HoFo Blog

From The Web:

WWDC 2023: all the news from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference

Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro and 17 expected to feature larger screens, taller aspect ratios

Leak spills everything about the Motorola Razr+ you would want to know

Motorola unveils the Moto G Stylus 5G (2023)

Garmin Instinct 2X review

From The Forums:

Unlocked TracFone question

eSIM pros and cons?

What the minimum speed for high speed data to be usable still without noticing it much ?

Can Unlocked TracFone Samsung A03 Be Used With A Post Paid Verizon Sim?

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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:

Canalys: Four iPhones top flagship sales charts in Q1 2023, S23 Ultra most popular Android

Xiaomi Civi 3 unveiled with Dimensity 8200 Ultra chipset and dual 32MP selfie cameras

Pixel Tablet tipster stokes rumor fire with conspicuously absent stylus and keyboard

WhatsApp is working on usernames and screen sharing

This DIY Linux mini-laptop is made from an old smartphone

From The Forums:

Google prompting for Re-certification of Linked Numbers

Samsung galaxy 23 phones can't listen to online music

S9 not receiving texts after being turned on

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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:

ARM unveils the Cortex-X4, its fastest CPU yet, Cortex-A720 and A520 and 5th gen GPUs join it

The End Of Sprint Is Finally Upon Us

Right to repair: all the latest news and updates

How to access Google’s Bard AI in Canada

Top 10 trending phones of week 21

From The Forums:

A52 5g not updating to Android 13

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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, May 22nd, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, May 23rd, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, May 24th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, May 25th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, May 26th, 2023

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 83 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

No Tracfone Data Connection

Congrats to chris330r for starting our one hundred and seventy-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.
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From The Web:

Pixel Fold with 512GB storage is already out of stock in the US

Here are some Bard features you might not know about

ChatGPT is under investigation by multiple Canadian privacy authorities

Moto Edge+ (2023) review: It's time to take Motorola seriously again

Review: Moto G Stylus and Moto G 5G (2023) get the job done, nothing more

From The Forums:

Verizon Layoffs

Missing iphone 11 Sim

Cricket Customer - we need a 1 week plan for kid going to Ireland/UK - need simple and works

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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 plans to turn your iPhone into a smart display with iOS 17

Supposed iPhone 15 Dummy Units Show New Design, Action Buttons, and USB-C

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE now rumored to arrive before the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Fold5

Motorola Edge 40 review

Here’s 44 seconds of the Moto Razr Ultra because an entire ad has leaked

From The Forums:

Large Screen AT&T Whitelisted Tracfones

International Roaming

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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:

Final Cut on iPad ushers in a new generation of video editors

Here’s the Google Pixel Tablet in an unannounced shade of black

Apple touts multibillion-dollar Broadcom deal for 5G and wireless tech built in the US

Motorola’s fourth swing at a foldable Razr launches June 1

Garmin’s flagship smartwatch lineups leak early

From The Forums:

What is : T-Mobile Unl Tablet w/10GB MHS A Tl ?

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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:

TikTok sues Montana over controversial state ban

China bans US chipmaker Micron in apparent retaliation for sanctions

iOS 17: Here's what the rumors say about features, release dates, and more

WWDC 2023: what to expect at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference

iPhone maker Wistron calls it quits, saying Apple didn't allow it to make a profit

From The Forums:

No Tracfone Data Connection

Phone insurance for iPhone 11

Text amount going down

Tracfone iOS app question

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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 Releases iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 With Sports Tab in Apple News, Bug Fixes and More

Sorry Bing, Samsung’s sticking with Google as its default mobile search engine

Google will soon let Pixel phones double as dashcams

Instagram was down, but now it’s working again

Top 10 trending phones of week 20

From The Forums:

AT&T’s future plans may put fiber deployments ahead of wireless

TCL Flip 2 not keeping the right time?

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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, May 15th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, May 16th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, May 17th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, May 18th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, May 19th, 2023

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 17 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

Wife complains of poor audio quality on voice calls

Congrats to NCTed for starting our one hundred and seventy-first 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!

---------
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:

Texting between iPhone and Android users currently broken due to this bizarre bug

Early iPhone 16 Pro rumors point to the massive upgrade we've been waiting for

Leaked Google Pixel 8 Pro video shows new design and a built-in thermometer

Inside the Italian Mafia’s Encrypted Phone of Choice

Beepberry is a $79 hackable pocket computer kit with a BlackBerry keyboard

From The Forums:

Porting into Visible+

Amazon gift card missing

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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:

HTC U23 Pro announced: Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, 108MP camera, and 120Hz screen

Motorola’s ‘Razr 40’ foldable leaks with smaller outer display, leather material

Google’s Find My Device will soon use billions of Android devices to locate your stuff

ChatGPT Scams Are Infiltrating the App Store and Google Play

TikTok is now banned in Montana

From The Forums:

RCS - Stuck on verifying phone number

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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:

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Which is better for you?

Some Pixel phones are running too hot, but a fix is rolling out

Sony’s latest flagship phones leave me wondering if anyone still buys Sony’s flagship phones

Canada is the 19th most expensive country for mobile data: report

Cellphone Ban at B.C. School Brings Improved Grades, Better Mental Health

From The Web:

Any Prepaid Carriers that work with the Pixel Watch?

Metro by T-Mobile:128GB Google Pixel 6a + 30-Days Service: New Line $90, Port-In $65

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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:

These six great iPad apps show the high bar Google's facing with the Pixel Tablet

The Pixel Tablet is half of what it could have been

OnePlus Pad review

CRTC Chair Admits Canadians Pay Higher Cellphone, Internet Prices vs. World

T-Mobile is giving away free MLB.TV again

From The Forums:

Minimum use interval requirement on PPC?

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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 Pixel 7a vs Pixel 6a: The biggest A-series upgrade ever comes at a cost

Google is keeping the Pixel 6a around at a new lower price

Québecor says Bell and Telus are delaying MVNO agreements to ‘stifle competition’

Apple launches SOS over satellite in Australia and New Zealand

Top 10 trending phones of week 19

From The Forums:

New Unlimited Plans Coming?

Question on unlocking phone

iPhone question

NIB Moto One 5G UW - getting unlocked

Wife complains of poor audio quality on voice calls

---------
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, May 8th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, May 9th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, May 10th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, May 11th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, May 12th, 2023

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 12 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

Can I Use The Verizon SIM Card From My Laptop Computer In A Tablet?

Congrats to Jim1348 for starting our one hundred and seventieth 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!

---------
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:

How Google tried to fix the web — by taking it over

Here’s how the new Google Pixel Fold stacks up to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4

Google Pixel Fold hands-on: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Why Google Bard is Not Available in Canada

Google passkeys are a no-brainer. You’ve turned them on, right?

From The Forums:

Moving to Visible

US Mobile Global

My LGs seem to be haunted! Help

If I remove my SIM card do I have to change the device number for GV?

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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 AI takeover of Google Search starts now

The Pixel Fold is Google’s $1,800 entry into folding phones

Google’s Pixel Fold is not coming to Canada at launch

Review: Pixel 7a affordably delivers on every promise of the Pixel series

Google Pixel Tablet is fully official with bundled Charging Speaker Dock

From The Forums:

Newbie question about moving SIM to another phone.

How much service for refer-a-friend points to vest?

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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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Pixel 7a
6.1 inch OLED display, 1080 x 2400 pixels, 429 ppi @ 90 Hz
Google Tensor G2 processor
8 GB RAM / 128 GB storage
64 MP wide + 13 MP ultrawide rear cameras
13 MP selfie cam
4,385 mAh battery with wireless charging
Coral (Google Store only), Charcoal, Sea & Snow colourways
$500 USD / $600 CAD
Available now with free Pixel Buds A-series from the Google Store



Pixel Fold
7.6 inch OLED internal display, 2208 x 1840 pixels, 380 ppi @ 120 Hz
5.8 inch OLED external display, 2092 x 1080 pixels. 408 ppi @ 120 Hz
Google Tensor G2 processor
12 GB RAM / 256 or 512 GB storage
48 MP wide + 10.8 MP ultrawide + 10.8 MP 5x optical zoom rear cameras
9.5 MP + 8 MP selfie cams
4,821 mAh battery with wireless charging
Obsidian + Porcelain colourways
$1,800 USD / no availability for Canada (?!!)
Preorder now for delivery in June, with a free Pixel Watch from the Google Store

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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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