9to5Google Weekender

AI continues to give me mixed feelings about the future, and that’s top of mind following another Gemini-heavy Google I/O this past week. On the one hand, Google continues to show some of the most practical and useful ideas for AI, but until I can trust it, I struggle to actually get excited about it.

We’ve been hearing about Google’s behind-the-scenes work to move its laptop efforts over to Android, but now that we’ve seen “Googlebook,” I’m not really sure I’m sold yet. Honestly, I don’t think Google has shown any reason for these laptops to exist at all.

Alongside its new Fitbit Air, Google this week announced that the Fitbit app is dead, to be replaced by “Google Health.” If you’d told me this would happen a few months ago, I’d be worried, but the end result actually seems like an overall win for everyone involved. Let’s take a closer look.

You can’t go anywhere on the internet today without running into AI. In some cases, that’s useful. AI can do some amazing things. On the other hand, it often feels like we’re watching someone reinvent the wheel. Now, word on the street is that OpenAI wants to build its own phone with an experience built around AI agents. Put simply, I think that sounds horrible.

We reported earlier this week that Google is working on a laptop revival, as well as new “Pixel Glow” lights that would be coming to phones. But, what do you want that to do?

YouTube confirmed this week that Premium prices are going up for the first time in around three years and, unlike every other streaming service, this is one price hike I’m more than willing to accept.

Foldables have matured a lot since their debut less than a decade ago, and following last year’s big leap with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, there’s now a new king in the Oppo Find N6, but I’m not sure the market will follow this lead fast enough.

OnePlus is dead – probably. We’re hearing that OnePlus is shutting down much of its global operation imminently and, while it hasn’t happened just yet, it’s got us thinking about OnePlus’ presence in the US and how, sadly, its departure won’t really matter.

Sideloading has been a key part of Android since the beginning, not only delivering a lot of flexibility to Android, but also a sense of openness and freedom. After Google announced it would make major changes to sideloading, the community (somewhat understandably) panicked, but as Google has now shown exactly how its new sideloading flow on Android will work, I’m not only happy to see that sideloading isn’t going away at all, but that Google’s compromise is as close to perfect as I think we can reasonably get.

Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn’t have the best battery, nor does it have the fastest charging, but a recent experience reminded me that faster charging isn’t useful if you can’t easily use it.

Smartphone cases are something we all use, but I don’t get why Samsung and Google keep making the same annoying mistake when it comes to their first-party Galaxy and Pixel cases.

The Galaxy S26 series as a whole isn’t anything all that groundbreaking, but if there’s one feature that should have your attention, it’s the Privacy Display on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. This feature is rightfully the standout addition to this year’s lineup and, after spending a busy couple of days in exactly the situation where Privacy Display is the most useful, there are a few things I think you should probably know.

This week saw the debut of the Google Pixel 10a which, frankly, feels like a mostly recycled Pixel 9a. As we approach the launch of another barely-changed release, the Galaxy S26, it’s a good time to take a step back and remember that, while these phones aren’t all that new, that’s in part because they’re not for you.

One of the key marketing points of the Apple AirTag is “Precision Finding,” which shows you the precise location of your tracker beyond what Bluetooth is capable of. That’s accomplished using UWB, but that feature is also missing from the vast majority of Android Find Hub trackers, and there are a few key reasons why.

The Google Home experience brings a lot to the table, but it’s also infamously overlooked some features that have taken years to address. As more updates continue to improve on what Google Home can do, what do you want to see next?

Smartphones have gotten really boring over the past few years, with most year-over-year “upgrades” just acting as a rehash of the prior year’s device with a new chipset and maybe some new colors. And yet, we just keep getting these boring upgrades. It’s been true for years now that phones simply do not need a yearly refresh anymore, but 2026 would be the year to make the switch – not that anyone is actually going to.

The Google Pixel 10a is expected to launch pretty soon and, as that approaches, there’s something super weird about the leaked images we’ve seen.

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.

Smart glasses have been the tech dream we’ve been chasing for years now, and the technology is finally getting there. Better displays, improved hardware, and an ever-growing list of platforms for smart glasses were on full showcase at CES 2026, but I can’t help but look at them with a mind to what’s coming next.

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.

As 2025 comes to a close, I’ve been looking back on some of my favorite products of the year, with two standouts in particular. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Pixel Watch 4 are far and away my favorite products of the year. What were yours?