Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 review: Affordable power for anywhere

8.4

When I first became aware of portable power stations, the Jackery brand from the USA was the brand to have. However, in Australia they were never really sold and, more importantly, supported after sales.

So, while it’s a popular brand overseas, it’s virtually unknown in Australia. Given Jackery is now being sold by Bunnings, this could change quickly. I recently tested the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2, one of the most affordable portable power stations in its weight class.

Features

In other portable power station reviews, I have talked about the sweet spot for size versus weight versus functionality: 1000Wh capacity. That is, the power station’s battery can supply 1000 watt-hours, or in plainer words, run a device requiring 1000 watts for one hour. Alternatively, it can run a 100W device for 10 hours.

In practice, operational losses will shorten this, but you get the idea. On Jackery’s website, a handy calculator estimates run time by wattage; 100W comes out to 7.6 hours, suggesting about a 25% loss.

Box contents. Image: Angus Jones.

The Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 has a 1070Wh capacity and can deliver 1500W continuously via a 240V, 12V, or USB outlet. At 1500W, this will run a toaster but probably not a hair dryer or a coffee machine. Check the label on the appliance you want to power; if it’s 1500W or below, you are good. A 2,400W hair dryer will run for a few seconds before the power station safety mechanisms kick in and shut the unit down.

You can run a camping fridge, computer, recharge phones, power lights, and even run your home fridge for a few hours during a blackout. The Jackery has two mains outlets, a 12-volt cig socket, two USB-C sockets (30W and 100W) and an 18W USB-A socket. A power switch turns on the power station, with separate buttons for AC and DC power. You can also activate the LED light in low, high, or SOS patterns.

A central display indicates input and output wattage, battery capacity, and predicted charge and discharge times based on the current input or output wattage.

The box includes only one mains cable, which limits your initial charging option to a power point. An emergency charging function, activated in the supporting Jackery app, lets you charge the Explorer 1000 v2 in under an hour. It is not recommended to use this regularly as it will stress the battery and reduce its useful life. Standard charging takes 95 minutes from empty, and quiet mode stops the fan from running, reducing noise during charging and taking even longer.

DC8020-to-Anderson plug adapter cable.

An optional $39 12-volt car charger takes 12 hours to charge your power station, and 200W of solar panels takes around four hours of uninterrupted sunshine. Jackery uses a DC8020 plug to input DC voltage into its power station. This means you have to buy their accessories.

To charge from solar, you either buy their solar panels, which include this DC8020 plug, or buy a DC8020-to-Anderson plug adapter cable for $199. These accessories increase your overall cost compared with standardised plugs and included cables from some other brands.

While we talk about cost, the two big advantages of the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 are cost and weight. At $799, this model is about $200 cheaper than many competing models. The Jackery is also 700 grams to 2kg lighter than its competition in this class. At the time of writing, Jackery also offered an extra $100 if you subscribed to their newsletter.

Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 specifications and price

Power output	1500W continuous (3000W surge)
Capacity	1070Wh
Solar input	400W
Dimensions	33 x 22 x 25 cm, 10.8 kg
Price (RRP)	$799
Website	Jackery Australia
Warranty	5 years

Compared with other brands

Model	Jackery Explorer 1000 v2	Bluetti Elite 100 V2	EcoFlow Delta 2	Anker SOLIX C1000
Price (RRP)	$799	$1,299	$1,199	$1,499
Capacity	1070Wh	1024Wh	1024Wh	1056Wh
Battery Chemistry	LiFePO4 (LFP)	LiFePO4 (LFP)	LiFePO4 (LFP)	LiFePO4 (LFP)
Continuous AC output	1500W	1800W	1800W	1800W
Surge power	3000W	2700W	2700W	2400W
AC wall recharge time	1 hour (emergency)	1 hour	1.3 hours	0.9 hours (HyperFlash)
Max solar input	400W	1000W	500W	600W
Weight	10.8 kg	11.5 kg	12.0 kg	12.9 kg
UPS switchover time	< 20 ms	10 ms	< 20 ms	< 20 ms
Smart features	App control Wi-Fi Bluetooth	App control Wi-Fi Bluetooth	App control Wi-Fi Bluetooth	App control Wi-Fi Bluetooth

Using the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2

The Jackery does everything the brochure says it does, from running devices through to mains charging, which you would expect. I couldn’t test DC/Solar charging because I didn’t have a Jackery solar panel or adapter cables. At the time of writing, Jackery solar panels were about $100 more expensive for 200W than competitors.

Paired with a 200W $799 solar panel and sunny days, this setup could keep you off-grid continuously while keeping your gadgets running.

The construction is simple and sturdy, and with a large folding carry handle on top, the 11kg power station is manageable with one hand. The unit includes appropriate safety mechanisms that shut it down if any problem occurs, including if you try to draw more power than it can provide. Jackery quote 62 different safety protection mechanisms. The unit comes with a five-year warranty, and you can expect a lifespan of 10 years or 4,000 charge cycles.

For those wanting an economical uninterrupted power supply that keeps sleep apnea machines, computers, and fish tanks running during a blackout, this is a good choice. The switchover time is less than 20 milliseconds, so your device/s stays on.

Jackery app and settings menu. Screenshots: Angus Jones.

Jackery provides a smartphone app to monitor and adjust your power station. You can connect via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. A Wi-Fi connection lets you control the power station from anywhere you have internet access. You can remotely switch the DC or AC load and adjust various setup settings. Monitoring lets you see the same information as on the screen, but if your internet connection drops due to a blackout, you cannot connect to see it.

Who is the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 for?

At $799, this power station is an economical way to take power with you when remote from mains power. Whether running a power tool on a job site, powering a camping fridge, or recharging a drone, this versatile unit is easy to put in your vehicle and move without causing a hernia.

Consider your power needs, as this unit will not run high-wattage appliances, and anything over 1000W will drain the battery in under an hour. If within 30 days of purchase you find it does not meet your needs, Jackery will give you your money back.

Jackery Explorer 1000 v2

Much cheaper than similar-sized power stations, the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 keeps your appliances powered in a pinch.

Features

7

Value for money

10

Performance

8

Ease of use

8

Design

9

Positives

Lightest in its class

Cheapest in its class

Robust design with good carry handle

Negatives

Proprietry DC plug with no included accessories

8.4

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Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) review: Lean and mean

8.8

Sporting Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon ARM processor, rather than a traditional Intel/AMD x86 chip, the Gen 11 Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x packs quite a punch.

Qualcomm is better known for making flagship smartphone processors, but its silicon also sits at the heart of many new ‘Copilot+ PC’ computers. They’re optimised for AI tasks, but the trade-off is that they run a special ARM-based version of Windows 11 which supports the Microsoft Office suite and Edge browser but not all third-party Windows applications.

Microsoft’s previous effort to sell the public on ‘Windows RT’ ARM-based PCs was an unmitigated disaster. Even though Windows RT machines were cheaper than Intel/AMD alternatives, their lack of grunt and very limited support for non-Microsoft software saw them doomed to fail.

This time around, the big selling point is that Copilot+ PCs running Qualcomm chips are actually more powerful than their Intel/AMD rivals. Especially when it comes to AI tasks, which are handed off to the dedicated onboard Neural Processing Unit (NPU).

Since the Copilot+ PCs arrived a few years ago, more work has gone into supporting third-party Windows apps. This makes the new Qualcomm-powered Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (14-inch, Gen 11) a serious contender starting at $2,169 – a little more expensive than what you might pay for the Intel/AMD equivalent.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x first impressions

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x has a very slender profile, thanks to the common notebook design trick of tapering the edges to make it seem thinner. While it sports a slimline design, it’s not a flashy fashion statement and wouldn’t look out of place in the boardroom.

The Yoga Slim 7x tips the scales at a respectable 1.17 to 1.24kg, depending on the exact configuration, but feels a tad heavier than it looks. It would still slip comfortably into a travel bag, but if you’ll spend more time carrying it than using it, you might look for something closer to the 1kg mark.

Thankfully, the supplied 65W USB-C AC power adapter only weighs an extra 180g, unlike the beefy notebook power bricks of old.

Those slender edges were never going to leave much room for connectors. You get three USB4 type-C ports, which is more generous than some, but forget about squeezing in USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, an SD card slot or even a headphone jack. So you might need to make room in your travel bag for a USB-C hub and Bluetooth wireless headphones.

The slender Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x sports two USB4 type-C ports on the left. Image: Adam Turner.

That tapered design also allows for locating the cooling fan intakes on the bottom of the laptop, rather than along the back edge.

With another USB4 type-C port, power button and privacy switch on the right. Image: Adam Turner.

A perfectly balanced notebook offers the ideal amount of resistance from the hinge when you push the screen open with one thumb. Here Lenovo just misses the mark: the screen lifts most of the way up, but you need to hold the keyboard down with your other hand to push the screen back.

Fire up the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, and you’re presented with a gorgeous 14-inch OLED display. You’ve the choice of 10-point touch or non-touch 1920 x 1200 panels with a 60Hz refresh rate and 600-nit peak brightness, earning DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification. 

Alternatively, you can step up to the sharper 2880 x 1800 OLED touchscreen panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1100-nit peak brightness, earning DisplayHDR True Black 1000 certification. Whichever way you go, there’s no support for a stylus.

Below the screen, you find a decent backlit keyboard and generous trackpad, which is slightly off-centre. Serious typists will appreciate full-sized Shift keys and half-sized arrow keys, rather than a half-sized right Shift key which can frustrate touch typists. The keys have plenty of travel but perhaps a little too much give for some wordsmiths.

As you’d expect, there’s also a dedicated Copilot button (a repurposed right Control button) for calling upon Microsoft’s AI-powered smart assistant.

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x features a respectable keyboard. Image: Adam Turner.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x specifications and price

Display size	14-inch, 16:10 aspect ratio
Display resolution	1920 x 1200 or 2880 x 1800
Display technology	OLED
CPU	Snapdragon X2 Plus or Snapdragon X2 Elite
GPU	Integrated Qualcomm Adreno X2 series
RAM	Up to 32GB Soldered LPDDR5X-9523
Front camera	9.2MP + IR, with E-shutter and Human Presence Detection, fixed focus
Speakers	4 stereo speakers, 2 x 2W (woofers), 2 x 2W (tweeters), optimised with Dolby Atmos, Smart Amplifier (AMP)
Microphone	Quad-mic array, 3D array
Onboard storage	512GB or 1 B M.2 2242 PCIe Gen4 SSD
Connectors	3 x USB-C (USB4 40Gbps) with USB PD 45-65W & DP 1.4
Charging	USB-C Supplied 65W USB-C slim (2-pin, wall-mount) AC adaptor
Battery	4-cell (70Wh), integrated Supports Rapid Charge Express (get 3 hours of runtime with a 15-minute charge)
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 7, 802.11be 2×2 Wi-Fi
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.4
Operating system	Windows 11 Home 64 or Pro 64
Security	Firmware TPM 2.0 integrated in SoC No fingerprint reader Administrator password, Master hard disk password, User hard disk password, User password Self-healing BIOS E-shutter IR camera for Windows Hello (facial recognition)
Dimensions	312 x 221 x 13.9mm
Weight	Non-touch models: Starting at 1.17kg Multi-touch models: Starting at 1.24kg
Price	From $2,169
Warranty	12 months (optional Onsite Support or Premium Care Onsite Support)
Official website	Lenovo Australia

Features

Under the bonnet, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x offers a choice of three Qualcomm power plants: the 4.0GHz Snapdragon X2 Plus, 4.4GHz X2 Elite and 4.7GHz X2 Elite. Stepping up to the top-of-the-line will set you back $3,099.

All that grunt is accompanied by 16 or 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM, which is soldered in place, along with a 512GB or 1TB M.2 2242 PCIe Gen4 SSD.

The slender and understated design isn’t too flamboyant for the boardroom. Image: Adam Turner.

Once again, be warned that these Snapdragon ARM chips can’t natively run some third-party Windows desktop software, which could come as a shock if you didn’t understand what you were buying.

Reliance on ARM architecture could be a deal-breaker, depending on which applications you require to be productive. If you’re just using Edge and the Microsoft Office suite, you’re fine, plus most major web browsers and communication tools are ARM compatible.

Thankfully, most Adobe software now runs natively on ARM-based Windows, but you’ll also want to double-check any third-party plug-ins you rely on.

If you depend on any other specialist software, then it’s important to check compatibility before you take the plunge, especially if it’s old software that doesn’t tend to get updated.

If you get stuck, thankfully Windows 11 on ARM supports emulation of both x86 and x64 apps. The Prism emulator runs automatically in the background when required, similar to how Silicon Macs run Rosetta to handle older applications.

Prism might save the day, depending on how well your old x86/x64 desktop applications run on the emulator. Improvements to Prism and the extra grunt of the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon chips certainly help. That said, gamers should definitely proceed with caution.

On the upside, ARM-based machines have the advantage over Intel/AMD when it comes to performance and power consumption. Plus, the Snapdragon X2 series processors are a major upgrade over their predecessors.

As a result, you should easily squeeze 20 hours out of the 4-cell (70Wh) battery, probably closer to 25 hours. That’s decent, but perhaps not as impressive as you might expect considering the power efficiency claims. Three hours of juice from a 15-minute charge is certainly welcome.

Quality

Thankfully, Geekbench has run natively on ARM-based Windows PCs since 6.2, so benchmarks aren’t hampered by reliance on Prism emulation.

Packing the top-of-the-line Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-88-100, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x returns Geekbench 7 results of 3,120 single-core, 22,483 multi-core and 30,517 OpenGL. Switching back to Geekbench 6 sees 3,577 single-core, 19,213 multi-core and 33,259 OpenGL.

That kind of CPU performance outguns what you’ll get in the Intel/AMD world for around the same price. Of course, you’ll see a hit if you’re relying on Prism to run Windows apps that aren’t ARM-compatible. It’s less impressive when comparing GPU results.

Who is the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x for?

You need to go in with your eyes open. If you’re absolutely confident that ARM-based Windows can meet all your needs, then the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x is certainly a worthy contender. 

That said, there’s still no compelling reason to make the switch and take that risk when it’s still reasonably expensive. The OLED display, battery life and graphics performance are not that impressive weighed up against what you could get from Intel/AMD at a similar price.

The CPU performance is where the Yoga Slim 7x stands out, assuming you need all that grunt and you’re relying on ARM-compatible applications that can make the most of it. I’m not completely sold, but I’d certainly be more prepared to make the leap today than back when the first ARM-based Copilot+ PCs hit the shelves.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11)

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) is a slender Snapdragon powerhouse, assuming your Windows apps can make the most of all that ARM-powered grunt.

Features

8.5

Value for money

8.5

Performance

9.5

Ease of use

8.5

Design

9

Positives

Thin and light

OLED display

Powerful and energy efficient

Improved Prism emulation

Negatives

Requires ARM-compatible Windows applications for best performance

Prism emulation performance depends on application

Only USB-C ports

8.8

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Mova V70 Ultra Complete does edge cleaning better than most

Of the many advancements robot vacuums have made over the past decade, edge cleaning is one thing they’re still figuring out. We’ve seen some robots opt for a square shape in an attempt to clean as close to walls and corners as possible. But perhaps one of the best attempts so far comes from the Mova V70 Ultra Complete, which uses both extendable brush and mop arms.

Launched in Australia back in July, the $3,299 robot appliance reaches as far out as 17cm. This means that even if the main unit can’t quite squeeze up against a skirting board or a chair leg, its mop or brush can reach out and take care of the last 10% of cleaning it wouldn’t have otherwise been able to complete.

This is one of the smartest robot vacuums I’ve seen so far. Stay tuned for a full review of the Mova V70 Ultra Complete soon.

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Levoit Core 400S air purifier review: Freshen up your home

8.2

As a recent trip to Melbourne kindly reminded me, hay fever season is back with a vengeance. Sniffly noses with red and itchy eyes will be a common plight for allergy sufferers in the next few months. Not long after, Australia’s dreaded bushfire season will be upon us, with smoke adding more discomfort for those with breathing difficulties — my partner among them. Levoit aims to provide some indoor relief during these times in the form of the Core 400S air purifier.

Over the past few weeks, the Levoit Core 400S has been a constant presence in my home. In the absence of lab-quality equipment, I’ve tested the air purifier across a range of situations in different rooms to see what impact it has in a real-world setting.

For the most part, it confirmed that I’m fortunate enough to live in an area with breathable air. But when I directly intervened with some common household pollutants, the Core 400S made a difference.

Air circulation and Australian homes

Testing the Levoit Core 400S over an extended time taught me one thing: my home has pretty good air circulation. Too good, if you ask me. To be honest, I didn’t need an air purifier to tell me this. In winter, it’s impossible to keep warm, and heat lingers way too long during summer. At all times of the year, draughts make doors creak as air makes its way in through poorly sealed windows.

It’s no secret that Australian homes traditionally have poor air tightness, especially those built before 2015. This unwanted feature of older builds makes temperature regulation a nightmare, which hurts even more when it comes to paying the energy bills.

However, the upside in my case is that because of the strong airflow — combined with living in suburban Adelaide — my home’s air quality is good most of the time. Levoit’s main unit of measurement, PM2.5 (fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres), rarely registered higher than five.

As measured by the air purifier’s built-in laser sensor, PM2.5 levels above 50 are considered unhealthy. For people with asthma or other respiratory conditions, lower counts can be harmful. According to Asthma Australia, car exhaust and bushfires are among the biggest contributors to PM2.5 levels.

Regional areas away from bustling streets and industrial zones might not have as much need for an air purifier 12 months of the year. But as the harsh Australian summer draws nearer, the threat of bushfires could necessitate an appliance that can clean your home’s air.

Levoit Core 400S specifications and price

Filter	Three-stage filter: small particles, large particles, carbon
CADR (clean air delivery rate)	433 m³ per hour
Advertised effective range	90 m²
Noise level	28-54 dB
Size	27.4 × 27.4 × 52cm 5kg
Smart functionality	VeSync app connectivity Alexa and Google smart assistant-compatible
Price (RRP)	$399
Warranty	Two years
Official website	Levoit Australia

Design

A moderately sized cylinder standing roughly 50cm tall, the Levoit Core 400S is designed to purify the air in rooms as big as 90 m². Based on Levoit’s specifications, this air purifier has a clean air delivery rate (CADR) of roughly 433 m³ per hour, which refers to how quickly it purifies air. I’ll get to my testing soon, but these specs indicate a device meant to purify larger rooms, like living rooms and kitchens.

Getting started with the Core 400S is straightforward. After removing the packaging and plugging the appliance in, you can connect it with the VeSync smart home app. It requires creating an account, which then lets you view real-time and historical air quality data on your phone, with the option of using Alexa or Google smart assistants to control the appliance remotely. Using the app isn’t strictly necessary, but access to past data is handy, particularly if you want to cross-reference with a bad asthma day.

Image: Chris Button.

On top of the purifier is a set of capacitive touch buttons, allowing for on-device controls. Alternatively, you can control the appliance remotely via the app. These on-device controls also include a display, which shows live air quality readings, fan speed, and Wi-Fi connection status.

By default, the Core 400S runs an auto setting, adjusting the fan speed based on air quality. Alternatively, you can set fan speed manually, set it to run on a timer, or activate night mode, which turns the display off and runs the fan on a lower speed so it doesn’t disturb you while you’re trying to sleep.

Accessing the filter within the purifier is easy: just a twist, and the bottom compartment pops open. It’s a three-part filter designed to capture larger particles (dust, pet fur, etc.) and smaller particles (pollen, bacteria, etc.), while a carbon layer absorbs smoke and odours. Replacement filters — which you’ll need every 12 months — cost $79 via Levoit’s website.

Make sure you clean the filter every few weeks. Image: Chris Button.

Although not too bulky, the Levoit Core 400S isn’t all that small, either. The challenge is finding a location for it that doesn’t get in the way, while providing enough clearance so it can get to work.

Performance: Surviving a deodorant shower

In general use, the Levoit Core 400S’ built-in air quality sensor barely registered a PM2.5 level above five. Even when placed in the kitchen near the gas stovetop, the air quality barely moved. I didn’t even have the rangehood turned on, on account of it currently being out of order.

There are two observations I noted because of this. One is that, without a dedicated air quality monitor — which can be quite expensive — I was unable to corroborate the accuracy of Levoit’s sensor. This being said, I’ve used a couple of air purifiers before that provided similar readings. My other observation is that my home’s airflow and high ceilings likely mean it takes a lot for the indoor air quality to deteriorate.

So, to create as much of a controlled environment as possible, I shut the Levoit Core 400S in the main upstairs bedroom. At roughly 63 m³ (and 23.78 m²), it’s one of the largest enclosed rooms in the house. Then, I sprayed a copious amount of aerosol deodorant throughout the room, to the point I could barely breathe through the Rexona mist, set the purifier to auto, and shut the door.

Tracking the results in the app, I saw the air quality immediately skyrocket to ‘bad’, with PM2.5 levels well into the hundreds. I didn’t need an air quality monitor to tell you how bad it was in there, but at least it validated my aerosol-seared lungs.

It didn’t take long for the air quality to exceed 300 PM2.5. Screenshot: Chris Button.

Within half an hour, the air quality had restored to ‘good’. By 45 minutes, the air quality was back to ‘very good’, registering single-digit PM2.5 levels. Upon reopening the room, the faint smell of deodorant lingered, still smelling like a footy locker room (minus the Lynx Africa). More importantly, however, I could breathe easily again. No visible airborne deodorant particles remained, and I could comfortably stay in the room without my eyes welling up.

Screenshots: Chris Button.

For another point of comparison, I also recommend reading HouseFresh’s review. They specialise in air purifier reviews, including specialised equipment to validate their findings. According to HouseFresh’s tests, the Levoit Core 400S is one of the stronger performers among appliances made for larger rooms.

Who is the Levoit Core 400S for?

Made for homes with larger rooms, the Levoit Core 400S helps freshen up the air when things get stuffy. It might be excessive for homes with good airflow in areas with good-quality air, but it makes a difference when pollutants get indoors.

As the pollen count rises and bushfire season approaches, your lungs will be grateful for the relief this air purifier can provide.

Levoit Core 400S

Made for homes with larger rooms, the Levoit Core 400S helps freshen up the air when things get stuffy.

Features

8.5

Value for money

7.5

Performance

8.5

Ease of use

8.5

Design

8

Positives

Capable of quickly purifying air in larger rooms

Easy to set up and use

Handy real-time air quality data and app integration

Negatives

Cost of replacement filters adds up over time

Many homes don’t need an air purifier this large

8.2

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Googlebook aims to be the MacBook of the Android ecosystem

Up until now, Google has been content to play in the budget PC space with its affordable Chromebook laptops. Priced to suit students, these computers primarily relied on web-based apps within ChromeOS. Shedding the budget-only perception, Google unveiled the Googlebook overnight, a more premium range of laptops made by the biggest laptop brands.

Much like the interplay between iPhones and MacBooks, Googlebook aims to streamline the connectivity between Android phones and laptops. This comes via “Googlebook OS”, a platform that combines a ChromeOS and Android-like experience for cross-device compatibility. Anything you start on an Android device can be quickly continued on the laptop, in addition to quick file sharing and browsing, and app casting between a phone and the laptop.

In Australia, Google’s new laptops start at $2,299, with models coming from Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. 16GB of RAM is the baseline spec, with 32GB the maximum available. According to Google, the laptops’ batteries last up to 16 hours of web browsing or up to 14 hours of video playback.

Google’s Gemini AI technology features heavily throughout the brand’s new laptops. Wiggling the mouse cursor conjures Gemini to provide context-specific suggestions, while Google’s new Rambler dictation tool automatically cleans up voice notes into complete sentences, like Nothing’s Essential Voice feature.

Asus to debut Googlebook soon

Asus is the first brand to confirm its Googlebook availability in Australia, launching on 5 October. Its range consists of two models: one costs $2,999 and includes an Intel Core Ultra 7 chipset, while the $2,799 model runs on an Intel Core Ultra 5. Aside from the third-gen Intel Core Ultra chips, Googlebooks will also come in Snapdragon variants.

Image: Asus.

Asus advertises its first Googlebook as weighing a svelte 0.99kg, made from a magnesium-aluminium alloy, and sporting a 14-inch 3K OLED touchscreen. It also includes a full array of I/O ports, including two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C slots, two USB-A (3.2 Gen 2) ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Googlebook is a bold play from Google. Windows has bridged the gap in cross-device functionality in recent years, but few integrations are as seamless as the connectivity between Apple’s laptops and phones. If it comes off, Google’s laptops could make life a lot easier for Android users, leaving Windows in an awkward position.

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This smart tablet stops you from wasting time getting distracted

Modern smartphones and tablets are powerful devices, but it’s all too easy to get caught scrolling Instagram for 30 minutes when you wanted to do something more productive. iFLYTEK’s AINOTE 2 devices are designed to stop that.

With a conventional tablet, all your social media apps, videos, and games are there all the time. Now, we’re only human, and it’s easy to get distracted when everything is within reach of our fingertips.

What you and many other workers need is a lean, focused device that’s nearly distraction-proof. And iFLYTEK’s AINOTE 2 series is just that.

A more focused tablet experience

Both units in the AINOTE 2 range are super-lean, super-clean e-ink tablets built around productivity. One is the AINOTE Air 2, the 8.2-inch model. Notably, it has a cool-to-warm adjustable reading light, rear camera, and speakers.

It’s great if you want to keep a bit of that classic tablet functionality, or you do a lot more reading than taking notes. Though it is absolutely a note-taking device too.

Then there is the iFLYTEK AINOTE 2, a super-thin 10.65-inch tablet. It doesn’t have a camera, speakers, or a reading light, but it’s heavily geared toward note-taking, with a new stylus from Wacom, a massive battery, and just more overall.

Of the two devices, the AINOTE 2 is the flagship model. It lets you make notes, does real-time transcription, converts handwriting to text, and handles your schedule too.

But those are just the core features. The AINOTE 2 isn’t just a walled-off notepad; it has a full open Android operating system. You can get select apps from the Play Store or even sideload apps, with full APK installation support.

Organising your thoughts

So much of daily life relies on taking notes. Keeping track of important meeting actions, remembering grocery items, and managing the household schedule: it all quickly adds up. Rather than trying to remember everything, it’s best to note important information down so it’s there when you need it.

The AINOTE 2 is built around note-taking and staying organised. You can jot down notes using the stylus on the responsive e-ink display, and the AINOTE 2 converts them to text. It then keeps things tidy and organised.

AINOTE 2.

This is where the AINOTE really earns its stripes. Thanks to integrated AI, you can search for your notes using natural language. It’s incredibly helpful when you need to recall something at a moment’s notice.

Instead of having to remember when you made a note, or what title you used, you can just ask the AINOTE 2 to show you the specific notes you need. For example, you could ask about any shopping lists you’ve written, and the device will find them.

More than just a note-taker

With the AINOTE 2, notes are really just the start. This smart little tablet combines note-taking with scheduling functions — including daily, weekly and monthly scheduling — and AI processing to create a powerful but focused tool for managing your work.

Running on software called NOTE OS, the tablet also includes a microphone array on the top edge. This powers up the AINOTE 2 into a voice-to-text transcription powerhouse.

Combine transcription with AI, and what you get is a tablet that listens along to meetings, takes notes, and can then generate minutes, or even a dot-point summary. All with a single tap.

That’s perfect for busy, on-the-go people who have regular work meetings and need to manage a household’s schedule. With a pen-and-paper system, it’s easy to lose track of so many moving parts.

Instead of all this information going into one big note that you have to decipher later, the AINOTE 2 can organise it all and match it up to your schedule.

If you have a busy week packed with deadlines and tight timings, the AINOTE 2 can look at your notes and meeting transcriptions and generate a daily or weekly report, based on what tasks are involved.

You can ask the device to produce a report on your tasks, and the AINOTE 2 will use its AI smarts to look through the notes and any meeting transcriptions, pull out the tasks, put them in your schedule and generate a report for the week.

It’s a clever way of reducing cognitive load that makes finding important information easy.

Flexible technology without the distractions

You might have a particular work style, but the genius of the AINOTE 2 is that it can suit anyone. Whether you’re in a highly structured corporate environment, out on the street as a journalist, deep into a complicated trial as a solicitor, providing healthcare, or even just reading — the AINOTE 2 can work for you.

iFLYTEK talks about this tablet making mind and hand one, but it’s even more than that. It’s also about increasing focus. No more distractions from entertainment apps, and no more frustration at the time wasted sorting through notes or manually entering tasks and events into a calendar.

It’s not just the smarts inside that make the AINOTE 2 a great device. It is currently the world’s thinnest e-ink tablet, so it’s really light to hold and carry around. It weighs just 295 grams, so you won’t even realise it’s there.

There’s a 4,000mAh battery — that’s massive for an e-ink device — so you don’t have to charge this every night like your other devices.

The e-ink display itself is optimised for that natural pen-on-paper feel. The refresh rate is really high, and the latency on the handwriting — that’s the time between you moving the stylus and the line appearing — is just 20ms.

Even the stylus — iFLYTEK calls it an EMR pen — feels premium, just the right amount of weight to feel comfy.

Focus without limitations

Usually with a device like this, you get focus at the expense of flexibility. Just a few, select apps, and maybe a branded app store with a couple more on it. The AINOTE 2 is a fully open Android-based tablet. In fact, it’s even more open than many smartphones — you can sideload apps via an APK file.

This isn’t about being able to put TikTok on the AINOTE 2, though; it’s about deep user customisation and extensive compatibility with different file types. You get support for all the top eBook formats: PDF, EPUB, MOBI and more. And there’s a document viewer for fast browsing of Office documents, which is a big time saver on a device like this.

There’s also a lot of tweaking you can do to the refresh rate, so third-party apps work properly, without the weird refresh glitches you might see on other e-ink devices. And, as you might expect, there’s support for cloud storage. Right now, there’s OneDrive connectivity, and iFLYTEK says Google Drive and other options are on the way soon.

Breath of fresh air

An alternative is the AINOTE Air 2, a smaller version of the AINOTE 2. With an 8.2-inch e-ink display and a reading light, the Air 2 has a slightly different emphasis from the AINOTE 2. It’s great for eBooks; you can just curl up for hours. But we’re here to work!

AINOTE Air 2.

The Air 2 is definitely a more discreet device, like a smaller notepad instead of a big portfolio-style book. It’s a bit thicker than the AINOTE 2, but that lets iFLYTEK include a 5MP camera. And finally, it has a glass cover over the display. It gives it a clean, tech look and feel.

Ultimately, choosing the AINOTE 2 versus the Air 2 comes down to your personal preference.

Using the AINOTE as a fourth device

For many people, the standard setup is a smartphone, tablet, and laptop. But whichever tablet you choose from the AINOTE 2 series, it can have a role to play as your fourth device.

It’s focused, it’s lightweight, and it manages your messy thoughts and the stuff you need to know. So, all the convenience of a modern device, without the distractions.

And you can now get the AINOTE range in Australia through the iFLYTEK online store.

The post This smart tablet stops you from wasting time getting distracted appeared first on GadgetGuy.

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Samsung Bespoke AI Combo 19.5kg review: clever engineering, smaller footprint

8.8

Samsung’s Bespoke AI Combo puts a washer and dryer into a single unit. But it’s much more than that, thanks to the use of a heat pump, AI to analyse your loads, and a range of other time and energy saving features. I replaced my standalone washing machine with this unit to see how it performed, and whether it could take the drudgery out of my laundry routine.

At 19.5kg wash capacity, and 10kg dry, it may still appeal to single or a couple household, however, a full family would get the full benefit.

Key features

• 19.5kg wash / 10kg dry capacity
• AI Wash & Dry Plus, with load sensing for weight, soil level and fabric type
• AI Energy Mode, up to 20% energy savings on washing and up to 10% on drying
• Heat Pump drying technology, closed loop, no humidity released into the room
• BubbleWash and BubbleSoak
• AI VRT+ noise reduction
• Super Speed cycle, full wash and dry in 68 minutes
• 7 inch touchscreen with SmartThings app and Bixby voice control
• 10 year motor warranty and 7 years of software updates

It’s a handsome machine, not that my laundry room compliments it. Also, it’s taller than a regular washing machine or dryer. Energy ratings shown on right. Credit Valens Quinn

Table of contents

• Specifications and price
• Setup and first impressions
• Design and build
• Wash and dry cycles
• Wash performance
• Dry performance
• AI features in daily use
• Maintenance
• Capacity
• Value
• Who is it for?
• Frequently asked questions

Samsung Bespoke AI Combo specifications and price

Model	WD90H19AHSSA
Wash capacity	19.5kg
Dry capacity	10kg
Dimensions (W x H x D)	686 x 1110 x 875mm
Weight	145kg
Colour	Dark Steel body, Black door
Control panel	7 inch touch LCD
Energy rating (washer)	4.5 stars
Energy rating (dryer)	10 stars
Water rating (WELS)	4 stars
Max spin speed	1100rpm
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, SmartThings app, Bixby voice control
Motor warranty	10 years (Digital Inverter Motor)
Software updates	7 years (2024 and later models)
Product page	Samsung Bespoke AI Combo 19.5kg
Price	$4,499 AUD

Setup and first impressions

The Bespoke AI Combo is bigger than a single washer or dryer, so it stands higher, at 1110mm tall. The footprint is about the same as my old washing machine, 686mm wide and 875mm deep, but the unit stood about a third taller to make room for the dryer inside it.

Otherwise, it connects the same way you’d expect, with hot and cold connections as well as a drain pipe, so you can use your laundry room’s existing fit out without any challenges. Other than some balancing with the extendable feet, it was ready to go.

I used Samsung’s SmartThings app and connected it to the Wi-Fi network quickly. From there, the touchscreen is the primary way you interact with it, and it’s all pretty straightforward, with an intuative layout and lots of options to play around with.

The Bespoke AI Combo 19.5kg in Dark Steel, from different angles. Credit: Samsung

Design and build

I like the way it looked too, with a simple touchscreen and a nice dark grey metallic finish, called “dark steel”. It also has quite a large door for chucking your clothes in, and inside the drum is sparkling stainless steel and there’s a smoky glass look on the washer’s porthole door that matches the dark grey metallic finish.

Wash and dry cycles

There’s also a huge range of wash and dry cycle types to suit different needs: AI Wash & Dry Plus, Super Speed, Towels, Eco Cotton, Bedding, Cotton, Less Microfibre, Pet Care, Delicates, Wool, Sanitize, Single Garment, Baby Care, Shirts, Denim, Hand Wash, Rinse and Spin, Spin Only, Air Sanitize, Air Bedding Care, Down Jacket Care and Cool Air. You can also save your own customised cycles, I set one up for quick t-shirt washes.

A few of these go beyond a simple label. Eco Cotton washes cotton loads using less water and energy, Sanitize uses hot water to eliminate bacteria, Air Sanitize sanitises and deodorises without using any water, and Air Bedding Care removes dust and lint from bedding using air alone.

Or you can just go with AI Wash mode and let it figure everything out for you. When it’s washing, it uses sensors to detect the weight, soil level and fabric type of each load, then adjusts the amount of water and detergent it uses accordingly. There’s also a fast wash that gets you through a full wash and dry in 68 minutes, called Super Speed, which is very handy.

Once a cycle finishes, the door opens automatically, a feature called Auto Open Door+, so humidity doesn’t get trapped inside. It’s also designed with pet owners in mind, dealing with fine pet hair as well as odours and allergens.

Lots of cycles to choose from, but the AI Wash & Dry+ is my daily driver. Credit: Valens Quinn

Wash performance

Everything came out nice and clean, no problems there. I love that the auto detergent and fabric softener dispenser, Samsung calls it the Flex dispenser, takes care of adding liquids so you don’t have to get your hands messy. It’s pretty much a one button, set-and-forget type of thing, you put your clothes in and they come out clean, dry and smelling lovely.

I can play music, check the weather, and yes, even watch myself on YouTube while folding the laundry. Credit: Valens Quinn

The machine also prevents wrinkles with a feature called Wrinkle Prevent, which agitates the drum at intervals after a cycle finishes to reduce creases for up to three hours if the laundry is left in the washer, handy for when you forget the laundry is done. It’ll also send a message to a compatible Samsung TV, like my OLED in the living room, or to your phone, plus a friendly little chime. I like to set my fabric softener to a light dosing rather than something heavier, and you can adjust that for both detergent and softener. The dispenser holds enough for 22 loads if you’re using both detergent and softener, or up to 40 loads if you’re only using detergent, so I don’t need to refill it often. You can also select Bubble Soak mode, which adds extra soaking time to really get stains out.

Dry performance

The only thing I noticed with drying is that it takes longer than a conventional dryer, but I’d much rather that than burning a huge amount of energy and filling the room with humidity. On average I’d say the dryer takes about 30 to 50% longer than a conventional dryer for normal clothes, and more for something fabric dense like towels. There’s also a Dry Prep mode, which gives you a 10 minute pause after washing ends, so you can pull out anything that shouldn’t go into the dryer before it carries on automatically. You can schedule laundry to start and finish whenever you want though, so I don’t see it as a problem, and you can also choose to just wash or just dry.

The lint filter comes out of this panel, and a look inside the drum. Credit Valens Quinn

The other thing I find incredibly desirable about this machine is that it doesn’t pollute my laundry room with humidity, because the dryer uses a heat pump, so it’s a closed system. It’s also very quiet, and I can barely hear it. Essentially, doing the laundry no longer means figuring out how to ventilate the room to stop humidity coating the walls, or putting up with the rumble, rattle and booming of a washer and dryer during spin cycles. It feels like a more sophisticated way of doing things, the sort of thing you’d expect in the modern age, and once you’ve experienced it you wont ever want to go back to the old way. There’s also the benefit of a 10 Star energy rating on the dryer, because it’s so much more efficient at drying, which is normally a notoriously high energy use activity. Worth noting the washer itself carries a 4.5 star energy rating, it’s the dryer side, running on the heat pump, that earns the maximum 10 stars.

Two of my favourite features – the auto dispenser for detergent and fabiric softener (left) and the Super Speed cycle (right). Credit: Valens Quinn

AI features in daily use

The thing about pairing it with SmartThings is that you can operate it from your phone, or just check in on its status, as well as access broader functions like enabling AI Energy Mode, getting suggestions about how to use it, and customising your different wash cycles. You can also control it by voice using Samsung’s Bixby, though I didn’t actually use that feature myself. From the touchscreen you can also receive calls, and check in on your security camera or doorbell camera feeds if you’ve got them connected through SmartThings. Some of this can be a little finicky to do from the touchscreen, but otherwise the screen gives you plenty of information at a glance, including maintenance alerts, energy consumption, water consumption, what cycle you’re on and how much time is left.

I’ve been using AI Energy Mode, which Samsung says can save up to 20% on washing and up to 10% on drying. From my side it doesn’t seem to make any real difference to how the cycle runs, maybe it goes a little longer, but I’m happy to save some energy for that. You can also monitor your energy consumption in real time through the SmartThings app, and even set an estimated electricity bill alert that flags if you go over a preset target. I plugged my cost per kilowatt hour into the app, which then reports how much energy each wash and dry cycle uses, and it really isn’t much, only a few dollars a load.

I entered my kilowatt-hr pricing and it appears that I’ve spent around $1 on my last wash! Water usage included too. Credit: Valens Quinn

Maintenance

There’s auto cleaning for the drum, called Drum Clean Plus, which uses a combination of soaking, pulsating and spinning to remove dirt, plus a water jet and high spin speed to clear grime from the door gasket. It reminds you when it’s time to run one. There’s also a dual layer lint filter, which is large and easy to clean. Separately, an auto condenser cleaning system uses a nozzle to spray the heat exchanger with water, keeping lint and dirt from building up in the dryer over time.

Capacity

I probably didn’t make full use of the 19.5kg capacity, but there was always plenty of room for a very large load, and I can see this being a genuinely useful size for a family.

The BespokeA AI Combo is so quiet and smooth when running thanks to Samsung’s AI Vibration Reduction Technology (VRT+) system. Credit: Samsung

Value

Yes, the purchase price is not cheap, with an RRP of $4,499. But the ability to contain all the moisture, wash incredibly quietly, handle all sorts of different loads and do the thinking for you, including dosing the detergent, really feels worthwhile, and I wouldn’t go back to something less sophisticated. It also comes with a 10 year warranty on the motor and seven years of software updates, which adds to the sense that this is built to last rather than a short term buy. The touchscreen is great and easy to interact with, but you can always fall back on the SmartThings app if you’d rather, and if you like getting into the data there’s plenty to look at.

Who is it for?

Samsung’s Bespoke AI Combo 19.5kg is great for families who don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking about laundry, value energy savings, and may have less space in their laundry room. It’s stylish, quiet, and all but eliminates humidity, and is definitely worth the additional cost for those who value these things. It’s also great for people who want to complement their laundry with a stylish looking machine, not to mention access to the latest laundry technology right from their smartphone.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the Samsung Bespoke AI Combo 19.5kg cost in Australia?

The Samsung Bespoke AI Combo 19.5kg (model WD90H19AHSSA) has an RRP of $4,499 AUD.

What is the wash and dry capacity of the Samsung Bespoke AI Combo?

It washes up to 19.5kg and dries up to 10kg in a single combined unit, a size best suited to a family household.

How long does the Super Speed cycle take on the Samsung Bespoke AI Combo?

Super Speed mode completes a full wash and dry cycle in 68 minutes.

Does the Samsung Bespoke AI Combo use a heat pump dryer?

Yes. The dryer side uses a closed loop heat pump, so it doesn’t release humidity into the room, and it carries a 10 star energy rating. The washer side is separately rated at 4.5 stars.

What is a heat pump?

A heat pump dryer uses a refrigerant cycle to extract moisture from clothes and recycle the heat, rather than venting hot, humid air outside like a conventional dryer. This makes it more energy efficient and means it doesn’t release humidity into the room it’s in.

Samsung Bespoke AI Combo 19.5kg

Washes, dries and thinks for you, quietly and without the humidity. Not cheap, but for families short on space and time, it earns its price tag.

Performance

9.1

Features

9.1

Ease of use

8.9

Design

8.9

Value for money

8

Positives

Combined washer and dryer fits into smaller spaces

Doesn't vibrate and is very quiet

Heat pump means it doesn't pollute your laundry room with humidity

Smart automatic detergent and fabric softener dispenser

Uses considerably less energy when drying

Watching YouTube videos while folding your clothes!

Negatives

Takes longer to dry compared to a conventional dryer

No option to wash and dry different loads at the same time, since it's one drum

Pricy

8.8

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