November 7, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

📱 MediaTek's new chip raises the bar for Android phones

🤖 AI pioneer expresses excitement about 'embodied AI'

🖥️ Hands-on with the new Apple iMac (M3)

⌚️ Can this G-Shock watch rival the Apple Watch Ultra 2?

UP FIRST

MediaTek's new chip just raised the bar for Android phones

The Dimensity 9300 chip is for high-end Android handsets and was announced on Monday

MediaTek's powerful Dimensity 9300 chip, which challenges Qualcomm’s recently announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, features a cluster of four top-tier ARM cores and can support screens maxing out at a 180Hz refresh rate.

It also comes with an AI engine that MediaTek claims is eight times faster than the previous generation and can produce visual media in less than a second using Stable Diffusion’s text-to-image models.

MediaTek president Joe Chen claimed the technology behind the Dimensity 9300 will “usher in a new era of generative-AI applications.”

With the first handsets powered by the Dimensity 9300 expected to start arriving before the end of this year, it’ll be interesting to see how many brands go for MediaTek over Qualcomm ...

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

AI pioneer expresses excitement about 'embodied AI'

Fei-Fei Li says she shares concern about the existential risk of AI but would prefer to deal with the here-and-now issues that it presents

As OpenAI unveils its most powerful LLM (large language model) yet in the form of GPT-4 Turbo, AI pioneer and Stanford University professor Fei-Fei Li has been offering her on take on AI-related issues.

Aware of the fears surrounding the future development of AI, Li told the Guardian that while such tools are “invented by and large to deliver good ... there are unintended consequences and we have to understand and mitigate their risks well.”

The professor says there’s currently a lot of “hyperbole and extreme rhetoric on both sides” when it comes to AI regulation, insisting that people need to be “nuanced and thoughtful” when discussing the matter.

Li expressed excitement about embodied AI [AI-powered robots that can interact with and learn from a physical environment], saying that while it may be a few years away, it could become “truly helpful to people’s lives and work” ...

HANDS-ON REVIEW

Apple iMac (M3) review: When enough is enough

It's the first update for the 24-inch iMac since its launch two years ago

Apple has just indicated that it currently has no plan to launch a 27-inch iMac with the company’s latest silicon, leaving folks who want an all-in-one Apple desktop with the recently updated 24-inch iMac.

While the new M3 chip gives the refreshed iMac a significant boost over the M1 chip that came with its predecessor, there’s not a great deal of new stuff with the updated machine. Still, it’s an impressive package overall and could be the right fit for some people looking for a reasonably priced yet powerful desktop.

To find out more, we've taken a close look at all aspects of Apple’s 24-inch iMac, examining everything from design and display to peripherals, ports, and performance ...

EXPERIENCE by Andy Boxall

I wore a G-Shock watch that rivals the Apple Watch Ultra 2

'With the GW-9500, Casio has reimagined the Mudman line for 2023'

I really like the Apple Watch Ultra, but I also like watches in general. Recently, I was in a situation where I didn’t need to track any activity but still wanted to wear a tough watch that not only fitted in with a muddy, grubby, harsh environment — but could cope with it should the need arise.

I turned to the recently released Casio G-Shock GW-9500 Mudman, and while it’s not a smartwatch, it was the perfect choice for the day.

Later, I wondered if this Bluetooth-free, seemingly indestructible watch could actually be an alternative to the Apple Watch Ultra. Is it? Here’s what I learned ...

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