The Note 20 Ultra is the ultimate Android phone

PLUS: Social distance feuds, radical transparency, and QR code. View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions 08.18.20   NOT SO FAST A Move for Driverless Mass Transit Hits Speed Bumps BY DAVID ZIPPER Pilot projects for autonomous shuttles abound. But technical limitations and hostility from labor unions may thwart large deployments.   PLASTIC PLANET Wait, How Much Microplastic Is Swirling in the Atlantic? BY MATT SIMON Scientists calculate that the top 200 meters of ocean alone contains up to 21 million metric tons of plastic. And that wasn't even counting microfibers.   IDEAS The YOLOers vs. Distancers Feud Is Tearing Us Apart BY JON STOKES Covid-19 has given rise to a new blood feud—and the two camps are increasingly blaming each other everything the pandemic has wrought.   PRODUCT REVIEW The Note 20 Ultra Is the Ultimate Android Phone BY JULIAN CHOKKATTU This phone crams in all the extras you'd want. But the price is steep.   FAILURE CLINIC My Week of Radical Transparency at a Chinese Business Seminar BY YIREN LU I went to a self-breakthrough workshop in Beijing to decipher the country's tech culture. I left with a transformed vision of my Chinese American self.   SCAN THIS In a Touch-Free World, the QR Code Is Having Its Moment BY VICTORIA TURK, WIRED UK Once dismissed as a marketing gimmick, the black and white patterns are proving their worth during the coronavirus pandemic.   INFINITE LOOP The Dangers of Seeing the World Through Ubiquitous Video BY SIVA VAIDHYANATHAN Moving images bombard our brains and fog our thoughts—but every now and then they expand our minds.   ENCRYPTION How to Use Signal Encrypted Messaging BY BRIAN BARRETT The best end-to-end encrypted messaging app has a host of security features. Here are the ones you should care about.   PRODUCT REVIEW This $500 Coffee Maker Brews a Near-Perfect Chemex-Style Pot BY DANIEL MODLIN The Ratio Eight is a beautifully made but expensive machine for caffeine aficionados.     This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or Manage your newsletter subscriptions