FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr loves the idea of government speech regulations, and he especially loves the idea that he will be the one to impose them in a future Trump administration.
Technology
The pros and cons of using a render farm
As a 3D artist, you’re likely aware of how time-consuming and resource-demanding the rendering process can be. This is where a render farm proves invaluable. A render farm is essentially a network of computers dedicated solely to rendering visual effects and 3D animations.
With render farms, artists can transform simple sketches into realistic images that incorporate shadows, textures, lighting, and intricate details. By distributing rendering tasks across hundreds of machines, rendering times are drastically reduced, making adjustments, edits, and the entire production process faster and more efficient.
In this article, we’ll explore the advantages and drawbacks of using a render farm for animation projects. Read on to learn more!
What are the advantages of using a render farm
As you can probably guess, a render farm has some obvious advantages.
Faster rendering
The primary advantage is the boost in rendering speed. Rendering alone can take up hours or even days, and during that time, your computer is often tied up, leaving you unable to use it for other tasks. Using a render farm accelerates the rendering process significantly, allowing you to devote more time to animation or design work.
Access to the latest technology
Render farms often use the latest hardware and software updates to stay competitive, which means you get access to cutting-edge technology without the need to constantly upgrade your own equipment. This can improve rendering quality and speed, as high-performance machines can handle more complex scenes and higher resolutions with ease, providing results that might be difficult to achieve on an average workstation.
Ease of Use
You can submit your projects for rendering through an application or online interface at the majority of render farms, if not all of them. This eliminates some of the trouble involved in rendering files, particularly when working locally and transferring data between computers for rendering.
Technical assistance for clients
Render farms often provide 24/7 customer service to assist with any problems or specific questions you might have about rendering times, costs, or other needs.
Enhanced quality control
With faster rendering, you gain more time to focus on design and testing. Rather than working in the dark and hoping everything aligns in the final render, you can conduct multiple test renders, allowing for quality control and experimentation.
Scalability
Render farms are built to be scalable, giving you access to more nodes to match your project’s demands.
Remote rendering
As long as you have an internet connection, you can work from anywhere and access a vast render farm remotely, offering greater flexibility.
What are the disadvantages of using a render farm?
While there are many benefits to render farms, there are also some downsides to consider.
Security
Submitting your project to a render farm means sharing intellectual property. While most render farms will sign an NDA to protect your work, bringing a third party into the process still involves some level of risk.
Software compatibility
Different production teams use various applications and plugins to create renders. This means that a render farm must support the software and plugins you’re using; otherwise, its services won’t be compatible with your project.
Limited customization
Using a render farm means working within the parameters of their setup, which can sometimes limit your customization options. If your project requires specific software configurations, unique plug-ins, or particular hardware requirements, a render farm may not be able to accommodate these fully. This can restrict the creative control and flexibility you might have when rendering locally.
Internet dependence
Render farms rely heavily on stable internet connections for uploading and downloading files. If you have a slower or inconsistent internet connection, large uploads or downloads can take significant time and may even disrupt the workflow. This dependence on connectivity can create delays, particularly for large projects or in areas with limited internet infrastructure.
Cost
Running a render farm is costly, as it requires high-end hardware on a large scale, constant power, and potentially different plugins and software. Software licenses alone can be expensive, even in bulk.
Depending on your rendering needs, setting up one or two dedicated workstations for occasional rendering might save time and money over time. However, as projects grow more complex, a render farm can still be cost-effective. Hardware and maintenance expenses can skyrocket as workstation numbers increase. In most cases, working with a professional render farm remains easier and, in some cases, less costly—unless you’re a large production company with a generous budget.
To conclude
Outsourcing rendering to a render farm can be a fantastic way for animators and designers to save both time and money. Compared to local rendering, render farms often allow you to create higher-quality work faster.
If you’re looking to streamline your rendering, Fox Renderfarm offers dependable, fast cloud rendering solutions that can help you save time and resources. Take advantage of their $25 free render coupon and see how much easier your projects can become!
Technology
The best Samsung phones in 2024: our 8 favorite Galaxy handsets
Samsung is one of the most recognizable names in modern smartphones. It has a well-deserved reputation for offering an expansive lineup of great phones with something for just about everyone. This means if you’re looking for an Android phone, you’ll easily find a Samsung model that’s worth considering based on your needs and budget. In fact, the number of choices can be a bit overwhelming, but the good news is that we’ve explored the entire range and highlighted the best Samsung smartphones you can buy in 2024.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus gets the nod for the best overall Samsung phone, and while it’s odd it’s not the ultra-premium S24 Ultra that takes the prize, that’s because Samsung has outdone itself this time around with the Plus model. The big phone has the same power, display, and Galaxy AI features as its larger sibling, with only a few small downsides that are easily balanced out by the $300 price difference. But if this year’s Plus doesn’t tickle your fancy, we have so many other great Samsung smartphones that one is sure to be perfect for you.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus
The best Samsung phone overall
Pros
- The flat sides are wonderful
- New QHD+ screen looks fantastic
- Runs fast and cool
- One UI 6.1 is really nice
- Seven years of updates
- Phenomenal battery life
- It’s a surprisingly good value
Cons
- Camera struggles with moving objects
- Galaxy AI features are hit-or-miss
Why you should buy this: It’s a surprise contender for the best phone of the year.
Who it’s for: Anyone who wants the best Samsung phone around, pound-for-pound.
Why we picked the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus:
So, this was definitely a surprise. We were all set to crown the Galaxy S24 Ultra as this year’s best Samsung phone, but then the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus came steaming into our lives. While you may expect the Plus entry to be the awkward middle child, 2024’s S24 Plus is simply one of the best phones you can buy, with a sublime design, powerful processor, phenomenal battery life, and gorgeous display.
Samsung has made some big tweaks to last year’s already great formula, and that’s the root of this year’s success. The most obvious changes are those made to the phone’s design. The S24 Plus’ flat sides have made the phone more comfortable to hold, added grip, and don’t pick up fingerprints. Samsung has also upgraded the phone’s display, and the 120Hz dynamic refresh rate now goes down to 1Hz, boosting battery life. It’s also brighter than before, and is capable of going up to 2,600 nits. The resolution has been upgraded too, going up to 1440p now.
Performance is as great as ever, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Qualcomm’s flagship CPUs are as fast as ever, and are even a noticeable improvement over last year’s chip, giving the S24 Plus stupendously fast processing speeds. It doesn’t get hot, even when running punishing games like CoD: Mobile, and it’s also partly responsible for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus’ incredible battery life.
We’re used to flagship phones lasting about a day on a full charge, but the S24 Plus blows straight past it. After a demanding day with over four hours of screen time, the S24 Plus went to bed with 38% still in the tank. A more reasonable day saw it advance pretty happily into the second day, even with almost three hours of screen time. Pair this lengthy battery life with 45W fast charging, and you’ve got a phone that won’t spend a lot of time on the charger.
The big new addition this year is Galaxy AI, and while these features are interesting, they’re certainly not a reason to buy into the newest generation of Galaxy flagships. Many of them mirror similar AI-powered features on the Google Pixel 8 Pro, like the Magic Editor-like Generative Edit, and the Live Translate function. The message suggestions are just hilariously bad, with the offered changes coming out somewhere between an awkward robot and a flirty Mr Darcy.
The camera is one of the weakest parts of the phone, which is a big compliment to the phone as a whole, as it’s still very good. A 50-megapixel main camera joins a 12MP wide-angle camera and a 10MP telephoto with a 3x optical zoom, and it’s a great combination. Samsung seems to have tamed its saturation filters, so stills come out very well. But “stills” has never been more literal a description, as the camera really struggles with even the smallest amount of movement.
That fairly common issue being the most serious negative to a phone tells you everything you need to know: The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus really is an excellent piece of technology, and the best overall Samsung smartphone. With prices starting from $1,000, it’s not as bank-breaking as the S24 Ultra, but offers the same level of high performance, and close to the same level of premium features.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus
The best Samsung phone overall
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
The best premium Samsung phone
Pros
- High performance processor
- Improved telephoto cameras
- Flatter screen aids S Pen use
- Battery will last two days
- Long software support
- Durable build and materials
- Circle to Search by Google
Cons
- Unfortunate price increase
- Speakers easily covered up
- Chat Assist is almost unusable
- Charging speeds are only average
Why you should buy this: It’s the pinnacle of Samsung’s smartphone creation.
Who it’s for: Someone who wants the most impressive Samsung smartphone, regardless of cost.
Why we picked the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra:
The S24 Plus may top this list, but there’s no way we’re going to leave the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra out. The Ultra is something of a testing ground for new features, and that makes the Ultra the biggest and most technologically advanced smartphone Samsung offers — even if that means it comes at a high price.
Like the Plus above, the S24 Ultra has had a few small design tweaks, but it’s still largely the same phone as last year. The Armor Aluminum frame has been replaced with titanium, and the sides and screen have been flattened slightly, making it easier to handle and use the S Pen on. It’s still a beast of a device, though — a real pocket-stretcher that you’ll need hefty forearms to use for a long period of time.
The screen’s peak brightness is now set at 2,600 nits, making it exceptionally bright. Not that the 6.8-inch display is hard to see, as the Dynamic AMOLED 2X tech means it’s bright and vivid, with some of the deepest inky blacks you can find on a smartphone. A 1440p resolution is available (though you have to change to it manually), and the dynamic refresh rate means your experience is buttery smooth when it needs to be, but not when it doesn’t. As with the S24 Plus above, performance is extremely swift thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It’s joined by 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage as standard.
The camera system seems to have had a downgrade this year, dropping from a 10x optical zoom to 5x, but it’s actually better because of the change. Since a 5x zoom is actually a zoom level most people use, it’s a much better inclusion on the whole. The entire system comprises a 200MP main camera, a 12MP wide-angle camera, 10MP telephoto camera with a 3x optical zoom, and the aforementioned 50MP telephoto lens with a 5x zoom. It’s as excellent a camera system as you’d expect. Galaxy AI is here too, and it’s about as useful as it is in the S24 Plus — i.e., don’t expect too much of it.
There’s a 5,000mAh battery inside the massive frame, and it’s extremely long-lasting. During our time with it, it would regularly achieve five hours of screen time, and end the day with 50% remaining. You’ll have to use it for around a week for the phone to adapt to your usage, but once it has, it’ll deliver some excellent power efficiency. Charging times are good, with 45W fast charging available. It’s not the fastest charging available, but it’s also far from the slowest.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is the most expensive phone in Samsung’s S-range lineup, but it’s also the most premium one you’ll find outside of foldable phones. As such, it has a price tag to match. The Galaxy S24 Ultra will set you back $1,300, and that’s before you expand your storage at all. On the plus side, you get an S Pen, which is kept inside the phone, but it’s still an expensive phone to buy. But if you want the best, this is it.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
The best premium Samsung phone
Samsung Galaxy S24
The best small Samsung phone
Pros
- Small and compact design
- The flat edges are great
- Beautiful and bright display
- Long lasting battery life
- Powerful performance
- Improved color balance in photos
- Useful Galaxy AI features
Cons
- Matte glass feels slippery
- No big camera upgrades
- Only 25W wired charging
Why you should buy this: It’s everything amazing about Samsung’s phones, but smaller.
Who it’s for: Someone who wants a more compact smartphone, but doesn’t want to compromise on performance.
Why we picked the Samsung Galaxy S24:
We can keep this one a little briefer than the other entries because a lot of what makes the Samsung Galaxy S24 great is also what makes the S24 Plus great. Well, except for one thing, of course — and that’s that the S24 is downright svelte when compared to its siblings.
It benefits from the same flat sides as the S24 Plus, with the added bonus that the body itself is even smaller, so even easier to handle. The 6.2-inch display uses LTPO tech in the Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, meaning it should be more power efficient than ever before, especially with an always-on display. Unlike the other entries in the range, though, it tops out at a 1080p resolution. However, it still has a 1-120Hz dynamic refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,600 nits, so it’s easy enough to forgive the lower resolution.
It has the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 you’ll find in the two larger phones, so performance is just as good, and it also contains the new Galaxy AI. Once again, try these out, play with them a little bit, but don’t expect them to transform your smartphone experience forever. It’s just not there yet.
The camera system uses the same three lenses as the S24 Plus, and a lot of our criticisms of that phone apply to this one, too, with the additional downside that low-light photos can be a little bit underwhelming. But, still photographs look great, and Samsung has fixed its oversaturation problem, meaning photos no longer have an over-the-top color pop that’s just not realistic.
Charging speeds are lower than the S24 Plus and S24 Ultra, though, being limited to 25W. Thankfully, the battery is similarly good, with a solid day’s use from one charge.
Ultimately, a lot about this phone is very similar to the S24 Plus, with the exception of the size and the price. It’s the Samsung flagship to grab if a compact phone is a must, as the small size really doesn’t mean compromises have been made. Rather, it’s just as powerful, good-looking, and technically impressive as its larger siblings, and it’s a steal at $800.
Samsung Galaxy S24
The best small Samsung phone
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
The best foldable Samsung phone
Pros
- Fantastic folding design
- Refined size and weight
- IP48 water and dust resistance
- Two colorful, usable screens
- Main camera takes fun, vibrant photos
- Long software commitment
Cons
- Slow battery charging
- One-day battery life
- More expensive than last year
Why you should buy this: The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a productivity buff’s dream, with its dual display, up to 1TB of storage, and robust, yet light Armor Aluminum frame.
Who it’s for: Anybody who wants a productivity punch and top-notch specs bundled into a foldable format.
Why we picked the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6:
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the best Samsung phone for productivity, with a foldable form factor and dual screens. Its front display measures 6.3 inches, just slightly larger than the Z Fold 5. Once you open it up, you get the full 7.6-inch main display with the series’ most seamless crease yet. Both screens reach up to a 120Hz refresh rate, too. You almost forget you’re using a smartphone instead of a mini tablet.
The Armor Aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the cover screen and back enhance durability while maintaining a sleek, comfortable hold. The IP48 rating also adds an additional layer of protection from dust and water. You can also add a special case for the S Pen, which you need to buy separately, but works wonderfully if you want to use the Z Fold 6 as a notepad.
The Z Fold 6 upgrades its processor to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which provides a light performance boost and powers Samsung’s Galaxy AI. Many of its specs like its 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage transfer over from the past generation. Meanwhile, AI now assists with tasks from translations to note-taking and shows up as generative AI in the camera and photo-editing apps. Speaking of which, the Z Fold 6 features the same 50MP main camera, a 12MP wide-angle lens, 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and 4MP Under Display Camera as its predecessor. It’s not a camera system that’ll dethrone the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s, but it’s still very, very good.
The Z Fold 6’s productivity is a double-edged sword. While it can juggle demanding tasks and seamlessly process them on a bright, foldable screen, those processes take a toll on its 4,400mAh battery. Two and a half hours of everyday usage already saps the energy down to 50%, even without playing games. It isn’t much of a problem, though, if you have portable batteries or alternative ways to charge while you’re outside of the house. It supports 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, but no charger in the box.
Samsung is set to support the Z Fold 6 with at least seven years of Android OS and security updates. The device runs on Android 14 OS with Samsung’s One UI 6.1.1, including the improved Taskbar that now displays up to four recent apps instead of two. The Taskbar is particularly useful for multitasking on the Z Fold 6, allowing users to drag apps onto the main screen. You can use up to three apps on the unfolded screen and add a fourth app as a floating window. You can also easily alter the shape and size of each app window and activate multitasking.
If you already have the Z Fold 5, it’s hard to recommend upgrading to a phone that’s almost the same. However, if you’re new to the foldable phone world, it offers plenty of pros as a smartphone that can basically double as a tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
The best foldable Samsung phone
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6
The best Samsung flip phone
Pros
- Top-notch hardware
- IP48 dust and water resistance
- Very good inner display
- Fast, snappy performance
- New 50MP camera is great
- Seven years of updates
Cons
- Bad cover screen
- Slow charge speeds
- Frustrating price increase
- Extremely similar to the Flip 5
Why you should buy this: If you can afford a folding phone that costs over $1,000 right now, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is the one you should buy.
Who it’s for: Those who simply must have the latest and most popular foldable.
Why we picked the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6:
There are several reasons why tech enthusiasts are buzzing about Samsung’s latest folding phone, the Galaxy Z Flip 6. For starters, it boasts an improved camera, a sturdier hinge construction, a newer and faster processor, and extended software support. On top of that, it features an overall sleek and elegant build that’s sure to turn heads. The Z Flip 6 offers a diverse palette of colors, including yellow, mint, blue, gray, peach, white, and “crafted black” — a black, textured colorway that makes monotone cool again.
When you flip the phone open, you’ll see the 6.7-inch AMOLED 2X display and its bright, pixel-perfect 2640 x 1080 screen. Its 2,600 nits of brightness can outshine daytime glare and the 120Hz refresh rate with VRR seamlessly plays videos and games. The cover screen is a 3.4-inch Super AMOLED that’s much more useful than previous models — it even allows you to run full Android apps. It almost makes up for the fact that its sluggish 60Hz refresh rate and fuzzy 720×748 resolution demystify the magic a bit.
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 upgrades to the Snapdragon Gen 3, the new standard in Samsung phones. However, that’s not the biggest improvement in this model. The Z Flip 6 ramps up the RAM to 12GB (the Galaxy Z Flip 5 had 8GB) and offers up 512GB of storage. Finally, it has the same amount of processing power as its larger foldable cousin, the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It also boasts the privilege of being the first Z Flip phone with a vapor chamber 50% larger than that in the S23 Ultra. As a result, it’s cool to touch, even under stress.
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 has a 4,000mAh battery, which is technically more than the Z Flip 5 but still isn’t enough to call it a two-day flip phone. If you’re fine with charging overnight, you’ll have more than enough juice to make it through an early morning to a late evening. It offers multiple charging options, including 25W wired charging, 15W wireless (including MagSafe), and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. It’s serviceable, but still the same as the Z Flip 5.
The 12MP ultrawide camera with a 123-degree field of view and 10 MP selfie camera on the Z Flip 6 match the specs on its predecessor. However, it does make a significant jump to its 50MP main camera from the 12MP on the Z Flip 5. It’s the same camera used in Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus phones, hailed as some of today’s best camera phones.
Other than that, it’s basically identical to last year’s model. To Samsung’s credit, the Z Flip 6 does feature upgrades to its cameras. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s improved image signal processor provides better color reproduction, while the main and ultrawide cameras have a new “clear lens coating” to prevent lens flares. Its Android 14 OS and Samsung’s One UI 6.1.1 support are a strong start to its seven years of updates.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6
The best Samsung flip phone
Samsung Galaxy A35
The best value Samsung phone
Pros
- Light and comfortable to hold
- IP67 rating makes it durable
- Main camera takes fun photos
- Long software update commitment
Cons
- Battery doesn’t last two days
- No wireless or fast charging
Why you should buy this: It costs significantly less than the Galaxy S24 while still delivering a lovely display, decent cameras, and good performance.
Who it’s for: Anybody who wants a dependable smartphone for under $500.
Why we picked the Samsung Galaxy A35:
Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series is outstanding, as are its folding phones. But the truth is that a lot of people can’t afford those expensive handsets — and that’s why the Galaxy A35 is so important. You get many of the same features found on Samsung’s more expensive phones at a fraction of the price.
For starters, the Galaxy A35 still looks like its pricier Galaxy counterparts, even though its frame is made from plastic instead of aluminum. It only weighs 209g and measures 8.2mm thick, so it’s light and comfortable to hold and thin enough to slip into the average pocket. The IP67 rating also safeguards it from dust and water, though you shouldn’t take it for a dip at the pool anytime soon. It still features Gorilla Glass Victus over the front, but it has regular glass on the rear. I wouldn’t drop the phone on purpose to test the difference, but at least one side still benefits from the higher-quality material.
The Galaxy A35 sports a slightly larger screen than its predecessor, the Galaxy A34. The 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display delivers crisp text and strong, vibrant colors and reaches up to 1,000 nits of brightness with 2340×1080 resolution. Even more impressive is the 120Hz refresh rate that enables everything to feel fast and smooth. It’s mostly thanks to the Exynos 1380 processor and 8GB of RAM. The Galaxy A35 isn’t the fastest phone you’ll ever use, but it’s more than capable for anything you’d want to throw at it.
Despite the price, the Galaxy A35 also features a respectable 5,000mAh battery. One 30-minute YouTube video eats about 6% of battery life. Based on that, the battery can last over eight hours with just everyday use. It supports the USB Power Delivery 3.0 standard of 25W wired charging, which can take it from “flat to full” in 1 hour and 25 minutes or up to 50% in 40 minutes. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support wireless charging or fast charging.
What about the cameras? Well, the 50MP main camera isn’t the best we’ve ever seen, but for quick and casual photography, it gets the job done. It also tends to produce very bright and overly saturated photos, more so than its S24 cousins. It also has an 8MP wide-angle camera and fixed focus 5MP macro camera on the back, and a 13MP selfie camera is on the front. These cameras don’t take nearly as detailed photos as the main one, but they still take respectable photos when used with their strengths in mind. As a plus, the editing suite in the Gallery app is easy to use.
Does that mean pictures look lifelike and 1:1 accurate to the real world? Not exactly. But if you prefer your photos to have a real punch to them, the Galaxy A35 certainly delivers.
If you have more money to burn, a phone like the Galaxy S24 or Galaxy S24 Plus is going to deliver a better experience in every department. However, if $400 is the most you can spend, you’ll find very little to be disappointed about with the Galaxy A35.
Samsung Galaxy A35
The best value Samsung phone
Samsung Galaxy A14 5G
The best cheap Samsung phone
Pros
- Only $200
- Large display with a 90Hz refresh rate
- 5,000mAh battery
- 50MP rear camera, 13MP selfie camera
- Respectable performance
- Unique, textured back
Cons
- Secondary cameras aren’t impressive
- No water or dust resistance
- Fast charging up to 15W only
Why you should buy this: It has no business being this good when it costs just $200.
Who it’s for: Anyone looking for a Samsung phone that doesn’t break the bank but still performs very well.
Why we picked the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G:
The $200 phone market is usually where you’ll find phones full of compromises. A low price often means harsh cost-cutting, and as a result, you’re unlikely to find something that can be described as “good”. That’s not the case with the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G, which is a true diamond in the rough.
You’ll struggle to define the A14 as a stunner, but it’s not a bad-looking smartphone. The body is made from plastic, but it has a unique texture that feels good and adds grip, something glass-bodied phones can struggle with. The display is worth pausing over, though. It’s a 6.6-inch LCD with a 1080p resolution, which isn’t bad by itself — but the inclusion of a 120Hz refresh rate definitely pushes this phone into a higher grade. There isn’t any water resistance, but hey, you can’t have everything, especially at this price.
It’s modestly powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor, the same chip from the A13. We found it stuttered a little during use, which reduced the smoothness of the 120Hz refresh rate, and it was sometimes sluggish to open apps, so make sure to clear out those running apps once in a while to keep it speedy. Storage starts from 64GB, which is relatively low these days, but there’s the option to use a microSD card to expand that by 1TB. It comes with Android 13, and Samsung has committed to two major Android updates and four years of security updates — a strong promise for a budget smartphone.
The main camera is impressive for a $200 smartphone. The main lens has a 50MP sensor, and it consistently took good, crisp images that are more than good enough for social media. Surprisingly for a cheap phone, it even takes clear night mode shots too. The second lens, a 2MP depth sensor, is there to assist the main camera in portrait shots, so it’s really technically a dual-lens system. Unfortunately, the third lens, a 2MP macro lens, continues the strong tradition of macro lenses being a bit rubbish, and it’s not one to rely on at all. Stick with the 50MP main lens instead, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised by how good your shots are for a $200 smartphone.
The A14 has a 5,000mAh battery, and it’s capable of going for two days on a single charge. That’s helpful, as the charging rate is limited to 15W, so you’ll be wanting to leave it for a little while when charging. There’s no wireless charging, which makes sense on a phone this cheap.
The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G is available now, with prices starting from $200. As always, keep an eye on the sales, and you could snag this excellent phone for even cheaper. It’s available on all major U.S. carriers, though the U.S. only gets the rather boring plain black color.
Samsung Galaxy A14 5G
The best cheap Samsung phone
Technology
Global Xiaomi 14 units are now getting Android 15
Android 15 has started rolling out to global Xiaomi 14 smartphones. Do note that the rollout has started for the regular Xiaomi 14, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra will have to wait its turn. Chances are the rollout will start very soon, though.
The global Xiaomi 14 units have started receiving Android 15
What’s interesting is that this update is based on HyperOS 1.1, not HyperOS 2.0, as was expected. HyperOS 2.0 does come with Android 15 in China, with the Xiaomi 15 and Xiaomi 15 Pro, and it’s also rolling out to the Xiaomi 14 phones. So we expected the same to happen with the global Xiaomi 14, but it seems like that’s planned for the future.
In any case, there are two builds that were spotted. The OS1.1.4.0.VNCEUXM build is for the European phones, while the OS1.1.3.0.VNCMIXM build is for other global markets.
This update is not earth-shattering in terms of changes, well, at least on Xiaomi’s side of things. You’re still getting all the underlaying changes that Google delivered with Android 15, the most important ones.
Here’s the changelog
In regards to HyperOS, however, let’s see what’s new. Xiaomi fixed some issues with the home screen. Some folder icons were not displayed properly, at times, so that should not be the case any longer.
The home screen layout was leaving a lot of space at the top of the screen at times, that should no longer happen either. The home screen also tended to crash under certain scenarios, but Xiaomi fixed that too with this update.
Xiaomi also fixed the lock screen flickering when adjusting always-on display settings. The app card also tended to start shaking when the order of cards was changed, it will not do that anymore.
There was also an issue with screenshots, they tended to come out black for some apps. That’s also something that was fixed with this Android 15-based HyperOS 1.1 update.
Do note that the update is rolling out to the Xiaomi 14, but the rollout is staged. So it may take a while for you to get it.
Technology
Proton’s VPN app now works natively on Windows ARM devices
Proton’s latest VPN app will be among the first to work natively on Windows ARM PCs, the company announced. The new app was built in collaboration with Microsoft by the same team that developed the encrypted Proton Mail service and promises “best in class security and privacy” on Windows ARM devices, according to Proton.
The ARM app offers the same functionality as the x86 version and natively supports Proton VPN’s core security and privacy features. Normally, native support means it should also load and run a bit quicker than x86 apps running on Windows 11’s emulator, but improved security is the main selling point.
As for its claim to be among the first native Windows ARM VPN apps, rival Surfshark launched such an app in August and NordVPN recently said that it’s planning to release an ARM-native app “this autumn.”
Proton also revealed its upcoming winter 2024 roadmap, promising new apps for iOS and iPadOS. Those will include commonly requested features like sorting servers by load, selecting a server based on its city, hiding free servers and more. Proton also promised IPv6 support in more apps, port forwarding on macOS and Linux plus guest modes for iOS and iPadOS.
Proton’s app topped our best VPN services list for 2024, thanks to its overall security, usability and privacy features. It also offers a no-logs policy, an open-source framework and an official vulnerability disclosure program. There’s a free version (with access limited to servers in three countries) or a paid version starting at 4.99 euros ($5.44) per month. Proton recently released an Apple TV app that allow customers with a paid plan to stream their media content from any location on Apple’s set-top box.
Technology
Incredibuild acquires Garden to accelerate game development
Incredibuild has acquired Garden to bolster its acceleration capabilities for the entire DevOps lifecycle for game devs and other software makers.
Incredibuild said the integration of Garden’s CI/CD Pipeline (continuous integration/continuous development) acceleration capabilities positions it as the leader in end-to-end acceleration solutions for software development. (In this case, Garden is the software tool maker, not the game studio, which is a different company).
Incredibuild provides acceleration technology for software development, helping game developers and others get their products out the door faster.
Garden is a pioneer in DevOps pipeline acceleration solutions. The integration of Garden’s technology into Incredibuild’s platform will provide customers with seamless, swift, automated software delivery, from development to production.
Garden’s technology accelerates CI workflows managed by DevOps teams — making Dev and CI pipelines faster, easier, and smarter. With features like stack graph, caching, production-like environments and easy onboarding, Garden empowers DevOps teams to quickly develop cloud-native applications and deliver software more efficiently.
Garden’s advanced CI acceleration capabilities complement Incredibuild‘s comprehensive C++ and shader compilation acceleration, together providing an end-to-end software acceleration platform for myriad industries including gaming, automotive, FinServ, healthcare, manufacturing and beyond.
Combining approaches
Both Garden and Incredibuild provide tools to help companies build and release software faster. Garden specializes in cloud-native applications, especially for companies using Kubernetes; while Incredibuild is widely used in areas like gaming and financial modeling to speed up complex processes like compiling code.
By combining these two technologies, companies across industries can speed up their entire development cycle — from writing code to launching the final product – allowing teams to work more quickly and bring products to market faster. In our fast-moving, software-focused world, we are fulfilling the most pressing need for an extremely wide range of companies.
The intended customer base includes any company developing software with containers and Kubernetes looking to accelerate its development process – in short, an extremely wide range of companies from a wide range of industries.
“The acquisition of Garden advances our goal of taking the pain out of long development cycles – particularly at build-time,” said Tami Mazel Shachar, CEO of Incredibuild, in a statement. “Customers have long complained that CI pipelines are slow, complicated, and hard to manage, so we are excited to now accelerate the entire CI process. Garden’s expertise streamlining CI pipelines and environments aligns perfectly with our mission: Accelerating every aspect of software development.”
Origins
Founded in 2018, Garden is known for its powerful open-source tools that empower developers to speed up CI pipelines, increasing deployment frequency and shortening development cycles.
By joining with Incredibuild, Garden will bring its offering to a broader audience and enhance Incredibuild’s ability to accelerate the entire software development lifecycle.
“What excites me most is our shared passion for making devs faster, and how together, we provide a complete suite of tools to help developers worldwide,” said Jon Edvald, CEO of Garden, in a statement. “Incredibuild’s acceleration technology, combined with our unique approach to CI and DevOps, means we’re embarking on a relentless mission to accelerate pipelines in every way, including changing developers’ interactions with automation across the development cycle. We have two extremely powerful products, and united, the whole is even greater than the sum of its parts.”
This acquisition is part of Incredibuild’s initiative to expand its singular product portfolio, providing developers with the most comprehensive and powerful set of tools for accelerating development processes.
Incredibuild’s platform of distributed and cached build acceleration, build observability tools, and build orchestration software means developer teams spend less time waiting for builds and platform engineers and DevOps orgs help organizations cut costs and compute times on-prem and in the cloud – without changing code, tools, or processes.
Incredibuild has been innovating and helping companies speed up the development process and save money for over 20 years – including dozens of Fortune 500 companies including some of the biggest names in technology, games, and banking.
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Technology
Here’s FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr sucking up to Donald Trump by threatening to take NBC off the air
That’s the short version.
Here’s the slightly longer, dumber version: Kamala Harris made a cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live over the weekend, triggering an FCC broadcast TV policy known as the “equal time rule”. NBC, no stranger to FCC rules, did the legally required thing and offered Trump his own appearance on the network later in the weekend. Everything should be settled… but here’s Carr, calling for the government to punish NBC.
Seriously! Here’s Carr appearing on Fox Business this morning, threatening to revoke NBC’s broadcast license in retribution for speech he doesn’t like:
“We need to keep every single remedy on the table,” Carr said to host Maria Bartiromo when asked how the government should handle Harris’ SNL spot. “One of the remedies ultimately would be license revocation if we find that it’s egregious, and we’ll see what they have to say about this. But it needs to deter this type of conduct, because when you’re 50 hours before the opening of election day, the whole purpose of this rule is to give people a fair shot.”
The equal time rule, which Carr is referencing, says broadcasters using the public airwaves have to provide legally qualified candidates for office “comparable time and placement to opposing candidates.” It is a pretty archaic rule — it was formulated back when people got their most of their content over the air using TV and radio antennas, which gave those networks a huge amount of power over what voters might have seen and heard. This historical media dominance is how the government justified imposing speech regulations like the equal time rule on broadcasters over the obvious First Amendment issues.
FCC commissioners aren’t supposed to run around threatening to punish broadcasters for their speech
The way the equal time rule generally works is that big broadcasters like NBC tell the campaigns that a candidate is appearing on air, and the campaigns are allowed to request equal time. Notably, the FCC says the equal time rule “does not require a station to provide opposing candidates with programs identical to the initiating candidate,” so there’s a lot of ways to satisfy the rule. If the campaigns think this process isn’t being followed, they can complain to the FCC, but the government isn’t meant to sit in the middle negotiating all this, and FCC commissioners certainly aren’t supposed to run around threatening to punish broadcasters for their speech just because they want to.
I will disclose here that NBCUniversal is an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company, but Trump has threatened ABC and CBS with similar FCC penalties and filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, so the specific network isn’t really an issue here. In fact, we just did an entire Decoder episode about the increasing number of threats against broadcast TV networks from Trump and the GOP because it’s getting so weird.
“No program is more familiar with the equal time rule than SNL.”
Here, the system worked exactly as designed. Harris appeared on SNL, NBC told the Trump campaign, and then Trump appeared in a short video broadcast during a NASCAR race on NBC and again during Sunday Night Football, satisfying the equal time rule. “No program is more familiar with the equal time rule than SNL,” an FCC source intimately familiar with this process tells me, noting that John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and other candidates have appeared on the show during presidential campaigns without similar eruptions.
The funniest thing about all these Trump threats to revoke licenses is that the days of broadcast TV dominance are obviously long gone. They were already gone 20 years ago, when Republican FCC Chair Michael Powell started arguing that consumers don’t make a distinction between regulated broadcast channels and unregulated cable channels and TV networks should all just compete for audience free of government interference.
Here in 2024, broadcast viewership is at all-time lows and there are more ways than ever for candidates to reach voters, making speech regulations like the equal time rule even more irrelevant. Trump can call into Fox News whenever he wants, and when they cut him off he can just call into the next conservative cable news network that will take him. Trump also owns a social network! His pal Elon Musk also famously owns a social network! Trump’s rallies are all livestreamed on multiple platforms, and he’s recently appeared on as many interchangeable bro podcasts as is possible, including the ur-bro podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, which is among the most popular podcasts in the world. No one needs the government messing with speech to ensure access to Donald Trump.
No one needs the government messing with speech to ensure access to Donald Trump
So why this particular tempest in a teapot now? Well, Brendan Carr really wants to be chair of the FCC in a second Trump administration, and saying he will punish companies for their speech on cable news is the best way to get Trump’s attention. We wrote an entire profile of Carr in 2020, when he was making the same censorious noises in favor of a particularly bad Trump executive order imposing moderation rules on social platforms — an order that Carr’s fellow FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel warned would turn the agency into “the President’s speech police,” and which faced immediate First Amendment lawsuits before President Biden rescinded it.
That all happened the last time Trump was in office, when he was still hemmed in by a functional legal system and a staff of career bureaucrats with a basic understanding of American democracy. It’ll be worse the next time — and Brendan Carr will be there to punish you for speaking your mind about it.
Technology
Sony confirms more than 50 games will be PS5 Pro enhanced at launch
- More than 50 games are to receive PS5 Pro enhancement patches on launch day
- Titles include Alan Wake 2, Demon’s Souls, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- PS5 Pro launches this week on November 7
With PS5 Pro arriving in just a couple of days, you might be curious to know exactly which games you can expect to receive PS5 Pro enhancement patches especially if you’ve put down a PS5 Pro pre-order of your own.
Thankfully, Sony has you covered with an official PlayStation Blog post which confirms more than 50 PS5 games are set to receive PS5 Pro enhancement patches when the mid-gen console launches on November 7.
These enhancement patches will typically allow for better performance and image quality overall, offering framerates of 60fps – 120fps with no compromise to resolution as we often see on the base PS5 console. PS5 Pro will also make use of PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (or PSSR) – a dynamic resolution solution like Nvidia‘s DLSS that helps to keep images and performance crisp and smooth during gameplay.
Sony has already prepared bite-sized showcase videos for some of its games including Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart PS5 Pro trailer as well as one for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. The full list of PS5 Pro enhanced games arriving on day one can be viewed at the PlayStation Blog post above, but we’ve also included it here below for your convenience.
- Alan Wake 2
- Albatroz
- Apex Legends
- Assassin’s Creed Mirage
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- EA Sports College Football 25
- Dead Island 2
- Demon’s Souls
- Diablo 4
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Dragon’s Dogma 2
- Dying Light 2 Reloaded Edition
- EA Sports FC 25
- Enlisted
- F1 24
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
- Fortnite
- God of War Ragnarok
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
- Kayak VR: Mirage
- Lies of P
- Lords of the Fallen
- Madden NFL 25
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Naraka: Bladepoint
- NBA 2K25
- No Man’s Sky
- Palworld
- Paladin’s Passage
- Planet Coaster 2
- Professional Spirits Baseball 2024-2025
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil 4
- Resident Evil Village
- Rise of the Ronin
- Rogue Flight
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Stellar Blade
- Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown
- The Callisto Protocol
- The Crew Motorfest
- The Finals
- The First Descendant
- The Last of Us Part 1
- The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered
- Until Dawn
- War Thunder
- Warframe
- World of Warships: Legends
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