Samsung has locked in 22 July in July for its next Galaxy Unpacked event, where it will likely debut a new range of foldable devices.
Set to air at 11 PM AEST via Samsung’s online channels, the company’s event will include the “newest additions to the Galaxy portfolio”.
“Combining intelligent capabilities with innovative form factors, the next generation of Galaxy devices are set to deliver more personal and adaptive experiences and set a new standard for the AI era,” was the text accompanying Samsung’s newsroom post.
According to several industry reports, Samsung will still launch new conventional versions of its Galaxy Z Fold and Flip phones. Its redesigned foldable reportedly won’t replace any of the brand’s existing phones. Instead, it will be an alternative form factor for those who prefer a shorter phone.
Alongside the July 2026 Galaxy Unpacked announcement, a blog post attributed to Samsung CEO TM Roh detailed the company’s philosophy towards generative AI technology. Samsung has been one of the early adopters of AI, launching the Galaxy AI ecosystem alongside the Galaxy S24 phones in early 2024.
According to Roh, faster and more capable AI, including agentic AI that can take action on behalf of people, is only as good as the technology’s understanding of its users.
“The best intelligence in the world should reach people through their everyday devices,” Roh said. “But what makes it personal is understanding the user and keeping that understanding safe.”
Samsung’s CEO also hinted at integration being the determining factor of which company will come out on top of the AI stakes.
“The question that opens the next era is not who has the smartest AI, but who understands people best, and turns that understanding into experiences they can trust.”
The Telstra network has been down for much of Australia this morning, impacting consumers and businesses around the country. Although the network is slowly coming back online for some users, it has caused widespread disruption for a range of services, including public transport and payment infrastructure.
According to Telstra, as reported by The Guardian Australia, the outage began at roughly 4:30 AM, when the telco identified “a number of nodes” that were “not operating as expected”. Telstra hasn’t confirmed an exact cause yet, but claims that “just under 90 per cent of calls and data services at this point are now working correctly.”
There have been reports of the Telstra outage impacting regional train services across Victoria and New South Wales, in addition to EFTPOS terminals and some online payment systems.
Emergency services via triple zero remain operational, but some state services, including those in New South Wales and Western Australia, indicated that some Telstra users may have had issues connecting this morning.
At the time of the outage, a notice on Telstra’s website said that it’s “looking into an issue affecting some mobile calls and data connections”.
“If you’re having trouble connecting at first, try again as it may work on a retry.”
For those still impacted by the network outage, Telstra recommends using Wi-Fi where possible. There’s no precise timing on when the network will be fully restored, with Telstra CFO Michael Ackland explaining that it “will take time for [the network nodes] to reset across all the thousands of servers across the network.”
It’s a wet and windy winter school holidays this July, which makes going outside these school holidays pretty tricky. So, you’re going to need lots of ways to help your kids have a memorable school holiday without breaking the bank or braving the cold, cold sleet.
Here are some of my suggestions for tried-and-true toys, gadgets and other fun stuff to make sure everyone has a good time, for ages 2-12.
Screen-free tech
Tonies’ Bluey collaboration: from $35
Image: Tonies.
It’s no secret that, as a toddler mum, I love the Toniebox for the independence it allows my daughter. She can pick the music or story to soundtrack her imaginative play while I cook dinner, and there’s not a screen in sight.
Well, the inevitable Bluey collaboration has happened, and Bluey families are going to love it. There’s something for everyone with a Bluey Tonieplay Game – Bluey: Play All Day for the Toniebox 2, so kids can engage with the story and actively play with it, rather than just listen along, as well as a trio of Bluey Tonies with stories.
In addition to the Bluey Tonies, there’s also a range of accessories including the Bluey Listen and Go Bag, and a Bluey Toniebox 2 Sleeve.
VTech Kidi Guitar Superstar: $79.95
For kids who love the idea of playing guitar, but might be a bit too young to start understanding how to place their fingers on the strings, and what the different frets mean, this VTech Kidi Guitar is such a great place to start.
It’s a guide with strings to strum, and the tone is changed by pressing the buttons on the frets. Tuning happens by pressing a button to change the tone to higher or lower, and there are buttons to make it sound like an acoustic, clean electric, or distorted electric. There’s also a dial that makes it sound like a band, just like a guitar, play a game, or connect it to a Bluetooth device to jam along to your own music. The body is really durable, so you don’t have to worry like you might if you gave your real guitar to a little kid. It just seems like a really good stepping stone.
Image: VTech.
My only complaints are that I wish it didn’t light up and flash so much, and I hate that if the kid doesn’t touch anything for a little while, this voice comes from the guitar demanding that they press a button or try the whammy bar. It interrupts whatever thought the kid was having, or imaginative play they were engaging in, and demands their attention come back to engaging with the toy in the way the designers intended. I wish there was a way to turn that aspect off, because it would otherwise be perfect.
VTech Kidi Beats DJ Drum Set: $89
The joke is often that if you don’t like someone, give their kid a drum kit. However, as a drummer, I firmly say that if you love a kid who is interested in learning how music is made, and likes to tap out a beat, then give them a drum kit and start them on their musical journey. They might not end up in the rhythm section, but they’ll at least have more of an understanding of the foundation of music.
This VTech Kidi Beats DJ Drum Set isn’t quite shaped like a traditional drum kit, but it’s a good start to get the basics of a traditional electric drum kit. It’s got a variety of kit sounds in there, and there are backing tracks from different genres so kids can experiment. It also works on teaching kids letters, phonics and memory, and while I’m not sure how effective it is at those endeavours, I appreciate the attempt. If only it could help me teach a toddler how to do the various rudiments.
Again, like the guitar, I wish it wasn’t so insistent and would let kids play at their own pace.
VTech Karaoke Lights Mic: $49
For the kids who were born to sing and perform, but don’t want to have to do a lot of setup and pack down at gigs, there is this excellent karaoke mic. It’s got lights built in, so they can make their own light show.
You can connect it to a Bluetooth device to play music, and it has a setting to cut out the vocals from the backing track so the kid can take centre stage. If they’re feeling silly, then there are lots of voice distortion tools they can have fun with. They can even record snippets of their singing and play it back.
It’s the perfect gift for budding singers, and kids having their first sleepover.
Quality screen time entertainment and accessories
LeapFrog Magic Adventures Telescope: $179
Image: VTech.
This is the most gentle definition of screen time ever, to the point where I don’t even know if it counts as screen time (thanks, incredibly vague screen time regulations). But this is just such a great gift for kids who are interested in the universe. I am so impressed.
The LeapFrog Magic Adventures Telescope is a real telescope, with a 110x zoom, but instead of getting kids to put their eye directly to the telescope (which can be hard for younger kids to understand how to do), it has a digital screen so the whole family can see and engage with what’s going on.
If you see something in the sky and need an explainer from an expert, it has more than 100 built-in videos from NASA and the European Space Agency explaining the cosmos in an age-appropriate way, and with more detailed imagery than you can probably see natively on a cloudy night. It also means you have the option to navigate the Northern Hemisphere’s sky without having to jump on a plane.
Plus there are some built-in space-themed games, and in the box there are 20 cards with detailed pictures of space objects and facts about the universe.
LeapFrog Magic Adventure Globe: $139
For kids who want to explore a little closer to home, this LeapFrog Magic Adventures Globe is fantastic. It’s a nice, big 26cm globe that they can spin to see all the countries and oceans of Earth. But what makes it special is that it comes with a stylus and a 2.7-inch screen.
Kids can tap on any country and get a short video from the BBC about the culture, people, animals, and language of that country or region, with over 600 included videos. There are also interactive games, a quiz and more to encourage kids to learn more about the world.
Rhythm Paradise Groove for Nintendo Switch 2 – $59
Image: Nintendo.
If your child has a Nintendo Switch 2 and a relatively short attention span, then this Rhythm Paradise Groove rhythm game is a perfect way to engage them in a series of mini-games that are easy to understand but difficult to master.
If you need to justify it to yourself as having educational value, it will improve hand-eye coordination, and teach kids about rhythm and the importance of not swinging a beat (unless the genre calls for it). It also has a multiplayer mode that’s either co-op or PvP, so you can get all the siblings playing on the one console. It’s also just really fun, and you can play it once they go to bed.
Switch 2 accessories from Belkin: from $49.95
Image: Belkin.
One of the biggest complaints about the Nintendo Switch 2 is that it can be really uncomfortable to play handheld, because it’s so thin. It also doesn’t have enough battery life if you’re going on a really long car trip or a flight.
These new accessories from Belkin solve those problems. The Gaming Grip makes the Joy-Con more ergonomic, and it adds a kickstand to the body of the Switch 2, without compromising the ability to detach the Joy-Con, or forcing you to remove the grip before placing it in the dock. If you need more battery life, there is also a version of the grip that comes with a battery pack that magnetically attaches to the back of the grip, more than doubling the battery life of the console.
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark (Xbox, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2): $99
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark is one of the best Lego games ever, and is a must-have for gaming fans of the DC universe. Perfect for ages 7 and up.
Apple Arcade subscription: $10 a month
If your kid already has an iPad for school, then Apple Arcade is the best and cheapest way to give them access to a large library of games that don’t have ads or in-app purchases. There are games for all age groups from Play-Doh World and Crayola Adventures for very little kids, to Lego Star Wars: Castaways and NBA 2K26 Arcade Edition for bigger kids.
Image: 2K Games.
There are even popular games that would normally be free-to-play with ads and in-app purchases, like Bloons TD 6+ and Kingdom Rush, so they can play the same games as their friends without the constant bombardment of requests to spend more money. The subscription is Apple Family-compatible, so one monthly payment covers up to six users.
Old-school fun
Lego Duplo Bluey’s Family House with Memory Game: $99
This Bluey Duplo set is a perfect gift for Bluey fans, but also just for kids who want a house to play with. My daughter really loves opening all the doors and windows and moving around the bricks with the pictures of food. She hasn’t seen Bluey before, but she loves dogs, and so this works for both Bluey fans and those who are too young for TV time.
Image: Lego.
What’s great is that this set grows with your kid – it can be a memory board game, too, extending the fun.
Lego Duplo Interactive Adventure Train: $129.99
For kids just entering their train phase, this Duplo Interactive Adventure Train set is brilliant. The train engine itself is powered, so it can drive itself around the track, but there’s also an unpowered carriage if kids want to drive their own train. As the train goes around the tracks, there are little coloured tags you can put down that will get the train to turn on its lights, play a sound, or stop, allowing for extra play loops.
This set is for ages 2+, so the track in the box is relatively simple. But there are extra tracks that you can buy separately with bridges and tunnels. The track has the same gauge as many of the Duplo cars, and it can be lots of fun to play with the F1 cars, taking them around a circuit. Overall, it’s an investment, but it opens up a lot of play opportunities that’ll last years.
Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty: $16.95
This thinking putty is such a great toy and tool. You can get it with beautiful glitter running through it, or with little bits you can pick out, or just in a variety of fun colours, with themes to suit every kid. It ties in with kids who are on board with the slime trend, but it’s also a useful tool for neurodivergent kids who need a fidget toy to settle their thoughts.
Pokemon turns 30 in 2026, and that sound you hear is Millennials turning to dust and complaining about their lower back pain. These little figures are so cute, shimmery, and sparkly.
Image: Jazwares.
For the adults, it’s a nice memento of the game so popular that cards were banned from primary schools across the country. For kids, they’re fun figures that are just the right size to tell stories and allow them to continue to play in the video game world they love, away from the screen.
While these toys are for ages 4+, my 2-year-old loves taking this little Pikachu everywhere – in the bath, to the zoo to show it to all the animals, out to the aquarium. It’s the perfect size for her little hands, where her bigger Pikachu plush just doesn’t fit as well.
Pokemon Battle Disc Showdown Game: $29
Continuing the Pokemon theme, these showdown battle arenas are just so much fun. The box comes with everything you need to build a perimeter around these Pokemon, who will then shoot discs at each other. If you combine two packs, you can have up to four players get in on the action, but one pack is enough for two kids to shoot discs at each other’s Pokemon to their heart’s content. When you get a direct hit on the red target, the little figure flies off in a really satisfying way. It’s a good time.
Pokemon Sleeping Plush 46cm – Vaporeon: $39
This range of sleeping Pokemon is so cute, and the current release is the Eeveelutions of Vaporeon, Flareon and Jolteon. They’re so big and soft, and perfect for a big kid to hug, or a toddler to snuggle up on. My daughter likes to snuggle up on hers with her head resting on the body next to Vaporeon’s head, and the tail wrapped around her. It’s cuteness overload.
Lots of people are creating content these days, and there’s nothing worse than crappy sound to ruin an otherwise good video. The DJI Mic Mini 2 is aimed squarely at creators who want to lift their audio game without spending too much or wrestling with controls they don’t need. It’s small, it’s cheap, and it’s easy – and at $149 in Australia for the full two-transmitter kit, it’s priced to move.
I wanted to know what version 2 adds over the Mic Mini 1, and whether it’s worth the upgrade, so I started shooting some videos with it.
Everything that you need to level up your audio! Image: Valens Quinn.
The mics
The transmitters are nice and small – about 11g each – and I like that the clip is also a magnet, so you can pull it off, put it on the inside of a shirt, and rely on the magnet to hold it in place. No fiddling with a separate magnet that’s otherwise very easy to lose. The snap-on colour covers are a genuinely nice touch too; there’s nothing worse than an ugly mic clipped to your collar on camera. Good that there’s a range of colours, and I like that they’re held on magnetically.
The magnetic clip can be rotated by 90-degree increments or taken off completely to be placed under a shirt. Images: Valens Quinn.
My ongoing gripe: the Mic Mini 2’s transmitters have built-in mics only, so you still can’t run a lavalier from them, so what you see is what you get. (If you want to run a lav from the transmitters, you’ll need to go for the fully-fledged DJI Mic 2s, but this capability is gone on the Mic 3s.) At least the units are small, but it would be better if the colourful covers didn’t have DJI’s logo on them. Thankfully, however, the little transmitters are not decked out like a Christmas tree with a myriad of flashing red, blue and green LEDs.
Lots of colours available to match your subject’s clothes! Images: Valens Quinn.
The case
The compact charging case is a highlight. Everything you need is included, right down to a handy spot to tuck the 3.5mm cable. I like that there are charge-indicator lights on the case, unlike some other brands that make it harder to know the charge state at a glance. The case itself is robust and offers decent protection, and it’s what gets you to that quoted 48 hours of total runtime.
The DJI Mic Mini 2’s charging case keeps everything protected and charged, and there’s a battery indicator on the front. Image: Valens Quinn.
Connectivity
There’s a good spread of connection options here. You can go direct to a phone over Bluetooth, plug the receiver into a camera, or use the USB-C attachment for phones, and the receiver will connect to a PC or Mac over USB-C as well. It’s flexible enough for most workflows.
A couple of small gripes about the receiver’s design are that there is a small cover on the bottom that you remove to attach the USB-C adaptor, and this is very easy to lose. Also, the hinged cold-shoe attachment is made from thin plastic and could be prone to breaking over time.
(Left) The green LED indicators on the receiver indicate a good connection with the two transmitters. (Right) The USB-C adaptor attached; just don’t lose the cover! Images: Valens Quinn.
Unlike the Mic 3, there’s no on-device screen – you get a dial and buttons, and you can adjust settings like voice tone and noise cancelling on the hardware, but finer settings like audio limiting will need to be made in the DJI app.
The 2.4GHz link is fine over longer distances (DJI quotes up to 400m line-of-sight), but it won’t be robust enough for super RF-noisy places like a busy trade show, a media scrum, or anywhere there’s a lot of electronics going on. And there’s no internal backup recording on the transmitters, so there’s no safety net if the wireless link drops.
In use
(Left) The Mic Mini 2 in the cold-shoe mount on our video camera and connected via the 3.5mm audio cable. (Right) There’s a handy pouch too to take everything with you. Images: Valens Quinn.
It’s nice to have a few voice tone presets – Regular, Rich and Bright. They’re fairly subtle, and you can choose to do this kind of shaping in your editing app instead, but they’re handy for anyone who wants to sound ‘bright’ straight out of the box and not dial it in later. I like that you can set the tone mode separately on each transmitter, just in case your on-mic talent need their own voice adjustments.
Fine-tune your settings with the DJI Mimo app, including 3 Voice Tones (Left) and 2 Noise Cancellation levels (Right). Images: Valens Quinn.
Personally, I’d still rather make my audio adjustments and noise reduction in my editing software, where I have more control, but the people this mic is aimed at probably won’t want to, and for them the on-board processing does the job nicely.
The two-level noise cancellation is genuinely useful: it gives you a heavier option in really noisy places, and I found it effective without that horrible ‘tinny’ processed sound. Battery life was great, and I didn’t come close to running it flat, with a solid day’s worth of shooting.
So tiny! Especially without the magnetic clips. Images: Valens Quinn.
The DJI Mimo app is well designed and easy to navigate, allowing me to check the individual battery levels on the mics and receiver, as well as update the firmware.
There’s an option too for a safety track recording if you want to be completely sure there will be no audio clipping in very dynamic or noisy environments.
How it compares
DJI Mic Mini 2
DJI Mic Mini (v1)
Rode Wireless Micro
TX weight
~11g
~10g
Ultra-light
Max SPL
120dB
120dB
135dB
Equivalent noise
~24dBA
~24dBA
21dBA
Voice tone presets
Yes
No
No
Range
Up to 400m
Up to 400m
Over 100m
Battery w/ case
~48h
~48h
~21h
Internal recording
No
No
No
Price (AU, kit)
$149
From $63
~$170
The obvious rival is Rode’s Wireless Micro, which is a touch cleaner on paper (higher max SPL, slightly lower noise floor) and comes with Rode’s polished app and a five-year warranty. However, the Rode is simpler, with shorter battery life and no on-device tone presets. Hollyland’s Lark M2 is the other budget option worth a look. Step up to the DJI Mic 3 or Rode Wireless PRO, and you get 32-bit float and internal recording, but you’ll pay a lot more for the privilege.
Lots of case colours to choose from! Image: Valens Quinn.
Against the original Mic Mini, the upgrades are real but modest: the voice-tone presets, the swappable magnetic colour covers and a new mobile charging-case option. Everything else, including the 11g weight, 400m range, 48-hour case, two-level noise cancelling and OsmoAudio direct connection, carries over.
Who is the DJI Mic Mini 2 for?
The Mic Mini 2 is great for what it sets out to do, but it’s not a massive upgrade over the Mic Mini v1, as most of what’s new sits in the ‘nice to have’ column. If you already own the original, there’s little reason to jump. But for a first-time buyer, this is an easy, affordable, great-sounding little kit. I’d recommend going for the charging-case bundle, so you’ve got everything you need in one package – and at $149, that seems very reasonable.
How much does the DJI Mic Mini 2 cost in Australia?
AUD $149 for the 2 TX + 1 RX + charging case kit. Single-transmitter kits start lower, from $49 for a transmitter and $89 for a 1 TX + 1 RX set.
Is the DJI Mic Mini 2 a big upgrade over the original Mic Mini?
Not really. The main additions are voice-tone presets, swappable magnetic covers and a mobile charging case, while core performance stays much the same.
Can you use a lavalier mic with the DJI Mic Mini 2?
No. The Mic Mini 2 transmitters have built-in mics only, with no external lavalier input.
Does the DJI Mic Mini 2 record internally as a backup?
No. There is no on-board recording, so there is no safety track if the wireless link drops.
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DJI Mic Mini 2
The DJI Mic Mini 2 offers some handy quality of life improvement over its predecessor including voice tones and better noise cancellation, plus colourful skins, and is a good value mic system for creators.
Features
8
Performance
8.5
Design
8
Ease of Use
8.2
Value
9
Positives
Tiny, well-designed transmitters with magnetic clips
Excellent two-level noise cancelling
Robust charging case with clear indicator lights
Flexible connectivity across cameras, phones and computers
Where do you even start with this year’s Amazon Prime Day deals? As per usual, it’s a frenzy of tech deals, providing a nice chance to save big on many of the world’s biggest brands. Now live in Australia, the 2026 Prime Day has a veritable buffet of deals to feast upon.
Pretty much every corner of consumer electronics is covered by this year’s sale. Want to save on home appliances, cameras, and smart home gear? You’ll find plenty of discounts on these gadgets and more on Amazon over the next week.
There’s a lot to get through, so we’ll be updating the deals that grab our attention as they come through. For now, check out some of the biggest 2026 Prime Day deals Aussies can shop now.
DJI: Save up to 30% on drones, pocket cameras, and accessories
Drones, mics, and cameras aplenty, DJI’s Prime Day sale includes a bunch of discounts across the brand’s gear. Its popular Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal camera is less than $600, which will likely prove popular among content creators.
Air quality might be oft overlooked by many, but there’s a lot to be said about a good air purifier. If you’ve been meaning to freshen up your home, Levoit has an extensive range that’s tidily discounted this Prime Day.
Roborock: Grab $1,400 off one of the best robot vacuums
Of the discounted Roborock cleaning gadgets, the Saros 10R comes highly recommended. A slight variant of the Saros 10 model, it’s a very powerful and reliable robot vacuum that also does a decent job of mopping.
eero: Save hundreds on simple yet powerful networking gear
The best Wi-Fi is simple. There’s nothing more frustrating than bringing a router home, only to spend hours troubleshooting the damn thing. What we like about the eero routers we’ve tested — including the eero 7, eero Pro 7, and eero Max 7 — is how easy they are to set up and use.
It’s also worth noting that the eero Outdoor 7, the brand’s first router designed for outside use, is 25% off during Prime Day. That’s its first major discount in Australia since launching earlier this year.
Amazon’s eero Outdoor 7 router has one of its first major discounts this Prime Day. Image: Amazon.
Considered one of the biggest online sales in the world, Amazon Prime Day is up there with Black Friday as far as major retail events go. Like many things that begin in North America, Australia has latched on to the event with plenty of enthusiasm.
Do you need to be a Prime member to access the sale?
As the name of the sale suggests, most of the Prime Day deals are exclusive to Prime members. Each year, there are usually some discounts available to non-members, but the majority of the biggest sale items are reserved for members.
In Australia, an Amazon Prime membership costs $9.99 per month. Alternatively, an annual membership costs $79 per year. In addition to sale access, a membership also includes TV and movie streaming with Prime Video, thousands of e-books, and music streaming.
What are the Amazon Prime Day 2026 dates in Australia?
You might have already seen some Prime Day activity overseas, but Australia’s sales work on a different schedule. Here in Australia, Amazon’s 2026 Prime Day deals are live between 7-13 July. This year’s savings kick off at 12:01 AM AEST on Tuesday, 7 July, and run until 11:59 PM AEST on Monday, 13 July.
In reality, it’s more ‘Prime Week’ than it is ‘Prime Day’, but retailers have never been ones to miss out on a chance to keep a sale going. So, for us Aussies, it’s a full week of deals on one of the world’s biggest online stores.
Check back for more deals as we update this article throughout the week.
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