The Federal Communications Commission’s second 5G spectrum auction has ended, raising $2 billion in gross bids. 5G, already launched in the US by Verizon and AT&T, is the next-generation network being used by smartphones to provide faster speeds and more capacity. Through its second auction, the FCC sold off a batch of millimeter-wave (mmWave) high-bandwidth spectrum …
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Qualcomm’s about to see more competition in the 5G chip market. Taiwan-based MediaTek said late Tuesday it’s built its first processor that integrates the brains of a device on the same chip as 5G, 4G and other wireless connectivity, which should improve the battery life of devices. The company’s biggest customers will get samples in the third quarter of this …
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In today’s roundup, we’re dissecting Apple’s latest patent filing, which reveals new details of a revamped Touch ID that could come to the next generation of iPhones. We’re also breaking down all the most important changes to the new MacBook Pros, including what the company’s doing about the keyboard. And in case that wasn’t enough, Apple also sent out WWDC …
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The Galaxy S10 was heavily leaked for months, but on Wednesday at the Unpacked event in San Francisco, Samsung made things official by announcing the four new phones: Galaxy S10, S10 Plus, S10 5G and budget S10E. The new phone features a 6.1-inch AMOLED screen with a hole-punch notch called the Galaxy O display. The fingerprint reader has moved from the back to …
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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is trying to quell fears among lawmakers that 5G radios are dangerous to health. On Thursday, the chairman sent a series of letters to lawmakers in response to inquiries about health concerns related to 5G that been sent to him in the past couple of months. In each of the letters he said that the FCC …
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Apple iPhone rumors show the 2020 versions will have “significant changes,” according to a report. As well as the addition of 5G, the smartphone could also have 3D sensing via rear cameras, full-screen Touch ID and OLED screens from LG, MacRumors said Friday, citing a Barclays analyst who’d purportedly just met with Apple suppliers in Asia. MacRumors also said the 2020 …
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The busy week surrounding the T-Mobile-Sprint merger took another twist Friday. After getting a thumbs-up from the FCC earlier this week, followed by a report that the Department of Justice staff were still against the merger, a new report suggests that the DOJ may still let the merger go through. According to the New York Post, FCC chairman Ajit Pai …
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One of the key takeaways from the 9/11 Report was that emergency communications were a mess. You would think that was addressed long ago, but only now is a new mobile network called FirstNet arriving, along with a move toward using cellular networks as mission-critical infrastructure. Now playing: Watch this: With the black SIM, first responders’ calls go ahead… 7:18 …
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Motorola is… back? As the rest of the smartphone industry grapples with declining sales, in its fourth-quarter earnings Lenovo revealed that its mobile business group — which houses Motorola — had a profitable year and its second straight profitable quarter. While still nowhere near as strong as the company’s PC business, Lenovo says the mobile unit was “profitable starting from …
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Chip designer Arm has become the latest company to cut ties with Huawei to comply with a Trump administration ban. But Arm will keep supporting older products, and previously signed licenses likely make it possible for Huawei to build its own Arm-based chips for years to come. The Chinese company likely won’t see a huge impact unless the ban lasts …
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