I would call this week the calm before the storm that will be Apple's WWDC 2024 event on Monday, where it is expected to show off its AI, or Apple Intelligence, as it is apparently going to be renamed.
But it's been another week in the tech world, so of course it's been a busy week with ChatGPT crises, Galaxy Ring legal dramas, and Meta VR headset leaks from Meta itself.
To help you catch up, let's review this week's biggest tech news, and be sure to come back in seven days for another quick catch-up.
8. We attend Computex for all advertisements.
Computex is the world's largest computing showcase and it's been up and running all week, and we've traveled to Taipei, Taiwan to bring you the latest news and top tech. Major players like Nvidia, AMD, and Intel all had big presentations showcasing their visions for the future of PCs, and unsurprisingly, much of it focused on AI.
Not everyone loved this direction: Computer science editor John Loeffler was particularly concerned about Nvidia's AI ambitions and what that means for our planet and our jobs.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm emerged as the clear winner of Computex 2024 thanks to the hype surrounding Windows laptops built with its ARM processors. We also list the best laptops that were announced at Computex 2024.
7. ChatGPT had the biggest outage of the year
ChatGPT fans had to find another way to do their rehearsing, coding, and brainstorming this week, after the AI assistant crashed twice on the same day on June 4.
OpenAI's popular chatbot was down for several hours in what the company accurately called a “major outage.” Interestingly, there was no real official explanation for the issues, and some of ChatGPT's rivals, including Claude and Perplexity, also had minor issues on the same day.
Whatever the cause of the outage, it confirmed one thing: Some of us have become as hopelessly dependent on AI cronies as we have on the Internet. Let's hope ChatGPT stays fit and doesn't need to take any more sick days anytime soon.
6. Spotify raised its prices and made everyone angry
Sonos had a good week making friends and influencing people, from its customers to the musicians who power it.
Specifically, we saw a powerful one-two punch this week when Spotify raised the price of its Premium subscription in the US, right after CEO Daniel Ek claimed that the “content” that powers the service costs “close to zero.” In our country we might wonder why the price keeps rising in that case, while musicians who struggle to keep music as their full-time job may have a different idea of the costs than he does.
Despite that, a data company claimed that Spotify has the lowest churn rates of the major streaming services, meaning its users are the least likely to cancel and move elsewhere, and despite a tough week , that probably won't change… right?
Meta is keeping the Quest 3S a secret and a strainer retains the water, as for the second time in as many leaks an official channel has mocked the rumored budget Quest 3.
The Quest 3S was referenced on some Meta Quest Store pages last week, while on Tuesday it appeared in the background of a Threads video posted by Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth. The headset appears identical to the leaked Quest 3S design (and, importantly, unlike any other Meta VR headset), and Luna, the person sharing a lot of the leaked Quest 3S information, points out the bug on Twitter.
Perhaps confirming the mistake, Bosworth responded to Luna's tweet by saying, “Love that higher quality video on Threads…”
So folks, if you're looking for a budget VR headset, it might be time to mark your calendars for Meta Connect 2024 on September 25 and 26, as the Quest 3S is now almost certain to appear there.
4. Samsung Galaxy Ring date revealed
Mark your calendars, because the Samsung Galaxy Ring will launch around August, the first indication we've had so far of a date beyond a vague indication of “the second half of 2024.” While Samsung technically revealed this information, it wasn't part of a flashy presentation or press release.
Instead, it was revealed in a lawsuit filed by Samsung against Oura Health, makers of the Oura Ring, to prevent Oura from suing Samsung. Oura is quite the litigator, and in recent months has filed several infringement lawsuits against other smart ring makers like Ultrahuman and Ringconn. Samsung, which did not want Oura to potentially hinder its planned launch date in red tape, has decided to sue Oura first to prevent the new company from suing Samsung first. It's very cyclical, almost like it moves in a sort of ironic circular shape…
3. Sonos added some features back to its divisive app
You may remember that last month, many Sonos owners took to the internet to express their frustration with the controversial new Sonos app. Because? It was a major overhaul of an app that Sonos customers used daily, and it didn't include some pretty basic features they'd been happily using before the update, so that's why.
Now (and to give the multi-room audio giant its due), Sonos has listened to customer feedback and added back some of the most requested features in this second update since the big update. (Got it? Good.)
Sonos said: “We realize there are beloved features that our listeners are eager to continue enjoying now. We're working diligently to reintroduce them in the coming months, along with additional improvements that will make the app experience even better.”
Following the first update, which arrived at the end of May, the new update offers three key features: sleep timers, “play next” and “add to queue”, plus support for the new Sonos Ace headphones.
Of course, it doesn't check off everything on the to-do list. Sonos intends to add more features in June, so you can expect a second update this month. And that update should add improved playback controls and search your local music library as well.
2. Panasonic presented the new GH7 video camera
Panasonic's new Lumix GH7 updates the GH6, a camera we already gave 5 stars, with crucial improvements that ensure its Micro Four Thirds format system lives to fight another day.
A new 25.2MP sensor is equipped with phase detection autofocus and new capabilities including target areas, improved image stabilization which we expect to be the best in the business, plus there are some powerful video recording features that are not entitled to be for less than $2200. / £2,000 camera, including internal Pro Res raw 5.K video recording and unlimited recording times.
There's also an impressive world-first: 32-bit floating audio recording, although you'll need the optional XLR adapter and external microphone to get this flexible, high-quality audio in your video files. Simply put, the GH7 can do things that most other camcorders at that price can do.
1. A new trailer for the Venom movie was released.
Venom: The Last Dance probably won't be one of the best new movies of 2024; In fact, if we've learned anything about Sony's Spider-Man spinoff movies, it's that they're not very good. However, that doesn't mean people aren't excited about its release, as evidenced by the enthusiastic discussions that followed. Venom 3The first preview.
If the three minutes of footage is anything to go by, it will also be as chaotically messy as its predecessors. Venom: The Last DanceThe first trailer shows off everything from new symbiotes and the return of a Spider-Man villain, to surprise ties to the MCU and even a Venom Horse (yes, you read that right). Expect the Tom Hardy-starring superhero movie to rake in money in Eddie Brock and Venom's last hurray on the big screen.
