The Latest on Android: Page 6

Google's new Search profile looks like the kind of feature every creator should rush to claim: a dedicated, shareable page that puts your work front and center inside Google Search itself. Before spending time hunting for one, it helps to understand Google Search profile eligibility rules, since they set a high follower bar and apply only in the United States for now. This guide walks through who qualifies, how to run a Google Search profile eligibility check on your own name, and what claiming...

Google began rolling out Gemini 3.5 Live Translate in Google Translate three months ago, a new audio model built to translate speech continuously as someone talks rather than waiting for them to pause, according to Google. The company frames the goal as a phone-and-headphones setup that functions like a personal interpreter riding along in a conversation.

Google Pixel Now Playing notifications could be coming back. A teardown of the latest Android System Intelligence build has turned up code suggesting the silent song-ID alerts may return, months after Google removed them and broke some third-party music tools in the process, according to Android Authority.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 iFixit teardown has produced a provisional 4/10 repairability score, with iFixit pointing to a fragile inner display, an intricate hinge, and dust protection that falls short in real-world conditions, according to Android Authority.

Galaxy Watch 9 owners installing the watch's first firmware update since launch say they didn't have to set the device aside while most of the update installed. Instead, the firmware downloaded and installed in the background while the watch stayed usable, followed by a short restart to switch to the updated software.

Waze points are mainly a visible score: something to check on a profile and compare against other Wazers, not something to spend. Open a Waze profile and progress information shows up in two different places: a point total below the username, and a level plus a set of badges filed under a separate tab called Achievements. It's tempting to assume a formula ties all of it together, so many points per report, a badge every few hundred miles, but the Help pages reviewed for this article don't...

Galaxy Z Fold 8 owners are posting screenshots on Samsung's community forum of a home screen gone sideways: icons overlapping, apps sliding past their assigned grid spots, some landing in the gap between the inner display's two panes. One owner said an icon got stuck there entirely, impossible to select or drag back (Android Authority, today). If you're trying to figure out how to fix Galaxy Z Fold 8 app icon misalignment, there's a specific software update worth checking before you waste time...

The Pixel 11 Pro is a genuinely excellent phone. Google just isn't selling it on the reasons why.

An unfamiliar app called Android Developer Verifier has been quietly appearing on Android phones worldwide. The package com.google.android.verifier is a legitimate Google system service, not malware, and for most users it still has no effect on normal app installs.

A Samsung Galaxy S27 charging speed leak suggests Samsung's next standard flagships won't charge any faster than the ones sold today. Two unannounced Samsung model numbers have appeared in China's 3C certification database with charging profiles that top out at approximately 25W and 45W.

Google calls the Tensor G6 its "fastest, most powerful chip yet" (Google Blog, last week). A leaked Geekbench listing for the Pixel 11 Pro XL tells a less flattering story, showing the chip trailing Samsung's Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S26 Ultra on the same test (Notebookcheck, today). Neither claim is wrong. The benchmark doesn't validate or refute Google's broader pitch; it measures one narrow slice of what the chip does.

Google raised the price of its standard Pixel by $100 this year, and Engadget still recommends it without hesitation. In its Google Pixel 11 review, Engadget called the phone "a lot of phone for a little more money" and handed it a 9.2 out of 10, noting it "didn't change a ton, but is still one of the best smartphones on the market."

Samsung's new Galaxy Z8 lineup set a preorder record in South Korea, and the standard Fold8, not the pricier Ultra, carried most of it. That's the story behind the Samsung Galaxy Z8 preorder record set this week: Samsung said the lineup drew more than 1.44 million preorders in South Korea during the seven-day window that ended Monday, Aug. 3, the highest preorder total for any Galaxy phone the company has ever released, foldable or not, according to The Korea Times.

Search "how to get Duolingo hearts back and remove ads" and you'll find posts promising a hidden switch or workaround. There isn't one documented in Duolingo's own materials. Duolingo has been phasing out Hearts in favor of a resource system called Energy, and ad-free access shows up in the company's public consumer materials as a subscription benefit.

A red dotted line on Google Maps combines two separate visual characteristics that may have different explanations, and none of the sources reviewed for this piece document what happens when both appear together on the same stretch of road. If red shows up while Google Maps traffic information is active, it usually means heavy traffic. The dotted pattern is less certain: the evidence here documents dashed styling on at least one hiking and biking path, but it doesn't add up to a universal...

Google has expanded its Gemini Pixel football club partnerships to five of Europe's biggest teams at once, naming Gemini and Pixel the "Official Consumer AI" and "Official Smartphone" partner of Arsenal FC, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern München, Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain, according to Google's announcement today. Google describes the arrangements as long-term partnerships built around "personal intelligence" and smartphone technology, aimed at putting fans "right at the heart of the...

Two days after Google's Pixel 11 launch event, buyers are discovering a second Google Play Store Pixel 11 discount tucked inside the Play Points program. 9to5Google describes it as a discount worth up to $175, "hidden just beneath the surface" of the Play Points perks menu (9to5Google, today). Reports describe this as a separate offer from the pre-order codes Google emailed to select buyers before the show, and it covers the entire Pixel 11 family plus the Pixel Watch 5.

Pixel owners describing connectivity trouble often lump three different problems into one complaint. Wi-Fi that won't hold a connection, mobile data that switches on without being asked, and weak cellular reception in marginal spots are separate issues with separate causes, and treating them as one blurs what's actually going on with Google Pixel Wi-Fi connectivity issues this year.

A sprawling Samsung Galaxy S26 FE leak, made up of renders, spec sheets and apparent hands-on video, has surfaced weeks before Samsung's expected announcement of the phone. The picture emerging is less "all-new phone" and more "known formula, new processor, possibly higher price," according to Android Authority, which published its account of the leak today.

Google Health app version 5.09 started rolling out this week, adding setup for two new Pixel Watch trend features: blood pressure and insulin resistance. A third metric, sleep breathing quality, arrives in the same update.