Verizon switched on its Nationwide 5G network for around 200 million users in October just in time for the iPhone 12’s arrival. And a month later in December, the carrier expanded the coverage to 230 million users. Now, Verizon’s Nationwide 5G essentially plays second fiddle to its much faster Ultra Wideband (UWB) 5G network that relies on the mmWave spectrum, while the Nationwide 5G runs on lower spectrum bands. Actually, Verizon’s Nationwide 5G relies on a technology called Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) to piggyback on the 4G spectrum in areas where 5G Ultra Wideband coverage is not available. But in real-life tests, Verizon’s Nationwide 5G has been found to be slower than its 4G LTE coverage.
As per tests conducted by PCMag’s Sascha Segan using the iPhone 12 Pro in the New York area, the 5G data transfer speeds recorded on Verizon’s DSS Nationwide 5G network were slower compared to Verizon’s own 4G LTE network. Yes, Verizon’s 4G is faster than its low-spectrum 5G network that covers over 230 million people in more than 2,700 cities. “Our most recent tests, using an iPhone 12 Pro in New York City, show that DSS 5G is frequently slower than 4G, and rarely faster,” the report says.
Unless its Verizon's UWB 5G, just turn off 5G on your phone
Tests conducted using the OnePlus 8 on Verizon’s DSS 5G network and the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE on Big Red’s 4G network again proved that Verizon’s 4G LTE fares better than 5G when it comes to downlink speeds. Switching between 4G and DSS 5G on the same device – which happens to be the iPhone 12 Pro in this case – returned the same results. Just to make it clear, the mmWave-based UWB 5G offers much faster speeds, but it has very limited coverage and suffers from penetration issues. The sub-6GHz 5G band, on the other hand, sacrifices raw speeds in favor of wider coverage and more stable network reception.
“I took the iPhone 12 Pro to eight locations around New York City, where I compared 4G and 5G speeds. At the first seven locations, the 5G was DSS and generally slower than 4G,” adds the report. “DSS is supposed to have lower latency, but many of our DSS 5G tests even had slightly higher latency (by a few milliseconds) than our LTE tests.”
When asked about the findings, Verizon issued a standard boilerplate response about how things will improve in the months to come. “For most customers, performance on our 5G nationwide network will be similar to 4G. [DSS] is new technology and we’re continuing to modify it as we go. We expect performance improvement through 2021 and beyond,” a Verizon spokesperson was quoted as saying by PCMag.
The US Federal Communications Commission (US FCC), back in June this year, declared ZTE as well as HUAWEI as threats to national security. The order meant that funds from the US FCC’s $8.3 billion a year Universal Service Fund can’t be used to buy equipment or procure services from the two companies. Today, the US FCC has re-affirmed its stance of classifying ZTE as a threat to national security following a petition to reconsider the order.
In a press release, the US FCC revealed that it has denied a reconsideration petition filed by ZTE over the agency’s order that designated it as a national security risk. “After reviewing the record, the Bureau found no basis for reconsideration. As a result, the FCC’s $8.3 billion a year Universal Service Fund cannot be used to purchase, obtain, maintain, improve, modify, or otherwise support any equipment or services produced or provided by ZTE as well as its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries,” the FCC noted.
The US FCC is going to conduct a meeting on December 10 where the commission will take votes for drafting and implementing rules of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement program. The latter is aimed at helping carrier partners ‘remove and replace untrusted equipment from their networks, months before the statutory deadline.’
December 10 meeting to decide if existing ZTE telecom gear will be removed from US soil.
The denial by FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau means US companies can’t buy telecom equipment from ZTE, and depending on the voting results of the December 10 meeting, existing ZTE telecom gear might be removed from the US soil as well. The US FCC has previously claimed, based on evidence it has gathered, that equipment made by ZTE and HUAWEI can be used for espionage – a claim both the companies have denied on multiple occasions in the past.
A host of rural carriers in the US have been using ZTE or HUAWEI gear, and as per UC FCC’s own estimates, replacing the telecom equipment might cost anywhere between $40 million and $45 million for each company. As for the overall cost, it would cost a total of almost $1.8 billion to fully get rid of Chinese telecom equipment.
AlefEdge has announced the launch of EdgeNet, which is a compute and delivery network that is based on its Software-Defined Mobile Edge (SD-ME) platform. The tech was announced at ShowStoppers TV. AlefEdge is enabling enterprises to adopt Open Edge across dozens of locations globally.
The company says EdgeNet is a first-of-its-kind service, which is designed to enable systems integrators, developers, and value-added resellers (VAR) to build 5G-like applications and services over contemporary networks, and to enable enterprises to adopt them easily.
“Enterprises are accelerating their digital communications transformation strategies,” says AlefEdge Founder and CEO, Ganesh Sundaram. “The launch of EdgeNet enables the diverse community of mobile and internet innovators the ability to deliver Edge-enabled applications and 5G-like services to global enterprises quickly—through automation and rapid deployment channels.”
EdgeNet allows an enterprise to create its own 5G network and launch their own applications inside and outside of their campus. It can provide both private-to-private and private-to-public mobility and roaming services. AlefEdge’s SD-ME platform enables 5G-like immersive and intelligent applications to work over contemporary 4G LTE, CBRS, and Wi-Fi networks. To accelerate digital transformation, application developers and network programmers can take advantage of Alef’s developer program and APIs.
“Our products are already available today for easy adoption by enterprises. By abstracting out the complexity of 5G for the enterprise, the ecosystem can easily build transformative Edge services through Open Edge APIs. Soon the developer ecosystem will be able to leverage the APIs to build even more disruptive products,” said Sundaram.
“AlefEdge’s SD-ME platform offers high-speed connectivity at the Edge to application developers and enterprises,” says Rohan Joy Thomas, Industry Analyst, Frost & Sullivan.
Selling locked phones ensure that switching providers won’t be easy. Carriers have been selling locked phones, and half of the people who try to unlock their phones experience difficulties. According to Ofcom, these people face a long wait to receive the code needed to trigger the process and then finding that the code does not work. However, it’s all in the past now. From December 2021, you won’t have to buy locked phones as UK Regulator Ofcom is banning the sale of locked phones by network operators.
The latest development comes via a report from BBC, which says that the new rule will affect BT and its EE subsidiary, Vodafone, and Tesco Mobile. The companies seem to be taking it well as they aren’t pushing back.Vodafone said, “We stand ready to implement these changes when they come into force,” while EE added, “We’ll work with Ofcom to comply with its guidelines.” Other UK networks including O2, Three, and Virgin already only sell unlocked handsets. Hence, the new order doesn’t affect them.
According to Ofcom, consumers will find it easier to switch networks for a better deal once the new measures are in place. Plus, it will save them money since phone unlocking usually costs around £10. The UK regulator also said to give consumers accessible communications formats such as braille must always be available when requested from the same date, in December of 2021.
Additionally, networks will have to show customers a clear summary of a contract before signing starting in June 2022. It is being done to ensure that key parts aren’t hidden in the small print. Moreover, consumers will be able to get out of contracts if changes are made that weren’t originally agreed upon, which includes price hikes.
The Samsung Galaxy S20+, OnePlus 7T and more devices are on sale today
The official news today, as per usual, begin with deals, since you know we don’t need Prime Day scout things out for you. Let’s end the week with the Galaxy S20+ which is still $201 off, that leaves the entry level variant for $998 shipped. Moving on, the OnePlus 7T which is still a pretty solid phone is available for $200 off at B&H, this leaves the 128GB variant for $399 in Glacier Blue. Finally, the previous generation iPad Pro is currently $289 off, this leaves the Wi-Fi only, 1TB variant for $910 shipped and honestly, that’s a pretty good deal for the storage. We also have deals on Motorola phones, Sennheiser Earbuds and more in the links in the description.
Alright, this is not an April joke, I promise. See while carriers are trying to deploy 5G and trying to give us decent LTE speeds here on Earth, it looks like Nokia is trying to put 4G on the moon. Yeah you heard that right. This plan apparently started back in 2018 and now, NASA just gave Nokia $14.1M to help achieve this. The project involves Nokia building a 4G cellular communication network on the moon, which would help for lunar surface research missions. NASA hopes that this new system can support lunar surface communications at greater distances, increase speeds and provide more reliability than the current standards. Honestly, we’re just covering because it’s pretty cool but, let’s see how it pans out.
Google Search, Lens, and Maps get new features to make your pandemic life easier
Now let’s talk about Google as, the company surprised us with their “Search On” Event yesterday which focused mainly on the improvements coming to Google Search and more. Some of the updates they announced include new shortcuts for Google Lens that appear on both the Google App and Chrome for Android. Google is also significantly improving the “Did You Mean” spell correction on Google Search with their BERT neural network. Search will now be able to show you cars inside and out by using the same technology they use for their 3D animals and cellular models. Another cool feature is letting you Hum to Search, for those of you that didn’t get to Shazam the song while it was playing but you still have the melody stuck in your head. Of course, this is just a quick recap of what Google showed but, if you want more technical details make sure to check the links in the description.
OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei confirms departure from the company
Let’s move on to OnePlus as, the company has been in the spotlight a lot this week, first with the reports of Carl Pei leaving, then the event and of course the teasers they put out afterwards. But now it’s finally official, Carl Pei put out a statement earlier today where he confirmed that he is leaving the company. He talked about his 7 year journey with the company, his growth and how he is looking forward to take some time off to decompress and catch up with his family and friends, after that he will follow his heart on to what’s next. All of the rumors point to him moving on to create his own venture so again, we wish you the best in your future endeavors Carl.
Samsung Galaxy S21 may launch sooner than expected
Now let’s talk Samsung as the company usually releases their smartphones on February and maybe even March but, apparently this may not be the case for the S21. There’s been several rumors that we’ll be getting this phone earlier next year and it might just be true. According to Sam Mobile’s sources, due to unforeseen circumstances, it has been decided that there will be a late January or pretty early February, 2021 release. Multiple reports suggest that Samsung’s suppliers have begun mass production for different components of the S21 which also hints to that earlier release. On another note, the S21 just went through a 3C certification, showing the model number, the fact that it brings 25W fast charging and a battery rated at 3880 mAh which pretty much means 4000 and we had seen before. So yeah, it’s pretty early and all things might change but, it looks like we’re getting Galaxies early.
Story of the day:
Apple iPad Air 4th Gen is now available to pre-order starting today
Apple’s ARM-powered Mac could debut on November 17
Apple might finally launch the AirPods Studio in March next year
And finally, the hottest news today has to do with Apple. Yes, today was pre-orders day for the iPhones and the iPad Air, managed to get all of them, but wait, there’s more. Jon Prosser was busy yesterday as he shared a lot of leaks of what to expect from Apple in the coming weeks. He started off by showing a screenshot from Best Buy Canada where the iPad Air is listed to come out on October 23rd, like he predicted earlier and which we covered yesterday and became a reality today. After that he mentioned that sadly, we won’t be getting an Apple TV this year despite all of the other leaks we’ve had. Moving on to something I am pretty interested on, he said that there will be a November Event, specifically for the ARM Macs. According to his sources the event could happen on November 17th with the teaser for it coming out on the 10th. And to conclude Prosser’s leak bomb, he claims that Apple’s next Event after November will happen on March 16th, 2021, with the headliner for that being the AirPods Studio. Oh but we’re not done, Love to dream tweeted out MESA UTS for iPhone, of course we needed a translation to that and Prosser replied with saying “Mesa means Touch ID” and uts means under the screen. So that feature might still make it to an iPhone, but we just wonder what year
It seems that Nokia some sort of obsession with the moon or extraterrestrial communications. It’s not the first time that we see the company trying to develop technology for lunar missions, as it had done something similar in 2018.
Nokia may be getting closer to provide LTE connectivity on the moon. The company has been in talks with NASA, and it has agreed to invest 14.1 million dollars to help Nokia achieve its dreams. Nokia’s project is mainly about creating a 4G cellular communication network on the moon, as part of a series of new contracts NASA is awarding for lunar surface research missions.
“That project was part of $370 million in new contracts for lunar surface research missions NASA announced Wednesday. Most of the money went to large space companies like SpaceX and United Launch Alliance to perfect techniques to make and handle rocket propellant in space.”
NASA’s goal is to make the moon a place that astronauts will want to live and work on the moon in a lunar base by 2028. Nokia would help to create a network that may connect users at greater distances, allowing communication between lunar landers, rovers, habitats, and astronauts.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a live broadcast: “We need power systems that can last a long time on the surface of the moon, and we need habitation capability on the surface. “The system could support lunar surface communications at greater distances, increased speeds, and provide more reliability than current standards. “We want to build the [lunar] infrastructure…that is going to enable an international partnership for the biggest, broadest, most diverse inclusive coalition of researchers and explorers in the history of humankind.”
Reuters also added that “the system would also extend to spacecraft. With NASA funding,” and that “Nokia will look at how terrestrial technology could be modified for the lunar environment to support reliable, high-rate communications.”
Still, the first time that Nokia started a similar project was a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, previous plans to test the technology on the moon never came to be, as the launch set for 2019 never happened, and one of the companies working with Nokia filed for bankruptcy protection shortly after.
Apple Watch Series 6, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and more devices are on sale
The official news today begin with Deals, and believe it or not, one of them continues to be a discontinued phone. Since we’re talking Pixels today, the Google Pixel 4 is currently $300 off on Amazon, that leaves the entry level variant for $500 shipped. The 4 XL is $118 off, leaving it at $781 shipped for the entry level variant. If you want a brand new Apple Watch, the Series 6 is currently $15 off. Hey, we know it’s not a huge deal but, it’s a new Watch so, it’s still a deal. This leaves the 40mm GPS variant for $385 shipped. Finally, if you want an affordable Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab A10.1 is currently $50 off, that leaves the 32GB of storage variant for $180. We have deals on Amazon Fire tablets, and a bunch of Razer peripherals in the links in the description.
Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 750G chip brings an AI-driven noise supression tech
Now let’s talk about Qualcomm as the company is clearly pushing the premium midrange segment harder than they are their flagships it seems. Qualcomm has been very update as of late, and now they’re updating their 7 Series with a new SoC. This new Snapdragon 750G is an 8nm processor which uses the Kryo 570 core CPU that promises a 20% boost in performance, and the Adreno 619 GPU which offers a 10% boost in graphics. This new processor supports both mmWave and sub-6GHz 6G with the X52 modem, and it comes with the Snapdragon Elite Gaming features bundled. It supports things like 4K HDR video, 192MP images, slow-mo 720p at 240fps, 120Hz FHD+ displays, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 and more, with a peak clock speed of 2.2GHz. It will be available by the end of this year, with Xiaomi launching the first phone powered by it.
Xbox Beta app now lets you remotely play Xbox One games on your Android phone for free
Now for our gamers in the audience, let’s talk about the recent moves that Microsoft has been doing, with one in particular. Microsoft just made a big move as they just acquired ZeniMax Media. If you don’t know who ZeniMax Media is, they’re Bethesda’s parent company which should ring a bell. They’re also the parent company for other gaming developing studios like Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog and more. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft spent around $7.5B for this deal to happen, they’re biggest videogame purchase ever. They released a statement where they said that “they’ll be adding Bethesda’s iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass, and they’re most excited to see the roadmap with the future games.” Bethesda owns some of the biggest titles in the industry like Fallout, the rebooted Doom titles, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls and more. They haven’t made any announcements as to any new originals or how they plan to distribute them but it looks like it’s a move to compete against Sony which always had the upper hand when it comes to exclusives. I’m seriously just happy over Wolfenstein, which continues to be one of my favorite games of all time.
AT&T believes iPhone 12 launch may not be a ‘Massive event’
And yes, the whole proximity to TechTober means that we’re getting closer and closer to the iPhone 12 line up so, with hype building up, but not everywhere it seems. AT&T has come out with a report that says that they’re not too hyped about it. According to the company’s CEO of communications, he claims that “he does believe that you will see many of the current iPhone subscribers upgrade their device, but he wouldn’t forecast that it’s going to be a massive event, but of course he wouldn’t call it a nonevent. He thinks that based on the current pressures of the economy, people will make a calculated decision when they buy these new phones, and AT&T is going to be there to offer these Apple devices regardless.” Basically, what he’s trying to say is that with 5G and the added prices, he doesn’t think people will flock to stores to get the new iPhones like it’s happened in prior years, due to the economy but hey, with Apple you never know. What do you guys think will happen? Think this is why the iPhone mini is gonna be the biggest push for the company
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirms a 120Hz display for the upcoming OnePlus 8T
OnePlus 8T 5G European pricing leaked ahead of launch
Yesterday, OnePlus announced that we’ll be getting the 8T on October 14th. Oddly they’re not doing it with the same amount of hype they did with the Nord, which is kind of ironic. Now, we got some official statements from Pete Lau when it comes to this phone’s display. According to Pete himself, this phone will pack a 6.55-inch display running at 120Hz. He also added that they’ll be using a 2.5D flexible display for the first time with this phone. If you didn’t know, a 2.5D flexible panel offers improved light permeability, reaching a maximum brightness of up to 1100 nits. The report also adds that this phone will bring a 91.9% screen to body ratio, the highest of any OnePlus phone. Finally and moving away from the specs, he claims that it will have the highest color accuracy possible across the screen. But enough with promo, let’s move to some leaked price tags which we got yesterday on Twitter. According to this tipster, these prices are exclusive for Europe and, they’re pretty expensive. The entry level variant for the 8T will cost €799 and the added RAM and storage will cost you €899. This is actually cheaper than what we currently got with the 8 but, if you remember last year, the 7T was €100 cheaper than the regular 7, so these leaks might not be too far off. He also claims that his source is very sure of these prices and, we should expect that same number for the US, meaning $799 and $899 as OnePlus doesn’t really change price with different currencies. Too expensive, good price? I think if OnePlus doesn’t bring it down to $699, it’s gonna be a tough race.
Story of the day:
Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G early retail listings reveal the price, storage and color options
And finally the hottest news of the day have to do with new developments when it comes to the Google Pixel 5. Let’s keep on talking about pricing leaks and, this time it’s positive. We’ve gotten several leaks about this phone, like the design and the specs, but we hadn’t gotten a leaked price tag ahead of the September 30th Event. Now, it’s been listed on European retailers, giving us more information on the pricing, color options and storage variants. First we got some screenshots of the listings but, those aren’t too trust worthy, so later on we got a reliable tipster confirming the price tags. According to him, the Pixel 4a 5G will cost €499 and it will come in Black and White variants. The Pixel 5 will cost €629 and will come in Black and Green variants, no panda this year. All of the screenshots from the retailers go along with these price tags so, they’re probably not too far off. Focusing on the Pixel 5, we’re expecting this phone to bring a 6-inch OLED display running at 90Hz, the Snapdragon 765G, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. As well as a dual camera module at the back but it now includes an ultra wide angle lens instead of the telephoto. The 4a 5G will simple be a larger variant of the Pixel 4a, with 5G and a dual camera.
We are getting closer to the possible launch of Apple’s new iPhone 12 lineup, as rumors suggest that it could arrive in a mid-October event. Cupertino recently held an online “Time Flies” event, where it launched the new Apple Watch Series 6 and the Apple Watch SE without a charger. We also saw the arrival of a new iPad and a new iPad Air with a new A14 Bionic chip, as well as other new services and features.
However, it seems that AT&T is not so hyped about the launch of the new iPhone 12 lineup. The company’s Communications CEO, Jeff McElfresh, was recently interviewed by CNBC. He had some interesting things to say about the new 5G iPhones and 6G plans for one of the United States’ largest carriers.
“I do believe that you will see many of the iPhone subscribers move to upgrade to the device,” said McElfresh. “But I wouldn’t forecast that it’s going to be a massive event. I also don’t think it’s going to be a nonevent. I think customers, based on the pressures of the economy that we’re all facing today, will make a calculated decision as to what they want to do. And we’re going to be there to offer them any device that Apple launches here shortly.”
He also mentioned that AT&T’s engineers are already working on the next-generation 6G network, even though it may take years before this technology fully materializes. Yes, it is always good to be prepared for the future, but at least I believe that the company should focus on giving real 5G connectivity and consistent speeds, not 5Ge and a nationwide network that has “enormous gaps in coverage stretch coast to coast.”
Maybe the launch of the iPhone 12 may not have a huge impact due to economic uncertainty, but let’s be honest, Apple really knows how to put up a show, and it will most likely launch its devices with a bang and a couple of new surprises. We have recently seen rumors suggesting the arrival of a new iPhone 12 mini, which would be the smallest 5.4-inch variant of the lineup, but it seems that we won’t get 120Hz refresh rate displays in any model.
“Surpassing AT&T to become #2 was a huge milestone to kick off Q2, but that was only the beginning! In our first quarter as a combined company, T-Mobile led the industry in total branded customer adds – even in a challenging environment – and there is no doubt that we are THE leading growth company in wireless.
Now we’re setting our sights on #1 – in customer choice and customers’ hearts – and we’ll get there by doing ONLY what the Un-carrier can do: offering customers the most advanced 5G network AND the best value while continuing to make big moves that fix customer pain points and disrupt this industry. I’m excited about what’s to come in this new T-Mobile era – we’re just getting started!”
T-Mobile is now the second-largest wireless carrier in the United States. The company has surpassed AT&T after its merger with Sprint, adding 1,245,000 new customers and reaching a total of 98.3 million customers at the end of Q2. Magenta has also announced a new Scam-Shield, which are tools that will help its users fight spam and scam calls. It also launched a new nationwide 5G standalone network, giving it a considerable advantage compared to its competitors.
At its 19th China Internet Conference held on July 23 in China, HUAWEI shared some important figures regarding its Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) Ecosystem, the company’s alternative to a Google services-free ecosystem. The Chinese electronics giant has revealed that it now has reached 1.6 million developers worldwide working with the HMS core, a number that is 76% higher compared to last year.
Additionally, the company also announced that the HMS ecosystem has now reached 700 million users worldwide, which amounts to a growth of 32% on an annual basis. Moreover, the company mentioned that over 81,000 innovative applications have integrated the HMS core open abilities since its inception.
Furthermore, the $1 billion HMS Ecosystem Incentive Program that HUAWEI announced back in September is also reaping good results. Initially created to boost app development, user growth and marketing, the Shining Star Program that oversees it has since provided support to 10,000 apps.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and more devices on sale today
Deals. Yes, we’re getting really close to Unpacked so, we have some crazy deals on Samsung devices. For example, you can get the 128GB of storage variant of the Galaxy S20 Ultra along with a free Galaxy Watch Active 2 on Amazon. You heard that right, the total comes up to $1399. The Galaxy Note 10 and 10+ are getting the same treatment, leaving the regular Note 10 for $949 with the watch and the Plus for $1099. The Galaxy S10 Lite is also $150 off, leaving the 128GB variant with the US variant for $500. We also have deals on iPad Pros, Beats Headphones and more.
MediaTek announces Dimensity 720 SoC for mid-range 5G smartphones
Right now is clearly the time for mid-rangers and MediaTek is banking on that as they just launched their latest SoC. The new Dimensity 720 5G allows customers to get 5G experiences on mid-tier smartphones. This new SoC supports 90Hz high-frame rate for smooth gaming and content consumption, it brings new video and streaming capabilities with MiraVision HDR10+. It has some new flexible camera configuration options, allowing up to 64MP modules and it adds several AI features with MediaTek’s integrated GPU. It’s built on a 7nm process and we’re not exactly sure as to when we can see a smartphone with it as, it’s most likely in mass production but, we’ll keep you posted.
AT&T says its 5G network is now available across the US, commercial rollout begins August 7
Speaking of 5G, AT&T is finally expanding their network. The company just announced today that it is now nationwide as they are expanding to 40 new markets, meaning they now offer low-band 5G to 395 different markets which equals to 205M people. It’ll be available on August 7th and it’s now included in the Unlimited Starter Plan, you just have to make sure to have a 5G capable phone. According to them, they’re launching both mmWave and sub-6 to provide the best mix of speeds, latency and coverage needed to fuel the 5G experience for consumers and businesses. Let’s just hope this means that 5GE finally evolved.
Corning’s new Gorilla Glass Victus will help your phone survive drops from a 2-meter height
Corning just announced the successor to Gorilla Glass 6, and it’s called Gorilla Glass Victus. According to Corning, this new solution can successfully survive a 2m drop on to a hard or rough surface according to their lab tests. They also mention that it is 2x more scratch resistant than Gorilla Glass 6 and it’s 4x more durable than other competitors. The company also mentioned that Victus also improves both “drop and scratch performance for the first time ever in the Gorilla Glass family” but we don’t have any technical details as to what that means exactly. Samsung will be the first to rock this new Gorilla Glass so, we’re hoping it comes to the Note and we also expect it to make it to the next iPhones, even if we know Apple never uses the name.
iPhone 12 battery capacity and possible release date have leaked
We get new images of the iPhone 12 alleged braided cables
Yesterday, a new report from MacOtakara the rumors that we might have to wait some more for the iPhone 12 as we might get them until November as the announcement might happen until October. However, the report does mention that at least one LTE variant will be available for purchase as soon as it is announced so, if you don’t care about 5G this is good news. But there’s a catch with that, you should take all of these LTE variant rumors with a grain of salt as Ming Chi Kuo expects that all of this year’s iPhones will be 5G capable and, we trust him. On another note, a new certification from SafetyKorea which allegedly belongs to the iPhone 12 Max or 12 Pro show that this phone will bring a 2775 mAh battery, confirming some previous rumors that this year’s batteries might be smaller. Staying on the battery and charging side, a tipster on Twitter just posted some images of the new braided cable which will reportedly ship with the iPhone 12. On the images we can see a white and a black cable but, the black cable most likely belongs to the current Mac Pro so, let’s not pay attention to that. It looks pretty new and we can also see the packaging so, it looks like there’s some positive news when it comes to the chargers.
Story of the day:
The Note 20 ‘Lite’ may launch alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Samsung is taking registrations for Galaxy Note 20 pre-orders with a $50 credit gift
And finally the hottest news today have to do with Samsung as clearly their Galaxy Unpacked has sort of begun. First we got that new Galaxy Z Flip 5G and now the company just started pre-orders for the Galaxy Note 20 and they’re giving out $50 in credit but alright, hold it. So, remember yesterday when we said that the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra’s leaked specs were pretty much the same as we had covered before? Well, some we hadn’t really covered were the regular Note 20’s and it looks like this might be some sort of a Lite variant and, we actually think that’s a good thing. For example, this regular Note 20 will reportedly feature a 6.7in Super AMOLED display but, it will only run at 60Hz which is kinda weird considering every S20 variant is capable of that. It’s apparently going to be capped at 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage with no SD Card. The camera will also be significantly different as we’re expecting the Ultra to bring the 108MP primary sensor while this variant will most likely stick to 12MP like the S20 did. Even the S Pen will have 26ms latency when compared to the Ultra’s 9ms. A recent report claims that this phone and the Note 20 Ultra will see a $200 price difference and with these specs it makes sense. It’ll reportedly be priced somewhere between $700 and $949. We’re very close so, we’ll see.
Subscribe:http://bit.ly/pocketnowsubhttp://pocketnow.comFollow us:http://flipboard.com/@Pocketnowhttp://facebook.com/pocketnowhttp://twitter.com/pocketnowhttp://google.com/+pocketnow
AT&T has today announced that its 5G network is now available across the country in the US, and is now live for consumers and businesses starting today. To ease the transition, AT&T also offers a decent selection of 5G devices including the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G, Samsung Galaxy S20 trio, Samsung Galaxy A71 5G and the LG V60 ThinQ 5G, with more names set to join the list soon.
The company says all customers on the AT&T Consumer Unlimited Wireless Plans will be migrated to its 5G network at no additional cost starting August 7. For regular subscribers under the AT&T Unlimited Starter, Extra and Elite plans, they will get 5G access without any extra charge. Likewise, businesses that are hooked to AT&T Business Unlimited Web-Only, Starter, Performance and Elite plans will also be able to avail 5G at zero additional fees.
“Our strategy of deploying 5G in both sub-6 (5G) and mmWave (5G+) spectrum bands will provide the best mix of speeds, latency and coverage that are needed to enable revolutionary new capabilities to fuel 5G experiences for consumers and businesses,” Chris Sambar, EVP of Technology Operations at AT&T, was quoted as saying in a press release.
This may be one of the best moments to get a Samsung Galaxy Note 10
Let’s begin today with Deals cause we know you watched our After The Buzz, and yes, there’s no better time to jump on the Galaxy Note 10. Right now it’s currently $220 off for the 256GB of storage variant, leaving it at $730 and it comes with the US Warranty as well. The Galaxy S10 is still $100 off from the other day, leaving it at $650 for the 128GB of storage variant. The latest iPad Mini is $50 off, leaving that at $629 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular, 256GB of storage variant. We have more deals on Sony TVs, DJI Osmo Action Cams and more in the links in the description.
Sprint will be no more on August 2, as it officially turns into T-Mobile
It’s been a minute since we’ve discussed the Sprint and T-Mobile merge, mainly because it’s been a minute since anything major has really changed. Well, yesterday T-Mobile confirmed that as of August 2, Sprint and T-Mobile will be unifying their brands under “The New T-Mobile” name. This deal has been happening for the past few years and it was expected to launch this summer as they laid off hundreds of Sprint employees and disbanded their 5G network. Most of the Sprint retail stores will be rebranded as T-Mobile stores with more announcements happening next week. So yeah T-Mobile.. I’m trying to understand how building a stronger synergy means laying off people, but oh well.
ASUS ROG Phone 3 press render leaked ahead of launch
We’re pretty much 5 days away from the official announcement of the ROG Phone 3 so, the leaks keep flowing. Now, we got some official-looking press renders of the phone from Evan Blass, showing off the entire design which is kinda familiar. At the back we can see the new triple camera setup with the RGB ROG logo. At the front we have a notch-less design with thick top and bottom bezels to house the dual front face firing speakers. We’re expecting this phone to bring a 6.59in AMOLED display running at 120Hz, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+, and a crazy 6000 mAh battery with 30W fast charging. We’ll be back with more information once it launches.
New iPad Air could end up giving us more power, for less
You remember that 10.8-inch iPad we should be getting this year which we talked about yesterday? Well, now we have some more information and it looks like this will be the new iPad Air. According to the report, Apple is going for the iPhone SE strategy by bringing a powerful SoC to an affordable device. It might also adopt some of the Pro features like USB-C and the new Magic Keyboard. This iPad would be priced somewhere around the current Air’s price which starts at $500 and the regular iPad which starts at $330. If you’re looking for an iPad Mini, like me, we should be getting those next year according to Ming Chi Kuo, and he also mentioned that these iPads will ship with 20W chargers. Speaking of iPads, let’s talk about the Apple Pencil for a second. A new patent titled “Computer System with color Sampling stylus” would use several photo detectors in the Apple pencil to allow you to hold the pencil against an object and sample the color for whatever it is you’re using it. We’re not exactly sure if this is possible at the moment but it would be a nice feature, let’s hope Apple makes it work.
Samsung’s bean-shaped earbuds appear in a short video and official renders
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 leak reveals flat display and a new color option
Speaking of events and products we’re close to, we have a new leaked 6 second teaser of the Galaxy Buds posted to Twitter. On the video we see one of the buds lift up from the case and then the words, “Keep the Noise Out. Let the Sound In.” appear on the screen hinting to the Active Noise cancellation. We also have another picture showing off the inner side of the buds as well as someone wearing them and we can’t say they look too comfortable. We also have a new CAD render video of the Galaxy Note 20 showing the phone from all angles. We can tell this is the regular Note 20 as, it brings a flat display and triple cameras at the back with no periscope lens. There’s really no surprises here any more so, let’s just get ready for Unpacked.
Story of the day:
New OnePlus Buds could feature noise cancelation during calls
OnePlus Nord’s camera hardware officially detailed
And finally the hottest news today have to do with OnePlus. Let’s talk about the OnePlus Nord as today we have some official information. The first one is a OnePlus Buds teaser where they show off how the Buds will bring in-call noise cancellation. The teaser reads “Even if you’re in a noisy environment, your voice will be picked up clearly. No need to shhh”. At the end of the teaser we can see the silhouette of the buds and the color looks pretty similar to the ones Carl Pei was wearing on the WVFRM podcast. Moving on to the actual Nord, the company just revealed the camera specs through their Forums. Let’s start off with the selfie camera, which will get a 32MP main sensor and wide-angle selfie camera with the 105-degree FOV which is allegedly an 8MP sensor. Now, on the back, the main camera will be a Sony IMX586 48MP sensor with OIS, along with an 8MP ultra-wide angle camera, a 5MP depth sensor and my last but not least, my personal favorite, a macro camera. Ugh, I hate it when Diego does this to me on the script.. We’re 4 days away from the event so we’ll keep you posted.
Subscribe:http://bit.ly/pocketnowsubhttp://pocketnow.comFollow us:http://flipboard.com/@Pocketnowhttp://facebook.com/pocketnowhttp://twitter.com/pocketnowhttp://google.com/+pocketnow
T-Mobile has confirmed that on August 2, 2020, it will officially unify Sprint’s operations under the T-Mobile brand, which means that Sprint will formally cease to exist. The Sprint and T-Mobile merger finally took place on April 1, and since then, T-Mobile has laid off many Sprint former employees, and it also has disabled Sprint’s 5G networks, and the next change will be rebranding most Sprint retail stores as new T-Mobile stores. On a positive note, there will be new deals announced next week.
At Reliance AGM today, Mukesh Ambani, RIL chairman announced that Reliance Jio has designed and developed a complete 5G solution. It will be ready for trial and for field deployment by next year. The trials using Jio‘s own 5G solution is said to be launched as soon as 5G spectrum is available in India.
For reference, the 5G spectrum auctions are yet to take place in India. ETTelecom reports, Jio had reportedly sought the Department of Telecommunications’ approval to conduct lab testing of 5G products. These products have been developed by the company itself.
Moreover, Jio will be setting up the network at its premises without the involvement of any third part vendor or technology provider. The technology is said to roll out as soon as 5G spectrums are made available in the country.
