In this episode of Ask TG: we explore whether Apple Intelligence finally makes Siri worth using, if the Quest 3S is the best VR headset for you, where to mount your Frame TV for the perfect view, and which Kindle is worth your money.
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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.