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Android-powered foldable phones have been available for years, but most people never paid attention to them. As predicted, that could be changing now that Apple has entered the folding phone market with the iPhone Duo. Analysts have speculated that Samsung's Z8 foldables were seeing a boost from the iPhone announcement, and now Samsung has seemingly confirmed that.
In a new blog post, Samsung UK crows that the company's 2026 foldable lineup is moving much faster than last year's models. Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, combined European sales for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra are up 45 percent. Samsung isn't talking about Z Flip 8 sales, but it previously noted that its larger foldables made up about 80 percent of foldable purchases. We can assume any increase there is not impressive enough to mention.
The reason for flat Z Flip sales may simply be that Apple didn't release a flip phone. Unsurprisingly, Samsung doesn't mention Apple or the iPhone Duo in its press release. However, it does say that search volume for the Z8 series across Europe spiked 460 percent the week of September 6 to 12. And guess what was announced on September 9? Yep, the iPhone Duo. Z Fold 8 search volume across the entire month of September (when the phones launched) was up 260 percent.
Google kicked off 2026 with the addition of Personal Intelligence to Gemini, allowing its AI to pull in more of your data to formulate answers. It started as a paid feature but eventually came to all Gemini users. However, this feature wasn't available in the car until now. Google is rolling out Personal Intelligence to Android Auto and Google Built-in, and it is still, thankfully, an optional feature.
As Google points out, a generative AI's outputs are better "when it knows the world and knows you," which is correct in an uncomfortable sort of way. The more context you can provide to a model, the better the output will be at the end of the token shuffle. Since Google has so much of your data already, it sees Personal Intelligence as a differentiator versus other AI systems. You don't have to provide the AI context because it already has it from apps like Gmail and Calendar.
Personal Intelligence is beginning its rollout in Android Auto today, and it will come to vehicles with Google built-in in the next few months. As an aside, "Google built-in" is questionable branding, but it refers to cars that run Google software in the infotainment system rather than projecting an interface from your phone. Very few vehicles have Google built-in, but Google often releases new car features on them first. This time, it's the other way around.
Google has already added a few AI features to the Play Store, but a lot more are coming. The previously released Ask Play feature is expanding to offer more AI-powered discovery options in Google's app store, and Google is also using AI to build a recommendation engine called Game Finder. For people who have embraced AI to build their own apps, the Play Store will soon offer a way to privately host and share those creations.
Google rolled out Ask Play in 2025 as a small chatbot interface on Play Store listings. It lets you ask questions about an app or game, either by typing it in manually or choosing from a list of suggested queries. Starting today, Ask Play is expanding into a more general way to search for apps and games. You ask the robot questions, and it generates recommendations that can include detailed comparison charts. Gemini will roll out a similar capability soon.
Google's other AI discovery announcement focuses on games. The new Game Finder feature leans on all the usage data Google's app platform has hoovered up over the years, featuring insights into the way 1.2 billion people play games on Android. It builds a profile called Gamer DNA and matches you with players who have similar DNA.
Video editing has never been Android's strong suit. While Apple has long offered iMovie for iPhone and iPad, Google has never had a comparable offering. Adobe is now stepping up to fill this feature gap with a proper version of Premiere. The app is now available in the Play Store for almost all Android devices, and it's free (mostly).
Android's version of Premiere doesn't offer all the features you'd get in the desktop application, but it's a big step up from the soon-to-be-retired Premiere Rush app. You can import as many video tracks as you want, trim them, split them, add effects, and export videos in up to 4K resolution. It can even extract audio from clips, reduce background noise, and add voiceovers. The app emphasizes the YouTube Short format, even defaulting your video outputs to portrait 16:9, but you can change that to something more traditional.
On a standard smartphone, the app splits the screen with the timeline at the bottom and preview up top. Adobe says that Premiere is optimized for multiple form factors. If you have a foldable phone, the UI adjusts to give you more breathing room, placing the timeline to the right of the video. That makes sense as the default, as Premiere wants you to make YouTube Shorts, but if you're working with something wider, there's a layout toggle that puts the widescreen video above the expanded timeline. The split is also adjustable if you want to make your video or timeline larger.
Since the release of the Steam Deck, Valve fans have gotten very familiar with the idea of the Proton compatibility layer that allows games written for Windows to run capably on the Linux-based SteamOS (though Valve's efforts in this realm date back further than that). To get more games running on the SteamOS-powered Steam Frame, though, Valve is relying on two additional compatibility layers that are new to the Steam architecture.
The first, FEX, is Valve's port of fex-emu, an open source project that emulates x86 processor instructions on an Arm chipset. Since 2018, what started as a small cross-platform emulation project has grown to include "an advanced binary recompiler that supports all modern extensions of the x86(-64) instruction set," according to the Fex website. The emulator can also make calls to graphics libraries like OpenGL and Vulkan to reduce overhead and uses "code caching to minimize stuttering as much as possible," according to Steam's own developer documentation.
While Proton was based on the pre-existing Wine conversion tool, Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais told The Verge last year that the company has been funding Fex lead developer Ryan Houdek since the project was just a prototype. Back then, Valve was already anticipating that "close to a decade of work [would be] needed before [Fex-emu] would be robust enough people could rely on it for their libraries."
As longer, more complex passwords have become a necessity, remembering all those strings of numbers, letters, and special characters has become nearly impossible. Password managers can solve that problem, but what happens when you want to move to a different login organizer? Sure, you could manually type all your logins into a new app, but now Android can do that for you without the tedium.
Google designed the new login transfer process to happen entirely on your phone, so you need the corresponding apps installed with your credentials synced. To start the move, you'll have to find the import option in the app you want to use. The location of that feature will vary, but in Google Password Manager (built into Android), it's near the top under the settings tab.
The import option in Google Password Manager will plug in to the new migration system, while export still just creates an unencrypted CSV with your passwords that can be dumped into any app. It will be similar in other apps, so make sure to start the process in the app you want to use. Currently, this works in Google's app, 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane.
Smartphone longevity didn't used to matter. In the past, before you could wear out or break a phone, there was always some shiny new thing to buy. Today, we expect our smartphones to go the distance, but they've also become less repairable and, in many cases, more fragile. Fairphone, a Dutch smartphone maker that has just entered the US market, thinks about phones differently.
The new $650 Fairphone Gen 6+ is designed both for longevity and easy repairability. There are trade-offs to this approach if you're used to the standard glass and aluminum sandwiches filled with glue, gaskets, and teeny-tiny screws. But the drawbacks could be worth it for the right buyer. Fairphone CTO Chandler Hatton told Ars that Fairphone's goal is to provide a compelling mobile experience while also enabling the user to "fully own" their device. At the end of the day, this is what a lot of people say they want in a smartphone.
These days, Google, Samsung, and Apple support phones with software updates for the better part of a decade, but will the hardware last that long? And what happens when it needs a repair? You may be out of luck or out a lot of money, but Fairphone prioritizes the self-repair experience.
Let's be frank: Some of Google's recent Android feature Drops have been duds, offering little more than an expansion of Gemini summaries and chat functions. The new September Drop does have some Gemini flavor, but there are non-AI goodies, too. Your messaging threads are getting prettier and more useful, and those nifty Motion Assist dots that began appearing last week are rolling out widely. And even the Gemini expansion is not without utility.
Since this is an Android Drop rather than a Pixel Drop, these features are coming to a wider range of devices. The OS version does matter, though. If you're on Android 16 or higher, you can now tell Gemini to log the location of items that don't have a tracker tag attached. Just tell the AI where you put something, and include a photo if you like.
This information will be logged in Find Hub, which has thus far been used for locating phones, earbuds, and tracker tags. You can ask Gemini to recall that information or simply check Find Hub yourself the next time you forget where you put that item.
Some people are cursed with motion sickness, which can make it impossible to read or use a phone in a moving vehicle without suffering waves of nausea. There's a surprisingly simple trick that can make smartphones usable in such situations. Apple deployed it on the iPhone a couple of years ago, and now Google's own version is finally coming (slowly) to Android.
Motion sickness is caused by a disagreement between what your inner ear senses and what your eyes see. If you're looking at a book or a screen while in a car, the sensory mismatch can lead to a pretty unpleasant time. As part of iOS 18 in 2024, Apple released a feature called Motion Cues that places a network of moving dots on the screen to alleviate motion sickness, and it seems to work surprisingly well. Google's version is similar, but it's called Motion Assist.
Google began testing Motion Assist back in 2024, but it never expanded beyond an internal test until now. Android Authority reports Motion Assist is appearing on Pixel phones running Android 17, but there's no app or update you can install to get the feature—it's being delivered by Play Services as part of a staged rollout.
Several months ago, Motorola and the makers of GrapheneOS announced a team-up that would expand support for the privacy-centric OS to beyond Google's Pixel phones. The announcement, however, was bereft of details. Now, the creators of the OS have taken to Mastodon (naturally) to provide an update. Moto's GrapheneOS phones are on track to launch in 2027, but they'll cost a pretty penny.
The upcoming Moto devices won't ship with GrapheneOS, but they will be fully supported by the project with help from Moto itself. So far, only Pixel phones have met GrapheneOS's strict hardware requirements to ensure the highest level of security and privacy. The software, which is based on Android, includes features like enhanced memory protection, granular network permissions, customizable app sandboxing, and a duress code that can be used to wipe your phone. (That last one got an activist charged with a felony earlier this year after he used it to delete his data during a customs interrogation.)
According to the GrapheneOS team, the upcoming Moto phones will be premium flagship devices. The team expects pricing to be even higher than Pixel phones, which is saying something. The current Pixel lineup starts at $900 for the base model Pixel 11, a $100 increase from last year. The Pixel 11 Pro XL price has gone up to a whopping $1,300 this year.
Google's approach to making smartphones has changed a lot over the years. It started with Nexus phones aimed at the tinkerer and enthusiast niche back when there were countless companies making smartphones. Today, there are far fewer, and Google's hyper-polished Pixel lineup is seeing less competition and higher sales. So maybe Google thinks it can just keep doing what works. The new Pixel 11 series is Google's most refined yet, featuring sleek designs, smart software, and incredible screens. They're also rather boring.
Google made precious few hardware changes in its 2026 phones, shaving off a fraction of a millimeter here and dropping a gram there. The design language has been the same now for three generations, all while prices continue to inch upward. And this year, Google's hardware has actually regressed in a few key areas. Despite that, the Pixel 11 phones aren't bad—they're some of the best 2026 has to offer. But it feels like Google is forgetting that it's not just competing against Apple and Samsung. It also has to compete against the Pixels of yesteryear.
Just like last year's Pixel 10 series, Google's 2026 lineup includes three flat phones and one foldable. The flat Pixels are the same size, and even side-by-side, it's hard to tell them apart from their predecessors. We've got almost identical aluminum and glass sandwich designs, which do admittedly look very nice. They still have Pixelsnap, too.
As smartphone designs have become more refined, they've also become less repairable. Fairphone bucks that trend, offering devices that can be fully disassembled and serviced using a single screwdriver. But its devices were a pain to get in the US until now.
The Dutch company has launched the Fairphone Gen 6+ in the US, offering not only the phone but a full line of accessories and replacement parts so you can keep your phone running for years. And yes, the battery is removable.
Don't expect the Fairphone Gen 6+ to blow you away in the spec department—it focuses on being repairable and paying workers a fair wage. Half of the phone is made from recycled materials, and it has a microSD card slot. How retro.
We are a month away from the initial rollout of Google's Android developer verification system, which requires developers outside the Play Store to verify their identities, just like it does for devs publishing on its platform. The company contends this policy does not impinge on the platform's open nature. Still, the restrictions will be a big change, and there are still some unanswered questions. An issue that has come up repeatedly in the run-up to verification is what will happen to devs who can't verify because of where they live. It turns out that Google has a cryptic answer for that buried in an FAQ.
Developer verification will soon block the installation of apps from unverified developers on any Android device running Google services, which is functionally all Android phones outside Russia and China. Developers who want to keep releasing software, even if it's not in the Play Store, have to provide Google with their ID and pay a small fee.
But what if you're an Android developer living in a sanctioned nation? Currently, the US sanction list includes Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and occupied areas of Ukraine. Given the current uncertain state of US foreign policy, that list could change in the future. Google doing any business with developers in those places is a thorny issue, and it seems like the company has decided to just leave them hanging.
In early 2025, Atlanta resident Samuel Tunick was on his way home following a trip abroad. After landing in the US, customs agents demanded access to his Pixel phone, which was running an alternative version of Android called GrapheneOS. Rather than hand over his data, Tunick used a clever feature of the software to delete everything. Now, he's facing federal charges.
The first hearing in this case happened last week, according to The Guardian, during which government attorneys and agents claimed that Tunick was subjected to a standard secondary interrogation at an international airport. During that encounter, agents were "looking for anything that’s prohibited." However, Tunick's legal team alleges he was targeted for his activism.
Tunick was involved with a group called Defend the Atlanta Forest, which opposed the construction of an enormous law enforcement training facility in the area often known as Cop City. What Tunick didn't know, according to his lawyers, was that he'd been placed on a watch list for his actions and that Customs and Border Protection had discussed over email plans to detain him upon his arrival back in the US for "suspected terrorism activities."
The rumors haven't left much to the imagination, but Samsung has unfurled its 2026 foldable lineup today. There are three models for the first time in Samsung's eight-gen foldable family, including the top-of-the-line Z Fold 8 Ultra. That phone is the successor to last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7, but the Z Fold 8 is new—the company's first wide-body foldable designed for media over multitasking. And then there's a new, thinner flip phone, plus a pair of smartwatches.
You can preorder Samsung's new hardware today, but the component shortage has made these already spendy product lines more expensive this year. Even the Z Flip 8 is now well over a grand, and the Ultra costs almost twice as much.
| Specs at a glance: Galaxy Z8 series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy Z Flip 8 ($1,200) | Galaxy Z Fold 8 ($1,900) | Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra ($2,100) | |
| SoC | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy |
| Memory | 12GB | 12GB, 16GB | 12GB, 16GB |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Display | Main: 6.9" Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1080 x 2520) 400ppi, 120Hz; Cover: 4.1" AMOLED (948 x 1048) 342 ppi, 60/120Hz | Main: 7.6" Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1848 x 2448) 403ppi, 120Hz; Cover: 5.5" Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1248 x 1972) 428ppi, 120Hz | Main: 8.0" QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (2504 x 2256) 422ppi, 120Hz; Cover: 6.5" FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1080 x 2520) 422ppi, 120Hz |
| Cameras | Rear: 50MP Wide (F1.8, OIS), 12MP Ultra Wide (F2.2); Selfie: 10MP (F2.2) | Rear: 50MP Wide (F1.8, OIS), 50MP Ultra Wide (F1.9); Main/Cover Selfie: 10MP (F2.2) | Rear: 200MP Wide (F1.7, OIS), 50MP Ultra Wide (F1.9), 10MP Tele (3x Optical, F2.4, OIS); Main/Cover Selfie: 10MP (F2.2) |
| Software | Android 17 / One UI 9 | Android 17 / One UI 9 | Android 17 / One UI 9 |
| Battery | 4,300 mAh, up to 55% charge in ~30 min with 25W Adapter, 15W Wireless Charging | 4,800 mAh, up to 67% charge in ~30 min with 45W Adapter, 20W Wireless Charging | 5,000 mAh, up to 63% charge in ~30 min with 45W Adapter, 20W Wireless Charging |
| Connectivity | 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.4, SIM+eSIM | 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v6.0, SIM+eSIM | 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v6.0, SIM+eSIM |
| Measurements | Unfolded: 166.9 × 75.4 × 6.1 mm Folded: 85.7 × 75.4 × 13.1 mm, 180g |
Unfolded: 123.9 × 161.4 × 4.5 mm Folded: 123.9 × 81.9 × 9.7 mm, 201g |
Unfolded: 158.4 × 143.2 × 4.1 mm Folded: 158.4 × 72.8 × 8.9 mm, 215g |
| Colors | Pink, Graphite, Cream, Mint (online) | Lavender, Graphite, Cream, Pistachio (online) | Violet Shadow, Graphite, Cream, Green Shadow (online) |
The Z Fold 8 Ultra has the same basic form factor as the last few Samsung tablet-style foldables. A 6.5-inch OLED on the outside is about the same ratio as a standard smartphone screen. Open it up, and you get an 8-inch display that's roughly twice as wide. That makes the main display close to square.
OnePlus arrived on the scene in 2014 with brash marketing and a compelling pitch: What if your phone was cheaper and faster? More than a decade later, the market is much different, and so is OnePlus. Confirming months of rumors and speculation, OnePlus has confirmed it's ending phone releases in North America and Europe.
This development has been expected for a while. After a brief period of expansion in the US through deals with T-Mobile and Verizon, OnePlus began visibly shifting its focus to India after the pandemic. OnePlus has also increasingly come under the control of its parent company, Oppo, aligning its device releases and software experience with the larger brand. Still, OnePlus has continued to launch flagship devices in the US and Europe, with the OnePlus 15 going on sale in late 2025. That will be the last OnePlus phone many people see, though.
OnePlus denied rumors of a shutdown earlier this year, but its language was vague and never promised future phone releases. The new statement is also worded gingerly, but the outcome is clear. "As part of the proactive global strategy adjustment, OnePlus has decided to conclude new product rollouts in Europe and North America," the official post reads.
Code generation is emerging as one of the most popular applications for large language models (LLMs), but not all agents are equally good at all development tasks. Google created a benchmark earlier this year to evaluate how LLMs perform in Android app development, and Android Bench is getting a big update today. The leaderboard now includes a raft of new models, and Google has adopted a new framework that should be easier to use. Developers are invited to run their own tests and submit feedback that could shape the future of Android Bench.
While they are popular coding tools, LLMs don't get everything right. Separating the useful outputs from straight-up slop means choosing the right tool. Android Bench aims to demonstrate which AI agents do best on a suite of 100 Android development tasks. After launching Android Bench in March, Google has added metrics like cost and efficiency, as well as open-weight models.
To keep Android Bench relevant, Google is updating the test with eight new models, including all the latest heavy-hitters: Claude Fable 5, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Opus 4.8, GLM 5.2, Kimi K2.7 Code, MiniMax M3, Qwen 3.7 Plus, and Qwen 3.7 Max.
Google has announced its next Made By Google event, taking place on August 12 in New York City. Google's invite doesn't name names, but the imagery clearly shows a new Pixel phone that looks a whole lot like last year's phone. Some new rumors, however, suggest the updated phones will come with inflated price tags courtesy of the AI-driven component shortage.
The sleek lines of the phone in the teaser image are a dead ringer for Google's last few Pixel phones, and that matches some early rumors. Google's new phones will have similar shapes, with the Pro and Pro Fold models perhaps shaving off a little thickness. The most notable design change will probably be the rumored "Pixel Glow" lights, a rear-facing notification and status light.
Recent reports claim that Google is finally doing away with the base 128GB storage option for the smaller phones. In 2025, both the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro started at 128GB of storage, a bit lacking for a modern flagship device at a time when people don't upgrade as often. Google will reportedly move to 256GB as the base storage for both phones.
According to Apple's 2025 App Store Transparency Report, Russia is the runaway world leader in one category: Demanding that Apple remove apps from its App Store.
In 2025, Russia asked that Apple remove 1,213 apps—many of these VPN apps were designed to thwart the country's draconian Internet censorship. (Vietnam was No. 2, requesting that 335 apps be blocked.)
Russia is essentially trying to build a closed, spy-friendly domestic version of the Internet. While the Russian government loves demanding app bans from Apple, it only wants bad, degenerate apps banned. It does not want good, strong Russian apps banned, such as VKontakte (a Russian version of Facebook) or the Max messaging app (state-mandated communications software so creepy that one exile publication described it with the insanely long headline, "You already know Russia’s Max messenger spies on users. You probably don’t know just how many surveillance tools it hides, including even a neural network for eavesdropping.")
Almost 20 years ago, Google pitched Android as the more open alternative to Apple's walled garden. Last year, Google announced it would begin erecting its own walls through developer verification. The company has issued an update on its plans, affirming that the verification system will begin rolling out in select countries later this year. We're also learning which app stores are participating in verification and the timeline for key features like the recently revealed "advanced flow" for bypassing verification.
Google has claimed that developer verification is a necessary change to smartphone software distribution, pointing to the increased prevalence of scams that trick Android users into installing malware apps. Google's solution requires verifying the identities of developers outside the Play Store just like it does for devs publishing on its platform. This has proven to be a contentious change for myriad reasons.
In the new blog post, Google's Matthew Forsythe confirms that the developer verification system is slated to come online on September 30 of this year. The initial deployment will be limited to countries with a high level of app scams: Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.
Android 17 has been in testing since early this year, with the final beta hitting devices just a couple of weeks ago. Insofar as a mature operating system like Android still has big days, this is one of them. The official Android 17 build is starting its rollout on Pixel phones, adding a small set of new features and laying the groundwork for the future. This release also coincides with a Pixel Drop and a new version of Wear OS (based on Android 17) on Pixel Watches.
Google no longer uses an unmodified version of Android on its phones—the Pixel build includes numerous features that are distinct from Android 17 itself. Other device makers will include versions of some of these features when they eventually update their phones, but for now, Google's Pixel phones are the only way to experience Android 17.
The multitasking Bubbles system in Android 17 expands on a similar (but underutilized) messaging feature. In Android 17 on Pixels, you can long-press on any app icon to open that app as a floating window. When minimized, these bubbles stay on top of other apps. On foldable phones, the bubbles dock into a "bubble bar" for easy multitasking.
Microsoft has been deeply committed to the growth of generative AI technology in recent years through its now-fragmented partnership with OpenAI. At Build 2026, the company remains all-in on AI, and it's looking toward the future with a new software platform. The new Android-based OS is called Project Solara, and Microsoft says Solara is designed to run agents instead of apps.
Project Solara is not something you'll have to worry about killing your apps anytime soon. It's limited to a few pieces of concept hardware and software that are awaiting the magical agents of the future. The vision is for Solara to run on myriad specialized devices with interfaces generated on the spot, and it's all powered by the explosive intelligence of models that Microsoft and others insist will soon exist.
According to Microsoft, Solara is a chip-to-cloud platform intended to free agents from reliance on single interfaces. Much of Microsoft's messaging around AI is speculative and self-serving, but the company rightly points out that new computing form factors have always required specialization, and that process is complex and expensive. The shift to mobile computing, for example, tripped Microsoft up multiple times as it fell behind on app availability, security, and long-term support.
We're expecting Android 17 to begin rolling out later this month, but first, Google has a batch of updates for the wider Android device ecosystem. As usual, some of the new features are limited to specific devices, and others require using Google's apps. But if you don't mind the latter, you can get automated protection from the growing threat of deepfake phone scams.
According to Google, "impersonation fraud" is one of the most common types of financial scams. The FTC tracked almost $3 billion in losses from such scams during 2024, and the improvements in AI voice cloning tools more recently are making the schemes easier to pull off. The voice models are becoming so capable that it can be difficult to identify a fake caller even when an AI is imitating someone you talk to every day.
Google's solution is an expansion of the system it debuted last month for verified financial calls. Now, a similar feature will work with anyone in your contacts. Many of the most effective deepfake scams involve spoofing a contact's number, which makes the call look more legitimate when your phone lights up. Victims of these scams are then greeted by an accurate re-creation of the person's voice spinning a yarn that involves an urgent need for cash.
Google's I/O conference is next week, and we expect to hear a lot about the company's AI endeavors. The company says there's so much to talk about that it's spilling the Android beans a little early, and yes, a lot of AI is involved. In the coming months, Google will roll out more smartphone AI features under the Gemini Intelligence banner, bringing more automation and customization to your phone.
App automation will be a major element of Android going forward, Google says. Automation for apps is expanding after Google began testing it earlier in 2026 with DoorDash and Uber on Pixel and Samsung phones. It was a very frustrating experience at launch, but Google says it has spent the intervening months fine-tuning the system.
Google promises that Android will be able to handle more complex automations across apps. For example, the robot could find a course syllabus in Gmail and then hop to a shopping app to add the necessary books to your shopping cart. Google also suggests taking a picture of a travel brochure and telling Gemini to book something similar in the Expedia app.
Motorola is crazy about foldables. With each passing year, the company has beefed up its folding phone lineup, and in 2026, there will be four devices launching on May 21. At the top end is the company's first tablet-style foldable, the Razr Fold. Below that, Motorola will again offer three flip-style foldables: the Razr Ultra, Razr+, and Razr. These phones get a few modest upgrades over last year's phones, along with price increases. Motorola is unfortunately not immune to the rising cost of components.
| Specs at a glance: 2026 Motorola Razr series | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Razr 2026 ($800) | Razr+ 2026 ($1,100) | Razr Ultra 2026 ($1,500) | Razr Fold ($1,900) | |
| SoC | MediaTek Dimensity 7450X | Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 | Snapdragon 8 Elite "Pro" | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| Memory | 8GB | 12GB | 16GB | 16GB |
| Storage | 128GB | 256GB | 512GB | 512GB |
| Display | External: 3.6-inch 1056 x 1066 OLED, 90 Hz, 1700 nits; Internal: 6.9-inch 1080 x 2640 OLED, 120 Hz, 3000 nits | External: 4-inch 1272 x 1080 OLED, 165 Hz, 2400 nits; Internal: 6.9-inch 1080 x 2640 OLED, 165 Hz, 3000 nits | External: 4-inch 1272 x 1080 OLED, 165 Hz, 3000 nits; Internal: 7-inch 1224 x 2992 OLED, 165 Hz, 5000 nits | External: 6.6-inch 2520 x 1080 pOLED, 165 Hz, 6000 nits; Internal: 8.1-inch 2484 x 2232 LTPO OLED, 120 Hz, 6,200 nits |
| Cameras | 50 MP wide, f/1.7; 50 MP ultrawide, f/2.0; 32 MP selfie, f/2.4 |
50 MP wide, f/1.8; 50 MP ultrawide, f/2.0; 32 MP selfie, f/2.4 |
50 MP wide, f/1.8; 50 MP ultrawide, f/2.0; 50 MP selfie, f/2.0 |
50 MP wide, F/1.6; 50 MP ultrawide with Macro, f/2.2; 50 MP 3x telephoto; 32 MP outer selfie, f/2.4; 20 MP inner selfie, f/2.4 |
| Software | Android 16 | Android 16 | Android 16 | Android 16 |
| Battery | 4800 mAh, up to 30 W wired charging, wireless charging | 4500 mAh, up to 45 W wired charging, wireless charging | 5,000 mAh, up to 68 W wired, wireless charging | 6000 mAh, up to 80 W wired charging, 50 W wireless charging |
| Connectivity | Sub-6 GHz 5G | Sub-6 GHz 5G | Sub-6 GHz 5G | Sub-6 GHz 5G |
| Measurements | Open: 171.30 × 73.99 × 7.25 mm Closed: 88.08 × 73.99 × 15.85 mm, 188g |
Open: 171.42 × 73.99 × 7.09 mm Closed: 88.09 × 73.99 × 15.32 mm, 189g |
Open: 171.48 × 73.99 × 7.19 mm Closed: 88.12 × 73.99 × 15.69 mm, 199g |
Open: 160 height × 144.4 width × 4.55 depth (mm); Closed: 160 height × 73.6 width × 9.89 depth (mm), 243g |
| Colors | Hematite, Violet Ice, Sporting Green, Bright White | Mountain View | Orient Blue, Cocoa | Blackened Blue, Lily White |
The Razr Fold represents a big step for Moto. Its foldable flip phones have revived the Razr name and offered a good alternative to Samsung's Z Flip line, but people buying foldables are generally more interested in the large format. As prices at the lower end of the spectrum ratchet up, there's less and less distance between premium flip phones and bigger foldables. At $1,900, the Razr Fold is not a cheap phone, but it's roughly in line with the pricing of 2025 foldables (right between Google and Samsung). Given the current state of things, that's a small win for 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM.
Moto's first big foldable is almost here.
Credit:
Motorola
Motorola is not reinventing the wheel with the Fold, so you can expect a device that looks and feels similar to other big foldables like the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. It's about the same size as Google's foldable but slightly thinner and lighter. Samsung's Z Fold 7, however, is much thinner and lighter. Motorola does have the advantage of stylus input, which Samsung has dropped from its foldables. The Moto Stylus will launch at $99 alongside the Razr Fold on May 21.
Android has been creeping into cars for more than a decade, first with the phone-based Android Auto and later with built-in Android Automotive OS. Even when Android is running on cars, it has not been allowed outside of the infotainment box. That could begin changing soon with Google's new plans for software-defined vehicles (SDVs), but don't expect most carmakers to step on the gas right away.
Car companies are notoriously protective of the software running on their vehicles, which has become a core part of the experience as cars have shifted to "computers on wheels." Part of that is a matter of safety, but the data collected by automotive software is also highly valuable. As a result of everyone going their own way, vehicles have different software stacks that can include incompatible components from myriad suppliers. Google says it can fix this "fragmentation" mess with a more powerful version of Android Automotive OS (AAOS) designed for SDVs.
For better or worse, cars are increasingly reliant on software for new features—for example, remote climate controls or using smart keys on your phone. Google's car efforts didn't start there, but they've definitely trended in that direction. Early on, the company's in-car play was Android Auto, which could run on a phone or be projected from a phone to supported car displays. Google eventually dropped the phone-based Auto to focus on the projected Android Auto experience and Android Automotive OS, which runs Android locally on the vehicle. That's where Google's latest initiative is focused.
Google is planning big changes for Android in 2026 aimed at combating malware across the entire device ecosystem. Starting in September, Google will begin restricting application sideloading with its developer verification program, but not everyone is on board. Android Ecosystem President Sameer Samat tells Ars that the company has been listening to feedback, and the result is the newly unveiled advanced flow, which will allow power users to skip app verification.
With its new limits on sideloading, Android phones will only install apps that come from verified developers. To verify, devs releasing apps outside of Google Play will have to provide identification, upload a copy of their signing keys, and pay a $25 fee. It all seems rather onerous for people who just want to make apps without Google's intervention.
Apps that come from unverified developers won't be installable on Android phones—unless you use the new advanced flow, which will be buried in the developer settings.
Samsung is nothing if not consistent.
Just as it has for many years, the company is starting the year with a new generation of Galaxy S phones. Rumors about remixing the lineup did not pan out, so there are still three versions of the phone—the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra. It's the Ultra, with its whopping $1,300 price tag, that makes up the largest chunk of Samsung flagship sales, even though you can get a perfectly serviceable smartphone for a third of the price. The S26 Ultra serves a different market than a budget phone, though.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is big, powerful, and overflowing with features. It can be a bit too much at times, particularly if you don't care for mobile AI. It's expensive, but you get long support and just about everything you could want from a smartphone in 2026. Still, with other smartphone makers scaling back amid skyrocketing component prices, the S26 Ultra may end up looking like a good value in hindsight.
Google has been tinkering with porting its Play Games platform to Windows for several years, but it started getting serious about it last year. Now, with the 2026 Game Developer Conference underway, Google has announced a new batch of updates for its desktop gaming efforts. The company promises its store will have more Windows titles, make those games easier to find, and help bring Android experiences to PCs (and vice versa).
Windows will be presented as a core part of the Google Play platform with these updates. The mobile and web Play Store will soon have a Windows tab, which will highlight content that is optimized for desktop gaming. The store will direct you to install the Windows client to play these titles on a computer, but you can also wishlist them from any platform. When you do that, developers will be able to push notifications of sales that could entice people to buy something. This will only be available on mobile at first, but it will come to PC later.
Finding something worth playing in Google Play on a PC has been a challenge, but Google says it's working on that. The company promises a slate of premium games are coming to the Google Platform. Sledding Game, 9 Kings, Potion Craft, and Moonlight Peaks will launch in Google Play this year, and Low Budget Repairs will come in 2027. If you're unsure about dropping money on a game up front, Google plans to offer trials for select games. It will start with select games like Dredge and only on Android, but Google will make the trial option available to more developers and Windows down the line.
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