HoFo Blog

From The Web:

Top 10 trending phones of week 39

Electronics manufacturers halt production amid China’s mandated power shutdowns

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE launch reportedly canceled

Samsung has removed ads from the Samsung Pay, Health, and Weather apps starting today

Hey Siri, what happened?

From The Forums:

Byop sim question - reusing sim

Legacy Gold Rewards, "You must have enough in your prepaid service balance..."?

Weird OS on J3 Achieve?

What is the next budget phone from Samsung

Updating sim card

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Here’s how much that free iPhone really costs

Trudeau says he will share decision on Huawei 5G tech in 'coming weeks'

Xiaomi hires a third-party firm to rule on Lithuania's censorship allegations

Top 10 trending phones of week 38

Forget the iPhone 13 — Wendy’s has a phone now

From The Forums:

"We're sorry, but the number you have dialed has calling restrictions ..." using GV on an iPhone

Verizon Prepaid. 150gb hotspot/router/tablet plan. $70

Things must be going great in Mobley land

Cricket with unlocked AT&T phone?

Dish's Boost Mobile pairs new phone with a free year of service

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Fitbit Charge 5 In-Depth Review

Amazon reveals new fitness band that looks like a Fitbit Charge

Oppo challenges Garmin and Fitbit with its latest super-cheap smartwatch

Withings’ latest hybrid smartwatch poses as a luxury dive watch

Bangle.js 2 is a Hackable, Open Source Smartwatch

From The Forums:

Newbie Question

Alternate to CDMA Phones to work with MVNOs ?

Samsung A32 5G

OnePlus Nord N10 5G Dual-SIM, Conflicting Band 71 specs.

How is your Auto Pay set up for Verizon prepaid?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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Quick heads-up for anyone expecting a morning briefing for the early part of next week: there won't be any, at least from me. Girlfriend and I are gently dipping our toes back into travel with a short getaway to Québec City. I'll be interested to see the province's vaccine passport in action but honestly, we'll both be happy just to be on a plane.

Should be back to business as usual on Thursday, September 30th.

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Apple iPhone 13 lineup, new iPads and Watch Series 7 now on sale

iOS 15 Adoption Lower Than iOS 14 Over First Two Days, Says Mixpanel

EU proposes mandatory USB-C on all devices, including iPhones

The World’s Most Used Apps, by Downstream Traffic

The first Android phone was announced 13 years ago today

From The Forums:

Visual Voicemail on A51

Question regarding LG K31 phone

I need an iPhone to track Airtags- will iPhone 8 be Ok for 2 years ?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

iPhone 13 Pro review: a better display, the best camera, and incredible battery life

Review: Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro

First iPad, iPad Mini (2021) Reviews and Unboxing Videos

Xiaomi 11T and 11T Pro arrive with 108MP cameras, 6.67" 120Hz AMOLED displays

Lithuania says throw away Chinese phones due to censorship concerns

From The Forums:

Can I still get TF unlocked if I combine balances?

True Factory Unlocked Moto E (2020)

Sister and brother-in-law; Raleigh; weird problem

Tracfone AT&T SIM on iPhone... stays on 3G all the time and doesn't go to 4G LTE. What do I do?

iPhone 6 - Limited Use

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

iPhone 13 review: yep, bigger batteries are better

iPhone 13 Review: From Mini to Pro Max, It’s All About the Battery and Cameras

Hands on with the Apple iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max: Cinematic mode is a game changer

Google is updating its iOS apps to take advantage of some features Apple 'borrowed' from Android

Caviar unveils custom iPhone 13 Pro collection that is inspired by Rolex watches

From The Forums:

Who Has US Based English as a First Language Customer Service?

Question about Cricket locked phone

Here’s why you might see a new ‘5G UC’ icon in your iPhone status bar

Will T-Mobile match Sprints unlimited data plans?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

The next pro iPhone might finally ditch the notch

iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 review: foundational fixes

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro get FCC approval, moving one step closer to launch

The OnePlus 10 will run merged ColorOS and OxygenOS; no 9T this year

US agencies consider a ban for newly-independent Honor

From The Forums:

Tracfone Reward referral code is not for new activation ?

Deprio. on VZ PrePaid

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Top 10 trending phones of week 37

Apple Card, Apple Pay, and iUP all fail on iPhone 13 pre-order day, exposing fragility of Apple’s expansion into credit and payment services

Apple pushes iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max shipping dates back to October 2021

Canadians can now use the Pixel 5’s “Hold For Me” feature to stay on the line

Cellphone Data is So Cheap in India, a 35 Cent Bag of Chips Includes 2GB Free

From The Forums:

Verizon’s current fiber rollouts are all connected to 5G

Receiving Tracfone texts while outside the USA?

Make a split arrangement with autopay discount? or One time payment option?

Will Cricket Phone Upgrade Cost Me my 5/$100 Plan?

Requesting better service area specific.

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

T-Mobile's new 'Forever Upgrade' program for the iPhone 13 isn't really forever

The iPad Mini doesn’t support mmWave 5G

Why smartwatch-measured blood pressure still isn’t ‘ready for primetime’

Xiaomi's upgraded Mi Band 6 packs NFC for payments and a microphone for Alexa

Google’s NYC store now lets you see, but not touch, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro

From The Forums:

how to get an ATT sim

Anyone using a Samsung A51 (A-515F/DS) on Mint Mobile?

Wearable for a cardiac patient.

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Goodbye and good riddance to Apple’s 64GB iPhones

iPhone 13 Pro Offers Significantly Improved GPU Performance Compared to iPhone 12 Pro

Apple’s iPhone 13 series doesn’t support mmWave 5G in Canada

Apple Watch Series 7 v Watch Series 6: The differences you need to know

Fitbit starts rolling out ‘Snore & Noise Detect’ for Sense, Versa 3

From The Forums:

TF Samsung A51 vs Samsung A32

RedPocket GSMA sim card in cellular ipad mini?

Question on unlocking

Will Tracfone have new SIM for iPhone 13?

ATT Promises to steal mobile customers from rivals

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Apple Announces iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini With Smaller Notch, Repositioned Rear Cameras, and More

How the iPhone 13, Mini, Pro and Max compare to Android rivals — and vs. iPhone 12

iPhone 13 Pro finally adopts 120Hz; here are the Android phones that beat Apple to the punch

iPad mini 6 features USB-C port, 5G, new display, shifted Touch ID

Apple Watch Series 7 brings bigger screen and tweaked design

From The Forums:

AT&T's poor handling of 3G Shutdown

International Monthly plan query

High speed data pass query

iPhone 13 Supports 5G Bands n29 and n30

So apparently Verizon screwing over Unlimited data customers

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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iPhone 13
6.1 inch OLED display, 2532 x1170 pixels @ 460 ppi
A15 Bionic processor
12 MP wide & ultra-wide cameras
12 MP selfie cam with Face ID
64 / 128 / 256 GB storage
(undisclosed battery size)
Available in Blue, Midnight, Pink, (PRODUCT)RED & Starlight
Starting at $799 USD / $1,049 CAD

iPhone 13 mini
5.4 inch OLED display, 2340 x 1080 pixels @ 476 ppi
A15 Bionic processor
12 MP wide & ultra-wide cameras
12 MP selfie cam with Face ID
64 / 128 / 256 GB storage
(undisclosed battery size)
Available in Blue, Midnight, Pink, (PRODUCT)RED & Starlight
Starting at $699 USD / $949 CAD



iPhone 13 Pro
6.1 inch 120 Hz OLED display, 2532 x 1170 pixels @ 460 ppi
A15 Bionic processor
12 MP telephoto, wide & ultra-wide rear cameras
12 MP selfie cam with Face ID
128 / 256 / 512 GB or 1TB storage
(undisclosed battery size)
Available in Gold, Graphite, Sierra Blue & Silver
Starting at $999 USD / $1,399 CAD

iPhone 13 Pro Max
6.7 inch 120 Hz OLED display, 2778 x 1284 pixels @ 458 ppi
A15 Bionic processor
12 MP telephoto, wide & ultra-wide rear cameras
12 MP selfie cam with Face ID
128 / 256 / 512 GB or 1TB storage
(undisclosed battery size)
Available in Gold, Graphite, Sierra Blue & Silver
Starting at $1,099 USD / $1,549 CAD

All models are available to pre-order from 05:00 Pacific Time on Friday, September 17th, and to purchase from Friday, September 24th.

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Spigen's teaser reveals iPhone 13's design once again

Leaked photos might show new iPhone 13 case colors and they're gorgeous

Android 12 may be released on October 4th

You Can Now Download iOS 14.8 and iPadOS 14.8 for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch

NDP Opposes Rogers-Shaw Deal, Other Parties Asked to Join

From The Forums:

$125 smartphone plan question

HELP Please: Verizon LG Exalt LTE phone: problems with keypad numbers repeating.

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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Last month Chat Haase, one of the original architects of Android, released his chronicle of the world's dominant operating system. Assembled from many hours of audio interviews with fellow engineers, it focuses on the period from Android's founding until the end of 2009 — when the original Moto Droid and HTC-manufactured Nexus One were brought to market.

Now I myself haven't read Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, but I was keen to see if any related drama would be present in this title. And as it turns out, not so much. Those who know their smartphone history will recall that the the first Android device was immediately scrapped when Jobs announced the iPhone in January of 2007. Here's how the author recounts that existential crisis:

Well, okay, then... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If the above passage reads as somewhat anticlimatic, it was actually a welcome relief from the section prior, where — I kid you not — the book seems to turn into a programming manual for a couple of chapters. I stuck with it for as long as I could before skipping ahead.

So is it worth reading? If you're an Android fan or simply curious about how it all came to be, I would recommend Androids mostly for the insights at the very beginning, and in the second half of the book — specifically how the team had to prioritize optimizing for the Droid when they knew the Nexus was the better product. Spoiler alert.

Score: 3.5 Howies out of 5.

Link: Androids: The Team That Built the Android Operating System (Amazon.ca / Amazon.com)

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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It's time for a new thread of the week, our way of recognizing forum members for promoting valuable discussion here.

Every weekday yours truly posts a morning briefing, including the most popular forum threads—that is, the posts with the most replies—for the previous 24 hour period. For reference, here are the briefings for the past seven days:

Your Morning Briefing for Monday, September 6th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, September 7th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, September 8th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, September 9th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, September 10th, 2021

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so all weekend posts are similarly eligible.

In each briefing, forum posts are ranked by the number of replies (from highest to lowest). That's subject to change, of course, so I did a quick recount of replies for all forum posts in the briefings above. With 46 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

Which VoLTE phones are dual SIM? (physical, not eSIM)

Congrats to habbee for starting our ninety-third thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a monthlong Premium Membership on us. Benefits include ad-free browsing, increased private message count, access to a subscriber-only forum, extra attachment space, a referral/affiliate signature link, the ability to post referrals, and a custom avatar and user title!

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

What to expect (and not) from Apple's September 14 event

Top 10 trending phones of week 36

Sonos announces significant price hikes for some of its products

A comprehensive breakdown of the Epic v. Apple ruling

Apple still reliant on one core product as it nudges $3tn hurdle

From The Forums:

Ting: The Little Cell Phone Company that Cried "No Service"

Any T-Mobile MVNO have an esim option besides Mint?

Magenta Essentials customers - how is your data speed?

Grandfathered plans upgrade Unlimited text Messages?

Mint, 4G Data great -9Xdbm, but No Voice or SMS some locations

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Apple won’t let Epic bring Fortnite back to South Korea’s App Store

Apple reportedly overcomes Watch Series 7 manufacturing issues

OnePlus Nord 2 Explodes Again, This Time Inside a Lawyer’s Black Robe; Company Responds

OnePlus 9R long-term review: Losing its edge

Sunglasses Have Terms of Service Agreements Now, Thanks to Facebook

From The Forums:

All LG phones with T-Mobile going away?

AT&T Acceptable Phones Lists

Unable to check balance bounce back reply via SMS - VZW and AT&T SIMs

Identifying Verizon towers C-band

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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