Android: Page 2

Ask ten people how the iPhone Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 matchup plays out this fall, and most will predict a rout: Apple's foldable debut does to this category what the original iPhone did to BlackBerry. That prediction needs a clearer definition of "win" before it holds up. Total foldable-market share is a different question than launch-week hype, and once you separate the two, the case for an Apple rout looks a lot thinner.

Galaxy S26 owners testing One UI 9 finally have a new build to install after nearly a month without a major beta release. Reports of One UI 9 Beta 5 began appearing on August 12, with the update reaching Galaxy S26-series testers in India.

Google holds its Made by Google 2026 event today, expected to unveil the Pixel 11 series, Pixel Watch 5 and possibly a first-ever tracking tag. For anyone searching "Made by Google 2026 what to expect" this week, the honest answer is mostly leaks, with one confirmed detail from Google itself: pricing across the Pixel 11 lineup is going up (GSMArena, 4 days ago). Nearly everything else, from chip specs to camera zoom figures, traces back to a single detailed preview published four days before...

Google's Gemini for Home rollout is easier to understand once you separate what is free from what requires a subscription. The basic Gemini for Home voice assistant costs nothing extra on compatible speakers and displays, while Google Home Premium adds more advanced conversation, automation, and camera features.

The European Commission today fined Google roughly $1 billion for manipulating search results to disadvantage rivals and blocking app developers from steering users toward cheaper deals outside its Play Store, then ordered the company to overhaul both products within 60 days, according to Axios.

Google has shipped two Snapseed updates for Android this month, and the Snapseed next update new features are already rolling out no waiting required. Version 4.1 adds support for RAW files from major camera manufacturers alongside in-tool undo and redo. A follow-up release, version 4.1.1.x, brings geotagging, original-image preservation, and custom save folders to Snapseed Camera. iOS users are confirmed to be getting these changes eventually, but no date has been set, per Android Authority.

When Samsung brought back the flip phone in 2020, the product practically marketed itself. The clamshell form factor carried decades of cultural memory, and Samsung packaged that nostalgia into a premium device that felt genuinely different. For a few years, the Flip was the clear winner in Samsung's foldable lineup, according to SamMobile, a remarkable result for what was, structurally speaking, a phone that folded the wrong way for productivity.

Samsung didn't announce it at Unpacked. A Reddit user found it first, and Android Authority confirmed it today on a review unit: One UI 9 now supports a 90:10 three-app split-screen layout on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series, an arrangement that closely resembles the Open Canvas multitasking system OnePlus and OPPO have used to differentiate their foldables for years. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 multitasking features also surface a meaningful difference between the standard model and the Ultra that comes...

Leaked specifications circulating this week indicate Samsung is splitting its Galaxy Z Fold 8 lineup into two distinct display tiers. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra screen size is reported at 8 inches for the main panel and 6.5 inches for the cover screen, matching the current Fold 7's dimensions. The standard Fold 8, by contrast, drops to a 7.6-inch inner display and a 5.5-inch cover screen. Android Authority, Notebookcheck, SamMobile, The Verge, and Trusted Reviews have all reported on the...

Samsung unveiled its biggest foldable lineup change in seven years at Galaxy Unpacked in London on July 22. The Galaxy Z Fold8 adopts a shorter, wider design built around a 4:3 internal display, while the larger format associated with recent Fold models moves into the premium Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra.

Samsung launched the Samsung Health Assistant beta Tuesday, opening its first fully integrated AI-powered health tool inside Samsung Health to eligible U.S. users. Rather than presenting biometric data as graphs to decode, the assistant lets users ask questions about their health, check their daily Energy Score, and receive personalized health guidance across five wellness pillars: sleep, activity, nutrition, mindfulness, and vitals. The shift Samsung is positioning here is from a dashboard you...

If you're trying to find out whether the Google Health app is down, the short answer is: not broadly. What's actually happening is narrower and, for affected users, more frustrating. A Fitbit-branded permissions screen is looping on Pixel Watch devices, blocking access to health apps and, in some cases, stopping data from syncing entirely. Google has not issued a public statement, and no user-side fix has been confirmed.

Google released Android 17 QPR 2 Beta 1 on July 20, 2026, build CP41.260701.005, and the entire release is structured around repairs. The three headline fixes address Bluetooth accessories silently failing to reconnect after a disconnect, Pixel devices rebooting when invoking Gemini, and notifications randomly going invisible, per Google's official release notes. One notable gap: the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are absent from the supported device list, despite both receiving the stable July...

A detailed specs leak ahead of tomorrow's Unpacked event reveals a deliberate first-gen tradeoff: no display, a phone-dependent Gemini assistant, and battery life that varies wildly depending on how you actually use them.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra vs Motorola Razr Fold matchup is the most competitive the book-style foldable category has seen. For seven years, Samsung refined this segment largely without a serious large-format rival. The Motorola Razr Fold is Motorola's first attempt at that space, and it comes in swinging on hardware: a 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery against the Z Fold line's 4,400mAh, and charging speeds of 80W wired and 50W wireless against Samsung's 25W and 15W (PCMag UK reported in...

The short answer: it already has. Google has matched one of its lowest official Pixel 10 prices and set a new Google Store low for the Pixel 10 Pro. Whether those prices go lower after the launch is the harder question, and it splits into two very different answers depending on which model you're considering and what you mean by "cheaper."

Chrome on Android has added a new layer between websites and your notification tray: an on-device machine learning model that screens incoming notifications for spam and deception after you've already granted permission. When the model flags something, Chrome holds the notification back and presents a choice. This isn't a redesigned permission dialog. It's a content filter operating inside a channel you voluntarily opened, and it represents a meaningful shift in how Chrome thinks about...

Code strings buried inside the latest Google Maps beta suggest Google is preparing to connect the app directly to Gmail, Google Photos, Calendar, and other Google services so Maps could show reservation or flight details drawn from connected Google apps.

Google is preparing to move "Your info" from a buried settings menu to the top of the main contacts list in Google Contacts, with a share icon permanently alongside it. The Google Contacts Your info rollout doesn't add new functionality; it makes existing functionality findable. Based on code evidence in the same app build, it also appears to be laying groundwork for Tap to Share, Google's in-development proximity sharing feature that still hasn't shipped.

No announcement has come from Google. No product roadmap has leaked. But the question of whether a Gboard sign language feature is technically plausible is answerable, and the answer, at least for a constrained first version, is yes. The mobile AI infrastructure exists. The product architecture has been demonstrated by independent researchers. And Gboard is already the platform Google has chosen to expand Android accessibility.

Google shared new Pixel 11 teaser images this week, giving the first real look at Pixel Glow, and the confirmed Pixel 11 problems have nothing to do with the lighting feature itself. Pixel Glow is real, it's genuinely clever, and it deserves more than a reflexive dismissal. The trouble is that it arrived at exactly the moment Google needs to answer harder questions.

For three years, buying a book-style foldable in the US meant choosing between Samsung and Google. That changed in May 2026 when Motorola shipped the Razr Fold, and the reception was decisive. Android Authority called it "the new best foldable to buy" for most people; Engadget rated it 8.8/10 and called it a genuine rival to both. It launched at $1,899, slightly less than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold's $1,919, which means Motorola isn't asking anyone to pay a premium to switch.

Samsung has filed a patent for a clamshell phone with a double-jointed hinge that can fold both inward and outward, eliminating the cover screen in favor of a single flexible panel that serves both purposes. Android Authority reported the filing today. It's at least the second Samsung foldable phone patent staking out this concept: Tech Advisor covered a related WIPO design patent earlier this year.

A teardown of Gboard beta version 17.8.3.939743344 reveals code for a feature called Sign-to-Text: point your phone's camera at your hands, sign, and the keyboard translates your gestures into text. Android Authority surfaced the code this week and described it as potentially "Gboard's biggest accessibility feature ever." Google has not announced it, it is not available yet, and APK teardowns regularly surface features that never ship.

A Fitbit update has knocked out SpO2 blood oxygen tracking and skin temperature monitoring on Pixel Watch devices, and Google has confirmed it is working on a fix for the permissions error. What the company has not said is when that fix will arrive, which software version caused the reset, or how many users are affected.

Gmail's Help me write now accepts custom follow-up instructions for revising an AI-generated email. Instead of choosing only broad controls such as Formalize, Friendly or Shorten, users can tell Gemini to make a specific change, such as adding a deadline or adjusting the tone.

A code teardown of Google Photos v7.83.0 has surfaced a "Save as photo" button that appears directly when a user pauses a video, bypassing the multi-step editing sequence the app currently requires to pull a still from a clip. Android Authority activated and tested the feature last week, describing it as "a much better experience than what the app offers right now."

Google is adding volume sliders directly inside the ringtone, alarm, and notification sound pickers on Pixel phones, eliminating the current need to bounce between two separate settings screens to audition a sound at the right level. Android Authority recently found the feature in an unreleased build of the Sounds app included in an unreleased Sounds app build found within Pixel 11 firmware.

Google Search AI Mode connected apps began rolling out in the U.S. this week, letting users link services like Instacart, Canva, and YouTube Music directly inside AI Mode and push tasks into those apps without leaving Search, per Google's announcement. The practical result: a grocery list assembled through conversation can land straight in an Instacart cart; a playlist AI Mode curates can be saved to YouTube Music with a single tap.

Wear OS 7 began rolling out on June 16, 2026, starting with Pixel Watch 2, Pixel Watch 3, and Pixel Watch 4, The Verge reported. If you have one of those watches, the update brings practical changes first: Live Updates, better battery efficiency, easier audio-output switching, Wear Widgets support, and expanded safety features.

Google Maps Immersive Navigation has appeared on Android Auto for at least one U.S. user, with screenshots published showing the new 3D interface running on a car display. Four months after Google said Android Auto would receive the feature "over the coming months," Android Authority reported the first publicly documented evidence that it's arriving.

That small green leaf sitting next to one of your route options is doing something specific. It marks the route Google has calculated to be the most fuel- or energy-efficient option for your trip not a scenic detour, not an environmental badge, and not the result of a setting you accidentally changed. The confusion comes from Google presenting a genuinely complex routing calculation as a single unexplained icon, switched on by default, with nothing in the app explaining what it actually does.

Google's Tensor chip program has spent four years running a node behind its rivals. The Pixel 11 TSMC 2nm chip rumor, sourced to an analyst and reported by 9to5Google last month, suggests that could change and not because Google has suddenly become a chip powerhouse, but because of who is now building its chips and where Apple is directing its own 2nm supply.

Chrome for Android is getting a dedicated back button in its three-dot overflow menu, closing a gap that Chrome on iPhone has filled for years. The catch surfaced immediately in device testing: a phone running Chrome 149 showed the redesigned menu, while a separate phone on the newer Chrome 150 still displayed the old layout. Updating to Chrome 150 is not a guarantee of anything.

Google has carved out a slot in the Android status bar for AI agents, and right now there is no confirmed way to hide it. Android Halo, announced at Google I/O in May and explained in more detail this week, gives Gemini and other supported agents a fixed, dedicated location at the top of the screen, visible across apps while an agent is active. The Android Halo status bar indicator is designed to stay put. Whether users will have any say over that is the question Google hasn't answered.

Duolingo overhauled its Korean course this week, adding new content, restructuring existing lessons, and extending the course's proficiency ceiling from roughly A2 to B2 on the CEFR scale, according to the company's blog. The Duolingo Korean course update affects one of the platform's largest learner communities. For new students, it's a more ambitious course than before. For the 1.9 million active learners already mid-path, it's the same destination with a rearranged route.

The European Commission issued binding rules this week requiring Google to open Android's deepest system controls to competing AI assistants on equal terms with Gemini. The order, published under Digital Markets Act Article 6(7), is not a choice screen or a preference menu. It mandates OS-level infrastructure access, and it sets a compliance clock running toward a July 2027 deadline for EU users to see the results.

The Google Store currently advertises "up to $1,040 back in total" on the Pixel 10 Pro, with a note that reads: "Offer applied. See final price at checkout." That gap between the headline and the checkout screen is what this piece maps. The actual Pixel 10 Pro discount any given buyer receives depends on which of three mechanisms applies: a direct sticker cut, a trade-in credit, or carrier bill credits distributed over two years. Each works differently, and the numbers don't combine the same...

Samsung's next Galaxy foldable may depart from the tall shape that has defined its book-style phones.

New Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 renders surfaced today showing the phone in Cream, Graphite, and Pink. The silhouette is nearly identical to last year's model, the camera ring unchanged, and early leaks suggest the Flip 8 may actually measure 0.1mm thicker than its predecessor, SamMobile reported today. The renders are the least important thing that's happened to this phone in the past month.