Nat Barker
Spoot: Spotted Early keeps Nat Barker in one place: 3 stories so far. The section currently leads with “Meta's Muse Charm is too cute to trust”, “We got our hands on Dyson's camera-toting toothbrush, and we have thoughts”, and “The electric Ferrari got booed, but Jony Ive's fingerprints explain the real story”. Meta's Muse Charm is a tiny, adorable AI pendant that hangs around your neck and listens, ready to whisper reminders, translations, or answers into your ear. There's a toothbrush with a camera in it, and Dyson actually shipped it. Spoot: Spotted Early New things, caught while they're still new and a little weird. Spoot finds fresh gadgets, clever inventions, crowdfunding campaigns,… The list below is every Nat Barker story on Spoot: Spotted Early, newest first.
Meta's Muse Charm is too cute to trust
Meta's Muse Charm is a tiny, adorable AI pendant that hangs around your neck and listens, ready to whisper reminders, translations, or answers into your ear. It's pink, it's soft, it's got big round eyes, and it is absolutely too cute to trust. Why are AI companies suddenly obsessed with making their surveillance-adjacent devices look like they belong in a Ghibli film? Dezeen's editors Nat Barker, Jennifer Hahn, and Tom Ravenscroft dig into that exact discomfort on the latest episode of Dezeen Weekly, alongside a discussion of New York City's so-called "jailscrapers", skyscrapers designed to hold people, not offices. If you want more on why we're all side-eyeing wearable tech, our earlier piece on Kylie Jenner's side-eye review of Meta's new glasses is worth circling back to. Stay spooty.
We got our hands on Dyson's camera-toting toothbrush, and we have thoughts
There's a toothbrush with a camera in it, and Dyson actually shipped it. The CameraJet exists, we held it, and the Dezeen team has feelings. Somewhere between a dental tool and a surveillance device, it raises the obvious question: does anyone need to film their own molars? Probably not. But Dyson rarely asks permission, and the sheer audacity of the thing is worth unpacking. Nat Barker, Jennifer Hahn, and Tom Ravenscroft dig into the launch, the hype, and whether the tech justifies the bristles. They also tour a north London building trying to revive stone architecture, which feels like the opposite of a gadget that beeps at your gums. For more clever folding solutions, our piece on a tiny home that hides a mattress where the tent used to be pairs nicely. Stay spooty.
The electric Ferrari got booed, but Jony Ive's fingerprints explain the real story
A crowd booed a Ferrari. That alone should tell you something strange is happening, because people do not usually boo Ferraris. They boo football referees and reality TV villains. But this was the unveiling of the marque's first all-electric car, designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson, and the room in Rome let it have it. I love that. The launch video skipped the part where the faithful get restless. Ive's fingerprints explain the real story, and they are all over the reaction. This is a car that looks like a product, not a prancing horse. It is a fascinating collision of two design religions, and the worshippers are confused. If you want a palate cleanser, read our piece on six tiny EVs that dare to be small, sharp, and actually cool.