The tiny new features that make Android great

Inbox is written by Daniel Bader. Read previous issues here, and then catch up with Ben Schoon’s excellent Weekender column.

⭐️ Starred

Another Android Drop is here, and it comes with some legitimately useful new features. But one feels designed specifically for me and my forgetfulness, and I can’t wait to use it all the time.

Gemini has been updated to work with Find Hub, Google’s tool for tracking phones and other gadgets in the ecosystem, to remember the location of physical objects. “Hey Google, remember that I left my spare key inside the hollowed-out copy of Infinite Jest on my bookshelf.” I’m a big fan of these kinds of small, tangible improvements to Android that most people, not just those on the latest version or running a Pixel, will benefit from.

The other new features include a Motion Assist accessibility feature to counteract motion sickness in the car; a Gemini-powered Live Guide accessibility feature that uses AI to “offer descriptions of what’s in front of you”; and a Keep integration inside Google Messages that lets people co-create shopping or packing lists.

Read more: Pixel 11 series getting early September update, not Android 17 QPR1

✉️ Inbox

IFA is here, and that means there are a bunch of gadgets to talk about.

• Poco F9 Pro and F9 Ultra launch with 185Hz panels, 8 Elite Gen 5 chips, and huge batteries. Xiaomi’s sub-brand, Poco, used to be known for its lower-priced devices, but now that everything’s expensive, the company is leaning into specs. These feature massive batteries and, on the Ultra, an honest-to-goodness subwoofer that sounds pretty great.
• Roku launches its first OLED TVs, available now starting at $999. Roku may be an advertising company at heart, but it still has to make hardware, and its latest TVs are OLEDs that are pretty competitive, and a lot cheaper. They’re also Amazon exclusives for now.
• Sony’s new ULT Tower party speakers start at $450. I need to meet the person spending $1500 on a party speaker — because I want to attend that party.
• Razer Prio is an Android and iPhone game controller that folds down to roughly the size of a credit card. I have a million portable game controllers, from multiple generations of the Razer Kishi to the Backbone One to basically anything 8BitDo releases. And yet I will still buy this because it looks so darn cute folded up.
• Samsung’s latest Galaxy Book 6 starts at $799 with 8GB of RAM. The Korean giant, along with Dell, is announcing a MacBook Neo competitor powered by Intel’s ultra-efficient Wildcat Lake chips.
• Govee’s new ceiling light and LED strips are mood boosters with some AI sprinkled in. Govee’s new ceiling light contains “vitality spectrum technology” to keep people more alert during the dark winter months. Will it work? You can pay $399 to find out.
• Belkin says its new ‘BoostSolid’ Qi2 batteries last 3x longer than other magnetic power banks. The accessory company is leaning on solid-state battery tech to outlast the competition, which means less e-waste.
  • Belkin just released four Android Find Hub trackers; one is a full wallet
• Philips Hue adds HDMI-free and 4K Sync Box, Nanoleaf partnership, and exciting app upgrades. I’m a big fan of Hue products, so these cheaper options are music to my ears.

Now, onto the news of the day.

• Galaxy Z Fold 8 is so popular that Samsung is stealing parts from next year’s phones just to make more. A headline that feels perfectly tailored for 2026: Samsung’s unlikely ascension meets a component crisis that’s only getting worse.
• Oppo Find X10 reportedly has an 8,000 mAh battery and top-tier specs for a ‘base’ flagship. Oppo has absolutely no chill, and I love it. Can’t wait for this one.
• Gemini 3.8 Flash rolling out three weeks after last release. Google is fast-running its Gemini 3.x Flash releases in an effort to make us forget that its newest Pro model is nearly three months late.
• MrBeast will try to survive ‘the planet’s most unforgiving landscapes’ using Gemini and Fitbit Air in deal with Google. Google should stick to partnering with the better Jimmy, in my opinion.
• Pixel 11 series can now join the Android 17 QPR2 Beta. If you’re a Pixel 11 owner, you can now skip ahead to December’s upcoming Android release and join the blur club.
  • Google rolling out Pixel Watch 5 September update
• Android Auto tests Quick Settings and hilarious ‘Jimothy’ weather Easter egg [Gallery]. Jimothy is a national hero, and I’m so glad he’s getting the respect he deserves.
  • Android Auto 17.6 update rolling out with redesigned logo [Gallery]
• YouTube overhauls its app-to-TV experience, shared Wi-Fi network no longer required. My phone’s most-used app is quickly becoming my TV’s most-used endpoint, and this is going to make it even easier to cast to it.
• Google will not have to sell AdX business, but it will have to make changes. Despite Google being found guilty of running an illegal advertising monopoly, a judge is not forcing it to break up its ad business.
  • Google Home update restores support for older Chromecast streamers, Home Mini.
• WhatsApp for Android loophole lets private photos be accessed without unlocking. Not a huge security issue, but one worth knowing if only to learn what setting to disable to prevent it from happening.
• MapQuest is back, at the top of the charts, and rushing to add Android Auto support. Thought it was a one-night stand? Nope, MapQuest is in it for the long haul.
• Google’s next Pixel Fold reportedly adopting the same crease-less display as Apple. But more importantly, will the next Pixel Fold revert back to its original passport shape?
• Google Pixel adding ‘Battery usage summaries,’ rolling out on Pixel 10 and newer

🇩🇪 Upcoming

It’s IFA time, which means the tech press and analysts convene in Berlin for bratwurst, bier, and briefings.

While 9to5Google covers a lot of the miscellany, we don’t typically get to the crazier stuff, like this Acer gaming handheld/netbook concept that will almost certainly never be made.

TP-Link unveiled the first production Wi-Fi 8 routers far before most people have upgraded to Wi-Fi 7 (and given the speed of the rollout may skip it altogether). And Homey, the Dutch smart home accessory vendor recently acquired by LG, announced a controller hub that looks almost exactly like a Nest thermostat but does a whole lot more.

You can check out all of 9to5Google’s IFA 2026 coverage throughout the rest of the week.

➡️ FWD:

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

1. If you told me that the leaked DLSS 5 Neural Rendering tool would be ported to the Switch, I probably would have absolutely believed you because the internet is full of weird, smart people who just want to try things. Take a look at a yassified Mario from Mario Kart World or Link from Tears of the Kingdom looking sharper than ever.
2. I have rarely taken xAI’s Grok models seriously because from my understanding they were primarily used by Reply Guys to ask @grok what movie was being vagueposted. But in recent months, the company’s ties with and recent acquisition of Cursor have given Grok 4.6 serious coding and productivity chops. Now Grok Bot, the company’s agentic harness for getting stuff done, has arrived on Android after debuting on macOS and iOS.
3. I’m not the biggest Harry Potter fan, but I am closely following the developments of the new HBO show, which is debuting on Christmas and just got its first proper trailer.

🏀 Trash

Shot

Chaser

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