Android Q will include more ways for carriers to SIM lock your phone

Jan. 21, 2019

Since last week’s leak, it’s been clear that Android Q is going to include some positive changes for Android going forward, like system-wide dark mode and new permissions settings. Unfortunately, it’s not all good things coming in Android Q, as new code changes show that network carriers will have more ability to lock your phone down to specific networks via your SIM card.

Over the weekend, four commits were posted to various parts of Android’s Gerrit source code management, all entitled “Carrier restriction enhancements for Android Q.” In them, we see that network carriers will have more fine-grained control over which networks devices will and will not work on.

More specifically, it will be possible to designate a list of “allowed” and “excluded” carriers, essentially a whitelist and a blacklist of what will and won’t work on a particular phone. This can be done with a fine-grained detail to even allow blocking virtual carrier networks that run on the same towers as your main carrier.

Restriction changes are also on the way for dual-SIM devices. At the moment, carriers can set individual restrictions for each SIM slot, but with Android Q, carriers will be able to lock out the second slot unless there’s an approved SIM card in the first slot. This SIM lock restriction is applied immediately and will persist through restarting the phone, and even doing a factory reset.

Thankfully, in both cases, emergency phone calls will still work as expected, regardless of any restrictions on the particular SIM cards in your phone.

9to5Google’s Take:

Looks like buying an unlocked phone instead of one from a carrier will become more important in Android Q and beyond.

and the face ID is scary fast, it makes you question if your phone was even locked.

On July 10, 2013, at the same time that Huawei China and Huawei USA were falsely claiming that the conduct of A.X. and F.W. was “isolated,” constituted a “moment of indiscretion,” and was contrary to Huawei’s corporate policies, Huawei China launched a formal policy instituting a bonus program to reward employees who stole confidential information from competitors. Under the policy, Huawei China established a formal schedule for rewarding employees for stealing information from competitors based upon the confidential value of the information obtained. Employees were directed to post confidential information obtained from other companies on an internal Huawei website, or, in the case of especially sensitive information, to send an encrypted email to a special email mailbox. A “competition management group” was tasked with reviewing the submission and awarding monthly bonuses to the employees who provided the most valuable stolen information.

New Galaxy S10 phones bring it: 4 rear cameras, 1TB of storage, in-screen fingerprint scanner and 5G

With the Galaxy S10, Samsung celebrates its 10th anniversary Galaxy S phone by going big and bold. How bold? Each of the four new Galaxy S10 models is more impressive than the last: there's the cheaper S10E ($750), the Galaxy S10 ($900), S10 Plus ($1,000) and Galaxy S10 5G, the brand's first 5G phone (price TBA, as are UK and Australian prices for the whole range).

This is Samsung seeking to whip up excitement, roar back in sales and defend its title as the world's top smartphone brand. But the Galaxy S10 phones also represent a quest for perfection.

What does "perfection" mean to Samsung in 2019? An edge-to-edge screen with teeny-tiny bezels. The (remarkable) ability to wirelessly charge another device. An Infinity-O display that cuts a small circle (or oval) to make room for front-facing cameras. The world's first ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint reader, which unlocks the Galaxy S10 using sound waves. Up to four rear cameras. Up to 1TB of built-in storage. The all-new One UI. Android Pie. A cutting-edge Snapdragon 855 processor. And, in one case, 5G capabilities.

This is an impressive list of changes, but when I held them in my hands (except for the 5G model, which we couldn't touch), the Galaxy S10 phones looked and felt extremely familiar. That's not a bad thing at all. It means the camera "notch" stays out of the way, and that the edge-to-edge screen feels natural. And yes, you still get a headphone jack. Where Apple dramatically retooled the iPhone X by removing its signature home button and adding a screen notch, Samsung opted for an unbroken continuum. The Galaxy S10 simply picks up where the Galaxy S9 left off.

One thing does startle me though, and that's the fact that none of the four new Galaxy S10 phones has 3D face unlock. The 5G model will come with a 3D depth-sensing camera on the front and back, but that will only assist with photography and AR, not with the iPhone XS-style of unlocking your phone with your face. (More on this in the fingerprint unlocking section below.)

Preorders for all but the 5G phone begin on Feb. 21, for a March 8 release date. Each preorder comes with a free set of Galaxy Buds as a gift.

. . . .