The Verge - The phones are tablets again

Yesterday I published our review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. I have to say, the attention this phone has been garnering (not as much as usual) is completely incommensurate with the thing’s quality. It’s good! It’s also very big and very expensive. I suspect that during the pandemic, that last one plays a big role.

I get it, and unless you really want a stylus, there are any number of phones that match the Note’s other strong points — the OnePlus 8 Pro in particular is where I’d point you. It’s 900 bucks instead of $1300 or $1450 for a Note 20 Ultra and I defy anybody to show me a non-stylus reason not to opt for the OnePlus.

If you were hoping to spend a little less and yet still get a stylus, the answer might be to go get a used Note 10 rather that a new Note 20. We have yet to receive a review unit of the “regular” Note 20 and so far as I know there aren’t any reviews out yet. That may be because the regular Note 20 mixes a thousand dollar price with specs and a plastic body that doesn’t merit that price. I will obviously wait for reviews before rendering any judgment, though.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about big screens lately. I’ve not been a fan, since they’re not very pocketable. But I’ve been playing more xCloud and Stadia games on the Note 20 Ultra than I ever did on other phones, and the gigantic screen is very much the reason why.

I do find myself sitting on the couch looking at my phone even when my iPad is literally within arm’s reach. It’s weird, but I bet I’m not alone in that sort of habit. When you have a phone with a big screen, you end up using it for things that might otherwise send you reaching for a tablet or a laptop: watching video, reading books, and those aforementioned games.

Plus, be honest, the thing is always within reach and it’s likely your first go-to. You use the thing you use, to get all tautological on ya. Remember when we used to call these things "phablets?" It's time to bring that back, I'm sorry to say. The Note 20 Ultra has a screen the size of a small tablet and I found myself using it like one.

Lots of tech news since the last newsletter — below are the highlights. Thanks again for reading!

Dieter

Tech news

┏ Microsoft will bid farewell to Internet Explorer and legacy Edge in 2021. You may crack jokes (I did!), but these official ends really matter — it’s the only way to kick a bunch of companies into updating their websites, including (and maybe especially) internal web apps for employees.

┏ Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud gaming service is available on Chromebooks. Cameron Faulkner:

Visuals aside, the input lag from my wired Nintendo Switch Pro controller was noticeable throughout my time testing GeForce Now on Chrome OS. It was less of an issue in Control, where the movements are a little slower, but it was kind of a deal-breaker in Rocket League, especially if you’re playing online matches. I should again note that I played exclusively over Wi-Fi, which Nvidia doesn’t suggest anyone do if they’re trying to get the best results.

┏ The 9 biggest announcements from today’s Nintendo Indie World Showcase. If you haven’t played Grindstone, you’re in for a treat.

┏ An Uber and Lyft shutdown in California looks inevitable — unless voters bail them out. Andrew Hawkins:

Earlier this year, the companies, along with DoorDash, raised nearly $100 million to place a question on the November ballot. They succeeded, and this fall, voters will be asked to permanently classify ride-hailing drivers as independent contractors. The measure, called Proposition 22, also directs the companies to adopt certain labor and wage policies that fall short of traditional employment.

┏ Verizon now including full Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus bundle with some unlimited plans. Thank god we no longer have phone plans that cost more because they bundled in the hardware cost of devices. That was horrible. Now we have phone plans that cost more because they bundle in the cost of streaming video corporate synergy. So much better.

Gadget news

┏ Microsoft Flight Simulator is even better with this Airbus flight stick. Sam Byford:

I can’t claim to be experienced in the mechanics of flying actual planes, but I can say that Microsoft Flight Simulator feels infinitely more convincing with this Thrustmaster Sidestick than an Xbox gamepad. The way it provides more resistance and gives you finer control over three axes of movement in the air is really not something you can replicate with a little thumbstick. A stick like this, if not this specific one, should be considered essential for Flight Simulator.

┏ New images of Fitbit Versa 3 and Fitbit Sense leak. I like that these don’t look like carbon copies of the Apple Watch.

┏ Here are the Samsung devices getting three generations of Android updates. The important note here is that the list goes down to the Galaxy A51. I wish it went lower, but maybe going forward lower-end devices will be made with this update pledge in mind.

Apple v Epic

┏ Epic says Apple threatens ‘catastrophic’ response in two weeks if Fortnite doesn’t comply with rules.

┏ Apple fires back at Epic: ‘We won’t make an exception’. “We very much want to keep the company as part of the Apple Developer Program and their apps on the Store,” Apple says in a statement to The Verge. “The problem Epic has created for itself is one that can easily be remedied if they submit an update of their app that reverts it to comply with the guidelines they agreed to and which apply to all developers.”

┏ Apple stumbled into a war with the gaming industry, and the future of iOS is at stake. Nick Statt details all the ways this big fight isn’t just about Epic. A lot of players in the very large gaming industry are not pleased with Apple.

┏ Epic’s Fortnite standoff is putting Apple’s cash cow at risk. Chaim Gartenberg:

The App Store may have started out small, but today, it makes Apple a staggering amount of money. In 2019 alone, Apple’s percentage taken on digital content sold through the App Store accounted for an estimated $18.3 billion, or nearly 40 percent of Apple’s total service revenue.

More from The Verge

┏ Antivirus: This week in COVID-19 research. Mary Beth Griggs, our science editor, is launching a newsletter about, you guessed it, COVID-19. As we get closer to a vaccine (hopefully!), there is going to be a lot that you’ll want expert analysis on. Definitely sign up for this! Here’s how Griggs describes it:

What we’re learning about the coronavirus, notable news from the vaccine and treatment fronts, and stories that remind us that there’s more to the case counts than just numbers. Launching in September.

Speaking of: here’s an A+ headline on a story that puts the thing you might have heard or read last week into real context: Attack of the gaiters.

┏ The Lincoln Project is stealing memes — and the online left isn’t happy. Makena Kelly:

Kelly Hui, an 18-year-old Twitter user, is one of those smaller accounts that could benefit from credit. Hui posted a tweet last month of a series of cute animal emojis holding heart-stamped letters with the text, “they’re voting by mail for Ed Markey.” A week later, the Lincoln Project reposted the same set of emojis, changing the copy to “They’re voting by mail for Biden.”

┏ Facebook and NYU use artificial intelligence to make MRI scans four times faster. James Vincent:

The reason artificial intelligence can be used to produce the same scans from less data is that the neural network has essentially learned an abstract idea of what a medical scan looks like by examining the training data. It then uses this to make a prediction about the final output. Think of it like an architect who’s designed lots of banks over the years. They have an abstract idea of what a bank looks like, and so they can create a final blueprint faster.

┏ The Verge’s Back to School Special. We’re taking a week to dive into the struggle, bringing you the perspectives of parents, teachers, students, nurses, bus drivers, and others who are doing their best to make this pandemic school year work — even surrounded by COVID’s chaos.