Compact

The Civic has become a lot more grownup since its 1990s heyday, when wannabe street racers and steel-wheeled econoboxes were its primary associations. The 2025 model year adds a hybrid model and some updated styling.

Californian EV startup Telo just revealed a functional prototype of its MT1 mini-truck at an in-person event in Los Angeles. That signals the company is inching closer to production and getting its rationally sized pickups on to the road.

As the production window approaches for what's described as "the world’s most efficient EV pickup," startup Telo has formed a partnership with Aptera. The latter will supply its PV cells for optional solar paneling for the upcoming compact e-truck.

Last year, EV startup Telo launched a compact truck that has the same footprint as a Mini Cooper but boasts a cargo bed that challenges the big boys. At that time, it was listed at under $50k, but the company has now revealed a much lower base price.

DJI launched an "ultralight, compact wireless microphone" this week called the Mic Mini. Weighing just 10 g, you may not even notice it's there. But the day before, an Boya stole much of DJI's thunder with a cheaper, smaller and lighter namesake.

Though playing through a huge rig can be supremely satisfying, it's not really practical for jamming at home. Boss has birthed a new 10-W combo amp that packs tube-like Katana tones and effects into a battery-powered compact frame.

Following a number of industry partnerships, Leica announced its own smart projector in 2022. Now that UST Laser TV is joined by a compact audiovisual treat designed for "maximum flexibility and cinema feeling in Leica premium image quality."

Renault's fun-loving Twizy compact EV was spun out into a new sub-brand in 2022. Now, following a world premiere at the Paris Motor Show last month, the Mobilize Duo electric micro-car and Bento e-van have driven onto the show floor at EICMA in Milan.

We've spent the past few weeks having our streamed entertainment served up by a mini-PC-sized Full HD laser projector that Dangbei launched at IFA 2023 in Germany last year. The Atom made its way to the US for CES recently, and is now up for sale.

Late last year, San-Fran's Humane launched a wearable AI gadget called the Ai Pin. Now tech startup Rabbit has partnered with Teenage Engineering for a bright orange personal assistant for your pocket called the R1.

Though projectors can certainly brighten up any room, the units themselves are not usually high on the list of considerations when it comes to interior design. LG is looking to change that with the compact CineBeam Qube 4K laser projector.

The USA has only two accelerators that can produce 10 billion electron-volt particle beams, and they're each about 1.9 miles long. "We can now reach those energies in 10 cm," said the CEO of TAU Systems, which has built an ultra-compact accelerator.