Technology - Google News |
- Galaxy S11 leaks and rumors: 4 rear cameras, battery, price, release date for Samsung's upcoming phone - CNET
- Leak shows that the cheaper new Pixel 4a looks so much better than Google’s flagship Pixel 4 - BGR
- The Pixel 3a was a turning point for affordable smartphones - Engadget
| Posted: 30 Dec 2019 04:15 AM PST  An artist's rendition of the Galaxy S11, based on the rumors and leaks. Concept Creator/Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNETThe Galaxy S11 rumors and leaks haven't taken a break over the holiday season. Little by little these renders and reports are painting a picture of the Galaxy S11's official lineup, from the price to a possible camera setup that takes up a huge portion of the phone's back, and a potentially massive battery. Unlike the $2,000 Galaxy Fold or $1,100 Galaxy Note 10 Plus, Samsung's next premium device will be designed to appeal to lots of folks, not just enthusiasts looking for the most cutting-edge or powerful handset. The Galaxy S11 family of phones is Samsung's first mainstream device that could help bring 5G's faster data speeds to the masses. Samsung got a start with 5G this year, with the S10 5G, Note 10 Plus 5G, Galaxy A90 5G and Fold (in the UK and South Korea). But these phones either aren't targeting everyday users, and many are variants of 4G devices that already exist. Headed into the Galaxy S11 launch, Samsung is in a much stronger position than it was a year ago. It made waves in 2019, nabbing a CNET Editors' Choice award for the Galaxy Note 10 Plus and releasing the unforgettable Galaxy Fold. 2020 is only destined to get better -- and that goes for Samsung's next foldable phone, too. There are a lot of specs to absorb, so here they are -- the Galaxy S11's most important rumored features so far, plus what we don't know and what we think we might get. I throw in my own educated guesses too, because Samsung often follows historical patterns and topical trends. Here we go!  Watch this: Galaxy S11 is apparently going to be big. Very big 6:33 Three models, three sizes: Galaxy S11, S11 Plus, S11 ProFirst things first. The Galaxy S11 line isn't going to be one phone, that we know. It's rumored to be three, just like last year's S10 family of 4G models. Some rumors name the phones as the S11E, S11 and S11 Plus, but more recent whispers, including that from frequent Twitter leaker Evan Blass, suggest S11, S11 Plus and S11 Pro, which is a lot closer to Apple's strategy with the iPhone 11, the base model for that line.  Here are the rumored screen sizes:
Blass also stated that all the Galaxy S11 phones could have curved sides, unlike 2019's Galaxy S10E, which had a flat display that I sometimes preferred.  A peek at the Galaxy S11? We'll know soon enough. CashkaroFeb. 11 or 18 launch, later release datesThe all-important question: When do we get to see this thing for the first time? February is a given. Samsung has unveiled its Galaxy S series in late February or early March for years, sometimes at the Mobile World Congress tech show, sometimes before, and a couple of times, even after.
If Samsung follows last year's model, we'll see the Galaxy S11 and its kin appear shortly before MWC. If we let the rumors guide us, Samsung will show its hand on either Tuesday, Feb. 11 (this is in Greek) or Tuesday, Feb. 18. So yeah, February seems solid. Look for the phone to go on preorder shortly after, with units shipping a week or two after the reveal. I'll continue to update this story with fresh rumors, so come back for more. Could look like a cross between the Note 10 and Galaxy S10The Galaxy S11 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 Samsung's S11 phone? 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 could become square, off to the left, and stick out from the surface, a lot like the iPhone 11 and Google Pixel 4. I really hope that's not the case. Cameras that stick out are more vulnerable to breaking when you drop your phone. A case is an absolute must. 5G guaranteed, but there's a catchI mentioned 5G earlier. This is a rumored feature, but also a given. The Galaxy S11 is 99.9% likely to use the powerful Snapdragon 865 processor in it, 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. The same goes for any regions that will package the Galaxy S11 with Samsung's in-house Exynos 990 5G processor, which often happens in Asia, especially Samsung's home country of South Korea. (Ice Universe says Samsung is "determined" to use Snapdragon 865 for South Korean models.) I promised a catch and here it is. While the Galaxy S11 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 S11 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. It will want to put its best foot forward by delivering the phone with the "best" chip.  Another artistic rendition of the Galaxy S11. Concept Creator108-megapixel camera, periscope lens, 5x optical zoomNow for the fun stuff, the camera. We already talked about how rumors, leaks and renders predict a square camera array overflowing with cameras -- perhaps four on the back of the Galaxy S11 Plus. It gets wilder. Samsung is said to be outfitting the Galaxy S11 (or at least one variant) with a 108-megapixel main camera sensor. Is that madness? It sounds like madness. But Chinese brand Xiaomi already beat Samsung to it with the Mi CC9 Pro, which already uses a 108-megapixel camera. In addition, 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 the chipmaker for making it happen. Here's what else you could get with the S11 camera (at least on some models), according to Ice Universe and 91Mobiles:  Suggested renders for the Galaxy S11 and S11E. PricebabaScreen: 120Hz AMOLED displayWe 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 w\we have now. While a 120Hz refresh rate is great for gaming and other quick transitions (even 90Hz like on the OnePlus 7T), it's a battery hog. The Galaxy S11 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.  Watch this: Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 865 processor 3:46 A whopping 5,000-mAh battery?Different size phones get different size batteries, and another rumor from the prolific Ice Universe dials in the Galaxy S11 "Plus" battery at 5,000 mAh, which is ridonculous. Keep in mind that the "Plus" could also be the "Pro" (e.g., the highest-end model of the trio), which makes far more sense to me than the middle phone getting a battery that size. For reference, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus battery is 4,300 mAh and battery life is outstanding. There have been some phones with ultralarge batteries before, so 5,000 mAh fits my expectations. For instance, the Asus' new ROG Phone II is an Android specs powerhouse, which makes it a gaming beast. In-screen fingerprint readerI 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 to the Galaxy S11 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. SamsungAndroid 10 and Samsung One UI 2There's little doubt that every Samsung phone in 2020 will run on Android 10 and the company's own One UI 2, which was announced in October and is now available in beta. 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. One UI 2 aims to push icons and screen controls toward the bottom of the phone so they're easier to reach one-handed. Galaxy S11 series: Price will break $1,000Now for the question on everyone's mind: How much is the Galaxy S11 going to cost me? As always, it will depend on which model you buy. Let's start with the Galaxy S10 prices for the base storage configuration:
5G costs the phone makers more to buy and integrate, so we could see a price bump right off the bat. You'll also spend more if you opt for a model with greater storage, say 512GB, assuming Samsung offers it and begins storage at 128GB. If the largest version ("Pro" or "Plus," depending on the rumors) lines up with the S10 Plus pricing, it'll start at $1,000. With the 5G component and more camera tech, I wouldn't be surprised to see that rise to $1,100, a price that matches the Galaxy Note 10 Plus today. Originally published earlier this month. |
| Leak shows that the cheaper new Pixel 4a looks so much better than Google’s flagship Pixel 4 - BGR Posted: 30 Dec 2019 03:50 AM PST The Pixel 4 may be the best Android phone of the year, at least for those users looking for Google's unadulterated version of Android 10, but it's hardly the perfect iPhone rival out there. The design is by far the worse thing about the Pixel 4, as the phone features an "all-screen" display that reminds us of 2017 handsets. We're looking at large and uneven bezels at the top and bottom (image above), with the top one housing what might easily be one of the best smartphone innovations of the year, but a useless nonetheless. Strangely enough, Google will soon fix that with a cheap phone whose design will look a lot better than the Pixel 4. That's the Pixel 4a series that will likely launch in spring 2020, just like its predecessor. The following renders, created off of CAD designs by @OnLeaks and 91mobiles show a Pixel 4a phone featuring the same punch-hole design that Samsung popularized this year. Interestingly, this is the kind of design that we saw in the first Pixel 4 leaks a few months ago, up until Google confirmed the huge bezel compromise.
The Pixel 4a will have a uniform bezel around the sides and top bezels, while the bottom chine is a bit thicker, just like on most Android handsets. The phone features a USB-C port on the bottom and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, and a single-lens on the back.
In other words, the Pixel 4a (and the Pixel 4a XL) will feature many compromises when it comes to features and performance. An inferior processor will likely power the whole show, and the phone's camera game can't match the Pixel 4's capabilities, considering that Google is going for a downgrade here. Also, with no notch on the front, don't expect 3D Face unlock on the phone — the rear-facing fingerprint sensor also suggests there's no other biometric sensor on board. Also, there's not going to be any Soli radar chip inside the phone.
The Pixel 4 will still be the better choice between the two, and that's the phone to get if you want a flagship Google phone. But those shoppers looking for affordable handsets running the latest version of Android will be able to buy a Pixel phone featuring a much better design than all Pixel phones launched to date.
Image Source: Zach Epstein, BGR |
| The Pixel 3a was a turning point for affordable smartphones - Engadget Posted: 30 Dec 2019 07:30 AM PST Sponsored Links When it comes to phones, there hasn't been a year like 2019 in a while. Between the introduction of the first foldables and the rollout of technologies like 5G, 2019 wasn't just another year of comfortable iteration for manufacturers. Instead, it saw the introduction of devices that are likely to define the space moving forward, but none more so than the modest Pixel 3a. When he reviewed it earlier this year, Chris Velazco wrote of Google and the 3a that "none of the compromises it made in producing this cheap Pixel actually feel like compromises." You could buy a great budget phone before the Pixel 3a, but more affordable devices used to mean some kind of compromise. Take OnePlus, for example: The brand most Android enthusiasts for years recommended to their friends as the best bang-for-your-buck choice. Up to and including the OnePlus 7 Pro, buying a OnePlus phone often meant skipping on flagship features, like waterproofing and wireless charging, and, more than anything else, a good camera. And as OnePlus added better cameras to its devices, each subsequent phone cost more than its predecessor. What makes the $400 and $480 Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL so pervasive is that they erased one of the last points of hardware differentiation between high-end and mid-range phones. While other features and specifications like high-resolution screens and fingerprint sensors have appeared in more affordable devices, cameras that don't take blurry photos -- or become a noisy mess as night falls -- have stubbornly stayed the domain of expensive phones. At first glance, there isn't anything all that impressive about the Pixel 3a's camera. It lacks the dual- and triple-camera arrays of most other mid- to high-end phones released in the last year, it's not as versatile, nor does it take the most detailed shots, with a lower-resolution sensor than rivals. But what it's missing technically, it makes up for by being one of the most consistent phone cameras you can get for the price. The computational photography features Google pioneered for the Pixel 3 are what make the 3a's camera so great. Instead of following the trend of just adding more cameras, the company made the interesting decision to build devices with a better camera. But consumers can easily see the value of more cameras (and, for that matter, other flashy hardware features like bigger displays and faster processors) -- it's much harder to convince them of the value of good software. In the context of a budget phone, it makes sense. Not only could Google avoid cutting corners elsewhere but it also allowed the company to deliver one great camera, instead of multiple mediocre ones. With features like Night Sight and Super Res Zoom, the Pixel 3a was able to match and surpass more expensive single-lens phones like the iPhone XR.  It might seem strange to compare the Pixel 3a to the iPhone XR, a phone that, at the time, cost $350 more. However, when Google released the 3a, the iPhone XR was the mid-range phone to beat. In the first half of 2019, Apple shipped almost 27 million iPhone XR units, according to IHS Markit. In early 2019, the iPhone XR was the most compelling phone on the market for a lot of budget-minded consumers. More than any other comparison, the ways the 3a matches and surpasses the iPhone XR show best what Google was able to achieve with the phone. One obvious positive comparison is that both 3a and 3a XL feature higher resolution displays than the iPhone XR. But more important is the Pixel 3a brought to mid-range Android phones something that has been the hallmark of iPhones for years: the promise of long-term software support. Google has said it will furnish the 3a with three years of platform and security updates. Additionally, the company updates the 3a and its more expensive phones on the same day. Prior to the 3a, that kind of software support was unheard of on a mid-range Android phone. If you were lucky, you got access to one or two major Android releases. Even then, you were often waiting months for your phone's manufacturer to deliver those updates. That kind of software support is perhaps even more meaningful on an affordable phone than it is on an expensive one since it helps to further extend the life of the device, which ultimately saves more money over time. Obviously, there are ways the Pixel 3a doesn't match the iPhone XR. It's not dust- and water-resistant, nor does it support wireless charging. But those are exactly the type of fit and finish differences that you would expect when comparing products in different price categories. What's important, especially in the context of the last ten-plus years of smartphone development, is that in its functionality and features people really care about, the two phones are nearly identical. In fact, the Pixel 3a was so compelling at $400, it likely played a major part in Apple's decision to price the iPhone 11 $50 cheaper than it originally priced the iPhone XR. If you've seen any videos from Marques "MKBHD" Brownlee in the past five years, you've probably heard the YouTuber say at some point, "Cheap phones are getting good. And good phones are getting cheap." With the Pixel 3a, it's safe to say we've come to the point that cheap phones are good, period.   35 |
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