"We are entering a Surrealist phase of personal technology. Any device you might imagine can be found online courtesy of an obscure Chinese factory, ready to be shipped out for a loved one's holiday enjoyment: pocket-size artificial-intelligence gizmos (Rabbit r1, $199), in-home hologram machines (Code 27 Character Livehouse, $558), human-size robot servants (1X NEO, $20,000). The components of tech have become better and cheaper, from microchips to speakers and screens (have you seen how cheap a good TV is these days?), enabling out-there innovation. On the consumer side, we are bored of rote device designs; we've seen a dozen models of iPhone and crave something refreshingly different. Hence the proliferation of gadgets with nonsensical names, promising the same horsepower as major-brand equivalents but with new hardware twists and laughably low prices."
"We live in the age of the Swype ($18), a rechargeable disposable vape with an integrated touch screen on which one can check the weather and get notifications via Bluetooth, mingling nicotine and dopamine hits. Who doesn't want to find that in the bottom of their stocking? The apps and devices collected here fulfill that old promise of technology: making your life better, or at least more interesting, even if just by encouraging you to log off."
"Have More Fun This past summer, some friends and I rented a house on Fire Island that was bohemian enough to have no television. But there was a toddler in our group who wanted screen time, and the rest of us needed the option to turn our brains off after a long day in the sun. So I bought this mini projector ($50) on Amazon. It's from a brand called Enuosuma, but that doesn't matter; there are dozens of alternatives, and they're all effectively the same. It turned out to be ideal for both Ms Rachel on YouTube and Michael Clayton on Apple TV, the picture bright and crisp, with enough adjustability to work on wonky walls."
Affordable components and global manufacturing have enabled a surge of unconventional consumer gadgets from obscure Chinese factories, ranging from pocket-size AI devices to home holograms and humanoid robots. These products combine unexpected features—like vapes with touchscreens or inexpensive projectors—with mainstream device performance at much lower prices. Consumers seeking novelty after years of uniform designs embrace imaginative hardware and oddball branding. Such gadgets often prioritize fun, convenience, and curiosity, offering practical utility or moments of delight. Sometimes simple, inexpensive purchases—like a $50 mini projector—reconfigure social time and deliver bright, adjustable displays suitable for diverse viewing situations.
Read at www.newyorker.com
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