Verizon Throttled California Fire Department’s Data Speeds During Wildfire Response [Updated]
Verizon recently throttled the data used by a Santa Clara, California fire department that was in the midst of fighting wildfires, reports Ars Technica. Verizon’s actions were outlined this week in an addendum to a brief filed by 22 state attorneys challenging the recent repeal of net neutrality rules.
According to Santa Clara County Fire Chief Anthony Bowden, the fire department paid Verizon for “unlimited” data, but its data speeds were heavily throttled while it was combating the still-ongoing Mendocino Complex Fire until the department shelled out more money for an upgraded unlimited plan.
Verizon’s data throttling policies affected “OES 5262,” a fire vehicle with a Verizon SIM card that is responsible for acting as a “command and control resource” for “the rapid deployment and organization of thousands of personnel and hundreds of fire engines, aircraft, and bulldozers.” Data speeds were reduced to 1/200, interfering with the vehicle’s ability to “function effectively.”
Santa Clara Fire communicated with Verizon via email about the throttling and requested that it be “immediately lifted for public safety purposes,” but Verizon staff demanded the fire department update to a new plan before service could be restored.
Verizon representatives confirmed the throttling, but, rather than restoring us to an essential data transfer speed, they indicated that County Fire would have to switch to a new data plan at more than twice the cost, and they would only remove throttling after we contacted the Department that handles billing and switched to the new data plan.
As Ars Technica points out, even when net neutrality rules were in effect, major carriers imposed throttling during times of network congestion. The fire department claims, however, that it was throttled at all times (not just at peak congestion) once the vehicle’s 25GB data limit was exceeded.
Net neutrality rules also allowed for Internet users to file complaints for unjust or unreasonable prices and practices, but the complaint option has been eliminated, giving Santa Clara no options for contacting the FCC over Verizon’s practices.
Bowden said that Verizon’s throttling had a “significant impact” on the fire department’s ability to provide emergency services. The Mendocino fire was also not the only time Verizon’s throttling limited fire services, with other incidents occurring in December and June.
According to Bowden, the Santa Clara Fire Department believes that Verizon is going to continue to use catastrophic events to force public agencies into higher-cost data plans.
In light of our experience, County Fire believes it is likely that Verizon will continue to use the exigent nature of public safety emergencies and catastrophic events to coerce public agencies into higher cost plans ultimately paying significantly more for mission critical service-even if that means risking harm to public safety during negotiations.
After a long series of emails (PDF) with Verizon, the Santa Clara Fire Department was ultimately required to purchase a data plan that costs $99.99 per month for the first 20GB of data usage and $8 of data per gigabyte afterwards to avoid throttling during emergencies.
Update: Verizon provided the following statement to The Verge:
This situation has nothing to do with net neutrality or the current proceeding in court. We made a mistake in how we communicated with our customer about the terms of its plan. Like all customers, fire departments choose service plans that are best for them. The customer purchased a government contract plan for a high-speed wireless data allotment at a set monthly cost. Under this plan, users get an unlimited amount of data, but speeds are reduced when they exceed their allotment until the next billing cycle.
Regardless of the plan emergency responders choose, we have a practice to remove data speed restrictions when contacted in emergency situations. We have done that many times, including for emergency personnel responding to these tragic fires. In this situation, we should have lifted the speed restriction when our customer reached out to us. This was a customer support mistake. We are reviewing the situation and will fix any issues going forward.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
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Samsung J3 2018 and Galaxy Express Prime 3 review
Samsung is most well known for their flagship phones such as the Note 9 and Galaxy S9. However, they also make many other phones including more affordable entry-level phones. The Samsung J3 2018 and Galaxy Express Prime 3 loaned to us courtesy of AT&T are prime examples of that.
While known by two different names these two phones are one and the same. They share the exact same design and specs, only differing in two areas which I’ll touch on at the end of the review.
Design
There is nothing extraordinary about the design of the Samsung J3 2018 or Galaxy Express Prime 3. That’s not surprising for an entry-level phone in this price range. The front features a 5-inch 720p LCD display with vivid colors and is bright enough to be viewed outdoors. Overall the display looks good and is proof that a low-resolution display doesn’t mean it is low quality.
Similar to previous generations of Samsung phones they both include a home button flanked by two capacitive buttons for navigation. Unsurprisingly, there is no fingerprint scanner in the home button nor is there one anywhere else on these phones.
In contrast, the absence of an ambient light sensor is quite shocking. Without an ambient light sensor, the display will not change brightness on its own. Instead, you are forced to manually adjust it with the slider. In 2018 an ambient light sensor should be standard on all phones and not a premium feature.
Another frustration is the absence of lights for the capacitive buttons making it more difficult to use in dimly lit or dark rooms. Especially since Samsung reverses the order of the recent apps and back buttons from stock Android.
Both phones have a plastic build and feel solid in the hand with a removable back. Stored away behind this back panel is the nano-SIM slot, microSD card slot, and removable battery. With only 16GB of storage, it’s a good thing the microSD card slot supports cards up to 400GB. I was constantly getting warning messages about being out of space, 16GB doesn’t go that far these days.
One design element often overlooked is the placement of the speaker. I’m happy to say the J3 2018 and Galaxy Express Prime 3 placed it on the right side instead of the bottom. Now sound won’t be easily muffled by your hand in landscape mode.
Holding the phones was easier and more comfortable without having to worry about covering a bottom firing speaker. Another positive is the inclusion of the headphone jack, thankfully Samsung is one manufacturer who hasn’t nixed it. Although in general, most entry-level phones have not removed the headphone jack.
Speaking of legacy ports, the J3 2018 and Galaxy Express Prime 3 still use the outdated micro USB standard. In a mobile world that where most phones have moved to the USB-C standard, this is quite disappointing. For users who have not made the switch to USB-C and don’t want to invest in new cables, this will be a positive, however.
Software
The J3 2018 and Galaxy Express Prime 3 are running Android 8.0.0 Oreo out of the box along with Samsung’s typical thick skin overlay. Samsung phones have always made changes to the UI and added features to provide their own Android experience. Despite the lower end hardware they still do a good job of providing many of the same features you’d find on Samsung flagships.
For example, you have access to the theme store, secure folder, dual messenger, shortcuts for the camera, and one-handed mode, options in game mode to block notifications, and more. However, I ran into an annoying issue that prevents you from syncing your Gboard personal dictionary because of secure folder. I was also dissatisfied to see that night mode is missing from the display options.
Performance
Believe me when I say the lag is real on this phone. That shouldn’t be surprising considering they are both powered by Samsung’s in-house Exynos 7570 quad-core 1.4GHz processor and 2GB of RAM. These are far from flagship phone specs and it definitely shows when trying to multitask or play games.
Loading of most smaller apps isn’t that bad, it really only becomes frustrating when opening games. What makes it even worse is due to the paltry sum of RAM, you’ll often have to wait for the games or apps to reload if you switch apps.
Camera
The rear camera on the J3 2018 and Galaxy Express Prime 3 is an 8MP shooter with a respectable f/1.9 aperture and a 5MP f/2.2 camera on the front. Even with a f/1.9 aperture, the rear camera is still not great for low light images.
Without optical image stabilization photos have a higher probability of coming out blurry. Also, regardless of how steady your hands might be, there will still be a significant amount of noise in low light images.
Photos in daylight are better but still not fantastic because of a lack of dynamic range. While the J3 2018 and Express Prime 3 provide an HDR mode it still doesn’t balance out the exposure that well.
The HDR photos often leave you with halos around objects. Not to mention the patience you’ll need while it takes a few seconds for the HDR photos to process. Overall, it’ll work for snapshots but don’t expect anything too breathtaking from these cameras.
Low Light
Low Light
On the bright side, the camera does offer some useful shooting modes besides HDR such as pro, panorama, night, and sports. The front-facing camera also includes a selfie mode with beauty filters and a wide selfie mode.
The results of the front-facing camera are more disappointing than the rear camera because of the lower megapixel count and larger aperture. Your face is never quite clear and the background can look even worse.
Battery
Battery life is one area where the Samsung J3 2018 and Galaxy Express Prime 3 shine. I was easily able to get 5 hours screen on time with plenty of juice leftover in a day. While with more light to medium usage I was able to go two full days before needing to charge. Another added benefit comes from the replaceable battery making it easy to swap if you’ll be away from the charger.
Conclusion
Unlike Samsung’s flagship phones the J3 2018 and Galaxy Express Prime 3 aren’t built to impress. They are best suited for those who are only looking for a basic phone to text or make phone calls. That doesn’t mean they are only limited to those uses. The J3 2018 and Galaxy Express Prime 3 are plenty capable of playing games and doing more.
However, the experience will be subpar and I wouldn’t recommend them for multitaskers, gamers, or those who expect more from their phone. While both of these phones are essentially the same the only area they differ in is availability and price.
The Samsung J3 2018 is for postpaid customers on AT&T and will set you back $210. At that price, it’s not exactly a bargain. If you’re willing to shop around or wait you could find far more capable phones for a similar price. Ones that include extras like an ambient light sensor, a fingerprint scanner, or more.
On the other hand, the Galaxy Express Prime 3 is available for prepaid customers starting at $130. This is a much more reasonable price for the phone you are getting. There still might be better deals out there, but for $130 I feel you’re getting what you paid for.
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Instagram’s test of Recommended Posts is designed to not interrupt your feed
Instagram wants to use algorithms to pad your feed — on Monday, August 20, Instagram announced a test for recommended posts. The potential feature suggests posts based on who you follow as well as the different photos and videos that you tap that heart icon on.
Unlike recommended posts on Facebook, however, Instagram isn’t slipping the recommended posts in mid-feed. Instead, the suggestions come after you have already seen the latest posts from your current network. Once you see that new message that says you’re all caught up, you will see recommended posts or can tap to view the old posts instead. The recommended posts look similar to the typical feed photo, except for the “Recommended for You” label, along with a blue icon to start following that user.
“Our goal is to make Feed the best place to share and connect with the people and interests that matter most to you,” Instagram shared in a blog post. “Now with recommended posts, you can see even more of what’s being shared by our community.”
The test also isn’t the first time Instagram has tried out recommended posts.
Without a share button, finding new users to follow on Instagram differs from networks like Facebook and Twitter, where a share or retweet adds posts from users that you don’t already follow into the feed. Adding recommended posts to the feed could make it easier for users to find new accounts to follow based on what they have already liked on Instagram.
On the flipside, the Recommended Posts could make Instagram feel more like its parent company Facebook. Some users also may not want to see posts from outside their network — though placing the suggestions behind all the posts from followed users should help appease those that want more control over what they see in the feed.
The Recommended Posts comes after a handful of changes for the visually focused social network. Earlier this year, the network launched that “you’re all caught up” icon. The network also improved algorithms to prioritize newer posts. While the feed has factored in when the image or video was shared since moving away from the chronological feed, Instagram is now giving time and date more weight.
The Recommended Posts is just a test — Instagram says some users will begin to see the feature over the next few days. The company says it will consider user feedback and hope to roll the feature out to more users over the next few weeks.
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- When is the best time to post on Instagram?
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ICARUS project aims to track migration of 100,000 animals — from space
Imagine you were able to track the movement of animals all over the planet using thousands of tiny smart transmitters, with the data being crunched and collated on the International Space Station, before being disseminated to scientists back on Earth. For any researchers who have had to capture individual animals, tag them, and then later recapture them to retrieve the data, it sounds almost impossibly futuristic — but it’s just about here.
Part of the long-running International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space (ICARUS) project, the 16-years-in-the-making initiative seeks to deploy a range of sensors that will allow for real-time biodiversity monitoring on a truly global scale. These sensors include a GPS module, accelerometer, magnetometer, and temperature, pressure, and humidity chips. They also boast solar panels and on-board batteries, and can be attached to just about any creature out there. And because miniaturization is continuing, by 2025 the team hopes they will be small enough to be unobtrusively attached to desert locusts.
“The system offers a dramatic change in the global reach, cost, and weight of GPS tags that allow us to document animal movements and migrations,” Walter Jetz, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale and key team member, told Digital Trends. “Up to now, global-scale GPS tracking has been limited to tags that were an order of magnitude heavier, restricting it to only the largest 10 percent or so of birds or mammals. Once the system is fully up and running, we will be able to study much more of biodiversity, and do so much more cost effectively.”
Researchers at Max Planck and the Max Planck-Yale Center, which have led the project, have several projects in mind for the sensors. However, the technology will also be open to individual researchers hoping to take advantage of the astonishing breakthrough.
“Some of the most important insights, such as global change imprints on animal distributions, may only arise after years of work,” Jetz continued. “But we expect new discoveries – think previously unknown migration routes or migration hotspots — to happen very quickly, perhaps already in the first year or two.”
The cutting-edge animal-tracking system was installed on the International Space Station earlier this month. Pre-order of the first sensors is possible now, with the initial deliveries planned for early 2019. By next year, the plan is to have 1,000 transmitters in the field, with that number eventually growing to 100,000.
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HTC’s new wireless adapter for the Vive arrives in September for $300
If you’re sick of tripping over the HTC Vive’s cord when you’re moving blindly across physical space, the company’s new wireless adapter is here to help. The good news is that you can eliminate that long, pesky tripwire and feel secure that you will remain on your two feet. The bad news is that the adapter will set you back an additional $300. Have the Vive Pro? You’ll need another $60 on top of that.
According to HTC, the Vive Wireless Adapter will be made available to pre-purchase on September 5 through Amazon, Best Buy, Microsoft, Newegg, and the company’s website. It won’t actually hit store shelves until September 24.
If you’re not familiar with the HTC Vive, it relies on a single 3-in-1 “combo” cable consisting of the HDMI input, the power input, and the USB output. It’s extremely long, allowing you to freely move about in your physical play space. But it has the tendency to wrap around you like a python, forcing you to untangle yourself and resume your experience.
This cable doesn’t connect to your PC, but instead to a “link box” provided in the kit. This box plugs into your wall outlet to feed power to the headset while also connecting to your PC to serve as a powered “pass thru” for the video and sound outputs, and the movement inputs.
But if you can’t break into your PC, then this adapter won’t work. It aims to replace the 3-in-1 cable and link box altogether, but in turn, you need to install an add-in PCI Express card within your desktop. That means if you’re using a beefy gaming laptop to power the HTC Vive, you’re stuck with the cable. This adapter also requires you to connect a sensor to your PC that broadcasts the wireless signal.
As for the adapter itself, it’s positioned toward the back of your head sporting antennas that resembles an annoyed Pikachu’s flattened ears. Three cables are grouped together and connect the adapter to the headset on the original HTC Vive. A single cable appears to run from the bottom of the adapter to the Vive Pro.
Another big issue here is that given you’re cutting the cord and link box out of the picture, you’re not getting a constant flow of power. That means your playtime only lasts up to 2.5 hours. The specifications list the HTC QC 3.0 PowerBank, meaning it has a quick-charge feature, but the company doesn’t state the total recharge duration. This PowerBank can charge your smartphone, so that is a plus.
“The adapter has a broadcast range of 6 meters with a 150-degree field of view from the sensor and runs in the interference-free 60Ghz band using Intel’s WiGig specification, which, combined with DisplayLink’s XR codec, means low latency and high performance with hours of battery life,” the company says in a blog.
The HTC Vive currently sells for $500 and includes the headset, two controllers, the link box, two base stations, and accessories. The Vive Pro provides a higher-quality experience for $800.
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Here are all the games that support Nvidia’s RTX ray tracing
Nvidia
Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2000-series graphics cards may be mighty powerful in their own right, but they are squarely aimed at delivering a feature long desired by developers and gamers alike: Real-time ray tracing. The lighting technique is the closest approximation we have for modeling the way light behaves in the real world, and it looks beautiful. But which games support it? The list isn’t long but it’s going to keep growing.
Here are all of the upcoming games that support Nvidia’s new RTX-driven ray tracing technology.
Assetto Corsa
The 2014 release of Assetto Corsa has always been a beautiful game, but developer Kunos Simulazioni is looking to take Assetto Corsa Competizione visuals to a new level with the introduction of ray tracing technology. The game will launch as soon as September 12, so will be one of the first games to be able to take advantage of the RT cores inside Nvidia’s new 2000-series GPUs.
Atomic Heart
Atomic Heart is described as an “alt universe” shooter set at the height of the Soviet Union but with a rather different interpretation of how the world might have turned out. While its universe might be strange and hard to pin down though, its graphics technology won’t be. It’s beautiful, and ray tracing will only enhance that. Atomic Heart is expected to release sometime in 2019.
Battlefield V
Arguably the most established series to adopt the new ray tracing technology, Battlefield V was showcased right alongside Nvidia’s new cards at Gamescom with reflections of explosions in everything from car doors to eyeballs. It’s slated for release on October 11.
Control
Control would be a striking game with or without ray tracing, but its lighting and reflections look hauntingly otherworldly in the Nvidia RTX demonstration. The third-person action-adventure title will have a number of PC-only graphical improvements. Look out for more from Control in 2019.
Enlisted
Enlisted is a World War II squad shooter MMO that looks to recreate some of the most expansive battles of the war. You may not have time to take in all of the pretty ray tracing effects, but when it debuts in late 2018 you’ll get your chance.
Justice
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Justice is Chinese developer NetEase’s attempt at a WoW-killer with a martial arts flair. It might not get the most traction in the west, but the already pretty game should look even better with a dose of ray-traced lighting.
JX3
Steparu/Youtube
JX3 is an HD remake of the original JX3 from 2009. It’s another martial-arts themed MMO straight out of China, and although it’s unlikely to generate a huge player base here, it’s still one of the first to adopt the new ray tracing technology.
Mechwarrior V: Mercenaries
The next entry in the iconic Mechwarrior series, Mechwarrior V: Mercenaries will feature plenty of raw and scraped metal for ray-traced lighting to reflect off of, making it a great example of the technology’s early implementation. It’s slated for a Q1 2019 release.
Metro Exodus
The Metro series has always been at the forefront of new graphical technology and Exodus is no different. We saw a ray tracing demo using the Exodus engine earlier this year and the latest demonstration of its graphical chops is no less impressive. Metro Exodus is slated to launch on February 22, 2019.
ProjectDH
Not much is known about ProjectDH other than its been under development at Nexon for a couple of years. Early test footage suggests it’s a little like a horseback Monster Hunter with ranged weaponry, but at this stage, it’s anyone’s guess. How it will implement ray tracing is equally nebulous.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Shown off on stage during the original Nvidia 2000-series unveiling, Shadow of the Tomb Raider might have run into a few frame rate issues on the show floor, but it proved a great example of just how pretty ray-traced lighting can be. Look for it to launch on September 14.
Editors’ Recommendations
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This is an artificial brain. This is an artificial brain on meth
What would be the first thing you’d do with an artificial brain? If you’re a researcher at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, the answer is simple: You dose it with meth.
Okay, so that may be sensationalizing some serious work, but it accurately describes research recently published in the journal Nature Biotechnology. And it’s helped reveal details about the brain never known before.
“One of the more complex parts of the brain’s structure is the vasculature that brings blood with nutrients and oxygen into the brain and takes waste products away,” Kit Parker, professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics, told Digital Trends. “The blood vessels are selectively permeable as a means of protecting the brain. The adverse effect is the difficulty with which you can get drugs into the brain through that same protective barrier. To mimic this, we built a model of the blood vessels (BBB) in the brain on two chips, and built a piece of brain on another chip. We daisy-chained the chips so that one BBB chip represented nutrients going to the brain chip, and the second BBB chip took waste products away from the brain chip.”
The meth came into play because they needed a way to test that the BBB chip was working. To prove it, they had to show that it would mimic the real neurological effects caused by the drug. “Just like in the brains of people who choose to smoke meth, the BBB chips started to leak,” Parker continued. “That’s exactly what happens when you smoke meth — and why you shouldn’t.”
Once the researchers had proven their creation worked, they used it to examine the ways that the cells on the BBB chips and brain chips communicate. This helped reveal previously unknown details about what Parker describes as a “dark web” of communication scientists haven’t previously known about. In the future, this might reveal new targets for medicinal therapeutics.
“The novelty relating to organ chips is that they enable us to carry out what is essentially a ‘synthetic biology’ approach at the cell, tissue, and organ level,” Donald Ingber, director of the Wyss Institute, told DT. “They also provide a window on molecular-scale activities inside human living cells within a physiologically relevant tissue and organ context. In this study, we could use this synthetic approach to break down a complex organ – in this case, the human brain – into individual sub-compartments of the brain microvasculature and normally tightly intertwined neuronal networks. Because we can separate out each compartment and control ‘ins and outs,’ while analyzing them with state-of-the-art analytical technologies, we were able to gain insights into how cells within these different compartments communicate with each other.”
Everything you can do with the S Pen on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
The Galaxy Note 9 has arrived with a splash: You can read our full Note 9 review for all the details, but one of the more interesting updates is the addition of Bluetooth in the phone’s S Pen.
The S Pen stylus can still do all of the note-taking, transcribing, and scribbling that you could want across a wide range of apps, but now it has a whole new suite of functions too. This promotes the S Pen to a surprisingly useful tool for an active Note 9 user, which is why we’re taking a look at everything it can do now — and why you may want to keep it close at hand.
Customize the remote function
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
The S Pen’s Bluetooth capabilities let you control the Note 9 up to 30 feet away. Out of the box, you can hold down the button on the S Pen and it will open the camera app. Tap the button once to snap a photo, and double tap it to swap to the rear or front camera. That’s pretty intuitive and may be enough for some, but you can do much more. Head to the S Pen Remote settings by going to Settings > Advanced features > S Pen > S Pen remote. Tap on Hold down Pen button to if you want to change the default app. You can set it to open your favorite app, though only a handful of apps like the camera, Google Chrome, and the Gallery app can truly make use of the extra single and double press actions.
Snapping photos at a distance
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Once you get into the camera app, the S Pen will act as a remote control for the camera. With the app open, you can simply press the button to take a photo at any time. This is great for group shots and selfies, while avoiding awkward angles. Double tap the button and you can swap between the front and rear camera. The S Pen’s button works in a variety of different modes as well — press it in AR Emojis and you can snap a photo of yourself as another character; or you can use it to start a hyperlapse, or slow-motion video.
If you want to record video, you will need to replace one of the default actions for the button, and you can do this by heading to Settings > Advanced features > S Pen > S Pen remote > App actions > Camera.
Control media playback
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
The new S Pen is very intuitive about play and stop controls. Start music or video on a service – such as YouTube – and you can pause or resume play by pressing the S Pen button at any time. This is particularly handy when you are casting a video for a group or playing music over a Bluetooth speaker…and maybe just when you’re feeling a little lazy.
Cycle through presentation slides
The S Pen button can also act as a handy presentation remote. If you are streaming the presentation from your phone, click the button to move forward, and double click it to go back. We can confirm this works with Microsoft’s PowerPoint app, and it doesn’t work with Google’s Slides.
Jot down notes with Screen-off Memos
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Need to take some quick notes? Screen-off Memo is a handy feature that lets you write on the Note 9’s always-on display without turning the screen on. When the display is off, just take out the S Pen and Screen-off Memo will turn on, so you’ll be able to write on the display right away. Tap the eraser icon to clear scribbles away; and tap the pin icon to attach notes to your Always-on Display. If you run out of space, simply swipe up to keep writing, and when you’re done tap the Save in Notes option at the top right. You can find what you’ve written or drawn in the Samsung Notes app in the App Drawer.
Create and send Live Messages
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Want to spruce up your texting game? With the S Pen, you can create Live Messages, which are animated GIFs based on whatever you write or draw. Simply tap Live Message, which will pop up as an option when you take the S Pen out of the Note 9, and start writing. You can choose different pen styles and effects, as well as color and thickness, at the top left corner. On the top right, you can choose pre-made Live Messages, or on the bottom left is a paint icon where you can select your preferred color for the background. Alternatively, tap the middle gallery icon to add a photo from your own gallery, in case you want to write over it. Finally, on the bottom right, you can add your own AR Emoji and draw over it as well. Tap the Done icon in the top right when you’re finished, and the Live Message will be saved in your gallery. You’re able to share it on any platform that accepts GIFs.
Channel your inner artist
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
One of the biggest reasons to use the S Pen is to draw, and while it may not be as comfortable as drawing on a large-screen tablet, it’s handy being able to sketch at a moment’s notice on the move. On the Note 9, the Penup app is pre-installed and it’s a great choice to sketch with, but you can always head to the Google Play Store and download any third-party app. The S Pen is pressure sensitive just like a pencil, which greatly helps when drawing.
Get handy shortcuts
Air Command
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
As soon as you take out the S Pen, Air Command will kick in. It’s a selection of up to 10 apps you can have at the ready for quick access. If the S Pen is already out of the Note 9, hover the stylus over the screen and press the button for Air Command, or just tap on the floating icon. If you want to edit the apps in Air Command or add more, head to Settings > Advanced features > S Pen > Shortcuts. You can also turn off the floating icon, or prevent Air Command from launching when you take out the S Pen in the same settings menu.
Translate text
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
If you’re reading an article and want to know the translation of a particular word, tap the Translate button in Air Command. At the top, you can choose which language you want to translate the text to, then simply hover the S Pen over the word to select it and see the translation (which is powered by Google Translate). If you tap on the translated word, you’ll be taken to the Google Translate app if you have it installed.
Activate “Bixby Vision”
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Bixby Vision is a feature you can access in the camera app, but also through Air Command. It works a little differently with the S Pen. Hover the S Pen over a part of the screen, and Bixby will allow you to scan the area for shopping results, extract text, find similar images, or scan QR codes. You can tap the floating Settings icons to disable some of those options.
Use Glance to peek at other apps
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Glance is another service available through Air Command that’s handy if you find yourself constantly switching between two apps. When you turn on Glance, it will downsize your current app into a little square at the bottom-right corner of your screen (like picture-in-picture mode). Hover over it with the S Pen, and the app will open in full-screen mode, and when you stop hovering, you will see the second app you were in. Click and drag the floating app screen to the Remove icon at the top center to turn off Glance. It’s a handy feature if you’re copying notes between two apps, or you want to look at a reference when drawing.
Get creative with screen captures
Smart Select returns to the Note series, allowing you to outline a portion of your screen (including a portion of a playing video) to create a tailored screenshot in whatever shape you want, or to create a unique GIF. You can then scribble or decorate your creation with the S Pen, and share or save it as you desire. There’s also Screen Write, which is also available through Air Command, and you can use it to capture a screenshot and scribble on it.
Magnify the screen
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Need to see something closer? Magnify in Air Command lets you magnify any part of the screen up to 300 percent when you hover the S Pen over. It’s a good way to view high-res images on your phone, or see text for sites that aren’t mobile-friendly.
Pop the S Pen back in for a recharge
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
With the added Bluetooth features, you may be a little worried about how long the slim S Pen can retain a charge. Fortunately, the S Pen comes with an excellent recharge system: Pop it back into the Note 9 and it will immediately start recharging. The time to full recharge is only 40 seconds, which will give you 30 minutes of use. You’ll have plenty of time to recharge before a presentation, even if you forget until the literal last minute.
Editors’ Recommendations
- Samsung Galaxy Note 9: Everything you need to know
- What’s the point of the Note’s S Pen? Samsung needs to find one or kill it
- Samsung Galaxy Note 9 review
- How to take a screenshot on a Galaxy S9 and other Android phones
- Common Galaxy Note 8 problems, and how to fix them
Asus Zenfone 5Z review
Research Center:
Asus Zenfone 5Z
In the age of thousand-dollar smartphones it’s nice to have more affordable options. The Asus Zenfone 5Z offers an impressive array of features and flagship specs but costs half the price of Apple’s iPhone X or Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9.
Naturally there are compromises lurking here, beyond the derivative design, but there’s enough going on to make this a compelling prospect for anyone shopping for a new smartphone. If you’re the kind of person who insists off-brand cereal tastes just as good, then the Asus Zenfone 5Z is for you.
Attractive, but derivative design
At first glance, you can easily mistake this phone for the iPhone X — that’s no accident. When the Zenfone 5 was unveiled at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, it prompted us to ask why are Android phone makers embracing the notch? They’re aping Apple’s design, but as soon as you look a little closer, you’ll see some important differences.
For starters, the notch — which carves into the 6.2-inch display — is slightly smaller. There’s also a noticeable bezel at the bottom of the screen. Flip the phone over and there’s a fingerprint sensor in the middle of the rear. The dual camera sensor sits at the top left, but the flash module is just below instead of inside it. The bottom edge is home to a USB Type-C port and a headphone jack, while the right edge houses the power button with a volume rocker above it.
If you’re not familiar with the minutiae of smartphone design, you could easily mistake the Zenfone 5Z for an iPhone X, and more than one person asked us if it was Apple’s flagship during the first week we were using it.
It’s quite a big phone, but we found it comfortable to use one-handed. The glass sandwich design is common, but it does mean falls are heart-stopping if you don’t have a case. Thankfully, Asus provides a clear case in the box with the Zenfone 5Z.
At first glance, you could easily mistake this phone for Apple’s iPhone X — that’s no accident.
With a resolution of 2,246 x 1,080 pixels and an unusual 19:9 aspect ratio, this isn’t the greatest display around, but we found it bright and readable in most circumstances. As an IPS LCD screen, it lacks the deep blacks of leading OLED screens, and colors can appear washed out at times. It’s not a bad display by any stretch of the imagination, but it can’t match the AMOLED in perhaps its closest competitor – the OnePlus 6.
We’re not big fans of the notch, but it can be hidden if you prefer. Asus is far from the only manufacturer pursuing this kind of design, and the Zenfone 5Z surprised us by drawing admiring glances and comments from people.
Asus has packed in dual speakers, which are impressively loud for a phone. The Zenfone 5Z is also Hi-Res Audio (HRA) certified, and we’re glad to see a headphone jack. Audiophiles can dig into the custom equalizer to tweak the sound if they so desire.
Silky performance
Just like nearly every other flagship Android phone released this year, the Asus Zenfone 5Z relies on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor, which is backed by an ample 6GB of RAM. This is a blazing fast smartphone as the benchmark results suggest:
- AnTuTu 3DBench: 269,332
- Geekbench 4 CPU: 2,448 single-core; 8,995 multi-core
- 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme: 3,779 (Vulkan)
Samsung’s productivity powerhouse — the Galaxy Note 9 — scored 273,992 in AnTuTu, but it costs literally double the price of the Zenfone 5Z. A closer competitor at just $30 more is the OnePlus 6, which scored 269,191 in AnTuTu. All three of these phones pack the same processor, so the comparable performance shouldn’t be a big surprise. Although impressive, the Asus Zenfone 5Z isn’t the cheapest phone we’ve used recently that offers this kind of power – the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S got very similar scores and can be imported for $400.
Asus Zenfone 5Z Compared To
Vivo Nex S
Moto Z3 Play
LG G7 ThinQ
Alcatel 1X
LG Fortune 2
Cat S61
HTC U12 Plus
Moto E5 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S9
Nokia 7 Plus
Alcatel 3V
Motorola Moto G6
Nuu G3
Huawei Mate 10 Pro
There’s a lot more to a phone than the raw power it packs. While scrolling around and jumping in and out of apps and games was generally smooth with the Zenfone 5Z — and it ran everything we tried without breaking a sweat — there were occasional hiccups that stopped it from shining.
The Zenfone 5Z had no trouble with games like Tiny Tower and PUBG: Mobile, but Shadowgun: Legends was a little choppy at times. It ran well once it got going, but we did also notice the back of the Zenfone 5Z got hot to the touch after 10 minutes of blasting aliens.
Shaky software
Our Zenfone 5Z review unit crashed during setup, which would be more understandable if it was supplied well in advance of release, but this phone is on sale now and sports the final software. We thought we might be in for some trouble, but thankfully, that was the only crash we’ve encountered so far.
It runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and the latest security patch is from June 5 this year. We have an old S7 Edge that has already been updated to the same Android version, but has a newer security patch, so we can’t help feeling a little disappointed in Asus. Maybe Android 9.0 Pie would be too much to expect, but the OnePlus 6 is running Android 8.1 and came out months before the 5Z. This doesn’t bode well for future updates, though Asus has promised the Zenfone 5Z will get Android 9.0 Pie.
You’ll find ZenUI 5.0 on top of the Android platform, and it’s fairly attractive. It has been scaled down compared to previous versions, but there are still quite a few extra apps of dubious usefulness like Mobile Manager and Selfie Master. There are also some tweaks in the settings, which look a lot like Samsung’s Experience UI with wireframe color icons over white.
Two things repeatedly annoyed us about the Asus software: Firstly, the battery icon is too close to the time at the top right of the notification bar. It may sound trivial, but it’s something you can’t unsee and it really annoyed us, especially since it’s so unnecessary.
If you’re looking for the compromises that allow this phone to cost half what the iPhone X does, then software is where you find them.
The other issue was the constant pop-ups about Page Marker. We weren’t sure what Page Marker was, and a search in the app drawer revealed no results. Turns out it’s a Chrome add-on for saving web pages to read offline, and we were able to locate it in the settings and toggle it off, but before we did there were frequent notifications about it running in the background.
Asus also offers Twin Apps, which is handy if you have more than one account for something like Facebook as it allows you to use both simultaneously. There also a BeautyLive option in case you want to apply one of those skin-smoothing, eye-widening beauty filters over your face and stream in real-time.
If you’re looking for the compromises that allow this phone to cost half what the iPhone X does, then software is where you find them. It’s little things. Sometimes the rounded notification cards would be squared off, or an overlay would pop up when it shouldn’t and conflict with what was underneath. There’s just a lack of polish and the odd visual glitches feel like a slip of the mask that reveal the cheaper phone beneath.
There is a face unlock option that uses the selfie camera to unlock the phone. It works swiftly if there’s enough light, and it’s convenient. But there were occasions it inexplicably didn’t work at all, even in good light, and Asus admits it’s not the most secure method of unlocking your phone. There is a perfectly good fingerprint sensor on the back if you don’t want to use the face unlock, so it’s not a big issue.
Accessible and capable camera
The camera has become an important battleground for high-end smartphones in recent years and it’s one of the main areas where the gap between a $1,000 phone and something half the price, like the Zenfone 5Z, can often be felt.
Asus is ticking all the boxes here with a dual-lens main camera that combines a 12-megapixel lens with an f/1.8 aperture and a wide-angle 8-megapixel lens with an f/2.2 aperture.
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The main lens features Sony’s flagship IMX363 sensor with optical image stabilization, and we know it’s capable of great things, but much depends on the tuning and software. We were pleased with the results the Zenfone 5Z camera garnered, particularly outdoors in good lighting.
Details are captured in all their glory, and the HDR really kicks in on some shots to show the complex light in the sky contrasting with glinting waves in the sea. The color correction also works well, as most shots captured the natural colors we were seeing.
We were also impressed with the low-light performance, though there’s inevitably more noise. The Zenfone 5Z is generally fast to snap a shot, but the shutter speed drops in low light to wring the best results out of your environment. It means there’s more of a pause and you must try to keep still, or you’ll get some blurring, but photos in dark environments are better than we expected.
Switching to the wide-angle lens dramatically drops the quality of your photos. It’s a nice option to have, but everything looks blurry by comparison with the main lens and it can’t cope with strong contrast between light and dark areas.
There’s also a portrait mode with a simple slider that lets you control the focal length. It’s not perfect, but if you’re keen on portrait shots with that blurred background, bokeh effect, the Zenfone 5Z delivers more often than not and it’s easy to use.
With Pro mode, you can delve into the camera capabilities and finetune everything to suit your needs, which is a nice option. Asus also says that there is artificial intelligence scene detection at work in the automatic mode behind the scenes here, but since it doesn’t show its workings, it’s hard to tell what difference it makes.
The front-facing camera is an 8-megapixel affair with an f/2.0 aperture and it’s perfectly adequate for selfies and video calls. It does also have a software-based portrait mode, but it’s not good, often blurring the wrong spots. Asus also offers ZeniMoji, which pops up during video calls or when you’re streaming. It allows you to talk as a character, like an owl or cat, but it doesn’t work anywhere near as well as Apple’s Animoji or even Samsung’s AR Emoji.
The Zenfone 5Z camera is a major step up from most mid-range phones.
The Zenfone 5Z camera is a major step up from most mid-range phones. In a shootout with the iPhone X or Huawei P20 Pro, you might see why those devices are more expensive, but this camera delivers a lot for the price and we think it will please most people.
Average battery
Asus has packed a 3,300mAh battery into the Zenfone 5Z, and it generally saw us through the day with a little left in the tank.
With normal use, which is likely quite heavy by average standards, we generally had somewhere around 20 or 30 percent left at 10 p.m. and so nightly charging was a necessity. We use scheduled Do Not Disturb and found the Zenfone 5Z only lost 4 percent overnight.
There’s no support for wireless charging, which is a bit disappointing as the glass design would accommodate it. It thankfully supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 technology, and can charge up quickly when plugged in with the provided charger — it went from zero to full in less than two hours.
Price, Availability, and Warranty information
The Asus Zenfone 5Z costs $500 and you can buy it from Amazon right now. It will work on GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile, but not on CDMA networks like Verizon or Sprint.
Asus offers a standard 12-month warranty for the Asus Zenfone 5Z which covers manufacturing defects and faults.
Our Take
The Asus Zenfone 5Z packs in a lot for the money. It’s fast and features a capable camera, but there are compromises lurking in the software.
Is there a better alternative?
Yes. The most obvious competitor for the Asus Zenfone 5Z is the OnePlus 6 which offers an OLED screen and a higher level of polish, for just $30 more. It’s a slightly better phone.
If money is tight, take a look at the Nokia 6.1 or the Moto G6, both of which can be had for less than $300. You can learn more in our best cheap phones guide. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, then take a look at the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus or the Google Pixel 2.
How long will it last?
You should be able to get two to three years out of the Zenfone 5Z if you look after it. Asus has promised it will at least be updated to Android 9.0 Pie, but we’re uncertain how long that will take and what, if any, updates it will get beyond that. The phone is wrapped in glass, so a case is necessary to ensure drop protection, and there’s no IP-rated water resistance.
Should you buy it?
Yes, but only if you have a hard limit of $500 for your next phone and you do not want to buy the OnePlus 6. The Zenfone 5Z is a good alternative.
‘Tomb Raider’ devs respond to RTX 2080 Ti, ray tracing performance concerns
The developers behind Shadow of the Tomb Raider responded to concerns about the game running poorly on Nvidia’s just-revealed GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics card with ray tracing enabled. While we were dazzled by the ray tracing support in the upcoming game during a demo showcased on Monday, August 20, the developers say it’s still a work in progress and the feature will be made available in a post-launch update.
“The Nvidia Ray Tracing technology currently being shown in Shadow of the Tomb Raider is an early work in progress version,” the developers state via Twitter. “As a result, different areas of the game have received different levels of polish while we work toward complete implementation of this new technology.”
During Nvidia’s big GeForce RTX 20 Series reveal, we viewed one specific crowded environment pulled from the game to show how ray tracing effects the way Nvidia’s hardware handles the area. The developers merely toggled the feature on and off to illustrate how ray tracing renders shadows, reflections and area illumination in real time differently than current rendering techniques.
Naturally, Nvidia and Eidos provided demos for the press to view after the presentation. The machine running the Tomb Raider demo included the just-revealed RTX 2080 TI while the game itself was only set to a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. With FRAPS running in the background, ray tracing turned on and the game set to its highest detail settings, the framerate would fluctuate between 30 and 70 frames per second. You can view an off-screen video capture of the gameplay right here.
That fluctuating framerate for a game running in Full HD apparently generated concern. After all, the RTX 2080 Ti will have a starting price of $1,000 when it arrives later this month. It packs 4,352 CUDA cores with a maximum speed of 1,545MHz and 11GB of onboard GDDR6 memory clocked at 14Gbps. The framerate should be way higher than that, right?
In this case, no. As the developer points out, there is still work that needs to be done to get the ray tracing portion running on all cylinders. Despite the underlying hardware support from the card’s dedicated RT Cores and AI-focused Tensor Cores, optimizations still need to be made on the software side, hence the demo’s current framerate.
The big selling point with Nvidia’s new RTX 20 Series cards is the real-time ray tracing aspect. Typically, this rendering process takes high amounts of computing power and long wait times to render each frame, but the resulting scene can be photo-realistic. While a single graphics card still can’t produce that level of output in real time, Nvidia provides a “cheat” that involves artificial intelligence so we’re not waiting another 10 years.
Given real-time ray tracing is new to PC gaming, it’s a work in progress. The cards aren’t available nor is the content to support their ray tracing aspect. The best way to gauge performance is to wait and see both in action when they’re actually available rather than jump to conclusions based on pre-release demos.
Editors’ Recommendations
- Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 20 Series starts at $500 and features real-time ray tracing
- What is ray tracing, and how will it change games?
- Nvidia’s Turing chip reinvents computer graphics (but not for gaming)
- Nvidia’s new GPUs look amazing, but that doesn’t mean you should buy one
- Here’s how to watch Nvidia’s GeForce event at Gamescom
