Technologies

AT&T Launches Its Own Kid Phone in Collaboration With Samsung, the AmiGo Jr.

Samsung’s hardware and AT&T’s software combine for a kid-focused phone.

Parents grapple with the modern day question of whether to give their kids phones for staying in contact and keeping tabs on their whereabouts, while also navigating the realities of too much screen time and shielding them from the corrosive effects of social media.

AT&T just introduced its own answer, the AmiGo Jr. Phone, a Samsung smartphone with an AmiGo app that applies parental controls at the device level. Parents use an AT&T AmiGo app on their iOS or Android phone to manage apps, settings and screentime limits on the kid’s phone; the AmiGo software works only with this AmiGo Jr. Phone.

The AmiGo Jr. is a Samsung Galaxy A16 phone with a 6.7-inch display, 128GB of storage and a 5,000 mAh battery. It has a trio of cameras on the back: a 50-megapixel main camera, 5-megapixel ultrawide camera and 2-megapixel macro camera. The phone is available only in black.

The phone is available now online at AT&T, in AT&T stores and via the MyAT&T app, and priced at $3 a month for a 36-month contract. Parents also need to purchase an unlimited data line on their phone plan for the phone starting at $61 a month, plus pay a $35 activation fee.

Offering an inexpensive older camera for a child’s use isn’t new — it’s how parents often set up devices for kids. The Galaxy A16 was released in January 2025. What makes the AmiGo Jr. different is the AmiGo app implementing parental controls at the device level under Android 16, according to an AT&T spokesperson. Beyond the parental control features offered in Android, the AmiGo software adds Safe Zones that generate alerts when the phone has entered or exited them and a School Mode for restricting features during times when their attention should be focused away from the screen.

«After extensive, candid conversations with parents, we heard a clear message: This isn’t just a device decision — it’s a deeply personal one about trust, safety and staying connected,» said Erin Scarborough, AT&T senior vice president of revenue management and commercialization, in a statement. «Creating a kid’s phone was the natural and overdue next step for us.»

The company cited the fact that 40% of its current customers are parents as incentive to develop the AmiGo Jr. Phone. And based on its own research, 60% of parents of kids up to age 12 consider a smartphone to be a safety essential.

Building phones for kids is not a novel concept; CNET’s Katie Collins looked at the HMD Fusion X1 at last year’s Mobile World Congress, for example. And system-based parental controls have also become more robust in recent years, even as a recent study suggests that parents should wait until the age of 13 to give their kids a phone.

Also available now is the AT&T AmiGo Jr. Watch 2, a more durable smartwatch that ties into AT&T’s AmiGo system.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Feb. 8, #1695

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Feb. 8, No. 1,695.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a tough one. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel, but it’s the repeated letter, so you’ll see it twice.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with E.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with D.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can mean to attach something firmly and deeply into something else.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is EMBED.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Feb. 7, No. 1694 was BLEAT.

Recent Wordle answers

Feb. 3, No. 1690: WEIGH

Feb. 4, No. 1691: CHIDE

Feb. 5, No. 1692: SWOOP

Feb. 6, No. 1693: GAVEL

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 8, #973

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Feb. 8 #973.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a real challenge. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Stop that!

Green group hint: Ho-hum.

Blue group hint: You might need to use a special character.

Purple group hint: Not one, not three.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Suppress.

Green group: Same old stuff.

Blue group: Features of a strong password.

Purple group: Words after «two.»

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is suppress. The four answers are gag, inhibit, muzzle and silence.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is same old stuff. The four answers are drill, grind, habit and routine.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is features of a strong password. The four answers are length, number, symbol and uppercase.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is words after «two.» The four answers are bit, cents, faced and timer.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 7 #706

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Feb. 7, No. 706.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is especially tricky, as a variety of words could fit the theme. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Boo-o-o-o-ring

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Zzzz… not very exciting.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

HIND, DATE, DRUM, MOST, CHIN, PAIN, RAIN, NOSE, TOME, TOMES

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

DULL, DREARY, HUMDRUM, MUNDANE, TIRESOME

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is WATCHINGPAINTDRY. To find it, start with the W that’s three letters up from the bottom on the far-left row, and wind up, across and down.