Is your iPad Pro old enough to justify buying the new iPad Pro? Photo: Apple/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
You own an iPad Pro, and you’re wondering if you should upgrade to the new iPad Pro with M4. We feel your pain. Announced on May 7, 2024, the new iPad Pro features the brand-new M4 chip. It’s the top-of-the-line iPad with a gorgeous Tandem OLED display and a radical thin-and-light design.
It’s easily upgradable with the new Apple Pencil Pro and refreshed Magic Keyboard. But whether it’s worth upgrading depends on which iPad Pro you use right now. We put together a guide to help you decide. Check the infographic below or watch the video.
Should I buy the M4 iPad Pro?
A lot of people bought the 2018 iPad Pro. They have a lot to look forward to with this new model. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
If you use any older iPad Pro with a Home button, your time has come for an upgrade. The new M4 iPad Pro is a completely new tablet. You can pair it with the new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. This Apple accessory boasts an aluminum shell that makes it look more like a MacBook. Plus, it adds function keys (as well as its laptop-like trackpad and cursor). And you’ll love how the new Apple Pencil Pro attaches magnetically rather than sticking awkwardly out the side.
The 2018 iPad Pro is starting to show its age, too. The iPad Pro with M4 should deliver a huge leap in speed. It also boasts an impressive OLED display, with offers a significant boost in brightness and contrast over the LCD panel. With Stage Manager enabled, you can plug in a desktop display for dual-screen productivity.
Get some desktop-computer-style productivity with an iPad Pro. Image: Apple
The difference gets weaker when you compare newer models of the iPad Pro with the new M4 version. If you own the fourth-generation model from 2020, or the fifth-gen iPad Pro with an M1 processor, you should upgrade only if you really want or need the OLED display.
Even if you already own an iPad Pro with the modern, flat-side design, the iPad Pro with M4 is subtly different enough to break compatibility with prior accessories. Its dramatic reduction in thickness means the Magic Keyboard wouldn’t fit. And moving the FaceTime camera to the same side where the Apple Pencil attaches means the internal parts that handle charging and pairing aren’t compatible.
For that reason, you certainly shouldn’t upgrade to the iPad Pro with M4 if you already have the M2 model and accessories. Wait it out and get a little more value for your money.
Depending on which model of iPad you own, it might be time to upgrade to the new iPad Air with M2. Announced on May 7, 2024, the new iPad Air features a speedy Apple M2 chip. It’s a great middle-of-the-road iPad, with plenty of storage on the base model and a nice display that’s now available in a 13-inch size. It’s easily upgradable with the Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard.
However, whether it’s worth upgrading to the M2 iPad Air depends on which iPad you already own — so we put together a buying guide to help you make the decision. Check the infographic below or watch the video.
Should I buy the M2 iPad Air?
If you don’t have the current design with flat edges, you have a lot of reasons to upgrade. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
If your iPad Air is a first- or second-generation model — with the old design, featuring curved sides and a Home button — you have a lot of good reasons to upgrade. The new M2 iPad Air will have Touch ID on the top button, plus a significantly faster chip inside.
You also have the choice of a larger display this time around. The new iPad Air comes in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes. Plus, you can dock the iPad Air to the Magic Keyboard, which adds a full keyboard and trackpad, like a laptop. It gets even more Mac-like with Stage Manager, which has apps free-floating on the screen. You can even plug in a desktop display for real multitasking.
You should definitely upgrade to the M2 iPad Air if you’re using one of these older models.
The iPad Air lasts a long time between new models
If you own one of the iPad Air models in the middle — the third-generation model from 2019 or the fourth-generation model from 2020 — you could probably keep your iPad around for a few more years. It’ll easily still get the latest software updates.
But consider that the iPad Air isn’t updated on a very regular schedule. If you bought either of those models new in 2019 or 2020, the battery life will probably degrade by the time a seventh-generation model is likely to come out sometime in 2026.
You should upgrade to the M2 iPad Air now, but only if you can afford to.
The Apple Pencil Pro is a great add-on to the iPad Air. Image: Apple
One downside to buying a new iPad Air is that the M2 models won’t work with first- and second-generation Apple Pencils. For one, the iPad Air no longer comes a Lightning port. It switched to USB-C, continuing a trend for Apple (and the industry at large). But it also moves the FaceTime camera to the same horizontal side where the second-generation Pencil attaches magnetically, so Apple had to revise the Pencil with different charging parts. You can choose between the low-cost Apple Pencil with USB-C or the new Apple Pencil Pro.
If you own the M1 iPad Air from 2022, and you’re wondering if you should upgrade to the M2 iPad Air, don’t worry about it. You already have Stage Manager, and you can keep using your existing accessories with no problem. The M2 iPad Air offers a big speed boost, but doesn’t add enough features worth the money.
Android 15 looks set to bring in improved video stabilization for third-party camera apps, and could be the key to making some of the best Android phones true video competitors to the best iPhones.
Android Authority code-diver Mishaal Rahman found that Android 15 looks set to get a new ‘Eyes Free’ feature added to the Android’s existing Camera2 API that allows third-party camera apps to access extensions phone makers have implemented into their devices. In the case of Eyes Free, that means bringing in the first Android camera extension that can be used in video capture. According to the description of Eyes Free, it “aims to lock and stabilize a given region or object of interest”.
So from that and Rahman’s report we can glean that Eyes Free will bring the video stabilization found in the likes of the Google Pixel 8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to video-centric third-party apps such as Snapchat and Instagram.
So this would mean that alongside video stabilization, third-party apps could tap into the auto detection, bokeh, Face retouch, HDR and Night modes facilitated by the Camera2 extension.
Such features mean that users can harness the camera and recording options in third-party apps without seeing a big dip in quality; absent this, in order to get the best photos and videos, users would need to capture them in their phone’s native camera app, and then go through the process of uploading to a third-party app, rather than shooting directly in that app.
It’s worth noting that phone makers can implement their own camera pipelines for third-party apps. But having the Eyes Free feature could help boost some videography on Android phones in general, and bring it more in line with what the likes of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro can offer in terms of video capture through non-native apps.
While this isn’t the biggest potential upgrade Android 15 looks set to bring in, it’s an indication that we could see video capture get a shot in the arm for Android phones. In general, iPhones tend to be seen as the leader in smartphone videography, with Google and Samsung phones not quite delivering the same image quality and ease of use.
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We expect to hear a lot more about Android 15 at Google I/O on May 14, so stay tuned for all the news out of that software-heavy event.
An AlphaFold3 model of a bacterial enzyme bound to a chemical.Credit: Isomorphic Labs
Since the powerhouse artificial intelligence (AI) tool AlphaFold2 was released in 2021, scientists have used the protein-structure-prediction model to map one of our cells’ biggest machines, discover drugs and chart the universe of every known protein.
Despite such successes, John Jumper — who leads AlphaFold’s development at Google DeepMind in London — is regularly asked whether the tool can do more. Requests include the ability to predict the shape of proteins that contain function-altering modifications, or their structure alongside those of DNA, RNA and other cellular players that are crucial to a protein’s duties. “I would say ‘no, you can’t put that into AlphaFold’,” Jumper says. “I would rather solve their problems.”
What’s next for AlphaFold and the AI protein-folding revolution
The latest version of AlphaFold, described on 8 May in Nature1, aims to do just that — by giving scientists the ability to predict the structures of proteins during interactions with other molecules. But whereas DeepMind made the 2021 version of the tool freely available to researchers without restriction, AlphaFold3 is limited to non-commercial use through a DeepMind website.
Frank Uhlmann, a biochemist at the Francis Crick Institute in London who gained early access to AlphaFold3, has been impressed with its capabilities. “This is just revolutionary,” he says. “It’s going to democratize structural-biology research.”
Another revolution
“Revolutionary” is how many scientists have described the impact of AlphaFold2 on biology since it was unleashed2 (the first version3, released in 2020, was good, but not game-changing, Jumper has said). The AI predicts a protein’s structures from its amino-acid sequence, often with startling accuracy that is on par with that of experimental methods.
A freely available AlphaFold database holds the predicted structure of nearly every known protein. The availability of the AlphaFold2 code has also allowed other researchers to easily build on it: an early hack enabled the prediction of interactions between multiple proteins, a capability included in an update to AlphaFold2.
Jumper’s ennui over explaining AlphaFold’s inability to predict other aspects of a protein’s ecosystem stems from their importance: protein modifications, such as the addition of a phosphate molecule, can allow cells to respond to external cues, an infection, for instance, and set off a chain of events in response. Interactions with DNA, RNA and other chemicals are essential to many proteins’ duties.
Real-world examples of these interactions are readily available in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), a repository of experimentally determined structures that is the foundation of AlphaFold’s capabilities. An ideal tool would be able to predict structures of a protein alongside its accessories, says Jumper. “We want to solve the whole PDB.”
Major upgrade
To create AlphaFold3, Jumper, DeepMind chief executive Demis Hassabis and their colleagues made large changes to its predecessor: the latest version depends less on information about proteins related to a target sequence, for instance. AlphaFold3 also uses a type of machine-learning network — called a diffusion model — that is used by image-generating AIs such as Midjourney. “It’s a pretty substantial change,” says Jumper.
AlphaFold’s new rival? Meta AI predicts shape of 600 million proteins
AlphaFold3, the researchers found, substantially outperforms existing software tools at predicting the structure of proteins and their partners. For instance, scientists — especially those interested in finding new drugs — have conventionally used ‘docking’ software to physically model how well chemicals bind to proteins (usually with help from the proteins’ experimentally determined structures). AlphaFold3 proved superior to two docking programs, as well as to another AI-based tool called RoseTTAFold All-Atom4.
Uhlmann’s team has used AlphaFold3 to predict the structure of DNA-interacting proteins involved in copying the genome, a step that is essential to cell division. Experiments in which proteins are mutated to alter such interactions suggest that the predictions were usually spot on, Uhlmann says. “It’s an amazing discovery tool,” he adds.
“The structure-prediction performance of AlphaFold3 is very impressive,” says David Baker, a computational biophysicist at the University of Washington in Seattle. It’s better than RoseTTAFold All-Atom, which his team developed4, he adds.
Restricted access
Unlike RoseTTAFold and AlphaFold2, scientists will not be able to run their own version of AlphaFold3, nor will the code underlying AlphaFold3 or other information obtained after training the model be made public. Instead, researchers will have access to an ‘AlphaFold3 server’, on which they can input their protein sequence of choice, alongside a selection of accessory molecules.
How AlphaFold can realize AI’s full potential in structural biology
Uhlmann likes what he has so far seen of the server, which he says is simpler and quicker than the version of AlphaFold2 that he has access to at his institute. “You upload it and 10 minutes later, you’ve got the structures,” he says. For most scientists, “the server is really going to smash it. Everybody can do it.”
Access to the AlphaFold3 server, however, is limited. Scientists are currently restricted to 10 predictions a day, and it is not possible to obtain structures of proteins bound to possible drugs.
Isomorphic Labs, a DeepMind spin-off company in London, is using AlphaFold3 to develop drugs, both through its own pipeline and with other pharmaceutical companies. “We have to strike a balance between making sure that this is accessible and has the impact in the scientific community as well as not compromising Isomorphic’s ability to pursue commercial drug discovery,” says Pushmeet Kohli, DeepMind’s head of AI science and a study co-author.
Because of the restriction on modelling protein interactions with possible drugs, “I can’t see it having the impact AlphaFold2 had”, says Brian Shoichet, a pharmaceutical chemist at the University of California, San Francisco, who has been using AlphaFold structures to hunt for therapeutic candidates.
Sergey Ovchinnikov, an evolutionary biologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, had hoped to develop a web version of AlphaFold3, as he and his colleagues have done for AlphaFold2 shortly after its code was released. But based on the ample information provided in the latest Nature paper, it shouldn’t take long for other teams to create their own versions, he says. “I would expect open-source solutions before the end of the year.”
If you know someone who is graduating this year, whether from high school or university, chances are good the gear that’s gotten them through the last four (or more) years is ready for a refresh. The good news is that graduation time is typically a big one for gift-giving, so if you know someone who is about to hit college or the dreaded “real world,” you can make sure they’re prepared by perusing our list of the latest tech. Everything here should be a major upgrade that’ll make the transition easier and last for years to come, as well.
Laptops
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
A good laptop remains the standard, go-to tool for getting things done. But it’s also a personal purchase, with people having strong opinions about which operating system, screen size and specs they need. So there are a few things you’ll want to know going into this purchase, but all of these laptops we recommend are some of the best and most well-rounded options on the market. Unless the person you’re shopping for has some specific needs, one of these machines should hit the mark.
Dell’s XPS 13 Plus is easy to recommend for anyone who uses Windows. At this point, Dell has almost perfected its industrial design: it’s thin and light, but not at the expense of power or battery life. The keyboard and display are excellent, and you can get impressive specs without breaking the bank. One downside is that Dell seems to have moved fully to a design that only has two USB-C ports and no headphone jack, which can be a bit limiting. But those quibbles aside, the XPS 13 Plus remains an excellent choice.
Right now, the XPS 13 Plus includes Intel’s 13th-generation Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. That also includes a 13.4-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 display, and the whole package costs a very reasonable $999 direct from Dell right now. Dell has also offered the same configuration with a 4K display for $200 more, but as of this writing it’s unavailable. Either way, that’s a lot of power for the price.
For someone who’s a gamer, though, we recommend going in a different direction. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 has been our favorite gaming laptop for a few years now, one that combines relative portability (3.5 pounds and a 14-inch screen) with serious power. In our review we said that the laptop was incredibly compelling, even if it’s more expensive than it used to be. It has a powerful AMD processor and graphics card coupled with a great display, comfortable keyboard, spacious trackpad and solid design. It’s not a champ on battery life, but we got seven hours of non-gaming use out of it – pretty decent considering the specs.
You can get the Zephyrus G14 in a wide variety of configurations, but one we’d recommend includes an AMD Ryzen 9 8000 series processor, NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 2,560 x 1,600 OLED display with a 120 hz refresh rate.
For people who prefer a Mac, Apple’s lineup can be surprisingly complicated. Fortunately, the company just updated all of its laptops with its latest series of M3 processors, so now is a great time to purchase one.The MacBook Air is still the company’s best laptop for most people, and it now comes in both 13- and 15-inch configurations. In both cases, it’s an extremely light and portable computer that has better battery life than almost anything you can buy. The best option if you’re looking for longevity is the $1,499 13-inch model that includes 512GB of storage, 16GB of RAM and the M3 chip with a 10-core GPU. You can grab that same configuration with a 15-inch display for $1,699. And while we think that the Air is enough computer for most people, if you’re buying for someone who has a heavier workload like photo or video editing, the $1,999 MacBook Pro is worth considering. It gives you a significantly more powerful M3 Pro chip with a 14-core GPU along with other niceties like a gorgeous 14-inch mini-LED display.
Given how dominant a force Chromebooks are in education, it’s entirely possible that someone just finishing school might want to continue using Chrome OS. Fortunately, there are lots of premium Chromebooks that are well-designed and capable enough to last for years. One of our favorites is Acer’s Chromebook Spin 714. It includes a 13th-gen Intel Core i5 processor alongside a 14-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 display that offers a little more vertical space than your average 1080p screen. Add in a solid keyboard and trackpad, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage and you have a Chromebook that doesn’t require many compromises. The one downside is that its 7ish-hour battery life isn’t spectacular — but given the laptop’s price, it’s probably good enough.
Tablets
Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
No, tablets have not replaced laptops as some predicted when the category started blowing up last decade. But they also still do a ton of things well. They can be a great option for getting work done, engaging your creative side with art and music-making apps or just enjoying movies and games. For the vast majority of people, Apple’s iPad is the only tablet worth considering, even if they don’t otherwise use Apple products. That’s thanks to time-tested, reliable hardware and a massive software library with hundreds of thousands of apps optimized for the iPad’s larger screen.
As for which is the best iPad, the iPad Air remains the right choice for most at the moment – especially if you’re looking for a good graduation gift. While the basic iPad is a great value, you get a lot when you step up to the Air. Perhaps most importantly, the Air has Apple’s M1 chip, a very powerful chip for a tablet that was in many Macs for years. This means the Air is extremely fast, even though the M1 is a few years old at this point.
The rest of the iPad Air’s hardware is also impressive for the price. It has a large 10.9-inch screen with thin bezels and an anti-reflective coating; the display is also laminated directly to the glass, so there’s no distracting gap beneath the surface. The Air includes 64GB or 256GB of storage, 10 hours of battery life, support for the second-generation Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard and an improved 12-megapixel front-facing camera. For $599, you’re getting almost everything that the iPad Pro offers for a lot less cash. The only caveat here is that Apple is expected to release new iPads this spring. As of this writing, the M1 iPad Air is our favorite, but just know that there may be a new Air on the way in the coming weeks.
Android tablets have never had the same level of success as the iPad, largely because of the well-documented software issues on larger-screen Android devices. But if you’re shopping for an Android diehard, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 (or S9+) are solid choices. The S9 features a high-resolution 11-inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, and has an S-Pen stylus included in the box. For someone looking for a bigger canvas, the S9+ steps things up to 12.4 inches. And while Android historically hasn’t been the best option for large-screen devices, Samsung’s Dex feature switches things up into a more desktop-like multi-window mode, which can be great for productivity. Samsung’s built-in apps that take advantage of the S-Pen are solid as well. You might have a hard time finding apps that are designed for the Tab S9’s larger screen, but if you’re buying this for someone familiar with Android, they’ll likely be aware of the trade-offs.
Smartphones
Google
The most important computer people own, or at least the one they probably rely on the most, is their smartphone. And if you know someone who is still rocking the same device they brought to campus with them four years ago, they’ll definitely appreciate an upgrade. The good news is that it’s pretty easy to pick out a phone that’ll satisfy just about anyone, regardless of whether they prefer Android or iOS.
This year, we’re recommending the iPhone 15 Pro Max for new graduates. The standard iPhone 15, 15 Plus and 15 Pro are all excellent phones, but the Pro Max is undeniably the best option out there. The 15 Pro Max has the best iPhone camera you can buy, with a 5x telephoto lens that gives it a big advantage over the 3x option on the standard iPhone 15. Other significant features include the massive and gorgeous 6.7-inch always-on display with a 120Hz refresh rate and the A17 Pro chip.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is expensive at $1,199, and some people may not be happy with such a large device. As such, the $999 iPhone 15 Pro is easy to recommend as an alternative, but camera nerds will really enjoy the 15 Pro Max. And the extremely fast processor and Apple’s track record of delivering software support for years means this investment should last a long time.
Unsurprisingly, Samsung continues to make the best Android devices you can buy – as such, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is our pick this year. At $1,299, it’s another pricey device, but it delivers everything you could ask for: an incredibly bright and high-quality 6.8-inch OLED screen, a high-resolution 5X telephoto camera (along with other excellent lenses and sensors), nearly two full days of battery life and strong performance. The latter comes thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip and 12GB of RAM. It also comes with Samsung’s handy S Pen, for anyone who wants to use a stylus on the S24 Ultra’s giant screen. Given how thoroughly Samsung dominates the Android space, this isn’t a surprising recommendation, but it will make most Android fans happy.
While Samsung’s devices are hard to compete with, Google has routinely made excellent Android phones for a bit less cash. The $999 Pixel 8 Pro is worth a look if you’re a fan of Google’s clean take on Android, and their phones always have some nifty software tricks baked in. Battery life has been upgraded over the Pixel 7 Pro, the latest Tensor 3 chip keeps things speedy and its camera performance is as good as ever. And the fact that this phone is built by Google means it’ll get software updates before any other Android phone on the market; Google is also promising seven years of software updates.
Both of these phones are big (the Pixel 7 Pro’s screen is 6.7 inches while the S23 Ultra has a 6.8-inch display), but the good news is that both Google and Samsung offer smaller-screened devices that keep most of the same features and specs as their larger siblings. You’ll save some cash with a smaller device, too.
Headphones
Billy Steele/Engadget
Almost anyone would benefit from a good pair of noise canceling headphones, and once again Sony has made our top pick. While Sony’s WH-1000XM5 is almost two years old at this point, it’s still the best over-ear option on the market. At $400, they’re more expensive than the XM4, but they offer a combination of incredible sound, a time-tested, refined design and excellent noise-canceling that is hard to beat. They also fit better and more comfortably than ever, and have 30 hours of battery life. The 1000XM5 looks better, sounds better and wears better than the previous model – it’s hard to ask for much more.
While the WH-1000XM5 is getting a little old, Sony refreshed its wireless earbuds last year, making them our new favorite pick. As with its over-ear headphones, the $298 WF-1000XM5 earbuds feature incredible sound quality, long battery life, excellent noise cancellation and a comfortable design. Sony completely redesigned the WF-1000XM5 inside and out, with a new design and drivers as well as updated chips that power their noise-canceling features. Battery life hasn’t improved, but it’s still impressive. The earbuds can get about eight hours of playback with ANC active – that jumps up to 12 hours if you turn it off. Sony also included a host of smart software features like Speak-to-Chat automatic pausing, Adaptive Sound Control adjustments based on movement or location, 360 Reality Audio and a customizable EQ.
If you’re buying earbuds for an Apple user, though, consider the second-generation AirPods Pro. They don’t quite beat Sony’s WF-1000XM5 in sound quality or battery life, but there are a host of features that make them the best earbuds to use with an iPhone, iPad or Mac. The fast pairing tech Apple introduced with the first AirPods still makes it extremely easy to start using these earbuds, or to switch them seamlessly between different Apple devices. Both the case and buds are sweat and water resistant, making them a better option for workouts.
These second-gen AirPods Pro also have big improvements in noise cancellation and sound quality, and the “transparency” mode that lets in outside sound lets you have a conversation or hear the world around you in a totally natural way. Apple improved on that last summer with a new “Adaptive Audio” feature that blends noise cancellation and transparency depending on your environment. And, Apple finally added USB-C to the charging case!
Monitors
LG
There are a dizzying number of computer monitors on the market, at basically any price you can think of, which makes recommending a single monitor a very difficult task. Fortunately, we’ve looked at a host of options and have a few good ones that don’t break the bank and offer a great viewing experience. LG’s 32-inch 32UN650-W is an excellent choice for a large, high-resolution panel that includes niceties like built-in speakers, HDR, support for AMD Freesync and a stand that offers tilt and height adjustments. It sticks with a standard 60Hz refresh rate rather than anything faster, but it’s an excellent choice for most people, especially given its $450 price.
As usual, gamers require something a little different. For that set, check out the 25-inch ASUS ROG Strix 380Hz monitor. The resolution maxes out at 1080p, and it’s a much smaller display compared to the LG — but a 380Hz refresh rate is wildly quick, and the 1m GtG response time will go a long way towards eliminating motion blurs. It also has HDR, but with a higher maximum brightness than the LG. It’s a rather specialized piece of equipment, but one that’ll undoubtedly be appreciated by gamers.
Bags
Waterfield
As important as the right gear is, your grad also deserves something classy and stylish to carry all that stuff around. The Executive Leather Messenger from Waterfield Designs is an expensive choice, but it’s worth the cost. Waterfield makes everything by hand in its San Francisco shop, and the materials it uses are top notch. I’ve owned a lot of their products over the years, and I can safely say this bag will last a decade or more, and the leather will only look more attractive as time goes on.
On the inside are two padded slots, one for a tablet and one for a laptop. There are also two pockets, one zippered, as well as a pen slot and a metal key fob. Finally, there are two easily-accessible hand pockets under the flap, both with an extremely soft plush lining. The Executive Leather Messenger comes in three different leather colors and costs either $399 or $419, depending on which size you choose. It’s an investment, for sure, but it will last a long time.
Waterfield’s bags are typically quite pricey, but the company recently released a new line of “essential” options that offer the company’s excellent construction and smart features at a lower price point. The $179 Essential Messenger is a lightweight option that does away with the leather and uses tough textiles instead. But its magnetic closures are fast and easy to undo, the strap is easily removable for wearing over whichever shoulder you choose, and it has foam inserts to help it keep its structure. There’s a built-in sleeve for a laptop up to 14 inches, and I can confirm you can shove a surprising amount of gear in it considering its smaller size.
There’s also something to be said for a good backpack. For that, check out Peak Design’s Everyday Backpack. As the name suggests, it’s a fairly minimalist design that works in a lot of contexts, and it comes with the company’s typically smart organization features. It has a number of configurable dividers inside to keep everything from pooling at the bottom, and it combines the large internal space with a host of internal and external pockets and access points. Finally, it also has a number of external straps that can be easily hidden if you don’t need them — but they provide versatile expansion of the bag’s carrying capacity. If you want to attach things like a tripod or tie a jacket or blanket on, go right ahead. There are a ton of different ways to use this bag, which means it should last years as it can just be customized to fit commutes, vacations or any other excursion.
We’re set to hear much more about what’s coming with macOS 15 when Apple‘s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) gets underway on June 10 – and one app in particular is rumored to be getting a major upgrade.
That app is the Calculator app, and while it perhaps isn’t the most exciting piece of software that Apple makes, AppleInsider reckons the upcoming upgrade is “the most significant upgrade” the app has been given “in years”.
It’s so substantial, it’s got its own codename: GreyParrot (that’s said to be a nod towards the African grey parrot, known for its cognitive abilities). Part of the upgrade will apparently include the Math Notes feature we’ve already heard about in relation to a Notes app upgrade due in iOS 18.
It sounds as though Math Notes is going to make it easier to ferry calculations between the Notes and the Calculator apps. A new sidebar showing the Calculator history is reported to be on the way too. This might well get its own button on the app, AppleInsider says.
Currency conversions
Currency conversions currently require a pop-up dialog (Image credit: Future)
A visual redesign is also apparently on the way, with “rounded buttons and darker shades of black” to match the iOS Calculator. Users will also be able to resize the Calculator app window, with the buttons resizing accordingly, which isn’t currently possible.
Unit conversion is going to be made more intuitive and easier to access, AppleInsider says, with no need to open up the menus to select conversion types – at the moment, it’s necessary to select currencies in a pop-up dialog.
The thinking is that Apple wants to better compete with apps such as OneNote from Microsoft, and the third-party Calcbot app for macOS. It’s been a long time since the Calculator app was changed in any way, and its rather basic feature set means it’s lagging behind other alternatives.
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According to AppleInsider, there’s no guarantee that Apple will go through with this Calculator upgrade, but it seems likely. Expect to hear much more about macOS 15, iOS 18, and Apple’s other software products at WWDC 2024 on June 10.
It’s now been discovered (first by Twitter user @Squashi9) that the update also included another upgrade for Meta’s hardware, with Space Scan, the Quest 3’s room scanning feature, getting a major buff thanks to AI.
The Quest 3’s Space Scan is different to its regular boundary scan, which sets up your safe play space for VR. Instead, Space Scan maps out your room for mixed-reality experiences, marking out walls, floors, and ceilings so that experiences are correctly calibrated.
You also have the option to add and label furniture, but you had to do this part manually until update v64 rolled out. Now, when you do a room scan your Quest 3 will automatically highlight and label furniture – and based on my tests it works flawlessly.
Annoyingly, the headset wouldn’t let me take screenshots of the process, so you’ll have to trust me when I say that every piece of furniture was not only picked up by the scan and correctly marked out, it was also labelled accurately – it even picked up on my windows and doors, which I wasn’t expecting.
The only mistake I spotted was that a chair I have in my living room was designated a ‘couch’, though this seems to be more an issue with Meta’s lack of more specific labels than with Space Scan’s ability to detect what type of object each item of furniture is.
Post by @edwardrichardmiller
View on Threads
This feature isn’t a complete surprise, as Reality Labs showed a version of it off on Threads in March. What is surprising, however, is how quickly it’s been rolled out after being unveiled – though I’m not complaining, considering how well it works and how easy it makes scanning your room.
So what?
Adding furniture has a use for MR and VR apps. Tables can be used by apps like Horizon Workrooms as designated desks, while sitting down in or getting up from a designated couch will change your VR experience between a standing or seated mode.
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Meanwhile, some apps can use the detected doors, windows, walls, and furniture such as a bookshelf to adjust how mixed-reality experiences interact with your space.
With Meta making it less tedious to add these data points, app developers have more of a reason to take furniture into account when designing VR and MR experiences, which should lead to them feeling more immersive.
This also gives Meta a leg up over the Apple Vision Pro, as it’s not yet able to create a room scan that’s as detailed as the one found on Meta’s hardware – though until software starts to take real advantage of this feature it’s not that big a deal.
We’ll have to wait and see what comes of this improvement, but if you’ve already made a space scan or two on your Quest 3 you might want to redo them, as the new scans should be a lot more accurate.
If you’re looking to improve the sound on your TV, one of the easiest ways is to add one of the best soundbars.
These days, soundbars include more features than ever before. One of the most popular is Dolby Atmos. Some soundbars, such as the Samsung HW-Q990C, have evolved from a simple bar to an entire wireless surround sound package, creating a fully immersive experience without a complicated setup.
However, some of us don’t have the space for these mammoth soundbar systems and instead require a smaller, all-in-one package. But, do you have to sacrifice Dolby Atmos sound to save on space?
Thankfully, the answer is no. Some of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars are standalone bars compact enough to suit most living situations. Below, I’ve listed three soundbars that compromise on space, but not sound.
As a bonus, these Dolby Atmos soundbars are budget-friendly – meaning you can expect to pay under $500 / £500. There are cheaper soundbar options, but you’re not likely to get Dolby Atmos (and if you are, it won’t be at its most effective) with those models.
Sony HT-S2000
(Image credit: Future)
The Sony HT-S2000 is the most budget-friendly soundbar in this list, as we’ve seen prices fall to $349 / £299, but that doesn’t mean it’s a slouch when it comes to performance. Across the board, the HT-S2000 utilizes Sony’s design prowess to get the best from a budget bar.
At 31.5 x 2.5 x 5.25 inches (800 X 64 X 124 mm), the HT-S2000 is a compact soundbar, but during our tests, we found it delivered clear and refined dialogue and spacious sound. Despite a lack of upward-firing speakers, the HT-S2000 worked wonders with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks, harnessing some excellent processing to create a solid virtual surround sound.
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The HT-S2000 is a little limited in features – there’s no built-in Wi-Fi, which means wireless music streaming is limited to Bluetooth quality. But it’s an easy-to-use, simple-to-setup soundbar that will suit anyone looking to boost their TV’s built-in sound.
Sonos Beam (Gen 2)
(Image credit: Future)
Sonos doesn’t just make some of the best wireless speakers, it also has an accomplished soundbar range, led by the Sonos Arc. However, this large, more premium soundbar won’t suit everyone. Thankfully, its more compact and affordable sibling, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), doesn’t lack for performance.
It may be small in stature, sitting at 25.6 x 2.7 x 3.9 inches (651 x 69 x 100mm), but the Beam (Gen 2) delivers room-filling sound thanks to its wide soundstage. It is Dolby Atmos compatible and although its handling of Atmos wasn’t quite as impressive as other Atmos soundbars during our test, it still delivers an excellent sense of height and surround for a compact soundbar with no upward-firing speakers.
Music playback is where the Beam (Gen 2) really shines. It offers hi-res audio compatibility and Wi-Fi streaming, which, combined with the Beam’s overall sonic performance, yields a clean, punchy, well-controlled sound. You can expect to pay $499 / £499 / AU$799 for the Beam (Gen 2), but come holiday sales season, the Beam is almost always on offer for less.
Bose Smart Soundbar 600
(Image credit: Future)
An alternative to the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), the Bose Smart Soundbar 600 is priced the same ($499 / £499 / AU$799) and is subject to similar seasonal discounts as that model. It’s even a strikingly similar size, clocking in at 25.5 x 2.2 x 4 inches (649 x 56 x 104mm). However, the Bose 600 offers one thing the other two soundbars on this list don’t: upward-firing speakers.
As a result, the Bose 600 presents Dolby Atmos soundtracks with a real sense of atmosphere and immersion – or as we said in our review “easily scaling up to match the onscreen action, and also extending above and beyond it”. The Bose 600 has excellent dialogue clarity as well.
It’s not all perfect with Bose’s soundbar, as it does lack bass, but it does what it can with the size it’s given. The Bose 600’s design is another strong point, with a sturdy metal enclosure that feels like it’s built to last. It also comes with built-in Wi-Fi for music streaming and, of the three soundbars listed here, will arguably give you the best Dolby Atmos presentation.
Samsung’s next flagship foldables might bring larger batteries than their predecessors, but they may not come with an upgrade in charging speeds.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 have received an important certification in China that lists both phones with Samsung’s 25W charger. That charger carries the model number EP-TA800 and is the standard 25W charger that is tested by regulatory authorities for every Galaxy smartphone and tablet that supports 25W charging.
Galaxy Fold 6 and Flip 6 certification with Samsung’s standard 25W adapter
However, just because the certification mentions a 25W charger doesn’t mean that 25W will be the maximum charging speed on the new phones. Flagship Galaxy phones that support 45W charging are tested with the 25W charger as well, and these certifications aren’t always the final confirmation of a device’s maximum charging speed.
That said, if Samsung does bring 45W charging to its foldables this year, there’s a high likelihood that only the Z Fold 6 will support it. The Z Flip 6 is expected to come with the same battery capacity–4,000 mAh—as the base Galaxy S24, which also tops out at 25W charging (only the S24+ and S24 Ultra can charge at 45W).
It’s also worth mentioning that there is no solid evidence that the Z Fold 6 will come with a bigger battery. If it doesn’t, then Samsung may not equip either model with 45W support. Samsung is welcome to surprise us, though, especially since its foldables have been stuck at 25W charging since their inception.
More information about the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 should begin showing up in the coming weeks as we get closer to the second half of the year. Their official launch will take place in early July, a week or two earlier than the Z Fold 5 and Flip 5.
Samsung is the world’s biggest semiconductor memory chip maker and is often the first to launch new technologies in the segment. Today, the company unveiled its new CXL (Compute Express Link) memory modules and the HBM3E memory. These products are meant to be used in cloud servers and supercomputers for AI and other high-performance computing needs.
At the Memory Con 2024 expo happening at Santa Clara’s Computer History Museum in Silicon Vallery, California, USA, Samsung introduced the CXL Memory Module – Box (CMM-B), CXL Memory Module – DRAM (CMM-D), CXL Memory Module Hybrid for Tiered Memory (CMM-H TM) and HBM3E 12H chip.
Samsung showcases a CXL-based DRAM memory module and box form factor
CMM-B
CXL Memory Module – Box (CMM-B) is a DRAM product. It can accommodate eight CMM-D devices with the E3.S form factory, offering up to 2TB of DRAM capacity. It has a bandwidth of 60GB/s and a latency of just 596ns. It can be used in applications such as AI, Data Analytics, Generative AI, and In-Memory Database (IMDB).
CMM-D
But what is CMM-D? It is a CXL Memory Module – DRAM, which uses Samsung’s DRAM chips with the CXL open standard interface. It offers efficient and low-latency connectivity between the CPU and memory expansion devices.
Red Hat, the global leader in open-source software, validated Samsung’s CMM-D devices with its enterprise software last year. The two companies will continue their collaboration to develop CXL open-source and reference models. They will also partner on a range of other memory and storage products.
Samsung partnered with Supermicro to showcase the industry’s first Rack-Level memory solution based on the CXL Memory Module Box. It is highly scalable and is used to increase memory bandwidth and capacity for data centers that handle demanding workloads. It is highly flexible and can replace standard architectures that lack efficiency and flexibility for modern applications.
CMM-H TM
In partnership with VMWare by Broadcom, Samsung introduced Project Peaberry. It is the world’s first Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA)-based tiered memory solution for hypervisors (machines that run multiple virtual machines). It is called CXL Memory Module Hybrid for Tiered Memory (CMM-H TM). It is a hybrid solution that combines DRAM and NAND flash memory in the form of an Add-In Card (AIC). It can tackle memory management challenges, improve performance, reduce downtime, and optimize scheduling. It also reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO).
Samsung also showcased its HBM3E 12H chip at Memcon 2024. It is the world’s first 12-stack HBM3E DRAM memory chip, offering the highest capacity ever achieved using HBM technology. HBM3E 12H chips feature Samsung’s advanced thermal compression non-conductive film (TC NCF) technology to enhance the vertical density of the chip by over 20% compared to its predecessor. It also offers better product yield. Samsung is sampling HBM3E 12H chips to customers and is planning to start mass production in the first half of this year.
Jin-Hyeok Choi, SangJoon Hwang, Paul Turner, and Gunnar Hellekson were present on stage during the announcements. SangJoon Hwang is the Corporate Executive Vice President and Head of DRAM Product and Technology at Samsung Electronics. Jin-Hyeok Choi is the Corporate Executive Vice President of Device Solutions Research America – Memory at Samsung Electronics. Paul Turner is the Vice President of the Product Team in the VCF Division at VMware by Broadcom. Gunnar Hellekson is the Vice President and General Manager at Red Hat.
Jin-Hyeok Choi, said, “AI innovation cannot continue without memory technology innovation. As the market leader in memory, Samsung is proud to continue advancing innovation – from the industry’s most advanced CMM-B technology, to powerful memory solutions like HBM3E for high-performance computing and demanding AI applications. We are committed to collaborating with our partners and serving our customers to unlock the full potential of the AI era together.“