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The smartphone market is focused more and more on premium devices, and in 2025, the Galaxy S25 Ultra unsurprisngly led the charge.

The Galaxy S26 trio initially seemed like it might shake up Samsung’s usual status quo, but some stiff competition from Apple and a failed attempt to relaunch the Edge series seems to have thrown those original plans out the window. Now, it seems like the Galaxy S26 Ultra might be boring in a different way, as it appears to be losing out on its usual color-matching stylus for something a little more boardroom-friendly.

Google Pixel’s new “theme packs” launched just a couple of months ago, but as the first release vanishes, Google says more “are coming.”

There’s a whole host of reasons people rely on third-party browsers on Android, and chief among them is a pretty popular workaround for background playback in YouTube. Unfortunately, those days might be coming to a close for non-subscribers.

Google has quietly released a new “Desktop Camera” app that might just be for Android PCs, but it’s a little too early to tell.

After the inaugural 2026 deals, the US Google Store has brought back the same discounts on the Pixel 10 series and Pixel Watch 4.

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.

Following the Live guide redesign earlier this month, YouTube TV for Android now uses the new YouTube icon style.

Like other Google apps, Messages for Android A/B tests many features. It can take the RCS/SMS client a rather long time to actually launch new functionality in stable. From various reports, Google announcements, and devices we’ve checked, this is the current state of Messages.

Google AI Plus came to the US this week as the more affordable alternative to AI Pro, which previously served as the entry point to premium Gemini features. Whether it’s worth downgrading comes down to how you use Google AI.

Motorola is not exactly known for timely Android updates, but its latest releases in Europe don’t even promise OS upgrades at all – with Android 15 out of the box being a cherry on top.

Amazon has been on a crusade to stop rampant piracy on Fire TV, with the company now blocking even the installation of certain sideloaded apps.

Under Google, Fitbit has been moving away from its traditional standalone accounts, instead pushing users to sign in with their Google account. That will be mandatory this year, but the deadline has been pushed back.

Back in 2021, Nest Hub picked up an update that made it easy to access select functions via touch with a selection of “apps,” but they’ve vanished over the past year or so.

Welcome to episode 86 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, Abner, Damien, and Will dig into an early Android 17 build that includes one big visual change: blurred backdrops. Is this a sign of things to come for Google’s vision of its OS, or a more minor system-level tweak? The crew also checks out a leaked look at Android’s new — albeit really familiar — desktop mode, Google’s more affordable AI Plus plan for Gemini, and Chrome’s agentic AI tools.

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There was a genericness to the first wave of AI features in Google products. Absolutely everyone was doing straightforward text and image generation, and that contributed to the tacked-on nature. Fortunately, we’ve moved past that and Gemini integrations are starting to feel highly unique and play to Google’s strengths.

After the Google Pixel got its monthly update in January, some users reported surging issues with both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. Are you one of them?

Google’s Gemini Live is perhaps at its most useful in the car, which is why a recent Android Auto bug is both super annoying, and a bit hilarious to watch happening.