Winners and Losers: Fujifilm steps up its vlog game as Netflix shocks with high sharing fee

OPINION: It’s time for another Winners and Losers to keep you up to date on the latest happenings in tech over the bank holiday weekend. 

We’ve got Computex to look forward to in the coming week, followed by the highly-anticipated iOS 17 reveal at WWDC the week after, but what about this past week? 

Keep reading to discover our winner and loser from the final week of May. 

Winner: Fujifilm 

This week’s winner is Fujifilm after the company unveiled a new mirrorless camera in the form of the X-S20. 

It’s been a couple of years since the Japan-based camera company launched the X-S10 back in October 2020 and this most recent launch brought a wide range of updates to the mid-range shooter. 

The X-S20 has a slim and lightweight build and features the same 26.1-megapixel X Trans 4 CMOS sensor found in the X-T4 and the X-Processor 5 taken from the more recent X-T5 and X-H2. 

It also boasts a range of subject detection modes including animals, birds, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, planes, trains, insects and drones. 

The highlight here is the new “Vlog” mode in the top dial that essentially tells the camera you’re about to start vlogging and offers fast access to useful video features like Background Defocus and Product Priority. The camera is also capable of shooting at up to 6.2K/30 and supports Apple ProRes RAW, making the camera an attractive choice for video makers. 

We were very impressed by the camera during our brief time roaming around Malta with it in hand. However, you’ll have to wait for our full review for the final verdict on the newest Fujifilm camera.

Loser: Netflix 

Our loser this week is Netflix after the streaming service revealed the price it will be charging US users who want to add an extra person to their account. 

According to the email that Netflix began sending out to subscribers this week, the cost of sharing your account with another person outside of your household will be $7.99 a month. That’s on top of your usual subscription fee. 

“A Netflix account is for use by one household”, explained Netflix in a blog post announcing the changes. “Everyone living in that household can use Netflix wherever they are — at home, on the go, on holiday — and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices”. 

The new policy is no surprise at this point. Netflix has been transparent about the fact that it plans to charge subscribers for sharing their account outside of their household – regardless of how unpopular that decision has been. 

However, what is disappointing is seeing just how much Netflix is asking for in the US, especially after other locations have seen fees that are the equivalent of $3 a month. 

Unless enough Americans kick up a fuss, we expect we’ll see a similar price roll-out in the UK when the extra member option launches here. If you’re still using your parent, friend or ex’s account, you might not have long left before you’re forced to pay your own way on the streaming service.