The Power Elf I from TESSAN starts its life looking like a modest bedside box. Then the magnetic wireless panel hinges upward, your iPhone snaps into place on the MagSafe pad, and the whole unit transforms into a proper charging station with a phone stand, two AC outlets, and three USB ports all sharing the same compact base. The hinge is the design’s central idea, a single mechanical move that changes the object’s identity entirely depending on how far you open it.

TESSAN designed the Power Elf I with two distinct use contexts in mind: the desk, where the upright position turns it into a functional workstation accessory, and the nightstand, where it folds flat and keeps every device topped up through the night without consuming half the surface. Both modes feel deliberate rather than incidental, which is the difference between a product that was designed and one that was just assembled.

Designer: Zhuhai Tessan Power Technology Co., Ltd.

Six devices charge simultaneously on the Power Elf I, a number that sounds ambitious until you look at the port layout and realize TESSAN actually planned for it. Two Type-B AC outlets handle anything that still demands a full plug. Two USB-C ports and one USB-A port cover the wired cable ecosystem. The wireless phone pad sits on the hinged module, and the detachable wireless watch charger extends outward on a side cradle, handling Apple Watch independently. Every slot has a designated device in mind, and none of them compete for the same surface area.

Stepless angle adjustment lets it tilt anywhere up to 65 degrees, which TESSAN identifies as the optimal hands-free viewing angle, and the system holds position without clicking between fixed stops. That kind of continuous adjustment is more expensive to engineer than a two-position hinge, and its presence here signals that the design team was thinking about actual use rather than spec-sheet bullet points. The watch charger is detachable and can operate independently once the main unit is powered, meaning it functions as a standalone puck when you need it away from the base.

The entire unit is built from V0-rated fire retardant engineering plastics, the highest flammability resistance classification for plastics used in electronic enclosures, with a metal spray coating applied over the surface for tactile and visual quality. At 130mm by 130mm by 40mm when folded flat, the footprint is genuinely compact for everything it contains. The slate and charcoal finish, visible across all four product images, reads as intentionally neutral, designed to disappear into a desk or nightstand setup rather than announce itself. The 65W fast charging output covers a laptop at full speed as the primary device, with intelligent power distribution across the remaining ports when the full ecosystem is connected simultaneously.

The post The Folding Charging Hub That Charges Your Phone, Watch, and Laptop Without Taking Over Your Desk first appeared on Yanko Design.

How often during a presentation have you felt your message deserved a more expressive way of reaching the audience? Logitech is addressing exactly that challenge with the new Spotlight 2 Presenter. Designed to be equally effective in hybrid and in-person environments, the presentation remote gives speakers multiple ways to direct attention and emphasize key points, helping transform slides from static visuals into more engaging experiences.

For years, Logitech’s Spotlight presenter has been one of the most recognizable tools for professionals who regularly stand before an audience. Rather than functioning as a simple slide clicker, it introduced digital highlighting and on-screen pointing features that helped presenters guide attention more effectively. With the new Spotlight 2 Presenter, the company is expanding that idea further by combining audience engagement tools with features designed to help presenters stay calm and confident while speaking. Alongside this advanced presenter, Logitech also launched the portable Mobil Fold to take on the Microsoft Arc mouse.

Designer: Logitech

At first glance, Spotlight 2 retains the familiar minimalist design language of its predecessor, but it introduces a force-sensitive interface with integrated haptic feedback. The tactile responses serve multiple purposes during presentations. Users receive subtle vibrations when interacting with digital highlighting tools, creating a more direct connection between the presenter and the content being displayed. Logitech has also incorporated guided breathing exercises that use haptic pulses to help speakers regulate their breathing before stepping on stage, addressing a common challenge faced by many public speakers.

The biggest enhancement comes from the expanded set of digital highlighting tools. Spotlight 2 allows presenters to direct attention using several visual effects, including Spotlight, Magnify, Squarelight, and Annotate modes. These tools make it easier to emphasize key details, zoom into specific content, or mark up information during a presentation. Alongside the digital effects, the presenter also includes a digital pointer and a Class 1 laser pointer, providing flexibility across different presentation environments. The system is designed to work equally well for in-person, virtual, and hybrid presentations where traditional laser pointers may not always be visible to remote participants.

Via the Logi Options+ software, users can assign shortcuts and frequently used actions to the presenter’s dedicated Action Button. Functions such as starting or pausing a presentation, muting audio, or triggering other custom commands can be configured to match individual workflows. This level of personalization helps presenters maintain focus without needing to return to their computer during a session.

Compatibility remains broad, ensuring Spotlight 2 can integrate into a variety of professional setups. It supports Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Apple Keynote on both Windows and macOS environments. Connectivity options include Bluetooth and an included USB-C receiver, allowing users to switch easily between devices while maintaining a stable wireless connection. The presenter offers a wireless operating range of up to 30 meters, giving speakers freedom to move around the room while remaining in control of their content.

Battery performance has also been designed with busy schedules in mind. Logitech claims up to three months of use on a full charge, while a one-minute quick charge provides roughly three hours of presentation time. This rapid charging capability helps reduce the risk of being caught with a depleted device just before an important meeting or keynote.

Certain Spotlight 2 color variants use plastic components made with 43 percent post-consumer recycled materials, while the aluminium parts are produced using renewable energy sources. The Spotlight 2 Presenter priced at $129.99 will be available globally in Graphite and Sand finishes, with Light Lilac and Black offered in select markets only.

The post Logitech Spotlight 2 Presenter doubles as guided breathing coach to calm down nerves first appeared on Yanko Design.

As a newbie, how many times have you shunned the idea of owning a starter-level microphone just because of the complexities involved? Always wishing to have a simpler connecting protocol for ease of use. Razer wants to address this problem with the new Seiren V3 Pro microphone targeted towards streamers, creators, gamers, and anyone who wants a pro-level mic on the fly.

The microphone comes with support for USB-C, which simplifies things beyond comprehension for amateur content creators. Topping the cake is the XLR connectivity mode, which lets advanced users use the microphone with their existing equipment. Razer has demonstrated its eagerness to address the burning issues of the gaming and content creation communities, and this new release is no different.

Designer: Razer

Staying firmly in the XLR microphone space, even though it is targeted at amateur users, the microphone is ultra-utilitarian with its versatile hybrid connectivity options. The device aids users in beginning their content creation journey with a basic USB-C setup and then eventually upgrading to pro-level equipment like audio mixers and interfaces without any barriers. Another perk of the latest Razer offering is the $250 price, which can be otherwise be another major hurdle if even a respectable high-grade piece of equipment has to be acquired at the start of your creative journey. As per Razer’s global head of its lifestyle division, Addie Tan, “With the Seiren V3 Pro, we wanted to give creators a single mic that grows with them.”

V3 Pro solves a very basic problem with pro mics having the XLR analog connector, like their previous version – they have to run via an audio mixer or interface before being routed to a computer. For that very reason newbies, choose basic level USB-C mics for their arsenal. Razer gets the best of both worlds with this release, and there’s more to it. Another pressing reason to buy the Seiren V3 Pro is the built-in DSP, which works with both modes to deliver great output. This is important because high-quality microphones often require a lot of fine-tuning to get the desired results.

At the software level, the microphone has an AI noise remover and baked-in options that eliminate much of the tweaking needed. The device has a compressor, limiter and expander to make possible the smart tuning on the fly. At the hardware level, the mic has a pop filter and a built-in shock absorber for further clearing up the final output. The zinc unibody housing of the unit has a gain knob and mute button for ease of use. For the tech-savvy, this microphone has a 30mm dynamic range capsule and a cardioid polar pattern. The frequency range covered on this one is from 50Hz to 16kHz. The 32-bit float recording mode is also useful as it prevents clipping in audio, especially during high peak gains or sudden podcast reactions.

Content creators who look for minimalist gadgets without sacrificing functionality will love the small gain control at the bottom and the tap-to-mute sensor button, which comes in useful during live podcasts. The inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack lets the user hear the final output for performing any fine-tuning if required. To finish it off, the toned-down RGB lighting ring (compared to the predecessor) shows the real-time visual feedback about the gain, mute, and peak status. This can also be tweaked using the Razer Synapse app for complete control.

The post Razer Seiren V3 Pro is a studio grade plug-and-play microphone for newbies and pros first appeared on Yanko Design.

Honor unveiled its latest foldable, the Honor Magic V6, at MWC 2026 back in March. Now, three months later, the phone is starting its global rollout in Malaysia and Singapore. That shift from launch event to retail availability is where the real test begins, because foldables have reached a point where being thin or flashy is no longer enough on its own.

The Magic V6 does not completely rethink what Honor has already been doing with its book-style foldables. Instead, it builds on a formula that already worked well, pushing it further with a bigger battery, a slim and comfortable design, and a hardware package that feels unusually complete for a foldable. After spending time with it, the Honor Magic V6 feels less like a dramatic reinvention and more like a careful refinement of what Honor already got right.

Designer: HONOR

Aesthetics

Foldables still have a habit of looking oddly cautious. For devices built around one of the most dramatic ideas in modern consumer tech, they often arrive in the safest shades possible. Black, grey, silver, maybe a muted blue if a brand is feeling adventurous. The color choice itself is usually limited, which can make many foldables feel more sterile than stylish. Honor is one of the few brands that has tried to bring a little more personality into the category, and the Magic V6 sticks with that idea.

At first glance, the Magic V6 looks very similar to the Magic V5. The overall silhouette is familiar, the octagonal camera module is still there, and even the color direction feels like a continuation rather than a reset. This is clearly not a redesign for the sake of it. Honor seems comfortable with the look it has established for the Magic V line, so the V6 feels more like a polished follow-up than a fresh visual statement.

The finishes do a lot of the work in giving the phone its character. Honor offers the Magic V6 in four colors, and they feel more thought-through than the usual selection in this category. The red version I received is the most striking, with a soft-touch finish, a subtle hairline pattern, a gold frame, and a matching gold camera ring that make it feel a little warmer and more expressive than most foldables. The gold version goes in a different direction with a crisscross pattern that gives the back more texture and a slightly dressier look. If you want something more restrained, the white and black versions are there too.

Honor has also paid attention to the accessories. Each color comes with a matching case with a built-in kickstand, while the optional Special Edition case adds a bit more flair. Designed with Yoni Alter, it uses red aramid fiber and a colorful mosaic-style horse motif, while also adding built-in magnetic support. It is a small detail overall, but it suits the phone. The Magic V6 may not change Honor’s foldable design language, but it does show that the company is still putting real thought into how this series looks and feels.

Ergonomics

The ergonomics feel more like a refinement of the previous model, and I think that is a good thing. To me, the Magic V5 was already the most ergonomic book-style foldable around, so Honor did not really need to rethink the formula. What it has done instead is rework the internal architecture to fit what is currently the biggest battery in a foldable phone while still keeping the Magic V6 among the thinnest in the category.

There are slight differences depending on the color. The white version is the thinnest and lightest, measuring 156.7 x 74.5 x 8.75 mm when folded and just 4.0 mm when unfolded, with a weight of 219g. The other color variants are slightly thicker at 9.0 mm folded and 4.1 mm unfolded, and they weigh 224g.

In use, the Magic V6 still feels like one of the most comfortable foldables around. The hinge feels secure and firm, and opening and closing it feels fluid and well-judged. The frame is now flat, but the edges are ever so slightly curved, so it does not dig into your hand. The volume rocker and the power button, which also doubles as the fingerprint scanner, are placed where they are easy to reach. You can also customize the double press on the power button, which is a nice little touch in daily use.

What I like most is that the Magic V6 does not really feel like a typical large book-style foldable when it is closed. Folded shut, it feels surprisingly close to a regular slab phone, which makes it much easier to use casually throughout the day. It is this kind of refinement that makes the Magic V6 so easy to live with day to day.

Performance

The Magic V6 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which puts it right where a flagship should be in 2026. It is paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, although other configurations are available depending on the market. There is no real issue here with multitasking or with playing demanding AAA titles. Apps open quickly, moving between tasks feels smooth, and the phone has the kind of power that lets the larger display feel properly useful rather than overambitious.

Software is often where foldables either come together or start to feel more awkward than they should. The Magic V6 runs MagicOS 10 based on Android 16, and as with Honor’s recent devices, the focus seems to be on giving users plenty of AI features and cross-platform connectivity. Honor is leaning quite hard into interconnectivity with Apple devices. Using Honor Connect, the Magic V6 supports two-way notification sync with iPhones and iPads, while an Apple Watch can display messages and notifications from both devices. Through Honor WorkStation, the phone can also connect to a Mac and act as an extension of the desktop environment, with support for wireless screen casting, content transfer, and one-tap file sharing, including original-format Moving Photo.

On a foldable, though, the more important question is whether the software makes good use of the larger screen, and here the Magic V6 feels well equipped. Multitasking on the V6 is solid. The inner display gives you enough room to run apps side by side without things feeling cramped, and the phone has more than enough power to keep everything moving smoothly. On a device like this, that matters just as much as raw specs, because a foldable only really makes sense if the larger screen feels genuinely useful in everyday use.

Honor has equipped the Magic V6 with a 6.52-inch 2420 x 1080 AMOLED outer screen and a 7.95-inch 2352 x 2172 AMOLED inner display, and both are vivid, sharp, and fluid. Both panels support a 1 to 120Hz LTPO refresh rate, with up to 5,000 nits on the inner display and 6,000 nits on the outer, alongside eye comfort features such as 4320Hz PWM dimming. In use, the displays are excellent. The crease is barely noticeable, though not quite as invisible as on Oppo’s Find N6. The stereo speakers are also plenty loud and punchy, which suits the phone well for video and games.

The Magic V6 comes with a 50MP main camera with an f/1.6 aperture and OIS, a 64MP telephoto camera with an f/2.5 aperture, a 1/2-inch sensor, and OIS, and a 50MP ultrawide. On paper, that is a solid setup for a foldable, especially in a category where cameras have often felt like one of the first compromises.

In practice, the main and telephoto cameras are both strong for a foldable. Images come out sharp, colors are pleasing, and the overall look tends to lean a little on the brighter side. The ultrawide is satisfactory, though it does not stand out in quite the same way as the other two cameras.

Battery life is one of the Magic V6’s biggest selling points. Honor has managed to fit a 6,660mAh silicon-carbon battery into a foldable that is still among the thinnest in its class, while the 1TB version in China goes even further with a 7,150mAh battery. That is a huge battery even by slab flagship standards, never mind in a foldable.

Charging is strong too, with support for 80W wired and 66W wireless charging on the global model. A foldable this slim with this much battery capacity and this level of charging support is still unusual, and it is a big part of what makes the Magic V6 feel so easy to trust as an everyday device.

Sustainability

When it comes to foldables, durability can still be a concern for some people. Honor is clearly aware of that. The outer screen uses silicon nitride-based Nano Crystal Shield glass with up to 5,600 ultra-precise coating layers, while the inner display uses UTG flexible glass and is said to be 33 percent more impact resistant than the Magic V5. It is also rated for 500,000 folds.

The Magic V6 also comes with IP68 and IP69 ratings, which is the kind of protection you would more often expect from a slab flagship than a foldable. Honor is also promising seven major OS updates, which helps strengthen the long-term ownership story. What would make that sustainability angle more complete is greater use of sustainable materials, which is still an area where Honor could do more.

Value

Value is always a tricky part of the conversation with foldables because these devices are expensive by nature. No one is buying something like the Magic V6 because it is a bargain. Honor is beginning its wider rollout in Malaysia and Singapore. In Malaysia, the Magic V6 is priced at RM 7,699 for the 16GB RAM and 512GB storage version, which works out to roughly US$1,920 at a simple direct conversion. At that price, it is still very much a premium purchase, but the hardware does a lot to justify it. You are getting a slim and comfortable design, strong performance, large and bright displays, a huge battery, fast charging, and a durability story that feels more complete than what many foldables have offered in the past.

Value still depends on what you want from a foldable. If battery life, ergonomics, and high-end hardware matter most to you, the Magic V6 makes a very strong case for itself. If software polish is your top priority, some rivals may still feel a little more mature. Even so, the Magic V6 feels like a foldable that gives you a lot of substance for the money, not just novelty.

Verdict

The Magic V6 feels like Honor refining a formula that was already working well. It does not try to reinvent the book-style foldable, but it improves on the parts that matter most. The design still has personality, the ergonomics are excellent, the displays are strong, and the battery is genuinely standout for this category. The main and telephoto cameras are also better than what many people might expect from a foldable, which helps round out the overall package.

It is not without a few caveats, though. The software still does not feel quite as polished as the very best in the category, and the price places it firmly in ultra-premium territory. Even so, the bigger picture is very easy to like. If you want a foldable that feels slim, practical, powerful, and unusually easy to live with, the Magic V6 makes a very convincing case for itself.

The post Honor Magic V6 Review: Big battery, slim body, refined experience first appeared on Yanko Design.

The first thing you notice about FLIP is the texture. The BRICKS panels that make up the surface are three-dimensional, each unit raised and grooved in a pattern drawn from the form of actual building bricks. Up close, the natural hemp and flax version has the kind of warm, sandy grain you’d expect to find in a high-end material library rather than a commercial office. The blue rPET version reads more like a dense, structured felt. Both are bold design choices, and neither looks like anything already sitting in a conference room near you.

FLIP is a modular acoustic wall system designed by Anna Vonhausen and Maciej Bidermann for Polish brand VANK, and it earned a Green Product Award 2026 for good reason. The premise is straightforward: instead of installing fixed partitions or accepting the noise chaos of open-plan offices, you build walls that move, reconfigure, and open up exactly when you need them to. The mechanics behind the name are literal. Individual panel segments are hinged so they can pivot open, creating access points within what would otherwise be a solid wall. No door frame required, no architectural work, just a flip.

Designers: Anna Vonhausen & Maciej Bidermann

The modular base system rolls on castors, which means entire configurations can shift whenever a space needs to change. You can build a straight wall, an L-shape, a U-shaped focus nook, or a more enclosed collaborative zone depending on how you connect the screens. The panels link together using a visible horizontal rail system that runs between each row, and those rails do double duty as mounting tracks for a range of black metal accessories. The shelves sit cleanly within the panel grid without protruding awkwardly or breaking the visual rhythm of the wall.

The accessory system is one of the more considered details in the whole design. Small angular shelves clip directly onto the rails and sit flush against the brick surface, giving users a place to rest a lamp, a plant, or whatever makes a temporary workspace feel less temporary. It shifts FLIP from a partition into something closer to a personal environment. The surface is also pin-friendly, meaning the fabric panels pull double duty as a work wall where mood boards, documents, and references can go up without any additional hardware.

The curtain option adds another layer of flexibility. A slim overhead rail can be fitted to the top of certain configurations, suspending a draped curtain that softens the threshold between zones. It doesn’t seal a space off completely, but it creates enough visual and acoustic separation to make a focus nook feel genuinely sheltered rather than just screened. That distinction matters more than it sounds.

On the acoustic side, the three-dimensional surface structure isn’t just decorative. The raised geometry of the BRICKS panels disperses sound waves rather than absorbing them in a single flat plane, achieving a sound absorption coefficient of αw = 0.90. The double-sided construction means both faces of the wall are performing at the same time, and the acoustic performance has been confirmed through scientific modeling rather than just cited on a spec sheet. For a mobile, reconfigurable system, that’s a serious number.

The color range deserves attention too. Natural hemp sits at one end of the palette, a warm sand tone with visible fibre that shifts in different light. At the other end are deep charcoal and vivid yellow rPET options, along with mid-tone grey and a saturated blue. Mixing finishes within a single configuration, which the system fully supports, produces results that look intentional rather than accidental.

FLIP won its award in the Workspace category, but the system is flexible enough to work in retail, hospitality, or any environment that needs fast spatial zoning without permanent construction. Vonhausen and Bidermann built something that performs well, looks even better, and treats the office wall not as background infrastructure but as a designed object worth your full attention. That’s a harder brief to fulfill than it sounds, and FLIP pulls it off.

The post An Office Wall That Moves, Opens, and Looks Like Art first appeared on Yanko Design.

If you’ve ever wished your lamp could double as a sculpture, or that a piece of Venetian craft could actually travel with you from room to room rather than stay anchored to the nearest outlet, Flowers in Wonderland might just ruin every other lamp you’ve ever owned. Not dramatically. Just quietly, the way really good things do.

Designed by Alessandra Baldereschi for Multiforme, the collection is made up of six table lamps, each shaped like an unopened flower bud and hand-blown in artistic Murano glass. They come in soft pastel tones, they’re touch-activated, and they glow. Quietly, beautifully, and completely without a cord.

Designer: Alessandra Baldereschi

That last part matters more than it sounds. Portable lighting has been around for a while, but most of it still skews practical or industrial. A camping lantern. A rechargeable desk light you forget to charge. The cordless lamp category hasn’t exactly been known for elegance, or for the kind of visual impact that makes you actually want to own one. Baldereschi’s Flowers in Wonderland steps into that gap with a very different idea of what a portable lamp can look and feel like. These are objects you place somewhere because they’re beautiful, and the light just happens to be part of that.

The Murano glass angle is worth sitting with. Venice’s glassblowing tradition goes back to the 13th century, when the city relocated its glassmakers to the island of Murano to reduce the risk of fire in its densely packed streets. The craft has stayed there ever since, producing work that ranges from decorative to ceremonial to, yes, commercially mass-produced. What Multiforme does differently is keep the handmade core alive while pushing the design language somewhere genuinely contemporary. Each piece in the collection is hand-blown, which means no two are exactly alike, and the light that filters through the glass carries a warmth and depth that manufactured materials simply can’t replicate.

Baldereschi herself is a Milanese designer with a sensibility that’s harder to pin down than most. She trained at Domus Academy in Milan, one of the more rigorous design schools in Europe, and then spent time in Japan developing ceramic tableware with companies in the Gifu district. That combination of Italian craft tradition and Japanese restraint shows up quietly in her work. She brings a precision to how she handles materials, but also a kind of playfulness that keeps things from ever feeling stiff. Her portfolio spans glassware, décor, and lighting, and she’s shown at the Triennale di Milano, the Seoul Design Festival, and the Moss Gallery in New York. She’s not a newcomer with a single viral moment. She’s a designer who’s been building a coherent body of work for decades.

Flowers in Wonderland premiered at Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice, which is already a statement. It then went on to win the Curiouz Award at Venice Design Week 2025, a recognition dedicated to the most innovative projects in contemporary design. The win acknowledged the collection’s ability to combine technology and craftsmanship in a way that doesn’t feel like a compromise. Usually, when a product leans hard into one, it sacrifices the other. Here, the battery-powered portability and the centuries-old glassblowing technique feel like they belong together.

The collection comes in six flower shapes, each capturing a bud that’s almost open. Not fully bloomed, not completely closed. That specific in-between moment is where Baldereschi seems most interested, and it translates beautifully into objects that feel like they’re holding their breath. You want to place them on a windowsill, a dining table, or a nightstand, and then just watch the light shift as the day changes around them.

Lighting design rarely gets the cultural attention it deserves. We spend a lot of time talking about furniture and architecture, and considerably less thinking about how the quality of light in a room actually shapes the way we experience it. A lamp like this makes that conversation unavoidable. You can’t ignore it. You don’t really want to.

The post 6 Murano Glass Lamps That Glow Without a Single Cord first appeared on Yanko Design.

Summer cooking sits at a particular crossroads. The produce is at its best without much intervention, the kitchen gets warm, and the gap between wanting a good meal and actually making one widens every afternoon. Japanese kitchen design has always understood how to close that gap — not by making cooking faster or simpler in a gimmicky sense, but by making the process feel like something worth choosing. These seven tools operate on that principle.

Each one was selected because it shifts how cooking feels, not just what it produces. Some anchor a weekday morning and make the first meal of the day worth setting time aside for. Others make a Saturday evening in the kitchen feel like the destination rather than a precondition. All of them bring a quality of craft to the work that most kitchen drawers simply cannot match, and that quality is exactly what summer cooking needs most.

1. Iron Frying Plate

The Iron Frying Plate removes the step between cooking and serving. Crafted from 1.6mm thick mill scale steel with a detachable wooden handle, it moves from stove to table without a transfer in between. Eggs arrive still sizzling. Fish comes off the heat in the same vessel you cooked it in, retaining the temperature and texture that plating onto a cold ceramic plate quietly destroys. The cook-and-serve design changes how a meal begins and ends, and the pace of eating reflects that shift immediately.

The uncoated surface requires no seasoning before first use and develops natural non-stick properties through regular cooking. The detachable wooden handle attaches and releases with one hand, making the move from burner to table completely fluid. You stop rushing through dinner because the plate is still doing its job while you are still deciding what to eat first. Retained heat changes the pace of a meal in ways that are difficult to explain until you’ve eaten a few of them this way.

Click Here to Buy Now: $69.00

What we like

• The cook-and-serve design preserves the temperature and texture that get lost in any transfer to a separate plate
• The uncoated mill-scale steel develops natural non-stick properties through use, requiring no seasoning and no chemical coatings

What we dislike

• The iron surface stays hot long after cooking ends, requiring careful handling and surface awareness at the table
• One plate handles one serving at a time, so a group meal requires multiple units to work at scale

2. Yoshihiro VG-10 16-Layer Hammered Damascus Nakiri

The nakiri is designed exclusively for vegetables, and that singular focus is what makes it work for summer cooking in a way a standard chef’s knife doesn’t. The flat edge makes full contact with the cutting board on every stroke without the tip-lift of a curved blade, producing a clean, complete cut through cucumber, eggplant, and ripe tomato without the drag most home cooks have accepted as normal. The VG-10 core wrapped in sixteen layers of hammered Damascus steel reduces friction through each cut, so nothing sticks or skids.

The full-tang mahogany handle distributes weight evenly from tip to heel, and after fifteen minutes of prep, you feel that balance in a way that poorly weighted knives never let you forget themselves. Summer produce means a lot of repetitive slicing through high-moisture vegetables, and this knife is built for exactly that kind of sustained work. The hammered Damascus pattern is unique to your specific blade, handcrafted by master artisans and certified for commercial kitchen use. The edge holds far longer than most knives in this category.

What we like

• The flat edge makes full contact with the board on every stroke, producing complete cuts that a curved blade with tip-lift cannot replicate with the same consistency
• The hammered Damascus surface reduces drag through each cut and produces a pattern that is unique to every individual blade

What we dislike

• The nakiri is a specialist vegetable knife and is not designed for meat, fish, or anything with bones
• The Damascus finish requires careful dry storage and periodic maintenance to preserve the layered surface over time

3. Playful Palm Grater

The Playful Palm Grater is shaped like a curled piece of paper and crafted from a single plate of aluminum alloy. It fits in your palm the way you’d hold a stone, close and naturally, rather than the way you hold a box grater, which always feels slightly too large for what it’s doing. That physical closeness changes where your attention goes. You focus on the ingredient and the motion rather than managing an implement that creates more distance from the task than the task actually needs.

For summer cooking, tableside grating transforms garnish preparation from something done in advance and forgotten into something that happens at the table as part of the meal itself. Fresh ginger over cold soba, a small amount of something sharp to cut through a rich sauce, daikon alongside grilled fish. The ergonomic design keeps hands clean and safe from the grater’s surface during use. Compact enough to disappear into any drawer, it adds almost nothing to the counter and changes the experience of finishing a dish.

Click Here to Buy Now: $25.00

What we like

• The palm-sized form changes how grating feels physically, making tableside preparation natural rather than effortful or awkward
• Crafted from a single plate of aluminum alloy, the lightweight construction adds virtually no weight or bulk to your kitchen setup

What we dislike

• The compact size means slower processing for any quantity beyond a tableside garnish amount
• Not suited for large-volume grating or ingredients that require significant pressure to break down

4. Vermicular Musui-Kamado Rice Cooker

The Vermicular Musui-Kamado pairs precise induction heating with a cast iron pot, and the result is rice with a texture and aroma that standard electric cookers consistently fail to produce. The glossy, aromatic quality is something you notice immediately, something guests will notice before you explain it, and something you stop being able to accept mediocre versions of once you’ve eaten it regularly. For summer cooking, this matters across the full range of meals built around a bowl of rice done properly.

The cold rice bowl, the foundation of a casual sushi spread, the side dish anchoring grilled fish: the rice at the center of those meals either earns everything else on the plate or quietly lets it down. The minimalist design and intuitive controls mean the cooker handles the process in the background without demanding your attention or dominating the counter. This is a daily-use investment that improves a broader range of meals than almost any other single kitchen tool.

What we like

• Precise induction heating combined with a cast iron pot produces rice with a consistency and quality that standard electric cookers cannot replicate
• The minimalist design integrates into any kitchen counter without demanding visual attention or commanding the whole surface

What we dislike

• The cast iron pot is heavier than standard cooker inserts and requires careful hand washing and thorough drying after each use
• The premium construction comes at a premium price, making this a considered investment rather than an impulse buy

5. Iga-yaki Donabe Clay Pot

Iga-yaki clay comes from Mie Prefecture in Japan, where local earth has been worked into ceramics for centuries. The porous structure absorbs heat slowly and releases it evenly, which creates a cooking environment that metal pots simply cannot replicate. Rice cooked in a donabe tastes different: sweeter, more aromatic, each grain fully cooked and intact. Broth deepens over a lower flame. The exterior stays rough and textured while the interior is glazed smooth, each surface doing exactly what it needs to and nothing more.

For summer cooking, the donabe covers more ground than most tools twice its size. It steams fish with the lid on, makes hot pot for a warm evening on the patio, braises chicken in dashi while you handle everything else, and holds rice at temperature through a long, unhurried meal. The Kamado-san Simply Donabe edition from TOIRO Kitchen is available in several sizes, all made in Japan from Iga clay. This is the vessel most likely to become the one you reach for first, regardless of what you’re making.

What we like

• Iga-yaki clay retains heat well past the point of turning off the flame, keeping food at temperature through an unhurried meal at the table
• Versatile across rice, hot pot, steaming, and slow braise — one vessel that covers the full range without compromise

What we dislike

• Clay donabe requires seasoning before first use by simmering rice water inside, a step that isn’t always clear from the packaging
• The porous body can absorb strong cooking odors over time and needs to be stored with the lid off after washing to stay fresh

6. All-in-One Grill

The All-in-One Modular Grill handles barbecuing, frying, grilling, steaming, smoking, and bottle warming through a system of modules that snap in and out without tools or complicated reassembly between uses. You can move from grilling skewers to steaming dumplings without changing stations or rethinking the setup mid-meal. That flexibility changes how you approach outdoor cooking entirely. You stop planning around the limitations of a single-purpose grill and start cooking whatever you actually want to make, which is how outdoor cooking should feel in the first place.

The portability is real and not aspirational. Every module is engineered to fit together compactly, making it practical to carry to a rooftop, campsite, or garden without second-guessing the decision to bring it along. Each part disassembles quickly for washing when the evening is over, which matters more than it sounds after a long outdoor meal without a kitchen nearby. Available from the YD shop at $449, this is the anchor of a summer cooking setup worth taking seriously. The other tools on this list inform the meal. This is where it actually happens.

Click Here to Buy Now: $449

What we like

• Multiple interchangeable modules let you move through entirely different cooking methods without leaving the station or swapping out equipment mid-cook
• The system disassembles quickly after use, making cleanup manageable even in outdoor settings far from a kitchen

What we dislike

• The full grill with all modules is heavier than single-purpose outdoor cookware, which matters if you’re carrying it any real distance on foot
• The modular system takes some initial orientation for anyone accustomed to simpler, single-function grills

7. Yoshikawa Polished Bamboo Makisu

Most bamboo sushi mats are made from standard green bamboo and fade as they age, gradually becoming something you stop noticing rather than something you reach for with intention. The Yoshikawa Polished Bamboo Makisu works differently. Made from bamboo that has had its outer skin removed and its surface hand-finished, it starts with a warmth and smoothness that typical mats don’t carry and develops a rich amber tone with every use. It becomes more itself the more you cook with it, which is a quality worth paying attention to.

The smooth surface feels different in your hands during the rolling process, and that tactile quality is not incidental. When the tool itself feels considered, the task feels considered too, and the sushi you make reflects that shift in attention. Summer sushi nights stop feeling like a project and start feeling like a practice worth returning to. Available through Yoshikawa’s Japanese store, this is a small investment in a kind of cooking that becomes more enjoyable every time you do it, which is the best argument any kitchen tool can make for itself.

What we like

• The polished bamboo surface develops a beautiful amber tone and individual character that deepens with every use, unlike standard mats that only fade over time
• The hand-finished surface creates a tactile quality during rolling that changes the attention you bring to the task

What we dislike

• Not dishwasher safe and requires more attentive drying and storage than synthetic mat alternatives to stay in good condition
• More delicate than standard green bamboo mats if handled carelessly during washing or storage

The Best Kitchen Tools Don’t Make Cooking Easier — They Make It Worth Doing

The best argument for any of these tools is the same: they make summer cooking feel like a choice rather than a negotiation. The nakiri makes you want to stay at the cutting board. The donabe makes you want to wait for the steam. The grill makes you want to be outside with something good happening on the surface in front of you. These seven tools don’t just produce better food. They produce the desire to cook at all, which is the harder thing to manufacture.

Japanese kitchen design built its reputation on exactly this idea — that the right object doesn’t just solve a problem but changes your relationship to the task it belongs to. None of these tools will feel like a novelty in six months. They will feel like the obvious choice, the one you reach for first, the one you genuinely miss when you cook somewhere that doesn’t have it. Summer is the right time to find out which one that is for you.

The post 7 Best Japanese Kitchen Gadgets That Make Summer Cooking Actually Worth Getting Off the Couch first appeared on Yanko Design.

Keychain cameras have been enjoying a quiet revival, driven largely by a growing appetite for lo-fi photography and a general fatigue with the algorithmic complexity baked into smartphone cameras. Most of what’s available comes pre-assembled and pre-decided, right down to the app you’re expected to use and whose cloud account your photos end up in. That framing leaves very little room for the person actually taking the pictures.

Designer Matej Nahtigal built an answer to that problem, and it’s small enough to hang off your keyring. The Keymera is a fully functional camera that you 3D print and assemble yourself, built around just five printed parts and four electronic components. It takes real 3 MP photos, stores them locally, asks for nothing in return, and fits roughly in the same space as a car key fob.

Designer: Matej Nahtigal

The build is intentionally minimal. The electronics stack consists of a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3 Sense board, a 3 MP OV3660 image sensor, a small LiPo cell, and a single tactile button, connected with four solder joints. Print the shell, wire the components, flash the firmware, and press-fit everything together. No screws, no glue. The whole process takes about an hour to print and another hour to assemble.

Using it is even simpler. A single button does everything. Press it once, and the camera wakes, captures a photo, saves it to a microSD card, blinks an LED to confirm, and goes back to sleep. On standby, it draws roughly 10 µA, which means it can sit on your keyring for weeks between charges without running dry. The logic behind all of it couldn’t be simpler.

Getting your photos off the camera doesn’t require a cable or an app. Hold the button, and the Keymera broadcasts its own Wi-Fi network. Connect any phone or laptop, and a gallery page opens directly in the browser. You can scroll through your shots, view them full-size, and download them from there. That gallery lives entirely on the device. No account required, no metadata harvested, no service to subscribe to.

What makes the Keymera a design object rather than just a circuit board in a box is the shell system. One electronics core fits into interchangeable outer shells, each inspired by a different camera era. The original three designs reference a rangefinder, an SLR, and an instant camera, with a twin-lens reflex (TLR) added as a fourth. Any color or filament finish is yours to choose.

That idea, that a camera should fit in your pocket, behave honestly, and let you own the experience from print to final photo, reflects Nahtigal’s deliberate pushback against a moment when phones are adding AI features to everything. There’s no computational processing, no hidden metadata collection, and no account to manage. You clip it to your bag, your belt loop, or your keyring, and it’s simply there when something happens.

The Keymera’s files are sold as licensed digital products, not released as open-source files, which keeps the design controlled and the project financially sustainable for a single maker. The photos it produces are lo-fi and unprocessed, captured on a fixed 3 MP sensor with no computational adjustments applied afterward. For something this small and this honest, that kind of clarity is very much the point.

The post This Keychain Camera Shares Photos Over Its Own Wi-Fi, No App Needed first appeared on Yanko Design.

Some people adapt to trackpads just fine. They swipe, they tap, they gesture their way through a full workday and never once think about what they’re missing. That has never been me. Trackpads feel unintuitive, slow and imprecise in a way that becomes genuinely frustrating once the work gets serious. Image editing, timeline scrubbing, file navigation, moving through a browser at pace, these are things a trackpad tolerates and a mouse handles. That distinction matters when you travel for work as often as I do, and it is why a wireless mouse has been a permanent fixture in my laptop bag for as long as I can remember.

The problem with that habit is volume. A full wireless mouse takes up real estate, adds weight, and always ends up in the way of something else. I have watched foldable mouse concepts cycle through design blogs and crowdfunding pages for years, always clever in theory and usually mediocre in practice. The ergonomics were afterthoughts, the build quality felt questionable, and none of them felt like something worth trusting with actual work. Logitech’s Mobi Fold is the first one that genuinely changes that equation, folding to the size of a bifold wallet and opening into a properly ergonomic mouse with the kind of engineering behind it that makes it feel like a real daily tool.

Designer: Logitech

At 21mm when folded and 79 grams total, it pockets without a second thought, and the folded profile is compact enough that it stops reading as a mouse and starts feeling more like a card case or compact notebook. The dust-resistant exterior and drop-tested construction suggest something engineered for the bottom of a bag rather than careful handling, which matters when travel means moving quickly between locations without stopping to think about fragile equipment. It does not feel like an accessory that demands its own consideration. It feels like something designed to absorb daily life and stay functional throughout.

Unfolding it one-handed is cleaner than expected. The mouse settles into its predefined ergonomic angle with a firmness that feels researched, and from that point the experience becomes surprisingly familiar. The left and right clicks are effectively inaudible in a shared workspace, genuinely close to silent in a way that means a library table or open-plan office registers no reaction from the people sitting around you. What makes the folding experience feel genuinely intelligent is that the Mobi Fold knows when it is being closed. The on-device AI model helps prevent unintentional clicks when folding, a behavior I tested repeatedly and found completely reliable every single time. Folding it shut also powers it off automatically, which removes any need for a separate off switch and makes the entire experience feel self-contained.

Opening the mouse turns it on. Closing it turns it off. There is no dedicated power button to hunt for, no mode to toggle, no need to remember. But the smarter detail is what happens during the transition. An on-device AI model helps prevent unintentional clicks by recognizing when to disable the buttons, so inputs are blocked while your hand is still mid-motion. This sounds like a small thing until you test it repeatedly and realize it works flawlessly every single time.

Comfort, on the other hand, takes a little recalibration. The ergonomic angle works and the shape causes no discomfort, so the learning curve comes from a different place entirely. Even with its super compact design, it unfolds to fit naturally in the hand at a predefined angle, with 22% less muscle strain compared to a laptop trackpad, but at 79 grams it is considerably lighter than something like the MX Master 4, and the familiar resistance you expect under your palm simply is not there at first. The flat scrolling surface adds to that shift. It does not glide with quite the same fluidity as Apple’s own trackpad, though holding that against Mobi Fold feels like comparing different hardware categories. Muscle memory reaches for a physical wheel and finds a flat touch surface instead, and both take a day or so to recalibrate. There is also something oddly satisfying about the gap the fold creates underneath the mouse. Tucking your fingers into that space feels natural, and it might just be specific to how I hold a mouse, but it works.

The clicks are exceptional. Left and right are effectively inaudible in a shared workspace setting, which is not an exaggeration. Shared office environments, open-plan cafes, library tables, all of those spaces where a clicking mouse would normally draw quiet irritation from the people nearby, the Mobi Fold operates in near silence. Logitech has shipped quiet-click mice before, so this is not new territory for the brand, but the execution here is particularly clean. The mouse weighs 79 grams, which gives it a noticeably lighter feel in the hand than most desktop mice. Coming from something like the MX Master 4, the weight difference is a bit of a culture shock, and it takes a few sessions before your hand stops expecting more resistance beneath it.

The center control replaces your standard scroll wheel – for logical reasons, scroll wheels occupy space and the Mobi Fold doesn’t have any room for it, given the optical tracker sits right underneath the scroll area. Described in the spec sheet as a touch panel with two customizable buttons, the center control functions in practice more like a multi-input surface that earns more real estate in your workflow the more time you spend with it. It handles scrolling, whether navigating massive spreadsheets with line-by-line precision or gliding through long documents hyper-fast. The panel also rocks, registering separate inputs at the top and bottom, which Logitech defaults to Forward and Back navigation. For anyone who spends a significant portion of their day working in a browser, that default alone pays off immediately. Through the Logi Options+ App, the two customizable buttons on the touch panel can be personalized to trigger shortcuts like switching applications or taking screenshots instantly, or remapped to things like muting your microphone or toggling your camera in Zoom, giving the panel a versatility that a standard physical scroll wheel would struggle to match.

The surface is smooth, the feedback is silent, and the precision is genuinely there for line-by-line navigation or hyperfast scrolling powered by the 4K DPI sensor. The Apple Magic Trackpad scrolls more fluidly, but that smoothness comes from Apple’s own software stack, so the comparison is not a fair one to draw. What matters is that the Mobi Fold’s scrolling is functional and versatile, and the muscle memory issue fades with use. It is a reasonable adaptation to make for a mouse this portable.

One persistent instinct the design triggers is the urge to open Mobi Fold completely flat. The hinge stops at its predefined angle, which Logitech settled on after extensive user research, but the hand keeps wanting to push through. It is a small quirk rather than a flaw, and it fades with familiarity. My own hope is that Logitech’s natural evolution of this form factor eventually lets the device open flat, turning it into a presentation remote or pointing device in the process. For now, Logitech has successfully bridged tech and everyday carry to produce a mouse that earns its place in a travel setup from the first day you use it. The Mobi Fold is now a mainstay in mine.

There are two mice in my setup now, one that stays on my desk and one that goes everywhere else. The MX Master 4 handles the home office. The Mobi Fold handles everything that happens between flights, hotels, cafes, and borrowed desks. It is available in Graphite, Lilac, and Off-White in select markets, starting at $79.99. The white finish is something I want to monitor over the next few months to see how it holds up to daily travel and bag life, but everything else holds up impressively from first use. The foldable mouse has been a concept for a long time. Logitech has turned it into a product worth actually carrying.

The post Logitech’s $79 Travel Mouse Folds Flat Like a Wallet: Hands-on with the Mobi Fold first appeared on Yanko Design.

The ergonomic chair market has grown considerably over the past decade, with brands competing on lumbar support, adjustability, and build quality. For most people, the options are plentiful. For taller and broader users, though, the experience often tells the same uncomfortable story: seats that run out before the knee, backrests that stop short of the shoulders, and headrests that hover just out of reach.

LiberNovo’s answer to that gap is the Maxis, a chair that doesn’t try to stretch an existing design to fit bigger frames. It’s been built from the ground up with larger bodies in mind, carrying the slogan “Built for Bigger Builds” with some conviction. Everything from the seat platform to the backrest geometry has been re-engineered around what someone between 5’10” and 6’7″ needs from a chair.

Designer: LiberNovo

Click Here to Preorder Now: $10 deposit unlocks $30 discount on balance payment. Hurry, deal ends on 16th June.

The most immediate difference is the seat itself. At 52cm deep, it supports the full length of the thigh rather than cutting off too soon. That might seem like a minor detail, but anyone who’s worked long hours on a seat that runs out before it should know exactly how quickly that discomfort compounds. The reinforced frame also supports up to 399lbs.

The fit story continues further up. The neck support covers a wider vertical and horizontal adjustment range, so it can actually reach where taller users need it rather than floating somewhere above. The armrests are custom-sized with more span and travel than standard chairs allow. Their slightly curved shape also helps prevent the waist compression that straight-edged rests tend to cause for bigger frames.

This becomes more concrete in the upper half of the chair. LiberNovo says the Maxis back frame expands to a 430 mm shoulder span and a 520 mm waist width, giving bigger builds fuller contact instead of leaving pressure concentrated in narrower zones. The headrest is just as deliberate, with 140 mm of vertical travel and 120 mm of horizontal adjustment, plus a U-shaped design intended to support the neck more naturally.

What keeps the Maxis from feeling like a bigger version of an ordinary chair is how the backrest actually behaves. The Bionic FlexFit Backrest is designed to move with the body as posture shifts, rather than holding rigidly to one position. That’s the core idea behind LiberNovo’s Dynamic Support System, which maintains alignment through movement without needing constant manual readjustment.

The recline system follows a similar logic. The Maxis locks into five preset positions, from 105 degrees for focused, upright work up to 160 degrees for near-flat recovery. The stops in between cover the varied moments a long day actually involves: a video call, a longer solo session, a quick pause. Having distinct positions makes switching between them quick and intentional rather than endlessly fiddling with them.

The Maxis comes in three versions built on the same reinforced frame. The Manual keeps things simple with a physical dial for lumbar adjustment. The Electric adds motorized lumbar control alongside OmniStretch, a stretch-and-release cycle designed to relieve spinal compression after prolonged sitting. The Airflow builds on that with active seat ventilation, using a centrifugal fan embedded in the cushion to keep things cool and dry.

LiberNovo Omni Pro

OmniStretch and the Airflow ventilation both address the fatigue that builds gradually over long sessions. OmniStretch extends the lumbar support upward and gently releases it, creating a stretch-and-release motion intended to help relieve compression from prolonged seating. The ventilation system addresses heat accumulation in the seat cushion, helping the chair stay more comfortable through longer sessions. Both features treat comfort as something that has to hold up across a full day.

The Maxis launches alongside two new additions to the broader LiberNovo lineup. The Omni Pro brings motorized lumbar support, OmniStretch, and active seat ventilation to the standard-size Omni platform, making it the performance-oriented choice for users who don’t need the larger Maxis frame. The Omni SE takes a more stripped-back approach, pairing the same ergonomic architecture with a manual lumbar mechanism for a simpler, set-and-forget setup.

LiberNovo OmniStretch

LiberNovo opened the Maxis pre-order period in the US on May 12 at 7:00 PM PDT, with the official launch set for June 16 at 9:00 AM PDT and the first release window running through July 31 at 9:00 AM PDT. During that pre-sale stretch, orders qualify for super early bird pricing, with discounts reaching up to 44% in the US. A $10 deposit also unlocks a $30 discount on orders of $1,000 or more, along with a free 1-year extended frame warranty and access to a three-tier premium gift package for qualifying purchases.

What the LiberNovo Maxis gets right is treating a larger body as the actual design brief, rather than an afterthought dealt with by scaling up existing dimensions. Every adjustment range, support angle, and contact point has been calibrated around that focus. For taller and broader professionals who’ve spent years on chairs that never quite fit, that’s a meaningfully different sitting experience.

Click Here to Preorder Now: $10 deposit unlocks $30 discount on balance payment. Hurry, deal ends on 16th June.

The post LiberNovo Maxis Gives Bigger Builds the Chair They Actually Deserve first appeared on Yanko Design.