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The Morning After: Samsung's new Galaxy S20 is a flagship for the rest of us

A cheaper Galaxy S20 is here, and Amazon is about to unveil a lot of Alexa-connected devices.

This afternoon, Amazon’s going to unveil a bunch of new devices, and while we assume many of them will be Alexa-connected, one of them has already leaked. In images posted by WinFuture, the Fire TV Stick Lite looks like an even more affordable version of its streaming dongle, that possibly targets 1080p output for around $30. The presentation starts at 1PM ET, and of course, we’ll have all the updates live as they happen.

Fire TV Stick Lite
Fire TV Stick Lite

In other news, researchers found the manual for the world’s oldest surviving digital computer. They’ll probably have it running Doom in no time.

— Richard

Samsung's Galaxy S20 Fan Edition is a flagship for people who can't afford flagships

With high-end specs and a midrange price, it can take the fight to the iPhone 11.

Galaxy S20 FE
Galaxy S20 FE

This phone packs the same Snapdragon 865 chipset used in the original S20 series, except it's paired with just 6GB of RAM instead of the standard 12GB. Its 6.5-inch Super AMOLED screen can refresh at rates as high as 120Hz, but its resolution is capped at Full HD. Its camera hump even contains a 12-megapixel standard wide camera with an f/1.8 aperture, dual-pixel autofocus and optical image stabilization.

What it doesn’t have is a $1,000+ price. This slightly less extreme S20 brings high-end features at a more midrange price of $700 (after being available for less than a day, sales have already cut another $100). Instead of putting an “e” or “Lite” tag on this model, Samsung brought back its Fan Edition branding — previously attached to the non-explosive version of the Galaxy Note 7 — for a device that could be “one of the best all-around Android phones for the price.”
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‘Among Us’ is so successful that its developers just canceled plans for a sequel

Changes in the works include a friends system and server upgrades.

Among Us
Among Us

A welcome surprise in 2020 is the sudden success of Among Us, a Mafia-style party game that players can take part in across PCs and mobile devices. Originally released in 2018, it requires teamwork, but also secretly makes one player an imposter who works against the group’s efforts and sometimes kills other players. Since August, interest in the game has spiked, with popular Twitch streamers prominently featuring group sessions. Its success has grown so quickly that developer Innersloth announced it has shelved plans for a sequel and will instead focus efforts on revamping and improving the current game, which is available for $5.
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Amazon says it has nothing to do with the Echelon 'Prime Bike'

It’s not happy.

Not the Prime Bike
Not the Prime Bike

Echelon makes connected exercise gear in a similar vein to Peloton, but with more emphasis on lower prices. Earlier this week, the company said it had teamed up with Amazon to create a lower-cost connected spin bike that’s available exclusively for Prime subscribers. The $500 Echelon Ex-Prime drops a lot of the extras but keeps the notion of connected fitness intact. “The Prime Bike was developed in collaboration with Amazon, aiming to create an amazing connected bike for less than $500,” said Lou Lentine, President and CEO of Echelon Fitness in the initial press release.

Any collaboration with Amazon was, however, not really happening. An Amazon spokesperson told Engadget that the bike has nothing to do with them. The bike is no longer available to buy, and numerous references to Amazon have been scrubbed from the listing.
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Sponsored by Yahoo Mobile

Back-to-school shoppers, get up to $200 when you buy a new phone and switch

Yahoo Mobile
Yahoo Mobile

Seagate's 1TB Game Drive for Xbox Series X, Series S costs $220

Memory cards are back.

Game Drive SSD
Game Drive SSD

Don’t say we didn’t warn you — storage upgrades on these new consoles are going to be pricey. Best Buy popped up a listing for the only storage add-on (so far) that allows direct playback of next-gen games on the new Xboxes, and Seagate’s 1TB Game Drive will cost you $220. That’s not an outlandish price for a PCI Express Gen4 x2 (NVMe) drive, but it is two-thirds the price of the cheaper Xbox Series S.
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Volkswagen unveils its first electric SUV for North America

The ID.4 is the Westy of a new generation.

id.4
id.4

Three years after we got our first peek at VW’s throwback electric microbus concept, the quirky I.D.Buzz, Volkswagen revealed the 2021 ID.4 electric SUV. With a starting price of $39,995 ($43,695 if you opt for all-wheel drive), you’re not going to see the same level of opulence that you would with an E-Tron, iPace or Model X, but the ID.4 (with an estimated range of around 250 miles on a full charge) is well positioned to compete against more affordable models like the Kia Nero EV and Hyundai Kona EV.
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California will ban sales of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035

The Golden State is going green.

Gavin Newsom EO
Gavin Newsom EO

Don’t say we didn’t warn you — storage upgrades on these new consoles are going to be pricey. Best Buy popped up a listing for the only storage add-on (so far) that allows direct playback of next-gen games on the new Xboxes, and Seagate’s 1TB Game Drive will cost you $220. That’s not an outlandish price for a PCI Express Gen4 x2 (NVMe) drive, but it is two-thirds the price of the cheaper Xbox Series S.
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But wait, there’s more...

Google Maps now shows you COVID-19 stats

Microsoft is releasing a non-subscription Office suite in 2021

Microsoft's Project HSD is all about holographic storage for the cloud

Samsung's newest watches can now take ECG readings in the US

Microsoft exclusively licenses the eerily human-like GPT-3 AI language model

Triumph’s first e-bike is a welcome blend of technology and nostalgia

Garmin's Venu Sq is another Apple Watch lookalike

Yes, Microsoft is holding Xbox Series X and S stock for launch day

Nintendo just surprised Switch owners by releasing 'Kirby Fighters 2'

Sling's 'Watch Party' group streaming feature works with live TV