Samsung’s Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and S20 Ultra might be packed to the hilt with the latest, greatest tech, but they also come with sky-high prices to match. That makes them a tricky sell at a time when purse strings are tightening and rivals like OnePlus are making great phones at more affordable prices. The Galaxy S20 FE (which stands for “fan edition”) aims to offer much of what you’ll find in the company’s top-end phones but with a few tweaks here and there in order to keep the price down.
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That price is $700 — the same as the iPhone 11. In the UK and Australia, it’s £599 or AU$999 for a 4G version, and £699 or AU$1,149 for 5G. (Only the 5G version will be offered in the US.) That’s a significant price drop, given that the 5G Galaxy Note 20 Ultra retails for $1,300 (£1,179, AU$1,999). It also undercuts the OnePlus 8 Pro, which has a similar set of specs but costs $899 (£799). So much for OnePlus’ famous affordability.
Samsung
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The price might be more affordable, but the key specs don’t seem to have suffered all that much. There’s a 6.5-inch, 2,400×1,080-pixel super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling and a lightning-fast Snapdragon 865 processor (for the 5G models; there’s an Exynos 990 chip in the 4G models — the same one found in the Note 20 Ultra and S20 Ultra).
There’s a triple camera setup on the back, although the resolutions are lower and it lacks high-end features like the 100x space zoom (30x zoom is offered, but it relies heavily on digital zoom) or 8K video recording, neither of which I think you’ll miss. It still offers things like 3x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, night mode photos and the “single take” feature which captures multiple versions of the same shot when you hit the shutter button (zoomed in, zoomed out, a video, a GIF, different filters) allowing you to decide which to share afterwards.
Samsung
Physically, it looks much the same as the rest of the S20 series. It has a Gorilla Glass 5 display (rather than Gorilla Glass 6 on the Note 20), and the back is made from a toughened, matte plastic rather than shiny glass. It still has IP68 waterproofing though, along with an in-screen fingerprint scanner and it’s available in a wider range of snazzy colors, including a vibrant red, a lavender purple, navy blue, mint green and orange — all of which look much nicer than the sinfully dull gray on Samsung’s most expensive S20 Ultra.
The phone is available for preorder globally from Wednesday, with in-store sales starting on Oct 2.
No, this phone isn’t a revolution in mobile technology, but that’s not what Samsung needs to do right now. What it should be doing is offering a solid all-round experience at a more attractive price, which on paper at least is exactly what the S20 FE provides. We’ll find out how it stacks up against similarly priced competitors like the OnePlus 8 Pro in the full review, but for now you can see how its specs compare in the chart below.
MONTREAL – Lightspeed Commerce Inc. says it is conducting a review of its business and operations including talks relating to a range of potential strategic alternatives.
The Montreal-based payments technology company made the comments after reports concerning a potential transaction involving the company.
Lightspeed says it periodically undertakes a review of its business and operations with a view of realizing its full potential.
A strategic review is often seen by investors as a prelude to a sale by a company.
Lightspeed says its board of directors is committed to acting in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders.
Company founder Dax Dasilva returned to the role of chief executive officer earlier this year and has been working to return the company to profitability.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
OTTAWA – Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says there is a lot of uncertainty around how artificial intelligence could affect the economy moving forward, including the labour market and price growth.
In a speech in Toronto at the Economics of Artificial Intelligence Conference, the governor said Friday that the central bank is approaching the issue cautiously to get a better understanding of how AI could affect its job of keeping inflation low and stable.
“Be wary of anyone who claims to know where AI will take us. There is too much uncertainty to be confident,” Macklem said in prepared remarks.
“We don’t know how quickly AI will continue to advance. And we don’t know the timing and extent of its economic and social impacts.”
The governor said AI has the potential of increasing labour productivity, which would raise living standards and grow the economy without boosting inflation.
In the short-term, he said investment in AI is adding to demand and could be inflationary.
However, Macklem also highlighted more pessimistic scenarios, where AI could destroy more jobs than it creates or lead to less competition rather than more.
The governor called on academics and businesses to work together to shed more light on the potential effects of AI on the economy.
“When you enter a dark room, you don’t go charging in. You cautiously feel your way around. And you try to find the light switch. That is what we are doing. What we central bankers need is more light,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.
CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines has struck a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer satellite-based Starlink WiFi service on flights within the next several years.
The airline said Friday the service will be free to passengers.
United said it will begin testing the service early next year and begin offering it on some flights by later in 2025.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The announcement comes as airlines rush to offer more amenities as a way to stand out when passengers pick a carrier for a trip. United’s goal is to make sitting on a plane pretty much like being on the ground when it comes to browsing the internet, streaming entertainment and playing games.
“Everything you can do on the ground, you’ll soon be able to do on board a United plane at 35,000 feet, just about anywhere in the world,” CEO Scott Kirby said in announcing the deal.
The airline says Starlink will allow passengers to get internet access even over oceans and polar regions where traditional cell or Wi-Fi signals may be weak or missing.
