09-09-25 -

iPhone Air Chases Title of Thinnest Phone
Apple has followed Samsung in creating a super-thin flagship-class phone this year with the new iPhone Air. Like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, the iPhone Air uses a titanium body to achieve sub-6mm thickness. While the S25 Edge measures 5.8mm, the ...

09-09-25 -

iPhone 17 Series Shakes up Formula
Apple has announced this year's iPhone lineup, the iPhone 17 series. Instead of a "Plus" model, Apple has introduced a new iPhone Air (covered in a separate article) that's extra-thin and more premium than a Plus model. New in the standa...

09-09-25 -

Apple Brings 5G to its Smartwatches
Apple has introduced a complete new lineup of Apple Watches, from an affordable new Apple Watch SE 3, to the main Apple Watch Series 11, to the top-end Apple Watch Ultra 3. All of the new models now include 5G cellular connectivity. The Apple Watc...

09-09-25 -

Apple Updates its Pro Earbuds
Apple has introduced the AirPods Pro 3, its newest top-end Bluetooth earbuds. One headline feature is a new heart rate sensor, which allows fitness tracking features (in both Apple and third-party apps) that would have previously required an Apple...

09-08-25 -

SpaceX Buys Its Own Spectrum for Starlink Direct-To-Cell Service
SpaceX has reached an agreement with EchoStar to buy 50 MHz of radio spectrum licenses for approximately $17 billion. These licenses will enable SpaceX to operate its Starlink Direct-To-Cell service using its own spectrum in the US. The deal also ...

09-08-25 -

Bittium Teams up with HMD for its Newest Secure Phone for Government
Bittium, the Finnish company specializing in ultra-secure phones for western government users, has announced its newest phone: the Bittium Tough Mobile 3. This model will be a significant upgrade over the current model, offering 5G, a 50 megapixel...

09-04-25 -

Google Introduces Continuous On-Screen Language Translation
Google has announced an update to its "Circle to Search" feature on Android that enables continuous language translation of everything on the screen, even as you scroll and change apps. To access the feature, long-press the home button o...

09-04-25 -

Google Brings AI Text Tools to its Keyboard
Google has announced an update to Gboard — its default keyboard software for Android — that introduces system-wide AI writing tools. This includes spelling and grammar fixes, proofreading, and rewriting in a different "tone", such a...

09-04-25 -

Google Brings Bluetooth Auracast to Pixel Phones
An update will enable Auracast on Google Pixel 8 series and newer phones. Auracast lets many phones tune in to a single broadcast Bluetooth audio source, and that source can be a phone, or a stationary device associated with a venue such as a gym,...

09-04-25 -

Samsung Debuts Galaxy S25 FE
Samsung has launched this year's Galaxy S "FE", the company's "affordable flagship" model that has a more approachable price than the premium Galaxy S models, while offering more than the company's Galaxy A models. The Galaxy S...

09-04-25 -

Anker Debuts New Line of Premium Chargers
Anker has announced three new fast chargers in its flagship Prime lineup: a portable triple charger, a large power bank, and a desktop triple wireless charger. All three integrate an interactive display, and have extra settings available via compa...

09-02-25 -

Google Barred from Requiring Its Apps on Phones with Play Store
A judge today issued remedies in the government's antitrust case against Google. Google won't be forced to divest its Android operating system, nor its Chrome web browser, as the Department of Justice had requested. Google will also be allowed to ...

09-02-25 -

Cricket Brings 5G to its Entry-Level Icon Phones
Cricket has started selling the Cricket Icon Plus, its first Icon-series phone with 5G. It also has a larger display than previous Icon phones at 6.9 inches. The Icon Plus replaces the Icon 6, and most other features and specs at the same, includi...

08-28-25 -

Tracfone Launches Its First Unlimited Data Plan
Tracfone has added a new service plan to its offerings: Tracfone Freedom. This is Tracfone's first plan to include unlimited data (a standard offering from most other carriers). Tracfone's existing plans range from 0.5 – 20 GB of data, and toppe...

08-27-25 -

Boost Mobile Gives up on Building Its Own Network
As part of its recent transaction with AT&T, EchoStar has announced that "elements of Boost Mobile's radio access network (RAN) will be decommissioned over time." Boost spent the past several years building its own nationwide 5G netw...

08-26-25 -

AT&T Buys $23 Billion Worth of Spectrum from EchoStar
AT&T and EchoStar (parent company of Boost Mobile) have reached a deal for AT&T to acquire 50 MHz of nationwide radio spectrum licenses from EchoStar for approximately $23 billion. 30 MHz of that bandwidth is in the 3.45 GHz band, prime mi...

08-26-25 -

Android Will Only Allow Side-Loaded Apps from Verified Developers
Google is introducing a new requirement in Android for side-loaded apps (those installed from sources other than the Google Play store.) In the future, Android will only run side-loaded apps that are confirmed to come from developers that have reg...

08-25-25 -

FCC Steps Up Enforcement of Anti-Robocall Measures
The FCC today implemented one of its largest anti-robocall enforcement actions to date, effectively banning over 1,200 non-compliant voice service providers from US voice networks. This action marks the final step in a major anti-robocall effort t...

08-20-25 -

Google Pixel 10 Series Puts Big Upgrades In a Familiar Skin
Google has announced its latest lineup of Pixel phones. The four Pixel 10 models have the same naming scheme and basic outer designs as last year's Pixel 9 series, but manage to make important upgrades to the batteries, cameras, processor, and dur...

08-20-25 -

Simple and Total Add International Service
Verizon is adding a variety of international service features to plans on two of its prepaid brands: Simple Mobile and Total Wireless. Most Simple Mobile plans now include unlimited global texting. Plans also include unlimited international callin...

08-19-25 -

Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 Brings a Modest Speed Boost
Qualcomm has unveiled the fourth generation of its Snapdragon 7s chip to power upper-mid-range phones. It offers a 7% boost in CPU and GPU (graphics) performance, while keeping most of the same specs and features as the previous Gen 3 chip. The 7s...

08-14-25 -

Google Messages Rolls Out Nudity Blurring
Google is rolling out a feature that can automatically detect and blur images containing nudity. The feature is enabled by default for minors and disabled by default for adults. When using Android's parental control features, only a parent can dis...

08-14-25 -

T-Mobile Taps New Manufacturer for REVVL 8 Series, Including Unannounced Pro ...
Regulatory filings reveal that the new T-Mobile REVVL 8 phone is manufactured by Luxshare, a new entrant in the white-label phone space in the US. Most carrier-branded phones in the US have been made by Coosea, Tinno, or Wingtech in recent years. ...

08-12-25 -

Arm Plans to Put AI in its GPUs
Arm has announced plans to embed neural accelerators directly in its graphics cores in future chip architectures. This will enable game developers to boost graphics performance and/or efficiency using new generative AI techniques. These include Ne...

08-12-25 -

T-Mobile Launches Its Own REVVL 8 Phone
T-Mobile has launched its eighth generation of own-brand smartphones, which this year consists of just one model. The new T-Mobile REVVL 8 combines the smaller size of last year's REVVL 7 with some of the more premium features of last year's REVVL...

08-05-25 -

Motorola Intros Swarovski Device Bundle
Motorola has introduced a unique new bundle offering that includes both a razr phone and moto "buds loop" Bluetooth earbuds, in an exclusive matching color and designs accented with Swarovski crystals. Motorola calls this The Brilliant C...

08-04-25 -

UScellular is Now Part of T-Mobile
T-Mobile has now formally acquired "substantially all" of UScellular's wireless operations, including customers and stores, as well as "certain specified spectrum assets". This completes a transaction first announced in May. Cu...

07-30-25 -

Apple Responds to US Antitrust Lawsuit
Apple has submitted its initial legal response to the US Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit accusing it of a "smartphone monopoly". The government's lawsuit focuses on Apple's restrictions on third parties in five specific areas: ...

07-30-25 -

TikTok Adds Community Notes
TikTok has launched Footnotes, a crowd-sourced fact-checking feature similar to Community Notes on other social networks. Anyone can see and rate Footnotes on helpfulness. To contribute a Footnote, users must qualify and apply to the program. Foot...

07-25-25 -

Cricket Re-Shuffles Plans, Offering Better Value
Cricket has revamped its lineup of plans. While most changes do offer a better value, there are some small trade-offs. Cricket is introducing a $5/month auto-pay discount (which starts the second month) that's now part of the advertised plan price...

07-24-25 -

Apple Releases Public Beta of iOS 26
The next version of iOS, version 26 (newly numbered by year), has reached the milestone of a public beta version now available. iOS 26 introduces Apple's new Liquid Glass design language, as well as new features like Live Translation. Interested u...

07-23-25 -

"Qi2 25W" is the new Wireless Fast Charging Standard
The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) standards group today announced that "Qi2 25W" will be the brand for version 2.2.1 of the Qi wireless charging standard. Qi2 25W, as its name implies, brings faster 25-watt charging compared to the 15-...

07-23-25 -

T-Mobile Formally Launches Satellite Messaging Service for All
As announced a month ago, T-Mobile today launched Phase One of its T-Satellite service, which includes SMS and MMS messaging in cellular dead zones. Available to anyone — even customers of other carriers — it costs $10/month.

07-21-25 -

Google Teases Pixel 10
Google has released a short teaser video that shows the design of its to-be-announced Pixel 10 phone (or Pixel 10 series). Assuming the device shown is, in fact, the Pixel 10, (and not the 10 Pro,) it adopts a design almost exactly like the Pixel ...

07-15-25 -

Apple Invests in Rare-Earth Magnet Manufacturing and Recycling in US
Apple has made a $500 million deal with MP Materials to expand the manufacturing of rare-earth (neodymium) magnets for Apple products in Texas. "The two companies will also work together to establish a cutting-edge rare earth recycling line i...

07-14-25 -

HMD "Scales Back" US Operations
HMD Global — steward of the Nokia brand for phones — is all but shuttering its US operations, citing "a challenging geopolitical and economic environment". The company has offered a number of phones in the US in recent years, under i...

07-09-25 -

Samsung Expands Foldable Lineup with Cheaper Z Flip 7 FE
After teasing that this year's foldable lineup would go more premium with a new "Ultra" model, Samsung has done the opposite and added a more-affordable Galaxy Z Flip7 FE. The lineup also includes the expected Galaxy Z Flip7 and Z Fold7....

07-01-25 -

AT&T Finally Offers Protection Against SIM Swap Attacks
AT&T now offers an Account Lock feature that can protect customers from attacks that intercept messages and security codes. It's a setting available for post- and pre-paid consumers in the myAT&T app. Business customers can access Account ...

07-01-25 -

Nothing Launches Flagship Phone (3)
Following the recent launch of several more affordable models, Nothing has finally launched its next flagship model, the Phone (3). It evolves Nothing's distinctive light-up "Glyph" system into a new "Glyph Matrix", a small, ci...

06-25-25 -

Bill Reintroduced to Open Up App Stores
A bipartisan group of US senators have reintroduced the Open App Markets Act, after it failed to reach a vote in 2022. The proposed law would require Apple and Google to allow "side-loading" (installing apps without using the app stores)...

06-25-25 -

Trump Phone Won't be Made in USA After All
All previous mention of the Trump T1 phone being made in the US has been removed from the Trump Mobile web site. Some specs have also been changed.

06-25-25 -

Fairphone 6 Shrinks its Modular, Long-Lasting Phone
Fairphone has launched its sixth-generation phone designed to be user-serviceable, long-lasting, and eco-friendly. The Fairphone (Gen. 6) is more compact than past iterations, with a 6.31-inch display (120 Hz OLED and FHD+). The modular design has...

06-25-25 -

Google Chrome Lets You Move Address Bar to Bottom
This new web browser option on Android follows a similar move by Apple with the Safari browser in iOS. The easiest way to change the location is to long-press on the address bar itself, then tap "Move address bar to bottom".

06-24-25 -

Apple Pushes Ad for its Newest Movie to iPhones
Many iPhone users today received a push notification from the Apple Wallet app promoting the new "F1" movie made by Apple. The unsolicited ad took the form of a $10 discount code for use with Fandango. A beta version of iOS includes a se...

06-24-25 -

Verizon Upgrades Its Customer Service
Verizon is launching a new effort to improve its customer service. First, for "complex issues", the company will now assign a dedicated "Customer Champion" to provide updates and ensure full resolution. Those updates can be pro...

06-23-25 -

T-Mobile Details Satellite Service
T-Mobile has released the final details of its T-Satellite service. The company also revealed a new award it received, and announced a new perk for customers. Following a successful beta test period that saw millions of messages sent, phase one of...

06-18-25 -

T-Mobile Reshuffles Prepaid Plans
T-Mobile is reworking its prepaid plans, with a mix of positive and negative changes. All three new plans include a 5-year price guarantee (on data, voice, and text) and new perks like soccer and baseball TV subscriptions and free in-flight Wi-Fi ...

06-18-25 -

TikTok Gets Another Temporary Lifeline in US
President Trump has announced a new 90-day pause in the enforcement of the law that forces TikTok to sell its US operations, or be banned.

06-16-25 -

Trump Org. Launches Trump Mobile
The Trump family has launched Trump Mobile, a new MVNO offering "5G service through all three major cellular carriers". The prepaid service has no contracts and no credit check. For $47.45 per month, the service offers "unlimited da...

06-13-25 -

Google Kills Instant Apps
Google is shutting down an Android feature that let users quickly download and use a temporary "mini" version of an app, instead of installing the full app. Instant Apps were not popular with developers, but were useful for game trials o...