November 22, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

🤖 He's back! Sam Altman to return as CEO of OpenAI

🎥 Insta360's new action cam sports Leica lens and flip screen

🎧 Sonos said to be close to launching first headphones

📱 I reviewed 20 phones this year. These are my 5 favorites

UP FIRST

Sam Altman to return as CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI

Is this where the drama ends? Who knows!

Four days after being fired by the board, Sam Altman will return as CEO of OpenAI.

It’s just the latest twist in the ongoing chaos to engulf the Microsoft-backed AI startup in recent days.

Altman’s return was announced late on Tuesday in a series of online posts by those involved, with OpenAI saying it had “reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO.” Part of the deal involves a line-up of mostly new board members.

Following Altman's shock firing last week over an apparent disagreement regarding the pace of AI development (with the board favoring a more cautious approach), Microsoft hired Altman to lead a new advanced AI research team at the computer giant.

But back at OpenAI, hundreds of staff threatened to quit the startup and join Altman at Microsoft unless he was reinstalled as CEO ...

ACTION CAMERAS

Insta360 takes on GoPro with a couple of new action cams

Insta360 has the GoPro in its sights

Hobbyists and creators alike will be taking a good look at the new Ace action cameras from Insta360.

Unveiled on Tuesday, the Ace and Ace Pro both feature 2.4-inch flip-out displays, giving them an immediate edge over rival cameras from GoPro.

The Pro version comes with a Leica Summarit lens and a large 1/1.3-inch image sensor for better low-light performance. It also offers 8K video at 24 frames per second (fps) and 4K slow-motion at 120 fps.

The Ace cameras can be secured via magnetic mounts, with silky smooth shots made possible by Insta360’s FlowState Stabilization technology.

Insta360’s new Ace camera costs $380 while the Pro version retails for $450, and both devices are available now ...

ON THE HORIZON

First Sonos headphones set for 2024, plus a more surprising device

The company is believed to have been working on the headphones for more than four years

The first wireless headphones from Sonos could land as early as April, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Expected to cost between $400 and $500, the headphones would go up against Apple’s AirPods Max and Sony’s WH-1000XM5, two of the leading noise-canceling headphones on the market.

The new Sonos headphones should be compatible with the Sonos ecosystem and offer voice support through Sonos Voice Control.

Sonos could also follow the headphones with a set of wireless earbuds, Bloomberg says in its report.

More surprisingly, the company is also believed to be developing a Roku-like streaming device for late 2024 or early 2025. Apparently code-named “Pinewood,” the product will be based on the Android operating system and feature streaming apps from Netflix and others ...

EXPERIENCE by Andy Boxall

I reviewed 20 phones in 2023. These are my 5 favorites

A couple of additional handsets also get a special mention

This has been a fantastic year for smartphones due to the sheer variety of great devices at all prices. In other words, if you wanted a brilliant new phone this year, it didn’t have to be a $1,000-plus flagship.

I’ve used and reviewed a great many phones over the past 12 months, but the following five have left the biggest impression to become what I consider the very best you can get.

First up, the iPhone 15 Plus. While this handset may not be the most technically impressive new iPhone released this year, it is the one that surprised me, as I’d felt that the iPhone 14 Plus was too big, too heavy, and too uncomfortable to be a true cheaper alternative to the iPhone 14 Pro Max ...

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