Will Sattelberg

With this month’s rollout of Android 16 QPR3 and its associated Pixel Drop, anyone rocking one of Google’s growing collection of Pixels is finally getting access to something we’ve waited on for a long time: custom app icons. Unfortunately, using this feature is locked behind a basic set of generative AI tools, and compared to what you’ll find on other launchers — from both first and third-party developers — it’s just not good enough.

AI video generation is a real concern. Even in an era where AI videos tend to sport attributes that give the game away — like Coca Cola’s rapidly-transforming semi-truck in last year’s Christmas ad — it’s often good enough to fool audiences, which is why some platform owners are trying to get ahead of any potentially problematic deepfakes.

It’s been a rough couple of years for Sonos, but after nearly two years of attempts to make up for an awful app relaunch and with a fresh CEO at the helm, the company is ready to return to its bread and butter.

Welcome to The Sideload episode 25, a 9to5Google podcast. This week, Will welcomes Ben Schoon back to the show to discuss his week attending MWC 2026. From Qualcomm’s new wearable-focused chipset to Lenovo’s very promising concept gaming tablet, it’s a whirlwind exploration of everything Barcelona had to offer — and we still find time to dunk on Honor’s robot smartphone.

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Sponsored by NordVPN: Listeners to The Sideload can save up to 77% on a two-year subscription and score a free Amazon gift card by signing up for NordVPN using this link. Thanks to NordVPN for sponsoring this week’s episode.

Welcome to episode 91 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, with Abner and Damien out at MWC, Will invites Andrew Romero to join him on a whirlwind tour of two new OS upgrades from Google: Android 16 QPR3, and Android 17 Beta 2. The two discuss AI-generated wallpapers, that new Now Playing app, and Android’s new bubbles — not to be confused with its own bubbles — while Andrew introduces his SPI: Sandwich Price Index.

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Sponsored by Proton Unlimited: Pixelated listeners can save 30% on an annual subscription by signing up for Proton Unlimited using this link. Thanks to Proton Unlimited for sponsoring this week’s episode.

No phone is complete without a weather app, which is probably why Google realized it was high time its Pixel devices had a dedicated offering just a few years ago. Soon, the company plans to roll out an accessibility-friendly overhaul to its weather icons, all centered around contrast and visibility.

Trying to review the Pixel 10a feels like trying to bridge two completely separate narratives into one cohesive story.

The conversation around Samsung’s latest flagship series might center around how similar they are to their respective predecessors — a complaint that has echoed through the last few generations, if we’re being honest — but that doesn’t mean your future Galaxy S26 device doesn’t have a few secret upgrades hidden up its sleeve.

If there’s one big complaint about Google’s Pixel UI experience, it’s the lack of customization. Rivals like Samsung and OnePlus offer easy theming tools with deep personalization options, but on Pixel, your icon options are primarily limited to Material You’s dynamic colors. That’s finally changing with today’s Pixel Drop, though it might not be exactly what you’ve been wanting from Google.

Welcome to The Sideload episode 24, a 9to5Google podcast. This week, Will welcomes Daniel Bader back to the show. With the entire industry traveling for either Samsung or Mobile World Congress, Daniel and Will sit down to talk about the Galaxy S26 launch, before spiraling into a deep conversation on AI, the RAM shortage, SiriusXM curators, tech optimism, iPods, and much, much more.

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We’re still more than a week away from Samsung’s Galaxy S26 trio hitting store shelves, leaving plenty of time for fans to take advantage of some solid pre-order deals. But if this year’s refined design and Privacy Display haven’t convinced you to upgrade, say, your aging Note 20 Ultra, our first S27 Ultra rumor suggests you might be better off waiting after all.

Qualcomm’s taking Mobile World Congress by storm, with a collection of networking-centric announcements set to lay the groundwork for the next decade of connectivity.

Welcome to episode 90 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, Abner, Damien, and Will talk through the launch of the Galaxy S26 series, all of its various Pixel-inspired AI tools, and ask whether it’s too boring of an upgrade for Samsung. They also discuss Google’s newly-announced agentic features for Android, with support for ordering groceries, deliveries, and more, ahead of next month’s release.

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Samsung’s Galaxy S26 trio is finally here, and as usual, the pre-order period is typically where you’re going to find the best deals for at least the next few months. If you haven’t completed checkout, though, you can save an additional $50 off your order in addition to trade-in values, student discounts, and more.

Android 17 Beta 2 fell into our laps today, and unlike Google’s first build, this one is chock full of new features, including an all-new windowing mode that takes bubbles to the next level.

We’re only about four months into an ongoing memory crisis across the globe, but we’re already seeing some massive consequences spawning from this AI-driven demand. As expected, those very same consequences are coming for the smartphone market, with one firm expecting 160 million fewer sales compared to 2025.

t’s now been over half a decade since Samsung folded its Galaxy Note lineup into the mainline Galaxy S-series, but fans of the original “phablet” aren’t ones to let go so easily. If you’re still holding onto your Galaxy Note 20 Ultra — a device first released in August of 2020, believe it or not — Samsung is willing to give you a pretty sweet deal to part ways with it.

The Galaxy S26 trio is finally here, and with it comes One UI 8.5. Samsung might be waiting until the summer to roll out its next big shake-up for its version of Android, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t seeing some new visual elements in this mid-cycle release. As we’ve come to expect, at least one element on the S26’s software is ripped right from Samsung’s closest rival.

The Galaxy S26 lineup is a pretty familiar upgrade, which means Samsung is once again calling on its AI platform to make these devices stand out from the pack. This year’s big difference is an actual vision for what Galaxy AI should be aiming to accomplish — though whether that holds up in practice remains to be seen.

After weathering a barrage of leaks, RAM shortages, and an abandoned overhaul, Samsung is finally ready to unveil the Galaxy S26 series. As we expected, this is a boring upgrade even by Samsung’s own standards, and combined with higher prices on two of the S26 models, some fans might be left waiting for something a little more exciting down the road.

YouTube has spent the bulk of its existence fighting against unsanctioned download sites and ad-blockers, but the past few years have seen Google really ramp up its war. Ad-blocking users have been treated to missing comments and video descriptions, error messages, missing view counts, increased buffering, loading failures, and much, much more. I get it — no one likes ads, and YouTube’s ads in particular have gone from 5-second pre-rolls and mid-video breaks to something far more in line with traditional streaming services. Modern YouTube ads often feel like they’re overwhelming the video that surrounds them.