Latest Gadgets News

Netflix and its rivals are facing a price war in India as a jump in the cost of watching video on mobile phones threatens to slow demand in what is shaping up as a key growth market globally for streaming.

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Boeing on Monday pushed out its embattled chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, as it attempts to pivot from a protracted crisis surrounding the grounding of its top-selling 737 MAX after two deadly crashes.

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Apple and Google have both taken down messaging services ToTok from their app stores following accusations of government surveillance.

According to the New York Times, the messaging app has been accused of being a spying tool for the United Arab Emirates government.

Although only a few months old, ToTok has seen a huge rise of popularity, with millions of users installing the app across the Middle East, but also in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.

• Your iOS browser could be sending tracking data to China
• Google is driving more app downloads than Facebook
• TikTok banned from US Navy government devices

"Unavailable"

However the NYT report claims that American officials have accused the app of using location data to give government officials information on the app's users, including  conversations, movements, and other personal information like photos.

In a blog post, ToTok wrote that its apps would be "temporarily unavailable" on both the App Store and the Play Store due to a "technical issue".

"While the existing ToTok users continue to enjoy our service without interruption, we would like to inform our new users that we are well engaged with Google and Apple to address the issue."

The company added that any new users with Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo phones can install ToTok from their manufacturer's app store. All other Android users can install the ToTok app from our official website as a temporary solution.

• Keep your mobile device safe with the best Android antivirus of 2020

Via New York Times

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When is episode 8 of The Mandalorian arriving on Disney Plus? - CNET

The Star Wars schedule is kinda weird. Check when the finale of The Mandalorian will be available.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker review -- Everything fans could ask for, except heart - CNET

Spoiler-free review: Episode 9 ticks all the boxes, but there's way too much going on.

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Latest Gadgets News

Realme X2 and Realme Buds Air launches were undoubtedly the biggest headlines of the week past, but that doesn't mean there weren't numerous other major pieces of news. LG brought its dual-screen LG G8X ThinQ smartphone in India, while the Nokia 2.3 was also launched in the country.

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Next-gen 5G mobile networks are going live all over the country to enable users to casually download data at lightning-fast speeds, and T-Mobile has just activated its own.

Like Verizon, Sprint and AT&T, T-Mobile's initial network will operate on higher-frequency "millimeter wave" (mmWave) bands, which will supposedly provide faster speeds but have less range. (A lot less, if our early experiences with Verizon's 5G network in Chicago are representative.) 

But unlike the other carriers, T-Mobile is augmenting its hyperlocal mmWave coverage with low-range bands below 1Ghz. Those spectrums cover more area but deliver lower speeds, but they could theoretically need less infrastructure reach suburban and rural customers. It's unclear when those will go online, but at least it's a clear plan.

T-Mobile's 28 Ghz mmWave frequency network will be combined into a wider 5G setup with a lower-band 600 Mhz spectrum it aimed to launch in 30 cities later in 2019, per CNET. It's augmented that with a nationwide launch in December of its 600 Mhz spectrum range that covers 60% of the US population across 1 million square miles, according to a T-Mobile post. 

This would theoretically combine with Sprint's mid-band 2.5 Ghz 5G network, assuming the two carriers' merger goes through.

The signature 5G phone coming to many of these carriers? The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G with its Snapdragon 855 chip. T-Mobile customers can pick one up and use an S10 5G, though that's since been accompanied by the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 5G and the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition.

As expected, the S10 5G will only work on T-Mobile's mmWave networks - not the following mid- and low-range frequency networks, the carrier confirmed to The Verge. If that's not up your alley, you can opt for the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition, though that doesn't have a price or release date yet.

T-Mobile 5G plans

T-Mobile still hasn't announced many details about the full extent of its rollout plans - indeed, we only learned about its initial six-city 5G network launch the day they went live. 

We also learned what its 5G network will cost...but only if its merger with Sprint goes through. Assuming both carriers combine into the so-called 'New T-Mobile,' the resulting super-carrier won't charge extra for 5G for at least three years along with "strong economic incentive for even lower prices in the future," according to a blog post.

Given that the FCC approved the merger in mid-October, with only a lawsuit standing in the way of it going through, it's even more likely that the New T-Mobile and its multi-spectrum 5G network will be a reality.

T-Mobile 5G coverage map and rollout cities

T-Mobile previously asserted back in 2018 that it would bring 5G to 30 cities to start, and the first customers to get it will be in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Las Vegas. The carrier made good on its claims, launching in those four cities as well as Cleveland and Atlanta on June 28. 

What's more, T-Mobile did what Verizon and AT&T have thus far failed to do: provide coverage maps. That's right, you can actually go look at where customers should be able to get 5G service in cities where the 5G networks are live. That's a big gesture toward transparency that other carriers have refused to do.

Image credit: T-Mobile

For the sub-600mHz, T-Mobile confirmed that both the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G and the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition work with on the lower frequency 5G network.

After that is a broad rollout to rural customers. T-Mobile opted for sub-600MHz for its farther range, which should cover more area with less infrastructure than the high-frequency networks other carriers are building out. https://ift.tt/2EKY4Gs;

Once fully launched, T-Mobile claims its network will cover over 95% of the country's around 62 million rural residents. The carrier launched its 600 Mhz rural-covering network in December 2019 with an initial coverage of around 60% of the US population across over 1 million square miles, according to a blog post. Put another way: that's more than 200 million people in 5,000 cities and towns.

The speeds from that network obviously won't be as high as those found on mmWave networks, but they'll be the first taste of 5G rural users will have. They might not see the network's standard 450Mbps average download speeds, but two-thirds of rural users will get above 100Mbps by 2021 (up to 90% in 2024), according to the carrier's blog post. If that's true, those speeds will still be notably better than the 30-40Mbps on today's 4G LTE networks.

The network's urban arm saw early testing, er CNET, an employee of Speedtest.net owner Ookla managed to hook up to T-Mobile's network in NYC using one of the carrier's SIM cards plugged into an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S10 5G phone. The outlet reported high speeds just under 500 Mbps (download), which is still impressive even if it pales compared to the over-1 Gbps seen in Verizon's mmWave network in Chicago. 

T-Mobile 5G phones

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G

As with the other carriers, T-Mobile will also support the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. From what we've seen, this will be a true top-tier device: a 6.7-inch AMOLED display, the latest Snapdragon 855 chip, 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. We don't know how much it'll cost; the closest comparison, the S10 Plus, starts with lower specs at a baseline of $999 / £899 (about AU$1,398).

The S10 5G is otherwise a stepped-up version of its S10 siblings, packing a trio of rear lenses (12MP wide, 16MP ultrawide and 12MP telephoto) as well as a fourth time of flight sensor to measure depth. There's another TOF sensor on the front for depth-augmented selfies. This phone is coming to T-Mobile customers sometime in summer.

S10 5G first, but not widespread

Early reports suggest the S10 5G won't, however, work on the broader nation-spanning primary network T-Mobile is working on now: a low-band (sub-600MHz) spectrum to power its early 5G networks. It's expected to offer the opposite of mmWave - less speed than high-frequency networks, but more range for better coverage. 

Eventually, it plans to supplement this with mid-frequency bands as part of its spectrum of service – it's currently testing millimeter wave in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Ohio and a few other places (potentially covering 100 million people), per an MWC 2019 interview with PC Mag. But the carrier plans to add much of its mid-frequency bands after the carrier’s proposed merger with Sprint – which US Senators have opposed.

In lieu of those other bands, T-Mobile has carried on testing its sub-600MHz 5G network, and is purportedly rolling out 5G it in its planned first 30 cities, which customers won't be able to take advantage of until more phones come out. For the sub-600MHz line, this might not be until the second half of 2019, per CNET. 

The reason? There just aren’t any phones out that’ll work with the low-band network. Not yet, anyway.

Remember the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G? Its Snapdragon 855’s LTE modem doesn’t support 5G, so the phone relies on a discrete modem – the Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 – to connect. 

But the X50 modem doesn't support 'sub-6GHz' (in T-Mobile's case, its sub-600MHz) networks. At a Snapdragon summit back in December, Qualcomm’s president implied that a modem won’t be available to support T-Mobile’s early 5G networks until at least mid-2019, per PCMag.

OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition

While Sprint got the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, T-Mobile nabbed exclusive rights to release the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition. We don't know when it will go on sale or how much it will be, but it will certainly be a pricey option for T-Mobile customers.

The OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition is identical to its non-5G counterpart - which is still a powerful device, maxing out the RAM at 12GB paired with a Snapdragon 855 Plus. Befitting its branding, the specialized flagship also has a sleek orange-and-black color scheme.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G

When T-Mobile announced its sub-600 Mhz suburban- and rural-oriented network at the end of December, it stated two phones would be compatible: the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G. The latter is, of course, the extra-size Samsung flagship with S Pen stylus.

With a 6.8-inch display, Snapdragon 855 chipset, 12GB of RAM and starting 256GB of storage, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G is a seriously beefy phone. Couple that with a triple-rear-lens + time-of-flight sensor for camera capabilities and the handset seems as well rounded as it gets. Just be aware of its equally hefty $1,299 pricetag, though T-Mobile likely has special offers to incentivize new adopters to its 5G network.

Could T-Mobile's 5G plans change

If the carrier merges with Sprint, it's unclear if the combined company’s ur-network would support additional higher-band devices like the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, or if 2019's 5G phones will stay compatible along carrier lines until long into 2020 and beyond. 

That could change with the next generation of Qualcomm modems the company announced before MWC 2019. The Snapdragon X55 modem will surpass this year's X50 in several ways, including allegedly supporting virtually any band in any region in the world. 

The X55 is expected to appear in later 5G phones. It's all speculation from here, but the X55 should have a stronger showing in 2020 – when more phones appear that could connect to T-Mobile's 5G network.

In fact, T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray confirmed to PC Mag that the carrier would only launch its 5G network once phones were available on the X55 modem chip. We'll just have to wait for more phone details as they appear.

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One of the cheapest live TV streaming services is becoming a bit more expensive this month after Dish announced a price hike coming to its Sling TV service.

The price hike - which goes into effect Monday, December 23 - will raise the price of the Sling TV Blue and Sling TV Orange basic packages to $30 per month from their previous price of $25 per month. (Sling TV Blue, remember includes Fox, NBC and sports options, while Sling TV Orange includes Disney channels plus ESPN.) 

The package that combines both services that was previously available for $40 will now be $45 per month under the new pricing structure, which will start appearing on customers’ bills in January.

To compensate for the increased price, Sling TV says that it will add Fox News and MSNBC as well as HLN from CNN to both packages, plus 10 hours of Cloud DVR Free service that will now be available to every subscriber. 

A bad year for live TV streaming 

While this is disappointing news for subscribers of Sling TV, it’s pretty much par for the course for live TV streaming services at this point - most other live TV streaming services like Hulu and YouTube TV either raised prices this year or, in the case of PlayStation Vue, announced that they’d be closing down for good.

So why is everyone raising prices? 

The cost of making deals with multiple stakeholders like Fox/Disney, Viacom and NBCUniversal has gone up most likely up in the past year now that everyone is trying to create services of their own. (Of the three aforementioned major players, Disney just released a streaming service of its own called Disney Plus, Viacom owns Pluto TV and NBCUniversal will likely launch its cord-cutting service, Peacock, early next year.) 

Hopefully, what we’re seeing right now is the painful growth of live TV services that will come before the next big growth spurt in 2020 - though the exact fate of live TV services right now is anyone's guess.

Via Variety

• Curious about cutting the cord, but not sure where to start? Here’s our guide to the best streaming services

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While Verizon began rolling out 5G for homes last fall, it's currently bringing the next generation of mobile communication tech online with a nationwide rollout that went live in 31 cities by the end of 2019. But where is it coming first and which phones will you be able to use on it?

The company kicked it off by opening coverage in Chicago and Minneapolis in April 2019, followed by Denver at the end of June and Providence in early July - then New York, Los Angeles, and even down to areas in smaller cities like Columbus, Ohio and Hampton Roads, Virginia by the beginning of 2020.

Verizon's Ultra Wideband mobile network operates on frequencies at and above 24 Ghz, known colloquially as 'millimeter wave' (mmWave). These beam high-speed internet to your device, but they're short ranged, and initial coverage has been limited to a handful of city blocks in each deployment.

Obviously, you’ll need a phone that works with Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network. More specifically, you’ll need a phone with the right specs (new processors and modems) to hook up to 5G networks at all. 

Below is a list of phones Verizon has already announced will be usable on its own 5G network, which is up to seven phones and hubs. But first, here's where the carrier has already rolled out its next-gen network – and where it's going next.

Verizon 5G plans

At the moment, only Verizon customers with either Above or Beyond Unlimited plans can sign up for 5G service, which costs an extra $10/month. This fee is waived for those who purchase a new Samsung Galaxy S10 5G or a new Motorola Moto Z4, though this is likely a temporary discount. 

Note that the Moto Z3 and Moto Z4 (and soon, the Moto Z2 Force) require the 5G Moto Mod to hook up to Verizon's 5G network. The 5G Moto Mod costs $199, and can be purchased in Verizon online or retail stores, and requires proof of ownership of a compatible Moto phone, at least for now.

Verizon 5G cities rollout and coverage map

Currently, Verizon's 5G coverage extends to areas and neighborhoods in 31 cities. 

The carrier's 5G service debuted in Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, and soon after, Providence. Early coverage was limited to a few square blocks in each of the named neighborhoods, but Verizon promised to build out 5G signal areas in each of its cities. Check the carrier's 5G Ultra Wideband blog for which neighborhoods have 5G in any of the live cities.

For instance, in Chicago, Verizon 5G went live in parts of these neighborhoods: The Loop, Magnificent Mile, The Gold Coast, River North, and Old Town. Coverage areas have reportedly increased, but it's a good idea of the circumscribed radius 5G initially covers in each city.

Likewise, in Minneapolis, Verizon 5G went live in parts of the Downtown West, Downtown East, and Elliot Park neighborhoods.

In late June, Verizon launched service in Denver, Colorado in similarly circumscribed areas. The current network covers parts of Highlands, South of 37th between Tejon and Navajo streets; LoDo; Coors Field; parts of the Central Business District near landmarks like Sculpture Park and Paramount Theatre; and areas of Capitol Hill and the Denver Tech Center.

Verizon's network opened in Providence, Rhode Island on July 1. Initially, service will go live in parts of College Hill, Federal Hill, Mt. Hope, and around landmarks like Brown University (Erickson Athletic Complex, Wriston Quadrangle), Rhode Island School of Design and Providence College, per Verizon's blog post.

Verizon launched 5G service in other cities by the end of 2019, including Memphis, Hoboken, Des Moines, Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, Sioux Falls, Dallas, Omaha, St. Paul, Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis, Washington DC, Phoenix,  Boise, Panama City, and New York City.

Verizon sprinted to finish its 30-city total by end of year, activating 5G service in Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Miami, Florida; Salt Lake City, Utah and Spokane, Washington on December 20.

The last cities to go live by year's end were Columbus, Ohio and Hampton Roads, Virginia - and like the other cities, only opened in select areas. This brought the year's total to 31 US cities. 

Verizon 5G phones

Image credit: TechRadar

Moto Z4 (Verizon-sold model, with 5G Moto Mod)

The Moto Z4 is a sleeker, bigger iteration of the Moto Z line that's solidly in the midrange category. It's less impressive than the big, bad 5G-capable phones coming out this year (like the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G), but it's also less expensive. For a $500 list price plus the $199 5G Moto Mod, you're in business – and have plenty of money left to pay data overage fees when you zip past your monthly cap while downloading at super-fast speeds.

If you don't need the latest and greatest, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the Moto Z4. Its FHD+ 6.4-inch display (with a teardrop notch) will serve you just fine and the in-screen fingerprint sensor is a nice (if spotty) addition. 

The Snapdragon 675 is the latest midrange processor from Qualcomm, and while it's not going to win any speed contests, it's still fast enough for browsing and flipping between apps. The new, single 48MP camera uses software to achieve bokeh and depth effects – a growing trend among midrange phones – while the 25MP front-facing lens is an improvement across the board.

Image credit: TechRadar

Just keep in mind that, at least for now, only the Moto Z4 bought through Verizon (with the logo on the lower back, seen above) available in white will work with the 5G Moto Mod. The unlocked black model won't, at least for the foreseeable future.

Image Credit: TechRadar

Moto Z4 / Z3 / Z2 Force (with 5G Moto Mod)

The Moto Z3 is technically Verizon’s first 5G-capable phone, but only because Motorola planned long in advance to introduce a Moto Mod deliberately designed to connect the handset to a 5G networks.

The Moto Z3 isn’t nearly as flashy as the other phones on this list, but it will be far more affordable, which gives Verizon an advantage over other carriers that are only backing the top 5G flagships. We don’t just mean “mid-range” affordable, either: the Moto Z3 launched in fall 2018 costing $480 (about £370, AU$650), and is cheaper by now. 

Even if the 5G Moto Mod has a stiff price tag, both will still be half or even a third as cheap as the other 5G-capable phones working on these carrier networks.

Of course, don’t expect high performance at that price. The Moto Z3 packs a Snapdragon 835 - the top Android chip of 2017 - and starts at 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage (you can opt for 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for a price bump). Its 6-inch AMOLED display is fine, if an unremarkable 2,160 x 1,080 (FHD+). Add in a 3,000mAh battery and you have a decent phone with classy, glossy glass front and back...though you’ll conceivably need to keep the 5G mod attached to its rear at all times to access Verizon’s advanced network. 

Still, it’s a compromise that should work well for folks who want hyper-fast 5G speeds, but don’t want to drop $1,000 or more to get it. This is no longer the only Moto phone to work with the 5G Moto Mod: the newer Moto Z4 and, finally, the older Moto Z2 Force are now compatible with the mod. 

Image Credit: Samsung

 Samsung Galaxy S10 5G 

Verizon will be getting the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, the big, powerful 5G-compatible version of the Galaxy S10 flagship line. The phone is top-of-the-line, with impressive specs and a huge screen. It’s also expected to be pretty pricey. While we don’t have an official cost yet, the S10 Plus starts at $999 / £899 (about AU$1,398) and the 5G version outclasses it in most dimensions, so we’re expecting an even higher price tag.

The phone has a massive 6.7-inch AMOLED display, packs a Snapdragon 855 chipset and comes with 256GB storage and 8GB of RAM. Like the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus, the 5G variant has a trio of rear lenses (12MP wide, 16MP ultrawide and 12MP telephoto) along with a time of flight sensor to measure depth. It’s even got one of these TOF sensors on the front to augment selfies.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G is the last 5G phone introduced in 2019, and appropriately, it's the biggest/most capable. It shares most of the features of the S10 5G: Snapdragon 855 chipset and triple rear camera + Time of Flight sensor. But the Note 10 Plus 5G can go a bit bigger in specs, with 256GB baseline storage that's upgradeable to 512GB (and with a microSD card, up to 1TB), 12GB of RAM, and a slightly larger 6.8-inch display.

In other words, it's an even bigger monster than the S10 5G - which is expected with Samsung's Note line. And, of course, the S Pen stylus, which comes with more gesture controls in the Note 10 series.

LG V50 ThinQ 5G

LG V50 ThinQ 5G

At MWC 2019, Verizon announced a third phone will be usable on its 5G network this summer: the LG V50 ThinQ 5G. Verizon isn’t the only carrier that will support LG’s new flagship, and given the vague timelines all carriers are proposing, it’s unclear if, say, Verizon will be getting the V50 later than Sprint, which claims it’s getting the phone “in the coming months.”

In any case, the V50 is similar in size and appearance to last year’s V40 (down to the same 6.4-inch OLED screen), but with a few key differences. It packs the latest Snapdragon 855 processor, as expected from a 2019 flagship. But it also has two new changes: a bigger 4,000mAh battery and a vapor chamber to keep the phone powered and cool, respectively, during long media binge sessions.

We still don’t know how much the V50 5G will cost, but given its predecessor was priced at $900 (around £690 / AU$1260) for launch last fall, we expect the new 5G version to be around or a bit higher than that.

• MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world’s largest showcase for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2019 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar’s world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone. 

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker -- Our biggest WTF questions - CNET

The latest romp through a galaxy far, far away brought us closure, but we still aren't sure about every detail.

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We just learned what Finn wanted to tell Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - CNET

It wasn't: "I love you."

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker brought in $373.5 million worldwide on its opening weekend, which would be amazing for most films but is below projections for a Star Wars movie. Meanwhile, Jumanji: The Next Level climbed to $312 million, and Frozen 2 went up to $1.103 billion.

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Scientists have struggled for years to photograph Phaethon's debris trail - until a NASA spacecraft serendipitously stumbled upon it.

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Cybersecurity researchers have said they have discovered over 30 fraudulent websites and social media profiles disguised as official movie accounts of 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' that are distributing free copies of the latest film in the franchise while collecting users' data.

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Boeing's new Starliner unmanned spacecraft returned to Earth on Sunday, landing in the New Mexico desert in the United States six days early after a clock problem scuppered a rendezvous with the International Space Station.

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