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Tom's Guide
2 days ago
- Tom's Guide
I write about AI for a living — here's how I use Claude to pick the right tech
I like how AI chatbots are pretty great at helping me uncover things I haven't really thought of. If I'm interested in improving certain areas of my life, there are surely plenty of products I would find helpful in my quest to do so. However, especially if it's in a domain I'm not very familiar with, I'd have to sift through gift guides, click through a store's offerings, or hope I receive a relevant ad on social media. With some luck I might stumble on the right product, but with Claude I can cut to the chase and use the AI as my personal shopper for all things tech. As usual, a general prompt is likely to lead to generic answers, so with a tiny bit of extra prompting you'll get a shopping list you could actually use. The following prompts I've use can work for practically anyone. I asked Claude to make a list of tech products it thinks I should buy, but not before making sure it knows enough about me to be able to provide relevant tips. Here's what I asked and what Claude suggested. I based the answers on what my life looks like right now — a person working from home spending hours typing away at his laptop. For good measure, I also asked Claude what its tech suggestions would be for someone else. More specifically, a budget-conscious student and someone who's always on the go and doesn't mind dropping a few extra dollars if it means getting their hands on the latest tech. To get going I headed over to Claude and started a fresh conversation. To ensure Claude has enough information about what my daily life looks like and what piece of tech could be a great buy I used the following prompt: "Your task is to determine which tech-related items/gadgets/products I should purchase to improve my daily life. This could be through improved productivity, comfort, health, entertainment, or organization. To start, ask me 10 questions about my lifestyle, habits, routines, and goals so you can understand my needs and make personalized recommendations. The products listed need to be ones that were released in the past two years." In response to my prompt, Claude asked me questions about my work setup, current pain points, entertainment preferences, budget, and travel frequency. I gave single line answers to each question which was enough for Claude to work with. It broke down my personalized product recommendations into four categories: productivity & organization, home office, gym & health, travel, and smart home. To help me keep on top of my tasks Claude suggested I get myself the iPad Pro M4 with an Apple Pencil so that I have an intuitive digital notebook that syncs across my devices. Claude also said I should use Notion Calendar, which integrates with the all-in-one workspace app that Claude itself can connect to. Both are decent suggestions, but if you're only interested in physical products, then mention in your prompt you want to exclude apps and software. Moving on to home office products, Claude started by suggesting I upgrade to the modular Framework Laptop paired with another monitor. Lastly it mentioned the Logitech MX Keys S keyboard which offers a great typing experience. The rest of the suggestions were pretty standard: the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for my health, the Anker Prime power bank to keep my devices running during my occasional travels and Apple's HomePod to help automate my home. If you're a Tom's Guide regular, it's likely none of the suggestions surprised you. In this case, add this to your prompt: Only list products I haven't heard of. Next up were the suggestions for the other two profiles, the student and the busy commuter which elicited some interesting options. For college students, Claude recommends the Elgato Stream Deck Mini which has physical buttons that you can program to trigger actions. It also suggested buying a Razer audio mixer to 'quickly adjust audio levels between study music, Discord calls, and system sounds without alt-tabbing'. On the pricier end of the scale, Claude also mentioned the Hatch Restore 2 sunrise alarm clock and a Chilipad active cooling mattress. Student budget friendly? Not quite. Cool? Yes. Lastly, it was time for the early adopter office worker with a generous budget. For help with productivity, Claude suggested the AI wearable Limitless Pendant which would record everything you hear during your workday. You can later ask it questions to recall or summarize what was said at any point. Similarly, the Apollo Neuro wearable made the cut, which should help with focus and sleep. Over in the smart home section, Claude recommended a SwitchBot automatic curtain opener and the Nanoleaf 4D that creates ambient lighting around your TV to make your next movie night an immersive experience. For travel, Claude highlighted the Minisforum V3 Tablet to serve as a tablet on the go and a desktop when back in the office. Overall, Claude managed to produce three lists of tech seriously worth considering if you're interested in making parts of your life better or easier. Each item listed has a clear use case and in case one is somewhat out of budget, you could always ask Claude to recommend cheaper alternatives. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Now you've learned how you can use Claude to recommend the best tech, why not take a look at our other useful guides? Check out you're not using ChatGPT right unless you ask these 4 questions and Google's AI Mode is changing how you search — here's how it works. And did you know Perplexity can help you plan your next trip? Here's how you can do it. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
Stuff.tv
6 days ago
- Stuff.tv
I love my iPad, but this colour e-ink tablet does one thing better
I've got an iPad mini and Apple Pencil set-up, which is ideal for taking notes and light productivity tasks. The latest iPads have lots to offer in terms of features and ecosystem, but there's also one thing it's never quite nailed – comfort over long stretches of screen time. That's exactly where TCL's new Nxtpaper 11 Plus steps in with a colour e-ink display. While this e-ink slate is clearly not designed to replace an iPad outright, its unique screen technology makes a compelling case for a second device dedicated to reading, writing, and creating. Plus, I think its display is much better than my iPad's. Read more: Best tablets in 2025 for all budgets At the front of this tablet is TCL's Nxtpaper 4.0 panel – a colour e-ink display that ditches harsh backlighting in favour of a more natural, glare-free experience. There's also a matte display option, like the one on the iPad Pro. It's the kind of screen that should be easier on the eyes straight away, especially in brighter conditions or after long sessions. The colour reproduction promises to look rich, but the real appeal is in how little effort it takes to look at it for hours at a time. With a 120Hz refresh rate, the display experience promises to be smooth, so it shouldn't feel sluggish like some e-ink panels. Colour accuracy is excellent, and support for a pressure-sensitive T-Pen makes it more than capable for creative work. This tablet doesn't force you to compromise between productivity and comfort. Inside, you'll find a powerful MediaTek Helio G99 chip and a large 8000mAh battery, which means it should keep up with multitasking without struggling. With IP54 splash resistance, it's durable enough to throw in a bag and forget about. There's also support for reverse charging, so it can top up a phone or pair of earbuds in a pinch. The Nxtpaper 11 Plus includes AI-powered features like Text Assist and Writing Assist. They can help tidy up emails, summarise meeting notes, or translate conversations. Voice Memos auto-transcribe in real time, Circle to Search is here, and there's even a dedicated shortcut button that makes it easier to jump between tools with a tap or swipe. The TCL Nxtpaper 11 Plus with 256GB storage is available to order now for $250/£299. In the US, you can pick it up from retailers like Walmart, and in the UK, from Very and Currys.
Gulf Insider
22-07-2025
- Business
- Gulf Insider
Apple Launches Online Store In Saudi Arabia With Arabic Support
Apple has expanded its retail presence in Saudi Arabia by launching the Apple Store online and the Apple Store app, which offer support in Arabic for the first time. Customers can now shop Apple's full range of products with exceptional service from dedicated team members. Free engraving in Arabic and English is available for items like AirPods and Apple Pencil. To support flexible shopping, the Apple Store online will offer an affordability option through Tamara. With Buy Now Pay Later, customers can shop their favorite lineups and pay in four-month installments at 0 percent interest. Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's senior vice president of Retail and People, stated, 'We are excited to bring the Apple Store online and app to Saudi Arabia, providing customers with a new way to explore our products and services.' Apple plans to open several flagship stores in Saudi Arabia starting in 2026, including a remarkable location in Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This expansion builds on Apple's existing initiatives in the region, including the first Apple Developer Academy, which opened in Riyadh in 2021.
GSM Arena
22-07-2025
- GSM Arena
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 might have a downgraded hardware component
Samsung's just launched the Galaxy Z Fold7, which is its thinnest and lightest book-style foldable yet. Today in Samsung's home of Korea there are already rumors about its successor, the Galaxy Z Fold8, which, if nothing changes in Samsung's usual schedule, should be launching next July. The company is now said to be considering both titanium and carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) for the backplate material for the Fold8. That's notable because the Fold7's predecessors from the Galaxy Z Fold3 onwards have used CFRP, but the Fold7 itself has switched to titanium, first seen in the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition from last year. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Titanium was used in the Fold7 to reduce thickness, and along with the removal of the digitizer for the S Pen, this has cut it down by 0.6mm. However, metals can possibly interfere with the S Pen, at least the electromagnetic resonance based tech that Samsung has been using. The company is currently said to be developing a technology to make the digitizer slimmer, and thus reintroduce S Pen support - perhaps as soon as next year. Demand for this is apparently quite strong. Samsung may even adopt a digitizer-less technology, such as the active electrostatic solution employed by the Apple Pencil, in which case it can safely continue to use metal backplates with no fear of interference. Another reason why it's testing an alternative to titanium has to do with supply-related concerns especially regarding the US tariff war. Samsung basically wants to make sure sudden changes in supply chains don't catch it off guard. Of course we are still very far away from the Fold8's launch, so a lot of things can change. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, don't miss our Galaxy Z Fold7 review, it's freshly published. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Source (in Korean)
GSM Arena
21-07-2025
- GSM Arena
Apple iPad 11-inch A16 (2025) review
It's the most popular tablet in the whole world. It's the OG tablet reimagined. It's the 11th Gen iPad. We were unsure of the best way to refer to this model, as it goes by several names - the iPad 11-inch, the iPad (A16), or the iPad (2025) - so we ultimately opted to use all of these terms collectively and interchangeably. But regardless of the name you use, the new Apple iPad (2025) looks just like the previous one, only faster and with more storage. And that about sums this review. Thank you for your attention. Feel free to skip to other areas of our website. Okay, we're joking (clearly!), but this old joke still hasn't lost its appeal. The mainstream iPad models have never been about cutting-edge hardware, but about offering a nice overall experience at a lower price point (which is not that low in universal terms). But since we are dealing with an Apple device here, we'd say the new iPad is getting the best from Apple's iPad OS capabilities at a very reasonable price. There is support for Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard, Center Stage calling, and just enough oomph for a good gaming experience on the go. The only differences between the new iPad and the previous 2022 iPad model are the chip and the memory – it's now the Apple A16 Bionic with 6GB RAM, up from the A14 Bionic with 4GB RAM. The base storage has now been doubled to 128 GB. Okay, technically, the screen has grown from 10.9 to 11 inches (hence one of the monikers) - it's still an IPS LCD screen with 1640 x 2360 pixels and 60Hz refresh rate. The rest of the hardware package hasn't budged this year – a 12MP rear camera, 12MP front camera, a large battery (about 29Wh) with charging that's supposed to be fast on paper. The slate ships with iPadOS 18 with multi-tasking and pencil support. Apple iPad (2025) specs at a glance: Body: 248.6x179.5x7.0mm, 477g; Glass front, aluminum back, aluminum frame; Stylus support. 248.6x179.5x7.0mm, 477g; Glass front, aluminum back, aluminum frame; Stylus support. Display: 11.00" Liquid Retina IPS LCD, 500 nits (typ), 1640x2360px resolution, 12.95:9 aspect ratio, 264ppi. 11.00" Liquid Retina IPS LCD, 500 nits (typ), 1640x2360px resolution, 12.95:9 aspect ratio, 264ppi. Chipset: Apple A16 Bionic (4 nm): 5-core; Apple GPU (4-core graphics). Apple A16 Bionic (4 nm): 5-core; Apple GPU (4-core graphics). Memory: 128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 6GB RAM, 512GB 6GB RAM. 128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 6GB RAM, 512GB 6GB RAM. OS/Software: iPadOS 18.3.2, upgradable to iPadOS 18.5. iPadOS 18.3.2, upgradable to iPadOS 18.5. Rear camera: 12 MP, f/1.8, (wide), PDAF. 12 MP, f/1.8, (wide), PDAF. Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.4, 122˚ (ultrawide). 12 MP, f/2.4, 122˚ (ultrawide). Video capture: Rear camera : 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera : 1080p@25/30/60fps, gyro-EIS. : 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, gyro-EIS; : 1080p@25/30/60fps, gyro-EIS. Battery: 28.93Wh capacity; 45W wired charging, USB-PD. 28.93Wh capacity; 45W wired charging, USB-PD. Connectivity: 5G and eSIM and GPS (Cellular model only); Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.3. 5G and eSIM and GPS (Cellular model only); Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.3. Misc: Fingerprint reader (top-mounted); stereo speakers, DisplayPort output over USB‑C. And since we're living in Apple Intelligence times, we'll point out it's odd to see a brand new device release without any support for their AI system. Oh well, it is what it is. That has to be the only notable omission from the iPad's specs sheet. We don't suggest this tablet is perfect, but everything else is par for the course, so to speak. We admit we may be a bit late with this review, but better late than never, as they say. Unboxing the iPad Air 11 (2025) The iPad ships inside a thin white box that contains the tablet itself and a braided USB cable. That's it. There is no charger inside, at least not in Europe. Page 2
