To say that I have mixed feelings about the week’s biggest tech story would be an understatement. Google surprised us this week with the rollout of its Gemini generative AI, which is powering not only Google Bard, but the AI features in Google Pixel phones and many other parts of the Google sphere. It’s a potential revolution in AI development, but Google made a bit of a mess of the whole thing by showing off a demo video that was, in turns out, staged in parts. The AI did accomplish all the tasks shown, but not exactly in the way depicted in the very cool video.
I still think Gemini and other AI tools are very, very important, but I find solace in the clarity provided by Apple, which is not interested in generative AI or folding phones right now, but still manages to give older handsets some really handy updates. And while I’ve stepped away from Windows (I’m a Mac guy now), I find the ‘will they or won’t they’ question around Windows 12 fascinating. I hope Microsoft does ultimately go with ‘Windows AI’.
With the weekend hours away, I let my mind wander to what I might stream tonight, and I’m feeling just a bit of sadness knowing that one of my favorites (Andor) will not be returning until we reach a galaxy far, far away (okay, maybe not that long).
I know that these last few weeks before we all break for the holidays are crazy, and we always appreciate you taking the time to catch up with us. So let’s get started…
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The week in AI
Google Gemini looks like a generational leap in AI capability (Getty Images)
Google has revealed its next-gen Gemini AI to the world, and it's capable of some seriously impressive stuff, from generating project ideas to marking homework to solving puzzles – and with the might of Google behind it, it might just change the world.
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The week in Apple
The iPhone 14 is getting a charging upgrade (Future)
iOS 17.2 is almost ready to be rolled out to the world, and if you own one of the iPhone 13 or iPhone 14 models, you've got a major upgrade to look forward to: support for Qi2 wireless chargers, which means a potential doubling of wireless charging speeds.
With Black Friday over and done with we thought we were done with major deals events for the time being, but Amazon US has just slashed prices on its best-selling devices, with huge savings on its Echo Dot, Ring Doorbell, Blink camera and Fire TV ranges.
It's starting to sound like Windows 12 may never see the light of day, with a new report claiming that an AI-focused version of the operating system is set to launch in September or October 2024, but that the name of that OS has yet to be decided.
We've now got a full and definitive list of the Marvel and Star Wars shows that are going to be landing on Disney Plus throughout the course of next year – and while there's a lot to look forward to, we unfortunately won't see season 2 of Andor in 2024.
