Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 205 i T3 Australia

TAIGA ORCA Personal watercraft – or ‘jet skis’ if you’re happy to fling around trademarked terms – have quite a petrol-head-y image. They tend to conjure up pictures of bemuscled beachgoers gunning engines, whipping across waves and ploughing into porpoises. But there’s now a way you can star in your own personal Wave Race without damaging the environment: the Taiga Orca. Having spent several years introducing electric engines to snowmobiles, the company has now produced its first fully electric PWC, which offers an impressive 45km range and up to 160hp. Not only does it offer two hours of continuous riding on a single charge but with the included charging options you can charge it in around three and a half hours or upgrade to direct current fast charging and juice…

H MOSER & CIE, STREAMLINER TOURBILLON VANTABLACK The first non-steel Streamliner is created from the precious metal 5N red gold. This is intensely contrasted with the Vantablack dial (made of carbon nanostructures that absorb 99.965% of all light). US$119,900, h-moser.com TAG HEUER, CARRERA RED DIAL LIMITED EDITION TAG has breathed new energy into the heritage-inspired chronograph with a fiery red look. A true collectors’ watch, each will state it is ‘One of 600’ and ‘Limited Edition’ on the caseback. $9,500, tagheuer.com IWC, PORTUGIESER CHRONOGRAPH A new version in the popular Portugieser collection featuring a stainless steel case, white and blue dial, Arabic numerals, and feuille hands. $14,600, iwc.com RESERVOIR, SONOMASTER CHRONOGRAPH Taking its inspiration from measuring instruments used in the world of sound, this is a must for audiophiles. It’s…

HOCUS POCUS 2 Spooky season is almost upon us, so you figure you might as well watch this Disney+ sequel? Guru suspects Mrs Guru will be inviting Bette Midler round for tea, so he’d better see it, sadly. WEDNESDAY Look, it’s that Addams Family girl, only now she’s going to spooky Netflix school with other spooky kids, thus missing the point of the character being a spook out of water? Hope not. SPOOKS The entire series has dropped on Amazon Prime Video, but Guru has been unable to spot any ghosties. He’d feel ripped off if it weren’t for the intricate spy shenanigans on offer.…

When it comes to folding phones, Samsung has been leading the way for a number of years. Sure, we loved Motorola’s earlier reimagining of the Razr, too, but if you want a large-screen foldable then you’ll be wanting to look at the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The Z Fold 4 is one of those rare phones that catches people’s eyes, for better or worse. It no doubt impresses with its giant screen, but then so did its predecessor. But the big question many will be asking: is the Galaxy Z Fold 4 different enough to its predecessor to be worth buying; or, in an even simpler way, is a large-screen foldable a sensible purchase at all? Here’s where we deliver the sort-of bad news: the Z Fold 4 isn’t wildly…

If you’re after a smartphone with a bit of wow-factor then the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 could be a good place to start. It’s a clamshell-style folding phone that will take you straight back to the early noughties but, naturally, with some much smarter tech packed in. Aesthetically, there’s not much that sets the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 apart from its predecessor, and like last year’s phone, the clamshell design is very satisfying to use. Measuring 84.9 x 71.9 x 15.9mm, it’s small enough to fit into your pocket or a small bag. While you may also wonder about the durability of such a flexible phone, Samsung claims this one will last 200,000 folds thanks to its toughened glass and sturdy hinge. It definitely feels well made, although…

SAMSUNG GALAXY S22 ULTRA From $1,549, samsung.com Combining everything we loved about the Galaxy Note series with the specs from the Galaxy S series, the S22 Ultra has an S Pen, a 6.8-inch screen, a top-tier camera, and internal storage options up to 1TB. APPLE IPHONE 13 PRO MAX From $1,749, apple.com/au It’s easy to see why the Pro Max version of the iPhone 13 is the best of the best in Apple’s range. It’s got an incredible screen and improved battery life compared to its predecessor, so it’ll go the extra mile. ONEPLUS 10 PRO From $1,099, oneplus.com It’s OnePlus’ stunning 6.7-inch screen that we found to be the 10 Pro’s best feature – thanks to its 120Hz refresh rate and 10-bit colour. It’s fast, has a good camera,…

WITHINGS STEEL HR SPORT $339, withings.com Featuring a heart-rate monitor and the ability to track 30 different exercises, this is ideal for fitness fanatics. It’s water resistant to 50 metres, and the battery lasts around 25 days. GARMIN VIVOMOVE HR PREMIUM $499, garmin.com One of the most comprehensive hybrid watches you can buy, with a wide range of fitness- and health-tracking features, a subtle touchscreen digital display, and several different colours to pick from. FOSSIL HYBRID SMARTWATCH HR From 258, fossil.com This timepiece features activity and sleep tracking, plus app and call alerts, time zones, and buttons to control smartphone music. Yet it mostly looks like a regular watch, aside from the e-ink display. WITHINGS MOVE ECG $444, withings.com Think a pricey Apple Watch is needed to take an ECG…

SAMSUNG QN95B $4,495, samsung.com The QN95B uses the latest-gen Neo QLED mini-LED panel which means extremely bright HDR performance. It has four HDMI ports, and a Game Bar menu designed specifically for gaming. LG C2 From $1,995, lg.com LG’s OLED TV brings improved brightness and image processing. Alongside four HDMI ports, the TV boasts a great low input lag level and customisable gaming modes. The LG smart platform is excellent too. HISENSE 55A6G $749, hisense.com The A6G features HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR, and supports VRR and ALLM on all three HDMI 2.1 inputs. You get eARC, Wi-Fi, USB, Ethernet, CI Card and RF too. Even composite video. SAMSUNG Q80A $1,299, samsung.com This TV offers rich colours and bright HDR at an affordable price. You get an HDMI 2.1 and…

PRO-JECT ESSENTIAL III $595, project-audio.com Really sounds great for the money, with an expansive and enjoyable sound across a range of genres and volume levels. It also looks very pleasing, in a variety of high gloss finishes. TECHNICS SL-1200GR $2,745, technics.com With rock solid build quality, easy set-up, immense bass, and a hugely exciting and involving sound, this is much more than just a DJ deck. There are few turntables that are more enjoyable to own. PRO-JECT PRIMARY E $359, project-audio.com Pro-ject’s entry-level player is the record player stripped down to its most basic form. Everything comes pre-adjusted and pre-installed, so it’s ready to go right out of the box with the perfect tracking force. ELIPSON CHROMA CARBON RIAA BT $1,189, elipson.com Elipson’s top-line turntable pulls down a lot of…

Most years, spending so much time inside triggers my Howard-Hughes-iest habits but I find myself strangely at peace with being an inside cat this year. What’s behind this sudden equanimity? Meditation? Nope. CBD gummies? Not so much. In fact, my new-found zen comes from the fact my gaming PC has too many unplayed as well as barely-played games screaming for my attention. There’s been a lot of other tech arrivals recently too. Apple’s just dropped its exciting notchless iPhone 14 Pro, Spatial Audio AirPods Pro 2 and tough and rugged Watch Ultra, crowning a cracking year for the brand. Dig into all the latest info about these new drops in our feature on state-of-the-art Apple tech. And if you’re also spending much more time inside, we have plenty of treats…

There’s a word for that delicious scent when the seasons change and the rain falls. It’s called petrichor and once you’ve got a sniff of that aroma in your nostrils, thoughts may well turn to adjusting the wardrobe to suit the cooling air. What better way to update than with a scarf? This checked neck warmer has been designed by luxury Italian brand Loro Piana, the largest cashmere producer in the world. Based in northern Italy, Loro Piana has been a wool merchant since the 19th century, specialising in cashmere, vicuna (the wool from a rare, small camel) and merino. Louis Vuitton has been a major stakeholder since 2013 and, of course, the rich and glamorous flock to its stores; Angelina Jolie, for example, has been known to step out…

Apple events have probably defined the modern tech era. That’s both in the way that new products are presented and hyped, and also simply because Apple has released a whole load of era-defining products at them. I remember when it was just Steve Jobs and some other white dudes introducing the iPhone, the iPad, Apple Watch et al. The events were slick by tech standards but not exactly Broadway standard. Nowadays, that’s all changed. This year’s event started with a drone fly-by of Apple’s scary, futuristic HQ that was a bit like the camera footage from cruise missiles that they used to show on the news during wars in the Gulf. Happily, it didn’t fly into the Appledrome and explode, or straight into Tim Cook’s mouth as he drawled his…

SOURCES MUSIC STREAMING SERVICES Access to an enormous amount of music can be yours for free, as long as you don’t mind periodically listening to ads. And if you’re prepared to pay for a monthly subscription, not only do the ads disappear but the quality of the audio improves too – and services such as Qobuz and Tidal can offer high-resolution streams and downloads that are among the best, most satisfying ways of all to listen to your tunes. As far as listen-anywhere convenience goes, too, streaming services are untouchable. NETWORK-ATTACHED STORAGE Putting what is effectively a large quantity of memory onto your local network can bring a whole new dimension to your wireless listening experience. Big, hi-res audio files are, of course, quite memory-hungry – so it’s better to…

On a tight budget? Or just want the best Bluetooth speaker possible for your cash? Then it’s worth getting to know the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3, an affordable speaker with serious sound. When it comes to design, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 isn’t any different to the second generation; it has the same ‘blown-up can shape’ with rounded sides and a flat top. Small and light, measuring 104 x 95.3mm and weighing 420g, this speaker is perfect for keeping in your backpack or for taking on holiday in your luggage with you. Large volume controls decorate the front with a contrasting colour. To control the music there’s a multifunction button on the top which you press down to pause or play the music, and double press to skip to the…

iPHONE SE (2022) From $719, apple.com/au A near-flagship iPhone for a fraction of the cost. The SE delivers cutting-edge innards, with a superb camera and a speedy A15 CPU, all wrapped in a nice small-scale design that’s easy to pocket. ONEPLUS NORD CE 2 From $459, oneplus.com Based on the Nord 2, but cheaper, OnePlus gets all the fundamentals right. Anyone on a budget who wants a small, light phone with decent battery life and a good display will be happy. MOTO G31 From $249, motorola.com Offering long battery life and a bright 6.4-inch display, the G31’s lower-end processor may mean less-than-perfect performance at times, but you can still casually game and take successful snaps with the cameras. SAMSUNG GALAXY A53 5G From $699, samsung.com The A53 looks like an…

AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK CHRONOGRAPH $36,500, audemarspiguet.com We love Audemars Piguet’s simple stainless steel model with a blue Grand Tapisserie pattern dial. It features a self-winding manufacture calibre 2385 movement with a 40-hour power reserve. BAMFORD LONDON MAYFAIR DATE $1,700, bamfordlondon.com The Bamford Mayfair Date is dependable and has the added benefit of being waterproof to 10ATM, making it a great accessory for outdoor activities whilst remaining cool and stylish. BAUME SMALL SECONDS $730, baume-et-mercier.com Baume uses sustainable and recycled materials where possible, and its elegant watches are fully customisable, with over 2,000 permutations achievable on an online configurator. BELL & ROSS BR03-92 NIGHTLUM $5,600, bellross.com No complicated bells and whistles here; the BR03-92 has its roots in aviation, a heritage the folks at B&R have clearly channelled into the…

PLAYSTATION 5 ~$1,000, playstation.com Look beyond the big, bold design. This console offers powerful next-gen hardware, backwards compatibility, an excellent DualSense controller with haptic feedback and truly stunning graphics. MICROSOFT XBOX SERIES X ~$1,000, xbox.com Microsoft has nailed it. This is a console that delivers massive amounts of power and performance. Because of its raw pixel-pushing prowess, it’s a superb base for a new generation of jaw-dropping experiences. NINTENDO SWITCH OLED $440, nintendo.com How easily you can switch between playing on your TV to gaming on the go hasn’t changed. What has changed is that bigger, brighter screen; it makes handheld gaming much more enjoyable. MICROSOFT XBOX SERIES S $449, xbox.com Stylish, affordable, easy to set up and taps into the very slick Xbox ecosystem seamlessly. It does have limited…

SONOS PORT $619, sonos.com A great streamer, especially if you already own a Sonos speaker. It has an analogue input and output, as well as streaming to any Sonos speaker, so you can plug in your turntable. YAMAHA WXAD-10 $259, au.yamaha.com This Yamaha lets you stream everything from Bluetooth to hi-res audio, with support for AirPlay, most of your favourite streaming services and, of course Yamaha’s own MusicCast. IFI XDSD $899, ifi-audio.com This dinky little combined Bluetooth receiver, DAC and headphone amp supports AAC and aptX and sounds really superb. It has a battery, and can be used with earphones as well as speakers. AUDIOLAB 6000N $1,099, audiolab.co.uk Probably impractical if you don’t have a hi-fi stack, but with support for audio up to 192Khz/24-bit, its sound quality is noticeably…

1 ASUS ZENBOOK FOLD 17 $6,999, asus.com Asus’ gorgeous new release isn’t the first foldable laptop – Lenovo had a stab at the concept with last year’s much smaller ThinkPad X1 Fold – but it’s the first which doesn’t look as if (forgive us, Lenovo) it was a prototype launched by accident. The extra time in the oven has given this what looks to be some serious engineering flavour, like trimmer bezels, a homegrown hinge designed to retain laptop-like stiffness while maintaining the necessary horseshoe fold, a thin, balanced chassis and, yep, the biggest flexible OLED we’ve seen on a portable device. That’s the headline here, and it has to be: it’s 17.3 inches, has a 2K resolution, supports HDR and 500 nits peak brightness, and you can completely unfurl…

Answering (or, at least, throwing some words at) that question about keyboards has gotten Guru all obsessed with the high-end mechanical market. He needs his number pad and function keys for private reasons, so he’s now obsessively looking at extra-pricey boards that he’s apparently going to be trusted to build himself. GaGu’s eye has been particularly drawn by the gorgeous Wind Studio X98 but he’ll probably end up settling on the dead sexy Keychron K4 V2 which is a far more reasonable all-in. Apparently the idea is for keyboards to ‘thock’ rather than ‘clack’. Tell that to his current clicky Razer Huntsman, which sounds like a jar of teeth being poured onto a tile floor. Now GaGu is thoroughly, deeply depressed and (thanks to the fact that the amount of…

Portable 1 PHILIPS SCREENEO U4 Both portable and ultra-short throw, Philips has chosen the projector industry at which to throw its annual curveball. It can cast a 80-inch picture from just 12 inches away or up to 120-inch at Full HD with a little more space. Given its mini form and automatic image adjustments, that’s some very usable multi-purpose fun for just about any room. $TBA, philips.com.au 2 SAMSUNG FREESTYLE Battery powered when needed, the uniquely shaped Freestyle is a portable in the truest sense. The rotating barrel design means set-up won’t require propping it up on stacks of books, and Tizen OS has got your back for every streaming service you could need. Don’t expect any serious picture quality at this price but, still, bit of a bargain, really.…

Nothing is anything but conventional and the same can be said of its first smartphone, the Phone 1. Its transparent rear design houses a series of notification lights and has a kind of techno-industrial vibe. This design language and those lights are the fun-factor and stand-out aspect of this smartphone debut. The Nothing Phone 1 is unusual, that’s for sure, embodying the partially transparent design language that the Nothing Ear 1 earphones first presented. It is a chunky handset, though, more so than its 8.3mm thickness would suggest. The screen itself is a 6.55-inch OLED panel, so slightly smaller than the current norm in most flagships, but it’s a sensible size to reach across during use. While it’s not exactly anything special, it does tick all the mod cons, such…

Sennheiser may have taken its time to get this sequel to 2019’s Momentum 3 out but it’s easy to see why. The Momentum 4 Wireless completely refresh and reinvent the series with upgraded performance and the very latest features. A major design refresh is always going to be a risk, but the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless pull it off. Ditching the bulky metal bars for a smooth plastic hinge, they look smart and sophisticated, even if they do blend in more with the other premium cans on the market from the likes of Bose and Sony. We were pleased with how they looked: the matte plastic covers the whole outside of the earcup, and blends perfectly with the ear cushions on the inside. The padded headband is covered in a…

APPLE WATCH SERIES 7 From $629, apple.com/au Apple is king when it comes to smartwatches. The Series 7 includes a bigger, better screen, and fast charging. It’s still the only device to straddle the line between tech and fashion. SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH 4 From $299, samsung.com A modern, stylish take on a smartwatch – it’s slim, comfortable and able to withstand knocks and bumps. Plus it’s waterproof. The only downside here is battery life: at 40 hours it’s not the longest-lasting. SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ACTIVE2 From $399, samsung.com Sleek and powerful, this is the best smartwatch for Android users. The screen and design are on par with the Apple Watch, while a collection of new watch faces give it a modern edge. APPLE WATCH SE From $399, apple.com/au Despite being…

CHRISTOPHER WARD C60 SAPPHIRE From US$1,170, christopherward.com Striking, bold designs really set this British brand apart from its more conventional Swiss rivals. The best example of this is the C60 Sapphire, which features a see-through dial made from sapphire crystal. VICTORINOX I.N.O.X From $530, victorinox.com Having undergone 130 durability tests, this watch will stand up to anything you throw at it. The paracord strap hints at its adventurous heritage, and it’s great for all wrist sizes. HAMILTON KHAKI FIELD From $505, hamiltonwatch.com This is a faithful recreation of its original 1960s forebear and is true to Hamilton’s military heritage. The 38mm stainless steel case is paired with a durable NATO strap. TAG HEUER FORMULA 1 QUARTZ MENS WATCH From $1,850, tagheuer.com This F1 timepiece features a steel case with sapphire…

SAMSUNG HW-Q990B $1,599, samsung.com Delivering over 600W with 22 drivers, this really brings the cinema experience home. You get an 11.1.4 channel configuration from four wirelessly linked boxes. It’s good for 55-inch TVs and up. SONOS BEAM 2 $625, sonos.com A superb soundbar that’s small enough to fit under even a 32-inch TV but big enough to fill your room with brilliant sound. This version adds Dolby Atmos, and improved onboard processing. YAMAHA SR-C20A $279, au.yamaha.com Looking for a decent cheap soundbar? Your search has ended. Despite the soundbar only being 26cm in length, the sound has really impressive width and stereo positioning. Dynamic range is good too. SONY HT-A7000 $1,699, sony.com This delivers the best Dolby Atmos width and height from a one-box soundbar. Certainly at this price point.…

BOWERS & WILKINS ZEPPELIN $1,099, bowerswilkins.com Streams pretty much everything, and borrows some technology from the kind of hi-fi gear where if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it. By audiophile standards, this is cheap. NAIM MU-SO 2ND GEN $2,900, naimaudio.com Mu-So 2 crushes its competition. An awesome, thumping wall of sound and reliable, versatile software platform and streaming support make for the perfect 21st-century music experience. SONOS ONE SL $289, sonos.com In terms of the sound quality, this really impresses with detail and clarity across the whole range, and how well balanced it is for treble and mid-range especially. You can get two for stereo, but one works fine. SONOS FIVE $799, sonos.com Multi-room compatibility, a wide range of audio sources and, of course, great sound.…