We get it: It's not easy to check TechRadar every hour of every day, with so much else going on. Well, it was a case of blink and you'll miss it this week, because these last seven days were full of great stories.
That's where our ICYMI weekly roundup comes in: all of the week's top tech stories, in condensed format, for your reading pleasure. You can get caught up in just a few minutes and then you'll be ready for the onslaught of tech news that's also coming next week.
It's been another hectic week in tech, with new iPads to check out, the big Google I/O 2024 developer conference, significant updates to ChatGPT's AI capabilities, and more than one major development from the world of entertainment. Let us begin.
7. We review the sensational new iPads
We've been able to get our hands on the new 13-inch iPad Air (2024) and 13-inch iPad Pro (2024), and these are truly excellent tablets from Apple – both scoring 4.5 stars out of 5 on TechRadar. experts, and they live up to the expectations that accompanied them at the Apple Let Loose event last week.
It's the first time we've seen the more affordable Air in this larger 13-inch screen size, and we were impressed with that screen, as well as its excellent battery life and the levels of performance made possible by the M2 processor under the hood.
As for the Pro model, it moves to the M4 processor and is the first iPad we see with an OLED screen. We describe it as an “absolute powerhouse” of a tablet, and it's easily the best Apple has ever made. Our review will also tell you whether or not it is the best Apple tablet for you.
6. Apple released iOS 17.5, with a serious bug
A new version of iOS is always big news and this week Apple released iOS 17.5 to millions of users around the world. However, it was more significant for EU users: They had access to third-party web app downloads for the first time as Apple meets antitrust demands imposed by regulators.
Other new features, including updates to Apple News Plus and better support for third-party device trackers, were available to everyone. There's also a new setting that means you can continue tracking your iPhone even when it's under repair.
However, the rollout hasn't been completely smooth for everyone: some users report seeing deleted photos returning from the digital grave. It only appears to affect a select group of users running iOS 17.5, but it's a worrying bug and one we hope Apple fixes soon.
5. We have the first trailer for season 2 of The Rings of Power.
We were already looking forward to the second season of The rings of power even before its first trailer was released, but the 103-second trailer that arrived this week has raised anticipation levels even further. It looks like we're set for some epic fantasy action and intrigue that surpasses anything in Season 1.
At the same time as showing us the first trailer, Amazon also confirmed a release date: The rings of power Season 2 will hit the screens starting Thursday, August 29. There are only 104 days left to wait until we can start bingeing again.
If you need help breaking down everything revealed in this trailer, senior entertainment reporter Tom Power has you covered with his detailed breakdown of the Rings of Power Season 2 trailer, breaking down every scene, look, glimpse and expression. Be warned, though: you might want to digress if you want to skip ahead to the second season completely spoiler-free.
4. Fujifilm launched two ultra-desirable cameras
This week we were truly spoiled in the digital camera department, with not one but two excellent Fujifilm models on the way. In our full review of the Fujifilm X-T50, we found that it offered more performance and versatility than we expected, considering its predecessor X-T30 II was an entry-level model.
In fact, we gave the Fujifilm X-T50 just half a star out of a full five-star rating, and if you read our review you'll find out why. This is a camera model that handles very well and of course produces fantastic photos and videos.
We also managed to get some hands-on time with the Fujifilm GFX100S II, another camera that gives you a lot of value for your money (even if you have to spend a lot of money to get it). TechRadar Cameras editor Tim Coleman describes it as “probably the best medium format camera for most people” right now.
3. ChatGPT got another major update
Google had plenty of new AI features and tools to show off this week, more of which in a minute, but OpenAI took the top spot with some impressive ChatGPT announcements and demos. At the center of it all was the new GPT-4o (or GPT-4 Omni) model, which is a new multi-modal engine that comfortably accommodates real-time audio, vision and text.
The demos the OpenAI team went through show how advanced ChatGPT and its AI have become. We get very close to the scene where Joaquin Phoenix talks to his AI robot in the movie. His – although we hope for a less depressing ending.
These updates make ChatGPT less of a chatbot and more of a real personal assistant that you can chat with. There was also news of a desktop app for macOS users (there's no Windows equivalent yet), as well as an updated interface and more features for free users (including memory capabilities for AI).
2. Google's ambitious Astra AI Project revealed
Not to be outdone, Google had plenty of AI announcements to share at its Google I/O 2024 developer conference this week. One that particularly caught our attention was Project Astra: a multimodal AI engine, like GPT-4o, that is comfortable looking at the world and handling video and voice inputs.
The idea is that you get more natural, context-sensitive responses from your artificially intelligent assistant, and US Mobiles editor Phil Berne put the new technology to the test; he found it impressive, but it's not quite ready for the masses yet.
Astra's AI is already smart enough to play Pictionary, tell stories, and adapt to new inputs in real time, and seems perfect for a device like a pair of smart glasses; Although, to be completely clear, Google did not say that another version of Google Glass was somewhere in the process.
1. Google pushed the limits of AI at I/O 2024
Google had a lot more to share besides Project Astra at Google I/O 2024 this week, and we covered it all live. We had a new video generation tool, new AI features for Android, a new AI-powered way to search through your photos and videos, and even robots that can guide you through yoga exercises (we're not sure about that ).
Google's flagship AI model, Gemini, is getting a slew of updates in the coming months, making it smarter and more reliable wherever you access it from and whatever task you need it to perform.
That could be helping the kids with their homework, sorting through files you have stored in the cloud, or summarizing large swaths of the web for you. Look out for more of these updates coming to more devices in the coming years, including, almost certainly, the rumored Google Pixel 9 phone.
