T-Mobile and Sprint have finally completed their merger, leaving America with only 3 big carriers

The long process of T-Mobile and Sprint merging has finally come to a close. The last hurdle was jumped in February and the deal was expected to close in April. Starting today, T-Mobile officially owns Sprint, leaving the U.S. with only three major carriers.

So what happens now? One of the immediate changes is T-Mobile has a new CEO. As previously announced, John Legere is stepping down and he’s being replaced by Mike Sievert, previously the company’s COO. Legere will remain on the board until July.

As for the Sprint brand and Sprint customers, nothing will change immediately. Sprint customers will keep their existing plans, which T-Mobile has promised will remain the same or better for the next three years. Sprint’s network remains separate as well.

Back in November, T-Mobile outlined all of their plans for after the Sprint merger was approved. The company claims its 5G network will be able to reach 99% of the U.S. population. They will be launching an initiative to bring free 5G access to first responders, police officers, firefighters, and EMS agencies for 10 years. “Project 10Million” will give free internet service to 10 million households. Lastly, the “T-Mobile Connect” prepaid plan will offer 2GB of data for just $15 per month.

Another side-effect of the merger is Sprint’s prepaid business (Boost and Virgin Mobile) being sold to Dish. However, it will take a while before we really start seeing the changes and new products from this merger. How do you feel about things now that T-Mobile officially owns Sprint?

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Source: T-Mobile

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Samsung will buy back your Galaxy S20 for 50% of the price any time within 24 months

It has been nearly two months since Samsung announced the Galaxy S20 series at Galaxy Unpacked. Since then, the phones have already made their way into the hands of probably millions of consumers, so most people interested in one of the three phones have either already spent time with them or have at least read up on the phones online. To entice more users into buying one of the three phones, Samsung has launched a new “guaranteed buy-back” program.

If you purchase the Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra through Samsung.com or the Shop Samsung app, you’ll be eligible to receive 50% of the full retail price if you decide to return your phone within 24 months. That means you can get $500 back on the regular S20 and up to $800 back on the highest-end S20 Ultra.

All you have to do to take advantage of this offer is to log in to the Samsung Account you used to purchase the device, initiate a return request on the “My Orders” page, and send your phone back to Samsung. Samsung will evaluate the condition of your phone, and if it passes their inspection, you will receive 50% of the full retail price back as a credit to your payment account. This process may take between 2-3 weeks, and Samsung says your device must be in “satisfactory” condition. In the FAQ for the program, Samsung defines “satisfactory” condition as the device being able to power on and stay on without powering off unexpectedly, the device having a functional display with no dead pixels, the device being free of breaks or cracks beyond normal wear and tear, the device being free of any anti-theft locking software, etc.

Samsung says that all Galaxy S20 models are eligible for the guaranteed buy-back program so long as the device was purchased through Samsung.com or the Shop Samsung app. Samsung also says that this offer can be combined with “everyday trade-in offers” but that this offer is not compatible with carrier financing and Samsung Upgrade. For more information, you can visit this page.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Forums ||| Samsung Galaxy S20+ Forums ||| Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Forums

It’s nice to see Samsung make such a generous offer to its customers. Smartphones can depreciate in value pretty heavily in the course of a year, let alone two years. This buy-back program is Samsung’s way of reassuring their customers that they haven’t wasted their money on buying a new Galaxy S20, which can cost upwards of $1,000. Samsung has reportedly sold fewer than expected Galaxy S20 units, at least in comparison to the Galaxy S10. While reviewers have praised Samsung for the beautiful and smooth visual experience of the Galaxy S20 and its 120Hz display, many have criticized the phones for a lackluster camera performance and inferior performance of the Exynos models. Reviewers have harshly criticized Samsung for these issues because of how expensive the three phones are, so this new guaranteed buy-back program may stem some of these concerns.

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Motorola opens up Moto G Power and Moto G Stylus pre-orders in the U.S.

In early February, Motorola announced two new devices in its 2020 Moto G lineup. Rather than brand these devices as part of the Moto G8 lineup, Motorola opted to drop the numbering entirely. The Moto G Power and Moto G Stylus are two affordable mid-range smartphones that Motorola announced would come to the United States, but given the product delays we’ve seen occur due to COVID-19, we weren’t sure when they would pull the trigger. Today, though, Motorola has opened up pre-orders for both devices, with retail sales expected to go live on April 16th.

The G Power and the G Stylus are two very similar devices. Both pack the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC, a decidedly mid-range processor, 4GB of RAM, a 6.4-inch LCD at FHD+ resolution and with a single, left-sided hole-punch cutout, 16MP front-facing cameras, 3.5mm headphone jacks, USB Type-C charging ports, and Android 10 on board. Where they mainly differ are in the rear cameras, the battery capacities, and the inclusion of a stylus. While both devices offer triple rear cameras, the Moto G Stylus has a higher resolution primary camera (48MP versus 16MP) and a better wide-angle camera (Motorola’s 16MP “Action Cam” versus a standard 8MP wide-angle lens). The Moto G Power will provide better battery life with its 5000mAh battery, a 1000mAh increase over the Moto G Stylus. The G Stylus, though, comes with a stylus pen that can be inserted into the body of the device.

Moto G Power Forums ||| Moto G Stylus Forums

The Moto G Power costs $250 while the Moto G Stylus costs $300. These prices aren’t remarkable if you compare them to devices sold in markets like India or China, but in the U.S., there aren’t very many decent options at this price point. You can buy the Moto G Power straight from Motorola online or through Best Buy or B&H Photo. Likely, you can do the same for the Moto G Stylus on the Motorola website, Best Buy, or B&H Photo.

Moto G Power and Moto G Stylus Specifications

	Moto G Power	Moto G Stylus
Size	159.85 x 75.84 x 9.63mm, 199g	158.55 x 75.8 x 9.2mm, 192g
SoC	Snapdragon 665	Snapdragon 665
RAM	4GB	4GB
Storage	64GB	128GB
Display	6.4-inch, FHD+, LCD, hole-punch	6.4-inch, FHD+, LCD, hole-punch
Rear Cameras	16MP (f/1.7, 1.12μm) 2MP (f/2.2, 1.75μm) macro 8MP (f/2.2, 1.12μm) 118° ultra-wide angle	48MP (f/1.7, 1.6μm) 2MP (f/2.2, 1.75μm) macro Action Cam 16MP (f/2.2, 2.0μm, 117-degrees FOV)
Front Camera	16MP (f/2.0, 1μ)	16MP (f/2.0, 1μ)
Battery	5,000 mAh	4,000 mAh
Ports	USB-C, Headphone jack	USB-C, Headphone jack
Software	Android 10	Android 10

Via: AndroidPolice

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Discord tests a new bottom tab design and swipe gesture controls

While we’re all trapped at home having a nice cold pint and waiting for this all to blow over, we’ve increased our use of messaging apps to keep up with our friends and families. There are hundreds of messaging apps out there, and many of them are more popular in certain regions or with certain demographics. Discord is now one of the more popular chat apps after it grew beyond its roots as a messaging service for just gamers. The developers of the app are highly engaged with the community and often run A/B tests to see how people would react to new UI and behavior changes. One of the changes that are being experimented on with a handful of users is a redesign of the Android app that places many buttons in a bottom bar. An additional experiment allows users to swipe left or right in chats to open the participant list and/or server/channel list.

Here’s a screen recording showing off the new bottom tab design and swipe gesture controls:

Personally, I’m a big fan of these changes, as they allow for much better one-handed use. The Discord team has moved most of the buttons you’re likely to press a bit further down on the screen. The action bar in the chat screen is now redundant, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it disappears in future iterations of this experiment.

These experiments were first brought to our attention by XDA Senior Member Some_Random_Username. We confirmed these changes were being tested on our own devices running the latest Discord for Android alpha release. Users can manually enable this experiment by modifying the com.discord_preferences.xml Shared Preferences file in /data/data/com.discord/shared_pref and adding the line <int name="CACHE_KEY_TABS_EXPERIMENT_BUCKET" value="N" /> where N is either 0, 1, or 2. Putting 0 as the value opts the user out of the experiment while putting 1 only shows the bottom tab redesign and putting 2 shows the bottom tabs as well as enables swipe gestures.

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What do you think of these changes? By the way, we have a Discord server!

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Samsung Galaxy A10s and Galaxy A6+ get updated to Android 10 with One UI 2.0

Samsung’s One UI custom Android OS received a major UI overhaul last year with the rebase on top of Android 10. Samsung has also teased further improvements via an incremental update, which will allegedly be called One UI 2.5. However, Samsung has yet to conclude the One UI 2.0 (or 2.1 in some cases) update rollout, thanks to their gigantic product portfolio. After mid-rangers like the Galaxy A9 (2018) received the Android 10 OTA, it’s time for two more Galaxy A series phones to follow suit. The One UI 2.0 update is reportedly hitting the Galaxy A10s and the Galaxy A6+ units in some regions.

Buy Samsung Galaxy A10s from Amazon.in

While Samsung does tend to use either its in-house Exynos or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoCs, the company sporadically uses chipsets from other vendors and the entry-level Galaxy A10s is a perfect example of such practice. The phone, powered by the MediaTek Helio P22 (MT6762) SoC, runs Android Pie out of the box. Samsung is now rolling out a stable Android 10 update to this device, the SM-A107F variant to be precise. The build, which is currently available in Malaysia, carries the version number A107FXXU5BTCB, while the underlying Android Security Patch Level (SPL) is March 2020.

The Galaxy A6+, on the other hand, was originally shipped with Android Oreo and received the Android Pie update later on. Similar to its sibling, i.e. the Galaxy A6 (2018), the phone is now being served with the One UI 2.0 update in the form of software version A605FNXXU5CTC8 with March 2020 security patches. At the time of reporting, the update is rolling out in Poland for the SM-A605FN variant of the Galaxy A6+.

The bootloader version remains unchanged from the last Android Pie build in both cases, thus owners of these phones are free to downgrade if required. The updated kernel source, as well as more regional OTAs, should be available soon, albeit people can use tools like Frija to break the queue and download the new firmware packages right away.

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Game of Thrones Beyond the Will be Available on Huawei AppGallery on April 3rd

Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall is a mobile game based on the world’s most popular TV show. The mobile collectible strategy RPG game is now coming to AppGallery on April 3rd 2020. This is a big release for Huawei’s growing app store, and it’s one of the first Android marketplaces that will have the new game.

Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall will soon be available on the Huawei App Gallery

The game takes place a few decades before the timeline of the hit TV show. Players of Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall get to take command of the Night’s watch to defend Westeros in an original story about the mysteries Beyond the Wall and the Three-Eyed Raven. This game has been developed over the past two years, to bring players a fun and exciting Game of Thrones based experience. In the game, you’ll be able to recruit your favorite characters from the show including Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Jaime Lannister, Melisandre, and Tormund Giantsbane.

Huawei worked closely with Behaviour Interactive to help integrate HMS core capabilities like Account Kit and In-App Purchases. HMS core makes the different features of the game run seamlessly together. HUAWEI Account Kit allows users to swiftly sign into the game app to start gameplay in the shortest time possible, while HUAWEI In-App Purchases (IAP) enables users to purchase extra content and features within the Game of Thrones app. Huawei continues to grow AppGallery and HMS core, as they create an ecosystem that helps developers create innovative apps and distribute them on AppGallery.

Behaviour Interactive will be giving special rewards at registration milestones when the game launches, such as carved glyphs and shards of Jon Snow. To download Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall on your Huawei device, visit AppGallery on April 3rd.

For more information on Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall, please visit the official game website.

We thank Huawei for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.

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[Update 2: Samsung India and Amazfit too] OnePlus, Huawei, Honor, and Realme extend smartphone warranties, and more due to COVID-19

Update 2 (4/01/20 @ 10:50AM ET): Samsung India and Amazfit have also extended warranties on their products due to COVID-19.

Update 1 (3/27/20 @ 1:30AM ET): OPPO India has also extended warranties on smartphones and accessories till May 31st due to COVID-19. The original article from March 26th is left intact.

The ripples of COVID-19 pandemic – informally known as Coronavirus – have brought almost the entire world to a halt. In these hard times when you’re forced to quarantine and stay at home, your phone might be your only physically close friend. But if you break it, there’s only so little that you can do to fix it. Fortunately enough, several smartphone brands including OnePlus, Huawei, Honor, and Realme are extending warranties on their devices for up to three more months and also offering taking relief measures to ensure smoother repairs during COVID-19-related lockdowns announced by governments worldwide.

OnePlus

To start with OnePlus, the company will be extending warranties till May 31st for devices with warranty ending between March 1st and May 30th. Besides warranty adjustment, OnePlus has also extended the replacement period from 15 days to 30 days. The existing 30-day replacement period in the UK remains unchanged.

OnePlus is offering ship-in repairs in North America and Europe with free shipping on both sides. In addition, the walk-in repair center in Helsinki, Finland, is still open until further notice. Repair services are not available in India due to the complete lockdown enforced by the central government as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19.

In addition, OnePlus is also working towards a backup device program. It will soon start providing you with a backup phone while your primary device goes in for repair so that you don’t need to arrange a phone yourself. The service will soon be introduced in North America and Europe on a pilot basis.

Huawei

Huawei, which is set to launch the Huawei P40 Pro later today, is also pushing the warranty further till June 30th due to COVID-19. This is applicable to devices for which the warranty expires – or has already expired – between March 21st and June 21st. It is worth pointing out that the offer is only applicable in India, UAE, and South Africa. For Qatar, the warranty will be extended until May 31st only. These offers are applicable on all Huawei products including smartphones, MateBook laptops, accessories, etc.

We’re here to support you! As a gesture of good faith, we have extended the warranty on all smartphones, smartwatches, headsets, chargers, etc. to 30th June’2020, whose warranty expires between 21st March 2020 to 21st June 2020.#HuaweiIndia #HuaweiService #Warranty #Support pic.twitter.com/EW0IOhWRpK

— Huawei India (@HuaweiIndia) March 25, 2020

In India, Huawei is also offering doorstep repair services for the Huawei Watch GT and Watch GT2. More importantly, if your watch is still under warranty, Huawei will replace it instead of repairing it. If your watch is out of warranty, Huawei will repair the watch by swapping out dead parts like strap, screen, and motherboard, strap, etc. with new ones.

Realme

More recently, Realme India also announced that it will be extending warranties till May 31st on warranties initially ending between March 20th and April 30th following COVID-19 lockdown in the country. Additionally, for purchases between March 15th and April 30th, the replacement period has been extended to 30 days. The company recently postponed the launch of the new Realme Narzo 10 and 10A due to the same lockdown.

Few supportive steps for all our users during this tough period:
-Extended warranty till 31st May for those whose warranty expires between 20th Mar- 30th Apr ’20
-Extended Replacement period to 30 days for those who purchased our devices between 15th Mar- 30th Apr ’20#StayStrong pic.twitter.com/uHlkkRZPQw

— realme (@realmemobiles) March 26, 2020

Realme Europe has also extended the refund and replacement periods to two months from the original replacement deadline.

Honor

Just like Huawei, sub-brand Honor is also extending warranties in India due to COVID-19. For warranties expiring between March 21st and June 21st, the warranty deadline has been extended to June 30th. Complying with India’s 21-day lockdown, which ends on April 14th, all the Huawei and Honor service centers will be closed in India.

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Update 1: OPPO also extends warranty amid COVID-19 lockdown

OPPO has also announced extension till May 31st on warranties ending on or after March 23rd. This is only valid in India and we’ll update the article with information about other regions when we learn more.

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Update 2: Samsung India and Amazfit extend warranties

At Samsung, the well-being of our customers is a top priority. That’s why, we are extending the standard warranty till 31st May, 2020 on all Samsung products whose warranty is expiring between 20th March and 30th April, 2020. #Samsung pic.twitter.com/UGEwdRSTwg

— Samsung India (@SamsungIndia) March 31, 2020

Samsung India has extended warranties till May 31st for all products whose warranties would otherwise expire between March 20th and April 30th, 2020.

Huami’s has extended also extended warranties on Amazfit smartwatches till May 31st. However, the offer is only valid on purchases made in India.

Featured image: Pexels/CDC

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