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 two of Ask TG. This is the show where I grab your comments
00:22and questions from our recent videos and 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 Ask TG.
00:33I'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 versus what you see with the other
00:47competitors like Google and also Samsung. When they unveiled their AI features,
00:52they all came out at the same time. But 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. The coolest feature I've seen so far with
01:05iOS 18.1 with Apple Intelligence is 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. Is it better than Magic Eraser?
01:20That's questionable. I actually wrote a piece on that about which is better.
01:24Any other tools like that that you think maybe gives
01:27Apple an advantage compared to like Samsung and Gemini?
01:31I'm actually testing out the iOS 18.2 developers beta, and with it is visual intelligence. And
01:37that's the next level for the iPhone, because now you could use the camera to do a bunch of things.
01:42It's kind of like Google Lens or Google Gemini, because now you could just take a photo,
01:48you'll research the information for you. For example, you know, this car here,
01:52I'm test driving right now. It'll tell me what it is. You know, I could ask follow-up questions.
01:56There's chat GP integration. So if I want to know how many miles I get out of this EV,
02:00it'll do the research for me. I don't have to open up another app.
02:04So in that sense, it's great. But like you said earlier, it's still playing catch up.
02:08What are you test driving today?
02:09BMW i4 M50, shimmery, lustry red paint job. It got more compliments than any other car I've
02:17test driven. The handling's excellent. You take those tight corners really good. It's just
02:22exhilarating. Don't forget to watch our full review on the BMW iPhone channel. See you then.
02:29Next up, if you're interested in getting into VR, maybe you've dabbled with it a bit,
02:32or you're trying to find a headset that's worth your money, it's a MediQuest 3S the way to go.
02:38Well, I've been using the Quest 3 for, dang, I mean, almost a year now. But also a couple months
02:46ago, I had the chance to try out the Apple Vision Pro. During that experience, I actually
02:51was able to appreciate what $3,500 got you at the end of the day. And one of my main takeaways was,
02:58no, it's not worth it to me. But I wish I had that user interface. I wish I had,
03:04you know, the apps, the entertainment that made it really great. But at the same time,
03:08it also showed for $500 and now basically for $300, the 3S, the budget version of this,
03:14how close these headsets get to the Vision Pro. Now, having said that, this is a very powerful
03:19device. And even though I'm in a more unique spot where I don't really use this for entertainment
03:24or playing games as much, it's more for productivity when I don't want to use that monitor,
03:28I basically am getting a much bigger workspace on the go than my 49-inch ultrawide in this headset.
03:34And I can use it anywhere, train, plane, car, to get, you know, the same performance,
03:39but with a slightly lower resolution on the 299 3S. I wouldn't be surprised if they were
03:45selling it at a loss, honestly, because they're making their money on the software and the
03:49accessories. With a lot of people who are either upgrading from the 2, maybe the original 1,
03:54or haven't even tried out VR, the Quest 3S is an incredible value. And it's a great introduction,
04:01but it's also a great medium ground, I think, for a lot of people where you're getting a lot
04:05of value and performance. But 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 who commented on our last video asking about the frame TV. They need
04:26tips for mounting it. So they don't want to be too low that it feels like a traditional TV.
04:32They've got a wall that's nine and a half feet tall, and they're probably going to be sitting
04:36about 10 feet away from the TV. So they want to know what the ideal height should be.
04:40I mean, look, the standard recommendation is based on having a directly centered,
04:45eye-level view whenever you're sitting on the couch. So when it comes to mounting,
04:49I think that more specific recommendation is about 45 inches off the ground to the center
04:54of the TV. But most people aren't really going to do that, because if you're looking at it
04:58visually or from like a home aesthetic perspective, you're mounting it in a place where you might
05:03have some other stuff set up on the wall. I think it could look a bit off, but I would look to
05:08mount it maybe closer to 60 inches from the center off the ground. I think that might split
05:12the difference between the so-called traditional standard to having the full effect of something
05:18mounted on your wall. So with that said, let's say you have other pieces of furniture or like
05:24maybe even a fireplace or something like that. Would you say that the rules kind of differ?
05:28100%. Yeah. So I think if you're going for that wall art effect and that's the priority,
05:33that's what you're paying the premium for. I definitely think it's worth compromising.
05:37Think about it this way. If you're getting a TV that can emulate art so it can look really nice
05:42on your wall, why wouldn't you hang it? You have wall art. First, get that direct line of sight,
05:47then maybe go up about 10 to 15 inches. If you were to buy a brand new TV right now,
05:53would you have your mind set on a frame TV? I know you also really like OLEDs.
05:56I think the frame TV, it usually goes down to like, it could be up to like $1,000 off,
06:02honestly, depending on the size. That said, OLED is usually the best bang for your buck,
06:08and TV deal season is definitely upon us. An OLED TV is pretty different from a frame for
06:14what it's worth. It's also a bit more forgiving with that off-angle viewing.
06:18What I think most people want to know about TV deals-wise is related to LG OLED TVs
06:23specifically, which makes sense. It's the leading OLED brand and often among our top-rated options.
06:29The best deal I've seen so far is for the LG C4, which is one of this year's flagships.
06:34It's 45% off in that 55-inch size. I think if you can get a 55-inch or a 65-inch OLED TV and
06:42see it for under $1,400, that's a pretty great find. If you're willing to compromise on a TV
06:47that's a year or two old, you might even be able to get a TV in one of those sizes closer to
06:53$1,100.
06:58I don't think Tony's online right now, but I'm curious to see what he thinks about this.
07:01Okay, so let's put it this way. For reading books primarily,
07:05I know Tony reads a lot of comics. It'll be interesting to see what he says about that.
07:09Let's put it out this way. He thinks it's for Tony because Tony reviewed it. What did Kate send?
07:17She went with the Kindle Paperwhite. Kate with the Kindle Paperwhite,
07:21John with the cheap HD tablet, Anthony, regular Kindle. Once you try black and white e-ink,
07:27it's hard to use anything else. Think of it as blue light glasses for your books that you don't
07:32have to wear. The Paperwhite is a bit better though. I'm not that eager to upgrade. No,
07:37given my Kindle is less than two years old, still in good condition.
07:40All right, finally, we got a reply from Tony. He's going with the Kindle ColorSoft since he
07:45likes seeing his book covers in color, but for those who don't really care about that, which
07:50I guess a lot of people might not, he suggests the Paperwhite since it has a nice seven-inch
07:55display. Regular Kindle is nice, but might be too small for some people. Sure. I wouldn't
08:01recommend an iPad if you're primarily reading since you'll get too many distractions, plus
08:05Kindles produce less or no eye strain, and I think that's a big one. As much as I do love
08:11reading on my iPad during the day, like in my living room, it's fine. It's definitely bright
08:17enough, but as soon as one of two things, I go outside, it's either completely washed out and I
08:22can barely read it, or when it comes to nighttime, even on its lowest setting and when you put its
08:27color shift, so it's a little bit more yellow on the page, it's still not the same as reading with
08:32a nice soft light and reading a traditional book. An iPad for $349 or a cheap Fire HD for $75.
08:40From my new point of view, the Paperwhite is amazing and I'd buy it. If you can get
08:45the 2021 model at a good price, it might be worth it since upgrades are small. Oh, okay,
08:51there you have it. Minor upgrades, might as well look for the previous model, save a bit more cash,
08:59that's probably the way to go. I'm also curious as well how many people can relate to this if you
09:04to compare having a tablet, which can do so much, you play your games, your movies, your shows,
09:10whatever, versus just something that's supposed to be a modern version of a book. I feel like I
09:16might be more likely to read more with a product that's dedicated as a book replacement versus
09:24something that can replace my books and everything else. That's also worth thinking about.
09:30That's it for episode two. Use the hashtag AskTG for your chance to get featured in another episode.
09:35Follow us everywhere at Tom's Guide. You can follow me to see what I'm reviewing next.
09:39Until the next one, catch you later.
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