When Google acquired Fitbit in 2021, it rolled most of the latter’s health-tracking technology into the Pixel Watch range, without much in the way of Fitbit-specific hardware. Today, the fitness brand is making a comeback of sorts, with Google announcing the Fitbit Air, a wristband designed for wearing 24 hours a day.
It’s Fitbit’s smallest tracker, in no small part due to its screenless design, akin to a Whoop device. Instead of a display as seen on past Pixel Watches and Fitbits, the Air contains a “tiny, discreet pebble” that monitors the wearer’s health.
Inside this small tracker are sensors capable of tracking heart rate, sleep stages, and various other health metrics. Google claims that the Fitbit Air lasts up to a week between charges. That’s partly due to the lack of screen taxing the battery, but there’s also no built-in GPS technology.
Designed to automatically detect different types of workouts and activities, the new band pairs with the Google Health app. The device’s launch coincides with the launch of Google Health Coach in Australia. Using Gemini AI technology, it provides feedback and workout plans based on your data saved in Google Health.
Image: Google.
Google Health Coach officially launches on 20 May, when it will be available for Pixel Watch and Fitbit wearers. It comes included as part of a Google Health Premium subscription, priced at $14.99 per month, while Google AI Pro ($32.99/month) and Ultra ($409.99/month) subscribers gain access at no extra cost.
In Australia, the Fitbit Air costs $199 and comes in four colours: Obsidian, Lavender, Berry, and Fog. By default, the wearable comes with a Performance Loop Band, made from a breathable material. There’s also the option of the sweatproof silicone Active Band or the polyurethane Elevated Modern Band as extra purchases.
Not to alarm you, but Mother’s Day is this weekend. If you’re blanking on what to get your mother (or significant parental figure in your life, depending on your family structure), here are a few ideas. There’s something for all kinds of mums, but especially those who love a good gadget or appliance.
Sonos Play: $499
Image: Alice Clarke.
The Sonos Play is such a great speaker for both playing music inside the home, and then just picking it up to take it outside to play in the garden. It’s a versatile way to get started in the Sonos ecosystem, or add to an existing one. You can read our review here for more info.
Midea Rice Cooker: $169
Image: Midea.
Cooking rice is something that’s easy to do in a pot on the stove if you’re not trying to do 1,000 other things. I have never met a mum who isn’t trying to do 1,000 things. So, an induction rice cooker that makes rice well and reasonably fast is a great, time-saving gift if she has the bench space.
This Midea rice cooker has a 5L capacity, cooks rice evenly (so even Top Chef judges won’t complain), and has a multifunction steamer so you can make two components of the dish at the same time.
Midea 34L 1200W Smart Inverter Microwave: $169
Image: Midea.
Microwaves are an essential part of life in 2026. As a mum, if I didn’t have a good microwave to heat my daughter’s snacks for the day, and then defrost the meal-prepped dinner each night, I think something in me would snap, and I would end up roaming the woods in a bathrobe. No one wants that.
If your mum’s microwave is starting to get a bit old and isn’t doing the job anymore, then a new 1200W Midea Smart Inverter Microwave is a gift she will absolutely love. It has a smart humidity sensor, nine preset menus, and is designed to reheat evenly.
Most importantly, it has number buttons instead of a dial and a button to open the door instead of a pull door, catering to boomer and Gen X mothers’ preferences.
Cricut Maker 4: $699
Image: Alice Clarke.
‘Cricut Mum’ is a stereotype for a reason. As someone who fits the stereotype, if you have a crafty mum, she will love the Cricut Maker 4. It’s a premium cutting machine that can handle almost everything you throw at it.
In no time, she’ll be making custom cards and customising t-shirts for family events. It’s currently on sale in some stores for $588 for Mother’s Day, so now is a good time to buy.
Shokz OpenFit Pro: $399
Image: Shokz.
If your mum loves to exercise outdoors, take a lot of calls handsfree and/or listen to music/podcasts while needing to keep an ear out for the baby or the doorbell, then the Shokz OpenFit Pro are the best open ear headphones on the market. I’ve spent hundreds of hours in mine with almost no complaints, frequently forgetting that I’m wearing them. They’re an absolute game-changer for the open ear headphone category, and your mum deserves the best.
LG Smart Inverter Dehumidifier: $849
Image: LG.
Is this the most exciting gift? No. But if your mum lives somewhere that gets a lot of condensation inside during winter, your mum is going to love this LG dehumidifier.
I’ve tested a fair few dehumidifiers in my time, and this one has been the easiest to empty. It also pulls an impressive amount of moisture out of the air pretty quickly, and there is a hose attachment for dehumidifying shoes or a wardrobe.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro with Sardine Case: $468
Image: Alice Clarke.
If your mum has a Samsung phone and ears, then she will likely enjoy the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. They sound good, they look good, and they unlock a bunch of special features with her recent Samsung phone.
Plus, there’s a sardine tin case, and everyone needs that.
Forza Horizon 6 Xbox Controller: $129
Image: Xbox.
If your mum is anything like me, then she is eagerly anticipating the release of Forza Horizon 6. She would probably love this really pretty Xbox controller with which to play the game. It’s blue, it’s partially transparent, and it just looks cool.
Belkin Stage Creator Kit: $199.95
Image: Belkin.
If your mum is a budding content creator, then get her everything she needs in one box with this Belkin Stage Creator Kit. It’s got a tripod and lapel mics, and they’re way better than you’d expect at this price.
Insta360 Ace Pro 2 Flash Print Bundle: $1,049
Image: Insta360.
I love this bundle from Insta360. I keep the camera with the grip in the stroller bag so I can capture photos of my daughter without always sticking a phone in her face.
It’s so easy to use, the images come out at high quality, and the printer gives the instant satisfaction of a Polaroid without the horrifically high ongoing costs.
Lego Road Bike set: $199
Image: Lego.
I’ll be real, I mostly want me to have this (Editor: you are a mum, so it counts!). But cycling mums everywhere will love this 60cm long road bike Lego set. The wheels spin when you rotate the pedals! It has a little removable water bottle.
It’s just darling, and I— I mean she— needs one.
Tickets to The Devil Wears Prada 2: $40
I bet you any money that your mum wants to see this movie if she hasn’t already. Why not get her tickets to see it on the fancy new Apex LED screen at Hoyts Melbourne Central? I know I want that for me.
When you buy a laptop, you typically do so knowing that its screen will stay the same size throughout its lifetime. If you get a 14-inch machine, that’s the screen you get. Want anything bigger? You’ll need to get a separate display. But that’s not the case with the Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable Concept, a gaming laptop with an expandable screen. I saw it in person recently: it’s a wild idea with some interesting use cases.
As the helpfully descriptive name suggests, the Legion Pro Rollable is a concept device with no guaranteed launch date. Regardless, various tech companies have been developing rollable display technology in recent years, including Motorola and Lenovo at Mobile World Congress in 2024.
This particular concept from Lenovo was first shown to the public at CES earlier this year. At first glance, it’s a relatively unassuming laptop with a 16-inch OLED screen. It’s based on the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, replete with an Intel Core Ultra chipset and an Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU.
Just a standard gaming laptop, right? Image: Chris Button.
If no one told you otherwise, you’d think it was just another gaming PC. But then comes the magic trick.
By pressing a shortcut, the Legion Pro Rollable’s screen slowly unfurls outwards, giving you 21.5 inches of screen real estate. Hit the shortcut again, and the display grows even further to a sizable 24 inches.
How did the Legion Pro Rollable Concept look in person?
That’s a neat party trick, but what’s the point of it? When Lenovo first showed its rollable gaming concept device, esports was top of mind. Top-level players travelling on the professional circuit who don’t want to lug around an external monitor: that’s who Lenovo thought of.
At a recent Lenovo event in Sydney, however, the case was also made for gamers who want an ultrawide display while away from the home office. That doesn’t necessarily mean gaming (but it often does); multitasking during work hours is a realistic proposition, with a big enough screen to have multiple windows and apps open simultaneously.
In the short demonstration I saw, the Legion Pro Rollable had one of the world’s most popular competitive games running: League of Legends. It looked sharp and colourful on the OLED screen, with little obvious difference in quality between the standard 16-inch mode and the extended 24-inch view.
From behind, you can see a bit of how the sausage is made. Image: Chris Button.
During the demo, the full user interface wasn’t visible unless the laptop was set to its full 24-inch configuration. Contracting the screen back down cut off some visual elements, like the mini-map.
I asked the Lenovo representative on hand whether it was a result of needing game-by-game optimisation, or whether the hardware didn’t support automatically adjusting software to different aspect ratios. They alluded to the Legion Pro Rollable’s concept status and assured me that should such a device reach the market, games would be able to detect the screen size and ratio, and adapt accordingly.
Side-on, creases visibly showed up at the points where the screen extended outwards. It was far less noticeable when viewed front-on, but it was clear that Lenovo still had some kinks to iron out. That was acknowledged, too, with the company rep saying the creases are one of the next challenges to address.
It’s not egregious, but the screen crease is definitely visible. Image: Chris Button.
A concept the Legion Pro Rollable may be, yet it was still an interesting prototype to see up close. There are some clear, albeit niche, use cases for such a device, too. I shuddered to think of how many thousands of dollars such a device would cost if it ever became a commercially sold product.
A more calming thought was that all good technology has to start somewhere. That Lenovo wants to show its experimental tech publicly, instead of behind closed doors, indicates that it’s genuinely interested to know what people think.
Chris Button attended the Home of Legion event in Sydney as a guest of Lenovo.
With no lead-up whatsoever, Nintendo announced Star Fox, a Switch 2 remake of the Nintendo 64 game known as Lylat Wars in Australia.
Due to release on 25 June, Star Fox completely overhauls the original game with a modern look and more cutscenes to create a more “cinematic” feel. Rather than the highly expressive design seen in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Fox McCloud looks somewhat more lifelike — as lifelike as a maverick anthropomorphic fox pilot can look.
Aside from new visuals and multiplayer modes, the most novel reveal during a 15-minute Nintendo Direct presentation was what I’ve seen called online ‘Vtuber mode’. Via the Switch 2’s GameChat feature, you can overlay various Star Fox characters over your face while on a video call. Like Memoji on iPhone, the characters mimic your movements and facial expressions. While I highly doubt it’ll let me flip off my friends as Slippy Toad, it looks like a goofily fun addition.
When Nintendo first announced the Switch 2 last year, it emphasised GameChat as a major social gaming feature. Even the console’s controllers have a dedicated GameChat button to start voice and video chat sessions with friends online.
However, the feature doesn’t seem to have taken off quite like Fox’s iconic Arwing. It’s tricky to tell how widely used GameChat is, as Nintendo doesn’t share data about its uptake. Based on social media comments and memes, though, there are plenty of jokes that the only time people use the feature is when they accidentally press the button that activates it.
A decent enough idea in theory, Nintendo launched GameChat when many gamers already had dedicated gaming chat platforms. Discord is synonymous with online game comms, and will be tough to dislodge.
Will Star Fox see a sudden widespread adoption of GameChat? Who knows! But it looks like an amusing excuse to try Nintendo’s social features again. Discord won’t let me become a fox (hello, 1973’s Robin Hood fans), so you can count on me to try Star Fox’s silly gimmick when it arrives next month.
Everything’s so dang expensive now, so plenty of folks are keen to save money wherever and however they can. This includes saving on essentials, like phone bills, which is tricky when major telcos keep raising their prices. In an effort to offer a cheaper alternative to the big three, Boost Mobile has launched a new six-month SIM plan for $180.
Boost’s new plan comes with 160GB for the first recharge, working out to be 26GB per month. However, subsequent recharges only include 100GB, equal to just over 16GB each month. In terms of a monthly price equivalent, you’re effectively paying $30 per month, albeit in an upfront lump sum.
Compared to the major telcos, it costs the same as similar six-month SIM plans from Optus and Vodafone when at full price. Optus includes 140GB per recharge for the first three recharges, before dropping the data down to 90GB. Meanwhile, Vodafone includes 150GB with the first activation, which then drops to 100GB thereafter.
Going directly with Telstra for a six-month plan will set you back $200 per recharge. At first, you’ll get 160GB, the same as with Boost, but following recharges with Telstra halves the data allocation to 80GB.
It is certainly strange that vinyl has made a comeback. In most respects, it is clearly inferior to digital sound, whether provided on compact disc or via streaming. Vinyl delivers higher distortion and much higher levels of noise; it’s fragile and fiddly, and it’s not even cheap. Some new release LPs will cost you about the same as four months of streaming. And the streaming service you choose will include millions more tracks than the dozen or so on your album.
Yet, somehow, while I would suggest that it can’t be higher in fidelity (that is, more accurate) than the same mix of the music in digital format, it can sound better in some indefinable way. Or so I, and many others, think. This can never be proved, because it is impossible to use the proper double-blind protocols for testing such a subjective thing.
If you are someone who loves the sound of vinyl, then your selection of a turntable is important. The sound is seductive, and you may soon want to upgrade. Which brings me to the Technics SL-40CBT turntable. This is the company’s entry-level model.
Now, a retail price of $1,299 may seem rather high for an ‘entry-level model’. But I’d suggest that this would make a good starting point for vinyl, and certainly an excellent move should you want to move up from some other brand’s entry-level model. Because unlike some turntables, it need not remain an entry-level model.
I like this turntable a lot for several reasons. One is that it is properly upgradable. Another is that it is easy to set up and use. A third is that it is utterly fuss-free. And, importantly, it sounds excellent.
Since returning to turntables some years ago, Technics has had on offer several models at any one time. At the moment, the range runs from the SL-40CBT to the $35,000 SL-1000R. And, no, I did not misplace the comma in that price.
Across the range, there are quite a few family resemblances. All use direct drive technology for spinning the platter. All use a similar-looking tone arm. All spin up their platters to speed in just 0.7 seconds. All but the most expensive model have the same very low 0.025% weighted RMS figure for wow and flutter, a traditional measure of turntable speed variations (wow is slow variation, flutter is fast). That 35-grand gets you a 0.015% figure. Neither figure will result in any audible speed variations.
Image: Stephen Dawson.
Several of the more expensive models have strobe markings around the platter and a slider for speed. All the more expensive models have heavier platters and more powerful motors, most using improved sigma-delta technology. And heavier bodies, which, with the heavier platters, provide better mechanical damping of vibrations. And, unlike this one, they all provide tonearm height adjustments and a 78rpm speed selection in addition to the usual 33-1/3 and 45 speeds. Several of the higher-level models use tonearms that look pretty much the same but use different materials.
For as long as I’ve been using turntables – I bought my first one in 1974 – there has been a dispute in the hi-fi community about whether belt drive or direct drive is better. The belt drive people had the better of it back in those days, but in recent years, there has been more appreciation of quality direct drive. Which is to say of Technics, apart from a few boutique marques.
Belt drive turntables use a silicone or rubber, well, belt, to transfer rotational energy from a faster-rotating motor to the platter. That provides isolation between possible motor noise and the platter. A turntable’s stylus will happily pick up any mechanical noise from the machinery operating it and turn it into sound out of your speakers. Something you don’t want.
Image: Stephen Dawson.
A direct-drive motor runs at the same rotational speed as the platter. Technics models – including the SL-40CBT – have magnets affixed to the underside of the platter. The electrical field that acts on the magnet is produced by electronics affixed to the chassis. The platter is, in effect, a part of the motor. There is no noise to be transmitted. And any possible vibrations are ironed out by the rotational inertia of the platter, which is rather heavy. The platter of the Technics SL-40CBT weighs 1.26 kilograms. (That on the SL-1000R ups that to nearly 8kg!)
The SL-40CBT, unlike most of the other models, comes with a phono cartridge pre-installed. I’ll talk more about that later. It also comes with three output formats. One is the traditional stereo phono output, one is a line-level output, thanks to the built-in phono preamplifier, and one is Bluetooth. That last supports the SBC and aptX Adaptive codecs.
Missing is a USB output. Since the sound is pre-amped and digitised for Bluetooth anyway, adding USB would have facilitated making digital recordings with a computer.
Upgrading the Technics SL-40CBT
So, let’s say you purchase a turntable to experience what vinyl has to offer, and you get bitten by the bug. Some entry-level turntables achieve low prices – typically, much lower than the cost of this one – by eliminating the basics that allow you to upgrade a turntable.
This one eases that path. First, and most obviously, you don’t need to use the built-in phono preamplifier. If you use an amplifier with a superior one, or decide to go for an audiophile-level separate unit, you can do so. With a separate unit with support for moving coil cartridges, you can even start to explore that exotica.
Note, though, that to use the phono level outputs, you have to flick the switch on the back, which also cuts out Bluetooth support.
Image: Stephen Dawson.
And second, you can upgrade the stylus and cartridge.
First, the stylus. The Audio-Technica AT-VM95C cartridge is part of a range. The only difference between the models in that range is the stylus. You can upgrade the cartridge simply by purchasing a different stylus. The ‘C’ stands for conical. That’s the shape of the stylus. Horizontal cross-sections of the stylus are circles. Better performance is typically achieved with styluses that are narrower front to back, forming elliptical cross-sections. They can fit better into the narrow grooves variations resulting from high frequencies. Around $50 will upgrade the cartridge to an AT-VM95E, and it’s easy to do. You slide the stylus out and slide the new one in.
Or you can go further to the AT-VM95EN (nude elliptical, the whole stylus is diamond, not just the contact point on the end), AT-VM95ML (Microlinear, a different shape intended to even better follow those narrow grooves), and the AT-VM95SH. That one’s yet another shape – Shibata – that was developed for quadrophonic recordings, and supports playback of frequencies up to 50,000 hertz. The Shibata stylus will set you back the better part of $300.
Or you can change brands entirely, or even technologies, such as the aforementioned moving coil cartridges, or Grado moving iron models. All have their fans.
You can even have a whole selection, each with its own headshell. With a bit of practice, you can switch cartridges and rebalance the tonearm in less than a minute.
Image: Stephen Dawson.
Finally, anti-skating and balance. One entry-level model from a reputable brand has a counterweight with no markings and a fixed, pre-set anti-skating bias. Changing to a different cartridge would require you to purchase a gadget to check the stylus pressure, and forget about the accuracy of the anti-skating. The tone arm on this turntable is properly equipped, and the manual lays out the proper procedure for setting stylus pressure and anti-skating. It’s easy to do.
Stylus pressure should always be set to manufacturer specification. Both too light or too heavy will cause damage to records.
Anti-skating is a force applied to the tone arm to pressure it a little away from moving towards the centre of the record. This counteracts the natural skating force which pushes the tone arm towards the centre of the record. That force is an unavoidable result of the geometry of the forces on the turntable.
There is one upgrade that may be worth considering. The turntable mat on this unit is kind of odd. It’s almost like some kind of black polystyrene, even though at first glance it looks like felt. It’s quite inflexible, and a little slippery. All the better Technics turntables use a fairly heavy rubber (or similar) mat.
I routinely use a carbon fibre brush on a record before playing it. Much to my surprise, the rotational speed of the record was slowing down, almost stopping. I was applying very little pressure. This is the kind of thing that I expect to see with belt drive turntables, which have been deliberately designed with low-torque motors. But that made no sense with this one.
Eventually, I worked out that it was the record slipping on the mat. Which means that there’s a possibility that some highly modulated sections on a record could lead to slippage, which would result in speed variations. I did not experience this, but I’d still consider replacing the mat.
Or use a record weight or clamp. A record weight sits over the centre of the record. It has a spindle hole to make sure it is properly centred. Technics says that a weight of up to 500 grams can be used.
I used my record clamp from the 1970s.
Setting up the Technics SL-40CBT
First things first: setting up. I’ve done that with turntables a lot over too many decades. Setting up the Technics SL-40CBT was as easy as any turntable I’ve done, and easier than many. I didn’t consult the manual initially, but if you’re new to this, just follow the clear steps in it. You just place the platter over the spindle, the mat over the platter, insert the headshell with the pre-installed cartridge into the end of the tone arm and tighten the shoulder lock, balance it and dial in the correct anti-skating figure. Done!
Image: Stephen Dawson.
I checked the stylus pressure with my Rega electronic stylus pressure gauge, and it came in a bit low at 1.82 grams for a 2.0 gram setting. As always with these things, is the measured thing in error or the measuring thing? I checked my Technics SL-1500C turntable: it measured at 2.06 grams for a 2.0-gram setting. Likewise, my Thorens TD 1600 turntable came in pretty close to spot on.
I don’t think the lower value is too much of a problem with the great majority of material. If you do experience clear distortion on the loud bits on some records – new ones, not old worn ones – then experiment with winding the pressure up by a few tenths of a gram. I did my listening with the turntable’s setting, since that’s what just about everyone will do.
Listening
I listened to a lot of records with this turntable. So that you know my context, I normally use my Technics SL-1500C turntable with the same AT-VM95 cartridge. Well, several of those cartridges. With second-hand vinyl I’ve picked up, I use the elliptical stylus (which is cheap to replace if a disk wrecks it). For regular listening to records I can trust will not destroy the stylus, I use the Shibata. These are on separate cartridges on separate headshells, so very easy to swap. I also have yet another one with a stylus suitable for 78 rpm records (these have a much wider groove), but the SL-40CBT turntable doesn’t provide this speed. For my critical listening, I use a Thorens TD-1600 with a Goldring Ethos moving coil cartridge.
So, how did the SL-40CBT go?
Extremely well in general. There were no audible speed variations and no audible noise. Noise sources from a turntable can include rumble (a low-frequency sound, often caused by poor bearings), motor noise or electronic hiss from the built-in preamplifier. There was none of this, at all.
What there was, for the most part, was an accurate representation of the contents of the groove. That could be good or bad. A 1970s pressing of Abba’s Waterloo, which I hadn’t played in many years, seemed rather mediocre. But I checked the lossless version on Spotify, and it also sounded mediocre. Well, it was recorded in Sweden in 1973, so it wasn’t the vinyl’s fault.
Right now, though, I’m playing Brain Salad Surgery by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and the turntable is doing a fine job. Even with the bass, with which this album is unusually well-endowed. The final track on Side 1 gets quite close to the run-out loop near the centre of the record, so it can be quite a challenge for a turntable attempting to extract all its information. I switched over my Shibata-fitted AT cartridge, and the improvement was modest but definite. Truth is, if I were to buy this cartridge, I’d quickly spend the $50 for an elliptical stylus. They’re readily available online.
But if you’re only an occasional vinyl spinner, you probably won’t need it.
Image: Stephen Dawson.
Switching back to the included cartridge, I tried a much newer release: Trouble Will Find Me by The National. This has its contents spread out over four sides on heavy vinyl. When the drums on “I Should Live in Salt” kicked in, they did so with impressive body and considerable authority. All the instruments were nicely separated.
Different genres were equally well handled. The New York Saxophone Quartet’s An American Experience showed the turntable was good on delivering jazz, and a 1980s pressing by Chesky of an early RCA Red Seal stereo recording of Respighi’s The Fountains of Rome and The Pines of Rome showed the turntable also delivered with classical.
The built-in phono preamplifier was fine, pretty much at the same level as the phono pre-amps built into good-quality modern amplifiers. For a significant upgrade, you’d need to spend big bucks on a standalone.
I spent roughly equal time with the turntable’s own preamp, and using the phono outputs directly to my Audio Paris X-P1200 pre-amplifier’s phono input (along with an earth cable connection). There was little difference between the two.
The Bluetooth feature worked well, after setting up with the usual amount of breath-holding: will this work? It isn’t like a phone where you check out the list of available speakers on the Bluetooth settings page. You just put it in pairing mode, switch on the Bluetooth headphones or speaker, and wait for lights to stop flashing. Happily, the turntable found my receiving device within seconds, so I didn’t have to hold my breath for long.
As is so often the case, I could not confirm which codec the turntable used. But the Bluetooth receiver does support aptX Adaptive, and it sounded fine, so I’m guessing that is what it used. But, seriously, if your sound system – even if it’s a compact Bluetooth speaker – has a wired input, that is preferable on general principle. No interference, no uncertainty.
Who is the Technics SL-40CBT for?
I should note that Technics direct drive turntables from the 1970s still command high prices all this time later. And nobody doubts that modern Technics turntables are a significant upgrade from those.
So from me, the Technics SL-40CBT is a strong yes.
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Technics SL-40CBT turntable
While it may be pricey for an 'entry-level' model, the Technics SL-40CBT turntable sounds excellent and is highly upgradable.
Features
9
Value for money
9
Performance
9
Ease of use
9
Design
10
Positives
Excellent audio performance
Extremely reliable
Easily upgradeable
Lacks the fussiness of many of its competitors
Negatives
It would be nice of the cue level were a little less sloppy in operation
