The best Galaxy S9 features you might’ve missed

The day has arrived: the Samsung Galaxy S9 is finally, officially on the market. As you already know if you’ve checked out the full Android Central review, the Galaxy S9 is an excellent smartphone. The thing is, it’s also similar enough to its predecessor in appearance that you may be deceived into thinking there’s not much new here. But unless you’re upgrading from something super-recent like a Galaxy S8, there’s actually a ton of updates to uncover, some of which I’ve been asking Samsung for for years.

So if you’re new to the Galaxy S9, new to Samsung, or just hankering for some smartphone nerditude to close out the week, I recommend the following procedure. First, take in the official MrMobile review video. Then, join me for the above walkthrough of my favorite under-represented Galaxy S9 features. And finally, if you’ve got a favorite Galaxy S9 feature of your own to share, I’d love to hear about them – drop ’em in the comments on YouTube, and be sure to subscribe while you’re there.

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NASA wants your pictures of clouds to verify its satellites’ data

NASA announced this week that it’s looking for some citizen scientists to help out with a project. Six orbiting instruments make up NASA’s Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) project and they are used to study Earth’s climate and the role clouds play in climate change. But sometimes it’s hard for these instruments to differentiate clouds from other Earthly things. For example, NASA says that thin, wispy cirrus clouds and snow can easily be confused because they’re both cold and bright. Differentiation gets even more difficult when these clouds hang out above patches of snow. And that’s where citizen scientists come in.

NASA’s looking for people to take pictures of clouds in the sky and share them through an app. If you time your photos to coincide with CERES satellites passing overhead, NASA can then compare the images taken from the instruments with the images taken from individuals down below and make sure what’s being noted by its satellites as a cloud really is a cloud. “Looking at what an observer recorded as clouds and looking at their surface observations really helps us better understand the images that were matched from the satellite,” Marilé Colón Robles, who heads NASA’s GLOBE clouds team, said in a statement.

You can submit up to 10 photos per day between now and April 15th through the GLOBE Observer app. This is a particularly important time for the project because the seasons are changing, meaning the clouds are too. And the most recent addition to the CERES team is a satellite that was launched in November and began taking measurements in January. So NASA needs help verifying its data in particular.

You can find out more about how to take part and how to time your photos with passing satellites here. If you do manage to snap a pic within the same timeframe as an overhead satellite, NASA will send you an email within one week of your submission that shows you your image as well as the satellite’s. You can check out some tips on how to observe clouds here.

Via: The Verge

Source: NASA (1), (2), (3)

Facebook suspends Trump-linked data firm Cambridge Analytica

Late Friday night, Facebook has announced it’s suspending Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL) from its site. While you may not have heard of SCL, its political analytics firm Cambridge Analytica has made headlines in the last few years due to work for the Trump campaign and the Brexit initiative. According to former US Magistrate and current Facebook Deputy General Counsel Paul Grewal, this move is occurring because an app “thisisyourdigitallife” pulled in personal information of the 270,000 people who used it as well as information from their friends. While this is allowed under its policy, its creator, a Cambridge psych professor named Dr. Aleksandr Kogan, passed the data onto other parties including Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook’s stance is that it requested the deletion of the data in 2015, which Cambridge Analytica, Kogan and another man Christopher Wylie said they did, however now the social network says it has been informed that not all of the data was deleted. Now it’s suspending their access while it investigates.

So who are these people and what did they do with that data? Last May The Guardian reported on Cambridge Analytica, reporting on a source who said Wylie is “the one who brought data and micro-targeting [individualised political messages] to Cambridge Analytica.” That same report specifically pointed out Kogan’s app and its link to the company, which combined psychological profiles with specific names, phone numbers and email address plus information it bought from consumer databases.

Developing…

Source: Facebook

Online listings show AMD will release second-gen Ryzen CPUs on April 19

AMD’s second-generation Ryzen desktop processors will be made available on April 19 according to now-removed listings spotted on Amazon and other online retailers. AMD has yet to make an official announcement, but so far, we see four separate processors hitting stores next month: Two new Ryzen 7 eight-core chips and two Ryzen 5 six-core processors. 

Take a look: 

 

Ryzen 7
2700X 

Ryzen 7
2700 

Ryzen 5
2600X 

Ryzen 5
2600 

Product ID: 

YD270XBGAFBOX 

YD2700BBAFBOX 

YD260XBCAFBOX 

YD2600BBAFBOX 

Cores: 

8 

8 

6 

6 

Threads: 

16 

16 

12 

12 

Base speed: 

3.7GHz 

3.2GHz 

3.7GHz 

3.4GHz 

Maximum speed: 

4.35GHz 

4.1GHz 

4.25GHz 

3.9GHz 

Power use: 

105 watts 

65 watts 

95 watts 

65 watts 

DDR4 support: 

2,933MHz 

2,933MHz 

2,933MHz 

2,933MHz 

Cooler: 

Wraith Prism 

Wraith Spire 

Wraith Spire 

Wraith Stealth 

Price: 

$369 

$299 

$249 

$199 

 Last year when AMD introduced its first batch of Ryzen desktop processors, customers wanting to upgrade had to swap out their PC’s motherboard due to the new AM4 seat/socket requirement. That is not the case here with the company’s second-generation chips although if you want the full benefits introduced by the updated Zen+ design, you may want to consider swapping out the motherboard again for models based on AMD’s new X470 high-end and B450 mid-range chipsets. 

Here are the differences between the current Ryzen 7 1700 series and the upcoming Ryzen 7 2700 series: 

 

Ryzen 7
2700X 

Ryzen 7
1700X 

Ryzen 7
2700 

Ryzen 7
1700 

Architecture: 

Zen+ 

Zen 

Zen+ 

Zen 

Cores: 

8 

8 

8 

8 

Threads: 

16 

16 

16 

16 

Base speed: 

3.7GHz 

3.4GHz 

3.2GHz 

3.0GHz 

Maximum speed: 

4.35GHz 

3.8GHz 

4.1GHz 

3.7GHz 

Power use: 

105 watts 

95 watts 

65 watts 

65 watts 

Price: 

$369 

$290 

$299 

$275 

 As the specifications show, the 2700 series relies on the same number of cores and threads but provides a speed boost over their predecessors. The Ryzen 7 2700 remains the same power consumption-wise while the upcoming 2700X will require slightly more power than the older 1700X model. 

What we’re currently missing from the entire Ryzen refresh scheme is an updated version of AMD’s Ryzen 7 1800X chip although the 2700X supposedly replaces that model along with the 1700X. Recent benchmarks show the 2700X is 18 percent faster than the 1700X, and 11 percent faster than the 1800X. AMD still could have a Ryzen 7 2800X chip on the horizon: Perhaps inserted into its second-generation Threadripper family for a wider selection?

Now here is a comparison of the Ryzen 5 desktop processors: 

 

Ryzen 5
2600X 

Ryzen 5
1600X 

Ryzen 5
2600 

Ryzen 5
1600 

Architecture: 

Zen+ 

Zen 

Zen+ 

Zen 

Cores: 

6 

6 

6 

6 

Threads: 

12 

12 

12 

12 

Base speed: 

3.7GHz 

3.6GHz 

3.4GHz 

3.2GHz 

Maximum speed: 

4.25GHz 

4.0GHz 

3.9GHz 

3.6GHz 

Power use: 

95 watts 

95 watts 

65 watts 

65 watts 

Price: 

$249 

$199 

$199 

$189 

 Again, we see a speed boost in the new Ryzen 5 processors although the difference between the 2600X and the 1600X may not push customers into upgrading from the first-generation chip. In this case, upgrading would be more beneficial for customers with AMD processors released before Ryzen. Meanwhile, you will see a decent speed increase if moving from the 1600 chip to the newer 2600 model. 

Overall, AMD’s refreshed Zen architecture (Zen+) not only introduces higher clocks speeds, but support for memory clocked at 2,933MHz versus 2,400MHz seen with the first generation. They also support AMP and XMP ratings for memory speeds beyond the 2,933MHz mark. 

AMD will likely officially reveal its second-generation Ryzen processors next week during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. 

Editors’ Recommendations

• The Ryzen 7 CPU could see a nice speed increase over AMD’s current chip
• AMD talks details on second-gen Ryzen chips, teases Vega for mobile
• The best AMD CPUs on any budget
• Intel’s ‘Hades Canyon’ NUC packs gaming hardware into just 1.2 liters
• AMD vs. Intel: How does tech’s oldest rivalry look in 2018?

Key settings you need to change on your brand-new Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

So you got yourself a shiny, new Galaxy S9, or maybe you sprung for the more versatile camera on the Galaxy S9 Plus — no matter which Samsung device you have, there are several useful settings that are not enabled by default when you first set up the phone.

We’ve gone through all the main settings to find the key few you’ll want to change as soon as you start up your new phone. For a deeper dive, check out our Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus tips and tricks.

Max that screen resolution

Samsung offers beautiful 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch Infinity Displays on the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, respectively, but the phones don’t push the highest screen resolution out of the box. Instead, your screen will be set at Full HD+ resolution, or 2,220 x 1,080 pixels. Samsung’s reasoning is battery life, as a higher resolution will drain your phone’s battery faster. We still can’t resist looking at a sharper screen, so head over to the Settings app (or tap the gear icon in the system tray), then tap Display. Go to Screen resolution and move the blue dot on the slider to WQHD+ (2,960 x 1,440). It’s the highest resolution available, so your screen will look sharper, but do be aware that your battery life will take a hit. Or you can always move it to HD+ (1,480 x 720) or leave it at Full HD+ to conserve battery life.   

Got a screen protector? Improve touch sensitivity

The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are protected by Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back, but that doesn’t mean the glass won’t crack. We recommend nabbing a case to protect the back, and you may want to buy a screen protector to prevent a shattered screen or simple scratches. If you do apply a screen protector and are having trouble with the touchscreen, there’s a setting you can toggle on to help. Head to Settings > Advanced features > Touch sensitivity to toggle it on. It increases the touch sensitivity, making the screen more reactive even with a screen protector applied over the display.

Tweak the navigation bar

All Android phones have navigation bars — the bottom bar (sometimes capacitive buttons) that let you go to the home screen and back, or access recent apps. The traditional layout is Back — Home — Recents. Samsung prefers its own layout: Recents — Home — Back. If you’re too used to the former, there is a way to change this layout. Head to Settings > Display > Navigation bar > Button layout, and choose the style you want. Here, you can also change the color of the navigation bar, add or remove the toggle to show or hide the navigation bar, and even change the pressure sensitivity of the home button.

Enable fingerprint gestures

You can now use the fingerprint sensor to pull down the notification bar, or push it back up. It’s a feature available on several Android phones already, such as the Google Pixel 2 XL, but we’re happy to see it present on the S9 and S9 Plus. It’s especially handy on the S9 Plus, as it can be tough to reach the top of the 6.2-inch phone. You’ll need to toggle this setting on first, though, so head to Settings > Advanced features, and tap the toggle next to Finger sensor gestures. If you tap Finger sensor gestures, you’ll also be able to turn on a gesture to open Samsung Pay by swiping up on the sensor on the home screen.

Turn on split-screen mode with the Recents button

With large screens, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are great for multitasking. Split-screen apps are a feature baked into Android, but Samsung has turned off the default way to access them — by pressing and holding the Recents button on the navigation bar.  Turn this on by heading to Settings > Advanced features > Multi window, and tap Use Recents button. Now you just need to press and hold the Recents button in a split-screen-supported app to trigger split-screen mode.

Since you’re in Advanced features, you may as well spend a few minutes to toggle some features on or off. Smart Stay is handy as it keeps the screen from dimming if it recognizes you’re staring at it; you can turn off the quick launch for the camera (double tap the power button) if you don’t like it; or you can turn on SOS messages for emergences (triple tap the power button). There are quite a number of neat features here worth a look.

Schedule the Blue Light Filter

Blue light that emanates from our screens can be harmful to our health, which is why most phones and computers have some type of blue light filter that can kick in at night. You can access Samsung’s blue light filter either from the drop=down system tray, or by heading to Settings > Display > Blue light filter. Here you can set the filter to kick in from sunset to sunrise, or set your own custom schedule. You can even change the intensity of the filter.

Change the keyboard

Not a fan of Samsung’s keyboard? You can easily swap it out for anything else you download on the Google Play Store, like Google’s own GBoard. Head over to Settings > General management > Language and input > Default keyboard. Here, you’ll see a list of installed keyboard apps — just select the one you want to use, and that’s it.

Hide unwanted apps

There are a few Samsung apps pre-installed on the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus you may not use. First see if you can disable them by heading to Settings > Apps and selecting the app from the list. If disabled is grayed out, you’re out of luck. You can at least hide the app from your App Drawer. To do this, swipe up to open the App Drawer from the home screen. Tap the three dots on the top-right edge of the screen, and go to Home screen settings. Scroll to the bottom and you’ll see Hide apps. You’ll see a list of apps installed on the phone — just tap on the app you want to hide and hit Apply. The good news is if you do want to find that app again quickly, just run a search with the search bar in the App Drawer and it will still show up.

Improve Find My Mobile

Losing a phone can be tough, but losing a new phone is even worse. Thankfully, Find My Mobile is enabled by default on the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. However, there’s a feature you can toggle on to make it even more reliable. Go to Settings > Lock screen and security > Find My Mobile, and tap Send last location. This makes sure the device will send its last location to Samsung’s Find My Mobile server when the battery hits a certain level. It can be helpful if you really are having trouble tracking the device. Head over to findmymobile.samsung.com to sign in and track your phone.

Turn off the Bixby button

Bixby Voice, Bixby Vision, and Bixby Reminders may be the most useful part of Samsung’s artificially intelligent assistant, but we haven’t found much use for Bixby Home. It opens a feed of random widgets that you can customize to your liking, and you can access it by swiping to the right on the home page. If you find yourself accidentally clicking the dedicated Bixby button on the left edge of the phone, constantly opening Bixby Home, there’s a way to turn it off. Swipe right on the home screen to open Bixby Home. Tap the Gear icon at the top right edge of the screen, and toggle off the Bixby key. The sad news is the Bixby key now becomes a useless button, though you can still press and hold it to access Bixby Voice.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Samsung Galaxy S9 review
• Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus review
• Guard your Galaxy with the best Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus screen protectors
• Check out our favorite Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus accessories
• The Samsung Galaxy S9 has finally arrived — here’s everything you need to know

AMD and Nvidia have tried to limit GPU sales to crypto-miners. It isn’t working

AMD, Nvidia, and each company’s retail partners have attempted to curtail graphics card pricing inflation by limiting sale of cards to small numbers, often one or two video cards per customer. However, according to one mining rig builder we spoke to, that may only be hurting gamers, and helping companies that buy GPUs in bulk.

Certainly, it doesn’t seem that limiting sales has had effect on prices. A look at the big retail websites reveals graphics cards that are years old selling for double, or more, their launch price. Current-generation GPUs are priced far beyond their gaming capabilities.

Nvidia, like many retailers, enforces sale restrictions on its GPUs — when they’re in stock.

Unfortunately, the limitations companies are putting on graphics card sales have no impact on those buying the most graphics cards — the big mining rig manufacturers. Digital Trends spoke to the founder of the largest mining rig builder in the UK at the recent London Crypto Investor show. He said that, if anything, the limitations help his business.

“We haven’t [been impacted by limitations] because commercially we’re at a different scale,” explained Easy Crypto Hunter’s founder, Josh Riddett. “It’s probably been a benefit for us if anything, because it’s probably a barrier for entry for someone trying to do it themselves.”

He went on to explain that some of his customers come to Easy Crypto Hunter after trying, and failing, to acquire GPUs for their own home-built mining rig. “We have a lot of people say ‘I’ve been thinking of building a rig, I’m stuck, I can only get three [GPUs],’” he said. “You can come to me, you can buy 10 rigs […] and you mine from the next day.”

Riddett’s company had more than 10 mining rigs for sale at the show (each with six Nvidia GTX 1080Ti  cards) and promised a 10-14 day turnaround for new buyers once those were sold out. His company is also selling mining “farms” for landlords to replace tenants, and has a still-in-development concept of a shipping container that comes outfitted with 280+ GTX 1080Ti cards.

Although he did admit it wasn’t easy to get the numbers of graphics cards his business requires — and an employee at Easy Crypto Hunter told us that shipping containers may take a few weeks to fill — it was possible.

“We spend a lot of money with the right people to get the stuff and obviously it’s as difficult for us as it is for other people,” he said. “We’ve reached a scale now [though] where we get a lot of preferential treatment, and ultimately it’s a case of getting that hardware out to people and doing it as quick as we can. So even now in the midst of the shortage, we’re the only company to keep units on stock.”

If companies such as Easy Crypto Hunter have no real difficulty in purchasing tens, or potentially even hundreds of some of the most powerful, and therefore limited, cards in the world, what hope do average gamers have? It could be the case that sales limits to one card per customer even hurt those trying to build high-end, multi-GPU gaming rigs.

Perhaps they should do what Riddett told us elsewhere in the interview. They should just mine themselves to offset the cost.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Fed up with GPU prices? Crypto-rig builder says gamers must suck it up and mine
• The best graphics cards
• Nvidia speaks out against rising price of GPUs due to cryptocurrency mining
• AMD gains ground on Nvidia thanks to cryptocurrency miners
• Nvidia says it’s working to increase supply of GPUs

Apple invited us on a field trip. Here’s what we think we’ll see

Apple may be preparing to launch a new product in the coming weeks. On Friday, March 16,  the tech behemoth sent out an invite for an event being held in Chicago at the end of the month. The invite, titled “Let’s take a field trip,” provides few details, however, there are a few hints. Here are a few possibilities of what we may see.

Updated iPad Pro

There are several reasons we are most inclined to believe a refreshed iPad Pro will be announced at the event. The primary reason is timing: It has been just about a year since the last iPad Pro refresh, so it seems high time to see an update.

While timing is the primary reason we’re placing our bets on the iPad Pro, there are a few other reasons as well. First is the invite itself. The invite features a simple Apple illustration that looks as if it was drawn by pencil. The drawing itself may be a nod to the Apple Pencil accessory used with the iPad Pro.

Finally, the location of the announcement itself seems to be a huge hint. Instead of holding the event at its stunning Michigan Avenue flagship store, Apple opted to make the announcement at a tech-focused magnet school within the Chicago Public Schools system. Over the last several months Apple has aggressively marketed the iPad Pro as a laptop replacement for tech-savvy children, most memorably with its “What’s a laptop?” ad.

MacBook Air refresh

A less likely, yet entirely possible, announcement may be for a refreshed MacBook Air. Rumors have been swirling for months that Apple plans to release an updated, less expensive MacBook Air. While we expect to see a new MacBook Air in 2018, the timing just doesn’t seem to match up with this event.

iPhone SE 2

The least likely possibility is the announcement of the iPhone SE 2. While we heard rumors about a new budget iPhone for over a year, it’s unlikely we will see Apple announce it at this event.

The primary reason we don’t expect to see Apple launch an updated iPhone at the “Let’s take a field trip” event is because Apple doesn’t market the iPhone as an educational tool. We also wouldn’t expect to see an iPhone announced at this event as Apple’s shareholders voiced serious concerns about smartphone addiction in children earlier this year.

While we expect Apple to announce a refreshed iPad Pro, it’s entirely possible that the tech giant will surprise us with an entirely new product. Either way, Digital Trends will be covering the event live to provide you with all the details.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The MacBook Air was revolutionary. Here’s what we want from its replacement
• ‘Borderlands 3’: News, rumors, and everything we know
• These are the top 40 games we’re looking forward to in 2018
• We discuss wallpaper TVs, roll-up TVs, and OLED canyons with LG’s Tim Alessi
• Here’s absolutely everything we know about the Huawei Y9

A New York city becomes first in the U.S. to temporarily ban Bitcoin mining

The Plattsburgh, New York city council voted unanimously to introduce an 18-month ban on commercial Bitcoin mining operations within the city. The move comes after city residents complained of wildly inflated electricity bills caused by commercial Bitcoin mining operations taking advantage of the city’s low-cost power.

As Motherboard reports, the moratorium is aimed at new commercial Bitcoin-mining operations, so businesses already operating cryptocurrency mines in Plattsburgh will be able to continue doing business. It’s a stopgap designed to keep power bills for ordinary residents from continuing to grow.

“I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints that electric bills have gone up by $100 or $200,” Plattsburgh mayor Colin Read told Motherboard.

The moratorium is only for 18 months and it remains to be seen what will happen once it expires, but local Bitcoin-mining operations are watching these developments carefully. Some even agree that commercial operations should be charged more for using up the city’s cheap, plentiful hydroelectric power.

“I think it’s better to charge the miners more so that people in the city aren’t negatively impacted, than an outright ban. But still reasonably so, or companies won’t want to set up shop here,” said Dan Bowman, a bitcoin entrepreneur, told Motherboard. “I think middle ground should be sought so peoples electric rates don’t go up.”

The main thing that has drawn so many Bitcoin-mining operations to Plattsburgh has been the city’s proximity to a hydroelectric power plant. It’s the reason the city has some of the lowest power costs in the U.S. But those low prices only go so far. The city has an allotment of 104 megawatt-hours of electricity per month, and if it consumes more than that, the city has to buy power on the open market, at much higher rates. That is why notoriously power-hungry Bitcoin operations have inadvertently caused ordinary citizens’ power bills to skyrocket.

The largest mining operation in the city, Coinmint, reportedly used nearly 10 percent of the city’s power budget in January and February. To compensate without scaring off Bitcoin operations, Read suggested a number of potential solutions, including charging local commercial Bitcoin operations for any overages the cause the city to incur. Regardless of how the city ends up deciding to handle the problem of commercial Bitcoin operations sucking up power, looks like it has 18 months to do it.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Get your next home with the best apartment-finder apps
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• Here to revolutionize your commute is Bird, a new escooter sharing company
• Bosch is using cameras, streetlights, and sensors to make cities more livable

Who owns all the Bitcoin? A few billionaire whales in a small pond

Even if you’re sitting on what you consider a sizable number of Bitcoin, or a Litecoin horde that would make you rich if you sold it all, you’re almost certainly not as big a fish as you might think. Neither are most of the millions of other wallet owners. The majority of the world’s digital currency is owned by just a few thousand wallets. Though the owners are anonymous, they are absolutely, stinking rich.

Few would have predicted in early 2017 that, by the tail end of the year, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would increase in value by factors of thousands of percent. Many jumped on the bandwagon late and found themselves floundering as prices crashed down. The problem was so severe that banks stepped in to curtail Bitcoin purchases.

Jaap Arriens/Getty Images

The recent correction didn’t shake the biggest owners of cryptocurrency, however. A few crypto-whales are sitting on a stash of Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dash worth billions of dollars, and they’re not selling. Instead, most of them continue to buy, hoarding masses of cryptocurrency, gradually migrating Bitcoin and altcoins into the hands of the crypto elite.

Bitcoin ownership by the numbers

According to statistics put together by BitInfoCharts through parsing the blockchain, of roughly 23 million Bitcoin wallets in existence, more than 13 million of them own only a fraction of a Bitcoin. While many in number, they make up a minuscule portion of the overall financial landscape.

At the other end of the scale, only 1,500 addresses have between 1,000 and 10,000 Bitcoins in them. The top 111 wallets have more than 10,000 Bitcoins a piece. That’s tens of millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency in each wallet.

The 100 largest Bitcoin wallets are together worth $28.6 billion.

Using BitInfoChart’s latest calculations, 87 percent of all Bitcoins ever mined are owned by just half a percent of Bitcoin wallets. The figures only tighten from there. 61 percent of all Bitcoins are owned by just 0.07 percent of wallets. That’s an incredible amount of wealth in the hands of very, very few.

The second largest wallet in the world contains 163,133 Bitcoins, worth around $1.6 billion. It’s thought to be a cold storage wallet — a Bitcoin wallet kept offline to avoid hacking – owned by BitFenix, a cryptocurrency exchange. That may be the case for many of the largest wallets; the frequency of payments in and out give a hint to such an identity. Whoever owns them, they are sitting on vast fortunes. There are over 100 Bitcoin wallets around the world with a collective $28.6 billion worth of Bitcoin in them, and that’s with a price half that of the December 2017 peak.

Tantalizingly, there’s many wallets in the top-100 richest that haven’t been touched in a long time. Some of those, like the 9th most full Bitcoin wallet in the world – worth around $657 million — have never taken any Bitcoin out, and haven’t had a meaningful input since 2014. These are classed as “dormant” wallets. They could be true long term holders who want to see where the market goes, or part of the millions of Bitcoins thought lost to wiped hard drives, forgotten passwords, and other problems.

The single most packed Bitcoin wallet in the world as of March 12, 2018. Courtesy: bitinfocharts.com.

Many large wallets are active, however, and the largest Bitcoin wallets are getting larger. The single most packed Bitcoin wallet in the world increased its holdings by 60,000 Bitcoins in the last days of 2017. While it’s transferred out a few thousand since, it seems clear that it was taking advantage of the big dip that hit Bitcoin pricing following its latest surge. The number four wallet followed a similar pattern in early 2018.

The spread of wealth among the whales of other cryptocurrencies is much the same and, if anything, the largest altcoin wallets are even less keen on trading out their currency than the key Bitcoin owners. In the case of Litecoin, 70 addresses — less than .001 percent of all Litecoin wallet addresses in existence — own more than 23 million Litecoin. That’s 42 percent of all holdings. Just 0.15 percent of Litecoin wallets – around 3,200 of them – control more than 70 percent of the total. The top 30 percent of Litecoin wallets control 99.62 percent of all Litecoin in existence.

While an argument can be made that some the top Bitcoin wallets with lots of ins and outs are owned by exchanges due to their frequency of transactions, the infrequency of Litecoin wallet transfers suggest they are more likely owned by wealthy investors. Of the top 10 wallets, only one has ever moved Litecoin out. That wallet first purchased Litecoin in 2014 and has brought in, and transferred out, hundreds of thousands of Litecoin in the following years.

What do these numbers mean?

The hoarding of wealth by a slim number of wallets gives those owners incredible power. Like stock traders, if the largest Bitcoin wallet owners decided to cash out, it could send prices tanking, leaving the much smaller investors concerned about what to do with the rapidly dwindling value of their own holdings.

If the largest Bitcoin wallet owners decided to cash out, it could send prices tanking.

The whales don’t even need to sell to raise concerns. In November of 2017, Bitcoin investor Roger Ver caused consternation by moving tens of thousands of Bitcoin to various exchanges. His public comments on the viability (or lack thereof) of Bitcoin also caused problems with the market, and alongside the transaction cost issue Bitcoin faced at the time, may have been part of the reason that Bitcoin values crashed hard in December.

As Edgar Bers of HashFlare told Digital Trends in a recent interview, it’s possible that large cryptocurrency owners might ‘shake the trees’ of nervous investors by deliberately downing cryptocurrency values through large sales, or public statements of low confidence, only to increase their holdings when prices decrease.

It’s almost impossible prove that’s the case given the psyeduanonymous nature of cryptocurrency wallets. Still, we know the biggest wallets are buying more at perceived lows, and few of the top wallets are selling much, if any, of their holdings. It’s also possible the biggest wallet owners communicate with one another – many suggest they do – which could make the strategy of shorting cryptocurrencies, even through something legitimate like Futures trading, far more viable.

The Silver 2.0 lining

This may seem depressing for those looking to make a small profit from their cryptocurrency investments, but there’s a silver lining. This distribution of wealth shows big money is interested in cryptocurrency.

Given the amounts invested, it seems certain that billionaires have invested in its future, and they see it as bright enough that they’re willing to not only continue to hold on to their existing wallet holdings during big downturns like the one at the end of 2017, but even use the downturn as an opportunity to buy more. Many people look to financial advisers and talking heads for investment advice, but perhaps the best bet with cryptocurrencies is to keep an eye on the biggest wallets in the world. The crypto-whales seem to be able to track and predict (or at worst, influence) the biggest downturns, often using them to increase their holdings.

Cryptocurrency’s future is not certain but, for now, the commitment of big investors at least offers a bare measure of stability. Whatever happens, cryptocurrencies will remain relevant as long as the whales don’t abandon them.

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• CryptoCelebs: Famous people who’ve bought the cryptocurrency craze
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The Galaxy S9 Plus vs. Galaxy Note 8: Samsung’s heavyweights slug it out

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

If you’re shopping for a powerful phone with a large screen, then Samsung’s heavyweights need to be on your radar. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is the biggest phone the South Korean manufacturer offers, but the leaner, newer Galaxy S9 Plus has some important advantages over its opponent. Join us for a spec showdown as these two titans go head-to-head, and find out which one you should buy.

Specs

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
Samsung Galaxy Note 8

Size
158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm (6.22 x 2.91 x 0.33 inches)
162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 mm (6.40 x 2.94 x 0.34 inches)

Weight
189 grams (6.67 ounces)
195 grams (6.88 ounces)

Screen Size
6.2-inch AMOLED display
6.3-inch AMOLED display

Screen Resolution
2,960 x 1,440 pixels (529 pixels-per-inch)
2,960 x 1,440 pixels (521 pixels-per-inch)

Operating System
Samsung Experience 9 (over Android 8.0 Oreo)
Samsung Experience (over Android 7.1.1 Nougat upgradable to 8.0 Oreo)

Storage Space
64GB
64GB, 128GB, 256GB

MicroSD Card Slot
Yes, up to 400GB
Yes, up to 256GB

Tap To Pay Services
Samsung Pay, Android Pay
Samsung Pay, Android Pay

Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

RAM
6GB
6GB

Camera
Dual sensor 12MP rear, 8MP front
Dual sensor 12MP rear, 8MP front

Video
2,160p at 30 frames per second, 1,080p at 240 fps, 720p at 960 fps
2,160p at 30 frames per second, 1,080p at 60 fps, 720p at 240 fps

Bluetooth Version
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 5.0

Ports
3.5mm headphone jack, USB-Type C
3.5mm headphone jack, USB-Type C

Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Yes

Water resistance
IP68
IP68

Battery
3,500mAh
3,300mAh

App Marketplace
Google Play Store
Google Play Store

Network support
T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint
T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint

Colors
Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Titanium Gray, Lilac Purple
Midnight Black, Maple Gold, Orchid Gray, Deep Sea Blue

Price
$840
$950

Buy From
Samsung, Amazon, Target
Samsung, Amazon, Target

Review Score
4.5 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5 stars

Performance, battery life, and charging

The S9 Plus comes with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 845 processor, whereas the Note 8 has last year’s Snapdragon 835. The newer processor is faster, more power efficient, and enables a handful of other tricks. Since both phones have 6GB of RAM, we can unequivocally say that the S9 Plus is the better performer.

We also find a slightly larger 3,500mAh battery inside the S9 Plus, compared to the 3,300mAh battery in the Note 8, though weirdly we’ve found the Note 8 to have slightly better battery life in our testing so far. Both phones support wireless charging and fast charging at Quick Charge 2.0 speeds — expect a full charge to take around 90 minutes, and you can get 40 percent or more in half an hour.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Design and durability

Samsung’s design language is pretty consistent, so these phones sport very similar screens with curved edges and thin bezels top and bottom. The S9 Plus is definitely more curved than the Note 8, but there isn’t a big difference. When you turn them over, you’ll find that the fingerprint sensor placement on the Galaxy S9 Plus is below the vertically stacked dual camera module, whereas the Note 8 has a horizontal dual camera with the fingerprint sensor at the side. The S9 Plus positioning is much better and makes it far easier to find and use without looking and without smudging your camera lenses. The S9 Plus is also slightly smaller and lighter, which is a good thing for such a big phone.

The S9 Plus also scores points for the stereo speakers, which the Note 8 lacks. There’s no separating them in the durability stakes as both are IP68 rated and equally likely to break if dropped.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Display

Julian Chokkatu/Digital Trends

It’s tough to separate them here, because both phones boast Samsung’s excellent AMOLED screens. The Note 8 has a slightly larger 6.3-inch display, compared to the 6.2-inch display in the S9 Plus. Since both phones have the same resolution, the S9 Plus has a fractionally higher pixel density. In the real world, it’s virtually impossible to tell them apart.

Winner: Tie

Camera

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Samsung first made the jump to a dual lens camera with the Note 8, which pairs two 12-megapixel sensors, one with an f/1.7 aperture and one with an f/2.4 aperture. That combination allows it to zoom in without loss of detail, as well as capture some great bokeh shots with sharp subjects and a blurred background. Samsung reimagined the camera in the S9 Plus, so while it sports the same dual lens setup, the first 12-megapixel sensor has a variable aperture that can switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4. The larger f/1.5 aperture enables the S9 Plus to take in more light, so night shots or shots in darker indoor environments turn out much better than they do on the Note 8.

If you’re into shooting video, the S9 Plus is also capable of super slow motion, capturing 720p footage at 960 frames per second. The S9 Plus can also shoot in 1080p at up to 240 fps, while the Note 8 is limited to 60 fps for 1080p or 240 fps for 720p. The front-facing cameras are identical, but the phenomenal low-light performance and slow motion support are enough for the S9 Plus to take this round.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Software and updates

The Galaxy Note 8 ships with Android 7.1.1 Nougat and Samsung’s Experience user interface over the top. It is due to get an update to Android 8.0 Oreo in the very near future. The Galaxy S9 Plus ships with Android 8.0 Oreo and Samsung Experience 9. The Note 8 has a few S-Pen specific software options, but the S9 Plus has a newer version of Android and Samsung’s latest UI with all the latest tricks, such as the ability to switch to landscape view, even on the home screen, and have the display change orientation.

As a slightly newer device, we also expect the S9 Plus to get future software updates faster and for slightly longer than the Note 8.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Special features

When it comes to adding value with special features, you can count on Samsung. Both these phones have A.I. assistant Bixby onboard and they can both pull duty as desktop computer replacements thanks to the Dex Station. Only the Note 8 has the S-Pen stylus, which proves very handy if you like to take notes or even sketch on your phone. Samsung has worked on some clever integrations with the software to make the S-Pen useful. Most people don’t use a stylus with their phones, but if you do like to, then this is a big win for the Note 8.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 8

Price

All the big releases from Samsung, including the Note 8 and S9 Plus, are widely available to buy unlocked from various retailers or direct from Samsung, or you can get them from all the major carriers on contract deals if you prefer. The Note 8 is currently priced at $950 direct from Samsung, which is $110 more than the S9 Plus at $840. Samsung frequently runs promotions, and you might find trade-in deals if you have an old Galaxy to sell, so do your homework — our Note 8 buying guide or our S9 Plus buying guide will help you get the best deal.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Overall winner: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

There’s no doubting the decision here, the Galaxy S9 Plus is a better phone at a lower price. If the S-Pen is a killer feature for you, then you might opt for the Note 8, but everyone else should pick up the S9 Plus — it’s faster, has a more refined design, and sports an improved camera, newer software, and a bigger battery. Owners of the Note 8 pondering an upgrade have a tougher decision to make — jump to the S9 Plus or wait a few months for the Note 9. We don’t think you’ll notice a big difference switching to the S9 Plus from the Note 8, so it might be better to wait. The S9 Plus is certainly Samsung’s current cream of the crop, but they’re both great phones.

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