Good morning. Today I’m wondering if I should revisit Diablo IV in light of the Diablo V announcement, what I would possibly do with a Steam Frame if I could justify its $1,059 price, and whether I missed any major features by reading as many iOS 27 and macOS 27 reviews as I can stomach.
As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.
Inbox is written by Daniel Bader. Read previous issues here, and then catch up with Ben Schoon’s excellent Weekender column published every Sunday.
⭐️ Starred
We’ve known for years that Apple was building a foldable phone, which means that Samsung, the company that popularized the format, also knew. So in July, when the company unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 8, a wide foldable with proportions similar to the rumored iPhone Duo, it was seen largely as a preemptive move to claim, once again, that Samsung was ahead of the curve.
And thankfully the phone was a success; it sold better than expected, and Samsung has been left scrambling for components from next year’s model to satisfy demand today.
But Samsung, as it is wont to do, couldn’t let the phone’s success just speak. It had to inject itself into the conversation around the iPhone Duo in a series of posts that can only be described as cringe. To me, it’s another case of this “I don’t think about you at all” meme.
Of course, this is just silly stuff, but it speaks to the perception that even when Samsung leads, it follows. The good news is that, as Samsung points out in this funny but awkward ad called “Switchers,” it’s now much easier to move from iPhone to Android since Apple and Google collaborated on a new framework.
Samsung appears to be taking the Duo’s release in stride, doubling down on its commitment to foldables by reportedly moving up the release of its second-generation TriFold.
✉️ Inbox
- Android rolling out passkey transfers between password managers. It’s no longer difficult to transfer credentials between password managers, but passkeys have always been another matter. This system-level change is more than welcome.
- Samsung’s first Android XR glasses with a color display may launch in late 2027. We’re only a month or so away from Samsung’s first smart glasses released in collaboration with Google, Warby Parker, and Gentle Monster, so it’s no surprise that by the end of next year there will be an option with a display.
- Google brings Gemini for desktop app to Windows. It feels like it’s been forever since Google announced a Windows version of its popular Gemini app, but it’s now available and appears fully featured.
- YouTube details NFL Sunday Ticket pricing & availability for 2026 season, including a 50% discount. The absolute disaster that is watching NFL games in one place with one subscription doesn’t appear to be any better for the 26/27 season.
- Google’s hyper-personalized ‘Dreambeans’ feed is now free to test. I still have no idea what this is; I just know that it has the worst possible name for an app.
- The Galaxy Z Fold 8 needs battery banks that actually fit; iPhone Duo might help. One benefit of Apple launching a similarly sized foldable is that accessory makers may unintentionally make things better on the Android side.
- Possible Google device at FCC could be Wear OS-powered fitness tracker. It would not surprise me if Google is working on more fitness trackers after the runaway success of the Fitbit Air. Hope this one lacks a screen, too.
- Oppo confirms Find X10 series details ahead of September 22 launch. The next Find X flagships are coming soon, and they’re just as ambitious as previous generations.
- Googlebook pre-orders start on September 21. I’m waiting with bated breath to see why anyone should care about these laptops, particularly in light of a new slate of very good, relatively inexpensive Windows-powered MacBook Neo competitors.
- Samsung reportedly launching Galaxy Tab S12, maybe more devices on October 7
- Samsung launches ‘Re-Newed’ Galaxy S26 series, $1,099 for Ultra
Today in Google app updates:
- Google Wallet passes get fullscreen redesign on Android
- Google Wallet for Android getting vertically stacked card list
- Google rolls out Motion Assist bubbles to Pixel, Samsung
- Google Maps rolling out Android Auto speed limits and speedometer that show even without navigation
Elsewhere:
- Apple’s A20 Pro shatters Geekbench 7 single-core record — 2nm chip beats desktop Intel Core i9 and AMD Ryzen 9 by up to 32% | Tom’s Hardware
- Inside ‘Project Lily’: The Humans Reading Your ChatGPT Chats | 404 Media
- Upcoming Apple Products: What to Expect in Late 2026 and Early 2027 | Bloomberg
🤝 Cc: Nicholas Sutrich
Welcome to a new project I’m calling Cc:, where I ask interesting people in the community about what’s making them happy both inside and outside the world of tech. This week, I’m speaking with my friend and former colleague, Nicholas Sutrich.
Who are you?
Nicholas Sutrich
What do you do for work?
I’m the Senior Content Producer at Android Central. This is a fancy title that really means I test a lot of devices every week and write about them.
What do you do for fun?
I reviewed devices for 10 years on the side before going full-time, so I still like to think of my job as being a fun hobby I just so happen to get paid for. Other than work, I love video gaming with my wife and son, reading novels, gardening and chicken tending, CrossFit, and the occasional hike when I can squeeze it in.
What is your relationship like with technology these days?
I spend less time on my phone now than maybe ever. I’ve deleted all social media off my phone (otherwise, I find I work too much for my own good), and I don’t generally play games on my phone unless I’m doing it for a review. My goal is to get off my devices when work is over and spend more quality time with friends and family in person, instead.
What are a few apps you can’t live without and why?
- eMeals: A meal planning service I subscribe to. It’s $5 a month and has a boatload of recipes on there, plus new recipes each week and plans for specific dietary restrictions, stores, or budgets.
- Zepp: This is the app for Amazfit smartwatches. I use it for food logging and for workout logging. The food logging portion is particularly fantastic because it’s LLM-driven, so you can tell it you had “2 eggs fried in coconut oil with 2 slices of avocado toast and a glass of orange juice for breakfast” and it’ll log all that crap instantly. No more scrolling through tedious lists.
- Discord: Everyone probably uses this, but it’s my main chat app with friends. We bounced between apps for years until it came out and haven’t switched since.
What is a gadget that you love right now?
Motorola Razr Fold. This phone is just such a joy to use. Excellent camera and displays, never have to worry about battery life. Software is snappy and has great features (double-chop for flashlight, woot!). Oh, and the sides are CURVED, not friggin’ flat. I hate stupid phones with flat sides, especially foldables.
What’s a recent TV show you loved?
Gotta be Pursuit of Jade on Netflix. It’s a time period drama/romance/kung-fu show set in ancient China. We randomly tried it after The Algorithm™️ recommended it to us and haven’t stopped since. We only watch like 20-30 mins of TV a day tops, so it’s taken a while to get through all 40 episodes, especially since they’re usually 45 minutes or so apiece.
What’s a recent book you loved?
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. I somehow never read these books (although I love the OG movie). It was fun reading the original content and seeing the author’s direction for the story versus the films. Also fascinating to see what parts of the book the films stripped out and randomly slapped into other movies.
What’s a recent movie you loved?
Project Hail Mary. I read this book twice (one of which was out loud to my family) and was so happy that they were making a movie. It’s such an excellent mix of science reality and science fiction in a unique end-of-times scenario. If aliens exist, I hope they’re like Rocky.
What’s a recent game you loved?
Orbitals for the Nintendo Switch 2. I’ve played many co-op games in my time, but few are as well produced and executed as Orbitals. The visuals are beyond stunning and make you feel like you’re playing a Studio Ghibli movie. It’s basically impossible to describe the gameplay other than a wild mix of adventure, puzzle, and platforming.
What’s something offline you do every day that brings you joy?
Family reading time. We’ve done this since our son was little and it never ceases to be wonderful. At the end of most days (I wish we did it every day), we’ll curl up in bed or on the couch and read together. Sometimes, it’s reading manga; other times, it’s an audiobook or reading aloud to each other. We’ve gone through a lot of books this way, and it’s a great way to spend quality time together, drink some tea, have snacks, and start conversations.
Thank you, Nick, for being awesome as always. See you on the putting green.
➡️ 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!
Over the weekend, American AI titans, including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, xAI’s Elon Musk, and Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, came out in support of “pacing the frontier,” a term popularized by a letter released in July by nearly 1,400 employees of large American AI companies.
In fact, Amodei wrote his own 3,000+ word paean called “We Must Pace the Frontier,” in which he posits that the industry needs to slow down its frenetic work on improving AI model capabilities in order to prioritize alignment and safety.
“Given the accelerating rate of AI capability development, it’s my worry that in 6–12 months such a swarm could be capable of taking over the entire internet with a persistent botnet (potentially causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damage), and that the scale of damage would continue to increase from there if AI becomes more powerful without the necessary guardrails.”
This self-policed slowdown comes as the US government continues to distance itself from regulation, despite entreaties from both sides of the aisle, as well as countries around the world. In a Truth Social post, President Trump said that “the only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades! There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS! We are leading China, and all others, and will continue to do so.”
🎙️ Quotations
If you go to a chronological feed, it ends up getting overwhelmed with content from companies, brands, and publishers… Creators get drowned out, and then your friends get drowned out even more… You miss a lot more content … and you spend a lot less time on the platform…
-Adam Mosseri, speaking to ABC in Australia after the government mandated the ability for users to opt out of an algorithmic feed
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-Daniel
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