Samsung has confirmed its plans to release a Galaxy Tab S6 model with 5G in the coming months. The 5G-capable version of the hybrid tablet, which first popped up on the tech giant's Korean website on Christmas, will be available in Korea in the first quarter of 2020. It could become the world's first 5G tablet if Samsung beats rivals that are also developing similar devices, like Huawei.
The company didn't mention a release date for the rest of the world, though, and it also didn't say if the device has markedly different features and components from the original Tab S6. Since Samsung used a photo of the tablet's non-5G sibling on its Korean website, it may have a similar design and specs.
Samsung made the revelation in an announcement of its 5G phone shipment figures for 2019. It shipped more than 6.7 million Galaxy 5G smartphones around the world, and it said its devices accounted for 53.9 percent of the global market as of November 2019. The company currently has five 5G phones on offer: Galaxy S10 5G, Note10 5G, Note10+ 5G, Galaxy A90 5G and Galaxy Fold 5G.
Neil Shah, VP of Research at Counterpoint Research, said 5G smartphones only contributed 1 percent to the total global smartphone sales of 2019, but 2020 will be the breakout year for the devices. "With tremendous 5G growth opportunities on the horizon, Samsung, over the next decade, is in a great position to capitalize by further investing and building on the early lead and momentum," he added.
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Like other Galaxy Book laptops, this one will have a QLED display.
Samsung
It measures 13.9mm thick and has a similar design to the Galaxy Book Flex and the Galaxy Book Ion.
Samsung
Samsung estimates it will have a 17.5-hour battery life.
Samsung
The Galaxy Book Flex Alpha is the most affordable in the Galaxy Book lineup, starting at $829.
Samsung
The first members of Samsung's new Galaxy Book laptop family have yet to appear, but the company is already expanding the lineup. The new Galaxy Book Flex α (Alpha) is an offshoot of the Galaxy Flex, one of the three Galaxy Books announced last year, and it gives users a slightly more affordable way to pick up Samsung's newest QLED laptops.
The Flex Alpha will start at $829 when it comes out later this year, which is more affordable than the presumed price of both the Galaxy Book Flex and the Galaxy Book Ion (around $1,100 and $1,400, respectively). The 2-in-1 machine has a design that melds the Flex and the Ion, with squared-off edges and a chassis that measures 13.9mm thick.
The star of the Flex Alpha is its 600-nit, QLED display—a signature of the Galaxy Book Flex and the Ion, and arguably even more impressive on the Flex Alpha considering its price tag. QLED displays can rival OLED panels with their rich colors and deep blacks, and the panel on the Flex Alpha will likely be one of its biggest selling points.
The Galaxy Book Flex Alpha will last 17.5 hours on a single charge, and it supports fast charging for getting a decent amount of juice in a short period of time. Samsung hasn't released full specs yet, but we'll update this article with them when the company does so.
Both the Galaxy Book Flex and the Galaxy Book Ion support 10th-gen Intel processors and up to Nvidia MX250 graphics, along with perks like Wireless Powershare, a feature that lets you charge Qi-compatible devices by placing them on the laptops' trackpads. The Galaxy Book Flex Alpha probably won't have those things, as Samsung had to make some sacrifices to lower the price here.
On paper, the Galaxy Book Flex Alpha and the rest of the Galaxy Book line appear to be solid contenders in the mid-tier to premium laptop space. The Galaxy Book S was the first of the bunch to be announced last August, but we're only now getting details of its release: sometime in Q1 2020. This is the thinnest and lightest laptop of the group, and it runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx ARM processor (an Intel variant is scheduled for later this year). It's designed to be an "always-on," ultra-portable laptop with LTE connectivity, a fanless design, a promised 23-hour battery life, and improved performance over what was available on its predecessor, the Galaxy Book 2.
Samsung is clearly trying to become a more serious player in the consumer laptop space than it was with previous Galaxy Books and Notebook 9s. We're eager to give all of these laptops a spin, particularly to use their QLED displays and to see how well Samsung's battery life claims hold up.
The Galaxy Book Flex Alpha will be available in the first half of 2020 starting at $829.
A strange thing happened last year: Dell's XPS 13 2-in-1 in many ways outshined the standard XPS 13. The convertible notebook had a sleeker modern design, a larger screen aspect ratio, and even thinner screen bezels than its clamshell sibling. Now, Dell is ready to do justice to the XPS 13. The 2020 model brings over everything we saw with the 2-in-1, except the ability to fold around (naturally).
Dell says the new XPS 13's screen to body ratio is now up to 91.5 percent, even higher than HP's latest Spectre x360. That makes the 13.4-inch display even more of a star, with no distracting bezels to get in the way. Best of all, the XPS 13 loses most of the bottom display bezel that plagued the last model -- now it's almost as if the screen is directly connected to the keyboard. The taller 16:10 aspect ratio also gives you a bit more work space than a standard widescreen notebook. Just like before, you've got screen options around 1080p and 4K, except this time they're a bit taller to account for the taller size, and all of the displays support HDR and Dolby Vision.
The XPS 13's keyboard now reaches both edges of the machine, with 9 percent larger key caps and a 17 percent larger touchpad. While it looks similar to the 2-in-1's MagLev keyboard, it feels more like the last XPS 13, with a deeper scissor switch design. I got used to the shallower keys of the convertible, but I can understand why Dell would be more afraid of experimenting with its flagship notebook. As you'd expect, the XPS 13 is also powered by the latest 10th gen 10 nanometer processors -- from the lowly Core i3 to the quad-core i7-1065G7 -- and up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM. The beefier 10th gen chips also feature Intel's Iris Plus graphics, which are a huge leap forward from the integrated graphics you're used to.
Unfortunately, you won't be able to equip the new XPS 13 with Intel's six-core 10th gen chips. Dell is keeping the previous model around for users who need that extra power, but then you'll be left deciding if a few extra cores is worth living with an older design. (And in that case, you might be better off waiting for an XPS 15 revamp.)
Dell's 2020 XPS 13 (left) vs. the 2019 model (right).
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
It's not too surprising that Dell would bring over the 2-in-1's design advancements to the standard XPS 13, but it's still a compelling upgrade that makes the notebook seem a lot more modern. There's more polished metal along the sides of the machine, making it feel like a high-end home appliance. And the larger screen and keyboard streamlines the XPS 13's overall aesthetic -- now it looks like a laptop you'd expect to find in the year 2020.
Linux users won't be left in the dust the new design: they can snap up the XPS 13 developer edition, which comes with Ubuntu 18.04LTS preloaded. That machine is the 10th generation of Dell's "Project Sputnik" project, which is focused on delivering a powerful notebook aimed at developers.
The revamped XPS 13 will be available on January 7th, starting at $1,000. The developer edition will arrive later on February 4th starting at $1,200.
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And we are back. Welcome to 2020. I'm not sure how your new year goals and resolutions are going, but I'm putting off any of my efforts until CES is over. I am choosing to blame our hotel gym in Las Vegas, which is notoriously awful: a carpeted meeting room with two treadmills and a sad shelf of neoprene weights where none of them match, like a pink and green TJ Maxx shoe rack. Sure, I might not need a gym to get fitter, but I do need a nice space to make me want to workout during one of my busiest weeks of the year.
'Busy' this year looks like more expensive, cutting-edge TVs and displays from Samsung (as seen above) and LG, while other companies are also showing their hand ahead of CES 2020 -- namely a lot of audio tech. True wireless earbuds aren't going anywhere, but they might get better. And more expensive. So, let's kick off the year with something silly, high-tech and oddly desirable: a rolling TV that drops from your ceiling.
At CES 2020, LG Display will unveil the latest iteration of its rollable TV line, a 65-inch, UHD OLED display concept that rolls down from the ceiling. The company says the screen "can be pulled down when desired and rolled up when not in use," maximizing space. Sadly, the company isn't teasing the concept in any of its promotional images -- we'll just have to wait to see it in person once we're in Las Vegas for CES.
Meanwhile, Samsung is bringing its smartphone aesthetic to its TVs, promising an 8K TV with next-to-no edges. And it's even leaked early. German site 4KFilme has posted what it says are the first pictures of the 8K set, which might be called the Q900T or Q950T. If these are accurate, it's not quite a zero-bezel TV, but it's very close. The most you see is a tiny chin. It would also have a soundbar-friendly stand, but that's about all we know for now. Again, we will all have to wait for Vegas...
The Navy isn't the only American military branch clamping down on TikTok. The Army has banned the use of TikTok on government-issued phones, with Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Robin Ochoa telling Military.com that it's "considered a cyber threat." The Army started warning soldiers in mid-December, roughly at the same time the Defense Department was telling employees to delete TikTok to "circumvent any exposure of personal information."
As with the Navy ban, the Army is likely concerned that TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance could pose problems -- although there's no evidence of suspicious activity taking place. The company has been eager to fend off such claims, to the point where reports have speculated that it might sell control of TikTok to reassure nervous US officials.
2019 might have been the year that wireless earbuds made it, so what's next in 2020? For Klipsch, it's the T10 True Wireless and T5 True Wireless ANC smart earphones, which both include AI, gesture controls and active noise cancellation. For now, the details about the AI are limited. All we know is that these have "a built-in operating system with embedded artificial intelligence." The T10 are smaller than most true wireless earbuds, but that comes at a price. When they're available in fall 2020, they'll be listed at $649 -- which is mid-range smartphone table stakes. The T5 True Wireless ANC will also be available in fall 2020, but they'll cost significantly, thankfully, less: $299.
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2019 was a hell of a year for phones, but in many ways, it was just setting the stage for the top trends that will continue to dominate 2020. Devices like the rumored Galaxy S11 and Huawei P40 Pro have the chance to bring dramatic changes to an industry that was widely considered stagnant this time last year. Since then, we saw the first 5G phones that can command wildly high data speeds and foldable screens that bend in half.
Looking forward, we'll see these features beefed up and gain new tricks -- cameras with oodles of megapixels, phones with outrageously large batteries and screens that give you smoother graphics. We'll see more 5G in more phones. We'll also get some clarity over the role of foldable phones, if they have one at all beyond this fascinating period of experimentation.
Here are the most important things you have to look forward to with this year's phones.
5G becomes more mainstream in 2020
5G networks kicked off in 2019, and at least a handful of phones had to be there to support them. Most of these devices were variants of premium models, with boosted price tags and limited 5G networks to work with.
There were a few success stories. This past September, Samsung said it sold 2 million 5G phones in its home country of South Korea, and some brands worked on cheaper 5G phones like the $520 Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro. But on the whole, there was much ado about nothing, especially since the chips inside aren't terribly efficient yet and tend to chew through battery when you're actually using a 5G connection.
5G phones also have a tendency to overheat when it's hot out, with the 5G connection shutting down to keep the phone from reaching dangerous internal temperatures.
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Galaxy S11 is apparently going to be big. Very big
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Despite 2019's growing pains, 5G is still inevitable. In countries where carriers are building out their 5G networks, expect every premium phone to be either 5G-ready or have a 5G variant. For example, Samsung's Galaxy S11 could be one of the first to bring 5G to many more people.
Once 5G networks become more widespread, phones will be able to access significantly higher data speeds and more responsive service, which could mean:
Lighting-fast downloads of large files, like Netflix shows to watch offline.
Seamless video calls.
Amazing graphics on streaming real-time games and AR experiences.
A split-second advantage in responsiveness when shooters like Fortnite.
Will it fold? Phone screens that bend in half are still in question.
Angela Lang/CNET
Foldable phones get real
If 2019 was the year of seeing foldable phones come to life, then 2020 is about determining if phone screens that bend are a potential future or a gimmick destined to be forgotten like 3D displays.
Samsung, Motorola and Huawei have launched foldable phones that work, each with their own design. The Galaxy Fold gives us a book design that opens into a tablet. The even larger Mate X has one big wraparound screen around the outside of the device, which can be used three different ways. And the Motorola Razr is a small phone flips up vertically to reveal a tall, narrow display within.
Foldable phones seek to give you a larger screen in a much smaller body. In 2019, they're expensive, ranging from $1,500 for the totable Razr to over $2,000 for the Galaxy Fold and roughly $2,400 for the Mate X.
That's at least 50% more expensive up front than you'd spend on a premium superphone, like the $1,000 iPhone 11 Pro. Consider, too, that foldable phone screens are made of plastic, a more fragile material than glass. They're more prone to scratches and damage from too much direct pressure.
Mobile phone photography made deep strides in 2019, with advancements in telephoto quality and advanced image processing. For example, telephoto and/or wide-angle sensors have now become standard for high-end phones. The Huawei P30 Pro is notable for its periscope lens that achieves incredible zoom results using a combination of optical and digital zoom.
Phone brands are also using sophisticated sensors and post-processing to achieve shots that were previously only achievable on DSLR cameras. The standout was Google Pixel 4's astrophotography mode, which is capable of taking sharp photos of the starry sky, assuming you're in a dark enough place to begin with. It's astounding.
In 2020, new phone processors will be able to support up to 200-megapixel cameras, and advancements will come to telephoto and ultra-wide angle photography, particularly with more top-tier phones using 5x optical zoom. Slow-motion and high-resolution video will also get a boost, thanks to more powerful processors.
Whoa. Once you get to the right place, you *can* take astrophotography photos with @madebygoogle Pixel 4. This was in New Mexico, very cold 10°F with clear air, the Orion constellation above juniper trees lit faintly by my sister's bedroom light. 4 minutes of combined exposures. pic.twitter.com/esBSfDECb8
Screens on high-end phones will continue to be crisp, detailed and saturated with color. But also expect them to get "faster," with refresh rates of 120Hz -- the Galaxy S11 is rumored to build the feature in.
The standard refresh rate is currently 60Hz. That indicates the number of times the images on your display update per second. So, 60Hz equals 60 refreshes, and 120Hz equals 120 refreshes per second.
A faster refresh rate makes graphics look smoother, which is important for fast-paced and graphically heavy games. But It also enhances graphics for 4K video, screen animations and even scrolling through a web page or your app drawer.
The Pixel 4 has a "fast" screen... if you turn the feature on.
Angela Lang/CNET
A high refresh rate could also help improve the detail or responsiveness of AR graphics, an area that's got a lot of potential, but is mostly used in games right now, like Pokemon Go, Minecraft Earth and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
Right now, only a handful of phones have 90Hz or 120Hz screens built in, like the OnePlus 7T and Google Pixel 4. The setting is optional, because increasing the screen refresh rate by 50% (90Hz) or 100% (120Hz) takes a toll on your battery.
Fast charging will get faster
Your phone is only as good as its battery, because if it runs out of charge, or you're dashing for the nearest outlet, then your phone's no good to you.
A bigger battery that holds more charge is one solution. Fast-charging is another. The idea is that if you can't get everything you need out of your battery, you can at least give yourself most of one in as little as 30 minutes.
The iPhone 11 Pro comes with an 18-watt fast-charger in the box.
Angela Lang/CNET
For example, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus comes with a 25-watt charger that fills up your empty battery in about an hour. It also works with a 45-watt charger that fills your battery up in half the time.
So it's pretty inevitable that fast charging and battery maintenance are going to become even more of a hot topic in 2020. The fastest fast chargers will start showing up as a matter of course, and we could potentially see Samsung start including 45-watt chargers in the box for its most expensive phones.
Phone prices have been on the rise in the last several years, with new camera features and larger screen sizes used to justify the hike in cost.
Enter 5G, foldable phone designs and even more camera, battery and processor enhancements and it's clear to see that prices will only go up, at least on the high end. We'll always see more moderate pricing for midrange phones, especially those that use older technology.
Phones that are 4G-only, or which use a midrange 5G processor like the Snapdragon 765 chipset will also be able to dodge the steepest costs. But on the whole, expect 5G phones to cost more than 4G phones with the same parts. Also expect that affordable 5G phones will downshift specs in exchange for 5G support -- and they might not be all that good.
Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., speaks about the new iPhone 11.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple will start working again with British chip designer Imagination Technologies, years after dissolving its relationship with the firm.
In a short statement Thursday, Imagination Technologies announced a "new multi-year license agreement under which Apple has access to a wider range of Imagination's intellectual property in exchange for license fees."
The semiconductor company previously designed GPUs, which are graphics chips, for Apple's iPhones and iPads, but Apple decided to cut ties with the firm in 2017 to develop such processing units in-house. Whether this move was ultimately successful remains unclear.
That news sent the once-listed firm's shares tumbling as much as 71%, due to concerns it would heavily impact its future. And it did. Imagination Technologies was subsequently sold to China-backed private equity buyer Canyon Bridge Capital Partners for £550 million ($727 million).
The blow from Apple led to a public dispute as Imagination Technologies scrambled to reach an agreement with the Silicon Valley giant, once its biggest customer. It's unclear what intellectual property Apple will gain access to as a result of the new licensing deal.
Nevertheless, it's a good start to the year for Hertfordshire-based Imagination Technologies, which was once seen as one of Britain's most promising tech companies. The firm competes with another U.K. company, SoftBank-owned Arm Holdings.
Apple shares rose 86% over the course of 2019 as the company grew its services business with new offerings like TV streaming and cloud gaming. The firm is expected to release its first 5G smartphone later this year.
Bosch says it's developed production-ready LiDAR sensors for use in vehicles. It's hoping to keep costs down by making them at scale. That way, it might be able to offer them at a lower price and bolster more widespread adoption of autonomous driving systems.
LiDAR is the final piece of the sensor puzzle for Bosch's self-driving ambitions. The company said it designed the sensors for all autonomous driving use cases.
Laser-based LiDAR systems piece together a high-res, real-time 3D map of the surrounding area, which car systems can use to better understand everything happening nearby and react accordingly. The sensors work in concert with radar and cameras to help cars navigate with optimal safety.
Bosch isn't the only company working on LiDAR sensors, but it's a major supplier. If it can keep a tight lid on production costs, it could help make semi-autonomous and fully autonomous cars more affordable.
Last year, Luminar unveiled a LiDAR system that's said to cost less than $1,000 for production cars. Waymo also said last year it'd start selling LiDAR sensors, possibly for less than $5,000 each. Those are significantly cheaper than some other sensors, which have cost up to $75,000 over the last few years. It's not clear when Bosch will start selling its own sensors or how much they'll cost, but at the very least more competition should help drive down LiDAR prices.
Meanwhile, Bosch said it recently implemented artificial intelligence in its self-driving camera tech. It can detect and categorize objects and measure their movement. It can also recognize "partially obscured or crossing vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists quickly and reliably." This, Bosch suggests, should help driver assistance systems trigger a warning or enable emergency brakes more effectively if needed.
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