Tech News | Byte Gremlin

Apple Watch Series 5: The Watch Exits Beta

October 5, 2020October 25, 2019 by Charlie

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Having worn Apple Watch Series 5 every day for the last month, I’m ready to give it a thorough evaluation. Every tech review is dependent on the perspective and priorities of the reviewer, so I’ll start by giving you mine.

I’ve been an Apple Watch wearer since the original released in 2015. I wear my watch every day from the moment I get out of the shower around 7:30am, till I hit the hay around 11PM. While I do make use of the fitness tracking features, I’m about as far from a “fitness guy” as can be imagined, and so my interests in wearable tech lie more in its ability to provide critical information at a glance.

Here’s my personal priorities for the Apple Watch, ranked from most to least relevant to me.

Functioning as a quality time piece
Providing useful interactive data such as to-do lists, weather reports, and notifications for messages, calendar events and phone calls
Consistent access to Siri for quick queries, setting timers etc.
Health and safety monitoring (I.E. EKG measurements, fall detection and 911/SOS functionality)
Battery Life
Fitness tracking
Wrist access to Apple Pay

I provide some of my rational for buying any smartwatch here, but if you’re looking to know why you’d buy a smart watch in the first place, check out my overview of Apple Watch.

On to the review!

As a Sci-Fi writer, I’m always more interested in the alternative viewpoint: how close is this product to its ideal iteration, regardless of what technology allows for right now?

Kill, Marry, F… : VR Headset Edition

October 15, 2019May 17, 2019 by Charlie

VR is at a weird, uncomfortable phase of its evolution. It’s not quite the next big thing, nor is it a dead parrot. And yet, the leaders in the industry have announced a new generation of headsets, each of which pushes the medium in a very different direction. The situation has left both would-be adopters and die-hard fans scratching their heads as to where they should spend their well-earned (or dubiously earned) scratch.

So I might as well pay off that click-baitish headline. You’ve got three options: The Oculus Rift S, Oculus Quest, or the surprise HMD: Valve Index. As with the childhood game, these choices are a bit subjective, so bear in mind that this is all firmly IMHO.

Let’s break it down.

Why Oculus Quest ISN’T the future of VR

October 5, 2020October 10, 2018 by Charlie

Note: Byte Gremlin uses Affiliate Links, which generate income to help support the site.

During Oculus’ most recent Oculus Connect 5 event, the company announced a product some pundits are hailing as the turning point for VR hardware.

At a glance, Oculus Quest appears to be exactly what everyone has been asking for out of VR. Priced at $400, it provides room-scale tracking (scaling up to vast multi-room experiences that may match or exceed Vive’s commercial arena tracking systems). It uses inside-out on headset tracking and therefore requires minimal setup. On top of that, it requires no separate PC to run. The entire headset is self contained, along with its two controllers that are a close match to the rift’s much admired move controllers.

As a self described VR evangelist, I sincerely wish I could tout this new development as an exciting new chapter in the evolution of VR hardware. Unfortunately, I can’t.

Apple Event September 2018

October 15, 2019September 12, 2018 by Charlie

Those of you’ve been keeping up with the Gremlin’s antics know that he’s a long time fan of the much famed fruit corporation, and that he worked behind the Genius bar for a few years.

Today, the Gremlin’s back to give you his take on Apple’s latest announcement event. As there’s approximately 30000054 articles about what was announced at this event, this is a pure opinion piece, focusing on what’s noteworthy from the POV of an Apple fan, former employee and early adopter of bleeding edge tech.