The aforementioned leaker with a penchant for French master thieves also left us with a screenshot of a feature list for Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S24+, which provides some interesting details, although nothing that previous leaks had not already hinted at. Meanwhile it is also know, where this leak is coming from. Walmart has a bunch of Galaxy S24 product pages only already, for instance here.
According to this, Samsung will promote the new "epic Galaxy S24 Ultra" with a Nightography Zoom function, which should deliver better zoom shots in low light based on the new 50 megapixel telephoto with 5x optical zoom. It remains to be seen why this feature is also listed for the Galaxy S24+ although the camera will be identical to the one in the Galaxy S23+. Samsung may have further improved the quality of their AI algorithms.
Both Galaxy S24 models will also benefit from many other AI functions, such as Live Translate, i.e. translations in real time, and "Generative Edit", basically a clone of the Magic Editor for Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro users. However, as with the latter, cloud access is required, so AI-supported editing of photos directly on device does not seem to work with Samsung phones either. Also mentioned are references to the brighter and, in the case of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, flatter displays; photos can now apparently also be shared in higher resolution.
From South Korea: No satellite emergency call but pre-order deals
Speaking of new features in the Galaxy S24 generation - one that was already being discussed for the predecessors seems to be missing again in 2024. The planned satellite SOS functions, similar to Apple's iPhones appear to have been canceled again by Samsung last minute. At least that is what the South Korean news magazine ETNews hinted at recently. It is possible that this is linked to the scrapped satellite plans from its partner Qualcomm, which is a shame because not only Apple but also many Chinese phones are increasingly offering a connection to satellites, at least for SOS messaging.
However, there has also been more encouraging news from South Korea recently. According to initial information from the famously informative Naver forum Samsung is once again planning to double the storage capacity of the Galaxy S24 series free of charge during the pre-order phase. Discounts for the additional purchase of a Galaxy Watch or the Galaxy Buds FE will also be offered apparently. Of course, these pre-order deals mentioned here only apply to the Korean market for the time being, but they may be similar in Europe, the US and other areas.
Update 13.00: Added references to the Walmart leaks in text above.
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Technology
I can count on one hand the number of projectors that have truly impressed me, but I'd like to believe that the latest from LG will add to the count. The company today unveiled its new CineBeam Qube ahead of CES, meaning there's no price tag or availability date attached, but we know just about everything else about the projector.
The spec list goes like this: The resolution is 4K (UHD) at 3,840 x 2,160, with a brightness of 500 ANSI Lumens, a contrast ratio of 450,000:1, a size of 135 x 135 x 80mm, weight of 1.49kg (roughly three pounds), a screen size that ranges from 50 to 120 inches, HDR10, 3W Mono speaker, webOS 6.0, and input support for HDMI with eARC/USB-C.
What jumps out at me is the 4K resolution and contrast ratio. Clearly, LG isn't trying to compete with the $500 portable projectors you can buy on Amazon. Instead, the Qube may actually be a viable TV alternative in smaller to mid-sized living spaces, with a surprisingly flexible projection (from 50 to 120 inches) and 154 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, according to LG.
Color accuracy and contrast are oftentimes the biggest drawbacks to projectors, so we'll have to see how the Qube handles pictures in various lighting conditions when we check out the demos at CES.
Unlike the ordinary projector that's plastered with a glossy white casing, often set down and forgotten, the CineBeam Qube is designed to sit on shelves, drawers, and other pieces of furniture to bring a more bespoke aesthetic, with a look that reminds me of old-school film cameras (or, for something more relevant to the times, a bookshelf speaker). It's also got a built-in carrying handle that rotates 360 degrees, ideal for carrying the relatively lightweight projector from room to room, to the backyard, or on trips.
LG
"Great for spaces large and small, LG CineBeam Qube is a unique lifestyle projector possessing all the qualities consumers look for when choosing a new projection solution," said YS Lee, vice president and head of the IT business unit of LG Electronics Business Solutions Company in a press release.
The CineBeam Qube runs on LG's webOS 6.0 software, meaning users will have access to smart TV features found on the company's OLED, QNED, and other models, including Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa voice commands and streaming services. Stay tuned for more information on the CineBeam Qube, including pricing and availability.
It’s been three weeks and change since Rockstar Games played Santa Claus by giving everyone their first look at Grand Theft Auto 6 ahead of its vague 2025 release date. In that time, thirsty fans have watched the record-setting trailer more than 160 million times, which was apparently more than enough research to recreate the video in just about every game, style, and format under the sun.
Let’s start with a few no-brainers: Grand Theft Auto 6 recreated in previous Grand Theft Auto games.
RavenwestR1 used various mods to replicate every major scene from the trailer in Grand Theft Auto 5. I particularly enjoy Michael de Santa, Franklin Clinton, and Trevor Philips making cameos as random denizens of Vice City.
What if Grand Theft Auto 6 took place in Liberty City and starred Grand Theft Auto 4 protagonist Niko Bellic? It might look something like this:
And finally, someone reimagined Grand Theft Auto 6 as my personal favorite game in the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Grand Theft Auto sister series Red Dead Redemption 2 also got in on the fun, but I couldn’t pick a favorite.
At its prime, the Saints Row series was Grand Theft Auto’s most popular and successful competitor, so on some level it only makes sense to recreate the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer using Saints Row 2.
The possibilities are endless from there. Fortnite? Sure!
Minecraft? Why not!
The Sims 4? Okay!
Garry’s Mod? It’s an older meme, but it checks out.
The most impressive, however, is arguably Grand Theft Auto 6 made in actual Lego, stop-motion style.
Being an old, I’m also partial to folks transporting Grand Theft Auto 6 back in time using, for example, graphics modeled after the original PlayStation…
…playing the trailer through an early 2000s CRT television…
…and dreaming up a retro-futuristic world where the far-off game was somehow released in 1956.
And finally, I can’t not shout out this trailer made entirely of stock footage, which creator Simply said was “surprisingly easy.”
It’s amusing how recognizable the Grand Theft Auto 6 reveal’s format and rhythm has become online despite the relatively short time it’s been around, but I guess this is just another testament to how fast the internet moves these days. And if nothing else, at least a whole new generation is learning to appreciate the music of Tom Petty, which is always a win in my book.
As we wind down 2023 and start looking ahead to 2024, there’s one company, in particular, that I want to highlight. Plenty of folks are already getting excited about the Samsung Galaxy S24 and the iPhone 16, but if you ask me, Samsung and Apple aren’t the companies you should be paying close attention to in the new year. Instead, your eyes should be set and centered on Motorola.
Motorola has nailed flagship smartphones
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
Motorola got so much right this past year — and it all started with the Motorola Edge Plus (2023). I reviewed the Edge Plus this past May, and all these months later, it remains one of my favorite phones of the year.
There’s not one single thing that made the Edge Plus stand out, but rather a culmination of Motorola getting so much right.
The 6.7-inch OLED display is vibrant, colorful, and a pure joy to look at. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor is still a performance champ, even a year after its release. The battery easily lasts for two days on a single charge, and the 68-watt wired charging means you can go from zero to 100% in about an hour. Hell, even the cameras — something Motorola has long struggled with — are solid. They’re not Google Pixel 8 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra quality, but the Edge Plus’s camera system is still a wholeheartedly enjoyable one.
2023 gave us a lot of standout flagships, but the Motorola Edge Plus still stands out as one of the best ones. It’s one of the most complete smartphone packages you can buy today, not to mention the excellent $800 MSRP (which is often discounted as low as $600). I’ve waited years and years for a proper return to form for a flagship Motorola phone, and that’s precisely what we got with the Edge Plus in 2023.
Its mid-tier options are getting better, too
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
And it wasn’t just top-of-the-line flagships where Motorola succeeded this year. The company also impressed with its more budget-minded offerings — specifically with the Motorola Edge (2023).
I reviewed the Edge (2023) right around the time I was testing the Google Pixel 8, and it was remarkable just how easy it was to go back and forth between the two phones. As a $600 smartphone (which can now be bought for as little as $350), the Motorola Edge exceeded a lot of my expectations this year.
The Edge isn’t quite as well-rounded as its Edge Plus sibling, but as a decidedly mid-tier handset, it’s a very good package. I really like Motorola’s decision to use leather on the back and around the camera housing, which is grippier than glass and more premium-feeling than plastic. You also still get a very good OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, the MediaTek Dimensity 7030 processor is surprisingly capable, and you don’t have to sacrifice battery life or fast charging speeds.
There are some drawbacks, obviously. Motorola promises just one major software update from Android 13 to Android 14, and the cameras aren’t anything to write home about. But the overall package is a strong one, and I think it’s one of Motorola’s better mid-range offerings in a while.
The flip-phone foldable champ
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
Even while doing so well with “regular” smartphones in 2023, Motorola still found time to crank out multiple folding phones — and two of the most important ones of the year, at that.
The first foldable release from Motorola in 2023, the Motorola Razr Plus, was everything I’d been waiting for in a flip-phone type of foldable. Fun, unique design? Check. A large cover screen that runs fully-fledged Android apps? Check. Water and dust resistance? Fast performance? Great software? Check, check, and check.
Motorola has been dabbling with folding phones since late 2019, and the Razr Plus felt like what the company has been working toward for so many years. It’s one of the most enjoyable phones I’ve used in 2023, and even with more technically impressive competitors like the Galaxy Z Flip 5 now out, the Razr Plus still holds a special place in my heart.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Finally, it’d be a disservice not to talk about the regular Motorola Razr (2023).
On paper, the Razr (2023) doesn’t seem like anything special. Compared to the Razr Plus, it has a lower-specced main display, a slower processor, worse cameras, and a much smaller cover display. It’s an inferior phone in almost every regard, so why mention it at all?
The price.
The Motorola Razr (2023) has a retail price of $700, and depending on when you buy it, you can pick it up for as little as $500. In late 2023, you can spend just $500 for a brand new folding phone. That was completely unheard of just a year ago, but Motorola made that a very true reality this year — and it’s still a bit hard to believe.
High prices have long been one of the main deterrents for foldables. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold families are great, but with prices ranging anywhere from $1,000 to $1,800, they’re far from affordable. The Razr (2023) is the first folding phone that feels like it’s actually obtainable for a large group of people, and even without the best specs in the world, that’s nothing short of amazing.
What will Moto do in 2024?
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
Was 2023 a perfect year for Motorola? Not quite. The company still has room to improve its software update policy. Motorola’s Moto G line has also become unnecessarily confusing, and resulted in some less-than-stellar releases from Motorola this year.
But even with those quirks left to iron out, I can’t help but look back at 2023 as one of the strongest for Motorola in years. And because of that, I’m excited thinking about where Moto goes in 2024.
With the Edge Plus nearly perfected this year, imagine how good a successor next year could be. Motorola proved the standard Edge can be a very competent mid-ranger, and it has clear — but manageable — ways to improve it in the new year. And with the Razr and Razr Plus making such strong showings in 2023, the prospect of 2024 successors to them is beyond exciting.
Leaks and rumors about Motorola’s 2024 product roadmap have remained quiet so far, but if the company follows a similar pattern to what we saw this year, it’s safe to say we’ll be in for another spectacular year. And I can’t wait.
Samsung is the second-biggest smartphone camera sensor brand in the world. It trails Sony, which is the market leader, but the South Korean firm has plans to topple its Japanese rival with the help of AI. Samsung is reportedly trying to develop and launch mobile camera sensors with on-device AI.
Samsung wants to use on-sensor AI processing in its future camera sensors
According to a new report from Business Korea, Samsung is incorporating AI into its camera image sensor business. After unveiling its third 200MP camera sensor earlier this year, the South Korean firm announced the Zoom Anyplace technology, which is powered by AI. It offers simultaneous 4K video recording of the full frame and a zoomed-in part of that frame. The company plans to incorporate even more AI features into its camera sensors. Its long-term business plan is to create sensors that can replicate human senses. Its roadmap includes the development of camera sensors that can capture even invisible things by 2027.
During Samsung's System LSI Tech Day 2023 event held in Silicon Valley, System LSI President Park Yong-in emphasized the goal of leading the ‘Proactive AI' era, which includes mastering Generative AI, high-performance algorithms and technologies, and long-range communication solutions. After a brief period of contraction during the COVID-19 era, the camera sensor market has switched to the growth phase, thanks to demand from autonomous cars, IoT, robotics, and XR (Extended Reality) devices.
SK Hynix, during its SK Hynix TechSummit 2023 event, revealed that it is incorporating an AI processing chip into its camera sensors. This technology lowers the latency and improves image quality while also reducing power consumption. Using an AI accelerator in the image sensor, the company is testing features like face and object recognition.
Both Samsung and SK Hynix are trying to close the gap with Sony in the camera image sensor market. According to a report from Counterpoint Research, Sony dominates the image sensor market with a market share of 54%. Samsung has a 29% share of the market, while SK Hynix barely managed to enter the top-five rankings with a 5% market share.
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Technology
Google has indicated that it is ready to settle a class-action lawsuitfiled in 2020 over its Chrome browser's Incognito mode. Arising in the Northern District of California, the lawsuit accused Google of continuing to "track, collect, and identify [users'] browsing data in real time" even when they had opened a new Incognito window.
The lawsuit, filed by Florida resident William Byatt and California residents Chasom Brown and Maria Nguyen, accused Google of violating wiretap laws. It also alleged that sites using Google Analytics or Ad Manager collected information from browsers in Incognito mode, including web page content, device data, and IP address. The plaintiffs also accused Google of taking Chrome users' private browsing activity and then associating it with their already-existing user profiles.
Google initially attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed by pointing to the message displayed when users turned on Chrome's incognito mode. That warning tells users that their activity "might still be visible to websites you visit."
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected Google's bid for summary judgement in August, pointing out that Google never revealed to its users that data collection continued even while surfing in Incognito mode.
"Google’s motion hinges on the idea that plaintiffs consented to Google collecting their data while they were browsing in private mode,” Rogers ruled. “Because Google never explicitly told users that it does so, the Court cannot find as a matter of law that users explicitly consented to the at-issue data collection."
According to the notice filed on Tuesday, Google and the plaintiffs have agreed to terms that will result in the litigation being dismissed. The agreement will be presented to the court by the end of January, with the court giving final approval by the end of February.
The 0.14 patch for Escape From Tarkov has seen to launch of the new Ground Zero map, which is specifically designed for players under level 20 to learn the game. But being a new map means everyone, even veteran players, is still trying to figure out the layout and slowly a map is being made and the extracts are being discovered.
The only map we have so far for Ground Zero is the one that was revealed in the initial trailer for the map, which isn’t the most detailed but does give some good information for newcomers. It shows where the extracts are, and gives you a good overview of the map, so it's a good idea to study it.
It’s also a good idea to look out for Salewa first aid kits on Ground Zero as there are a couple of places they can spawn and you will need them for a quest shortly.
Ground Zero Extracts
Ground Zero has five main extracts, one of which is a vehicle extract and one is a co-op extract. Looking at the map above, the Emercom Checkpoint extract is in the bottom left, the co-op Scav Checkpoint extract is in the top left, Mira Prospect is at the bottom, Nakatani Basement is the top right and the Police Checkpoint, which is the vehicle extract is the top middle.
However, be careful if you head to Mira Prospect, as you will need a flare to get out of this extract, otherwise, you will be shot by snipers. You will need to shoot the flare into the extract to make sure the snipers do not kill you.
Ground Zero Quests
All of the starting quests in Escape From Tarkov will now require you to go to Ground Zero, and there are a number of things you will need to do on the map.
Burning Rubber Guide
The easiest one to complete is the Burning Rubber quest which requires you to take the car extract on Ground Zero. All you need to do is to head to the Police Checkpoint extract, at the top of the map in the middle, and take the car extract. You will need 5000 Rubles in order to take it, but you get that when accepting the Burning Rubber quest from Skier.
First In Line Guide
Next up is the First in Line quest from Therapist, who wants you to find the Emercom Station on Ground Zero and then hand over some medicine items. The Emercom Station is right next to the Emercom Checkpoint extract in the bottom left of the map, all you need to do is walk in the area and that sub-task will be complete, you do not need to extract safely. This is also a good spot to pick up the three found-in-raid medicine items you need to hand in, then you can jump in the extract right next to it to get out and complete the task.
Shooting Cans Guide
Shooting Cans is the first task from Prapor and requires you to kill five targets on the map, these can be scavs or PMCs, as well as locate the AGS grenade launcher and Utyos machine gun. The machine gun can be found on the second floor of the Empire building while the grenade launcher is in the Capital building. You need to go right to where they are to unlock the quest.
Saving The Mole Guide
Finally, there is the Saving the Mole quest, which requires a bit more work. All the areas you need to go to are in the Terragroup building, but first, you will need to get the Science key from a dead scav. Once you have the key you just head upstairs to grab the data drive and then extract. This helpful video guide should make it easier to find the key.
Luxurious Life Guide
Once you complete these quests and another elsewhere, Parpor will give you the Luxurious Life quest on Ground Zero. Fortunately that quest has already been figured out and here is how you can complete it.
When I used to teach photography, I would often tell students that if something felt as though it was taking too long in Photoshop, then it was taking too long – somebody else would have faced the same issue and worked out a way to do it more efficiently, or better. A hassle-free life is, almost always, but a small change in mindset and a little bit of research away!
I have since tried to apply this approach to other areas of my life. With that in mind, my round-up of the best cycling products I used in 2023 revolves around practical purchases that have improved my quality of life.
‘Quality of life’ may sound like a stretch, but I’m not exaggerating. Fixing stuff and cycle touring (and being able to see, apparently) makes me truly happy. Even small investments have made these things more enjoyable, which has an outsize impact on my well-being.
Oakley prescription lenses
They may look dorky but, guess what, being able to see is bloody great. - Scott Windsor / Our Media
My name is Jack Luke and I am an idiot.
Despite the fact I wear spectacles all day, every day, 2023 was the first year I invested in a pair of prescription cycling glasses and… I haven’t looked back since (haw haw haw).
It should come as no surprise that being able to see clearly on the bike has been a revelation – it’s not as though I was blindly grumbling along bike paths like a star-nosed mole before, but now I can see all of the pretty leaves in HD!
The stick-on ('direct glaze') lenses are a bit darker than the surrounding edge. - Scott Windsor / Our Media
I retrofitted a pair of direct glaze Oakley OEM lenses to my oh-so-fashionable Radar Path EV frames and have been mostly satisfied with the combo.
The optics are excellent – there’s no distortion to speak of and they’re every bit as clear as my regular spectacles.
However, the central ‘corrected’ (prescription) section is darker than the periphery, which is a bit annoying in direct sunlight.
There’s also no denying they look a bit dorky, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay for being able, well, to see.
Now, before you tell me I should just use contacts, I was long ago put off for life by grand fromage George Scott when he revealed a contact lens had blown out of his eye while ripping down a road descent. To that, I say ‘no thanks’.
Convoy S9 torch
If you don't own one already, I implore you to buy a cheap rechargeable torch. - Scott Windsor / Our Media
£18 / $20
As with my prescription cycling glasses, I will look back on 2023 as the year of illuminating tech discoveries – in this case, quite literally.
Like a dafty, I’ve used my phone torch or a bike light when working on my bike for years. Neither is truly suitable.
For me, USB charging is a must-have, even if it is a pesky micro-USB port (long live USB-C). - Scott Windsor / Our Media
Holding a phone while working on a bike is a high-risk strategy if hammers are involved and bike lights are, generally, too bright for close-up futzing.
Fed up with compromise, I blew a whopping £18 on a highly rated Convoy torch from AliExpress.
AliExpress is a minefield of electronics of unknown provenance, but this is the favoured affordable flashlight brand of Candle Power Forums users (yes, there is a BikeRadar-like site dedicated to torches), so I took the plunge.
I was too tight to buy a new battery, so pinched one from an old power bank. - Scott Windsor / Our Media
I opted for the Convoy S9. It features integrated charging, adjustable power and runs on commonly available 18650 cells (which, ever the tight ass, I snaffled from a dead USB battery bank).
It’s hardly the most exciting object in the world, but it performs so well for the cash. I think I’ve charged it once in a year of use, it’s easy to adjust power and it feels solid in the hand.
Without question, it’s the most useful addition to my toolbox in years, and I feel like a fool for not buying one sooner.
Uniqlo Ultra Light down jacket
Cheap, jazzy, cute – the jacket's pretty good too. - Scott Windsor / Our Media
£70 / $79.90 new, around £20 / $30 used
You know what sucks? Being cold.
What sucks times two to the power of thumbs-down-bummer-vibes is being cold in a tent.
The happiest days of my life are spent beneath a flysheet, but it’s hard to be motivated to do anything when you’re freezing cold and stuck in a damp malodourous touring cave.
After years of carting around a knackered and bulky PrimaLoft jacket, I decided 2023 was the time to invest in a down jacket for touring and bikepacking.
Synthetic insulation (such as PrimaLoft) generally performs better than down in wet conditions, but cheaper options are bulky and quite heavy. My touring is pretty gentle these days, so switching to down is fine for my needs.
As ever unwilling to spend money, I eventually settled on this second-hand fetching yellow down insulated jacket from, of all places, Uniqlo.
Riding a tandem while wearing matching(ish) budget down jackets? It must be illegal somewhere to be this damn adorable. - Jack Luke / Our Media
Uniqlo is a huge multinational clothing retailer, but it’s hardly known for its high-end outdoor wear.
Despite this, its ultra-light down jackets have a small cult following in the backpacking world. They are warm, very packable, genuinely light but – most importantly for me – dirt cheap.
This jacket was purchased for £15 on Vinted in nearly-new condition. Similar deals can be found widely online or, if you’re feeling flush, they’re generally available for around £70 new. Even new, that’s considerably cheaper than anything from a ‘proper’ outdoors brand.
The shell is fragile and stains easily. - Scott Windsor / Our Media
The dirtbag touring lifestyle is hardly kind on clothing, so this bargainous price makes it a perfect choice – I am far less likely to go in a grump as I dribble pasta sauce down my chest hunched over in the vestibule of a tent wearing this than I am in some fetching Patagucci number.
The jacket is as cheap as to be essentially disposable. - Scott Windsor / Our Media
The jacket is by no means perfect – the shell feels very fragile and the down wets out like a dishcloth when wet. It certainly wouldn’t be my first choice for a genuinely hardcore multi-day bikepacking adventure.
But, for £15? I’ve barely a complaint.
Silvercrest (Lidl) micro screwdriver set
This Lidl purchase has had a big impact. - Scott Windsor / Our Media
Security screws, tiny Torx heads and criminally small crossheads are a common feature of modern electronics, and are all designed to make it as hard as possible to open up your stuff.
This kit is available under different brand names. - Scott Windsor / Our Media
No bike light, rear derailleur clutch or other fiddly-to-access components are safe now I am to be found prowling with my 125-piece set. It is no exaggeration to say I am astonished by how often I have used this kit since buying it.
If you can’t pounce on an upcoming ‘Middle of Lidl’ sale, iFixit’s Mako Driver Kit is identical, albeit a bit more expensive.
Apidura Packable Musette
I never expected to love this daft wee bag as much as I do. - Scott Windsor / Our Media
I viewed Apidura’s £34 packable musette with some suspicion when it was released in 2020 – was anyone asking for a performance musette?
Well, three years on, I’m eating my words.
Packing down to the size of a plump beef tomato, the bag lives inside a pannier when touring or my Carradice saddle bag for regular rides.
The three-way strap holds the bag securely. - Scott Windsor / Our Media
I have never regretted carrying it on a ride when the need to transport a sweet roadside find or portage extra snacks arises (both are surprisingly frequent occurrences if, like me, you’re a hungry hoarder).
The bag is only secured by the main flap, so it’s by no means waterproof, but the fabric it's made from is impervious to moisture, so the contents are kept dry enough.
Said light grey fabric looks a bit grim after a year alongside the grimy base of my back – black would have been a more practical choice.
Overall though, you can file this one as a surprisingly useful hit.
Article From & Read More ( Jack Luke's Gear of the Year 2023 | Why corrected vision, a dirt-cheap down jacket and an AliExpress torch improved my life - BikeRadar )
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Technology
Apple will begin mass shipments of its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset “in the first week of January” before launching it in Apple Stores in late January or early February, oft-reliable supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a note on Monday.
Kuo added that Apple plans to ship “approximately 500,000” Vision Pro devices as it seeks to get its most important product launch in years off to the best possible start.
“Vision Pro will most likely hit the store shelves in late January or early February based on the current mass shipment schedule,” Kuo said in comments that chimed with a recent report from reliable Apple analyst Mark Gurman, who claimed last week that Apple was preparing to start selling the headset “by February.”
Apple has yet to reveal a specific launch date, saying in June when it unveiled the Vision Pro that it would land in stores in “early 2024.” After that, speculation grew that Apple would most likely start selling the mixed-reality headset in March 2024.
But with these two leading tipsters saying pretty much the same thing, it looks increasingly likely that Apple will start selling the Vision Pro in about a month’s time, a little earlier than originally expected.
Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Gurman said in his report last week that Apple is now “ramping up production” of the Vision Pro at its factories in China, “setting the stage for a launch by February.” He added that the manufacturing of the Vision Pro has been running “at full speed at facilities in China” for the last few weeks.
As the launch nears, the tech giant has also reportedly sent an email to software developers encouraging them to get ready for the new mixed-reality headset by testing their apps and sending their software to Apple for feedback.
Apple is also planning to train Apple Store staff on how best to present and demonstrate the Vision Pro to potential customers.
Will the Vision Pro be a success? It’s impossible to say yet, but one factor that may deter many potential customers is the hefty $3,499 price tag. Apple is also rumored to be developing a cheaper version, but it could be a while before it hits stores.
Our individual Game of the Year articles allow our lovely team of writers to share their own personal PS5 and PS4 picks for 2023. Today, it's the turn of assistant editor Stephen Tailby.
I remember seeing Humanity for the first time and wondering how it would ever come together as a cohesive video game, but I shouldn't have doubted Enhance and tha ltd. This post-modern Lemmings-like works brilliantly; you (literally) bark orders at a stream of humans to get them safely from A to B. While the gameplay is simple, it gradually builds out new rules and commands to create a wonderfully satisfying campaign of puzzles. It's so well executed, and the fact it also has a level editor and a steady stream of community-made stages just tops it off perfectly. I love Humanity because it so confidently runs with its core idea but never over-complicates it, resulting in something simple on the surface that still makes you feel like a genius.
It's reasonably well documented that I'm not much of a Final Fantasy fan, but in the build-up to this entry's release, its emphasis on real-time combat and epic battles intrigued me. I went into it fairly blind, and came out the other side super impressed. Final Fantasy 16 certainly isn't perfect — the open spaces are often barren, its side missions leave much to be desired, and there's definitely some padding here and there — but despite its flaws, I had an absolute blast. I love the story and characters, and the soundtrack is fantastic, but for me, it's the combat and bosses that really won me over. I found it so fun experimenting with different Eikon abilities, and the huge, set-piece fights are immense, outdoing God of War in some respects. For me personally, this was a big surprise.
Sabotage Studio's previous game was The Messenger, which I thought was really great, so when Sea of Stars was announced I was in two minds. It's the next game from that developer I like, but it's a turn-based RPG inspired by genre classics? I was slightly worried it wouldn't be for me. Fortunately, though, I not only liked it, I couldn't get enough of it. After seeing both endings and completing about half a second playthrough to nab the Platinum, I've seen and done it all in Sea of Stars, and I enjoyed every minute. The combat system is challenging and engaging, the world is really interesting, and I'm a huge fan of how it ties into The Messenger. I normally don't gel with games of its ilk, but Sea of Stars really hooked me in.
There's no bigger crowd-pleaser than Insomniac's Spider-Man games, and I'm very happy to be part of that audience. This sequel doesn't really break the mould, but with its refinements and improvements, it's the most effortlessly enjoyable blockbuster of the year. The traversal alone is brilliant, the addition of the web wings in particular making for some of the fastest, smoothest, most fun movement in any game. On top of that is better combat, a suitably explosive story with some seriously impressive set-pieces, and best-in-class animation and visuals. Man, it's just so damn fun.
With so many incredible games releasing this year, it was really hard even to pick five to highlight, but after I played Cocoon, I didn't have any doubts about my number one. While I've thoroughly enjoyed a wide range of titles in 2023, none have been so polished and so meticulously designed as this indie puzzler. The central concept has you exploring multiple environments, each contained inside an orb you can warp in and out of, and also carry on your back. It sounds confusing but the game eases you in, gradually ratcheting up the complexity in a way you almost don't notice. The way the core idea is explored and expanded upon is so clever, the puzzles are extremely tightly designed, and it's super engrossing from start to finish. With near-flawless execution and super lean design, no other 2023 game impressed me more than Cocoon.
What do you think of Stephen's personal Game of the Year picks? Feel free to agree wholeheartedly, or berate relentlessly in the comments section below.
For all the controversies around GPU prices, insane power requirements, and massive coolers, Nvidia’s RTX 4090 remains one of the best graphics cards you can buy. It’s uncompromising in its power, and it’s the perfect halo product to sit on top of the current-gen GPUs. I don’t think Nvidia should take another swing at this class of GPU, though.
For as powerful as the RTX 4090 is, it’s only become more obvious that it’s a problematic GPU. Trying to deliver such a high-end GPU in a consumer PC has some unforeseen consequences, all of which we’ve seen come to light over the past year. It’s hard to imagine that Nvidia will skip making an RTX 5090, but I hope it shows some restraint in the next generation.
Melting connectors
The RTX 4090 isn’t really built for gaming. It’s a monster gaming GPU — just read our RTX 4090 review — but I’m talking about its construction. This is a 450-watt graphics card that has up to 600W of power on tap, and a size that commonly occupies three slots and sometimes even more. It’s big, it’s heavy, and it’s crazy powerful.
Shiftyeyes67k / Reddit
It’s surprisingly power efficient given the performance Nvidia is able to accomplish, but again, it’s the physical construction that’s a problem. Most obviously, the power connector. We’ve heard about melting RTX 4090 connectors ad nauseum, with the 12VHPWR cable the card requires barely holding up to the 600 watts of power capable of traveling across it.
We now know that the melting issue comes down to users not fully seating the plug, but as GamersNexus points out, it’s a very easy mistake to make. The damage had already been done, too. Investigations into the issue claimed some connectors were better than others, and third parties jumped on releasing their own “safer” alternatives. Then these connectors started to melt, voiding the card’s warranty in the process.
We’ve been seeing melting RTX 4090 connectors for over a year now, and although there are many more safe RTX 4090s than melted ones, it’s not really a risk you want to take on a $1,600 GPU. This really comes down to power demands, too. Last generation’s RTX 3090 was rated at 350W and required a 12-pin connector that split into two 8-pin connectors. The RTX 4090 is rated at 450W with an updated 12-pin connector that splits into four 8-pin connectors.
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
The GPU itself is very power efficient, much more so than the RTX 3090, but that doesn’t get around the melting issue. It’s repeatable even at factory settings, and the connector wasn’t robust enough to handle that much power if it was even slightly removed from its plug. Thankfully, the updated 12V-2×6 connector is easier to deal with, but the original RTX 4090 flew too close to the sun.
Cracking PCBs
A big problem with the original connector wasn’t just lazy builders. It’s the massive size of the RTX 4090. Even in a spacious PC case like the Lian Li PC-O11D, you’d have to press the connector up against the side panel in a horizontal orientation. That’s just for Nvidia’s design. Third-party models are even more cumbersome.
We’re learning that size has more implications outside of smashing the connector. We recently saw a report from NorthridgeFix, a YouTube channel and repair shop in California, that showed 19 RTX 4090 cards with a cracked printed circuit board (PCB). The YouTuber and repair technician says this is due to the weight of the card, which causes it to sag without a support.
GPU supports aren’t a new concept, but you haven’t needed to worry about them too much in the past. For cards heavy enough to require a support, the manufacturer generally included one with the card. The many variations of the RTX 4090 challenge those supports, however, with some clocking in at close to 8 pounds.
Just like the melting connector problem, this comes down to user error. However, it’s hard to put the blame on the user fully when such a monstrous card is so impractical in so many PCs. If cracked PCBs and melting connectors are common enough, maybe the card was too much for the consumer market.
A different class of GPU
The big problem with the RTX 4090, however, is the space is occupies in Nvidia’s lineup. We’ve seen this class of graphics card before with Nvidia’s Titan series of GPUs, but there’s always been a clear separation between the desktop lineup for gaming, and the cards that could straddle the line between gaming and professional work. The RTX 4090 blurs that line.
The lineup would previously stop at the RTX XX80 class of GPU, with either a Titan or RTX XX90 class occupying the high-end. This generation, Nvidia has the rather disappointing RTX 4080 at $1,200 and the exceptional RTX 4090 at $1,600. It’s an option for high-end gamers that are considering a GPU that costs over $1,000.
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
We don’t know how many RTX 4090s customers bought compared to other cards, but it certainly marks a shift in Nvidia’s positioning. Instead of an optional extra on top of the flagship model, the RTX 4090 is the head honcho. It’s the card that gamers salivate over. It’s the gold standard. That’s unfortunately only amplified the issues with the card.
I’m convinced Nvidia will release an RTX 5090 whenever we see next-gen GPUs, but I hope it isn’t as problematic as the RTX 4090 is. Don’t get me wrong, the RTX 4090 is a great card. But trying to achieve such high performance in a PC built for gaming has shown some side effects, and it would be a shame to see those mistakes repeated.
Humane, a startup backed by Sam Altman, will be releasing its first-ever AI Pin with unique artificial intelligence features.
Tech startup firm Humane, backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is all set to release its first project since the inception of the company. Humane will be launching the unique Ai Pin, a wearable gadget incorporated with artificial intelligence features.
Humane's AI Pin will be launched in March 2024 (YouTube screengrab)
Humane's Ai Pin project was announced on November 10 as its inaugural project. Ai Pin is expected to have revolutionary features, and the product will make its debut in early 2024. The main purpose of the pin will be to swiftly access information to cut down on physical research on subjects.
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Ai Pin will be launched as a light, wearable gadget activated by voice command, conveying information to the user through its AI chatbot. The Sam Altman-backed company recently disclosed that the product will hit the markets in March 2024.
Humane took to X and announced, "We are thrilled to announce that Ai Pin will start shipping in March 2024. All of us here at Humane can't wait for you to experience your Ai Pin, the world's first wearable computer powered by Ai. We're incredibly grateful for the enthusiasm and support, especially from our earliest supporters."
The company has till now revealed several features and prices of the product. Here is all you need to know about the Humane Ai Pin and how it works.
Humane Ai Pin: Price, features and more
The Ai Pin is a device designed to be clipped to your clothes. The device responds to touch, voice and hand gestures, with the primary aim to search and translate information, navigation and other purposes.
One of the most unique features of the pin is that it can project information, displaying content on your hand so that you don't have to look at a screen. There is an undisclosed Snapdragon chipset installed in the pin, and the AI engine is expected to be GPT-4.
The press release issued by the company mentions a collaboration between Humane and Microsoft-backed OpenAI. Notably, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman owns the largest stake in the firm at 14 percent ownership.
The humane Ai Pin will be launched at the price of $699, as per the company release. The pin will also charge an additional $24 per month subscription to use cellular data and get a phone number.
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The Humane AI Pin is expected to start shipping in March, according to a Friday post on X.
According to the tweet, those who placed priority orders for the pin will be the first to receive them when shipments begin in March. Afterward, the company will start shipping orders in the order they were received, based on their date of purchase.
The pin was created by former Apple employees Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri and Humane has partnerships with OpenAI as well as Microsoft and Tidal for its AI capabilities. The pin operates using voice cues and uses a projector to beam information onto a user’s hand.
In addition to the pin’s $699 price tag, users will also have to pay $24 a month to access cellular data on the device, which will run on T-Mobile’s network.
The company officially debuted the device last month where it showed it performing real-time language translation as well as making phone calls and playing music. In the product’s demo video; however, the device also made several mistakes and provided incorrect information, which the company later blamed on “using pre-release software” to produce its demo video.
The problem with Bluey is there's not enough of it. Even with 151 seven-minute-long episodes of the popular children's animated show out there, parents of toddlers still desperately wait for Australia’s Ludo Studio to release another season. The only way to get more Bluey more quickly is if they create their own stories starring the Brisbane-based family of blue heeler dogs.
Luke Warner did this—with generative AI. The London-based developer and father used OpenAI's latest tool, customizable bots called GPTs, to create a story generator for his young daughter. The bot, which he calls Bluey-GPT, begins each session by asking people their name, age, and a bit about their day, then churns out personalized tales starring Bluey and her sister Bingo. "It names her school, the area she lives in, and talks about the fact it's cold outside," Warner says. "It makes it more real and engaging."
The main version of ChatGPT has, since its launch last year, been able to write a children's story, but GPTs allow parents—or anyone, really—to constrain the topic and start with specific prompts, such as a child's name. This means anyone can generate personalized stories starring their kid and their favorite character—meaning no one needs to wait for Ludo to drop fresh content.
That said, the stories churned out by AI aren't anywhere as good as the show itself, and raise legal and ethical concerns. At the moment, OpenAI’s GPTs are only available to those with a Plus or Enterprise account. The company has suggested they may be rolled out to other users, but as custom agents are believed to be one of the concerns that led to the company's recent board-level drama, and given that researchers have flagged privacy concerns with GPTs, that release could be a ways out. (OpenAI has yet to reply to requests for comment for this story.)
When Warner built his GPT at the beginning of November, he'd made it with the intention of putting it up on the GPT Store that OpenAI had in the works. That never came to pass. Just five days after he advertised Bluey-GPT on Instagram, he got a takedown notice from OpenAI, which disabled public sharing of the GPT. Warner knew using Bluey as the basis for his GPT would be fraught, so he wasn't surprised. Trademarked names and images are almost always a no-go, but the laws around stories "written" by AI are murky—and Warner's Bluey bedtime stories are just the beginning.
Unpacking which laws apply isn't simple: Warner is based in the UK, OpenAI is in the US, and Ludo is in Australia. Fictional characters can be protected by copyright in the UK and the US, but it's more complicated in Australia, where simply naming a character may not be an infringement without including further elements from the work.
In the UK, the legal protections for characters include names as well as backstory, mannerisms, and expressions, says Xuyang Zhu, a lawyer on the technology, IP, and information team at the firm Taylor Wessing. "That copyright can be infringed if a character is replicated in another context in a way that reproduces enough of these aspects," Zhu says, adding that rights holders may also take action if their characters are at risk of being damaged reputationally. Alternatively, they may see fan creations as a way to drive engagement—after all, fan fiction is hardly new online, and is generally protected by fair use. These stories are just made by AI.
Still, the stories produced by ChatGPT, and therefore Bluey-GPT, are so generic they have little in common with the actual Bluey characters beyond names. Matthew Sag, a professor of law and AI at Emory University, says character-specific GPTs create more trademark problems than copyright ones. Around the time Warner created his Bluey bot, he also made one using Paw Patrol characters. “It didn't produce any content that was remotely similar to the children's cartoon series,” says Sag, who played around with the bot. “But I still don't think that you should be able to do this without permission from the rights holders. Just like you shouldn't be able to market a Coca-Cola GPT."
If generative AI were good enough to truly mimic Bluey, or if prompts were detailed enough to produce a more specific output, it's possible that a children's story generated by a GPT could infringe on the copyright of the show's creators. But Sag argues that responsibility would lie with the person asking for those stories rather than OpenAI, which does filter for requests that may infringe copyright. When I prompted ChatGPT to write a story about Bluey and Bingo from the TV show, the results varied. Some of the time ChatGPT did as asked, but just as often it refused on copyright grounds—once, it offered to write a story starring dogs named "Lulu" and "Bongo" instead.
The Bluey-GPT is still available to Warner and his daughter, but can't be shared publicly or monetized in the forthcoming GPT Store. However, anyone with access to ChatGPT, free or paid, can still ask the chatbot to write a personalized story starring Bluey and her sister Bingo. It appears in this case the problem wasn't the AI-generated fan fiction, but the attempt to sell it.
Warner isn't the first to see financial potential in AI's ability to generate stories, though story-making apps such as Oscar, Once Upon a Bot, and Bedtimestory.ai use generic characters or those that are in the public domain. Some apps include AI-generated illustrations or the option to have the story read aloud.
Oscar has tight constraints instead of an open prompt like ChatGPT. People can request stories in one of two ways: They can either supply their child's name, age, and gender and then prompt the bot with an animal, profession, and moral—an astronaut fox that learns perseverance, for example. Or, it can provide a child's details and then choose a story from an existing (and out of copyright) universe such as Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland. That differs from Bedtimestory.ai and Once Upon a Bot, which have open prompts similar to Warner's Bluey-GPT, allowing people to ask for stories about Bluey characters. Both delivered such stories when prompted—though neither was remotely near the content that Ludo Studio produces, with the former app misgendering Bluey and the latter treating the characters as pets.
Putting aside Bluey and her sister Bingo, are the customized stories generated by AI even worth reading to your children? Research suggests personalized stories do help grab their attention, says Natalia Kucirkova, a professor in reading and development at The Open University—though it works best if the books are well written and designed to appeal to children and their parents.
Writing a high-quality storybook is no easy task. Olaf Falafel is a comedian, illustrator, and author of Blobfish, a children’s book about a lonely blobfish’s search for a friend, featuring moral lessons on litter, stepping out of your comfort zone, and looking past appearances, as well as plenty of excellent jokes and puns. AI can’t do this. Falafel is sure of it. "I tried to get it to write a joke and it failed—no matter how much I tweaked it and pushed it, it just couldn't get how a joke works and what makes something funny," he says.
With or without Bluey and friends, the biggest challenge facing these AI-generated stories is that they're dull. "I want a twist or something that's different or unique," Falafel says, but his attempts to run his own characters through AI kept coming up with the same plot: "There's a lot of buried treasure."
Another concern with bots that create stories for kids is making sure what they churn out is actually safe for children. Giving Bedtimestory.ai a prompt that included profanity, fecal matter, and crime led to a story entitled "The Crapulent Bandit's Heist," which may offend some but was more goofy than scary. More violent prompts, however, did create content not suitable for the requested age range of 2 to 3 years old, including a story that begins: "Once upon a time, she shot her mom in the face." The promised murder doesn't actually happen, though there are gun references.
Cofounder Linus Ekenstam says Bedtimestory.ai relies on OpenAI's moderation API to ensure content is family-friendly. "It’s not 100 percent watertight, but we are constantly improving, and … it will steer away from this type of input," he says. "As the available tools become better, and we learn more about how to guide and steer the model, this too will improve over time."
While traditionally published children's books generally avoid random forays into violence, they aren't perfect. Many parents have books they grow to hate after multiple rereadings, while older classics get criticized for outdated values. Roald Dahl's stories, for example, have been edited to remove negative references in characters' descriptions including weight, baldness, and skin color. Publishers continue to struggle with diversity and representation. A UK study recently found just 5 percent of children's books have Black, Asian, or minority ethnic protagonists. AI-generated books could be one way for parents to make characters that represent their own families, though that could also prove problematic given the bias found in many generative AIs.
ChatGPT wasn't designed to write children's books. An AI model embedded with knowledge of how to teach reading and trained on only the best children's books would produce better outputs—in theory at least, says Kucirkova. She points to LitLab, which uses AI to generate “decodable content,” short mini stories centered on phonics lessons, though the platform was created to be used by teachers rather than parents.
In the meantime, AI-generated bedtime stories may infringe copyright, lack quality, and require safeguards, but if they get a book-bored child to read, harried parents may not mind. Kucirkova worries that while AI might be a fun tool in families that already read widely, it might become a crutch in others. "For children who might need personalized attention the most, they may be left to navigate various open solutions without the necessary safeguards or care," she says.
For those who want an AI-generated tale of their own, Falafel argues it’s best to use a story-bot as a starting point, then create something that builds on whatever the tool spits out. "Have the confidence to edit and make it your own," he says. "Then parents can have a little bit of pride that it wasn't just completely a computer making this."
Falafel says he would use AI stories with his own children, though he's perturbed by the possibility that these AI models were trained on the work of writers, only to now replace them. "I'm not against the technology, I'm against the ethics of how it was made," he says. "If the technology was clean, in terms of everyone who's contributing to that machine learning being made aware and paid for it, I wouldn't have a problem with parents using it."
With that in mind, I asked ChatGPT to write a story featuring my 2-year-old daughter, using Bluey and Bingo to teach a lesson about copyright infringement. The ChatGPT-generated moral of the story is delivered by Bingo: "It's always best to tell stories that you make up yourself, or if you're sharing someone else's story, to tell everyone who really made it up. That way, everyone gets the credit they deserve for their creativity."
Despite its attribution to her favorite character, my toddler tuned out before the end of that sentence. AI and app developers might want to pay closer attention.
