Tech news

In a "better late than never" move, Google Fi has now expanded its 5G network to finally work with iPhones. http://dlvr.it/SlmK1N

The new Snapdragon 7- and 8-series processors rival Apple's A-series in power efficiency. http://dlvr.it/SljHl7

The non-Pro Motorola Edge 40 is expected to be released at some point in the near future in Europe at €599 with a very... distinctive design showcased in a bunch of newly leaked renders. http://dlvr.it/SljHY4

Why spend thousands on flashy tablets when the perfectly good 2021 iPad with a headphone jack and 256GB of storage is so affordable? http://dlvr.it/SlfKD1

The Xiaomi Redmi 10 flagship from 2022 is at -45% off at Amazon UK right now! http://dlvr.it/SlfK2k

Apple has released iOS 16.4, an update to its smartphone software that brings bug fixes as well as new emoji. Shaking face and pushing hand (left and right) have been added, as well as wireless (Wi-Fi), and the Khanda, the symbol of the Sikhism. Other new symbols include Donkey, Moose, Goose, Wing, Jellyfish, Hyacinth, Pea Pod, Ginger, Folding Hand Fan, Hair Pick, Flute, and Maracas. Finally, the heart emoji also now comes in pink, light blue, and grey. The update also promises to fix issues upgrading to the new version of the HomeKit system that brings compatibility with the new Matter industry standard for smart homes. http://dlvr.it/SlbJvs

Huawei’s record-breaking new foldable proves Samsung should stop abusing Apple's “slow innovation” strategy and start stealing from Huawei. http://dlvr.it/SlXNBB

Huawei announced that it will hold an event in Munich on May 9th to introduce the P60 Pro, the Mate X3 and other new products to the European markets. http://dlvr.it/SlVFWz

Win a Galaxy S23 Ultra in Samsung's latest sweepstakes. Besides the phone, the grand prize winner will also receive a $400 check. http://dlvr.it/SlS5qq

The Discover Samsung event is back for spring and features rebates and enhance trade-ins for your smartphones and tablets. http://dlvr.it/SlPDSt

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was "chewed out" by lawmakers over the ability of employees in China to access U.S. users' data and for showing harmful content on the platform. http://dlvr.it/SlPDFf

Verizon has streamlined its Free Trial program and made the offering permanent after a successful pilot. Non-Verizon customers with an eSIM-capable phone can now sign up for a free 30 days of Verizon service by simply downloading the My Verizon app; a step of scanning a QR code has been removed. http://dlvr.it/SlPD18

AT&T has released updated numbers on its growing 5G network. AT&T 5G now covers 290 million people, or 87% of the US population. AT&T has also accelerated its rollout of higher-speed 5G using mid-band (C-Band) and mmWave (which AT&T brands "5G+") frequencies. AT&T now offers fast mid-band 5G covering 150 million people, "more than double our original end-of-year 2022 target". The company also doubled the number of arenas, stadiums, and airports with ultra-fast mmWave 5G, bringing that number to nearly 70. Including 4G, AT&T's network now covers more than 2.91 million square miles, the most of any US carrier. That's an increase of 100,000 square miles in 2022, an area the size if the UK. That includes a 40% increase in coverage on federally recognized tribal lands in the last 2 years. http://dlvr.it/SlLD5s

The Oppo Pad 2 is about to release and just ahead of the event, new reveals and leaks hit the web. http://dlvr.it/SlHCPZ

Who said basic is bad? http://dlvr.it/SlD8SN

With a super-powerful Apple M1 processor and built-in 5G connectivity, the 2021-released iPad Pro 12.9 is on sale at some very hard-to-beat prices right now after discounts of up to $800. http://dlvr.it/SlD8HC

Better believe it! Six months after the launch of the iPhone 14, Apple's 2022 flagship is clearly the worst iPhone upgrade ever. But Cupertino's apology is now loading... http://dlvr.it/Sl99L1

Everything Everywhere All at Once is going wrong with the new Galaxy A54, which looks older than a 2019 Samsung and seems to be performing worse than the $300 A34. Is Samsung's new mid-ranger a downgrade? http://dlvr.it/Sl7127

Now is the time to get a brand-new Galaxy S22 Ultra with a huge discount at Best Buy! Hurry, the deal expires on Sunday! http://dlvr.it/Sl4scC

Google has discovered and disclosed a set of severe security vulnerabilities in the Samsung modems found in many recent Google Pixel phones and some recent Samsung phones, mostly A-series models. Software updates made available this month fix the issue, but are not yet available for all models. The flaws allow an attacker to remotely compromise a phone with no user action, knowing only the victim's phone number. Users of the Google Pixel 6 series should immediately disable Wi-Fi Calling and VoLTE until a software update is available for those models. A software update has been released to address the issue on the Pixel 7 series. Also affected are the Samsung Galaxy A71, A53, A33, A21, A13, A12, and A04 series. http://dlvr.it/Sl4sQ5

The FCC today formally adopted multiple new rules to fight spam and scam calls and texts. Wireless carriers will now be required to actively block text messages "that are highly likely to be illegal", including ones from phone numbers that cannot or do not send text messages. Another new FCC rule requires additional telecom companies to implement STIR/SHAKEN, the authentication system intended to fight spoofed caller-ID schemes that enable illegal robocalling. Additionally, all telecom providers "will now be required to take 'reasonable steps' to mitigate illegal robocall traffic". http://dlvr.it/Sl20Y0

T-Mobile has signed a deal to buy Ka’ena Corporation and its subsidiaries and brands: Mint Mobile, Ultra Mobile, and Plum. The Mint and Ultra brands will continue under the T-Mobile umbrella, alongside Metro by T-Mobile and Connect by T-Mobile. Ryan Reynolds, the existing owner of Mint, "will continue on in his creative role on behalf of Mint." Mint already uses the T-Mobile network and will continue to do so. T-Mobile promises that Mint's $15/month pricing will remain unchanged. The deal is a mix of cash and stock valued at up to $1.35 billion, dependent on future performance. The transaction is expected to close later this year. http://dlvr.it/SkyxLH

Google started to release the Pixel March Feature Drop on Monday although Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a users won't receive it until next Monday. http://dlvr.it/SkvvR2

Whether you’re using an Android or iOS device, starting today, you’ll be able to find relevant EV charging stations along your route. http://dlvr.it/SkvvKG

A SpaceX executive has confirmed that — this year — the company plans to "start getting into testing" its new service that will let regular cell phones connect directly to its next-generation Starlink satellites. SpaceX announced plans for the service last year and a partnership with T-Mobile to offer the service in the US. In the US, the service will use a small, unique frequency band called the G block of band 25 (1910–1915 MHz for uplink and 1990–1995 MHz for downlink). T-Mobile has exclusive nationwide rights to that band in the US. Existing T-Mobile phones are compatible with the band, and setting it aside exclusively for satellite use should avoid conflicts with land-based networks. The service for phones requires new second-generation Starlink satellites with larger antennas. SpaceX intends to launch most 2nd-gen. satellites on its new Starship rocket, but has already started launching a "mini" version of the new satellites on its existing Falcon 9 rockets. I...

Samsung will start mass production of chips built on its third-generation 4nm process node during the first half of this year. http://dlvr.it/Skrqw1

An iPhone 14 for $500? Apple has zero chill as the upcoming iPhone SE 4 promises to crush Android’s budget segment reign. http://dlvr.it/Skns9Y

The new yellow iPhone is “better” than the old iPhone 14 because Apple is playing mind tricks on you! Everyone is talking about what might be the worst Apple deal ever. http://dlvr.it/Sklq1T

Reliable tipster Ice Universe says the Samsung Galaxy S23 series will be receiving a big update at the end of this month to optimize the cameras on the phones. http://dlvr.it/SklptW

Similar to T-Mobile subscribers, Verizon customers can now get free Netflix access with their wireless service. But the two offers are radically different in a number of important ways. http://dlvr.it/SkjlMx

Google has added VPN service and dark web monitoring to all Google One plans, including the Basic plan that starts at $2/month. The VPN service creates an encrypted "tunnel" to Google's servers for all internet traffic, keeping your web and app activity private even while using an untrusted connection, such as public Wi-Fi. The VPN service was previously only available on more expensive plans starting at $10/month. The new dark web monitoring service continuously scans the dark web for your personal information and will alert you if it is found. This might happen as the result of a corporate data breach. The alert would help you take timely steps to protect your money, identity, and credit. http://dlvr.it/SkfwHR

If you can see it, that is. http://dlvr.it/Skbw5B

Apple has introduced a new yellow color option for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. It "will be available to pre-order this Friday, March 10, with availability starting Tuesday, March 14." http://dlvr.it/SkXv8W

Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network now covers "more than 200 million people, or roughly two out of every three Americans." This fulfills a pledge to reach this milestone in the first quarter of 2023. Verizon's "5G Ultra Wideband" includes both mmWave and mid-band frequencies (the newly-available C Band). While mmWave offers faster speeds, it has very limited coverage. This new coverage relies mostly on new mid-band deployments, offering broad coverage and faster speeds compared to lower-frequency sub-6 GHz 5G networks. Only newer phones that support 5G in band 77 can access this better 5G service. Verizon continues to add more bandwidth to its mid-band 5G network, further improving capacity and speed. http://dlvr.it/SkXtwZ

The number of additional stores T-Mobile is apparently planning to close soon is not particularly concerning, but these are big "Signature" locations we're talking about, so they definitely deserve a little bit of attention. http://dlvr.it/SkTnPQ

Google has placed an Easter egg in the Android and iOS Google Search app that stars Grogu aka Baby Yoda. http://dlvr.it/SkQnLt

The new Galaxy Z Flip 5 promises to flip the script on small foldables thanks to an absolutely massive outer display! A Flip 5 with this design means I wouldn't buy a Galaxy S23. http://dlvr.it/SkQn7X

A tipster in China says that Apple will soon announce a new color option for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. http://dlvr.it/SkNf9j

All new and old colors of Apple's noise-cancelling Beats Fit Pro earbuds are on sale at excellent discounts on Amazon. http://dlvr.it/SkLWcK

After unveiling its latest Pro-series watch that runs on proprietary software, Xiaomi may be looking into making a smartwatch running on Google’s Wear OS. http://dlvr.it/SkHhDm

T-Mobile has announced two key steps in upgrading its 5G network to be faster and more advanced. First, the company has successfully tested four-carrier aggregation with 5G SA (stand-alone). In the test, this technology allowed a Samsung Galaxy S23 to hit peak speeds topping 3.3 Gbps. The test combined two channels (carriers) of 2500 MHz spectrum (band 41) and two channels of 1900 MHz spectrum (band 2/25), creating an one effective channel of 5G SA that was 225 MHz wide. "Customers with the Samsung Galaxy S23 will be among the first to experience four-carrier aggregation later this year with more devices to follow." The other announcement is the deployment of VoNR in six cities. VoNR is 5G-native voice calling; currently, most voice calls are still made over 4G LTE. The six cities that now have VoNR enabled are: New York City, Seattle, Portland, New Orleans, Cincinnati, and Salt Lake City. Consumers are unlikely to notice a change, although voice call setup time should be sli...

Why spend your hard-earned money when the excellent iPhone 13 can be yours for free? http://dlvr.it/Sk9Xhf

As per the latest reports, Apple has paid its fine, equating to 906 million roubles. http://dlvr.it/Sk9XQ2