The Morning After: The loudest smartphone ever?

We're back! T-Mobile and Sprint might well become one big phone network. It's the mobile industry's long-running equivalent of the Ross and Rachel will-they-won't-they, just with more references to 5G spectrum. Oh and LG is promising a stupidly loud smartphone.

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The deal could face serious regulatory challenges, however.
T-Mobile and Sprint will merge to create a 5G powerhouse

After years of on-again, off-again talks, it's official: T-Mobile and Sprint have announced plans to merge. The all-stock, $26 billion deal values Sprint at $59 billion (the combined company would be worth $146 billion) and will give T-Mobile the reins, with the carrier's John Legere serving as CEO. Sprint chief Marcelo Claure will serve on the board of directors alongside Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Sprint's parent company, SoftBank. Why? It's all about 5G.

Its Boombox Speaker claims to double the bass output
LG G7 ThinQ's speaker is apparently 10 times louder than others

Another day, another LG G7 ThinQ teaser. Following the 1,000-nit super-bright display, today the Korean giant boasted another feature on its upcoming flagship smartphone: the Boombox Speaker. As the name implies, we're told to expect a speaker that "increases the base sound level by more than 6dB, with twice the amount of bass." According to LG's measurements, this apparently translates to more than 10 times the loudness of a typical smartphone. And, you can further amplify the bass by putting the device on a solid surface or box.

You won't escape ad targeting just because you're using a big screen.
YouTube helps advertisers target TV cord cutters

Do you watch YouTube instead of TV rather than alongside it? Like it or not, marketers will soon have a better shot at targeting you. YouTube has revealed it will soon give advertisers the chance to target viewers who either watch little in the way of conventional TV or watch YouTube on TV. To begin with, it's introducing an AdWords category called 'light TV viewers' -- that is, cord cutters who watch most or all of their video online. In the months ahead, YouTube will also give a range of advertisers the option of targeting TV screens, not just mobile devices and PCs.

'The Day the World Changed' is both memorial and lecture.
The devastation of nuclear war is VR's latest reality check

VR is bringing us experiences we might otherwise never have, like being inside the burned-out shell of a dome right under the atomic bomb that America dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. In The Day the World Changed, not only are you in this bombed-out structure, you're also invited to interact with ghostly floating artifacts recovered from the site.

But wait, there's more...

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• Ben Heck's Sega Saturn teardown

• Huawei may have a backup OS in case it has to drop Android

• The best and worst laptop brands 2018

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