Five examples of quirky personal tech designed to make a subtle statement

The homogenous world of smartphones and smart devices can sometimes be a little bereft of some surprise and delight. In the first of our irregular round ups from the cutting edge of quirky tech, we’ve conjured up a suite of compact gadgets that promise to do something different.

DSKY Moonwatch by Apollo Instruments

Let’s face it, all signature watches are essentially toys for the wrist, whether guided by a leading brand, curious shapes, science fiction, bold colours or simply keeping abreast of emerging trends, we wear watches to distract and intrigue. Apollo Instruments’ DSKY Moonwatch ticks those boxes and then some. This is nothing less than a wearable replica of the 60s-era Apollo Guidance Computer for your wrist, a NASA-infused flex that incorporates GPS and a keyboard.

DSKY Moonwatch, £659.00, Apollo-Instruments.com, @Apollo_Instruments

Petru Now Playing Smart Visualiser

Petru’s audio visualiser is a simple way to animate the listening experience, harking back to the leaping LEDs of early Hi-Fi centres. The The Now Playing visualiser’s wedge-shaped wooden case has an inbuilt microphone in addition to a multicoloured front light panel. The sound of what’s playing generates a real time response on screen.

Various modes and sensitivities can be tweaked by the manual knobs and the visualiser doubles up as a record stand, thanks to the twin removable Theremin-like rods that can be attached to the top.

Now Playing Visualiser, Petru, $199, PetruDesign.com, @Petru.Designs

Candly Atmosphere Lamp

It might not provide enough lumens to read by, but the Candly Atmosphere Lamp is an elegant and fuss free route to shaping interior vibes. The lamp puts out a warm, steady light and can either be affixed to its charging base or picked up and popped down anywhere in need of fresh ambience. See more of our favourite portable lamps.

Candly Atmosphere Lamp, $50, lofree.com

tape! pocket audio sketchbook

Sometimes such an intriguing product is mooted on Kickstarter that we’re tempted to invest. That’s the case with tape!, a tiny digital recorder from Bedtime, a company based in Vilnius, Lithuania. A simple digital recorder and looper, tape! lets you layer, mangle and apply effects to your recordings, as well as slow them down and speed them up. Ultra compact, with a pleasing cassette-influenced interface, tape! looks like an excellent way to conjure up inspiration. In the market for a tape deck? Browse our guide to the best cassette players.

B.edti.me, @its_your_bedtime, Kickstarter.com

The Brick

Finally, you could always escape the digital age altogether and get a Brick. This simple physical device acts as a smartlock to give screen time limits some bite. It’s all very well using inbuilt settings like Apple Screen Time or Google’s Digital Wellbeing to set timers on access to specific apps or set up bedtime mode, but most of us have resolve that’s as weak as our attention spans.

The Brick solves this by adding in a physical ‘key’ needed to unlock the limits set by its app. The magnetic square can be stuck somewhere inconveniently out of sight in order to discourage a quite getaround, keeping doomscrolling sessions down to a minimum.

The Brick, £50, GetBrick.app, @getbrick