Samsung is getting set to unveil its newest Galaxy phones this Tuesday, Feb. 11, said to be called the Galaxy S20 5G, S20 Plus 5G and S20 Ultra 5G (RIP Galaxy S11, a name that died before it even arrived). We’ve been keeping our eyes peeled for new rumors and speculation in advance on the big reveal at Samsung Unpacked next week. Some of the more exciting rumored features include the 5G support thought to be baked into the phones’ names, upgraded camera tech, some fun new colors, a giant battery, a beast of a processor and extra-fast 120Hz screens.
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5G may sneakily be the most important new Galaxy S20 feature to impact the mobile industry. These phones could help tip the scale in bringing 5G to the masses, at least in the top tier. After all, Samsung is the world’s biggest phone brand, and the Galaxy S should be the company’s most popular premium phones.
There’s good reason for Samsung to anticipate big sales. The company is already coasting off a strong 2019 that saw the excellent Galaxy Note 10 and unforgettable Galaxy Fold. If the brand has its way, big changes coming to the Galaxy S20 phones could spell out another blockbuster year.
Samsung’s official Unpacked invitation gives a few clues about the phones we’ll see next month.
Samsung
Price: Galaxy S20 Ultra could cost $1,200
We expect the Galaxy S20 series to more or less align with the iPhone 11 series, with the standard version well under $1,000 and the most advanced model breaking the $1,000 mark. The base model price was all but verified Friday when a listing for the S20 appeared Friday on Amazon AE, the company’s site for the United Arab Emirates, for a price of 3,112.72 Arab Emirate dirham, or approximately $847.
The latest mix of rumor and speculation about the Galaxy S20 pricing comes from Max Weinbach of XDA Developers:
Galaxy S20: $850 (900 to 1,000 euros)
Galaxy S20 Plus: $950 (1,050 to 1,100 euros)
GalaxyS20 Ultra: $1,200 (1,300 euros)
For reference, here were the Galaxy S10 prices for the base storage configuration:
Galaxy S10E: $749, £669, AU$1,199
Galaxy S10: $899, £799, AU$1,349
Galaxy S10 Plus: $999, £899, AU$1,499
Galaxy S10 5G: $1,300, £1,099, AU$2,950
Rumored renders for the Galaxy S20 in Cloud Blue.
91Mobiles
Specs: Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, S20 Ultra
The exact names of the three Galaxy S20 models have been bouncing around, but people are starting to settle on Galaxy S20 5G for the “standard” version, S20 Plus 5G for the middle version (not Pro) and S20 Ultra 5G for what is presumably the largest, most advanced of the three.
Samsung’s Galaxy S20 startup screen?
Max Weinbach/XDA Developers
Here are the rumored specs in aggregate, based on Max Weinbach from XDA Developers, My Smart Price and Twitter leakers Ice Universe and Evan Blass. The Amazon AE leak also corroborated rumors about the display, battery and camera array, but the model in the listing featured an Exynos 990 processor, not the rumored Snapdragon 865.
Galaxy S20 5G (rumored specs)
Galaxy S20 Pro/Plus 5G (rumored specs)
6.7-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate
Cameras: 12-megapixel main, 64-megapixel telephoto and 3x digital zoom, 12-megapixel ultrawide, time-of-flight sensor
5,000-mAh battery with optional 45-watt fast-charger
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor
An artist’s rendition of the Galaxy S11, based on the rumors and leaks.
Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET from Concept Creator
New colors: Cosmic black, cosmic grey, cloud blue, cloud pink
Samsung may be embracing a lighter hue, if this latest is right. Mobile tweeter Ishan Agarwal posted images said to be official renders of the S20 phones. According to Agarwal, the S20 Ultra will come in black and grey, with the S20 Plus available in black, grey and blue, and the S20 in grey, pink and blue.
Note that color availability often varies by region, and that Samsung typically introduces special shades and even special backing material for select phones and regions. The leaked Amazon listing showed a Cloud Blue model.
New feature: Quick Share, Samsung’s version of AirDrop
A software feature could come to the Galaxy S20 phones that makes them act more like the iPhone in one specific way. Called Quick Share, the rumored tool could make it easy to transfer photos, video and other files from the phone to other compatible devices.
Quick Share could mimic the effect of Apple’s AirDrop tool for iPhones and iPads, but with Samsung’s ecosystem in mind.
Exactly which devices are compatible with the Galaxy S20 matters. Hopefully, Samsung’s renewed partnership with Microsoft means that Windows 10 computers would get the green light, and not only devices like Samsung laptops, TVs and tablets.
Now playing: Watch this:
Galaxy S20 leaks continue, forget about a Twitter edit…
1:29
Confirmed: Feb. 11 launch date in San Francisco
Samsung has officially announced its Unpacked event for Feb. 11 at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts. It’s widely believed that Samsung will also take the wraps off its second foldable phone, perhaps called the Galaxy Bloom, which bends into a square, similar to the Motorola Razr.
Look for the Galaxy S20 to go on preorder shortly after Feb. 11, with phones shipping a week or two after the reveal. I’ll continue to update this story with fresh rumors, so come back for more.
We’ve highlighted which phones might get which cameras. Let’s dig into those a bit more, because a rumored 108-megapixel main camera sensor for the S20 Ultra is something to talk about.
Logic holds that the larger the camera pixel, the more light can flow in, the better the photo is. That’s why more megapixels won’t necessarily mean better photos. The camera processing plays a huge role in image quality. Is this madness?
It sounds like madness. But Chinese brand Xiaomi already beat Samsung to it with the Mi CC9 Pro, which has a 108-megapixel camera.
A 108-megapixel camera may sound wild, but the Snapdragon 865 chip we talked about above can support a 200-megapixel camera. You may not be using all 108 million pixels all the time, but having that extra resolution can be helpful for zooming in and cropping. If you like the sound of all that, thank Qualcomm for making it happen.
Twitter leaker Weinbach corroborates that the S20 Ultra 5G will be the only one to get the 108-megapixel camera of the three new phones, with a 48-megapixel 10x optical zoom lens and a 12-megapixel ultrawide-angle lens for group and landscape shots to go along with it.
Meanwhile, leaker Ice Universe tweeted that the S20 and S20 Plus will have 12-megapixel cameras, while the two higher-end devices will also have time-of-flight sensors (ToF), which are useful for portrait video mode and AR applications.
A cross between the Note 10 and Galaxy S10?
The Galaxy S20 renders are out and so are the concept designs, which I love because they can bring the rumors to life.
So what might we get with the S20? Rounded shoulders, which have become the Galaxy S trademark, but with a more squared-off look reminiscent of the Galaxy Note 10. A slim body. Curved sides for all models, unlike the Galaxy S10E’s flat screen, which I actually really liked.
The camera array seems to be rectangular and off to the left, according to renders and possible photos. It might also stick out from the surface, a lot like the iPhone 11 and Google Pixel 4. Cameras that stick out are more vulnerable to breaking when you drop your phone, so a case is an absolute must.
Another artistic rendition of the Galaxy S20.
Concept Creator
5G guaranteed, but there’s a catch
I mentioned 5G earlier. This is a rumored feature, but also a given. The Galaxy S20 is 99.9% likely to use the powerful Snapdragon 865 processor, which chipmaker Qualcomm won’t make available to phone brands without the 5G modem it pairs with. Ipso facto, you get a phone with the Snapdragon 865, you get a 5G-ready phone.
I promised a catch and here it is. While the Galaxy S20 will be 5G-ready, not every phone may be able to access 5G. Cities and countries that are 4G-only will only be able to use 4G networks, so the 5G Galaxy S20 could very well act like a 4G phone.
We’ll see how it all shakes out, but I’d be surprised if Samsung used any chip other than Snapdragon 865. The Galaxy S series is its mainstream flagship and Samsung is the world’s largest phone-maker. Samsung will want to put its best foot forward by delivering the phone with the “best” chip.
Screen: 120Hz AMOLED display
We talked about phone screens earlier, but here’s what else we’re likely to get: the ability to turn on a 120Hz screen refresh rate. That will make animations and scrolling a whole lot smoother than the standard 60Hz refresh rate we have now.
While a 120Hz refresh rate is great for gaming and other quick transitions, it’s a battery hog. Still, the OnePlus 8 is getting support for a 120Hz screen. The Galaxy S20 could put the power in your hands with settings to switch between 60Hz to preserve battery life and 120Hz if you want to rev up animations.
This is pretty much a done deal since both the Snapdragon 865 and Exynos 990 5G support 210Hz screens.
Suggested renders for the Galaxy S11 and S11E.
Pricebaba
In-screen fingerprint reader
I loved the concept of an in-screen fingerprint reader until I used it in the Galaxy S10. The accuracy, speed and convenience never quite lived up to the promise for me.
My best-case scenario would be for the Galaxy S20 return to some form of secure face unlock, combined with the in-screen reader. Samsung already knows how to do this well. Remember, the series got iris scanning in the S7, but dropped it for the S10. Google has now done it better, with the Pixel 4’s gesture tracking lending a hand.
We could at least see a more robust form of in-screen biometric scanner if Samsung decides to take advantage of the Snapdragon 865’s support for two-finger scanning, which is meant to improve the technology on all fronts. I sure hope it does.
In One UI 2, right, app folders open lower on the screen so that it’s easier for you to interact with them one-handed.
I’m much more excited about Android 10, which brings systemwide dark mode to phones, gesture navigation, some seriously impressive live captioning and new privacy settings. Samsung One UI 2 aims to push icons and screen controls toward the bottom of the phone so they’re easier to reach one-handed.
Storage and RAM
Let’s not forget onboard storage, external memory and RAM. According to Weinbach’s recent tweet, the S20 Ultra will have:
128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage options
12GB and 16GB RAM configurations
MicroSD card slot for external storage, with support for up to 1TB
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Artificial intelligence‘s recent rise to the forefront of business has left most office workers wondering how often they should use the technology and whether a computer will eventually replace them.
Those were among the highlights of a recent study conducted by the workplace communications platform Slack. After conducting in-depth interviews with 5,000 desktop workers, Slack concluded there are five types of AI personalities in the workplace: “The Maximalist” who regularly uses AI on their jobs; “The Underground” who covertly uses AI; “The Rebel,” who abhors AI; “The Superfan” who is excited about AI but still hasn’t used it; and “The Observer” who is taking a wait-and-see approach.
Only 50% of the respondents fell under the Maximalist or Underground categories, posing a challenge for businesses that want their workers to embrace AI technology. The Associated Press recently discussed the excitement and tension surrounding AI at work with Christina Janzer, Slack’s senior vice president of research and analytics.
Q: What do you make about the wide range of perceptions about AI at work?
A: It shows people are experiencing AI in very different ways, so they have very different emotions about it. Understanding those emotions will help understand what is going to drive usage of AI. If people are feeling guilty or nervous about it, they are not going to use it. So we have to understand where people are, then point them toward learning to value this new technology.
Q: The Maximalist and The Underground both seem to be early adopters of AI at work, but what is different about their attitudes?
A: Maximalists are all in on AI. They are getting value out of it, they are excited about it, and they are actively sharing that they are using it, which is a really big driver for usage among others.
The Underground is the one that is really interesting to me because they are using it, but they are hiding it. There are different reasons for that. They are worried they are going to be seen as incompetent. They are worried that AI is going to be seen as cheating. And so with them, we have an opportunity to provide clear guidelines to help them know that AI usage is celebrated and encouraged. But right now they don’t have guidelines from their companies and they don’t feel particularly encouraged to use it.
Overall, there is more excitement about AI than not, so I think that’s great We just need to figure out how to harness that.
Q: What about the 19% of workers who fell under the Rebel description in Slack’s study?
A: Rebels tend to be women, which is really interesting. Three out of five rebels are women, which I obviously don’t like to see. Also, rebels tend to be older. At a high level, men are adopting the technology at higher rates than women.
Q: Why do you think more women than men are resisting AI?
A: Women are more likely to see AI as a threat, more likely to worry that AI is going to take over their jobs. To me, that points to women not feeling as trusted in the workplace as men do. If you feel trusted by your manager, you are more likely to experiment with AI. Women are reluctant to adopt a technology that might be seen as a replacement for them whereas men may have more confidence that isn’t going to happen because they feel more trusted.
Q: What are some of the things employers should be doing if they want their workers to embrace AI on the job?
A: We are seeing three out of five desk workers don’t even have clear guidelines with AI, because their companies just aren’t telling them anything, so that’s a huge opportunity.
Another opportunity to encourage AI usage in the open. If we can create a culture where it’s celebrated, where people can see the way people are using it, then they can know that it’s accepted and celebrated. Then they can be inspired.
The third thing is we have to create a culture of experimentation where people feel comfortable trying it out, testing it, getting comfortable with it because a lot of people just don’t know where to start. The reality is you can start small, you don’t have to completely change your job. Having AI write an email or summarize content is a great place to start so you can start to understand what this technology can do.
Q: Do you think the fears about people losing their jobs because of AI are warranted?
A: People with AI are going to replace people without AI.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday that it would provide up to $325 million to Hemlock Semiconductor for a new factory, a move that could help give Democrats a political edge in the swing state of Michigan ahead of election day.
The funding would support 180 manufacturing jobs in Saginaw County, where Republicans and Democrats were neck-in-neck for the past two presidential elections. There would also be construction jobs tied to the factory that would produce hyper-pure polysilicon, a building block for electronics and solar panels, among other technologies.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters that the funding came from the CHIPS and Science Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. It’s part of a broader industrial strategy that the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, supports, while Republican nominee Donald Trump, the former president, sees tariff hikes and income tax cuts as better to support manufacturing.
“What we’ve been able to do with the CHIPS Act is not just build a few new factories, but fundamentally revitalize the semiconductor ecosystem in our country with American workers,” Raimondo said. “All of this is because of the vision of the Biden-Harris administration.”
A senior administration official said the timing of the announcement reflected the negotiating process for reaching terms on the grant, rather than any political considerations. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss the process.
After site work, Hemlock Semiconductor plans to begin construction in 2026 and then start production in 2028, the official said.
Running in 2016, Trump narrowly won Saginaw County and Michigan as a whole. But in 2020 against Biden, both Saginaw County and Michigan flipped to the Democrats.
Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.
The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.
Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.
The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.
Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.
On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.
The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.
More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.
Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:
You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!
Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.
Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.
There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.
Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.
Successful people tend to be secretive.
Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.
Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.
Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.
