Phone Scoop

Apple has announced the 4th-generation AirPods, which come in two versions that look identical but have very different features. As with the AirPods 3, they come with or without a wireless charging case. Both charging case options are now standardized on USB-C, but only the wireless charging version adds a speaker for use with Find My when lost. The pricier model is known as "AirPods 4 with ANC", which — as the name implies — come with Active Noise Cancellation. This includes advanced ANC features like Transparency mode (for hearing a blend of outside noise), Adaptive Audio (intelligent Transparency mode that adapts to a the noise environment), and Conversation Awareness, which lowers media volume when you start speaking to someone. AirPods 4 with ANC will sell for $179. The non-ANC AirPods 4 do not have these features, but sell for just $129. They do still have many new features, including Apple's new H2 chip, a "new acoustic architecture" for better sound, and Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking. They also have AI-powered background noise removal, and the ability to answer yes/no questions from Siri with a head nod. The USB-C case is also now smaller, while maintaining 30 hours of total battery life.

T-Mobile has announced T-Priority, a new offering for first responder agencies that uses network slicing to give participating first responders a promised minimum level of service, a step beyond simple priority access that other networks offer. Thanks to network slicing — a feature of 5G SA networks like T-Mobile's — the portion of the network devoted to first responders can automatically grow to meet demand, such as during major emergencies. The first customer will be the City of New York. New "first responder rate plans launch later this year and are available for state, local and federal agencies. They're also available to businesses, like utility and transportation organizations, that provide critical support during emergencies."

The FCC today announced that wireless calls to 988 will be routed to nearby suicide & crisis centers based on the caller's actual location, instead of the previous area-code-based routing. This will make the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline work more like 911, where the cell phone's GPS and nearest-tower information is automatically used to route the call to the most appropriate call center. Two of US's largest wireless carriers have already implemented this new "georouting" as of last week, and the FCC will soon vote on a new rule requiring all carriers to implement this technology. FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel says of the new rule: "Georouting means those responding to 988 calls have a lot more knowledge of local resources at their fingertips and are better equipped to get the caller the help they need, where they need it."

EchoStar has reached an agreement to sell its Dish satellite TV business — including its Sling streaming TV service — to DirecTV. This will help the company "focus more clearly on enhancing and further deploying its nationwide 5G Open RAN wireless network, which will provide more choices and better service to consumers under the Boost Mobile brand". The company will also continue focusing on new direct-to-device (D2D) satellite solutions, such as satellite service for phones. EchoStar is already partnered with Skylo to provide such service.

TracFone, a Verizon prepaid brand, has revised its plans to add more value. Plans that previously included 2–10 GB of data now include twice as much, up to 20 GB, for the same price. TracFone is further enhancing these plans by now allowing mobile hotspot at all price points, a feature previously reserved for the most expensive plan. The new 20 GB plan runs $40/month, the new 4 GB plan runs $20/month, and there are $25 and $30 plans as well. The $15/month plan now includes 1 GB of data when it previously included none. TracFone is also introducing discounts when buying multiple months in advance; 10% off when buying three months, 15% off for six, and 20% off when buying a whole year of service. All of these plans include unlimited voice and texts. TracFone also still offers plans with fixed buckets of voice minutes and texts.

T-Mobile and SpaceX have received special permission from the FCC to test their new satellite coverage technology in areas affected by Hurricane Helene. The SpaceX Starlink system used by T-Mobile works with essentially all existing T-Mobile phones, using an existing cellular frequency band (band 25). T-Mobile has already activated the system to send out emergency alerts in North Carolina, which can be received by any compatible phone, not just those of T-Mobile customers. The two companies also said they "may" test "basic texting (SMS) capabilities for most cell phones on the T-Mobile network in North Carolina." Because of the limited number of satellites deployed to date, service is likely to be intermittent for now.

Apple has decided to lets iOS users worldwide choose their own default apps for messaging and calling, a welcome update for a feature that was previously expected to be limited to the EU to appease antitrust regulators there. The change will come in iOS 18.2, which just entered beta testing. Apple's own developer web site specifically says the feature is "available for all users worldwide". The options will be part of a new, consolidated "Default Apps" section in Settings, which will also contain options for email, Call Filtering, web browser, and Passwords & Codes. The screen also mentions contactless payments, a new option that appeared in iOS 18.1.

Recent beta versions of Android include the first bits of a new API for app developers called Rich Ongoing Notifications. It appears to let developers put an icon plus small bit of updating text directly in the status bar, similar to the "chip" that is displayed in the status bar during a phone call. The feature would therefore be similar to the Live Activities feature that Apple introduced in iOS with its Dynamic Island concept. The feature may be slated for Android 16. Android 15 was just released.

Apple is testing a new feature of its Find My service that will let you share a tracked item's location with anyone. Apple gives the example of sharing this information with an airline employee to help find lost luggage with an AirTag, or a device accidentally left on a plane. The feature is expected to appear in the Find My app starting with iOS version 18.2, and currently appears in the developer beta version. Apple already lets users share item location with a contact, but this new feature generates a link that can be shared with anyone, and viewed on any device (not just Apple devices). The shared info can include your contact information. The link automatically stops working as soon as you're reunited with your lost item, or after one week, whichever comes first.

US Cellular has reached an agreement with AT&T to sell a large chunk of its low- and mid-band radio frequency licenses to AT&T for just over $1 billion. The largest bundle of licenses is mid-band spectrum at 3.45 GHz, ideal for 5G and part of band 77. The remainder is 700 MHz spectrum ideal for broad coverage, part of band 12. AT&T already uses both bands in its network and phones. US Cellular also recently made deals with