Innehållsförteckning för Issue 211 från T3 Australia

DALI IO-12 Ever wondered what it would be like to strap a pair of floorstanding speakers to your head? Well the DALI IO-12 are the closest you’ll get without getting severe backache. Rather than using conventional magnets, the IO-12 borrows the Soft Magnetic Compound from DALI’s high-end speakers. When coupled with the brand’s signature paper fibre cones, this cuts the hysteresis in the IO-12’s coil – and therefore distortion – to an absolute minimum. On top of this, rather than using a self-supporting voice-coil like most headphone brands, DALI has also adapted the voice-coil former from its speaker drivers, increasing the drivers’ structural integrity and reducing unwanted buzz even further. These cutting-edge headphones also offer active noise cancelling, transparency mode and voice control, while their epic battery lasts a whopping…

DARN TOUGH MICRO CREW ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT RUNNING SOCK These Merino wool micro crew socks will not only keep your feet warm but also protect them from slipping and blisters. Unconditionally guaranteed for life! $39, amazon.com.au BANDIT RUNNING MICROMESH PERFORMANCE LONG SLEEVE TEE Bandit Running’s micro-mesh tee is the perfect top for all weather conditions. Its sweat-wicking, quick-drying material keeps you ventilated all year round. US$78, banditrunning.com CIELE ATHLETICS GOCAP SC Ciele Athletics took its most iconic product, the GOCap, and added a SOFTcurve brim, serving up the same long-distance comfort with the protection of a curved brim. The COOLmatic mesh keeps things fresh under the hat. $65, cieleathletics.com…

They have Wi-Fi 7 now? That is absolutely unacceptable – GaGu is still struggling on with bog standard Wi-Fi 6. His network is redundant! Never mind that he has never run into anything (bar large file transfers) that has really even tested its speed. He must have an upgrade now. But he cannot: Guru, like you, must wait until the middle of next year for the first rudimentary 802.11be Extremely High Throughput devices to sneak onto the market. Here’s a prediction that seems bold but really isn’t: don’t expect Wi-Fi 7 support in an iPhone for two years. Maybe even three, on the ‘tock’ part of the upgrade cycle. Guru called his close personal friend Tim Cook, and it seems he’s in no rush, because it’s a useful headline feature…

LIGHT BULBS AND SMART LIGHTS NANOLEAF MATTER B22 SMART BULB The B22 Smart Bulb from Nanoleaf isn’t the most feature-packed smart home device, but it works as intended and works well. You can choose from white or an almost limitless number of colours in terms of illumination, the bulb can be controlled through an app on your phone or via voice commands, and there are lots of customisations to explore. $31, nanoleaf.me SENGLED WI-FI MULTICOLOR A19 SMART BULB Sengled is a smart lighting brand you can trust and the Wi-Fi Multicolor A19 Smart Bulb just does about everything you would want a smart bulb to do. You can choose from millions of colours and plenty of customisations in the accompanying app, and there’s voice control support too, if you prefer…

1 TED LASSO An American football coach (played by Jason Sudeikis) is appointed manager of a Premier League English football club – what could go wrong?! It shouldn’t work and yet, this sports comedy-drama is cleverly written, laugh-out-loud funny and ridiculously heartwarming with one of the best cast of characters in years. From the foul-mouthed Roy Kent to the overly enthusiastic Dani Rojas, Ted Lasso is a pure joy. Available to stream on Apple TV Plus 2 ARNOLD Everyone knows the name Schwarzenegger. What’s hard to believe is the extraordinary life of the professional bodybuilder turned Hollywood A-lister turned California governor. That sentence alone is utterly insane, only applicable to Arnold. His insatiable hunger to be the best is a fascinating watch, whether you’re a fan or not. Available to…

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is one of the phones that most grabbed our interest in 2023. That’s because its predecessor, the Pixel 7 Pro, was one of our favourite phone releases in 2022 – an obvious contender for the best Android phone and, in that instance, the T3 Award-winning handset of the year – so surely the 8 Pro could only be even better? Well, yes and no. While at first we thought the Pixel 8 Pro was a lot like its predecessor, it’s a fairly different handset overall. First off, it removes the curved screen of the 7 Pro for a flat one. But while we can appreciate the Pixel 8 Pro’s flat screen is more practical, it just looks less special. That’s a ‘head versus heart’ argument…

Bean to cup machines can come across as quite daunting and difficult to use. Fortunately, the Breville Barista Touch Impress is all about ease and simplicity, while offering users barista-style coffee that’s completely customisable and speedy. After testing out this clever coffee machine, we’re completely obsessed with it – if that makes us coffee snobs, so be it! The Breville Barista Touch Impress is a compact coffee machine that’s a pretty decent size for most kitchens and countertop spaces. While the steaming wand, tamping handle, bean hopper, grinder and water spout are all connected to the device, the other attachments easily slot into place. This includes the water tank, which is easy to remove and reattach once filled with water. To make coffee, the machine has a ThermoJet heating system…

There’s no shortage whatsoever for high-end, top-quality over-ear cans – a space in which Shure is vying for the crown with its second-generation Aonic 50. But given that these new over-ears are priced at a similar level to the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2, does Shure successfully stand apart? A subtle new design feature of the Gen 2 Aonic 50 is the all-black finish. Personally we’d prefer a lick of silver or metallic flourish to give an additional point of interest; the all-black approach is more subdued than the headphones they replace. The left earcup houses the 3.5mm jack; however the USB-C port on the right earcup can also be designated for hi-res listening (up to 32-bit/384kHz), which goes to show just how studio high-res capable these…

PRO-JECT THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON TURNTABLE Wanna feel old? Pink Floyd’s iconic album The Dark Side of the Moon is 50 years old this year. Fortunately, this handmade limited-edition turntable from Pro-ject should soften the blow a little. Designed to honour the trailblazing prog-rock record’s golden anniversary, it reproduces Storm Thorgerson and George Hardie’s prismatic album cover, featuring a triangular plinth topped with a glass platter. An extended on/off lever represents the white beam of light, while a dimmable LED-backlit rainbow recreates the spectrum exiting the prism. And an 8.6-inch acrylic and black aluminium low-resonance tonearm and Pick it PRO Special Edition cartridge will ensure your Floyd records sound just as good on it as the day they were released. $3,000, project-audio.com NEXT ISSUE IS ON SALE MONDAY…

Gadgets are like buses. Well, sure, they’re not quite as big. I’ll admit even the lowest-tech ones rarely run on diesel. And yeah, gadgets don’t usually smell of sweat and stale kebabs. Okay, alright... they’re nothing like buses. But it does feel like you wait a long time for one to turn up, only for loads to arrive all at once. Scarcely had we begun to put the new iPhone 15 Pro Max through its paces for our full review this issue, when Google announced the super-smart Pixel 8 Pro. Suddenly we’re drowning in amazing new releases, from the trailblazing Apple Watch Ultra 2 to Samsung’s beautifully premium Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. With such a deluge of exciting tech, we’ve got a whole heap of gadgets to keep you occupied…

ANON OSLO WAVECEL HELMET Protect the part that matters the most with Anon’s brilliant WaveCel helmet. Highlights include the auto-adjust fit system, which dynamically flexes to offer the perfect fit. $349, amazon.com.au SMITH 4D MAG S GOGGLES Smith’s gorgeous goggles have an ultra-wide field of view and rely on the magnet-based MAG lens change system for fast easy lens changes. $459, smithoptics.com 66° NORTH VATNAJÖKULL RETRO HOODIE We’re huge fans of 66° North’s winter gear, and we’re especially excited about the limited edition Vatnajökull capsule collection, which includes pants, a skirt (it’s insulated and very, very cool) and this gorgeous hoodie. $580, 66north.com…

JET LAG: THE GAME The internet’s seventh-favourite nerd trio returns for a YouTube series where they’re chasing each other across Europe (again). Beautifully edited and remarkably compelling. HELLO FROM THE MAGIC TAVERN A comedy podcast, broadcast from a fantasy world by a wizard, a shapeshifting badger, and a normal dude – silly and funny and there’s loads of it. NEIGHBOURS Guru has been sucked back in by Mrs Guru’s enthusiasm for the return of this hardy soap, and the bonkers storylines they’ve thrown at it make it a must-watch.…

CHRISTOPHER WARD THE TWELVE 36MM As the name would suggest, this watch takes the original Christopher Ward The Twelve, and slims its case down by a few millimetres to 36mm. You’ll also find a lug-to-lug measurement of 40.8mm and a case height of just 9.95mm. That’s insanely slim, and it really translates on the wrist, too. The case material is stainless steel; our preview model features a gorgeous Glacier Blue dial and a matching blue rubber strap. Inside, you’ll find a Sellita SW200-1 movement, a similar movement to the one found in the C60 Pro 300 Bronze. That one was COSC certified, though, which isn’t the case here but accuracy of -20/+20 seconds a day is pretty respectable. US$1,225, christopherward.com CHRISTOPHER WARD C60 PRO 300 BRONZE As you may have…

Love the iPhone? Want to upgrade to the latest version, but can’t afford to go big on the Plus, Pro or Pro Max? Don’t panic, the standard iPhone 15 is still a good, reliable phone that fits neatly in your hand and your pocket, and is a great option for the money. So what bang do you get for your buck? Size-wise the iPhone 15 is very close to its predecessor, though not identical. The phone is slightly taller by around 1mm, and 0.1mm wider, due to a fractionally bigger screen. But this does mean that your old iPhone 14 case won’t fit the new model properly, especially if it’s a hard case. There’s no action button here, unlike the Pro models, so the iPhone 15 still features a switch…

For the casual onlooker, the physical difference between the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the Apple Watch Ultra seems negligible. It’s the same 49mm case size, the same button layout, and has almost identical band options to choose from. But look closely and you’ll reveal some pretty significant changes, like the brighter LTPO OLED screen, which has a maximum brightness of 3,000 nits. It’s incredibly bright for a small screen (well, small compared to smartphone displays) and said to be 50% brighter than its predecessor. It also has beefed-up green credentials. When purchased with the new Alpine or Trail Loop, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is Carbon Neutral certified, thanks to its recycled titanium case, which extends up to surround and protect the flat sapphire front crystal from edge impacts.…

We don’t understand tech journalists. Okay, other tech journalists. Especially those who criticise the new Apple Watch Series 9 for being only a minor upgrade over its predecessor. Besides looking very similar without the screen turned on, the Series 9 is a very different smartwatch. It’s faster, brighter, and has features no previous generation Apple Watches will be able to get. What more do you want? It is true that the new Watch is the spitting image of the Series 8 and Series 7 before it. It comes in the same two sizes, the same case material options (aluminium and steel) and more or less in the same colours, apart from the new Pink colourway, which actually is really pretty. However, it’s a different beast. For starters, the always-on Retina…

1 ONEPLUS OPEN US$1,499, oneplus.com OnePlus loves to make a splash. Its first folding phone – which is, for all intents and purposes, the exact same device as the Oppo Find N3 that will be launched elsewhere in the world by OnePlus’ parent company – doesn’t look or feel anything like a debut: it breaks a bunch of foldable records right out of the gate. The OnePlus Open is, for example, the slimmest foldable on the market, measuring just 5.8mm thick when unfurled. It’s 245g, making it lighter than many flagships that don’t fold, thanks to OnePlus’ use of titanium, carbon fibre and a super-streamlined waterdrop hinge design. And don’t mistake its lightness for weakness, because there’s an eight-axis pressure relief system built into the top edge to prevent excess…

Opinion I’ve been a keen exerciser for most of my life, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, given my position as an Active Editor at T3, a vertical that encompasses outdoors, wearables and fitness, among other categories. Of all the things I write about, performance wearables have played a crucial part in how I see and do physical activity in my everyday life – that’s understandable, I guess, as they often gamify sports, which can help you stay active. However, in recent years, I’ve noticed a change in how smartwatch users perceive health and fitness, which was confirmed during an interview I did with Sander Werring, CEO of Polar Elektro, manufacturer of fan-favourite multisport watches such as the Polar Vantage V series. “In the past, sports were an enabler for…

HOBBIES Life shouldn’t be all work, work, work – especially with goodies like this 1 STORIGRAPHIC GEO JOURNALS Combining two primary paths to mindfulness – bullet journaling and adult colouring – into super-handsome little notebooks, Storigraphic’s Geo Journals are the perfect gift for at least one person in your life. It’s hard not to appreciate their geometric patterns, the aesthetic inspiration they offer, or the fact that a four-pack is just $59. From $20, storigraphic.com 2 RAZER SEIREN MINI While nobody needs any more podcasts in their lives, everyone’s got one in them. Razer’s cute smaller Seiren is a fantastic stocking-friendly way to help someone’s dulcet tones meet their device of choice. It’s also good for streaming, video calls, or anything else audio – and the extremely tight angle of…

GAMING ASUS ROG STRIX SCAR 16 You’re not going to find many gaming laptops with specs as good as the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16. The starting model boasts an Intel Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM, an RTX 4080 GPU from Nvidia and a huge 2TB SSD, and it gets better (and pricier) from there. We love the design too, a clean look with some subtle, customisable lighting effects. From $3,199, asus.com RAZER BLADE 14 Razer needs no introduction if you know your gaming laptops, and the 14-inch model is the most compact it makes – perfect for moving from place to place or from desk to desk. Toptier AMD processors and Radeon GPUs will run your games effortlessly, and the laptop’s looks are sleek enough that it’s suitable…

Have Apple done it again? Yes. Well we think they have. While there will be little surprise that the iPhone 15 Pro Max improves on its previous version, we believe this model offers a significant step forward. So where do we start? Unlike in previous years, there is a distinct difference between the 15 Pro and Pro Max models that’s more than just the screen size and battery life. For instance, the Pro Max gains a longer zoom, thanks to the 5x telephoto camera, compared to the 3x telephoto on the 15 Pro. But titanium is this year’s headline feature. The enclosure of the Pro and Pro Max models is made from aerospace-grade titanium rather than stainless steel. It’s both incredibly strong and very lightweight, making it ideal for spacecraft…

Despite their size and price tag, both the Sennheiser Ambeo and Ambeo Plus spatial audio soundbars have been extremely successful. Now Sennheiser is going for the soundbar hat-trick with the new Ambeo Mini. Is its smaller size and (almost) reasonable price going to be enough to ensure that three is the magic number? Unlike the bigger, pricier Ambeo soundbars, the Ambeo Mini doesn’t have dedicated physical drivers creating the sensation of sonic ‘height’. Instead, the Mini uses six drivers made from cellulose in conjunction with some extremely potent virtualisation tech to create the suggestion of 7.1.4-channel sound. Two of these drivers are 102mm bass drivers, while the other four are 38mm full-range drivers – with two facing outwards and two facing forwards. The ‘Smart Control app’ gives you the option…

Like the original Sonos Move, which launched back in 2019, the Move 2 looks more like a static, indoor smart speaker. But thanks to the cleverly designed built-in handle and the internal battery, you can pick it up and take it on the move. The Sonos Move 2 comes in at a rather sustainable price of $799. That’s $100 more than the original model (which is also still available) and the same price as the rather excellent Sonos Era 300 home speaker. It’s actually more expensive than any other portable Bluetooth speaker on the market. The question is, does that really matter if it’s the best? The ultimate selling point of the Move 2 is its ability to provide great sound outdoors, or away from a power source. This is…