On Thursday, April 19, Verizon announced the redesign of “FamilyBase” — its parental controls app for iOS and Android. Now known as “Smart Family,” the app allows parents to control their kids’ phone use such as the type of content they can view, the amount of screen time they have, and more for $5 per month.
The new redesign is not only brings a fresh look to the app, but provides parents with an easy-to-use interface and controls. The app sets out to provide parents with tools that allow them to give their kids a more healthy and balanced experience when using smartphones.
Using the app, parents are be notified when their kids are on their phones or check the battery status, and will also receive a summary of their kids’ call and text activity. They can see what their kids spend the most time on, whether it’s texting their friends or scrolling through a social media app.
To keep from being too distracted while studying or doing homework, parents are also able to pause their kids’ ability to use the internet on their smartphone and limit access to calls, texts, and data. Through the app, parents can check off specific days of the week and times they want to keep their kids from using their phones.
For safety precautions, there’s content filters to limit what kids can see on their phones — parents can block inappropriate apps and websites. They’ll also have the baility to approve or block most social media, messaging, and gaming apps.
For even more capabilities, parents can instead opt for the Verizon Smart Family Premium app — which is a bit more expensive at $10 per month. Under the premium plan, parents can also use location tracking on top of the features already available in the standard app.
With location tracking, parents can see where their kids are based on the location of their phone and will be notified when kids leave or arrive a pre-defined area. This includes receiving push notifications to their phones letting them know their child has arrived safely back home.
The Verizon Smart Family app is currently available for download via Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.