News
- Japan plans to hire millions of AI robots as its working population shrinks
- One domestic startup plans to build 100 workplace robots by 2027
- Japanese insurers are preparing for accidents involving increasingly capable workplace robots
The Japanese government has set a goal of placing 10 million robots driven by artificial intelligence into workplaces before 2040, hoping to offset a rapidly thinning workforce in its aging population.
By 2040, United Nations medium-variant estimates place Japan's population at 112,158,304, which is 6.2% lower than the 119,584,122 projected for 2030.
The median age would reach 54.0 years, with 35.3% of people at least 65 years old and only 10.4% of them children below 15.
Machines move into offices and wardsHospitals and factories in Japan already struggle to fill positions, which is why a growing number of employers are turning to machines for daily tasks.
Startup Zeals recently introduced the D1 in Tokyo, a wheeled machine with a humanoid form that costs from 5 million yen (about $32,000).
The indoor unit stands 129 cm tall, recognizes faces through a camera, and each of its two arms can lift a maximum of 5 kg.
Zeals intends to build 100 units by March 2027 and accumulate 10,000 hours of running time, selling through dealers and leasing partners.
The company writes its own software and buys components from American and Chinese suppliers, but it eventually hopes to use only Japanese parts.
In late August 2026, a hospital in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, trialed the robot for leading visitors and clearing tables in its dining space.
“It is important to gather training data and ensure that it is actually useful in real-world settings,” said Masahiro Shimizu, CEO of Zeals.
Kakuichi, a Nagano firm that sells steel and systems for managing energy, will onboard a humanoid machine among its new graduates in April 2027.
Play Robotics, a firm that studies humanoids, is helping Kakuichi install and run the Chinese-built robot called Miyazawa Noah.
Kakuichi intends to assign the robot to manufacturing, sales and other departments so that it builds skills by doing real work.
“Developing a humanoid robot is also about fostering employees who will make full use of it,” said Riu Tanaka, CEO of Kakuichi.
Insurers prepare for the dangers that the machines createMitsui Sumitomo Insurance has joined forces with Zeals to sell policies built for D1 users, counting on demand from hotels, hospitals, factories and logistics firms.
It acknowledges that the use of these robots will be associated with some mishaps, whether physical or cyber-related.
"There are risks of causing harm to people or property, as well as concerns about data breaches in cyber-attacks," said Masaki Oshiro, manager of the 1st Branch Office at the insurer's Tokyo East Branch.
In July, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance acquired shares in a Japanese firm developing physical AI, which lets robots learn new tasks on their own.
The purchase was meant to give the insurer a closer look at how such systems behave and what could go wrong with them.
Buying into a developer while already selling policies suggests the insurer is still learning what these robots can do and how often they fail.
So, while Japan makes moves to boost its workforce with robots, the performance and impact of these robots on its economy is uncertain.
Via Japan Today
As someone who writes about smartphones as part of my job, there's a special place in my heart for budget-oriented or mid-range handsets that outperform their price tags — especially those good enough to become fixtures in my list of the best cheap phones in Australia.
So I was pleased to find one of my top-rated picks, Samsung’s Galaxy A57, hitting an all-time low price of AU$519 as part of Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, making it an even better value handset than ever.
Galaxy A57 (128GB, Lilac): was $749 now $519
Beating its last all-time low price on Amazon of AU$597, this price makes an already affordable mid-range phone an even more compelling buy if you’re in the market for a new Android handset that nails all the basics, while also looking and feeling like a flagship. Our review gave it 4 out of 5 stars for its thin and light chassis and vibrant display and I personally had a blast using it. The Navy colour costs slightly more at AU$539, while the 256GB model starts at AU$619.View Deal
I would go so far as to say that the Galaxy A57 is a much better value than Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 FE — especially with its price hike from its predecessor — with prices starting at AU$1,149.
With both handsets using 6.7-inch AMOLED displays, similar main and ultrawide camera specs, along with the same starting storage of 128GB and similar battery sizes, I’d be hard-pressed to recommend the more expensive Galaxy S26 FE unless you really want a telephoto camera, wireless charging and the full Galaxy AI suite.
The Galaxy A57 brings a fair few upgrades over the just-as-excellent Galaxy A56 from last year, including a much thinner and lighter chassis (6.9mm thick and 179g compared to the A56’s 7.4mm depth and 198g weight), a faster Exynos 1680 chipset that can now handle more AI tasks, and an IP68 durability rating (up from IP67).
If you don’t need flagship specs but want something that still feels like a premium handset, you can’t go wrong with the Samsung Galaxy A57, especially at this rock-bottom price point.
Summer is over, but the arrival of fall has brought with it a ton of excellent new gadgets. TechRadar's product testers have been busy reviewing tech from across a wide spectrum of markets, and we've uncovered some truly outstanding new products.
Below, I've rounded up all the products that scored 4.5 or 5 stars out of 5 in our in-depth tests. Perfect scorers in our monthly Reviews Recap are usually few and far between, but this past month we've had a bumper crop. There's the Sonos Beam Ultra, which we called "the ideal mid-sized Dolby Atmos soundbar", and Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless 5 earbuds, which piqued our interest with their user-replaceable batteries and then won us over with their impeccable sound quality.
For those who like to take their tech out-and-about, the DJI Osmo 360 II fixes the first gen's flaws and gives GoPro and Insta360 "a serious run for their money", and the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro delivers "near-perfect performance" for a price tag we've politely described as "aspirational". Oh and there's a new phone out from a little brand called Apple — maybe you've heard of it? We were pretty impressed with the iPhone 18 Pro, too.
Scroll down to browse all the best tech we've tested over the past four weeks, and tap the View details button for a summary of what we thought, plus a link to read the full review for each.
Note: only the products that are available in your region will appear below.
5-star products Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 earbuds Pros- Superb sound quality plus Dolby Atmos spatial audio
- Comfortable and premium design – and finally, user-replaceable batteries
- Lots of future-proof features
- Touch control area is a little small
- Ever-so-slightly bulkier than rivals
- ANC still lags a bit behind Apple, Sony and Bose
- Up-firing drivers and amazing Atmos effects
- Clear dialogue with effective Speech Enhancement
- Compact and beautiful design
- No HDMI passthrough
- DTS:X left out
- Excellent camera system with genuinely useful Pro controls
- Variable aperture adds creative flexibility
- Burgundy and Glacier colors are beautiful
- A20 Pro is very, very fast and enables long battery life
- No major design changes
- $100 / £100 / AU$100 more
- Slimmer and lighter
- Fully titanium redesign
- 3,000-nit AMOLED display
- New tools like Stamina mode
- Fast battery drain during GPS workouts, on modes other than Max Battery
- Now includes user-replaceable lenses
- Excellent all-round 360 image quality
- Cheaper than the Insta360 X6
- Price increase over original Osmo 360
- Not available in the USA
- Spectacular sound quality
- Brilliant K2HD and XBass / XSpace modes
- Intuitive touchscreen
- Great value
- More ‘portable’ models available
- Case must be purchased separately
- Cheaper options are out there
- Smart charging case is feature-rich and fun
- ANC surprisingly effective for open-fit earbuds
- Relaxed, comfortable fit
- Strong overall sound quality…
- Open-fit designs have drawbacks, sonically speaking
- Spatial audio could be better
- Not the most premium-looking buds
- Fantastic vacuuming
- Impressive mopping
- Very effective self-cleaning
- Relatively expensive
- No mop-only mode
- Small issues with phantom room mapping
- Far more musical than the Ace
- Excellent Dolby Atmos for movies
- Fantastic feature-suite with enhanced ANC and detailed EQ options
- Stunning design; responsive controls
- Some rivals still offer more detail
- Case doesn’t mirror the headphones’ premium look and feel
- Not fully foldable
- Truly excellent 4K picture quality
- Gimbal tracking works flawlessly
- Wide range of control and tweaking features
- Premium build quality
- Very pricey
- Will be overkill for most users
- No included lens cap
- Class-leading design touches
- Superb vacuum perfomance
- Highly reliable
- Possibly too complex for some
- Not cheap
- Some minor obstacle-avoidance quirks
- Excellent ergonomics
- Durable, quality feel
- Dock attachment enables seamless switching
- Pretty pricey
- Grips and case susceptible to fibers and dust
- Brilliant overall picture quality
- Fantastic for gaming
- Glare-free still a hit
- Pricey
- No Dolby Vision
- Still can't hit OLED's highs
- Exceptionally lightweight for this type of lens
- Sharp detail and smooth bokeh
- Rugged build quality
- Decent value, but some of Sony's super-telephoto zooms are cheaper
- Sony's super-telephoto zooms are more versatile
- Exemplary performance and gaming chops
- Enormous battery with fast charging
- Well priced for the specs despite price rise
- Despite still being great value, it costs more than the F8 Ultra
- Cameras are capable but not top-tier
- A handy self-timer for limiting camera shake and FOMO
- Eye-popping, pastel color options and a playful design
- Credit card-sized quality prints
- Self-timer doesn't have a countdown light indicator
- Ribbed design makes it slightly bulkier and heavier than the Instax Mini 12
- Great edge cleaning
- Long battery life
- Scraper prevents streaks
- Lies 180 degrees flat
- Superb dirt detection system
- Picks up large debris very well
- Long-lasting clean water tank
- Solution sprayer breaks down tough stains
- Base auto-refills tank with clean water and solution in seconds
- Base is large and bulky
- Dry settings don’t fully dry the brushroll
- Incredible HDR experience
- Huge, immersive ultrawide format
- Competitively priced
- You'll need a mega graphics card
- Edge dimming issue in some scenarios
- Vintage Sony design
- Excellent all-round performance
- Elegant minimalistic design
- Viewing angles are limited
- Lacks one or two gaming features
- Occasional color slip-ups in dark scenes
- Fantastic, detailed audio
- Feature-packed, handy smart charging case
- Comfortable, secure in-ear fit
- Middling ANC
- Call quality not as clear as expected
- Spatial audio in need of improvement
- Comfortable and light
- Multiple connectivity options
- Solid performance
- Lacks performance tweaks
- Included cable isn’t braided
- Low profile not for everyone
- Excellent results from versatile cooking modes
- Useful quick start guide and cook book included in box
- Intuitive controls and dishwasher-safe basket
- Large footprint not so good for small kitchens
- Takes time to understand cooking times
- No shake reminder or basket window
- Excellent air fry, steamfry and steam modes
- Consistently great results across all food types
- Set of tongs included in the box
- You can get big-basket fryers for less
- The glossy top shows dirt easily
- Large footprint means you need lots of counter space
- Easy to use and clean up
- Four settings: Hot Froth, Hot Milk, Cold Foam, and Matcha
- Elegant style
- Effective
- Pricey
- Takes up more space than a handheld frother
- Articulate, balanced and authoritative sound
- Ample power is one of several specification highlights
- Impressive standard of build and finish
- Fussy where positioning is concerned
- Finish makes quite a big difference to the aesthetic
- Stands are almost ‘must-have’ (and very expensive)
- Great overall picture quality
- Good gaming performance
- An evolution of standard mini-LED
- Reflective screen
- Average viewing angles
- Only two HDMI 2.1 ports
- Natural and textured sound across the frequency range
- Incredibly insightful treble response
- Striking aesthetic and great build quality
- Broad build isn’t my favorite
- No 3.5mm connectivity option
- Blends and processes a huge variety of foods and beverages
- Powerful blades easily blend ice and much more
- Comes with lots of different blades for dicing, slicing, shredding, and more
- Smaller blending tumbler is perfect for smoothies on the go
- SmoothSense and PrepIQ eliminate guesswork
- Sometimes you have to run a second cycle to full blend or process foods
- Quite a learning curve to figure out all of the features
- Has lot of parts to clean
- Needs a significant amount of storage/counter space
- Report claims production of budget smartphones could drop by 40% by 2030
- The increasing costs of RAM and chipsets thanks to the AI data center boom are key factors in the forecast
- In addition, basic product lines aimed at the lower end of the market are becoming less profitable as minimum spec phones are overlooked in favour of portable media production devices
It could be time to start saving for your next phone, thanks to the increasing demand for RAM, processors, and SoCs, new research has claimed. The AI data center boom has driven various price rises across the electronics industry over the past few years, and now it seems that the days of the budget smartphone could be numbered – and at best, they may be hard to come by for a while.
Forecasting by Counterpoint Research estimates smartphones below the $200 figure could shrink by 40% by 2030 - which equates to the market shrinking by 230 million devices.
While mid-range, premium, and ultra-premium devices are less affected by this, those on lower incomes – particularly in poorer countries – could find internet access is off-limits.
A sharp contractionCounterpoint Research’s study suggests the smartphone market will change considerably as higher device specifications justify higher price points in a landscape where component costs are climbing.
This “structural shock” can be traced to the current downturn, and will likely lead many people to keep their phones for longer (although those who can afford it will upgrade). It’s a scenario that could see the extension of replacement cycles by consumers and vendors alike (perhaps persuaded by market demand) and the refurbished handset market could also benefit. Handset insurance plans may also see longer subscriptions, too, further supporting the refurbished market and legacy stock supplies.
Over recent years, premium smartphones have driven the market, and the data apparently suggests this will continue. The prediction doesn’t suggest budget phones will go away entirely, but there could be new opportunities from the used phone market, dumbphones (like the Commodore Callback), and even niche/DIY solutions.
Connectivity riskMore premium phones and higher specced mid-range devices sounds good at face value. However, it does mean that regions where budget phones are vital to communications and internet access are likely to find it more difficult to achieve mobile internet connectivity.
“The smartphone market will recover in unit terms, but the affordable segment will not return to its previous standing,” said Yang Wang, a principal analyst at Counterpoint Research, noting the market size will be similar overall, but different in value.
“The opportunity now shifts toward better-specced mainstream devices and premium products, although higher tiers cannot absorb all the lost volume,” Wang adds, “there is also a wider connectivity risk, as the loss of affordable new smartphones could make it harder for first-time users in lower-income markets to come online.”
Counterpoint Research underlines that it expects the smartphone market to regain its 2025 volume by 2030, but with a much smaller budget segment.
As an audio reviewer, I am of course always excited when a new pair of headphones is announced. However, I’ve noticed a worrying trend in the last couple of years whereby every new premium pair seems to cost AU$699.
The Sony WH-1000XM6, Sonos Ace and Sonos Ace Ultra, Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3, Edifier Stax Spirit S5, Nothing Headphone 1 Pro, Technics EAH-A1000 all cost AU$699 at launch, to name a few. The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless went even further with a AU$749.95 debut.
That’s a lot of money to pay for a set of cans — and that’s why the current Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sale is worth sitting up for, as I’ve found a few pairs of truly talented headphones that have received significant discounts.
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: was $645 now $378
These flagship Bose headphones launched at AU$649.95, and are one of the earlier examples of premium pricing. Now they’ve been replaced by a second-gen model, which means their price can take a hit. I consider this first-gen set to be the best ANC headphones right now, owing to the fact they’re a lot more affordable, and that the ANC performance difference isn’t all that huge compared to their newer sibling. They’re extremely comfortable too, and they serve up a lovely, lively and engaging sound. View Deal
QuietComfort Headphones: was $448 now $243
This more mid-range pair of Bose over-ears also make my guide to the best noise cancelling headphones thanks to their ability to block out virtually all external sounds. As with the Ultra set above, they sound glorious, are comfortable and fold away for travel. They miss out on spatial audio, but otherwise are near-faultless. The best price is on the Moonlight Grey colour, but all others are available with significant discounts. [Ed's note: Moonlight Grey at AU$230.85 now appears to be sold out, but several other colourways are still available for around the AU$245 mark.]View Deal
HD 600: was $599.95 now $299
These open-back Sennheiser headphones are nearly 20 years old, but the fact they can still command their original AU$600 list price should tell you everything. They’re truly stunning, offering excellent dynamics and lively sound. As mentioned however, they’re open-back, which means they’ll leak sound, so they’re not ideal for use on the go, but rather for listening at home with some capable source equipment. View Deal
If the idea of a detailed, open-back sound sounds good to you, but you want it everywhere you go, the HD 620S could be for you. They’re a conventional closed-back design, and as our friends at What Hi-Fi? said in their review, “these headphones invite you to simply sit back and enjoy the detailed and smooth sound, no matter what genre you’re listening to”. View Deal
WH-1000XM6: was $699.95 now $513
I mentioned them in my intro, and thanks to this week’s Amazon sale, you can get the Dusty Pink colourway with a respectable discount. While still not cheap, they are arguably one of the best headphones available today, there's no doubting performance here, with beautifully balanced sound and great ANC. View Deal
Momentum 4 Wireless: was $649 now $240
Sennheiser has now finally released a newer version of its stunning Momentum headphones, but that only means this fourth-gen model becomes even more affordable. In our five-star Sennheiser Momentum 4 review, we highlighted their effective active noise-cancellation, 60-hours of battery life and excellent sound quality. At this price, they certainly deserve your consideration.View Deal
EAH-AZ100: was $499 now $331
Earbuds can also enter at the premium end, and these Technics buds have been my number one since they launched. They deliver a sound packed with detail and clarity, and one that is entirely engaging. ANC is great, and they're brimming with useful features. View Deal
QuietComfort Earbuds: was $289.95 now $170.05
These mid-range Bose ‘buds punch well above their weight, and now they’ve dropped to AU$170, they’re an even easier recommendation for anyone seeking premium sound without paying premium money. Plus, the ANC is by far and away the best in its class, and they’re packed with genuinely useful features. View Deal