Samsung’s made choosing a premium phone harder than ever with the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, two very similarly priced phones with similar specs released within six months of each other. Both have S Pen support, great zoom cameras and 120Hz refresh rate screens, and on paper it’s hard to tell which one is the better buy. To find out, I used them side by side for two weeks comparing them in five different categories: displays, design, cameras, battery and performance.
The S21 is the flagship Android phone to beat. It has a brilliant, 6.8-inch display, Snapdragon’s latest 888 chip and a powerful camera with a 3x and 10x optical zoom. It now has S Pen support like the Galaxy Note, but the stylus doesn’t come with the phone itself, and there’s nowhere to put it if you get one (unless you buy a special case).
This is the phone to buy for those looking for the most fluid S Pen experience as it has low latency and Bluetooth support, so you can use gestures or control your phone with the stylus. And its specs are almost as impressive as the S21’s with a fast processor, great cameras and 8K video recording.
Both phones have a curved AMOLED screen, with the 6.9-inch Note 20 Ultra just edging out the 6.8-inch S21 Ultra in terms of size. The S21 Ultra is the heavier of the two phones, but I found it easier to use one-handed as the camera is balanced better compared to the domino-style camera module on the Note 20 Ultra.
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Both phones are covered in the strongest version of Corning’s glass, Gorilla Glass Victus, but since neither survivedour drop test, I’d highly recommend getting a case for them.
Better display options on the S21 Ultra
For things like gaming, scrolling web pages or watching videos, both displays will look incredible. They have a variable, or adaptive refresh rate of up to 120hz, which means it’s changing the refresh rate depending on what you’re doing, like a higher rate for gaming, or a lower rate when the phone is standing by. But the S21 Ultra supports the highest WQHD Plus (1440p) resolution in 120Hz while the Note 20 Ultra only supports full HD (1080p) with the adaptive refresh rate. To get the highest resolution on the Note 20 Ultra, you’ll need to drop to 60Hz or the standard refresh rate.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
Both phones also have a fingerprint reader hidden under the display, and while I didn’t notice that much difference between the two, anecdotally the S21 Ultra’s sensor felt faster to authenticate and unlock the phone.
The S21 Ultra takes the camera crown
The S21 Ultra takes the already super-close zoom on the Note to the next level with two telephoto cameras: One that can optically zoom to 3x and the other 10x, offering more flexibility for photographers who want to get closer to the subject without physically moving closer. The Note 20 Ultra, by contrast, has only one telephoto camera with a 5x optical zoom.
I also noticed that Samsung has improved the image processing of zoom photos taken using hybrid (optical and digital) zoom, which is anything beyond the reach of the telephoto camera. Looking at the same 50x photo taken on both phones, the S21 Ultra’s image is clearer and retains more detail compared to the Note 20 Ultra. You can get up to 100x on the S21 Ultra, but I never found myself using this extreme zoom because the image looks pretty mushy.
A comparison of 50x hybrid zoom on the S21 Ultra (left) and Note 20 Ultra (right).
Lexy Savvides/CNET
General photos of landscapes and scenery look great on both phones and I couldn’t really tell them apart. The main wide-angle camera uses a 108-megapixel sensor on both phones which is useful for cropping after the fact, or making really large prints, but I found the regular 12-megapixel photos were great as well. Both phones use a technique called “pixel binning” on these regular shots that helps to retain lots of detail and good dynamic range.
The S21 Ultra is on the left and the Note 10 Ultra is on the right. Spot the difference?
Lexy Savvides/CNET
In low light, I prefer the S21 Ultra, although night mode shots look more processed with greater contrast and less noise than photos taken on the Note 20 Ultra in the same light. Video quality is great on both, especially when filming at 4K. To my eye, the dynamic range is a touch broader on the newer phone, but I’d be very happy with either. The S21 Ultra has an advantage in that it can film on the telephoto camera at 4K/60, whereas the Note 20 Ultra can only use digital zoom at this resolution and frame rate. Both phones film in 8K at 24fps. You can see many more photo and video samples in the video on this page.
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Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. Note 20 Ultra
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S Pen is better on the Note 20 Ultra
Many fans of the Galaxy Note series may have been concerned when they saw the S21 Ultra would support the S Pen, because it could potentially signal the end of the Note family of phones.
The S21 Ultra may be the first non-Note phone with stylus support, but the S Pen doesn’t do quite as much as it can on the Note 20 Ultra, at least not just yet.
Both phones let you draw on the screen, take notes, annotate screenshots, convert handwriting to text or straighten your handwriting in the Samsung Notes app. The S Pen on the Note 20 Ultra also has Bluetooth support, which lets you use air gestures to open the camera or take photos remotely, to name just a few examples. The phone can also ping you if you leave the S Pen behind somewhere. And the Note can also store the S Pen inside the phone, unlike the S21 Ultra — you can buy a separate case with a storage slot for the stylus, but if you’re anything like me, you’d still lose the S Pen regardless of the case.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
I couldn’t notice much of a difference in terms of the performance of the S Pen when using it on the two phones side by side, but artists may be able to tell the difference, thanks to the 9ms latency on the Note 20 Ultra. Samsung will release an S Pen Pro later in 2021 that offers Bluetooth support to bring it more in line with the functionality on the Note.
Note 20 Ultra: smaller battery, slightly longer life
The S21 Ultra has a 5,000-mAh battery compared to 4,500 mAh on the Note 20 Ultra, but a larger capacity battery doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get more juice out of the phone. Usage patterns, 5G connectivity, processing power and display brightness all play a part in overall battery life; I didn’t see a huge difference in battery life between the two phones.
Both phones made it comfortably through a full day of use with juice to spare. At the end of the day of heavy usage running both phones at 120Hz, the WQHD Plus screen (on the S21), filming 4K video and gaming, I was left with anywhere between 10 and 15% battery on the Note, and around 10% on the S21 Ultra. Anecdotally, I felt that the Note 20 Ultra had better standby time overall when I wasn’t using the phone. You can check out our full reviews of the S21 Ultra and Note 20 Ultra for results from our official battery test.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
The base storage level on both phones starts at 128GB with the option to go up to 512GB on both, or an intermediate 256GB tier on the S21 Ultra, but only the Note 20 has the option to expand with a microSD slot. The S21 Ultra also misses out on the charger in the box, as well as MST support in Samsung Pay.
Depending on where you live, you’ll either get a Snapdragon or Samsung’s own Exynos processor. I’ve only tested the Snapdragon 888 on the S21 Ultra and 865 Plus on the Note 20 Ultra, so can’t comment on Exynos performance, but both phones never left me wanting when it came to trimming 8K videos, gaming or running a myriad of apps at a time.
The Galaxy S21 wins, but not by much
In the end, I found that these phones share so many of the same features that it doesn’t make sense to upgrade from the Note 20 Ultra to the S21 Ultra if you already have the (slightly) older phone. But improvements in the camera, S Pen support and a more balanced one-handed feel was enough to sway me to choose the S21 Ultra if I was looking for the best overall Galaxy experience.
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
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