Tech
Mini Kindle Pods are trending on TikTok, but these devices arent what they seem

Among passionate TikTok communities, BookTok, may be the most influential.
BookTok is where book lovers and e-reader obsessives to come together to discuss their favorite books and device hacks. For readers who use e-readers, Kindle, Kobo, and Boox lead the charge as the most popular devices, so it's notable when a new device goes viral. "Mini Kindles" appear to be the latest device to cause a stir on BookTok, with hundreds of videos showcasing the tiny e-readers.
On TikTok, searching for "mini Kindle" (or "mini Kindle pods") brings up dozens of user videos showing someone walking into a Barnes & Noble or Target and then cutting to an unboxing of a so-called "mini Kindle". As someone who tests e-readers for a living, this confused me.
I have no reason to believe these e-readers are actually being purchased at Barnes & Noble, nor do they have any apparent affiliation with Amazon Kindles.
In fact, the devices being hyped in these videos appear to be sold by the users who post them.
In a since-deleted video, user @aurealeaf directs viewers to the website NovaLeaf, where the "NovaLeaf Mini Kindle" is listed. (Editor's note: As of this writing, the @aurealeaf account is no longer available.) Another user, @hydro_scope, directs viewers to their website with a listing for a NOVA Mini Pink Kindle. Both devices claim to be pocket-sized e-readers under the Kindle name, despite no affiliation with Amazon.
We reached out to both @aurealeaf and @hydro_scope, and we'll update this post if we receive a response.
Are mini Kindle pods actually Kindles?
These mini Kindles do not seem to be actual Kindle e-readers or associated with Amazon at all, nor does Amazon sell any mini version of the Kindle e-readers. We reached out for comment from Amazon and have not heard back at the time of publication.
By performing reverse image searches on Nova and NovaLeaf websites, I found that the "mini Kindles" listed for sale there are visual matches for devices manufactured by a company called Oilsky. They appear to be 4-inch touchscreen MP3 and 1080p video players. With built-in access to the Google Play store, the Kindle app is available to download onto the device; however, that appears to be the only connection to Amazon.
The Oilsky MP3 player and copycat versions are currently listed on Amazon. These TikTok-based sellers have their mini Kindles listed for $79.99, about $10 more than the direct Oilsky listing on Amazon. Oilsky MP3 players are not listed for sale at Barnes & Noble or Target.
In short, the viral TikTok videos are using the word "Kindle" to refer to any e-reader-like device and may be at risk of legal action from Amazon.
As of this writing, the @aurealeaf TikTok account is no longer available.
Tech
Mark Zuckerberg announces Muse Spark, the first AI model from Meta Superintelligence Labs

Mark Zuckerberg announced Wednesday that Meta Superintelligence Labs has reached its first major milestone: a new family of AI models called Muse, with the debut model, Spark, available now. In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg said that Muse Spark now powers an updated version of Meta AI, which users can access online at meta.ai or in the Meta AI app.
"Muse Spark is the first step on our scaling ladder and the first product of a ground-up overhaul of our AI efforts," a Meta announcement stated.
Spark is designed to be particularly capable in areas tied to everyday personal use — tasks like visual understanding, health, shopping, and social content. Looking ahead, Zuckerberg said Meta is building products that go beyond answering questions, toward AI that acts as agents "that do things for you."
Future AI models in the Muse lineup will also include new open-source releases.
Muse Spark is the first big product from Meta Superintelligence Labs
The announcement marks the public debut of work that has been underway — and at times turbulent — since last summer. When Zuckerberg first laid out his vision for "personal superintelligence" in a July 2025 manifesto, the ambition was an AI that helps people pursue their own goals rather than one controlled from the top down.
To build it, Meta went on one of the most aggressive hiring sprees in recent memory, personally recruiting more than 50 researchers from rivals including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, and bringing in former Scale AI chief Alexandr Wang to lead its new superintelligence research group.
Then, just as quickly, Meta froze hiring altogether — citing routine budget planning — and restructured the team into four smaller units focused on research, superintelligence development, products, and infrastructure. Zuckerberg explained the pivot by saying he believes breakthrough AI work is best done by compact teams who can hold the full picture in their heads, rather than sprawling organizations.
The whiplash raised eyebrows amid broader market jitters about whether the AI boom is sustainable. An MIT study circulating at the time found the vast majority of companies deploying AI were seeing no financial return.
In his original manifesto, Zuckerberg drew a sharp philosophical line between Meta and its competitors, arguing that some AI labs want to concentrate superintelligence and pipe its output to humanity like a utility. Meta sees it differently, he said.
In Wednesday's Muse Spark announcement post, he once again framed the lab's founding goal as "putting personal superintelligence in everyone's hands" — with the underlying belief that empowering individuals, not centralizing intelligence, is how humanity moves forward.
Wednesday's Muse announcement will be the first concrete product to emerge from these multi-billion-dollar investments. (Meta allocated $72 billion in AI development in 2025 and is expected to spend up to $135 billion in 2026.)
Muse Spark: Benchmark performance
So far, Meta's Llama family of AI models has lagged far behind its rivals on AI leaderboards. Whether Spark lives up to the superintelligence branding remains to be seen, but after months of hiring drama, restructuring, and big-picture theorizing, Meta has finally put something on the table.
As Zuckerberg put it: "I'm looking forward to sharing more soon."
As part of its Muse Spark announcement, Meta Superintelligence Labs released its scores on popular AI benchmark tests such as Humanity's Last Exam (HLE), ARC AGI 2, and GPQA Diamond. These scores could not be independently verified at this time, but Meta did release information on its testing methodology for Muse Spark.
Overall, Meta reported mixed results when comparing Muse Spark to frontier models such as Claude Opus 4.6 Max, Gemini 3.1 Pro High, GPT 5.4 Xhigh, and Grok 4.2, with Muse Spark outperforming on some benchmarks and underperforming on others.
Meta released a table comparing benchmark performance for Muse Spark.

Credit: Meta
How to try Muse Spark from Meta
Muse Spark is available online now. Desktop users can access the new AI model online at meta.ai. Mobile users can also try Muse Spark in the Meta AI app. Additionally, Meta said that select users will be able to access a private API preview.
To compete with reasoning models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, Meta is also releasing a "Contemplating" mode for Muse Spark, "which orchestrates multiple agents that reason in parallel."
"This allows Muse Spark to compete with the extreme reasoning modes of frontier models such as Gemini Deep Think and GPT Pro. Contemplating mode provides significant capability improvements in challenging tasks, achieving 58% in Humanity’s Last Exam and 38% in FrontierScience Research."
Contemplating mode is not yet available; Meta said it will be released gradually at meta.ai, but did not provide a timeline for its release.
Tech
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Gaming Headset is on sale for under $300 at Amazon

SAVE $80: The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Multi-System Gaming Headset is on sale at Amazon for $299.99, down from the list price of $379.99. That's a 21% discount.
A great gaming monitor can change your experience but there's something espeically immersive about a great gaming headset. If you could use an upgrade, check out this nice deal at Amazon on a splurge-worthy pair.
As of April 8, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Multi-System Gaming Headset is on sale at Amazon for $299.99, marked down from the standard price of $379.99. That's a 21% discount that takes $80 off the normal price.
If you're looking for a "treat yourself" moment when it comes to gaming, it might not get much better than upgrading to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro headset. Contributor Ben Williams reviewed the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro and wrote, "Its price is still rather high, even when discounted. That said, the experience is well and truly worth the cost — especially if you want the absolute best level of gaming audio you can get on any platform at home and beyond."
This curved 27-inch ASUS TUF gaming monitor is now at its best-ever price on Amazon — save $70
Williams also commended the SteelSeries for "brilliant audio performance and connectivity," in addition to mentioning the headset's comfort. Another nice feature is the headset's noise cancellation. While it's not gonna get Sony XM6 levels of impressive, it should do just fine for keeping distractions away from your gaming sessions.
SteelSeries also uses a dual battery system on the Arctis Nova Pro headset. While one battery is keeping the headset powered on for up to 20 hours, the other battery can be charging on the base station. When one battery dies, swap it out for the other fully-charged battery to get another 20 hours of gaming.
Before this sale price disappears, up your gaming sessions with the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Multi-System Gaming Headset. You'll be equipped with a pro-level gaming headset for under $300.
Tech
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