motorola edge 60 fusion - Just Feels So Elegant

Every now and again I come across a device that really tickles my fancy.

It's not necessarily anything logical... It might just be because it's my favourite colour (red, obviously). Or perhaps the controls are in just the right place. Or maybe it just feels particulary nice to use.

There was a time - about ten years ago - when curvy phones were all the rage. There were a number of handsets around with displays that flowed around the edges and I loved them. I've always had an irrational aversion to sharp corners and I much prefer something more streamlined.

Then, almost as suddenly as they arrived, trends changed and handsets became more boxy again. In fact, as phone cameras became more and more powerful, the boxes started to come with other, smaller boxes attached to them, just for the extra lenses. Yuck.

Luckily, sometimes the odd phone still favours curves instead of corners - even in 2025.

The motorola edge 60 fusion is one of those handsets.

Moreover, its 6.7-inch AMOLED display doesn't just wrap over the sides, it's a quad-curve screen which means the top and bottom taper away too. The display is also a longer-skinnier aspect ratio - 20:9 - which means you can really wrap your hand around the edge 60 fusion to feel the full effect of those curves.

While we're discussing the screen, I can tell you it is dazzlingly bright, clear and colourful - but not TOO colourful. Motorola is very big into being Pantone certified for true-to-life colour reproduction - which requires special attention when engineering both camera sensors and tuning the display. I'll have a lot more to say about the cameras shortly but everything looks fabulous on this screen, which is able to produce 4500 nits of HDR peak brightness. Don't worry if you don't know what a nit is, nobody does. What I do know is 4500 is a lot of them, and it means you'll have no issues using the edge 60 fusion out in bright sunshine.

The screen also makes up part of the impressive durability equation here, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i - very tough and scratch resistant for a handset in this price range. Add to that IP68 and IP69 ratings against water and dust, the multi-factor MIL-STD-810 rating that means you can essentially take this phone up a mountain or into the desert, and the fact the soft-touch rear panel isn't breakable, like glass, or scratchable, like metal.

That rear panel, available in Zephyr (pink) or Slipstream (bluey-grey) also means the edge 60 fusion is far less slippery to hold than many other phones this curvy and instead of a bulky protrusion of camera lenses, the moulded panel sweeps up, ever so slightly, to surround a quadruplet of equal-sized sensors.

Unusually, only two of those four sensors are camera lenses; the main shooter is a 50MP wide Sony LYT700C accentuated by a 13MP ultra wide, which also serves as an auto-focussing macro lens for super clear and detailed close-ups. The third porthole houses the flash while the other Motorola describes as a "3-in-1 light sensor."

I assume it's this light sensor that facilitates such good camera performance in almost all conditions, bright, dull and even dark. Here's a quick pic I clicked off the other day while walking the dog. I was particularly taken with how blue the sky and the ocean seemed that evening and I hoped the edge 60 fusion would do the view justice...

Yup, no complaints there. No issues with the front-facing camera either. 32MP means excellent, high-resolution shooting from a selfie cam, in both photos and videos, as you'll see me demonstrate below. There's also a clever AI Audio setting when filming video that amplifies any audio from the focused section of the video, meaning the dual-mics follow the action. Useful.

In fact, moto ai is useful for all sorts of things. Once enabled, it will monitor your usage and keep an eye on incoming notifications when you're not actually using the phone. Then, by simply asking it to, "Catch me up," you'll receive a summary of what you've missed. "Pay attention," prompts moto ai to record and transcribe what's going on right now, pretty useful for meetings or perhaps lectures and training sessions. And you know how you can never remember how to take a screenshot when you really need to? moto ai knows how. Just tell it to, "Remember this."

Although this phone isn't capable of the blistering processing speeds on offer from today's highest priced handsets, the edge 60 fusion's MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chip hasn't let me down yet. Often operations like launching and using the camera app can be slow and stuttery on mid-range phones but I just didn't have those issues with this one - probably due to the generous 12GB of RAM - enhanced even further with another 4GB RAM Boost (using available internal storage for an extra performance bump).

As you can tell by now, this is a phone I've had no issue using for my everyday device - well, except for one wee niggle; no wireless charging. This is often the first feature to go when trying to get a handset under the $800 mark and sadly, that's been the case here too.

Phone-makers will often try to compensate with a big battery and sure enough, the edge 60 fusion's 5200mAh cell seems to last forever between charges. What's less common in this price-range is fast charging. Well, this time you get that too - up to 68W with the right charger.

Sadly, that charger isn't in the box but you do get a slimline cover that matches the back panel of the phone and for whatever reason, yes, just like the motorola razr 60 I reviewed recently, the box itself smells wonderful because... why not?

Despite its affordable price, the edge 60 fusion over-delivers in many ways, especially in terms of durability and performance. And as for style, you gotta love those curves.

    

Click here for more information and on the motorola edge 60 fusion.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max - It's Definitely Max

If you were going to build the perfect phone, where would you start?

It's a hard one, isn't it? Everyone has different priorities.

For some people, it's all about the camera. If you can't snap a crystal-clear pic of your kid catching their first wave while you're still dry and warm on the beach, the phone is not the one.

Actually, speaking of waves and sand and sun, many of you want a phone that can take a beating, preferably without heating. A water-tight device with no cracks or scratches? Yes, please.

Other people prioritise more technical things, like processing power and performance. Can your phone edit high definition video AND play the latest AAA-rated mobile games? No? Then go and find me one that can.

Then there are the users who just want decent battery life. So I forgot to put it on to charge last night. Why should that be such a big deal?

Tick all those boxes off and you're really starting to get somewhere.

The Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max might already be there.

By all reports, consumers are loving this year's selection of new iPhones and Apple is already setting sales records all over again.

I put part of this early success down to the fact there's no doubt the 2025 iPhone range is different to its predecessors and what's more, this year, each model is quite distinct from each other too. (Apart from the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, of course - they're essentially the same phone just in two different sizes)

I was blown away by the performance and sheer slimness of the new iPhone Air. Even my battery life worries were somewhat unfounded - although, as expected, the camera proved to be slightly limited.

Not so much with the base-model iPhone 17 - here the camera array was a big upgrade on previous "vanilla" iPhones. The new A19 chip never raised a sweat and battery life swooped effortlessly into day 2.

So that leaves me with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, wondering how much more could it really have to offer, to justify the significant jump in asking price.

Well, let's just say, it offers a lot.

We'll circle back to the way the new Pro Max feels and looks shortly because the very first thing that really made this handset stand out to me was how fluid and silky smooth it is to use. The A19 Pro chip is, as you'd expect, Apple's fastest and most powerful iPhone chip yet. The Pro version offers more graphics grunt than the A19 in the base model and there's even an extra core in the GPU when compared to the iPhone Air. There's honestly a tangible difference in the way the 17 Pro Max responds to the lightest of touches. Scrolling is lightening-quick. On-screen edits are just that much more accurate. Even AI responses seem to work more promptly.

Speaking of "Apple Intelligence" - it's worth remembering the 16-core Neural Engine does much of its work on-device - meaning both faster response times and better data security.

Not only does all this happen more efficiently than ever, the 17 Pro Max is more likely to keep working at its maximum potential thanks to an entirely new heat management philosophy. This year, Apple has opted for a forged aluminium unibody, forgoing the previous titanium casing. The aerospace-grade 7000-series aluminium is better at dissipating heat and combines with an all-new vapour chamber to achieve the best thermal stability yet. In short, I don't think I've felt this phone get warm, let alone hot.

I'm also about to write something I never thought I would; this iPhone's battery life has got to be one of the best of any phone available - certainly for a handset with this many high-performance, high-drain features. I know I keep going on about how long my day is; during the week I get up at 2:50am for my breakfast radio show and don't go back to bed until around 8:30 each night. The only reason I make that humble brag is to compare how much battery is left on my phone when I pop it on my bedside MagSafe charger.

With the iPhone 17 Pro Max, it invariably shows more than 70%, occasionally even into the 80s. For many years, iPhones were the laughing stock when it came to battery life. Clearly, that reputation no longer applies.

This is also a difficult device to break. The 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR display looks wonderful - that's no surprise. It's now protected by Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple claims is tougher than any other smartphone glass. Not only is it more scratch resistant, it also reduces reflections and unwanted glare. The 3000nits of peak brightness adds to the equation, resulting in one of the best displays for outdoor use I've ever encountered.

The camera system has also been totally reimagined, with not one, not two, but THREE 48MP Fusion Cameras on the back and the same, revolutionary selfie-cam we've seen introduced on the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air. The performance of that triple-sensor primary array is shockingly good. I've been using this phone a while now and I've barely scratched the surface of what those cameras can do. No matter the lighting conditions, or how far away the subject is, there are just so many options to enable you to shoot pro-level pictures and video.

With an intimidating range of focal lengths to choose from, Apple likes to describe it as having "8 pro lenses in your pocket" and after trying them out, I'm not even sure this is over-hyping it. Your photos are captured at 24MP by default - pretty high-res. But there's nothing stopping you editing massive 48MP RAW files. In fact, this camera is so groundbreaking, Apple has come up with a whole new video codec; ProRes RAW.

Luckily for me, the Camera app in iOS 26 tucks all these expert settings away - unless you desperately want to tweak them yourself - and quite intuitively juggles things around for you. (This is the kind of AI I appreciate the most - the stuff that happens without you asking it to)

As I've already discussed in my iPhone Air and iPhone 17 reviews, the industry-shaking square, 18MP Centre Stage front camera can also be set to auto - intelligently zooming in and out and even changing aspect ratios to optimise your selfie game to a whole new level.

I could go on forever. Features like Dual Capture and the upgraded digital stabilisation are further evidence the 17 Pro Max's camera performance probably deserves a review all of its own.

And this is the problem generally, with the top-of-the-line iPhone in any given year; it's so good, and so feature packed, you'd need a weekly serial of reviews to thoroughly cover it all off.

Sounds perfect, right?

Well, not quite.

It's big. Well, huge actually. I mean, if you're buying the Max it's because you want a big screen anyway. I get that. But it really is quite big and bulky and heavy and then there's the "plateau." So the plateau is a new design element the base-model iPhone 17 doesn't share, although the iPhone Air does. Sort of. On the Air, this new body-wide camera bump doesn't seem anywhere near as pronounced as it is on the 17 Pro or Pro Max. Ironically, the Air's plateau actually protrudes further from the back panel but it's not as tall and the phone itself is obviously much thinner. Much, much, much thinner.

The over-thick design of the 17 Pro Max is all about functionality, of course. I get if you want the longest optical zoom of any iPhone camera, an effective vapour cooling system and an unheard-of extension of battery life, you've got to physically put all that somewhere. But I'll just say you definitely know when this thing is in your pocket. And if you add the horrendously thick and unglamorous MagSafe case Apple sent with my review unit to the ensemble, you might not even fit it in your pocket. Luckily, there are other cases out there and as we've already pointed out, as phones go, this one can take a few knocks even without a case.

Not sure if you'd want to risk it though. The 17 Pro Max starts at NZ$2,549.00 and if you're planning to edit some of those huge ProRes RAW video files, you'll need to consider the 1TB model at least - or even 2TB at NZ$4,149.00.

For that kind of money, you'd think you'd have more colour options than just Silver, Deep Blue or Cosmic Orange.

However, as usual for iPhone Pro, it's what's on the inside that really counts. And when it comes to what's inside this year's version, there's never been a phone quite like it.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max.

motorola razr 60 - Come for the Bend, Stay for the AI

I know we should probably be taking them for granted by now, but I still find bendy phones a bit of a novelty. And that's coming from a guy who's reviewed a fair few of them.

In many ways, I feel like 2025 is the year they really started to come of age, moving from the category of pricey gimmick, with limited real-world specs, into a more mainstream, well set up, productive tool.

If you're considering a new phone, now's the time to consider a foldable - not just because it bends in the middle, but because it's just a good phone.

A fine example is the motorola razr 60 - a handset I was determined to judge objectively as a phone first, then a clamshell foldable second.

I need to start with the box.

Have you ever heard the expression, "There's nothing like the smell of a brand new phone?" No, of course you haven't. Why would anyone say that? Well, it turns out, Motorola literally adds a "Signature Packaging Fragrance" to enhance the unboxing experience, so the razr 60 definitely makes an impression before you even start flipping and calling.

It's available in Parfait Pink and Gibraltar Sea (dark blue) and you'll find a matching cover/bumper in the box. Initially I used this extra layer of protection but eventually I felt like it made the phone look and feel cheap and plasticky, so I took it off again. Although this means I run the risk of having to explain a damaged review unit when I send it back to Motorola, at least I feel cool when I slip it out my pocket to use it.

Besides, the razr 60 is more durably constructed than ever before; a stronger, titanium-based hinge plate, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protecting the external display and an easy-grip, soft-touch faux-leather back panel, embossed with reflective Motorola and razr logos.

I'm a fan of the Motorola UI, because it's about as close to the stock Android 15 OS as you can get. Very little bloat and the settings are comprehensive without being overwhelming. However, unlike some other brands, I always find setting up a new Motorola is a bit more of a mission. You can transfer some settings, files and apps from your previous device but I was frustrated to discover not all my apps installed automatically and very few were pre-logged in for me when I opened them.

But if you're looking for AI options, you've definitely come to the right place. Motorola parks its own moto ai prompt on screen as a floating button (assuming you decide to use it). This means interactive AI is always just a tap away, no matter which app or browser window you have open. 

As far as I'm concerned, right now there's two types of AI available to you on most premium smartphones; one is this kind - where you consciously have to summon it, like a genie from a bottle. On the razr 60, this option gets confusing quickly because depending on what's on your screen, you're met with several inquiry prompts including the option to use Co-pilot Vision or perhaps to "Ask Perplexity."

To muddy things even more, as an Android device, you also have the option to use Google's AI, Gemini, as your virtual assistant and general font of all knowledge.

So is moto ai it's own entity? Or just a portal to other AI services?

Maybe both. You see, the second type of AI is much less in-your-face. It's the AI that works away in the background, assisting you with your photos and videos without you even realising it. Taking note of your interactions and notifications so when you ask it to, "Catch Me Up" it knows what you mean and is able to sift through the spam, advertising and other fluff to provide you with information you actually need.

I'm sure, in time, I can keep fiddling with moto ai's settings to make it a little less intrusive and a lot more productive.

Let's just say I can assure you the razr 60 has all the AI options you could currently ask for - an then some.

None of that works without the right chip, of course. Although the MediaTek Dimensity 7400X chip is not the latest or greatest currently on the market, the "X" in its name means it's been specifically tweaked to run folding handsets like this one as efficiently and smoothly as possible - and that's certainly been my experience. Features like face unlock and the fingerprint reader work so fast, most times the phone has opened to the home screen before I've thought about unlocking it.

That applies to both displays by the way, and here, I will have to wax lyrical for a bit about my favourite feature on the razr 60; the external display.

While the pOLED outer screen is only 3.6-inches and some of it is obscured by the twin lenses of the primary camera array, you can still use it just like any other phone screen. For some reason, other clamshell folding phone producers insist on limiting the functionality of their external displays to showing the odd notification and giving you a limited choice of device-specific widgets to interact with. 

I've never understood that. If I want to open my browser and scroll down a web page on my 3.6-inch screen, I should be allowed to. After all, it's my screen. If it's not a very satisfying experience, guess what? I probably won't do it again and I'll open the razr 60 up and use the 6.9-inch internal display instead. But I should at least have the choice.

That's exactly what the razr 60 offers; the choice to use the small, outer screen however you want. Rotate it. Put widgets on it. Reply to emails with it. Whatever.

Of course, the true advantage of this form factor is the ability to use that main camera to shoot selfie. The razr 60 has now added a fun "Photo Booth" option that fires off a series of four shots, one every three seconds, then compiles them in a snapshot-style collage. Motorola is also pretty proud of its gesture-based video controls; wave to start shooting, close your fist and hold to pause, or just show your fist to stop recording.

You see? This is that behind-the-scenes AI at work.

The razr 60 is a phone full of little tricks like that; give the phone a little double twist and the camera app opens. Double-tap the back of the phone to launch your choice of customisable shortcut.

But back to the cameras. Those two outside lenses are a 50MP main shooter and a 13MP Ultra-Wide, giving you a selection of 24mm, 35mm or 50mm options for portraits, sharp macro shooting and decent optical zoom. Here are a couple of shots using different zooms and lenses...

Interestingly, the razr 60 is very well equipped when it comes to the internal selfie-cam too. The 32MP sensor provides incredibly clear footage in all lighting conditions. Selfie videos can be taken at 30fps and 60fps in FHD, or 30fps in 4K. 

There are also a few other interesting camera options like Dual Capture and Tilt Shift - the latter creating interesting effects with light and mixed focus. Or you can shoot video in handy-cam mode - with the phone open at right-angles. This is fun to do but despite the more robust redesign of the hinge, I would have preferred one that's a bit stiffer. I found it didn't really stay at the angle I wanted it to, especially if I was on the move.

Battery life from the 4,500mAh battery is terrific. I guess that might be because a lot of time you're using the device, you're doing it on the smaller, external display. I also love that you can charge wirelessly at 15W.

See? There's a lot more to this handset than just the fact it folds - although it does that very well too. If you thought foldables were just a fad, it's time to think again.

    

Click here for more information on the motorola razr 60.

Apple iPhone 17 - As Close to Pro as You Can Go

In the wake of September's massive launch of Apple devices, I sense a trend.

The base model devices and even the "entry-level" Apple Watch SE 3 are almost too good. Not too good for the consumer. Too good for Apple's more premium, Pro and Ultra offerings.

What I mean by that is we now seem to be getting more high-end features than ever for a lot less cash.

The iPhone 17 is a classic case in point.

In fact, for a start, the base model even offers more colours. The iPhone Air comes in four colours, while the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max only come in three.

With the iPhone 17, you get to choose between Lavender, Sage, Mist Blue, White and Black - that's five options, although as I pointed out in my iPhone Air review, the Black one is more of a reflective gun-metal than plain black.

My review unit is Sage, and I've been reliably informed by my resident Gen-Z consultant that it looks very pretty. Certainly, the new green, purple and blue options lean towards the subtle, pastel end of the scale.

The 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display is protected by Apple's latest Ceramic Shield 2, which bonds to the glass at an atomic level. That certainly sounds very impressive and allegedly makes the screen harder to scratch than ever before.

It's brighter - so no problems using outside in the sunshine - especially when there's a new level of anti-reflection built into the screen as well.

For the first time, the base model iPhone sports a 120Hz, ProMotion display, so you'll get the same, silky smooth response only Pro-users have enjoyed up until now. Not only does this make navigating the new iOS 26 user interface as fluid as its "Liquid Glass" moniker suggests, but mobile gamers will really notice the upgrade.

That also means this is the first base-model iPhone to offer Always On Display - so you can keep an eye on incoming notifications while it's sitting on your desk. Another follow-on effect of the display upgrade is that the iPhone 17 will now display a bedside clock in StandBy mode if you're charging it in landscape.

Surely all this extra screen-on time must seriously eat into your battery life?

Remember when non-iPhone owners used to make fun of "Apple people" for their handsets' appalling battery life? These days, that issue has been well and truly put to bed. Not only will the iPhone 17 coast through a heavy day, with AOD activated - if you use the right charger it'll juice up super fast too.

But perhaps the number one reason this year's base-model iPhone feels so Pro is the camera setup. You get not one but two 48MP Fusion cameras on the back, which means the option of incredible high-res images, not to mention crystal clear 2x telephoto zoom and fantastically well-balanced Ultra Wide shots.

It's the selfie cam that could be the real star here though. This year, all the iPhones feature an 18MP Centre Stage front-facing camera which now houses a square sensor. The squareness gives you the ability to change the aspect-ratio of the shot in real time. This makes shooting a 16:9 landscape selfie video much easier because you no longer have to hold the handset sideways.

Apple has now brought Dual Capture to iPhone too, utilising both front and rear cameras so you can record your reaction to your subject simultaneously.

And as part of Apple Intelligence in iOS 26, the selfie camera will now automatically detect how many people are in shot and adjust the zoom accordingly, to fit you all in. I tested this out at the theatre the other night and it was so refreshing to be able to just line up the shot, point and shoot and end up with a perfectly framed, low-light pic.

That seems to be the way Apple is going with its AI features. Rather than bash you over the head with them, they're just there, quietly working away in the background without you having to physically summon them with a particular button or dedicated app.

That's what iOS 26 is all about; harnessing the sheer power and efficiency of the new A19 chip to run this phone in the way that suits you best. That starts with cosmetic things like the much-vaunted Liquid Glass makeover of the app icons and widgets - I have mine tinted red obviously - then leads to a host of AI tweaks that make your day more productive in countless ways.

For example, take the way Apple Intelligence prioritises things for me. It started by separating my emails into different categories so I could focus on the important ones and leave the fluff till later. Now my messages and notifications are all prioritised, sorted and summarised too. Nothing makes you feel more productive than ignoring a bunch of advertising and subscription updates.

If the base model is this good, I can only imagine what's in store for me with the iPhone 17 Pro Max. But that's another review for another day. In the meantime, I couldn't be happier with the plain old iPhone 17... because there really isn't anything plain about it.

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple iPhone 17.

Apple iPhone Air - So This Is New

What I've learned from watching the world of tech pretty closely for a number of years now;

Things generally evolve steadily, bit by bit. Devices gradually improve - honing some features, adding new ones - and while the difference between one generation and the next may be slight, overall, when you compare most gadgets to their predecessors from four or five years ago, the improvements are thrown into stark relief.

But every now and again, a device launches that's more out-of-the-blue - even revolutionary.

Most of the time, that means a lot of excitement and hype - but also a lot of bugs and teething issues for early adopters to deal with.

What's rare is for something genuinely new to come along and for it to just work, straight out of the box.

The iPhone Air might just be the most significant iPhone since Steve Jobs showed off the first one back in 2007.

The way Apple has pretty much started from scratch to come up with the world's thinnest phone is so much more groundbreaking than it seems to be getting credit for.

Okay, at 5.6mm the iPhone Air is not actually thinner than a couple of folding phones out there (when they're unfolded) but for a conventional handset, this is definitely Apple's least conventional yet.

It really is quite breathtaking when you see it and hold it for the first time - in fact, I've yet to meet anybody who wasn't impressed when I showed it to them. It's not just that it's noticeably thinner than other phones, at just 165 grams, it weighs almost nothing. It exudes sci-fi movie vibes - you know; when they pull out a wafer thin piece of glass and use it as a phone.

There are four colours, Sky Blue, Light Gold, Cloud White and importantly, Space Black - making it the only black iPhone you can buy this year. (The "black" base model iPhone 17 isn't really black - looks more gunmetal to me)

The grade 5 titanium frame helps keep things light - and flexible. And this is one of the first big surprises about this remarkable handset; its durability. I've seen footage of drop, water ingress and flex tests that just about made my eyes pop out. The front of the phone is protected by the new Ceramic Shield 2, which offers multiple times more scratch resistance than ever before. There's also a Ceramic Shield coating on the back panel to prevent cracks.

This is good news because the iPhone Air is one phone I can't bring myself to hide away in a case.

Which is not to say there aren't cases available, of course. Apple also offers a bumper which protects the Air's edges without obscuring any of its unique design. This can be paired with the new Crossbody strap so you can wear the phone like a tiny handbag.

I usually just stuff it in my pocket - then have to keep checking if it's still there because it really is that slim.

Except for the "camera plateau" of course. This is a new design feature Apple has carried across to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max as well - a raised camera bump that stretches all the way across the upper section of the rear panel. Intriguingly, I understand this new plateau houses more than just the camera; the vast majority of the iPhone Air's components are squeezed in there, with the rest of what's left of the phone mostly filled with battery.

Unfortunately, the camera is indeed one area where obvious compromises have been made to achieve the Air's final form. Although Apple claims the 48MP Fusion camera "puts the equivalent of four lenses in your pocket" in the end, there's only one physical sensor there and like the iPhone 16e camera before it, there are limitations. There's no Ultra-Wide functionality and no real macro shooting for extreme close-ups either.

However, that's not to say it's a bad camera. With the option to shoot at full 48MP, you get exceptional low-light performance and you also get respectable 2X optical zoom.

Action mode offers the stable video iPhone has become famous for and as part of the new iOS 26 upgrade, Apple now joins the Dual Capture club - so you can shoot from the selfie and primary cameras simultaneously.

Speaking of the forward facing camera, there's absolutely no compromise there. Just like the 17 Pros, the iPhone Air boasts an 18MP Centre Stage camera that has a square sensor - a bit like what you find on some dedicated action cameras. This enables you to change aspect ratio from portrait to landscape without having to awkwardly hold your phone sideways - very handy for group selfies. In fact, the new Centre Stage camera automatically senses how many people are in the shot and zooms in and out automatically to compensate.

This is a great demonstration of Apple's brand of AI (Apple Intelligence). Apple has been criticised for being slow off the mark when it comes to AI but I don't think that's the case at all. Instead, many AI features (like the auto-adjusting selfies) are so integrated, so baked-in that you won't specifically identify them as AI in itself.

When you first set up the iPhone Air (or any new iPhone) you're asked if you want to opt in to certain AI options - like prioritised notifications, for example. From that point on, that's exactly what happens; the important stuff is brought to your attention first. It works so well, you might not even realise how many pointless taps and swipes it's saving you. 

As the fourth member of the 2025 iPhone family, the iPhone Air has replaced the absent iPhone 17 Plus by default. It's not a like-for-like comparison of course; the Plus versions were only ever the base models with bigger screens and batteries. Other than the camera, in terms of functionality, the Air works much more like a Pro - it's fast and silky smooth to use. But yes, in yet another surprise, the 6.5-inch display is larger than the 6.3-inch screen on the iPhone 17.

Better chip too - the all-new A19 Pro as opposed to the base A19 version.

For me, the biggest surprise of all is battery life. As part of its new host of accessories, Apple included a MagSafe Battery customised specifically to fit the iPhone Air. Inevitably, most of us assumed this meant the Air's battery life would be terrible and we'd need to supplement it with this magnetised external power supply. Except, I haven't had to use it. Not once.

Typically, I get up at 2:50Am and don't go to bed until around 8:30PM - that's a long day by smartphone standards but the lowest I've seen the Air's battery go is 48%. Apart from one morning when I left Apple Maps running in the background. Then it drained like bathwater down a plughole. For superusers, I guess that MagSafe Battery provides great piece of mind - especially given once its attached, the iPhone Air actually has the BEST battery life of ANY iPhone.

Oh - cool hack BTW; if you plug the Air into a USB-C charger while the MagSafe Battery's attached, you'll charge extra fast, from both sources simultaneously.

So battery just hasn't been an issue for me. Despite how slim the Air is, it still has all the cool buttons - including the Action button for programmable shortcuts and Camera Control for quick access to photo settings.

The only thing that's missing completely is a physical SIM tray - eSIM-only here and as far as I'm concerned, that's a bonus, not a drawback. The sooner we all move to eSIM the better - it's more secure and easier to transfer from handset to handset.

I love this phone. I didn't think I would. I loved the idea of it but when does a great, truly innovative idea like this ever work so well first time out of the gate? Kudos, Apple. You got me.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple iPhone Air.

Samsung Galaxy A17 and Samsung Galaxy Buds3 FE - For Fans On a Budget

If you regularly read my reviews, you could be mistaken for thinking we all live in a high-end, premium, flagship world where we only have access to the latest developments in tech and only the most powerful, fastest and long lasting will do.

That's not real for most people, of course. As a reviewer, I get to play with the coolest of the cool toys but if I was shelling out my own hard-earned coin, I'd certainly be prepared to compromise on all sorts of features and addons that aren't what you'd call, "Strictly necessary."

So today, I'll try and go some way to answering the classic question; do you really get what you pay for?

To do that, I paired the almost entry-level Samsung Galaxy A17 handset with the new Samsung Galaxy Buds3 FE. At around NZ$229.00, the Buds3 FE are less entry-level than the NZ$399.00 A17 - but both devices are significantly cheaper than their sister flagships.

Of course, in the case of the A17, you can pay THOUSANDS more for the highest of high-end Samsung devices and obviously this particular phone doesn't fold, or come with a stylus inserted into its chassis.

However, it doesn't really look particularly cheap, with its modern, square edges and light-catching back panel. It feels light in the hand and the 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display is certainly a decent size. It'd be pretty unusual to find a Samsung device with a bad screen and this one certainly isn't. It's bright, it's colourful and it's protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus - not the toughest Gorilla available but still pretty tough.

The A17 also carries an IP54 rating which means you'll get away with splashing it although perhaps not dunking it.

The camera setup is a bit hotchpotch - a respectable 13MP selfie-cam paired with a triple-sensor primary shooter on the back; 50MP Wide, 5MP Ultra Wide and 2MP Macro. I guess a 5MP Ultra Wide is better than no Ultra Wide and to be honest, I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the pics and vids I've been shooting. Here's a demo...

The camera also performs fairly well in low light... up to a point.

And here's the main rub with this phone; it's weak. It's run by the same Exynos1330 chip found in last year's A16 and with just 4GB of RAM, the actual operation of taking a pic in low light is hit and miss because of the lag between button press and the shutter actually firing. In fact, I found this was the case when taking most kinds of photos.

This is a frustration that followed through to anything that was even remotely resource-heavy. Apps seem to take an age to load, even native apps like Samsung Health.

So this isn't the phone for me - especially given there's no wireless charging and there's not even a built-in screen recorder.

However, for some users, they're not going to care about that stuff. They just want a durable, reliable phone with good battery life that will keep working after the 3G shutdown. The A17 probably isn't the worst option.

My experience with the Fan Edition Galaxy Buds3 was infinitely more pleasurable.

They're a very similar size and shape to the Buds3 Pro, but without the light-up LED strip along the stem. Samsung often changes up the form-factor for its earbuds but I'd suggest there was a lot of positive feedback to this hybrid sealed-fit/external stem design so they've kept it going here.

As I suggested when I reviewed the Pros, the stem means an extra point of contact which not only leads to a more stable, snug fit but a more balanced, comfortable wear as well.

Alas, unlike the Pro version, the Buds3 FE case only charges via USB-C - not wirelessly. That would usually be a dealbreaker for me except these guys sound rather good.

While I'm not convinced these Buds have quite the dynamic range of the Pros, and I'm certain the ANC isn't quite as effective, there's a lot to love about what I'm hearing.

I tested the Buds3 FE using the new lossless audio option on Spotify and it rocked.

"Wish You Were Gay" by Billie Eilish is already a fantastic track but the production values shine through dramatically when listening on the Buds3 FE. The mix is so stripped back, yet has a lot of elements - from acoustic guitar to crowd sound effects. Each piece of this sonic puzzle has been meticulously placed in the recording and now those pieces are precisely re-placed in my ears.

The gentle L.A.B. ballad, "Monica" also starts with a simple acoustic guitar, accompanied with a lonely cabasa to keep the beat. (Okay, it might be one of those egg-shaped shaker things, but in my mind it's a proper cabasa) Again, the baredboned-ness of this mix is transmitted so accurately by the Buds3 FE. Then, as the song builds and soaring lead guitar and crashing drums come to the party, I can still make out the original components with crystal clarity.

You even get 360 Audio for fully immersive surround sound if you're listening to the right content on the right app.

The pinch and swipe controls mimc those on the Buds3 Pro and the battery life is pretty good too. I love these and if I had to choose between the $229 FEs and the $399 Pros, I'd probably save my money.

So I guess you could say there was a winner and a loser here - the cost-saving compromises were too many on the phone but with the Buds3 FE, the features that have been missed haven't been missed nearly so much.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy A17.

Click here for more information on the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 FE.