The seven-seater’s award-winning new Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) — a platform made especially for EVs — empowers major breakthroughs in space, performance, comfort and design. EV9 is unique in offering larger families an array of tomorrow’s technology, with expansive battery range, epic acceleration, a refined locally tuned ride and handling, and impressive sustainability credentials — all wrapped up in a sleek, serene design.

The EV9’s ultra-fast-charging capability can charge from 10 up to 80 per cent in as little as 25 minutes*. All-wheel drive variants produce an immense output of 283kW and 700Nm, offer a range of up to 512km** (WLTP) and sprint to 100km per hour in 5.3 seconds.

Taking comfort and convenience into top gear, the EV9 also boasts deluxe features*** like panoramic wide display; fingerprint recognition; digital side and centre mirrors; and over-the-air software update technology that allows you to update, upgrade and add new features to your Kia remotely. Oh, and to top it off, the driver’s seat is supremely comfortable with inbuilt massage — talk about a joyride.

Hot new wearable: Apple Watch Series X

There’s huge buzz around Apple’s next-generation smartwatch, and the tech world rumour mill is in overdrive about the expected cutting-edge upgrades.

At time of press, there’s still no confirmed launch date for the updated Apple Watch — but insiders are confident that 2024, the device’s tenth anniversary, is the right moment for a major overhaul.

Insiders are predicting Series X will boast breakthroughs including intuitive AI integration to enable advanced health tracking and support; a screen harnessing new micro-LED technology for crystal clarity and colour; a slimmer and lighter design; and blood pressure monitoring using infrared light sensors. With more information to come in the new year, 2024 looks set to be a milestone for wrist candy.

The science of slumber: Dreamers Sleep Eyewear

We now know that the amount and quality of our sleep impacts every aspect of our wellbeing, from immunity to cognitive ability to mental health — and the science of sleep is a new frontier for innovation.

Ironically, technology is one of the greatest sleep disruptors. Screens and electric lighting deluge us in artificial blue and green light, wreaking havoc on our production of melatonin, the sleep-promoting hormone.

It’s a problem tackled by entrepreneurial Australian brothers Zac and Jordan Stenmark, whose innovative Dreamers glasses have turned technology into a wellness-boosting solution.

The Stenmarks partnered with Yale University chemist and physicist Dr Stafford Sheehan to patent new lens technology that blocks 99.9 per cent of both the artificial blue and green light spectrums, allowing your body to naturally produce melatonin. When worn 30 minutes before you want to sleep, Dreamers help ease you into a restorative, refreshing slumber.

The coolest fridge: Whirlpool SlimTech Refrigeration

Hailed by its inventors as the biggest refrigeration innovation in half a century, Whirlpool’s ground-breaking new SlimTech vacuum insulation technology promises to revolutionise our kitchens in 2024 with a futuristic fridge.

SlimTech replaces the thick polyurethane foam and plastic casing on current fridges with a thin layer of proprietary compressed powder, vacuum-sealed inside steel walls. This vacuum insulation structure (VIS) fridge has up to 66 per cent thinner walls and doors, allowing for 25 per cent more fridge capacity, and its 30 per cent faster cooling capability will be able to keep food fresh for longer by reducing temperature swings from door openings.

The new tech also promises to transform fridge aesthetics, with cleaner, sleeker lines and designs attractive enough to grace any room — or even integrate into furniture.

SlimTech debuts in Whirlpool’s JennAir refrigerator in 2024 and will appear in further fridge models over time.

To learn more about the Kia EV9 visit www.kia.com/au/cars/ev9.

*Figures apply to Kia EV9 Air RWD Standard Range variants. Charging times are dependent on charging conditions, including home charging type and condition, battery temperature as well as ambient temperature.

**Figures based on WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure) static laboratory combined average city and highway cycle test, which measure, energy consumption, range and emissions in passenger vehicles, designed to provide figures closer to real-world driving behaviour. Real life driving results will vary depending on a combination of driving style, type of journey, vehicle configuration, battery age and condition, use of vehicle features (such as heating and air conditioning), as well as operating, environmental and climate conditions.

***Some features are only available on GT-Line model trim.