Apple is making the Vision Pro a bit more social with the introduction of Spatial Personas, which breaks those avatars out of their restricted windows and plops them right next to you in virtual space. The goal is to make collaborating and hanging out feel more natural in the Vision Pro — you can work on presentations together, watch movies over SharePlay, or play games as if your friends are right beside you. The feature works with up to five participants, and it'll be available today for everyone with a Vision Pro running visionOS 1.1 or later.
Meta has tackled virtual collaboration similarly with Horizon Workrooms, but Apple's implementation reminds me more of Microsoft Mesh, which let me interact with virtual companions in AR using the HoloLens 2. Like the Vision Pro itself, Spatial Personas seem a bit more refined than Microsoft's 2021-era technology. You can enable or disable them at will from a FaceTime call, and Apple says everyone will be able to adjust content how they like, without affecting how their virtual companions will see it.
While I found Apple's Personas to be a bit creepy and robotic during my Vision Pro review, the company has steadily improved them to better capture different facial expressions and hairstyles. When they're stuck in a FaceTime window, Personas are a sub-par replacement for actually seeing your friends faces. But they may be more useful if they can make it seem like your remote friends are actually sitting beside you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-brings-spatial-persona-avatars-to-vision-pro-to-help-you-feel-less-alone-144824140.html?src=rss
The idea behind convertible, or 2-in-1 PCs, has remained the same over the last decade: Why buy a tablet when your laptop can fold a full 360 degrees, allowing you to use it as a large slate, or a screen propped up without a keyboard in the way? Most PC makers have moved on from the concept entirely, but HP remains one of the holdouts. While Windows never became the tablet-friendly platform Microsoft envisioned, there's still plenty of value in having a machine that can transform to suit your needs.
That was my takeaway two years ago when I tested HP's 16-inch Spectre x360, and now the company has returned with a smaller model, the Spectre x360 14. It features Intel's latest CPUs with AI-accelerating NPUs (neural processing units), faster Intel Arc graphics and a beautiful 2.8K OLED display. And best of all, it's still usable as a tablet, unlike its larger sibling.
Even if you never plan to twist its screen around, though, the HP Spectre x360 14 is still an attractive premium laptop. For some, it may also serve as a more traditional alternative to Dell's new XPS 14, which has an invisible trackpad and a capacitive function row. While that computer looks great, getting used to its less conventional features takes some time. The Spectre x360 14, on the other hand, is both attractive and familiar to anyone who's ever used a laptop. (Its rotating screen takes just 10 seconds to figure out for the first time, while Dell's invisible trackpad still tripped me up hours after I started testing it.)
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Design and hardware
That familiarity could also be seen as a shortcoming of HP's. The Spectre x360 14 has everything you expect to see in a premium laptop today: A sleek metal case, a gorgeous screen with ultra-thin bezels and a luxuriously large trackpad with haptic feedback. But really, it doesn't look that much different from the 13-inch Spectre x360 I reviewed in 2019. It would be nice to see HP take a few major design leaps, but on the other hand, I can't blame the company for sticking with a winning design.
With the Spectre x360 14, HP focused on minor updates. It has a wide 14-inch screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio, compared to the previous model's 13.5-inch display that was a squarish 3:2. Its trackpad offers configurable haptic feedback and is 19 percent larger than before, so much so that it completely dominates the palm area. HP stuck with its wonderfully responsive keyboard, but its key caps are 12 percent larger, making them easier to hit. And to simplify functionality a bit, HP unified the power button and fingerprint sensor (the laptop also supports Windows Hello facial biometrics).
The port situation hasn't changed. There are two USB-C connections along the right rear (including one on its unique chopped corner), as well as a drop-down USB Type-A port on the left and a headphone jack on the corner. As usual, it would have been nice to see some sort of card reader built in, especially for a machine aimed at creative professionals.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
The Spectre x360 14 may look very similar to its siblings, but HP says it's been tweaked significantly under the hood. It now supports 28-watt Intel Core Ultra CPUs, instead of the previous 14-watt options, and offers 10 percent more airflow than before. The company also managed to engineer those improvements without increasing the machine's 17 millimeter height. At 3.2 pounds, it's a bit more portable than the 3.5-pound MacBook Pro 14-inch.
The Spectre's 9-megapixel webcam is also a major upgrade from the previous 5MP option. The new sensor offers hardware-enabled low light adjustment thanks to quad-binning, the process of taking data from four pixels and combining them into one. That allows cameras with smaller pixels to let in more light, resulting in a brighter overall picture. During Google Meet and Zoom calls, the webcam delivered a sharp picture with bright and bold colors. It looked almost like a mirrorless camera once I enabled Windows Studio Effects background blur, though the picture occasionally looked overexposed in direct sunlight.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Video chats also sounded great through the laptop's quad-speaker array, which consists of two upward firing tweeters along the keyboard and two woofers along the front. There's not much low-end (especially compared to Apple's MacBook Pro speakers), but voices and music sound surprisingly clear. The speakers can also get pretty loud without distortion, which is impressive for such a thin system.
While the laptop has an NPU-equipped processor, which powers features in Paint, ClipChamp and Windows Studio Effects, the Spectre x360 14 isn't technically an "AI PC" under Intel and Microsoft's definition. The reason? It doesn't have a dedicated button for Windows Copilot. Personally, though, I haven't found that key to be very useful on the XPS 14 and 16. Triggering Copilot from the taskbar or Windows sidebar isn't very difficult, and it's certainly not onerous enough to warrant giving up a spot on the keyboard.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
In use
The HP Spectre x360 14 I reviewed performed similarly to other machines we've tested with Intel's Core Ultra 7 155H chip. It’s fast and relatively efficient, especially compared to systems from two years ago. My review unit, which came with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD, was 30 percent faster in the PCMark 10 benchmark compared to the Spectre x360 16 from 2022 (6,493 points, up from 4,785 points). This year’s Spectre also scored 78 percent higher in the Cinebench R23 multi-core benchmark, a testament to the improvements Intel has made since its 11th-gen CPUs.
Geekbench 6 CPU
PCMark 10
Cinebench R23
3DMark Wildlife Extreme
HP Spectre x360 14 (Intel Core Ultra 7, 2023)
2,273/11,735
6,493
1,651/8,481
5,952
ASUS ZenBook 14 OLED (Intel Core Ultra 7, 2023)
2,240/10,298
6,170
1,599/7,569
4,827
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (Apple M3, 2023)
3142/11,902
N/A
1,932/10,159
8,139
HP Spectre x360 16 (Intel i7-11390H, 2022)
N/A
4,785
1,515/3,722
N/A
The most noticeable upgrade for the Spectre x360 isn't AI smarts; it's Intel's Arc graphics, which are dramatically faster than Intel's older integrated graphics. In 3DMark's TimeSpy Extreme benchmark, it almost kept up with NVIDIA's RTX 3050 in the x360 16 (1,435 points compared to 1,730). That's impressive for a machine that's far slimmer and lighter. Sure, it's no gaming rig, but I was still able to play Halo Infinite in 1080p at around 30 fps. I'm sure it would handle smaller indie titles just fine.
Thanks to the wealth of RAM and Intel's Core Ultra chip, my review model tackled everything I threw at it without any noticeable slowdown. During a typical workday, I juggle dozens of browser tabs, photo editing apps, YouTube streams, video chats, Slack and Evernote. The Spectre x360's OLED display also made everything look fantastic, even if I was just staring at words on a news site. It supports a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz, so scrolling through documents and sites was very smooth.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
When I first tested a Spectre x360 five years ago, I immediately fell in love with its keyboard. Typing felt incredibly satisfying, thanks to a healthy amount of key travel and feedback. It was one of those rare designs that almost felt like it was begging me to use it, like a finely tuned piano that's simply urging you to play. Thankfully, HP didn't mess with any of that keyboard magic: The large new key caps are even more comfortable to use, and the actual typing experience is as great as ever.
I have a few complaints about the Spectre x360's new trackpad though. It's smooth and accurate for swiping, and its haptic feedback is indiscernible from a trackpad that physically depresses. But HP's palm rejection software feels sloppy — occasionally, while typing up a storm, my hand would hit the trackpad and push the cursor to select another window. It happened often enough that it became a creativity flow killer. I'm hoping this is something HP can sort out with a software update eventually.
As a convertible notebook, the Spectre x360 14 is far more useful than the 16-inch model. A gentle push on the screen is all it takes to flip it around the keyboard — it becomes a tablet when it’s fully turned around, or you can stop that process halfway and flip the Spectre around for its “tent” mode. The 14-inch x360 is better at being a slate, simply because it's lighter and easier to hold with one hand (though you'll probably want to prop it on your lap for longer sessions).
Rotating the screen was also less cumbersome, since the display was far less wide. I used the tent formation to watch YouTube videos in bed, while on the couch I occasionally folded the keyboard behind the Spectre, so I could use it like a large touchscreen with a stand. I appreciate the versatility of 2-in-1 convertibles more than the flexible OLED screens we're seeing on new machines. It's cheaper to implement, and for my purposes, convertibles are simply more pragmatic.
The Spectre x360's major flaw is battery life: It lasted five hours and ten minutes in the PCMark 10 Modern Office test, whereas the ZenBook 14 OLED pushed through for 12 hours and 43 minutes. There's a cost for keeping its frame so thin, after all. During real-world testing, it would typically need to charge around six hours into my workday.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Pricing and the competition
The Spectre x360 14 is a decent deal for a high-end convertible, starting at $1,450 with an intel Core Ultra 5 125H, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. At the time of writing, that configuration has been discounted by $300, which is an even better value. (Credit to HP for not offering a meager 8GB RAM option, which would only lead to headaches for most users.) For $1,900, you can bump up to a Core Ultra 7 155H chip, 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD.
Your options are somewhat limited if you're looking for other upper-tier convertible laptops. Dell's XPS 13 2-in-1 is still running older 12th-gen Intel chips, and you'll have to look to the middle-range Inspiron and Latitude lines for more modern options. We’re also still waiting to see Lenovo’s Yoga lineup get upgraded to newer Intel chips. And we haven’t tested Samsung’s Galaxy Book4 360, but it doesn’t have the style of HP’s design.
Microsoft's Surface Laptop Studio 2 is also technically a convertible (its screen pulls forward, instead of flipping around), but it starts at $1,900. For that price, you're better off going for the x360 14's beefier hardware, instead of the Surface's unique screen.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Wrap-up
It's unclear how much life is left in the convertible PC format, but I wouldn't be surprised if HP ends up being one of the last companies still giving it a shot. The Spectre x360 14 is one of the best laptops you can buy today — the fact that it can also be flipped around in multiple orientations is just icing on the cake.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hp-spectre-x360-14-review-2024-keeping-the-2-in-1-laptop-dream-alive-140045823.html?src=rss
This week, it’s all about cars and Lucy Liu in VR. Devindra chats with Senior Writer Sam Rutherford about his visit to the New York International Auto Show, where he saw the Polestar 4, a unique new EV without a rear window. Also, Cherlynn pops in to chat with Lucy Liu about her new VR game, The Pirate Queen. We also explore the issues around Florida’s bill banning young kids from social media sites, and Sam tells us why he likes Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!
Topics
Sam Rutherford on what’s new in EVs and car tech from the New York Auto Show – 0:57
Cherlynn Low interviews Lucy Liu about her new VR game The Pirate Queen – 34:39
Florida Governor signs bill banning young children from social media – 54:55
Intel confirms Copilot will eventually run locally – 58:33
There’s finally a version of Chrome that runs well on ARM-based Windows machines – 1:02:43
Canadian researchers have created a camera that takes 156.3 trillion frames per second – 1:05:06
This week, it’s all about cars and Lucy Liu in VR. Devindra chats with Senior Writer Sam Rutherford about his visit to the New York International Auto Show, where he saw the Polestar 4, a unique new EV without a rear window. Also, Cherlynn pops in to chat with Lucy Liu about her new VR game, The Pirate Queen. We also explore the issues around Florida’s bill banning young kids from social media sites, and Sam tells us why he likes Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!
Topics
Sam Rutherford on what’s new in EVs and car tech from the New York Auto Show – 0:57
Cherlynn Low interviews Lucy Liu about her new VR game The Pirate Queen – 34:39
Florida Governor signs bill banning young children from social media – 54:55
Intel confirms Copilot will eventually run locally – 58:33
There’s finally a version of Chrome that runs well on ARM-based Windows machines – 1:02:43
Canadian researchers have created a camera that takes 156.3 trillion frames per second – 1:05:06
Disney didn't waste much absorbing Hulu into its multimedia maw. After taking full ownership of Hulu last November, the company started beta testing integration with Disney+ a month later. Today, Hulu on Disney+ is officially coming out of beta, making it easy for subscribers to access content for both services. Really, though, it's a way for Disney to push the value of its Hulu bundle, which starts at $9.99 a month with ads. If you want to go ad-free and download content for offline viewing, there's the Duo Premium bundle for $19.99 a month. And if you don't have a Hulu subscription, you'll get a notification that you can join within Disney+ for $2 more a month.
Existing bundle subscribers can hop into Hulu's shows using a new tab on Disney+, and the company says Hulu content like Shogun and The Handmaid's Tale will also be highlighted in the main carousel of shows and content recommendations. If you're old school (like me) and subscribe to Disney+ and Hulu separately, you can also start viewing Hulu content easily (assuming you're using the same e-mail address for both services).
I didn't have any trouble launching Shogun on my Disney+ app, but I was disappointed to find that my existing Hulu viewing progress didn't carry over. That'll be particularly annoying for people catching up on older multi-season shows, since they'll have to manually figure out where they left off.
“This marks the most significant technical, operational, and product evolution for Disney+ since its launch – one that reflects a wider technology transformation that we have been undertaking," said Aaron LaBerge, President & CTO, Disney Entertainment & ESPN, in a statement. "That work is going to drive an enhanced, more engaging user experience with Disney+ and lays the foundation for the innovations and enhancements we are planning for the future.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hulu-on-disney-officially-launches-bringing-together-mickey-mouse-and-the-handmaids-tale-152114434.html?src=rss
Microsoft finally announced the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 this week, but you won’t find them in any retail stores. You can only buy them on Microsoft’s website and through enterprise resellers. This week, Cherlynn and Devindra discuss why Microsoft is positioning these computers for businesses, and what it could mean for the future of the Surface lineup. The company is hinting that it’ll have consumer devices soon – likely the Pro 10 and Laptop 6 without as much corporate baggage. But there may also be room for an entirely new form of Surface. Perhaps it’s time for a true Surface foldable? (Or maybe not, after seeing how the Duo performed.)
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!
Topics
Microsoft announces Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6, but you won’t find them in stores – 0:34
U.S. Justice Department files antitrust suit aimed at Apple’s “walled garden” ecosystem – 14:13
Report: Apple may tap Google for Gemini AI on iPhones – 25:01
NVIDIA claims its new Blackwell chip will power through AI workloads 30x faster using 25x less power – 33:07
Microsoft hires Deepmind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman to lead AI division – 38:00
YouTube reveals new rules for realistic AI video – 43:16
Check your Glassdoor account – real names accidentally tied to some anonymous company reviews – 44:31
Cherlynn finds the tech angle on the Kate Middleton photo debacle. Look at the metadata! – 47:03
Two devices conspicuously missing from Microsoft's Surface and AI event last fall are finally here — and they're both what we expected and a bit surprising. Today, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6, sporting the same designs as the previous models but now with the AI smarts of Intel's new Core Ultra CPUs. You won't be able to buy them at Best Buy, Target or any other retailer selling Surface Devices, though. Both of these computers have the foreboding words "for business" attached to their names, so you'll only be able to buy them from the Microsoft's website or commercial resellers.
If you're a bit baffled by this, you're not alone. It almost seems like Microsoft is gearing up to leave the consumer PC market, but a spokesperson tells us that's not the case. "We absolutely remain committed to consumer devices," they said in a statement. "Building great devices that people love to use aligns closely with our company mission to empower individuals as well as organizations. We are excited to be bringing devices to market that deliver great AI experiences to our customers. This commercial announcement is only the first part of this effort."
Microsoft
It sounds like new consumer hardware is on the way eventually, but keeping two long-awaited devices out of retailers doesn't inspire confidence. Alongside the Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Laptop Go 3 last year, Microsoft also quietly revealed the Surface Go 4 for business, aiming that budget tablet towards enterprise and education customers. That wasn't exactly a death sentence for that machine, but it did kill much of the buzz we typically see when new Surface hardware arrives.
So what does all of this mean for the Surface Pro 10 for business and the Surface Laptop 6 for business? For diehard fans of Microsoft's PCs, they offer some notable upgrades alongside those new Intel Core Ultra chips, but they'll be a bit harder to buy than before. The average consumer likely won't even realize they exist, especially since older Surface hardware will still be at Best Buy and other retailers.
Let's dive into what's new: The Surface Pro 10 comes with the Core Ultra 5 135U or Ultra 7 165U CPU, and it can be equipped with up to 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. While its tablet case is the same as before, Microsoft also shoved in a new 1,440p webcam with an incredibly wide 114-degree field of view. Microsoft calls this an AI enhanced camera, but that just means it can tap into Windows Studio effects using the Core Ultra's NPU for AI workloads.
The Surface Pro 10's 1,440p webcam.
Microsoft
The Surface Laptop 6, once again, comes in 13.5-inch and 15-inch models and can be equipped with the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and Ultra 7 165H CPUs. Those chips are far more powerful than the U-variant options in the Surface Pro 6, so they're better options for more demanding tasks. (The 14-inch Surface Laptop Studio 2 remains the most powerful Microsoft laptop, but its not an AI PC since its 13th-gen Intel CPU doesn't have an NPU.) The Laptop 6 can also be configured with up to 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. It offers more graphics options than its tablet sibling: The 8GB RAM model has plain Intel graphics, but if you go for more memory you'll get Intel's more powerful Arc graphics.
Oddly, the Surface Laptop 6 doesn't share the Pro 10's sharp new camera, it's stuck with a 1080p HD option instead. If, for some reason, you need to use smart cards regularly, you can also configure the Laptop 6 with a built-in smart card reader. (But still no SD card slot? Come on, Microsoft.)
Microsoft
Both the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 also come with a new Copilot key, which we've also seen on Dell's new XPS laptops and a few other AI PCs. I haven't found the key particularly useful on other systems, but at this point Microsoft is so committed to putting its Copilot AI everywhere that it would be embarrassing not to have it on new Surface machines.
Microsoft claims the Surface Pro 10 is 53 percent faster than the Pro 9 in the 3DMark TimeSpy benchmark, while the Surface Laptop 6 is twice as fast as the previous model. (That's mostly due to Intel's beefier Arc graphics.) These aren't machines you'd want to rush out to buy if you have a Pro 9 or Laptop 5, but thanks to the AI-powered Intel CPU and refined webcam, the Surface Pro 10 could be a compelling leap forward if you have an older Surface tablet.
While it's unclear if focusing on business users will actually pay off for Microsoft, the Surface Laptop 6 and Pro 10 are a sign that the company is still trying to make a mark in the PC market. If anything, though, we're more intrigued by what Microsoft has cooking next for consumers. By shoving its aging tablet and laptop design towards corporate users, the company may have room to innovate a bit more. Perhaps we'll actually see a Surface foldable PC this year?
Catch up on all the news from the Microsoft Surface and AI event right here!
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-surface-pro-10-and-surface-laptop-6-are-here-but-you-wont-find-them-in-stores-160022629.html?src=rss
To say I loved Alienware's previous flagship gaming monitor, the 34-inch ultrawide QD-OLED, would be an understatement. It was one of the best screens I'd ever seen, with incredible contrast, bold colors and a fast refresh rate. So it came as a surprise that Alienware's follow-up models didn't go bigger (as Samsung did with its massive 55-inch Odyssey Ark). Instead, it went smaller with a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED and a 27-inch 1440p model. The goal this year was to appease more-demanding gamers, which meant avoiding the race towards enormous screens (which also has contenders like LG's recent 49-inch Ultragear) and delivering faster refresh rates for smoother gameplay.
Alienware's $1,299 32-inch QD-OLED monitor, which I've been testing for a few months, is notable for being one of the first 4K screens of its size to offer a 240Hz refresh rate. The 27-inch model is even speedier — it hits an eye-bleeding 360Hz. To the average consumer, those numbers probably don't mean much. But for gamers, higher refresh rates means the ability to effectively see higher framerates and experience smoother gameplay. It could also lead to competitive advantages: You might spot an opponent in Apex Legends a fraction of a second faster, or have an easier time sniping someone over long distances in Overwatch 2.
I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed to see Dell go smaller with its QD-OLED displays this year, but the company's logic makes sense. Most gamers prefer sticking with 1440p and 4K screens, instead of jumping to slightly unwieldy ultrawide aspect ratios (which also aren't always supported in games). It'll also be cheaper for Alienware to produce these monitors in more-common proportions. Competitive players tend to prefer smaller screens so they can have a full view of their gameplay, whereas they may have to turn their heads a bit to take in all the action on an ultrawide screen.
Alienware's 32-inch 4K QD-OLED (model number AW3225QF) shares the same sci-fi aesthetic as the company's previous ultrawide. There aren't any sharp corners across its two-tone black and white case, and it looks like a movie prop that you'd find in an '80s space opera. Its dual-leg base is fittingly sturdy for a screen this size (more so than monitors that only rely on a single central leg), but its overall shape and rear LEDs also give off Pixar vibes. I could almost see this monitor hopping around my office when I close the door, just like Buzz Lightyear.
While I love Alienware's retro look, it's admittedly not as refined as Apple's Studio Display, which is a glorious work of brushed metal art. Then again, that screen is only 27 inches, costs $1,599 and doesn't support high refresh rates for gaming, so the Alienware is a far better value. Dell also gives you all the ports you'd need: A DisplayPort connection with 240Hz support; HDMI 2.1 for 4K/120Hz console gaming; HDMI eArc/Arc to connect to soundbars and receivers; USB-C 3.2 with power charging; three USB-A 3.2 downstream ports; and a USB-B upstream connection to your PC.
The Alienware's QD-OLED panel has all of the benefits of OLED — inky dark blacks and high contrast — along with the power of Quantum Dots, allowing for richer colors and potentially greater brightness. The most striking thing about the 32-inch monitor is that games and movies look like they're practically painted on. It's like a direct digital feed to your eyeballs. An anti-reflective coating keeps distracting ambient light out of sight, while its ability to cover 99 percent of the DCI-P3 gamut makes colors appear rich and vibrant.
There's also support for Dolby Vision and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400, both of which mean you can expect deep black levels in games and movies, while very bright elements in the same scene are well-balanced. The monitor supports 1,000 nits of peak brightness, which is enough to make your eyes tear up while staring at the sun in Halo Infinite (Pro-tip: don't do this in real life). Most LCD-based 4K TVs are far brighter, but those are better-suited to living rooms where you're sitting far away, rather than a screen that's just a foot or two away from your eyes.
As a gaming monitor, the 32-inch Alienware QD-OLED excelled at everything I threw at it. Halo Infinite, Cyberpunk 2077 and Helldivers 2 all looked incredible, with eye-searingly bright highlights and bold-yet-realistic colors. During some sessions, it almost felt like I was truly seeing those games for the first time. I noticed details in my Halo character's armor I completely missed on other displays, and the neon glow of Cyberpunk's Night City almost leaped off the screen. Mostly, though, I just felt completely immersed in whatever I was playing. It was as if the edges of the monitor bled away and their digital worlds were being directly injected into my eyeballs. Or maybe I've just been playing too much Helldivers 2.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
I knew from the start that I wouldn't be reaching 240 fps in 4K with most titles (even while running on an RTX 4080 Super and Ryzen 7900X), but the 32-inch Alienware still delivered smooth gameplay in Halo Infinite while I hovered around 130 fps. (You can also thank NVIDIA's G-SYNC tech for that, since it locks in the refresh rate to avoid screen tearing and lag issues.) 4K gaming becomes more palatable when you're upscaling titles using NVIDIA's DLSS or AMD's FSR technology, but even then it's still tough to crack 150 fps or more. I had to play most games in 1440p to go beyond 200 fps. (For fast-paced shooters and racing games, I'd much rather have a higher refresh rate than a minuscule 4K fidelity bump.)
While super-fast 4K gaming is a bit unrealistic at the moment, it may become more feasible as GPUs get beefier and upscaling tech becomes even more efficient. The Alienware 32-inch QD-OLED is ready for that future. The real question for gamers today, though, is if it's worth shelling out $1,299 just to be primed for what's to come. It's still a fantastic display, and looks great while watching films and putzing around the web. Text looked crisp and clear, and that crazy high refresh rate makes scrolling through websites silky smooth. As with most monitors though, it's worth waiting a bit to see how it depreciates. The excellent 34-inch Alienware QD-OLED ultrawide also launched at $1,299 two years ago, but now you can nab it for $900.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Like Alienware’s QD-OLED ultrawide before it, the company’s 32-inch 4K gaming monitor is a marvel, with excellent brightness, contrast and rich color depth. It’s so immersive that at times it feels more like a virtual window than a mere screen. It’s also completely overkill for most games. But for the few that can justify the price, it’ll be a worthwhile gaming investment for years to come.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/alienwares-32-inch-4k-qd-oled-gaming-monitor-is-total-overkill-but-in-a-good-way-153004427.html?src=rss
Apple is reportedly in talks with Google to integrate its Gemini AI in iPhones, Bloomberg reports, a move that should help both companies compete with OpenAI and its (heavily invested) partner Microsoft. While it might seem like an admission that Apple is lagging behind on AI, the partnership fits if you think of generative AI models as an evolution of web searching, something Google already provides to all of Apple's devices. According to the report, Gemini could be the cloud-based generative AI engine for Siri and other iPhone apps, while Apple's models could be woven into the upcoming iOS 18 for on-device AI tasks.
Bloomberg notes that Apple has also had discussions with OpenAI about using its own models, and it could still end up partnering with another AI outfit, like Anthropic. Apple could conceivably even work with multiple partners until its own generative models are up to snuff. But teaming up with Google makes the most sense, especially since the search giant is already giving Apple millions to bring search to the Safari browser.
Apple needs some sort of generative AI solution that it can implement this year (its own Ajax model will likely take years to match Gemini and OpenAI), and Google needs a quick way to bring its AI smarts to billions of devices.
There are regulatory concerns to consider — the Department of Justice has already sued Google over its search dominance, including the way it pays Apple and other companies to use its search engine. But given the specter of Microsoft and OpenAI's partnership — which turned the Bing search engine into an artificial intelligence hype machine overnight, and is now powering all of Microsoft's Copilot AI solutions — the potential gains could be worth the risk for Apple and Google.
There are still technical issues for Google to deal with too: Gemini was recently under fire for inaccurately rendering historical images. But even considering potential growing pains, a partnership with Apple helps both companies. And it also gives Apple room to develop its own models while OpenAI and Google deal with the growing pains of generative AI.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/of-course-apple-wants-to-bring-googles-gemini-ai-to-iphones-144604811.html?src=rss
Another week, another concerted effort to ban TikTok in the US – except this time, it could actually happen. In this episode, Cherlynn and Devindra chat with Engadget Senior Editor Karissa Bell around the latest TikTok drama. The House passed a bill that could ultimately ban the company if ByteDance doesn’t sell it off within six months. It may face a tougher fight in the Senate, but if it’s approved there President Biden has said he’s willing to sign it into law.
Is this a justified fight against the Chinese-owned social media company, or is it the sum of our political fears against all things China? (Maybe it’s a bit of both?) We discuss why this potential ban could be a huge civil rights violation, as well as the need for true data privacy laws in the US, which would apply to all social networks.
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Topics
U.S. House passes bill that would give Bytedance 6 months to sell TikTok – 0:47
Microsoft’s Surface and AI event preview – 17:04
Apple will allow EU users to download some apps from websites – 27:38
Five Tesla execs earned $2.5B over the last five years while the company paid no income tax – 34:53
