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Republic Wireless gets serious about its phone selection
Republic Wireless' promise of extra-affordable cellular service has usually come with a big catch: the phone selection. Outside of the occasional gem, you've had to settle for browsing a tiny collection of so-so budget devices. That won't be a problem after this summer, though. Republic has announced that it's adding seven more phones to its roster this July, and most of them are reasonably up to date, high-end models you'd likely be happy to have. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are in the mix, as is Google's current Nexus line and the Moto X Pure Edition -- you can even get last year's Galaxy S6 if you're striking a balance between cost and cutting-edge. The prices are generally on par with what you find elsewhere, such as $699 for the Galaxy S7.
New in our buyer's guide: The iPhone 6s, Surface Book and much more
Sorry we haven't updated the buyers's guide in a couple months -- we've been too busy pumping out reviews of all the new devices. Now that things have finally started to slow down (fingers crossed), let's take a step back and look at all the awesome stuff we've had a chance to test this fall. For starters, there's a bunch of excellent smartphones that we absolutely need to add to our guide. Namely: the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the Nexus 6P and 5X, and the Moto X Pure. On the tablet side, we're inducting both the iPad mini 4 and the Surface Pro 4. Microsoft makes another appearance in the laptop section, where we've added the Surface Book, along with Dell's Chromebook 13. Rounding out the list, we threw in a few miscellaneous items, including the new Xbox One Elite Wireless controller, the redesigned Sonos Play:5 wireless speaker and Google's $35 Chromecast Audio.
Verizon can't activate your Moto X Pure Edition just yet (update)
We hope you didn't rush to snag a Moto X Pure Edition for use on Verizon's network -- you'll be disappointed for the next few days. Early adopters speaking on Reddit and PrepaidPhoneNews say that Big Red is turning down subscribers trying to activate Motorola's giant device. The carrier just can't find the IMEI (the hardware identifier) needed to make things work, according to these reports. It's an odd problem, and a frustrating one when Verizon promised just last week that it would activate the Pure Edition. What gives? Thankfully, we've found out that this is only temporary. Update (9/17): According to Verizon, activations should be working now, via the website or in-store.
The iPhone 6s Plus vs. the competition: Big is beautiful
Apple may have finally embraced larger phones last year, but this year's announcement of the 6s Plus doesn't mean we're going to see a 6-inch iPhone any time soon. We're still looking at the same 5.5-inch screen size, though with faster internals and some snazzy new features like 3D Touch. But, with larger displays becoming the norm, users now have to think about more than just the screen size. We've matched up the iPhone 6s Plus against some leading handsets to make it easier to decide which big-screen phone has what it takes to be your next device.
Moto X Pure Edition review: The third time really is the charm
The Moto X line is a smartphone that's always been dancing around greatness. The first one was a lovely, underpowered experiment in smartphone customization and thoughtfulness. The second added some much-needed Moto Maker style and some more powerful silicon. Now Motorola's at it again with the Moto X Pure Edition, a phone that appears to sit right at the intersection of price and power. It's unlocked, ready for any US carrier and -- more importantly -- it's priced as low as $400 off contract. In other words, it's a serious contender for the "Best Smartphone Out There" crown, at least on paper. The thing is, the market for cheap unlocked smartphones has exploded in popularity this year, and it'll take something really special for it to capture the title. So, how does Motorola's new flagship fare? Spoiler alert: really damned well.
Moto X Pure Edition hits the US on September 3rd
Up until today, we only knew the Moto X Pure Edition would launch sometime this September. But now Motorola's revealed via Twitter that its new flagship, also known as the Style, will hit the US on the 3rd of said month. (International availability is still unknown, but we reached out to the company to see if had any dates to share.) The Moto X Pure Edition is going to start at $400 unlocked and, here in the States, it's expected to work on any carrier -- with LTE. As a refresher, it also features a 5.7-inch, Quad HD (1,440 x 2,560) display, Snapdragon 808 processor with 3GB RAM, 20-megapixel (f/2.0) rear camera and Android Lollipop. If you don't feel like waiting for it, there's always the 2015 Moto G -- which is only $180, yet continues to offer some of the best bang for your buck.
Moto X Pure Edition gets a 64GB option
Motorola trotted out a bloatware-free version of the Moto X (2014) back in September, and now, it's getting a memory boost. The company quietly added the 64GB Pure Edition handset to its Moto Maker site where you're free to fine-tune a design before committing funds. While that tally doubles the max storage space, it's only available on the unlocked model for use on AT&T or T-Mobile, and sets you back $600 off-contract. That's $100 more than the regular Pure Edition. At any rate, folks who've clamored for more memory are finally getting an option, and one that's already rockin' the latest version of Android.
