PCs come in all shapes and sizes, with engineers able to squeeze more into smaller designs. HP took that a step further when it launched the HP EliteBoard G1a, a desktop PC housed entirely within a keyboard.
What’s most interesting about this PC is who it’s aimed at. Laptops are already highly portable, plus they have a built-in screen. So, the HP EliteBoard G1a is for workspaces where you want a fixed machine that takes up as little space as possible.
With an AMD Ryzen AI chipset inside, it’s a powerful little machine that only needs one USB-C cable to extend to two 4K monitors. Compared to the chunky PC towers of old, the EliteBoard barely takes up any desk space. It’s even small enough to be locked away in a drawer at the end of a workday.
I hate washing windows, so I love robot window washers. Most robot window washers are very simple: you strap a special cloth to a little robot that sticks to the window using a vacuum seal, and it drives around while periodically spitting out some cleaning solution. What separates the various models is how thick they are, if they have a base that cleans or organises, how they tether, how they navigate, and how far they can spray cleaning solution. I have yet to find meaningful differences between the end cleaning result of any of these robots.
That’s why it’s so exciting that Ecovacs has now introduced a $249 Winbot Neo Mini model at Aldi. It’s small, and it doesn’t have the latest tech. But, unlike robot vacuum cleaners where price correlates with performance (to a point), this is a device where the clean is almost identical, and you just pay for extras.
That said, is the Winbot Neo Mini worth picking up from the Aldi Special Buys aisle?
My first impression of the Ecovacs Winbot Neo Mini was that it reminded me of the original Winbot, just smaller and cuter. It’s just a small, square robot with a long tether and an even longer power cord. Super simple to set up: just put the included cleaning solution in the robot, plug it in, turn it on, put it on a window and then walk away.
Images: Alice Clarke.
Ecovacs Winbot Neo Mini specifications and price
Robot size (mm) LxWxH
215x215x55
Suction power while moving (to stay attached to window)
The limitation with almost every window cleaning robot I’ve used is that it doesn’t scrub; it just wipes a cloth around the window, which is great for smudges and dust, but does bugger all for windows that are actually dirty.
A good example is my window near the dining table. I have a toddler, so everything in my world has honey and pasta sauce on it somewhere. Because the Winbot Neo Mini is essentially an autonomous damp rag, of course it’s just going to spread wet pasta sauce, and it doesn’t have the scrubbing power to remove honey or candle wax.
What I love the Window Neo Mini for is its ability to remove smudges, fingerprints, and that fine layer of grime that you get from opening your windows near a busy road.
Ecovacs Winbot Neo Mini (left) and the Winbot W3 Omni (right). Image: Alice Clarke.
Because the Winbot Neo Mini is (as the name suggests) quite small, it does take a long time to clean my giant windows. However, given it is cleaning the window and not me, it’s welcome to take as long as it wants.
The only big issue is that it’s very loud, and because it doesn’t moisten its cloth as much as the bigger, splashier Winbots, it occasionally makes that unpleasant dragging sound that can be a bit like nails on a chalkboard. That’s standard across cheaper window-washing robots, but because it’s smaller and takes longer, the noise goes on longer. It’s not a dealbreaker, because it doesn’t require constant supervision on an indoor window. Rather, it’s just something to be aware of.
My other, smaller issue is that when it finishes its clean and I take it off the window, it leaves a wet mark from where it’s been sitting. I wish there was a way to mitigate that footprint somehow, and there has to be a clever design feature that could be implemented. Expensive robots do this too, so maybe they just haven’t found a solution yet.
Cleaning outdoor windows
I live in a high-rise apartment building on a floor that is a long way off the ground. Every time I test one of these window-washing robots on my outside windows, I hold my breath and await the screaming. So far, though, everything seems to be fine.
The process was the same as doing the indoor windows; it held securely, cleaned well, and let me know when it was done so I could remove it.
Image: Alice Clarke.
I did have to send it around a few times on the particularly dirty windows that I could reach, and the clean was noticeably not as good as the fancier, $1,300 Winbot W3 Omni on the first go. However, if the W3 did a 7.5/10 clean, the Winbot Neo Mini did a 6/10 clean. For a saving of more than $1,000, I can live with that, and it’s a better clean than the nothing I would have done otherwise.
Cleaning awkwardly shaped windows
The problem with houses and apartments is that they’re generally designed by people who don’t have to clean them. My apartment is one of those ones that has floor-to-ceiling windows for all my external walls. In my corner apartment, that’s 21 floor-to-ceiling windows, some with weird angles at the corners and (for some reason) a sliding balcony door to nowhere with a short glass wall in front of it. Coupled with all the hallways, I think someone needs to have a word with the architect.
Image: Alice Clarke.
These tight corners have meant that the original Winbot and the W2 Winbot model would occasionally get stuck in the corners and I’d have to use a lot of force to remove them. Because the Winbot Neo Mini is so thin and has bumpers that don’t compress as much, it didn’t get stuck there even once, including in an area the W3 Omni got stuck.
Larger window-washing robots get stuck here. Not the Winbot Neo Mini. Image: Alice Clarke.
Sadly, it’s still not thin enough to clean my dirtiest sliding door (RIP), but it was thin enough to do an excellent job of cleaning the other hard-to-reach areas.
Storage
This is where being small is both a blessing and a curse. Where other Winbots have had large cases to store, this is small enough to unobtrusively fit on a shelf. Unfortunately, because it’s so small, there’s nowhere for its cables to coil up in its tiny body, so storing them can get a little messy unless you’re excellent at cable organisation. I wish it had a little case or something to make it a bit neater. For a $249 device, though, you can just grab a tote bag.
Storing the cables neatly is tricky. Image: Alice Clarke.
Who is the Ecovacs Winbot Neo Mini for?
This is the perfect window-washing robot for the vast majority of people considering a window-washing robot. The Ecovacs Winbot Neo Mini cleans almost as well as the Winbot W3 Omni for less than a 5th of the cost (during the Aldi promotion).
While it’s perhaps not the right choice for huge properties, people who want to clean outdoor windows away from power (like a pool fence), or places with a lot of large windows, it is the right choice for everywhere else. It’s small, it gets into places bigger robots cannot, and it’s priced in a way that it’s less of a risk if you just want to give it a go. It’s the one I would buy.
Tonies, the company behind the extremely popular Toniebox, has launched the inevitable collection that every toddler parent has been waiting for: Bluey.
Overseas, there’s also a pack of three Tonies featuring Bluey, Bingo and Muffin, but that’s not coming to Australia until 2027 due to licensing difficulties.
Playing with the Bluey Tonies
My toddler and I have been playing with the Bluey: Play All Day Tonieplay game for the last month, and I’m a big fan. It’s certainly going to be better for kids aged 3+, but I really enjoy how interactive it is, without the pitfalls of introducing screen time before we’re ready.
The game takes kids through eight different episodes, and from what I can gather (without having seen the show, but having read the Baby Race and Magic Xylophone books around 1,000 times), it’s just a faithful retelling of the episode, including original dialogue. But occasionally kids have to press the button or turn the dial to make something happen.
My two-year-old really enjoyed hearing the stories, but hasn’t quite grasped what “press this button repeatedly” entails, which made it a fun family activity with my wife and me trying to explain the concept to her as we listened.
Image: Tonies.
Existing Bluey fans, particularly ones in the correct age group, will absolutely love it. It’s not overly complicated, but it gives them a sense of being included in the activity, and it means they can take their favourite TV show beyond screen time and into an interactive activity, which I love.
For younger children, it really depends on the kid. As I said, my daughter hasn’t seen the show and has only had the books read to her, so this was the first time she’s gotten to hear what Bluey sounds like, which blew her mind. She’s asked to hear it a few more times since, though I think the regular Tonies will be a better fit for this age group when they do eventually hit Australian shores.
What else is included?
As for the other accessories in the range, the sleeve fits the Toniebox 2 really nicely. I like the idea of the Tonieboxes being neutral, plain colours, with the option of character sleeves so the expensive part can stick with the child through multiple interest cycles. It was a little fiddly to put on neatly, but once it was on, it was a perfect fit.
Image: Tonies.
The bag is the most useful item for my family. It holds the Toniebox, a good number of Tonies, and the included headphones, making it a must-have for any long journey or weekend away. We’ve used it a bunch of times now, and I really like how organised everything is without feeling like an effort. The pattern, like that of the sleeve, is fun and understated, clearly showing the Bluey family without ruining the curated aesthetics of a lounge room.
Nearly everything has a screen today, so a TV isn’t necessarily the living room centrepiece it once was. Phones, tablets, laptops, and even smart glasses provide more viewing options than ever, providing more ways to watch videos than a fixed screen. In response to this growing trend, Samsung wants to meet people halfway with its recently launched ‘Movingstyle’, a smart TV on wheels.
At 27 inches with a 2560 x 1440 resolution, the $1,999 Movingstyle is like a computer monitor. Standing at around 1.2m tall when mounted to its stand, the display can also be used as a standalone touchscreen, propped up by a built-in kickstand. There’s also the option of battery-powered operation (via its included 69.3Wh battery) or mains power.
‘Movingstyle kid’ might not take off quite like ‘iPad kid’, but the functionality is similar. Image: Samsung.
This experimentation with portable screens stems from TVs becoming a less prominent medium for watching videos. According to Samsung’s research, 26 per cent of Aussies watch “major broadcast events” on either a laptop, tablet or phone. Samsung’s interpretation is that more people want screens that follow them, rather than going to a dedicated viewing room.
In the same breath, Samsung asserted that traditional TVs still have a place in Australian homes. The company claimed that 24 per cent of Australians listen to podcasts and music on TVs, while 16 per cent turn on TVs for workout sessions.
Whether more people gravitate towards portable screens, like the Movingstyle, remains to be seen. It’s an interesting approach to an ever-changing media consumption environment, one where some people watch movies in piecemeal clips uploaded to TikTok.
Ahead of Apple’s upcoming September iPhone event, many might be fixated on how the new CEO, John Ternus, marks his fresh tenure. Tim Cook led the company for 15 years, a long time for any tech company, so seeing a fresh face at the helm will be a big change. So big, in fact, that Pikachu himself visited Apple HQ to meet Ternus.
GoPro wants to be more than just an action camera brand. That was the message that came across when it announced its Mission 1 range of cinema-style cameras earlier this year. Now the third piece of GoPro’s puzzle is here, with the Mission 1 Pro ILS launching in Australia in September.
Its biggest point of difference is a Micro Four Thirds (MFT) mount, supporting a wide range of interchangeable lenses. With most cameras this size, you’d normally have to stick with a built-in lens. Conversely, GoPro’s latest camera can swap between zoom, prime, and all sorts of other lenses, provided they fit the MFT format.
On the inside, the GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS uses a one-inch 50MP sensor that supports up to 8K video recordings. In 8K, it can capture up to 60fps, and up to 240fps in 4K. If you want to shoot something in extreme slo-mo, the camera supports 960fps at 1080p in 10-second bursts.
Like the rest of the Mission 1 series, the Pro ILS can shoot in open gate, doing away with sensor cropping and fitting more into the frame. Consistent with other open gate cameras, the idea is that you can shoot more of your surroundings and then edit them into the aspect ratio you need later.
Other features include 10-bit Log recording, built-in video stabilisation, and upwards of three hours’ battery life when recording in 4K at 30fps. Currently up for pre-order in Australia on GoPro’s website, the Mission 1 Pro ILS costs $1,099.95.
It looks like a fascinating camera that changes up GoPro’s approach to filming. Setting up and changing lenses requires a bit more planning and effort than pointing and shooting, but it will be interesting to see how budding cinematographers take to the novel form factor.
The days of single-purpose fitness watches appear to be long gone. These days, a wearable seemingly has to factor in your daily activity, track your sleep, and function as an extension of your phone. Amazfit, which recently launched in Australia, is leaning heavily into the all-in-one ethos with its flagship Balance 3 model.
A stainless steel smart fitness watch with a 1.5-inch AMOLED screen, the Balance 3 does everything that’s expected of wrist-based wearables. It has built-in biometric sensors, GPS positioning for outdoor exercise, and up to a 21-day battery.
Notably, the Balance 3 costs less than other brands’ flagship wearables. At $519 in Australia, it’s cheaper than many of the Apple Watches, Samsung Galaxy Watches, and Garmin wearables of the world.
Image: Jay Marshall.
But where Amazfit claims it stands apart from competitors is through its “HybridCharge” feature. Like the ‘wellness’ scores that are becoming increasingly common in smart wearables, it provides a score out of 100 to indicate when you can push harder or when it’s time to rest.
According to Amazfit, HybridCharge brings together readings from three separate categories. One is your body’s energy levels, another looks at your stress and fatigue levels, and the other factors in your exercise training load. The resultant score provides a quantifiable method of planning your daily and weekly activities.
“Australians aren’t just training one way anymore,” said Robbie Wu, Amazfit’s APAC General Manager. “It’s strength one day, a long run the next and recovery wedged in around work and life.”
“That’s exactly what the Balance 3 is purpose-made for: one watch that monitors strength, endurance and recovery, rather than forcing people into a single mode of training.”
Compatible with Android and iOS devices, the Amazfit Balance 3 is now available in Australia via Amazfit’s online store and Amazon.
