This school year, more states are moving to limit cell phones in the classroom. It’s happening as new data reveals that ⅔ of Americans believe all-day bans would boost grades, social skills and behavior. Skyler Henry has more from a school in Atlanta.
SellCell is a price comparison website that helps U.S. consumers get the most money for their used or broken phones, tablets, smartwatches, and other electronic devices. The company conducted a survey of 2,000 iPhone owners. With the unveiling of the iPhone 17 series just eight days away, this survey revealed that 68.3% of those asked by SellCell plan to upgrade to an iPhone 17 model during the upcoming launch.
Surprise! 10.3% more iPhone users plan on buying the new model during the launch this year
What would make current iPhone owners upgrade to a new model. | Image credit-SellCell
We always hear from our readers commenting on iPhone articles that Apple has lost ground compared to the competition. This feeling shows up in the survey results, which showed that 27.1% of iPhone owners believe that Apple has “lost its edge.” Despite that response, 72.9% of iPhone owners say that they are more satisfied now with their iPhone than they have been in past years. This might explain the increase in the number of iPhone users who say they will upgrade at launch.
With this in mind, what is the main thing that will prevent iPhone owners from buying one of the new iPhone 17 models? As you might expect, price is an important factor. 68.9% of those surveyed say that the high price of the iPhone 17 line is the biggest barrier stopping them from buying a new phone during the upcoming launch. 16% say that the lack of innovation on Apple’s part is keeping them away from the latest iteration of the iPhone. 5% say that they are considering a switch to Android.
On the other hand, what would drive iPhone users to buy a new iPhone 17 model? 36% cite a new look like an ultra-thin design, a new color like lavender/orange, and a redesigned Dynamic Island. Over 53% would be impressed enough with larger battery capacity on the new models (especially if the iPhone 17 Pro Max has the largest battery in iPhone history) to buy one of the new phones. Major camera upgrades would get 28% of current iPhone owners to buy a new model, while new AI features for iOS would get only 7% to shell out the cash for a brand new iPhone 17 model.
Apple is in danger of losing 30% of current iPhone users to a foldable Galaxy or Pixel model
Here’s some data that might concern Apple because it deals with more than 30% of current iPhone users who are threatening to move to a Samsung or Pixel phone. If Apple waits until next year to release a foldable iPhone, as expected, 20.1% would consider switching to a Galaxy Z Fold or Flip phone. Another 10.2% would move to a Pixel foldable model. So it would seem that 30.3% of current iPhone owners are at risk of switching to a foldable from Samsung or Google. Only 3.3% say that they will hold off on buying a foldable handset until Apple releases one.
A stunning 49% of the 2,000 iPhone users surveyed stated that there is nothing about Android that appeals to them. However, a majority (51%) say that Android is becoming more attractive because of things like AI (13%), better pricing (11%), better cameras (11%), and foldables (9%).
Even if the iPhone sports price tags with higher numbers because of tariffs, 34% say that they will hold their nose and buy a new iPhone anyway. 37% won’t buy a new iPhone if the tariffs cause the price to be higher, and 29% will decide once they see how much higher the price will be.
“Iconic Phones” is coming this Fall!
Good news everyone! Over the past year we’ve been working on an exciting passion project of ours and we’re thrilled to announce it will be ready to release in just a few short months.
“Iconic Phones: Revolution at Your Fingertips” is a must-have coffee table book for every tech-head that will bring you on a journey to relive the greatest technological revolution of the 21st century. For more details, simply follow the link below!
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T-Mobile tells us it has fixed the issue, which impacted a small number of customers on the older LTE network in the Northeast and Midwest. Users should restart their devices to reconnect to the network.
Our teams resolved a service issue affecting a small number of customers on our older LTE core network in the Northeast and Midwest, and restarting devices will reconnect them to the network. Our 5G Standalone network was not impacted. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers.
—T-Mobile spokesperson, August 2025
The original story follows below
T-Mobile appears to be down, with many people taking to social media websites to report that they have no service.
The outage appears to affect users in the Midwest and Northeast, with users from Ohio, New Jersey, and Massachusetts saying they aren’t getting signals.
Woke up to SoS mode can’t login to the app can’t log in to the website both just time out
–McNuttyNutz, Reddit user, August 2025
The problem also affects Mint Mobile, an MVNO owned by T-Mobile that uses its towers. According to the outage monitoring website Downdetector, service started deteriorating at around 3 AM ET and has only gotten worse since. That said, though a good many people are experiencing issues, this doesn’t seem to be a widespread outage, though that might be because the problem popped up late at night. We are likely to see more complaints once people start getting up.
A couple of users say the problem fixed itself after they restarted their phones.
In addition to having no service, many users are also not able to log into their accounts on the website or the T-Life app, suggesting a systemic problem.
We have reached out to T-Mobile and will update the story if we hear back.
“Iconic Phones” is coming this Fall!
Good news everyone! Over the past year we’ve been working on an exciting passion project of ours and we’re thrilled to announce it will be ready to release in just a few short months.
“Iconic Phones: Revolution at Your Fingertips” is a must-have coffee table book for every tech-head that will bring you on a journey to relive the greatest technological revolution of the 21st century. For more details, simply follow the link below!
LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP FOR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS HERE
Score a Free iPhone 13
Switch to a 3-Month Total 5G Unlimited plan with Total Wireless
Google and Jimmy Fallon tried to convince everybody that the new Pixel 10 lineup is the best ever and that everybody should be lining up to buy one, but my opinion is a little different. The new Pixels may technically be the best Pixels Google has made so far, but this doesn’t mean you should go and buy one. There are a couple of reasons.
The copy-paste smartphone culture
Can you tell the difference? | Image by GeoTech
The design of the Pixel 10 series is almost identical to the last generation. Actually, pretty much all the hardware has been carried over from the Pixel 9 series. I know almost everybody does it nowadays, but we should not normalize it. A new chipset plus some software features should not equal a new phone model.There were times when such an upgrade would’ve been called an “S” or a “Plus” or something. The vanilla Pixel 10 even downgraded the camera system, and Google somehow marketed it as an upgrade.
This wouldn’t be a problem if companies were upfront about one key thing. Money. This lack of innovation wouldn’t be as big of an issue if it weren’t for one key thing: the price.
The price is not right
Mr. Franklin is skeptical too | Image by PixaBay
With so many rehashed components, one might think that the price should go down. And that’s logically sound. The manufacturing facilities making the Pixel 10 models just continue to dish out the same parts as last year. No new machinery, tooling, or R&D needed.The price of a smartphone is highly affected by those things, especially when we talk about mass production. Imagine the Pixel 10 series as an extended run of the Pixel 9, production-wise.
This means more volume and a lower price per unit, generally speaking. I don’t have inside information about profit margins, but I bet Google will be making more money from the Pixel 10 series compared to the Pixel 9.
At the end of the day, I don’t want to be paying more (or virtually the same as last year) for a phone that should be cheaper and rakes in profit for Google. This makes companies lazy, and the Pixel 11 could be even worse in terms of actual upgrades per dollar.
What are you (really) getting for your money?
This is the big upgrade, or is it? | Image by Google
So, what’s the big deal about the new Pixels? You’ve guessed it right—AI, the ultimate buzzword in modern smartphone reality. This catchphrase just refuses to go away. Google has made steps toward implementing AI in a smartphone in such a way that it might actually be useful and helpful.I’ve got no problem with this notion; in my opinion, AI should work in the background and do its thing without fanfares and bold names, but marketing is marketing. Magic Cue is magic, and Camera Coach is there to make you a better photographer. I get it; the names are catchy.The problem is that most (if not all) of these features will drip down to older Pixels. “Yeah, but the Tensor G5 allows many features to be performed on-device,” you (and Google) might argue.
You still need an internet connection for most of the AI features anyway, so at the end of the day, the real-life difference between a phone that does its AI magic entirely in the cloud and one that can do some of it on-device might not be as big.
Okay, plan B—what should I get then?
Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck… it’s a Pixel 9 Pro! | Image by PhoneArena
There are a lot of better options out there. I’m not an iPhone guy myself, but you can wait a month for the iPhone 17 to arrive. The reason being—like it or not—the only big upgrade the Pixel 10 brings, the Tensor G5, is still a decent chunk of performance behind its rivals.
The Galaxy S26 is a longer wait, but according to rumors, we’re looking at some substantial upgrades in the camera department and also the fastest Qualcomm chip, tuned for Galaxy.
Ultimately, if you really want a Pixel, the smartest move is to find a great deal on a Pixel 9. With so few meaningful upgrades in the new model, you can get a nearly identical experience and save over a hundred dollars.
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AI image generators have gotten scary good at making photos that look real. Too real, honestly. It is no wonder a lot of people – including me – are worried about the impact this could have on all of us. And with smartphones now letting you whip up or edit AI images in seconds, those concerns feel bigger than ever. That is why it is refreshing to see some companies actually taking the issue seriously.Samsung, for one, is stepping up. Earlier this year, when the Galaxy S25 series launched, the company introduced a feature called Content Credentials. And now, according to a new report, that feature isn’t limited to just the latest flagships – it’s rolling out more widely across Galaxy phones, built right into the native Gallery app.
If you’ve used Samsung’s Gallery before, you probably know it is already packed with AI tools like Object Eraser and Photo Assist that make editing super easy.
But Samsung has been working behind the scenes to make those edits more transparent. That is where Content Credentials comes in. It automatically logs every AI change made in the Gallery app and attaches that info to the image itself.
You’ll get a clear breakdown of every change made to the photo, along with the specific tools that were used. | Image credit – SammyGuru
This isn’t just a Samsung idea either – it’s backed by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), and is supported by some heavy hitters in tech like Adobe, Microsoft, OpenAI and Google. Samsung joined the initiative to help push Content Credentials as a global standard for tracking digital edits.
The latest update, which is rolling out now, brings this feature to all Samsung smartphones and tablets running Android 15 with One UI 7.
You will need the Gallery app version 15.6.04.2 to see it. Once updated, if you make edits with the built-in AI tools, you’ll notice a small logo button appear next to the “Contains AI-generated content” label. Tapping it opens up a full summary of edits made to that photo.
The breakdown includes details like:
The device used to edit the image.
The exact date and time the edits happened.
Which AI tools were applied.
Since all of this info is baked right into the image’s metadata, it’s not easily tampered with. That means the image’s provenance – the proof of what was changed and when – stays intact.
And in a world where AI-generated photos are everywhere, that is a huge step in making sure people know what they are looking at before hitting that all-too-tempting “share” button and spreading misinformation. Of course, that is if people learn to check the details in the first place.
Samsung isn’t the only one working on this, either. Google Photos is reportedly cooking up a similar feature. It could soon add a new “How was this made” section inside the photo details view. You’d swipe up on a picture or video, and right there you’d see if it was AI-generated or edited – giving users a clearer view of how that content came to be.
“Iconic Phones” is coming this Fall!
Good news everyone! Over the past year we’ve been working on an exciting passion project of ours and we’re thrilled to announce it will be ready to release in just a few short months.
“Iconic Phones: Revolution at Your Fingertips” is a must-have coffee table book for every tech-head that will bring you on a journey to relive the greatest technological revolution of the 21st century. For more details, simply follow the link below!
LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP FOR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS HERE
Grab the Galaxy S25 + 2 Yrs Unlimited – only $30/mo from Mint Mobile
Crazy-big batteries aren’t exactly shocking anymore, especially since Chinese brands started experimenting with silicon batteries. If you haven’t heard of them, here’s the deal: silicon batteries are a type of lithium-ion battery that swap out the traditional graphite anode for a silicon-based composite. Why does this matter?
Well, silicon can hold a lot more lithium ions than graphite, which means higher energy density. Translation: you can cram more power into the same space, letting devices get thinner while keeping the battery life insanely long. And we’ve already seen regular smartphones rocking 7,000mAh batteries – or even more – but Realme is clearly not interested in “just” big.
To put that in perspective, that is more juice than most rugged phones out there, which usually have to bulk up just to fit their batteries. And yet, in the teaser, Realme’s phone doesn’t look unusually thick at all. It is packing monster power without turning into a brick.
Zooming in reveals the “15,000mAh” text stamped on the back of the phone. | Image credit – Realme
The company isn’t shy about bragging either. It claims the phone can handle 50 hours of nonstop video streaming. Wild, right? And it doesn’t stop there: Realme says you can get up to 18.75 hours of video recording on a single charge, teased with a cheeky little video that really drives the point home.
REAL STORIES. REAL ENDURANCE. 1 phone. 10 days. 7 countries. 8 fans living Free To Be Real. → Explore. Forge your path. → Live Free. Stay Real. Watch their journey: pic.twitter.com/sd6SSIEsNk
If you’ve been keeping up with Realme’s battery experiments, none of this should come out of the blue. Earlier this year, it showed off a GT Concept Phone with a 10,000mAh battery. That phone already hinted at the insane potential of silicon-anode tech. The new 15,000mAh model will probably use the same silicon-anode chemistry, just scaled up.
Of course, like the 10,000mAh GT Concept, this could just be another concept phone, which means it might not hit store shelves right away. But Realme promises more details on August 27, and that is likely when we will find out whether this beast will actually be something we can buy – or if it is just a tech teaser.
Still, here’s the silver lining: Realme is teasing this phone globally, not just in China, which suggests that when it does launch, it should be available internationally. But does that mean the US?
Probably not – at least not officially. While you can sometimes snag Realme phones on sites like Walmart, official availability and network compatibility in the US remain tricky. And if you do decide to import one, make absolutely sure it works with your phone carrier’s network before get it.
Still, for anyone who has ever dreamed of a phone that can go days without needing a charger, this should be exciting news. So, keep your eyes peeled – when this battery beast finally lands, it is going to be a story no power-hungry phone fan will want to miss.
“Iconic Phones” is coming this Fall!
Good news everyone! Over the past year we’ve been working on an exciting passion project of ours and we’re thrilled to announce it will be ready to release in just a few short months.
“Iconic Phones: Revolution at Your Fingertips” is a must-have coffee table book for every tech-head that will bring you on a journey to relive the greatest technological revolution of the 21st century. For more details, simply follow the link below!
LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP FOR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS HERE
Grab the Galaxy S25 + 2 Yrs Unlimited – only $30/mo from Mint Mobile
There have been rapid improvements in batteries across the smartphone industry lately, especially due to silicon batteries overtaking traditional Li-ion batteries. To that end, Vivo is going to release the mid-range Y500 very soon, and its battery leaves Samsung and Apple flagships in the dust.
The Y500, according to a recent leak (translated source), will feature a battery capacity of a whopping 8,200 mAh. These numbers aren’t actually anything new for 2025, but the continued trend of massive batteries in super affordable phones spells trouble for Samsung and Apple in many regions around the world.
Recently, many Chinese phone manufacturers have introduced batteries in their phones that put the Galaxy S25 and the iPhone 16 to shame. One example is the Honor Power: a phone that has a battery capacity of 8,000 mAh. Shortly after that model, Honor also released the X70 — another mid-range smartphone — that came with an 8,300 mAh battery pack.
The new OnePlus 13, an excellent phone in more ways than one, also features a 6,000 mAh battery. Similarly, other Chinese flagship phones are also shipping with batteries much larger than Samsung’s tried and tested 5,000 mAh cells. Realme, for example, is currently working on a battery that might have a capacity of over 10,000 mAh.
Galaxy S25 Ultra kept the 5,000 mAh battery. | Image credit — PhoneArena
Unfortunately, there are still a few reasons that sticking with Samsung or Apple phones may just serve you better anyway. It’s not like the two companies want to keep using smaller batteries, but certain regulations are, at this point in time, forcing them to do just that. Even if Samsung switches to silicon carbon batteries, it will probably only do so just to make its phones even slimmer while still keeping the 5,000 mAh capacity.
There’s also the problem of silicon carbon batteries wearing out much faster than Li-ion batteries. Samsung and Apple both promise longer software support than many Chinese manufacturers, and so need to use batteries that can last that long.
Lastly, it’s still the case that many U.S. carriers don’t properly support Chinese phones, making it needlessly difficult to purchase and set one up. So, while mid-rangers like the Vivo Y500 are definitely overtaking the top dogs in certain aspects, American consumers may have to stick with Samsung and Apple for the foreseeable future.
“Iconic Phones” is coming this Fall!
Good news everyone! Over the past year we’ve been working on an exciting passion project of ours and we’re thrilled to announce it will be ready to release in just a few short months.
“Iconic Phones: Revolution at Your Fingertips” is a must-have coffee table book for every tech-head that will bring you on a journey to relive the greatest technological revolution of the 21st century. For more details, simply follow the link below!
LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP FOR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS HERE
Grab the Galaxy S25 + 2 Yrs Unlimited – only $30/mo from Mint Mobile
T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service currently allows eligible smartphones to send texts. The company is now gearing up to add data support. Not all phones qualify, though.
T-Mobileinitially planned to launch satellite internet in October, but is ahead of schedule. It has teamed up with Google to allow the Google Maps, Google Messages, and Find Hub apps to use satellite data on the Pixel 10.
As PCMag first reported, the company has updated its website to provide more information. The company has started rolling out satellite internet for compatible devices and apps.
Only the Pixel 10 family supports satellite data for now, but it’s due to arrive on these phones soon:
iPhone 13, iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16
Pixel 9 series
Motorola moto edge 2025, moto g 5G 2025, moto g power 5G 2025, moto razr 2025, moto razr+ 2025, and moto razr ultra 2025
Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy S24 FE
Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23 FE
Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, Galaxy S22 Ultra, Galaxy S22 FE
Galaxy S21 FE
Galaxy Z Flip5, Galaxy Z Flip6, Galaxy Z Flip7, Galaxy Z Fold5, Galaxy Z Fold6, and Galaxy Z Fold7
Galaxy A15 5G, Galaxy A16 5G SE, Galaxy A25 SE, Galaxy A35, Galaxy A36 SE, Galaxy A53, Galaxy A54, Galaxy A56 5G SE,, Galaxy XCover6 Pro, Galaxy XCover7 Pro
T-Mobile REVVL 7, REVVL 7 Pro, and REVVL 8
T-Mobile‘s satellite-powered texting was limited to a handful of phones in the beginning, but the feature is now available on many older phones as well. The same may not be true for T-Satellite data, with T-Mobile explicitly stating on its website that the following phones won’t get the feature:
Google Pixel 9a
Motorola moto g 2024, moto razr 2024, moto razr+ 2024, moto edge 2024 and moto g stylus 2024
Samsung Galaxy A14, Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip3, Galaxy Z Flip4, Galaxy Z Fold3, and Galaxy Z Fold4
T-Mobile hasn’t mentioned why only some devices will be supported, and its strategy isn’t clear. For instance, while 2021’s iPhone 13 will get the feature, the same isn’t true for the Galaxy S21, which was released the same year, or even the Razr 2024.
Regulatory hurdles might be holding T-Mobile back, or it’s possible that enabling support for data is harder than rolling out text support. After all, most of the phones that T-Mobile says won’t get satellite data do support SMS and MMS.
Either way, this is more of a life-saving feature than anything else, and in most cases, texting should suffice. T-Mobile notes that this isn’t high-speed data, as expected, and will only work for satellite-optimized apps. The company is currently working with app developers to optimize apps, and it’s prioritizing essential apps such as messaging, maps, and weather for now.
We have reached out to T-Mobile for comment and will update the story if we get a response.
“Iconic Phones” is coming this Fall!
Good news everyone! Over the past year we’ve been working on an exciting passion project of ours and we’re thrilled to announce it will be ready to release in just a few short months.
“Iconic Phones: Revolution at Your Fingertips” is a must-have coffee table book for every tech-head that will bring you on a journey to relive the greatest technological revolution of the 21st century. For more details, simply follow the link below!
LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP FOR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS HERE
Grab the Galaxy S25 + 2 Yrs Unlimited – only $30/mo from Mint Mobile
Samsung Messages is no longer the default messaging app on Galaxy phones. Despite being demoted and losing its default status, Samsung Messenger is not being phased out by Sammy. In fact, while analyzing apk version 16.1.02.2 of Samsung Messages, Reddit user Adriaaaaaaanoooodiscovered a couple of strings of code that indicate Samsung’s desire to add an emergency satellite texting feature to the app.
Samsung Messages lost RCS support as Samsung started taking the necessary actions to phase out Samsung Messages in favor of Google Messages. While completely removing Samsung Messages from its handsets was never fully realized by Sammy, in the middle of last year the South Korean manufacturer removed the app from its foldable phones. But even though the company did decide to replace Samsung Messages with Google Messages as its default messaging app, Samsung apparently wants to keep it alive.
Samsung is even working on other new features for its Messaging app including:
Birthday reminders
Emoji reactions
Live location sharing
Now Brief support
Sticker reactions
The ability to send emergency text messages by satellite is a feature offered by multiple U.S. carriers. Those on T-Mobile’s highest-priced plans have the T-Satellite feature added to their service for free while those on less expensive plans or using other wireless providers can pay monthly for the service. Verizon has a similar service available on a limited number of devices. Verizon subscribers packing an eligible device do not have to pay for the service which gives them the ability to send an emergency text by satellite in areas with no cellular connectivity.
Apple also offers Emergency SOS via Satellite on iPhone 14 and later models; it is supported by all three major U.S. carriers and is free for two years after the activation of a new iPhone 14 and later. Since the release of iOS 18, this feature is now available to send and receive text messages with friends and family when cellular service in unavailable.
Samsung could decide to eventually make Samsung Messages the default messaging app on Galaxy devices once again. And this time it could have the ability to get you out of a jam even if you’re stuck in an area that doesn’t have any cellular service.
If you have a Galaxy device, you can install Samsung Messages from the Galaxy Store by clicking on this link.
The update to Android 9 Pie brought gesture navigation to Android. Swiping up from the bottom takes the user home. Swipe up from the bottom and hold to access recent apps. Swipe in from either the left or right edge of the screen to go back. Swipe left or right from the navigation bar (the small handle at the bottom of the display) to switch between apps. Pixel users can switch from the gesture navigation to the three-button navigation by going to Settings > Display & touch > Navigation mode > 3-button navigation.
The latest release of Android Canary, the program that allows Pixel users to see new Android features in advance, contained code spotted by Android expert Mishaal Rahman. The code gives Pixel users the option to flip the order of the three navigation buttons on the phone. While the Pixel’s three-button navigation goes, from left-to-right, Back, Home, Recents, the three-button navigation on Samsung phones has Recents first on the left, followed by Home, and Back.
What the Pixel 3-button navigation UI will look like when flipped to match Samsung’s version. | Image credit-Android Authority
So if you’re switching from a Samsung Galaxy handset to a Pixel, and you use the three-button navigation interface, your muscle memory might mix things up, and you’ll go to Recents when you meant to go Back. If Google follows through with this code, Pixel users will have the option of having their three-button navigation interface appear just as it does on a Galaxy phone.
We’d love to tell you when you can expect this feature to appear, but alas, we can’t. Since it’s only code in Android Canary for now, there is no way to determine when-or even if, Google plans to launch this feature. We’re sure that those who have switched from a Galaxy device to a Pixel and had problems using the three-button navigation know exactly how this change could be very useful.
