Never Miss a Moment With $140 Off This Rugged DJI Action 2 Camera Bundle
Never Miss a Moment With $140 Off This Rugged DJI Action 2 Camera Bundle
It doesn't matter whether you're going climbing, surfing or skydiving, with the DJI Action 2 camera you'll be able to capture every frame of the action. It's a more advanced version of the DJI Osmo that was featured on our list of the best action cameras for 2022, and right now you can pick it up at a discount. Amazon currently has the DJI Action 2 power combo and protective case bundle on sale for $279, $140 off the usual price. There's no set expiration on this offer, so you may want to get your order in soon if you're hoping to take advantage of this deal.
The DJI Action 2 records every moment in stunning 4K video at an ultrasmooth 120 frames per second. And with an ultrawide 155-degree frame of view, it captures even more of your surroundings for immersive video. It's also totally waterproof up to 10 meters, so it can handle aquatic adventures and rugged conditions right out of the box.
While there's plenty that's great about this DJI Action 2, one feature that stands out the most is its ecosystem of easy-to-swap magnetic attachments. Effortlessly switch between cases, mounts and more thanks to the Action 2's innovative magnetic design. This bundle includes a magnetic lanyard and a mount adapter for different recording options, and a magnetic case that protects against impacts and scratches, and offers increased heat resistance.
Motorola's Edge Plus Puts a 60MP Selfie Camera Up Front for Sharper Video Calls
Motorola's Edge Plus Puts a 60MP Selfie Camera Up Front for Sharper Video Calls
Motorola has announced its new high-end phone for 2022: the $1,000 Motorola Edge Plus. It has a 6.7-inch screen along with sharper selfie and ultrawide cameras than most phones, including the iPhone 13 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. But Motorola makes compromises in other areas, particularly in the camera's lack of a telephoto lens.
The Edge Plus, which first launched in China as the Edge X30, will be available unlocked through retailers like Amazon, Motorola's website and Best Buy. Motorola hasn't shared specific US launch timing yet, but it did say the phone will also be available through Verizon, Boost Mobile and Republic Wireless in the coming months. The unlocked version will be available at a $100 discount at launch.
Motorola designed some of the Edge Plus' features around trends that emerged during the pandemic, said Ruben Castano, Motorola's head of customer experience, in an interview with CNET. Those trends include more time being spent watching TV, playing games and video chatting on phones. As such, the Edge Plus has a 6.7-inch OLED screen that can boost its refresh rate up to 144Hz and features a 60-megapixel front camera.
"The phone has become the center, almost a hub of entertainment for consumers," said Castano. "So that is the one thing that I think that pandemic did dramatically change in terms of consumer behaviors."
There are also two 50-megapixel cameras on the back along with a 2-megapixel depth camera for taking better portrait photos. The device runs on Qualcomm's newest mobile processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Some of the Edge Plus' characteristics, particularly the sharp selfie camera and high display refresh rate, could help Motorola stand out against Samsung, which dominates the Android smartphone market. A refresh rate of 144Hz isn't new to smartphones -- not even for Motorola -- but it isn't exactly common either.
The Motorola Edge Plus has two 50-megapixel cameras and a 2-megapixel depth camera.
Motorola
The Asus ROG Phone 5, which is designed for gaming, has a 144Hz refresh rate. But a 120Hz refresh rate is more typical for mainstream phones like Samsung's Galaxy S22 lineup. The 60-megapixel front camera is also somewhat rare; Samsung's top-of-the-line Galaxy S22 Ultra has a lower resolution 40-megapixel selfie camera by comparison.
Motorola is also leaning on the Edge Plus' 50-megapixel ultrawide camera to distinguish it from the pack. Popular phones like the iPhone 13 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra each have 12-megapixel ultra-wide cameras, potentially giving Motorola the chance to stand out.
However, it's doing so at a cost. Unlike many phones in Edge Plus' price range, Motorola's new phone doesn't have a dedicated telephoto camera lens. The company says other camera improvements it's made regarding pixel size, sensor size and aperture will enable a good enough digital zoom.
On paper, the Edge Plus' 50-megapixel main sensor also sounds like a step down from the older Edge Plus' 108-megapixel camera. But again, Motorola says it's improved the camera's pixel size and focus on this year's model.
The Motorola Edge Plus uses a digital zoom instead of a dedicated telephoto camera lens.
Motorola
The Motorola Edge Plus also has a 4,800-mAh battery and supports 30-watt fast charging. That's slightly faster than the Galaxy S22's 25-watt fast charging yet not as speedy as the Galaxy S22 Plus' and Galaxy S22 Ultra's 45-watt charging. But Motorola's phone does include an important perk: it comes with a 30-watt charger in the box. Apple and Samsung, meanwhile, don't even include chargers with their phones, let alone fast chargers.
Motorola says the Edge Plus will also receive at least two major Android operating system upgrades and three years of security updates. Samsung, on the other hand, just announced that its Galaxy S22 devices and other recent phones will support four generations of Android upgrades.
Motorola's parent company Lenovo is the third-largest smartphone-maker in the US, capturing 12% of the US market as of late 2021, according to Counterpoint Research. Lenovo doesn't even place in the top five when it comes to global shipments, Counterpoint Research also reports.
But Motorola's approach with the Edge Plus seemingly falls in line with the general direction smartphones are heading. In his story about the future of mobile devices, my colleague Patrick Holland reported that we'll continue seeing more niche phones with targeted appeal. Foldable phones and devices tailored for playing video games, like the Asus Rog Phone 5, fall under that umbrella. With its focus on specific tasks like video chatting and playing games, it sounds like the Motorola Edge Plus does, too.
'Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith' Sends Rey's Parents on an Unforgettable Journey
'Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith' Sends Rey's Parents on an Unforgettable Journey
Cast your mind back, if you will, to the joyous era of Star Wars fandom that followed the release of sequel trilogy opener The Force Awakens in 2015. It felt like everyone was dying to know about mysterious new hero Rey's parents and what kinds of adventures Luke Skywalker had been on in the decades since the original trilogy.
The sight of Luke Skywalker wielding his green lightsaber on the cover of Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith is ludicrously exciting, and Adam Christopher's novel lives up to its potential.
Penguin Random House
Star Wars suddenly mattered again; the excitement was glorious and the storytelling possibilities seemed endless. The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker (the second and third movies in the sequel trilogy) answered some of the mysteries with varying degrees of success, but didn't dive quite as deeply as many fans would've liked.
Adam Christopher 's novel Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith, which comes out in print, digital and audiobook form on Tuesday, is the deep dive I've wanted since 2015. Taking place 17 years after Return of the Jedi (and 13 years prior to The Force Awakens), we're introduced to Rey's parents as they flee across the galaxy with their young daughter. The couple were seen briefly in a flashback in The Rise of Skywalker, but this is their first major appearance. Their names are revealed almost immediately, but we won't spoil their names in this review since Christopher builds up to them beautifully.
Unable to trust anyone with the agents of the resurrected Emperor Palpatine hot on their trail, the trio's situation feels desperate. Given the glimpses we got of Rey's parents in The Rise of Skywalker, this plot thread has a sense of dark inevitability. That doesn't stop Christopher from infusing these characters with emotional depth; you'll find yourself wholly invested in their quest for safe haven despite knowing how it ends.
The novel offers answers about Rey's parents, after our brief time with them in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Lucasfilm
The family has a glimmer of hope in Luke Skywalker, whose efforts to train the next generation of Jedi Knights are hampered by his visions of a sinister presence at the edge of the galaxy. This novel presents the original trilogy hero in his glorious prime -- exactly how many fans wanted him to appear in the sequels -- but Christopher deftly drops hints of the emotional state he's reached by the time of The Last Jedi.
He's joined by fellow classic hero Lando Calrissian, who's in bad shape due to his stalled search for his kidnapped daughter. This vulnerable state allows Christopher to explore the smooth gambler's inner life to an unprecedented degree; it draws from the cocky young man seen in prequel spinoff Solo, the self-assured hustler of the original trilogy and the haunted older warrior we met in The Rise of Skywalker.
Lando, seen in The Rise of Skywalker, goes on an epic emotional journey.
Lucasfilm
Luke and Lando's mission to save Rey's family is complicated by nasty assassin Ochi of Bestoon (another character who made a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance in The Rise of Skywalker), who's been tasked by members of a Sith cult with hunting down the parents and child. He's a loathsome but compelling presence and grows increasingly unhinged as the tale progresses.
Ochi's story here cleverly picks up plot threads from writer Greg Pak's recent Darth Vader comics, but Christopher includes enough detail that those shouldn't be considered required reading before diving into this book.
Rounding out the villainous side is a mysterious warrior empowered by the dark side of the Force. This side of the story leans into creepy arcane Sith lore and proves to be the novel's most fascinating element. It gets surprisingly dark and weird, and hopefully hints at avenues that Star Wars will explore in future.
Ochi of Bestoon has a tiny role in The Rise of Skywalker, but we learn all about him in Shadow of the Sith.
Lucasfilm
Once our heroes and villains cross paths, Christopher's cinematic writing shines in some epic action sequences that will delight those wanting to see the extent of Luke's power. The author sets him up with a worthy adversary, and it's fun to see the threat escalate to a level reminiscent of the old Legends continuity stories.
However, at 496 pages, Shadow of the Sith loses steam a few times. An extended sequence on a mining space station comes to an epic conclusion, but there's a little too much jumping between characters and wandering around before getting to it.
One extended cameo from a baddy seen in The Rise of Skywalker also feels extraneous to the main narrative thrust even if they're fun to spend time with. Thankfully, the other cameos are better judged, fitting nicely into the story and staying exactly as long as they're needed.
Despite these minor issues, Adam Christopher's Shadow of the Sith is the best kind of Star Wars novel and acts as an essential link between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. It explores ambiguous aspects of the movies cleverly, tying up loose ends and adding emotional resonance while opening up a bunch of exciting new storytelling possibilities. After more than half a decade, the mystery of Rey's parents is solved in style.
What States Can and Can't Do When Banning Abortion
What States Can and Can't Do When Banning Abortion
For more information about your reproductive health rights and related federal resources, you can visit the US government's
Reproductive Rights
site.
Whether someone can get an abortion or related medical procedure mostly hinges on which state they live in after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month and ended the constitutional right to abortion. But the switch from federal protection to state law isn't straightforward and has led to confusion and misinformation on what pregnant patients and physicians can do.
In this still developing landscape, how confident can people be that their treatment is still legal?
"The answer to all your questions is 'Who the heck knows,'" said Dr. Louise Perkins King, a surgeon and bioethicist at Harvard Medical School. "And that's the problem."
The US Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance on July 11 reminding physicians of their responsibilities under the existing Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTLA, which supports the need to treat and stabilize patients in an emergency, including pregnant patients who may require an abortion. Days later, Texas sued the Biden administration over the law, which allows for medical assistance to save the life of the mother, because, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, it "seeks to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic."
On Tuesday, a judge in Texas blocked the EMTLA guidance, so physicians in that state may no longer be protected by federal law if they perform an abortion when they deem it medically necessary but it falls outside of Texas' interpretation of a life-endangering pregnancy. Physicians nationwide who are members of the American Association of Pro-Life Gynecologists and Obstetricians or the Christian Medical and Dental Association are also exempt -- a total of about 18,000 health care providers, according to the court document.
Texas' new trigger law -- which will be in effect on Aug. 25 -- bans all abortions except when the pregnancy puts the mother "at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function." Physicians who perform an illegal abortion will be committing a felony. It doesn't make exceptions for rape, incest or fetal abnormalities, and it also doesn't make an exception for when the pregnant person's risk of death would come from a "claim or diagnosis" that they'll be hurt or might die in the future. (This could be interpreted to mean a doctor can't provide an abortion if a woman threatens to die by suicide because she has depression.) All abortions are currently banned in Texas after the state's Supreme Court ruled that a law from the 1920s could stand.
Legal battles within some states will continue to shape post-Roe America, with the landscape changing by the day. And lawsuits like the one in Texas clarify the country's stance on whether state law preempts federal rule on abortion or reproductive health care. Basically, can federal regulations trump state law?
"There's going to be cases that are going to have to determine this question," I. Glenn Cohen, a professor and bioethicist at Harvard Law School, said.
The argument over medication abortion access -- which is banned or restricted in many states but still available to people if they order it (not without risk) online -- will likely also be one of the first big court cases post-Roe, Cohen said. Questions of whether federal regulations on medication abortion conflict directly enough with state restrictions will continue to be center stage.
Medication abortion, for use in early pregnancy, accounts for more than half of abortions in the US. Restricting the pills is the new frontier of abortion bans.
Robyn Beck/Getty Images
Other federal guidance issued by the Biden administration includes a reminder to pharmacists that they are required to fill medication and birth control prescriptions for patients. Failing to do so is discrimination based on pregnancy status. This was in response to the many reports of women having treatment delayed or prescriptions denied while health care workers try to navigate around new state laws.
Here's what we know today.
Can states ban abortion pills? Not completely, but some are trying.
Any state with a current total ban on abortion -- including Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Wisconsin -- also bans medication abortion. Heavy restrictions in other states, including Tennessee and South Carolina, which ban abortion after about six weeks, also extend to medication abortion. This means providers can't prescribe the medication in those states and patients can't fill prescriptions at pharmacies.
"If a state law bans abortion broadly, that includes medication abortions," Elisabeth Smith, director of state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told MedPage Today.
But abortion bans and state laws seek to punish abortion providers or people who assist them, not the person seeking the abortion (there's reason to believe this might change in the future). For now, people living in the most restrictive states can still order pills from an overseas pharmacy, including Aid Access. However, the pills could take awhile to arrive and potentially put the person past the point of pregnancy for which the medication is safe and effective (about 10 weeks).
Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
The fate of medication abortion pills in Republican-leaning states centers on mifepristone, the first pill given in the two-dose regimen of medication abortion. Because the US Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone as a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy over 20 years ago, states shouldn't be able to restrict it, the US attorney general's office argued the same day Roe was overturned. (Misoprostol, the second pill, is used off-label for abortion and miscarriage treatment. It's also used to treat health conditions such as stomach ulcers.)
Whether this federal regulation (and the FDA's stamp of approval) supersedes state laws will need to be decided. Cohen said this is likely to be determined by the Supreme Court as "one of the first post-Dobbs cases."
"It's unclear whether that's going to be a winner of an argument, to be perfectly honest," Cohen said.
Last year, the FDA extended a pandemic-era rule that allowed patients to get medication abortion pills through the mail, instead of requiring them to be prescribed in person. This was seen as a victory for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other medical groups, which viewed the in-person requirement as unnecessary for a medication that's safe and effective in early pregnancy.
But states have their own requirements for medication abortion, and providers licensed in Montana can't prescribe pills to patients who travel over from a restrictive state like South Dakota, NPR reported.
Read more: Worries About Post-Roe Data Privacy Put Spotlight on Period Apps
Ectopic pregnancies can't result in a delivery and require medical treatment. Symptoms can start with typical pregnancy signs, including a missed period, but can progress to abdominal or pelvic pain, vaginal bleeding, weakness and more.
Svetlana Gustova/Getty Images
Can states ban treatment for high risk pregnancies? The HHS says no, but doctors say state laws are restricting care.
Even though the most restrictive states banning abortions leave room for some degree of medical emergency, practicing physicians need to decide where the medical emergency line is – and risk prosecution if a state sees it differently.
This month, the story of a 10-year-old girl who was raped and pregnant and who traveled to Indiana from Ohio, where abortion is banned around six weeks without exception for rape or incest, made headlines. Not only was the physician publicly questioned by Indiana's attorney general on whether she followed state law, but Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in the aftermath that the girl should've been able to legally get an abortion under the state law's medical emergency exemption. Ohio's OB-GYNs disagreed.
"It states specifically 'medically diagnosed condition,' and as far as I can tell, adolescent pregnancy is not a medically diagnosed condition that's listed," Dr. Jason Sayat, a Columbus OB-GYN, told the Ohio Capital Journal.
The Department of Health and Human Services reminded physicians and hospitals that if they want to keep their Medicare agreement and avoid "civil penalties," they must treat pregnant patients and provide abortions if necessary as required under the 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The EMTLA, now blocked in Texas, outlines certain life-endangering pregnancies that doctors must treat regardless of state law, including ectopic pregnancies, preeclampsia and complications of pregnancy loss.
But that narrow line of abortion exceptions for medical emergencies given by states like Wisconsin is what's troubling Dr. Jennifer McIntosh, a maternal-fetal medicine physician practicing in the state. While Wisconsin's attorney general said he wouldn't enforce a ban, physicians there stopped performing abortions because the state has a pre-Roe criminal statute that prohibits most abortions. The "save the life of the mother" abortion exception language in that law can leave out health conditions which may not be an immediate emergency but can become one down the line.
"Some of what we do is to prevent emergencies from happening," McIntosh said. "To have to wait for an emergency to actually appear puts your patient's life at risk."
The treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is termination, because terminating the pregnancy is the only safe outcome when an embryo grows outside of the uterus, typically in a fallopian tube. Without treatment, the fallopian tube is likely to rupture, which can lead to internal bleeding and death. But some laws, like one in Texas, specifically restrict medications including methotrexate, which has led to access problems for people who are pregnant as well as people who are taking methotrexate for another health reason.
Complicating confusion and risk over how abortion bans will affect treatments for ectopic pregnancies is the fact that more rare types of ectopic pregnancies exist, including ones where the pregnancy is growing inside a C-section scar or other area outside the safety of the main cavity of the uterus -- but still technically in the uterus. These rarer kinds of ectopic pregnancies are also life-threatening, and may be more difficult to diagnose and treat as such in a state that bans abortions with an emphasis on the pregnancy being in the uterus.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
States are not prosecuting people who have abortions (yet)
Current state laws -- both those in effect and those in limbo in court -- prosecute other people involved in an abortion, not the person who's pregnant.
But the health impact may be already felt when a doctor is hesitant to treat patients, or pharmacists are reluctant to fill a prescription for mifepristone before interviewing a woman to ascertain whether her pregnancy is already ended and her situation is in line with state law.
"Even in these straightforward cases of basic OB/GYN practice, the laws leave providers questioning and afraid," Dr. Carley Zeal, an OB-GYN in Wisconsin, told The New York Times. "These laws are already hurting my patients."
Aside from hesitancy among health care providers, physicians also fear that worries people have about being prosecuted for having an abortion or miscarriage will stop patients experiencing complications from any kind of pregnancy loss from seeking care.
That's because it was already happening, before Roe was overturned. According to the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, there were over 1,700 arrests or prosecutions of women from 1973 (when Roe became law) to 2020 where their pregnancies were the focus of the case against them.
So will doctors report you if they suspect you had an abortion?
"The vast majority of health care professionals will not do that, because that's not caring for their patients," King said. But, she added, "I'm sure there's a very small, but unfortunately detrimental, minority who might."
Your current access to birth control shouldn't be impacted by the overturn of Roe v. Wade. However, there's reason to believe that could change in the future.
Carol Yepes/Getty Images
Birth control is still protected under the Affordable Care Act
Right now, IUDs, birth control pills and other birth control methods are legal in all 50 states. And they should also be covered at no out-of-pocket cost for those covered under the Affordable Care Act. The right to birth control is protected under two Supreme Court rulings: Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Eisenstadt v. Baird. (Another Supreme Court Case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, chipped away a little of that protection, however, finding that some corporations are exempt for religious reasons.)
Plan B or "morning after pill" brands are also not included in abortion bans, because they will not end an existing pregnancy. Most health plans should also cover them.
Legislators in Missouri last year voted to block taxpayer funding for IUDs and emergency contraception, casting doubt that all birth control devices will be protected indefinitely, at least in some states. The claims of legislators like Paul Wieland, a Republican state senator in Missouri, are that anything that has the potential to disrupt a fertilized egg's implantation into the uterus is an abortifacient.
The medical community has been clear that IUDs and emergency contraception do not cause abortions and will not end an existing pregnancy. Copper IUDs work mostly by causing a chemical change in the sperm and egg before they meet, according to the World Health Organization. Hormonal IUDs like Mirena work mostly by thickening cervical mucus so sperm can't reach the egg, and can also prevent ovulation. Plan B and similar pills likely won't work if a person has already ovulated, meaning the chances of it stopping implantation are currently understood to be slim.
Nevertheless, unlikely occurrences or instances where a fertilized egg may be prevented from implanting into a uterus could be called into question in future court cases.
Read more: Could a Post Roe v. Wade World Impact Your Access to Birth Control?
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
Does Your Next Phone Really Need 5G? How to Decide
Does Your Next Phone Really Need 5G? How to Decide
5G was once synonymous with premium prices, but it's become the norm in most new phones -- even those that cost less than $300 in some cases.
But you might be wondering whether 5G is a necessary in a new a phone. Maybe you're getting a great deal on a refurbished device from a couple of years ago that doesn't support 5G. Perhaps you're eyeballing the iPhone 11, one of the cheapest phones Apple currently sells at $500 but that can't connect to 5G.
For US shoppers, the answer largely depends on what carrier you have, how much you're willing to spend and how long you're planning to hold onto your next phone. Since 5G is available in just about every new phone at no additional cost, there are few reasons not to buy a 5G-enabled phone.
Combine that with the fact that carriers are building out their midband networks -- which offer faster speeds than low-band 5G offerings as well as broader coverage than the fastest millimeter-wave networks -- and the argument for buying a 5G phone is even stronger.
Read more: Not All 5G Is the Same: We Explain the Different Names and Flavors
At the same time, it's important to remember that 5G speeds and coverage will vary depending on your carrier. And 4G phones will continue to function for years to come.
"They're not turning off those 4G networks anytime soon," said Avi Greengart, president and lead analyst for research and advisory firm Techsponential. "Your phone will be dead before you need to worry about it."
Understanding 5G
Figuring out whether you need 5G in your next phone starts with understanding the current state of 5G. All three major network providers in the US offer 5G, and there are three main flavors to be aware of.
There's low-band 5G, which is available broadly but provides similar speeds as 4G LTE, and millimeter-wave 5G, the super fast version that only operates at a short range. You likely won't notice the difference between 4G and 5G when you're on a low-band network. But millimeter-wave networks are so scarce you probably won't find yourself near one on a regular basis unless you frequent busy venues like stadiums, arenas or airports. Even then, the coverage is often only in select locations.
The happy medium between both of these networks is midband 5G, which provides faster speeds than 4G but can also cover much larger distances than millimeter wave. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are all at different phases of their midband deployment, with T-Mobile currently taking the lead. The carrier said in February that its Ultra Capacity network, which is mostly composed of midband spectrum acquired from Sprint, reached 210 million people by the end of 2021. T-Mobile expects to reach 300 million people with its midband network, Ultra Capacity 5G, by the end of 2023.
Verizon, on the other hand, is aiming to cover 175 million people with its Ultra Wideband network, which uses millimeter wave and its midband spectrum, in 2022. AT&T plans to cover 200 million people with its own midband network by the end of the year.
Read more: Apple Needs Another Affordable 5G iPhone
T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T 5G
Faster 5G Network Reach
Time frame
T-Mobile
210 million people
2021
Verizon
175 million people
2022
AT&T
200 million people
2022
All these technologies can work together to provide better coverage, speed and performance than 4G LTE.
"So we're not just talking about cities, but a lot of the country where people live is covered by T-Mobile 5G," said Greengart. "And so you're going to want to buy a 5G phone both for coverage reasons and for speed."
How much are you willing to spend?
The iPhone 11 from 2019 is one of Apple's cheapest iPhones, but it doesn't support 5G.
Angela Lang/CNET
The biggest factor in determining whether you should buy a 5G phone is how much you're willing to spend. If you have less than $200 to spend on a new device, it might be difficult to find a worthwhile 5G phone.
If your budget allows for spending more than $400, there are several compelling 5G options like the $429 iPhone SE and $450 Galaxy A53 5G. The $450 Google Pixel 6A, which recently launched on July 28, also supports 5G. That's a significant departure compared to when the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G launched roughly three years ago for a sky high price of $1,300.
Cheaper phones may not support all flavors of 5G, namely the fastest millimeter-wave networks, but that shouldn't be a dealbreaker for most people shopping today. With its benefits in speed and range, the three major networks have prioritized midband 5G deployments over the past year. As long as your new phone supports midband 5G, you should be able to connect to faster speeds in more places.
It's important to consider what matters most to you in a phone and how long you're planning to hold onto a device. If you'd rather have a larger screen, a more contemporary design, dual cameras and are planning to upgrade your phone again in two years, the 4G-enabled $500 iPhone 11 might be a better choice than the $429 5G-capable iPhone SE.
But if you're looking for a phone that can get you through the next three years or so, it's probably best to look for a 5G device. Most Android phones in the $400-$500 range have 5G and modern features like multi-lens cameras and large screens.
The situation is different for Apple fans. The only 5G-enabled option under $600 is the 2022 iPhone SE, which has Apple's latest smartphone chip but lacks other staples like a big screen and multiple cameras. That might change this fall when the rumored iPhone 14 launches and Apple drops the iPhone 12 and 12 Mini's price accordingly.
Bob O'Donnell, president and chief analyst for Technalysis Research, says 5G will likely feel more essential in early 2024. By then, carriers will have had more time to build out their midband networks.
"You will get faster speeds," said O'Donnell. "Hopefully by then we'll see some additional services and apps that take advantage of 5G."
The bottom line
Sarah Tew/CNET
To decide whether you need 5G in your next phone, consider how much you're willing to spend, how long you plan to hold onto your phone before upgrading and what type of coverage your carrier provides.
Investing in a new 5G phone is generally the best move if you can afford it since it ensures that your device will feel fast and relevant for years to come. But if your budget is limited, or the 5G phones available to you right now don't fit your needs, you won't be missing out on too much by opting for 4G instead.
"As a purely functional phone, you can't go wrong with a good LTE phone," said O'Donnell.
At the year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, PC maker Lenovo showed off a handful of two-in-one PCs, some with new smart assistant software and game-ready graphics.
The Yoga 730 is the latest laptop to add Alexa, Amazon's smart assistant. At CES 2018, we saw Alexa announced for select ThinkPad laptops, but those were aimed at business users. The Yoga is a more mainstream product, making this yet another inroad for Alexa. Of course, since the Yoga 730 is a Windows machine, you can always use Cortana, the Microsoft smart assistant, as well.
The 13-inch Yoga 730.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The Yoga 730 comes in 13- and 15-inch versions. Both have UHD (4K) and full HD (1,920x1,080 pixels) touchscreen options, and 8th-gen Intel processors. The 15-inch model has an option for an Nvidia GeForce 1050 graphics card, which is powerful enough to play any current game at decent settings and full HD resolution, making this one of the only game-ready hybrids we've seen (there's also a GeForce 1060 option for the Surface Book 2).
The Flex 14 doesn't have the same flashy updates. But it's gotten a little bit thinner -- at 17.6 mm, Lenovo says its 11 percent thinner than the previous version -- and there's the option to add an Nvidia MX130 GPU, which isn't going to make this a gaming machine, but can help with photo and video editing. We've always like the Flex line for keeping most of what makes the Yoga so good, but at much lower prices.
The Yoga 730 will start at $879 for the 13-inch version (there's no international pricing at this time, but that's roughly £630 or AU$1,120) and $899 for the 15-inch version, while the Flex 14 starts at $599. All three will be available in April.
Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus : Hands-on with Samsung's iPhone X fighters.
MWC 2018 : All of CNET's coverage from the biggest phone show of the year.
Smartphone Accessory Deal: This Two-Pack of USB-C Cables is Just $6
Smartphone Accessory Deal: This Two-Pack of USB-C Cables is Just $6
It doesn't matter how many you've already got, you can never have too many USB cables. Particularly USB-C cables, which are becoming more universal by the day. There are even some Apple devices, which have historically stayed within their own charging ecosystem, that are making the switch to USB-C charging. And today only at Woot, you can snag this two-pack of USB-C charging cables for just $6, over half off the original $13 price.
This pack comes with two AmazonBasics 6-foot USB-C 2.0 to USB-C cables. Designed for universal use across devices from Apple, Samsung, Google and more, these cables are great for both charging and data transfer for phones, laptops, handheld consoles like the Nintendo Switch and more. They support fast charging of up to 60 watts, and data transfer speeds of up to 480Mbps. They're durable too, having passed rigorous bend tests, and they come with a limited lifetime warranty through Amazon.
