Will Sattelberg

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.

A password manager is all but necessary these days, even as passkeys continue to gain traction. But if you’re a 1Password fan, you better prepare to have to spend a little more on your annual charges beginning next month — even if you’re on a family plan.

Discord has spent the last couple of weeks in the crosshairs of the internet, as its decision to launch an ID-based age verification program proved even more controversial than most of us likely expected. In a lengthy blog post, Discord says it’s postponing a global rollout for this initiative while it works to improve both transparency with its users and verification options, though it’s unclear if that’s enough for its frustrated user base.

While Samsung’s drawn in plenty of foldable attention lately for its TriFold and whatever it ends up calling its heavily-rumored “wide” device, it’s not the only manufacturer looking to up its folding phone game. Oppo’s ready to unveil its Find N6 in China in the coming weeks, and our first teaser points to a pretty big — if expected — display upgrade.

Samsung’s foldables — and, really, foldables in general — have come a long way since their first couple of generations, and nowhere is that clearer than in the durability realm. This summer’s upcoming Galaxy Z-series, including that newly-added “Wide Fold,” might come with a new software trick that helps keep that inner display from potential debris.

Welcome to The Sideload episode 23, a 9to5Google podcast. This week, Will welcomes Brady Snyder onto the show for a double-header conversation. First, Brady and Will discuss the state of streaming media, starting with YouTube TV’s recently-launched channel packages before expanding to price hikes, hoop-jumping, and the return of physical media. Then the two turn their attention to Apple Music, a service both use despite their love of Android. What is it that keeps them on a rival’s platform, and is Apple’s Android app good enough to get other users to switch?

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Samsung’s next Unpacked is set to kick off this Wednesday, and in addition to a very familiar Galaxy S26 lineup, we’re expecting two new earbud pairs perfect for pairing with your new phone. The Galaxy Buds 4 series might shy away from its predecessors’ AirPods comparisons, but that doesn’t mean Samsung isn’t following Apple’s lead on at least one upcoming feature.