We understand: life is busy, and you can't necessarily spend all of your time glued to the TechRadar website, waiting for updates. Look away for just an hour or two though, and you can quickly miss a flurry of significant stories.
That's the thinking behind this in-case-you-missed-it round-up, a collection of all the biggest news headlines from the world of tech this week. We've got reviews of the new M3-powered Macs and 3rd-gen Amazon Echo Show 8, news of Sony's fastest ever digital camera, some Black Friday buying advice, and more besides.
Without any further ado, here are the highlights of everything we've covered over the last week. See you again next week for more of the same.
7. We heard about a more affordable foldable from Samsung
You'll see that Samsung gets plenty of praise in our carefully curated list of the best foldable phones you can buy right now – but read our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review and you'll see that these aren't cheap handsets.
A more affordable Samsung foldable phone could be on the way though, according to one team of analysts. Foldables represent a growing segment of a shrinking market right now, and Android manufacturers are keen to make the most of it.
What we don't get in the report are any details on form factor or pricing – but we do have some ideas about what we would like to see if Samsung were to bring out a cheaper folding phone. See if you agree with us.
6. Loki season 2 finished – and we're still recovering
Loki season 2 has come to a close with an episode entitled 'Glorious Purpose' – also the name of the very first episode by the way – and we've got a lot of thoughts. It's a finale that we're going to remember for a long, long time.
For our money it's a 10 out of 10 instalment, and if you've also seen it, then you probably have a few questions about what passed before your eyes. We've tried our best to answer those questions, so obviously don't click through if you want to avoid spoilers.
We're not going to say any more here, for the sake of those who might still be catching up, but it's safe and spoiler-free to say that the curse of the Marvel TV show finale has been lifted, and not before time either.
5. ChatGPT got given its biggest update so far
Some pretty major upgrades for AI chatbot of the moment ChatGPT were announced this week, making the bot even more powerful and helpful – especially if you're paying out a monthly subscription for the Plus plan.
Included in the upgrades are the ability for users to make their own bespoke chatbots, and the launch of what's effectively a chatbot app store. There's also a new 'Turbo' mode which uses more up-to-date data to provide responses.
It's all very exciting if you're sold on the potential of artificial intelligence – and if you haven't found ChatGPT particularly useful so far, perhaps the upgrades that are now rolling out will be enough to change your mind.
4. We really enjoyed testing the 3rd-gen Amazon Echo Show 8
There's a new and improved version of Amazon's 8-inch Echo Show to talk about, and TechRadar Computing Reviews and Buying Guides Editor Michelle Rae Uy was impressed enough by it to give it four-and-a-half stars out of five in her review.
It brings with it excellent audio fidelity, snappy performance, and a display that's sharp and responsive, as well as support for the Thread and Zigbee smart home standards. You've also got all the smarts of Amazon Alexa on board, of course.
We'd encourage you to check out the full review via the link below if you think the 3rd-gen Amazon Echo Show 8 could be the next smart display for you. As usual, our review goes in depth on all the details that matter.
- Read more: Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) review
3. We dispensed a lot of advice about early Black Friday deals
As well as keeping you up to date with the latest happenings in technology, and bringing you the best analysis of the tech landscape, and providing you with the most comprehensive gadget reviews on the web, we're also keen on pointing you towards the best early Black Friday deals.
Black Friday itself is still a couple of weeks off, but you'll find a wealth of deals and discounts live on the site right now: check out our Black Friday deals hub for the US and our Black Friday deals UK hub if you're on the other side of the Atlantic for more details.
Sometimes, though, the best deals aren't the obvious ones. The iPhone 14 is available for a very attractive price right now, for example – but all things considered, we think you're better going for the iPhone 13 or the iPhone 15. Click the link below to find out why.
- Read more: Don't buy an iPhone 14 this Black Friday
2. Sony launched the fastest ever mirrorless camera
There was big news on the digital camera front this week, with the launch of the Sony A9 III. It's the fastest mirrorless camera we've seen to date, and it boasts a rapid 120 FPS continuous burst shooting rate for 24.6MP raw and JPEG photos.
Fast-moving subjects and quick camera movements should be no problem at all for the Sony A9 III, and there's an impressive 759-point autofocus as well. The Bionz ZR processing engine on board is said to be eight times more powerful than the one on the A9 II.
All this can be yours for (deep breath) $5,999 / £6,100 / AU$10,499, and the camera is going to go on sale at the end of January 2024. We're looking forward to getting our hands on it and providing you with a full review of its capabilities.
1. We were hugely impressed by the new M3 Macs
Speaking of reviews, we took an in-depth look at the new 14-inch MacBook Pro, the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, and the new 24-inch iMac this week – all powered by Apple's latest super-powerful chipsets, the M3 series.
You can see from the star ratings that we've dished out that we really like what Apple has done with its new hardware, and of course performance gains are always to be welcomed (as well as casings that don't attract fingerprint smudges).
Head to our Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M3 Max (2023) review, our Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max) review, and our Apple iMac 24-inch (M3) review to see if they've got enough about them to tempt you into a purchase.
