October 23, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

🖥️ Refreshed 24-inch iMac launch may be imminent

📱 Pixel 8's AI-powered photo editing tools spark debate

🚀 NASA has a wild plan to launch a rocket from Mars

UP FIRST

New iMac may be coming sooner than you think

The original model launched in 2021, so it's due an update

Apple could unveil a refreshed 24-inch iMac at the end of this month, prominent Apple analyst Mark Gurman claimed on Sunday.

Writing in his weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple is planning a “Mac-centered product launch around the end of this month.”

He said the most likely date for an announcement will be on either October 30 or 31.

Besides a new 24-inch iMac, updated MacBook Pros could also be announced. But Gurman said he believes that Apple is still working on a larger pro version of the iMac and that it’s most likely to arrive in late 2024 or the following year with a 32-inch display – 5 inches bigger than the largest iMac to date.

The claim of an imminent release of the 24-inch model is at odds with recent comments made by another high-profile Apple specialist, Ming-Chi Kuo, who believes that the updated iMac won’t appear until 2024 ...

AI PHOTOGRAPHY

Pixel 8's AI-powered photo editing tools spark debate

How much does it matter that AI tools can utterly transform images in just a few taps?

The recent launch of Google’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones has renewed the debate around the ethics of photo editing and publishing.

That’s because the handsets herald the arrival of some astonishingly powerful AI-based editing tools that let you make complex changes with very little effort.

Google's Magic Editor and Best Take, along with the previously released Magic Eraser, are exciting developments, but at the same time, their arrival raises important questions about authenticity and trust in online images, especially as they can now be dramatically manipulated with such ease.

A recent BBC article on the topic discusses these powerful new editing tools and includes a contribution from the person leading the team that built them.

ON THE HORIZON

NASA's wild plan to launch a rocket from Mars is 'like something from an amusement park'

The Mars Sample Return mission is expected to begin in 2027

NASA is planning another bold mission, this time to bring samples of Mars rock all the way to Earth.

With Perseverance and other rovers already exploring Mars, we know we have the technology to reach the Martian surface, but getting something from there to here is a whole other ball game.

To do so, NASA and its partners are designing a complex mission that will involve launching a rocket from the surface of Mars, an ambitious feat considering that it’s never been done before.

Engineers need to tackle a slew of challenges, including how to perform a steady, controlled liftoff without a launchpad (it actually involves the lander tossing the rocket into the air).

Digital Trends spoke to experts about some of the obstacles that the mission team faces, and how engineers are trying to overcome them ...

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