Google unleashes a native Gemini app for the Mac

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Not content with stuffing Gemini into all of its own apps and services, Google wants you to adopt its AI assistant on desktops and laptops too. The company released a Gemini Windows app on Tuesday and it's following that up a day later with one for Macs.

Google says the macOS Gemini app is a "native desktop experience" that you can access with a keyboard shortcut. By default, pressing option and space will open a mini chat, while a combo of option, shift and space will open the full Gemini chat experience. You'll be able to adjust these bindings in the app settings.

Users will be able to share anything that's on their screen, including files they have saved on your system, with the chatbot and ask it questions about whatever they’re seeing. This can include anything from images to documents, and data to code.

There's an option to share full web pages with Gemini, not just what's on your display. The Gemini app also supports image and video generation with Nano Banana and Veo, respectively. The app is available on Macs that are running macOS 15 (i.e. macOS Sequoia) or later in all countries and languages in which Gemini is supported. 

"We're building the foundation for a truly personal, proactive and powerful desktop assistant, with more news to share in the coming months," Michael Friedman, group product manager for the Gemini app, wrote in a blog post. That's intriguing, given that Apple's long-delayed, generative AI revamp of Siri may finally debut at WWDC in June. Apple's retooled chatbot, which is slated to have deep integration with macOS apps, is powered by Gemini models.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-unleashes-a-native-gemini-app-for-the-mac-170500185.html?src=rss

Recteq X-Fire Pro 825 review: A smart grill that pulls double duty

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Occasionally, you really can have it both ways. For the most part, pellet grills are great for smoking and mid-temperature cooking, but you’ll typically need other grills for high-heat searing and 1,000-degree temperatures(with a few exceptions). Sure, some pellet grills allow you to move the heat deflector for direct access to the fire pot for searing, but that’s still not a cooking experience that will be familiar to gas grill users. 

With the X-Fire Pro 825 ($1,550), Recteq is putting its pellet grill expertise to work in a dual-mode design that’s meant to bridge the gap between gas and wood fire. Of course, this is a smart grill thanks to its Wi-Fi connectivity, and the backbone of this beast is undoubtedly a pellet grill. Plus, the company offers totally separate controls to avoid confusion between Smoke and Grill modes, all combined in a durable, all-stainless steel design. It’s the rare device that really is the 2-in-1 the company claims. 

All Recteq grills are made of stainless steel, but unlike the Deck Boss, Patio Legend and other models in the company’s lineup, the X-Fire Pro doesn’t have a powder coated lid. This isn’t a problem per se, but it does require extra care with cleaning and maintenance to avoid rust. Apart from the cast iron grill grates, the interior components are also stainless steel, so most of this grill is clearly built to last. When you combine that with the robust cart and premium casters that the X-Fire Pro sits on, this grill is one of the most well-designed I’ve reviewed. 

Like most pellet grills, the X-Fire Pro has a digital controller mounted on the side. In this case, it’s situated on the front edge of a shelf on the left of the grill. Single-knob navigation allows you to set cooking temperature and food probe alerts, which can also be done via the Recteq app thanks to the grill’s Wi-Fi connectivity. The X-Fire Pro allows you to use two wired food probes simultaneously, but there’s no option for wireless probes. Recteq does sell wireless probes though, but they connect directly to the company’s app, not to the grill itself.

The X-Fire Pro has two separate sets of controls for its two modes
Billy Steele for Engadget

Rather than a traditional on/off switch, the X-Fire Pro is turned on with the far left knob on the front. To do so, you choose between the grill’s two modes, Smoke or Grill. If you select Smoke mode, the controller on the left will light up and you set your desired temperature between 225 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Personally, I prefer a slightly lower minimum temperature, around 180 degrees, to enable things like cold smoking or even mimic the Keep Warm feature that competitors like Traeger offer. In Grill mode, you can expect temperatures from 225-400 degrees on low, 350-650 on medium, 500-850 on high and 800-1,200 on max. 

There are two fire pots inside the X-Fire Pro. The one on the left is used exclusively for Smoke mode while both can be used in Grill mode. I typically set the right side to a higher grilling temperature, since there’s an Adaptive Sear Control for direct access to the flame (there’s a dedicated knob on the front to control this). I would then leave the left side on low, which would give me a hot/cold setup like I would normally use on a gas grill. Of course, you can set both fire pots to the same heat level and use the entire cooking surface at the same temperature. You could also leave one of the fire pots completely off if you needed to do so.     

Recteq promises that the X-Fire Pro is a pellet grill that will offer the best aspects of gas grilling with familiar knob-based controls. I agree that the large knobs are similar to what you’ll find on a gas grill, although you can’t fine-tune the heat like you can with gas burnersI didn’t find this problematic, though. Where Recteq surpasses propane or natural gas options is the fact that the X-Fire Pro entirely runs on wood pellets, so your food tastes much better. Just keep in mind that it’s a different flavor than charcoal. 

During my testing, I unexpectedly spent most of my time using the X-Fire Pro in Grill mode. I cooked steaks, chicken, burgers, sausages and more, all of which tasted a lot better than they would have on a gas grill. Even at high temperatures, you still get some wood flavor, which helped elevate my sous vide New York Strips beyond a simple high-heat sear. Of course, I also had the option to open the Adaptive Sear Control for direct-flame finishing, which was absolutely the right move for steaks and burgers. 

One important caveat about Grill mode is that the digital controller for Smoke mode completely turns off. You operate this mode entirely with the front-mounted knobs — just like you would a gas grill. As such, you don’t have access to the food probes or any Wi-Fi features that Smoke mode employs. I can understand why Recteq would want to keep the two modes separate, but I do wish there was a way to use the food probes to track internal temperature of things like steak and chicken, or any items where exact doneness is essential. 

A pork shoulder (Boston Butt) cooked on the X-Fire Pro
A pork shoulder (Boston Butt) cooked on the X-Fire Pro
Billy Steele for Engadget

When it comes to smoking, the X-Fire Pro works just as well as any other pellet grills I’ve reviewed from Traeger, Weber and others. It’s very much a set-it-and-forget-it device, if you want it to be, which means you can put on a pork shoulder or a brisket early in the morning and it will be ready by dinner. But since the X-Fire Pro has two fire pots and therefore two smaller pellet hoppers instead of one larger one, each hopper’s capacity is limited to just10 pounds. While I had no trouble getting through an 8-hour smoke session with a full hopper (at 275 degrees), I wouldn’t feel comfortable with overnight cooks due to the reduced pellet supply. In Grill mode, though, a single full hopper on the right was always enough to get through a cook.  

Recteq says the digital controller can maintain the set temperature in Smoke mode within five degrees. I found this to be true during all of my low-and-slow cooking, and the graph in the app confirms it. The only dips it showed corresponded to the times I opened the lid. This performance was consistent across multiple uses of the X-Fire Pro, although on one particularly cold and very windy day, I did see some greater fluctuations (there’s a warning about this in the user manual). Under normal weather conditions though, this grill is reliable at maintaining the desired cooking temperature in Smoke mode.

The main cooking surface of the X-Fire Pro consists of four removable cast iron grates. These are reversible with one side for general use and the other with wider bars for more apparent sear marks. There’s also a shallow top grate above the primary cooking area, perfect for resting foods when they’re done or warming buns in Grill mode. In Smoke mode, you could also put another rack or two of ribs up there, but it’s not big enough for larger cuts of meat. 

Most pellet grills direct ash and grease to a catch pan of some sort. Since the X-Fire Pro has two fire pots, it has two ash removal trays on either side with levers to help with the debris. Like every other pellet grill, you’ll need to clean out some ash from the cooking chamber every few uses, and the best way to do that is with a shop vacuum. Recteq cautions against allowing grease buildup with Smoke mode, but I never found this to be a problem. That’s likely due to the fact that I used Grill mode between low-and-slow cooking sessions, so I probably burned off any excess residue. What’s more, I like to use aluminum pans for pork shoulders for easier cleanup, rather than placing them directly on the grates. 

The X-Fire Pro's adjustable sear control
The X-Fire Pro's adjustable sear control
Billy Steele for Engadget

Like every other Wi-Fi-enabled pellet grill I’ve tested, the X-Fire Pro works with an app that allows you to control and monitor it from afar. You can keep tabs on both grill and food probe temperatures as well as turn the whole thing off. Recteq’s app also has more advanced features like temperature graphs, a 30-day cooking history and over 60 step-by-step guided recipes. Plus, you can save cooking sessions with notes for future reference and the app’s complete recipe book houses over 450 dishes. The company prides itself on the quality of its app, and I can confirm it’s the most reliable mobile software I’ve used during a smart grill review.

Now let’s discuss a few things you won’t find on the X-Fire Pro. First, there’s no option for a folding front shelf since the pellet hopper is front-mounted. The hopper lid gives you a slight ledge to rest the corner of a pan or tray, but it’s not enough to do any kind of wrapping or setting anything down completely. There’s also no interior lighting, which was probably the thing I missed most from other pellet grills. Sure, we can debate the utility of how some companies arrange these lights, but something is better than nothing, especially when you’re loading a grill before dawn or finishing a cook after dark. 

While there are other pellet grills with direct-searing capabilities, none of those offer the dual-mode functionality of the X-Fire Pro. For example, several Pit Boss models have levers for open access to the fire box — or, as the company calls, it the Flame Broiler. Some companies offer open-lid modes, like Weber does on the Searwood, but not all of those designs allow you to get direct access to the fire. These grills also let you set a high searing temperature on the regular controls rather than giving you completely a separate operating method like Recteq does. Again, the appeal with the X-Fire Pro is something familiar to both pellet and gas grillers with controls best-suited for each style of cooking. And yes, the $1,550 price puts this firmly in the premium category, but when you consider it’s two grills in one, that amount doesn’t seem excessive. 

The X-Fire Pro features an all-stainles-steel design
The X-Fire Pro features an all-stainles-steel design
Billy Steele for Engadget

Rarely does a device live up to its billing as a double-duty workhorse. With the X-Fire Pro, Recteq has successfully combined the best aspects of pellet grills with a dedicated high-heat mode and separate controls that will be familiar to gas grillers. This model offers robust build quality, reliable performance and Wi-Fi connectivity for extended smoking sessions. The smaller pellet hoppers require slightly more vigilance, and there are a few features I’d love to see in the future, but Recteq has certainly bolstered its reputation for well-built smart grills with this dual-mode machine. I’d much rather keep tabs on my pellet supply than guess if my propane tank is empty.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/recteq-x-fire-pro-825-review-a-smart-grill-that-pulls-double-duty-170000586.html?src=rss

Snap is laying off 16 percent of its workforce, blames AI

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Snap is laying off around 1,000 staff, amounting to 16 percent of its workforce, which it will seemingly replace with AI. The cuts were announced in a company-wide memo from CEO Evan Spiegel, who added that more than 300 open roles are also being closed.

Spiegel said the "incredibly difficult" decision would likely save Snap more than $500 million by the second half of 2026, in turn helping it to "establish a clearer path to net-income profitability." Impacted staff were notified by email and the company’s North America-based team were instructed to work from home. Snap said it would provide four-month severance packages to those affected by the layoffs, as well as healthcare and other entitlements.

"While these changes are necessary to realize Snap’s long-term potential, we believe that rapid advancements in artificial intelligence enable our teams to reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support our community, partners, and advertisers," Spiegel wrote. "We have already witnessed small squads leveraging AI tools to drive meaningful progress across several important initiatives, including Snapchat+, enhanced ad platform performance, and efficiency improvements in our Snap Lite infrastructure."

Snap laid off around 20 percent of its employees in 2022, with further cuts made in 2023 and 2024. It follows in the footsteps of a number of tech companies laying off employees in favor of AI in a move to boost efficiency, including Amazon, Fiverr, Microsoft and Pinterest in the last year. Snap is expected to launch the consumer version of its Specs AR glasses later this year, and recently span off the brand into its own business.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/snap-is-laying-off-16-percent-of-its-workforce-blames-ai-162456069.html?src=rss

ZimaBoard 2 Review: The Home Server You Don’t Have to Hide Anymore

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PROS:


  • Unusually sleek, well-finished aluminum design for a board-style server

  • Effectively silent passive cooling for always-on use

  • 60W adapter (with multiple plug types) provides sufficient 12V/5A power

  • Intuitive ZimaOS web interface, easy to set up without Linux experience

  • PCIe 3.0 x4 slot allows meaningful expansion


CONS:


  • Not suited for heavy compute or multi-VM workloads

  • Onboard eMMC is slow for sustained data storage

  • Memory tops out at 16 GB

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The ZimaBoard 2 offers a compact, always-on server that earns its place on the shelf both functionally and aesthetically.

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Home servers and NAS boxes have long had a visibility problem, and not in the marketing sense. Most are bulky, noisy, and purely functional, which means they usually end up tucked behind desks or buried in closets. The compact options that do exist often sacrifice connectivity, storage support, or OS flexibility, making them useful only on paper rather than in the kind of sustained, always-on role they’re meant to fill.

ZimaBoard 2 from IceWhale is trying to change that. It’s a compact x86 home server built around an industrial aluminum chassis, with enough connectivity and software flexibility to serve as a NAS, media server, smart home hub, or private cloud device. Available in two configurations starting from $279, it sits comfortably between a hobbyist board computer and a proper home server, and that positioning is genuinely worth exploring.

Designer: IceWhale

Aesthetics

Most board-style computers aren’t particularly elegant things. They’re open PCBs with exposed components and color-coded connectors, designed for function over form. ZimaBoard 2 is a notable exception. It comes housed in an all-aluminum enclosure with a clean silver finish and vertical cooling fins running along its length, giving it an almost architectural character that’s genuinely unusual for hardware in this category.

The ribbed fin pattern isn’t purely decorative. It acts as a passive heatsink, keeping things cool while also giving the device a more resolved visual quality than the typical bare-PCB look. It’s compact enough to hold in one hand, and in a workspace context, it reads less like raw server hardware and more like a deliberate industrial object that wouldn’t look out of place on a well-specced desk.

What also sets it apart from other board computers is how the I/O is handled at a design level. The ports are grouped cleanly along one edge, with the dual Ethernet jacks, USB ports, and Mini DisplayPort sitting in a tidy, intentional cluster rather than scattered wherever there was board space. That considered layout keeps the device looking organized even when several cables are plugged in at once.

Ergonomics

Setting up ZimaBoard 2 is refreshingly straightforward for a device in this category. The web-based interface felt clean, well-organized, and intuitive enough that getting started didn’t require much Linux familiarity. ZimaOS comes pre-installed with a browser-based dashboard that handles storage configuration, app deployment, and network settings through a familiar, point-and-click experience. Getting a NAS or media server up takes minutes, not hours.

The board is compact and light enough to tuck almost anywhere. It ships with a 60 W power adapter that comes with interchangeable plug adapters, which is a thoughtful detail for anyone working across different countries or regions. ZimaBoard 2 is designed around passive cooling, so in everyday use, it stays effectively silent, even with the optional mini cooling fan, which matters considerably when the device is meant to operate around the clock.

One practical setup step worth noting is that the onboard eMMC storage is best treated as a system layer rather than a long-term data destination. After initial setup, moving files and apps to the SATA-connected drives is the smarter workflow, since attached storage is faster and better suited to the sustained read and write activity a home server handles daily. It’s a minor but worthwhile habit to build in early.

Performance

Under the aluminum shell sits an Intel N150 processor, a quad-core chip running up to 3.6 GHz with a 6 MB cache and a 10 W TDP. It’s not the most powerful chip in this size class, but it’s the right pick for a device designed to run continuously at low power. For home server tasks, including NAS, media streaming, and containerized workloads, it handles things with comfortable ease.

On the storage side, two SATA 3.0 ports come with integrated power support, making it straightforward to connect a pair of full-size NAS drives without extra adapters. Running two 3.5-inch drives caused no issues, and the 12V, 5A supply proved sufficient in testing to handle the board and drives comfortably. That power budget is a meaningful detail, since not every compact server can make the same claim confidently.

Thermals are worth touching on separately. The N150 runs warm under sustained loads, but for NAS-oriented use, there’s a simple tuning option: disabling Turbo Boost in the BIOS noticeably reduces operating temperatures. The trade-off is a clock speed ceiling of around 1 GHz, but for straightforward file serving, that’s more than sufficient, and the lower heat output makes for a much more comfortable long-term operating condition.

Beyond the hardware, ZimaOS adds real depth to the experience. Its app store advertises 800+ one-click apps, including Plex, Jellyfin, Nextcloud, and Home Assistant. The higher 1664 configuration’s 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM also helps when running virtual machines or heavier container setups. ZimaOS also supports Intel Quick Sync for hardware-accelerated transcoding, which helps reduce CPU load in supported Plex and Jellyfin setups.

Sustainability

The all-aluminum enclosure makes a strong durability argument. Aluminum doesn’t flex, doesn’t yellow, and holds up well over years of continuous operation, which matters a great deal for hardware that never really gets switched off. The thermal design relies primarily on passive conduction through the chassis, keeping internal component complexity low and reducing the number of parts that could wear out over time.

Software longevity is another angle worth considering. Because ZimaBoard 2 runs on x86 architecture, it’s compatible with a wide range of operating systems, meaning the hardware doesn’t become obsolete when a software stack changes or no longer fits your needs. If ZimaOS evolves or you outgrow it, you can simply install something else. That kind of platform openness is a practical form of sustainability that closed appliances rarely offer.

Value

ZimaBoard 2 sits at a price point that demands a bit of context. The base 832 configuration starts at $279, with the 1664 variant at $349. Those figures feel steep when compared to bare-board computers, but the comparison isn’t really fair. What you’re getting is a fully enclosed x86 server module with dual 2.5 GbE networking, dual powered SATA bays, a PCIe 3.0 expansion slot, and ZimaOS pre-installed.

Compact mini PCs at a similar price usually offer stronger raw performance but fewer server-specific ports and no expansion path. Dedicated NAS boxes tend to be locked into proprietary software. ZimaBoard 2 is more flexible than either. Native SATA, dual 2.5 GbE, and a PCIe slot on a single platform is an uncommon combination at this price, and that’s where the value case starts to feel convincing.

The PCIe 3.0 x4 slot adds a dimension of future-proofing that sealed appliances can’t match. You can plug in a 10 GbE network card, an NVMe adapter, a GPU for AI workloads, or an HBA for expanding storage capacity. That expandability means you’re not locked into what the board offers at purchase, which in practical terms allows the device to grow alongside your needs rather than becoming a bottleneck.

It’s fair to say that buyers focused purely on maximum compute per dollar will find stronger options elsewhere. But for those building a quiet, flexible, always-on home server that’s actually pleasant to live with, ZimaBoard 2 feels well-judged. The design, connectivity, software experience, and room to grow all reinforce each other in a way that makes the price feel more grounded the longer you use it.

Verdict

ZimaBoard 2 makes a strong case for what compact home server hardware can look like when design is treated as part of the brief. It’s quiet, well-built, and easier to set up than most things in this category. Running as a NAS, a smart home hub, a media server, or all three at once, it handles each task without calling attention to itself, which is exactly what good infrastructure does.

The platform’s real strength is how many things it can become. Add a pair of NAS drives, and you’ve got a whisper-quiet personal cloud. Plug something into the PCIe slot, and the possibilities multiply further. It isn’t built for users chasing peak benchmarks, but for those who want a compact, always-on server that earns its place on the shelf both functionally and aesthetically, it’s a genuinely well-considered piece of hardware.

The post ZimaBoard 2 Review: The Home Server You Don’t Have to Hide Anymore first appeared on Yanko Design.

Shoe company Allbirds pivots to AI compute in sign of a totally normal and healthy economy

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The shoe company Allbirds, famous for its wool trainers, is pivoting to AI. You read that right. The San Francisco company has plans "to pivot its business to AI compute infrastructure, with a long-term vision to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service and AI-native cloud solutions provider." It's also changing its name to NewBird AI.

This is subject to shareholder approval, with a vote scheduled for May 18. Once approved, the company will raise $50 million from an unnamed investor to assist with this enterprise. This money will be used for the "acquisition and monetization of graphics processing units, related high-performance computing infrastructure capable to support high workloads and other related assets." In other words, all of the things one would need to start an AI compute company.

Allbirds has always been known as an eco-friendly shoe company and, well, there's no real way to do AI while protecting the environment. The company plans on getting rid of any eco-friendly branding, with stockholders being asked to approve a charter amendment proposal to "remove references to the company being operated for the environmental conservation public benefit."

Investors absolutely love AI, despite rising public sentiment against the technology. To that end, the announcement that Allbirds was transitioning from shoes, a product category it has a decade of experience in, to AI compute, a product category it has no experience in, shot the stock up by over 400 percent. Financial Times has suggested this uptick will be short-lived and that retail investors should stay away.

This pivot to AI cloud compute is surprising and, frankly, bizarre, but something drastic was bound to happen to Allbirds at some point. The shoe company was once riding high, with a valuation of around $4 billion as recently as 2021. It sold its shoe business and branding to an investment firm earlier this month for just $39 million.

Allbirds isn't the only company pivoting to compute in an effort to feed the hungry goblin called AI. Boom Supersonic is a startup trying to build the world's fastest airliner but has begun selling gas turbines to AI companies to power data centers. Many Bitcoin mining centers have pivoted to AI and it's worth remembering that NVIDIA's GPUs were once used primarily for PC gaming.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/shoe-company-pivots-to-ai-compute-in-sign-of-a-totally-normal-and-healthy-economy-161449196.html?src=rss

Traeger debuts Westwood smart pellet grills that start at $700

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Traeger gave backyard pit masters something more affordable last year with the Woodridge, but now the company is back with an even more budget-friendly option. With the Westwood series, the company offers very basic pellet grill functionality with a simplified controller and a no-frills design. You’ll still get Wi-Fi connectivity that works with the company’s app, and the Westwood grills are compatible with Traeger’s rail-based accessories. As you might expect at the $700 and $800 prices, there are a number of caveats compared to the company’s more expensive options.

The new Westwood grills have an even more streamlined controller than the Woodridge models. A button-based interface replaces the knob, with buttons for increasing and decreasing temperatures, both wired and wireless food probes, Wi-Fi and ignition. The side-mounted hopper has an 18-pound pellet capacity and there are shelves on the left side and underneath the cooking chamber. Inside, a two-tier setup offers either 653 or 823 square inches of cooking space, depending on which Westwood model you opt for.

The Westwood remains a set-it-and-forget-it device. The Wi-Fi connectivity allows you to keep tabs on cooking sessions from anywhere with the Traeger app. You can do everything from low-and-slow smoking to roasting and grilling with the 180-450 degrees Fahrenheit temperature range. There’s also a front rail for the company’s Pop and Lock accessories, which include a folding front shelf.

The Westwood grills have a simplified design with two-tier grates inside
The Westwood grills have a simplified design with two-tier grates inside
Traeger

Of course, with the lower price comes a number of sacrifices. There’s no mention of Super Smoke or Keep Warm modes that Traeger offers on some of its more expensive grills. The Westwood only supports one wired food probe, so you’ll have to plan accordingly there. If you’re willing to spend an extra $80, these new grills do connect with Traeger’s wireless meat probe, so you at least have an option for additional food monitoring. Lastly, there’s no mention of a pellet sensor inside the hopper, which is a handy component for keeping track of your fuel supply.

While Traeger has consistently focused on midrange and premium pellet grills in recent years, the Westwood and Westwood XL are now the company’s most affordable options. These new grills will replace the popular Pro series in Traeger’s lineup. What’s more, new affordable options come at time when the company faces financial troubles and is currently in the midst of an ongoing restructuring.

The Westwood and Westwood XL are now available from grill retailers including Ace Hardware.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/traeger-debuts-westwood-smart-pellet-grills-that-start-at-700-160448450.html?src=rss

The Vivo X300 Ultra is a powerful camera phone aimed at videographers

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Chinese phonemaker Vivo has been pushing the limits of smartphone photography in the last few years. However, the availability of its phones — like last year’s X200 Ultra, with its beefy add-on telephoto — has been intermittent in the West.

The company says the X300 Ultra its first global flagship launch, although there’s still no word on a US launch or pricing at the time of writing. Like the latest phones from Xiaomi and Oppo, Vivo is also obsessing over larger camera sensors, peripherals and a dizzying array of technical photography specs, with a particular focus on cinematic video recording.

Collaborating with Zeiss again, the X300 Ultra features a “triple prime lens” camera system with 85, 35 and 14mm equivalent focal lengths. This can be punched up to 400mm equivalent with a new telephoto extender, the messily-named Zeiss Telephoto Extender Gen 2 Ultra, whose price is also unknown for now.

Even without that add-on, Vivo has built its 85mm equivalent 200-megapixel telephoto camera to handle most of your zoom-heavy shooting moments. A “gimbal-grade” APO (apochromatic) camera is designed to correct color fringing and stabilize your shots. These are both typical issues when using higher zoom levels. In a dedicated “snapshot” mode, Autofocus tracking will even work at 60 fps, which I’m excited to test, as the phone can also shoot at up to 12 fps. Vivo says its optical image stabilization can correct up to three degrees of movement.

Other cameras are similarly powerful, spec-wise. The 35mm equivalent Zeiss “Documentary” camera uses a 1/1.12-inch 200MP Sony sensor and is apparently engineered for strong low-light performance and portrait shooting, with an f/1.8 aperture. Finally, there’s a 50MP ultrawide rounding out the camera lineup.

All three rear cameras support up to 4K 120fps 10-bit log video and the same in Dolby Vision. Vivo says the X300 Ultra will capture “film-like” color performance without the need for editing. If you want to dig into editing, however, it supports 10-bit log video for more dynamic range and color depth.

Vivo is going hard on video capture. The X300 Ultra's new “pro video mode" has an upgraded monitoring feature that supports users’ custom LUTs, showing a real-time preview of how it will look while recording in log. Vivo’s log format is also compatible with ACES workflow, making it easier to integrate the X300 Ultra alongside other cinema cameras.

Vivo X300 Ultra Pro Video Mode
Vivo

To make it easier to use for hypothetical professional shoots, Vivo has collaborated with camera-peripheral maker SmallRig on a video-rig kit. This includes an expandable camera cage with quick-release ports (alongside multiple cold shoe mounts), dual handgrips and even a physical shutter control and zoom buttons. There’s also a cooling fan to keep the X300 Ultra recording at high resolution for extended periods.

It’s otherwise a flagship phone everywhere else, with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 processor and a 6.82-inch display at 3,168 x 1,440 resolution, topping out at an industry-leading 144Hz refresh rate. The X300 Ultra also supports up to 100W FlashCharge and 40W wireless charging (with compatible Vivo chargers) and a huge 6,600mAh battery.

We’re planning to test the X300 Ultra in the very near future. At the time of writing, the company is keeping pricing and launch dates to itself. We’ll update this story once we hear those crucial details. It’s also likely to face immediate competition from sibling brand Oppo, which has also been teasing an ultra iteration of its latest flagship phone, the Find X9 Ultra.

For now, Vivo says the X300 Ultra will launch across Asia, as well as parts of Europe (Austria, Spain, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy and Russia) and several other countries, including Brazil. And yep, no US, Canada or the UK on that list.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/vivo-x300-ultra-launch-powerful-camera-phone-availability-160008605.html?src=rss

The Lunch Box Where One Ring Holds Everything Together

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Most lunch boxes start with the food. Designer Heegun Yun started with the spoon. The result is the Ring Lunch Box, a three-tier modular meal kit from the Seoul-based industrial designer that flips the logic of how we think about everyday carry and, frankly, makes you wonder why nobody did this sooner.

The concept is deceptively simple: a central utensil holder, cylindrical in form, sits at the core of the entire system. Three ring-shaped food containers then slot and stack around it, each one designed to clip onto that central hub in a clean, satisfying sequence. The structure is compact, the assembly is intuitive, and the whole thing comes apart without fumbling. It looks like it belongs in a design museum. It also looks like it actually works, which is a genuinely rare combination.

Designer: Heegun Yun

What makes the Ring Lunch Box so satisfying to look at is the way the ring form makes visual sense even before you fully understand the function. The geometry is honest. The containers are rings because they literally surround something. The central piece is cylindrical because it needs to be gripped and carried. Nothing here is decorative for decoration’s sake, and that restraint is what good industrial design looks like when it’s operating with confidence. A lot of design concepts at this level of sophistication tend to overcomplicate things as a way of signaling cleverness. Yun goes in the opposite direction entirely, and the result is more impressive for it.

Yun is a young Korean industrial designer who has already proven that he’s not just technically skilled but conceptually precise. He’s a 2024 iF Design Student Award winner, a European Product Design Award winner from 2023, and a Spark Design Award finalist in 2025. For a designer still in the early stages of building his professional portfolio, that’s a track record that commands real attention and suggests this Ring Lunch Box is far from the last we’ll hear from him.

It’s also worth noting that Korean design culture has been quietly rewriting the rules of everyday product design for a while now. From kitchenware to tech accessories, Korean designers tend to operate with a kind of disciplined elegance that doesn’t perform minimalism so much as just live inside it comfortably. The Ring Lunch Box feels like a natural extension of that sensibility. It doesn’t announce itself. It just works, and it works beautifully.

I’m particularly drawn to how the design treats the utensil not as an afterthought but as the literal axis of the whole system. Every lunch box I’ve ever owned had the spoon rattling around somewhere, tucked into a side pocket I eventually forgot about, or worse, kept separately and left behind. The Ring Lunch Box makes the utensil the reason the containers exist in the shape they do. That’s a philosophical shift, not just a practical one, and it changes the way you interact with the object before you’ve even touched the food.

The modular structure also matters in ways that go beyond aesthetics. Each container separates independently, which means cleaning is easier, portion control is genuinely flexible, and you can carry fewer tiers on lighter days without the whole thing feeling incomplete. Modularity in everyday products often sounds better in a brief than it actually functions in practice. Here, the ring geometry enforces the modular logic in a way that’s almost impossible to mess up.

Will the Ring Lunch Box become a commercial product? That part remains to be seen. Right now it lives on Behance as a design concept, but it has the kind of structural clarity that tends to attract attention from the right people in manufacturing and licensing. It doesn’t feel speculative in the way student concepts sometimes do. It feels considered, finished, and ready. And sometimes the best designs are the ones that make you ask not whether they should exist, but why they don’t already.

The post The Lunch Box Where One Ring Holds Everything Together first appeared on Yanko Design.

Spotify is selling books now

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A collaboration between Spotify and Bookshop.org that allows readers to purchase physical books in the Spotify app is now live in the US and UK.

Rather than positioning audiobooks as the hard copy-killer, Spotify is encouraging you to see them as complimentary to one another. First announced back in February, the new partnership with Bookshop.org appears to be an acknowledgement from Spotify that physical still reigns supreme in the book world. Bookshop is a digital marketplace that enables indie booksellers to take their businesses online, and Spotify says any purchase made through its app will "directly support those bookshops and the authors who brought the story to life."

When viewing an audiobook on Spotify, where available you should now see a "Get a copy for your bookshelf" link that redirects you to the Bookshop.org website, which takes over the rest of the purchase and shipping process, reports TechCrunch. The feature is now live on Android, with iOS support arriving next week.

Key to this partnership is the new Page Match feature that Spotify launched in February, which allows readers to sync their progress between audiobooks and physical or ebooks so they can jump between formats seamlessly. When reading a paperback, you can use your phone camera to scan the page you reach and continue from that point in the audiobook. It also allows you to scan ereader pages so you can pick up when you left off in the audiobook, and vice versa.

Spotify has today expanded Page Match to support more than 30 new languages, including French, German and Swedish, while Audiobook Recaps are now available on Android. Introduced last year, initially for iOS users, these AI-powered audio summaries refresh you on your progress before you start reading, becoming available once you pass the 10-minute threshold in a book.

Spotify launched audiobooks in 2022 and now offers 15 hours of free listening time a month to Premium subscribers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/spotify-is-selling-books-now-144340074.html?src=rss

How a Park in China Made Public Space Feel Human

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Most parks follow a familiar formula: some benches, a jogging path, maybe a playground, and if you’re lucky, a fountain. They’re functional, sure, but they rarely feel like they were designed with any real conviction. Orchestra Park in Kunshan, China, by local studio SoBA, is a different kind of project altogether. It’s one of those rare public spaces that actually earns its name.

The park sits in the Huaqiao Economic Development Zone, tucked between two high-density residential neighborhoods at the confluence of two rivers, covering 8,500 square meters. On paper, it sounds modest. In reality, it’s the kind of project that makes you wonder why more cities aren’t doing this.

Designer: SoBA

The entire design draws from sizhu music, a traditional form of Jiangnan Silk and Bamboo music recognized as part of the area’s intangible cultural heritage. Played on instruments like the bamboo flute and erhu, sizhu is known for its graceful, flowing melodies. SoBA took that quality literally, translating the music’s “curves and rhythm” directly into the park’s physical forms. The jogging path follows the curves of musical instruments. The layout flows rather than divides. Scattered throughout are interactive, trumpet-like music installations that double as sculptural features. It’s the kind of design move that could easily feel gimmicky, but here it reads as genuinely considered.

What makes it work, I think, is the restraint. SoBA’s founding partner Ruo Wang described the challenge as integrating park facilities “without disrupting the ecological balance.” The site already had mature camphor and dawn redwood trees, as well as nearby wetlands, and the team made a deliberate choice to keep those elements intact rather than clearing the slate for something new and shiny. That’s not a small thing. That decision alone separates Orchestra Park from a lot of contemporary public projects that bulldoze their context in the name of design.

The spatial program is surprisingly layered for something under a hectare. There’s a skatepark, a climbing area, a fitness playground, an open-air theater, bamboo grove pathways, a musical fountain plaza, and a small music classroom. A viewing platform extends out over the wetland at the northwest corner, and a small bridge leads to a winding path that loops the entire park and connects back to the surrounding neighborhoods. It’s a lot to pack in, and yet nothing about the space feels cluttered. The geometry is precise, combining straight lines and tangent arcs to create what the team describes as a “fluid yet rational form.”

And then there’s the yellow. Bright, saturated, impossible to ignore. SoBA used it as an accent throughout: on the music installations, balustrades, planters, the lines of the running track, and a series of tunnels punched through a curved wall. It’s an unapologetically bold choice in a project that otherwise prioritizes softness and nature, and it works precisely because of that contrast. The yellow pulls you through the park like a visual thread, giving the space both coherence and energy. At the eastern end, cylindrical restroom structures are topped with leaf-shaped aluminum canopies, also yellow. Even the infrastructure has a personality here.

SoBA operates under a philosophy they call “Soft Build,” which emphasizes agility, sensitivity, and inclusiveness. That framing might sound like the kind of thing you’d read in an architecture brief and promptly forget, but Orchestra Park genuinely backs it up. The space serves children, skaters, fitness enthusiasts, music lovers, and people who just want to sit near trees. It doesn’t force a single narrative onto its users. That kind of openness is harder to design than it looks.

Public parks are often where design ambition goes to die, buried under budget constraints, committee approvals, and the pressure to please everyone at once. Orchestra Park sidesteps that fate by doing something deceptively simple: it starts with a cultural idea, commits to it fully, and lets everything else follow. The result is a park that doesn’t just serve its community. It reflects it.

The post How a Park in China Made Public Space Feel Human first appeared on Yanko Design.