Here’s your firmware update for October 19, 2024
Welcome back folks. This week in the world of tech has been a busy one. We tested a new smart ring for our Oura Ring 4 review, we got four new Kindles from Amazon, and LG updated its 2023 for free.
To catch up on the biggest stories we’ve rounded them below for your to browse the highlights, with links to the wider stories if you’re hungry to learn more.
When you’re done you should check out our guide of the seven new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend (October 18).7. The iPad mini 7 finally landed after a long wait
Just as we were about to give up on ever seeing a new iPad mini, Apple announced a new version for the first time in over three years – and it looks a solid bet for anyone who needs an 8.3-inch tablet.
Naturally, the mini 7 is mainly here to support Apple Intelligence features, which it can pull off thanks to its A17 Pro chip (from last year’s iPhone 15 Pro series) and 4GB of RAM. Apple has also doubled the tablet’s base storage (which now starts at 128GB) and added support for the Apple Pencil Pro.
On the downside, there’s no ProMotion display (its screen tops out at 60Hz) and buyers in the EU won’t get a charging brick in the box. But otherwise, the new iPad mini ticks most of the main boxes for traveling creatives who need a backpack-friendly tablet.
Read more: iPad mini 7 is officially here – and it’s built for Apple Intelligence6. We reviewed the Quest 3S, but the Quest 3 remained our favorite
We’ve given the Meta Quest 3S an in-depth test and awarded it four-and-a-half stars in our Meta Quest 3S review. Overall it’s a fantastic VR headset for the price, save for a few downsides.
The main one is the visuals. While everything is rendered just as well thanks to having an identical chipset and RAM, the less sharp 1832 x 1920 per eye display doesn’t beat the Quest 3’s 2064 x 2208 pixels per eye dual-display setup, and the differences are a lot more noticeable than we expected. The pricier headset is also less bulky and feels a little comfier.
For just a little bit extra the Meta Quest 3 offers major visual upgrades that make the better model more than worthwhile. Though if you’re looking for a more affordable option the Meta Quest 3S is the headset you’ll want to buy instead.
Read more: The Meta Quest 3S is fantastic but there’s one big reason to choose the Quest 3 instead5. We tried the best ChatGPT prompt
This week Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, took the unusual step of recommending a ChatGPT prompt that was going viral on Reddit with the simple words “love this” on his X.
