After an embargoed article went up yesterday revealing the announcement, Google today formally published a blog post detailing some major changes coming to its Project Fi cellular service. As of today, the MNVO will now be known as Google Fi and, therefore, graduate from its long-lasting “Project” status. The service is also extending support to lots of other smartphones, giving users the option to choose the phone they want instead of being restricted to a set few.
That new list of phones is pretty extensive. As reported yesterday, those with a Samsung or OnePlus-branded phone can now use Google Fi. This goes for devices stretching back to the days of the Galaxy S6 and OnePlus 3. There’s also more support for Huawei devices like the Mate 20, the Essential Phone, Nokia-branded devices, and Xiaomi smartphones. the full list can be found here.
There’s also support for a particular type of device: the iPhone. For the first time ever, Google is formally granting Apple’s smartphone support for use on its Fi network. While it was technically possible in the past to insert a Project Fi SIM card into an iPhone and have it work properly, Google never acknowledged this was something any user could do. Now, though, anyone with an iPhone 5s or newer can use the network with their device.
This comes with a catch, however. At least for the time being, iPhone support on Google Fi will remain in beta. It’ll work, but you might run into problems down the road such as poor network connectivity or general service issues. Until Google irons out these bugs, you’ll have to deal with them. But hey, Fi support on iPhones. It’s here. Finally.
If today’s announcements were enough to convince you to sign up, you can do so right here.
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