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Samsung Galaxy S20 worth the upgrade? It depends on the camera and battery life – CNET

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The Galaxy S20 Ultra’s camera performance could make all the difference. 


Sarah Tew/CNET

“Whoa. This is the Galaxy S20 Ultra?” I was so surprised, I said it aloud. Samsung’s Unpacked event was the first time I got my hands on Samsung’s biggest and baddest Galaxy S20 device. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I had to skip the typical journalist briefing session, so it wasn’t until I held the S20 Ultra earlier this week that I was able to form my first concrete opinion.

Here’s the first, but least important of the bunch: The S20 Ultra is a massive, heavy phone with a hulking camera module that reminded me of The Rock. CNET Senior Editor Lynn La went even further, calling the array “chonky” and grotesque”.

Picking through submenus looking for thrilling new tools to jump out, it dawned on me. The Galaxy S20 Ultra’s MVP features distill down to those completely redesigned cameras, the longevity of the Ultra’s 5,000-mAh battery, and to a lesser extent, 5G. You can’t truly get a grip on any of these in an artificially lit demo room, no matter how spacious. 

Understanding if the S20 Ultra is worth buying or worth upgrading from will take time, for sure, but I have opinions.


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Dissecting the S20 Ultra’s eye-popping camera specs is simple enough in theory. There’s a 108-megapixel camera, 100x “space zoom” and a 48-megapixel “folded zoom lens.” 

It was easy to point the intense zoom camera at the nice props around the room, like a tray of fancy yogurt parfait and journalist friends, to quickly gauge how well each camera feature performed. That’s fine and necessary in a closed demo space, but you don’t really know how good the photos are until you start taking pictures of scenes in the real world.

Camera value doesn’t come down to the image quality alone, either. You also have to factor in how easy it is to use the feature correctly, edit photos and share them. For example, after testing the “Single Take” mode that captures up to 10 photos and four videos with a single button press, I was starting to get the distinct impression that using this mode means you might spend a lot of time deleting all the extra shots you don’t want. That was confirmed with some casual shots I took with Single Take on the Galaxy Z Flip foldable phone.

Testing the zoom feature in real life is especially important. As I pointed the S20 Ultra around the demo room and dialed in on 30x, 50x and 100x zoom, I wasn’t immediately impressed with what I saw. But I also wasn’t pointing at anything meaningful, like a decorative cornice on a palace, an egret wading in the ocean or a dazzling performer on stage. The benefit to zoom at that magnitude is closing the distance through technology when you can’t get your body close enough to frame and take the shot.

Comparing the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s zoom capabilities to those of the Huawei P30 Pro will be essential, as well. That S20 Ultra’s periscope lens uses a similar technology as the P30 Pro to create 5x optical and up to 50x digital zoom. I remember being impressed by Huawei’s ability to capture far-off objects more faithfully than not. The same goes for the Pixel 4 and 4 XL’s “super zoom” sensors.

Battery life is the final ingredient here. 5,000 mAh is about the biggest capacity around, but we also have to factor in how many resources the phone’s enormous screen really uses, how 5G might change the battery equation (that will vary by network). Turning on the 120Hz refresh rate option is also expected to considerably drain battery life compared to the standard 60Hz screen settings.

I’m excited to learn the answers to these Galaxy S20 Ultra questions in the coming weeks when a review unit arrives. Pretty soon when someone asks me if the Galaxy S20 Ultra is worth the $1,400 price, or worth an upgrade from the Galaxy S10, I’ll be able to give a clear answer. For now, it’s simply: wait and see.

Originally published earlier this week.


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Ottawa orders TikTok’s Canadian arm to be dissolved

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

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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.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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