This week on The Wrap, we’ll take in the sight of the big MacBook, the big return of Technics, Google’s big feature, and a big Moto made small. All in a big five minutes.
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For the middle of November, this is The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup, and while size doesn’t matter for some things, it clearly matters for other things. We are of course talking about technology, because size means different things when you’re talking tech.
A big screen on a phone almost always means a big battery and potentially a big battery life, while a big screen on a computer means you can pack in more technology. Big can mean different things in gadgets, and big prices can mean something else.
This week has been a big week for big news, though some of it was big about something small.
The big news kicked in for vinyl and record lover this week, with Australia seeing the return of Technics this week. You might not know Technics off the top of your head, but if you’ve ever seen a DJ, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a Technics record player. The Technics SL1200 has been a bit of a legend in the vinyl world, and with the return of Technics to Australia, it is back.
And it’s not alone. Technics is bringing four other record players, three network connected speakers, and two pairs of headphones to its one name, though the pricing of some of those gadgets does get reasonably exy.
With record players starting at just under two grand and hitting all the way to a cool seven, these won’t be for everyone. Vinyl lovers, DJs, that sort of thing.
It’s not just record players that are big and expensive this week, with Apple showing off something big and pricey.
There’s a new MacBook Pro on the way, as Apple confirms rumours and builds a 16 inch MacBook Pro, up from the 15 inch that has been out for quite some time.
You might be asking yourself just what the difference is between the MacBook Pro 15 and MacBook Pro 16? Well aside for a little over half an inch, it’s more powerful. The specs are higher, with six and eight core processors, lots more memory and storage, and some impressive video. Apple has squeezed in a little more battery, so much that it’s the biggest battery in a MacBook yet, and there’s also a new keyboard.
This is a pretty big deal because the keyboards in Apple’s recent laptops have been a little controversial. While they offer a decent typing experience, they often need repairs quite early. That’s thanks to the butterfly mechanism, something Apple now has in its third generation.
This new big Mac won’t have that, and gets what Apple calls a “Magic Keyboard”, which is another way of saying scissor mechanism with a rubber dome. We’re hoping it’s a lot better, and there are other changes, too, like a return of the escape key to work with the OLED touch bar.
That’s a big deal, and there’s a big deal in search this week, as Google rolls out pronunciations. If you have problems working out how to say things, like say “meme” not “meh-me” or “SEO” not “see-oh”, Google is rolling out a pronunciation feature. You’ll be able to use it to help train yourself how to say words and possibly names, with speech recognition helping you. Maybe it will even solve the tragic argument that is “gif” or “jif”.
And there’s a big camera coming in a new phone, too. Speaking of names you might have trouble pronouncing, Xiaomi is launching a new phone, the Mi Note 10 in Australia, and it brings with it a staggering 108 megapixel camera on the back.
It’s the first of a new breed, because you can either capture 108 megapixels or let the camera use four pixels for every one, grabbing a 27 megapixel image instead. Xiaomi and Samsung worked on this camera together, so while Xiaomi is the first to bring it out, it’s a bit of a preview for what you can expect from Samsung’s next phones.
And while we’re on the subject of phones, there’s big news from Motorola, which has announced something very cool for next year. Again, much like a preview, Motorola has a foldable on the way, as the company revives the Razr.
If you owned a phone in 2005, you might remember the old Razr. It was thin, stylish, and had a steel etched keyboard.
Well it’s back, but without the steel etched keyboard. In its place is a 6.2 inch flexible screen that stretches from top to bottom, and then folds close to reveal a 2.7 inch screen on the outside.
Like the Galaxy Fold we checked out last week, it’s a phone that folds, but unlike Samsung’s, it folds to become smaller like a proper flip phone. We don’t have to tell you that folding phones are exciting, and this is about as exciting as it gets. A big phone made small. We’ve got some time before it gets here next year, so plenty to look forward to between now and then.
In that time, if you’re a Sonos customer, here’s a quick freebie, with Spotify now working on your Sonos even if you don’t pay. Happy days for those of who like to be a little cheap, considering just how big and pricey technology can be.
Right now though, you’ve been listening to The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup. You can find a new episode every Friday at Podcast One, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, and there’s more of this show at TheWrap.com.au
Until then have a great week. We’ll see you next time on The Wrap. Take care.
