Inbox by 9to5Google: One is the loneliest number

⭐️ Starred

When the OnePlus One debuted in 2014, it promised to be one of the most exciting product launches of the year. Sporting a $299 price tag and an industry-changing (and, we hoped, precedent-setting) relationship with Cyanogen, the phone that billed itself as the “flagship killer” attracted an outsize fanbase and a fair amount of controversy.

In the intervening twelve years, the company did its best to stay competitive by undercutting its competitors on price, leaning into performance, partnerships, and even a few hardware gimmicks. In 2018, the company announced that it would begin selling its latest phone, the OnePlus 6T, in T-Mobile stores in the US, marking a high point for the company’s influence and visibility.

But by 2020, rising component costs and internal margin pressures forced the company to significantly raise prices, which compromised its position as a value player, particularly in the premium space. At the same time, its cofounder and CMO, Carl Pei, left the company to start his own venture (now known, ironically, as Nothing), followed shortly thereafter by a much-criticized decision to combine its beloved OxygenOS codebase with OPPO’s more widely-used (and iOS-like) ColorOS.

While the company has released a string of excellent devices over the past few years, its market share in the US and Europe has dropped dramatically, and internal machinations have prioritized parent company OPPO’s growth over its subsidiary’s.

Barely more than a decade after its debut, OnePlus is on the verge of disappearing. As my colleague Damien so eloquently puts it, the company may have “lost it all,” but we’ll still remember the good times.

✉️ Inbox

• The Pixel 11s may be the series’ most colorful in years. Thanks to our eagle-eyed colleagues at 9to5Toys, we published images of basically every Pixel 11 color. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a green phone, but the orange one is really “Dune” it for me.
• Samsung is the latest company to force you into letting it train its AI on your data. The company updated its Samsung Health policy to specify that opting out will prevent data syncing between devices and, in some cases, be deleted altogether.
• Waze, Google’s other navigation service, is becoming less chatty. Defying the conventions of most voice-enabled AI chatbots, Waze will now talk to you less than before, though probably still more than you’d like. Plus, a new motorcycle mode lets weekend warriors get in on the fun, though it’s only launching in a handful of countries for now.
• Smartphone sales dropped 11% in Q2 YoY to the lowest levels since 2013. Only Samsung and Apple saw market share gains as they were less exposed to short-term RAM price increases. Chinese OEMs like Vivo, Xiaomi, and OPPO saw their margins squeezed in the low end as device prices rose. (Counterpoint)
• Infinite scroll, autoplay, and other dark patterns may become illegal in California. A state bill currently going through Senate review would potentially ban UX features like infinite scroll, recommendation algorithms, auto-playing videos, and other addictive features for kids under 16. (SFGATE)
• An OpenAI executive and 24-year Apple veteran being sued by his former company reportedly “coached” exiting employees on how to remain on Apple’s networks. Apple is suing Tang Tan, OpenAI’s chief hardware officer, for conspiring to steal trade secrets in an effort to help the AI giant build its first hardware product. (The Verge)

🤑 Action items

Samsung is offering a $30 credit to anyone who pre-registers for its upcoming foldables. What’s the catch? You have to use the credit when you buy the actual phone, and it can’t count towards the phone itself.

Another catch? The credit is down from $50 over last year. In this economy? Come on, Samsung, do better.

🙃 FWD:

This section has some of our favorite stuff from around the internet. Weird memes, fun reads, recommended apps, whatever. Send us your links!

It’s not every day you get a new Tom Cruise movie that doesn’t involve him running full-tilt across a building to either outrun or jump onto a moving aircraft, but Alejandro González Iñárritu’s new satire, which looks to be a combination of There Will Be Blood and Dr. Strangelove (complimentary), has Cruise aged up and raged out. Really looking forward to this one (and just a warning, the trailer is NSFW or kids).

🗑️ Trash

Et tu, Magic Cue? One of the Pixel 10’s standout AI features has since fizzled into nothing, and while Google says that it’s giving it a redesign and adding it to more apps, a story we broke this week doesn’t offer much confidence.

According to our APK Insights team, Google may be rebranding Magic Cue as Gemini Proactive Assistant, which just rolls off the tongue. While the name may be a placeholder, the reveal is more an indictment of Google’s glacial rollout of mobile-first AI products. Remember when Video Boost was announced for the Pixel 8 Pro? It’s now 2026 and the feature, while improved in the two-plus years since it was revealed, is still slow, clunky, and manual.

Magic Cue or Gemini Proactive Assistant, whatever it ends up being called, is a fantastic idea, but until it’s widely available and more deliberately implemented across Android, it’s still largely just that — an idea.

With the Pixel 11 event less than a month away, Google’s mobile AI features will once again be front and center. I just hope that whatever gets announced actually gets shipped before the end of 2026.

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