... But the S21 Ultra is an absolute knockout |
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Welcome to Decrypted, Digital Trends' daily newsletter guiding you through the latest news in the world of tech, with insights from our senior writers. |
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When Samsung introduced the Galaxy S21, it made an incredibly rare move in the high-end smartphone space: It lowered its prices. The Galaxy S21 series — across the board — debuts for $200 less than the launch prices of the Galaxy S20 phones. Faced with the reality that Galaxy S20 sales were markedly lower than that of both the S9 and S10, and that 2021 may not end up being as economically stable as originally hoped, this seems like the right move.
But Samsung isn't making this move out of charity — it's choosing to lower the price to hopefully boost sales, and will make plenty of money on each phone sold regardless. The reality of these prices is that the Galaxy S21 and S21+ aren't full upgrades over the S20 series phones they replace — and that has smartphone enthusiasts left scratching their heads.
On the face of it, there is simply no reason for anyone with a Galaxy S20 to consider buying an S21. Samsung certainly knew this going in, considering it is well aware that a vast majority of people upgrade their phone every two years, at the earliest. For this reason. I won't get bogged down with how the Galaxy S21 is better than its predecessor — what's important is evaluating whether the Galaxy S21 can stand on its own as a good phone for the money in 2021. |
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Apple's long-awaited car is finally coming into focus. Earlier in 2021, we reported that the tech giant had linked arms with Hyundai to enter the automotive industry, and a recent unverified report suggests Kia has been put in charge of the project. The South Korean firm issued a vague statement that neither confirms nor denies the rumors.
Sources allegedly familiar with the carmaker's plans told local news outlet Edaily that Hyundai assigned the Apple car project to sister company Kia. The report sent the company's shares on a 20% hike on the Seoul stock market.
Executives quickly clarified that Kia is merely looking at developing self-driving and electric technology with several foreign firms, according to Reuters, which is seemingly another way of saying that it's open to forging partnerships with new partners without revealing whether the Apple rumors are true or false. Cupertino's on-and-off iCar has been shrouded in secrecy for years, so the enigmatic response hardly comes as a surprise. |
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Apple is working on a premium virtual reality (VR) headset of a similar size to the Oculus Quest, according to a report from Bloomberg citing "people with knowledge of the matter." The device could launch as soon as 2022 with an expensive price tag.
Apple has long been rumored to be working on an augmented reality (AR) headset, and CEO Tim Cook has previously explained that his preference lay with augmented rather than virtual reality, as it "gives the capability for both of us to sit and be very present." VR, on the other hand, can shut people off from each other.
Those concerns seem to have faded, though, with the company devoting resources to a VR headset and spending much time and money on overcoming design hurdles it has faced along the way. Some prototypes have been too bulky and heavy, for example, which the company is trying to combat by using fabric in the headset design. |
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