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Motorola reportedly more than doubled smartphone sales in United States during 2021
Motorola reportedly became the third-place smartphone brand in the United States last year, thanks to LG leaving the market.
Motorola is immensely popular in Latin America and some other regions, but the company has struggled to maintain a decent marketshare in the United States, where competitors like Samsung and Apple dominate smartphone sales. However, if a new report is accurate, Motorola might have sold enough smartphones last year to reach third place in 'Murica.
Huawei might license its smartphone designs to avoid US trade sanctions
A new report from Bloomberg claims Huawei might license its smartphone designs to other companies, similar to most ODMs today.
Huawei has been the subject of numerous back-and-forth battles over international trade, largely due to security concerns over the networking equipment it sells to carriers and other tech companies. That hasn't stopped Huawei's smartphone division from taking hit after hit, though — Google was legally required to withdraw the company's Android license in 2020, and Huawei has had trouble acquiring chips and other components sold by US-based companies. Now the company has a plan to sidestep some of those obstacles, according to a new report.
Continuous scrolling comes to mobile for Google searches in the U.S.
Continuous scrolling is coming to Google searches in the U.S., though it's a gradual rollout. It may also allow Google to show more ads.
Scrolling through your Google searches is about to get easier on your smartphone. In the U.S., Google is rolling out a change to search results on mobile that removes the "see more" button and instead allows you to endlessly scroll through results. The page will just load more results, and it will roll out on both Android and iOS. Not everyone will get the change straight away either, as it's being distributed via a staggered rollout. Google Search got a pretty big redesign on mobile at the start of the year focusing on simplicity, which Google says it's expanding upon further.
Biden signs executive order promoting the need for right-to-repair laws
Biden has signed an executive order promoting the need for right-to-repair laws, This comes after other countries and the EU introduced them.
An executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden has called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to institute rules to facilitate customers repairing their own technology, in what appears to be a major win for the right-to-repair movement. It was reported several days ago that the Biden was gearing up to sign the executive order, following after both the EU and the UK introduced their own right-to-repair laws.
ASUS ROG Phone 5 gaming phone finally arrives in the United States
The base model of the ASUS ROG Phone 5 gaming phone is now available for sale in the United States, for the hefty price tag of $999.99.
ASUS released the ROG Phone 5 earlier this year, but it wasn't available to purchase in many countries outside of China and Europe. The phone recently become available in India, and now Asus is finally bringing it to the United States for a hefty price tag of $999.99.
[Update: New Charges] Huawei's CFO was arrested in Canada over alleged Iran sanction violations
Huawei's CFO, Wanzhou Meng, was arrested in Canada on December 1st. She is facing extradition to the U.S. over alleged Iran sanction violations.
Depending on who you ask, Huawei is either the world's second or third largest smartphone brand in the world, surpassing even Apple during some previous fiscal quarters. Their impressive growth was achieved even without releasing a smartphone on a major mobile carrier in the U.S., though not for lack of trying. While it's clear that the company hasn't given up their ambitions to expand into the United States, their plans to do so may have become jeopardized. Huawei's Chief Financial Officer, Wanzhou Meng, who is also the daughter of the company's founder, was arrested in Canada on December 1st and is facing extradition to the United States for allegedly aiding in violating U.S.' sanctions on Iran.
[Update: Hands-on] Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite is coming to the US with a 10.1" screen, stylus, and quad speakers
The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite is a mid-range tablet that was launched last year. Announced at CES 2019, it's now coming to the US.
At the 2018 Mobile World Congress, Huawei announced the Huawei MediaPad M5 series of tablets, which aim to provide a high-end experience in tablet form. In September later that year, Huawei unveiled the Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite, a mid-range tablet which aimed to be even more affordable than the standard M5 lineup. The MediaPad M5 Lite features a 10.1-inch display, a stylus, and quad speakers for around €300. At CES 2019, Huawei has announced that this tablet will be available in the United States from retailers such as Amazon and Newegg from the end of January. The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 659 chipset and has 3GB of RAM at a price of $299. Given that the tablet market is rather stale across the globe, this is one of the few modern options from a big brand.
Google is expanding Pixel 3 eSIM support to more carriers around the world
Google is expanding the Pixel 3's eSIM support to more carriers around the world, including in India, the UK, and Germany.
eSIM is the latest and greatest iteration of the SIM card, in that it doesn't even have a physical form. Rather than putting a SIM card in your phone or watch, you can effectively store the SIM data on the device itself. Gone are the days of fumbling about with a tiny piece of plastic and trying to put it in your phone, when instead you can simply scan a SIM card onto your device. Google first tried it out on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, allowing Google Fi users to try it out, and brought it to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL this year. Now it's not just on Google Fi, as you can get it all around the world—but only on the Pixel 3 series.
OnePlus 6T in America: What you need to know about using it on T-Mobile or Verizon
Looking to buy the new OnePlus 6T for use in America? Here's what you need to know about buying it from T-Mobile or using it on Verizon Wireless.
The OnePlus 6T was just announced today and it'll go on sale in 33 markets, including the United States. Just like the OnePlus 6, you can buy the OnePlus 6T straight from OnePlus.com if you're in the United States. However, OnePlus has partnered with T-Mobile to sell the OnePlus 6T in retail stores. In addition, the OnePlus 6T supports band 13 and is certified for use on Verizon Wireless. Americans have greater access than ever to OnePlus smartphones so if you're interested in picking one up, here's what you need to know.