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John Davidson

This Month

  • Gadgets With John Davidson
  • Review
Apple Mac mini.

These were our favourite gadgets of 2024

Last year might have been the year AI made it into the public consciousness, but 2024 was when the new technology made it into devices.

  • Updated
Google TV Streamer.

This beige box will transform your TV

If sky-high mortgage repayments have you thinking you might skip Christmas this year, think again.

  • Updated

This $25,000 TV breaks the extreme barrier

The Hisense 110″UX isn’t just four times bigger and four times brighter than many of the best TVs on the market. It’s four times more everything.

Google announces quantum computing breakthrough. Should we be excited?

Google has built a quantum processor called “Willow” that can solve a problem in five minutes that regular supercomputers would take longer than the lifetime of the universe.

This scooter is all fun and games until someone falls off a cliff

Segway’s new ZT3 Pro electric scooter handles almost all terrains very nicely. Just don’t ride it along on sandy tracks where dog walkers lurk.

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November

Security cameras with a two-year battery life? Sold!

Amazon’s latest home security system stands head and shoulders above the competition – if you can stomach the ongoing subscription fee.

Meet our new favourite laptop

Apple’s new M4 MacBook Pro has some advantages over the Air that make it worth considering, even for mere mortals like you and me.

Hot is cold and strong is weak with this new espresso maker

We made a mistake testing the KitchenAid KF8 fully automatic coffee machine. We failed to test our assumptions about what words mean.

Meet the cargo bike that other riders will envy

When it comes to storage capacity, Tern’s Orox is more like a small car than an electric bicycle.

This new tablet is perfect for Netflix and so much more

The Galaxy Tab S10 has a tonne of new AI features – and they’re not all as useless as you might expect.

The Mac mini.

Apple launches our favourite gadget of 2024

The new Mac mini is tiny, fast, cheap and brilliant. What more could you ask for, after a year of underwhelming AI?

Can technology actually improve your sleep?

We’ve just spent 11 weeks testing the Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 mattress cover to find out. Sleeping on the job has never been so cool.

Ignore the AI ‘bloatware’. This HP laptop is flipping good

HP’s latest ultraportable laptop has a lot of things going for it. AI isn’t yet one of them. 

Apple draws a line under its pre-AI era

Apple finally released the artificial intelligence updates to its software this week, but not for everyone and not in time to assuage nervous investors.

October

Cheap at half the price: these security cameras shine bright

Uniden’s Wi-Fi cameras punch well above their weight, thanks to their separate solar-power panels, clear video, bright spotlights and low cost.

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These Tiles help you find things before you lose your mind

Life360’s latest Tile trackers still have some advantages compared with the Apple and Samsung copycat versions.

We haven’t even taken it outside, and we already love this battery

This portable power station doesn’t just let you take your electrical appliances on the road with you. It also works for you between holidays, at home.

Galaxy Ring

Wear this new Samsung Ring, but whatever you do, don’t look at it

What’s true of all health trackers is true of Samsung’s new Galaxy Ring: their utility decreases the closer you examine them.

This robot will do battle with your lawn, no matter the cost

Dreame’s Roboticmower A1 will bravely go where no one has gone before: into the snake-infested jungle that is our backyard.

How the Google TV Streamer changed my life (but not my channel)

Google’s new internet TV box can bring fresh technology to a stale old TV.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/john-davidson-j7gay