OnePlus has announced the OnePlus 8T, a $749 5G phone that fits right in between the $699 OnePlus 8 ($699 at Amazon) and $899 OnePlus 8 Pro ($999 at OnePlus), which were released in April. (The OnePlus 8T’s UK price of £549 converts to about AU$1,000.) The OnePlus 8T has a similar design to the 8, but carries over some of the better specs of the 8 Pro.
This premium hardware includes a silky 120Hz display and four cameras on the back. It also comes with a beefy 65-watt charger that juices up the phone quickly. The OnePlus 8T has a few software updates, too, including an always-on display and a refreshed interface, which will roll out to other OnePlus phones.
Like
120Hz display is super smooth
Main camera is excellent
Long battery life so far
Charges quickly
Don’t Like
Macro camera is middling
No wireless charging
In and of itself, the OnePlus 8T is an excellent device and it’ll surely satisfy anyone looking for a high-powered, reliable Android. The brilliant display is my favorite thing about the phone, but there’s a more enticing and cheaper competitor available from OnePlus itself — the OnePlus 8.
At time of writing, OnePlus has lowered the prices of the 8 and 8 Pro by $100. Going by the same memory configuration across all three phones (12GB of RAM and 256GB storage), the OnePlus 8 costs $700 and is $50 cheaper than the OnePlus 8T. Maybe if you’re already paying $700, that extra $50 won’t matter all that much to you. In that case, feel free to nab the 8T. But if you want to save as much as you can, get the OnePlus 8. Sure, you won’t get that 120Hz refresh rate, but it’s still a superb phone with a great battery life and a smooth 90Hz display. Though April may feel like a long time ago, the notion that the OnePlus 8 is an “old” phone just hasn’t settled in yet. And with its new lowered price, it’s the more compelling pick.
OnePlus 8T shimmers in ‘Aquamarine Green’ and a 120Hz display
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OnePlus 8T’s 120Hz screen is a winner
The best part of the OnePlus 8T’s design is its 120Hz display. Most phones have screens that refresh 60 frames per second. A few phones, like the OnePlus 8, have screens that refresh 90 times a second, and even fewer refresh as often as 120 frames. The effect of the 120Hz display means the phone feels buttery smooth and fast. Scrolling through social media feeds, thumbing through home screen pages and playing games like PUB-G feel super quick and responsive.
Besides from the boosted refresh rate, the OnePlus 8T looks similar to the OnePlus 8. The screen’s size and resolution is the same, so it’s just as vibrant and sharp. The jewel-like aquamarine green variant I received is flashy and eye-catching too, but its back is dominated by a large rectangular camera bump similar to the Galaxy S20 Ultra.
The phone is also missing a few features that the more premium OnePlus 8 Pro has. The OnePlus 8T doesn’t have wireless charging or reverse wireless charging for other accessories, and the unlocked version doesn’t have an IP rating for water resistance (the T-Mobile variant, however, is rated IP68). If you’re getting the device unlocked though, it’s not completely vulnerable. OnePlus did say it’s still protected against accidental spills and when I submerged the OnePlus 7 Pro (which isn’t IP certified either) last year, it survived without issues.
The 8T’s 120Hz display makes scrolling through apps and webpages feel liquid smooth.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
OnePlus 8T’s refreshed interface and Android 11
Though the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro can update to Google‘s latest mobile OS, Android 11, the OnePlus 8T already has it out of the box. OnePlus also refreshed the interface for the better; menus and notifications look more streamlined, modern and clean.
New to the 8T is an always-on display, which lets you check for the time, notifications and alerts without the need to unlock your phone and fully wake up the home screen. There are several options to choose from for your display, including one that shows notches of different widths along a single line. It helps visualize how many times in a day you unlock your phone, with the idea being that it’ll discourage you from spending time with your device. When I used this feature, it made me more conscious about how often I came back to the handset whenever I was bored or idle. Two other always-on options are coming later in November through an update. One will let you add your own Bitmoji character and another displays a stylized sketch of a personal photo.
Other software features include built-in editing tools for taking pictures of documents (think things like straightening out angles and detecting edges, which third-party scanning apps can also do) and voice transcription with the native Note app. This feature is fine and is responsive enough, but Google’s Recorder app also transcribes memos and can upload the text directly to Drive. OnePlus’ digital wellbeing app, ZenMode, still limits phone functionality when you want to focus. But now you can invite your friends to join in a group session of ZenMode — which is something I can’t imagine anyone ever doing.
The 8T’s new interface is more streamlined and clean.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
OnePlus 8T camera: Can we trade 2 for 1?
The OnePlus 8T has four rear cameras, three of which are also on the OnePlus 8 (a standard, ultra-wide and macro camera) and a “monochrome” camera. This fourth camera doesn’t take photos itself, but helps out with lighting when you take black-and-white photos — something I hardly ever do.
If anything, it would have been great to swap the OnePlus 8T’s macro and monochrome for one superb telephoto lens, but alas, that didn’t happen. Instead, the camera has a 10x digital zoom that works okay, but I don’t recommend using it for getting clear shots. The OnePlus 8T’s 5-megapixel macro camera also works better than the 2-megapixel setup on the OnePlus 8. Colors aren’t as washed out and details are a bit sharper. I still prefer shooting closeup shots with the regular standard camera, but using the macro lens does indeed allow you to get closer to objects and more focused.
Photos taken with the standard and telephoto cameras are vibrant and sharp in good, ample lighting. And the phone’s low-light mode, Nightscape, is comparable to the Pixel 5‘s Night Sight feature. Though the Pixel 5 handles bright exposure from light sources better and its white balance is more accurate, the OnePlus 8T can still brighten up a dim environment and produce clean photos full of detail.
For video, I used the camera’s super stable mode while recording video on a bike. I was riding on even cement pavement and the video turned out steady and smooth. I was also impressed that the mic clearly picked up the soft strumming of an acoustic guitar I passed by. The OnePlus 8T has portrait mode for video as well, which blurs the background for a bokeh-like effect. The feature isn’t always perfect; there were a few instances when my flyaway hairs were blurred out unnaturally, or edges were patchy and inconsistently switched from being blurred to being in focus. But the new mode adds a tad more polish and drama to the video, similar to that captured on DSLR.
The OnePlus 8T’s main 48-megapixel camera can capture images in a 12-megapixel resolution for wider dynamic range.
Lynn La/CNET
The phone’s macro camera allowed me to get close to these flower petals.
Lynn La/CNET
The phone’s 16-megapixel ultra-wide lens has a larger field of view to fit more content.
Lynn La/CNET
With the help of the monochrome camera, the phone’s main camera captures black and white images in great detail and variance.
Lynn La/CNET
The phone’s Nightscape mode brightens up dim settings.
Lynn La/CNET
OnePlus 8T performance and battery
The OnePlus 8T has the same processor as the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro, and all three phones performed similarly on benchmark tests. The OnePlus 8T was also on par with the Galaxy S20, which shares the Snapdragon 865 chipset too. And for quick reference, compared to the Pixel 5, which has the Snapdragon 765G processor, the OnePlus 8T comfortably outperformed Google’s device in benchmark tests.
3DMark Slingshot Unlimited
Note:
Longer bars indicate better performance
Geekbench v.5.0 single-core
Note:
Longer bars indicate better performance
Geekbench v.5.0 multicore
Note:
Longer bars indicate better performance
The OnePlus 8T is equipped with a 4,500-mAh battery, which is in between the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro’s battery capacities (4,300 mAh and 4,510 mAh, respectively). Tests for continuous video playback on Airplane mode averaged 23 hours, 7 minutes. By comparison, the OnePlus 8 and the 8 Pro lasted a touch shy of 19 hours. I’ll update this piece with final results and ratings when we finish running streaming video tests.
The OnePlus 8T can charge extremely fast with its branded Warp Charge 65 charger. OnePlus says this new charger can juice up the phone to 58% after 15 minutes and 100% in 39 minutes. When I tested it out, the phone charged at a pretty standard rate during my first two trials (think 30% after 15 minutes and about 1.5 hours for 100%). But on the third try, using a different outlet, the phone charged extremely quickly and matched the numbers OnePlus reported. The charging brick is compatible with devices that support 45W PD fast charge too, meaning it can quickly charge other devices you may have, like laptops. If you already have a OnePlus phone and want the 65W charger, the company will sell it for $40 separately.
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.
