Phone Scoop

Phone Scoop The best source for news, specs, and detailed info on all phones for the US. market. We offer detailed info on new phones, news, and a comprehensive glossary.

Phone Scoop is a free, comprehensive web resource for mobile phone shoppers, users, enthusiasts, and professionals, focusing on the U.S.

Apple Invests in Rare-Earth Magnet Manufacturing and Recycling in US: Apple has made a $500 million deal with MP Materia...
15/07/2025

Apple Invests in Rare-Earth Magnet Manufacturing and Recycling in US: Apple has made a $500 million deal with MP Materials to expand the manufacturing of rare-earth (neodymium) magnets for Apple products in Texas. "The two companies will also work together to establish a cutting-edge rare earth recycling line in Mountain Pass, California, and develop novel magnet materials and innovative processing technologies to enhance magnet performance." MP Materials is the only fully integrated rare earth producer in the United States. The new recycling line will take in material from used electronics, among other sources. Apple started using recycled rare earth elements in 2019, and today "nearly all magnets across Apple devices are made with 100 percent recycled rare earth elements."

Apple has made a $500 million deal with MP Materials to expand the manufacturing of rare-earth (neodymium) magnets for Apple products in Texas. "The two companies will also work together to establish a cutting-edge rare earth recycling line in Mountain Pass, California, and develop novel magnet mate...

HMD "Scales Back" US Operations: HMD Global — steward of the Nokia brand for phones — is all but shuttering its US opera...
14/07/2025

HMD "Scales Back" US Operations: HMD Global — steward of the Nokia brand for phones — is all but shuttering its US operations, citing "a challenging geopolitical and economic environment". The company has offered a number of phones in the US in recent years, under its own brand as well as Nokia, and specialty branding like its Barbie Phone. Although the company won't confirm a complete exit from the US market, the ability to buy any phones from its US web site appears to have been disabled. HMD promises to honor "warranty coverage and service for existing products".

HMD Global — steward of the Nokia brand for phones — is all but shuttering its US operations, citing "a challenging geopolitical and economic environment". The company has offered a number of phones in the US in recent years, under its own brand as well as Nokia, and specialty branding like its ...

Samsung Expands Foldable Lineup with Cheaper Z Flip 7 FE: After teasing that this year's foldable lineup would go more p...
09/07/2025

Samsung Expands Foldable Lineup with Cheaper Z Flip 7 FE: After teasing that this year's foldable lineup would go more premium with a new "Ultra" model, Samsung has done the opposite and added a more-affordable Galaxy Z Flip7 FE. The lineup also includes the expected Galaxy Z Flip7 and Z Fold7. The flagship Galaxy Z Fold7 is lighter and thinner than ever, at just 9mm thick when folded, while sporting a larger 8-inch inner display. The Z Fold7 also sports a 200 megapixel main camera and Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor. It starts at $2,000, a $100 bump over last year's model. The new Galaxy Z Flip7 FE is essentially last year's Flip6 — with most of the same design and specs — but for just $900, cutting the price of Samsung's cheapest foldable by $200. Meanwhile, the new Galaxy Z Flip7 maintains the $1,100 price compared to the Flip6, but upgrades to larger displays inside and out, a larger battery, and in a thinner design. The main display is now 6.9-inch, while the outer display grows to 4.1 inches, in an "edge-to-edge" design similar to Motorola's razr foldables. It also support DeX for desktop mode, a first for the Flip series. All three new models ship July 25.

After teasing that this year's foldable lineup would go more premium with a new "Ultra" model, Samsung has done the opposite and added a more-affordable Galaxy Z Flip7 FE. The lineup also includes the expected Galaxy Z Flip7 and Z Fold7. The flagship Galaxy Z Fold7 is lighter and thinner than ever,....

AT&T Finally Offers Protection Against SIM Swap Attacks: AT&T now offers an Account Lock feature that can protect custom...
01/07/2025

AT&T Finally Offers Protection Against SIM Swap Attacks: AT&T now offers an Account Lock feature that can protect customers from attacks that intercept messages and security codes. It's a setting available for post- and pre-paid consumers in the myAT&T app. Business customers can access Account Lock from their account controls on the web site. Other carriers already offer similar tools.

AT&T now offers an Account Lock feature that can protect customers from attacks that intercept messages and security codes. It's a setting available for post- and pre-paid consumers in the myAT&T app. Business customers can access Account Lock from their account controls on the web site. Other carri...

Nothing Launches Flagship Phone (3): Following the recent launch of several more affordable models, Nothing has finally ...
01/07/2025

Nothing Launches Flagship Phone (3): Following the recent launch of several more affordable models, Nothing has finally launched its next flagship model, the Phone (3). It evolves Nothing's distinctive light-up "Glyph" system into a new "Glyph Matrix", a small, circular monochrome display on the back of the phone with 25 x 25 pixels. In tandem with a new shortcut button on the back of the phone, it performs a variety of functions and has its own SDK for third-party developers. The phone has four 50-megapixel cameras, including main, wide, periscope telephoto, and front. A unique red square on the back lights up when recording video. The OLED main display measures 6.67 inches and is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus. The phone has an IP68 rating for dust and water. It's powered by a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip and available with either 12+256 GB or 16+512 GB of memory (RAM+storage). The phone supports fast charging up to 65W and two-way wireless charging. It has excellent support for T-Mobile's network and good support for AT&T's network. It ships with Android 15 and Nothing promises five years of OS updates + seven years of security updates. The Nothing Phone (3) ships July 15 starting at $799.

Following the recent launch of several more affordable models, Nothing has finally launched its next flagship model, the Phone (3). It evolves Nothing's distinctive light-up "Glyph" system into a new "Glyph Matrix", a small, circular monochrome display on the back of the phone with 25 x 25 pixels. I...

Bill Reintroduced to Open Up App Stores: A bipartisan group of US senators have reintroduced the Open App Markets Act, a...
25/06/2025

Bill Reintroduced to Open Up App Stores: A bipartisan group of US senators have reintroduced the Open App Markets Act, after it failed to reach a vote in 2022. The proposed law would require Apple and Google to allow "side-loading" (installing apps without using the app stores), allow third-party app stores, and allow apps to use alternate payment systems. It would also limit pricing restrictions and ensure developers can communicate alternate payment info to users. It would also mandate that users could set third-party apps as defaults for key functions, and mandate that users be able to hide or delete pre-installed apps, including those from Apple and Google. It would also prevent app store owners from giving their own apps any kind of advantage in their stores.

A bipartisan group of US senators have reintroduced the Open App Markets Act, after it failed to reach a vote in 2022. The proposed law would require Apple and Google to allow "side-loading" (installing apps without using the app stores), allow third-party app stores, and allow apps to use alternate...

Trump Phone Won't be Made in USA After All: All previous mention of the Trump T1 phone being made in the US has been rem...
25/06/2025

Trump Phone Won't be Made in USA After All: All previous mention of the Trump T1 phone being made in the US has been removed from the Trump Mobile web site. Some specs have also been changed.

All previous mention of the Trump T1 phone being made in the US has been removed from the Trump Mobile web site. Some specs have also been changed.

Fairphone 6 Shrinks its Modular, Long-Lasting Phone: Fairphone has launched its sixth-generation phone designed to be us...
25/06/2025

Fairphone 6 Shrinks its Modular, Long-Lasting Phone: Fairphone has launched its sixth-generation phone designed to be user-serviceable, long-lasting, and eco-friendly. The Fairphone (Gen. 6) is more compact than past iterations, with a 6.31-inch display (120 Hz OLED and FHD+). The modular design has 12 different parts that can be easily replaced, including the battery (4,415 mAh), and a back-plate system supporting fully integrated accessories like a card wallet, finger loop, or lanyard. The phone comes with a 5-year warranty. The phone is "assembled in fair factories" and made with "more recycled and fair materials than ever before". The Fairphone 6 is powered by a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor, paired with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256 GB of storage (expandable). It has excellent support for US 5G and 4G networks. The main camera is 50 megapixel with a Sony Lytia 700C sensor and OIS, plus a 13 megapixel wide-angle camera. The phone also sports an IP55 rating for water, fingerprint reader, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4 LE, and Wi-Fi 6E. In the US, the Fairphone (Gen. 6) will initially be available exclusively from Murena, which loads their own /e/OS software on the device. (/e/OS is a "de-Googled" version of Android.) Murena promises five years of software updates for this phone. Murena is taking orders starting today at $899, shipping in August. It's available in white, black, or green.

Fairphone has launched its sixth-generation phone designed to be user-serviceable, long-lasting, and eco-friendly. The Fairphone (Gen. 6) is more compact than past iterations, with a 6.31-inch display (120 Hz OLED and FHD+). The modular design has 12 different parts that can be easily replaced, incl...

Google Chrome Lets You Move Address Bar to Bottom: This new web browser option on Android follows a similar move by Appl...
25/06/2025

Google Chrome Lets You Move Address Bar to Bottom: This new web browser option on Android follows a similar move by Apple with the Safari browser in iOS. The easiest way to change the location is to long-press on the address bar itself, then tap "Move address bar to bottom".

This new web browser option on Android follows a similar move by Apple with the Safari browser in iOS. The easiest way to change the location is to long-press on the address bar itself, then tap "Move address bar to bottom".

Apple Pushes Ad for its Newest Movie to iPhones: Many iPhone users today received a push notification from the Apple Wal...
24/06/2025

Apple Pushes Ad for its Newest Movie to iPhones: Many iPhone users today received a push notification from the Apple Wallet app promoting the new "F1" movie made by Apple. The unsolicited ad took the form of a $10 discount code for use with Fandango. A beta version of iOS includes a setting to opt out of "Offers & Promotions" from Apple Wallet, but the current stable version of iOS does not. Today's ad, and introduction of the new setting, both imply that Apple intends to send more notifications like this in the future.

Many iPhone users today received a push notification from the Apple Wallet app promoting the new "F1" movie made by Apple. The unsolicited ad took the form of a $10 discount code for use with Fandango. A beta version of iOS includes a setting to opt out of "Offers & Promotions" from Apple Wallet, bu...

Verizon Upgrades Its Customer Service: Verizon is launching a new effort to improve its customer service. First, for "co...
24/06/2025

Verizon Upgrades Its Customer Service: Verizon is launching a new effort to improve its customer service. First, for "complex issues", the company will now assign a dedicated "Customer Champion" to provide updates and ensure full resolution. Those updates can be provided however the customer prefers: "via the myVerizon app, text messages or call backs". Verizon says the goal is that "customers only need to call once, and we take it from there." Second, the company is extending its call center hours to midnight (previously ending at 7pm), and expanding its live chat support hours to 24/7.

Verizon is launching a new effort to improve its customer service. First, for "complex issues", the company will now assign a dedicated "Customer Champion" to provide updates and ensure full resolution. Those updates can be provided however the customer prefers: "via the myVerizon app, text messages...

T-Mobile Details Satellite Service: T-Mobile has released the final details of its T-Satellite service. The company also...
23/06/2025

T-Mobile Details Satellite Service: T-Mobile has released the final details of its T-Satellite service. The company also revealed a new award it received, and announced a new perk for customers. Following a successful beta test period that saw millions of messages sent, phase one of T-Satellite will launch July 23. This phase will offer SMS and MMS messaging in cellular "dead zones" across the US. T-Satellite will be included in T-Mobile's premium plans, and will be available to everyone else — including customers of other networks — for $10/month. Starting October 1, a second phase will introduce limited data service. Data will be available only via select apps that have been specifically optimized for satellite data using existing Google and Apple APIs. At launch, this will include popular messaging, mapping, weather, and other outdoor-focused services. Also starting October 1, T-Mobile will enable 911 texting via T-Satellite for everyone, including customers of other networks, regardless of whether they subscribe to T-Satellite. T-Satellite offers cellular coverage for existing phones in "dead zones" of the land-based network, using a new generation of SpaceX Starlink satellites. 657 of these cellular-capable satellites are already in orbit. T-Mobile also shared that Ookla has awarded T-Mobile the title of overall "Best Mobile Network" in the US, based on new crowd-sourced test data from the past six months. Finally, T-Mobile is adding a new perk for most T-Mobile customers: free DashPass from DoorDash.

T-Mobile has released the final details of its T-Satellite service. The company also revealed a new award it received, and announced a new perk for customers. Following a successful beta test period that saw millions of messages sent, phase one of T-Satellite will launch July 23. This phase will off...

Address


Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Phone Scoop posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

  • Address
  • Alerts
  • Claim ownership or report listing

  • Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company?

Share