Phone Scoop

Opensignal has released a new edition of its semiannual report on mobile network performance. It gives T-Mobile top marks in most categories, but with a much slimmer margin than in recent years

The US Department of Justice is attempting to prosecute someone for giving border agents a "duress password" when they asked to search his phone. The duress password is a feature of the privacy-focused GrapheneOS that immediately wipes all data from the phone instead of unlocking it. GrapheneOS is an open-source project that aims to be Android-app-compatible and can be loaded onto certain Pixel phone models. The man, an Atlanta resident who had been vacationing in the Dominican Republic, was returning home when he was pulled aside for questioning at the Atlanta airport by Customs and Border Patrol agents. He had been placed on a terrorism watch-list for protesting the "Cop City" police training center in the Atlanta area. The Justice Department is basing its case on a law against destroying property to prevent it from being seized.

"Apple Upgrade" is the company's new program for leasing its devices, in partnership with Klarna. Leasing options include one or two years for iPhones. For an iPhone 17, a two-year lease is $23/month while a one-year lease runs $33/month. At the end of the lease term, customers can pay the remaining amount to buy the phone outright, return the phone to lease a newer model, or return the phone and leave the program. This program replaces the "iPhone Upgrade Program" and "iPhone Payments". However, Apple will continue to offer other financing options. For example, when paying with an Apple Card credit card, Apple offers 0% APR financing over two years, which comes to $33.29/month, at the end of which the customer owns and can keep the phone. Mobile network carriers also offer their own monthly financing programs. Apple Upgrade leasing rates can also be reduced with a qualified (and fully-owned) trade-in device.

Google has announced the Pixel 11 series of phones, with the same general design and three options as last year's Pixel 10 series, but with a few upgrades. All three are powered by Google's new Tensor G6 chip, which Google claims delivers 25% faster web browsing, 15% quicker app launches, and AI processing that's up to 3.5x faster and 3.5x more power-efficient. Fast Qi 2.2 25W wireless charging — previously exclusive to the Pro XL model — is now standard across the Pixel 11 series. The camera hump now sticks out 40% less on the standard model. On the Pro models, the flash has been enhanced with multi-color "HiLight", which does animations when talking with Gemini AI, and can flash different colors to identify different incoming callers. Camera specs are largely the same, but many of the sensors have been upgraded with 30–56% more light sensitivity, improving image quality and/or capture speed. Combined with an upgraded ISP in the Tensor G6, this allows the new Pixels'night mode to capture up to 4.5x faster. As with last year, the Pro models are available in two sizes and have much higher-res wide and tele cameras. The series sees a $100 price hike across the board, a common trend this year as memory costs soar. The Pixel 11 starts at $899 and comes in Obsidian, Pistachio, Hibiscus, or Frost. It has 12 GB of RAM and is available with either 256 or 512 GB of storage. The Pro models come in Obsidian, Olive, Fog, or Canyon. The Pixel 11 Pro starts at $1,099 with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. It's also available with 16 / 512 GB for $1,219, or 16 GB / 1 TB for $1,449. The Pixel 11 Pro XL has a larger 6.8-inch display and the same memory options, for $1,299, $1,419, and $1,649, respectively. The 1 TB versions are only available in Obsidian or Canyon. For the next two weeks, Google is offering a store credit of $100–200 with phone purchase, or a discount of $130–250 on a Pixel Watch 5. All Pixel 11 phones ship August 20.

Walmart and Sam's Club will start accepting contactless / tap payments at select locations starting August 24, with all locations accepting them by the end of the year. This will extend to the company's fuel stations by mid-2027. This will include Apple Pay, Google Pay, smartwatches with NFC payment, and contactless/tap plastic cards. The company, one of the US's largest retailers, has long resisted industry-standard tap payments, making several attempts at creating alternatives it could control for closely, such as Walmart Pay.

Samsung has announced the newest "affordable flagship" model in its lineup, the Galaxy S26 FE. In terms of hardware specs, it is nearly identical to last year's Galaxy S25 FE, including the display, battery, charging, cameras, memory, etc. It does update the processor from a Samsung Exynos 2400 (with a 4nm manufacturing process) to the newer Exynos 2500 (3nm), which should improve power efficiency. It is also the first model in the S26 series to ship with One UI 9, Samsung's flavor of Android 17. However, as is common this year, it also comes with a price hike, inching up from $650 to $700 for the base version. It ships September 4, available in Blueberry, Graphite or Pistachio.

The FCC has approved a new variant of the Motorola razr fold that adds mmWave 5G. It appears intended for Verizon, which has yet to launch the phone. (T-Mobile launched it in May.)

As a serious shortage of RAM chips continues and prices soar, phone makers are being forced to raise prices and/or ship phones with less RAM. Google is responding

The beta version of Samsung 's One UI 9 (based on Android 17) is now available to the S25 series, Fold7, and Flip7. It is already available for the S26 series.

The Google Translate app can now run longer sessions in the background, while using other apps or with the screen locked. The feature is available now on Android and coming soon to iOS.