ICYMI: the week’s 7 biggest tech stories from Apple’s M4 Mac teaser to Alien Romulus coming to VHS in 2024

Things are getting scary around TechRadar way back when we started ours Halloween week event, but that hasn’t scared away these big announcements from the tech world.

Far from it actually. After all, this was the week Apple teased his M4 Macs, the supreme Severance pay returned to our screens (kind of) and Alien Romulus announced a VHS release. Yes, indeed.

Read on for details on all these stories and more as we round up the week’s biggest news, and be sure to check back next week for details on these M4 Macs once they’re officially revealed.

And when you’re done, why not read our guide to seven new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend?

7. Alien Romulus Got a Blu Ray… and VHS Release Date

Alien Romulus VHS Box

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios / Disney)

Here’s a story from 2024 you didn’t expect: Alien Romulus coming to VHS.

This isn’t just some gimmick plug with a download code either, with Alien: Romulus the tape is described as a “fully functional VHS” that will launch in December with a 4:3 aspect ratio and a vintage-style dust jacket.

There are some important questions to be answered – like how much it will cost and how many will be produced – but if you’ve been craving that vintage horror movie experience, it’s time to dust off your old VHS player (or buy one on eBay) and keep an eye out for Alien Romulus‘ VHS tape when released.

6. Samsung released a new foldable

Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition in Black Shadow

(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung this week brought us the new Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition – well, those of us living in South Korea. It comes with a handful of upgrades like a 200MP main camera, but will cost you: 2,789,600 won to be exact (or roughly $2,000 / £1,550 / AU$3,000).

The base model already comes in at a rather steep $1,899.99 / £1,799 / AU$2,749, so fans were hoping Samsung could instead launch a cheaper Galaxy Z Fold Fan Edition (or FE) to match Samsung Galaxy S24 FE and its other more affordable phones.

This was shot down by Samsung itself, however, when it announced that it has “no plans” to launch a cheap Galaxy Z Fold phone, although it definitely should.

5. Garmin’s brand new beta update has arrived for Forerunners

Garmin Forerunner 965

(Image credit: Future)

Owner of last Garmin Forerunner watches – more specifically Forerunner 965, Predecessor 265, Predecessor 165, Forerunner 955and Forerunner 255 – getting new features as part of Garmin’s public beta program. New capabilities are headlined around swimming (with “improvements to support pool swims with pace alerts and critical swim speed” and “improvements to the pool swim rest screen and alert tones”) as well as a brand new meditation feature.

While you’ll need to be signed up for the public beta to take advantage of it, Garmin’s rollout of these features as part of the public beta means it’s coming to everyone else’s predecessors in the near future. In addition to top running watches, these changes make Forerunners excellent swimming watches. Ideal for triathletes and all-round players.

4. Things got spooky as TechRadar’s Halloween week began

Michael Myers holds a knife in Halloween

(Image credit: Compass International Pictures)

TechRadar’s Halloween week running between now and October 31, there’s plenty of good stuff to sink your teeth into. Whether you want the latest horror movie recommendations, soundbars for an immersive experience, or animated seasonal movies for the rowdies, it’s all here. Over the next few days, you’ll see articles from our streaming, gaming, home and AI channels, with our experts dishing out top tips to help you have the best Halloween yet.

Some of these recommendations were covered our latest podcast episode too, so be sure to check it out for even more thoughts on the spookiest time of the year.

3. Apple ready for Apple Intelligence’s launch

Apple Intelligence

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple Intelligence launches next week and we can’t wait to get our hands on Apple’s AI-powered features for iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Expect iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 to launch in just a few days, along with a huge AirPods Pro 2 headset upgrade. The first wave of Apple Intelligence features will introduce the world to “AI for the rest of us” as Apple calls it, and will bring typing tools, photo editing via Clean Up, message summaries and a Siri redesign.

We’ve been using the iOS 18.1 beta for a couple of months now and can’t wait to see what the public’s perception of Apple AI is when it officially arrives. But if you’re waiting for image generation tools like Genmoji and Image Playground, you’ll have to be patient — they won’t be here until iOS 18.2 later this year. Let’s hope iOS 18.1 has enough meat on its bones to keep you busy until then.

2. Severance Season 2 got its first trailer

Departure — Season 2 Official Teaser | Apple TV+ – YouTube

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It’s been an agonizing wait, but we’ve finally been treated to the first official footage for Severance pay season 2. Just 24 hours after Apple invited us all to a big one Severance pay– theme meetingrevealed the technology giant Severance season 2 opening teasers. Suffice it to say Apple TV Plus The sci-fi thriller series’ second season looks set to be just as weird, crazy and wild as its predecessor. Roll on January 17, 2025, we say, which is when the highly rated show will make its long-awaited return.

1. Apple told us to “Mac” our calendars

Mac teaser viewed on an iPhone

(Image credit: Future)

We’ve been expecting Apple to launch M4 Macs this month, and right at the buzzer, Apple is seemingly poised to do just that. In a teaser, Greg Joswiak – AppleSVP of Marketing – has all but confirmed that new Macs are coming in, with a social media post instructing us to “smack your calendars!” because Apple has an “exciting week of announcements” to make starting Monday.

We expect this to mean new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, a redesigned Mac mini, and a refresh of the iMac, all with M4 Apple silicon. The glowing apple image Joswiak shared reminds us of the appearance of Siri with Apple Intelligence, so we can apparently also look forward to the long-awaited iOS 18.1 update and mac OS Sequoia 15.1 with that feature coming next week as well.

On top of that, new Magic accessories (the keyboard and mouse) are likely to arrive, and we might get an update or two for a few more Apple TV shows. Check back next week to see everything that was announced.

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ICYMI: the week’s 7 biggest tech stories from Apple’s M4 Mac teaser to Alien Romulus coming to VHS in 2024

Kaneb

Kaneb

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