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printed August 18, 2020 See this page online at: https:/ / www.phonescoop.com/ index.php ≡ Phones Phone Finder News Carriers Android iOS Reviews Glossary Register Log In Advertising Licensing About Contact Privacy Terms of Use Home News New Phones Samsung Galaxy Note20 Series: Beyond the Specs Samsung just announced the Galaxy Note20 and Note20 Ultra. The specs are impressive, but what else should you know about these super-phones? Cricket Ovation Brings a few Extras at $130 Yesterday, 4:02 PM by Rich Brome updated Yesterday, 4:11 PM Cricket 's latest self-branded phone is the Cricket Ovation . While many carrier-branded phones are absolutely entry-level — like last year's Cricket Icon — the Ovation is slightly higher-end, with a 4,000 mAh battery, triple rear cameras, NFC, 3 GB RAM, dual-band Wi-Fi, fingerprint reader, and USB-C. It has a large, modern 6.5-inch display with a small notch and HD resolution. Like the Icon, the Ovation is manufactured by Tinno Mobile, which owns the Wiko brand and also makes phones for Blu. Other features of the Ovation include a MediaTek Helio P22 processor, 32 GB storage, memory card slot, Android 10, headset jack, and Gorilla Glass 5 on the front. It's available now from Cricket for $130. Like all Cricket-branded phones, it's covered by Cricket's two-year "Worry Free" warranty. Tweet Facebook Comments ZTE First to Launch Phone with Under-Display Camera Yesterday, 10:24 AM by Rich Brome ZTE's next flagship phone, the Axon 20 5G, will have a front camera completely hidden under the display. This technology has been teased by several companies in recent years, but ZTE is the first to launch it commercially. It allows for a truly all-screen design without a notch, "hole punch", or pop-up mechanism. The company will launch the Axon 20 5G in China on September 1st. Tweet Facebook Comments AD news continues below... Verizon Gives Kids Unlimited Data, Grown-Ups Free Disney+ and Hulu Yesterday, 10:11 AM by Rich Brome Verizon has tweaked its unlimited plans to include more value at the same prices. The Just Kids plan now includes unlimited 4G data instead of a set 5GB. It's limited to 5 Mbps speed, just enough to stream video. The premium Play More and Get More plans now include Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Previously, they only included Apple Music. (Apple Music is still included with Get More, but not Play More.) Previously, all plans included one free year of Disney+; that's been cut to a six-month trial on the cheaper plans. Verizon has also clarified that all of its unlimited plans will include access to the company's forthcoming sub-6 GHz "5G Nationwide" network with broad 5G coverage. Currently, Verizon only offers a mmWave "5G Ultra Wideband" network with higher speeds but very limited coverage. Access to that network will still require a premium plan such as Play More, Do More, or Get More. Those plans also include "Premium Network Access", which means priority access to the network (up to 50 GB), and the option for HD video streaming. Start Unlimited (and premium-plan customers exceeding 50 GB in one month) will experience slower speeds in times of network congestion. Plan prices remain unchanged. Play More — the cheapest plan to include the new streaming services — runs $80/month for a single line, $70/month/line for two lines, $55 with three lines, $45 with four lines, or $40 for five or more lines. Those prices also require Auto Pay and paper-free billing. Taxes and fees not included. The new plans will be available starting August 20th. continued ▻ Tweet Facebook Comments Fortnite's Biggest Battle Yet: App Stores Thursday, 3:37 PM by Rich Brome updated Friday, 10:04 AM Epic Games , the maker of popular battle royale game Fortnite, has filed suit against Apple and Google for anti-competitive and monopolistic behavior related to their app store policies. Epic is challenging the companies' monopolies on both app purchases and in-app purchases on their respective mobile platforms, and their 30% cut of such purchases. Instead of monetary damages, Epic is asking the courts to force the companies to change their policies. In apparent preparation for the suit, this morning Epic started offering a discount for players who purchased in-app content directly from Epic, instead of via the standard in-app purchase systems provided on iOS and Android, in violation of Apple and Google's policies. Apple quickly responded by pulling Fortnite from the App Store. Google pulled Fortnite from its Play Store hours later. Epic initially resisted listing Fortnite in Google's Play Store in protest of these policies, before relenting this April . Fortnite can still be installed on Android phones by working around the Play Store, but it can no longer be installed on iOS devices. Existing installations on both platforms still function for now. Engadget » The Verge » Tweet Facebook Comments 1 Microsoft's Surface Duo is a new Category of Android Device Aug 12, 2020, 10:04 AM by Rich Brome Microsoft is finally ready to launch the unique, dual-screen Surface Duo device it first revealed almost a year ago . The Android 10 device has two 5.6-inch OLED displays, joined by a narrow 360º hinge, which can work together as one 8.1-inch display. Microsoft has customized both the Android OS, and its suite of productivity apps for Android, to enable new dual-screen functionality. The Surface Duo will launch September 10th starting at $1399. It has excellent support for the 4G networks of AT&T and Verizon, and decent support for T-Mobile's 4G network, although it does not support band 71. It will be available unlocked as well as from AT&T. Key specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, 6 GB of RAM, 128 or 256 GB of storage, Cat. 18 LTE, 3,577 mAh battery capacity, 18W fast charging, fingerprint reader, and USB-C 3.1 including video output to DisplayPort or HDMI. It has an 11 megapixel camera that supports 1080p video conferencing and 4K video capture. The 360º hinge lets the single camera face inward or outward. When open, the Surface Duo is just 4.8mm thick. continued ▻ Tweet Facebook Comments 1 Google Improves Lookout, its App for Blind and Low-Vision People Aug 11, 2020, 10:48 AM by Rich Brome Google has added several major features to Lookout, its app that uses computer vision to help people who are blind or low-vision. The new features include the ability to scan longer documents into readable text, identify food products from their labels, and automatic flash. The updated Lookout app is available now for Android 6+ devices with over 2 GB of RAM. Tweet Facebook Comments Google Adds Bedtime Features to its Clock App Aug 11, 2020, 10:43 AM by Rich Brome Google has updated its own Clock app with a Bedtime tab to help users maintain a consistent sleep schedule. The feature initially debuted on Pixel phones, but is now available for all Android (version 6+) phones. The new tab includes the ability to track your screen time at night, fall asleep to a variety of soothing sounds, and wake up more gently with visual cues from the Sunrise Alarm and your favorite sounds or song. It works in concert with the Bedtime features built into the Android OS, which remind you when it's time for bed and limit interruptions by keeping your phone dark and quiet while you sleep. Tweet Facebook Comments Google Turning Android Phones Into Earthquake Detection Network Aug 11, 2020, 10:30 AM by Rich Brome Google is launching two new earthquake-related features on Android today. First, Google is enabling Android phones in California to receive alerts from the state's ShakeAlert early-detection network. In many cases, the notifications can give users a few seconds of warning before an earthquake, enough time to find cover. Second, Google has launched its own earthquake-detection system that uses the accelerometers in Android phones. Starting today, if "the phone detects something that it thinks may be an earthquake, it sends a signal to our earthquake detection ser...