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ROAD TESTThe Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 29 NOVEMBER. FEE MAY APPLY. JisuLife Handheld Fan Ultra2. Photo: Supplied

Fan-tastic relief: The ultimate summer gadget

It’s touted as the most powerful hand-held fan on the market. You can blast away that sticky summer heat at 17m per second!

Just in timeLife

Clockwise from above left: OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra 30mm watch, $11,150; TUDOR BlackBay 54 Lagoon Blue watch, $6,560; IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN Ingenieur Perpetual Calenar 41 watch, $57,000; ZENITH Chronomaster Sport 160th anniversary edition watch, $35,100, from Kennedy.

The biggest watch trends of 2025

A tough year in the watch market has spurred a creative revolution, from technical innovations to redefining the idea of ‘iconic’.

ROAD TESTThe Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 06 SEPTEMBER 2025. FEE MAY APPLY. Breville, the Smoking Gun Pro. Photo: Supplied

Want to impress at a dinner party? This is worth a look

This hand-held kitchen gadget infuses food and drink with smoke.

New launchThe Wall Street Journal

Apple's iPhone 13 smartphones will come with a brighter screen and smaller notch.

‘Should I get the new iPhone?’: Maybe, or just wait for an update

By improving sluggish performance or replacing a broken screen, it is easy to make your old iPhone feel like it is new again.

NICOLE NGUYEN

The Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 30 AUGUST 2025. FEE MAY APPLY. Mariah 425 Hovercraft. Photo: Supplied

Here’s how to make an entrance

The Mariah 425 hovercraft will hit 100km/h and can handle ocean, rivers, land and snow. And get this: it’s pitched as a “fast commuter vehicle”!

WISHWish

EMBARGO FOR WISH MAGAZINE, 01 AUGUST 2025. FEE MAY APPLY. OMEGA has launched 12 new Aqua Terra watches in Kyoto, Japan. Photo: Courtesy of Omega

All of the details on Omega’s most significant watch launch of the year

The new Aqua Terra says a lot about what the watch brand stands for.

Ones to watchWish

THIS YEAR’S WATCHES AND WONDERS GENEVA HOROLOGY FAIR PROVIDED A BLUEPRINT OF WHAT THE WATCH INDUSTRY IS THINKING RIGHT NOW PLUS A GLIMPSE OF MOMENTS TO COME.

The best watch launches of 2025 so far

This year’s Watches and Wonders fair gave many insights into the biggest trends and shifts of the year.

ROAD TESTThe Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 02 AUGUST 2025. FEE MAY APPLY. Tile Mate by Life360. Photo: Supplied

Patting your pockets? Try this instead

This simple gizmo will ensure you never again misplace your car keys. And it has a neat trick, too…

Seasonal shopping guideThe Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal graphic to go with text : Why You Shouldn’t Buy an iPhone Right Now iPhones are out, iPads are in. Here’s our seasonal shopping guide for Apple devices. Photo: Elena Scotti/WSJ, Apple

Hold off on that iPhone: Apple’s September refresh will make the wait worthwhile

With Apple’s latest and greatest crop of devices typically launching in September, buyers who can wait a couple of months will be rewarded – possibly with a super-thin iPhone 17 Air.

Nicole Nguyen

The basic tower design could fit into a modern home's design. Picture: Supplied

Dusty hands a thing of the past with LG’s self-emptying vacuum

LG’s latest vacuum innovation solves the messiest part of cleaning — emptying the dustbin — but does its performance justify a $999 price tag?

ROAD TESTThe Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 03 MAY 2025. FEE MAY APPLY. Stihl BR 800 C-E MAGNUM. Photo: Supplied

A hurricane in your hands

This amazingly powerful backpack leaf-blower can shoot air at 385km/h. What could possibly go wrong?

ROAD TESTThe Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 19 APRIL 2025. FEE MAY APPLY. SIIG 90W 10-Port USB-A/C & Wireless Charging Station with Ambient Light Deck. Photo: Supplied

Squabbling over the power socket?

It can be a challenge to keep the entire family’s phones, tablets and headphones charged. But this device could be the answer …

ROAD TESTThe Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 29 MARCH 2025. FEE MAY APPLY. SNOOZ White Noise Machine. Photo: Supplied

Could this ‘analogue’ white noise machine save your sleep?

The white noise is created by a fan spinning inside and could be a godsend for anyone who finds it hard to fall asleep at night.

ROAD TESTThe Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 01 MARCH 2025. FEE MAY APPLY.

It’s your very own robo butler

Billed as the world’s first multi-tasking household robot, the SwitchBot K20+ Pro will clean up, and carry things, and bring you a cold beer … hands up who wants one already.

Tech ReviewGadgets

Hisense's enormous 110UX, a 110-inch smart TV

When it comes to TVs, is bigger always better?

As technology evolves, the majority of things have gotten smaller or at least more compact. But TVs have grown in the opposite direction, now as big as the walls in your home.

The Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 01 FEBRUARY 2025. FEE MAY APPLY. CuboAi Smart Baby Monitor 3. Photo: Supplied

Big mother is watching…

This AI-equipped device is “the world’s smartest baby monitor”, CuboAI says. You’ll hardly believe some of the things it can do.

The Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 14 DECEMBER 2024. FEE MAY APPLY. Royal Flushh Japanese Toilet Sound Masker. Photo: Supplied

It’s a breath of fresh air for the bathroom

This clever device from Japan is for masking embarrassing noises when you’re on the toilet. So how does it work?

gift guideTechnology

Tech gift guide canva of various products

Our tech experts pick their top Christmas gifts

The Australian’s tech team has picked 18 gift ideas that are on sale now for this Christmas. Here’s what’s hot and how you can snap up a bargain.

Jared Lynch and Joseph Lam

Samsung's new Galaxy Smart Ring

Why Samsung wants to get into your bed

Alarm blaring? Just double tap your fingers and the problem disappears with this new smart ring which tracks your sleep and tells you how much energy you have.

The Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 09 NOVEMBER 2024. FEE MAY APPLY. Turbojet. Photo: Supplied

Lord of the winds

Imagine a leaf blower that’s shrunk down to the size of a water pistol. Sounds fun, right? That’s the TurboJet Oz.

The Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 19 OCTOBER 2024. FEE MAY APPLY. EcoFlow DELTA 2 Portable Power Station. Photo: Supplied

More power to you

The EcoFlow Delta 2 “portable power station” can run 13 devices simultaneously. It’s a serious bit of kit, but who’s it aimed at?

ROAD TESTThe Weekend Australian Magazine

EMBARGO FOR TWAM, 12 OCTOBER 2024. FEE MAY APPLY. Panasonic, 5-Blade Wet & Dry Compact Electric Shaver - White NAGORI. Photo: Supplied

‘In the arms race of luxury male grooming, this is the hypersonic nuclear option’

You would expect a $799 shaver to be a bit flash. But this one’s motor boasts ‘advanced magnetic levitation technology’, no less.

Tech reviewTechnology

Hisense's C1 TriChroma laser mini projector.

High-end home cinema with built in ‘curious toddler’ detection

Those who love home cinemas may find Hisense’s latest projector will change how you watch movies – especially for families wary of kids around lasers.

smartphone reviewTechnology

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA - MAY 10: The new Google Pixel Fold phone is displayed during the Google I/O developers conference at Shoreline Amphitheatre on May 10, 2023 in Mountain View, California. Google held its annual Google I/O developers conference where they unveiled the new foldable phone. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Google’s new Pixel welcomes iPad generation to the fold

Meet Google’s new answer to Samsung’s folding phone range. It’s bigger but is it better? We find out.

The Weekend Australian Magazine

Sleep A20 | Next-Level Sleep Earbuds with Enhanced Comfort. Photo: Supplied

Snore all you want, love

It’s a set of earbuds that’s specially designed for night-time use by light sleepers. So how do they work?

showdownGadgets

(L-R, front) The New Pixel 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL phones are displayed during the Made By Google at Google's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California on August 13, 2024. Google announced new Pixel phones, watches and AI technology. (Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP)

Apple rivals’ flattery on display with iPhone lookalike devices

Google’s latest smartphone that looks strikingly similar to Apple comes packed with some new AI features that’ll have you magically appearing in pictures you were never in.

smartphonesGadgets

EMBARGO AUGUST 14 3AM: Google's new Pixel Watch 3

Google is finally getting in the fold

The US tech giant is bringing its folding phone to Australia to crank up the competition with Samsung, Oppo and Microsoft, launching a new Pixel 9 range with the Fold, Pro, Buds Pro 2 and Pixel Watch 3.

The Weekend Australian Magazine

Ease 31L Massager Backpack. Supplied

Good vibrations… on your way into work

It’s touted as the world’s first built-in massaging backpack. So how does the Eume Barret work?

diehard cubersThe Wall Street Journal

TOPSHOT - Hungarian pupils pose with Rubik's Cubes during a flashmob to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hungarian architect Erno Rubikâs invention, in Budapest on June 12, 2024. In 1974, Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik created the first prototype of a movable cube made out of small wooden blocks and held together by a unique mechanism. More than 500 million copies of the cult object have been sold -- not counting the myriad of counterfeits. Rubik's Cube has remained one of the world's top-selling puzzle games, with more than 43 quintillion -- a quintillion being a billion trillion -- ways of solving it. (Photo by Ferenc ISZA / AFP)

As the Rubik’s Cube turns 50, a revolution looms

The world of speed cubing is moving fast. But who will decide the next turn?

Pierre Bienaimé

Segway's new electric motorcycle, the E300SE

Electric Segway offers a lean, mean machine

Segway’s first electric motorcycle to hit the Australian market is a blast – light, fast and it doesn’t stand out in a crowd, which is perfect for the humble rider.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/gadgets