For years, Apple has built its hardware empire on clear silos. While there’s clear cross-device integration between the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, each one has its own identity and intended use case. However, recent reports suggest that the rumoured foldable iPhone is set to bridge the gap between Apple’s phones and tablets.
As reported by Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple plans to publicly announce its debut foldable phone during the week starting 6 September. Earlier in the year, he reported that the phone’s inner screen is “roughly the size of an iPad mini”. Similarly, the foldable iPhone will be able to show two apps simultaneously, much like other foldable phones from Samsung, Oppo, and Motorola.
On the surface, it seems like a deviation from Apple’s traditional approach. Even though the iPad Air and iPad Pro tablets rival laptops in terms of raw power, their apps don’t function in exactly the same way as corresponding Mac apps. It’s caused friction among the Apple faithful over the years, with some wanting an iPad Pro to take the place of their MacBook.
Despite the added multitasking functionality, the phone will reportedly still run on iOS, not iPadOS. At this stage, the foldable iPhone’s closest competitor is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, featuring a similar passport-shaped design Apple’s device is widely tipped to use. Based on Samsung’s latest launch, people have flocked to the smaller form factor, news that’s sure to be encouraging for Apple leading into September.
Gurman’s latest report didn’t address the rumours circling the foldable’s launch date. There’s some speculation that it won’t launch at the same time globally due to supply chain challenges. However, until Apple confirms anything, it’s impossible to know for certain.
Not that long ago, printing on anything but paper required going to a specialist printer and forking out a fair bit of money. Now, printing on textiles and fabrics is a more mainstream and affordable pursuit. For creative types, there’s a new all-in-one printer that might be worth a look: the xTool O1 Omni Printer.
Designed for various kinds of printing, including UV decals and fabrics, the xTool O1 Omni can put custom designs on all sorts of unconventional materials, like wood, glass, and metal. It looks like it does much of the alignment for you, using a built-in scanner to identify placed objects and print the correct scale, even if you place it at an angle.
As a result, you can print your own stickers, or print directly to blank phone cases, shirts, and a bunch of other materials. The printer is currently up for pre-order in three separate configurations, starting from $2,399 in Australia, with shipping scheduled for November.
The latest format war is off and running, as Samsung-backed HDR10+ Advanced takes on rival Dolby Vision 2 when it comes to helping blockbuster content look its best on smart TVs.
Improving High Dynamic Range (HDR) contrast, colours and motion on a scene‑by‑scene basis, HDR10+ Advanced launched on Amazon Prime Video this month on compatible 2026 Samsung TVs.
How does HDR work?
Rather than make an image sharper, HDR reveals more detail in the brightest highlights and deepest shadows, as well as displaying more vivid colours.
The HDR10 standard launched in 2015, applying a fixed dynamic range – the difference between the brightest white and the darkest black – for an entire movie. As the old adage goes, the great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from.
Dolby Vision, actually launched before HDR10, uses dynamic metadata (information embedded in the video) to adjust the dynamic range for each scene or frame. It also demands that compatible televisions support higher brightness and more colours.
When implemented well, HDR brings out a scene’s highlights without overexposing the rest of the image. Image: HDR10+ Technologies.
While most television makers embraced Dolby Vision, it requires hardware chips and royalty fees from manufacturers.
Samsung chose to back the rival royalty-free open-standard HDR10+ format, which launched in 2017. It also optimises dynamic range on the fly, but falls short of Dolby Vision when it comes to colour range and maximum brightness.
How does HDR10+ Advanced improve picture quality?
Almost a decade later, HDR10+ Advanced ups the ante by using richer metadata and advanced AI processing to optimise every scene.
Expanding the metadata available to filmmakers, HDR10+ Advanced pinpoints brightness within specific regions of each frame to provide more details in the picture. It also focuses on AI-powered optimisation, particularly to improve motion smoothing according to genre to limit its impact on overall picture quality.
Key improvements over HDR10+ include enhanced overall brightness, intelligent motion smoothing, local tone mapping, genre-based optimisation and advanced colour control, according to a spokesperson for Samsung Australia.
Content compatible with HDR10+ Advanced will be labelled accordingly. Image: HDR10+ Technologies.
“Australians watching HDR10+ Advanced content will see brighter highlights in daylight scenes, more detail in dark shadow areas, preserving the cinematic feel of film content while delivering smooth, natural motion for sports, action and other fast-moving scenes,” they said.
“Because the format uses dynamic metadata and AI‑driven processing, each scene is optimised to look closer to how the creator intended.”
“To achieve these enhancements, Samsung trained AI models to identify the best‑performing networks and develop algorithms that act on HDR10+ Advanced metadata for optimal on‑screen representation.”
Do I need a new television to watch HDR10+ Advanced content?
Yes, HDR10+ Advanced content is not simply a software update; it requires specific hardware processing capabilities.
For now, HDR10+ Advanced is available on Samsung’s 2026 range of Neo QLED, OLED and Micro RGB TVs. Compatible Australian models include the following:
Samsung’s flagship S95H OLED TV is among the first to support HDR10+ Advanced. Image: Chris Walsh.
Entry-level TVs with peak brightness and colour gamut limitations are unable to display HDR10+ Advanced’s full potential “at this time”, according to Samsung Australia.
Meanwhile, Panasonic, Hisense and TCL support both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, and will likely inherit both their successors over time. Hisense is first cab off the rank, bringing it to select 2026 models this month via a firmware upgrade,
Just as Samsung has shunned Dolby Vision, rivals LG and Sony are the major hold-outs on HDR10+.
Which streaming services offer HDR10+ Advanced content?
HDR10+ Advanced content began rolling out on Amazon Prime Video in the first week of August.
Content creators and streaming platforms need to integrate HDR10+ Advanced metadata into their production and encoding workflows, but existing HDR10+ content can be upgraded.
Prime Video plans to convert its entire HDR10+ content library to HDR10+ Advanced within the next few months. A full list of supported titles is yet to be released but, over the coming weeks, Prime Video will label compatible content, with more titles to come throughout the year.
HDR10+ Advanced content will likely come to most major streaming platforms over time, given that the likes of Apple TV, Netflix, Disney+ and Paramount+ already support HDR10+.
These streaming services also support Dolby Vision and will likely support Dolby Vision 2, with Peacock the first major Western streaming service to embrace it.
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Cleaning the pool used to be hours of back-breaking labour. Now, it’s as easy as literally throwing a robot into the water and letting it get to work.
At Mova’s mega Australian launch yesterday, I saw the upcoming range, which included home robotics, kitchen appliances, and even power tools. One of the standouts was the Mova Rover X10, a robot pool cleaner that uses jet propulsion to float to the water’s surface.
That’s a pretty nifty feature, considering most robot pool cleaners tidy the bottom and sides of household pools. Usually, you’d need a separate skimming device to clean the pool surface, but the Rover X10 does it all in one device.
Australian PlayStation gamers will soon require age verification to access R18+ content via the platform’s online store as part of the country’s recent regulations surrounding age-appropriate content.
According to an email seen by GadgetGuy, Australian PlayStation users can now verify their age via either a facial scan or by providing a form of ID. Per a frequently asked questions page, users who don’t verify soon won’t be able to add content rated R18+ to their library via the PlayStation Store.
“As part of our commitment to online safety and age-appropriate play, we use age verification to help deliver the best PlayStation experience for your age and to help protect our younger players,” PlayStation’s website reads.
PlayStation’s move follows the Australian eSafety Commissioner’s Age-Restricted Material Codes that were implemented earlier this year. Under the regulations, Australians “have to complete some form of age assurance to access online games classified R18+ by the Australian Classification Board”.
The state of age verification and media classification
PlayStation is the latest major gaming platform to require age verification for restricted adult content in Australia, after Microsoft rolled out the requirement earlier in the month across PC and Xbox. Like Microsoft’s requirements, PlayStation’s age verification won’t prevent users from accessing R18+ content they already own.
After upgrading its over-ear headphones, Sennheiser now has a new pair of in-ear buds, launching the Momentum True Wireless 5 in Australia. In a big win for sustainability, both the charging case and headphones include a user-replaceable battery design.
It’s a big step forward for keeping tech for longer, considering many headphones essentially become e-waste once their batteries die. Google previously introduced replaceable batteries in the Pixel Buds 2a’s charging case, while Sennheiser takes the concept further, extending the eco-friendly design to the earbuds, too. According to Sennheiser, a compact screwdriver is all you need to access the battery compartment.
Elsewhere, the Momentum True Wireless 5 also has some design tweaks aimed at improving comfort. Sennheiser redesigned the ear tips to improve the fit while cranking up the buds’ active noise cancelling. A four-mic system powers the ANC, which Sennheiser also claims provides a better transparency mode. Similarly, the buds tap into a six-mic array and AI-based noise isolation to help pick up your voice more clearly on phone calls.
Image: Sennheiser.
On the inside, Sennheiser’s new buds use a 7mm driver, supporting up to 24-bit hi-res audio and aptX Lossless playback on compatible audio. They connect wirelessly via Bluetooth 6.0, support head-tracked Dolby Atmos audio, and offer eight-band EQ customisation through Sennheiser’s Smart Control App.
Back to the battery, Sennheiser rates the Momentum True Wireless 5 as lasting up to 12 hours on a single charge. Combined with the charging case, which supports wireless Qi charging, the buds last up to a total of 40 hours. You should be fine to wear them for most workouts, too, thanks to the IP54 dust and splash resistance.
At $499, the Momentum True Wireless 5 costs the same as the previous model, avoiding the price increase of its over-ear counterpart. Available in Graphite, Cream, Copper, Denim, and Lavender colours, the buds officially launch on 3 September via Sennheiser’s online store and JB Hi-Fi. Other retailers start stocking them from 1 October onwards.
Australian yards, especially in regional areas, tend to be bigger than those in other parts of the world. Among other reasons, it’s partly why we see outdoor tech arrive here later than other regions. Roborock even rolled out a local trial late last year to test its robot mowers in Australian conditions. Now, it’s ready to bring its tech here, officially launching the RockMow and RockNeo range in Australia.
Starting at $1,409 for the cheapest model, Roborock’s robotic mowers start arriving on 1 September. Most models use a combination of navigation technologies, including visual simultaneous localisation and mapping (VSLAM) and real-time kinematic positioning (RTK) GPS tech, to manoeuvre around garden obstacles and keep your lawn looking tidy.
Previously announced at IFA last year, Roborock’s robotic lawnmowers come in three different tiers. At the entry-level is the ‘Q Series’, designed for smaller yards, starting at $1,409 for the RockNeo Q105 model. This specific robot covers 500m², while the $1,899 Q110 model covers up to 1,000m².
Next up is the ‘S Series’, consisting of the $1,999 RockMow S108 and $2,499 S115 models. These mowers cover yards up to 800m² and 1,500m², respectively. Roborock’s RockMow S robots also include a more powerful motor and electric height adjustment, among several other features.
RockMow Z series in action. Image: Roborock.
At the top of the tree is the RockMow Z series. The $3,499 RockMow Z120 is the only model with LiDAR navigation technology, covering lawns up to 2,000m². Roborock’s flagship device is the $4,999 RockMow Z150, which steps up the coverage to 5,000m². Both RockMows are 4WD models, able to navigate steeper 80% slopes.
Aussies keen to try Roborock’s mowers can find the range at Bunnings from next month.
