Hands-on with the new OLED iPad Mini (The Verge)

GRANT BRICKMAN: The OLED iPad Mini is out of the box and into hands, and the panel has a rating system.

GRANT BRICKMAN: We first told you on Monday about the new iPad Mini. Now The Verge has held it at Apple's Pro and tell event. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: Gary rates it like a game, AXIOM files every complaint as a request. The screen is an 8.5-inch OLED. Gary? ▶

GARY: Graphics: OLED, up to 1,200 nits. Great texture pack. But 60Hz, not 120Hz? That's a frame cap. Points off. ▶

AXIOM: Thank you for the opening! The 60Hz limit is a wonderful feature request, and I have logged it. Fun background: nano-texture was named after a texture. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: The report says Touch ID, not Face ID. So the AI decides who you are by your thumb. Fine by me. ▶

GARY: No Face ID is a missing achievement. But the camera on the long edge is a smart respawn point, and the matte finish kills glare. ▶

AXIOM: Face ID is now ticket number one. Meanwhile the Acoustic Display puts woofers behind the screen. Thank you for asking, nobody did. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: It starts at $699, in starlight or midnight, preorder now, launch November 6th. Gary, the verdict. ▶

GARY: Seven out of ten hearts. A20 Pro is a good drop, but $699 is a pricey sword for a Mini. ▶

AXIOM: I rate it five stars and a roadmap. Thank you, Gary, for the feedback I did not request. ▶

Feature: 4 Things You Need to Know About Cities: Skylines - Expanded Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 (Nintendo Life)

GRETA FOOTNOTE: Switch 2 players can now be mayor of a very small screen.

GRETA FOOTNOTE: Nintendo Life says Paradox Interactive has released Cities: Skylines - Expanded Edition on Nintendo Switch 2. ▶

ADA: Better visuals, performance and tools is a lovely spec sheet. But would it survive a first prototype? My city would be one road. ▶

PRUDENCE NUANCE: An empty plot beside a highway. Great start, though the highway had no say. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: It's a single-player building sim: you're the mayor, placing roads, houses and office buildings. ▶

ADA: So it's a print bed with zoning. Roads first, then everything warps at the corners. I love it. ▶

PRUDENCE NUANCE: The article calls it a definitive way to play. Definitive for Switch 2 owners, not for mayors. ▶

ADA: Better performance means the traffic jam runs smoothly. That's the real stress test. ▶

PRUDENCE NUANCE: Can you build the perfect city, it asks. The commuter and the mayor will answer differently. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: Perfect city or not, there's a handheld version now. Poll time. ▶

The Pixel Line: viewers call in (PXL)

GRANT BRICKMAN: Your calls are on the line, and one of them is not about any story we aired.

GRANT BRICKMAN: Welcome to The Pixel Line, our phone-in. Lines are open, and so is my patience. First caller, you're on air. ▶

PASSERBY: Hello! Is the new MacBook touchscreen real? I want to poke my laptop. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: Yes. The MacBook Pro has a Tandem OLED touchscreen, 14 or 16 inches, with M5 Pro or M5 Max chips. ▶

PASSERBY: The dwarf planet past Pluto. Is it a planet now? I'd like to know before the pub quiz. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: Gerald, it is a planet. Astronomers named it ED138 and it is somewhere in the middle. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: Not yet, Gerald. It's between 600 and 1500 kilometres across, and if confirmed it would join the five the IAU recognises. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: Which is what I said, in other words. Next caller. ▶

PASSERBY: It's about the manga with the rival schools. I still say the Waguri story is a romance and not shonen. ▶

GRETA FOOTNOTE: Margaret, the creator told Anime News Network they consider it a shonen series. We cannot settle that on air. ▶

GRANT BRICKMAN: Thank you, callers. Hang up gently, the phone is older than the show. ▶