Awesome Gadgets

The special edition of Keybay’s W70 mechanical keyboard kit may have gearheads justifying its price. Inspired by the Toyota AE86 Trueno, it has LED bars at the back that look like car taillights. The special edition also comes with two light baffles: one is semi-transparent acrylic, and the other is perforated aluminum.

The latest version of Framework’s modular 13″ laptop can now be bought with Intel’s new Core Ultra Series 1 CPU, which offers significant improvements in battery life, particularly when playing videos. There’s also a new 2880 x 1920 display option with a 120Hz refresh rate. Existing Framework 13 owners can swap their display with this new one as well.

Like the Dwarf II, this automated astrophotography camera tracks and follows celestial objects and stacks photos for incredible detail. The new model has an upgraded Sony sensor, wider lenses that capture more of the sky, improved filters, and a longer-lasting battery. It can also shoot the sun and moon, huge panoramas, and even identify birds it photographs.

Chilkey is going after Keychron’s throne with the ND75. The polish and features that you get for its price are unbelievable. It’s a fully assembled 75% mechanical keyboard with a well-made screw-less aluminum case. It connects via USB-C, Bluetooth, and 2.4 GHz wireless. It has three mount options, pre-lubed stabilizers, and even a tiny screen for settings.

If it can keep your gaming rig cool, it can definitely do the same for you. The NV-FS1 is a modular desk fan that uses Noctua’s legendary NF-A12x25 PC fan. Its unorthodox airflow amplifier focuses the output from the fan while keeping noise to a minimum. Its stand allows you to pivot the fan to any angle, and has screw mounts and zip-tie slits for mounting.

The Aulumu M01 looks like a cyberpunk gadget, but it’s not all style. It has a MagSafe wireless charger at the top, a 5W Qi wireless charger, plus a 10W USB-C charging port on its base. It also has a slick LED nightlight with three brightness levels. The M01 folds flat, and its MagSafe charger rotates 148° so you can prop your phone at different angles.

These over-ear noise-canceling headphones were clearly inspired by Apple’s AirPods Max, but they have enough going on their own to warrant a look. The Sonos Ace has a dedicated button that lets you quickly swap the audio from a Sonos soundbar to the headphones. It can also use the soundbar to analyze your room and mimic a surround sound system.

The Xperia 1 Mk. VI has an upgraded zoom camera with an impressive 85mm to 170mm (3.5x to 7x) optical zoom range. It also comes with the AI autofocus tracking from Sony’s Alpha cameras. Its 1080×2340 OLED display with variable refresh rate, 5000mAh battery, and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip should make for a phone that can last 2 days between charges.

Hozo Design’s compact NeoRulerGO digital ruler can measure just about anything. Its tip rolls across straight, curved, or irregular surfaces, sending precision data to its built-in display. It also works as a scale ruler, with conversions for numerous Imperial and Metric scales. Pair it with the optional NeoPencil case for a longer grip and a long-lasting graphite pencil.

Anker’s upcoming Bluetooth speaker is for people who often make calls in noisy environments, such as at home or in public places. The S600 uses AI to learn the sound of your voice and prioritize it in calls. Anker claims the S600 recognizes and cuts down over 300 kinds of background noise. Lifehacker tried a demo unit and came away impressed.

This modular multitool uses stacks of titanium tool cards onto a spinning magnetic disc. The result is an incredibly versatile pocket gadget that doubles as a fidget toy. Five available cards provide a total of 80 functions, smartly organized into EDC, outdoor, tech, survival, and fishing tool sets. Carry one, or carry them all. The full set is quite pricey, though.

Swagkeys reminds us just how far custom keyboards – and their prices – have come. The company’s upcoming Transition Lite TKL will take you back to the ’90s with its transparent polycarbonate case. It’s a kit, so you’ll have to get stabilizers, switches, and keycaps separately and then put it all together yourself. But for only $50, this is an awesome deal.

Elgato’s new Neo line features beginner and budget-friendly versions of its gadgets. The star of the show, of course, is the Stream Deck Neo. Aside from the trademark programmable LCD shortcut keys, it has an equally versatile info bar and something that no other Stream Deck has: two dedicated touchpads for switching between sets of shortcuts.

The Insta360 X4 dual-lens action camera can take 360° videos at up to 8K at 30fps. Combine this with all of its user-friendly features, such as the selfie stick remover, image stabilization, and HDR mode, and you get a truly versatile outdoor shooter. It can also act as a 4K camera that can capture angles you simply cannot take on single lens cameras.

Customizing is the point of modern mechanical keyboards. But Wired In’s Protagonist takes it to a different level. This 60% keyboard has a swappable hybrid faceplate and case top called a keyframe. Not only does the keyframe come in a ton of colors and material options, it also comes in Winkey, Winkeyless and HHKB layouts.

Samsung made a little brother for the Frame TV. Behind the Music Frame’s 8″ x 10″ photo holder is a surprisingly punchy Dolby Atmos speaker. It has two tweeters, two mid-range drivers, and two subwoofers. It can stream music from most services including Spotify and Chromecast, as well as via Bluetooth.