podcast
podcast at Spoot: Spotted Early is a file of 6 stories. The newest of them: “Apple's gadget lab is messy and I'm genuinely charmed”, “Apple HomeView has the hardware for apps but only runs CarPlay”, and “We got our hands on Dyson's camera-toting toothbrush, and we have thoughts”. Apple's gadget lab is messy and I'm genuinely charmed. Apple's HomeView has the guts to run apps, a proper chip, always-on power, a screen that begs for widgets, but it only runs CarPlay. 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 podcast story on Spoot: Spotted Early, newest first.
Apple's gadget lab is messy and I'm genuinely charmed
Apple's gadget lab is messy and I'm genuinely charmed. The iPhone gets more screens, the MacBook finally lets you poke it, and the HomeView just runs CarPlay apps. After years of polish, the most successful product maker on earth has decided to try things again, even when "trying" means slapping a touch panel on a lovely new MacBook Pro just to see if you'll use it. The results aren't always perfect, but watching Apple experiment is its own kind of fun. On The Vergecast, David and Nilay debate touchscreen laptops, and Nilay explains exactly why he's buying that new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display. If you're in the mood for more delightfully weird hardware, check out our piece on the mycelium disposable camera that decomposes before your photos do. Stay spooty.
Apple HomeView has the hardware for apps but only runs CarPlay
Apple's HomeView has the guts to run apps, a proper chip, always-on power, a screen that begs for widgets, but it only runs CarPlay. That's weird, right? The Vergecast crew is asking the same thing: why build a home hub with real computing muscle and then refuse to let it be its own app platform? It's a deliberately closed door, and the speculation is that Apple wants control over the experience rather than a free-for-all of third-party interfaces. But it raises the obvious question: if your smart display can't run smart home apps natively, what exactly is it for? Our related piece, *"Apple's HomeView is a chimera of nostalgia, and that's exactly the point"*, digs into the design philosophy behind that choice.
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.
Wooden towers, robotic hands, and a tattoo that means something
There's a moment in the latest Dezeen Weekly where the conversation pivots from timber towers to a tattoo, and honestly, that's the kind of whiplash we live for. Tom Ravenscroft and Nat Barker dig into whether building tall with wood is genuine innovation or just a very tall gimmick, and they land somewhere delightfully complicated. Then there's a robotic hand that feels less like a prototype and more like a prop from a film that hasn't been made yet. It's the kind of leap that makes sci-fi feel impatient. And yes, the editor's new ink has a story worth circling back for. If you're hungry for more pocket-sized ingenuity, our roundup of phones with robot arms scratches that itch nicely. Stay spooty.
Kylie Jenner's side-eye might be the only honest review of Meta's new glasses
Meta's new smart glasses walked into Paris Fashion Week with Kylie Jenner's side-eye as their only honest reviewer. That's the energy this episode of Dezeen Weekly runs on. Design editor Jennifer Hahn and architecture reporter Amy Peacock sit down to ask the question nobody in the launch video dared to: would anyone actually wear these things? The side-eye says no. The speculative shrug says maybe, once the AI detox happens. Also on the table: Frank Gehry's Abu Dhabi opera house, which apparently deserves a second look, and a Paris Fashion Week that felt less like couture and more like decline. If you like your tech coverage with a gentle skepticism and a genuine delight in the weird, this one's for you.
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.