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What Is Home Equity?
Most homeowners now have more equity in their homes than they did two years ago, thanks to surging home values during the pandemic. That means right now is a good time to consider tapping into your home equity if you're looking to borrow money at a lower interest rate than you might get with other types of loans such as personal loans. Home equity is the difference between what you owe on your mortgage and the current market value of your home.
You build equity in your home by consistently making mortgage payments over the years. Equity is valuable because it allows you to borrow money against your home at lower interest rates than other types of financing. Once you have enough equity built up in your home, lenders and banks will allow you to borrow against it. Some of the most common reasons to borrow against your equity are to pay for life expenses such as home improvements, higher education costs such as tuition, or to pay off high-interest credit card debt.
Most lenders want to see that you've built up at least 15% to 20% in equity in order to let you borrow money against your house in the form of refinancing or other kinds of home equity loans. One of the simplest ways to ensure you have a good chunk of equity in your home is to make a large down payment if you are able to.
For a typical homeowner with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, building up 15% to 20% usually takes about 5 to 10 years. Even if you paid less for your home when you bought it years ago, your equity is based on the present-day value of your house. If, for example, your home is currently worth $500,000 and you have $400,000 left to pay on your mortgage, you would have $100,000 of equity in your home.
Here's what you need to know about home equity, what it is, how to calculate it and why it's important to homeowners.
How do you calculate home equity?
To calculate your home equity, simply subtract your remaining mortgage balance from the current market value of your home. So if you owe $400,000 on your mortgage and your house is worth $500,000, you have $100,000, or 20% equity in your home. You may need to work with an appraiser or real estate agent in order to get an accurate evaluation of your home's fair market value, especially since home values have risen by record-breaking amounts since the beginning of the pandemic.
Ways to borrow against home equity
There are various ways to access the equity in your home. Some of the most common equity financing options are home equity loans, home equity lines of credit (or HELOCs) and reverse mortgages. It's important, however, to keep in mind that all of these options require you to put up your home as collateral to secure the loan, so it's critical to understand that there's a risk of losing your home to foreclosure if you miss payments or default on your loan for any reason.
Home equity loan
A home equity loan lets you borrow money against the equity you've built in your home and provides you with a lump sum of cash at a fixed interest rate. Lenders typically want to see that you have at least 15% to 20% in your home to approve you for a home equity loan. A home equity loan doesn't replace your mortgage like a refinance, rather, it's an entirely new loan that you'll repay monthly along with your existing mortgage payment. But just like a mortgage, with a home equity loan, your interest rate never changes and your monthly payments are fixed, too.
HELOCs
A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, is a type of loan that lets you borrow against the equity you've built up in your home and functions like a credit card. It provides you with an open line of credit that you can access for a certain amount of time, typically 10 years, followed by a set repayment period, which is usually 20 years. Lenders also generally want you to have at least 15% to 20% in your home for HELOC approval. With a HELOC, you don't have to take all of your funds out at once, and you can withdraw money repeatedly from your HELOC over the 10-year period, once previously borrowed sums are paid back.
"A HELOC offers more flexibility than a home equity loan -- you can't withdraw money from a home equity loan like you can with a HELOC, and a HELOC allows you to receive replenished funds as you pay your outstanding balance," said Robert Heck, VP of Mortgage at Morty, an online mortgage marketplace.
HELOCs have variable interest rates however, so it's important to make sure you can afford higher monthly payments if your rate goes up once your introductory interest rate expires, especially in the current economic climate.
Reverse mortgage
You must be 62 years or older to access a reverse mortgage and have either paid off your home or have significant equity accumulated, usually at least 50%. With a reverse mortgage, you do not have to make monthly mortgage payments and the bank or lender actually makes payments to you. You must still pay your property taxes and homeowners insurance and continue to live in the house, however. A reverse mortgage allows you to access the equity in your home and not pay back the funds for an extended period of time while using them for other expenses during retirement. It's important to keep in mind that you are building a mortgage balance back up as you borrow against your equity, and your estate will eventually have to pay off your loan. A common way to repay this loan is to sell your house.
The bottom line
Unlocking the equity in your home can be a valuable way to access financing to cover other life expenses. It's important to understand the differences between the kinds of equity loans available to secure the best one for your particular financial situation. When comparing ways to access equity, always take into account the interest rate, additional lender costs and fees, and the size of the loan and how it will be disbursed to you, as well as the amount of time you have to pay it back, before you enter into an agreement to borrow against the equity in your home.
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Big Tech's danger to kids finally aligns Democrats, Republicans
Big Tech's danger to kids finally aligns Democrats, Republicans
More than once over the course of a five-hour hearing before Congress on Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's parenting style became a point of focus for angry lawmakers. One House Republican asked if he had issues with his young daughters watching YouTube. Another asked if he lets them use Facebook's own services.
"My daughters are five and three, and they don't use our products," Zuckerberg said, before adding that he lets his older child use Facebook's chat app for kids.
The exchange typified a common refrain as the leaders of Facebook, Google and Twitter weathered a grilling from Congress -- the fourth such event in the last year where a Big Tech CEO took the hot seat -- over the misinformation that flows through their platforms. While lawmakers tried to advance their disparate agendas, one bipartisan theme emerged among Democrats and Republicans who are usually bitterly divided: the danger of Silicon Valley's services on children.
"Big tech is essentially handing our children a lit cigarette and hoping they stay addicted for life," said Rep. Bill Johnson, an Ohio Republican. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Democrat from Florida, peppered the CEOs with statistics that show a rising level of depression and suicidal thoughts among adolescents that coincides with the rise of social media.
Historically, Big Tech products have been reserved for people 13 and older. But in the past few years, companies like Google and Facebook have tried to push the bounds of those limits, creating services for younger and younger kids. (Twitter, primarily used by older users, evaded scrutiny on the issue.)
YouTube Kids, launched in 2015, is billed as a child-safe version of the massive Google-owned site. Last month, Google said it's testing new parental controls for kids 9 and up to use the full scale version of YouTube. Facebook four years ago unveiled a version of its Messenger chat app for kids to talk to their parents and friends. Now, the social network is working on a version of Instagram for kids under 13.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he doesn't let his young daughters use the company's products, except Messenger for Kids.
Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET
Technical issues like content moderation or the opaque advertising model of social networks are hard concepts to grasp, so lawmakers have glommed on to an issue that's more visceral and universal in nature: the safety of our children. It isn't a topic that the tech executives can easily swat away.
Even tech luminaries have sounded the alarm. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates talked about raising their kids with limited tech. Apple CEO Tim Cook, who has recently feuded with Facebook, has said he doesn't want his nephew on a social network.
"These hearings reflect an emboldened Congress and a tech industry that's on the defensive because the companies know that serious regulation and legislation is coming," said Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, a child advocacy nonprofit. "No one is going to take Mark Zuckerberg seriously as a voice for parents, but the truth is our kids lives are being dramatically shaped by social media and internet platforms."
Silicon Valley companies have received blowback in the past when they've waded into kids products. YouTube Kids faced controversy in 2017 when the service's filters failed to recognize some videos that feature disturbing imagery but are aimed at children -- like Mickey Mouse lying in a pool of blood, or PAW Patrol characters bursting into flames after a car crash. Facebook's Messenger for Kids, meanwhile, suffered a bug in 2019 that let children join group chats with strangers.
Critics accuse Google and Facebook of skirting the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, a federal law that regulates user data collection from sites with users who are under 13 years old. In 2019, the US Federal Trade Commission slapped the company with a record $170 million fine, as well as new requirements, for YouTube's violation of COPPA. In response, the video site made major changes to how it treats kids videos, including limiting the data it collects from those views.
The pushback from Congress on Thursday comes as lawmakers have drafted other legislation that deals with Silicon Valley's treatment of kids.
In September, Castor introduced the Kids Internet Design and Safety (KIDS) Act, in the House. This bill banned "auto-play" sessions on websites and apps geared for children and young teens. The legislation also banned push alerts targeting children and prohibited platforms from recommending or amplifying certain content involving sexual, violent, or other adult material, including gambling or "other dangerous, abusive, exploitative, or wholly commercial content."
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, who asked Zuckerberg if his kids use Facebook products, has introduced the Big Tech Accountability Platform, which is a road map for how Republicans are approaching regulating the tech industry. While Republicans are still concerned about the censoring of conservative voices online, they also are concerned with how the big platforms use their algorithms "to drive addiction," as well as the role the companies play "in child grooming and trafficking."
"Remember, our kids -- the users -- are the product," McMorris said Thursday. "You -- Big Tech -- are not advocates for children. You exploit and profit off them."
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Galaxy Z Fold 3 review: A refined foldable in search of a purpose
Galaxy Z Fold 3 review: A refined foldable in search of a purpose
Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 at the same time. But of the two, the $1,000 Z Flip 3 has a familiar design that's based on clamshell flip phones that have been around for decades. It folds in half from a 6.7-inch phone down to a square that's roughly the size and thickness of several coasters stacked. Meanwhile, the Z Fold 3 costs $1,800, with a futuristic design closer to something you'd see in a sci-fi movie or TV show like Westworld. The latter folds open from a regular phone, into a 7.6-inch square tablet and lacks the same "love at first sight" appeal as the Z Flip 3.
This is because Samsung's phone/tablet hybrid design is still inherently new compared to the tried-and-true flip phone motif the Flip 3 embraces. The Z Fold 3 is actually a wonderful tablet, but when it's folded up it has the same hefty appeal as an air conditioner remote control.
Like
120Hz cover screen
Water resistance
Wonderful tablet experience
S Pen is a blast to use
Software improvements for multitasking and Flex Mode
Don't Like
Battery life lasts about a day
Weird, heavy phone when closed
$1,800 is still expensive
Despite its complicated allure, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is a remarkable showcase of technology and innovation. Pretty much anytime I open the phone in public, there is someone with a dumbfounded look on their face. For the price, you get nearly every high-end feature one would expect in a flagship Android phone. And for $1,800, you better. The few compromises Samsung did make, like having B+ cameras instead of A+ ones, aren't deal breakers and stand as further reminders that the Z Fold 3's high price tag is because the phone folds in half.
Throughout my time with the Z Fold 3, I kept asking myself why the tablet even needs to fold in half? Or is there a better way to design a tablet that folds down to the size of a phone? As much as the Z Fold 3 has improved over its predecessors, it's still largely a concept in search of a purpose. And I couldn't escape that underlying conundrum. Yet if you want a tablet that can fold up and fit into your pocket, the Z Fold 3 certainly deserves your consideration. It's the second best foldable phone Samsung has made to date, with the best one being the more practical Galaxy Z Flip 3.
Galaxy Z Fold 3 storage and pricing
US
UK
Australia
Galaxy Z Fold 3 256GB
$1,800
£1,599
AU$2,499
Galaxy Z Fold 3 512GB
$1,900
£1,699
AU$2,649
The Z Fold 3 has nearly all the refinements you could ask for, but it still feels like it's missing a purpose.
Patrick Holland/CNET
A stronger, lighter and thinner Fold
The Z Fold 3 takes on the same design and form as the Z Fold 2, albeit with a bunch of improvements. For some, the best improvement might be the $200 drop in price from the $2,000 the Z Fold 2 cost. Most of the phone's upgrades are more iterative, small touches that add up to a more refined package overall.
For instance it's lighter than the previous Fold, which I noticed as soon as I picked it up. But it's still one of the heaviest phones I reviewed this year. It's thinner and more svelte than the Z Fold 2, but still one of the bulkiest phones I have ever tested.
It seems more durable. Obviously, I only had a couple of weeks with the Z Fold 3, so I can only be hopeful that the improvements I noticed span the life of the phone. The metal in the frame and hinge is reinforced and you can feel that extra tensile strength when you hold it, fold it and interact with it. The folding screen, hinge and body feel more like a single uniform whole instead of being separate features. The 7.6-inch main screen still has a crease but it doesn't bother me in the least. You could nitpick it if you want, but the iPhone's notch is far more of an eyesore.
The Gorilla Glass Victus-clad cover screen now has a smooth 120Hz refresh rate that matches the main display and looks lovely. The Z Fold 3 has water resistance and can be submerged up to 1.5 meters (about 5 feet), which is truly remarkable for a folding phone.
Using an S Pen on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is a blast
One indication that Samsung is confident about the Z Fold 3's durability is that it sells a sharp pointy stylus for you to use on the screen. It's as if Samsung is saying, "We're no longer worried about your fingernails making indentations on the main screen. Go ahead and try out an S Pen."
In my time using the S Pen with the phone, the screen looks just like it did when I took it out of the box. And that's on top of all the times I folded and unfolded it, shoved it in the pockets of my jeans and threw it in my backpack along with whatever else was in there.
Samsung made two versions of the S Pen for the Z Fold 3: the S Pen Fold Edition, which lacks Bluetooth and costs $50; and the S Pen Pro, which has Bluetooth and costs $100. Both have a retractable tip that helps reduce wear and tear on the screen. I only got to try out the S Pen Fold Edition and I noticed that the tip rarely retracted all the way. Instead, it seems to relieve some of the pressure I put on the screen when I draw or write. There's a small arsenal of S Pen tricks such as hover to magnify, which activates when the S Pen is just millimeters away from the screen.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the first foldable phone that supports the S Pen.
Patrick Holland/CNET
The cover screen doesn't support either new S Pen which is a bummer because there's no way to jot a quick note or a doodle without opening up the Fold. And if you have an old S Pen, you can't use it with the Z Fold 3.
As much fun as it is to use an S Pen on that giant vibrant screen, the Fold in no way replaces the inherent convenience that a Galaxy Note provides. The Fold doesn't let you quickly make a note. And there isn't a place to store the S Pen. It would be nice if you could magnetically attach the S Pen to the Fold 3's hinge in the same way you can attach an Apple Pencil to an iPad Pro. I should note that Samsung sells a bundled S Pen Fold Edition and phone case that stores it along the hinge for $80.
Under-display camera selfies and Zoom calls on the Z Fold 3
There are two, technically three, selfie cameras -- let me explain. You can take a selfie with the hole-punch selfie camera in the cover screen. Or you can flip the cover screen down, use it as a live preview and take a selfie with the main rear camera. Or you can use Samsung's first ever under-display camera, which is mostly hidden behind the main screen.
Out of the three options, the one that is the most curious is the under-display camera. The part of the display in front of the camera has fewer screen elements and translucent wiring. At certain angles or when brighter colors are on the display, you can see the part of the screen where the camera is. Think of this camera setup like looking through a window that has blinds on it.
The front-facing camera in the main display of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 (white screen) is housed in a hole-punch cut out. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 uses an under-display camera. Notice the tiny octagon shape in the green leaf wallpaper on the Fold 3's main display.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The under-display camera is only 4 megapixels, which isn't a lot, but that lower resolution helps it see through or around those screen elements. Samsung also uses AI processing to improve the image quality. I took selfies with all three options on the Fold and, no surprise, the photos from the under-display camera looked the worst. Indoor selfies look highly processed and outdoor snaps in good lighting do not look much better.
The under-display camera is intended for video calls and works fine for them. On the few video calls I made using it, people on the other end said that they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
I took selfies with the different cameras on the Galaxy Z Fold 3. From left to right, here are selfies from: the main rear camera, cover screen camera and under-display camera.
Patrick Holland/CNET
But let's go back to why there is an under-display camera. The idea is to reduce visual distractions on and around the display. There isn't a notch. There isn't a hole punch. Instead, you either see nothing (yay!) or when bright colors are displayed, you see a tiny glittery octagon that I found to be more distracting than something like a hole-punch camera. At this point, the benefit of having a screen free of visual interruptions isn't worth the tradeoffs from this under-display camera.
Z Fold 3 has B+ cameras at an A+ price
Despite all of the improvements to the phone's hardware, the cameras are one area that largely remain the same. In terms of quality and performance, they are a step behind the camera systems found on phones like the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra. These are good cameras and for most people the photos and videos they capture with them will be fine.
There are five cameras on the Z Fold 3: the aforementioned under-display camera, the cover-screen selfie camera and a triple camera array on the "back" with a main wide-angle camera, an ultrawide-angle camera and a 2x optical telephoto camera that now has optical image stabilization. In bright lighting, photos look good. Digital zoom up to 4x magnification has minimal image deterioration. If you go past 6x, photos look less stellar and have softer details. Night mode on the Z Fold 3 is solid, but compared to the S21 or S21 Ultra, images look soft. Take a look below at a few photos I took with the new Fold.
The camera hardware didn't change, but the Z Fold 3 gets a new image signal processor thanks to its Snapdragon 888 chip.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Under good lighting, the Fold can capture great photos.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Notice how it handles the highlights in the clouds and the details above the windows of the cream-colored building.
Patrick Holland/CNET
There is something about the perspective of Samsung's ultrawide cameras that always gets me.
Patrick Holland/CNET
This was taken with the 2x telephoto camera.
Patrick Holland/CNET
A beautiful day yields some perfect views. Look at the highlights and shadows in the clouds.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Night mode on the Fold 3 isn't quite to the level of the Galaxy S21, but it's still impressive.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Images look bright and are mostly free of image noise, even from the ultrawide camera.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Videos are decent, but suffer from image noise in all but the most ideal of situations. Take a look at some videos I recorded with the Z Fold 3 below.
There will inevitably be some people who expect the absolute best cameras on a phone that costs $1,800. I'd argue that Samsung made a smart tradeoff to keep that price under $2,000.
Like the Z Flip 3, the Z Fold 3 is essentially its own tripod. Because of its size and flexibility you can put it nearly anywhere to capture a unique angle or perspective.
Galaxy Z Fold 3 gets multitasking right
On the inside, the Z Fold 3 packs nearly every 2021 Android spec you could want. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip and 12GB of RAM. It runs Android 11 and Samsung's One UI 3. Split-screen apps are more customizable, taking advantage of the larger tablet screen. You can put them side by side, stacked vertically or even have three. You can move each app around and resize their windows. You can also save split-screen app groupings and setups for later.
Like the Z Flip 3, the phone's settings has a section called Labs, which lets you optimize nearly any app for the screen. For example, natively Instagram shows up in a thin vertical aspect ratio with screen space on either side of the app. I went into Labs, and forced it to be displayed across the full screen, which worked well.
Multitasking is fun and customizable on the Z Fold 3. You can save app window layouts to use the same setup again.
Patrick Holland/CNET
A useful trait that the Flip and Fold share is Flex Mode. You can position either phone half open like a mini laptop. Flex Mode gets more support in One UI 3 and there are more apps that can take advantage of it. Some apps just move to the top half of the screen with system navigation and brightness controls on the bottom. Other apps, like for videos and music, place the playback controls on the bottom half of the screen. Not every app is optimized for Flex Mode, but this is a huge step up from the Fold 2. I still would like to see apps go farther and even be designed around Flex Mode. Can you imagine a game designed for Flex Mode?
Galaxy Z Fold 3 has less than average battery life
The Z Fold 3's biggest drawback is its battery life. The dual 4,400-mAh batteries are actually a tad smaller than the ones in the Fold 2. As a result, the Z Fold 3 barely makes it through a day. I imagine that has a lot to do with the combination of 5G connectivity and the fact that there are two screens that run at 120Hz. Screen-on time during my review averaged about three and a half hours, which isn't great. I am still running CNET's battery test and will update this review with the results soon.
The Fold lacks dust resistance. In my use this wasn't an issue. But I recommend being careful if you take the Z Fold 3 to the beach or on a hike or anywhere there's potential for small particles to interact with the phone. This wouldn't be a good phone for Salt BAE.
The screens and finish on the body collect finger smudges easily. I find myself wiping it clean constantly.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 are quite the pairing. One is aimed more at the mainstream and the other at early adopters.
Sarah Tew/CNET
A better foldable, but not the best
While I continue testing the Galaxy Z Fold 3, I still question who this phone is for exactly. A phone enthusiast might love all of the technology in the Fold, especially that folding screen. Foldable phones are still at a comparatively early stage, but the lower price offered by the Z Fold 3 and the Z Flip 3 compared to their predecessors shows an effort to make them more accessible. And I hope that's a trend that continues in the coming years. I still hold that most people who want a folding phone will likely want to consider the Z Flip 3 for its familiar flip-phone aesthetic, but if you want that larger tablet shape the Z Fold 3 fulfills that promise.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 specs vs. Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Fold
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Oppo Find X5 Pro: Five reasons this flagship android phone is worth a look
Oppo Find X5 Pro: Five reasons this flagship android phone is worth a look
The Find X5 Pro is the latest flagship Android phone from Oppo, replacing last year's Find X3 Pro and bringing with it a host of neat features, including a potent processor, luscious design, 5G connectivity and impressive camera setup.
But it needs all that exciting tech as the premium phone category has never been more competitive, with Google's Pixel 6 Pro and the brand new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra both ticking every box you'd expect from a flagship phone in 2022. So Oppo will have to work hard to steal your attention away from its rivals, particularly if it won't be competing hard on price.
While Oppo hasn't said exactly how much the phone will cost (simply saying during a press briefing that it will be "competitive"), the previous Find X3 Pro was over $1,000. If it sticks to that pricing, it's squarely in that high-end flagship level with the S22 Ultra and iPhone 13 Pro. Hopefully that official price might come down by a couple hundred bucks to sweeten the deal.
But that said, there are some good reasons to look towards Oppo's phone so here then are the five things I like most about the Find X5 Pro.
Slick design
I love the look of this phone. It's made from ceramic that's apparently baked at over 1,000 degrees Celsius which has allowed it to be formed into this single piece that flows up and around the camera lenses. It's certainly got a unique aesthetic that makes it stand out against its rivals and I think it manages to be both stylish and smart, so it wouldn't look out of place in a fancy wine bar or on a boardroom meeting table.
The phone's body is made out of ceramic.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
It might look fragile, but Oppo reckons that ceramic build actually makes it twice as durable as toughened glass, while the front is made from Corning's most hardcore Gorilla Glass Victus. I haven't tried hurling it to the ground for fun just yet, but I'm confident it'll take at least a few knocks and bumps. It's also IP68 rated for waterproofing, so spilled drinks or taking phone calls in the rain should not be a problem here.
Excellent stabilized cameras
Tucked into that ceramic design are three cameras. There's a 50-megapixel main sensor, along with a 50-megapixel ultrawide sensor. Much as it did with the Find X3, Oppo has used the exact same image sensor for both standard and ultrawide views, so you won't need to sacrifice quality when switching between the lenses.
Vibrant colors and good exposure in this shot taken with the standard lens.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
And a great effort from the ultrawide lens too.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The main lens has captured a richly detailed scene here.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Switching to the ultrawide lens, it's noticeable that there's been quite a significant shift in colors.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The 13-megapixel zoom lens gives 2x optical zoom. It's decent, but not a patch on the Pixel 6 Pro's 4x or Galaxy S22 Ultra's 10x zooms.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
I found the camera took great shots when I took it out and about in Edinburgh. Exposure was spot on, there's tons of detail and while there's a bit of a shift in color balance between the main and ultrawide cameras, there's no dip in image quality. There's also a 13-megapixel zoom lens giving a 2x optical zoom which is perfectly fine, but personally I'd like to see more zoom levels here. Oppo says its customers care more about wide angle shots so that's where its efforts have gone, but I love the longer zooms offered by the Pixel 6 Pro and the huge 10x zoom from the S22 Ultra as they let me get much more creative images. Whether that's a problem for you is something you'll have to decide for yourself.
But Oppo is also making some big boasts about its night mode quality in both images and videos. The main sensor has the first 5-axis optical stabilization seen in a phone along with its own dedicated processing unit that helps brighten dark shots while keeping image noise down.
This night-time scene is bright and pin-sharp.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Loads of detail and spot-on colors from the main camera in night mode.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
I found its night shots to be generally good, with plenty of fine details that certainly put it on a par with the other top camera phones. That video stabilization works for night time shots too, but I mostly found it helpful in the daytime, smoothing out my footsteps as I walked around Edinburgh.
It's a great camera system overall and if you much prefer those sweeping wide-angle vistas rather than zooming in on tiny details then you're well catered for here.
Vibrant display
The Find X5 Pro's 6.7-inch display has a 3,216x1,440-pixel resolution which makes even tiny details look pin sharp. It's bright too, with vibrant punchy colors which makes it really great for playing colorful games like Asphalt 9: Legends or -- I suppose -- Candy Crush Saga.
The 6.7-inch screen is bright with punchy colors.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
It curves gently at the sides, which gives it an extra little premium touch, while the 120Hz refresh rate means swiping around the interface feels buttery smooth. You can however turn that refresh rate down and lower the resolution in order to put less strain on the battery. Personally, I'd do that as I don't think there's such a difference that you'd notice it in day to day use, and you can always ramp things back up if you're settling into some gaming.
Massive power
And speaking of ramping things up for gaming, the Find X5 Pro comes loaded up with a seriously potent processor in the form of Qualcomm's latest 8 Gen 1 chip. On our benchmark tests the X5 is certainly up there with the likes of the S22 Ultra, meaning it offers a smooth experience overall.
There's no lag whatsoever as you swipe your way around the Android 12 interface, while more demanding games such as Asphalt 9: Legends or PUBG play well. In short, there's little I imagine you'd be able to throw at this thing that would slow it down.
The Find X5 Pro supports 80-watt fast charging.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Solid battery and fast charging
Powering all of that is a 5,000-mAh battery, which is a generous size and should keep you going for a full day of mixed use. As with all phones, it depends on how demanding you are though -- if you barely touch it all day beyond answering the odd text, it'll have plenty of juice the next day. Spend the day streaming YouTube videos and you can expect it to need a boost in the afternoon.
But a boost is a very quick thing though as the phone supports 80-watt fast charging which will take the phone from empty to 50% full in just 12 minutes, which is great if you need that extra bit of juice before you head out for a night on the town. And that fast charger comes in the box too so you won't need to scour Amazon trying to find one that'll work.
Overall I think the Find X5 Pro is an impressive phone that gives you the overall power and performance -- and, I think, the looks -- you'd expect from a top-end phone right now. Sure, I'd like a better zoom lens, but the camera system is great regardless and it makes this phone worthy of your consideration.
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Snapchat takes on TikTok with Spotlight feature
Snapchat takes on TikTok with Spotlight feature
Snapchat on Monday launched a new in-app feature called Spotlight to highlight videos on the messaging app. Spotlight positions Snapchat to compete with other social video apps and features like TikTok and Instagram Reels (which was also created to compete with TikTok).
"We built Spotlight to be a place where anyone's content can take center stage -- without needing a public account, or an influencer following," Snap said Monday in a blog post. "It's a fair and fun place for Snapchatters to share their best Snaps and see perspectives from across the Snapchat community."
Snaps submitted to Spotlight must be vertical videos that are up to 60 seconds long -- no still-image photos or horizontal videos allowed -- and adhere to the messaging app's Community Guidelines. Snap said Spotlight is meant to be a fun, positive experience and isn't a place for news or "overtly political" content. The 30-second video released to announce Spotlight includes short videos that look exactly like TikTok videos.
To kick off the new feature, Snap says it'll distribute $1 million every day among top creators who submit videos to Spotlight. The reward program will run through at least the end of 2020, Snap said.
Spotlight is available in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and France, with more countries "coming soon," said Snap.
See also: How an ordinary 16-year-old came to dominate TikTok
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Intel's Core i9-11980HK leads the way for gaming and creative laptops
Intel's Core i9-11980HK leads the way for gaming and creative laptops
If it weren't for the ancillary technologies that come with Intel's latest round of Tiger Lake Core H-series CPUs, today's 11th-gen launch could seem like kind of a snoozefest. Yes, these are the first of the high-power mobile gaming-and-creative-targeted CPUs built on the company's 10-nanometer SuperFin process -- tech that essentially improves current handling to deliver improved performance -- led by an always notable flagship i9, the i9-11980HK. Yes, the i9 is faster than its 10th-gen predecessor. And yes, Intel promises that it's faster than AMD's offerings. Frankly, it would be newsworthy if Intel didn't make those claims. But these chips are basically just an expansion of the line Intel rolled out at CES 2021.
As has become habit with mobile processor launches, Nvidia and Intel have been making them in tandem. At the same time as the new Tiger Lake-H series launch, Nvidia revealed its low-end RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti mobile GPUs.
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That's where Intel debuted the Tiger Lake-H architecture and related process, which (in conjunction with the 500-series chipset) adds support for Thunderbolt 4, Killer Wi-Fi 6E/Gig+, DDR4-3200 memory, dual built-in displays, Optane H20 and 20 lanes of PCIe Gen 4.
Because the Gen 4 allows direct connection to the CPU rather than using a separate bus, it brings with it a couple of notable capabilities for power users. One is Resizeable BAR, which allows the system to allocate an optimal amount of video memory for the CPU to use for graphics operations not otherwise run on the GPU. That means it takes less time to move the graphics data for rendering out to the display, and can eke out some extra graphics performance. (It's similar to AMD Smart Access Memory, which debuted with the Radeon RX 6000 series desktop cards in October 2019.) It also lets manufacturers incorporate bootable SSD RAID arrays using Intel's Rapid Storage Technology. So speedier storage in larger capacities.
Specifications
CPU
Cores / threads
Cache
TDP
Base frequency (GHz)
Max single core frequency (GHz)
Max all core frequency (GHz)
Core i9-11980HK
8/16
24MB
65W
2.6
5
4.5
Core i9-11900H
8/16
24MB
35W
2.5
4.9
4.4
Core i7-11800H
8/16
24MB
35W
2.3
4.6
4.2
Core i5-11400H
6/12
12MB
35W
2.7
4.5
4.1
Core i5-11260H
6/12
12MB
35W
2.6
4.4
4
Just because the processor and chipset support these capabilities doesn't mean you'll see them in all laptops; some of them, such as implementing PCIe Gen 4, are subject to individual manufacturers' preferences and product-line strategies. The i7 and i9 carry on Intel's incorporation of Turbo Boost 3, notable for its automatic selection of the fastest and most reliable core to boost to the max for single-threaded operations.
There are commonalities across all the CPUs, including integrated Intel UHD Graphics. Intel has stressed that the integrated GPU uses its latest Xe graphics architecture, but as with its desktop 11th-gen (Rocket Lake-S) CPUs chose to brand it with the old, old UHD Graphics nomenclature. That's because one of Intel's requirements for it to carry the Iris Xe brand is at least 80 execution units and these H series chips only have 32 EUs. These CPUs are intended for use in laptops with discrete graphics, so that paucity of EUs can be a minor, if irritating, drawback.
Intel also announced its Tiger Lake-H commercial processors, both Core and Xeon, which use the secure, managed vPro chipset.
