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.
00:25And if you've got a burning question that you want us to answer next time,
00:28just use the hashtag AskTG.
00:33I'm going to 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 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 compared to,
01:29like Samsung and Gemini?
01:31I'm actually testing out the iOS 18.2 developers beta, and with it is visual intelligence.
01:37And that'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.
01:48It'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 ChatGP's integration.
01:57So if I want to know how many miles I get out of this EV, it'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, lustry red paint job.
02:15It got more compliments than any other car I've test driven.
02:18The handling is excellent.
02:19You take those tight corners really good.
02:21It's just exhilarating.
02:22Don't forget to watch our full review on the BMW i4 channel.
02:26See 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.
02:35Isn't that a Quest 3S the way to go?
02:38Well, I've been using the Quest 3 for, dang, I mean, almost a year now.
02:45But also a couple of months ago, I had the chance to try out the Apple Vision Pro.
02:49During that experience, I actually was able to appreciate what $3,500 got you.
02:55At the end of the day, and one of my main takeaways was, no, 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 that made it really great.
03:08But at the same time, it also showed for $500 and now basically for $300, the 3S,
03:13the budget version of this, how close these headsets get to the Vision Pro.
03:17Now, having said that, this is a very powerful device.
03:20And even though I'm in a more unique spot where I don't really use this for entertainment
03:23or 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.
03:44I wouldn't be surprised if they were selling it at a loss, honestly,
03:47because they're making their money on the software and the accessories.
03:50With a lot of people who are either upgrading from the 2,
03:53maybe the original 1, or haven't even tried out VR,
03:56the Quest 3S is an incredible value.
03:59And it's a great introduction, but it's also a great medium ground,
04:03I think, for a lot of people where you're getting a lot of value and performance.
04:06But yeah, if you've been on the fence about trying VR, you can't go wrong with the 3S.
04:14So we actually have someone who commented on our last video asking about the frame TV.
04:26They need tips for mounting it.
04:28So 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,
04:34and they're probably going to be sitting about 10 feet away from the TV.
04:37So they want to know what the ideal height should be.
04:40I mean, look, the standard recommendation
04:42is based on having a directly centered,
04:45eye-level view whenever you're sitting on the couch.
04:48So when it comes to mounting, I think the more specific recommendation is about 45
04:52inches off the ground to 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 or from a home aesthetic perspective,
05:01you're mounting it in a place where you might have some other stuff set up on the wall.
05:05I think it could look a bit off.
05:07But I would look to mount it maybe closer to 60 inches from the center off the ground.
05:11I think that might split the difference between the so-called traditional standard
05:16to having, you know, the full effect of something mounted on your wall.
05:19So with that said, let's say you have other pieces of furniture
05:23or like maybe even a fireplace or something like that.
05:25Would you say that the rules kind of differ?
05:28One hundred percent.
05:29Yeah.
05:29So I think if you're going for that wall art effect and that's a priority,
05:33that's what you're paying the premium for.
05:35I definitely think it's worth compromising.
05:37Think about it this way.
05:38If you're getting a TV that can emulate art so it can look really nice on your wall,
05:43why wouldn't you hang it and have wall art?
05:46First, get that direct line of sight, then maybe go up about 10 to 15 inches.
05:50If you were to buy a brandy TV right now, would you have your mind set on a frame TV?
05:55I know you also really like OLEDs.
05:56I think the frame TV usually goes down to like it could be up to like a thousand dollars off,
06:02honestly, depending on the size.
06:03That said, OLED is usually the best bang for your buck and TV deal season is definitely upon us.
06:11An OLED TV is pretty different from a frame for what it's worth.
06:15It'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 specifically,
06:24which makes sense.
06:25It'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.
06:37And I think if you can get a 55 inch or a 65 inch OLED TV and see it for under $1,400,
06:43that's a pretty great find.
06:45And if you're willing to compromise on a TV that's a year or two old,
06:49you might even be able to get a TV in one of those sizes closer to $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.
07:03For reading books primarily, I know Tony reads a lot of comics.
07:07It'll be interesting to see what he says about that.
07:09Let's put it out this way.
07:10He thinks it's for Tony because Tony reviewed it.
07:14What did Kate send?
07:17She went with the Kindle Paperwhite.
07:19Kate with the Kindle Paperwhite.
07:21John with the cheap HD tablet.
07:23Anthony, regular Kindle.
07:25Once you try black and white e-ink, it's hard to use anything else.
07:29Think of it as blue light glasses for your books that 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 is less than two years old, still in good condition.
07:40All right, finally, we got a reply from Tony.
07:42He's going with the Kindle Color Soft since he likes seeing his book covers in color.
07:48But for those who don't really care about that, which I guess a lot of people might not,
07:52he suggests the Paperwhite since it has a nice 7-inch display.
07:56Regular Kindle is nice but might be too small for some people, sure.
08:00I wouldn't recommend an iPad if you're primarily reading since you'll get too many distractions,
08:05plus Kindles produce less or no eyestrain.
08:08And I think that's a big one.
08:09As much as I do love reading on my iPad during the day, like in my living room, it's fine.
08:15You know, it's definitely bright enough.
08:17But as soon as one of two things, I go outside, it's either completely washed out and I can barely read it,
08:23or when it comes to nighttime, even on its lowest setting and when you put its color shift,
08:27so it's a little bit more yellow on the page.
08:30It's still not, you know, the same as reading with a nice soft light and reading a traditional book.
08:36An iPad for $349 or cheap for HD for $75.
08:40From my new point of view, the Paperwhite is amazing and I'd buy it.
08:44If you can get the 2021 model at a good price, it might be worth it since upgrades are small.
08:50Oh, okay, there you have it.
08:53Minor upgrades, might as well look for the previous model, save a bit more cash.
08:59That's probably the way to go.
09:00I'm also curious as well how many people can relate to this if you were to compare having a tablet,
09:05which can do so much, you know, you play your games, your movies, your shows, whatever,
09:10versus just something that's supposed to be a modern version of a book.
09:15I feel like I might be more likely to read more with a product that's dedicated as a book replacement
09:24versus something that can replace my books and everything else.
09:28That's also worth thinking about.
09:31That's it for episode two.
09:32Use the hashtag AskTG for your chance to get featured in another episode.
09:35Follow us everywhere at Tom's Guide.
09:37You can follow me to see what I'm reviewing next.
09:39Until the next one, catch you later.
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