HoFo Blog

From The Web:

Millennials feel closer emotional bond to Apple than any other brand, says large-scale brand survey

Google and Huawei Will Face Class Action Over Nexus 6P Bootloop Issues

Rumors of Motorola layoffs swirl as future of Moto Z line potentially in jeopardy

U.S. appeals court in San Francisco will hear net neutrality appeal

Selfies distort face's appearance, plastic surgeons warn

From The Forums:

Wireless customer agreement updates?

Band 71 vs band 12?

Article about Sprints ridiculous equality claims

55+ plan price increase

Sims / bundles

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Famous phone leaker Evan Blass has, for the moment, turned his prying eyes to smartwatches and has come up with this, the Fitbit Versa. It's not the first time we've seen this newer, cheaper and less fugly version of the Ionic. Nine days ago Wareable posted a gallery of the then-unnamed device; they've since updated their post to include the new information from Blass.

Available in black, charcoal, rose gold and silver, the Versa will run the same Fitbit OS as the Ionic, but in a smaller and more female-friendly form factor. It will be water resistant to 50mm and, like the Ionic, will include an SpO2 sensor able to monitor sleep apnea once Fitbit enables that feature. The one thing it won't have on its spec sheet is GPS.

If you think the Versa bears more than a passing resemblance to the Pebble Time Steel you're not wrong. In fact, someone told Wareable that Pebble had a touchscreen watch in development before they were bought up by Fitbit.

The Versa is expected to go on sale this spring, and will almost certainly retail for less than the $300 USD Ionic.

Sources: Evan Blass via Android Police, Wareable

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From The Web:

Samsung Galaxy S9 Review: The Best Android Phone Don't Need No Honkin' Notch

Korean report claims Apple will drop the iPhone X notch in 2019 iPhones

What if phones had a tiny camera notch in the corner?

Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 “Fusion Platform” will include the SDX50 5G Modem

5G is the real reason the US is so afraid of Huawei

From The Forums:

Can Sprint roam on Verizon?

Tello more data

AT&T and the March 2018 Nor’easter

Confused about T-Mobile branded S9 vs unlocked from Samsung

Billing Question when leaving VZ

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This isn't a screenshot of Android P, but it might as well be. The image is actually from the Play Store listing for the Flux White Substratum Theme. I was a big fan of the original Flux for Cyanogen not so long ago, and Google could certainly do worse than to copy this particular designer's fine efforts.

Feel free to compare what you see above with some screenshots of the actual developer preview from Android Police. The resemblance is uncanny, isn't it? It's also perhaps a little bit ironic, because according to XDA custom overlays—including Substratum themes—can no longer be used with Android P, at least in its current state.

The last time I had checked on Substratum it required root, but apparently there is also a rootless variant. It doesn't ultimately matter because root access to your device won't help you anyway, thanks to changes Google has made to a file called framework.jar

Custom ROMs will likely be able to patch this file, and there might soon be a Magisk module that does the same. But if you're running a stock ROM that doesn't already support theming, prepare to be blinded by Android P.

Sources: Android Police, reddit, XDA

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From The Web:

Copying the iPhone X Notch on Android Is Lazy and Stupid

Leaked AnTuTu screenshots may confirm OnePlus 6 notch

Google announces Android P: Notch support, multi-camera API, indoor positioning, and more

Google Nexus devices won’t get Android P (at least not officially)

iPad Pro With Face ID Will 'Likely' Debut at WWDC 2018 in Early June

From The Forums:

AT&T Fiber optic expansion

samsung s8 unlocking

Has sprint improved?

Which plan is better?

Samsung galaxy s9 and T-Mobile reps

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... Which Apple in turn copied from the Palm Pre. And the cycle of tech "innovation" continues.

What I'm talking about here is gesture-based navigation, currently all the rage on the latest fruit phone. As luck would have it, it's also an option on the latest Open Beta of OxygenOS for the OnePlus 5T—the one without the capacitive buttons and front-facing fingerprint sensor / home button. Here's a close-up of my current home screen running the beta:



Notice the complete absence of software navigation buttons. It doesn't seem like such a big deal at first, but it very quickly makes my FHD+ screen feel bigger and the entire OS more modern. A few more examples:



Here's what typing looks like with the navigation buttons enabled...



... And here's what it looks like without. To be fair, a dark background behind the navigation buttons would make them look a lot better, but still not nearly as elegant as not having them at all.The gestures themselves are intuitive enough that they'll very quickly become second nature. Here's all you need to know:

Home screen - swipe up from bottom-centre and release;
App switcher - swipe up from bottom-centre and hold;
Go back - swipe up from bottom-left or bottom-right and release.

If still unclear, here are the gestures in action, courtesy of Droid Life:



I wouldn't yet call it perfect on the OnePlus. If you've never seen the navigational aid that Apple has on their iPhone X, it's a thin black strip at the bottom of the screen from which you can begin your swipe upwards. On the 5T there's no such aid, and swiping successfully can sometimes take a couple of tries. Yet I am convinced that this is a much better way to get around your phone. Hopefully this feature will make it to a stable build of OxygenOS, and to other Android phones as well.

Links: Android Central, OnePlus Forums

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From The Web:

Nokia 9 on the way, details leak with a Snapdragon 845 and “best in-class” camera

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S Tidbits: Bottom Front-Facing Camera, Wireless Charging, ARCore Support

Google Lens object recognition now rolling out to all Android users

Report: Wireless Competition is Cooling Down

Two years after they said they didn’t, Toronto police admit they use Stingray cellphone snooping device

From The Forums:

Why does T-Mobile disable 3G UMTS Band 8 (900 MHz) on its phones?

F t-mo

Unofficial Survey: What support channel do you use?

Cheapest way to start TracFone?

Koodo's new rate card - Less for More [March 2018]

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If you frequent either Amazon.ca or Amazon.com you'd be forgiven for thinking that they were already here. But China's number two smartphone OEM has plans far beyond grey market imports; according to the Wall Street Journal they're planning to raise up to a hundred billion dollars in an IPO on U.S. markets, and shortly afterwards will start selling their Android-powered phones and other gear through an official North American sales channel.

Based on Huawei's recent troubles I wouldn't expect any carrier partners for Xiaomi phones, either; fortunately there's not so much sticker shock when it comes to their hardware, so carrier financing and/or subsidies aren't as critical to sales. That's my big hope here, that Xiaomi will have enough success with sub-$1,000 devices that Samsung, Google and Apple will take notice.

Apple in particular might also take notice of MIUI, the inspired-by-iOS ROM developed at a time when other versions of Android lacked polish. But there are plenty of other Android OEMs also blatantly copying iOS, and they haven't been sued yet. We'll have to wait and see, I guess.

By the way, the WSJ source lives behind a paywall, and my Google search trick to break it no longer seems to work. Fortunately, a helpful redditor on r/Android has done us all a favour and copy/pasted the text of the article right here.

Source: Wall Street Journal via r/Android

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From The Web:

Android and Pixel Security Bulletins for March are Now Available with OTA and Factory Images

Official Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Android Oreo Update Rolling Out Soon As Beta Builds Pass SafetyNet

The first Android P developer preview will apparently arrive in mid-March

Apple releases iOS 11.3 beta 4 for iPhone and iPad

5G wireless pits cities against telecoms and their friends in the FCC

From The Forums:

Tracfone ALCATEL POP ICON 2 LTE Free Shipping[No Plan Needed] $4.99. Limit 2.

5 Lines for $100 - Help with Looking for new Plan & Line

New York and the borough's

comsuner cellular Pixel 2 problems

Snowstorm Service March 2018

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With another Mobile World Congress come and gone it's time to get caught up on other smartphone-related stories of note. Almost two weeks ago Computerworld took a deep dive into the muddled waters of software updates, grading six Android OEMs on their Oreo OTAs and communication with their customers. To quote the author, such upgrades are basically "a big, hot mess".

Here's a summary of the report card, ranked from best to worst:

Google: A (94%)
Current flagship upgraded in 9 days (60/60 points)
Previous flagship upgraded in 18 days (29/30 points)
Mediocre communication (5/10 points)

OnePlus: D (65%)
Current flagship upgraded in 138 days (41/60 points)
Previous flagship upgraded in 91 days (24/30 points)
Poor communication (0/10 points)

HTC: F (49%)
Current flagship upgraded in 99 days (47/60 points)
Still waiting for upgrade to previous flagship (0/30 points)
Poor communication (2/10 points)

Motorola: F (45%)
Current flagship upgraded in 124 days (43/60 points)
Still waiting for upgrade to previous flagship (0/30 points)
Poor communication (2/10 points)

LG: F (0%)
Still waiting for upgrade to current flagship (0/60 points)
Still waiting for upgrade to previous flagship (0/30 points)
Poor communication (0/10 points)

Samsung: F (0%)
Still waiting for upgrade to current flagship (0/60 points)
Still waiting for upgrade to previous flagship (0/30 points)
Poor communication (0/10 points)

You can read the whole story at the link below. And feel free to add your own upgrade experience with any OEM not listed here.

Source: Computerworld

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From The Web:

Huawei distances itself after top executive goes off script about US

Oppo R15 and R15 Plus teased with iPhone X-style notch

The Feds Can Now (Probably) Unlock Every iPhone Model In Existence

Android Messages adds RCS support for dual SIM phones

OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T receive update to play Netflix & Amazon Prime Video HD, but there’s a catch

From The Forums:

SafeLink/TracFone and Internet...?

Telus "no longer wishes to do business with me" after I filed a CCTS complaint

Coverage (att) in Va & Wv

Global WiFi app going away

Speedsmart: T-Mobile Dethroned by Verizon for month of February Speed it up Neville

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Our MWC 2018 coverage ends with this concept phone by Vivo called the Apex—or, to follow the letter of its press release, the APEX™ FullView™. Vivo is one of three brands owned by BBK Electronics, and while it's theoretically possible that we'll see this pop-up selfie cam on a future OnePlus device, it's more likely to be a feature for China-only phones. That camera assembly is motor-driven, by the way, and takes less than a second to lock into place.

You'll recall that Vivo was the first OEM to market with an in-display fingerprint sensor on the X20 Plus UD; the Apex improves on that effort by making a full third of the screen fingerprint friendly. If preferred the user can also unlock the phone with two thumbprints simultaneously, for extra security.



All this tech lives behind a display with an astonishing 98% screen to body ratio. You really need to see it in action to appreciate it, so here's a video overview by The Verge.

Sources: Engadget, The Verge (1) (2), Vivo

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From The Web:

Hey, Android Phone Makers, I Don't Want an iPhone.

The notch is here to stay: Almost a dozen notchphones launched at MWC

LG G7 Spotted with a 6″ 3120×1440 Display with a Notch and a Snapdragon 845

Best Buy to shut down all 250 U.S. mobile stores on May 31

Smartphones Make Eating Out With Friends Boring, Shows Research

From The Forums:

Sprint continues to lose to T-Mobile

Anyone but Samsung working on band-71 phones?

Who's getting the s9?

Does AT&T allow transfer of billing responsibility for grandfathered plans?

Google voice early media detection no longer working

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You're likely to read a lot of derision from Apple fan blogs about the new ASUS Zenfone 5Z. It's the first of what's probably going to be a wave of Android phones from the Far East that mimic the infamous notch on the iPhone X. Somewhat hilariously, ASUS claimed in their Mobile World Congress event that their notch is 26% smaller than Fruit Phone X. That's a pretty bold claim; let's see how their trio of new devices spec out:



ZenFone 5Z (ZS620KL)
6.2 Full HD+ IPS display (19:9)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor
4 / 6 / 8 GB RAM, 64 / 128 / 256 GB storage + microSD
12 MP + 8 MP wide-angle rear cameras, 8 MP selfie cam
3,300 mAh battery
Dual SIM
3.5 mm audio jack, stereo speakers
Android Oreo
Available in Meteor Silver, Midnight Blue



ZenFone 5 (ZE620KL)
6.2 Full HD+ IPS display (19:9)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor
4 / 6 GB RAM, 64 GB storage + microSD
12 MP + 8 MP wide-angle rear cameras, 8 MP selfie cam
3,300 mAh battery
Dual SIM
3.5 mm audio jack, stereo speakers
Android Oreo
Available in Meteor Silver, Midnight Blue



ZenFone 5Q / Lite (ZC600KL)
6 inch Full HD+ IPS display (18:9)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 / 630 processor
3 / 4 GB RAM, 32 / 64 GB storage + microSD
16 MP + 8 MP wide-angle rear cameras, 20 MP + 8 MP selfie cams
3,300 mAh battery
Dual SIM
3.5 mm audio jack, mono speaker
Android Oreo
Available in Midnight Black, Moonlight White, Rouge Red

ASUS also announced a new ZenFone Max M1 (ZB555KL), a cheaper device with a big 4,000 mAh battery as its big draw. Unfortunately they don't yet have a product page up for that, so I can't verify the other specs.

Sources: ASUS (1) (2), Liliputing, NDTV

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From The Web:

Smartphone Stats: Full Year 2017 Top 10, OS Installed Base and Everything Else You Ever Wanted

Fitbit's new 'mass appeal' smartwatch: Exclusive pictures and details revealed

Motorola CEO just dropped a major hint at a Razr return, complete with foldable screen

Giant Art Installation Outside MWC Protests Planned Obsolescence

Nokia and Vodafone will bring 4G to the Moon

From The Forums:

Ray @ MWC: T-Mobile will deploy blazing 5G this year

UDP+ Hotspot Limits Implemented?

Issue receiving phone calls

New AT&T plans effect on cricket

Sony XA1 Ultra

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Sony has announced a new line of Xperia phones at this year's Mobile World Congress, with the most immediately striking thing being their new design. Both the XZ2 and XZ2 Compact feature a curved back that would suggest larger batteries than the previous XZ1 line—and they are! Also, the fingerprint reader is now on the back of both devices. Sony had previously built the reader into the power button, but had to disable it for the North American market due to legal issues (likely with Apple).

Anyway, here are the notable specs for the new devices:



Sony Xperia XZ2
5.7 inch Full HD+ HDR display (18:9)
Snapdragon 845 processor
6 GB RAM, 64 GB storage + microSD
19 MP rear camera, 5 MP selfie cam
3,180 mAh battery
IP65/68 water resistance
Android Oreo
Available in Ash Pink, Deep Green, Liquid Black, Liquid Silver



Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
5.0 inch Full HD+ HDR display (18:9)
Snapdragon 845 processor
4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage + microSD
19 MP rear camera, 5 MP selfie cam
2,870 mAh battery
IP65/68 water resistance
Android Oreo
Available in Black, Coral Pink, Moss Green, White Silver

Sources: Sony (1) (2)

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From The Web:

Nokia smartphones will be Android One devices going forward

The Nokia Lumia’s Pro Camera Mode is coming to Nokia-Branded Android devices

The Nokia ringtone's history, from Frédéric Chopin to earworm

Stephen Elop and the fall of Nokia revisited

While the Nokia Brand Flourishes, the BlackBerry Brand is Stagnating

From The Forums:

New Unlimited Plans 3/1/18, no Hotspot lines allowed

Moto G XT1625 4th Gen on Red Pocket?

Help finding a flip phone to work on Red Pocket

Is Saturation Coming to A (your) Town near you!?

Educate me. Will this hotspot work?

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HMD Global announced no less than five new Nokia-branded devices at this year's Mobile World Congress. There's a lot to cover here so let's get to it!



Nokia 8 Sirocco
5.5 inch QHD POLED display with 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage
12 MP wide + 13 MP telephoto rear cameras with ZEISS optics, 5 MP selfie cam
3,260 mAh battery with Quick Charge, wireless charging
(no audio jack...?)
Android 8.0 Oreo



Nokia 7 plus
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
6 inch IPS LCD full HD+ display (18:9)
4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage + microSD
12 MP + 13 MP rear cameras with ZEISS optics, 16 MP ZEISS selfie cam
3,800 mAh battery with fast charging
audio jack
Android 8.0 Oreo



New Nokia 6
Qualcomm Snapdragon 630
5.5 inch IPS LCD full HD display
3 or 4 GB RAM, 32 or 64 GB storage + microSD
16 MP rear camera with ZEISS optics, 8 MP selfie cam
3,000 mAh battery
audio jack
Android 8.0 Oreo (Android One)



Nokia 1
MediaTek MT6737M processor (quad core 1.1 GHz)
4.5 inch FWVGA IPS display (854 x 480 pixels)
1 GB RAM, 8 GB storage + microSD
5 MP rear camera with LED Flash, 2 MP selfie cam
2,150 mAh battery
audio jack
Android 8.0 Oreo (Go edition)

Oh, and one more thing. Remember last year when Nokia resurrected the legendary 3310? Well, they're at it again...



Nokia 8110
Curved 2.4-inch QVGA display
Qualcomm 205 Mobile Platform (MSM8905 Dual Core 1.1 GHz)
512 MB RAM, 4 GB storage
2 MP rear camera
1,500 mAh battery
audio jack with FM radio function
Kai OS

Sources: Android Police, HMD Press, Mobile Syrup

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From The Web:

The Galaxy S9 is supposed to be boring

Samsung's new DeX Pad is official, and it lets you use your Galaxy S9/S9+ as both a keyboard and a trackpad

Galaxy S9 Project Treble support confirmed

Samsung mobile CEO: Our foldable phone is no gimmick

Samsung’s Galaxy S9 AR Emoji are kind of horrifying

From The Forums:

Does Verizon have Extended 3G?

****Get Half Off! With Trade In: Samsung GALAXY S9 ****

Best T-Mobile MVNO

From the "What are they thinking" file

11.2.6 Downgrading

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