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 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.
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09:39Until the next one, catch you later.