News
The offline desk gadget that actually got me to sit up straight
Working from home has its own perils. Pets can be demanding, your back aches from hours at a desk, or you simply forget to move. There are a few apps that nudge you to move around or indicate that you’re not sitting in an ideal position, but they’re easy to dismiss.
I’ve spent the better part of a decade at a home desk, iterating on the setup as I go — gaming chair, lumbar support, the works. None of it guarantees good posture.
Then I came across Isa, a desk device from German startup Deep Care that takes a different approach entirely. It tracks posture, hydration, light, sound, and movement. And it does all of it without a camera or an internet connection, which, in an era of always-on surveillance, is a meaningful differentiator.
Here’s how it works and what’s inside. Isa has a 5.5-inch IPS HD screen and looks like a table clock. It is powered by USB-C; the company supplies a power unit with it, but you can use any of your existing chargers too, as it has a power consumption rating of roughly 2.45W.
The key sensor for the device is the Time-of-Flight (ToF) 3D depth sensor on the front — the same technology used in facial recognition and some smartphone cameras — that tracks posture and movement. It also enables beta features, such as counting the number of times you’ve had water or other liquids. The company said that the sensor works in the range of 0.15 meters to 1.8 meters. That means if the device is sitting on your desk, it can measure your movement, even when you stand up and move about. It also packs several other sensors: a ToF 1D sensor, a gyroscope, a barometer, a light sensor, a sound level sensor, a CO₂/VoC sensor, and a temperature and humidity sensor.
Getting started is straightforward — the device asks for a few details about you and your work routine. I found it strange that there was no option to set the device to India time (or any other Asian time zone). The company said Isa currently supports only EU and US time zones. Fair enough for now — but broader time zone support, or even a simple world clock, feels like a basic expectation for a desk device.
On the screen, Isa displays your posture with a squircle (a rounded square) ring that fills or empties based on how well you’re sitting, while a water-tank-style widget tracks your drinking. If you are not sitting in the correct posture, the indicator will turn yellow. The Apple Watch-style ring is a surprisingly effective nudge — when I see yellow or red, I straighten up almost instinctively.
The device vibrates to alert you if you’ve been slouching for too long, and I’m okay with that kind of mild shaming. That alert also indicates if you are leaning far too forward or back and helps you correct your stance.
A similar widget tracks movement, and if you have been stationary for a while, Isa suggests you get up, with on-device guided exercises to follow. When you return to your desk after a break, the movement tracker resets.
Deep Care chose not to include a cameras, which helps with privacy, but it comes with trade-offs.
If a bottle or some other object sits between you and the sensor, it may read that as a person and log you as stationary. Pets or housemates passing by can trigger the sensor, too. Isa usually figures out that you’ve stepped away and goes to a digital clock display, but I would have liked a manual button to tell it I’m not at the desk so it stops tracking.
Because of the sensor-only approach, the device occasionally told me I’d been stationary for too long when I’d been sitting for under half an hour. These are minor inconveniences. On balance, the device made me check my posture more often than I used to, and the exercise suggestions are truly useful.
To process all these features, the device uses a quad-core 2 GHz processor. The device can connect to Wi-Fi for software updates, but you can turn it off at any time.
Deep Care was founded by three former Bosch employees and initially sold Isa directly to businesses. It recently expanded to consumers — a shift that signals confidence in the retail market for workplace wellness hardware, and a test of whether a subscription model layered onto premium hardware can find a mainstream audience.
Isa is priced at €299 ($354) with two subscription tiers. The core plan (€4.99 per month) gives you access to posture tracking, healthy sitting habit tracking, drinking habit detection, and its exercise library. The Pro plan(€7.99 per month) lets you track light, noise, and CO2 levels for a healthy working environment.
The company plans to use Isa’s sensor suite to venture into mental health-related tracking. It claims that by using signals like posture, head movement, and chest movement, the device can measure breathing patterns. Plus, paired with environmental data like noise, light levels, and CO2 level, the company wants to introduce a stress-related score.
Even if you skip the mental health features, Isa is a solid device for anyone serious about posture and movement. It isn’t cheap, and the subscription adds to the long-term cost. But if you or someone you know works from home and has been meaning to do something about their desk habits, it’s one of the more thoughtful options out there.
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Nigerian music stars Davido, Burna Boy, Rema, Ayra Starr, and rapper Odumodublvck will fly the country’s flag at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as FIFA unveiled the official World Cup soundtrack album.
Despite the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Nigerian artistes are among the headline acts featured on the star-studded 18-track FIFA World Cup 2026 album released ahead of the tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Their inclusion further highlights the growing global dominance of Afrobeats and Nigeria’s cultural influence on the international entertainment scene.
Grammy-winning singer Burna Boy teams up with Colombian superstar Shakira on the lead anthem titled “Dai Dai,” one of the flagship songs expected to dominate the tournament’s celebrations.
Davido also secured a major spot on the project with “No Place Like Home,” a collaboration featuring international music group Major Lazer and Canadian singer Nelly Furtado.
Rema, one of Africa’s fastest-rising global stars, appears on the song “Goals” alongside BLACKPINK member LISA and Brazilian singer Anitta, while Ayra Starr joins American rapper Latto on the track “Show Me.”
Indigenous Nigerian hip-hop star Odumodublvck also earned recognition on the album through a special collaborative song featuring Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho, Justin Quiles, and Lenny Tavárez.
Beyond the official album, Nigerian artists are also expected to play active roles during the tournament festivities.
Reports indicate that Rema will perform during the opening ceremony events, while Davido is scheduled to appear at the FIFA World Cup countdown concert at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The strong Nigerian representation on the FIFA World Cup soundtrack comes as another major boost for Afrobeats, which has continued to gain worldwide acceptance through collaborations with international stars and appearances on major global platforms.
Although Nigeria’s national football team will miss out on the expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup, the country’s music industry will still enjoy a prominent spotlight on football’s biggest stage.
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