HoFo Blog

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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From The Web:

EXCLUSIVE: A Closer First Look at iPhone 14

Google teases the Pixel 6 and its possible launch date in new ads

Red Magic 6S Pro arrives with Snapdragon 888+, improved cooling and 720Hz touch sampling rate

Motorola’s second-gen over-the-air wireless charger can charge 4 devices simultaneously

Ookla data shows improving world download speeds, Canada drops out of Top 10

From The Forums:

Download speed in 4G

Where to see MVNO coverage maps by zip code?

Port my Google Voice number to RedPocket or ???

Is It Worth Turning Off 5G?

Anyone have any experience using virtual e-gift card to pay for Visible?

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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’s iPhone 13 event will take place on September 14th

New MagSafe charger arrives to FCC ahead of Apple event

WhatsApp working on chat transfer from Android to iOS

Survey: Only 6% of U.S. iPhone Users Who Set Up Apple Pay Actually Use It

Eight things Apple could do to prove it actually cares about App Store users

From The Forums:

Google Voice On Flip Phone ?

Shipping new Flip Phone-remove battery?

PAYG plan refill date

How to refill Pageplus account if Refill page and support Page are down?

iPhone 12 Pro Max hotspot 5G or 5Guw limits.

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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 Delays Release of Child Abuse Scanning Tech After Backlash

Your Phone Is Your Private Space

​Wearable tech booms in 2021 as smartwatch users look to health features

Gurman: Apple Watch Series 7 will still be announced alongside iPhone 13, but available in limited quantities

Fossil Gen 5 update removes dozens of built-in watchfaces from select Wear OS smartwatches

From The Forums:

Affordable unlock

Map or website not crowd sourced pertaining to 5G?

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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.
---------

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, August 30th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, August 31st, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, September 1st, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, September 2nd, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, September 3rd, 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 30 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

Got an email that I have to upgrade flip phone for VoLTE

Congrats to gquiring for starting our ninety-second 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.
---------

From The Web:

Germany wants phone makers to offer 7 years of security updates

Protecting Your Privacy While Using Apple Devices

Top 10 trending phones of week 35

Mi Band 6 helps Xiaomi edge Apple for global lead in wearable band devices

Fossil’s Gen 6 smartwatches launch into an unforgiving Samsung Wear OS world

From The Forums:

No Cell Phone Service / Call failed

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

Looks like Referral Reward Points have been devalued

Does here anyone actually burn through their minutes bucket?

What are your Visible Upload Hotspot speeds?

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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:

Google reportedly optimistic about Pixel 6 sales, increases production by 50%

Google Clock scheduled alarms broken for many, leading to flurry of 1-star Play Store reviews

This Seemingly Normal Lightning Cable Will Leak Everything You Type

T-Mobile CEO calls latest data breach ‘humbling,’ claims it’s committed to security

The best Labor Day deals happening now

From The Forums:

Got an email that I have to upgrade flip phone for VoLTE

No response when checking BAL

IPhone 6s is dead

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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 announces 200-megapixel phone camera sensor

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 review: The future is now

Google Pixel 5a review: “Which Android phone should I buy?” This one

Report: Google prepares for Pixel 6 to outperform 2019 sales, the lineup’s best year ever

Apple will let apps like Netflix and Spotify link to their websites (sidestepping in-app payments)

From The Forums:

AT&T wants the FCC to review and potentially limit 5G spectrum Tmobile can acquire

boost to move to multi network platform

Transfer the ownership of the AT&T prepaid account?

Activating Moto E using $10 plan - is it possible?

Tello to discontinue CDMA service on October 31, 2021.

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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:

How Big Telecom Killed Rules That Would Have Prevented Hurricane Ida Outages

Apple’s Spy in the Jailbreak Community

Apple, Google Mobile Dominance Faces Tough Test in Korea

Research shows developers are becoming less interested in the Mac App Store

Harmony OS reaches 70 million users, stable update now available for nearly 100 devices

From The Forums:

Anyone using a Google Pixel 2 on a Verizon MVNO?

Can I just sim swap a Samsung Galaxy ?

Service Interruption because phone supports 3G

Hurricane Ida

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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:

Smartwatch demand surged 47 percent this spring

Samsung ranks third in global smartwatch market for Q2 2021, India is fastest-growing smartwatch market

Fossil's Gen 6 watches are up for pre-order, but not with the software you want

Get ready for a price hike on your favorite electronics. Again

The App Store is too big to change

From The Forums:

Smartphone Sim Kits

What happens if first line ports out?

activating a Tracfone bought June last year ?

Question about transfer from sim alone

FreedomPop strikes again: Voicemail enabled without any action from my side

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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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