9 great reads from CNET this week – CNET

It’s the last week of the lazy, hazy days of summer, but tell that to the tech news gods who decided to end the season with a bang. Shoppers around the world waited in line for four new high-profile phones: Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and Apple’s iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. Apple also released its iOS 13 mobile operating system software and Facebook unveiled new Portal video chat devices.

On the people front, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a landmark gig-worker bill making Lyft and Uber drivers employees rather than contractors. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg returned to Washington to meet with policymakers. And Jeff Bezos unveiled projects to take on climate change from Amazon, one of several tech companies to jump on the Global Climate Strike bandwagon.

All that and more. Here are a few especially great stories you don’t want to miss.

Fresh from a six-month space expedition, NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor shares how her bioscience experiments in microgravity could improve medicine on Earth.

One photographer, two days and Apple’s three-camera iPhone in San Francisco. The bottom line: If you love taking photos, you’ll treasure the iPhone 11 Pro.

The tech world is obsessed with subscriptions, but many of us are tapped out on monthly fees. Apple thinks games will buck the trend.

Commentary: After years of scandal, it’s a tough ask to bring a Facebook-connected camera into my home.

I bought the Samsung Galaxy Fold this morning. Here’s what the update has done to the foldable phone.

Commentary: A weekend surrounded by podcasters and podcast fans changes my mind and opens my ears.

How smartphone resale apps are changing the way we buy and sell online.

Commentary: Heavy-duty web apps can be way better than overgrown phone apps… as long as you have a keyboard.

Director James Gray launches his cosmic epic despite a disagreement over the ending, your space myths and US Space Command.