Technology - Google News |
- Galaxy Z Flip: After 3 months, I can't stop using it - CNET
- Irony: Some complain that Apple and Google are being too protective of consumers' private info - PhoneArena
- Apple gets early approval for $500 million iPhone throttling settlement - Engadget
| Galaxy Z Flip: After 3 months, I can't stop using it - CNET Posted: 17 May 2020 03:57 AM PDT  Last year, if you told me about all the things that would happen in 2020, I'd shake my head with disbelief. This includes the fact that I'd like the Galaxy Z Flip foldable phone. When it launched in February I was skeptical because just a year before, Galaxy Fold reviewer units had a number of issues. Then there was the Motorola Razr. It launched before the Flip and even though it was more expensive and had less impressive specs, I found its approach to foldable design more appealing. Fast forward to now though, and the Galaxy Z Flip has won me over. I use it just like a regular phone, which seems silly to say but one of my biggest knocks against foldable phones so far is how they don't quite hold up to real-world use. Initially, I was protective about the phone; now I'm less cautious and it's still holding up. Most of all, the Galaxy Z Flip is fun and that's something I don't say about many phones. Folding and unfolding it is as enjoyable as it was the first time I did it. Closing the phone shut to end a call brings me a level of satisfaction that I don't get from an iPhone 11 Pro or Pixel 4. And opening it with a whip-like flip of my wrist makes me feel like a badass. I know the Galaxy Z Flip isn't the perfect phone or the most powerful. It doesn't have the best cameras or battery life. It is laughably expensive. And yet I can't stop using it. After three months, is the Galaxy Z Flip worth $1,380? Yes. The high price reflects that it is a phone that can physically fold in half. Should you pay $1,380 for this phone? No. But for those of you who want to flirt with the Wild West of mobile phone design, the Z Flip offers much to enjoy. The Z Flip's beautiful but cursed displayI love and hate this display. When it's clean, the tall narrow screen is amazing and vibrant. Videos look outstanding. The 21.9:9 aspect ratio is also really wide, so there are black bars on the sides of most videos. I watched widescreen films like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, though, and they fit the display incredibly well. But once in a while, the plastic polymer coating got in the way of the screen's beauty, especially when there were fingerprints on the screen which the coating seems to attract endlessly. When I wipe smudges clean with my shirt sleeve, they don't come off as easy as a phone without plastic polymer on it. Then there's the crease. Ah, the crease. One thing I noticed after three months of using it is that I physically feel the crease constantly with my fingers. The Z Flip's crease cuts across the middle of the screen and if I scroll through apps like Instagram or Twitter, my finger goes over it like a car rolling over a seam in a concrete driveway. But this doesn't particularly bug me and because it's a horizontal crease instead of the vertical one on the Galaxy Fold, I actually see it less. To me, the crease is like background music at a restaurant. I notice it but forget about it after awhile. Just like how I got used to notches on phones, I am now used to the crease. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip impresses from almost every angleSee all photosThe Z Flip's Flex ModeIt brings me an endless amount of delight how small the phone is closed. I never hesitate to take it with me because it's very pocketable (though the mileage inside women's pants pockets may vary). The Z Flip opens up into a phone as tall as the Galaxy S20 Ultra, albeit a skinner version of that. I like having to open the phone in order to use it because I'm more selective about what I'm doing. The only time this feels tedious is messaging, I have to open the phone to read a text and reply and then I close it. If I get another reply, I have to start the process over. I'd be so happy if I could reply to messages from the outside display even just with my voice, Over time, I stopped closing the phone shut as much and instead left it open at a 90-degree angle. This made it look like a mini laptop and it meant I could keep a message thread open or mindlessly scroll Instagram or Twitter. Samsung calls this half-fold position Flex Mode, and it is excellent for filming vertical video too. I honestly didn't expect to use the Z Flip this much as a video camera but in Flex Mode the phone becomes its own tripod, meaning I had more options where I could set it to get the perfect shot than a regular phone.  In the next version of the Z Flip, I hope Samsung embraces the video capture aspect more. There are rumors that the Galaxy Z Flip 2 will have a third exterior camera. If that turns out to be true, there is an opportunity here to turn the Z Flip into the ultimate phone for capturing video. Samsung would need to make the third camera identical to the main one, but rotate it 90 degrees (think Motorola One Action). That way when the phone is in Flex Mode it can capture vertical video with the existing two cameras and horizontal video with the third camera. Flex Mode also has a software component where apps adapt to the L-shaped position. But only a few apps take advantage of it, and even then it feels limited. The Gallery app, for instance, puts photos on the top half and navigation controls on the bottom. But when I go to edit a photo, the picture moves from the top half of the screen to the center. Why not keep it at the top part of the screen and use the bottom half to make adjustments? With Android 10, I can have two apps display in a split screen, which I've done for Zoom meetings (on the top) and email (on the bottom). It is a nice way to use the device without holding it. But again, functionality is limited. One of the things I enjoy most about positioning the Z Flip at different angles is that I can fit the phone around my face when I'm talking on a call instead of having it be flat. It's so early 2000s and I enjoy it almost as much as ending calls by closing the phone shut. The itsy-bitsy teenie weenie exterior displayThe tiny, pill-shaped display on the phone's exterior is incredibly cool and minimalist, but it's also kind of useless. I enjoy seeing the time and battery status, and using it to skip tracks in Spotify. But the display turns off too quickly to read notifications and I can't find a setting to adjust that.  Taking selfies with it is an odd experience too. The display becomes a viewfinder and allows you to use the exterior cameras for higher-resolution images, but the preview on the screen is misleading because it doesn't reflect the actual framing of the photo. The usefulness of exterior displays on foldable phones varies. The one on the Galaxy Fold tries to do too much and feels cramped. On the other hand, the Galaxy Z Flip's screen is horribly simplistic. The Motorola Razr hits the sweet spot in-between the two. While I understand that phone makers have to strike a balance between the size and utility of exterior displays, the one on the Z Flip can still be improved. Samsung could go the Motorola route and make the screen a touch larger, or enable notifications to be displayed longer. It also needs to have some capability to let users take basic actions with notifications.  Watch this: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip: 3 months later, I can't stop using... 14:23 Dust, debris and durabilityWhen the Z Flip launched, there were concerns about its flexible display and long-term durability. After three months of regular use, I don't see a single scratch or nick on the display (though again, there are lots of smudges). The body has a tiny scuff from when the phone slid off my desk and onto the floor. While we're on that subject, I haven't dropped the phone but it has dropped by itself several times. The exterior coating is ridiculously slippery and there were many times when I'd leave it on a counter or table and come back to find it on the ground because it slid off. When closed, there is an air gap between the two halves of the screen. The only downside I've noticed is that it lets dust and lint collect on the display. Unlike with review units of the Galaxy Fold, I haven't had problems with dirt or dust getting under the display or into the hinge mechanism. My biggest takeaway when it comes to durability is that I can use it just like a regular old smartphone. I don't baby this phone, or worry that I might break it. Daily use over months and years will be the true test for its durability. Last year's performance is fine in useIn terms of performance, using the Z Flip is like using a Samsung Galaxy S10E. Both aren't at the top of the Samsung spec heap; that title goes to the equally priced Galaxy S20 Ultra. But I never felt limited by the phone's performance. Animations look smooth and apps launch quickly. I do wonder what the lifespan of this phone will be in terms of software support, however. The battery, which is middling, is perhaps the biggest compromise when compared to a regular phone. I barely get through a day and a late-afternoon charge is typical. It's not awful, but it needs a charge by dinner time.  Galaxy S10 cameras on the Galaxy Z FlipIn terms of cameras, I won't go in-depth on this (just check the original review for that info). In short, the cameras are good, but not great. It's essentially the S10 camera system, which includes an ultrawide-angle camera (with less resolution than the S10) and a main wide angle camera that lacks a dual-aperture. Photo and video image quality earns a solid B compared to the A+ of the Google Pixel 4 or iPhone 11 Pro. In use, the camera always had chops for capturing a photo or video in any situation. Heck, there's even night mode on this puppy. Check out the video below made entirely of footage filmed on the Galaxy Z Flip. At the end of the day, I think there is a lot to admire about the Galaxy Z Flip, but for most people it is still far more of an experiment than a dependable daily driver. That said, if you want the cutting edge, warts and all, it's definitely worth checking it out in a store (when we can do that again) or waiting for it to go on sale.  Watch this: Galaxy Z Flip: 8 features to try on your new foldable... 5:08 |
| Posted: 16 May 2020 04:34 PM PDT Despite the hullabaloo over Apple and Google working together to help the world reduce the spread of COVID-19, the closer we get to implementation of the two rivals' contact tracing system, the more some officials say that it will never work. First, let's explain how this system is designed to work. The idea is to give consumers a heads up that they have been in the vicinity of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Once that person finds this out, he or she can get tested and self-quarantine for two weeks. That would remove someone who could possibly spread the virus, from the street. Because of privacy restrictions, some see Apple and Google's contact testing program as a waste of timeLater this month Apple and Google will launch the initial phase of their program. Both firms will release APIs that allow for interoperability between Android and iOS devices using apps from public health authorities. These apps will be installed via the App Store for iOS users and via the Google Play Store for those with an Android handset. In the second phase, both iOS and Android will have the platform built right into their operating system allowing more users to opt-in and use contact tracing.  How Apple and Google's contact tracing program works, part one To illustrate how this process works, let's say that there are two people who don't know each other at all; Tim uses an iPhone 11 Pro Max and Sundar sports a Pixel 4 XL. Tim and Sundar are spending a relaxing Sunday afternoon in Times Square when their paths cross. Using Bluetooth LE, both of these men's phones exchange anonymous identifier beacons and the information becomes part of a database on each of their phones. Now let's say that Sundar discovers that he has COVID-19. He enters that information into the public health authority app he previously downloaded. With Sundar's consent, his phone broadcasts anonymously his positive COVID-19 test data and the last 14-days of keys related to his broadcast beacons.  How Apple and Google's contact tracing program works, part two In the meantime, Tim's phone is checking the cloud at least once a day, looking for the broadcast beacon keys for everyone in his area that tested positive for COVID-19. A match is found with Sundar's anonymous identifier beacons. Tim receives a notification alerting him that he was exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and is sent information telling him what to do next. According to the Washington Post, officials are upset because they say that Apple and Google have baked too many privacy restrictions into the system since it won't alert health officials whenever someone has been exposed. In other words, returning to the previous example, when Tim discovers that he has been exposed to someone with COVID-19 it is totally up to him to get tested and self-quarantine. The system also will not reveal the location where Tim and Sundar crossed paths. Helen Nissenbaum, a professor of information science and director of the Digital Life Initiative at Cornell University, said that Apple and Google's refusal to share its exposure notification results with public health authorities because of "privacy" issues is nothing but a "flamboyant smokescreen." The professor also said, "If it's between Google and Apple having the data, I would far prefer my physician and the public health authorities to have the data about my health status. At least they're constrained by laws." It is beyond ironic that those complaining that Apple and Google aren't sharing more personal information are the first to demand more privacy from these tech companies. Apple and Google are taking the position that limiting the release of information to the government will bolster the use of the program since it will allow users to feel more comfortable with the protections created by the tech firms. Some are warning that Apple and Google's privacy restrictions are making its system useless. "I don't think they have an important role to play for most of the population," says Mike Reid, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. A poll conducted last month by the Washington Post-University of Maryland poll revealed that Americans trust public health agencies more than they trust Apple and Google to keep their personal data secure. Reid is in charge of California's efforts to use train thousands of people to do contact tracing by hand. Using software made by Salesforce and Accenture, this group will rely on phone calls to manually inform people when they have been in the vicinity with someone who has contracted COVID-19. Reid says, "We go to pains to minimize the amount of data we take from people and we ask consent from people we're talking to on the phone. We go to considerable lengths to ensure there are strong technical controls to ensure the anonymization of our platforms. Can you say the same thing about these big tech companies? I'm not sure." |
| Apple gets early approval for $500 million iPhone throttling settlement - Engadget Posted: 16 May 2020 03:39 PM PDT Apple is one step closer to compensating customers for its initial approach to iPhone processor throttling. Federal District Judge Edward Davila has given preliminary approval (via MacRumors) for a maximum $500 milllion settlement addressing complaints that it slowed down certain iPhones without informing customers, calling the deal "fair, reasonable and adequate." However, it may be some time before you're receiving a check in the mail. Davila wanted to push back a final approval hearing until December due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making it unlikely that you'll get any money until 2021. An objection to the deal raised concerns about conflicts of interest and confidentiality violations from one of the plaintiffs' law firms, but those weren't considered barriers to the final approval. According to Apple, the throttling was meant to extend the lifespans of phones by reducing the chances of sudden shutdowns as phones' batteries degraded over time. The company didn't initially explain the practice, however, leading some to believe it was trying to pressure customers into buying new phones (which reportedly happened in some cases). The lawsuit covers people who used the iPhone 6s, iPhone 7 and original iPhone SE before December 21st, 2017. Like many large-scale settlements, you shouldn't expect a windfall. The arrangement would pay each iPhone user $25, and that number is only likely to climb (up to $500 per person) if the total payouts, attorney fees and expenses don't reach at least $310 million. Most likely, this will only help you cover the cost of a battery replacement if you're still using a device included in the settlement. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Technology - Latest - Google News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
This post have 0 komentar
EmoticonEmoticon