Time and innovation have allowed humanity to miniaturize amazing technology. Compare today’s TVs to those from 50 years ago. Or look at storage from a few decades ago and see how today’s SSDs offer such crazy storage. Innovation catches up with intent, allowing humans to make things better, smarter, and more efficient. What we’ve done today is look at 10 products that benefited from the marriage of innovation and intent. These 10 small products (I love alliteration) aren’t just “small for the sake of being small”… They range from the most compact and powerful espresso maker you’ll ever see to a 4K VR headset the size of a pair of swimming goggles, and they’re also incredibly functional. This list is the only thing here that isn’t small.
1. Smallest EDC Multi-Tool – KeyMaster Titanium Multi-Tool
Keys open locks…KeyMaster unlocks life. Named for its key-shaped design that’s small enough to hang on a keychain, KeyMaster is a powerful pocket-sized tool. Made from ultra-durable Grade 5 Titanium, it effortlessly handles everything from opening bottles to fixing your bike. Despite its comprehensive features, KeyMaster’s unique design makes it incredibly lightweight at just 29 grams (1 ounce) and will last a lifetime on your keychain. Despite its incredibly small size, KeyMaster packs in a whopping 14 tools, including a folding knife with a removable blade. You might wonder why the blade is removable? Because it’s easy to maintain and TSA-compliant.
2. The Smallest Espresso Maker – Wacaco Minipresso GR2
Now 5cm (2in) smaller than the original Minipresso, the Wacaco Minipresso GR2 is a smaller, more powerful espresso maker that makes strong, fresh coffee on the go. The new design features an adjustable basket that holds 8-12g of coffee and a double-walled container that holds 80ml of water. The Minipresso works the same way as before: the hand pump manually applies 8 bar of pressure (the perfect pressure for espresso) to ensure a perfect brew without electricity. The whole device is about the size of a beer can and comes with a special cup to make your espresso. No more settling for instant coffee when traveling. With the Wacaco Minipresso GR2, you have the freedom to make fresh coffee anywhere.
3. Smallest Device Charger – MELLO 20W GaN Charger
It looks like a keychain, but it can fast-charge your phone. Sounds magical? In fact, MELLO holds the title of the world’s smallest and smartest charger. Built with GaN technology, this amazingly tiny charger outputs 20W of power, enough to charge your phone faster than a standard 15W charger. MELLO has a foldable design, with pins that fit perfectly into its own framework. It comes with three different plug styles, allowing you to choose a variant based on the type of socket in your country. What’s more, MELLO also comes with its own strap-on USB-C charging cable, so this little item that you can strap onto your keychain turns into a full-fledged charger for your phone or earphones, complete with adapters, cables, and all.
4. Smallest Bluetooth Speaker – Marshall Willen
Before you all attack me, let me explain. The idea of this collection of gadgets and gear was to balance size and functionality. A sachet of instant coffee may be smaller than the Wacaco coffee machine we just described, but it’s no better than freshly brewed coffee. Similarly, the internet is full of tiny Bluetooth speakers that are terrible excuses for sound, but they don’t compare to the Marshall Willen. At just 4 inches tall, this palm-sized speaker packs a 10W amplifier and passive radiator to produce sound you won’t believe coming from something so small. 15 hours of playback, IP67 water and dust resistance, and the ability to “stack” or connect multiple Willen speakers make this a true portable powerhouse of punchy audio.
5. Smallest Power Bank – Statik Snap-n-Charge (3000mAh)
Statik’s Snap-n-Charge is another example of a product that strikes the right balance between size and functionality. It’s a compact pill-shaped charger that literally clicks into the bottom of your phone using a novel magnetic charging port architecture, boosting your phone’s battery to 3000mAh. Of course, most people would say 3000mAh isn’t much by today’s standards, but it’s enough to get you through a weekend. Most smartphone batteries max out at 4000 or 5000mAh, so the Snap-n-Charge lets you charge from 20% or even battery saving mode to 100% in no time. The power bank comes with a unique snap-on adapter that plugs into your phone, and then you can attach the power bank using a magnetic fastener like the MagSafe found on old MacBooks. Pretty impressive for a $29 power bank, don’t you think?
6. Smallest 4K Camera – Insta360 GO 3S
When you see the Insta360 GO 3S, your first thought is probably, “It’s not that small.” The GO 3S looks the same size as a regular action camera, but at first you don’t realize that the camera is a small pill-shaped module inside the device, not the whole device. Billed as the world’s smallest 4K action camera, the GO 3S weighs just 35 grams and is small enough to place anywhere. The magnetic design allows you to attach it to a variety of accessories for a unique PoV. The larger housing also has the added benefit of longer battery life. Plus, it has a flip-out display so you can see what the camera is capturing. The camera records in 16:9 landscape and portrait formats, as well as a 1:1 square ratio for Instagram. It shoots in 4K, has a total recording time of 170 minutes (with the larger camera body), is stabilized, and is IPX8 waterproof (up to 16 feet). This is the first time that content can be created in such a compact manner.
7. Smallest 4K Projector – LG CineBeam Q
You can’t take a 1080p projector after a 4K camera, right? In the spirit of go bold or go dumb, here is the LG CineBeam Q. It’s a portable projector that comes with a handle that doubles as a kickstand. Debuting at CES 2024 this year, the CineBeam Q is a strangely attractive projector with a Brown-esque design language and an avant-garde functional approach. Using the handle to set up the projector by propping it up at any angle, the CineBeam Q outputs 4K projection up to 120 inches diagonally, providing a true cinema experience wherever you are. 500 ANSI lumens means bright projection even in dimly lit areas, and the smart design allows you to consume all kinds of content without needing an additional Chromecast or similar. The $1,299 price tag may be a bit steep for mid-range consumers, but if you value design, functionality, and compactness, the LG CineBeam Q is a great choice.
8. Smallest VR Headset – Bigscreen Beyond
Speaking of exorbitant pricing, it makes sense that some products will become more expensive as they get smaller. Let’s take a look at the Bigscreen Beyond VR headset, currently the smallest immersive virtual reality headset in the world. Only the size of a pair of swimming goggles, Beyond may not look like much, but it comes with two 1-inch OLED micro-displays with a resolution of 5120×2560 and supports refresh rates of 75Hz and 90Hz. It allows for 6DoF movement and offers the most comfortable immersive VR experience in a small, ergonomic form factor. I say ergonomic because Beyond’s eye guards are 3D printed to fit your face size for a perfect fit. The entire device weighs just 127 grams (4.4 ounces) and due to its small size it doesn’t work standalone. So it needs to be connected to a device running VR software. The caveat here is that the Beyond is priced at $999, which puts it in Quest Pro (which offers pass-through, hand tracking, and runs on a standalone OS) territory… but as we said, if you want the smallest, most powerful VR headset money can buy, the Bigscreen Beyond is the way to go.
9. The Smallest Gaming Device – Tiny Circuits Thumby
Let’s dive into the amazing appeal of the Tiny Circuits Thumby for a moment. Literally the size of a thumb, the Thumby holds the title of the smallest gaming console available to consumers. Small but powerful, this console is less than an inch tall and weighs as much as an AirPod, yet it can actually play games. This keychain-sized console boasts a 72×40 monochrome OLED display and 2MB of storage, allowing you to play five preloaded games or expand your library via MicroUSB. And yes, it can even run a version of Doom. The Thumby’s small frame belies its powerful core. The Raspberry Pi Pico RP2040 processor brings games to life on the crisp 72×40 monochrome OLED display. Use the intuitive 4-way D-pad and two buttons to navigate the world and unleash the action. With an impressive 2MB of storage, Thumby also comes with a 40mAh battery that provides hours of fun.
10. Smallest Outdoor Flashlight – MiCoin Rechargeable Flashlight
About the same size as an AirTag, the MiCoin is a portable, powerful and durable flashlight designed to attach to your keychain and provide more light than the humble torchlight on your smartphone. It has a titanium shell that makes it hard to break (you could literally run it over with a car and the MiCoin would ignore it), and it has a built-in 300 lumen light that illuminates a whopping 32 meters. In comparison, a smartphone flashlight has an output of less than 10 lumens. This means that the MiCoin lights up its surroundings much better than your smartphone can, making it extremely useful both outdoors and indoors. It attaches to your keychain, comes with a USB-C port for charging, has a tritium slot to help you find the flashlight in the dark, and lets you cycle through the MiCoin’s five lighting modes (four brightness levels and one strobe mode for emergencies) with a single button. Pretty impressive for something that’s literally the size of a coin, don’t you think?
(Bonus) The smallest and thinnest mechanical keyboard – lofree EDGE
It would be disingenuous to exclude the lofree EDGE from this curation. Sure, it’s not the smallest keyboard on the market, but the lofree EDGE holds the distinction of being the thinnest mechanical keyboard ever. Weighing just 1 pound and only 5.4mm thick at its thinnest point, the EDGE still holds its own as a mechanical keyboard thanks to a completely redesigned internal and external construction. The exterior uses a magnesium frame and carbon fiber top plate, and the redesigned keycaps are sleek yet ergonomic. On the inside, redefined Kailh mechanical switches deliver the punch of a mechanical keyboard in a form factor that looks as sleek as a laptop keyboard. It may seem like a small thing at first glance, but the amount of engineering that went into building the EDGE is dizzying. Think about it: this mechanical keyboard weighs less than half the weight of the competition, is the size of two smartphones at its thickest point, and is slightly larger than the new M4 iPad Pro at its thinnest point.