Hello again! How do I look? Refreshed? I took a week off to recharge and totally stepped away from the world of technology… Ha! You know me too well. The entire time I traveled it was with the assistance of Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 4. I keep unfolding the device and using its big screen like a fold-out paper map (remember those?). It was, in a word, brilliant.
Now, though, my attention is tuned to two major events in the world of tech. The first is the official launch of what we assume is Apple’s iPhone 14. Yours truly has a September 7 invite to Apple Park where… well, you know the rest, and I’ll touch on it more later, because we here at TechRadar have so many thoughts about Apple’s next handsets.
The other big event kicks off even sooner: IFA 2022 (pronounced ‘eeefa’). The consumer technology event kicks off in Berlin next week, and I’ll be there, too. It’s a dizzying showcase of consumer gadgets, including laptops and tablets, smart home technology, and similarly smart appliances (which can also be smart) and TechRadar will be on the ground to bring you the big news and hands-on first looks.
I have a lot more to share from this wild week, so read on and then let me know what you think – it’s okay, you can tell me the truth, and whatever you write, remember to include ‘NEWSLETTER’ in the subject line so we don’t miss it.
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The artwork from Apple's latest launch event invite (Apple)
It’s not often that Apple leaks reach a crescendo that ends in such perfect synchronicity with the rumors. I’m not saying we know everything about what Apple is planning, but we did learn at the start of this week that Apple would probably hold the iPhone 14 launch event on September 7.
As a longtime Apple watcher and attender of many iPhone launches, this date sounded early, but the pundits and leakers were adamant and, it turned out, quite right. As I trained my eyes on my inbox on Wednesday, I received a new message at precisely 12:00pm ET: ‘Please join us for a special event at Apple Park’ said the subject line. The sender was Apple, letting me know it’s holding an event two weeks hence.
As is always the case, nothing in the invite mentioned the iPhone 14, AirPods, HomePods, Apple Watch, or anything else Apple might deliver on the day, but we have our ideas.
Here’s his takeaway: “…the rumored iPhone 14 Max may seem like a worthy upgrade at only $100 more than the standard Phone 14, but if Apple offers a premium trade-in amount on this forthcoming Pro lineup, as it does on the current one, it makes even more sense to skip the Max and move directly to the rumored iPhone 14 Pro (or even the 14 Pro Max, if you can swing it).”
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I am a bit of a drone nerd, so of course I’ve been following our Cameras Editor Mark Wilson’s laser-focused coverage of the new DJI Avata FPV drone. An FPV drone is like a regular consumer drone, except you fly it using a headset and hand-held controller. The benefit is that your view is what the drone’s camera sees – if you’ve ever seen one of those amazing fly-through videos where drones fly close to people, trees and other objects, and through doorways and windows, it’s been shot with one of these drones.
Mark covered the launch, and we have an excellent full review of the new craft. I also got a test unit. The Avata is small, sturdy, incredibly powerful and oh-so-fast (60 mph!); it’s also super-loud.
Speaking of Mark, he’s also the best person to guide you on all your upcoming camera purchases, including action cameras. In a recent post, Mark noted how now is not the time to buy a new action cam from DJI or GoPro, as the companies appear to have new cameras in development – and when those ship you’ll be able to get discounts on current models. I love advice like this!
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Flat-soled shoes should be your footwear of choice for lifting weights (Shutterstock)
I think people sometimes forget (maybe not you, but that guy next to you) that TechRadar is about more than just buying advice. We’re also here to offer advice and guidance for using the technology that helps us live and enjoy our busy lives.
Case in point: Fitness and Wellbeing Editor Matt Evans’ story about how you should never lift weights while wearing running shoes, and should wear flat-soled shoes instead. Believe it or not, I actually do a bit of weightlifting myself, and found this information surprising and quite useful.
Matt, obviously, uses better words because he really knows what he’s doing when working out, though I can’t quite abide by his choice of dead-lift footwear – I mean, those Vans are ancient. In any case, Matt explains in the most entertaining way why a running shoe’s design is all wrong for this exercise job:
“You want a nice, solid base to plant your feet when you’re lifting something heavy, and squatting in soft running shoes is a bit like trying to run a full wheelbarrow across a trampoline.”
Now all I can think about is Matt wheeling a wheelbarrow across a trampoline. Thanks for that image, pal.
Meta's Starburst headset is designed for functionality rather than style (Meta)
Considering all the money and marketing that’s being expended on VR and the metaverse, you’d have to assume they’re the next big thing. I’m willing to admit that some VR experiences are incredible, and I know more and more people who own at least one VR headset (invariably an Oculus Quest 1 or 2). Still, I feel like we’re not yet in a place where people can spend hours living in the metaverse, and I have yet to see the killer VR app.
On the other hand – virtual or otherwise – there are always new developments, and TechRadar dispatched Hamish Hector all the way from the UK to Vancouver to see the latest VR gear at a graphics-themed technology event known as Siggraph.
Hamish did not disappoint. He sought out Meta’s new prototype VR headset, the Starburst, and stuck the thing on his head – sort of. It’s so big and unwieldy that it has to be held up by a pulley, which is comforting because I would not want anything to crush Hamish’s noggin.
The big deal about this headset is its insane brightness levels (20,000 nits), which gives it enhanced HDR capabilities for a more immersive user experience. To give you a feel for what Hamish experienced, here’s a bit of what he wrote:
“Turning up the brightness from 5,000 to 10,000 nits, I was transported to an upside-down-like version of the same coastline. The sky turned from a bright blue to a cloudy crimson, and the once inviting waters glowed an ominous green – it was like I was in a scene from Stranger Things Season 4.”
Hamish returned to the UK, and promptly took a nap.
Funny girl: Tatiana Maslany stars in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Marvel Studios)
Am I a bit over the MCU? Aren’t you? I’m sure the answer is something like, “Yes and no.”
Yes, in that I wonder just how much of the Marvel back catalog they can mine before we’re watching a limited series on Lockjaw. But no, as long as Disney/Marvel can offer something compelling, thought-provoking, or at least fun.
In the case of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the new Disney Plus series, Marvel delivers the goods, at least according to our Entertainment Reporter Tom Power, who calls the show “extremely funny.”
Really? I mean, Loki was kind of funny, but also sad and occasionally gripping. But LOL-level stuff? I didn’t realize you could do that without breaking down the 4th wall and literally pointing out the absurdity of the whole MCU premise. But wait a minute – here’s a bit from Tom’s four-star review that puts it all in perspective:
“[Tatiana] Maslany’s hilarious, relatable turn as a character wrestling with the duality of her established and newfound identity is more than worth the admission fee. The delicate balance she finds in bringing self-referential comedy and gravitas to the role is wonderfully nuanced. Meanwhile, her fourth-wall-breaking sidebars with the audience – a hallmark of She-Hulk’s in the comics – provide some of the show’s biggest laughs.”
An artist's depiction of what the Artemis 1 launch will look like (NASA)
NASA is about to take a very big first step back to putting humans on the moon – and as someone who watched the first lunar landing I’m totally here for it.
Our fellow Future site Space.com has a helpful post on how to track the unmanned Artemis 1 mission after its (hopefully successful) launch next week, and as the Orion spacecraft orbits the moon before returning to Earth. It’s a big, expensive proof of concept for Orion, and for the massive Space Launch System mega-rocket that will lift it into space.
I love space launches, and I’m looking forward to the white-knuckle experience of waiting to see if NASA can avert disaster and nail this key mission. And really, that’s a fair description for any space mission – each one is fraught with danger, which is only heightened when there’s a crew involved. In this case, the stakes are lower on the human end, but very high on the monetary side and in terms of the overall project.
I’ll be watching, with my fingers crossed.
This is from the editor
That’s all for this week. I’ll be at IFA and then the Apple iPhone 14 event, so if you want to know what I’m up to, follow me on Twitter and stay tuned to TechRadar. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your feedback, comments and questions, so keep those emails coming.
Have a great weekend!
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