Tech news

TSMC, the Taiwan-based manufacturer of the world's most advanced chips, will bring its newest, most advanced chip production to US soil. The company had already announced plans for a 5-nanometer chip plant in Arizona. (The most advanced chips in Apple and Android phones currently use 4-nanometer technology. In chips, smaller is better.) Now TSMC will also build a next-generation 3-nanometer plant at the same Arizona location. The company is spending $12 billion on the 5nm plant, which is expected to start production in 2024. The company's founder, Morris Chang, made the announcement about the 3nm plant, adding that "the cost of manufacturing chips in the US will be at least 55% higher than in Taiwan". However Apple and other major customers are increasingly looking to diversify their supply chains globally. Regional tensions between Taiwan and China present a risk for companies like Apple and Qualcomm when all of the most advanced chips are made exclusively in Taiwan.

At new all-time low prices of $99.99 and $119.99 in 32 and 64GB storage variants, Samsung's compact Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is certainly not too modest to be considered by holiday bargain hunters right now. http://dlvr.it/SdXPk9

Target is selling all Wi-Fi-only variants of Apple's iPad Pro 11 (2021) at a massive $250 Cyber Monday discount... ahead of Cyber Monday 2022. http://dlvr.it/SdTMHl

Apple's M1-powered iPad Air (2022) is marked down by an unprecedented 100 bucks in Wi-Fi-only 64 and 256GB storage variants for Black Friday. http://dlvr.it/SdTM4S

It's not too late (just yet) to buy Google's 2021-released Pixel 6 Pro at a pretty much unbeatable Black Friday 2022 price in a 256GB storage variant. http://dlvr.it/SdR61p

Apple's M1-powered iPad Air (2022) is marked down by an unprecedented 100 bucks in Wi-Fi-only 64 and 256GB storage variants for Black Friday. http://dlvr.it/SdP0yh

Save big on the best and newest technology. Black Friday is now live at Amazon, and the deals are simply amazing! http://dlvr.it/SdLKvl

Sans the rotating bezel and decidedly premium design of its Classic sibling, the "standard" Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is an absolute bargain with 4G LTE at only $159.99 right now. http://dlvr.it/SdHXLb

Now it's easier than ever to try out Boost Mobile! Grab a Samsung phone for $50 and enjoy Unlimited service for a month! http://dlvr.it/SdDVP0

Samsung is purportedly preparing a MediaTek-powered Galaxy Tab S8 FE with a mysterious LCD screen in tow and state-of-the-art stylus technology. http://dlvr.it/Sd9N63

Scores from Geekbench point to two versions of the Galaxy A14 5G, one of which is returning from its previous iteration. http://dlvr.it/Sd9Mj1

What a plot twist! After 15 years of phones trying to become ore like "real cameras”, now real cameras become more like iPhones, proves the $500 Sony ZV-1F! http://dlvr.it/Sd6Hqd

Amazon is offering the biggest-ever discount on the rugged Apple Watch Ultra. http://dlvr.it/Sd43G7

Amazon and B&H Photo Video have the Apple M2-powered iPad Pro 11 (2022) on sale at a killer $70 pre-Black Friday discount in an entry-level 128GB storage variant. http://dlvr.it/Sd1vGX

Sonim today announced the impending launch of their newest rugged smartphone, the XP10. The XP10 replaces the XP8, adding 5G but in a lighter and "sleeker" design. The phone will launch "with major carriers in the coming weeks". Key features include a removable 5,000 mAh battery, extra-loud 100bB+ speakers, and Android 12. Its rugged credentials include MIL-STD-810H ratings for drops (from six feet directly onto concrete), water immersion (in six feet of water for 60 minutes), and all weather conditions (from -4° F to 131° F). The XP10 can also be "sprayed, submerged and rigorously cleaned in soap and water or with harsh chemicals, like isopropyl alcohol or bleach, to ensure it is fully disinfected." For dangerous work environments, the XP10 is rated Non-Incendive Class I, II and III Div 2. Although Sonim did not announce specific carrier partners, both AT&T and Verizon carried the XP8. http://dlvr.it/Scz0Fx

In an interview with Phone Scoop, Brian Mecum, Verizon VP of Device Technology said "satellite is a very interesting space to us", when asked if Verizon planned an answer to T-Mobile's partnership with SpaceX for satellite connectivity. T-Mobile's planned system will allow existing, standard mobile phones to connect directly to SpaceX Starlink satellites for service outside of cellular coverage. Mecum declined to go into further detail, but Verizon could potentially partner with one of several companies that are working to bring similar technology to market, such as AST SpaceMobile or Lynk. http://dlvr.it/Scvw2k

Apple's new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature is now available to use in the US and Canada. The feature is exclusive to the new iPhone 14 series. It enables short messages to be sent to local emergency dispatchers where and when cellular and Wi-Fi are unavailable. The feature includes a demo mode that lets users try out the feature connecting to a real satellite, but without bothering emergency services. There is also one non-emergency feature: users can share their location with others while off-grid using the Find My app. Apple promises to launch the service in France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK by December. http://dlvr.it/ScrqdZ

T-Mobile has launched 5G SA (stand-alone) technology in its mid-band spectrum (primarily band 41) nationwide. This step not only moves to a more modern network with lower latency, but will enable 5G CA (carrier aggregation) of 3 frequency bands of simultaneous 5G, allowing faster data speeds of up 3 Gbps. This new, faster 5G mode will "begin" to roll out this year. The Samsung Galaxy S22 will be the first phone able to use this mode, "and it will expand to additional devices in the near future." Initial 5G networks operated in NSA (non-stand-alone) mode, which required mobile devices to stay connected to a 4G network in one band. This limited the specific frequency band combinations devices could use, limiting 5G data speeds and — in some cases — 5G coverage. T-Mobile addressed the coverage issue with the nationwide launch of 5G SA in its low-band frequencies in 2020. Today's announcement extends 5G SA to mid-band frequencies, addressing the data speed issue. ht

The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro come with a free wireless charger through Samsung’s store - head on over while supplies last! http://dlvr.it/SckfGk

In order to cut costs, the American tech giant has to pull the plug on many of its hardware efforts. http://dlvr.it/SchPrZ

The 2021-released Fitbit Charge 5 is still a fitness and health tracking champion, and ahead of Black Friday, it's also an absolute value champion at a new all-time low price. http://dlvr.it/ScfG6l

It turns out that the Emergency SOS feature on the new iPhone 14 series that everyone hopes they don't have to use has cost Apple an impressive amount of money. http://dlvr.it/ScbNhS

The mid-range Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is already following the high-end Galaxy S22, S21, S20, and Note 20 series on the stable Android 13 bandwagon. http://dlvr.it/ScXH39

MediaTek's new Dimensity 9200 chip will power new high-end phones coming by the end of this year. The SoC (system-on-chip) includes a 5G modem that supports both sub-6 and mmWave, as well as AI for faster network searching. The 9200 is "the first smartphone chip to integrate an Arm Cortex X3 with operating speeds over 3GHz, and the first featuring the Arm Immortalis-G715 GPU with a hardware-based ray tracing engine." Rounding out the CPU cores are three Arm Cortex A715 and four Arm Cortex A510 efficiency cores. MediaTek's new sixth-generation AI engine is up to 35% faster, with 30% power savings for noise reduction applications and 45% power savings for "super resolution tasks". The chip is also the first for smartphones to support Wi-Fi 7, and the first with native support for new RGBW camera sensors. The chip supports high-end displays, including Full HD+ up to 240Hz, WHQD up to 144Hz, and even 5K displays. For storage, the 9200 supports UFS 4.0 and "

Samsung has confirmed a "limited" (but non-negligible) number of Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic units have been impacted by a very serious bug, promising free repairs... at least in Korea. http://dlvr.it/ScQ4JS

The highlights are a more premium design and 16GB of RAM across all configurations. http://dlvr.it/ScLv8w

Samsung may not equip all Galaxy S23 models with bigger cells but a low-power mode will ensure better battery life. http://dlvr.it/ScJYF2

The Galaxy Ultra series has a problem, but in order to fix it Samsung needs to rethink its strategy and make some big decisions... http://dlvr.it/ScJY3T

Despite having seen daylight more than a year ago, the noise-cancelling Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds might still be the best true wireless earbuds around, especially at this Black Friday 2022 price. http://dlvr.it/ScGKy6

T-Mobile has the exceptionally powerful and feature-packed OnePlus 10T and OnePlus 10 Pro on sale at $0 after bill credits with a new line of service and no other requirements right now. http://dlvr.it/ScCPDf

The Galaxy A53 is more feature-packed than similarly priced phones from competitors and is currently down to its lowest price. http://dlvr.it/Sc8D8K

Average download speeds will increase by up to 24% for millions of users http://dlvr.it/Sc5CHM

Charter has launched a new home internet + mobile service bundle with low introductory pricing. As with Comcast's Xfinity Mobile service, the mobile offering is exclusive to customers who also subscribe to the company's home internet service. For a base rate of $85/month — but just $50/month for new customers in the first year — Spectrum One includes unlimited 5G mobile service (but reduced data speeds after 20 GB), 300 Mbps home internet, and an advanced Wi-Fi 6 router. There are no added taxes and fees. Separately, Comcast announced that its competing Xfinity Mobile service has surpassed five million customers. http://dlvr.it/Sc2FkF