Innehållsförteckning för Issue 209 från T3 Australia

HOW WE TEST In T3, we feature only the finest gadgets out there, and we believe that you – our loyal reader – deserve only the best tech in your life. We don’t want you to waste time, and money, on inferior products, and that’s exactly why our Tested section exists. In here you’ll find only the latest and hottest tech. Each product has been handpicked and tested by T3’s experts. We only choose people with specialist knowledge for each test, so you know you’re going to get an outcome based on many years of experience in their respective field. As well as our traditional five-star rating system (right), we also give out awards to particularly exceptional gadgets, using the line-up below - so when you spot one of these,…

The name MacBook Air 15-inch sounds like a contradiction, right? Apple’s ‘Air’ line should be floaty-light and surely that’s not going to be achievable in a larger form factor? Wrong! The MacBook Air is the thinnest, lightest 15-inch laptop on the market, giving it some serious kudos. This MacBook Air’s 15.3-inch screen – notice it’s not 15.6-inch, that’d be bumping elbows too closely with the MacBook Pro 16-inch – means it’s still fairly portable, while embodying the goodness of Apple’s M2 silicon in a fanless (and therefore silent) design. But that raises the question: is the 15-inch MacBook in 2023 literally just a larger version of the 13-inch model from 2022 then? Well, it’s not far off but there are some additional points of difference, the vast majority of which…

Google’s new wearable is already the second most sought-after smartwatch, but it’s not quite as polished as Apple’s market-leading Watch Series (yet). But the Pixel Watch is still an excellent Apple Watch alternative for Android – especially Pixel smartphone – users. The Pixel Watch feels premium right out of the box. It has a decent heft to it; it’s not heavy but heavier than most all-plastic running watches and fitness trackers. The most notable physical feature is the custom 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 lens, which practically surrounds the 320 ppi AMOLED always-on display. The 41mm case has a depth of 12.3mm and is made of 80% recycled stainless steel, which is also rounded and has the same depth as the lens, giving the Pixel Watch a pebble-like shape. The…

Since the 27-inch Thunderbolt display was discontinued in 2016, your options for pairing your MacBook or Mac mini with a screen has been limited to third-party displays. Fortunately, the Apple Studio Display answered that call by providing a relatively affordable monitor solution. But this is far more than just a monitor. The reason many users would prefer to have an Apple-branded monitor as part of their home set-up is the design. The Studio Display satisfies this desire by looking suitably stylish. It looks much like the latest 24-inch iMac, but without that elongated bottom bezel or the bright colours. That larger bezel on the top of the screen contains the built-in webcam. This is no basic webcam. It’s a 12MP Ultra Wide camera that features Apple’s Centre Stage technology to…

The step-down model of the top-tier QN95C, the Samsung QN90C is, in anyone else’s language, a mini-LED TV – meaning miniature LEDs illuminate the panel – but in Samsung-land it’s called a Neo QLED. But naming convention aside: is the Samsung QN90C any good? Dolby Vision HDR is off the menu, of course, but HDR10+ Adaptive – which uses AI to analyse the screen’s environment, taking lighting, brightness and screen reflectivity into account in an effort to keep images optimised – is not a bad substitute. And when some top content is coming aboard via a 4K UHD Blu-ray player, there’s an awful lot to like about the way the Samsung QN90C makes some high-quality content look. What’s immediately noticeable is just how bright the QN90C is – in its…

Who doesn’t love a hot cup of coffee in the morning? Well, millions of us do, with the UK drinking approximately 98 million cups of coffee a day. But, despite our love for coffee, how much are you willing to spend to fuel your caffeine addiction? If your budget is over $1,500, we might have found the perfect espresso coffee machine for you. Announced at the London Coffee Festival earlier this year, Smeg’s latest product release is the Smeg Espresso Coffee Machine with Grinder and Milk Frother (£849.95, around $1,500), and it looks pretty cool, too. It has a similar retro-inspired design that the brand is synonymous with. Available in six colours, including black, white, red, cream, pastel blue and pastel green, it features stainless steel accents, the iconic Smeg…

Q GARETH EDWARDS Can I really make movies with an iPhone? A Reader, many have, and not only with modern iPhones. 2014’s Uneasy Lies the Mind dragged a 90-minute feature out of a crusty iPhone 5, for instance. But that film’s secret wasn’t the sensor it was using, although the shallow depth of field certainly didn’t hurt: it was the cinematic lenses strapped on front. You can pick up affordable lens kits for around $40, though the results won’t necessarily be great given that you’ve cheaped out, again, you awful miser. Moment makes a number of pro-quality lenses that clip on to a drop-in lens mount and expand the already rather decent video abilities of modern iPhones. They’re available in Australia through Georges Cameras (georges.com.au). You may also want a…

Thanks to its three-camera setup, the DJI Mavic 3 Pro is probably one of the most exciting drones we’ve come across in recent years – and we’ve tested a lot of them. Without a shadow of a doubt, it’s the finest camera-equipped prosumer drone we’ve ever reviewed. The chassis, motors, four-way obstacle sensing and all flight controls are exactly the same as those on the current Mavic 3, which came out in November 2021. Granted, at 958g, the Mavic 3 Pro is 63 grams heavier than the Mavic 3, which does reduce flying time from 46 minutes to 43 minutes, though the top speed in Sport mode – 47mph – is the same. It also has the same maximum transmission range, a massive 15km. If it ain’t broke… Okay, let’s…

The OnePlus Pad is the phone-maker’s first foray into tablets, balancing OnePlus’s trademark value-for-money appeal with loads of power and a few other flourishes. So can it step into the mid-range Android space and win? There are some aspects of the OnePlus Pad’s design we really like. Like an iPad, the bezels surrounding the screen are uniform, measuring 6.7mm. This instantly adds a balance when watching, browsing or gaming on it. Additionally, the tablet’s back has an appealing brushed metal effect, which concentrically expands out from the camera. But the main thing that stands out about the OnePlus Pad is the fact its screen is a bit more square than we’ve come to expect from Android tablets. With a 7:5 aspect ratio, it’s better suited to showing off photos and…

New camera releases are rarely welcomed with such wild enthusiasm as the announcement of the Panasonic Lumix S5 II. That’s because it finally saw the brand introduce a camera with competitive autofocus (AF) capabilities, in the form of a newly developed Hybrid Phase Detect Autofocus system. At a glance the Lumix S5 II is almost indistinguishable from its predecessor: its button layout and general form-factor are almost identical. We appreciate an ‘if it ain’t broke’ approach, but there are some things we’d have loved Panasonic to change up for the new S5. For example, there’s the lack of tally lights, which alert operators and subjects alike when the camera is rolling. Panasonic has included a REC screen border that can be turned on and off for this purpose, but it’s…

Anyone even passingly familiar with Bang & Olufsen will make an assumption or two about any new product the company launches. Hands up, though, if you had guessed the latest Bang & Olufsen battery-powered wireless speaker would arrive disguised as a picnic basket. What tasty treats lie within? Where specification and features are concerned, the A5 is a combination of the impressive, the ordinary and the unknown. It’s built on Bang & Olufsen’s ‘Mozart’ platform. It means the A5 is easy to service, simple to repair, and can have its streaming module easily replaced if need be. Individualistic designs are a given with Bang & Olufsen products at this point but you can be equally confident that build quality is deeply impressive. The paper fibre weave that wraps around the…

1 MAC PRO M2 ULTRA From $11,999, apple.com/au If you feel like 2023’s Mac Pro looks familiar, you’d be right: it does. Apple has revived the ‘cheese grater’ case from the 2019 model (thankfully leaving 2013’s cylindrical ‘trash can’ design where it belongs) but that’s about the only similarity between the two generations. This new Mac Pro marks the end of Apple’s years-long transition from Intel-based processing to Apple Silicon, swapping the Xeon W for its own brand new M2 Ultra package. The Ultra bridges two M2 Max chips together to create performance that should be three times as fast as the most fully loaded of its predecessors – at least according to the rough kind of estimate one can make when comparing Intel’s oranges to Apple’s, er, apples. The…

TravelONE WORLD We’re not for one second suggesting that cranking up the sustainability stakes of your next holiday will offset any air travel. That said, in an era of abundant greenwashing, a growing number of hotels, bars and destinations are going above and beyond, and identifying the places that are doing so no longer requires an environmental science degree. Love to scuba dive? PADI’s new Eco Center designation is a great example. Launched in early 2023, the scheme highlights dive centres championing environmental causes. The first round of new designees includes Ceningan Divers, an Indonesian centre that’s bagged many sustainability awards, and Costa Rica’s Oceans Unlimited centre, which runs an innovative coral restoration programme. Hotels are continuing to do their bit, too. Heading to Singapore? Consider checking in to the…

BEGINNER SONY ZV-E10 Here we have a dedicated vlogging camera that is beloved by content creators for a range of enticing reasons. The 24.2 megapixel APS-C sensor will elevate your videos way beyond your smartphone’s capability, with the screen being able to face forwards for perfectly framing your pieces to camera. A high-quality integrated directional microphone, coupled with Real-Time Eye AF ensures you both look and sound good. The kit comes with a 16-50mm lens, which is a great one to get started with, but you can switch this out for something more specialist if you need it. $1,019 (with 16-50mm lens), store.sony.com.au NIKON Z50 This travel-friendly APS-C format camera from Nikon is a great option for those brand new to interchangeable lens bodies. Available for under $1,500, it includes…

Samsung’s Quantum Dot (QD) OLED technology, has always promised brighter images and purer colours than traditional OLED. But this is the next level, producing a 40% increase in peak brightness. Wowzers. Its second-generation Quantum Dot OLED (QD OLED) panel still combines a blue OLED with Quantum Dot layers to create the extra red and green sub-pixels, but cranks up the brightness by up to 40% over the S95B to deliver more impactful HDR. Samsung claims it offers a peak brightness of 1,400 nits – which is positively incandescent for an OLED panel. And the measurements match the marketing claims, hitting 1,400 nits (on a 10% window; 274 nits on a full-field image). That’s exceptional for any OLED TV. The Samsung S95C impresses with its noticeably brighter QD-OLED panel and the…

If you’re looking for a soundbar with impressive build quality, immersive capabilities, extensive features and a genuinely immersive 11.1.4-channel soundstage experience, you’ve come to the right place. Kicking off with the aesthetics the HW-Q990C looks much the same as its predecessor using the same large cabinet, angled corners, front-positioned display and robust metal mesh grille. It does come with a new finish that is described as ‘Titan Black’. In reality it’s more like a matte dark grey, but the soundbar is still attractive and easy to clean. The build quality is excellent, and the dimensions will suit TVs with screen sizes of 55 inches or larger. There’s a choice of stand- or wall-mounting, and if you decide on the latter Samsung includes dedicated brackets for this purpose. The subwoofer and…

If you love gaming, you’ll likely already have a gaming setup. But what happens when you’re away from your setup and fancy a game? Enter the Asus ROG Ally. This is – in essence – a handheld Windows PC, running a full version of Windows 11, allowing you to login to all of your different gaming clients wherever you go. The ROG Ally comes in a matte white finish, with some gentle branding and styling on the edges and the back. The handset has been sculpted for ultimate comfort, and it really does deliver. The unit – despite being much bigger than we’d anticipated – is comfortable to hold and feels natural in use. Inside, a custom designed AMD Ryzen processor handles both the CPU and GPU functionality. That’s a…