After a pair of massive Yahoo data breaches, Verizon announced today that the two companies have reached new terms for its acquisition. As noted by Reuters, Verizon has lowered its purchase price for Yahoo’s core business by $350 million, down to $4.48 billion.
Over the last week, all four of the major United States carriers either announced new unlimited data plans or made changes to existing plans in an effort to better compete. With all four carriers offering some form of unlimited data, now may be as good of a time as ever to analyze your current plan and think about switching.
Read on for a breakdown of what each plan has to offer…
Just 24 hours after Verizon introduced its new “unlimited” data plan, T-Mobile is firing back by removing some of the restrictions placed on its own “ONE” unlimited plan.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere announced the changes in a series of tweets of tweets this afternoon, saying that the carrier was lifting the HD streaming and hotspot restrictions…
Verizon is bringing back its unlimited data plans. With the new Verizon Unlimited plan launching on Monday, customers can use as much 4G LTE data, send as many texts as they like and talk for as long as they please … for $80 per month. An equivalent uncapped family plan charges $45 per line for 4 people, or $180 monthly.
The ‘unlimited’ plans have a few strings attached, namely hotspot tethering is limited at 10 GB for 4G (will fallback to 3G after) and although data is uncapped, high data users will not be prioritized if the network is congested …
iOS 10.3 beta appears to bring support for Wi-Fi Calling on iCloud-connected devices to Verizon customers for the first time. iOS 10.3 is currently in developer beta; a public beta is likely just around the corner. The software update will likely be released to everyone later this spring.
Carriers seem to have decided it’s open season on those grandfathered into unlimited data plans. After AT&T applied a second price rise in a year, Verizon is now threatening to disconnect those using more than 200GB of data per month – seemingly more serious about this than an earlier threat to those using half this.
While the company’s original statement was a little vague, Verizon has now clarified the terms …
If you buy an iPhone 7 from AT&T this week, you can take home a second iPhone 7 for free thanks to the carrier’s latest BOGO offer. The buy one, get one free promo only runs through Christmas Eve, however, so you’ll have to jump on it fast. Meanwhile, T-Mobile is trying to steal a few AT&T customers with free year of the carrier’s new DirecTV Now streaming video service…
A small number of iPhone 7/7 Plus owners are reporting poor sound quality during phone calls. The issue doesn’t appear to be widespread, but there have seemingly been enough reports for Apple to update a generic support document for the sound issues.
Verizon has never had a good relationship with the few customers still holding on to its unlimited data plans. The company has been trying over the past few years to get those customers to upgrade to newer, restricted plans, but despite its best efforts, many customer still remain on these plans. For some users this is fine, but Verizon is sick and tired of those using “an extraordinary amount of data” on their unlimited plans and will soon disconnect those users.
Verizon is planning an announcement tomorrow and CNET reports that it’s part of a big overhaul of its plans that will see increased data caps come alongside price hikes and other new features. Customers will also reportedly soon get access to unlimited usage through a new feature dubbed ‘Safety Mode’, rollover data options, and more.
If you’ve ever been disappointed with the quality of Netflix videos when streaming them on AT&T or Verizon, and cursed the network for its poor connectivity, it appears that your wrath should instead have been directed towards Netflix.
The WSJ reports that Netflix has been deliberately throttling video on mobile devices for more than five years, but only admitting it now …
Apple is expected to announce and release the oft-rumored 4-inch iPhone SE later this month, and ahead of that launch, supply of the company’s current 4-inch device is running low. Verizon, Best Buy, Walmart, AT&T, and Target all list limited or no availability or the iPhone 5s online, while we’ve also heard that supply at T-Mobile retail stores is running low. Also, there are already a handful of cases for the iPhone SE available on Amazon.
Apple has released the fourth iOS 9.3 beta for developers to test on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The first iOS 9.3 beta appeared in early January. Apple is expected to release the iOS 9.3 software update to all users around next month’s iPhone 5se/iPad Air 3 event. We’ll check out the latest beta version of the upcoming release and highlight any changes below.
Verizon today has announced the return of its popular promo that offers users an extra 24GB of data per year for free. The deal is available to users who activate or upgrade to a new phone with a device payment plan on XL or larger Verizon agreements. Verizon’s XL plan starts at $80 per month with 12GB of data (14GB if you include the promo), while the XXL plan runs $100 per month for 18GB of data (20GB with the promo).
The trend of carriers ending contract pricing continues today. According to an internal leaked document obtained by Android Central, Sprint smartphone subsidy options are now limited to customers who wish to add a line to an existing account or upgrade their existing phone. This move follows AT&T’s announcement that it will stop offering two-year contracts this week, as well as Verizon, who simplified its offerings last August.
The issue at stake in this new suit is that the iPhone 5/5s could silently switch from Wi-Fi to LTE under some circumstances, resulting in mobile data usage even when the phone was on Wi-Fi. This was fixed for Verizon users back in September 2012, but law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP claims that Apple didn’t fix it for AT&T users until more than two years later.
According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose, Apple knew about the defect “almost immediately,” yet failed to fix it for AT&T wireless subscribers for years, and did not even disclose the defect. The defect affected all versions of iOS 6 and 7 and was only resolved with the release of iOS 8.1 in October 2014.
We’ve received word that starting tomorrow Best Buy is going be offering the 16GB iPhone 6s, normally $199 on-contract (and often on sale for $99), for just $1. Head below for details… Expand Expanding Close
The carrier wars in the US are heating up as we head further into the winter, and that’s generally good news for consumers. Verizon is currently adding 2GB of data for new and current subscribers that upgrade to certain plans over the next few weeks. T-Mobile is targeting switchers by offering AT&T subscribers that jump carriers the chance to buy the 128GB iPhone 6s at the price of the 16GB model and save as much as $125 on financed accessories including Beats headphones and the Apple Watch. Read on for details… Expand Expanding Close
AT&T subscribers who previously had unlimited data plans back in the iPhone 3G era and have managed to hang onto that plan are in for their first price increase in seven years, a source with knowledge of the matter has informed 9to5Mac.
Update: AT&T has now publicly announced the change. Additional information has been added below.
T-Mobile has announced its latest “un-carrier” initiative, dubbed “Un-carrier Unwrapped.” Rather than a permanent addition to the company’s offerings, Un-carrier Unwrapped is a month-long event during which the carrier will gift its subscribers and new customers with special deals and benefits.
The first of those was announced today: unlimited LTE data for all subscribers on Simple Choice post-paid plans for the next three months.
Apple’s massive new iPad Pro is only available with built-in cellular connectivity in the pricey 128GB configuration, but all four of the major carriers in the US are offering the $1,079 tablet at discounts on contract or through installment plans. Here’s where you can find the iPad Pro 128GB + Cellular and how much you should expect to pay: Expand Expanding Close
When the iPad Pro goes on sale later this week, Apple won’t be the only retailer carrying the massive new tablet. Ordering from Apple.com may be the most convenient way to ensure your new iPad is delivered on day one, but Apple Stores and authorized resellers including select carriers will be selling the iPad Pro as well. Here’s what we know so far: Expand Expanding Close