5 Tiny Gadgets That Are Surprisingly Powerful

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Some of the most useful things in your home are small but mighty. Think sewing needles, paper clips, fridge magnets, and box cutters. They might not be as big or powerful as your dishwasher and TV, but they're just as necessary to your daily routine. 

When it comes to tech devices, though, compact gadgets aren't always everyone's first choice. After all, performance usually comes in bulky form factors (Exhibit A: gaming laptops). That's why you might normally overlook small gadgets and go for larger ones, thinking miniature tech pieces are unable to fit every chip and sensor needed to accomplish anything useful.

But with today's technology, devices can actually be small enough to slip into your pocket while still being capable of an impressive range of tasks. Here are five tiny gadgets proving just that. These devices range from niche tools to practical everyday essentials.

Measuring 3.95 x 1.58 x 1.01 inches, the Flipper Zero is the ultimate multi-tool for DIY electronics enthusiasts. It's an open-source device that might not look like much from the outside, but it's actually packed with all sorts of helpful features.

For one, it has a sub-1GHz transceiver on the side that can work within a 164-foot range. This can come in handy for opening garage doors, working with IoT doorbells, and even controlling smart bulbs. You'll also find an infrared transceiver on the Flipper Zero. Infrared is the technology used in remote controls for stereo speakers, TVs, and air conditioners. That means you can use this tiny but powerful device as a universal remote for most of your appliances. Conveniently, the Flipper Zero can read and write RFID and NFC cards and tags too. It's built with separate 125kHz RFID and NFC modules. With these, you can then save data from the cards/tags and use the Flipper Zero to share and emulate the card IDs.

If you like tinkering with hardware, Flipper Zero also includes a set of GPIO pins at the top. You can use these pins with the Flipper Zero's built-in buttons and 1.4" monochrome LCD screen. To make the most out of the Flipper Zero, there are some accessories you can connect to it, such as a Wi-Fi development board, video game module, and prototyping board. Runtime-wise, the Flipper Zero is powered by a 2,100mAh battery, which can last you up to 28 days.

While some streaming devices sit on your TV stand and consume precious space, there are others that can be neatly hidden behind the TV instead. One of them is the Roku Streaming Stick Plus. It measures 3.7 by 0.80 by 0.45 inches, small enough not to block any of your TV ports but powerful enough to improve your watching experience.

This pocket-sized streaming stick supports media streaming in HD, 4K, and HDR. If you're not into Netflix binge-watching, you can also change to one of the 500+ TV channels available on Roku for free. There are channels streaming 24/7, so you can surely find something to watch. The Roku Streaming Stick Plus normally uses your TV's built-in or connected speakers for the audio. But during times when you need to listen privately, it conveniently lets you pair Bluetooth headphones too.

You can control the Roku Streaming Stick Plus with either the Roku Voice Remote that comes in the box or the Roku mobile app on your phone. Both support D-pad control and intuitive voice commands like "Show me action movies," "Find The Princess Diaries movie," and "Open Apple TV+." Other voice commands you can use include playback control (e.g., pause, rewind), TV control (e.g., volume adjustment, switching HDMI inputs), and regular questions about movies/shows and actors. If you have a Google Home, Amazon Alexa, or Apple HomeKit system already set up, you can also control the Roku Streaming Stick Plus with your smart speaker/display. Just call out to Google Assistant, Alexa, or Siri and say your command, which is actually pretty similar to the Roku commands.

Action cameras are already made to be portable, but the Insta360 Go 3S takes its portability up a notch by being as small as a thumb. It's only 1.4 ounces and 1 x 2.1 x 1 inches in size, so there's no problem taking it anywhere.

Despite being a tiny gadget, it's just as powerful as its bigger counterparts. It has two microphones built in and can shoot at 4K@30fps. It also supports a maximum video frame rate of 1080p@50fps and photo resolutions of 2880 by 2880, 3968 by 1472, 4000 by 2250, and 4000 by 3000. Better yet, you can use this tiny action camera for both portrait and landscape recording. To change the orientation, all you have to do is twist the camera before starting the video.

The best part about the Insta360 Go 3S is that there are multiple ways to use it. You can shoot with the camera either attached to your shirt via the magnet pendant, mounted on a wall with the pivot stand, or clipped to a hat or pet collar. Simply push the button up front to start recording quickly. If the camera is mounted far from you, it can be set to work with gestures or voice commands. If you prefer holding the camera yourself instead, connect it to the Action Pad, which has a built-in flip touchscreen. This setup makes it easier to review shots while filming vlogs and selfies. What iPhone users will love most about the Insta360 Go 3S is that it's Apple Find My-compatible. This means you can add it to your Find My app and locate it from there.

When using smart devices around the house, it's only practical to have a smart switch on hand too. That's where the Flic Duo comes into the picture. Unlike most smart switches, this small remote measuring 2 x 1.14 x 0.31 inches is built with two buttons. That means you can easily set each one to two different functionalities. For instance, you can use the top button for cranking up the temperature and the bottom button for turning it down. If you pair the Flic Duo with a smart bulb, one button can be used to turn it on and the other to adjust the brightness. 

And that's just half of what this surprisingly powerful tiny gadget can do. When mounted on the wall, the Flic Duo works like other smart switches. You can do a single press, double press, and hold to perform your desired task. When in your hand, though, the Flic Duo lets you use more than just these three actions. Thanks to its accelerometer, it can sense gestures like twisting your hand clockwise or counter-clockwise and moving your hand up, down, left, or right. You can assign each gesture to trigger specific tasks. Say, swiping left will make Spotify return to the previous track and swiping right will skip to the next song. 

Keep in mind, though, that the Flic Duo should be connected to the Flic Hub to unlock the twist functionality. If you don't have a hub, you can pair it directly with your phone but without access to the twist gesture. The Flic Duo also supports Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and Samsung SmartThings and can be integrated with devices like Chromecast, Philips Hue, and Sonos, along with apps like Spotify, Slack, and even your phone's camera app. 

Anker Soundcore Work is an AI-powered voice recorder and transcriber the size of a coin and weighs just 0.35 ounces. It does two things at once: record your conversations and transcribe them via the Soundcore app. How it works is simple. You press the button on the recorder, and it starts picking up voices from as far as 16.4 feet. If you hear any essential detail, just double tap the front of the recorder to mark that moment. Once the conversation is finished, you can then stop the recording with the same On button and hop on the Soundcore app to transcribe the audio or generate a summary with the help of AI.

The transcription is accurate up to 97%. Conveniently, it can tell the speakers apart and highlight the essential parts you marked earlier to give you a more organized conversation. The summary already includes key takeaways and action items. This means you won't need to review the entire recording to manually pick out the important points. It's important to note that the AI transcription isn't entirely free. Soundcore Work comes with free audio transcription for 300 minutes every month. If necessary, you can subscribe to the Pro plan that offers 1,200 minutes or the Unlimited plan with unlimited transcription.

For privacy reasons, recorded audio is encrypted and stored on the device itself. With the internal storage, you can record a maximum of 250 hours. You can't export these files using a USB, though. Instead, it's required to launch the Soundcore app while Soundcore Work is nearby. Your phone will then connect automatically to the voice recorder and sync the files.

These tiny gadgets were all selected based on their size and functionality. To be included in our tiny gadget list, the device must fit comfortably in the palm of your hand and squeeze easily into your pocket. They should also be packed with a range of useful features. 

Other than the size and functionality, we considered the overall reliability and popularity of each brand to make sure you're getting good value for your money.