Welcome back, TechRadar readers, and Happy Friday to you! I hope your week has been fruitful, and that you got done everything you needed to get done. Right, of course you didn’t – me neither. It’s been a busy week for me, with lots of AI goings-on, Apple antics (in a mostly good way), and time spent pondering the imminent end of the year, and the new year to come.
But maybe that was just my week.
One thing I did want to talk about is the iPhone. Can I share a little secret with you? I hate talking about the iPhone 15. To me, reporting on rumors about upcoming phones is like someone spoiling the end of a good book or those movie trailers that give away the whole thing. Or, more accurately, it’s like both of those things, except the information is all wrong.
I've barely unboxed my new iPhone 14 Pro, and already we’re talking about the iPhone 15. The problem with stories about upcoming iPhones – like this one – is that they’re mostly telling you how the last rumor you heard is wrong. No, the iPhone 15 will not feature curves. It’ll probably look just like the iPhone 14. Why do I need to know that right now?
I know tech is all about the future, and I love the future; but I think it’s also time we lived in the moment. You’re not going to be buying an iPhone 15 for at least nine months. If you were considering upgrading your iPhone, or switching from an Android handset, any time soon then you would be choosing from the devices in the impressive iPhone 14 line (get the iPhone 14 Pro, it’s nearly perfect).
In any case, that’s my rant (perhaps I’m just grumpy because of this). There’s a lot of other stuff to walk through from this busy week, so let’s get to it – and please remember to drop me an email with your comments and suggestions, remembering to include 'NEWSLETTER' in the subject line.
Fans of the Terminator movies have long assumed that when artificial intelligence came for us, it would be in the form of something like Skynet, a self-aware system hell-bent on stamping out human folly. It’s not turned out that way, though; instead, our lives are now ruled by a collection of creative AIs churning out images and text that could plausibly have been penned or painted by masters.
My current personal favorite is ChatGPT, an OpenAI project that, based on a text prompt, can write virtually anything in almost any style. It’s fast, and it’s very effective – we even used it to write a short news story about itself. It’s also a pretty good actor.
AI art is now so good that some of us are willing to pay for its output. Think about that for a second. The concept of starving artists is deeply ingrained in our society because it’s true. Most artists can’t make a living doing what they love. Apparently, though, AI artists will not be suffering the same fate. We, including me, are willing to pay an AI $8 or more for AI-generated images of ourselves.
I really don’t know why we still jump to use these systems before asking some critical questions, but what I do know is that AI won’t suddenly rise up and take over – it won’t need to. By the time we realize how many tasks AIs have taken over without us noticing, it’ll probably be too late.
Apple will let users protect their Apple ID and iCloud account with a hardware security key (Thetis)
Apple didn’t release any new major products this week, but it made news all the same. There were whispers that the iCar launch might be delayed (I insisted ages ago that it would never happen), and we got a bunch of key security updates, including iCloud encryption, and an update to Apple’s authentication process that would require the use of a physical security key.
Apple won't be making these hardware keys – instead, it would let you secure your iCloud account work using a key from a third-party brand. You would set it up once and, even if you buy a new iPhone, as long as you transfer your data from your old phone to your new phone, you won't have to set it up again.
Basically, this is an added level of security that means no one can impersonate you if they don't have access to your iPhone. While it's been designed with the likes of journalists and government officials in mind, I think it’s a great idea for many people.
Apple also made significant changes to its app pricing strategy this week – or rather, it changed how developers are able to set prices for their apps on the App Store. They can now adjust prices in much smaller increments, and not have their prices auto-adjusted based on the vagaries of global exchange rates.
Finally, and on the lighter side, there’s Apple’s entry into the world of karaoke. If you’re like me, you sing along at full volume to all your favorite songs on Apple Music; however, my dulcet tones are usually met with pained expressions and covered ears.
I think the solution to this is to get everyone else singing too, and that’s why I like this Apple Sing concept, which brings karaoke to Apple Music, letting you lower the volume of the vocal track as the lyrics scroll by on your iPhone’s screen.
I’m sure this is all that's needed in order for me to enjoy the appreciation for my performances that has, to date, not been forthcoming.
Mercedes-Benz showed off its Vision EQXX concept car at this year's CESg (Mercedes-Benz)
December is racing by at a breakneck pace, and before we know it, it will be January – and that means CES, the massive consumer electronics show. Last year saw the return of industry and media attendees in person after Covid forced the show to go virtual, although a fresh outbreak put a damper on proceedings, and TechRadar covered the event remotely. But this year things should be well and truly back to normal.
We’re well into the planning stages, and my inbox is packed with CES meeting invites. There will be major new products in personal mobility, 5G. Robotics, IoT, Software, the metaverse, self-driving cars, and more.
To give you a taste, Jeremy Kaplan has taken a look at what to expect in the car space, and points out that while some genuinely exciting vehicles and technologies will be on show, much of the hype around autonomous vehicles may prove to be no more than that. I suggest that you keep an eye on TechRadar as we drop more previews and insights in the run-up to the event; I’d tell you more, but I promised to get through my whole CES email pile today…
Mechanical keyboards are popular with PC gamers (OHishiapply / Shutterstock)
You know what I love? I love it when a company does one, maybe two, things, and does them really well. OnePlus has long impressed me with its Android smartphones. I’ve tried every model since the OnePlus 5, and I was a big fan the OnePlus 7 Pro’s fascinating and innovative pop-up camera (it would automatically retract if you dropped the phone).
This trail of smartphone innovation has brought us to the OnePlus 10 Pro, which is a great, premium all-around phone, and now, apparently… a mechanical keyboard?
To be fair to OnePlus, it does make other devices, like really affordable and quite lovely Bluetooth earbuds (they’re not AirPods Pro level, but they’re good enough). It says it’s developing the keyboard, in partnership with keyboard manufacturer Keychron, in response to requests from users of its products, but the move makes no sense to me, unless OnePlus also plans on getting into the PC space (it does not… I think).
In order for it to be part of the OnePlus family, it needs to bring something special to the peripherals table. All OnePlus has said so far is that its keyboard will be “customizable”, which our computing writer Darren Allan reckons will probably mean more than the usual RGB lighting options offered by gaming keyboards, but I’m not sure that’s enough. I’ll withhold judgment, though, until we learn more early next year.
Henry Cavill won't be returning for season 4 of The Witcher (Jay Maidment / Netflix)
I’ve never played The Witcher game, nor have I watched the long-running show on Netflix. Still, I’m fascinated by TechRadar’s coverage of the franchise and the intensity of fans’ devotion to this world and its characters.
The key character in The Witcher series is Geralt, an enhanced monster human. In the game he is apparently rather emotionless. In the Netflix series, though, Henry Cavill (late of Superman) plays him with more humanity. Or rather he did – the show’s star recently announced that he won’t be returning for the show’s fourth season, and our Entertainment writer Tom Power has been talking to showrunner Lauren Hissrich about Cavill’s departure and more.
Maybe it doesn't matter. The show is such a massive hit that, like the games it’s based on, it’s already spawned a spinoff, The Witcher: Blood Origin, which drops on Christmas Day. This one stars icon Michelle Yeoh.
My problem is that I don’t know how to go about getting into this series. Do I start with the game? Should I watch Cavill’s original series? Surely, starting with the spin-off is a bad idea? Help…
An image of the moon passing in front of the Earth, captured by the Orion spacecraft (NASA)
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been absolutely mesmerized by the images coming back from the Orion spacecraft, which finished its flyby of the moon earlier this week. At each stage of its mission – flying to the moon, 79 miles over it, and then to a position from where it could offer glimpses of not just the moon but the Earth beyond – it captured photos unlike any I’ve seen before. Our friends at Space.com have done a stellar job (get it?) of covering the entire mission.
The success of this mission, which is scheduled to conclude on Sunday with Orion splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, should mean we’re all systems go for a manned mission. If and when that happens, those astronauts will likely break some barriers, including distance traveled from Earth.
It feels like we’re finally entering that next, crucial phase of human space exploration, one that will take us back to the moon and, eventually, to Mars. To get further than that, though, we still have to overcome some significant human limitations. So far, we’re still measuring human space endurance in weeks and months, but to make it beyond Mars, astronauts would have to endure years in space.
The Sign Off
That about covers it for another week. In the coming weeks on TechRadar we’ll have some looks back at the year in tech, and a look forward to what’s coming down the line in 2023, so mark your calendars, and please do get in touch – I look forward to your feedback, comments and questions.
Have a great weekend!
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