HoFo Blog

Mobile Syrup has confirmed what I myself tested yesterday, that the upstart Android smartphone-maker OnePlus now has much better support for LTE Band 66 on Canada's upstart carrier, Freedom Mobile.

Here's the changelog from the official announcement on the OnePlus Forums:

After flashing the update I went for an mid-afternoon stroll through several neighbourhoods in downtown Toronto: Baldwin Village, the U of T campus, The Annex, Kensington Market and Chinatown. Everywhere I checked I had a solid 4G signal, and every time I ran a speed test I got the same results that were so elusive to my device just a week before.

Building penetration is still an issue, of course. In certain places, like the bathrooms at the back of restaurants, the best available data signal is still HSPA+ or worse. But the software update is enough of an improvement that I can now recommend the OnePlus 5 to anyone on the Freedom network—more than any other phone, in fact, since you can test a Freedom SIM in either of the phone's dual SIM slots while keeping your current SIM in the other one!

Links: OnePlus Forums, Mobile Syrup, XDA

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From The Web:

Razer Phone Megathread

Nova Launcher: preinstalled

HTC U11+ is based on 'Muskie,' the cancelled HTC Pixel 2 XL

HTC U11 Life hands on—A cheap ($349!) imitation of the U11

OnePlus 5T is confirmed… but the only official spec is a 3.5mm headphone jack

From The Forums:

Can an AT&T rep please...

Verizon LTE down in Mendocino County (rural Northwestern California)

GSM Gate Opener

Any difference between buying a prepaid iPhone on Verizon site vs regular iPhone?

Degradation of service

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... Because that's totally a thing, right? Anyone?

Just to get you up to speed, back in 2016 there was this crowd-funded Android phone called the Nextbit Robin. The company that made it was acquired last January by Razer, Inc.—an outfit known for making gaming-centric products like laptops, controllers and other accessories. And after much speculation (and a few leaks) this, the Razer Phone, was revealed yesterday.

The phone's design is similar to its blocky Nextbit predecessor, but the new model puts its large forehead and chin to good use, cramming multiple Dolby ATMOS-compatible speaker drivers into each (no headphone jack, though). But what really sets this device apart is the option to run its screen at 120Hz, with enough battery power to do so for more than a few minutes at a time. Other specs:

Snapdragon 835 processor
5.7 inch QHD LCD display @ 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz
8GB of RAM / 64GB of storage + microSD
12 and 13MP wide and telephoto rear cameras / 8MP selfie cam
4,000mAh battery with Qualcomm QuickCharge 4+
Android 7.1 Nougat (at launch)

The Razer Phone will be available in murdered-out black only, with a limited edition adding a neon green logo on the back. It will retail for $699 USD. I would think that an Android phone for serious Android gamers would also have an unlockable bootloader so that you could root it and install AdAway to kill ads on free-to-play titles; maybe that's just me.

Source: Razer via Android Police

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From The Web:

Apple Limits iPhone X Testing Period for Most Reviewers

Apple Now Letting Apple IDs With Third-Party Email Addresses Be Updated to Apple Email Addresses

Sprint's Decision to Walk Away From T-Mobile Deal May be a Bluff

Essential Proves How Sensible Pricing and Software Updates Can Redeem a Failing Phone

OnePlus 5T will have a headphone jack

From The Forums:

Google voice sms down again?

When do new phone models get introduced?

New $25 talk and text only plan

Apple Released iOS Version 11.1 on October 31, 2017

iPhone 7 Models for T-Mobile, Unlocked question.

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On the left, an iPhone 8 Plus. On the right, an iPhone X. The fastest to unlock? Not what you might think!

The GIF above was generated from an AppleInsider review on YouTube, which came to my attention via r/apple on reddit. It clearly demonstrates that getting to your home screen on an iPhone with Touch ID is faster than with the retina-scanning Face ID on the newer model.

To be clear, there's nothing wrong with the Face ID here; it's just how the technology has been implemented. Unlocking the iPhone X will take you to your home screen notifications, requiring an additional swipe up to get you home. The iPhone 8 Plus, on the other hand, has a raise-to-wake feature that activates your lock screen—and notifications—just by lifting it, and a slight tap of the Touch ID sensor instantly takes you to your home screen.

You could argue that Face ID is more secure, as by default it protects your notifications from prying eyes. You could also argue that Touch ID is much more convenient, as it quite obviously gets you to your home screen faster.

If nothing else, let this serve as a simple visual reminder that "newer" doesn't necessarily mean "better"...

Source: reddit

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From The Web:

iPhone X Review Roundup: ‘The Best iPhone Ever Made’

HTC U11 Plus to come in translucent, HTC U11 Life specs leak

Razer Phone leaks with monstrous specs including 120Hz display, 4000mAh battery, dual cameras, and more

Nokia 2 is a $115 smartphone with 2 days of battery life

Microsoft patents a way to fit a 3.5mm headphone jack into less than 3.5mm of space

From The Forums:

Voice and data at the same time?

Net10 LG 236C Phone Work With Tracfone?

Do LTE bands have any effect on voice bands ?

New tower with propane generator back up Denver, PA

Cheap phone service for 2 week Caribbean cruise?

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Thanks to the CRTC, come this December 1st your Canadian carrier will no longer be able to sell phones locked to its own network. It's great news for consumers in this country; even better, some carriers are getting ahead of the deadline and have begun unlocking their hardware for free!

I've cobbled together a quick list of who is currently selling unlocked smartphones (and also LTE-connected tablets). It's by no means complete, so please feel free to add to it. And it doesn't include your local Apple Store or pop-up Samsung shop—because we already knew about those, right?

Bell and Virgin Mobile

Both Bell and its subsidiary Virgin Mobile have begun selling a considerable portion of their device portfolios without any carrier locks:

Alcatel GoFlip and Pixi 5
All Google devices
All iPhones and iPads
BlackBerry KEYOne (requires software update)
LG Q6
Motorola Z2 Play
Samsung Note 8
ZTE Grand X View 2 Tablet

Best Buy Canada

All iPhones for all carriers are now sold unlocked, even the ones with subsidies.

Eastlink

"Some" devices are now sold unlocked... That's super-helpful </s>.

Freedom Mobile

There are anecdotal reports of users getting unlocking fees waived. Your mileage may vary; I asked about unlocking a phone when activating a line on Freedom and was told I'd have to wait thirty days.

Rogers and Fido

Both are waiving unlocking fees, but only for devices bought outright.

Staples Canada

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are now available unlocked for outright purchase, and also on an in-house 24-month payment plan.

TELUS and Koodo

Again, anecdotal evidence of unlocking fees being waived. YMMV.

If you've anything to add to this list, please help your fellow readers out!

Sources: iPhone in Canada, Mobile Syrup (1), (2), (3)

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From The Web:

Apple fires iPhone X engineer after daughter’s hands-on video goes viral

The First First Impression of the iPhone X

End of smashed smartphones as scientists invent super-flexy touchscreen

BlackBerry CEO Promises To Try To Break Customers' Encryption If The US Gov't Asks Him To

The Sprint, T-Mobile Merger May be Dead

From The Forums:

2 new phones drop at Bestbuy for Cricket!

Softbank calls off merger

How to transfer data from iPhone to iPhone

US Mobile MVNO now offers Verizon

Verizon's Band 66 AWS-3 Deployment

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If in late 2017 you're still in the market for a high-end Android phone there are at least two new contenders on the way—a new and bezel-less OnePlus 5T and this, the HTC U11 Plus. Like the U11 it is expected to come equipped with "Edge Sense", the same squeezable frame found in the new Pixel phones, but in this case easily remappable to launch the app or action of your choice. Unlike the U11, it will have a bigger screen, a tall 18:9 display and a smaller forehead and chin, which will move the fingerprint reader to the back of the device.

Here are the notable specs, via XDA:

Snapdragon 835 processor
6 inch WQHD LCD display
4 or 6 GB of RAM / 64 or 128 GB of storage
12 MP rear camera / 8 MP selfie cam
3,930 mAh battery

That HTC is continuing to release new flagship hardware after losing 2,000 of its best smartphone engineers to Google is curious to say the least. I can't help but wonder how much the U11 Plus is based on the abandoned muskie project for the Pixel 2...

Source: XDA

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From The Web:

Apple is not America's favorite tech company

Apple to Charge $279 for iPhone X Screen Repairs and $549 for Other Damage Outside of Warranty

The iPhone X just sold out in 20 minutes

OnePlus 5T hands-on photo shows off its front bezel, Carl Pei posts a teaser

'Stranger Things 2' basically gives everyone a cellphone

From The Forums:

Spectrum Deployment

FreedomPop friends disappearing!?

iPhone X preordering

Swap Tracfone service to BYOP Note 2?

Is this speed test good?

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This post isn't really about mobile tech, but Google's "AI" Assistant is also available on Android phones. So there's that.

Last night, on a post-dinner stroll past The Eaton Centre, the girlfriend and I happened upon this pop-up Google Home Mini Donut Shop. It was closed for the night but will be open again today if you're planning a visit to downtown Toronto. If you are then there's two things you should know: (1) the foodie verdict is that the donut supplier, Jelly Modern Doughnuts, is terrible, with baked goods better suited to Instagram than your actual mouth; (2) what's ultimately being peddled here is of dubious value to you and I.

The upside for Google is obvious. Their cheap and cheerful Home Mini plants a permanent microphone where you live that's always listening—at least for the trigger phrase that activates its software assistant. Massive implications for your privacy aside, I just don't get the point of Google Assistant at all, if there even is one. Like I said, I've got it on my phone, and to me so far it seems like a more cumbersome version of voice search. I don't really need my phone talking back at me when there's already a beautiful HD screen in front of my face that can show me the same information in a better way.

It took the better part of a decade to sway people from talking on their phones to typing on them. In that way Google Assistant—and Siri, too, for that matter—feels like a regression.

Back to Google Home, I've an old high school friend who swears by his. He's constantly telling it to set reminders, read him the news, change the volume on his Google Home... Hearing him gush over it honestly perplexes me, and certainly keeps me from wanting to drop by his place for a visit. I suppose I could see some value in it for people with mobility issues, but here's a thought: the more people rely on these things the more they risk ending up with mobility issues of their own making, if you get what I'm saying.

So someone, anyone, please enlighten me as to what I'm not getting about Google Home. Or Google Assistant. Or HomePod, Alexa or whatever else. And in the meantime enjoy your free donuts in Austin, Brooklyn, Chicago, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Madison, Manhattan, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, St. Louis and Toronto. Check the Android Police link below for dates and times.

Links: Android Police, blogTO

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From The Web:

When You Can Pre-Order the iPhone X in Every Time Zone

LG’s mobile business can’t stop losing money

Freedom to start deploying 2500MHz spectrum, promises compatibility for ‘vast majority’ of LTE devices

Sprint, T-Mobile Begin Network Integration Plans

Ending Net Neutrality Can Help Puerto Rico Recover, Verizon-Funded Nonprofit Proposes

From The Forums:

Verizon brings back full-quality video streaming for $10 more

How would YOU do it? TF ATT > TF VZW

MMS issue/question

Which iPhone X to get? T-mobile?

Warning: keep your airtime pins even after redemption.

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One of the many benefits of open source software is that the code is freely available for anyone to pore through to their heart's content. And that's just what XDA has done, uncovering some more details about muskie, the forgotten HTC-made device that was once pegged to be this year's Pixel 2 XL.

Of particular interest in the muskie-related AOSP commits for Android 8.0 is this line:

Yup, that's right, HTC's pitch for the Pixel 2 XL was to have a massive 3,830 mAh battery, putting the LG version's paltry-by-comparison 3,520 mAh to shame. Unfortunately that big battery would quickly prove to be the device's downfall—last June someone told 9to5Google that the cell wasn't performing as expected, and that muskie's development had been halted.

Had the device made it into production users would likely have had to content with a large forehead and chin, similar to the HTC-made Pixel 2. However, the disaster with LG's POLED screen would have been averted. Something tells me that if Google had a do-over they might have put a bit more effort into bringing muskie to market.

Source: XDA

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From The Web:

Inside Apple’s Struggle to Get the iPhone X to Market on Time

Apple calls Face ID quality change report ‘completely false’

Why iPhone X OLED won't have Pixel 2 XL's screen problems

This Light Bulb Confuses Smartphone Cameras To Protect Your Privacy

Snap reportedly has 'hundreds of thousands' of unsold Spectacles

From The Forums:

My Tracfone service expired without me noticing. Now what?

New Plan Unlimited 4 Lines $100, Where are The Comments

Does Verizon have a backup plan?

T-Mobile/Sprint would be ‘dominant spectrum holder’ in much of U.S.: Mosaik

The Freedom network experience, for newcomers

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The #HYPE is back, apparently...

It all started two weeks ago, when GizmoChina posted a render of what they claimed was the OnePlus 5T. Folks were skeptical, and rightly so. Last year's OnePlus 3T took advantage of the Note7 debacle and shoehorned some better specs into the already-excellent OnePlus 3; if this leaked render was to be believed, OnePlus was now planning to put the same processor from the 5 into an entirely new body.

It doesn't make any sense, yet the wild speculation continues, fueled even further by the fact that the current OnePlus 5 is out of stock in many markets, including Canada and the United States.

That original render was eventually dismissed as an Oppo device (the F5), but then a few days ago another render surfaced with OnePlus trim and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor—you can see it for yourself at TechnoBuffalo. That same day, someone leaked the teaser image that you see above to Android Authority.

And now SlashLeaks has an AnTuTu screen grab with specs:

Model number: A5010
OS: Android 8.0
Processor: Snapdragon 835, Adreno 540 GPU
Screen resolution: 1080 x 2160 pixels
Cameras: 20MP + 20MP
RAM / ROM: 8GB / 128GB

For reference, the current OP5 has 16 and 20 megapixel cameras for standard and portrait shots.

I guess if you're a OnePlus fan who's been holding out for a tall display then you won't have to wait until the summer of 2018 for your next phone. But all I can think of is how many angry OnePlus 5 owners there will be come November, when the 5T is expected to make it début.

Sources: Android Authority, GizmoChina, SlashLeaks, TechnoBuffalo

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From The Web:

Google's latest iPhone rival off to a rocky start

The latest Pixel 2 issues: A high-pitched whine and clicking noises

Opinion: The Pixel 2 XL, despite one big flaw, is still my favorite phone ever

What if the iPhone 8 Plus is better than the iPhone X?

Smartphones are getting more expensive around the world

From The Forums:

I think cricket will be forced to respond to this offer...

TMUS Q3 '17 Report: Adds 1.33 Million Connections

Boost Tribute on Red Pocket

Sim Question

FaceTime being throttled?

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The Verge has taken the unprecedented step of pulling their review score for Google's Pixel 2 XL. Here's the full text from their amended review:

If you didn't already know, the Pixel 2 XL is being manufactured for Google by LG with a POLED display—that is, an OLED display with a plastic substrate. The smaller Pixel 2 (built by HTC) uses an AMOLED display panel built by Samsung. You can read more about AMOLED vs POLED here.

Needless to say, any major screen issue is completely unacceptable for what in Canada is an eleven hundred dollar phone. Google will give you 15 days to return any hardware bought from their online store; if you're on the waiting list for a Pixel 2 XL you might want to cancel and see how this plays out.

Links: Android Authority, The Verge

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From The Web:

Two-week-old Pixel 2 XL displays are already showing burn-in

The Essential Phone now costs $499, $200 less than the original price

Why Glass is Replacing Aluminium and Plastic in Flagship Smartphones, and Why it Shouldn’t

Rogers Launches LTE-Advanced in Manitoba

Let’s hope the T-Mobile Sprint merger keeps getting delayed forever

From The Forums:

Google Voice/Hangouts on NonSmart Phone?

LG Fiesta 2

Is Band 30 adding to existing, or replacing parts of the network?

Los Angeles holdings

Google voicemail not forwarding to email anymore?

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Here is Freedom Mobile's LTE network at its very best in downtown Toronto, observed by yours truly in the second SIM slot of his Band 66-compatible OnePlus 5. I've definitely recorded better download speeds on Bell/Koodo/TELUS in the same neighbourhood, but Freedom's speeds—and the low latency in particular—is perfectly acceptable for almost anything you'd ask a modern smartphone to do.

But here's the thing: in my three days of informal testing across the GTA that LTE signal was pretty hard to come by. More often than not I was stuck on HSPA+, sometimes even on (gasp) 3G!

Not only that, but I can recall two incidents in particular where Freedom let me down entirely: the first was in the parking lot at IKEA North York, where the latency was so bad that launching Google Maps yielded no traffic data; the second was in the basement of Hudson's Bay Company at Queen and Yonge, where I was surprised to suddenly find myself with no signal at all.

The rest of the time data on Freedom was slow but serviceable. I did keep an eye on my phone's status bar, and when a rare 4G signal magically appeared I immediately did a speed test, with results similar to what you see above. This may, of course, be an issue unique to my unsupported hardware. But a chat with a rep at my local Freedom outlet gave me the impression that the phones sold by the carrier exhibit similar behaviour.

I will never fault anyone for choosing Freedom Mobile to vote with their wallet; Canada's Big Three carriers have been ripping us off for far too long. But while I'd definitely recommend an LTE upgrade to an existing user, I also think that any Big Three customer looking to jump ship is in for a disappointing ride.

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