Consider this a public service announcement: today is not Black Friday, but you could be forgiven for thinking it is, given the number of retailers who’ve launched their sales well in advance of the massive shopping event, which officially happens next week.
All those awesome deals, which we’re covering exhaustively, can be quite distracting, so much so that you may have missed some of the real tech news of the week. For my money, the biggest news might be how the US government wants to break up what it sees as the monopoly of Google by forcing it to sell off your favorite web browser, Chrome. I think this is a terrible idea, but I also think Google might need to do something to make the internet less of a Google fiefdom and more of an online meritocracy.
AI still holds the top spot for the most-discussed innovation in the tech space. There are just so many advancements, both promised and happening in real time. Siri, for instance, might get its biggest update ever – and I really mean ever – in 2025 or 2026. Also, the latest AI voice-cloning tools are getting so good that some people are fooling (or at least annoying) their partners.
Even though we’re still in November, end-of-year lists are already arriving, with Google naming its best Android apps of 2024, and YouTube presenting music fans with their YouTube Music 2024 Recap. And, as the year draws to a close, I hold out hope that smart homes will become truly smart in 2025. The only thing we can be sure about for now is that smart home screens will, thanks to Amazon, get bigger. That’s progress, right?
The mind reels and, as they often do in these moments, my thoughts turn to entertainment. Tom Power has written so many great exclusive stories about Arcane, but I have to admit I’ve not seen it yet – maybe this weekend, right after I check out Alien Romulus.
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The best Black Friday deals, hand-picked by TechRadar's experts
Black Friday is here a week early!
Black Friday is a week away but we're already knee-deep in deals (Future)
Black Friday is in full swing well in advance of the big day itself, with thousands of deals live across retailers in the US and UK. Our experts are sifting through the offers to bring you the very best deals on laptops, TVs, phones, smart home gadgets, and much more.
For now, Apple is allowing ChatGPT to work inside Siri on its devices – but according to a new report, plans are in place to add the necessary AI model upgrades to Siri within the next year or two, so that it can chat with as much fluency as ChatGPT on its own.
Smart home devices have been with us for years, and yet we're still waiting for them to work with each other as smoothly and as effortlessly as they should – and the process of setting up new gadgets in Google Home offers the perfect example of that.
If you feel like your Android phone could use a refresh, check out Google's picks for the best apps of 2024: from streaming to education to drawing, there's something for everyone in this list, though you may already have some of them installed.
Snapchat developer Snap isn't giving up on its augmented-reality glasses, and TechRadar got to try out the 5th-generation model this week – they're currently limited to developers who are prepared to pay $99 (about £78) a month to own them.
With the festive season approaching, the best streamers are yet to release their Christmas-themed movies and shows – but you can still enjoy the likes of Alien: Romulus, Spellbound, the Cruel Intentions TV adaptation, and Arcane season 2 act 3.
