A new hardware gadget hopes to solve a frustration familiar to anyone working remotely: the scramble to remember which keyboard shortcut mutes your microphone in Zoom, Teams or Google Meet. Project Mirage's Dune is a compact, three-key aluminium keypad — roughly the size of a stick of gum — that plugs into a MacBook's USB-C port and adapts its functions based on the application in use.
In a meeting app, the three buttons can toggle mute, toggle video, and bring the meeting window to the front. Switch to Excel or Google Sheets, and they become copy, paste and undo. In a browser, they can refresh the page, jump to the URL bar, or paste. Developers can assign actions such as merging or closing a pull request in VS Code or GitHub. The device draws power from the MacBook and has no internal battery, and the startup builds each unit to match the specific Mac model so it sits flush against the laptop.
The Dune ships with a companion app for configuring shortcuts per application or system-wide. It also syncs with the user's calendar, surfacing the next meeting with a one-tap option to join, dismiss, or send a late message. For deeper customisation, users can write their own Python scripts or use an integration with Claude Desktop, where describing a desired shortcut in plain language generates the code automatically. A marketplace lets owners share and download 'skills' created by other users, though the selection is currently limited and there is no way to preview a skill before assigning it to a hardware button.
Early reviews note that the keys require very little force to press, leading to accidental unmuting or camera toggling when a hand brushes the device. At $149 after its introductory price, the Dune competes with single-purpose devices like MuteMe and broader macro keypads such as the Stream Deck, but aims to stand out with its context-aware approach and AI-powered customisation.
For UK businesses and consumers, the device raises questions about the growing dependency on proprietary hardware for productivity tasks. The Information Commissioner's Office has not issued guidance on such peripherals, but any device that processes calendar data or executes scripts could fall under data protection rules if personal information is involved. The EU AI Act, meanwhile, may affect how integrations like Claude Desktop are marketed in Europe, though the UK's post-Brexit regulatory divergence means British firms could face a different compliance landscape. Experts caution that while the Dune offers genuine convenience for frequent meeting users, buyers should weigh the risks of vendor lock-in and the limited utility of a device that only works with recent MacBook models running macOS 15 Sequoia or later.