Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Samsung Galaxy A70 review: Bigger and better

Samsung has hit its stride with the Galaxy A series. The company delivered a fantastic product in the Galaxy A50, but misstepped a bit with the Galaxy A30. Samsung found its mojo again with the Samsung Galaxy A70, which takes aim at the upper mid-range competition and delivers a great product that can keep up with the best.

We recently spent some time with the Samsung Galaxy A70. Find out what we think in Android Authority's Samsung Galaxy A70 review.

About this review

I wrote this review of the Samsung Galaxy A70 after using it over the course of a week. The phone shipped with Android Pie and One UI 1.1 out of the box. The phone had the PPR1.180610.011.A705GMDDU1ASD1 build number with the March 1st, 2019 security patch. I tested the phone on Airtel's network in New Delhi, India.

Samsung Galaxy A70 review: The big picture

With the A series, Samsung is tackling competitors on all fronts. The A70 is aimed at users who want a large display and superb battery life to back that up. Samsung noted that the refreshed A and M series lineup is directed at a millennial audience and the A70, in particular, looks like a perfect fit for people who spend a lot of time browsing social media or watching video content on their phone.

Samsung Galaxy A70 camera module

What really sets the phone apart from competing devices is the degree of refinement and the smooth experience it offers. Support for Samsung Pay, too, is a standout differentiating factor, though the feature might not be quite the system seller than Samsung is hoping it to be.

What's in the box

  • 25-watt fast charger
  • USB-C to USB-C Cable
  • SIM ejector Tool
  • TPU case
  • In-ear headset

The bundled 25W fast charger makes the package quite appealing since most competing devices tend to ship with a low-watt charging adapter. A very basic clear case is included in the package, though you will probably want to switch it out for a better case. A minor but interesting addition is the switch to a USB-C to USB-C cable, which is a departure from the USB A to C cables we've seen bundled with most phones.

Design

  • 164.3 x 76.7 x 7.9mm
  • 183 grams
  • Waterdrop notch
  • USB-C port
  • Headphone jack
  • Optical in-display fingerprint scanner

Stretch the Samsung Galaxy A50 just a bit and you end up with the A70. The design is nigh identical to those of both the Galaxy A50 and the A30. I get that Samsung is trying to go for a common design language across the board, but differentiation and some high-quality materials would certainly help in the premium mid-range segment.

Samsung Galaxy A70 in hand showing back

As it stands, the Galaxy A70 is an all-plastic smartphone with an ultra-glossy rear that mixes things up with a rainbow-like pattern. It looks plenty good, but the back is a scratch and scuff magnet. After just a week of use, I'm already starting to see micro scratches on the phone. I'm not very confident about how the phone will hold up to months of use. Samsung bundled a TPU protective case in the box, but it is utilitarian at best.

The ultra-glossy back looks great, but is a scratch and scuff magnet.

Buttons and port positioning is as standard as it comes with the volume rocker and power button both placed on the right side. Samsung did an excellent job with ergonomics despite the large size of the phone. If I had to nitpick, the volume rocker could have a bit more segregation for better hands-free control, but this isn't a big issue. Along the bottom edge lies the USB-C port and the headphone jack.

Samsung Galaxy A70 front display with web browser android authority

Though the A70 is similar to the Galaxy A50, we're glad to see that the chin is drastically slimmer on the larger phone. Between the 6.7-inch display, minimal bezels, Infinity-U waterdrop notch, and tiny chin, the Galaxy A70 serves up a wide and beautiful canvas to view multimedia content.

Support for Samsung Pay on the Galaxy A70 is bound to help push forward the tap-to-pay solution.

Like the Galaxy A50, the A70 includes an in-display optical fingerprint scanner. Performance is, frankly put, not that great. It takes a full second and sometimes more for the sensor to recognize the input. You'll have much better luck with face recognition, a much faster solution that's not quite as secure.

A second and more useful upgrade is support for Samsung Pay. Outside of Samsung's flagships, the A70 is the first device to support MST. Most point-of-sale (POS) terminals in India do not support NFC, which means MST is necessary for tap-and-go payments. MST allows the Galaxy A70 to emulate the swiping action of your debit card at payment terminals that lack NFC.

Samsung Galaxy A70 about screen

Despite the larger dimensions, the Galaxy A70 is a reasonably ergonomic phone. While one-handed use would definitely be a stretch, the phone is generally comfortable to hold and the rounded corners certainly help. The phone is on the heftier side, clocking in at 183g, but that can't be helped with the large display and battery.

Display

  • 6.7-inches
  • Full HD+
  • 20:9 Aspect ratio
  • Super AMOLED

The Galaxy A70 comes equipped with a Samsung Super AMOLED display. The screen is large, vibrant, and bright enough to really enjoy multimedia. Be it the latest Netflix series or a popular mobile game, elements pop on the display and the experience is most definitely immersive. The phone has Widevine L1 support, so you'll be able to stream your favorite content in high definition.

Samsung Galaxy A70 showing display

The Full HD+ resolution is perhaps a bit low on a screen this large. Stretched across 6.7 inches, there is a certain softness to icons, text, and certain elements. However, I doubt that most users would care or even notice unless the phone is placed next to a higher-resolution panel. We should point out that the display is often the priciest component of any phone, so Samsung is likely saving a few dollars by sticking with Full HD+ rather than jumping to Quad HD+.

There are robust settings available to adjust the display. You can change the saturation level and white balance, and also individual values for the RGB spectrum.

Yes, the phone gets bright enough to be easily viewable outdoors.

Performance

  • Octa-core Snapdragon 675
  • 6GB of RAM
  • Adreno 612 GPU
  • 128GB storage
  • microSD expansion slot

The Galaxy A70 joins the growing ranks of phones powered by the Snapdragon 675. The chipset provides a great balance between performance and battery life and that's exactly what we saw when testing the A70.

The Snapdragon 675 is an octa-core processor with six Cortex A55 efficiency cores. Two Cortex A76 cores provide all the power you might need. This processor is found in the Redmi Note 7 Pro as well as the Vivo V15 Pro. While the processor excels in CPU-intensive tasks, the Adreno 612 GPU isn't quite all powerful. It sometimes struggles behind the likes of the Adreno 616 on the Snapdragon 710 platform. For example, gaming performance is just a bit smoother on the latter platform.

The phone ships with 128GB of storage, of which about 108GB is available at first boot. Storage can be expanded via the dedicated microSD card slot. The phone also has dual nano SIM card slots with support for VoLTE on both. I tested out the phone on Airtel's network in Delhi and the phone did a pretty good job at holding onto the network. Compared to the Galaxy A50, the A70 seemed to fair a bit better and call quality was mostly clear at both ends.

Samsung Galaxy A70 feature image of back

Day to day performance on the Samsung Galaxy A70 is fantastic. The company has done a really good job optimizing the software. With the same Snapdragon 675 processor and an equivalent amount of RAM, the phone manages to beat the Redmi Note 7 Pro in refinement, a true testament to how well-optimized software can work wonders. Transitions and animations are as smooth as they come. I did not notice any lags in the interface, and multitasking performance was plenty good too.

Samsung Galaxy A70 playing PUBG

PUBG on the Samsung Galaxy A70 runs at all the way up to ultra graphics and, despite the warning about a possible drop in frame rate, the phone plays the game perfectly. While the phone did get warm over longer play sessions, it was never uncomfortable to hold and the expansive screen really adds to the game play experience.

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Battery

An advantage of the larger dimensions is that Samsung was able to stick in a much larger battery. The 4,500mAh cell in the Galaxy A70 ensures that you will easily get a full day of use and likely more. On average, the phone lasted close to two full days. Screen-on time was close to seven hours, a pretty good figure for a phone with a display as large as this.

It is easy to top off the battery. The A70 is the first Samsung phone to ship with support for 25W fast charging. While not as fast as some of the competing standards like VOOC or Dash, you can still charge the battery in under two hours.

Software

  • Android Pie
  • One UI 1.1
  • Limited bloatware

The phone runs Android Pie with One UI 1.1 on board. The software here is exactly the same as other OneUI devices such as the Galaxy S10 and A50, among others. The software is easy to use with multiple options to tweak the interface to your liking. It supports both the newer gesture-based navigation as well as the older navigation keys.

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Like other recent Samsung devices, the phone doesn't ship with a full load of branded apps and instead allows you to choose which ones to install during initial set up. There is limited bloat in the form of Netflix, Amazon, and Daily Hunt. Most, but not all, can be removed.

Camera

  • 32MP rear sensor, f/1.7 aperture
  • 8MP 120-degree, wide-angle camera
  • 5MP depth sensor
  • 32MP Samsung GD1 front-facing camera

When upgrading to a premium mid-range smartphone, imaging capabilities are one of the most tangible and visible improvements. Throwing hardware at the problem, however, doesn't necessarily mean that you will get amazing results.

Like we'd noted in our Samsung Galaxy A50 review, as well as our preview for the A70, the camera tends to overexpose shots in order to make them look brighter. In decent lighting there isn't much noticeable loss of detail, but you can easily spot the overblown highlights. In a country like India, where harsh sunlight is a reality for the better part of the year, this can prove to be quite problematic when shooting outdoors.

Moving to indoor lighting results in an immediate degradation in picture quality. There is a certain softness to the image, and the white balance is set a bit too warm. Additionally, aggressive noise reduction means that low-level detail like skin contours or textures are completely lost.

The above sample was shot using the live focus mode. It does a fairly good job at identifying the outline of the subject, but certainly wasn't perfect. You can notice the crude outline around stray hair.

Galaxy A70 Camera Indoors Wide Galaxy A70 Camera Indoors Galaxy A70 Camera Indoors Wide
Galaxy A70 Camera Indoors

Shooting indoors in comparatively low light, you can notice a similar drop in image quality. While the images are usable, there is a pervasive softness and dullness to the images. The noise reduction gives the image a watercolor painting effect. The wide-angle image produces noticeably worse results.

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If you're the kind of person who is constantly posting selfies and images on social media, the front camera might be right up your alley. Depending on the setting you choose within the camera app, the output will vary from a 32MP image to a pixel-binned 8MP shot. The camera defaults to pixel-binning images, which is what we have posted above.

The Galaxy A70 does not have two front-facing cameras. The single front-facing camera has a wide-angle lens and if you wish to switch to a closer focal range, the camera app simply crops. You can take a look at full resolution Samsung Galaxy A70 camera samples by clicking here.

Video recording on the Samsung Galaxy A70 goes up to 4K resolution at 30fps, but there is no stabilization available. Dynamic range in recorded video is quite poor and you end up losing a lot of details in darker situations. The camera takes a lot of time to catch up with a focus lock with changing scenes. The camera can shoot 480fps slow motion video at 720p resolution, which is great if you want to get some creative shots, though you will need adequate light for quality results.

Specifications

  Samsung Galaxy A70
Display 6.7-inch Super AMOLED
Infinity-U
2,400 x 1,080 resolution
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 675
RAM 6/8GB
Storage 128GB
MicroSD Yes (up to 512GB)
Battery 4,500mAh
25W fast charging
Cameras Rear:
32MP sensor, f/1.7 aperture
8MP ultra wide sensor, f/2.2 aperture
5MP depth sensor, f/2.2 aperture

Front:
32MP sensor, f/2.0 aperture
IP rating No
Headphone jack Yes
Security In-display fingerprint sensor, facial recognition
Software Android 9 Pie
Dimensions and weight 164.3 x 76.7 x 7.9mm
183g
Colors black, white, blue, coral

Value for money

Samsung Galaxy A70 — 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, 28,990 rupees (~$420)

The Samsung Galaxy A70 is available via Samsung's own online store, Flipkart, as well as regular stores across the country. The phone puts up a good fight against competitors like the Vivo V15 Pro, Nokia 8.1, and even the Poco F1.

The Galaxy A70 presents itself as a great overall package with a focus on usability. Sure, the Vivo V15 Pro has a more flashy design, but the pop-out camera is a potential breakage point. Vivo's take on Android is not everyone's cup of tea. OneUI, on the other hand, has been cleaned up substantially and brings a very pleasing user experience to the table.

Then there's the Nokia 8.1, which promises stock Android, but lacks a massive battery, fast 25W charging, and the large, beautiful Super AMOLED display.

Pit against the Poco F1, things get a lot more interesting. The Poco is directed at a very different audience — an audience that cares more about all out performance. The Galaxy A70, at least on paper, cannot keep up with the Snapdragon 845-toting competitor, but specs aside you have a phone that can more or less match and play every game, run every app almost just as well.

Samsung Galaxy A70 review: The Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy A70 is one of the most comprehensive packages you can buy right now. It might not be the most powerful, nor does it have the absolute best camera, but what you get is an amazing blend of usability and a certain degree of polish that competing devices don't have.

Reliability is the key word when it comes to the Galaxy A70.

This is a device that will be a reliable daily driver, with reliability being the key word here. I didn't notice a single stutter or slow down in my usage, and the phone could easily play any game I threw at it. The large 4,500 mAh battery can easily last well over a day of use. The large display makes it perfect for heavy multimedia consumers, or for those who spend a large part of their day on social media.

The design looks great and, while you will likely have to put on a case to ward off scratches, the use of plastics means the phone is more resilient to drops when compared to glass.

That's it for our review of the Samsung Galaxy A70. What do you think about Samsung's refreshed A series devices? Do you think they serve up a good balance between performance and value? Let us know in the comments section.

Affiliate disclosure: We may receive compensation in connection with your purchase of products via links on this page. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. See our disclosure policy for more details.


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Best upcoming Android phones of 2019

the best upcoming Android phones of this year

Editor's note: We will be updating this list of the best upcoming Android phones regularly as new devices launch.


After a sluggish few years in the Android world, 2019 is set to be a smash-hit for smartphone fans. We've already seen a few interesting phones with foldable designs, punch-hole displays, and as many as six cameras. These include the Samsung Galaxy S10Nokia 9 PureView, and many others.

But the year is still far from over. If you want to know more about the kinds of handsets you can look forward to, check out our list of the best upcoming Android phones arriving in 2019.

Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL

An apparent Google Pixel 3a render -- upcoming Android phones

Google Pixel 3a render

Twitter.com/evleaks

Google's Pixel phones are the darlings of Android, but they're not exactly easy on the wallet. The latest model, the Pixel 3, starts at $799, while the larger Pixel 3 XL costs $899. The good news for budget-minded folks is there's a strong chance Google has a solution for you coming in the first half of 2019.

The company is rumored to announce cheaper versions of its flagship phones called the Pixel 3a and 3a XL. They could offer mid-range specs including the Snapdragon 670 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and 1080p displays. However, they may sport near-identical rear cameras as their flagship counterparts, making them great choices for those who value camera quality over everything else.

A launch date has not been confirmed yet, but rumors have it the phones will make their debut on May 7 — the first day of Google I/O. To learn more about the phones including how much they may cost and which other features will they have on board, check out our Google Pixel 3a rumor hub.

Launch ETA: May 7


OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro

OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition

From the outside, it looks like OnePlus had a very successful 2018. The Chinese firm had its best smartphone launch yet with the OnePlus 6T and secured a potentially lucrative sales partnership with T-Mobile to sell it.

The OnePlus 7 series will be announced on May 14.

This year, OnePlus is expected to take things to the next level by launching not one, but two phones. Called the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro, the duo will make their debut on May 14 in New York City. Although the company hasn't shared anything about the upcoming handsets with the public, we have a good idea of what to expect thanks to all the rumors going around.

The phones will likely come with the latest and greatest Snapdragon 855 chipset under the hood, an in-display fingerprint scanner, and OnePlus' fast Warp Charge technology. The Pro model is also rumored to sport a pop-up selfie camera, 5G support, and a Quad HD+ display. To learn more about the two devices, check out our OnePlus 7 rumor roundup post at the link.

Launch date: May 14


Honor 20

The Honor 20 series launch invite showing London's Tower Bridge.

Honor 20 launch promo

Last year's Honor 10 impressed with its combination of high-end specs and an affordable price tag. We expect to see much of the same with the Honor 20, which will be revealed on May 21 in London.

Nothing about the phone is official yet, but rumors claim that it will sport a triple-camera setup with a 48MP main sensor, a 20MP secondary sensor, and an 8MP tertiary camera. There will also be a 32MP selfie snapper on board. Other specs and features may include the powerful Kirin 980 chipset found in the P30 and Mate 20 series, up to 8GB of RAM, and a 3,650mAh battery.

No word on pricing yet, but we expect it to cost a little more than its predecessor, which went for 400 euros (~$445).

Launch ETA: May 21


An upgraded HTC U12 Plus?

upcoming Android phones

HTC's Taiwan president talked about the direction of its upcoming Android phones last year, and it looks like we may not get a true HTC U12 Plus successor in the first half of next year. Apparently, HTC's current plan is to "extend" the U12 Plus range. Though HTC didn't give us any further details on that when we reached out to it, it could mean a slightly upgraded U12 Plus is set for H1 2019.

Read next: Here are the best HTC phones you can buy right now

The HTC U12 Plus has a lot going for it such as a great camera and the innovative Edge Sense feature, but it also has a lot of drawbacks that hurt sales. These include a lackluster software experience, terrible pressure-sensitive buttons, and a price tag that's way too high. We hope HTC will address all these issues with the U12 Plus' successor.

Launch ETA: First half of 2019


Pocophone F2

Xiaomi made headlines last year with the announcement of the Pocophone F1. The reason why is that the phone offers fantastic value for money. Starting at just 330 euros (~$370), it features the Snapdragon 845 chipset, 6GB of RAM, a massive battery, and a dual-camera setup at the back.

The Pocophone F2 is expected to offer a fantastic price-performance ratio.

This year, we expect the company to release its successor — the "Pocophone F2". We don't know anything about the phone right now, but we expect it to follow the same recipe that made the F1 so successful. That means offering high-end specs at a price-point that undercuts the competition by a wide margin.

In addition to the latest Snapdragon chipset and a ton of RAM, we also hope the phone will come with NFC, a better design, and a few other things you can check out in our Pocophone F2 wishlist post.

Launch ETA: August


Samsung Galaxy Note 10

Samsung Experience Homescreen

The Galaxy S10 series has already been announced, which means the next Samsung flagship to look forward to in 2019 is the Galaxy Note 10. Based on previous years, the phone will likely be announced in August or September.

Rumors suggest we might see a couple of different variants of the Galaxy Note 10, one of which will be 5G-ready. As far as specs go, we expect to see the latest Snapdragon 855/Exynos 9820 chipset, an in-display fingerprint scanner, and hopefully a headphone jack. Early rumors also suggest the handset will feature four rear cameras, two more than the Note 9. All these things combined make the Note 10 one of the most anticipated upcoming Android phones of 2019.

All this will come at a price. The phone is expected to cost more than its predecessor, which means the entry-level variant will retail for over $1,000. Check out all the rumors about the Galaxy Note 10 to learn more about it.

Launch ETA: August or September


Google Pixel 4 series

The back of the Google Pixel 3, showing the camera.

The Google Pixel 4 series, which will likely consist of the Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL, is expected to make its debut in October. As we're still months away from their release, we don't officially know anything about the two upcoming Android phones. But we assume they'll be camera-focused, just like their predecessors.

Editor's Pick

We also expect them to run the next version of Android, currently known as Android Q. Unlike the Pixel 3a and 3a XL, they will almost certainly be flagship phones powered by Qualcomm's latest high-end chipset — most likely the Snapdragon 855.

Other specs and features expected include wireless charging, an IP68 rating, and the Active Edge technology that allows you to summon Google Assistant by squeezing the edges of the phone. No word on pricing yet, but expect to pay at least as much as for the Pixel 3 phones.

Launch ETA: October


Huawei Mate 30 Pro

The twilight back of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro.

Huawei announced the P30 Pro in March, which means the next flagship from the company to expect is the Mate 30 Pro. Based on previous Mate phones, the 30 Pro will likely be revealed in October.

We haven't heard a lot of rumors about the phone so far, but we do expect it to come with the upcoming Kirin 990 chipset under the hood. We also hope to see an even better camera, an enhanced in-display fingerprint scanner, and an improved reverse wireless charging feature.

There's a good chance the phone will have a larger display, measuring at least 6.5-inches to make it bigger than the one of the P30 Pro. We also expect a price bump, with the entry-level variant of the phone likely costing more than 1,000 euros (~$1,115).

Launch ETA: October


Motorola Razr foldable phone

A Motorola patent filing showing the potential Motorola Razr

Patent for the Motorola Razr

WIPO

It looks like Motorola plans on bringing back the Razr series. The company is reportedly working on a foldable phone, which is expected to launch sometime this year. An exact date isn't known, but the company said it plans to enter the market around the same time as its competitors. As Samsung and Huawei have already revealed their foldable phones, Motorola can't be far behind.

Editor's Pick

The Motorola Razr foldable phone (the name hasn't been confirmed yet) reportedly folds vertically and features two displays. Based on a previous patent filing, it features a small display on the outside when closed and a larger display when opened.

Specs-wise, rumors have it that it will be a mid-range device sporting the Snapdragon 710 chipset, up to 6GB of RAM, and a 2,730mAh battery. It may cost as much as $1,500, but we won't know for sure until it's officially released. In the U.S., it will likely be Verizon-exclusive.

Launch ETA: Sometime in 2019


Announced but not yet released

The handsets below have already been announced, but since they haven't gone on sale yet we're still including them on our list of the best upcoming Android phones.

Samsung Galaxy Fold

Samsung Galaxy Foll - best upcoming Android phones

Announced in February, the Galaxy Fold is Samsung's first foldable device. It opens and closes like a book and features a 4.6-inch display on the outside and a 7.3-inch screen on the inside. The phone has six cameras on board, is powered by the Snapdragon 855 chipset, and is 5G ready. It was initially scheduled to go on sale on April 26, but Samsung pushed back the launch date due to problems with the phone's display. A new release date has not been announced yet.

Huawei Mate X

Huawei Mate X Foldable Phone Hands On display unfolded

Huawei's rival to the Galaxy Fold made its debut at MWC 2019. It features a single display that's wrapped around the outside of the device and measures 8-inches when in tablet mode. The 5G phone is powered by the Kirin 980 chipset, sports a rear triple-camera setup, and has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. Huawei says the Mate X (with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage) will retail for 2,299 euros (~$2,565) once it goes on sale this summer. The phone isn't expected to launch in the U.S..

LG V50 ThinQ

upcoming Android phones - LG V50 ThinQ

The successor to the LG V40 ThinQ made its debut at MWC in February and is LG's first 5G phone. It sports a large 6.4-inch QHD+ display, is equipped with three rear cameras, and is powered by the latest and greatest Snapdragon 855 chipset. The V50 is a great phone for music lovers, as it features a headphone jack and a Quad DAC that offers a better audio experience with the right headphones. It's expected to launch in South Korea soon, after which it will make its way to other markets as well. An exact release date or price have not been revealed yet.

Sony Xperia 1

Sony Xperia 1 Sony Xperia 10 10 Plus

Sony's flagship has a large 6.5-inch display with an aspect ratio of 21:9. It sports top-of-the-line specs including the Snapdragon 855 chipset, 8GB of RAM, and a rear triple-camera setup. It comes with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner like a lot of other Xperia phones and offers most of the bells and whistles expected from a flagship including an IP68 rating. The Xperia 1 was announced at MWC 2019 in Barcelona and can already be pre-ordered for $1,000. However, there's no word on when the phone will start shipping.


This isn't a comprehensive list of upcoming Android phones, just a taste of what's to come in 2019. Let us know if we've missed any big ones and tell us the handset you're most excited for in the comments.

Affiliate disclosure: We may receive compensation in connection with your purchase of products via links on this page. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. See our disclosure policy for more details.


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Boost your prospects by mastering QuickBooks for just $19

QuickBooks on Latop and Smartphone

Finance is a vast job sector that requires varying types of skills to achieve success. On the accounting side, one of the most popular tools globally is QuickBooks.

There are millions of businesses that use Quickbooks to crunch the numbers, so an understanding of how it works is a useful skill to have on your resume. If you're looking to pursue a career or climb the ladder in the lucrative world of finance, then the QuickBooks 2019 Masterclass can be your guide. 

Regularly priced at $150, this training is subject to a promotional offer this week. Right now it's available for just $19.

Validate your training and boost your next job application.

This online learning kit spans seven hours of video tutorials to educate you in using this software. It's all geared to give a beginner the practical knowledge on how to create summaries, reports, and analyses of financial data. Upon completion, you'll also receive a certificate to validate your training and boost your next job application.

This skillset is also invaluable if you own your own business, as QuickBooks makes keeping track of your income and outgoings easy. It's even useful for your own personal finances, so anyone can benefit.

The QuickBooks 2019 Masterclass in a nutshell

  • Access seven hours of content 24/7.
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To take advantage of this massive 87 percent saving, and potentially take your career prospects to the next level for just $19, hit the button below.

The AAPicks team writes about things we think you'll like, and we may see a share of revenue from any purchases made through affiliate links. To see all our hottest deals, head over to the AAPICKS HUB.



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This $4,300 tech career launcher is $199 until tomorrow!

The Ultimate Tech Career Toolbox 2019

It's never too late to start your tech career. In fact, you don't even need to go back to college. You could be on the path to a six-figure salary in tech today.

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You can learn from the best, at your own pace, and from the comfort of your own home. No prior tech knowledge is required. Better still, until tomorrow night, you can get lifetime access for just $199.

How does the Tech Career Toolbox work?

The word "ultimate" can be over-used. In this case, however, it's difficult to dispute.

The Ultimate Tech Career Toolbox 2019 is made up of 33 premium coding and tech courses, each led by a specialist in a particular tech field. Furthermore, the emphasis is on teaching you these skills in interesting and engaging ways.

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Remember, the deal ends tomorrow, so don't miss this life-changing opportunity. Hit the button below to check out the offer.

The AAPicks team writes about things we think you'll like, and we may see a share of revenue from any purchases made through affiliate links. To see all our hottest deals, head over to the AAPICKS HUB.



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First season of Ingress: The Animation now available to watch on Netflix

If you've been waiting for news on the Ingress: The Animation anime series, today's your lucky day — you can now watch all eleven episodes of the show's first season on Netflix.

Ingress: The Animation is based on the Ingress mobile game and follows Makoto Midorikawa, a special police investigator that can read the memories of anything he touches. Makoto is investigating an explosion at a research laboratory that was looking into a substance called Exotic Matter (XM).

Editor's Pick

The sole survivor is Sarah Coppola, who lost her memories and can see events taking place across time and space. Makoto and Sarah then become embroiled in a conspiracy that involves a sketchy corporation, XM, a resistance movement, and plenty of running.

There's also a third character — Jack Norman — who's a former mercenary and follows Sarah. Norman's "Flash Forward" ability lets him see into the future.

Ingress: The Animation features an original plot, though it shares some commonalities with the Ingress and Ingress Prime mobile games. For example, the show features the Enlightened and Resistance factions that are seen as opposing sides in the games.

You can go here to watch Ingress: The Animation. You can also download Ingress Prime at the link below.



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Brawl Stars updates: Rosa nerfed less than a week after release

Brawl Stars artwork - updates, patch notes, brawler changes

Welcome to our Brawl Stars update hub! We'll be collecting all of the official balance changes and updates for Brawl Stars as they're released by Finnish giant Supercell.

If you can't get enough Brawl Stars, be sure to bookmark this page to stay up-to-date on the latest buffs, nerfs, new game modes, and new brawlers added to the game. Below you'll find the most recent update, followed by a list of new brawlers as they're released. Previous Brawl Stars updates can be found at the end of the page.

Get brawlin' with some of our other Brawl Stars content:

Can't get enough Supercell? Check out our update hubs for Supercell's other hit games:


Brawl Stars update: The latest


Brawl Stars update Rosa balance update

Rosa Balance update overview

Release date: April 30, 2019

Less than a week after her release, the latest melee Brawler Rosa is being taken down a peg. Her super has proved to be too powerful, so this Brawl Stars update hits both its duration and damage reduction.

Rosa Balance update patch notes

Rosa

  • Super Shield damage reduction reduced to 70% (down from 80%).
  • Super Shield duration reduced to 4 seconds (from 6 seconds).
  • Fixed a bug with Enemy Rosa's shield effect not being displayed correctly.

New Brawlers in Brawl Stars

Brawl stars update new brawlers

Like new troops in Clash of Clans and new cards in Clash Royale, Supercell releases new brawlers in Brawl Stars from time to time. Below you'll find all of the new brawlers released since the game's global release in reverse chronological order.

New Brawler — Rosa

brawl stars new brawler rosa

This boxing botanist will plant her feet and go toe to toe! Her Super gives her tough, vegan protective gear.

Release date: April 26, 2019

  • Rare Brawler announced in the April update.
  • Similar play style as Primo.

Main attack – Hands of Stone

  • Rosa releases a flurry of punches.
  • Close range only.

Super – Strong Stuff

  • Rosa creates a tough second skin of vines,
  • Prevents 80% of incoming damage (later reduced to 70%).
  • Lasts 6 seconds (later reduced to 4 seconds).

Star Power – Plant Life

  • Rosa regains health while inside bushes.

New Brawler — Carl

Brawl stars new brawler Carl Supercell

Carl is a pickaxe wielding miner that drives around in a mining cart. He only has one ammo, and his super sends him flying into enemies!

Release date: March 22, 2019

  • Super Rare Brawler announced in February update.
  • Short range Brawler with just one ammo.

Main Attack – Pickaxe

  • Carl throws his Pickaxe, consuming his only ammo.
  • Pickaxe bounces off obstacles, returning to Carl after bouncing.
  • Upon returning, ammo is restored.
  • Can hit enemies twice per shot.

Super Attack – Tailspin

  • Carl spins around in his mine cart, damaging nearby enemies.

New Brawler — Gene

Brawl stars new brawler gene

Gene uses his magic lamp to shoot a splitting projectile. His super is a magical hand that grabs and pulls enemies close!

Release date: February 15, 2019

  • Long range supportive Brawler.

Main attack – Smoke Blast

  • Shoots a ball of smoke from his lamp.
  • If it doesn't hit, it splits and spreads in a cone.

Super – Magic Hand

  • Launches a magic hand from his lamp.
  • Pulls first enemy hit back to Gene.

New Brawler — Leon

Leon New Brawler Brawl Stars Update

Leon shoots a quick salvo of blades at his target. His Super trick is a smoke bomb that makes him invisible for a little while!

Release date: December 5, 2018

  • Legendary brawler released with December update.

Main Attack – Leaf Blades

  • Main attack fires four blades that do increased damage to close targets.

Super – Smoke Bomb

  • Super makes him invisible for a brief amount of time.
  • Taking damage while Super is active will briefly reveal Leon.
  • Attacking will permanently remove the invisibility.
  • Nearby enemy brawlers will be able to see him, but turrets and pets will not.

Star Power – Smoke Trails

  • Increased movement speed when Super is active.

Brawl Stars Update History


Brawl Stars April update overview

Release date: April 15, 2019

This Brawl Stars update brings some long overdue changes to competitive ranking system, including changes targeted specifically at teamers in Showdown. This should improve gameplay experience across all game modes.

There's also a new melee Brawler in town: Rosa! She's similar to Primo, but with a new shield mechanic for her Super. She should give players who like to get up close and personal another great option for battle. Look for her to be released soon after the patch hits.

Brawl Stars April update patch notes

New Rare Brawler – Rosa (released April 26)

  • Main attack – Hands of Stone
    • Flurry of punches.
  • Super – Strong Stuff
    • Rosa creates a tough second skin of vines, preventing 80% of incoming damage for 6 seconds.
  • Star Power – Plant Life
    • Rosa regains health while inside bushes.

New Skins

  • Celebrate Easter with Bunny Penny.
  • Celebrate Golden Week with Shiba Nita.

New Maps & Dynamic Map Element

  • Gem Grab: Minecart Madness.
    • Carts travel on the railroads on certain intervals.
    • Carts block shots, deal damage and push back Brawlers when hit.
  • Showdown: Flying Fantasies(with Launch Pads!), Royal Runway.
  • Brawl Ball: Center Stage.
  • Siege: Junk Park, Sparring Match, Straight Shot, Assembly Attack.
  • Boss Fight: Danger Zone.

Showdown

  • Changes to discourage teaming in Showdown:
    • Meteors now target grouped players with better logic and the Meteor explosion radius is bigger.
    • Healing mushrooms and Energy Drinks are now more likely to spawn farther from grouped players.

Siege

  • Bolts now spawn closer to the middle.
  • Frank's stun only works for a split second on the IKE.
  • IKE no longer creates area damage with its projectile.
  • IKE projectile now homes to the target (but not against flying units).

Other

  • Some homescreen Buttons Moved into Menu.
  • Watch high-level gameplay live on Brawl TV.
  • Preview and test new brawlers in the Training Cave.
  • Added Polish and Hebrew languages.
  • Name Change for Gems – First is free! Then 60, 90, 120, 150 Gems for each consecutive change.
  • New Menu background and music for Golden Week event (coming soon).
  • Slightly more difficult matchmaking for teams.
  • Support for color tags removed (color codes can be removed with one free name change) Players have an option to pick a color from their profile screen.
  • Tutorial improvements.
  • Improved poor connection symbol display during battle.
  • Increased Super button's tappable area.
  • Spawn the second Gem in Gem Grab later.
  • Shows Star Icon under Pets if they are affected by Star Power.

Character Sounds & Visuals

Bo

  • In-game model rework, New Effects and Projectiles.

Carl

  • Audio Voice Overs.

Leon

  • New attack projectile.

Penny

  • New effects and projectiles for Little Helper Penny skin.

Brock

  • New animation for Boombox Brock skin.

Spike

  • Effects polished.

Primo

  • New main attack effect.

Barley

  • New projectile for Golden Barley skin.

Bug Fixes

  • Robo Rumble: Fixed an issue in Robo Rumble where the enraged melee robots were not hitting the safe.
  • Brawl Ball: Fixed an issue that caused Ball to bounce from walls that were destroyed while the ball was moving after a kick.
  • Brawl Ball: Own goal is attributed to the last player from the opposing team to touch the ball.
  • Brawl Ball: When Penny's Star Powered Mortar explodes after a goal it no longer shoots out cannon balls.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented spectating while ready in a game room.
  • Fixed double rank up token reward not being visualized correctly in the battle end screen.
  • Fixed an issue that caused a player to be unable to reject/accept Game Room join requests.
  • Fixed an issue that caused online time for new Club members to be shown as "< 1 month ago>".
  • Fixed an issue that caused Club member statuses to not update instantly.
  • Matchmaking hints are no longer displayed for unreleased Brawlers.
  • Season end trophy decay handling improved.
  • Fixed a bug where you could end up having the super button stuck down if you shot your super the exact same time when you got hit by a pushback.
  • Pet spawning will occur even if the Brawler dies while activating Super.

Character Balance & Bug Fixes

Crow

  • Increased main attack damage from 280 to 300.
  • Increased super damage from 280 to 300.
  • Increased poison damage per second from 70 to 75.

Carl

  • Increased boomerang speed by 25%.
  • Increased Super duration from 2.5 sec to 3.0 sec.
  • Stuns, pushbacks and pulls now interrupt Carl's Super ability.
  • Fixed a bug causing Carl to not reload when the boomerang returned.
  • Carl no longer has a reload animation when he spawns.
  • Carl's Pickaxe now returns even if Carl dies when the Pickaxe is flying towards the target.

Darryl

  • Increased health from 4000 to 4200.

Shelly

  • Increased main attack range from 7.33 tiles to 7.67 tiles.
  • Increased main attack projectile speed by 5%.

Piper

  • Increased the number of Bombs dropped from Super from 3 to 4.
  • Increased Super Bomb damage from 800 to 900.
  • Bombs now spread on a little bit larger area (+10% diameter).

Gene

  • Fixed a bug that allowed Gene to pull the Robot boss so that it got stuck in Boss Fight.
  • Fixed a bug that caused Gene's pull to stick enemies inside walls when pulling close to an indestructible wall.
  • Fixed a bug that didn't allow Gene to pull enemies with his Magic Hand while being poisoned by a lvl 10 Crow.
  • When a pulled enemy dies during the pull the hand no longer destroys the environment.
  • When Gene is pulling a target with his Magic Hand the target cannot be pulled by another Gene.
  • Quickfire now takes into account the added range from the projectile splitting.

Pam

  • Decreased main attack damage from 260 to 240.
  • Decreased health from 4400 to 4300.
  • When Nita and her Bear and Pam attack Pam's Healing Stations they now receive the star power healing effect.

Leon

  • Decreased Super Invisibility time from 8.0 sec to 7.0 sec.

Spike

  • Quickfire now takes into account the added range from the projectile splitting.

Poco

  • Increased Super healing from 1840 to 2100.


Brawl Stars update: February update

Release date: February 27, 2019

The February Brawl Stars update brings yet another new Brawler and a brand new game mode. Carl is a unique Brawler with just one ammo slot that replenishes when his flying Pickaxe returns. It passes through enemies and comes back upon reaching max range or bouncing off of an obstacle.

The new game mode, Siege, introduces a few new elements of strategy that enables a variety of Brawlers to get into the action. It features two teams of three that vie to collect Bolts in the middle of the map to send a massive Robo towards the enemy cannon. Check out the full patch notes below!

Brawl Stars February update patch notes

New Brawler – Carl

  • New Super Rare Brawler to be released in mid-March.
  • Throws a Pickaxe that passes through enemies.
  • Has just once ammo, which is not consumed when kicking the ball in Brawl Ball.
  • Super sends him spinning into enemies, dealing AoE damage.

New game mode – Siege

  • New 3v3 game mode with 3 unique maps.
  • Each team has a powerful long-range cannon, dealing massive damage.
  • Teams collect Bolts in the middle of the map.
  • At certain intervals the team with the most Bolts spawns a powerful Robo to attack the enemy cannon.
  • Gives double trophies, exp, and rewards due to longer game time.

New skin – Night Witch Mortis

  • New skin to celebrate the anniversary of the Clash Royale release.

Game mode balance

Heist

  • Safe health increased to 40000 (up from 36000).

Robo Rumble

  • Enraged robots will target the safe only.

Showdown

  • Healing Mushrooms heal for less later in the game.

General

  • Item pickup range increased to 1.33 tiles (from 1 tile).

Maps and event rotation

  • 4 new Showdown maps added.
  • 7 new Gem Grab maps added.
  • 1 new Brawl Ball map added.
  • New map element – Launch Pads – added.
  • Showdown now only appears in event slot 2.
  • Siege added to event slot 4.
  • All rotations adjusted.

Visual effects and sounds

  • New visuals for several Brawlers:
    • Pam.
    • Barley.
    • Penny.
    • Mortis.
    • Royal Agent Colt.
  • New sounds:
    • Gene voice over added.
    • New Clash Royale Birthday music added.
    • Meteor volume reduced.

Quality of life improvements and bug fixes

  • Brawlers now sortable in selection screen.
  • Do not disturb mode added to mute invites during a session.
  • Fixed a bug hiding teammate respawn timers.
  • Fixed in-game hud element bugs.
  • Fixed a bug causing boss to get stuck in Boss Fight.
  • Fixed a bug where bots in a friendly game didn't have max power level.

Balance changes

Barley

  • Main attack damage increased to 680 (up from 640).
  • Super damage increased to 680 (up from 640).

Bo

  • Main attack damage increased to 500 (up from 480).

Gene

  • Star power healing increased to 200 per second (up from 100).
  • Super projectile size increased to 200 (up from 150).
  • Super now deals no damage.
  • Super now travels through walls.
  • Super now charges 30% faster.
  • Star power healing no longer shown to enemies.

Crow

  • Main attack reload time decreased to 1.4 seconds (down from 1.5).

Leon

  • Main attack damage in close range decreased to 440 (down from 460).
  • Number of shuriken hits to charge super in close range increased to 9 (up from 8).

Mortis

  • Star power healing reduced to 1400 (down from 1800).

Pam

  • Main attack reload time increased to 1.3 seconds (up from 1.2).

Darryl

  • Super autocharge time increased to 30 seconds (up from 20).

Brawl Stars update: January update

Released: January 28, 2019

The first major Brawl Stars update since the global release is here! It mostly contains tweaks to brawler balance and a few notable nerfs. The newest brawler Leon is finally being taken down a peg, with nerfs to both his Super duration and close range damage.

The biggest changes are to the maps themselves. Green bushes no longer respawn on any maps, which will have a major impact on close range brawlers. There are a few smaller adjustments to other game modes, like Bounty game duration, Brawl Ball spawn location, and Showdown poison damage.

On top of all of this, there are several new skins to celebrate the Lunar New Year, as well as a new Brawler coming soon. Best of all though, there are economy changes that increase player token limits to 200 and lower the gem cost of Star Powers.

Brawl Stars January update patch notes

New Brawler – Gene

  • Gene is a ranged support Brawler.
  • Gene's Super pulls an enemy to his location with a magical hand from his lamp.
  • Gene will be released some time mid-February.

New Skins

  • Three new Lunar Brawl skins
    • Dumpling Darryl.
    • Lion Dance Brock.
    • Royal Agent Colt.
  • Football Bull.
  • Serenade Poco.
  • Popcorn Rico.

Updated character models and skins

  • Spike.
    • Pink Spike skin replaced with Sakura Spike.
  • Darryl
  • Poco
  • Rico
  • Colt

Game mode balance changes

All game modes

  • Green bushes no longer regrow after 35 seconds.
  • Exploded environment elements no longer leave one-tile gaps.

Brawl Ball

  • Spawn location moved inside the goal.
  • Kicking the ball now consumes ammo.
  • Kicking the ball with Super does not consume ammo.
  • Space behind the goal removed on all maps.

Showdown

  • Player names now empty over 300 trophies instead of displaying "???".
  • Poison no longer deals damage instantly upon spawning or growing.

Bounty

  • Game length reduced to 2 minutes (from 2.5 minutes).

Raid Boss

  • Now shows when the next Boss rage stage begins.
  • One additional rage stage added.
  • Now displays difficulty setting while in-game.
  • Player respawn time increased by 2 seconds.

Duo Showdown

  • Player respawn time increased by 2 seconds.

Heist

  • Safe health increased to 36000 (from 30000).

That's all for our Brawl Stars update hub! Be sure to bookmark this article, as we'll update it over the next few weeks and months with the latest releases! Happy brawling!



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After 18 years at Google and Alphabet, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is stepping down

Picture of Eric Schmidt Win McNamee/Getty Images

Alphabet announced today that Alphabet board member and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will not seek re-election once his terms ends June 19, 2019.

Chairman of the Board of Directors John Hennessy had the following to say in regards to Schmidt:

Eric has made an extraordinary contribution to Google and Alphabet as CEO, Chairman, and Board member. We are extremely grateful for his guidance and leadership over many years.

Editor's Pick

Android Authority reached out to Alphabet regarding Schmidt's imminent departure, but didn't hear back by press time.

The news isn't a complete surprise, seeing how Schmidt stepped down as Executive Chairman on Alphabet's board of directors in 2017. Schmidt remained on Alphabet's board, though Alphabet CEO and Google co-founder Larry Page noted at the time that Schmidt would serve as a technical adviser on science and technology issues.

Schmidt is best known for his tenure as Google CEO from 2001 to 2017, Google Executive Chairman from 2011 to 2015, and Alphabet Executive Chairman from 2015 to 2017. Schmidt was also elected to Apple's board of directors from 2006 to 2009 and famously remained on Apple's board as Google worked on its iPhone competitor.

Before his time at Google, Schmidt served as Novell CEO from 1997 to 2001 and worked at Sun Microsystems as the company's first software engineer.

NEXT: Google says Pixel sales are down, blames 'pressures' in premium segment



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Movavi makes it easy to edit videos on your phone and computer

Smartphones these days rival and sometimes outperform consumer-level cameras when it comes to video quality. But after you capture a memory, you typically have to transfer files over to your computer and edit them there if you want a professional-looking movie or slideshow.

That's no longer an issue thanks to the Movavi Clips video editor. This free app for Android and iOS makes it easy to take an assortment of photos and video clips and export a masterpiece for your friends and family to enjoy.

Upon first opening Movavi Clips, you will be asked which aspect ratio you would like to use for your creation. This option is perfect for those mobile videographers who want to upload videos in the ideal resolution for Instagram, YouTube, and other social platforms.

When you're ready to begin, you will find editing tools generally reserved for professional video editing software. Some of the tools available in the app include precise clip cutting, the ability to slow down or fast forward video clips, add transitions, and much more.

Once you have the basic video assembled, you can then use Movavi to color correct your footage using color filters. You can also manually adjust the brightness and saturation of each clip.

Before you export the movie, you can add titles, stickers, and voice-overs to give it a personalized feel. Additionally, you can choose to add music from Movavi's built-in music and sounds library. This takes away the difficulty of having to find copyright free music.
When you're done, you can either save your creation directly to your smartphone or share it with other apps.

The best part about Movavi is that it's completely free and is even ad-free. The premium version unlocks all of the sticker packs, includes all future versions of the video editor, features priority support, and removed the Movavi watermark from your finished videos.

You can buy the premium version of the app for $14.99 for lifetime access or choose to pay $6.99 a year or $1.49 a month.

Download Movavi Clips for Android and iOS directly from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store by clicking on the buttons below:

Movavi video editor for desktop

If you liked the look of Movavi Clips and now want a similar video editor for your computer, don't fret. The company that makes the mobile app also has a video editor that works perfectly on Windows and MacOS.

Just like with the Movavi Clips app, you don't lose out on any professional features with the desktop video editor. You can still cut, trim, crop, and rotate video clips, plus you'll be able to capture video from a webcam, your screen, and chroma key backgrounds.
Additionally, the Movavi Video Editor comes with its own built-in music collection, stickers, color filters, and video samples.

If you've ever used other video editing software, you're going to find Movavi to be extremely easy to use. Within 20 minutes of use, you'll be editing together movies like a pro.

As you can see in the above video, Movavi also makes special effect packages that can be used in its video editor. These cost an additional $9.95 to $19.95 each, but come with a wide assortment of items that are guaranteed to spice up your videos.

You can buy the Movavi Video Editor for $39.95 for Windows and MacOS by clicking on the button below:

This article is sponsored by Movavi.



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Facebook Dating coming to US this year with new ‘Secret Crush’ feature

The Facebook logo on a blue background.

In September last year, Facebook rolled out Facebook Dating features in Colombia as a test run. Now, the service is live in five countries with 14 more on the way very soon.

Today, Facebook committed to bringing Facebook Dating to the United States by the end of 2019 (via TechCrunch).

We covered the initial test run of Facebook's first dating features here, and not too much has changed since then (it's basically a dating app but within Facebook). You still need to opt-in to use Facebook Dating and there's still no plan to monetize the service.

Facebook did introduce one new feature today which is called Secret Crush. The purpose of Secret Crush is to help you connect to people with whom you are already friends.

Editor's Pick

The way Secret Crush works is that you select up to nine people on your friends list whom you are crushing on. If they have opted-in to Facebook Dating, they'll receive a notification that a friend of theirs has a crush on them. If they then go through their own list of friends and pick you as one of their nine crushes, you'll both match up and a Facebook Messenger chat will automatically begin.

Essentially, Secret Crush is an ice breaker: it alerts two people that they like each other and then facilitates a conversation.

If the first thing you're thinking is that people will just keep subbing in new friends until they get a match to game the system, Facebook has that covered: once you select your nine crushes, you can only sub out one of those crushes each day. If you have hundreds of friends, it could take you years to get through them all. So choose your crushes wisely.

Facebook Dating has no specific release date for the U.S. as of yet but will be here by the end of the year.

NEXT: Facebook Dating is doing a test run right now in Colombia



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