9to5Google

If you’re noticing freezing and crashing issues for the Spotify app on Android as of late, you’re not alone, as an ongoing issue causes the app to run into numerous issues when connected to certain Wi-Fi networks.

Samsung’s new Galaxy XR headset is the world’s first Android XR device and a proper competitior to Apple’s Vision Pro. At $1,799 it’s a lot more affordable than Apple’s headset, but Samsung is charging a truly obscene $250 extra for the case and the controllers – and no, that’s not a combined price tag.

Alongside the headset launch today, Samsung also teased glasses powered by Android XR as it works on multiple extended reality form factors.

After previewing last December as Project Moohan, the Samsung Galaxy XR is now available as the first headset running Google’s new Android XR operating system.

After widely rolling out the “Font size” setting last week, the latest Gboard for Android update lets you hide the period and comma keys.

Welcome to The Sideload episode 9, a 9to5Google podcast. This week, Will is joined by Chris Wedel, the creator behind the YouTube channel Gadgets & Gravel and a writer at sites like CNET, Android Central, and XDA. Chris has dived deep into the type of smart home gadgets you might not think about all too often — robot lawn mowers, wall-illuminating specialized bulbs, electric scooters, and much more — and the result is an exceptionally fun chat on all sorts of gadgets and the state of creation in 2025.

Subscribe

• YouTube Podcasts
• Pocket Casts
• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts

Google Fi is getting a series of notable updates in the coming weeks that improve messaging, browsing, and calling, with Google AI playing a role.

Deals with Samsung Galaxy devices don’t generally get as good as they were during launch. For a limited time, the company is bringing some of those deals back with up to $1,000 off the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and boosted trade-ins for the Galaxy S25 series with free storage upgrades.

While we’re already an update ahead on Pixel, One UI 8 based on Android 16 has rolled out far and wide to Samsung phones. Here are a few things we think you’ll love getting to grips with.

We’re due for some big changes coming to the Play Store after the results of the Google-Epic lawsuit, but an additional extension could give the company the final change to overturn the case it’s been looking for.

Following comments teasing the change from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, HBO Max has today made a price hike official, with prices going up by around 10% on all plans.

Wyze is launching a new tilt and pan camera that just needs an hour of sunlight to keep running.

AAWireless TWO+ is finally here to bring CarPlay support to what we think is the best wireless Android Auto adapter, and the way and speed at which it works is part of what makes it stand out from the crowd.

Following the Material 3 Expressive redesign earlier this month, Google Wallet will be adopting Android 16’s Live Updates “for key travel journeys.”

Following last week’s release, Android 16 QPR2 Beta 3.1 is rolling out as a patch for Pixel devices that failed to boot if “Enable desktop experience features” was enabled before installing.

After restarting the program last October, the US Google Store is now selling a refurbished Pixel 8, while details about the Pixel 8 Pro are here.

The Oura app was already one of the easiest health tracking apps to use, and the company says that its getting an overhaul to make it even better with new features.