Technology - Google News

Pre-ordered a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3? You may get it a week early - TechRadar
Activision confirms all its core studios are now working on Call of Duty - Video Games Chronicle
New Motorola Edge loses the curved display, adds a 144Hz refresh rate - CNET

Pre-ordered a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3? You may get it a week early - TechRadar

Posted: 20 Aug 2021 03:52 AM PDT

Update: Since publication, we've heard from 10 other customers in the UK who are receiving their Galaxy Z Fold 3 handsets earlier than originally expected. We've also heard from one reader who has got a Z Flip 3, but we've yet to hear from anyone in other markets.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 release date is set for August 27, but some lucky customers who pre-ordered are finding the handset is arriving a whole week early.

One TechRadar reader in the UK has shown us their handset that has already arrived with them on August 20, and others on Samsung's official forum are also saying the smartphone is appearing on their doorsteps.

A Community Manager on Samsung's forum has said, "We know that people can't wait to get their hands on their Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Galaxy Z Flip 3, so we've started shipping them out early."

TechRadar has asked Samsung for comment on why the release date has been moved forward for some and where this is relevant for, but we've yet to hear back from the company.

There's no guarantee this will be the case for everyone, but it seems a number of those who pre-ordered are getting the benefit of receiving their phone early.

Exactly where the phone is shipping early is also unclear. The TechRadar reader is based in the UK, and those on the forum haven't provided locations so it's difficult to tell if this is limited to certain markets.

In our research for this story, we couldn't see any forum or social media posts of people receiving their Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 early. The forum's Community Manager post suggests you may get it early if you have pre-ordered that smartphone though.

Have you received your Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 early? Please drop this article's author a line over email on james.peckham@futurenet.com or on Twitter.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Flip 3 — (Image credit: Samsung)

Analysis: pre-ordering does have its benefits

Pre-ordering a new smartphone may sometimes feel like a lot of money to drop in one moment, but if you're truly excited about a new handset it can come with some additional benefits.

Samsung is particularly good at including extras when you pre-order - those who pre-ordered the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 received extra kit including an S Pen, charger and a case - and you may also sometimes get the handset early.

It's rare to see smartphones arrive a whole week before an official release date, but it's one of the added extra benefits that can make the experience of pre-ordering worthwhile if you're certain a new smartphone is made for you.

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Activision confirms all its core studios are now working on Call of Duty - Video Games Chronicle

Posted: 20 Aug 2021 04:57 AM PDT

Activision has confirmed that all its core studios are now working on the Call of Duty franchise.

The publisher revealed the latest premium entry in the blockbuster series, Call of Duty: Vanguard, on Thursday, when it said eight of its 10 core studios are contributing to the upcoming game or the free-to-play Warzone.

Development of Vanguard is led by Sledgehammer Games, with Treyarch handling Zombies and Raven leading Warzone. Additional development support across the two games is coming from Beenox, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, and Toys for Bob.

Meanwhile, original Call of Duty creator Infinity Ward was still adding new maps to 2019's Modern Warfare as recently as June and is understood to be working on the next entry in the series.

And earlier this month Activision announced the formation on an internal mobile studio, which is currently working a new entry in the Call of Duty series, with support from Beenox and Shanghai.

While all of Activision's core studios are now working on Call of Duty, as first reported by VGC earlier this year, it doesn't rule out them working on other projects too.

When Toys For Bob confirmed in April that it would be supporting the development of Warzone, Activision said the studio would continue working on Crash Bandicoot 4 too, and this week Sledgehammer suggested it could look beyond Call of Duty for future games.

Activision confirms all its core studios are now working on Call of Duty — Call of Duty Vanguard will be released on November 5, 2021

Activision claimed in April that over 400 million Call of Duty premium games had been sold since the first one released in October 2003. The franchise had generated "life to date consumer spending of around $27 billion", it also said in February.

Some 2,000 people are believed to be working on the Call of Duty franchise, and Activision Blizzard is currently on a major recruitment drive to boost its development resources.

"From the start of 2020 through the end of next year, we intend to hire more than 2,000 developers," CEO Bobby Kotick said in May.

"We plan to triple the size of certain franchise teams compared to those team sizes in 2019 and we have aggressive hiring plans around the world, including new studios or major expansion in Poland, China, Australia, and Canada."

VGC analysis published in July highlighted the extent of Raven's recent Warzone recruitment drive, suggesting the studio has hired over 100 staff in less than a year, with at least 40 more roles still set to be filled.

While Call of Duty previously operated on a three-year, three-studio (Infinity Ward, Treyarch and Sledgehammer) development cycle, development of the series has become a more complex and collaborative process in recent years.

The shift to a games as a service model, and the release of battle royale game Warzone, which has attracted over 100 million players, have played a significant role in this, Sledgehammer studio head Aaron Halon told VentureBeat in an interview published this week.

"You said it there. And as developers, for us it's been an amazing opportunity," he said. "With Warzone, that's been great for developers, great for creativity. It's allowed us to focus on supporting — the franchise, for me, is changing, and I think that's a good thing. It's a good thing for players. It's been great for our studio, our culture."

Halon added: "Ever since Sledgehammer began in 2009, we've been working closely with Infinity Ward and Treyarch and Raven. We've all worked together since Sledgehammer was founded. That's continued. I would say it's probably — like any type of relationship, the longer we're working together, that relationship has grown stronger."

Sledgehammer chief operating officer Andy Wilson was also asked what the cultural differences are between the various Call of Duty studios.

"If you have one giant 2,000-plus team all in one place, it's going to be a very homogenous culture," he responded. "In terms of the way the different studios work together, we don't have radically different cultures necessarily, but there are a lot of subtleties in there.

"Our priorities as a studio, our values as a studio — above all, we try to treat the team as adults. Transparency is important to us when we're talking to the team. We're open and honest with people. We have a culture of strong collaboration. That's a necessity, because we do work with different locations. Collaboration and communicating respectfully and efficiently is important to us."

Elsewhere in the VentureBeat interview, Halon addressed the lawsuit filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing in July, which accuses the company of failing to handle sexual harassment and discrimination complaints.

Perhaps in light of the lawsuit, the debut trailer for Call of Duty: Vanguard appeared to distance itself from Activision. While it highlights the game's developers, it doesn't feature the Activision logo at all, unlike last year's Call of Duty announcement video, which prominently displayed the badge of its publisher.

The only mention of Activision in the Vanguard video is in the legally required copyright small print, suggesting the company is attempting to distance itself from its key brand during a period where its reputation has been severely tarnished by numerous allegations of wrongdoing.

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New Motorola Edge loses the curved display, adds a 144Hz refresh rate - CNET

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 10:29 PM PDT

motorola-edge-20-frosted-pearl — The Motorola Edge will cost $700 in the US.
Motorola

Motorola is revealing the new Motorola Edge for 2021 Thursday, updating its higher-end phone as part of an in-person event at Yankee Stadium in New York. The Edge (not to be confused with the U2 guy, of course) will cost $700 in the US, a price that roughly converts to £515 or AU$975. For that sum, Motorola is including impressive upgrades to the phone's display and camera, while simplifying its line to just the Edge, as opposed to last year's Edge and Edge Plus.

To tempt you even more, Motorola is running a deal where you can get an Edge for $500. That's $200 off. The Motorola Edge will commence presale starting Aug. 23 and will launch on Sept. 2.

The Motorola Edge's most obvious 2021 update will be its 144Hz high refresh rate display alongside a 108-megapixel main camera, which will be paired up with several of Motorola's software upgrades for wirelessly connecting your phone to a TV for gaming, video calls and more.

Unlike the previous Edge phones, named for the curved display, this year's Edge has a decidedly flat screen. The Edge name is instead referring to "cutting edge" technology included in the phones. Removing the curved sides was a reaction to how people are making use of their phones now, Motorola noted, as opposed to a year and a half ago.

Now playing: Watch this: We go hands-on with the $700 Motorola Edge

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The Motorola Edge has a 144Hz high-refresh rate display

The 6.8-inch display supports a 144Hz refresh rate, which is faster than the 120Hz rate on phones from OnePlus and Samsung and closer to the range of gaming phones like the the Asus ROG Phone 5. I won't even discuss the iPhone and its 60Hz refresh rate.

A high-refresh-rate screen isn't just about gaming. Mundane things like Android animations and scrolling through feeds look so much better, too. Keep in mind, the difference between 144Hz and 120Hz isn't huge. The idea is to stay in front of upgrades, especially if you plan on keeping the Edge for two, three or more years.

Better photos with Low-Light AI selfies

Camera-wise, there is a 108-megapixel main camera that uses pixel-binning to combine nine pixels into what Motorola calls an "Ultra Pixel." You can toggle between the default 12-megapixel capture setting and a high-resolution mode if you're so inclined.

There is also an ultrawide-angle camera which doubles as a macro camera for getting those up-close-and-personal shots of food or tiny details. Rounding out the rear camera is a 2-megapixel depth camera that works with the main camera to take portrait mode photos.

On the front is a 32-megapixel selfie camera which might be the highest resolution front-facing camera ever on a Motorola phone. One of the coolest features is a new automatic setting called Low-Light AI selfie. When you're shooting in low light, the Edge uses artificial intelligence to identify and improve areas in the photo to make things brighter, reduce image noise and enhance color. And what's great is you don't have to turn it on. It's automatically triggered when the lighting you're in is below a certain lux level.

Also, Low-Light AI selfie mode is different from night vision mode, which uses image stacking instead of AI. This new feature works in real time, meaning you can see it in your camera's viewfinder live preview.

Ready For the Motorola Edge

Motorola is also continuing to develop its Ready For software, which is its latest way to extend your phone's features onto other screens like your TV and your computer. Earlier this year, the software allowed its phones to function as a webcam for your computer, and at today's event Motorola highlighted Ready For as being useful for connecting your phone to a TV for gaming, video chats, desktop productivity and other features. For gaming in particular, the software will support using a Bluetooth controller

For video calls, you can use the higher-quality cameras on the Edge and still use the big screen of a TV or computer monitor to see the call. All of your mobile apps can show up in resizable, floating windows for a really nice, desktop-type experience.

There is already a Ready For spinoff called Ready For PC which lets you access your phone apps and your PC files and apps on the same screen. The effort is nothing new for Motorola, which has been making laptop docks for its phones as far back as 2011, for its Atrix phones of that era.

Other specs for the Motorola Edge in 2021 include its Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G system on a chip and either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. The Edge has a big ol' 5,000-mAh battery, supports 30-watt fast-charging and sub-6 5G along with 5G mmWave networks. But with all of these specs flying in the air for the Edge, wireless charging did not make it onto the phone.

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