The archive

Every review, scored

Filter by category. Each device is tested for at least two weeks and scored on six consistent axes — 24 results and counting.

AI · Guide 12 TWh
AI data centres and your power bill

In one week in August the market commission told ministers what data centres must bring with them, NSW moved to control grid access, and two federal rule changes went into the queue. The modelling says up to 26 per cent on NSW wholesale prices by 2035 — or nothing, if the rules hold.

13 August 2026 · 12 min read · Guide
Smart Home · Guide VOICE
Your smart speaker got an AI upgrade you cannot undo

Alexa+ started rolling out here on 6 August, free until 30 November and AU$29.99 a month after that. Gemini for Home already replaced Assistant — and Google says that switch cannot be reversed, for anyone in the house.

12 August 2026 · 11 min read · Guide
Laptops · Guide 40 TOPS
Do you need an AI PC?

Build 2026 said Windows AI was expanding beyond the NPU. Microsoft’s own documentation says one API of nine made it — on two GPU families, behind Developer Mode and a beta driver. What the Copilot+ badge still gates, and what it is worth paying for.

11 August 2026 · 11 min read · Guide
Electric Vehicles · Guide Li-ion
Your e-bike now needs a certificate

Since 1 February 2026 the bike, the battery and the charger must each be lab-tested, certified and permanently marked before sale in NSW — with $825,000 penalties. Queensland went a different way, Victoria has not decided, and the national standard is three years of funding away.

10 August 2026 · 11 min read · Guide
Wearables · Guide dB
Your earbuds are a medical device now

Apple’s Hearing Aid feature and, since 24 June, EssilorLuxottica’s hearing glasses at OPSM are both on the ARTG — a registered hearing aid is now a retail purchase. What they are cleared for, and the subsidy nobody mentions.

9 August 2026 · 11 min read · Guide
Smartphones · Guide eSIM
eSIM in Australia in 2026

23 of 28 telcos sell it and Australian iPhones still keep the tray — but once the SIM is a profile, your number becomes the credential worth stealing. A sourced snapshot, with the regulator’s four-year enforcement record.

7 August 2026 · 10 min read · Guide
Smart Home · Guide IoT
Australia’s smart device security rules

Since 4 March 2026 smart gear must ship without default passwords, with a place to report bugs and a published support end date — but phones are excluded and nobody gets fined. A sourced snapshot.

5 August 2026 · 11 min read · Guide
Laptops · Guide 80 Gbps
Thunderbolt 5 & USB4 v2 in 2026

80 Gbps is real, and mostly sidelined — Intel’s 2026 laptop platform still integrates Thunderbolt 4. What the doubling buys you, which machines have it, and why the dock can wait.

4 August 2026 · 10 min read · Guide
Smart Home · Guide 6 GHz
Wi-Fi 7 & the 6 GHz band in Australia

Australia quietly gained 160 MHz more Wi-Fi spectrum on 1 October 2025 — enough for a second 320 MHz channel. What it changes, why 6 GHz is still indoor-only, and whether to wait for Wi-Fi 8.

2 August 2026 · 9 min read · Guide
Electric Vehicles · Guide V2G
Vehicle-to-grid in Australia in 2026

The standard is in force, the first chargers are certified and two distributors take applications — but it is $12k–$20k installed, the eligible-car list is tiny and Hyundai has gone on the record with warnings.

31 July 2026 · 10 min read · Guide
AI · Guide AGENT
AI browsers in 2026

OpenAI retires Atlas on 9 August while Comet and Gemini push deeper into agentic browsing — and researchers keep proving the web can tell your browser what to do. A sourced snapshot.

30 July 2026 · 11 min read · Guide
Smartphones · Guide D2D
Satellite messaging on Australian phones

Telstra now runs text and select apps over Starlink, Optus is still late, and your iPhone’s satellite SOS is a different system entirely — a sourced snapshot.

29 July 2026 · 10 min read · Guide
Wearables · Guide TGA
What your smartwatch is cleared to tell you

Hypertension notifications, sleep apnoea and ECG now carry TGA approval in Australia — antioxidant scores and glucose claims do not. A sourced snapshot of where the line sits.

28 July 2026 · 9 min read · Guide
Electric Vehicles · Guide CCS2
EV charging in Australia in 2026

Chargefox is aggregating rival networks and Tesla has opened most of its Superchargers to any CCS2 car — a sourced snapshot of what changed and what it costs.

24 July 2026 · 9 min read · Guide
Laptops · Guide ARM64
Windows on Arm in 2026

Snapdragon X2 and a much better Prism emulator have quietly fixed most of the old compatibility problem — what runs, what still breaks, and who should buy.

23 July 2026 · 9 min read · Guide
Smart Home · Guide MATTER
Matter 1.5 & Thread in 2026

Cameras, closures and soil sensors are finally in the standard, and Thread’s duelling-mesh problem is fixed — a sourced snapshot of what actually changed.

23 July 2026 · 8 min read · Guide
AI · Guide LLM
Top 10 open-source LLMs

The strongest open-weight models you can download and run — ranked with cited benchmark data, and honest about the licence fine print.

21 July 2026 · 11 min read · Guide
Laptops ATLAS 14
8.7Score
Halcyon Atlas 14

Two working days of battery in a silent, fanless 14-inch chassis — if your software has made the jump to ARM.

21 July 2026 · 9 min read · AU$2,499
Smartphones PULSE 9
9.1Score
Ancalon Pulse 9 Pro

A flagship that finally makes on-device AI feel useful rather than a checkbox — at a price that asks a lot.

12 June 2026 · 9 min read · AU$1,899
Smartphones FOLD 6
8.6Score
Verge Fold 6

The foldable finally gets thin, durable and crease-free enough to recommend without an asterisk.

5 June 2026 · 8 min read · AU$2,749
Wearables LUMEN
8.2Score
Lumen Frame AI Glasses

Smart glasses you can actually wear in public — with an assistant that sees what you see.

28 May 2026 · 7 min read · AU$649
Electric Vehicles E-S
8.8Score
Voltaic E-S Touring

A long-range electric sedan that charges fast, drives beautifully and finally gets the software right.

20 May 2026 · 10 min read · AU$74,990
Smart Home X10
8.4Score
Orbit X10 Ultra Robot Vacuum

It vacuums, mops, empties itself, washes and dries its own pads — and mostly stays out of your way.

12 May 2026 · 7 min read · AU$2,199
Wearables AURA 2
8.0Score
Aura Ring 2

The most comfortable way to track sleep and recovery — if you can live without a screen and a subscription.

4 May 2026 · 6 min read · AU$549
New Technology is an independent editorial publication. This launch catalogue uses representative review samples to demonstrate our format, testing framework and scoring. Device names, specifications, prices and scores shown are illustrative — always confirm current specifications and pricing with the manufacturer before buying.