HongQi E-HS9: China’s luxury EV brand arrives in Australia

HongQi is not a name many Australians know yet, but in China it carries real weight. The brand has been building cars since 1958 and is best known at home for the stately limousines used on official state occasions.

Now it is coming here, sold under the shortened name HQ. The first model to wear the badge locally is the HongQi E-HS9, a large three-row electric SUV which HQ will officially launch at its own event on 11 November 2026, with customer deliveries planned from 18 January 2027.

What “leading the way in smart luxury” means

HQ’s tagline here is “Leading the way in Smart & Luxury”, and the company is fairly specific about what each half means.

Smart is about convenience. Rather than piling on features for the sake of a spec sheet, the idea is a car that makes everyday driving easier, such as a voice assistant that can tell different people in the cabin apart and respond to whoever is actually speaking.

Luxury is about the experience that technology makes possible: a quiet, comfortable cabin, big screens, serious audio and driver assistance that takes the edge off long trips. HQ openly positions itself against the more rigid approach of century-old Western luxury brands, putting the user first rather than tradition.

To back that up, it is leaning on three areas of technology: battery, cockpit and driving assistance. More on each below.

Who is bringing HQ to Australia

HQ is being imported and distributed by Greentech Smart EV, an Australian company set up in 2023. It is led by managing director and CEO Jim (Baojun) Wu, who has more than 20 years in the car industry, including roles with joint ventures involving PSA, Honda, Toyota and GAC. Wu also co-founded EV maker Leapmotor, served as its president and CEO, and took it to a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Wu sees being a newcomer as an advantage. Without decades of legacy models to protect, HQ can put its latest battery, cabin and driving technology into every car from day one.

The HongQi E-HS9 is HQ’s first model for Australia. Image: HongQi

Meet the HQ E-HS9

The E-HS9 is HQ’s flagship SUV, and it is a big one. At 5.2 metres long and just over two metres wide, it is a genuine three-row family hauler in the same size bracket as the largest four-wheel drives on Aussie roads.

HQ quotes a 120 kWh battery, 492 hp (roughly 367 kW) and 606 Nm of torque, with a claimed range of 515 km on the WLTP scale.

Styling-wise, there is a signature light strip across the nose, matrix LED headlights and a neat touch on the C-pillar: a display that shows the battery level from outside the car. Inside, you get a panoramic intelligent display, ventilated massage seats, a panoramic sunroof and air suspension. It also has Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X hardware, which allows the car to talk to other vehicles and roadside infrastructure, where networks support it. In Australia, that support is still a work in progress.

Second-row comfort in the E-HS9. Image: HongQi

HQ has families clearly in mind. The buyer it is picturing has kids aged roughly six to 16, which makes sense for a car with this much space and screen time on offer.

On pricing, Wu says the HongQi E-HS9 will sit around the $160,000 mark, below its German luxury rivals.

HongQi E-HS9 specifications and price

Body type	Large three-row electric SUV
Battery	120 kWh
Maximum power	492 hp (approx. 367 kW)
Peak torque	606 Nm
Claimed range	570 km (CLTC) / 515 km (WLTP)
Dimensions (L x W x H)	5209 x 2010 x 1731 mm
Driver assistance	L2+ ADAS
Connectivity	Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X
Comfort highlights	Air suspension, panoramic sunroof, ventilated massage seats, panoramic intelligent display
Australian launch	11 November 2026, HQ launch event
First deliveries	From 18 January 2027
Price	$160,000 approx

Final Australian-specification details are still to be confirmed.

The HongQi technology coming to Australia

Beyond the E-HS9 itself, HQ is keen to talk up the technology HongQi has developed across its wider range. Not all of it will be in the first cars to arrive here, but it gives a good sense of what will filter into HQ models in Australia over time. It falls into three areas.

Battery and charging: HongQi’s Tiangong electric platform underpins its newer EVs, and the headline numbers look like this:

• Up to 850 km of range on the CLTC cycle from its longest-range model, with battery capacities up to 111 kWh
• 10 to 80 per cent fast charging in 20 to 30 minutes on 800V models, with five minutes to 80 per cent the stated goal for the future
• 93 per cent of battery capacity retained at minus 10°C, handy on a winter trip to the snow
• Packs tested for piercing, crushing and burning without fire or explosion, sealed against water and dust, and calibrated for Australia’s heat

Smart cockpit: HongQi’s Lingxi cockpit runs on its own 5nm Hongqi No.1 chip and FAW-OS operating system, with over-the-air updates. The AI voice assistant draws on large language models including Alibaba’s Qianwen and DeepSeek, handles natural back-and-forth conversation and can recognise different voices, so it knows whether the driver or a passenger is asking. HQ says every model sold here is localised for Australian language and usage. On the luxury side, highlights across the range include a 36-channel Dynaudio sound system, an augmented reality head-up display with an image equivalent to a 65-inch screen, a 15.6-inch 2.5K floating touchscreen and zero-gravity seats with heating, ventilation and massage.

The right-hand-drive E-HS9 cockpit, with its panoramic display spanning the dashboard. Image: HongQi

Driver assistance: HongQi’s Sinan system does not rely on high-definition maps, instead combining a three-camera vision system with inertial navigation. That matters in Australia, where detailed HD mapping outside the big cities is patchy. HongQi claims it can detect objects up to 300 metres ahead and needs fewer than 0.25 driver takeovers per 100 km, with sixfold redundancy across sensing, positioning, power, communication, steering and braking. Core safety functions include autonomous emergency braking that works at up to 130 km/h, lane keeping assist and smart cruise control, and HQ says the system has been adapted to Australian road rules. It comes in tiers, from highway assist and memory parking up to a top version HongQi describes as ready for Level 3 autonomy.

As always, these systems assist the driver rather than replace them, and HQ is yet to confirm exactly which of these features each Australian model will get. The E-HS9 is currently listed with Level 2+ driver assistance.

The HQ road map for Australia

HQ is rolling out in stages:

• 11 November 2026: E-HS9 launch event hosted by HQ
• 18 January 2027: first customer deliveries

The compact E-HS4 SUV is also on its way, with timing to be confirmed. Beyond that, a mid-size E-HS5 SUV has been reported for around April 2027, and a sedan is expected to follow the SUVs. Greentech also plans to open a dealer in each capital city.

For a brand most Australians are only just hearing about, HQ is arriving with plenty of technology on the spec sheet. Final Australian specifications will tell us how well it stacks up, and we will bring you more once we have had time behind the wheel.

Find out more at hqhongqiaustralia.com.au.

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Touchscreens riskier than drink-driving as Aussies demand physical buttons

Glancing away from the road to press on-screen inputs can be more dangerous than driving over the limit, with two-thirds of Australians demanding the return of physical buttons in cars, according to the latest research.

A two-second glance away from the road can be more dangerous than a 0.08 blood alcohol level, in scenarios such as driving on rural roads, according to research by global insurance giant Allianz.

With poorly designed menus requiring up to 11 taps to access features, Australian drivers are demanding the return of physical buttons to cars, which can be accessed by feel while still watching the road.

The latest stats on driver distractions

Almost one in three Australian drivers report a “critical moment” behind the wheel while distracted by touchscreen features that force them to take their eyes off the road.

Driver distraction is underreported in official statistics, with two-thirds of Australians identifying distraction as a factor in a collision, according to Allianz, which analysed 34,000 crashes and surveyed drivers from around the world.

As new cars become more reliant on touchscreens, 75 per cent of Australian drivers believe in-car distraction has increased in recent years. In response, 67 per cent would prefer that key features were operated by physical controls rather than on-screen buttons.

“Distraction appears far more often in the crash record than official statistics suggest,” said Allianz’s Dr Klaus-Peter Röhler. “The same everyday task is markedly more dangerous in one car than in another… Manufacturers should make safety-critical functions operable for drivers without taking their eyes off the road.”

Image: Jonas Leupe on Unsplash.

“A glance of only a couple of seconds can, at the wrong moment, be as dangerous as driving over the drink-drive limit.”

At 50 kilometres an hour, a two-second glance at a touchscreen means more than 28 metres travelled without watching the road. This extends to 56 metres when travelling at 100 kilometres an hour.

The new research comes amid a growing international backlash against car manufacturers moving physical controls and readouts to touchscreens, such as the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, which lack physical buttons on the dash as well as an instrument cluster behind the wheel.

This leaves Tesla drivers completely reliant on the 15-inch in-dash touchscreen for even the most basic of tasks like checking their current speed. Some models also ditch the physical indicator stalk in favour of buttons on the steering wheel, while relegating gear shifter controls to the touchscreen.

Local regulators call for the return of physical buttons

New 2026 Australian safety standards mark down the safety rating on new cars that rely heavily on complex touchscreen controls rather than buttons and stalks, according to the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), Australia’s peak safety body for new cars.

Key functions such as operating headlights, windscreen wipers, demisters, side mirrors and hazard lights rely too heavily on touchscreen interaction rather than readily accessible physical controls, says ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg.

“Our 2026 safety rating requirements are comprehensive and ambitious, encouraging manufacturers to deliver a broader range of safety features and higher levels of protection,” Hoorweg said.

“We want to see carmakers bring back buttons for the functions drivers use every day. Adjusting your windscreen wipers, switching on your headlights or clearing a fogged-up windscreen should be simple, intuitive and achievable without taking your attention off the road.”

Global push to reduce reliance on in-car touchscreens

Europe’s car safety organisation, Euro NCAP, is also encouraging manufacturers to use separate, physical controls for basic functions to limit the time drivers spend looking away from the road. 

Under the new European rating scheme, which came into force in January, manufacturers cannot achieve the highest safety ratings if they don’t provide physical switches for certain functions.

Meanwhile, China will require physical buttons for critical controls in new cars sold in the country from mid-2027. While the ruling doesn’t apply to the export market, it is expected to shape vehicle design out of China, which produces around a third of all cars globally.

Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Hyundai/Kia, Subaru and Audi are among major carmakers that have committed to reintroducing physical buttons. Electric carmakers like Tesla are yet to follow suit, although the EV giant bowed to public pressure and reintroduced indicator and gear shift stalks in 2025 models.

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M6 MacBook Pro starts $700 higher than last year’s model

Apple’s M6 chip is making its way to the MacBook Pro, joining the new iMac desktop and the company’s recently announced OLED iPad Mini.

At this stage, the M6 chip is only available in the 14-inch MacBook Pro, and it’s not the rumoured touchscreen model. Tomorrow’s “Pro and Tell” event is the expected stage for Apple’s first touch-enabled laptop.

Compared to the M5-equipped MacBook Pro, the new model’s gains are fairly incremental. Apple claims that the 12-core GPU improves graphics performance by up to 30 per cent, and AI performance by up to 25 per cent, while the dual 16-core Neural Engine is up to 90 per cent faster.

Image: Apple.

But who upgrades a laptop every year? For those looking to upgrade from an M1 MacBook, Apple claims up to 11 times faster graphics and up to 13 times faster AI performance. Apple positions its latest laptop as being powerful enough to run complex large language models (LLMs) locally, including the company’s new suite of Siri AI features.

From a design perspective, the M6 MacBook Pro doesn’t change much. Aesthetically, it looks identical to the previous model, reserving the biggest changes for the internals. Both Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 are supported, along with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, a full HDMI port, an SDXC slot, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

In Australia, the M6 MacBook Pro starts at $3,199, a $700 increase (roughly 28 per cent) compared to the M5 model’s launch price. Laptops and desktop PCs have been hit hard by the global memory shortage, with component cost increases impacting the checkout price.

By default, the new MacBook Pro ships with 16GB of unified memory and a 1TB SSD. Pre-orders kick off on 29 October, ready to launch on 6 November.

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Motorola Razr 70 Ultra review: Stuck in the middle with you

7.7

Where does a flip phone fit in the 2026 phone landscape? Once considered the potential future of phones, the foldable flip form factor (say that five times fast) has gone under the radar lately. Larger foldables are in vogue, especially the passport-shaped style adopted by Samsung and Apple in recent months. Even so, the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra is one of the better flip phones on the market. It’s just a bit overshadowed by other current trends.

Look at the foldable phone section of prominent tech retailers: the pendulum has clearly swung away from flip phones towards book-like foldables. When Samsung announced its annual folding phone refresh earlier in the year, it gave very little attention to the Galaxy Z Flip 8, as if it were the middle child sandwiched between the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra.

So too has Motorola embraced the larger foldable trend. It recently debuted one of the stronger first entries in the form of the $2,799 Razr Fold. As it stands, the $1,999 Motorola Razr 70 Ultra is a slick and stylish handset, but is it enough in a world awash with alternatives?

Motorola Razr 70 Ultra specifications and price

Displays	6.9-inch 1224 x 2992 Extreme AMOLED 165Hz main display 5,000 nits peak brightness 4.0-inch 1272 x 1080 Extreme AMOLED 165Hz external display
Dimensions	88.12 x 73.99 x 15.69mm (closed) 171.48 x 73.99 x 7.19mm (open) 199 grams
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Elite
Storage and memory	256GB storage 12GB memory
Cameras	50MP rear wide camera: f/1.8 50MP rear ultra-wide camera: f/2.0, 122-degree field of view 50MP selfie camera: f/2.0
Battery	5,000mAh silicon-carbon
Connectivity	USB-C 2.0 Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.4 eSIM and physical SIM NFC
Network bands	2G, 3G, 4G, 5G (sub-6)
Software	Android 16 Three years of OS updates Four years of security updates
Durability	IP48
Price (RRP)	$1,999
Warranty	Two years
Official website	Motorola Australia

Design

Motorola loaned me the ‘Pantone Orient Blue’ variant of its flip phone, which was quite the dazzler. Halfway between navy and purple, it’s bright enough to catch the eye, yet subtle enough not to dominate its surroundings.

Along the right side are the usual volume and power buttons. They’re well-positioned, making it easy to unlock the phone via the power button’s integrated fingerprint sensor. On the left side, Motorola’s AI key makes an appearance. I barely touched it; as I’ve said before, the fact that you can’t reprogram it to any shortcut you like hampers its utility.

Image: Chris Button.

I also wasn’t sold on the fabric-like material used on the rear cover. Aesthetically, it looks nice and adds a bit of extra grip. From a practical perspective, though, I could hear my mum’s words ringing in my ears about how difficult it would be to keep clean.

Just after a couple of weeks, the soft surface caught a lot of lint and other miscellaneous particles that were tricky to remove. Once you add sweat and grime to the equation, I fear to think how it would look in a year’s time.

Image: Chris Button.

Obviously, I spent far more time looking at the Razr 70 Ultra’s sleek screens than anything else. Both the 4.0-inch outer display and 6.9-inch main screen looked a treat, sporting 165Hz AMOLED technology.

Motorola’s outer screen is fully functional, letting you access standard apps without opening the phone. It’s handy for sending a quick message on a condensed keyboard, but I generally preferred flipping open to the tall inner display.

Image: Chris Button.

There wasn’t much of a crease to speak of, either. I could feel it by running my thumb along the screen, but it wasn’t visually obvious. Like any phone with foldable technology, you can see the crease when viewing the screen at an angle. Last I checked, though, everyone I know looks at their phone dead-on straight, so it’s a non-issue.

Performance

With the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and 12GB of memory in tow, the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra is one of the most powerful flip phones around. Swapping between apps is quick and responsive, keeping up with my whims. Once you start looking at phones in this price bracket, it’s tough to visibly discern everyday performance differences. No news is good news, as far as I’m concerned.

This is where benchmarking software helps sort things out. As expected, the Razr 70 Ultra blazes past last year’s Razr 60 (non-Ultra) model. Raw performance-wise, it’s roughly on par with the Razr Fold and last year’s Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, according to Geekbench 6 testing.

Device	Geekbench 6 CPU Single-Core	Geekbench 6 CPU Multi-core	Geekbench 6 GPU
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra	3,712	11,513	25,049
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra	3,770	11,422	23,805
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8	3,573	10,314	24,707
iPhone 17 Pro Max	3,768	9,443	45,451
Motorola Razr Fold	2,617	9,177	17,754
Honor Magic V6 (Performance mode)	3,604	8,132	23,208
Motorola Razr 70 Ultra	2,958	8,804	19,304
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7	2,375	8,038	19,121
Motorola Razr 60	1,035	2,755	3,181

Geekbench 6 benchmarks.

For reference, Geekbench 7 is fairly new, so we’re still building a library of benchmarks for comparison. Here, the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra returned scores of 1,257 (single-core CPU), 6,743 (multi-core CPU), and 11,505 (OpenCL GPU).

On gaming-specific benchmarks, which test a phone’s graphical limits, Motorola’s latest flip performed reasonably well. On 3DMark’s Wild Life Extreme 4K test, the Razr 70 Ultra scored 5,676, sitting on the higher end of the scale.

If mobile gaming is your thing, this is a phone capable of running more resource-intensive software. For how long, though, is another question.

The phone couldn’t complete a 20-minute stress test version of Wild Life Extreme, interrupting the test with an overheating warning. Subsequent attempts saw the same outcome. I reverted to the 1440p Wild Life (sans ‘Extreme’) 20-minute benchmark, which fared better.

During this latter test, the Razr 70 Ultra maintained solid performance throughout the entire 20 minutes. Afterwards, the device was hot to touch, and the battery dropped by 13%.

It’s good to see a 5,000mAh silicon-carbon battery make its way into a flip phone. I easily got through an entire day without recharging, although I don’t spend as many hours on my phone as some do. If you’re gaming, though, the battery saps much quicker, as is the case with most phones.

It’s also worth noting that Motorola is only supporting the Razr 70 Ultra with three years of operating system updates, plus four years of security patches. It’s a strange decision when the $1,499 Motorola Signature gets seven years of both. The more you think about it, the more confusing it gets; the Razr isn’t lacking in power, so why not commit to more updates, like foldables from competing brands?

Dude, where’s my optical zoom?

Motorola phones have been on a hot streak when it comes to cameras. Its top-end handsets, like the Signature and Razr Fold, take fantastic pictures, and the brand’s mid-range devices aren’t slouches by any stretch.

The Razr 70 Ultra doesn’t reach the same lofty standards set by those phones, but it’s a capable shooter all the same. A combination of hardware choices and baked-in software processing means it’s not as versatile as some of Motorola’s other models.

I still think fondly about the Razr 50 Ultra’s 2x optical zoom, something the Razr 70 Ultra omits in favour of an ultrawide lens. Motorola isn’t the only culprit preferring ultrawide; Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip never went down the path of a telephoto lens, and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 doesn’t have one either.

Image: Chris Button.

Based on conversations I’ve had with executives over the years, if a phone can only fit two rear cameras, the default setup is a main wide lens, supported by an ultrawide snapper. Which, if you spend any time scrolling Instagram and TikTok, you’ll get an idea why. Shooting in ‘0.5 mode’ is trendy, particularly in comedy skits, where the ultrawide camera amusingly distorts people’s faces into odd shapes.

Still, I yearn for a good optical zoom, and I’m always sad when an upmarket phone doesn’t have one.

Camera quality

What you get with the Razr 70 Ultra is a reasonably good set of cameras that produce beautifully vibrant colours during the day. Its main camera in particular takes photos with crisp blue skies at the beach, while highlighting the pristine green turf of Adelaide Oval.

Main camera (left), ultrawide camera (right). Images: Chris Button.

I did notice, however, some colour difference between the Razr 70 Ultra’s main camera and its ultrawide lens. Swapping to the ultrawide camera introduces a slight green tint to the colour temperature. It’s easily corrected in any decent editing software, but you’ll notice a difference straight out of the camera.

Main camera (left), ultrawide camera (right). Images: Chris Button.

Images: Chris Button.

At night, Motorola’s flip phone works overtime to compensate for the lack of available light. While walking along Melbourne’s Docklands on a recent trip, I tried taking a photo of the cityscape, including Marvel Stadium. Compared to what I could see with the naked eye, the photo overexposed the night sky, making it look brighter than it was. I manually dialled down the exposure, which resulted in an image closer to real life, but the bright ‘Marvel Stadium’ signage remained overexposed.

Images: Chris Button.

One of the best things about flip phones (aside from how easily they fit in pockets) is how good they are at taking selfies. Using the generously sized outer screen to frame a shot using the main cameras should mean you get a better result than when using a standard phone’s lower-quality selfie lens.

As I found when snapping a family photo after a footy final, Motorola’s image processing system is overzealous. Rather than exposing for the people occupying most of the frame, it tried to evenly expose the entire photo, including the bright stadium lights in the background.

Image: Chris Button.

You can clearly see how the photo combines multiple exposures into one. There’s a ghost-like effect that makes it look like we were superimposed into the image after the event. This is not an issue exclusive to Motorola — nearly all modern phones try to average multiple exposures into one flat image — but it’s one of the more egregious examples I’ve seen.

So, for the best-looking photos, stick to evenly lit environments when you can.

Who is the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra for?

As far as flip phones go, the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra is a good showcase for the form factor. It’s slim, stylish, and fun to use. Once you add in the smooth everyday performance and sharp AMOLED screens, there’s not much else that could genuinely improve the core of this phone.

But at $1,999, it becomes a tough sell. Spend a few hundred dollars less, and you can get even more from a conventionally designed phone, like a telephoto camera with optical zoom. Alternatively, you could spend a few hundred dollars more and jump on the larger foldable phone bandwagon.

If a flip is your must-have form factor, keep an eye out for the inevitable discounts.

Motorola Razr 70 Ultra

Slightly overshadowed by the bigger foldable trend, the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra is a fine flip phone with a high asking price.

Features

7.5

Value for money

6

Performance

8.5

Ease of use

8.5

Design

8

Positives

Stylish and useful design

Performance is on par with other foldable phones

Fantastic-looking screens

One of the biggest batteries in a flip phone

Negatives

Overzealous camera processing

Not enough years of software support for the price

Fabric-like rear material is tricky to clean

7.7

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Anker Solix S2000 shows how portable power has changed in 3 years

Where once you might have used a petrol generator to provide power remotely, a portable power station like the Anker Solix S2000 can, in most cases, replace that noisy, smelly fuel-powered generator.

The main downside of portable power stations is their battery capacity, and you cannot just add more petrol to keep them running. If the sun is shining, you can plug in solar panels, but you may need many panels to keep up with a high power draw.

The simplest solution is to buy a power station with a bigger capacity or bigger battery. Power stations measure capacity in watt-hours. The bigger the battery, the more power you have, but the power station also gets heavier and bigger. In 2023, I bought a power station to run a fridge and Starlink in my 4WD. It had 2,000Wh capacity, weighed 28.1kg, and measured 39 x 42 x 28cm. This unit is really a two-person job to get in and out of my car.

More power in a smaller unit

Fast-forward three years, and Anker sent me their new model: the Solix S2000, which costs $2,199 via Anker’s online store (discounted to $1,399 at the time of writing). It is also a 2,000Wh battery, but it weighs 16.2kg and measures 21 x 28 x 32 cm. Thus, in three years we have seen a 42% reduction in weight and a 50% reduction in size. I can easily get this in and out of my 4WD by myself.

Input and output ports. Image: Anker.

Do we have an even comparison? Both units can provide 240 volt power for appliances. The Solix has a maximum AC output of 1,500 watts, and my old power station has 2,200 watts. This means the Solix is unlikely to power a hair dryer or a coffee machine.

I could use the S2000 to power my fridge and Starlink in the car, but only on 240 volts, as there is no 12-volt output, which would also mean that I could not run the fridge as long on AC (rather than DC) without charging. This is notable because AC power draw from a DC battery wastes power doing the conversion.

However, the S2000 has some new technology to minimise that power loss both when running the inverter (to provide 240V) with no power draw and when running low loads like a camping fridge.

Power station improvements in recent years

Over the past three years, we have seen size and weight decrease, far more efficient power transfer from the battery, and other advancements.

The usable life of lithium batteries has improved from around 3,500 recharge cycles in my old power station to 10,000 cycles. The power station has two USB-C sockets instead of one, plus a USB-A socket. Notably, the maximum USB-C wattage remains at 100W. I would have been happier to see 140W on the latest model.

If you use the S2000 as a UPS to keep critical devices online during a power outage, it switches over in <10 ms, so sensitive electronics don’t lose power. Power input plugs are also standardised rather than proprietary, so if you damage a cable while travelling in Australia, you are more likely to get a replacement.

Like a lot of portable power stations, the Solix S2000 supports various recharging methods. Plugging it into a power point goes from 0-80% in 1.2 hours. It also supports up to 400W of solar charging, where full sunlight charges the battery to 80% in 4.5 hours. While driving, using the car’s cigarette lighter tops up the battery in 18 hours of driving, and an optional alternator charger tops it up to 80% in 4.5 hours. Why 80%? Because that last 20% takes a lot longer to charge (up to 30 minutes more on mains).

While I was testing, a friend rang me; he had a planned home power outage and borrowed the unit to run his fridge and freezer.  After about a three-hour outage, the battery was down to 85%. The app could have measured this precisely, but because it was set to my Wi-Fi network, I discovered it doesn’t store data; it uploads in real time. This makes no sense, since you most likely won’t have Wi-Fi during a power outage or when using it remotely.

General information (left) and time-of-use mode (right). Screenshots: Angus Jones.

Beyond that, the app is useful not only for monitoring the power station (via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) but also for remotely switching on the AC and controlling charging.  If you have solar panels and no home batteries, you could use this power station to save money by charging it during the day when you are producing solar and, say, running your fridge or TV at night off the battery.

Personally, would I run the Anker Solix S2000 in my car for touring? No. But that’s because it has no 12-volt output, although the weight and size savings are a big incentive. If you are an occasional camper, you probably don’t have 12-volt gear, so this would be a great unit, especially if you can also use it at home. This unit may also be great for a tradie for remote power, but check your power tool’s wattage rating, as it may exceed the 1,500W output. I am planning to run my TV on it.

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OLED iPad Mini debuts with thinner and faster design

Refreshing its pint-sized tablet for the first time in two years, Apple has announced the first iPad Mini with an OLED screen.

Wielding the A20 Pro chipset also used by the iPhone 18 Pro range, Apple’s latest tablet is also more powerful and thinner than its predecessor. Apple claims the A20 Pro iPad Mini produces up to 2.7 times faster graphics performance, and up to 1.6 times faster CPU performance than the previous tablet.

Replacing the 2024 iPad Mini’s backlit LED screen, the 2026 model’s OLED display is also slightly bigger, at 8.5 inches compared to 8.3 inches. OLED technology uses self-lit pixels instead of a backlight, which means more precise light control and contrast.

Alongside the new display technology, Apple trimmed down the iPad Mini’s overall size. This year’s tablet is 5.4mm thick, shaving nearly an entire millimetre off the 2024 tablet’s 6.3mm thickness. Apple’s new tablet bears an IP67 rating, the first time an iPad Mini advertises water and dust resistance.

Apple’s new iPad Mini tablets come in Midnight and Starlight colours. Images: Apple.

Apple also responded to calls to shift the front-facing 12MP camera’s position. Rather than sitting at the top of the screen when in portrait mode, the camera is now landscape-aligned, a more natural position for FaceTime calls.

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity are all supported on the OLED iPad Mini, courtesy of Apple’s N1 networking chip. Apple also claims that the chip improves AirDrop and AirPlay performance. Cellular versions of the tablet benefit from up to 50 per cent faster mobile data speeds, Apple claims, than the 2024 iPad Mini, due to the company’s C2 modem.

2026 OLED iPad Mini price

Prices start at $1,099 for the new 128GB Wi-Fi iPad Mini in Australia, a $300 and 37 per cent price increase compared to the 2024 model’s launch pricing. It’s a much bigger jump than the $50 increase between the 2021 and 2024 iPad Minis, another example of consumer technology getting more expensive amidst the global memory shortage.

Meanwhile, the cellular-compatible variant starts at $1,349 locally. For an additional $200, models with 256GB of storage and above can also be fitted with Apple’s “Nano-texture glass”, a glare-reducing coating previously exclusive to the iPad Pro range.

Here’s how much each storage configuration costs with the default screen coating:

• Wi-Fi 128GB: $1,099
• Wi-Fi 256GB: $1,299
• Wi-Fi 512GB: $1,649
• Wi-Fi + Cellular 128GB: $1,349
• Wi-Fi + Cellular 256GB: $1,549
• Wi-Fi + Cellular 512GB: $1,899

Pre-orders for the OLED iPad Mini begin on 29 October, with launch scheduled for 6 November.

Apple’s announcement confirms earlier reports about a new tablet coinciding with a yet-to-be-announced touchscreen MacBook Pro, the latter of which is expected at an event on Thursday.

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