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SurfaceFlinger and WindowManager. Hardware Composer HAL. OpenGL ES. Neural Networks. All too often, the government is taking advantage of outdated privacy laws to get its hands on this valuable private information by demanding it without a warrant.
The public has a right to know how and under what circumstances their location information is being accessed by the government — and that is exactly what we hope our information requests will uncover. What do you think about the various lengths of time carriers keep customers' data? Are you surprised? As for the cost of service, you will find cheaper and easier-to-decipher unlimited data plans at T-Mobile, but Verizon's four different plans do include interesting perks.
A year's subscription to a streaming gaming service — either Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass — has just been added to the mix for Play More subscribers. Verizon's prepaid plans are especially attractive, now that the carrier has increased the amount of data you get. All Prepaid plans get 5G service, too, though Ultra Wideband coverage is reserved for prepaid customers with unlimited plans. Verizon has fared well when we've tested customer service for phone carriers, and it continues to offer an extensive selection of phones, including exclusives.
If you don't mind paying a little more on your monthly bill, Verizon provides the performance and service that justifies the extra cost. Unlimited plans also include six months of Stadia Pro streaming gaming.
Variety is not the spice of life when it comes to Visible's service options, as the discount carrier and Verizon MVNO offers only one service plan. Visible used to place a cap on data speeds when the carrier debuted, but that restriction has since been lifted. That means you can enjoy the full power of Verizon's network, with your speeds slowing only should the network get too congested. That's standard operating procedure for networks like Visible that use another carrier's towers for their coverage, though.
Compared to the best cheap cell phone plans , Visible has the best option for families thanks to the generous discounts as you add lines to your plan. Your Visible Party Plan isn't limited to people living at the same address — it can cover friends, distant relatives or roommates. Visible got its start as an iPhone-only carrier, though it subsequently added Android phones to the mix, from flagships like the Galaxy S21 and Pixel 5 to budget offerings like the Galaxy A You can also bring your own device to Visible.
Mint Mobile offers some of the lowest rates around, provided you're willing to pay for coverage up front. But that price is only available through the first three months of your service. To maintain that low rate, you've got to sign up for a year of coverage, limiting your flexibility to change carriers if you're not satisfied.
Mint uses T-Mobile's network to provide coverage, so you should expect fast performance, particularly if you live in an urban area. Mint says you'll get 5G or 4G coverage depending on which signal is stronger — assuming you've got a 5G-compatible phone, of course.
Speaking of devices, Mint sells both iPhones and Android handsets, at a wide range of prices. You can also bring your current phone to Mint if you prefer. Our Mint Mobile vs. Mint Mobile comparisons offer a closer look at how this discount service compares to bigger phone carriers. Metro By T-Mobile — formerly MetroPCS — remains one of the best phone carriers if you don't want to spend a lot of money on your cell phone service.
That said, Metro is facing stepped-up competition from big-name rivals and obscure discount carriers alike. Still, there's plenty to like about Metro, which benefits from using T-Mobile's cellular network for its coverage. Even though Metro traffic can slow down when T-Mobile's towers get congested, in our testing, that's been a rare occurrence. More importantly, Metro customers with 5G-capable phones can enjoy T-Mobile's 5G coverage, which now stretches coast to coast.
You can find additional savings if you port over a phone number when signing up for service with Metro. Finally, unlocked devices usually do not come with unnecessary apps — commonly known as bloatware — that carriers will force manufacturers to pre-install.
Most unlocked devices will come with minimal bloat, and even if they do, you can usually get rid of it. See also: What is an unlocked phone and how do I know if my phone is unlocked? By far, the biggest disadvantage of buying unlocked is that you usually need to pay for the device in full, all in one transaction. Luckily, there are ways around this. PayPal has a credit plan which gives you six months of interest-free credit, for example.
Credit card companies sometimes offer payment plans to help break down the price of high-ticket items into smaller chunks, and some manufacturers will even offer interest-free payment plans right on their websites. However, even with these options, paying for an unlocked phone can be tricky for many buyers.
This can be especially confusing when importing devices from other countries. In general, you should do a lot of research on a device before buying to ensure it will work the way you expect it to. As such, people who buy unlocked phones need to be their own tech support and be pretty good at Googling solutions to their problems. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, buying carrier-locked phones used to be the norm.
Even when consumers choose to buy carrier phones, they are likely aware that unlocked phones exist, which is a huge shift from five or ten years ago. Related: The best Android phones you can buy right now. If you are tech-savvy and can afford the full cost of a smartphone in one transaction, we highly recommend buying unlocked.
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