Phone Scoop

Samsung has introduced its third generation of Tactical Edition smartphones designed primarily for military personnel. For the first time, they support AT&T's FirstNet network and will be available to first responders. Also for the first time, there are two…

AST SpaceMobile has achieved another important testing milestone by successfully making a 5G phone call on an unmodified Samsung Galaxy S22 via its BlueWalker 3 test satellite currently in orbit. The phone was located in a cellular dead zone on Maui, Hawaii.…

The final version of iOS 17 is now available to download. iPhone users with an iPhone Xr/Xs or newer (including the iPhone 11 series, 12 series, etc.) can now go to Software Update in Settings to upgrade to the new OS. iOS 17 was announced in June and has a…

T-Mobile has reached an agreement to lease and then purchase radio spectrum licenses from Comcast worth $3.3 billion. The licenses are for 10 MHz of bandwidth around 600 MHz (band 71). T-Mobile already uses band 71 to provide blanket coverage. As one of the…

Apple has announced Apple Watch Series 9, a major upgrade of the internal components to enable new features. The new S9 chip includes a quad-core neural engine with twice the machine learning performance. This enables the Siri voice assistant to run locally on…

Apple has revealed the iPhone 15 series, which moves to a USB-C connector and brings several key features from last year's Pro models to the more-affordable standard models. These include the pill-shaped sensor cutout in the display that Apple calls Dynamic…

HMD Global, the company that took over the Nokia brand in the phone space, plans to launch its own brand of phones. HMD Global CEO Jean-Francois Baril published a post saying that "we are establishing an original HMD brand. You can expect to see a new…

Apple has extended its contract with Qualcomm to supply 5G modem chips for iPhones through 2026. Apple has been attempting to develop its own 5G modem chips, and purchased Intel's phone chip business in 2019 for $1 billion to further that effort. While rumors…

Cricket has started selling two additional phones under its own brand, adding to what was already the largest lineup of white-label phones among US carriers. The Cricket Magic 5G offers 5G for just $140, while the Cricket Icon 5 is a 4G Android phone for just…

Apple has released iOS 16.6.1 for iPhones, which fixes an "actively exploited zero-click vulnerability". All iPhone and iPad owners should update their OS software immediately, as this is one of the most severe types of security issues. The vulnerability can…

Google has posted an official page on its web site for the forthcoming Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel Watch 2. The page includes a few photos plus a short video with a all-around views of both phones. Side-by-side shots show a significant size difference…

Gabb has announced its newest watch for kids, the Gabb Watch 3. The new model offers significant upgrades from the Watch 2, including full text messaging (via voice or keyboard), wireless charging, and Bluetooth pairing (to the parent's phone). It's also more…

New filings related to Arm's planned initial public offering (IPO) reveal that Apple has signed a deal with the company that "extends beyond 2040". Apple licenses Arm chip technology which it then customizes to create the A-series processor chips that are the…

Anker has announced seven new MagGo wireless chargers and two new Nano power banks, all with faster charging than its previous-generation products. The new MagGo series fully supports the new Qi2 standard based on Apple's MagSafe. That means they support full…

Google has ended its Pixel Pass subscription bundle after just 22 months, even though the offering was advertised as including a new phone after two years. The news comes as Google prepares to announce a new lineup of Pixel phones (presumably the Pixel 8…

Fairphone has revealed the Fairphone 5, the next version of its sustainability-focused line of Android phones. The Fairphone 5 has better specs than past models, including dual 50 megapixel cameras (normal and wide) and a 90 Hz OLED display (6.46-inch, FHD+).…

A page on Google's own Store web site briefly featured an image clearly showing the company's next flagship phone. The photo was labeled "A person takes a call on a Pixel 8 Pro phone in Porcelain." That phone has yet to be announced. Google historically…

Sonim's flagship rugged smartphone, the XP10, is now available in some form from all three major US carriers. It launches today for T-Mobile business customers, after launching first on AT&T and more recently with Verizon. The XP10 supports sub-6 5G on both…

TCL has announced a new line of phones that employ NXTPAPER, the company's unique display technology that attempts to offer a "full color paper-like visual experience". Most obviously, the displays have an anti-reflective matte finish. A total of ten extra…

T-Mobile has launched updated versions of its REVVL 6 series of affordable 5G phones. The new REVVL 6x 5G and REVVL 6x Pro 5G are similar to their predecessors, with a few upgrades like double the storage (now 128 GB on the 6x and 256 GB on the 6x Pro). That…