Reviews

To everyone who’s ever asked me what camera to buy “to take nicer photos than my phone” — get a Lumix GX9. You’re welcome. In all seriousness, I did not expect to become so enamoured with this camera. Smaller mirrorless cameras usually leave me underwhelmed, with their noisy after-dark shots, clunky menus and plastic feel,…

The initial question with a Bang & Olufsen product is almost always “is it worth the price?”. The Danish consumer electronics brand has a habit of playing in the “Ludicrously Expensive” price range, but has always managed to justify that high price point with an equal focus on luxurious design and world-class performance. No matter…

I’ve never hesitated to recommend Sennheiser headphones to friends in the past. Their headphones have been a go-to of mine for a very long time. My years-long love affair with their HD 598 model is well documented. So when the opportunity to try out a pair of headphones from their gaming range arrived, I leapt…

The Google Home Max is, in this reviewer’s opinion, the best sounding standalone smart speaker on the market. That’s an arguable point of course, but after weeks spent trying this imposing device with various styles of music (and a few podcasts) it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid going full cheerleader mode over its performance….

With the list of new and available smartphones increasing daily, the Huawei Nova 3e, known elsewhere as the Nova P20 lite, is admittedly a surprising entry promising high tech, for the low RRP of $399 AUD. While it seems like a lot to live up to, don’t let the price tag fool you. This is…

The Venom Power Pack & Stand is an essential accessory for hardcore Nintendo Switch gaming, providing a significant boost to the console’s battery life and a solid kickstand base for travel stability. With its sleek design and ease of use, the device is easy to recommend for any Switch gamer.

If you want the concise verdict on Sony’s recently released SRS-XB31 Bluetooth speaker then all you need to know is that they’ve taken last year’s well-reviewed SRS-XB30 and given it some noticeable improvements with better design, punchier bass, and a more comprehensive range of light patterns. It’s mostly as simple as that, sitting in the…

If there’s a creed in the mobile phone industry, it’s likely “Make it look like an iPhone, but then do everything you can to make it cheaper.” This is the strategy Chinese maker Oppo have clung to for a while now and with the R15 Pro, they are steering into the curve harder than ever.

The Plantronics RIG 500 Pro Esport Gaming Headphones, the latest refresh of Plantronics’ longrunning RIG 500 line, are about as close to the perfect gaming headset as any I’ve ever used. I would like to preface this review with a sole caveat: while the headset I was given by Plantronics with which to conduct this…

What do you need in a good gaming mouse? Like, really need? You need it to be comfortable. You need its action to be smooth and precise. You need it to have the requisite buttons for basic play, and maybe one or two extra for customisation and macros. When it comes to designing gaming mice,…

As someone who travels quite a bit for work and is always hunting for a power point to keep my various juice-hungry devices alive, power banks have long been a part of my work/life survival kit Must Haves. The thing is, most power banks are good for keeping my phone afloat and that’s about it. What…

Following the release of the very well-received Surface Pro 3 last year, Microsoft continue to remain consistent as they add to their Surface family with the Surface 3 laptop-tablet hybrid. It’s certainly the megabrand’s most valuable hybrid to date, with price-point, power and performance admirably balanced with consumer convenience in mind.

While Apple are only just about to launch their anticipated “Apple iWatch”, Sony are already on the third model of their SmartWatch series, with the SWR50 arriving to provide a self described “contextual and personal” experience, with “a groundbreaking combination of technology and style.” So does it live up to its proposition? We’ve had the…

In our new monthly segment on the AU, we’re excited to name our “Audio Tech of the Month”. From portable players to apps, speakers, headphones, microphones and everything in between, we’ll be delivering the best of the best every month. For November’s first ever installment, we feature one of the latest Bluetooth headsets introduced in…

Almost a year ago I first got my hands on the Sonos Play:1 unit, a powerful, versatile speaker perfect for home or the office (read the review here) – and though it’s fine to use on its own, it’s built to be paired with other Sonos products. And now that the recent firmware upgrade (5.1)…

At a time where speakers are getting smaller, more powerful, and more connective, companies across the board are focusing just as much on aesthetics as anything else to help them stick out from the pack. Logitech’s latest entry into the reasonably flooded wireless speaker market are their Z600 speakers, a pair of beautiful towers perfect…

All week as part of ARIA Week celebrations in Sydney, SONOS have been giving away Play:1 Wireless HiFi systems. We were lucky enough to get our hands on one last week, which now sits comfortably indeed at AU HQ and thought we’d bring you our thoughts! Over the years we at the AU have enjoyed…