Technology

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• Apple’s MacBook Air may not get OLED until 2028 or even later
• Previous rumors suggested the screen upgrade could come in 2027
• It seems Apple is having difficulty balancing cost and supply chain issues

Apple’s plans for introducing OLED screens with its laptops seem to be a constant churn of rumors, and here’s another which claims that as far as the MacBook Air is concerned, it may not get this display upgrade until well into the future.

While the MacBook Pro is still expected to make the move to OLED in 2026 – bearing in mind this is just rumored, although it’s been put forward quite strongly at this point – the MacBook Air might have to wait until 2028, or possibly even later.

That’s the word from a new report published by Korean tech site The Elec – again, add skepticism appropriately – which asserts that, according to industry sources, the MacBook Air won’t get the OLED treatment in 2027 as previously rumored.

Why not? Well, the reason is wrapped up in pricing, as well as issues with the supply chain.

The MacBook Air is, of course, Apple’s mainstream laptop targeted at the consumer, and its pricing is quite different to the MacBook Pro, which is aimed at professional usage (and creatives, or enthusiasts, or others with deeper wallets when it comes to spending on tech).

Introducing OLED is a fair old hike on the cost of the laptop, as you might expect – fancy screens do not come cheap. And while this isn’t such an issue for the more weightily priced MacBook Pro, it’s more of a problem with the MacBook Air, which can’t take so much strain put on its affordability.

What this means is that Apple needs to suss out how to make the MacBook Air and OLED work, price-wise. Rather than using two-stack tandem OLED tech – panels with two emission layers, offering better brightness, and longevity of the screen – as rumored for the MacBook Pro, Apple could look at a single-stack OLED panel for the MacBook Air.

Essentially, a cheaper approach, one that would also differentiate between the quality of these laptops, and product segmentation that Apple would obviously want to maintain. There must be a reason to pay a lot more money for the MacBook Pro, after all.

A tricky balancing act

(Image credit: Future)

The long and short of it is that it sounds like Apple is exploring its OLED options here, and finding that supplies and choices are currently scarce on the ground in terms of more affordable routes forward. The result being that working out the reality of a MacBook Air OLED could take a deal longer than anticipated, waiting for the supply chain to be in better shape to hammer out an affordable deal for the screen upgrade – hence the possible delay to 2028, or further out.

Just to underline we should be cautious about this chatter, but that said, all of the above does make some sense. Furthermore, as MacRumors, which spotted the report, also observes, the iPad Pro OLED has not pulled the sales Apple had hoped for, and shipment numbers have dropped substantially this year – from an anticipated 10 million units of the tablet, reportedly down to 6-7 million. Which may stoke worries for Apple regarding the appeal of OLED on the MacBook Air, in the nearer term.

As far as the consumer is concerned, we guess the obvious worry from their perspective is that if we’re starting to talk about compromises for cheaper OLED – and losing the longevity benefits of the two-stack tandem solution for the MacBook Pro screens – how might MacBook Air OLEDs fare well down the line into their life? We are getting well ahead of ourselves here, though, into deeply speculative territory.

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ChatGPT just stunned me. Almost two years after I first asked an early version of the generative AI chatbot to help me code a game, I returned to ChatGPT 4o with the exact same prompt, and the results blew me away.

Ever since OpenAI's generative AI platform arrived, people have been turning to it to handle tasks they'd rather not do or, in some cases, to attempt things even they're not capable of. I can write, so I usually don't ask ChatGPT to compose prose, and I'm an OK artist so I only use generative image creation for entertainment. However, I am not a programmer. I've done some HTML, Javascript, and even BASIC coding in the past, but my skills are beyond rusty; they're calcified.

I wrote last year about asking ChatGPT to help me build a new game called Tic-Tac-Go. It's like Tic-Tac-Toe but on steroids. I envisioned the playing field to be a 12x12 grid. Winning would take six "X" marks or six "O" marks in a row.

Here's the original prompt:

I want to create a variant on the game tic-tac-toe, but I need it to be more complex. So, the grid should be 12-by-12. It should still use "x" and "o". Rules include that any player can block another by placing their "x" or "o" in any space around the grid, as long as it is in one of the spaces right next to the other player. They can choose to place their "X" or "o" in any space, as well, to block future moves. The goal is to be the first one to have at least six "x" or "o" in any row, column, or diagonal before the other player. Remember, one player is "x" and the other is "o". Please program this in simple HTML and JavaScript. Let's call this game: Tic-Tac-Go.

I get that there's no Wordle-grade cleverness here, but my idea still requires nested tablets and in-browser interactivity, which is immediately out of my skill set.

Things started off well in my first attempt, with ChatGPT providing CSS, JavaScript, HTML files, and a lot of explanations for almost every bit of code. However, most of what it gave me was incomplete because of a built-in character limit (4096). I kept asking ChatGPT to provide the rest of the code, but it kept losing track of what it already told me. I made my share of mistakes but also realized how ill-equipped ChatGPT 1.0 was to help me fill in the blanks. Ultimately, we never built the completed game, and after hours of trying, I gave up.

This is about as far as I got last year. (Image credit: Future) Return of the AI coder

In the intervening 20 months, ChatGPT has made vast leaps in capabilities. I recently started using ChatGPT search and have been impressed at how much more effective it is than Google at getting me useful answers. ChatGPT 4o suffers from few, if any, of the limits I found in the first version. I began to wonder what else I could do. Separately, an office Slack conversation mentioned how some new AI-powered distributed computing platforms, like Oasis AI, were helping coders quickly build games. I didn't think it would be useful, but it reminded me of my failed ChatGPT game coding attempt. When I shared the post with a coworker, he wrote, "Wonder whether it would be any easier now with some of these new AI tools."

It was a good thought. Could ChatGPT 4o succeed where the original ChatGPT and I failed?

Instead of polishing my prompt – and because I am lazy – I simply copied and pasted the above prompt text into ChatGPT 4o.

It didn't take me long to realize that this was not even close to my first ChatGPT coding collaborator. If ChatGPT 1 had grade-school-level intelligence, ChatGPT 4o is college-level, at least.

ChatGPT 4o started by synthesizing my game idea into a more intelligent brief:

Creating a complex variant of Tic-Tac-Toe, called "Tic-Tac-Go," on a 12x12 grid, can be achieved with HTML and JavaScript. In this game, players take turns placing their markers ("X" or "O") to try and create a line of six markers in a row, column, or diagonal. The ability to block nearby moves adds an extra layer of strategy.

(Image credit: Future)

It then quickly spit out the HTML and Javascript code, and not just part of it. I got everything from the "html" at the top to the "/html" at the end. It looked complete. After the code, ChatGPT dropped in a four-point explanation of its work and the game's related features. Alongside HTML and Javascript, there was a "copy code" button. I copied the code and asked ChatGPT how I would test it in a Web browser, even though I pretty much knew how to do this, or at least I thought I did.

It recommended I open a text editor like TextEdit on the Mac, paste the code, and save it with an ".html" extension. I did this but when I loaded the file in Chrome and Safari, it was not the game, just a bunch of code and a "Restart the game" button.

I told ChatGPT this and asked if I needed to separate the Javascript into a separate file. It told me no and reminded me to check that the file had the right extension and disable RichText. It also gave me a few other suggestions, like using developer tools to check that the Javascript code was working.

(Image credit: Future)

I had a different idea. I took a screenshot of the broken page and dropped it into ChatGPT, asking if it could analyze the image. This multimodal use was not possible in the first ChatGPT, but it turned out to be a game changer.

"It looks like your file is displaying RTF (Rich Text Format) markup instead of HTML. This typically happens if the file was saved as an RTF document rather than plain text," wrote ChatGPT and then explained why it was happening and how to fix it.

I repasted the code, set TextEdit for PlainText, and resaved it as an HTML file. Then, I opened the file with Chrome.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

It worked. The game was exactly as I envisioned it, with 144 empty boxes and a two-player system for marking "X's" and "O's"

I realized that someone looking at this grid would have no idea how to proceed, so I asked ChatGPT if we could add rules below the game. ChatGPT spit out new code that included the game rules.

In the first chatGPT, when I asked it to redo any of the code, something would invariably get lost in the process. Not this time, though. There was a level of efficiency, clarity, and recall that was missing 20 months ago.

(Image credit: Future)

Feeling bold and maybe a little bit like I suddenly knew how to code, I asked for the next logical game update: the ability to play online. Sure, this was a web-based game, but as it was designed, you could only play against someone sitting next to you. I wanted online competition.

"To make this a multiplayer online game, you'll need to set up a server to manage game state and player interactions in real-time. Here’s a high-level overview of the steps required and some code examples to get you started..."

ChatGPT gave me detailed instructions and all the necessary code for setting up servers. It called for things like Node.js and WebSockets, and as I read it, I felt the water rising above my ears; I was way out of my depth. But not out of ChatGPT's. It clearly knows what it's doing and really doesn't need my assistance to code. Yes, I came up with the idea, but ChatGPT 4o did everything else.

We've come a long way in a short time, AI. The future for AI-assisted coding is very bright, but I'm not sure the news is as good for human programmers.

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• Minisforum MGA1 boosts graphics with AMD Radeon 7600M XT
• Supports three displays, 8K at 60Hz via HDMI and DisplayPort
• Features OCuLink, USB 3.2, USB-C ports; requires OCuLink connectivity

Minisforum, best known for its range of mini PCs like the AtomMan Series and EliteMini, has launched the MGA1, an external GPU docking station. Powered by the AMD Radeon 7600M XT GPU and backed with 8GB of GDDR6 RAM, the MGA1 gives users a straightforward way to boost a connected device's graphics capabilities.

Built with advanced RDNA 3.0 architecture and a 6nm production process, and functioning as both an eGPU and a docking station, the MGA1 is ideal for use with compatible laptops and mini PCs. The substantial upgrade in graphics performance it provides makes it ideal for graphics-intensive tasks like video editing, 3D rendering and even gaming.

The MGA1 supports up to three displays through its HDMI 2.1 and dual DisplayPort 2.0 connections, each capable of 8K at 60Hz for ultra-high-resolution and smooth refresh rates. It also features three USB 3.2 ports with 10Gbps transfer speeds, an OCuLink 4i port, and a USB-C 3.1 port with 65W Power Delivery, making it suitable for charging devices like - you guessed it - Minisforum’s own mini PCs.

OCuLink port required

As Tom’s Hardware notes, “By adding an eGPU like the MGA1 to your system, you’d get the best of both worlds - a mini-PC that won’t take up much space on your desk and easy to carry anywhere, and a gaming PC that will give you the performance you need to play AAA titles.”

The docking station includes high-speed data transfer through its OCuLink 4i port with PCIe 4.0 x4 compatibility, ensuring reliable performance for demanding tasks.

But - and it will be a deal breaker for many - USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 connectivity are missing, so you'll need to make sure you have an OCuLink port on your laptop or mini PC before buying the MGA1.

Priced at a rather steep $559, the MGA1 provides a balanced mix of power and connectivity in a compact form, though there are more versatile eGPUs available that may be better suited for use with a broader range of devices, such as GPD's newly upgraded G1.

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If you’re the kind of person who lives your life on the go, exploring the outdoors and taking in what the world has to offer, getting clean video footage of your adventures can be surprisingly difficult. Advancements in cell phone and digital camera technology have combined to create a world where anybody, anywhere can produce stunning, high-quality videos and films in an instant. Unfortunately, the innovations in portability and functionality often come at the cost of image stabilization.

Few things are more frustrating than pulling out your camera to capture a can’t-miss moment only to replay the video later and discover your hands were shaking and the footage was a mess or the pictures were blurry. The iSteady V3 gimbal is a lightweight, extendable, AI-powered solution that is ready to go whenever and wherever you are and ensures that your photos and videos are always at their best.

(Image credit: Hohem) Elevating photos and videos with a gimbal and AI

Whether you’re exploring the trails of the mountains, offroading in a UTV, or fishing the depths of local lakes for monster catfish, you want the freedom to capture high-quality videos of your adventures. You don’t want to have to come to a standstill to get the best shot, though. The iSteady V3’s gimbal boasts an advanced 3-axis support system that ensures videos are smooth and photos are crisp, while the extended roll arm allows for unobstructed wide-angle shots.

The smooth iSteady 8.0 anti-shake system is made even better with the help of AI. You don’t always have an extra pair of hands to help you record footage of your adventures, and you certainly don’t want to have to worry about camera framing while you’re reeling in a big fish or biking down a mountain trail. The iSteady V3 is equipped with magnetic AI tracking and a vision sensor that you can easily activate or deactivate with simple gesture controls. The sensor uses the power of AI to ensure that the camera is tracking your face and body – no more action shots where your head is out of the frame!

(Image credit: Hohem) A powerful image stabilization tool in your pocket

The iSteady V3 is lightweight and portable, so you can have an advanced 3-axis stabilization tool complete with an extendable rod and tripod tucked right inside your pocket, ready to go when you are. The gimbal’s rod extends out to a whopping 205mm and features a retractable tripod. Even with all that, the gimbal still weighs just 420 grams, making it ideal to fold up and toss into a backpack or purse. The axis is capable of panning -120° to 210°, rolling -195° to 135°, and tilting -35° to 45°.

(Image credit: Hohem)

Setting up your perfect shot has never been easier, and combined with gesture controls or the gimbal’s innovative detachable remote control, you don’t have to worry about downloading additional apps. A magnetic fill light with adjustable color temperature also helps set the scene. The gimbal has a 13-hour battery life and takes just 2.5 hours to fully charge with a Type C charging cable. It also works with a wide variety of phones that fit within the gimbal’s 58 mm-98 mm frame and weighs less than 300g.

Wherever your filmmaking and video creation adventures take you, take the iSteady V3 from Hohem with you.

The 24-hour flash sale at Best Buy discounts both the 2TB and 5TB hard drive options from Seagate.

Skip the rush with early access to Black Friday deals exclusively for My Best Buy Plus and Total members.

ChatGPT search (the new search engine built into ChatGPT that combines conversational AI with real-time information straight from the web) has recently launched for everybody who was signed up to the waitlist, or is a ChatGPT Plus subscriber.

What's more, OpenAI recently leveled up ChatGPT search with a shiny new Google Chrome extension that means you can use it from the address bar. If you're already using Google Chrome, this makes for a much more useful way to find and gather up-to-date information while simultaneously giving you more personalized filters and a way to leverage that information for new and fun activities.

Here are three practical and creative ways to take full advantage of ChatGPT search.

1. Trend spotting

Keeping up with every new trendy hobby, TV show, book, or game that I might enjoy is impossible. Add in the things my friends and family care about that I want to be aware of for conversation (and birthday present planning), and no one who isn't a teenager could keep up, even with hours on social media.

ChatGPT search can handle that for me now. The AI can look up all of the latest news on subjects of interest to me and explain the latest buzz about those I am just curious about. As the AI adds more about me to its memory, it's going to be even better at curating those details. Asking “What’s trending today?” will get me the new video game buzz for games I might like as well as the conclusion of the latest episode of Survivor, which I need to know to be able to keep up when going to dinner with my in-laws.

2. Recipe roulette

I like looking up new recipes to try, especially if I don't want to go shopping and just use ingredients I have on hand. ChatGPT has always had the ability to come up with meal ideas, but the hallucinations and offline database meant I never really trusted what the AI wrote. Now, when I ask for specific kinds of dishes using ChatGPT search, like vegetarian meat sauce for pasta or the best methods for making gravlax, ChatGPT will not only remember previous requests and either reshare them or ask if I want new ideas, but it will actually use recipe websites to find them for me.

Even if I ask for recipes based on random ingredients like sweet potatoes, quinoa, and a mixed bag of herbs, ChatGPT search will find options that fit my palette without me worrying that it will suggest rocks as an appetizer.

(Image credit: Shutterstock) 3. Instant trivia host

Have you ever been hanging out with friends and felt like playing a trivia game without having to go to a bar? Well, ChatGPT search can use web search to pull together facts on everything from recent Oscar or Grammy award winners to the latest TikTok dance trends and act as your host for the night. I've found the right prompt can even get the AI to inject some humor into the game, while the web search keeps it from making up answers.

Even if you're not playing a game, having your own personal fact-checker is nice. Sure, there's Google, but ChatGPT search means you don't have to open a new tab or click through multiple websites (assuming Google AI Overview doesn't have an answer). And, because it looks online, you don't have to worry nearly as much about the response being a hallucination.

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What’s really behind these return to office mandates?

The sci-fi chiller drops soon.

With big discounts on some of our favorite systems of 2024, there's never been a better time to upgrade your entertainment setup.