HoFo Blog

From The Web:

Google Hackers Found 10 Ways to Hack an iPhone Without Touching It

You may be owed up to $500 if you owned a Pixel or Pixel XL

Pixel 4 specs leak: 90Hz "Smooth Display," 6GB RAM

Here's why Google thinks Android Q's gestures are a good idea

With Samsung dropping the headphone jack, LG is the last stop for audio fans

From The Forums:

Recommendations for 4 person family plan or 4 individual plans.

Netflix throttling

Verzion vs Google fi which is better

Moving to Verizon and getting port in credit with new iPhones?

Could not connect the dongle to PC

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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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My own failed login above jibes with what Android Police is reporting—that my favourite utility for backing up text messages to Gmail no longer works. If you're willing to jump through a few extra hoops there is a workaround that AP found on the app's GitHub bug tracker:

* Note that you'll need to have 2-step verification enabled to see the option for app passwords. Also note the following:



In English this means that your text backups will work as before, but your call log still can't be saved to your Google Calendar. So it's more of a half-fix, really. If, like myself, you find this solution lacking you can do what I did and switch to SMS Backup and Restore instead.

Source: GitHub via Android Police

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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 Card approvals level high; Steve wanted them to be 100%

These Legit-Looking iPhone Lightning Cables Will Hijack Your Computer

Every 5G city and region for every major carrier in the US (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint)

Ajit Pai loses another court case as judges overturn 5G deregulation

Everything you might have missed about the Samsung Galaxy Note 10

From The Forums:

How does T-Mobile's actual coverage compare to AT&T?

Cricket data speeds suck

New plan help and question (Military Discount)

TF Moto E5 LTE bands

Feels like I’m being strangled 3/4 of a month

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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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Some five years ago I posted about how a chat app for iOS became an unlikely bridge for a free exchange of ideas between Mainland China and Taiwan. This summer there's a different but not dissimilar app that's proving to be indispensable for protestors in Hong Kong.

But first, a quick word from Bruce Lee:



Next, some very necessary context via this dispatch from Hong Kong:

Available for both Android and iOS, Telegram offers server to client encryption for all messages, but also a secret chat feature with client to client (aka end to end) encryption, with messages that can be set to auto-destruct after they're delivered.

The platform has proven to be a dependable tool for protestors; a massive DDOS attack believed to have originated from the mainland managed to disrupt some traffic, but only temporarily.

Sources: The Independent, Telegram FAQ, The Verge

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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:

Huawei officially reveals Harmony OS, its first party operating system

Google Pixel 3a vs Pixel 3 camera comparison: What do you lose by saving $400?

OnePlus tells us why its camera is not where it wants to be

Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

Samsung quietly deletes ads mocking Apple removing the headphone jack from the iPhone

From The Forums:

Verizon unlimited data plan speed decreased

Will an Unlocked Note 10 have WiFi calling on Verizon?

Tracfone no call reception at home

Samsung Factory unlocked vs T-Mobile Branded Note 10+

Any new T-Mobile new customer deals

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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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Good news for heavy data users on the Fido network: as of this week overages on new plans have plummeted from $100 CAD per GB to a far more reasonable $15. But there's a catch: these overages are no longer billed automatically; data will instead be "paused" when you hit the limit on your plan, and stay in effect until you buy more.

Here's the official press release to explain:

While I personally think it would have been much easier to just charge overages at a $15/GB rate, I suppose this is the next best thing.

Links: Fido Press Release, iPhone in Canada, Mobile Syrup

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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:

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 series launch with better S Pen, SuperFast charging, and more

The 7 biggest announcements from the Samsung Note 10 event

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and 10+ specs, pricing and availability in Canada

Smartphones with 64MP cameras coming soon (and 108MP eventually)

Nokia N900 (2009)

From The Forums:

What is this?

Help me give up my LG Fiesta!

Total Wireless APN settings cant change

Free phones with port-in - can we do two of these (and other questions)?

Verizon leaked the Note 10+ 5G and BOGO offer

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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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Unfortunately I'm going to miss the big reveal of Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 later this afternoon, so I'm posting some new leaks to give you a better idea of what to expect.

First up is Droid Life, who apparently got the scoop on some official marketing materials. Two models (technically three) are now confirmed:

Note 10
6.3 inch screen
3400 mAh battery
$949 USD

Note 10+
6.8 inch screen
4300 mAh battery
$1099 USD
5G version TBA

As per the artwork above, all variants will offer an "immersive, nearly bezel-less cinematic display" plus a single hole-punch selfie cam. The S Pen now does air gestures and the onboard microphones have "audio zoom" to filter out extraneous noise when recording video.

If it's official accessories that you're after, the German site WinFuture has posted an impressive gallery of first-party options. Silicone and leather covers will be available, along with the more unique LED and View covers.

I'm hoping that some thoughtful YouTuber will edit and upload a supercut of the event; look for that to be included in tomorrow morning's news briefing, and in the meantime feel free to post your thoughts on the event here!

Sources: Droid Life, Mobile Syrup, WinFuture

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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:

Samsung Phones Beat Apple and Huawei in Download Speeds

iPhone 11 Launch Date: September 20, 2019, Suggests Softbank President

iOS and Android are almost tied for market share in Canada

Sprint and OnePlus team up for 5G smartphone

From The Forums:

Sprint PCS spectrum looks like boon for T-Mobile

Google Voice App cannot call over T-Mobile LTE

Universal iPhone XR + Best Buy + Cricket + "unlock" for int'l use

Activations

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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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Fossil has announced the first of their fifth-generation Wear OS-powered smartwatches, The Carlyle and Julianna HR (the former is shown above). Here's a rundown of what's new, courtesy of the Wear OS subreddit:

New design;
1 GB RAM, 8 GB storage (vs. 0.5 GB / 4 GB on Fossil Sport, Q Gen 4);
Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor (vs. 2100 in Q Gen 4);
Speaker for Google Assistant, calls, music;
Multiple battery-saving modes (coming to older Fossil watches this fall);
iPhone users can take calls on the watch, also coming in fall update.

And here's a quick video tour with Michael Fisher:



If, like me, you find the styling of the Carlyle to be a bit... forgettable, fear not—this is but a first volley in the torrent of Fossil-branded devices to follow.

Source: The Verge via r/WearOS
Image source: 9to5Google

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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:

Samsung Galaxy Watch v Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2: Which is best for you?

Xiaomi Mi Band 4 review

AT&T is offering free Spotify Premium with its most expensive wireless plan

CRTC tells wireless companies to stop offering 3-year contracts again

The Apple Card starts rolling out today

From The Forums:

What are your plans (if any) to protect yourself from the T-Mobile/Sprint merger?

FreedomPop - Ting converts with trouble making calls please read this

Would coverage for all Verizon MVNOs be the same?

New AT&T Prepaid Deals

Hotspot with Total Wireless?

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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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Ookla has published their global index of speedtest results for June. Somewhat surprising is that Canada is ranked third overall behind South Korea and Norway. Here are the top ten countries and their mobile download speeds, along with some other notable markets:

01. South Korea - 90.06 Mbps
02. Norway - 64.80 Mbps
03. Canada - 63.63 Mbps
04. Australia - 63.20 Mbps
05. Netherlands - 60.31 Mbps
06. Qatar - 60.09 Mbps
07. United Arab Emirates - 57.45 Mbps
08. Switzerland - 52.03 Mbps
09. Croatia - 51.62 Mbps
10. Singapore - 51.11 Mbps
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37. United States - 35.02 Mbps
51. United Kingdom - 30.97 Mbps
52. Japan - 30.74 Mbps

For reference, the average download speed for all markets was 27.44 Mbps. Meanwhile Telus, once again the top-ranked carrier in Canada, yielded an average download speed of 72.27 Mbps across the country. Not too shabby... but still too expensive.

Source: Ookla (1) (2) via iPhone in Canada, Mobile Syrup

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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:

Xiaomi's stock has fallen almost 50% in the past year—is the smartphone boom over?

Trump threatens more tariffs on Chinese imports starting September 1st

Facebook Plans on Backdooring WhatsApp

Here’s the dreaded USB-C to 3.5mm dongle for Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10

I still miss my headphone jack, and I want it back

From The Forums:

WTH? Tracfone - unlocked Amazon Moto g6 phone w/Alexa is uncertified?

9.0 Pie update

I keep getting spam calls

New plans August 11

T-Mobile and Sprint Question States’ Credibility in Merger Lawsuit

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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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We're going to have to put our trust in Android Police and The Verge on this one, as the source—notorious leaker Evan Blass—has started making his Tweets private. If Blass is to be believed, what we're looking at here is another update to the Fitbit Versa; notable changes include a new OLED screen (without a Fitbit logo on it) and support for Amazon Alexa (and therefore a necessary microphone port somewhere on the case).

I guess the mic is the reason why Fitbit is ditching the buttons on the right side of the watch, like they've already done with the current Versa Lite. As a novice watch enthusiast I'm a bit perplexed by this design choice, unless people wear watches on their right wrists now...?



Woven straps like these were reserved for the Special Edition first-gen Versas (Versae?), the ones with NFC chips for Fitbit Pay. I used an SE Versa for a weekend, and I don't remember returning it because it didn't have a voice-activated virtual assistant. But I do absolutely remember that notifications weren't reliable and the music controls didn't work at all.

It also seems to me that most of the Fitbits I see out in the wild are the more discreet wearables like the Charge or the original Flex—that is to say that users get more value out of the fitness tracking/step counts than the actual hardware itself. Am I wrong on this?

Source: @evleaks (protected) via Android Police, The Verge

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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:

iOS 13 Public Beta 4 Download Now Available, Along with iPadOS 13

Tim Cook says Apple’s credit card is launching in August

Verizon enables 5G UWB in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Detroit, and Indianapolis

New bill would ban autoplay videos and endless scrolling

CRTC says new Internet Code will go into effect January 2020 to protect consumers

From The Forums:

Massive cellular data usage despite always being on wifi

One man's take on T-Mobile's jobs pledge

Switch BYOP sim from TM to ATT?

Cricket Billing Question

Sprint Rant. Moving to area with no 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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Bell must be getting lots of signups for their version of the $75/10GB "unlimited" plan, as they've just raised their monthly rate to $85. And that's not all: as iPhone in Canada reports, their 20GB plan has also gone up by ten bucks, and they've removed the 50GB option altogether.

I guess there's such a thing as too much data...?

If you're not on an unlimited plan, don't worry—Bell has a separate surprise for you. Data overages on non-unlimited plans will now be subject to a $0.12 per megabyte price hike over and above 500MB. Surprise!

Source: iPhone in Canada (1) (2)

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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 wearables market is worth over £50 billion according to new report

Remembering the Pebble 1.0: The DNA inside modern smartwatches

Fitness trackers are good for your health, but that 10,000-step goal is overblown

Samsung will launch the Galaxy Watch Active 2 and Tab S6 before the Note 10

New Nvidia Shield TV clears FCC, could launch soon with updated hardware

From The Forums:

Moto e5 vs G6

TF unlock code

So mad I could cry. Iphone no service and calls failing

Verizon says it has a secret 5G plan after T-Mobile CEO calls company ‘clueless’

dropped /missed calls? frequently with Sprint?

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It's not the first attempt at a proper Linux-powered smartphone (anyone remember Ubuntu Edge?) nor is it likely to be the last, but in this current duopoly of Android and iOS the Librem 5 is at least worth a mention.

The device was first announced by San Francisco-based "social purpose corporation" Purism back in 2017. Since its successful crowdfunding campaign the project has been slowed down by numerous delays, but as of this week the final specs for the device have been locked in:

5.7 inch IPS TFT screen @ 720 x 1400 pixels
1.5 GHz i.MX8M quad-core processor
13 MP rear camera with LED flash / 8 MP selfie cam
3 GB RAM / 32 GB eMMC storage + microSD
Gemalto PLS8 3G/4G modem
3.5 mm headphone jack
3,500 mAh user-replaceable battery
Availability: Q3 2019
Price: $649 USD until July 31st; $699 from August 1st

Unfortunately that's a lot of money for not a lot of phone—especially when you can flash Lineage OS on to select Android devices and get much of the same software freedoms. I'll keep an eye out for reviews when the Librem 5 actually ships.

Source: Purism via OMG! Ubuntu

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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 Pixel 4 proves the "Big Smartphone Reveal" is dead, and that's fine

Latest Samsung Galaxy Note10 render pops up pretty in pink

Foxconn Begins Annual Hiring Spree Ahead of 2019 iPhone Season

Huawei smartphone sales up 24 percent despite US crackdown

From The Forums:

T-Mobile service over Sprint towers?

Received a pic while data was off and no WIFI

Heads up to those paying with AutoPay!

Throttled OpenVPN connection

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