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The monthly “Google System Release Notes” primarily detail what’s new in Play services, Play Store, and Play system update across Android phones/tablets, Wear OS, Google/Android TV, Auto, and PC. Some features apply to end users, while others are aimed at developers.

Google is rolling out a significant redesign and modernization of voice search on Android. 

Asus has reiterated that it will “no longer” be making “new” Android smartphones with its focus shifting towards the market built up by AI.

Smartphone accessories aren’t just add-ons, they’re a huge part of the experience of using and owning your device. But, for Android users, it’s often felt like we’re getting the short end of the stick, with a whole world of accessories that only ever seem to care about the iPhone. Finally, though, that feels like it’s changing.

Google’s Fast Pair protocol delivers one of the best Bluetooth experiences you’ll find today, automatically pairing wireless earbuds, speakers, and other accessories and sharing those details across your account. Unfortunately, a new paper reveals some pretty serious security concerns with some Fast Pair devices, and you’ll need to update each of your gadgets individually to fix it.

Ayaneo might’ve made a splash late last year with is Xperia Play-esque Pocket Play smartphone, but if you’ve been holding out on buying one of those over, say, a new Pixel, you’ll need to wait a little longer.

Announced at CES 2026 this week, the new 8BitDo Flip Pad is a USB-C controller for Android phones (and iPhones too) that sits on top of your display and seems just perfect for emulators.

Proper Qi2 support on Android has been rather elusive thus far, with only Google’s Pixel 10 series bringing the feature to a mass audience. While there are rumblings of support from Samsung in 2026, another Qi2 Android phone has been confirmed for next year, it’s just not one anyone expected.

You can play Flappy Bird and speedrun wearing out your foldable phone’s hinge at the same time.

After a somewhat underwhelming release last year, privacy-focused brand Punkt is back with the new MC03 smartphone, which is based on Android and ships with “AphyOS,” and coming to the US this year.

Coming from the same company that revived a physical keyboard for your smartphone, the “Clicks Communicator” is a dedicated piece of hardware that acts as a phone for your phone and is all about managing your messages.

Asus has seemingly confirmed that it is mostly done with Android phones, with no plans to release new devices in the Zenfone or ROG lineups in 2026.

The monthly “Google System Release Notes” primarily detail what’s new in Play services, Play Store, and Play system update across Android phones/tablets, Wear OS, Google/Android TV, Auto, and PC. Some features apply to end users, while others are aimed at developers.

One thing that I thought we’d see more of in 2025 was how Gemini could control your Android phone. There was the May demo and other underlying work, but we don’t have Google’s complete vision yet.

Is the curtain falling on big-ticket Android updates? Does a yearly release cycle even matter anymore, or is it just a sign of the times that there isn’t much left to really add to our smartphones?

Don’t ask us why, but some Android phones do not come with the best features enabled out of the box.

Just got a new Android smartphone for the holidays? If it’s your first one, it could be a little intimidating, so to get you started, here are a few apps you should immediately install or set up on a new Android device. Alternatively, if you’re not already using these apps, it might be time to give them a shot!

Years after its debut in other parts of the globe, Google has today announced that Android’s Emergency Location Service (ELS) is finally available in India.

Google just released a really cool new Android figure on its merch store that has a built-in 3D maze game.