Black Friday is almost here, and while we’ve been hard at work searching for the best Black Friday deals, we’ve still had time to cover all of the week’s biggest tech news stories.
If you’ve not had time to stay up to date, then fret not; we’ve gathered the seven most important stories here for you so you can get up to speed over the weekend and find out about the new Echo Show, the Casio smart ring watch and the latest Snap Spectacles.
Once you’ve caught up, be sure to check out 7 new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend (November 22).
1. Amazon gave its biggest Echo Shows a sizable makeover
Kitchens aren’t often treated to the most exciting tech, aside from the odd air fryer or coffee machine – but Amazon made a bid to change that this week with its biggest Echo Show smart displays yet.
Alongside an upgraded version of the Echo Show 15, it announced the 21-inch Echo Show 21 – a huge, wall-mountable screen that can do everything from YouTube videos to family organization.
The improvements this time include better speakers and auto-framing skills for your video calls. Both are also more powerful smart home hubs thanks to support for the Matter standard. Your only issue might be finding a piece of wall space that’s big enough to host them.
2. Casio made a smart ring watch – and we want it
Casio took the smart ring vs smartwatch debate and said, “Why not both?.” The Casio CRW-001-1JR is part smartwatch, part smart ring with many of the same features as the classic Casio GMW-B5000 digital watch – it can tell you the time in two locations, act as a stopwatch, and serve as an alarm clock thanks to three functional buttons. The display even has an inbuilt LED.
The only difference (beyond the size) is that the strap isn’t adjustable, and the watch only comes in one size – equivalent to US ring size 10.5. However, it does include spacers to help it fit more snugly on smaller fingers.
It goes on sale at the start of December, but it appears that stock will be limited and restricted to Japan, so you might struggle to get your hands on it.
3. Google crowned its best apps of 2024
Each year Google awards 10 apps on the Play Store the title of the year’s best apps in different categories, and 2024’s results were published this week. The overall winner was Partiful which looks like the ultimate event management tool, with Max (the streaming service) picking up the other top prize.
With a mix of free and paid tools across fitness, studying, and socializing, the list is interesting; while we don’t agree with every pick, some of the tools look super interesting. Timeleft – the Best Hidden Gem award winner – looks like a weird yet cool way to make new friends in a city by meeting up for dinner the app organizes for you all. Reviews are mixed, but we kind of want to try it out.
4. YouTube’s answer to Spotify Wrapped landed early
Sure, we’re all eagerly awaiting Spotify Wrapped – the yearly recap of what we’ve been listening to – at least we are if we’re subscribed to that streamer, but YouTube Music seemingly beat them to the punch. The YouTube Music 2024 Recap is out for all users, and just like Spotify’s, it’ll walk you back down memory lane of everything you’ve listened to this year.
From the most listened-to tracks to podcasts and, of course, favorite artists. The team at YouTube also tossed together some custom graphics that are nice on the eyes and, of course, meant to be shared. Of course, it also counts what you listen to on YouTube outside of just dedicated song tracks, so there will certainly be some suprises.
5. We gave Snap’s new Spectacles a whirl
It’s been a beat since Snap officially unveiled its fifth-generation AR-ready Spectacles but this week, the social media company was finally ready to let some people like our Editor at Large Lance Ulanoff take them for a controlled spin. His first impressions: Spectacles 5 are big, a little heavy, and a lot of AR fun. The frames can seamlessly blend fictional and real worlds to impressive effect.
You can draw in 3D together (if another friend has a pair), play music with a virtual record player, make calls, and even learn to play piano with a very AR flair. Developers are paying $99 for access to the wearable and are busy building new experiences for Snap OS. No word on when consumers can buy them or how much they might cost. Yes, the field of view is a bit narrow, and we think they’re still too big to be practical. On the other hand, we can’t wait to try them again.
6. ChatGPT received a creative upgrade
One of the great things about AI chatbots is that when they improve, you don’t have to install any new software yourself. You get the latest version by default the next time you use them. This week, ChatGPT had a little update that made it better at creative writing.
Overnight, its ability to spin a gripping yarn improved substantially. The update only applies to ChatGPT-4o, the version of ChatGPT you can access with the ChatGPT Plus subscription – so it won’t apply to people on the free tier. While ChatGPT was pretty good before, the new update definitely gives it the edge when it comes to keeping you entertained.
7. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse started to takeover New York
This is being put up in Chelsea, NY right now.What are they cooking? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/X1JBg25hVRNovember 18, 2024
We don’t know for sure that a Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse release date announcement is incoming… but how else do you explain the massive spider logo being put up in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood? A location that has connections to Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman (or Spider-Gwen / Ghost Spider to use some of her comic book titles), one of the series’ most important figures.
As for when that announcement could drop, you should know that Comic-Con Brazil 2024 is right around the corner (running December 5 to 8). Across the Spider-Verse‘s first clip debuted at the December 2021 event, so a major announcement at this year’s show would make sense and could see the film finally get a confirmed release date after it was delayed from its 2024 date because of the 2023 Hollywood strikes.
No matter what date Sony announces (or even if there’s no announcement at all), we shouldn’t have too long to wait for more Spider-Man content. Spider-Man spin-off in Kraven the Hunter will charge into cinemas on December 13, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will debut on Disney Plus in January.