00:00Is Apple Intelligence and Siri finally good, or is it still playing catch-up to Google and Samsung?
00:04Want to get into VR? Is the Quest 3S the headset for you?
00:07Thinking of getting a frame TV, here are some tips for mounting setups.
00:10And if you're trying to buy a Kindle today, which one is worth your money?
00:18Welcome to Episode 2 of Ask TG.
00:20This is the show where I grab your comments and questions from our recent videos
00:23and get you answers from our Tom's Guide experts.
00:26And if you've got a burning question that you want us to answer next time,
00:28just use the hashtag AskTG.
00:33We'll give you a call, John.
00:36What's your thought on the latest versions of Apple Intelligence and the revamped Siri?
00:42So, I feel like Apple is piecemealing the whole rollout
00:46versus what you see with the other competitors like Google and also Samsung.
00:50When they unveiled their AI features, they all came out at the same time.
00:53But what I've tried out so far is promising.
00:56For example, you said Siri, the new Siri, is much more intelligent.
01:00I love that Siri is more conversational.
01:03The coolest feature I've seen so far with iOS 18.1 with Apple Intelligence
01:07is the cleanup feature with the photos.
01:10Magic Eraser has been around for a while now with Google,
01:13but I think Apple has a more intuitive interpretation.
01:16It knows exactly what you're trying to select.
01:18Is it better than Magic Eraser?
01:21That's questionable.
01:21I actually wrote a piece on that about which is better.
01:23Any other tools like that that you think maybe gives Apple an advantage
01:28compared to like Samsung and Gemini?
01:31I'm actually testing out the iOS 18.2 developer's beta,
01:35and with it is visual intelligence.
01:38And that's the next level for the iPhone
01:40because now you could use the camera to do a bunch of things.
01:42It's kind of like Google Lens or Google Gemini
01:46because now you could just take a photo.
01:48It'll research the information for you.
01:49For example, you know, this car here I'm test driving right now.
01:53It'll tell me what it is.
01:54You know, I could ask follow-up questions.
01:56There's chat, GP's integration.
01:58So if I want to know how many miles I get out of this EV,
02:01it'll do the research for me.
02:02I don't have to open up another app.
02:03So in that sense, it's great.
02:05But like you said earlier, it's still playing catch-up.
02:08What are you test driving today?
02:09BMW i4 M50, shimmery, lustery, red paint job.
02:15It got more compliments than any other car I've test driven.
02:18The handling's excellent.
02:19You take those tight corners really good.
02:21It's just exhilarating.
02:23Don't forget to watch our full review
02:24on the BMW i4n channel.
02:26See you then.
02:29Next up, if you're interested in getting into VR,
02:31maybe you've dabbled with it a bit
02:32or you're trying to find a headset that's worth your money,
02:35is a MetaQuest 3S the way to go?
02:37Well, I've been using the Quest 3 for, dang,
02:43I mean, almost a year now.
02:44But also a couple months ago,
02:46I had the chance to try out the Apple Vision Pro.
02:49During that experience,
02:50I actually was able to appreciate
02:54what $3,500 got you at the end of the day.
02:56And one of my main takeaways was,
02:58no, it's not worth it to me,
03:00but I wish I had that user interface.
03:03I wish I had, you know, the apps, the entertainment.
03:06That made it really great.
03:08But at the same time,
03:08it also showed for $500
03:10and now basically for $300,
03:12the 3S, the budget version of this,
03:14how close these headsets get to the Vision Pro.
03:17Now, having said that,
03:18this is a very powerful device.
03:20And even though I'm in a more unique spot
03:22where I don't really use this for entertainment
03:23or playing games as much,
03:25it's more for productivity
03:26when I don't want to use that monitor,
03:28I basically am getting a much bigger workspace
03:31on the go than my 49-inch ultrawide in this headset.
03:34And I can use it anywhere,
03:35train, plane, car,
03:37to get, you know, the same performance,
03:39but with a slightly lower resolution on the 299 3S.
03:44I wouldn't be surprised
03:45if they were selling it at a loss, honestly,
03:47because they're making their money
03:48on the software and the accessories.
03:50With a lot of people
03:51who are either upgrading from the 2,
03:53maybe the original 1,
03:54or haven't even tried out VR,
03:56the Quest 3S is an incredible value.
03:59And it's a great introduction,
04:01but it's also a great medium ground,
04:03I think, for a lot of people
04:04where you're getting a lot of value and performance.
04:07But yeah, if you've been on the fence about trying VR,
04:09you can't go wrong with the 3S.
04:18Hey, Kate.
04:19Hey, what's going on?
04:20So we actually have someone
04:22who commented on our last video
04:24asking about the frame TV.
04:26They need tips for mounting it.
04:28So they don't want it to be too low
04:29that it feels like a traditional TV.
04:32They've got a wall that's 9 1⁄2 feet tall,
04:34and they're probably going to be sitting
04:36about 10 feet away from the TV.
04:37So they want to know
04:38what the ideal height should be.
04:40I mean, look,
04:41the standard recommendation
04:42is based on having
04:43a directly centered eye-level view
04:46whenever you're sitting on the couch.
04:48So when it comes to mounting,
04:49I think the more specific recommendation
04:51is about 45 inches off the ground
04:53to the center of the TV.
04:55But most people aren't really going to do that
04:57because if you're looking at it visually
04:58or from like a home aesthetic perspective,
05:01you're mounting it in a place
05:02where you might have some other stuff
05:04set up on the wall.
05:05I think it could look a bit off.
05:07But I would look to mount it
05:08maybe closer to 60 inches
05:10from the center off the ground.
05:11I think that might split the difference
05:13between the so-called traditional standard
05:16to having, you know,
05:17the full effect of something
05:18mounted on your wall.
05:19So with that said,
05:21let's say you have
05:21other pieces of furniture
05:23or like maybe even a fireplace
05:25or something like that.
05:26Would you say that the rules
05:26kind of differ?
05:28100% yeah.
05:29So I think if you're going
05:30for that wall art effect
05:32and that's a priority,
05:33that's what you're paying the premium for,
05:35I definitely think
05:36it's worth compromising.
05:37Think about it this way.
05:38If you're getting a TV
05:39that can emulate art
05:41so it can look really nice
05:42on your wall,
05:43why wouldn't you hang it
05:45and have wall art?
05:46First, get that direct line of sight,
05:47then maybe go up about 10 to 15 inches.
05:50If you were to buy
05:51a brand new TV right now,
05:53would you have your mind set
05:54on a frame TV?
05:55I know you also really like OLEDs.
05:56I think the frame TV,
05:57it usually goes down to like,
05:59it could be up to like
06:00a thousand dollars off,
06:02honestly, depending on the size.
06:03That said,
06:04OLED is usually the best bang
06:06for your buck
06:07and TV deal season
06:10is definitely upon us.
06:12An OLED TV is pretty different
06:14from a frame for what it's worth.
06:15It's also a bit more forgiving
06:16with that off angle viewing.
06:18What I think most people
06:19want to know about TV deals wise
06:21is related to LG OLED TVs
06:23specifically,
06:24which makes sense.
06:25It's the leading OLED brand
06:26and often among
06:27our top rated options.
06:29The best deal I've seen so far
06:30is for the LG C4,
06:32which is one of this year's flagships.
06:34It's 45% off
06:36in that 55 inch size.
06:37And I think if you can get
06:38a 55 inch
06:39or a 65 inch OLED TV
06:41and see it for under $1,400,
06:43that's a pretty great find.
06:45And if you're willing
06:46to compromise on a TV
06:47that's a year or two old,
06:49you might even be able
06:50to get a TV
06:51in one of those sizes
06:52closer to $1,100.
06:58I don't think Tony's online right now,
06:59but I'm curious to see
07:00what he thinks about this.
07:01Okay, so let's put it this way.
07:03For reading books primarily,
07:05I know Tony reads a lot of comics.
07:07It'll be interesting
07:07to see what he says about that.
07:09Let's put it out this way.
07:12He thinks it's for Tony
07:13because Tony reviewed it.
07:14What did Kate send?
07:16She went with the Kindle Paperwhite.
07:19Kate with the Kindle Paperwhite.
07:21John with the cheap HD tablet.
07:24Anthony, regular Kindle.
07:25Once you try black and white e-ink,
07:27it's hard to use anything else.
07:29Think of it as blue light glasses
07:30for your books
07:31that you don't have to wear.
07:33The Paperwhite is a bit better though.
07:34I'm not that eager to upgrade.
07:36No, given my Kindle
07:37is less than two years old,
07:38still in good condition.
07:40All right, finally,
07:40we got a reply from Tony.
07:42He's going with the Kindle Colorsoft
07:44since he likes seeing
07:46his book covers in color.
07:48But for those who don't
07:49really care about that,
07:50which I guess a lot of people might not,
07:52he suggests the Paperwhite
07:53since it has a nice seven-inch display.
07:56Regular Kindle is nice,
07:57but might be too small
07:58for some people.
07:59Sure.
08:00I wouldn't recommend an iPad
08:02if you're primarily reading
08:03since you'll get too many distractions,
08:05plus Kindle's produce
08:06less or no eye strain.
08:08And I think that's a big one.
08:09As much as I do love
08:11reading on my iPad,
08:12during the day,
08:13like in my living room,
08:15it's fine.
08:16You know, it's definitely bright enough.
08:17But as soon as,
08:18one of two things,
08:19I go outside,
08:20it's either completely washed out
08:22and I can barely read it.
08:23Or when it comes to nighttime,
08:24even on its lowest setting
08:26and when you put its color shift,
08:28so it's a little bit more yellow on the page,
08:30it's still not, you know,
08:31the same as reading
08:32with a nice soft light
08:34and reading a traditional book.
08:36An iPad for $349
08:38or cheap Fire HD for $75.
08:40From my new point of view,
08:42the paperweight is amazing
08:44and I'd buy it.
08:44If you can get the 2021 model
08:47at a good price,
08:48it might be worth it
08:49since upgrades are small.
08:51Oh, okay.
08:52There you have it.
08:53Minor upgrades.
08:54Might as well look for
08:55the previous model,
08:57save a bit more cash.
08:59That's probably the way to go.
09:00I'm also curious as well
09:01how many people can relate to this
09:02if you were to compare
09:04having a tablet,
09:05which can do so much,
09:08you know,
09:08you play your games,
09:09your movies,
09:10your shows,
09:10whatever,
09:11versus just something
09:12that's supposed to be
09:13a modern version of a book.
09:15I feel like I might be more likely
09:17to read more
09:19with a product
09:20that's dedicated
09:22as a book replacement
09:24versus something
09:24that can replace my books
09:26and everything else.
09:28That's also worth thinking about.
09:31That's it for episode two.
09:32Use the hashtag AskTG
09:33for your chance to get featured
09:34in another episode.
09:36Follow us everywhere
09:36at Tom's Guide.
09:37You can follow me
09:38to see what I'm reviewing next.
09:39Until the next one,
09:40catch you later.
Comments