Sony might be up to the XM6 (and the fancy ‘COLLEXION’) noise-cancelling headphones now, but there’s still a lot of love for its 2020 XM4 model. So popular is the XM4 that Sony has launched a new version, the WH-1000XM4C, with a few under-the-hood tweaks.
Much of the headphones’ design is the same: they feature the same folding design as the original XM4, and the same four-mic active noise cancellation technology. What’s different this time is new sound tuning in line with the XM5 and XM6 models “to match the latest music trends”.
Also new is Bluetooth 6 support, and the updated 10-band EQ customisation, up from the original model’s five-band EQ. Rounding out the main changes is a series of new colours, including Lavender, Black, and Platinum Silver.
Unfortunately, the battery now lasts 27 hours of ANC music playback time, slightly down from the original model’s 30 hours. What Hi-Fi? reported that this is due to Sony using user-replaceable batteries to comply with EU regulations.
Priced at $449.95 in Australia and now up for pre-order ahead of an October launch, the Sony WH-1000XM4C remains a cheaper alternative to the latest $579.95 XM6 model. And they’re a lot cheaper than Sony’s high-end The COLLEXION headphones, which cost $999 at launch.
It’s an interesting move to segment Sony’s well-known headphones range with a revised version of the XM4. The company copped a bit of flak for changing the folding design with the XM5, with many preferring the XM4 design. With the XM4C, it keeps the popular model alive for even longer.
Cheaper Sony headphones on the way
Alongside the XM4C are two new Sony wireless headphones arriving in Australia: the $229.95 WH-CH730N and the $99.95 WH-CH530.
Sony’s WH-CH730N headphones. Image: Sony.
Sony’s WH-CH730N include ANC, up to 50 hours of listening time, and a foldable design for compact storage. They don’t come with a case, however, and they have a smaller 30mm audio driver; hence the price difference compared to the XM4C.
Meanwhile, the entry-level WH-CH530 skip ANC, targeting people who want wireless headphones on a budget. Compared to the relatively muted tones of premium headphones, these over-ears get the most fun colours: Cobalt, Coral, Mint, Pink, White and Black. Like the WH-CH730N, the CH530 model gets Bluetooth 6.0 and 30mm drivers, with the design and ANC as the main differences.
Sony’s WH-CH530 headphones. Image: Sony.
Most eyes will naturally be on the XM4C, continuing the legacy of a popular set of headphones, but Sony hasn’t forgotten the affordable end of town.
Fresh from a busy IFA 2026 in Berlin, where it revealed its plans to bring more home robotics to the world, Ecovacs has confirmed the local launch of its latest flagship robot vacuum, the Deebot X12S OmniCyclone.
Rather than chase the biggest numbers on a spec sheet, the new $2,999 robot instead doubles down on Ecovacs’ suction technology. Dubbed ‘BLAST’ (Boosted Large-Airflow Suction Technology), the tech combines suction power with a bigger air inlet and fan blades. Although the 27,000Pa or 53AW of suction power isn’t as big a number as sported by some rival robot vacuums, Ecovacs claims that the BLAST design makes vacuuming more effective.
Mopping is also a big focus for Ecovacs. Alongside the vacuuming technology, the Deebot X12S OmniCyclone uses a 27cm mop roller, reportedly 50 per cent longer than the previous model’s mop. It’s also stronger, applying 4,000Pa of downward force, slightly up from the X11’s 3,800Pa.
Image: Ecovacs.
Aiding the mop is a pressurised jet system that sprays stains as the robot approaches them. Designed to make it easier for the mop to lift sticky messes, it’s a similar system used by wet-dry vacuums to dissolve stains before applying physical pressure. When going between hard floors and carpets, the Deebot lifts the mop and pops out a cover to prevent any contact with carpets and rugs.
Ecovacs also added several other upgrades to its flagship robot vacuum, like anti-tangle improvements and smarter navigation. Its brush is thicker, too, helping dislodge dust and dirt from thicker carpets.
On sale in Australia on 17 September, the Ecovacs Deebot X12S OmniCyclone joins a competitive local market, flanked by recent and upcoming robot cleaners from the likes of Dreame, Mova, and Roborock.
Europe’s biggest take on a tech trade show has reached its inevitable conclusion, and we came away with more than just stories to tell about this year’s IFA conference in Berlin. Messe might not be as glamorous as the Las Vegas Convention Center, but it’s still got plenty to offer.
Here are our hands-on highlights from the IFA 2026 show floor. The best products, the biggest trends, and the tech we reckon gave us just a little taste of what the future might look like.
Image: Fergus Halliday.
IFA 2026: Best tech
Samsung’s smarter Family Hub
While Samsung did show off a demo of its upgraded implementation of the AI-powered object recognition integration coming to its Family Hub smart fridges back at CES, the company’s IFA showcase offered the chance to go hands-on with what appears to be the version of the feature that’ll be rolling out to Australia later this year.
Image: Fergus Halliday.
The main upshot is that where the Family Hub’s AI vision feature previously recognised just under 90 different food items, Samsung’s smarter take on a fridge can now use Google Gemini to cover thousands of different food items. It can even handle food in a plastic container by reading the labels — though given it is powered by generative AI, you may want to double-check your fridge’s assumptions from time to time.
Lenovo’s Project Swan
Lenovo loves to show off concept products at tech trade shows, and its most eye-catching contribution to this year’s IFA Conference in Berlin was its new Project Swan laptop. This experimental device is an evolution of last year’s rollable ThinkBook Plus Gen 6.
Image: Fergus Halliday.
When you hit the shortcut key on the keyboard, the sides of the screen on it stretch outwards. What was a compact 14-inch display expands to become a 17-inch screen. The prototype that we had the chance to play around with was surprisingly lightweight at just 1.6kg and relatively thin at 18.9mm.
However, it’s worth remembering that it is just a concept for now. Still, the fact that Lenovo is one of the only manufacturers to bring that hybrid-minded hardware to market does count for something.
Sonos Beam Ultra
Sonos’ smaller soundbar is finally getting a follow-up in the form of the new Sonos Beam Ultra. The Beam Ultra bumps the number of drivers up from five to nine, offering better bass and a centre channel that’s better built to deliver clear dialogue — especially when used in tandem with Sonos’ AI Speech Enhancement feature.
Image: Fergus Halliday.
The real kicker though, is the ability to seamlessly set up a pair of Sonos Play or Move 2 speakers as rear surrounds. Once you’ve opted into this feature, turning a set of portable Sonos speakers into rear surrounds really is as simple as moving them into your home theatre setup. There’s no app or system management involved, and the system is even smart enough to suss out the individual positions of the additional speakers and take advantage of TruePlay accordingly.
Acer Project Dual Play
If I had a dollar for every time Acer unveiled a high-concept, low-practical-use gaming handheld at Berlin’s IFA conference, I’d have $2 — which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice.
Image: Fergus Halliday.
Picking up where 2024’s Acer Nitro Blaze 11 left off, this year’s Project DualPlay Mini is a gaming handheld with a twist. You can pull the frame of the device upward to reveal an LED-lit keyboard and a set of speakers. You can then flip the screen around and use the device like a sort-of miniature laptop.
Image: Fergus Halliday.
There’s no trackpad here, nor any tangible details if, when, or how much it eventually might cost should it make it to market. Still, you gotta hand it to Acer. The Project DualPlay Mini isn’t ready for prime time, but the kind of radical revision that’s becoming increasingly rare in the gaming handheld category.
Acer PD163Q P3 triple screen extender
The spirit of Razer’s Project Valerie concept laptop lives on in Acer’s new PD163Q P3 triple screen extender. This ambitious accessory brings together three 15.6-inch IPS displays with FHD resolution into a single dock-friendly setup.
Image: Fergus Halliday.
Impressively, the connection for all three displays is actually streamlined into a single USB-C cable. Whenever you tweak settings like brightness on one display, that adjustment will carry over to the other two as well — which is pretty handy. I can’t imagine this will be a product for everyone, but the potential appeal to power users isn’t hard to imagine.
Nuvell Plantein
Nuvell’s Plantein is a nifty new kitchen appliance designed to make it faster, easier and simpler to produce tofu and other plant-based products. At a glance, the design doesn’t look too far from the average coffee maker. There’s a dial on the side and a small display on the front. Turning raw ingredients into oat milk or tofu is as simple as adding the ingredients, hitting the button, and waiting for the magic to happen.
Image: Fergus Halliday.
A Nuvell spokesperson told us it takes around forty minutes to make fresh tofu and less than half that to make plant milk. Given how common plant-based milks have become within cafe culture nowadays, it’s honestly surprising that it’s taken this long for a product like this to crop up more than anything else, and I can’t say I’ll be that shocked if I clock one in my nearest vegan-friendly cafe sooner rather than later either.
Solvia AI Binoculars
Image: Fergus Halliday.
The Solvia 8×32 AI Binoculars might be a little niche, but that does little to diminish the fact that they are one of the most novel uses of AI on display at this year’s IFA. These binoculars come with a built-in camera and display, plus the ability to use on-device AI to identify over 10,000 bird species using AI-powered computer vision. This feature works while you’re offline, but if you have access to the cloud, then these binoculars can also identify animals, plants, insects and landmarks.
Tecno’s bezel-less smartphone
Over the past decade, bezels – AKA the black bars that separate the edge of your screen from the edge of the handset itself – have steadily shrunk to the point where they aren’t as much of a talking point. Even so, Tecno’s bezelless concept device is still one of the most eye-catching smartphones on the show floor.
While the IFA show floor is still chock-full of startups trying their best to find the magic formula when it comes to AI-powered companions, the PlantSenso is one of the few to find a degree of success. This egg-shaped accessory gamifies the work that goes into cultivating your fern friends.
Image: Fergus Halliday.
As with a virtual pet, the screen on the PlantSenso reacts to the level of care you apply. There’s also a companion app that keeps you in the loop, with notifications designed to help make it easier to take better care of your plants by reminding you when to water them and by how much. Even though it does feel like the PlantSenso is getting more than a little mileage from Tamagotchi nostalgia, it’s still a really interesting exercise in gamification and a whole lot less creepy than some of the other AI companion devices.
IFA 2026: The trends
Sleepier smart speakers
Image: Fergus Halliday.
While Anker’s SleepLab Pro is certainly the most mainstream option in the mix, sleep-oriented speakers proved to be a common sight within the halls of Berlin’s Messe convention centre. The idea here is to offload sleep tracking from a wearable like a smartwatch to a device that can’t run out of battery, while also using sound and light to cultivate a more sleep-friendly environment that can be adapted to suit your individual sleep routine. It’s a fascinating concept, and it’ll be interesting to see if this niche sees the same popularity as its earborne counterpart.
The search for the next robovac
Another major trend at IFA 2026 was an uptick in anything but robot vacuum cleaners. At times, it felt like you couldn’t turn a corner without running into a robotics product of one stripe or another. There’s no shortage of brands looking to chase the dream of finding a robot that consumers are willing to adopt en masse in the same way as robovacs.
Image: Fergus Halliday.
Within that conversation, few garnered the same level of attention as Mova’s AstraX. This revved-up take on the mowerbot features an extendable arm akin to the one found on Roborock’s Saros Z70. This appendage is multifunctional and can be customised to suit specific tasks via a handful of interchangeable tool heads.
More maker tech
Image: Fergus Halliday.
One of the more visible trends on the show floor was the amount of booth space taken up by brands and startups looking to pitch themselves to the DIY crowd. Even more mainstream tech brands like Anker are expanding into the space with their newly announced direct-to-fabric printers. Only a few years ago, the very idea of a prosumer-grade CNC machine might have been a pipe dream, but based on this year’s IFA, it’s clear that there’s a lot coming down the line for those who like to take making stuff into their own hands.
Better batteries
The phrase ‘semi-solid-state batteries’ is hardly the most enticing one found at this year’s IFA, but more than a few accessory manufacturers are moving to get this technology – and the benefits it brings – into the hands of consumers sooner rather than later. For many, Belkin’s new BoostSolid Cell range might end up being their first encounter with what semi-solid-state batteries have to offer.
Image: Fergus Halliday.
These powerbanks integrate a gel-like layer on the inside. This enables a slimmer and more compact form factor, more stable charging performance, better thermal management, and a threefold improvement in battery life. At the moment, the BoostSolid Cell lineup consists of a 5000mAh Qi2 magnetic charger that’s said to be 40% slimmer than the competition and the higher-end UltraCharge Pro 10K 60W, which features an integrated display.
Fergus Halliday attended IFA 2026 as a guest of Lenovo.
Anker had a big IFA 2026 on several fronts. For starters, along with a suite of new gadgets, the company announced that all of its sub-brands — including Eufy, Soundcore, and Solix — would be brought back under the Anker branding. Then, Anker took out Best of IFA for its debut over-the-counter hearing aids.
Announced at IFA, the Anker RIC Hearing Aids Pro are a subtle accessibility device built on the company’s AI technology. While Anker didn’t confirm pricing or a release date beyond a vague 2027 window, it shared some details about the underlying tech.
Within the RIC Hearing Aids Pro is the Anker Thus AI chip. Revealed a few months ago, the chipset designed for headphones combines memory and processors, which is meant to speed up AI processing.
Image: Anker.
Using this chip, Anker’s hearing aids run 40 billion operations per second, the company claims. Four beamforming microphones then lock onto whoever’s speaking, isolating their voice while cutting out background noise. Theoretically, it should help the wearer hear others better in noisy environments.
According to Anker, the RIC Hearing Aids Pro last up to 12 hours on a full charge. When paired with the included charging case, wearers can get up to 36 hours of use. In a pinch, the case can provide up to two hours of use with a five-minute charge.
Alongside the hearing aids, Anker announced an avalanche of smart gadgets. Security cameras, robot vacuums, an in-house-developed robot mower, earbuds, and even sleep speakers adorned the IFA 2026 show floor. Previously separated by sub-brand, each category will carry Anker’s name — for example, Anker Eufy or Anker Soundcore — before everything eventually transitions solely to Anker’s branding.
Other IFA 2026 winners
Elsewhere, Insta360’s Luna Ultra gimbal camera won Best of Tech at IFA 2026. Launched in June, it was the first mass-market portable gimbal camera with two lenses. One is a 20mm lens with a large one-inch sensor, while the secondary telephoto lens can punch in up to 6x at “lossless” quality or up to 12x via digital zoom.
Shortly after Insta360’s launch, DJI followed up with the cheaper Osmo Pocket 4P. Functionally similar, DJI’s dual-lens gimbal camera stacks the lenses on top of one another, while the Luna Ultra positions the lenses on the same horizontal plane.
I am back again testing a fitness watch, and this one is a little different to most. This is the Amazfit Active 3 Premium, a GPS running and fitness smartwatch that is doing things a little differently.
This is my first time testing an Amazfit device, and the Active 3 Premium’s low $239 retail price has me questioning how this is even possible.
This is going to be a difficult watch to review. Not because it’s hard to use, but because at $239 in Australia, there’s so little to compare it to at this price.
With that said, this watch is actually rather smart-looking. I have the Apex Silver version, which combines the classic look of an all-black silicone band with a stainless steel silver bezel. The silver is also two-tone, with an almost matte-looking backing and a shiny, more reflective silver on the front-most part of the bezel. This is a watch you can easily wear when dressing up for events and functions, which I was not expecting at all.
I found the Active 3 Premium was instantly comfortable on my wrist. This is possibly a combination of its lightweight design, coming in at just 38 g without the strap, and its flexible silicone strap. The strap has lots of adjustment intervals for getting the perfect fit using the classic pin buckle style. The watch itself has a thickness of 11 mm, which is nice and streamlined as well.
Images: Jay Marshall.
Features and performance
The Active 3 Premium delivers on features in a big way. This watch is designed primarily for runners, yet it caters for so much more. With over 170 sports modes and the ability to detect both activity and specific movements (like strength training), it’s a comprehensive wearable.
When it comes to running, which is my area of expertise, the Active 3 Premium covers all bases. Of course, you can use the watch like your everyday GPS fitness watch that tracks your runs. But from there, Amazfit has packed in some features you would normally expect from more expensive products. Things like lactate threshold, running power, ground contact time (GCT), track run mode, virtual pacer and many more. There is even a coaching feature called Zepp Coach, an AI digital fitness guide that can help you by creating personalised running and workout plans.
Image: Jay Marshall.
There were some features I really enjoyed while I was out and about, running the streets and trails. Turn-by-turn navigation is great when you have a set course to run. It kept me on track and took the thinking out of my running with real-time updates and turn instructions. Automatic rerouting paired perfectly with this, as when I inevitably did go off course, it quickly planned a new one to get me back on track. And this all happens without any input needed while I shuffle along, trying to get my fitness in for the day.
Health and smart features are another key area that I like to look at when judging a fitness watch. Once connected to my phone, the Active 3 Premium didn’t miss a beat. Not only could I easily view call, SMS and app notifications, I could also answer calls with the built-in microphone and speaker. A very cool feature I didn’t know I needed until now.
I also have a bit of an attachment to digging into my day-to-day data. I like to check things like sleep length and stages all the time, as well as sleep score. All of this is tracked with the Active 3 Premium, and it’s easy to view on the watch or in the Zepp app.
Images: Jay Marshall.
GPS and heart rate
As I have said many times, wrist-based heart rate tracking is never something you can fully trust. However, things have come a long way over the last few years, and some of the high-end GPS watches are doing a decent job these days. To test the heart rate accuracy of the Active 3 Premium, I put it up against my Garmin Fenix 8, which I have found consistently reliable.
For this test, I wore both watches at the same time during a 15 km trail run. In the graph below, the Garmin is indicated by the blue line and the Amazfit by the red line. With so many elevation changes on trails, this makes for a great all-round test for the watch. As you can see, there is some discrepancy between the two lines throughout.
Image: Jay Marshall.
Although I was generally happy with the GPS tracking at a basic level, it was clear to me that it wasn’t as accurate as my other, more expensive GPS watches. One of the reasons for this is likely that the Active 3 Premium uses single-band GPS tracking. Although single-band uses less battery, dual-band provides much higher location accuracy and therefore the data is more accurate. I particularly noticed this when moving through difficult areas such as deep into trails or between buildings in the city.
In my test run while wearing both the Amazfit and the Garmin, the Amazfit came up approximately 200 m short over the 15 km run, or about 1.3 per cent. This isn’t a huge amount, yet small differences can be crucial, and on a different course this could be a much bigger margin.
I also noticed my VO2 Max score on the Active 3 Premium is some way off from what my other watches indicate. I am typically around the 50 to 53 mark, whereas I was seeing 45 to 46 on this watch. It’s hard to know the exact reason for this, as a VO2 Max score is simply an estimate based on a lot of factors. And to truly know your VO2 Max, you would need to be tested through a lab-based graded exercise test. Not something your everyday athlete has access to. This is certainly not a deal breaker.
Images: Jay Marshall
Battery life
Battery life on the Active 3 Premium is decent, with up to 12 days of typical use. Amazfit rates it at up to 24 hours of continuous GPS, which is very good for your typical runner. Do note that using the watch with music while in GPS mode will significantly reduce the battery life to around 10 hours. If you choose to adjust your watch to have the always-on display (AOD), the watch will only last around four days instead of 12.
Image: Jay Marshall.
Display and interface
Another surprise to me was the screen quality. I guess I was expecting a memory-in-pixel (MIP) display or something somewhat pixelated, yet the Active 3 Premium swings big again. A 1.32-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 466 x 466 and up to 3,000 nits of brightness is nothing to turn your nose up at. Now, I personally love a watch with a larger screen, so this is a little small for my liking. Yet having an AMOLED display is still a huge win in my books. It’s bright. It’s saturated. And it’s enjoyable to use. All of this is also covered by sapphire glass, so you can be confident it will hold up well against scratches.
The Active 3 Premium comes with four buttons, which are easy to use alongside the touchscreen. I always like the tactile feel of a button, especially when I’m hot and sweaty out there on my runs. I didn’t love the quality of the buttons on this watch, and they come across as a little cheap, with coloured markings on them. Not my favourite stylistic choice here, yet they serve a purpose, and they are handy to have.
Images: Jay Marshall.
Hyrox integration
For those of you who may not know, Amazfit is the official wearable partner and timekeeper of Hyrox. This means the brand is heavily promoted throughout Hyrox events around the world. In turn, Amazfit includes some interesting integration features. Playing with the Active 3 Premium, I noticed there are three activities specifically created for Hyrox: Hyrox training, Hyrox simulation and Hyrox race. These activities help the athlete track the unique exercises that are included in their sport. So if you are an aspiring Hyrox athlete, an Amazfit watch is probably a great choice for you.
Image: Jay Marshall.
Who is the Amazfit Active 3 Premium for?
New runners and those on a budget are squarely the target market for the Amazfit Active 3 Premium. This watch is purpose-built for those looking to get into running or other outdoor activities. It isn’t a super-accurate device for hardcore athletes, but it will certainly track your fitness well enough.
Amazfit Active 3 Premium
Bundling high-end features into an affordable device, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium takes on pricier fitness watches.
Features
8
Value for money
10
Performance
7
Ease of use
8
Design
7
Positives
Amazing value for money
AMOLED Display
Hyrox integration
Negatives
Small screen size
GPS and heart rate tracking isn't as accurate as premium fitness watches
