Reel lawn mowers are categorically known to be better than rotary lawn mowers. They do a better job of trimming grass to a low height, are much more energy efficient, and can be found at every single golf course for their ability to leave a turf looking flawless. The problem, however, is that reel lawnmowers are still fairly manual. Sure, they run on motors, but you still need a human to push the mower around – something that seems odd given that robotic lawnmowers have existed for a good 5 years at this point. Nobody ever tried building a robot version of the reel mower (don’t ask me why) until now. The Oasa R1 is bringing the advancements of autonomous mowers to the perfection of reel blade cutting. The world’s first lawn mowing robot to employ a blade reel, the Oasa R1 turns your backyard into a perfectly manicured turf, with precisely cut grass in every corner. The R1 maps your lawn out, trims the grass to its very edge, avoids humans/pets/obstacles, and takes care of your entire lawn just with the push of a button. It’ll stay away from your prized flower bed, will cross over pathways to get to different zones of your lawn, and will automatically retreat to its shelter once the job is done.

Designer: Oasa Team

Click Here to Buy Now: $1,199 $1,599 ($400 off). Hurry, 42/452 left! Raised over $685,000.

Most companies building lawn mowing bots prefer rotary mowers given how compact the entire mechanism is. Reel mowers, although much more superior in performance, use a much larger drum and blade that results in a bigger overall product. That didn’t stop Oasa from building the R1, albeit with a surprisingly small product footprint. The R1 bridges both worlds wonderfully, offering all the cutting-edge features of a self-driving mower, with the perfection that the spinning reel blade can offer. The blade’s cutting height can be adjusted down to as low as 0.8 inches, or as high as 4 inches (depending on how you want to trim your yard), and the R1 has a cutting path that’s an impressive 13 inches wide, covering more ground in lesser time. A LiDAR sensor hub and multiple cameras allow the R1 to map out your lawn as well as sense obstacles. The mower gets to work, choosing the most efficient path to get the job done, while avoiding obstacles and no-go zones perfectly.

An automatic blade resharpening system reduces the need for manual replacement or realignment, distinguishing it from other robotic and traditional reel mowers.

The reel blade is perhaps the R1’s crown jewel, setting it apart from other robot mowers. While rotary mowers tend to tear the blades of grass, the R1’s reel blade gives them a clean, scissor-like cut that leaves your lawn looking lush and perfect, and allows the grass to grow back in a healthy, non-patchy way too. Spiral blades on the reel help it shear the grass instead of ripping it apart, and here’s the kicker, the R1 has its own blade sharpening feature that automatically works in between mowing sessions to ensure that the blades are as razor-sharp as possible. Moreover, it’s also incredibly silent, with a working decibel level of under 60db, which is about as loud as a normal conversation.

Using the Oasa R1 is about as simple as using any automated lawn mower. The R1 performs a precursory 3D scan of your lawn for you, allowing you to determine different zones, pathways, fences, and even no-go areas. Once you’re done, all it takes is to press a button to get the R1 started. It automatically maps out its path, cutting precisely near fences and along edges, leaving just a 2-inch gap as it moves along fences, skirting, and walls. It relies entirely on LiDAR to navigate your lawn, eschewing GPS which can sometimes have signal issues. The advanced LiDAR tech allows the R1 to conveniently sidestep and avoid obstacles like humans, pets, parcels, or anything that may be blocking its path. Meanwhile, large treaded wheels allow the R1 to easily climb up 45% inclines, letting it cover every single inch of your lawn regardless of the terrain. The entire process can be tracked on Oasa’s smartphone app, which gives you insights on the mowing progress, as well as allows you to set up mowing routines/schedules on-demand. The app also lets you choose mowing height and pattern, as well as activate the R1’s blade-sharpening cycle, which takes mere minutes.

The R1 comes with its own charging shelter where it retreats to when it’s low on battery, when it detects rain, or when it’s done mowing your lawn. Although it doesn’t use GPS during mowing, it does have its own geofence that you set up when you first get the R1 – the minute the R1 leaves the geofence, you get an anti-theft alert along with your lawn-mower’s live location. Maintenance in between mowing routines is a breeze too, thanks to an IPX6 waterproof design that lets you hose down your R1 from either side to wash off any grass stubble that may be stuck to it.

The Oasa R1 ships globally, with a discounted starting price of $1199 – this includes the mower itself, along with the charging shelter, a 2-year warranty, and even the customs fee.

Click Here to Buy Now: $1,199 $1,599 ($400 off). Hurry, 42/452 left! Raised over $685,000.

The post Meet the Oasa R1, the world’s first robotic reel-mower that brings ‘golf course perfection’ to your lawn first appeared on Yanko Design.

The GoPro is, on paper at least, an incredibly high-resolution camera capable of recording 4K at high speeds of up to 120fps – that’s pretty remarkable for a camera… but no photographer or videographer will ever take a GoPro seriously, because it lacks the one feature that most professionals look for – the ability to change lenses. The GoPro is perpetually stuck with its ultrawide lens, and that doesn’t appeal to most photographers. Designed to bridge this gap, Liam de la Bedoyere designed a GoPro that actually lets you remove and replace lenses, giving you the ability to choose between macro, telephoto, wide-angle, and fisheye shots… all while still retaining the GoPro’s gorgeously compact aesthetic.

Designer: Bored Eye Design

Bedoyere’s (better known by his online moniker Bored Eye Designs) concept isn’t what you’d call a traditional GoPro – its design is quite the overhaul, with a funky orange-meets-black aesthetic that sort of feels reminiscent of Rabbit, but with a more balanced color palette. The design features the GoPro’s main body, with the screen at the back, but also comes with a removable camera module, reminiscent of the recently launched Insta360 Go 3S. This removable module snaps onto the main body when it needs a battery boost, but can be removed and carried separately as a body-worn or handheld tiny cam. It also features those aforementioned removable lenses, allowing you to change your PoV on the fly.

Designed as a part of a Productober sprint (with daily prompts through the month of October), Liam de la Bedoyere created a rough draft of an action camera with the ability to remove and mount different lenses. Although Bedoyere barely made the deadline for the prompt, his concept existed just as a mere sketch. Taking some more time after Productober officially ended, he decided to flesh out the design by making a proper 3D CAD model of what this shapeshifting action cam could look like.

Bedoyere’s vision of a GoPro with interchangeable lenses is something that quite a few videographers have thought of. In fact, Canada-based hardware company Back-Bone also makes a modified version of the GoPro HERO12 with an armature on the front that lets you attach literal DSLR-style lenses on your action camera, with a choice between M12, CS, and C-mount styles!

The post This GoPro concept with Interchangeable Lenses brings DSLR abilities to the Action Camera first appeared on Yanko Design.

Although announced back in 2020, the Flipper Zero didn’t become a cult object up until 2022 when it gained popularity among the pentesting community for being able to ‘hack’ into various everyday items. Governments and online retailers immediately panicked, attempting to ban or stop the sale of the Flipper Zero – a harmless game-inspired pentesting device… while the community that helped popularize the Flipper Zero had a valid counter-argument. If exposing the digital vulnerability of everyday objects like traffic lights, cars, air conditioners, or smart homes was so easy, is it really the Flipper Zero’s fault for pointing it out?

Old mobile phones like the Siemens C55 served as references. The orange color was taken from the Siemens C55 screen because of its nostalgic warmth.

Envisioned as a Tamagotchi that let you explore the world of electronics, the Flipper Zero is a tiny, handheld, versatile device that lets you play games, test electronics, build powerful devices, and even penetration-test gadgets around you. The product gained a cult following in 2022 when videos on TikTok showed how it could be used to clone RFID cards, tap into WiFi networks, and get into all sorts of mischief. That’s similar to having an outcry over hairpins because they open locks… or sellotape because it picks up fingerprints. Needless to say, the Flipper Zero sold out almost immediately, and I spent a good year and a half searching for a device of my own on eBay and Etsy. I finally got my hands on one last month, and even got in touch with the folks who built the Flipper Zero. Beyond asking them the obvious questions that every publication already had, we dove into the Flipper Zero’s approach, its design brief, and most importantly, its design process.

A view of the GPIO pins on the top for attaching newer modules

The IR blaster on the side, and the iButton reader/writer

The minute you understand the Flipper Zero’s origin story, its design makes a world of sense. It was envisioned in 2020 to help develop a more common interest in technology, cybersecurity, and electronics. Existing products in this domain were just way too complicated and boring – they had ultra-utilitarian designs, bare-basic aesthetics, wires, soldering, and they looked like something that would come out of an engineer’s workshop. This was in contrast to what sci-fi movies had us believe. Minority Report, Tron, The Matrix, Bladerunner, every movie showed a more concept-art-driven product future, but existing ‘hacker’ devices looked nothing like the ones we were used to seeing in movies. This was a great starting point for the folks at Flipper, who wanted to create a device that A. paid homage to decades of sci-fi films, and B. was the electronic equivalent of an EDC multitool – compact, multifunctional, awesome. “In a Swiss army knife, you have a blade, corkscrew, screwdriver, ruler, scissors, etc., all in one tool. The idea of the Flipper Zero was to combine all the hardware tools you’d need for exploration and development on the go,” the Flipper team told Yanko Design. “Flipper Zero has a 125 kHz or Sub-1 GHz antenna, CC1101 chip, built-in NFC module, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support, 1-Wire connector to read iButton contact keys, infrared transmitter, and a microSD card slot. All in a toy-like body.” Moreover, despite all these features, the Flipper Zero came with GPIO handles on the top that let you explore the device’s open-source nature by adding PCB hardware and exploring even more features and capabilities.

Flipper Zero development process

The Flipper Zero’s design is actually pure genius if you look at how much they’ve managed to squeeze into a product that small. Yes, I did ask them whether they considered making something with a touchscreen, or something phone-like, but the Tamagotchi approach seemed to be the most convenient route – it was uncomplicated, and could be done without expensive OLED displays and other hardware. Ultimately, it did lend to the Flipper Zero’s overall charm, with its monochrome orange screen that was a hat-tip to the Siemens C55. “We went through several design iterations to achieve this functionality and look, constantly overcoming challenges in electronics design, component limitations, and multiple antenna designs,” the Flipper team mentioned. “For example, the first version of the hardware used an off-the-shelf main PCB, but we eventually decided to design our own. This gave us more freedom and flexibility regarding the shape and form of the device while also giving us more control over the supply chain and costs.”

Inspiration moodboard for the Flipper Zero’s Cyberpunk Design

The entire device is nothing without its mascot, the cyberpunk dolphin that forms the essence of the Flipper Zero’s experience. It functions quite literally as a Tamagotchi, growing and being happier and happier the more you explore the device’s features and play with the product. The idea of using the dolphin existed way back in the beginning, and you could think of the product’s shape as somewhat resembling a dolphin’s flipper too, albeit with sharper, cyberpunk-ish edges. The team told us, “The main inspiration was William Gibson’s cyber-dolphin Jones, from Johnny Mnemonic, who had a dark biography and could do very dangerous things. Our dolphin is a quirky, queer, and enthusiastic but simple and nice guy at the same time. We wanted to create a character that you’d want to be friends with.” The dolphin’s persona received a lot of design experimentation as it essentially was to serve as the product’s mascot, guiding you through the features, exploring uncharted electronic territories with you, and forming a codependent bond that allows you to get more and more familiar with and attached to your Flipper Zero. You loved your Game Boy because of all the Pokemon you caught, grew, and evolved on it – the same would apply to the Flipper Zero.

Sketches of in-house modules for the Flipper Zero

However, as a non-hacker myself (and with no coding background), owning a Flipper Zero was still quite an interesting experience. The interface immediately felt familiar to a guy who grew up on Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones, and the internet is FILLED with documentation and tutorials that allow folks like me to figure out how to use the Flipper Zero. For now, I’m proud to say that I managed to clone my buddy’s car key fob and can open her doors remotely. All done with consent, though. The device also allows me to save RFID cards, NFC codes, and even be prankish enough to change channels on televisions or control air conditioners using the infrared function. All these are gradual steps, and the interface makes it exceptionally simple to navigate. You can even play games on the Flipper Zero like Solitaire, Doom, Pong, Snake, and Tetris. Additionally, you can set a Pomodoro timer or metronome, check the nearest weather station, or encrypt a message to your friend using Caesar Cipher or Morse code apps. For anything else, there’s a burgeoning Flipper community that routinely explores everything the Flipper Zero has to offer, discussing new features, writing new lines of code, or creating new apps. After all, with more than half a million devices sold, there’s clearly a massive sub-culture of loyal Flipper Zero users ready to tinker with anything they find, just the way our parents were encouraged to take a screwdriver and pull apart objects so they could learn how to repair them. It’s an art that seems lost on our generation, especially with how complicated devices have gotten, and how ruthless companies are when it comes to creating terms and conditions that prevent us from looking under the hoods of the gadgets we own.

The Flipper Zero is just the beginning, though. Given the movement it stands for, and the resounding success of their flagship device, Flipper’s team is just getting started. They’re continuously working on new modules that can be attached to the Flipper Zero, giving it even more powerful new features… and yes, there’s a Flipper One in the works, although they’re pretty hush-hush about it right now!

Limited-edition transparent version of the Flipper Zero

The post Flipper Zero Behind The Scenes: How a group of enthusiasts designed the ‘perfect’ ethical hacking toy first appeared on Yanko Design.

Think of your wishlist of features for the perfect power bank – you’d want it to be sleek, right? You’d also want it to have a great battery capacity. You’d ideally want wireless charging capabilities. Perhaps even throw fast wires charging in just in case you can’t deal with the slow 7.5W wireless charging speeds. Finally, what if the power bank had extra features – a stand perhaps? Well, this isn’t a wishlist of features, it’s quite literally a description of Meizu’s latest Pandaer 35W wireless power bank…

The Pandaer 35W boasts a 10,000mAh capacity, offering multiple charges for most smartphones. A key feature is the integrated magnetic ring, designed to work seamlessly with Meizu’s Pandaer magnetic ecosystem as well with MagSafe devices. This allows for effortless charging – simply snap your phone onto the power bank and watch it get a battery boost to take you through an entire weekend… and then maybe some more.

Designer: Meizu

Rotate your iPhone while charging and you can benefit from the Standby Mode feature announced at last year’s WWDC.

Beyond magnetic convenience, the Pandaer 35W offers a traditional USB-C port for wired charging, supporting up to 35W output. This can significantly reduce charging time for devices that support fast charging protocols. The power bank also boasts 15W wireless charging, making it compatible with a wider range of devices. For users who need to juggle multiple devices, the Pandaer 35W allows for simultaneous wired and wireless charging.

The power bank is built with a user-friendly experience in mind. A built-in kickstand folds out to prop your phone up for comfortable video watching or gaming. A large digital display keeps you informed on the remaining battery level and charging status. Safety is also prioritized, with the Pandaer 35W adhering to safety standards and incorporating nine layers of protection, including overcharge, over-discharge, and temperature control.

The Pandaer 35W’s 19.7mm slim design and smooth arc shape make it comfortable to carry around. An additional perk is the integrated magnet, allowing you to stick the power bank to metal surfaces for easy storage or hands-free charging on the go. This could be particularly useful on airplanes or while traveling by train.

Priced at a highly affordable 199 yuan (around $27), the Meizu Pandaer 35W offers a compelling feature set for those seeking a convenient and versatile power bank solution. Meizu seems to indicate that their upcoming phones will be a part of this magnetic ecosystem, which reinforces the reason for them to build out magnetic accessories for their own devices.

The post Meizu Pandaer 35W: A MagSafe 10,000mAh Power Bank with Built-in Stand for Docked Charging first appeared on Yanko Design.

Isn’t it funny that somehow we went from universal remotes in the early 2000s to suddenly having these complicated hubs to connect all the devices in our smart homes? I won’t lie but talking to a hub isn’t as great as it promised to be. It’s a lot easier to point a remote at something and press a button than to tell Alexa to reduce the volume of music or raise the temperature of the AC… and while Amazon, Google, Apple, and the like just think hubs are the answer, one company is reverting back to the remote days. The Haptique RS90 is perhaps the world’s first universal remote controller designed to operate practically any wireless or smart device you’ve got around you. It uses a combination of infrared, WiFi, and Bluetooth to interface with devices around your house from smart TVs to Bluetooth speakers, ACs, soundbars, projectors, air purifiers, and even your PS5. You don’t need to talk to a hub, and better still, you don’t need to install twenty apps on your phone to manage multiple devices around your house.

Designer: Cantata

Click Here to Buy Now: $257 (€240) Hurry, only 290 of 500 left. Raised over $490,000 USD.

The Haptique RS90 departs from the clunky look of traditional universal remotes. Instead, it takes on the shape of a smartphone, albeit with physical controls along with a 3.2-inch touchscreen. This display serves as the central hub for navigating menus, controlling smart home features, and even watching tutorials. A well-curated set of essential buttons line the bottom, providing quick access to core functions like volume control, channel surfing, and playback options. This thoughtful blend of touch and physical controls caters to both those who prefer a tactile experience and users who want the ease of a touchscreen. The overall design of the RS90 sticks to a recognizable linear format of most remotes, which gives you a feeling of familiarity. Hold it and you intuitively know how to use it – there’s a minimal learning curve with the controls, and even less so with the touchscreen. The remote is sleek without being too sleek – it’s less likely to get lost, thanks to a tilted design that makes it impossible to slide in between sofa cushions. Simultaneously, the tilt allows the screen to face you when you’re holding the remote horizontally – a clever detail that ends up becoming the RS90’s defining iconic silhouette.

The Haptique RS90 isn’t just about controlling your TV – it aspires to be the central nervous system of your entire smart home. It boasts broad infrared (IR) compatibility, allowing it to command traditional TVs, projectors, sound systems, and more. But its true strength lies in its ability to connect with smart home devices too. The RS90 promises seamless integration with popular smart home interfaces like Philips Hue, Home Assistant, Tuya, Sonos, Zigbee, with Homey and Smart Things in the works. The remote can directly control popular streaming services like Netflix and Spotify, or devices like Apple TV and Amazon Fire Stick, eliminating the need to juggle multiple apps or even actual remotes. The list goes on, with integrations planned for Roku, and game consoles like the PS5 and Nvidia Shield too!

Tactile buttons (with backlights) provide a traditional remote control experience

With great power, as the saying goes, also comes great responsibility. Having a centralized remote for all your smart home gizmos also means needing to make sure your 12-year-old doesn’t go messing with devices around the house. The remote boasts fingerprint-based security, allowing you to pretty much lock it the way you would a smartphone (available in the higher-tier model). Aside from locking your remote, you can also personalize its UIs with macros and shortcuts (something even smartphone apps don’t let you do) to ensure that you have every possible command right under your fingertips. After all, nothing feels more frustrating than fumbling with a remote trying to figure out basic functions, right?

The Haptique RS90 arrives at a pivotal time in the smart home revolution. While it doesn’t currently support Matter, the new industry-wide standard for smart home communication, it demonstrates a clear understanding of the need for interconnectivity. Thankfully, the developers have indicated that Matter support is planned for future updates. This future-proofing ensures that the RS90 won’t become obsolete as the smart home landscape continues to evolve.

While discussing the battery life of a remote control seems pretty trivial, the RS90 is clearly more than your average remote control. Given how much functionality it packs, it also arms itself with a 2000mAh battery that keeps it going for days (the small screen helps reduce battery drain too). To charge your remote, the RS90 is also accompanied by a slick charging hub that lets you simply dock your controller when it needs a battery boost. This also means your remote is less likely to get lost because you aren’t carelessly leaving it around the house.

The Haptique RS90 ships in two variants – the regular RS90 itself with 1GB RAM, 2.4 GHz WiFi, Android 8.10.0, Bluetooth 4.1 (and BLE), and a Quad Core ARM chip. Alternatively, the higher-tier RS90x model ships with 2GB RAM, Dual-band WiFi, Android 12, Bluetooth 5.0 (and BLE), an Octa Core ARM chipset, and the fingerprint sensor to help you lock your remote. Personally, the RS90x just seems like a better future-proofed option, running newer OS on more powerful hardware. Smart homes aren’t going anywhere, in fact, they’re only going to expand. If hubs annoy you, it makes sense to own the best possible version of a universal smart remote that lasts you for years, doesn’t it? The RS90 starts at $257, while the RS90x has a starting price of $321. Both models come in silver and gun-metal grey options, and ship with the charging dock and USB-C cable included, along with a 3-year warranty.

Click Here to Buy Now: $257 (€240) Hurry, only 290 of 500 left. Raised over $490,000 USD.

The post This All-in-one Universal Remote lets you control your entire Smart Home without Alexa, Google, or Siri first appeared on Yanko Design.

Desktops and laptops were named for their ability to sit on desks and on laps. Tablets, on the other hand, can’t do any sitting of their own and need to be propped up via a stand. Sure, you could buy a fancy case worth hundreds of dollars that packs a keyboard, or a flimsy one that barely props your tablet up… or you could go for the Ryze 360, a stand that lets you angle AND height-adjust your iPad, and even prop it up in both landscape and portrait modes. Relying on a clever design inspired by origami, the Ryze 360 takes the term ‘stand case’ to new heights, no pun intended. Use the case to prop your iPad up at surface level, or fold the flap to give your iPad a 3-inch height boost, turning it into a makeshift monitor that you can look at without straining your neck. The Ryze 360 also has a swiveling design that lets you rotate your iPad to landscape or portrait orientations – something you wish your current iPad case-stand did.

Designer: Amanda Chan

Click Here to Buy Now: $44.91 $49.90 (Use coupon code “YANKO-UNIQ10” to get 10% off). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hours!

The Ryze 360 builds on the success of its predecessor, the Ryze. Originally designed to give the iPad its own protective case and support stand, Ryze managed to do what most stands couldn’t – elevated docking. Almost every case stand (even the one I have on my iPad Pro M2 right now) gives you the ability to rest your tablet at a variety of angles, ranging from nearly horizontal to diagonal, and nearly vertical. Ryze did that too, while allowing for one more position – docking at a height… and the Ryze 360 retains that clever ability with one more trick up its sleeve, portrait/landscape switching.

The case comes with a faux-leather PU exterior that both gives the iPad its distinct leather-bound book-like feel, while protecting it from bumps and scratches. A crease pattern on the front flap guides you into setting up the Ryze’s stand. There are 3 angles you can choose from, depending on what you use your iPad for (doodling requires a lower angle, Facetime requires a higher front-facing angle), and a special fold lets you prop your iPad up at a height, raising it to match your eye-level so you don’t bend your neck while viewing the tablet. In this elevated mode, you can also rotate your iPad freely, alternating between landscape and portrait modes depending on what you use your iPad for.

The Ryze 360 comes in four colors – black, gray, lichen green, and caramel, and is compatible with both 11″ and 13″ models of the 2024 iPad Air and iPad Pro. The tablets are protected by a polycarbonate shell on which the faux PU leather is mounted. A magnetic flap holds the front lid of the case in place, preventing it from accidentally opening on its own, while also protecting/holding the Apple Pencil Pro in place as it’s docked on the side of the iPad. The Ryze 360 starts at $49.90, but YD readers get a 10% discount using the coupon code YANKO-UNIQ10.

Click Here to Buy Now: $44.91 $49.90 (Use coupon code “YANKO-UNIQ10” to get 10% off). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hours!

The post The Ryze 360 iPad Case transforms your tablet into an elevated 4K monitor that fits in your bag first appeared on Yanko Design.

This clever little hack basically turns the Rabbit R1 into what it originally was – an Android device – albeit without the limited interface and shoddy AI abilities. YouTuber ‘HowToMen’ showed how he loaded Android 13 onto the R1, and the results are frankly surprising. The touchscreen now works, you can load almost every conceivable app, you can send SMSes, use the camera to take photos/videos or better still, pair it with Google Lens to tap into Google’s AI chops. The scroll wheel now becomes a volume scroller, and heck, the entire device just feels a little more redeemed from its failed past. If you’ve got a Rabbit R1, here’s a clever little trick to make it a little more useful just in case you weren’t happy with its capabilities before.

Designer: HowToMen

After disastrous reviews from the tech community, Humane and Rabbit saw their street cred evaporate almost overnight. Humane ended up folding entirely, trying to sell its entire operation to any buyer. Rabbit, on the other hand, has been a little more steadfast… although people who own the R1 never seem to recommend getting it. The result, dwindling sales and the prospect of a total device failure. For people who already ended up buying the R1, instead of being left with a pretty useless device that doesn’t do half the things it promises, it just makes sense to boot Android onto it. After all, the R1 is basically a highly stripped-down version of Android running just an AI app. Turns out, if you want to jailbreak your Rabbit R1, it isn’t too difficult. You can easily load Android 13 onto the device and use it just the way you would a smartphone.

HowToMen basically jailbroke the Rabbit R1 and installed Android 13 on it. Once done, he installed the Lawnchair launcher to give it a distinct Android-esque aesthetic while adding widgets that he developed himself. The result is basically a tiny Android phone that does everything except make actual calls (although someone on Twitter did demonstrate the ability to call people too). To be honest, it robs the R1 of its Rabbit-esque essence… but then again, I’m an advocate for the ‘if you buy it you own it and you can do whatever you want to it’ school of thought.

What you’re left with is a pretty capable device that lets you do much more than you previously could with the R1. It has every feature you’d expect from the Android OS, including a dropdown control center, a working camera (although the camera’s direction has to be toggled from the dropdown control center). The camera can be made to face forwards, backwards, or even downwards as a privacy filter.

The camera interface isn’t too detailed, and just lets you either click photos or record videos.

The screen regains its touch-ability, something that Rabbit disabled for the most part. You can navigate it the way you would any Android phone. The speakers at the back work just fine, and a built-in microphone lets you record voice notes. Notably, the scroller on the side now becomes a volume wheel, and the lock button works just as advertised. Pop a SIM card in and you can even do things like send SMSes to friends. I’m not sure if WhatsApp would work on the device, but that’s worth a try too.

The procedure is pretty simple, from what HowToMen describes. It involves installing Android onto the device from a GitHub repository, and then you can add launchers to your device to customize its appearance. There are, however, two caveats – for starters, that 2-inch screen feels like a massive downgrade, giving you an Android experience that feels like something from 2014. The second, is the massive reduction in battery life. Instead of running just the Rabbit AI app, you’re now running Android 13, with all its apps, a colorful interface, and 128 gigs of storage that let you really use the R1 like a phone – that takes a toll on the battery life of the device, making it last significantly less than the R1 originally would. That being said, it’s still a bit of a win, given that you can do much more with the device than you previously could. For a $199 device, it’s quite an achievement, isn’t it?! Even budget Android phones aren’t that cheap!

The post Got a Rabbit R1? You can now run Android 13 on it and use it like a regular smartphone first appeared on Yanko Design.

For generations, classic games like Uno have brought people together for friendly competition. But for the estimated 300 million people worldwide with color blindness, these games haven’t always been accessible. Mattel, the iconic toymaker behind these beloved games, is making a significant stride towards inclusivity. They recently announced that by the end of 2024, 80% of their global games portfolio will be colorblind accessible, with that number rising to 90% by the end of 2025.

Designer: Mattel

This update isn’t a radical overhaul. Instead, it involves subtle design tweaks that ensure gameplay isn’t hindered by color vision deficiency. For instance, Uno will now feature symbols alongside the traditional colors and numbers. A square represents blue, a circle red, a diamond yellow, and a triangle green. This way, players can identify cards based on the symbol without relying solely on color. Similarly, Blokus, a strategic board game, will incorporate patterns on its colored game pieces for better differentiation. These changes extend to other popular Mattel games like Dos, Phase 10, Skip-Bo, and Ker Plunk.

Partnering with ColorADD, a group specializing in colorblind-friendly design solutions, Mattel demonstrates a commitment to thoughtful implementation. This isn’t just about adding symbols; it’s about collaborating with experts to ensure the updates are effective for players with color blindness. The new features go beyond the games themselves. Updated instruction sheets will include dedicated sections for colorblind players, and the packaging will sport a special badge featuring a multicolored eye icon for easy identification.

The post 80% of Mattel Games will be made Color-Blind Accessible by the end of 2024 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Motorola just announced its Android-based device tracker, and I’m sure if you saw it too, you’d have the same thoughts as I did. It looks very familiar… Almost too familiar. Modeled precisely on Apple’s AirTag, the Moto Tag is a tiny tracking device that works within the Android OS, allowing you to effectively and accurately track your belongings. When I first saw the Moto Tag, I found myself feeling a familiar sense of smugness at the fact that an Android company copied Apple (they did with the removal of the headphone jack, with the camera notch)… but then I remembered that the inverse is also true. The WWDC event was pretty much Apple announcing Android-like features for the iPhone, and rebranding Artificial Intelligence to Apple Intelligence. The catch there was that Apple took its sweet time to implement these features, but also did a better job. If you extend that benefit of doubt the other way, it becomes a lot easier to appreciate the Moto Tag for what it brings to the table.

Designer: Motorola

Like the AirTag, the Moto Tag is a small, circular disc slightly larger than a quarter. It boasts a user-replaceable CR2032 battery that Motorola claims will last a full year on a single charge. While it lacks a built-in keyring loop (there’s a clever reason why it copies the AirTag so shamelessly), it integrates seamlessly with the revamped Google Find My Device network. This ensures easy pairing with countless Android smartphones, allowing users to locate and even make the Moto Tag play a sound for easier retrieval.

Looking towards the future, Motorola has equipped the Moto Tag with ultrawideband (UWB) technology. This paves the way for “precision tracking,” a feature that will provide detailed on-screen instructions for finding the tracker when you’re in close proximity. While similar to Apple’s Precision Finding with AirTags, this functionality currently awaits an update to Google’s Find My Device network.

However, the Moto Tag boasts a unique feature that sets it apart: a built-in button. This button, cleverly placed where the “M” of the Motorola logo sits, can be pressed to make your paired smartphone ring. This comes in handy in those moments when you’ve misplaced your phone but have the Moto Tag within reach.

The multi-functionality doesn’t stop there. The button can also be used to trigger the camera shutter or recording button on Motorola phones, or any Android phone for that matter, making capturing content on the go a breeze. Finally, the Moto Tag is IP67 rated for dust, water, and dirt resistance, ensuring it can withstand everyday bumps and spills without compromising its tracking abilities.

But before you bash Motorola for being unimaginative or blatantly copying a product’s shape and size, there truly IS a clever reason why Motorola probably chose to make their tracking device look almost exactly like their competitor. Apple’s AirTag already has a flourishing accessory ecosystem. From holders and hangers to carabiners and even stickers that let you attach your AirTag to the inner lining of suitcases and laptop bags, the AirTag has no shortage of accessories to accompany it… and by copying the AirTag’s form factor, Motorola’s ensured absolute compatibility of every one of these accessories with the Moto Tag too. It’s genius, to leverage your competitor’s success to boost your own product. Isn’t it?!

The post Motorola just debuted its AirTag Killer with Android-compatible tracking and a clever extra feature first appeared on Yanko Design.

The devices and gear we own today are vastly different from the ones our grandparents owned. Back in the day, products could be pulled apart, tinkered with, and repaired without much of a fuss. Radios lasted decades, toasters from that era still work today, but the devices of today are a little too complicated to repair or tinker with. In fact, the companies that make these devices don’t even want you looking under the hood – try tinkering with a Tesla car and the company can remotely disable your entire vehicle for tampering. Mess with an Apple phone and its warranty gets voided. If you bought a Spotify Car Thing, regardless of your efforts, the company is planning on bricking the device globally at the end of this year.

The reality is that we aren’t intimately familiar with the stuff we own today, and it’s time we changed that. The folks at Rotate Watches believe the only way to change this is to make tinkering more accessible. This beginner-friendly 50+ piece kit lets you build your own working, automatic watch movement from scratch. Modeled on the Seiko NH36, this kit has everything you need to be an amateur horologist. A guide helps take you through the various processes, and at the end, not only do you have a working watch that you can keep on your table to tell the date and time, but you also inherit an innate understanding of how timepieces work… and that’s just priceless, isn’t it?!

Designer: Rotate Watches

The Seiko NH36 is a popular and reliable automatic movement known for its accuracy and durability. With a diameter of 29.36mm and a height of 5.32mm, it’s a compact powerhouse featuring 24 jewels for reduced friction and a smooth operation. This kit includes the movement itself, along with a set of specialized tools to handle the delicate watch parts. Screwdrivers, tweezers, finger cots, and pliers are all included, ensuring you have everything you need to handle the intricate components.

One of the highlights of this kit is the beginner-friendly guide. Rotate, the company behind the kit, understands that watchmaking can be intimidating for newcomers. Their detailed instructions break down the disassembly and assembly process into clear steps, accompanied by numbered pictures for easy reference. The guide goes beyond just the mechanics, explaining the purpose of each piece and offering helpful tips and tricks throughout the process. For those who prefer a greater challenge, Rotate also offers the option to receive the movement disassembled. This allows experienced hobbyists to dive right into the reassembly process, testing their watchmaking skills.

The post DIY kit lets you build your own Seiko watch movement from scratch… and it works! first appeared on Yanko Design.