Have you missed the week’s key IT news? This is your firmware update.
This week, Apple went uncharacteristically Halloween with their ‘Scary Fast’ event, and while the only truly horrifying thing was the price tags, it did give some computing treats.
We got a trio of M3 CPUs, new MacBooks, and a revamped iMac to seduce us into bankruptcy before Christmas, as you can see below. But that wasn’t the only huge tech news this week; at the other end of the affordability spectrum, Netflix added a useful new downloading option to its cheapest, ad-supported subscription tier.
Even more stunning than the Apple event was The Beatles’ comeback for one final song, Now and then, made feasible by AI-assisted ‘demixing’ software. With the arrival of the Nextbase iQ, AI smarts also improved a slightly less culturally relevant group, dash cams.
So, if you missed this week’s tech news, don’t worry: it’s all here in one five-minute digest, ready to download into your old-school brain matter…
7. The Nextbase IQ provided a cognitive boost to dash cams.
After years of development, the Nextbase iQ was finally released this week, ushering in a new era of’smart’ dash cams. The always-connected iQ is a dual-camera gadget thanks to a 4G connection (and electricity from your vehicle’s OBD II plug). It has a front-facing camera in 1K, 2K, or 4K resolution, as well as an ultra-wide cabin camera with the potential for an additional back camera.
The costly hardware is remarkable, but the iQ’s AI-powered smart features and subscription-based services, with promising capabilities like ‘Guardian mode’ in the works, are perhaps the most appealing selling points. Our Nextbase iQ review goes into greater detail about this excellent on-board camera, but in a nutshell, it does the job for you if any tough situations emerge, and it seems poised to join our list of the best dash cams.
6. Netflix’s most affordable tier received an unexpected boost.
Netflix’s cheapest ad-supported plan (which costs $6.99 / £4.99 per month) sounds enticing, but it hasn’t previously allowed you to download movies or TV shows – until now. Netflix said this week that its ad-supported subscription, like its more expensive ad-free levels, now supports downloads on supported devices.
Additionally, those downloads will be free of advertisements. So, if you spend the majority of your commute watching Netflix, that ad-supported plan might be the one for you, as long as you don’t mind the absence of 4K or the opportunity to add more individuals who don’t live with you to the account.
Netflix is definitely pleased to see more customers join up for that package, as it earns money from advertisements. However, it also means that streaming is becoming increasingly difficult to discern from cable TV.
5.The final Beatles song has arrived, thanks to AI.
We witnessed an AI-created song by Drake and The Weeknd (or imitations of them) go viral on TikTok earlier this year. This week, however, a much less controversial application of machine learning technology provided us with a somber but emotional farewell song from The Beatles.
Now and Then had lain dormant for five decades, ever since John Lennon recorded a demo of the song in the 1970s. However, Lennon’s vocals were split and blended in stereo and Dolby Atmos with some newly recorded instrumentation owing to the ‘demixing’ technology utilized by director Peter Jackson and his colleagues on the Disney Plus docuseries Get Back.
Right now, you may listen to the song above or on your favorite streaming provider. True fans, on the other hand, will watch the accompanying short documentary and purchase the double A-side on vinyl.
4. LG’s TV-on-wheels returned to our lives.
LG provided some light relief this week with the UK introduction of the StanbyME, a 27-inch Full HD TV on a wheelable stand. The StanbyME has previously been available in various regions, notably the United States, for some time, but we were delighted to see it return to our life on November 29.
The StanbyME is a fun, quirky TV that appears to be great for professional workplaces with its screen mirroring function for video chats and for folks who absolutely can’t miss any sport (even for a toilet break) because it can be easily moved around on its wheels. The StanbyME appears to be a good idea, with HDR10 compatibility and webOS built-in for all your apps like Netflix.
The StanbyME, however, is more of a curiosity item for people with money to spare than your next critical TV buy, with a debut retail price in an India ₹83,066 (it’s $999 in the US).
3. The iMac received a long-awaited upgrade.
If you like all-in-one laptops, particularly Apple’s, this was a great week for you. Apple has finally refreshed its iconic iMac series after a years-long hiatus.
The new baseline M3 Apple Silicon SoC was installed in the very thin and vibrant collection. The designs appear to be basically the same, but the new CPU – a considerable upgrade from the first-generation Apple Silicon M1 – will provide faster general performance and greater gaming capabilities.
We mean it when we say Apple didn’t do anything else to the all-in-one system. Everything is the same, from the 4.5K Retina display and the large chin below it to the lightning port-charging Magic Keyboard and Trackpad.
Nonetheless, this was a solid and appealing device in 2021, and the looks remain – and are now accompanied by what appears to be a much faster and smarter SoC. This may be a victory, but we’ll wait judgment until we’ve had a chance to test Apple’s latest iMac.
2. Apple developed a trio of hot M3 chips.
The new Apple M3 CPU, along with its Apple M3 Pro and Apple M3 Max siblings, is reshaping the Mac and MacBook lineups with significant performance improvements and more streamlined specifications.
The increased graphics capabilities of the Apple SoCs are possibly the most significant difference between the Apple M2-series and these current CPUs. These are Apple’s first CPUs with hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading. The former improves the chip’s ability to realistically shade an entire 3D rendered object quickly, allowing for more complex scenery in games and other real-time rendered content.
This, along with a new method of processing memory requests from the graphics engine, would undoubtedly make the Apple M3-series chips a much more tempting platform for playing the top PC games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and others.
1. The MacBook Pro was given an M3 facelift.
Apple did not revamp its MacBook Pro range during its unusual ‘Scary Fast’ event, instead giving it a substantial brain transplant with a trio of all-new M3 Apple Silicon SoCs.
The new M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max can be found within the new MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch (Apple has retired the 13-inch variant). The goal here is to upgrade the MacBook Pro into a top-tier workhorse portable with features like industry-first dynamic caching. This, together with in-hardware ray tracing and mesh shading, frees up more unified system memory to handle the most demanding video and creative tasks.
Combining these new capabilities might make these new MacBook Pros capable gaming systems, among other things. Of course, we won’t know for sure until we put these new computers through their paces.
