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Gadgets

This Month

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 12 is what Apple’s iPad Pro should be

Microsoft’s new Surface Pro might not be as fast or as fancy as an Apple iPad Pro, but you can actually use it for real work. 

Nuheara IQbuds2 MAX

Tech company collapse sparks shareholder battle with $14b chipmaker

A group of Australian shareholders are taking on a Taiwanese semiconductor giant in a battle over collapsed listed-tech company Nuheara.

May

Sam Altman’s $10b bet to give OpenAI its ‘iPhone moment’

Artificial intelligence is helping computers get to the toughest destination of all: your face.

OpenAI buys Jony Ive’s device start-up for $10b, Apple shares drop

The iPhone designer’s new stint with rival products could be seen as a bad omen for the tech titan. Its stock price fell 2.3 per cent on Wednesday.

Google unleashes search ‘AI Mode’ – and smart glasses

The feature makes web research more like having a conversation – and the tech giant is also using artificial intelligence to re-enter the spectacles market.

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Could these $260 earbuds be the cure for jet lag?

Anker’s Soundcore Sleep A20s play the sounds of planes and spaceships to help you fall asleep. Here’s our verdict.

This phone’s stats don’t capture how different it feels from others

Samsung had to make sacrifices to come up with its slimmest, lightest Galaxy handset. The question is, are you willing to make those compromises too?

eye-scrolling capability is being tested as part of visionOS 3, an upcoming version of the Vision Pro’s operating system.

Apple will soon let users scroll with their eyes

The Vision Pro headset’s existing eye-tracking software and hardware is going to level up.

 Hisense C2 Ultra 4K projector

Hisense’s C2 Ultra projector is great – as long as you’re not allergic

Hisense’s choice of technology isn’t the only thing standing in the way of our desire to own a C2 Ultra. Walls stand in the way, too. And ceilings.

Oppo’s new smartwatch could teach Apple a thing or three

The company’s latest smartwatch has a user experience we wish other watchmakers would copy.

These are the best earbuds we’ve tried – but they’re not our favourite

There would have to be something wrong with you not to prefer Technics brilliant EAH-AZ100 earphones.

Industrial-grade surveillance cameras for your home, with added AI

Synology’s home security system does many things Ring cameras do, plus a tonne of things Ring users could only dream of, but it may have you cursing the C-word.

April

Segway F3 Pro Commuter Scooter.

We risk death and arrest to review this Segway e-scooter

Risking both death and arrest, someone at the Digital Life Labs broke cover and rode the new F3 Pro commuter scooter to and from work via Sydney’s Metro line.

Mark Zuckerberg wears a pair of Orion AR glasses in 2024.

Before you buy Meta’s new glasses today, read this

The Facebook owner’s shades that use AI to record and translate conversations just became available, but critics say they could record you without permission.

Who are the people in your neighbourhood? Amazon knows

Amazon’s Ring cameras have received an upgrade that lets you search though hours of footage for people and events. But the technology doesn’t come cheap.

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US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick: “We can’t be relying on China for fundamental things that we need.”

Lutnick says tariff pause on phones, computers is temporary

The US commerce secretary has already dampened what China had called a “small step” towards easing its trade fight with America.

Eufy E20 3-in-1 robovac.

Just right for your holiday home: the robovac that gives some stick

Eufy’s E20 may not be as good at cleaning as other robots, but at least it gives you the tools to finish the job.

Ecovacs’ Deebot X8 Pro does a stellar job cleaning, until it doesn’t

Dirt isn’t the only thing robovacs need to handle nowadays – they must have the capacity to cope with complexity, too.

March

Fancy a robot to clean your windows? This one will give it a shot

It’s early days in the advent of window-cleaning robots, and they don’t do a terrific job. But Ecovacs’ Winbot W2 Pro Omni doesn’t do a bad job, either.

There are travel chargers, and then there’s the PlugBug Travel

Twelve South’s new lightweight charger is not without its flaws, but it does have one feature that could save your next holiday from disaster.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/gadgets-hqp