AT&T and Google Invest in Space-Based Cell Service

AST SpaceMobile — the company currently testing space-based cellular service for AT&T — has secured a vote of confidence in the form of $206.5 million in new financing from AT&T, Google, and Vodafone. AT&T and Google are new investors. As part of the deal, AT&T has agreed to purchase network equipment from AST to support planned commercial service, and made a $20 million revenue commitment. Google has "agreed to collaborate on product development, testing and implementation plans for SpaceMobile network connectivity on Android and related devices". AST's technology works with existing, off-the-shelf 4G and 5G phones. In that sense, it's similar to the service that SpaceX and T-Mobile are currently testing. Both systems rely on new satellites being launched into earth orbit with massive antennas that can mimic land-based cellular base stations. These services are intended only to provide coverage in "dead zones" not covered by land-based networks.

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Apple Resumes Watch Sales with Blood Oxygen Features Disabled

Apple is once again selling its Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in the US, but with the blood-oxygen monitoring features disabled. Apple is in the middle of a legal battle with Masimo over a patent on blood-oxygen monitoring technology. The most recent ruling was against Apple, but the company is appealing. A separate ruling affirmed that Apple could sell the watches with the disputed features removed or disabled. Apple was forced to pause sales of these models for a period that included some of the holiday shopping season. The feature is only disabled in new watches; existing watches are unaffected by this import and sales ban.

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Samsung Launching Two New Affordable 5G Phones Today, Too

While Samsung's big news today is the new S24 series of flagship phones, the company is also quietly launching two new affordable 5G phones today: the Galaxy A15 5G and Galaxy A25 5G. The Galaxy A15 5G updates last year's A14 5G with a 6.5-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 90 Hz refresh, a major upgrade for a phone that sells for $200. It also has double the built-in storage (128 instead of 64 GB), faster fast charging (25W instead of 15), and replaces the depth camera with a 5 megapixel wide-angle camera. Other specs carry over from the A14 5G, including a 5,000 mAh battery, 50 megapixel main camera, NFC, fingerprint reader, expandable storage, and a headset jack. It's powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ chipset. Verizon, T-Mobile, Boost, and US Cellular started selling the phone today, and samsung.com indicates that AT&T may offer it as well. The Galaxy A25 5G doesn't seem to be nearly as popular with US carriers, as there are no indications that any of the big three national carriers plan to offer it. It's quite similar to the A15 5G, with the upgrades being OIS on the main camera, an 8 megapixel wide-angle camera, 4K video capture, and 120 Hz display refresh. It's powered by a Samsung Exynos 1280 chipset. For these upgrades, US Cellular shows a list price of $300. Boost and TracFone may offer it, as well.

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Samsung S24 Series Adds More AI, Updates the Hardware

Samsung has unveiled its lineup of flagship phones for 2024, the Galaxy S24 series. The phones sport multiple upgrades in both hardware and software compared to last year's models. Larger displays, larger batteries, and more RAM are among the hardware improvements. New "Galaxy AI" on-device AI leverages Qualcomm and Google technology to power a long list of unique new features. These include live two-way language translation for voice calls and messaging (even in third-party apps), one-tap removal of reflections in photos, and auto-summarization in Notes. A new "Circle to Search" feature lets you highlight anything in any app (including text and photos) to Google that. There is a new setting to explicitly turn off any cloud-based AI processing to protect privacy and enterprise security. Samsung is also committing to a full seven years of OS upgrades and security updates for these phones. The Galaxy S24 and S24+ are similar in size to last year's models, but a thinner bezel means slightly larger (by 0.1") displays. The batteries are also slightly larger (by up to 6.6%). The larger "plus" model also gets a boost to a QHD+ resolution display and 12 GB of RAM standard. All models now incorporate gyroscope data to improve noise reduction in photos. Other camera specs and most other features remain largely the same compared to least year. The top-end Galaxy S24 Ultra retains a built-in stylus but switches to a flat (instead of curved-edge) display and titanium frame. This permits a body that's slightly thinner overall. It also now comes with 12 GB of RAM standard. The camera system has improved (wider-angle) optical stabilization and larger pixels on the main sensor to take in more light. The Ultra still offers 10x zoom, but now accomplishes this with a 50 megapixel sensor behind a 5x lens, (instead of a 10 megapixel sensor behind a 10x lens.) All three models — at least in the US — are powered by a Qualcomm's "Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy" (a version of the 8 Gen 3 with slightly faster peak CPU speeds of up to 3.4 GHz.) This also enables Wi-Fi 7 on the Ultra model, and Qualcomm's unique ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor. Storage options are: 128 or 256 GB for the standard model, 256 or 512 GB for the plus model, and 256 GB, 512 GB, or 1 TB for the Ultra. The standard and plus models still start at $800 and $1,000, respectively, while the Ultra now starts at $1,300. This year's color options for all models are violet, yellow, gray, and black. The Samsung Galaxy S24 series is available for pre-order and ships January 31st. Pre-orders come with a free upgrade to the next storage option, including up to 1 TB on the Ultra.

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Apple vs. Epic Battle Over App Store Comes to an End

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up the case of Epic Games vs. Apple, leaving in place the most recent rulings of lower courts and effectively ending the years-long legal battle over Apple's App Store rules in the U.S. The end result is that Apple will not be forced to open iPhones to competing app stores and payment systems within iOS. However Apple is being forced to allow app developers to direct their customers to alternative subscription and payment options outside its ecosystem, such as on the web. Central to the issue is the 30% commission that Apple collects on in-app purchases in iOS apps.

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Google Pares Back Assistant

Google is trimming back both the availability and functionality of Google Assistant. In both the Google app and the home-screen search bar on Pixel phones, the microphone icon will now perform a voice web search only, instead of allowing Assistant features as before. Google says web search is already the most popular use case with this icon. Assistant will still be available by long-pressing the lock/power button or by saying "Hey Google". Google is also removing a long list of "underutilized features" from Assistant. These include rescheduling an event in Google Calendar, sending an email or audio message, checking travel itineraries, making reservations, sending payments, posting to social media, and accessing or managing your cookbook.

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T-Mobile's Space-Based Coverage Tested Successfully

SpaceX has successfully used an off-the-shelf cell phone to text message via its Starlink satellite network. The new-generation Starlink satellites that enable the service just started launching last week. The system uses T-Mobile-exclusive spectrum in the US, and T-Mobile plans to launch the service nationwide — covering dead zones — later this year. Any recent T-Mobile-compatible phone (supporting 4G LTE in band 25) should be able to use the service. Only texting will be allowed initially, with voice and data to follow in 2025.

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Boost Updates its Celero Phones for 2024

Boost has launched new 2024 versions of its own-brand Celero5G and Celero5G+ affordable 5G phones. The phones have updated designs that are more stylish than most such white-label phones. Both models are powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 1050 chipset. The more affordable Celero5G has a 6.5-inch HD+ display with 90 Hz refresh, 50 megapixel main camera, 5,000 mAh battery, 20W fast charging, Wi-Fi 6E, and a fingerprint reader. It has 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of built-in storage (expandable by another 1 TB). The new Celero5G+ steps that up with a huge 7-inch FHD+ display with 120 Hz refresh, 108 megapixel main camera, 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of built-in storage. It has all of the features of its little sibling plus 15W wireless charging, NFC, and an IP68 water rating. The "plus" model also comes in a choice of Twilight Blue or Sunrise Orange, with a premium glass back. While the original Celero phones were manufactured by Wingtech, the new models are made by Tinno. Tinno has long made white-label phones for Cricket, such as the Magic 5G, Debut S2, and Outlast. The phones are available immediately for both prepaid Boost Mobile and postpaid Boost Infinite customers. The Boost Celero5G has a list price of $160 while the Boost Celero5G+ runs $240; new customers can get the Celero5G for as little as $10.

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JBL Brings Smart Charging Case to More Earbud Styles

JBL this week introduced a new lineup of earbuds that have similar advanced features and specs, in three different styles. The JBL Live 3 Earbuds series all come with a "Smart Charging Case" that includes a 1.45-inch touch display for controlling settings, music, calls, and more. All of the Live 3 models come in at $200, making them more affordable than the JBL Tour Pro 2 which first debuted the Smart Charging Case. Other features of the new series include True Adaptive Noise Cancelling, wireless Hi-Res audio (LDAC), JBL Spatial Sound, 6 mics, wireless charging, and IP55 or IP54 water resistance. JBL also promises a software update that will add Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio.

• The JBL Live Buds 3 are standard "bud-style" and offer 10 hours of battery life (plus another 30 from the case).
• The JBL Live Beam 3 are "closed type stick" style and offer 12 hours of battery life (plus another 36 from the case).
• The JBL Live Flex 3 are "open type stick" style and offer 10 hours of battery life (plus another 40 from the case). They also sport larger 12mm drivers (the other models are 10mm).

The JBL Live 3 Earbuds series will be available on JBL.com starting Summer 2024. All are available in either black or silver.

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Wi-Fi 7 Officially Arrives

The Wi-Fi Alliance has begin approving end-user devices such as smartphones as part of its Wi-Fi Certified 7 program. This means devices that were previously advertised as "Wi-Fi 7 ready" will now be able to officially support the new standard. This includes Qualcomm's newest chip for flagship phones, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, thanks to its FastConnect 7800 subsystem. Wi-Fi 7 brings up to 2x higher throughput, increased efficiency, greater reliability, and enhanced spectral efficiency.

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