Week in Review: Is our tech getting too powerful?

Plus: we put Samsung's fast-charging tech to the test, and Apple holds out on a folding iPhone | The S22 Ultra's fast charging works just fine | Can a graphics card be too powerful? Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( February 25, 2022 CONNECT WITH TECH RADAR  [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Youtube]( [Tech Radar]( [Tech Radar]( [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [WEBSITE](  [] Welcome to the Week in Review [] Plus: we put Samsung's fast-charging tech to the test, and Apple holds out on a folding iPhone It’s been a relatively quiet week when it comes to new launches, but we’ve still seen plenty of intriguing happenings in the world of tech. One of the biggest mysteries was around Amazon Web Services – again. Some reporting tools showed that it was down, and some services that use it also went offline, but AWS insisted it wasn’t to blame. It’s a mystery that hasn’t been solved as yet, but with Slack, Peloton and more all going down our live-bloggers had some pretty raw fingers by the end of the day. Turning to this week's selection of stories, and if there's a theme, it's power – read on to see what I mean… Gareth Beavis, Global Editor-in-Chief [] Start with This [] [The S22 Ultra's fast charging works just fine]( [The S22 Ultra's fast charging works just fine]( The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Future) We saw a report earlier this week that the Galaxy S22 Ultra's superfast charging was, well, not that fast. GSM Arena tested the expensive new phone with Samsung's 25W and 45W chargers (thanks Samsung for not putting them in the box), and found that the supposedly faster 45W charger took only five minutes less than the 25W one to fully charge the phone. TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff decided to investigate – [and the mystery deepened](. He found that the S22 Ultra charged just fine in 20 minutes with the faster 45W charger, adding nearly 50%, just as Samsung claims. It's clear that the Ultra is set up to be topped up super-quickly, which makes sense. If you're desperate for a spot of juice when you're about to head out, 20 minutes is all you need. Most of us will charge the phone overnight or on a wireless charger at work or home, and the need for speedy charging to 100% is less necessary. Although I'm still annoyed that Samsung doesn't put this charger in the box, when you're paying north of $1,000 for the phone. [] This is Big [] [Can a graphics card be too powerful?]( [Can a graphics card be too powerful?]( (Nvidia) I do enjoy Jackie Thomas’s takes on the world of components. She’s looked at the rumored RTX 4090 graphics cards that are tipped to come out in September this year, and has been aghast at rumors that they [could require nearly 800W of power](. Now, I’m no hardcore PC gamer (I have children, so that’s entirely off the cards) but even I know that’s an exorbitant amount of power, and would require a complete upgrade of certain components – no matter how much graphical power these cards can output, that’s going to annoy some people. But apparently we can all chill out – Jackie points out that the same fears were raised over the RTX 3080, and weren't borne out, and she suspects that'll also be the case here. Take a deep breath everyone. Featured Content Sponsored Content from Bitdefender [Spread the love to your devices with these security tips]( You can also share the love with your devices, making sure they stay safe online and you don't suffer any kind of security heartbreak. Here's some of our top tips to make sure this Valentine's Day is a security success on every front. [Learn More]( [] Know This [] [This e-bike is almost too powerful for its own good]( [This e-bike is almost too powerful for its own good]( (Biktrix) From super-powerful graphics cards to super-powerful bikes, and while I don't generally like the idea of electric bikes – they'll just make me incredibly lazy, I know it – [I love the sound of this one](. When Canadian manufacturer Biktrix was designing and building a bike that can pump out 2000W of power, it had to come up with a way to ensure that the thing didn't rip itself apart. The result is the Juggernaut XD, which will cost a huge $4,999 (about £3,700). To get around the fact that this much power would likely destroy most bikes, it's packing two separate drive systems: one for pedaling, and one for electric power. That's a smart way of doing things, even if you can only ride it legally in the same places you can use a quad bike – and I'm fine with that being the case. [] POLL QUESTION: Are e-bikes cheating? [Vote]( [No - they help more people stop using cars]( [Vote]( [No - I wouldn't cycle otherwise]( [Vote]( [Yes - pedal power alone should be enough]( [Vote]( [Who cares - they're fun!]( [] Read This [] [Don't hold out for an iPhone fold]( [Don't hold out for an iPhone fold]( Folding phones such as the Galaxy Z Fold 3, above, are unlikely to face a rival from Apple any time soon (Future) Bad news if, like me, you're patiently waiting for info on the new generation of iPhone – while I'm always excited to report on new foldable phones, it's when Apple delivers its take on a new type of device that things really get interesting. I was sure that this year, or next year at the latest, was going to be the year Apple dipped its toe into the world of foldable phones – but sadly it [doesn't look like that's going to be the case](. Supply chain analysis is strongly suggesting that we won't see an iPhone Fold (or whatever it's called) until 2025. And that makes me sad – I've been looking forward to seeing what iOS will look like when an iPhone and iPad get combined. Here's hoping these reports are wide of the mark, and that Apple gets its foldable act together sooner rather than later. [] The Sign Off [] ["There's always going to be a bit of you sticking out."]( ["There's always going to be a bit of you sticking out."]( The Argentinosaurus is thought to be the largest dinosaur that ever existed (MR1805 via Getty Images) When I read the question posed in the headline 'Are there any giant animals humans haven't discovered yet?' I made that 'pschaww' noise in my head. Of course there aren't – if there were, then obviously we'd have seen them by now. [Oh, how wrong I was](. It turns out that we've only recently discovered the siphonophore – which is a massive 45 meters long and floats through the ocean. Although, when you read the description, it doesn't seem that it's really right: "Each member of this group of species is made up of lots of smaller animals called zooids, which connect to form a long, string-like colony similar to a coral but that swims freely in the ocean." To me that's like saying that me and my sister standing on my shoulders is the tallest human alive – we can walk around like that all day, but it doesn't mean we're a big person. While the article does note that there are depths of the ocean that we yet haven't explored and where huge creatures could be lurking, large land-based animals would be far easier to spot – so it's unlikely we're suddenly going to find a 20-foot monkey hiding up a mountain. We could find the remains of a previously unknown huge dinosaur, but as Paul Barrett, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London, told Live Science: "If you're a sauropod and you're 30 meters [100 feet] long, your chances of getting buried in one go are actually quite low. There's always probably going to be a bit of you sticking out." [] This is from the editor [] Thanks for reading another missive from the world of technology with a scoop of science, and please let me know your thoughts on the stories I've discussed by [emailing me](mailto:gareth.beavis@futurenet.com), remembering to include 'NEWSLETTER' in the subject line. And do [subscribe]( to this newsletter if you haven't already, and spread the word. I'll see you next week, having made my first press trip abroad in over two years to the [Mobile World Congress]( tech expo in Barcelona, so there's going to be lots to tell you about. Sharing TechRadar with your network keeps the quality of content high and these newsletters free. Help Spread the Word [SHARE]( Or copy and share your personalized link: smartbrief.com/techradar/?referrerId=mvfLmxwvzC   [Sign Up]( | [Update Profile]( | [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Cookies Policy]( | [Terms and Conditions]( CONTACT US: [FEEDBACK](mailto:techradar@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE]( © Future Publishing Limited. Reg No. 2008885 England. Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA.