The Twitter blue checkmark – what a weird thing it has become. Once used as a way to identify an account related to an organization, brand, government official, celebrity, news outlet, etc., the too online crowd has decided it means or should mean more. It’s super f*cking important to the goofiest crowd on the internet, and so that means the current Twitter ownership has made the situation involving the verified checkmark some sort of awkward too online status symbol that you must pay for.

I bring this up because Twitter announced today that their “legacy” verified program will come to a close on April 1. That means they will begin removing legacy verified checkmarks from accounts. A legacy verified checkmark is basically anyone who was previously given a checkmark on Twitter after either being identified by or applied to Twitter as a person/organization/account of importance that should be confirmed to the world as verified.

If someone wants to keep a blue checkmark, they can pay for Twitter Blue at $8 per month. If an organization wants to keep their checkmark, they can apply to be a Verified Organization and then tell Twitter how many accounts may be associated with that organization that will need to be verified as well. A Verified Organization will pay $1,000 per month, plus $50 for each affiliated account. Lmao.

What this means on a bigger level is that almost all of the accounts that are currently verified will just never be verified again. That’s OK I guess, although it could create some confusion going forward. I think for most of us, a verified blue checkmark meant we had found the official account associated with a brand or person or organization. For the weirdos, it obviously meant something else, and that’s too bad because they’ve now ruined a key piece of Twitter that made a whole lot of sense in the past. It now no longer does.

Since this means Droid Life, Tim, and I will all lose our checkmarks in the near future, just know that can find us at @droid_life, @timotato, and @iamkellex. We will absolutely not pay for this shit.

Read the original post: Twitter to Remove Legacy Verified Checks Because It Wants People to Pay for Them

When Samsung launched the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra, we were sort of surprised that trade-in values for current phones to be used towards the new ones weren’t as high as usual. We were so used to trading in the previous-year Galaxy S and then paying almost nothing for the new model. Maybe it was the poor Q4 performance or maybe there are other economic factors weighing on the discounts, but buying a Galaxy S23 wasn’t as cheap as anticipated.

As we move further from that initial launch, Samsung is continuing to run promo after promo to move units. While they aren’t offering up bigger discounts than we saw at launch, they are at least matching them, which they don’t often do. For Samsung Discover, each day has given us a deal worth considering.

Today, the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ are headlining Discover with one of their best prices to date. The Galaxy S23 can be had for as little as $99.99 (here) or you could upgrade to the bigger Galaxy S23+ for $299.99 (here).

How do you get those incredible prices? By trading in a phone, of course. At the moment, you can trade in a Galaxy Fold 4 and get $700 off – that’ll get you the lowest $99.99 price. You could also trade-in a Galaxy S22 Ultra and get $600 to use towards that new Galaxy S23. From there, the values of trades drop under $600, which you can see below.

I’m not sure I need to keep reminding you, but for those new, Samsung takes your trade-in and gives you the value as an instant discount today. Should you have a Galaxy Fold 4 to trade towards a Galaxy S23, you will pay just $99.99 today. They’ll ask you to send in your Fold 4 to confirm later on, but the discount really doesn’t happen immediately, not further down the road.

As a bit of a bonus, Samsung is tossing in 10,000mAh portable battery with capable speeds up to 25W. That’s a $35 value. Not bad.

Again, this is a price that is supposedly only good for today. Tomorrow we will see the special sale on the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

• Shop Samsung’s Galaxy S23 deals

Read the original post: DEAL: Galaxy S23 for $99 Doing the Trade-In Dance

Verizon went through a major management shakeup in recent weeks as the company continues to see struggles on the consumer business side of things and as it tries to catch-up to T-Mobile in 5G. One of the key role changes happened at the top of Verizon’s network and the newly promoted exec is already talking about what’s next for wireless customers.

Joe Russo, who was promoted to the EVP and president of global networks and technology for Verizon, participated in an “Inside Verizon” video where he mentioned a couple of changes you might find useful should they rollout in the near future.

The first change could come as a tool within the My Verizon app that will let you report network issues. Verizon apparently already has this tool built-in for employees to report, but Russo is talking about letting you and I directly report back when we’re in a spot that is struggling.

For now, if you head into the My Verizon app, tap the bottom right menu and then “Feedback,” there are only a couple of options. You can either provide feedback about the My Verizon app or about a store visit. Soon, you should be able to report a “Network experience” too.

Verizon thinks this could help them either better understand problems they were already aware of or recognize new issues that need a deeper dive. If anything, with the amount of feedback I’m about to report around Portland, I might finally be able to use a Verizon phone here without a 3G-level connection.

We don’t yet have a timeline for when this option could hit consumer phones.

The other change Russo talked about is being more proactive when there could be a network disruption in your area. Up until now, if Verizon was working on upgrading their network and you happened to be impacted, they didn’t proactively notify you of the upcoming outage. Going forward, they want to change that by notifying customers ahead of time if an upgrade is in the works or a cell site might go down.

Network transparency, I like it.

// Light Reading

Read the original post: My Verizon App Might Soon Let You Report Network Problems

Last November, Verizon introduced Test Drive in beta, a 30-day trial of its 5G network for compatible smartphones harnessing the ultra convenience that is eSIM. This week, Verizon is now opening up the now called Free Trial to all unlocked (and with eSIM) smartphones, not just the latest Galaxy, Pixel, and iPhone devices.

Getting started is the same process. You download the My Verizon app, sign up (no credit check or card required), then Verizon assigns you a random phone number with data, text, and talk service for 30 days. At the end of the 30 days, the service ends, unless you want to make the full-time switch.

For Free Trial, Verizon offers 100GB of 5G Ultra Wideband data, as well as unlimited talk and text. That should be enough data to really let you stretch your legs out on its network.

I attempted to try this when it first launched and it was incredibly janky. I got an error message during the onboard, then when I refreshed the app to try again, it told me that my 30 day trial was already over. And of course, Verizon’s support was zero help and had no idea what I was talking about. Hopefully the kinks have been worked out by now.

My Verizon App

// Verizon

Read the original post: Verizon Opens 30-Day 5G Free Trial to All Unlocked Phones

Still rocking a phone from the Galaxy S10 lineup? No shame, those were fine phones, first released in March of 2019. It’s been four years since then, which means it’s about time for Samsung to shut down support for these devices.

With that said, we’re now seeing that Verizon is shipping out the February patch to these phones, which includes the S10, S10+, and S10e. If we were betting folks, it seems probable this could be the last update for the Galaxy S10 series, unless Samsung has a final update planned at a later time. In the meantime, remaining owners are sure to be happy with some updated software.

Updated Build Numbers

• Galaxy S10: G973USQU8IWB5
• Galaxy S10+: G975USQU8IWB5
• Galaxy S10e: G970USQU8IWB5

In addition to the patch, Verizon’s changelog also lists performance improvements. Nice. Enjoy it, Galaxy S10 owners. Is now an appropriate time to mention the Galaxy S23 Ultra is a good phone?

// Verizon

Read the original post: Galaxy S10 Line Receives What Could Be Final Software Update

The Samsung Discover sales week continues on this hump day with a Galaxy Fold 4 deal to consider. Depending on the phone currently in your pocket, you could use it as a trade to get an easy $700 off, plus Samsung is tossing in another $50 to use as a credit towards accessories or other goodies.

This is a pretty typical Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 deal. Like the launch deals or those we find during the holidays, Samsung wants you to trade in a phone and get an instant credit for it to use towards a new phone, which in this scenario is their best foldable to date.

If you have a Galaxy Fold 3 or Galaxy S22 Ultra, they’ll give you $700 off – today. If you have a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, you’ll get $650 off. After that, trade prices drop to $550 if you have a Fold 2 or S21 Ultra, followed by $525 for a Galaxy S22+ or $500 for the original Galaxy Fold. And again, those are instant credit values that drop the price off today. You can see your phone’s value here.

With a $700 discount, a Galaxy Fold 4 can be yours for $1,099. Should you not have a phone from last year to trade, a $650 discount still drops the price to $1,149, which is pretty great.

Of course, the Galaxy Fold 5 should be here this summer, so within 5-6 months, there will be a newer foldable than the Galaxy Fold 4. We still don’t know if Samsung is going to do a massive overhaul of their biggest foldable or not, but knowing there weren’t massive changes from the Fold 2 up through the Fold 4, this may once again be another chill year in the improvement department.

Need to catch up on the Galaxy Fold 4 after all these months? Our review, where Tim called it “Nearly perfected,” is worth a read. We’re big fans of big foldables that have all the specs. We love them more when they can be had for huge discounts, like we are seeing here with this Samsung Discover event.

• Shop $700 off Galaxy Fold 4 deals

Read the original post: Galaxy Z Fold 4 Up to $700 Off in Deal of the Day

The Pixel Watch March update has been on our radar for a couple of weeks now, even without an initial acknowledgement from Google. But then this week, they confirmed that the March update was here, the build number we had was correct, and that it included a decent-sized list of changes.

I’d imagine that after looking through the list of all that is new, you probably wanted to update as quickly as possible. After all, we are into late March at this point, which is much later than we typically see Google push out Pixel updates.

If you happened to try and check for the update over the past couple of days and were told that your Pixel Watch was up-to-date, take this as a reminder that you can still force through an update with our favorite old Wear OS tapping trick. I just fired up my Pixel Watch, added enough battery to it, and then ran through the trick to pull the update. The update is absolutely live at the moment.

The new Pixel Watch update rolling out as build RWDA.230114.008.R1 (with March security patch) can be pulled to your watch by doing the following:

• Swipe down the quick settings menu from the top of your watch and tap on the Settings icon
• Scroll all of the way to the bottom to “System” and tap
• Tap on “System updates”
• If no update is available, start tapping towards the top of the screen on the watch icon
• Keep tapping. Keep tapping. Keeeeeep tapping.
• If an update is available, it should show up and start downloading
• Boom.

Once updated, enjoy the clock when the watch is powered down, rotating the crown to do some sort of AOD adjustment, improved touch sensitivity, and a soon-t0-be-released fix for alarms being delayed.

Who still loves their Pixel Watch?

Read the original post: Do the Wear OS Update Trick, Get the Pixel Watch March Update Right Away

Nothing super fans, the company’s next product is now up for sale, the Ear (2) earbuds priced at $149. These are the second iteration of Nothing’s audio line, still rocking that sexy see-thru design.

For specs, Nothing lists 11.6mm dynamic drivers, noise cancellation of up to 40dB, IP54 water resistance, in-ear detection, up to 36 hours of playback with ANC disabled when coupled with case (22.5h with ANC enabled), Google’s Fast Pair, and plenty else.

As for how these may differ from last year, one thing that sticks out is the ingress protection rating, with last year’s earbuds only coming with a rating of IPX4, while the new Ear (2) comes with IP54. That should offer more protection for users who may find themselves around lots of dirt, sand, dust, and other sorts of small debris.

If you think these earbuds look good, you’ll probably want to hurry, as these sorts of products tend to sell out quickly and then not get restocked for a while. Additionally, Nothing is including additional branded merchandise for free for a limited time with purchase. Not bad.

Have at it.

Nothing Ear (2) Link

Read the original post: Nothing Unveils Ear (2) Buds at $149

Google opened up Bard for sign-ups today and there is already a waitlist that is likely extensive. If your life needs an AI chatbot to talk to, you might as well throw your name on the list for this latest Google experiment.

What is Google Bard, you ask, since we haven’t mentioned it at any point to date? Well, I’m no AI expert, but the basics are that our tech overlords have all created artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots that are quite smart and can be helpful (or maybe controversial) in helping you do things, be more creative, or provide deeper answers to topics than you might get from a search engine.

They arrive in a familiar format that looks like a search engine with a chat box that lets you type whatever you want to initiate a conversation with the bot. You can ask questions, talk about your day, etc.

The big names in the game at the moment at ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bing. I’d imagine you’ve heard of these at some point in recent months if you are at all plugged into tech. Google Bard is a competitor in this space.

That’s all a pretty vague explanation, and since I haven’t used any of these products, I can’t share personal experiences. What I can do is show you what Google says about Bard’s potential. But as you take all of this in, you need to keep in mind that Google (and the others) are aware that these AI chatbots will make mistakes, are experiments to be tested and not fully trusted, and that there are safeguards in place so that you don’t try and create a robot army to take over the world. Here’s the full Bard FAQ.

Here are the examples of uses for Bard in a write-up from Google that’s probably worth reading:

Productivity

We believe users will be able to maximize their time by collaborating with Bard. For example, say a user is
planning a party; Bard can help them come up with their to-do list and draft an outline of the invitation —
helping free up the user’s time and brainspace to dedicate to higher-level tasks.

Creativity

Bard can also help bring a user’s ideas to life or spark their creativity in new ways. For example, if a user is
writing a blog post, Bard can outline it — providing a starting point so they do not have to face a blank page. We also see Bard inspire creativity by generating poems, short stories, taglines and other imaginative
endeavors.

Curiosity

Bard can be a jumping off point for users’ curiosity as they explore ideas or topics of interest. For instance,
Bard can explain a complex concept simply or surface relevant insights on a topic, which might inspire a
user to explore and learn more.

And here’s what a response from Bard might look like:

So that’s Google Bard. If you want to sign-up to gain access, you can do so at bard.google.com.

Read the original post: Google’s Bard Open For Sign-Ups if You Need an AI Collaborator in Life

Jabra introduced the latest iteration of its Elite earbuds this morning, the Elite 4 model. Priced at just $99, the main selling point of these buds is that they feature most of the high-end features one would expect from a pricey set of earbuds, but all at an affordable price.

Specs for the Elite 4 buds include Bluetooth Multipoint, Fast Pair (and Swift Pair), Active Noise Cancellation, 4 microphones, 5.5 hours of battery life (22 hours with the case, 28 with ANC disabled), fast charge (1 hour playback with 10 minutes of charge), Spotify Tap, Google Assistant support, as well as support for the Jabra Sound+ app which is a solid piece of software.

These buds are available in four colors: Dark Gray, Navy, Lilac and Light Beige.

If you need a new set of buds that don’t break the bank, but still sound good and feature all of the goods you might need, follow the link below.

Amazon Link | Jabra Link

Read the original post: Jabra’s $99 Elite 4 Earbuds Now Out, Feature All the Necessities

Last week, Verizon appears to have jumped the gun a bit and detailed that Pixel Watch owners were receiving the March security update. Today, Google has now confirmed this news, with the update said to be now rolling out globally.

Owners will know they are running the latest build should they see build number RWDA.230114.008.R1 in the settings menu. If you aren’t seeing that, then you don’t have the latest and you’ll be now in line to receive it once the OTA hits your device.

As for what’s new, there is actually a ton of goodies inside. Google has detailed all of it below.

What’s Included

• Watch Faces – Digital Clock is now available with button press when the device is powered down. The time will now appear upon crown push, alongside the red low battery indicator.
• Display – In addition to enabling AOD in the settings on your watch or companion app, you can now turn AOD on by  rotating the haptic crown, and the screen activates in AOD off and brightens display in ambient mode.
• Touch – Optimizations have been added to improve sensitivity of touch screen behavior.
  Settings – Battery saver enable/disable single tap support in QSS has been fully enabled in this release.
• Alarms – In the coming weeks, a fix will be rolled out via PlayStore to update the Clock app that addresses some alarms which have been having a delayed or false start. Ensure Auto-update apps is selected in Play Store > Settings on your watch and you will get this update once it’s available when your watch is on charger and connected to Wi-Fi.

If you thought you were going crazy because your Pixel Watch wasn’t receiving the update last week, now we know what the deal was. Verizon was just a bit early.

// Google Support

Read the original post: Google Confirms, Pixel Watch Now Receiving March Update

After a brief delay, Google has now posted Pixel 6 lineup OTA packages and factory images for the March security update and Feature Drop. We’re not seeing anywhere that Google specifically mentions what caused the delay, but here we are.

The rest of the Pixel lineups received this same update on March 13. Inside, you’ll find the security patch (what’s new here), plus the latest features thanks to the Feature Drop (what’s new here). Below you’ll see the updated build numbers for Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a.

• Pixel 6: TQ2A.230305.008.E1
• Pixel 6 Pro: TQ2A.230305.008.E1
• Pixel 6a: TQ2A.230305.008.E1

Google should begin pushing these updates shortly over-the-air (Settings>System>System update), but if you don’t want to wait for Google and prefer to update manually, you will find each factory image or OTA file at the links below. For instructions on how to flash a factory image, here you go. For instructions on how to flash an OTA .zip file, here you go.

Links:

• Factory Images
• OTA Files
• Pixel/Nexus Security Bulletin
• Pixel Security Update Changes

// Google Support

Read the original post: Following Delay, Google’s Pixel 6 Lineup Gets March Update

Samsung is enhancing its trade-in values again, allowing buyers of the carrier unlocked Galaxy S23 Ultra to score the device for as low as $449. For this phone, that’s a helluva price.

• Read Our Review: Galaxy S23 Ultra

What does enhanced trade-in values mean? To put it simply, trade-in values can seem rather arbitrary. What Samsung gives you today could be different next week. During this promotional period, Samsung has increased the value of your trade-in, providing you with more buying power in hopes to get you to buy its latest flagship device. For example, had you have traded in a Galaxy Z Fold 4 yesterday, you’d have likely received $510. Today, you’ll receive $750. That’s giving you, the buyer, an extra $240 in savings.

At the same time, Samsung is giving buyers $100 of instant credit to put towards accessories, plus, they have a solid Galaxy Watch 5 Pro + Galaxy Buds 2 Pro bundle happening. Long story short, it’s not a terrible time to upgrade or buy into the Samsung ecosystem.

As for whether the Galaxy S23 Ultra is worth $449? Yes, it most certainly is, so long as you have an amazing trade-in.

Buy Galaxy S23 Ultra 

Read the original post: DEAL: Unlocked Galaxy S23 Ultra for $449 With Proper Trade-In

Beginning today, OnePlus is offering a new 100-day money back guarantee on the OnePlus 11 smartphone. OnePlus is calling it, “100 Days, No Regret.”

• Related: Our OnePlus 11 Review

For buyers, this new promo means you can purchase the phone between today and April 30, 2023, and if at the end of 100 days you aren’t completely satisfied, you can return it to OnePlus for a full refund. As for any small text restrictions, there isn’t much.

Purchases must be registered within 15 days of phone delivery date. For those customers who decide that the device is not for them, they have 100 days from their delivery date to start the return process and be eligible for a full refund. Upon inspection of the phone, customers will receive refunds within 30 days.

If you plan to utilize this offer from OnePlus, I’d recommend a case and make sure to treat the device well. You’d hate for OnePlus to inspect the device and then not honor a full refund due to a scratch or something. OnePlus specifically states that normal wear and tear is acceptable, but that, “To be eligible for a full refund, your phone must be undamaged with no visible chips or cracks.”

Does a promo like this tempt you into checking out a particular phone? They never have for me, but maybe I’m the weirdo.

OnePlus Site Link

Read the original post: OnePlus Now Offers OnePlus 11 Buyers a 100-Day Money Back Guarantee

Late last week and over the weekend, Verizon and Samsung began shipping out the March security patch to a group of devices, such as the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy Z Fold 3, Flip, and the Galaxy S20 FE.

Listed in the changelog for each device is the March security patch, but beyond that, we’re not seeing much. If you happen to spot something following the update, please feel free to let us know.

Once updated, owners will see the following software build numbers.

• Galaxy S23: S911USQS1AWBL
• Galaxy S23+: S916USQS1AWBL
• Galaxy S23 Ultra: S918USQS1AWBL
• Galaxy S20 FE: G781VSQS7HWB6
• Galaxy Z Fold 2: F916USQS2JWC1
• Galaxy Z Fold 3: F926USQS3FWC1
• Galaxy Z Flip 3: F711USQS4FWC1

Keep the updates coming, Samsung.

// Verizon

Read the original post: Samsung Galaxy S23, Foldables Receive March Security Update

Google and its retail partners are hosting a fresh sale on all things Pixel at the moment, and the deals are as good as we have ever seen. The Pixel 7 has reached a new low, plus the Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel Watch, and Pixel Buds Pro are also at all-time best prices.

The best Pixel 7 deal we have ever seen is a $150-off discount that drops its starting price to $449. At that price, we are in Pixel 4a territory for a phone that is a good step or two above it. Typically priced at $599, I’m not sure I can quite explain to you the level of steal this is. The Pixel 7 (review), with its smaller profile and impressive performance, is one of the best phones you can buy. With a $449 price tag, you should run to it before it sells through.

That $449 price gets you 128GB of storage. If you’d like more storage, you’ll find 256GB models with the same discount, bringing their starting price to $549. All colors are also discounted, so find your favorite (Obsidian, Lemongrass, or Snow).

Shop Pixel 7: Amazon | Best Buy | Google

Want a bit more from a phone like a Pixel 7 Pro? It too is $150 off, which brings its starting price down to $749. While still a good chunk of change, that’s an incredible price for a phone as good as the Pixel 7 Pro (review). Like the Pixel 7, you’ll also find all storage variants and colors with the same discount, so feel free to upgrade to 256GB or 512GB.

Shop Pixel 7 Pro: Amazon | Best Buy | Google

As for accessories, the Pixel Watch and Pixel Buds Pro each hit with a $50-off discount means you’ll pay $299 or $149, respectively. We’ve seen these discounts before, but they do match the best to date from Google. And because it wouldn’t be a Pixel sale without the Pixel 6a involved, yep, it’s once again down to $299 ($150 off).

Deal Links: Pixel Watch | Pixel Buds Pro |Pixel 6a

It’s a good day to shop for Google Pixel devices.

Read the original post: Pixel 7 Gets Biggest Discount Ever, 7 Pro and Watch and Buds Pro Discounted Too

Qualcomm announced and detailed the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 Mobile Platform this week, with the platform itself being a combination of the Kryo CPU, Adreno GPU, Snapdragon X62 5G Modem-RF System, and a suite of other technologies. Long story short, Qualcomm says this is the most powerful Snapdragon 7 series ever released.

Highlights for the platform includes a 50% performance increase for the Kryo CPU with peak speeds reaching 2.91 GHz, GPU performance getting a 2x boost, and all with 13% better power efficiency. That means more power for a longer period of time, which is perfect for mobile gamers or those who love streaming high-quality content. Speaking of streaming, the upgraded modem delivers 5G download speeds of up to 4.4Gbps, as well as 5G/4G Dual-Sim Dual Active support for those using two SIMs at once.

Phones utilizing this platform should also see better photo snapping experiences, too. In Qualcomm’s documentation, it notes that the 18-bit Qualcomm Spectra Triple ISP (image signal processor) captures over 4,000x more data than a 14-bit ISP for photos and videos with extreme dynamic range. Additionally, users can take brighter and more clear shots in darker settings with Mega Low Light, which merges the best aspects of 30 images into one vivid result.

As for what phones will get this platform, nothing is confirmed yet, but Qualcomm notes OEMs like realme and Redmi will soon be releasing phones based on this platform expected this month.

Doesn’t sound too shabby for those who aren’t buying phones coming with 8-Series chipsets.

// Qualcomm [Documentation]

Read the original post: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 Mobile Platform Brings the Power

Google introduced a pretty gosh darn good Photo Unblur feature on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. This year, Google may one up itself by including a Video Unblur feature on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

Thanks to the app crackers over at 9to5Google, we’re learning that Google is indeed working on this feature for the Google Photos app. They were even able to enable the new feature, though, it doesn’t have any actual effect on videos quite yet. Google is probably still working on this feature, but the place inside the app has been set. Makes sense.

Much like Photo Unblur, it would make a lot of sense for Google to release this feature exclusively for the Pixel 8 lineup, but after a bit of time, they could make it available on additional devices. That’s what we would expect.

In addition to Video Unblur, new video overlays have also been spotted in the app. These overlays can be placed on top of your videos, with effects including things like VHS, Polaroid, B&W, Super 8, and plenty more.

Google I/O is probably going to be pretty good.

// 9to5Google

Read the original post: Pixel 8 to Offer Video Unblur Feature?

Yesterday, Google’s Project Zero detailed multiple (as in a total of eighteen) internet to Baseband Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities in Samsung-made Exynos Modems. These modems can be found in devices such as the Pixel 6 series, Pixel 7 series, Galaxy S22 series, and plenty more.

In layman’s, for those of us who are not security experts, the most critical of the vulnerabilities would allow a skilled attacker to create an exploit and compromise an affected phone simply by knowing a victim’s phone number. Four of the discovered vulnerabilities are so bad that Project Zero even made a policy exception with regard to its disclosure process. It’s that bad apparently.

Devices Likely Affected

• Mobile devices from Samsung, including those in the S22, M33, M13, M12, A71, A53, A33, A21s, A13, A12 and A04 series;
• Mobile devices from Vivo, including those in the S16, S15, S6, X70, X60 and X30 series;
• The Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series of devices from Google; and
• any vehicles that use the Exynos Auto T5123 chipset.

So we’ve established that there’s an issue. The promising news is, the people who need to know and begin correcting these issues are aware and fixes are already on the way. For example, the March security patch for Pixel phones contains a fix for one of the vulnerabilities. In the meantime, Google’s Project Zero recommends that you avoid using WiFi Calling or VoLTE (Voice-Over-LTE) by physically going into your device settings and disabling them.

Until security updates are available, users who wish to protect themselves from the baseband remote code execution vulnerabilities in Samsung’s Exynos chipsets can turn off Wi-Fi calling and Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) in their device settings. Turning off these settings will remove the exploitation risk of these vulnerabilities.

The theory has been tossed around that these vulnerabilities is what’s keeping the Pixel 6 lineup from receiving the latest security patch and Feature Drop. That seems very plausible at this point.

We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. If this news affects you, I also recommend checking out Project Zero’s post on the situation by following the link below.

// Project Zero

Read the original post: Multiple Vulnerabilities Found in Samsung Exynos Modems, Pixel Phones Greatly Affected

YouTube TV announced this morning that as of today, new members will see a updated price, with the service raising its monthly price for service up to $73/month from $65/month. It’s been 3 years since YouTube TV’s last price hike. In 2020, the service went from $50/month to $65/month.

YouTube TV states that existing members will be charged the new monthly price starting April 18. And while this is awful news for subscribers, it’s also announced that they are reducing the price of the 4K Plus add-on from $20/month down to $10/month.

The reasoning behind the price increase is, in YouTube TV’s words, “in order to bring you the best possible TV service.”

Damn.

// @YouTubeTV

Read the original post: 3 Years Later, YouTube TV Raises Prices Again to $72.99/Mo