The Dune keypad device can be your meeting controller and more

My biggest favored peeve with gathering apps is that each 1 has a antithetic shortcut for muting your mic oregon turning disconnected your webcam. It’s hard to retrieve which keys bash what erstwhile you’re mid-meeting and trying to marque a constituent oregon inquire a question. I ever wanted a physical, cosmopolitan fastener for mute and camera power — thing I could deed without thinking. Project Mirage’s Dune, a tiny, three-key aluminum keypad — astir the size of a instrumentality of gum — that plugs into your MacBook’s USB-C port, does conscionable that.

The $119 gadget has 3 buttons, and it changes discourse based connected what app you are looking at. For instance, successful gathering apps and sites, it could beryllium toggle mic, toggle video, and bring model to the front. For Excel oregon Sheets, it could beryllium copy, paste, and undo. For Chrome, it could beryllium refresh, leap to URL bar, and paste. You get the gist. Developers tin besides usage it with apps similar VS Code oregon GitHub to merge, approve, oregon adjacent a propulsion request.

The startup builds each portion to lucifer your circumstantial Mac model, truthful it sits flush against the laptop with nary spread underneath. If your ports are already successful use, you tin link it done a dongle instead. Dune has nary artillery and needs nary abstracted charger — it draws powerfulness consecutive from the MacBook.

Currently, the startup supports M2 Air oregon aboriginal and M1 Pro oregon aboriginal models of MacBook moving macOS 15 Sequoia oregon a aboriginal version.

The instrumentality looks and feels nice, but I felt the keys had much resistance. Right now, it is casual to propulsion a cardinal by mistake. A fewer times, I mistakenly unmuted myself oregon killed my camera due to the fact that my manus brushed the instrumentality portion reaching for a h2o vessel oregon java mug. It shouldn’t beryllium this casual to property a key.

Dune ships with a companion app for configuring shortcuts, either per-app oregon system-wide. Within a fixed app, you tin delegate a Dune cardinal to a keyboard shortcut, a command, oregon a nexus that opens an app oregon URL.

Image Credits:Project Mirage

Through the app, Dune besides syncs with your calendar and surfaces your adjacent gathering a fewer minutes earlier it starts, truthful you tin join, dismiss, oregon nonstop an “I’m moving late” connection with 1 tap.

If you privation deeper customization, you tin constitute and tally your ain Python script. If you don’t code, Dune has an casual integration with Claude Desktop: you picture the shortcut you privation successful plain language, and Claude writes it and assigns it to a cardinal for that app — nary manual setup required.

I built a shortcut that, whenever I’m connected a startup’s website, pulls up a speedy little connected the company: its competitors, investors, and questions I mightiness inquire if I booked a gathering with them. For anyone whose occupation involves sizing up companies rapidly — investors, founders, operators — it’s a task tailor-made for Dune. I besides built 1 that converts images to JPG truthful I tin upload them rapidly to WordPress oregon societal platforms. Both were casual to physique and needed nary manual configuration, though getting a shortcut afloat moving inactive takes immoderate back-and-forth with Claude, including debugging erstwhile you really tally it.

The app besides has a marketplace, from wherever you tin research skills made by different Dune owners. If the marketplace takes off, it could go halfway to Dune’s maturation and retention strategy — hardware arsenic a bladed front-end for a Claude-powered skills ecosystem, wherever each caller accomplishment gives owners 1 much crushed to instrumentality around.

However, astatine the moment, determination are lone constricted skills. Plus, determination is nary mode to trial retired a accomplishment without assigning it to the hardware fastener — ideally, the app would fto you preview a accomplishment earlier committing it to hardware. The startup besides needs to proactively adhd much of its ain suggested skills for antithetic apps to its users.

Project Mirage’s instrumentality retails for $149 aft its introductory terms expires, and it’s a coagulated prime for anyone productivity-minded. MuteMe covers conscionable mute/unmute, and Stream Deck offers business-focused macros, but Dune is easier to customize connected some hardware and software.