Apple : Samsung Galaxy Note 20 release date, price, news and leaks |
- Samsung Galaxy Note 20 release date, price, news and leaks
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| Samsung Galaxy Note 20 release date, price, news and leaks Posted: 14 Jun 2020 09:24 AM PDT The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 release date may be August 5, according to rumors, and with the OnePlus 8 devices out the way, Samsung's latest are the next big phones we're expecting in 2020. Our eyes are starting to shift away from the Samsung Galaxy S20 phones, to ponder what the new devices could be like. We'd expect a lot of the tech from the Galaxy S20, as well as S20 Plus and S20 Ultra, to make their way to the Note 20 phones - after all, the S20 devices were the company's first flagships of the year. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite from January 2020 might also affect the Note 20 DNA, given it beckoned in a future of affordable stylus phones. If there's a Galaxy Note 20 Lite, Samsung wouldn't need to worry about other cheap phone stylus competitors, and could instead focus on creating a true top-end model that blows the socks off any device before it. Some think Samsung is angling for the Galaxy Fold 2 to actually be the top-end Note phone, but that seems like a Game-of-Thrones-style plot twist, so we're not too sure just yet. Before the Samsung Galaxy S20 came out we were expecting it to be called the S11, and we were also expecting this phone to be the Note 11, although that seems unlikely now. Some of the early phone leaks refer to the Note 11, but that's just referring to this handset. So you can have an idea of what's to come with the Samsung Galaxy Note 20, we've collected every leak we've heard so far. On top of that we've got a wishlist of what we want to see in the Samsung Galaxy Note 20. Since the stylus is so central to the phone’s identity, we want to see the S Pen become a true extension of the device: more physical controls, more reason to pull it out of the phone. Latest story: We've heard the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 might not have the S20's high-res zoom camera, and its zoom capabilities might not match the S20 Ultra either - however perhaps the Plus will have a 108MP snapper. Cut to the chase
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 release date and priceGiven previous phones in the line came out in August or September of their year, we’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 to be released in August 2020, and specifically August 5 has been rumored multiple times. One thing we can be confident of is that it's coming, and this year. Not only because Samsung always releases its Note handsets on a yearly cycle, but because the company has now said that a new Note is on the way in 2020. As for cost, the Note 10 was released at a starting price of $949 / £869 / AU$1,499, so we’d expect a starting pricetag around there or even higher. The larger Note 10 Plus cost $100 / £130 / AU$200 more, so we expect a similar price jump for the inevitable Note 20 Plus. This price scheme has become pretty standard for top-tier flagship phones. It’s likely that Samsung’s flagship phones will come with 5G capability across the whole range – the Snapdragon 865 chipset is expected to be at the heart of the almost all 2020 flagship Android phones, and Qualcomm's new chipset is coupled with a 5G modem. That brings up an issue for all 5G phones in 2020. The Note 10 Plus 5G was sold by Verizon in the US for $1,299 (around £974 / AU$1,888), so we’d expect a higher-than-normal price tag for any 5G-capable version of the Note 20. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite Samsung Galaxy Note 20 leaks and newsThe Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is still months away from being released, but there’s been a few potentially revealing leaks that give us a first look at the phone. Let's start with something disappointing - there might not be a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, and it seems there will only be two phones in the range (the 'base' device and the Note 20 Plus). However the same source that provided that information suggested the Galaxy Fold 2 could functionally replace the Ultra, acting as the top-end device in the line. Now, let's get into some section-specific leaks, news and rumors on the phones: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 design and displayOur clearest look yet at the possible Galaxy Note 20 design comes from leaked renders, which show a flat 6.7-inch screen with hardly any bezel, a single-lens punch-hole camera, and a large Galaxy S20-like camera block on the rear. Dimensions are apparently 161.8 x 75.3 x 8.5mm, which would make it thicker than the 7.9mm Note 10 range, and despite that massive screen this is apparently the standard Note 20, not the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Plus. The renders also show the power and volume buttons having been shifted from the left to the right edge, and the S Pen slot moving from the right to the left. We've now also seen leaked renders of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Plus, which show a similar design, albeit with visible rings around the lenses on the camera, and a curved screen. The source of these renders says to expect a 6.9-inch screen and dimensions of 165 x 77.2 x 7.6mm, rising to 10.7mm thick at the camera block. It's worth noting though that these screen sizes are at odds with an earlier leak, which listed a 6.42-inch screen with a 2345 x 1084 resolution for the Samsung Galaxy Note 20, and a 6.87-inch screen with a 3096 x 1444 resolution for the Note 20 Plus, both with 120Hz variable refresh rates. We also have an idea of the colors the phones might come in, with sources suggesting gray, copper and green shades for the Galaxy Note 20, and black and copper shades for the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Plus. That rumor has now been mentioned several times by respected sources. Elsewhere, we've seen that the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 screen might curve at the top and bottom as well as the sides, according to one patent, which would make the phone look a lot more pebble-shaped than the Note 10. A Samsung patent won just after the Samsung Galaxy 20 launch shows a phone with a display that curves all the way to the rear of the body, but with physical buttons that protrude from the curves of the screen. Could this be the Galaxy Note 20? We're not sure, as it could be a 2021 phone (or never materialize in reality), but we'd hope so. We've also heard that the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 could have a 120Hz refresh rate screen that's 'more fine-tuned' – they don't say what it's more fine-tuned than, but presumably they mean the Galaxy S20. Either way, this could mean it's less of a drain on battery, or has better automatic refresh rate detection. We're not totally sure yet, and the tweeted message was rather cryptic. The Note 20 could also pack an in-screen front-facing camera, which would sit under the full display instead of within a notch or pin-hole, industry sources told South Korean tech site The Elec - and backed up by a tweet from notable leaker @UniverseIce. That might seem unlikely, but Samsung itself has released an advert which shows a Note-like phone with no visible camera. You can see it in this video at the 55-second mark. And that's not the only time it has shown this device. The company also posted an image on its site showing a mystery phone with the same design. You can see it below, it's the center phone, and again, there's no visible front-facing camera, which could mean this is built into the screen. There are of course other options - it could use a pop-up camera, and in the case of the image below it could be in the obscured top left corner (though that's not an option in the video above). Or, perhaps most likely, this could just be a generic design, rather than one that shows a real phone. Indeed, reports elsewhere have suggested the in-screen camera tech isn't ready, so we wouldn't count on it. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 If Samsung does stick with a punch-hole for the Galaxy Note 20 then the company might at least make the most of it though, as five Samsung patents have detailed a status indicator that would either encircle or sit beside a camera cut-out, and could display things like download progress without turning the screen on. Finally, we've seen a Samsung foldable phone patent that seems like the Note 20 - except it's a foldable phone. While this could suggest Samsung's new stylus device folds, it seems more likely that the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2, which could come out alongside the Note 20s, will have a stylus too. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 cameraThe Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Plus camera specs have leaked more than the 'base' device's. Apparently it'll have a 108MP main, 12MP ultra-wide and 13MP periscope snapper, joined with a laser focus system that replaces the Time-of-Flight sensor Samsung's top-end phones normally have. A leak suggests it won't have the same 100x digital zoom capability as the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, so presumably it won't have the 10x optical zoom either. This backs up what the Galaxy Note 20 Plus camera leak claimed, positing a 50x digital zoom as the Note 20 Plus' capability. Having said that, a source claims it (or at least the Note 20 Plus) will have a periscope lens, like the S20 Ultra. That sort of lens design allows for a high level of zoom, so while it might not hit 100x digital zoom, you could still be able to get in close. Patents meanwhile suggest the Note 20 might pack a spectrometer - a component that analyzes objects to discover its chemical composition. While it wouldn’t be the first phone to pack the device after the Changhong H2, as pointed out by LetsGoDigital, the Note 20 would be a phone with a much wider release. Curiously, those are the only camera or sensor leaks we've heard so far, so we don't really know what resolution or lenses the snappers on the phone could have, or if there are any post-processing tricks that will change the way you take photos. Expect more on this front soon, though. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 specs, features and batteryThe Samsung Galaxy Note 20 will allegedly come with the same Snapdragon 865 chipset that debuted in the Galaxy S20 line - which makes sense, as they're packed with the Snapdragon X55 modem to enable 5G connectivity. Saying that, one leaker thinks the phone will come with a Snapdragon 865 Plus processor instead, based on a leaked benchmark test for the device which puts its scores as lower than the iPhone 12's. Having said that, we've elsewhere heard that there won't be a Snapdragon 865 Plus this year. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite Some regions though could get an upgraded chipset in the form of the Exynos 992. Samsung typically uses its own Exynos processors in most regions outside the US, and it's rumored that an Exynos 992 could be used instead, offering a slight upgraded on both the Exynos 990, used in the Galaxy S20 outside the US, and on the Snapdragon 865. There might only be 128GB storage in the Samsung Galaxy Note 20, at least in its smallest variant, and there wasn't a device with this amount in the previous range. That suggests there could be a more budget-focused handset in the range, perhaps a phone that's 'Lite' in all but name (or even 'Lite' in name too!). One source claims that the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 could have a battery of around 4,000mAh - up from 3,500mAh in the Galaxy Note 10. That new size would put it in line with the Samsung Galaxy S20, and would likely mean that the Galaxy Note 20 Plus would also get a bigger battery. The same source - in a later report - said the Galaxy Note 20 Plus could have a 4,500mAh power pack, up from the 4,300mAh in the Note 10 Plus but the same size as the S20 Plus. However, the most recent battery leak puts the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 at 4,300mAh, so we're not sure what to expect from the standard model. Elsewhere, we've seen what's believed to be the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Plus listed on an official Chinese certification database. As well as pointing to the phone's existence, this reveals support for 25W fast charging and 5G. Should I wait for the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 or buy a discounted Samsung Galaxy Note 10 now?The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 release date is still months away, if the August 2020 launch window stays constant, so you should probably consider the discounted Galaxy Note 10 or Note 10 Plus if you need a new stylus phone in the next days, weeks or even months. In an ordinary year, this is a long time to wait anyway – like, say, if you broke your phone and need a replacement ASAP – but it’s possible Samsung's launch date might be pushed back due to the coronavirus. We don't know if the phone is far enough along in production that it will avoid these delays, but we'll report it first here if we find out. In any case, if you need a new top-tier Samsung phone now (and have ruled out the Galaxy S20 range), you’re looking at the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 or the larger and higher-spec Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus. Here are the best prices in your region: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus Samsung Galaxy Note 20: what we want to seeSince we haven't heard many rumors about the Note 20, we'll speculate as to what we want to see - improvements on last year's model and innovations we think would set the upcoming phone apart. 1. More capabilities in the S PenThe S Pen has been the real selling point for the Note series - a stylus tucked neatly in the phone for those who hold a torch for Palm Pilot-style productivity. But aside from a couple of new capabilities introduced over the last couple years - a button that operates as a camera shutter, a few half-baked gestures - the S Pen remains primarily a writing implement. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Instead, we’d love to see the S Pen evolve into more of a proxy for the phone. If they can introduce one button, why not a couple more? It would be very handy to keep the phone in your pocket or perched for video and use the stylus to fiddle with volume and media navigation. Better yet, it would be great if the S Pen was used as a more universal remote across Samsung’s device family - maybe substituting a four-way joystick for the click-top so users can navigate. All we really know is the S Pen is not living up to its potential. 2. ‘Budget flagship’ versionWe’re big fans of the Samsung Galaxy S10e and the standard iPhone 11 for their value as budget flagships of their respective lines, and we’d love to see a more affordable version of the Note family. This isn’t a crazy idea - there already seems to be a Note 10 Lite in production, if this leak to is to be believed. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 But if a Lite version of the last Note isn’t in the cards, getting one in for the next version would be a great opportunity not just to get the S Pen in more hands, but to play around with the Note design in general. Previous phones in the line are sleek yet wide phablets, but why not take a page out of the Google Pixel 4’s book and give the Lite/budget flagship version a funky look? 3. Better cameras, specs, etcLike every year, we’re hoping the Note 20 gets improvements on its predecessor - most importantly in the cameras. And since they usually get similar if not identical lens suites as in that year’s Samsung Galaxy S-series, we can hope that the developments coming in the Galaxy S11 get ported to the Note 20. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus So the rumor of a 108MP camera headed to the S20 Plus would be great to look forward to in the Note 20 - and in the same report, a 5,000mAh battery. Both are good improvements, and we’d love to see battery life extend to breach two full days, especially with the screen-intensive S Pen functionality. One thing we pretty much know for sure: the Note 20 will get the same Snapdragon 865 chipset headed to all top-tier Android phones in 2020, which we recently got our hands on - and found it outperformed Apple’s A13 chipset that’s in the iPhone 11 line. 4. Seamless displayWhile the punch-hole is certainly a less obstructive upgrade from the notch, there are still compromises: we’d love to see a screen without any break whatsoever. That probably means an under-display window for the front-facing lens, which is something a leak actually suggests might happen. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 The Note 20 might not end up being the first phone with this development, but given its status as the sleeker design-oriented flagship in Samsung’s lineup, we would like to see that big phablet display go seamless. 5. Cheaper 5GThe Galaxy Note 10 5G cost far more than its 4G counterparts with only minor spec and camera upgrades, putting connectivity to the next-gen networks out of the hands of most folks. It would be great to see this cost shrink, full stop. 2020 probably won’t be the year that every flagship phone comes 5G-capable as a standard, but it’s going to be a lot harder to access if every 5G phone costs half again as much as its standard version. Given the Note line traditionally comes out toward the end of the year, though, Samsung could get ahead of the curve by trimming the price for a 5G Note 20 - and further differentiate it from the upcoming Galaxy S20.
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| Google Pixel 4a release date, price, specs, news and leaks Posted: 14 Jun 2020 09:18 AM PDT The Google Pixel 4a is starting to look like the Pixel 4 device you may actually buy, and it could be such a good value that it ends up as one of 2020's best affordable phones. But it's been weeks since we first expected Google to officially announce the Pixel 4a and it still hasn't been unveiled. While we'd last expected it to come out alongside the Android 11 beta, now that that's officially launched, we aren't sure when we'll see Google's next mid-range device. In any case, it's long past the time last year when Google surprised everyone by releasing the Pixel 3a and 3a XL in the middle of 2019 as affordable versions of the Pixel 3 and 3 XL retaining some of the best perks of the premium devices at a mid-range pricetag. In short, consumers could once again get the famed Pixel photography at an affordable price. Leaks have started flowing in since the beginning of 2020, so it looks like a budget Google Pixel 4a could be coming at some point soon – although we've heard that the phone will be released alone without its larger XL sibling. That might make sense, though we'd hope the regular 4a wouldn't retain the standard Pixel 4's battery issues. The Pixel 4 and 4 XL were popular devices, but didn't land with quite the fanfare of the Pixel 3 handsets. The cheaper Pixel 4a phones could be Google's opportunity to win back consumers, especially those who have been reducing their phone budgets amid the current outbreak. Below we've put together everything we know so far about the upcoming phones including details on when to expect it and the first images of the upcoming handsets. Latest story: It looks like the Pixel 4a might not go on sale until October now, though we're still crossing our fingers for an announcement about the phone on July 13. Cut to the chase
Google Pixel 4a release dateThe Google Pixel 4 Originally, we had expected to see Google introduce its next affordable devices at Google IO 2020, which was expected to take place between May 12-14, but that event has now been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL were announced at last year's Google IO, but in its absence, we'd heard a rumor that the Google Pixel 4a could release on May 22. That date has come and gone. A subsequent rumor suggested a later date of June 5. Why? Probably to coincide with the Android 11 public beta launch – but that itself got pushed back, and we still haven't seen the Pixel 4a. According to those in the know, Google will now reveal details about the Pixel 4a on July 13, though the handset won't go on sale until October. It might even be renamed the Pixel 5a and go on sale with the Pixel 5. Yet another rumor, however, claims the Pixel 4a launch will get delayed until July 13, though we're not sure why. It will be announced without an XL model, the rumor states – and it won't be 5G-capable. Google Pixel 4a priceThe Pixel 3a cost $399 / £399 / AU$649 at launch, while the Pixel 3a XL cost $479 / £469 / AU$799. In terms of how much you'll pay for the 4a, the Google Pixel 4a price could actually be lower than the Pixel 3a price. That could be due to regional price differences – or because Google might intentionally lowball the phone's pricetag amid a more competitive mid-range market. For instance, one price rumor puts the Pixel 4a at $349 (roughly £285 / AU$540) for 128GB of storage - so you'd be paying less and getting twice as much storage. And it's always possible there would be an even cheaper 64GB model. But Google might be thinking of a baseline lower price: the company allegedly surveyed consumers to see if they'd buy a non-premium Pixel phone for $349 (around £246 / AU$535). Having said that, an older price rumor points to $399, which is exactly the same as the Pixel 3a, so we're not sure right now. Google Pixel 4a design and displayThe Google Pixel 3a XL We're going to start with a rumor that might disappoint some of you: word is that Google might not put out a Pixel 4a XL, only focusing on the smaller device. Apparently this is so people looking for a bigger phone stick with the Pixel 4 XL, as supposedly the Pixel 3a XL stole sales from the Pixel 3 XL. While that rumor is seemingly backed up by the relative lack of Pixel 4a XL rumors, we've heard there could be three Pixel 4a devices, including a 5G model. This comes from Android code which refers to three different devices, presumably consisting of a main device as well as an XL and 5G phone, although they aren't named as such. Those devices have appeared again in subsequent Google code, and this time two of them were alongside the phrase ‘pixel_20_mid_range’, all but confirming that they're unannounced mid-range Pixel phones, though the source speculates that the third code name might refer to a circuit board rather than a device. As such, we'd say there might well be a Pixel 4a XL, but either way there's almost certainly at least going to be a Pixel 4a. So what will the base Pixel 4a look like? We think it'll be like the below, which we don't believe are hands on shots of the phone and are instead doctored image of the original Pixel. We've left these images here though as they show what other sources believe the device may look like. It may have a punch-hole selfie camera in the top left of the screen, which would be a first for a Pixel phone. Some unofficial renders of the device as well as a leaked case render show a similar design to the fake photos above too, and it's likely these were where the design was taken from. Elsewhere, we've also seen leaked images seemingly showing retail boxes for the phone, which match the design above. Google Pixel 4a specsWe've also seen a full specs leak for the Pixel 4a, claiming that it will have a 5.81-inch 1080 x 2340 OLED screen, a mid-range Snapdragon 730 chipset, 6GB of RAM, a 3,080mAh battery, 128GB of storage, a 12.2MP main camera, an 8MP front-facing one (in a punch-hole), a 3.5mm headphone port, and that it will come in Just Black’ and ‘Barely Blue’ shades. There's also said to be no Soli chip, which allowed you to navigate the Pixel 4 hands-free (well, in theory). This is unlikely to be available on the Pixel 4a in order to keep the price as low as possible. What is powering the Google Pixel 4a? That's currently a little uncertain as while the leaks above points to a Snapdragon 730, an investigation run by XDA Developers dug up prototypes of the phone that run both the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 and the Snapdragon 765. The Snapdragon 765 prototype may be a 5G-ready version of the phone as that chipset is designed to power 5G hardware. We've heard conflicting rumors on whether there will be a next-gen internet version of the Pixel 4a, but consistent rumors suggest it may be a reality. A leaked benchmarks score also suggests the phone will be more powerful than the Google Pixel 3a but won't be as capable about the Pixel 4 series. It scored 6,366 in Geekbench 4 testing, which is quite impressive. Based on a leaked image posted to the web, we're looking at 6GB of RAM (as leaked above) and faster UFS 2.1 flash storage when the Pixel 4a finally appears, with 64GB being one of the storage options. When we say faster, it's an upgrade on the flash storage used in the Pixel 3a. Google Pixel 4a cameraThen we have the camera to talk about. We're expecting it to be similar to the Google Pixel 4's shooter - one of the best smartphone cameras around - but it's unlikely to have all the bells and whistles of that device's tech. Someone with an early piece of hardware has provided the below camera samples with the Google Pixel 4a. It seems the shooter works well at color reproduction, but there's no gurantee this sort of tech will make its way onto the final device. The tweet adds more evidence to the suggestion we'll see a 12MP main shooter on the Google Pixel 4a. What we want to see in the Google Pixel 4aThe Google Pixel 4 was an innovative flagship feature, but when it comes to adapting this feature to a budget price tag, there are a few things we'd like it to consider. Here's what we want to see: 1. Bring back the fingerprint scannerThe Google Pixel 4 The Google Pixel 4 has no rear-mounted fingerprint scanner like the Pixel 3, not does it have an in-screen one like many premium smartphones around. Instead, it relies on facial recognition unlocking for you to access your phone. For some, this is a useful feature to help them get into their phone quickly and easily; others find this an unsecured and frustrating experience. For the Pixel 4a, we'd like Google to drop this feature, and instead have a physical or screen-mounted fingerprint sensor. It's likely Google will make this change, as the tech involved in efficient face unlocking adds quite a bit of price to the phone, so if the company wants to slash the price of the new device, it'd make sense to remove face recognition first. 2. Improved battery lifeThe Google Pixel 3a XL A recurring problem with Google Pixel smartphones is that their battery lives always leave a lot to be desired, and plummet quicker than competing devices. Saying that, the Pixel 3a solved that problem with a bigger battery capacity and a weaker processor, which meant it drained battery less. Since most normal people need smartphone batteries that'll last them a day, even in a pinch, the more affordable and accessible Pixel 4a needs a battery that'll last it this long, which means a bigger capacity than the 4 as well as tools in place to keep it going longer, like canny optimizations. 3. Drop the 90Hz screenThis is bound to be a pretty controversial suggestion, but if Google is looking for features to cut to keep the Pixel 4a price down, we'd argue the 90Hz screen is an unnecessary luxury that could be lost without making the device worse. While some people really love 90Hz screens in phones like the Pixel 4, as it makes the viewing experience a little smoother, many more people struggle to notice the difference, especially people who aren't huge tech fans who don't know the feature is in place. That means it's not a vital feature, and when there are aspects of the Pixel 4 that we would like to see in the 4a, we'd say the 90Hz screens are expendable. 4. Keep the telephoto cameraThe Google Pixel 4's main camera The Google Pixel 4 smartphones bumped the number of cameras on Google's devices from one to two, adding a telephoto snapper for optical zoom. The Pixel 3a devices saw the cameras slightly downgraded from the Pixel 3 line, but that was purely in terms of software post-processing, and the hardware was exactly the same. A telephoto lens in a camera is really useful, so you can take better pictures of a subject without dropping the quality dramatically, and we'd love to see it kept in the Pixel 4a. We'd be surprised if this wasn't the case, as the telephoto lens really ties the rear design together. And talking of Pixel 4a design... 5. Stick with the weird designThe Google Pixel 4 XL (left) and Google Pixel 4 The Google Pixel 4 smartphones are weird looking devices, there's no getting around that. They're bare on the back except for a pretty sizeable camera bump (no fingerprint sensor, like in previous Pixels), with a glass back but a rubber frame around the edges. Yep, you read that right, rubber in a smartphone! On the front, there's a notch the likes of which you barely see in modern smartphones, with a sizeable chin at the bottom of the screen. All in all, the Pixel 4 devices are far from 'conventional' Android phones, for better or worse. Well, we kind of like the design. It's unique, and the Pixel 4 feels distinct in hand when you're using it. We'd like to see the Pixel 4a retain the 'weird' design, especially the rubber frame, as we found it great for protecting the phone.
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| Best Buy 3-day sale: deals on 4K TVs, iPhone 11, Apple Watch, and more - last day! Posted: 14 Jun 2020 08:49 AM PDT To celebrate grads and dads, Best Buy is having a massive 3-day sale that ends today. You can score incredible deals on best-selling items throughout the site like 4K TVs, the iPhone 11, Beats headphones, Apple Watch, and more. To help you sort through all the offers, we've rounded up the best deals below. Our top sale picks include the all-new Apple Watch 5 down to a record low price of $299, the best-selling Powerbeats Pro on sale for $199, and a $100 discount on the iPhone 11 with qualified activation. If you're looking for TV bargains, Best Buy has a whopping $1,000 price cut on the TCL 65-inch QLED TV, and you can snag the budget Westinghouse 50-inch 4K TV on sale for just $229.99. Best Buy's top deals:You can also shop more deals with our roundup of Father's Day sales 2020 and see the best 4th of July sales that are happening now. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Dell's XPS 13 laptop gets a massive $369 price cut Posted: 14 Jun 2020 08:43 AM PDT For a limited time, you can score a $369 price cut on the powerful XPS 13 at Dell. That brings the cost down to $999.99, which is the best price we've found for the best-selling laptop. The Dell XPS 13 features a 13.3-inch InfinityEdge display and packs 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and an 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8565U processor. The powerful laptop received an upgraded battery life of up to 19 hours, and the new 2.25mm webcam is now placed above the display. Perfect for students and travel, the lightweight XPS 13 is Dell's smallest 13-inch laptop and weighs just 2.7 pounds. Today's best XPS 13 laptop deal:See more laptop sales with the best cheap laptop deals: prices start at just $129 today. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Z Flip 5G colors revealed in latest leaks Posted: 14 Jun 2020 06:30 AM PDT Samsung's next hardware launch event – rumored to be happening on August 5 – is shaping up to be pretty significant. We're expecting three handsets to be unveiled, plus some other goodies, and we just got news of the colors of some of the phones. According to the usually reliable tipster Ishan Agarwal on Twitter, the Galaxy Note 20 5G phone is coming in gray, green and copper shades, while the more expensive Plus or Ultra model will be available in white, black and copper. Not only does that match up with rumors we heard back in May, the leaks were confirmed by another well-respected leaker, John Prosser – he says that the green color will actually be mint green, but that the information is otherwise all correct.
We're also expecting a new version of Samsung's flip foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip 5G, to appear at the August event. According to Agarwal, this is going to come in black, gray and copper colors, though Prosser only mentions black and copper. The original Galaxy Z Flip comes in black or purple. That selection should be wide enough to offer something for everyone, and we're looking forward to the official unveiling. We've already seen leaked renders of the two Galaxy Note 20 models that are in the pipeline, and there's talk that a periscope camera will be on board to ensure high-quality zooming. As for the new version of the Galaxy Z Flip, with 5G on board, it sounds as though the Snapdragon 865 chipset will be inside, which is a slight step up from the original. An upgraded triple-lens rear camera is also being talked about. In addition to the Note 20 and Galaxy Z Flip handsets, there have been numerous predictions that Samsung is also going to show off the Galaxy Fold 2 when August 5 rolls around – this would be an upgraded version of the original Fold that was first unveiled back in February 2019. And if that's not enough hardware for you, a new Samsung Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy Tab S7 tablet are also being tipped to make an appearance – unless Samsung decides to unveil these two devices sometime next month instead. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 10 great feelgood Netflix movies and TV shows Posted: 14 Jun 2020 06:00 AM PDT We could all do with a bit of escapism right now. Sometimes an epic binge of the hottest new event series or hard-hitting drama will fit the bill, but at others you need something that’s more openly feelgood. So join us on a journey through the best Netflix feelgood movies and TV shows you can watch right now. We guarantee it’ll be good for the soul… GLOWIt turns out wrestling isn’t just about bashing the living daylights out of your opponents in the ring. That’s a big part of it, sure, but since GLOW’s 2017 debut, its pioneering female wrestlers have shown that beyond the spandex and very big hair, there can be plenty of heart, wit and intelligent social commentary. As an unlikely group of women (headed up by Mad Men/Community star Alison Brie) come together for a smackdown, GLOW celebrates a bunch of people discovering facets of themselves they never knew existed. There are bumps along the way, of course, but ultimately GLOW is one of the most uplifiting shows on Netflix. Wine CountryParks and Recreation star Amy Poehler makes her directorial debut with this comedy road trip, and takes a gang of fellow Saturday Night Live graduates along for the ride. Focusing on a group of friends on a 50th birthday wine-tasting tour of California’s Napa Valley, the limited nature of the plot doesn’t really matter when you’re watching such a talented cast. As a Bechdel test-smashing ensemble comedy, Wine Country has inevitably been compared to Bridesmaids, but that’s doing it a disservice – while it’s not quite as riotously funny, it’s packed with believable, beautifully drawn characters, and plenty of warmth. Unbreakable Kimmy SchmidtAs you’d expect from a show from the mind of 30 Rock creator Tina Fey, there’s no shortage of cynicism or snark in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. And yet Kimmy herself – recently released from years locked up in an underground bunker cult – is so relentlessly optimistic that the world always feels better when you’re in her company. Her friends may be screwed up in various hilarious ways, but Kimmy’s positive outlook is the glue that keeps them together. In fact, ‘what would Kimmy do?’ is a pretty good mantra for life – as we experienced first-hand in Netflix’s recent interactive finale. San Junipero (Black Mirror)Black Mirror isn’t best known for its optimistic take on the human condition, but when co-creator/writer Charlie Brooker briefly flicked his anthology show’s settings away from dystopian, the results were spectacularly life-affirming. A time-hopping story about two women falling in love in unconventional circumstances, season 3’s San Junipero is a remarkable achievement – an unlikely mix of romance, ’80s nostalgia, and thought-provoking musings on old age, euthanasia and death. Belinda Carlisle’s ‘Heaven is a Place on Earth’ has never felt so poignant. Set it UpIn the early 21st century, anyone in need of a movie-shaped pick-me-up could find it in their local multiplex. This was the era of peak romantic comedy, a genre where a happy ending was par for the course. These days, however, the rom-com is an endangered species at the box office – and Netflix has moved in to pick up the slack. Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell display tons of chemistry as a pair of office workers who play matchmakers for their respective bosses and and – surprise! – find themselves falling in love at the same time. Formulaic, yes, but surely that’s what movies like this are all about. Queer EyeMaking people feel good is part of the DNA of this makeover show, an update of the early ’00s reality hit. The simple premise of the original series remains – a group of lifestyle experts known as the Fab Five give an unsuspecting member of the public a makeover (or “make better”) – but it’s also evolved in the subsequent decade. These days, the team have expanded their remit way beyond giving advice exclusively to straight men – one of the more dated aspects of the original show – to create a diverse, positive and politically aware slice of feelgood reality TV. Always Be My MaybeTop US stand-up Ali Wong teams up with Randall Park (Danny Chung in Veep, Agent Jimmy Woo in the MCU) to write, produce and star in this entertaining romantic comedy. They play a pair of childhood friends who grew up, had a one-night stand and didn’t see each other again until their 30s. Will they find the old spark is still there? Well, what do you think? Luckily there’s plenty of laughs, including a hilarious cameo from Keanu Reeves, who took a quick break from shooting John Wick 3 to film scenes as himself. What movie wouldn’t be improved by that? Grace and FrankieOn paper, Grace and Frankie always sounded great. After all, it’s co-created by Marta Kauffmann one of the brains behind Friends; its stars are 9 to 5 veterans (and real-life friends) Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin; and its premise is the stuff great sitcoms are made of. After all, what’s not to like about the idea of a pair of feuding women forced to live together after their divorce lawyer husbands announce they’ve been having an affair with each other for years? That the show (mostly) lives up to its promise should tell you everything you need to know – the performances are great, the characters memorable, and Grace and Frankie’s evolving relationship is suitably heartwarming. Nailed It!The problem with watching TV cooking competitions is that you’re usually watching a genius at work. You’re waiting for something to go wrong because it’s the exception rather than the norm – and also because you’re desperate to see what the judges are about to say. Nailed It! is different. The contestants are just like the rest of us, amateur cooks for whom failure is often added to the mixture when they step into the kitchen. By setting its contestants cake-shaped challenges way beyond their abilities, the show sets up wonderfully half-baked comedy scenarios. And because everyone’s in on the joke, Nailed It! celebrates the joy of failure. To All The Boys I’ve Loved BeforeNetflix enrols for the American institution that is the high school movie. And while it doesn’t quite graduate top of the class, this fun comedy earns plenty of extra credit. It’s a classic high school movie set-up: 16-year-old Lara Jean (X-Men’s Lana Condor) finds herself embroiled in all sorts of social catastrophe when her little sister mails out the secret letters she’s written to her crushes. Then, for a bit of extra complication, Lara Jean ends up in a fake relationship with the most popular boy in school, just to throw the real object of her affection of the scent... A worthy successor to the likes of Clueless and Easy A.
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| The HP summer sale is now live - save up to $329 on a cheap laptop, desktop or printer Posted: 14 Jun 2020 05:07 AM PDT The HP Summer Sale is here today - meaning if you've been looking for a cheap laptop deal, a printer, or a slick new desktop, then you're in luck as you can save yourself up to $329 right now. There's a whole range of discounts on display today in the HP summer sale running all the way through to June 20th, including price cuts on some great cheap laptops for casual use all the way up to specced out workstations. We've included what we think are the best deals just down below, as well as a good selection of desktops and printers.
Highlights include this superb HP 15T laptop for just $559.99 (was $789) - a total saving of $239 on a really superb cheap ultrabook. Inside you're getting an Intel Core i5 processor, 256GB SSD, and a whopping 12GB of RAM - perfect specs for a solid working from home machine. We also really like this laptop deal on a HP Pavllion 15 for just $799.99. You're getting a huge saving of $329 on an Ultrabook that feature's some absurd specs for the money - a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD no less. These are fantastic deals but they're not all that's on offer in the HP Summer sale today - simply scroll down to see what we think are the best ones right now. Summer sale: laptop deals
Summer sale: desktop PC deals
Summer sale: printer deals
If you'd like to shop around more then we recommend our best laptop deals page. Here you'll find all the top brands including Dell, Acer, Asus to name a few, as well as our well-researched list of the best cheap laptops. If you'd like to consider Apple, then our best MacBook deals page is the perfect resource for getting a cheap price on one of these premium Apple laptops. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 14 Jun 2020 04:05 AM PDT On Wednesday 10 June, Britain hit a significant landmark: the UK went for two full months without burning coal to generate power – that's the longest period since the 1880s. According to the National Grid, Britain has now run its electricity network without burning coal since midnight on the 9 April. This coal-free period has beaten the country’s previous record of 18 days, six hours and 10 minutes, which was set in June 2019. With such a shift in Britain’s drive for renewables and lower electricity demand following the coronavirus lockdown, now may be the perfect time to do an online energy comparison and switch to a cheaper, greener deal. The transformation of Britain’s energy consumptionOnly a decade ago, around 40 per cent of Britain’s electricity came from coal generation, but since then the country has gradually shifted towards renewable energy. When Britain was forced into lockdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic, electricity demand dropped sharply, and the National Grid took the four remaining coal-fired plants off the network. Over the past 10 years, Britain has invested heavily in renewable energy. Back in 2010, only 3 per cent of the country's electricity came from wind and solar, and many people remained sceptical. However, now, the UK has the biggest offshore wind industry in the world. Plus, last year, construction of the world’s single largest wind farm was completed off the coast of Yorkshire. At the same time, Drax – Britain’s biggest power plant – has started to switch from burning coal to burning compressed wooden pellets instead. By this time next year, the plant hopes to have phased out coal entirely. So far this year, renewables have generated more power than all fossil fuels put together, the BBC reports. Renewables have been responsible for 37 per cent of electricity supplied to the network, while fossil fuels have accounted for 35 per cent. During the same period, nuclear accounted for 18 per cent and imports made up the remaining 10 per cent. What does this mean for consumers?As the country’s electricity supply moves more towards renewables, customers have more choice than ever before. Most of the ‘Big Six’ energy companies now have tariffs that offer 100 per cent green electricity. On top of this, specialist green energy suppliers such as Bulb, Octopus and Green Energy UK make it easier than ever to find a green energy tariff. The good news is that our energy comparison research suggests that green energy doesn’t have to cost you more than a traditional fixed-price energy contract would. In fact, some of the cheapest energy suppliers are actually green companies. At present, energy bills are at three-year lows, which means that now is the perfect time to switch supplier. As prices remain low and renewables begin to dominate the marketplace, more switchers will be drawn to green energy deals than ever before. However, if you’re interested in choosing a green energy supplier, make sure that you look at the company's fuel mix. This way, you’ll be able to see whether they are guaranteeing the usage of green energy, or whether they’re just offsetting your usage. All suppliers must report how their energy is generated to Ofgem, so you’ll easily be able to compare providers. You may find that you pay more for a supplier that generates its own energy from renewables, or pay less if the supplier simply matches your usage by buying green energy. You can decide which option is right for you after comparing the prices. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Call of Duty: Mobile finally proved to me why you'd want the Sony Xperia 1 II’s screen Posted: 14 Jun 2020 04:00 AM PDT A 21:9 aspect ratio is something we’ve seen on a variety of smartphones over the past two years. It makes your phone longer (and therefore more difficult to use day-to-day) but allows you to have a wider display for when you're settling down to watch a widescreen video or play a game. Time and time again I’ve heard from manufacturers that a widescreen display makes for a far better experience. I agree that it does when you're specifically watching video or a myriad of other activities in landscape, but the switch to 21:9 makes it a more difficult phone to use when messaging and whatnot. And to be honest, that's mostly when I'm using my phone. So that's a difficult trade to make, especially when the amount of 21:9 smartphone content out there is still sparse. But then in walks Call of Duty: Mobile... and I'm reconsidering all of that. The game has hammered home to me why people would want a wider display like this, and while it didn't give me an entire epiphany it did further prove to me that this is a good choice for some. The Xperia 1 II's big screenSony’s Xperia 1 and Xperia 1 II both feature a 21:9 aspect ratio display, and we’ve seen a variety of other manufacturers follow suit and include a similar (if not always exactly 21:9) widescreen display on other devices. The first widescreen phone didn't come from Sony, though. In fact, it was the LG Chocolate BL40 back in 2009. That phone featured a 4-inch 345 x 800 display - a modest size for the inaugural phone screen with this elongated aspect ratio. And that's the problem here - a 4-inch display is easy to use even if it's in a 21:9 aspect ratio. The human hand is able to reach everything it needs to. Both Sony's phones are 6.5-inches, and I can confirm a lot of people struggle to use these phones one-handed. A size of 6.5-inches matches a variety of top-end phones right now, I hear you cry. Yes, it does - but those aren’t 21:9. It’s impossible for me to use this phone properly one-handed and still be confident that I’m not going to drop it. That's a similar situation for a lot of others that I've handed the phone to. Then in walks CoDBut Call of Duty: Mobile, and a couple of hours of my spare time through the pandemic, has made me realize why that doesn’t entirely matter. Booting up the game for the first time on the Xperia 1 II didn’t show any clear differences, and then eventually I started to recognize that the game was filling a lot more of the display. Then the game started properly (after all those tutorials) and, it looked great. More importantly, it felt great. The on-screen controls were far easier to use because of the extra space afforded to the game with the 21:9 aspect ratio. Plus, I had a wider field of view, that I genuinely felt gave me an advantage over the competition who were likely using other Android devices. But the highlight is the fact my fingers weren't always over the top of the gameplay. Having a 21:9 aspect ratio does work for some people - but it's a decision you have to make knowing that you may struggle to use the phone one-handed. If you're fine with that, then you'll love the extra benefits it gives you. If you're especially obsessed with Call of Duty: Mobile (which I might soon be as well) then you will want to consider the Xperia 1 II for your next phone. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Garmin Fenix 7: what we want to see Posted: 14 Jun 2020 03:00 AM PDT The Garmin Fenix 7 probably won’t land before around August 2020, so unsurprisingly we haven’t heard much about it yet, but it’s almost certainly coming and we certainly have ideas of what we want from it. Below you’ll find information on the likely release date and price, plus speculation on the features and improvements that will be offered, and below that a list of the things we really want to see from it. And make sure to check back regularly, as we’ll be updating this article with all the news, leaks and rumors until the Garmin Fenix 7 range is released. Cut to the chase
Garmin Fenix 7 release date and priceThe first thing to note is that the Garmin Fenix 7 might not actually be the next model in the range to launch, as it’s possible that we’ll get a Garmin Fenix 6 Plus first. One or other of these will probably launch in late 2020 though, likely around August, since the Garmin Fenix 6 launched in August 2019. If it’s the Fenix 6 Plus that launches this year then we might not see the Fenix 7 until late 2021, but really this article is focused on whichever model comes next, we’ll just be referring to it as the Garmin Fenix 7 to keep things simple. The Garmin Fenix 6 launched in August 2019 As for what the watch will cost, at launch the Garmin Fenix 6 started at £529.99 / $599.99 / AU$949. That’s for the standard Fenix 6, but there are a number of other models in the range, such as the Fenix 6S, Fenix 6X Pro, and Fenix 6X Pro Solar, topping out at £999 / $1,149.99 / AU$1,549. While there aren’t any pricing rumors for the Garmin Fenix 7 range yet, it’s likely to cost a similar amount. That said, Garmin does tweak the prices for new models and it has been known to go up as well as down, so the Fenix 7 might be a little more or a little less. However, as we're expecting this to be a 'stable' launch, we'd expect parity - the older models tend to be the cheaper options for those that don't want the newest models. Garmin Fenix 7 leaks and newsThere aren’t really any Garmin Fenix 7 rumors yet, but we can guess at some possible features and changes. For example, it’s possible that the solar charging tech used on top-end models of the Garmin Fenix 6 will be made available across the range. It’s also likely that Garmin will do what it can to reduce the size and weight of the watch, without compromising its outdoor credentials. General improvements to the specs and screen are likely too, and we’ll probably see some new features. Exactly what isn’t clear yet, but we’ve listed some ideas of what we’d like to see below. What we want to see in the Garmin Fenix 7As great as the Garmin Fenix 6 is there’s certainly room for improvement, so here’s what we want from the Garmin Fenix 7. 1. A new lookThe Fenix 6 is a bulky device No one would accuse the Garmin Fenix 6 of being stylish. That’s mostly okay, after all, it’s an outdoor watch and is appropriately rugged, but it’s also expensive, and having an expensive watch that isn’t smart or sleek enough for all situations isn’t ideal. Plus, that bulky build also impacts its fitness credentials, as in our review we found it was too chunky to comfortably wear for yoga, for instance. As such we’d like to see the Fenix 7 slimmed down, and ideally given a stylish makeover too. How viable that would be we’re not sure, given that we don’t want it to compromise on its core features and durability, but we’d like Garmin to try. 2. Make it more affordableThere’s no escaping that the Garmin Fenix 6 range is very expensive, even costing more than the Apple Watch 5. Now, this is a top-end range so it’s always going to be expensive, but if Garmin could shave a little off the price it should make the Fenix 7 a lot more appealing to a wider range of people. 3. Add a touchscreenThe Fenix 6 has handy buttons but no touchscreen For a high-end wearable the Garmin Fenix 6 is distinctly lacking some smart features, perhaps most notably a touchscreen. Now, there’s a good reason for having buttons – whether you’re jogging or swimming a screen isn’t always the ideal method of interaction, particularly on a sports-focused wearable, and accidentally cancelling activity tracking mid-run with an errant brush of your hand would be a disaster. So we don’t want the buttons to go anywhere (even though that probably would help with slimming the watch down) but we would like a touchscreen added as an option for when you're using it as a regular smartwatch. Just as long as we can lock it when we want to. 4. Solar charging across the rangeGarmin added solar charging to its range with the Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar, but the bulk of the Fenix 6 models don’t include it, so we’d like to see this become a standard feature for the Fenix 7 range. That said, if it does we’d also like to see it improved, as in our review we didn’t find that it did much to improve the battery life. With its recently launched Quatix 6X Solar, Garmin proved solar can make a real difference, enabling the watch to last up to 24 days between charges, so we're cautiously optimistic. 5. Add an ECG…The Apple Watch 5 has an ECG, so why not the Fenix 7? While the Garmin Fenix range is more focused on fitness than general health, there’s no reason it can’t do both, and the addition of an ECG (electrocardiogram) would help with that. We’ve already seen these on the Apple Watch, and it’s a potentially life-saving feature that can detect irregular heart activity. 6. …and a noise monitorAnother feature already found on the Apple Watch is a noise-level monitor, which will notify you when the decibel level around you reaches a level that could damage your hearing. It’s a small feature but a potentially helpful one that would be a nice addition to the Fenix range. However, this is far from a dealbreaker; we understand that the Fenix line are primarily multi-sports watches designed with athletes in mind, so we don't anticipate them matching an all-purpose smartwatch's features like-for-like. 7. Make the screen sharperThe Garmin Fenix 6 has a 260 x 260 display, which isn’t terrible but pales in comparison to some smartwatches, so we’d like to see a crisper display on the Garmin Fenix 7. That said, upping the pixels could also mean a hit on the battery life, so what would be even better is the option to choose what resolution to output the display at, much like some of Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones can do. 8. Add fuelling guidanceThe recently launched Polar Grit X is designed for serious endurance athletes, and one of its standout features is something we'd love to see in the next Garmin Fenix 7: fuelling advice. This helps ensure you stay hydrated and avoid hitting the wall by prompting you to take water and carbs on board at regular intervals, based on your physiology and planned activity. You often don't realise you're getting dehydrated or running low oh glycogen until it's too late, so it could save you a lot of pain on long runs and rides.
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| The Google Pixel 4a launch may have been pushed back even further Posted: 14 Jun 2020 02:30 AM PDT We were originally expecting to see the Google Pixel 4a appear in May, as part of the Google IO 2020 event. Since that event got moved online and then canceled, the launch date for Google's mid-ranger has been a bit of a mystery – and now we're hearing that it might not show up until October. News of the latest delay comes from serial tipster John Prosser, who has been a reliable source of inside information in the past. He says an announcement about the phone will be made on July 13, but that it won't go on sale until October. That will put the phone firmly into Pixel 5 territory in terms of timing, which has some commentators wondering whether the Pixel 4a might indeed get renamed as the Pixel 5a – though we're unlikely to know any of this for sure until the handsets appear.
Prosser actually goes on to say that the Pixel 5 launch might get pushed back too, although he admits himself that this is all subject to change. Finally, he suggests that the blue version of the Pixel 4a has been canned altogether, so the phone will only show up in a standard black color. The new predictions aren't too different to the most recent rumors we'd been hearing from Prosser on Twitter: he'd already claimed that after a July 13 announcement, new Pixel 4a phones wouldn't go on sale until August and October. We can only speculate as to what is prompting Google to keep pushing these dates further and further back, but presumably it makes bad business sense to launch a handset in the middle of a global pandemic. Not only are consumers less likely to have money to spend on a new phone at the moment, tech supply lines have been thrown into disarray as well. While software developers can work from home without too much disruption, it's a different story when it comes to physical hardware. We're hoping that the Google Pixel 4a does eventually see the light of day, as we'd been hearing positive noises about it – and the Pixel 3a was an excellent, affordable handset. As soon as we hear anything more, we'll let you know. Via Android Central This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 5 things we've got left to learn about Google Pixel 4a Posted: 13 Jun 2020 10:00 PM PDT We first expected the Google Pixel 4a to come out in mid-May during Google IO, but when that show got cancelled, we started waiting for a sign – any official sign – that the mid-range phone would launch soon. We’re still waiting. But we’ve also heard enough rumors to get an idea of what’s coming in the Pixel 4a. We suspected it would follow its predecessor, the Pixel 3a, as a far cheaper version of the most recent flagship. From what we can tell, the phone will have the best parts of the Google Pixel 4, from cameras to live transcription. But there’s still a ton we don’t know, either because the rumor mill hasn’t surfaced anything about certain perks or that we’re simply waiting for Google to confirm things we can’t guess at anyway – like, say, a release date. Here’s the top five things that we still don’t know about the Pixel 4a. 1. Google Pixel 4a price and release dateYes, these are the big ones – not just because we want to get our hands on the Pixel 4a already (we do!), but because the price could decide the phone’s impact on the market. While its predecessor stood out among mid-range phones with its incredible cameras and streamlined Android capabilities, this year has far fiercer competition with the iPhone SE 2020 and other top-notch cheap phones like the Moto G8 Power. Given the Pixel 3a was half the price at launch compared to the Pixel 3, we hope the same is true here, and the Pixel 4a follows its predecessor with a pricetag starting at $399 / £399 / AU$649 – or, heck, even cheaper. 2. Will there be a Pixel 4a XL?While we expected the Pixel 4a to follow the series' precedent in coming out with both a standard and larger XL version, we’ve heard rumors that we won’t see the latter. This could mean that Google expected the bigger model to sell poorly, and didn’t feel it was worth it. That makes sense, but it also leads us to wonder whether the Pixel 4a will repeat the weaknesses of the Pixel 4 – in particular, its poor battery life, which barely lasted a day in our casual testing. The Pixel 4 XL, on the other hand, mitigated this issue with a larger-capacity battery, and it lasted noticeably longer. If there is no Pixel 4a XL, hopefully it won’t follow suit. 3. Will it have more than one rear camera?Google has done wonders with only a single rear camera on the back of its phones for years, but the company finally added a telephoto lens in the Pixel 4. Will we get extra lenses in the Pixel 4a? The telephoto lens expanded the Pixel 4’s photographic capabilities, sure, but it mostly enabled analog depth effects (rather than digital tricks). We’d like to see what more lenses could do for the 4a, especially if Google mimics Apple and Samsung in bringing an ultrawide camera to its more affordable handsets (the iPhone 11 and Galaxy S10, respectively). What we’ve seen isn’t promising: purported Pixel 4a phone boxes got leaked that seem to show a single-camera design (bafflingly, while keeping the Pixel 4’s camera block). But even cheaper budget phones are getting more cameras, like the Moto G8 Power with its trio of rear shooters, so we’d love to see the Pixel 4a empowered with a bigger camera array. 4. Will it keep the best mid-range perks, like a headphone jack?With no clue as to the phone’s physical design, we don’t know if the Pixel 4a will keep the best features of its predecessor, like the 3.5mm headphone jack and fingerprint sensor – both of which are gone and sorely missed in the Pixel 4. Not that everything’s bad in Google’s latest flagship – in fact, we’re quite taken with the Pixel 4’s design, especially in an age when most smartphones are either black rectangles or shimmering color gradients. Give us a phone that looks like it was cut out of a Mondrian and we’ll be happy campers. 5. Will the Pixel 4a be 5G compatible?This may not be the most exciting feature right now, but we haven’t seen a lot of 5G-compatible mid-range phones, so Google could set Pixel 4a owners up for the future – and stand out from the competition – by enabling its next phone to hook up to the next-gen networks. A code leak back in January suggested that supposed code numbers for three phones included at least one that’s 5G-compatible (via a Snapdragon 765 chipset). That could be a version of either the Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a XL that has 5G, or it could be referring to the Pixel 5. We haven’t heard much else about which Google phones will connect to 5G networks.
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| Saturday night fun for Jio Platforms, gets $850 million from TPG Capital & L Catterton Posted: 13 Jun 2020 08:37 PM PDT On a Saturday night in India, it was party time in Jio Platforms, the digital subsidiary of Reliance Industries helmed by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani. Two more big investors, TPG Capital and L Catterton, put in $600 million (Rs 4,546.80 crore) and $250 million (Rs. 1894.50 crore) respectively in Jio Platforms. This would mean Jio Platforms has now secured more than $13.7 billion by selling about 22.3% stake to nine investors Facebook, Silver Lake (1 and 2), KKR, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, TPG, and L Catterton in the past eight weeks.
TPG CapitalThe first investment of the night was from TPG Capital. Though it was speculated that might invest over a billion, it settled for $600 million (Rs 4,546.80 crore). The investment will translate into a 0.93% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis for TPG. TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in 1992 with more than $79 billion of assets under management across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth equity, real estate and public equity. Its investments in global technology companies include Airbnb, Uber, and Spotify, among others. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “Today, I am happy to welcome TPG as valued investors in our continued efforts towards digitally empowering the lives of Indians through the creation of a digital ecosystem. We have been impressed by TPG’s track record of investing in global technology businesses which serve hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses, making the societies we live in better.” Jim Coulter, Co-CEO TPG, said, “We are excited to partner Reliance to invest in Jio. As an investor in growth, change, and innovation for over 25 years – and with a longstanding presence in India -- we are excited to play an early role in Jio's journey as they continue to transform and advance India's digital economy. Jio is a disruptive industry leader that is empowering small businesses and consumers across India by providing them with critical, high-quality digital services. The company is bringing unmatched potential and execution capabilities to the market, setting the tone for all technology companies to come.” TPG is making the investment from its TPG Capital Asia, TPG Growth, and TPG Tech Adjacencies (TTAD) funds. L CattertonL Catterton, the second investor of the night, came up with $250 million (Rs 1894.50 crore). L Catterton’s investment will translate into a 0.39% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis. Founded in 1989, L Catterton is an investor in consumer-focused brands around the world. With a partnership with LVMH and Groupe Arnault, L Catterton has successfully invested in brands like Peloton, Vroom, ClassPass, Owndays, FabIndia, PVR Cinemas. Mukesh Ambani said, “I particularly look forward to gaining from L Catterton’s invaluable experience in creating consumer-centric businesses because technology and consumer experience need to work together to propel India to achieving digital leadership.” Michael Chu, Global Co-CEO of L Catterton, said, “Over our more than 30 year history, we have established a track record of building many of the most important brands across all consumer categories and geographies, from retailers, omni-channel and digitally native brands. We are strong supporters of fostering growth through product development, enhanced digital capabilities and strategic alliances. We look forward to partnering with Jio, which is uniquely positioned to execute on its vision and mission to transform the country and build a digital society for 1.3 billion Indians through its unmatched digital and technological capabilities.” In total, Jio Platforms has now secured more than $13.7 billion (Rs 104,326.95 crore) by selling about 22.3 stake in around two months time. Jio Platforms, with more than 388 million subscribers, has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain. The deals are expected to help RIL retire a substantial chunk of its net debt of Rs 1.6 trillion at the end of March. Hope for Indian companiesJio Platforms getting a bucket-load of heavy-duty investments from global biggies also augurs well for Indian business sentiments. In a climate of anti-China, both in India and elsewhere, these deals are seen as a big booster for India Inc. Some experts see it as a post-coronavirus trend, when the American and Middle-East based global corporations tilt towards India, as against China. This is also the trigger for other companies in India to seek out big investors from elsewhere. Bharti Airtel is reportedly in talks with Amazon and Vodafone Idea was said to be negotiating with Google, though the latter one has been denied by the company. (Your one-stop guide to Jio Platforms and its investors is here).
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| The first petabyte hard disk drive could contain glass Posted: 13 Jun 2020 08:00 PM PDT There is a growing consensus among storage manufacturers worldwide that glass could become a vital component in the drive to satiate humanity's thirst for data storage. Fuelled by the rise in demand high resolution video and growing IoT networkd, IDC predicts the world will produce 175 zettabytes (ZB) of data by 2025, nearly six times more than in 2018. Given one ZB is equal to one billion TB, it would be reasonable to assume that we will have reached the mind-boggling trillion terabyte mark by the end of the decade.
Microsoft’s Project Silica first brought optical data storage into the limelight. Researchers at the world’s largest software company - and the second biggest hyperscaler next to AWS - managed to pack 75.6TB of data onto a piece of fused silica that was about the size of a 2.5-inch hard disk drive. In comparison, the world's largest hard disk drives currently max out at 20TB and are in a much larger 3.5-inch form factor. In a statement to IEEE Explore, Seagate CTO John Morris confirmed its R&D lab is also working on using glass as a medium for optical data storage. “The challenge is to develop systems that can read and write with reasonable throughput,” he said. Needless to say, rivals such as Western Digital, Toshiba and even Samsung are likely to be following the same route. However, there are some rather significant challenges to be solved first. Right now, the medium is read-only, making it perfect for Write-Once, Read-Many (WORM) use cases. Further, given there won’t be any terabit internet connection for at least a few decades, backing up one of these monsters to a cloud storage provider might take more than a lifetime, once they hit the market.
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