This week, get a deal on a new Apple computer or tablet, updates to the driving navigation app, Waze, and Fall Guys is a new last-player-standing game that is ridiculous fun. But first, a look at the new Galaxy Note20 smartphone from Samsung.

Samsung steps it up with Galaxy Note20 smartphone

For the past week and a bit, I’ve been test driving the Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G from Samsung. It’s the larger of the Note20 devices with a luxurious 6.9-inch display, and it’s available with 128 GB of capacity ($1,820) or 512 GB ($2,030).

The standard Note20 has a 6.7-inch screen and is available with 128 GB of storage ($1,400).

The camera features on these smartphones are superb, but the biggest upgrade on the Note20 Ultra is to the main wide-angle camera, which boasts a 108 megapixel lens. It can also record 8K video and gives you control over things like ISO, shutter speed, and focus. And for super smooth slo-mo, you can shoot 120 frames per second.

Those lenses come at a cost, though, which in the Note20 Ultra is a bump that cannot be ignored. This smartphone cannot rest flat on its back as a result and it will catch when you try and take it out of pockets and purses.

The reason to opt for one of Samsung’s Note devices rather than the flagship “S” smartphone is because you want the stylus, and the full-featured accessory is just as useful as ever. You can use it to tap, as a remote control to operate a number of different apps including the camera, and to write notes.

If you’re using it for handwriting, you’ll appreciate that the latency in the S Pen is lower than ever and you won’t have to wait for your writing to appear on the screen. And the Samsung Notes app does a better job than any other similar software in reading handwriting and converting it to typewritten text that can be searched and organized into folders. You can even annotate PDFs.

It’s easy to use for note taking, too, given the Note20 Ultra’s size. And this smartphone is all screen, wrapping around on the sides and an imperceptible bezel on the top and bottom. The AMOLED and HDR display is a delight for watching videos and gaming.

You may be able to get used to the camera bump, but you won’t need any getting used to the screen.

Apple’s annual pre-school sale is on now

My daughter is going into high school, and earlier this summer presented her case for needing a computer.

She was very persuasive, and early in September she’ll receive her first MacBook Air. Which, thanks to Apple’s annual back-to-school sale, was a wee bit cheaper than normal, starting at $1,299.

Apple threw in some AirPods ($219), too, which we upgraded to AirPods Pro for an extra $110.

With the uncertainty around back-to-school protocols, this is a good time to make sure you’ve got the technology to keep your kids engaged with all the ways they can learn through online and virtual environments.

Apple’s got sale prices on the seventh generation iPad and iPad Air, both of which are light and can be equipped with wireless keyboards as a laptop replacement.

The MacBook Air is my pick for the best all-around laptop for most people, but if you’ve got a need for audio or video production, there’s also the MacBook Pro.

And for the artists, pair the iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil for sublime digital drawing and sketching.

Waze updated with voice controls, railroad crossing safety

I’ve written before about how Waze is my preferred driving navigation app, and now you can better use Waze with your Android device or iPhone because Google Assistant has been integrated.

That means you can now search for a location, change your route, or report traffic slowdowns by saying, “Hey, Google.”

Another update to the app comes from a new partnership with CN, Operation Livesaver Canada, and the Railway Association of Canada brings new safety functionality.

When you’re using Waze and you’re approaching a rail crossing you’ll get an alert so you can make sure you’re paying attention. Not all rail crossings have gates, especially in rural areas, so the extra notification might be just the thing to keep people safe around trains.

Fall Guys a fresh take on the last-player-standing mechanic

If you’re getting tired of your kid playing Fortnite all day, where the objective is to kill opposing players, you’ve got to have them try Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, which is goofy and utterly compelling.

Developed by Mediatonic and published by Devolver, the game starts with up to 60 players at a starting line, who then have to run an obstacle course of one kind or another, trying to qualify for the next round by getting across the finish line in time.

In each round, another ten to twelve players get eliminated, and in this way, Fall Guys winnows the field until there is one player who grabs the crown at the end of the final course. You’ve got to clear three levels to get to the final round.

There are a range of course types, including straight on races, obstacle courses, and team objectives that all seem to have been based on the kinds of games I used when coaching little kids in soccer.

Available on PS4 and Windows – not Xbox One at this point – Fall Guys is, according to the developers, based on the crazy Japanese game show, Takeshi’s Castle, where real people ran through wacky obstacle courses.

The characters are like Weebles crossed with jelly beans. You’ll earn cosmetics you can use to change colours and dress them up in costumes, and the hyper-pastel artwork makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a cotton candy hallucination.

Fun and frantic, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockdown is a hoot.