ICYMI: the 8 biggest tech stories of the week, from Meta’s AI agent to a big refresh for the Amazon Kindle | Daily Reports Online
Welcome to our regular ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) recap on TechRadar, which we run every week so you can catch up on all the most significant happenings in the world of tech over the last seven days.
We say this every week, but we’re going to say it again: it’s been a bumper week of news, views, and reviews. There have been new ereaders from Amazon and new tablets from Samsung, as well as a phone built specifically for kids — and that’s just the start.
So settle down and make yourself comfortable and we’ll take you through the stories that mattered, whether or not you caught them first time around. And we’ll be back next week with what will no doubt be an equally packed ICYMI…
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Meta has a new Muse AI agent app, which is intended to sit on your phone and provide useful, proactive assistance whenever you need it. From filling out forms online to making sure you don’t forget what’s on your grocery list, Muse wants to give you context-sensitive help any time of day or night. The only catch? It also wants you to hand over a lot of data.
As TechRadar’s Editor at Large Lance Ulanoff discovered when he put Muse through some vigorous testing, the AI is most useful when it knows as much about you as possible — what’s on your calendar, what’s in your email inbox, and so on. That means there’s a privacy trade-off to be made, and it’s unlikely that everyone will be comfortable with it.
7. Peloton claimed its new treadmills beat smartwatches
To get the inside story on the new and improved treadmills from Peloton, our Fitness & Wearables Editor Matt Evans spoke to Peloton executives Nick Caldwell and Meg Higgins about what makes them worth our money — and in particular, the capabilities of the AI-powered camera tracking that can watch your form as you go through your workouts.
According to the execs, the treadmill cameras can do a better job at assessing how you’re doing than wearables strapped to your wrist, and that might be enough to tempt serious athletes into picking up one of the new models. There’s plenty more to talk about with these new treadmills too, including a new cushioning system and a redesigned interface.
6. The Prime Big Deal Days kicked off early
You can save yourself hundreds of pounds in some cases, and we’re coming across certain products that are lower than they’ve ever been on the retail site. Prime Day proper gets underway on October 6 (next Tuesday), so even if you do avail yourself of some of the deals included here, make sure you check back with TechRadar over the next few days.
5. A fresh Amazon Fire TV Stick landed with a new remote
The first Amazon hardware refresh of the week came with a new Fire TV Stick 4K, promising faster performance compared to its previous 4K streaming dongles and bringing with it a redesigned remote control. There are also some AI updates for Alexa+ here, and all for $59.99 / £69.99 (about AU$86, with international pricing to be confirmed).
According to Amazon, the update remote is more tactile and easier to hold than before, with some tweaks to help you navigate its various buttons through touch alone, without looking at it (you can buy the new remote separately to work with an old Fire TV stick, if you want). Oh, and discounts are being promised to coincide with the Prime Big Deal Days next week.
4. We were blown away by Vivo’s 400mm phone lens
When it comes to phone brands, Vivo may not be as well known as the likes of Apple, Samsung, or Google, but it’s done something rather special with its new G2 Ultra 4.7x teleconverter lens — a specialist add-on that it just unveiled alongside its flagship X500 series of phones, and which gives you a serious amount of zoom from your phone.
In the words of our Cameras Editor Tim Coleman, who’s been testing out the new accessory, the teleconverter “is a real showcase of what smartphone cameras can be capable of”. For the time being, the device is only available to buy in China, but you can check out some of the stunning shots that the G2 Ultra 4.7x is capable of capturing.
3. The Freckle Phone made us rethink kids’ phones
No one has quite worked out the best age for kids to get phones yet, or what those phones should be allowed to do when they are given to children. The latest device to try and find a solution is the Freckle phone, which has a lot of phone-like features (such as calling and photo-taking), without being weighed down by apps that are potentially unhealthy.
The design of the Freckle Phone is chunky and colorful, but it’s really the software that makes it stand out. The developers of the device have eschewed a conventional operating system to offer a collection of curated apps that encourage kids to get outside and go on adventures — something we can probably all agree is going to be good for their growth.
2. Samsung revealed its new iPad Pro rival
Samsung has launched two more tablets to take on the iPad, the Galaxy Tab S12 Plus and the Galaxy S12 Ultra. The huge 14.6-inch Ultra is the pick of the pair, bringing with it faster performance and a slimmer design compared to its predecessor, and these two new slates could be the best options you’ve got at the moment if you want a tablet running Android.
We’ve got all the details on the Galaxy Tab pair here, including key specs, starting prices, and our hands-on first impressions — plus there’s also a new Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 3 to talk about. Samsung’s latest Bluetooth tracker works with iPhones for the first time, and adds new features as well as range improvements when you’re trying to hunt down something you’ve lost.
1. Amazon’s new Kindles fixed our biggest gripes
Last but not least, we’ve got the second Amazon hardware unveiling of the week, which was a complete refresh for its Kindle line. The 13th-generation ereaders bring with them changes to the design, some new colors, and aluminum unibodies in some cases, and there are updated accessories too — including devices with physical page turn buttons.
It feels like another step forward for the Kindle family, even if it’s not a huge one, and we’re pleased to see the power button has been moved from the bottom to the side of the Kindles for the first time. It’s a change that’s long overdue and should lead to fewer accidental presses (especially when you’ve got these Amazon ereaders propped up).
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