Why Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 Wayfarer Makes Wearable Tech Feel Useful | Vol. 29

Smart glasses have spent years trying to persuade us that the main thing missing from ordinary eyewear was a small computer announcing itself at eye level. Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer (Gen 2) takes the less embarrassing route: begin with a frame people already recognize, then hide the contemporary ambitions inside it.

The selected RW4012 601S1Z version is matte black with Clear/Grey Transitions® lenses, a high-bridge fit and 50-22 sizing. Its feature list is not subtle: touch and voice controls, Meta AI, open-ear audio, a 12 MP camera and 3K Ultra HD video recording. A pair of glasses has apparently acquired the job description of several pocket objects, which is either wonderfully tidy or a sign that pockets were losing the argument.

We think this is the smart-glasses pick that makes the strongest case for the category because the Wayfarer shape gives all that circuitry a civilized cover story. The appeal is not novelty for novelty’s sake; it is the prospect of camera, audio and assistant functions in something that still looks at home beside a coffee, a commuter bag or a slightly overworked tote.

There is, naturally, a catch beneath the sleek frame: this is a very specific fit and lens configuration, not a universal technological blessing bestowed upon all noses. Buy it for the combination of familiar eyewear and unusually dense functionality, not because the phrase “AI glasses” has made you temporarily reckless.

A travel tumbler is one of those adult objects that exists because mornings have become a logistics exercise. There is coffee to make, a door to find, a bag to pack, and somehow a drink is expected to survive the journey without becoming either cold regret or a scorching distraction. We think the KINTO 20933 makes a tidy case for keeping that ritual deliberately small.

This selected red version holds 350 ml, or 11.8 fl oz, and uses double-wall vacuum construction. The listing also specifies heat and cold retention, so it is aimed at both the hurried coffee crowd and the iced-drink loyalists who remain committed to cubes in February. Nobody needs to turn a basic beverage into a personality trait; it does need to arrive in a usable state.

The appeal here is restraint. A 350 ml tumbler belongs beside a laptop, in a work bag, or in the daily procession from kitchen counter to transit stop without demanding that every beverage become an expedition. That makes it a useful complement to larger bottles: less capacity, less ceremony, and fewer opportunities to spend the afternoon guarding yesterday’s lukewarm drink.

There is no escaping the maths, though. This is a single serving, not an all-day hydration plan. We picked it because that limit is often exactly the point: a compact insulated tumbler for people whose morning drink needs a little protection, not its own postal code.

A toolbox is rarely allowed to be attractive. Most are sentenced to a life of rattling about in a garage, coloured black, grey, or the grim yellow of a municipal warning sign. The TOYO Camber-top Toolbox Y-350 R arrives in glossy red, made in Japan, and seems to take the humble task of holding loose things far more seriously than loose things deserve.

We picked it for the particular modern mess between “proper workshop” and “tiny flat.” There are precision bits, pliers, chargers, tape rolls, fountain-pen paraphernalia, camera odds and ends, and the strange collection of adapters everyone owns but nobody can identify. Leaving them in a drawer creates an archaeological dig every time one tiny item is needed. The Y-350 gives that pile a dedicated address without demanding a whole shelving unit.

Its body is formed from one seamless piece of pressed steel, while the camber-top lid is designed to add storage space. That is a thoughtful format for compact gear: a long, low box with inner dimensions of 349 × 139 × 72 mm. The rounded carrying handle is designed for hand comfort, which is reassuring when the box has become home to enough metal objects to make a satisfying little clatter.

This is not an all-purpose answer to every storage problem, and it should not be treated as one. At 1.3 kg, it is already a substantial object before anything goes inside, and tall tools will run into the 72 mm internal height. But for the narrow category of small, useful possessions that deserve both containment and a faintly ridiculous amount of dignity, we think the Y-350 R makes an excellent case for itself.

There are bags that carry laptops, groceries, gym shoes and the administrative burden of modern adulthood. Then there are bags with two smiling marshmallows hanging from them, which is clearly the more important category. The Jellycat Amuseables Pair of Marshmallows Bag Charm is for the person whose practical bag has become suspiciously competent and needs a little nonsense attached.

Jellycat calls this model APM4BC, and it is a compact plush bag charm rather than a miniature toy attempting to occupy the entire backpack. Its 5.9 x 4.3 x 2-inch overall dimensions and 3-inch sitting height keep the premise nicely contained: two marshmallows, a little personality, no need to reorganize your carry-on around them.

We think it earns a place beside more functional daily-carry gear because not every addition has to optimize a cable, seal a lunch, or locate a misplaced key. A small visual joke can make a plain tote, backpack, or purse feel less like it has been issued by an office supply department.

The reality is suitably fussy: polyester and cotton plush with polyester-fibre filling needs sponge cleaning only. That is not a crisis, but it does make this a poor match for the person whose bag regularly encounters coffee spills, slushy sidewalks, or the mysterious goo at the bottom of a child’s snack bag.

Some nostalgia products merely put an old logo on a new object and wait for the collective sigh. LEGO Super Mario Game Boy Building Set 72046 takes the more committed route: it asks adults to assemble a near 1:1-scale replica of the original Nintendo Game Boy, then place it on a stand as evidence that their shelf has excellent priorities.

We think that is exactly why it works as a curveball. The finished model recreates the familiar controls—the +Control Pad, A and B buttons, SELECT and START, contrast adjustment, volume dial and Game Pak slot—without pretending to be a modern gadget. There are no digital play functions, light or sound. This is a construction-and-display proposition, not a stealthy way to avoid answering emails.

The clever bit is that the nostalgia does not stop at one generic screen. Two interchangeable brick-built Game Paks are included: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Super Mario Land. Each has a corresponding lenticular screen, with a Nintendo start screen also supplied. Swapping the display detail is a small ritual, but so is straightening cushions nobody sits on; domestic theatre has its place.

At over 14 cm high, 9 cm wide and 3 cm deep, it is compact enough to be a deliberate little display rather than a full-scale monument to childhood. The 421-piece count also suggests a focused build rather than a sprawling household occupation. Step-by-step instructions arrive in the box and through the LEGO Builder app, which is welcome when a volume dial made of bricks suddenly becomes a matter of personal pride.