Ben Schoon

After years of neglect, Google finally gave Wear OS a boost last year, and that arrived with the help of Samsung and the Galaxy Watch 4. Finally, good hardware gave the platform a chance to thrive, which is only getting better now. How can you follow up the watch that tripled platform sales in just one year? With the Galaxy Watch 5, Samsung answers that question with some relatively minor improvements.

Google Stadia was in a bit of a drought for new games this month, but three new titles arrived this week including the reboot of Saints Row.

Foldables clearly have a big role in the future of smartphones, but to date, every model has come with compromises – whether those be on hardware or software. With the Galaxy Z Fold 4, Samsung has brought its hardware to a strong point, but it might just be the boost from Google’s Android 12L release that really makes this model shine.

Google Tensor put out a relatively strong debut in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, but it was clear there was plenty of room for improvement. While Tensor 2 is set for the Pixel 7 series in just a couple of months, work is already rumored to be underway on the third generation of Tensor at Samsung.

They’re here! A couple of weeks after Samsung announced its fourth generation of foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 officially hit the market today, and you can still get some solid deals now that pre-orders are over.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a device that’s great for consuming media on the go, and Samsung has clearly made an effort this year to improve the cases for the device to better interact with that purpose. We’ve had a chance to try out Samsung’s kickstand case for the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which looked promising but ultimately isn’t quite what most were expecting.

As Android 13 makes its way to Pixels and other devices, Samsung is working on its own take on the update with the One UI 5.0 beta, which just picked up its second version that includes a new “Privacy Detection” feature.

Like with the previous generation, Samsung offered customers who purchased its new foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, a free year of its expanded warranty service, Care+. But redeeming that offer is considerably more confusing than it should be.

Google’s Waze navigation app is losing one of its more unique features, as Waze Carpool has officially hit the chopping block and will be shut down starting next month.

Fitbit today unveiled its new lineup of smartwatches and a new fitness tracker, and it’s clear that the brand’s new owner has heavier influence this time around. Ahead of the Pixel Watch bringing Fitbit to Google’s hardware lineup, “Fitbit by Google” seems to be the new branding for the company.

Google’s acquisition of Fitbit at one point felt like a death knell for the brand’s smartwatches, but nearly two years after that deal was closed, Fitbit is announcing its first smartwatches under Google. The Fitbit Versa 4 and Fitbit Sense 2 are here.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 officially hits the market later this week, and it’s a relatively iterative upgrade on most points. Now, a Galaxy Watch 4 update is rolling out to bring the watch faces from the Watch 5 to last year’s series.

The smartphone market as a whole continues to hit a plateau, and in Q2 2022, the North American market saw a dip of around 6%. Despite that, Google’s Pixel lineup continued growth in North America during Q2, while Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra was the most popular Android smartphone in the region.

Android 13 has been available for over a week on Pixel phones, and it’s already in beta on devices from Samsung, OnePlus, and more. Now, we’re getting a timeline for Android 13 on the Nothing Phone (1), but it’s not exactly around the corner.