookers. The texture is very nice, something that Nothing would love. The color and finish of the materials are impressive with detailing in the right places. Transparent design elements flow down to the headbands which give it the typical DNA of the brand.

The ANC, transparency and normal modes can be toggled from the physical glyph interface. The ANC mode is represented by the closing Glyph lights, while transparency has a more open representation. This way, anyone talking to you can visually understand whether you are open to conversations or just in your zone, preferring not to be disturbed. Features and specifications apart from these over-the-ear headphones will freshen up the otherwise predictable market led by consumer-centric options from Sony, Apple, Sennheiser and Bose.

Although the designer didn’t intend to create a pair that is inspired by the Teenage Engineering elements, this concept has telltale good looks. So why wear a pair that seems more or less contemporary, when you could (in the future) get the option to sport a one from Nothing?

The post Nothing Headphones with physical glyph interface let’s you display your mood first appeared on Yanko Design.