@老麦: Ledao L90 Black Knight Edition

After all these years, I’ve actually never truly bought a six-seat car. As Little Mai keeps growing up, family trips have become a real challenge. Over the past couple of years, on longer journeys we basically ended up leaving the grandparents at home, which always made me feel a bit guilty. On top of that, the ES6 is starting to feel a little old, so the idea of switching to a six-seater gradually took shape.

At first, I did look at brands beyond NIO, including the dominant SUV players like Li Auto and AITO. Each of them has its own strengths—some excel in assisted driving, others focus more on comfort. But once I compared prices, the Ledao L90 stood out: choosing the battery-rental option knocks ¥86,000 off the price, effectively turning a ¥300,000-level configuration into something just over ¥200,000. The value proposition was simply too strong. And since I haven’t exactly been making much money this year, I figured saving where I could was the sensible choice.

Once I actually got the car and started driving it, it really felt like a hidden gem. The Black Knight edition is essentially the fully loaded Ultra trim: high-performance dual-motor AWD, 0–100 km/h in 4.7 seconds, air suspension, and all the creature comforts—fridge, big screen, plush seats, even little tray tables. It meets the travel needs of both kids and seniors perfectly. The massive front trunk deserves special mention. A few years ago, when I borrowed a car for a full-family road trip, luggage space was the bottleneck, and we had to stack bags inside the cabin, which seriously hurt the experience. With the Ledao, that’s no longer a concern. Looking at this frunk, I even feel like if I ever lost my job, I could take it to the street and sell fruit from it.

The cabin setup is hard to fault. Real wood paired with metal accents feels premium, heating and massage are all there, and the sound system is actually better than the one in my ¥300,000-plus ES6. The infotainment is smooth, and Xiao Le responds quickly—though it still doesn’t support wake-word-free commands, so coming from the ET9, I do have to remind myself to call out “Xiao Le” first. Compared with other NIO models, ambient fragrance isn’t standard, but there’s a purification and fragrance product in the Ledao store that supports ozone sterilization and deodorization, and can link with the car system. It looks promising, and I’ve already placed an order.

Because I didn’t have time to attend a test drive before, I had no idea what the L90’s driving dynamics would be like. After more than a week behind the wheel, it’s been pleasantly surprising. First of all, it doesn’t feel like piloting a massive boat—driving it is light and agile. Thanks to the air suspension and CDC dampers, bumps are filtered out much better, keeping passengers comfortable. More importantly, when I’m driving alone and switch to Sport mode, there’s no obvious body roll or wobble in high-speed corners. I’ve also watched other media reviews, and it’s clear that the L90’s tuning deliberately preserves a degree of driving engagement, so you don’t end up feeling like nothing more than a chauffeur. That’s actually pretty rare.

Buying this L90 also coincided with NIO’s push to achieve profitability in Q4 and the milestone of rolling out its one-millionth vehicle, so in a small way it feels meaningful to be part of that. I have a special emotional connection to the NIO brand, and I genuinely hope that companies with this kind of user-centric, long-term mindset can turn things around and thrive—it would also boost confidence across the industry. Fortunately, Ledao’s value for money comes from years of NIO’s in-house R&D and accumulated know-how. As the battery-swap network continues to expand into lower-tier cities, there’s still plenty of room for growth in third- and fourth-tier markets.

@一只索狗: OnePlus Turbo6

• Acquisition: provided by the manufacturer for review
• Price: 12GB + 256GB, launch promo ¥2,099 (¥1,784.15 after national subsidy)

Most of the devices I’ve used recently have been imaging-focused flagships, so it’s been a while since I last spent time with a performance-oriented phone in the thousand-yuan price segment. This time, I happened to get early access to the newly announced OnePlus Turbo6, and here are my brief impressions.

The OnePlus Turbo6 carries over the same aesthetic language as the flagship models, continuing the metal “Rubik’s Cube” camera deco design. It comes in three colors: Tracing Silver, Solo Black, and Wild Green. Judging from photos, the Wild Green unit I have doesn’t look particularly “green,” largely due to lighting angles and color grading. In reality, this colorway is indeed quite understated—at certain angles, it’s already very close to a silvery white.

In terms of specs, my OnePlus Turbo6 is equipped with the fourth-generation Snapdragon 8s “Fengchi Edition,” paired with 16 GB of LPDDR5X memory and UFS 4.1 storage. OnePlus once again emphasizes that this chip is deeply customized in collaboration with Qualcomm. With the “Fengchi Gaming Kernel” baked in, it delivers what OnePlus claims is the only 165 Hz ultra-high-frame-rate gaming experience in its class.

Popular titles on the market such as Honor of Kings, Call of Duty, and Naruto already support the 165 Hz ultra-high-frame-rate mode. However, based on my testing in Call of Duty, the one downside is that frame rates of 120 fps and above can’t coexist with the more refined graphics settings.

As for battery life, OnePlus’ official slogan is “the chewing gum of the phone world,” and in my own testing, it really does feel like it just keeps going. The OnePlus Turbo6 packs a massive 9000 mAh battery—the largest capacity I’ve ever used in a smartphone. I received the device on January 2 and fully charged it then. Although it hasn’t been my primary phone, I’ve still played around two hours of Call of Duty almost every day. As of January 8, it still had about 40% battery remaining without a single recharge.

Paired with 80W SuperVOOC fast charging, there’s absolutely no battery anxiety in day-to-day use. It even supports 27W PD reverse charging, so doubling as a power bank for an iPhone is no problem at all.

With ColorOS 16 on board, the Turbo6’s overall fundamentals as a smartphone are very solid. New features like AI one-tap memory capture are included, and seamless interconnection with the iPhone ecosystem is also supported—something I really appreciate as someone who uses both iOS and Android devices.

Some people play games just for fun, while others play to win. If you’re chasing peak performance in mobile gaming, the OnePlus Turbo6 is an esports-focused weapon designed to help you climb the ranks.

@北鸮: 2026 Slack-Off Calendar

• Reference price: ¥119

A new year naturally calls for a new calendar. I didn’t think too hard about it this time—back in early December, I ordered some merch purely out of fandom from the “Slack-Off Office” channel, which I’d been watching a lot last year. Given that channel’s track record, some kind of mishap was almost guaranteed. The batch I received just before New Year’s Day had a misprint for about a week around October. Thankfully, that’s still far off, so I’ll just wait for them to send replacement calendar pages later.

This year’s Slack-Off Calendar is themed around Lucky Koi A-Yah (A-Yah is one of the channel’s mascots). While it claims it’s “not encouraging people to hoard random junk,” the packaging box itself features a matching slack-off design, which made it hard for me to throw away. The calendar itself is shaped like a hand, with a small magnetic area at the bottom that lets you attach the plush Lucky Koi A-Yah. Once it’s on, the whole thing becomes a very literal embodiment of the “slacking off” theme.

The calendar pages are very straightforward. Whatever day of the week it is, that’s how many times you’re supposed to “slack off.” On weekends, the A-Yah in the background clocks off and goes to sleep. Whenever there’s a holiday, the calendar switches to a little themed illustration. On the right side of each page, there’s also a reminder of how many days are left in the year, and how many days remain until the next day off—constantly telling me just how far away the next bit of hope in life still is.

The paper is relatively thin, which actually makes it quite suitable for tearing off individual pages, jotting something down, and sticking them into a journal. There’s plenty of blank space for daily notes, too. If you have personal anniversaries, writing them in with a darker-colored marker also gives you that satisfying sense of “watching it get closer.” In the end, this is very much a fan-oriented product—it wins you over with its design. Set it on your desk, and it just makes you happy to look at.

@路中南: NeilMed Nasal Gel

• Reference price: ¥61

Last time in New Gadgets I wrote about a nasal rinse spray, but my nose still tends to suffer from cracked nasal mucosa and occasional bleeding. It’s just that the frequency has gone from year-round to mainly two situations: the first is when flying; the second is when visiting shopping malls. Even wearing a mask doesn’t really help—after spending a long time in high-altitude cabins or overheated, air-conditioned indoor environments, the nasal passages dry out easily. Last weekend, I went to a mall café for a coffee date. We were chatting happily when I suddenly felt moisture in my nose. I had no choice but to stay calm on the surface, grab a tissue, and pinch my nostrils. On the way home, I thought to myself: after all these years of industrial society, there must be a mature product designed to keep the nasal passages moist and prevent this kind of situation.

A quick search on e-commerce platforms confirmed it—there are indeed plenty of products called “nasal gels.” If only I’d known sooner. But faced with all kinds of potential “fake foreign brands,” I first went to ask ChatGPT. The idea was simple: buy an industry leader or at least a top-three product to reduce the chances of stepping into a pitfall (which also shows the sales potential of large language models). Coincidentally, the very first recommendation was the same product I’d already found on the platform. I originally wanted to support a domestic brand, Kefu, but was surprised to find that its medical gel cost more than twice the price of this NeilMed product. Maybe that’s just the magic of medical devices. In the end, I had to settle for the latter.

Once I got it, I realized that besides the dry indoor heat, dry weather, and air travel I’d personally experienced, high altitudes (which makes sense when you think about it), sleep apnea machines, and long-term oxygen therapy can also cause nasal dryness. One thing to note when using it: you should squeeze for about four seconds so the gel can fully coat the nasal cavity. Generally, applying it every 4–6 hours is sufficient. The bottle itself is tiny, but in addition to the regular cap, it also has a blue safety cap (shown in the second image on the right) to prevent accidental squeezing when carrying it around.

In actual use, it feels pretty good—nothing fancy, just like a standard saline aloe gel. After squeezing it in, a bit does still flow out. After using it at home, breathing feels noticeably smoother. When going out to malls or wearing a mask, I also feel much more at ease. That said, there can still be slight leakage around the nozzle after use, which is something to watch out for. NeilMed has now officially joined my everyday carry pouch. From now on, before heading into a mall, I’ll definitely give my nose a quick squeeze first. If any fellow readers have friends with sensitive nasal passages who need to fly or travel to high-altitude areas, this is something worth recommending.

One interesting detail: the package comes with a thick printed booklet. At first, I thought it was just an instruction manual, but it’s actually much more than that. It includes usage guides for all of their products, product comparisons, detailed instructions, and dozens of Q&A-style educational explanations about nasal passages and sinuses. It’s actually quite a decent read when you’re bored.

Easter egg

The video version of New Gadgets recently released an episode introducing how to play with the built-in “Mood Flowers” feature in Apple Health. It’s a rather niche but surprisingly practical system feature—give yourself a flower every day, and keep your mood blooming.

How to Watch:

• Xiaohongshu
• Douyin