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Samsung’s latest Galaxy Book Flex gets 5G and 11th-gen Intel CPUs

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It’s the first Samsung notebook with a 13MP world-facing camera — if you thought people taking photos with tablets was annoying, just wait till they’re doing so with laptops. There’s a 720p front-facing camera too for all the Zoom calls you’ll be on until the end of time, along with a built-in S Pen you can use on the 13.3-inch Full HD touchscreen. At 1.26 kg, the Galaxy Book Flex 5G isn’t exactly hefty either.

The laptop should have a “more efficient battery life” this time around, according to Samsung. It’s unclear quite what that means in practice, though. Like the first model, the Galaxy Book Flex 5G has a 69.7Wh battery. Back in May, it said the original Galaxy Book Flex would deliver up to 20 hours of runtime. When Engadget ran some battery tests for our generally positive review, that figure was closer to 13 and a half hours.

That said, Evo-certified laptops are required to have fast charging support that gives batteries at least four hours of power after just 30 minutes of charging. Hopefully, that’s prompted Samsung to make some improvements on the battery front here. However, you might be in for a wait to find out whether that’s the case. There’s no word on US availability or pricing as yet.

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Acer updates its Swift 3 and 5 laptops with 11th Gen Intel Core CPUs

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One of Acer's latest Swift 3 laptops (model SF313-53)

Acer

A pair of new Swift 3 laptops should hit the market at around the same time. They’ll both support WiFi 6 and have Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, along with a backlit keyboard, SSD storage and support for up to 16GB of LPDDR4X memory.

The SF313-53 has a 13.5-inch display that boasts 2K resolution, a 3:2 ratio and a 400-nit brightness rating. It’s designed for portability as well — it’s just 0.63 inches thick and weighs 2.62 lbs. That model has a battery life of up to 18 hours and it starts at $800.

The SF314-59 is the same thickness and weighs just slightly more at 2.65 lbs. It has a 14-inch Full HD, 16:9 display, and the base model $700. Both laptops should be available in November.

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ASUS’ latest ZenBooks feature OLED and ‘Intel Evo’ designs

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At 15.7mm thin and 3 pounds, the ZenBook S is a bit chunkier than the new convertibles, but you can also take advantage of some faster hardware, like an M.4 SSD. Alongside Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports and USB 3.2 Type-A ports, it also includes full-sized HDMI and a microSD card reader. (We’d still prefer a full-sized SD card reader, though.)

While the ZenBook Flip S is the only Intel Evo approved machine so far, I would’t be surprised if the other S models get that badge later this year. Consider them a preview of where all of ASUS’s notebook designs are going eventually. 

To that end, ASUS is referring to its existing models as its “ZenBook Classic” line. These include the new ZenBook 13 and 14 (UX425EA), which are, as usual, thinner and lighter than the previous models. They’re both 13.9 millimeters thick, and the ZenBook 13 starts at just 2.35 pounds. These will likely be ASUS’s premium machines for people who don’t want to splurge extra for the “S” design. They also support up to 32GB of RAM, making them better options for serious work. 

ASUS being ASUS, though, its new lineup is also a bit confusing. There’s another ZenBook 14 model (UX435) that comes with NVIDIA’s GeForce MX450 GPU. That’ll make it suitable for light gaming, like a bit of Overwatch, but it wouldn’t be a replacement for a dedicated GPU. This better equipped ZenBook 14 also includes a new version of ASUS’s ScreenPad, a secondary display tucked underneath its trackpad. 

The company is also bringing 11th generation Intel processors, and a slew of upgrades, to its entire VivoBook line. We typically focus more on the premium ZenBooks, but it’s still nice to see that ASUS hasn’t forgotten about its cheaper VivoBooks. These are machines where the company gets a bit more colorful too, so they may be better options for students and younger users who may not need the sleek design of a ZenBook. 

Finally, ASUS unveiled two new machines that may appeal to professional and corporate users. The new ZenBook Pro 15 features a 4K OLED touchscreen, the revamped ScreenPad and can be configured with up to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650Ti graphics. You’re limited to 10th generation Intel CPUs, but at least they’re the faster H-series variants. The ExpertBook B9, meanwhile, is a sleek new enterprise entry that supports RAID 0 and RAID 1 across two SSDs.

You’ll be able to snag the ZenBook “S” machines in October, alongside the ZenBook Pro 15 and many of the VivoBooks. The ZenBook 14 is coming in November, while the machines will come later in the year.

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Intel unveils Tiger Lake CPUs, rebrands Project Athena as Evo

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As we explained last month, Intel is using a refined “SuperFin” FinFET transistor process in Tiger Lake, which allows the processors to reach far higher clock speeds than the previous generation. Notably, Intel says these CPUs are its biggest speed improvement within a single generation (in this case, its 10nm architecture). So sure, it would be nice to see some 7nm Intel CPUs eventually, but the company is still managing to eke out gains with its existing technology.

You’ll be able to find the new Tiger Lake CPUs in the latest notebooks from ASUS, Dell, Acer and other manufacturers later this year. I’m most interested in seeing how PC makers adapt to the Intel Evo standard. ASUS’ first Evo machine, the ZenBook Flip S, looks like a truly intriguing thin and light convertible. And I’m sure we’ll see plenty of other notebooks this year pushing the boundaries of what’s capable with super thin machines.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will produce content for Netflix

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“Our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope,” they said in a statement to the New York Times. “As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also important to us.”

They believe Netflix “will help us share impactful content that unlocks action” through its “unprecedented reach.” The company has more than 192 million subscribers.

Although she’s a former actor, you probably shouldn’t expect Meghan to pop up on The Crown or one of Netflix’s other scripted shows. She says she doesn’t have any plans to return to acting, though she and her husband may show up in documentaries. Harry appears in the Paralympic Games doc Rising Phoenix, which hit Netflix last week.

Netflix hasn’t disclosed the financial terms of the deal, but it has a track record of shelling out top dollar for prominent names. It struck a similar deal with Barack and Michelle Obama in 2018, and their production company has already delivered an Oscar-winning documentary to Netflix.

The company signed Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to a deal worth a reported $200 million last year. Netflix has also recruited Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes on what are said to be nine-figure agreements.

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Twitter says two new teams will address its accessibility issues

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Twitter is launching two new teams: the Accessibility Center of Excellence (ACE) and the Experience Accessibility Team (EAT, that can’t be intentional). While those names sound a bit like they came out of a corporate jargon generator, the teams will do important work. ACE will make aspects of Twitter — from office spaces to marketing and legal and policy standards — more accessible. EAT will work to make new and existing products and features more accessible. Already, Twitter is working to add automated captions to audio and video by early 2021.

It’s great that Twitter listened to feedback and is launching these teams, but it makes you wonder why the company didn’t have such teams in place already. Accessibility concerns are nothing new, and other companies already have teams like this. 



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Google makes it easier to find local news through Podcasts and Assistant

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You’ll also be able to find local news through Google Assistant. When you ask a Google Nest smart speaker to “play local news” or “play news about [your city],” you’ll hear local news stories in both native audio and a text-to-speech voice. Google says you can think of the latter as its version of a newscaster — that could help fill the void of local audio reporting.

“This new voice model was trained on reading longer segments of text and goes beyond just reading words out loud by incorporating voice pitch, sound length and stress on certain words and syllables,” Google said in a blog post. “With this new technology, we can convert a wealth of content to audio for listeners while giving it a human touch.”

As part of its ongoing Google News Initiative, Google has been looking for ways to support local news. The company has worked to develop sustainable business models for local outlets, directed users to local COVID-19 info and created a dedicated sports hub. Tech giants like Google and Facebook have realized that it’s hard to find enough news to fill their local news services. While Google and Facebook likely played a part in the demise of local reporting, they haven’t given up on it just yet.

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‘The Mandalorian’ season two hits Disney+ on October 30th

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It’s almost time to get obsessed with Baby Yoda all over again. Season two of the live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian will start streaming on Disney+ on October 30th.

There aren’t any more details about the release schedule yet, including whether Disney will follow the same track it did for season one by debuting episodes weekly instead of making all of them available at once. You can probably expect at least one trailer before the premiere date to whet your appetite for more bounty-hunting (or Child-protecting) adventures.



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Lucid Motors claims its first EV covers a quarter mile in 9.9 seconds

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One week ahead of its big reveal event, Lucid Motors is ready to brag about how fast its all-electric luxury sedan is. In a video shared today, Lucid Motors shows its Lucid Air covering a quarter mile of racetrack in just 9.9 seconds. According to the company, the EV is “the world’s quickest production sedan.”

Lucid Air’s 1,080-horsepower powertrain allows the vehicle to reach 60 MPH in under 2.5 seconds, Autoblog points out. Lucid explained today that the EV comes with two electric drive units. Each packs over 650 horsepower and is small enough to fit inside a standard airplane carry-on. If you noticed that 650 x 2 doesn’t equal 1,080, you’re not alone. We expect Lucid to explain where that remaining horsepower comes from at its event next week.

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Twitch’s Prime Video watch parties are now available to everyone

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Even with these restrictions, the feature could be massive for Twitch. Soccer fans, for instance, could take a break from FIFA and Football manager by watching All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur. A film critic, meanwhile, could review any number of movies in real-tie with their fans.

Watch Parties are a unique combination of Amazon-owned properties. There’s no Google-built Netflix rival, for instance, (sorry, but YouTube Premium doesn’t count) to offer YouTube streamers. Facebook has dabbled with premium TV shows like Limetown and Sorry for Your Loss, but none have resonated the same way Netflix and Amazon’s best originals have. If they want to clone Watch Parties, Google and Facebook will need to partner with another company — Netflix, HBO, or something of a similar caliber — that makes the kind of shows people want to watch together.

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