Android: Page 4

Pixel's Face Unlock has one well-known weak spot: it struggles in the dark because its camera-based system needs enough light to recognize a face.

Typing "how to remove Google Browser from Chrome" into a search bar usually doesn't mean what it sounds like. Chrome is already Google's browser; there's no separate app called Google Browser hiding inside it to delete.

Anyone who delayed a flight purchase waiting for a "magic" weekday can stop checking the calendar. Google's latest breakdown of its booking data answers the best time to book holiday flights question: buying on the cheapest day of the week saves about 1.4% compared with the most expensive day, a gap much smaller than the savings associated with choosing different travel days or taking a connecting flight.

The Samsung Galaxy A08 5G has been spotted in a GSMA IMEI database, with Type Allocation Code (TAC) entries explicitly naming the device. The discovery is an early indication that the phone is in development, according to SammyGuru, which reported the finding on Oct. 21.

A new Android app called Foldy turns the prop-and-fold trick on book-style foldables into a lock-screen dashboard. When a supported phone like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is locked and set down in tent mode, it can automatically launch a Foldy Android StandBy display showing the time, a calendar, or other widgets, without unlocking the device.

A leaker claims Samsung has reworked how the Galaxy S27 Ultra manages power during charging, potentially improving charging speed by 2% to 3% over the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Android Auto Maker modifies an APK or XAPK to attempt to make it appear in Android Auto's parked games category. That's a different path from the one official developers use, where games go through Play Console submission and get tested against Google's car app quality guidelines before publishing.

Google says its notification-abuse defenses cut Android notification volume by more than 7 billion messages a day in 2026, according to Google's security team. That number reframes what looks like a minor annoyance, a browser popup asking permission to send updates, into a large-scale security fight Chrome has been waging for years without much fanfare.

Google has pushed two September updates to the Pixel 11 series, but neither is the Android 17 QPR1 release that has since reached older Pixels. Build CD1A.260905.001.A1 arrived September 1, followed by CD1A.260905.001.B1 on September 9 for the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold.

Google appears to be rolling out Pixel Live Translate offline mode support for the conversation feature inside the Google Translate app, though the change looks limited to three phone generations so far. According to BGR, Google's updated support documentation lists offline Live Translate on Pixel as available only on Pixel 9, Pixel 10, and Pixel 11 devices.

In yesterday's announcements, Google detailed three headline Pixel 11 camera features, and the coverage that followed backs up a rival comparison for exactly one of them. How-To Geek writes that Camera Looks "parallels Apple and Samsung features that let you adjust photo styles to match your tastes" (How-To Geek). Magic Capture and the Pro line's 8K Pro Stable Video mode don't have a named comparison point anywhere in the reporting reviewed here. That's not proof Google invented something...

Hands-on coverage of the Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL from Android Authority has now shown off details of at least one launch color. The Pixel 11 Pro Fold hasn't gotten that treatment. Everything anyone knows about which Pixel 11 Pro Fold color to buy still traces back to retail listings that leaked last month, not anything Google has shown directly.

A "Remember this with Gemini" shortcut buried in Gemini's app code could bring an early version of the Gemini Remember this image feature to Android's share sheet, letting users save details from photos and screenshots without typing anything. Android Authority found the code three weeks ago, enabled it manually, and got it to run (Android Authority). Google hasn't announced the shortcut, and it isn't available to regular users yet.

The European Commission issued a €890 million EU Google antitrust fine last Wednesday, but the payment is the least of Google's problems. The twin rulings under the Digital Markets Act demand something far harder to write a check for: a structural redesign of how Google decides which results appear at the top of its search pages, and how Android's app economy distributes money between Google and the developers who build on it.

New code inside the Android Canary 2608 build suggests Google is considering a narrower set of Android lock screen Quick Settings restrictions than what its earlier work pointed toward. Rather than locking down nearly every tile, the strings now single out four: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Mobile Data, and Airplane Mode, according to an Android Authority code teardown. Flashlight and auto-rotate would stay usable without unlocking the phone, based on the same code.

Samsung has officially unveiled the Galaxy S26 FE, turning an August 27 launch rumor into a confirmed product with a release date, price, and final specifications.

This guide covers how to disable AI Mode in Chrome on desktop: the shortcuts that show up in the address bar, the New Tab Page search box, and the right-click context menu on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It doesn't touch Google Search's own AI Mode tab, which lives outside the browser entirely and gets a short, separate note near the end.

A Samsung device with model number SM-X848U appeared in the FCC database today, with Notebookcheck reporting that the identifier reportedly corresponds to the US 5G variant of the Galaxy Tab S12+, citing 91mobiles. That mapping comes from third-party leak reporting, not from the FCC filing itself. The listing arrived eighteen days after two related variants cleared Safety Korea certification, and together the three filings across two regulatory bodies point toward a fall 2026 release that...

Samsung's Memory Manufacturing Technology Center stood up a task force this month to build a commodity DRAM end-fab at its Hwaseong Campus Complex 1. An industry official says the move will lift Samsung DRAM production capacity roughly 15% by December relative to the start of 2026, according to Seoul Economic Daily. The cause is a market running critically short: commodity DRAM prices climbed more than 80% in the first half of this year, a move that makes a capacity investment easy to justify...

Scrolling through your phone from the passenger seat can trigger motion sickness, and Google has quietly added a setting to Android 17 meant to ease that discomfort. Motion Assist overlays small dots around the edge of your screen that move according to your phone's gyroscope and accelerometer, tracking your vehicle's motion (Android Authority today; Google Android Blog earlier this month). This guide explains how to use Motion Assist on Pixel phones, including how to check whether Google has...

Galaxy Z Fold 8 sales in South Korea rose roughly 10% week over week in the seven days after Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo, according to telecommunications industry sources cited by Yonhap News Agency.

Google's Pixel 11 series is set to be unveiled on August 12, continuing a design that looks a lot like last year's Pixel 10, according to a 9to5Google leak from three months ago. What's changing, if that leak holds up, is what's inside: a Tensor G6 chip built around a modem swap aimed at Pixel's most persistent weak spot. Pixel 11 battery life is the question hanging over this launch, and the leaked battery figures suggest Google isn't trying to answer it by simply making the cell bigger.

A poll of 6,310 Pixel readers published earlier this year found that 62.7% say Google Tensor's performance gap doesn't affect their purchase decision. That sounds like a comfortable majority. It isn't a mandate and more importantly, it's the wrong number to focus on.

Google is rolling out a Gemini feature that saves where people stash things they rarely use, so they can ask for the spot back months later. The company's own example: tell Gemini where you put your passport, and Gemini will save the location.

A December 2025 Chromium commit adds support for chrome.tabGroups.get(), an extension method that lets developers query tab-group data, on a surface the commit itself calls "desktop Android." That term doesn't appear defined anywhere else in the supplied commit, so every claim in this piece about where it applies stays tied to that exact phrase (Chromium commit). It's a narrow addition to the list of Chrome for Android features extension developers might want, and it's worth being precise about...

A trial-production leak claims the OnePlus 16 packs a dual-cell battery described as having roughly 9,000mAh-equivalent capacity alongside a 200MP camera, but the picture is messier than the headline numbers suggest. Android Authority and My Mobile India both published details on the OnePlus 16 200MP camera and 9000mAh battery leak within a day of each other. The two reports describe the same trial-production claims, so treat them as one leak chain repeated twice, not independent confirmation.

An Android 17-based Pixel Tablet is showing the Quick Share interface for sending files to Apple devices, according to a tip from Joe Lenington that Android Authority reviewed today. It suggests Pixel Tablet Quick Share iPhone transfers may have finally reached Google's 2023 tablet, even though Google's published device list for the feature currently names phones only.

MapQuest, a mapping service some people had assumed was defunct, according to PCMag, is now the No. 1 free app on Apple's US App Store and the top free navigation app on Google Play in the US, per BGR and PCMag. The surge traces back to a dispute over a lake's name: after President Trump signed an August 27 executive order directing federal agencies to rename Lake Ontario "Lake America" amid a breakdown in trade talks with Canada, MapQuest publicly refused to make the change, according to BGR.

Several Pixel owners say Recorder has captured audio normally but then failed to show the saved recording afterward, and Google still hasn't explained why.

Type "Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra lowest price" into a search bar right now and the answer hasn't moved: $2,099.99, exactly what Samsung charged when the phone launched. Reviews published last month still list that figure, and none of them point to a retailer markdown, a price-tracker record, or any confirmed Samsung Z Fold 8 Ultra discount (PCMag UK). Anyone hoping for a Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra deal this week will need to keep watching, or decide whether the launch price is worth paying now.

Google confirmed today what happens when a Pixel 11 owner maxes out the Gboard Rambler usage limit, and it's less dramatic than it sounds. The AI dictation tool doesn't shut off. It downgrades (Android Authority).

Google Drive now supports timestamped comments on videos, letting reviewers pin feedback to the exact frame it applies to instead of writing a note and hoping the recipient finds the right spot in the timeline, according to Digital Trends and The Verge. The feature is live now for Google Workspace accounts, Workspace Individual subscriptions, and personal Google accounts, and it arrives switched on by default, according to ThreeVector.

Tom's Guide walked away unimpressed with the Pixel 11 overall, but the outlet singled out one feature it called "genuinely useful": Magic Capture, a camera mode that records a short clip and lets AI pick the best still photos so users stop guessing when to hit the shutter (Tom's Guide, two weeks ago). Anyone figuring out how to use Magic Capture on Pixel 11 will find the basic setup simple, but getting the most out of it means enabling one setting in advance and thinking about your connection...

Samsung has started rolling out the Galaxy S26 One UI 9 Beta 6 update, and it's a maintenance release through and through. The changelog reported so far is almost entirely bug fixes, with no headline features attached to this build.

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE leaked images posted this week give the public a new unofficial look at the company's next Fan Edition phone. A Telegram account called "The Cipher Project" shared three photos showing the device in black, light green, and dark purple, according to 9to5Google.

Google hasn't shipped the Pixel 11 yet, and a leaker has already surfaced the internal codename for the chip that comes after it. The Google Pixel 12 Tensor G7 leak traces back to a single Telegram post: the chip is reportedly called "LaJolla" (Android Authority, earlier this year). That's it. That's the leak.

Google began rolling out the Pixel Watch 5's first software update on September 1, moving the build from CD5A.260611.008 to CP3A.260905.002 while keeping Wear OS 7 based on Android 17. The changelog for this Pixel Watch 5 first update headlines Gemini features like offline AI, Gemini Personalization, and improved GPS route accuracy, but there's a catch worth knowing before you go hunting for something new on your wrist.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is now on sale across 106 markets at $2,099.99. Within Samsung's lineup, the Ultra name is supposed to mean the company's highest performance tier, and Samsung frames this phone as bringing that standard to foldables for the first time. In its review, PCMag called it Samsung's most capable foldable yet, citing faster performance, a longer-lasting battery and sharper cameras than any other Z Fold.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 crease is far less visible than on earlier Fold models, according to hands-on reviews published last week, and that alone has helped tip a head-to-head reader poll decisively in the phone's favor. In a survey of more than 1,000 readers, Android Authority found the standard Fold 8 took 59% of the vote to the pricier Fold 8 Ultra's roughly 26% (Android Authority, last week). But a redesigned hinge and a flatter screen don't automatically answer the question that has...

Search for a "Samsung Galaxy S26 $200 Amazon gift card" and you'll find a description that pairs that credit with what it calls Samsung's newest midrange phone. Samsung's supplied launch materials list the Galaxy S26 at $899.99, the S26+ at $1,099.99, and the S26 Ultra at $1,299.99, according to Samsung Newsroom. Those releases don't identify the lineup as a midrange series, so that framing doesn't trace back to Samsung's own announcements.