Our verdict on Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra

It's Friday, February 10, 2023.

Samsung's flagship phone of 2023 is here – if you don’t count the foldables. The Galaxy S23 Ultra starts at $1,200 and has a big, beautiful OLED screen, better cameras, a new chip for even better performance and some revamped software. And, of course, there’s still a built-in S Pen for all your drawing and note taking. The highlight feature since last year’s S22 Ultra is the new 200MP sensor, which offers more options for advanced content creation. And, with five rear cameras, there are a lot of options.

In normal use, the S23 Ultra uses 16-to-1 pixel-binning from that huge sensor to help gather more light and produce sharp, colorful images without needing extra-large files. And in most situations, it seemed to produce better-looking photos. According to Engadget’s Sam Rutherford, the S23 Ultra images taken using the default 12MP mode featured more accurate colors and better details than those captured with the sensor's full 200 megapixels. However, this could be the most capable smartphone camera yet.

– Mat Smith

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NTSB: Autopilot was not a factor in fatal Tesla Model S crash

Two people died in the collision, though neither was found in the driver's seat.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that Tesla's Autopilot was not at fault in a 2021 crash in which two people died. The agency said the 2019 Model S accelerated just before hitting a tree in Spring, Texas, just north of Houston. Neither occupant was in the driver's seat when they were found, leading to questions about Tesla’s Autopilot function. The NTSB found the car's rapid acceleration from 39 MPH to 67 MPH two seconds before the crash was likely due to "impairment from alcohol intoxication in combination with the effects of two sedating antihistamines, resulting in a roadway departure, tree impact and post-crash fire."

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Meta restores Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts

He has yet to post on the platforms after the company lifted a two-year ban.

Meta has restored former President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts, two years after it suspended him from both platforms. The company previously said it would apply extra "guardrails" to his accounts to "deter repeat offenses." Trump has an agreement with the "free speech" app Truth Social, whereby he has to share social media posts there first and can't drop them anywhere else for at least six hours. Twitter restored Trump's account on its service late last year, but he hasn't returned to what was once his favored social media platform.

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Report: Twitter is making millions of dollars from previously banned accounts

It highlights how valuable a small number of highly polarizing users can be.

In related news, Twitter is making millions of dollars from a handful of some of its most infamous users, according to a new report. New research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) estimates Twitter “will generate up to $19 million a year in advertising revenue” from just 10 accounts once banned from the platform. The report examined 10 accounts previously banned for “publishing hateful content and dangerous conspiracies.” The accounts were reinstated after Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter.

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Realme's new phone can charge from zero to 20 percent in 80 seconds

Makes the OnePlus 11 look slow.

RealMe

While we’ve been impressed by the 100-watt charging on the OnePlus 11, it’s already been beaten, twice, in China. First, a Redmi phone featured a whopping 210W charging, and now the Realme GT Neo5 can charge its 4,600mAh dual-cell battery from zero to 20 percent in merely 80 seconds, to 50 percent in four minutes and to 100 percent in 9.5 minutes. Naturally, you’ll need this specific phone, its dual-GaN power adapter and its proprietary high-current USB-C cable to deliver 20V/12A of power. The phone is already available in China, priced at around $500, but the company says there are plans for an international launch, too.

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