BTTR Roundup #60: A shorter collection of the week in tech

It's the last day of the school term for my kids today, and I am feeling it. The past few months have been busy, and so I'm permitting myself to take it a bit easy with this week's roundup.

I'm also opening it up to everyone and giving myself the week off from writing my weekly analysis for paid subscribers.

Hopefully I'll come back rested and recharged next week!

Until next week

–Nick

This week's new tech news

• The biggest news this week was an Optus outage, which resulted in at least three deaths, with customers unable to connect to 000 emergency services. It's an undeniable tragedy, being blamed on human error for processes not being followed during a routine firewall upgrade. There will be significant consequences for Optus for its failings here. There has been a lot of great coverage on this issue, but you can get more at EFTM or The Guardian.
• This week, DJI announced its latest action camera, the Osmo Nano. A tiny camera with a magnetic back and a 1/1.3-inch sensor, with a multifunctional "vision dock" that turns it into a more traditional action cam. With 200 minutes of 1080p recording, it appears to be a great option if you need a compact camera for B-roll footage or just want a camera for your pet. Price starts at $589 [More on the DJI Osmo Nano].
• Need cheap home security cameras? Swann has a couple of new 2K models – the EVO wireless 2K, which comes in both standard and solar configurations. Both offer a 120º wide-angle view and 10 metre IR night vision. The base unit is $139.95, with the solar version costing $179.95, with 45 minutes of sunlight enough to power the camera for a day [More details on the Swann EVO wireless cameras].

• Ecovacs is bringing its X11 to Australia this month. While the company confirmed that when it announced the vacuum back at IFA, at the Australian launch event this week it revealed that it sold 1.5 million units of the Deebot X8 and X9 (which didn't launch in Australia) in the past year, and that the robot vacuum market has exploded from $21 million to "hundreds of millions" in Australia alone over a handful of generations.
• Qualcomm has shown off its newest processors at the "Snapdragon Summit" in Hawaii this week. New devices rocking these chips are expected to be announced soon, though there are no details about when they'll come to Australia. [Full details]
  • Windows CoPilot PCs will be getting the new Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme, which will deliver multi-day battery life, 80 TOPS of AI processing power and will help tackle agentic AI experiences.
  • On the mobile front, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 mobile platform can record in the Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec, is designed to support agentic AI in the device and obviously works faster and better than the previous generation.
• You can now pre-order the first Xbox handhelds, the ASUS ROG Ally and ROG Ally X. Priced at $999 for the Xbox Ally and $1,599 for the Ally X, both devices will hit shelves on 16 October, and can be ordered from the Microsoft Store, ASUS's e-shop and participating retailers [Read more]
• Samsung's Galaxy S25 FE, Tab S11 series, Buds3 FE, Tab S10 Lite, and Galaxy A17 are all available to buy now, if you're interested. [See the launch offers]

This week's reviews

I loved this vacuum because it's not like any other vacuum.

Dyson PencilVac FluffyCones review: Stunning design

The Dyson PencilVac FluffyCones not only has the best name of any home appliance, but it also offers the most iconic design in a vacuum cleaner this decade. But is it any good?

BTTR ReviewsNick Broughall

I don't want to spoil the review, but the engineering that allowed for this vacuum's design is exceptional. It is the most exciting vacuum I've tested this decade, though it's not for everyone, particularly if you have a lot of carpets.

What I'm testing this week

I think I have a new favourite pair of headphones.

I say "think" because there are definitely elements I prefer with other pairs of flagship headphones I've tested. But the Sony WH-1000 XM6, in my experience, have the most impressive noise cancellation features, with pass-through on-par with the Apple AirPods Max and the Sonos Ace.

They are lightweight, and comfortable to wear with glasses for extended periods of time.

And they sound incredible. I'm hard pressed to say they sound the "best", but out of the other pairs of headphones I've reviewed, they certainly don't fall behind.

What I can say though is the combination of best-in-class nose cancellation and impressive audio leaves you with a pair of headphones that literally transport you into your music.

Let me give you an example: Yesterday, I was sitting in Circular Quay in Sydney in front of the MCA waiting for an event. I was wearing the XM6, listening to Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds' live recording, Live at Radio City. Outside of the crowd cheering, it's just two acoustic guitars and some vocals.

About 20 metres from where I sat, a busker was playing the violin. I could not hear her playing. Instead, my entire sound was filled with my music playing through Sony's headphones, exceptionally well balanced... It was almost like I was there.

So stay tuned for this review! And the inevitable updates to my best headphone articles as well.

That's all for this week. Thanks for reading

Congratulations! You made it to the end! You're the best.

I'm committed to making BTTR the best site and newsletter it can be, so please let me know if there's anything you want to see in next week's edition. Just send me an email at nick@bttr.reviews and let me know!

Thanks again for being part of the BTTR community!

– Nick @ BTTR