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5 reasons to buy the older Galaxy S10 instead of Samsung's brand-new Galaxy S20 - Business Insider - Business Insider

Posted: 15 Feb 2020 05:01 AM PST

Samsung's Galaxy S10 is still a worthwhile option for those who want a new phone but are looking to spend less than $1,000.
The Galaxy S10, despite being a year old, still has a great camera and many of the same features as the Galaxy S20, like an in-screen fingerprint sensor, a sharp ultra-wide-angle camera, and a crisp borderless screen.
The main features that distinguish the Galaxy S20 from its predecessor are its support for 5G, its larger, upgraded camera sensors, its extra memory, and a screen that can reach a higher refresh rate.
If you don't care about 5G connectivity, especially since the network is only currently available in select areas of the US, and are looking for a phone that can take high-quality photos but don't necessarily care about having a super-premium camera, than the Galaxy S10 is worth considering.
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Samsung's Galaxy S20 just debuted this week, but don't underestimate last year's Galaxy S10.

Although the Galaxy S20 brings new features like an improved camera with a 64-megapixel telephoto camera — and a 108-megapixel wide-angle camera on the Ultra model — there are plenty of reasons to consider the Galaxy S10. Even though it doesn't have the newest camera, it still has an impressive triple-lens setup capable of taking rich and clear photos.

It also lacks other improvements like a screen with a higher refresh rate and more RAM, both of which should make the phone feel a bit faster. But even without these upgrades, the Galaxy S10 performs just as quickly and smoothly as you probably need it to.

Here's a closer look at why you should consider choosing the older, cheaper Galaxy S10 over the Galaxy S20.

It's cheaper.

The biggest reason you should consider choosing the S10 over the S20 is its price. The Galaxy S10 is priced at $750, while the larger Galaxy S10 Plus starts at $850. That makes the standard S10 $250 cheaper than the S20, and the S10 Plus $150 less expensive than the standard S20.

Both phones are also significantly cheaper than the $1,200 Galaxy S20 Plus, which comes with a larger screen, support for faster millimeter-wave 5G, and an extra depth-sensing camera. Samsung's top-of-the-line smartphone, the $1,400 Galaxy S20 Ultra, costs nearly double the Galaxy S10. That phone comes with a larger 6.9-inch screen and a whopping 108-megapixel camera.

5G networks aren't very mature yet in the United States.

Support for 5G connectivity is one of the Galaxy S20's standout features. But many carriers in the US are still developing and expanding their 5G coverage.

5G networks from Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T are only available in a handful of cities across the country, for example. And even in cities where it is available, 5G coverage is usually only supported in select areas. Similarly, T-Mobile's 5G network is up and running across the country, but only in certain areas.

The Galaxy S10 still has a great camera capable of taking high-resolution ultra-wide-angle photos.

The Galaxy S10 may lack the larger, more advanced sensors found on the S20. But it's still capable of taking high-quality images.

The Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus both have a triple-lens camera that includes a 12-megapixel telephoto camera, a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera, and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera. That means you can still shoot in a variety of modes, such as zooming in up to 10x digitally and capturing images with a wider 123-degree field of view. That's actually 3 degrees more than the S20's wide-angle lens.

So while the S10 may not be as great at zooming or capturing photo in low-light conditions as the S20, it still has all of the most important photograph-oriented features you'd want in a modern smartphone.

The Galaxy S10 has a lot of the same other features of the S20, like reverse wireless charging, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, and a borderless screen.

With the Galaxy S10, Samsung introduced several new features that have also made their way to the Galaxy S20. These include wireless power share, which makes it possible to charge an accessory like wireless headphones or another phone by resting the device on the back of the Galaxy S10. The S10 also has a fingerprint sensor that's baked into the screen and Samsung's "Infinity-O" display, which is a new type of borderless screen the company introduced last year that implements a hole punch-like cutout for front-facing cameras.

Overall, the experience of using the Galaxy S10 probably isn't all that different than the Galaxy S20.

The biggest improvements in the Galaxy S20 are in its ability to support 5G networks and its upgraded camera. If neither of those are a priority for you, then it might be worth checking out the less expensive Galaxy S10, which has most of the same features as its newer counterpart.

The Galaxy S20 also has a smoother screen and more memory — two additions that should make using the phone feel faster. But the Galaxy S10 is already plenty fast enough for most daily tasks, whether you're sending emails, playing games, or checking social media.

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Game over for HQ Trivia - CNN

Posted: 14 Feb 2020 02:34 PM PST

The company behind the once-popular live mobile trivia game is shutting down, CNN Business has learned. HQ will part ways with 25 full-time employees.

When HQ launched in 2017, its first game HQ Trivia quickly attracted millions of people across the world who stopped whatever they were doing twice a day to play the game on their smartphones. The company was profiled by The New York Times and its original host Scott Rogowsky became a household name, appearing on programs like NBC's "Today" show.

But over the next year, the game's popularity faded and its parent company was hit with a series of setbacks. The company grappled with internal turmoil, including the death of HQ cofounder Colin Kroll, who died in December 2018 from a drug overdose.

CEO Rus Yusupov said in a company-wide email on Friday that "lead investors are no longer willing to fund the company, and so effective today, HQ will cease operations and move to dissolution."

In the email, which was obtained by CNN Business, Yusupov also disclosed that the company had hired a banker "to help find additional investors and partners to support the expansion of the company." He said the company had "received an offer from an established business" and was expected to close the deal on Saturday, but the potential acquisition fell through.

In recent months, HQ tried to expand its audience by launching new products, including a photo challenge game in December called HQX.

"Since Colin and I founded the company, we really set out to develop this network of live interactive shows on mobile phones," Yusupov told CNN Business at the time.

HQ generated millions in revenue through brand partnerships and in-app purchases — a feat few young consumer tech companies could boast of in their early years. It worked with big-name brands such as Nike and Google and partnered with NBC, ABC and CBS to promote their programs. HQ's sponsored show for Warner Bros' "The Lego Movie 2" was nominated for an Emmy. (Warner Bros. and CNN are both owned by WarnerMedia.)

But HQ wasn't immune from financial woes. The company laid off employees in July 2019 and other staffers left.

HQ raised $15 million at a $100 million valuation in March 2018. The company had previously raised $8 million.

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