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How to connect your Google Pixel Watch 2 to LTE
Use your Google Pixel Watch 2 independently of a smartphone
WearOS smartwatches have had a lot of ups and downs over the past few years. With the arrival of the original Google Pixel Watch in 2022, Google revived interest in the smartwatch operating system. The Google Pixel Watch was a good smartwatch with some flaws, but the Pixel Watch 2 stakes its claim as one of the best WearOS smartwatches on the market.
One small step for LTE: Nokia plans to bring 4G to the moon this year
E.T. might get a better signal than you do
As you point your phone's camera to the heavens, snapping some totally real shots of the moon, do you ever think about what life might be like up there? When we finally do inhabit the moon, Nokia is making sure you’ll be able to get a signal. During Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March, Nokia principal engineer Luis Maestro Ruiz De Temino told reporters that the company plans to launch a 4G network on the surface of the moon later this year.
Although 5G wireless coverage is widely available across many parts of the U.S., plenty of users may still encounter spotty service. LTE will remain the backbone of U.S. carrier networks for the next few years because it has been proven to be a stable and reliable wireless solution. And while we'll continue to use LTE to fill in the gaps for now, carriers are working to improve their networks to provide better connectivity and speeds for all users.
This Samsung Galaxy Watch4 deal is your chance to finally see what LTE can do on smartwatches
Cellular versions are $80 off MSRP
Samsung's Galaxy Watch4 and Watch4 Classic lineups have single-handedly rejuvenated Google's Wear OS platform and have made owning an Android-adjacent smartwatch in 2022 a worthwhile exercise. Let's make that exercise cost a little less, shall we?
LTE version of Samsung's Galaxy Chromebook Go now available through AT&T
A $50 premium over the standard model
Read update
There are plenty of great mid-range Chromebooks up for grabs these days, but manufacturers haven't forgotten to focus on more affordable laptops. Chrome OS is perfect for gadgets below $400, and you can finally add another option to the list. Samsung's new Galaxy Chromebook Go is now available for purchase, and it'll only run you $300 for the standard model
Samsung may soon release a more affordable version of the popular Galaxy S20 FE
Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE was one of the best phones of 2020, and it came very close to being the Android Police 2020 Readers' Choice Smartphone of the Year. While the US market only received the 5G variant of the phone, consumers in the UK, Germany, and India, among others, had the chance to pick up a 4G variant powered by the Exynos 990. In what seems to be a way of acknowledging the drawbacks of its in-house processor (and/or the dropping costs of last-gen silicon), the company is all set to unveil a 4G variant of the phone that's powered by the Snapdragon 865+.According to WinFuture, the phone will be available in a bunch of European countries and replace the prevailing Exynos variant. In fact, the phone (SM-G780G) has already been listed on the Swedish website. Apart from the fact that it won't support 5G networks, it is identical to its 5G counterpart. You'll get a 6.5-inch 120Hz OLED display, three 12MP cameras on the back, a 4,500mAh battery, IP68 certification, and support for wireless charging.If you're a sucker for details, you might be aware that OEM buyers of the Snapdragon 865 chip need to mandatorily purchase the discrete 5G X55 modem. So, how is Samsung shipping a 4G variant of a phone that uses the same chip?Even though modems support a wide variety of network frequencies, smartphone companies need to certify their devices to work on them. There's money involved in the process, and this is why it's common to see smartphone companies certify only those bands which are relevant in a particular market. For instance, the OnePlus 9 in India — where 5G networks don't exist yet — only supports two 5G bands, whereas the US variant supports a lot more. It's safe to assume that Samsung is resorting to a similar practice in this case.There's no word on when the Galaxy S20 FE 4G will be officially announced, but it shouldn't be too long now. It's expected to be available in four colors and have a sticker price of €750.
Qualcomm allegedly exploring a cheaper Snapdragon 888 variant without 5G
We don't know much about the rumored chipset just yet
After releasing a slightly tweaked Snapdragon 865 Plus as the Snapdragon 870 earlier this year, Qualcomm seems set to launch yet another derivative of a successful high-end processor. Leaker Roland Quandt reports that the company has a lower-end version of the Snapdragon 888 in the works for 2021.
Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G dual SIM support has been improved in March update
You can now use 5G on both a physical SIM and eSIM at once
Monday's feature drop for the Pixel phones included a fun nugget that wasn't in the official changelog: it appears you can now use both a physical SIM card and an eSIM on 5G networks at the same time. Previously users who had both installed and operational were limited to LTE speeds, even if their carrier had 5G service in the area.
Dell just announced the first LTE Chromebook in ages
It's aimed at the education market and unfortunately looking the part
The demand for Chromebooks has skyrocketed over the last year thanks to the global pandemic with so many people working and studying from home. Unfortunately, not everyone has the privilege to rely on a stable Wi-Fi connection, which can be catastrophic for kids in remote learning environments. That's where Dell wants to come in with its new Chromebook 3100, its first education-focused Chrome OS machine to come with an optional mobile network connection.
NASA just gave Nokia millions of dollars to upgrade the moon's cell service
While carriers deploy 5G here on earth, Nokia wants to put 4G on the moon
Much like Gru, Nokia has always been obsessed with stealing the moon. Okay, maybe that's a stretch, but the company has taken a very keen interest in developing technology for lunar missions. Back in 2018, Nokia was working on a system that would bring LTE connectivity to everyone's favorite lumpy gray rock. Now NASA has agreed to hand over 14.1 million dollars to help make Nokia's dream a reality.
Stadia now fully supports playing games over a cellular connection
The functionality was previously experimental
Game streaming relies on low-latency connections to offsite servers, which is why the key to a great experience with Xbox Game Streaming and Google Stadia is fast and reliable internet. Google began testing mobile data streaming with Stadia in July, and now the functionality is ready for everyone.
5G, the latest generation of wireless connectivity, is all the rage these days. Many high-end phones are supporting it, and Google is gearing up to make it accessible it at a lower price bracket with the upcoming Pixel 4a 5G. But how much day-to-day difference does 5G make for the average user? PCMag's annual network testing in the US reveals that while 4G speeds are getting better, 5G is not yet delivering on its potential.
You can try out Stadia with your 4G or 5G connection today
Mobile data streaming gets a limited, but needed first step
Google is finally letting Android phone owners use their 4G and 5G connections to stream gameplay to and from Stadia starting today. The company is calling this an open experiment and, as it may turn out, could bear significant limits.
T-Mobile is about to boost LTE speeds by renting unused 600MHz spectrum
Dish, Comcast, and investment firms are just sitting on these licenses
COVID-19 is disrupting daily life in unprecedented ways. T-Mobile has already opted to close many of its retail locations, and now it wants to speed up your data. People may be relying on their mobile connections more than ever, so T-Mobile is renting some unused band 71 spectrum around the US.
Qualcomm might be leading the charge towards 5G with new chipsets for premium and "Premium B" phones this year. But in many parts of the world where the transition from 4G will be especially slow to start, the chipmaker will also need to cater to people set to stick with LTE for the next while. It's at this juncture that the company introduces the Snapdragon 460, 662, and 720G SoCs.
LG's smartphone division is known for quirky, gimmicky devices that often don't quite live up to expectations, but the company still does have extensive patents concerning LTE and 4G communication software. The Korean conglomerate aims to protect these assets and has thus decided to file a lawsuit against TCL in Germany, alleging it's infringing three of its patents.
TicWatches are among the only compelling Wear OS smartwatches not made by Fossil Group, but none of them have offered sleep tracking before, not even the flagship TicWatch Pro (reviewed here). Mobvoi is now rectifying that with the launch of a new app called TicSleep, and it's offering some discounts on its watches in celebration.You can download the app from the Play Store as of today, with sleep tracking being activated for the TicWatch Pro and TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE model. This includes the ability to automatically detect when you are sleeping and commence tracking. The TicSleep app will be able to use your heart rate readings to give you an in-depth sleep cycle analysis, and you'll be able to get an overview of your most recent data on the watch itself to compare each night against the last.As with similar solutions on other smartwatches, a gentle, vibrating alarm can be used to wake you up when you're in light sleep so you can get out of bed feeling refreshed, and this can be personalized to your liking. Sleep tracking is only available on the TicWatch Pro series as they're the only models with good enough battery life to handle it, according to Mobvoi.To celebrate the new feature, the TicWatch Pro is down to 0 on Amazon (previously $250), with the LTE version dropping to 0 (from £300). Don't forget to check the box below the price to apply the money-off coupon before adding the watch to your basket.[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobvoi.wear.sleep.aw[/EMBED_APP]
With the latest Android 10 October security patch, some people using Pixel phones in the US have seen their LTE icon switch to 4G. This change is also visible in network settings, where it says 4G instead of LTE when you're choosing a connectivity preference. Since there's a lot of confusion about what exactly the difference between the two standards is, people used to seeing LTE instead of 4G have been concerned that their connection may have been downgraded. As it turns out, the whole gallimaufry was an unintended change of terminology, not a switch of the actual network, and Google has both a workaround to offer and a proper fix in the works.
[Update: 4G can now be activated] Mobvoi launches a revamped version of the TicWatch Pro with 4G/LTE
Wear OS smartwatches are seen as sub-par compared to the competition, mainly because most of them still use outdated processors or lack key features. With the TicWatch Pro, Mobvoi managed to design one of the most attractive intelligent timepieces powered by Google's OS on the market. However, despite its good selling points, the product lacked LTE connectivity, which prevented owners from using all their watch's features on the go. Thankfully, the manufacturer is announcing the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE, which builds up on its predecessor's specs and adds 4G functionality on top, confirming the leak we reported last month.
Last month, Mobvoi published a landing page for a new LTE-equipped TicWatch Pro and promptly took it down. Not at all coincidentally, Mobvoi has just posted a 30-second video teaser of an upcoming watch slated to be unveiled July 10th. I wonder what it could be.