Android

TL;DR Some foreign-made pool-cleaning robots could fall under the FCC’s robot ban if they can operate at the water’s surface, while underwater-only models remain exempt. Existing pool robots aren’t affected: Previously authorized models can still be sold, and owners don’t need to worry about losing functionality. Future models could get pricier or harder to find: Manufacturers may need FCC exemptions or move production to the US, with added costs potentially passed on to consumers. Following the ban of all foreign-made drones back in December 2025, the Federal Communications Commission went ahead with a foreign-made consumer router ban in March this year, keeping connected devices that aren’t made inside the US out of its market. Those restrictions subsequently extended to cover all “advanced robotic devices” made overseas, and it now appears that an unexpected product category is caught in the crossfire. Pool-cleaning robots are no longer safe from the ban, though they may or may not fall under the FCC’s advanced robotic device definition based on what they can do. For reference, when the policy was first announced last month, the FCC said that any “unmanned underwater vehicle that is able to operate without a human occupant” would not be considered an advanced robotic device. Now, in a new section added to the policy’s FAQ (via PCMag), the Commission has specifically addressed pool-cleaning robots and how their capabilities leave them in a somewhat awkward position.

Amazon just dropped the Chipolo POP Tracker Tag to $23.20, down from its $29 recommended retail price. That saves you $6, a 20% discount off the RRP, and it also matches the all-time low and the Prime Day price, which makes now a good time to grab one before the discount disappears. See the deal at Amazon

TL;DR The Galaxy S26 FE has appeared in a leaked unboxing video ahead of its August 27 launch. The footage reveals a glossy ‘Blueberry’ finish, flat sides, triple cameras, and uniform bezels. Other leaks point to a 6.7-inch 120Hz display, Exynos 2500, and One UI 9.0 out of the box. Samsung confirmed the Galaxy S26 FE was on its way nearly a month ago and finally set a date for the launch event earlier this week. With less than a week to go now, we are seeing more leaks flooding our timelines, and the latest is a hands-on unboxing video that leaves little to the imagination about the upcoming S26 FE’s design and looks. The Galaxy S26 FE will officially launch on August 27, and so far, we know quite a lot about the specs and features to expect. While this isn’t the first S26 FE hands-on video to leak, the latest shows off every important design element of the phone, including the retail box.

Amazon has dropped the Razer USB-C Dock to just $52, and that is a huge cut from its $129.99 recommended retail price. That works out to $77.99 off, or 60% off RRP. We’ve never even seen it fall much below $80 in its previous best deals, so it’s worth catching this offer while it lasts. See the deal at Amazon

Meetings, lectures, and phone calls can pile up fast, and it is easy to miss key details when you are trying to listen and take notes at the same time. The Plaud Note Pro is built for that kind of busy schedule, and it is now on sale at Amazon for $159.99. See the deal at Amazon

Lost wallets are a pain, and bulky trackers are not much better when they make your pocket or card holder feel stuffed. The new Eufy SmartTrack Card E40 is built for that exact problem, and there’s a good Amazon deal on it right now. See the deal at Amazon

TL;DR Walmart has not historically supported tap-to-pay payments at its stores, including Google Pay. That’s finally changing starting next week. Walmart stores across the US should accept Google Pay by the end of the year. Some companies just don’t like to play nicely with others. Sometimes that’s Sony, pushing its bespoke memory cards, or Apple resisting USB-C for as long as possible. While most of the world started getting down with tap-to-pay standards over a decade ago, Walmart has been a long-time holdout, rejecting the likes of Google Pay and Apple Pay in favor of its own in-house payment solution. We never thought we’d see the day, but the retail giant is now finally backing down and embracing tap-to-pay. Walmart announces that, starting next week, shoppers will be able to make purchases with tap-to-pay payments through their phones, smartwatches, and cards. Availability may be a bit limited at first, but the plan is to roll out support across all US stores by the end of the year — including Sam’s Club.

Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Dropbox is experiencing an outage. The company confirms that the website is down, but says that the mobile app is still working. The team is working on a fix. If you’re running into trouble with Dropbox this morning, don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong on your end. You can rest easy knowing that you’re not alone, as other users are also unable to use the service. Here’s what’s going on. According to Dropbox’s status site, the service is currently experiencing an outage. Specifically, it states that some users are experiencing degraded performance on the website. Dropbox says that it is currently working on a fix. At the time of writing, the status is still green (operational) for the mobile app.

TL;DR Google Vids is now integrated into Slides with AI-powered video tools. You can turn presentations into polished videos with editing, scripts, and voiceovers. The existing recording option remains, with Vids rolling out to Workspace users. Google introduced several Workspace upgrades in March, and Slides was among the apps that got these Gemini-powered drafting and editing tools. With Gemini in Slides, you could finally create fully editable slides, edit collaboratively, and even generate entire presentations. Now, Google is taking things a notch higher with its latest Slides integration. In a blog post, Google has confirmed that Google Vids in Slides is rolling out, allowing users to access the video editing tool within Slides. While Slides already has a recording option, Google Vids integration adds the magic of Gemini to the right-hand menu. With a click of a button, you’ll be able to record your workflow, and when done, the tool will generate a shareable link.

TL;DR Alongside the Pixel 11 series, Google has published factory images of the Pixel Watch 5. However, unlike in years past, there’s only one image for the cellular and Wi-Fi variants of the Pixel Watch 5. Flashing factory images on the Pixel Watch 5 will be as tricky as on the Pixel Watch 4, as it still requires an invite-only debug adapter distributed by Google. The Pixel 11 series is gradually reaching customers beginning this week, and Google has obliged by publishing factory images for these smartphones. At the same time, the company has also posted factory images for the Pixel Watch 5. However, there’s one crucial change with the new smartwatch. Much like last year, Google offers the Pixel Watch 5 in both 4G LTE and Bluetooth/Wi-Fi variants. While it has traditionally published separate images for these variants, the manufacturer is offering only one build this time (via 9to5Google).

Credit: Insta360 TL;DR Insta360 has released its new handheld gimbal camera, the Luna Pro, with a single lens. The Luna Pro rivals DJI’s Osmo Pocket 4 but offers better video features, including 4K 120p slo-mo, 8K recording, and 4K vertical video. The Luna Pro is currently only available in China, and we’ve yet to learn about its global release. Days after Insta360 launched its flagship handheld gimbal camera, the Luna Ultra, its biggest rival, DJI, sued it in the US, alleging copyright infringement. The latter claimed Luna Pro copied the Osmo Pocket series’ subject-tracking features and used a design very similar to the newly launched Osmo Pocket 4P. Insta360 countersued DJI, alleging it was motivated by “fear of competition from a highly competitive product.” While the legal battle continues between the two, Insta360 isn’t stopping its product launches and has revealed a new model in its Luna series. Insta360 has just announced the Luna Pro, essentially a stripped-down version of the Luna Ultra. Unlike the Ultra, the Pro comes with a single camera sensor co-engineered with Leica. Its lack of a second camera doesn’t deter the Luna Pro from delivering great results. Insta360 claims the gimbal camera can shoot up to 4K@120p or 8K@30p resolution with Dolby Vision. The Luna Pro can also record 4K vertical video with a sensor crop. Neither the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 nor the newer Osmo Pocket 4 goes past 3K resolution for vertical video.

Credit: Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR Verizon recorded the biggest gap in cellular speeds between flagship and budget phones, according to a new survey. T-Mobile had the smallest gap in speeds between high-end and cheap phones. The survey also showed that Verizon recorded the lowest average speed for cheap phones in general. The latest flagship Android phones are often equipped with blazing-fast cellular speeds owing to more advanced modems. But a new survey suggests that the speed gap between flagship and budget phones can also be accentuated by the carrier. A survey by Recon Analytics (h/t: PhoneArena) yielded over 4,300 speed tests across US carriers. The survey found that flagship phones often had faster speeds than budget devices on the same network. That isn’t a surprise on its own, as high-end phones tend to get faster modems.

In the midst of all the Pixel 11 hubbub last week, you might have missed another bit of Google news that went under the radar. Just a couple of days after announcing the Pixel 11 lineup, Google rolled out Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3. Android 17 betas have been hit-and-miss with user-facing changes. Plus, with a thrilling name like “Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3,” I wouldn’t blame you for thinking this was a pretty boring beta release focused on bug fixes and other optimizations.

TL;DR Samsung’s surprise update for the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 is expanding beyond the US, where it first appeared a couple of months ago. Global models are now receiving the update, although Samsung’s changelog only mentions generic stability and reliability improvements. It’s still unclear what the update actually fixes, with the sizable OTA suggesting there could be more happening under the hood. Samsung ended official software updates for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 years ago, so it was a little nice surprise when the company pushed what appeared to be an emergency fix to the duo a couple of months ago. At the time, the update was limited to US variants of the phones, but the rollout now appears to be expanding to global units. The update is arriving with firmware version G950FXXUCDZE7 for the Galaxy S8, while the Galaxy Note 8 is getting version N950FXXUGDZEA. The security patch level remains unchanged on both phones — April 2021 for the S8 and August 2021 for the Note 8 — and so does the underlying Android OS. Samsung says the update improves device behavior but won’t go into specifics. The company also warns that these changes may vary depending on model, country, and network operator.

Credit: Andy Walker / Android Authority Samsung Gallery packs so many features, but not all of them are easy to find. You may be familiar with Audio Eraser, Generative Edit, the collage maker, and maybe even the built-in video editor. But besides those obvious ones, there’s a whole bunch of features that don’t show up anywhere inside the app, at least not by default. They’re all tucked away inside a hidden menu called Gallery Labs, and the sad thing is, most Galaxy users have no idea it exists.

The Pixel 11 Pro XL’s reveal brought with it more questions than answers. Google’s new flagship is a mixed bag, with some needed enhancements but also an unfortunate downgrade. It’s a phone that is harder to justify this year, as Google has raised prices, which will give some buyers the impression they are paying more for less. It’s not an easy decision, even for hardcore Pixel fans. Smartphones have gotten more expensive across the board, but Google is now on the same playing field as everyone else, and buyers will demand results. If you’re on the fence about buying a new Pixel 11 Pro XL, here are five Android alternatives that can win you over instead.

Back-to-school usually means two things: a shopping list and things that need labels and stickers. Whether you’re looking to add name tags to your or your kids’ supplies, make planner stickers, or want to add a personalized touch to your laptop lid or dorm room, it can be quite a time-consuming project. Creating a custom sticker sheet typically means designing on one screen, printing on another device, then carrying that sheet to a separate cutter to trace and slice by hand. And any misstep along the way means going right back to the start. The Liene PixCut S1 is the company’s attempt to combine that entire chain into a single device. Liene has spent 700 days developing, testing, and refining its all-in-one printer and cutter, just in time for the start of the new school year. With the PixCut S1 Starter Kit, you have the perfect tool for making name labels, planner stickers, locker decor, and more. Here’s what you need to know.

Credit: Adamya Sharma / Android Authority Google has introduced a much more intuitive way to use Quick Share with the Pixel 11 series. Called Tap to Share, the feature lets you initiate a Quick Share connection simply by bringing the tops of two compatible Android phones together. If that sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen Apple do the very same thing for a while now. Google’s version works pretty much the same way, and the company has even made some hardware changes to the Pixel 11 series to support it.

TL;DR YouTube Premium could be getting another price hike just months after April’s increase, according to reports from subscribers across Europe. Individual and family plans could both become more expensive, with some users already receiving emails detailing higher monthly prices. The reports are not yet official, and it’s unclear if or when the increases will reach the US and other markets. It’s only been a few months since YouTube Premium’s price in the US went up, and now we’re getting wind of yet another looming price increase. While April 2026’s hike raised the subscription price from $13.99 to $15.99, fresh reports suggest YouTube could also increase subscription prices in Europe by the end of October 2026. According to reports on Reddit and the ResetEra forum, YouTube could be preparing a price hike just a few months after rolling out new prices across its Premium plans in the US. The change will likely come in the next couple of months and will affect both individual and family plans across various European countries.

TL;DR The ASUS Googlebook has leaked yet again, this time with 16GB of RAM and an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor. The leak suggests a price tag of around $1,390. ASUS could also offer its Googlebook with 32GB or 64GB of RAM and an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor. We’ve seen plenty of Googlebook leaks over the last couple of months, including devices from Lenovo, Acer, HP, and ASUS. There have also been reports that the ASUS Googlebook will pack a whopping 64GB of RAM. However, a new leak today is giving us a bit more clarity on ASUS’ plans for its Googlebook offerings. According to a now-removed retail listing for the ASUS CX9406 Googlebook spotted by GbookHub, the company may be considering a tiered Googlebook lineup to cover different price points. The listing reportedly mentioned a much more modest configuration for the Googlebook with the model number CX9406CAA-DSU51T-CB.

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority TL;DR ARMSX3 has received several updates in the last few days, bringing support for online play, the ability to import save data, and more. We also get plenty of compatibility improvements, with an entire class of games now booting up. ARMSX3 is the latest PS3 emulator on Android, following in the footsteps of aPS3e and RPCSX-UI Android. Development has proceeded at a breakneck pace, and the last few updates have brought some major additions. ARMSX3 v0.9.3 was released on GitHub yesterday and brings support for online play in PS3 games. This uses the open-source RPCN framework for matchmaking in lieu of the PlayStation Network. The developer notes that your RPCN password is stored in plain text in a YML file, as is the case with RPCS3 on desktop. They therefore caution people not to reuse passwords from other services for their RPCN credentials. The update also lets you save and switch between servers.

TL;DR RayNeo’s new iO Smart Glasses put a tiny MicroLED display and AI assistant into regular-looking 33g frames, letting you glance at information without reaching for your phone. The glasses can surface notifications, schedules and weather, translate text in 40 languages, capture voice notes and even act as a hands-free teleprompter. The iO launches September 4 for $479, with up to 48 hours of typical battery life; a $529 bundle includes a charging case. Screens are a major part of our life, but that doesn’t mean screen fatigue isn’t real. We carry our phone everywhere with us, and when we’re not out and about, we’re staring at other screens. That’s a problem that AR glasses-maker RayNeo is trying to solve with its new iO Smart Glasses. First things first: Yes, the glasses themselves have a screen, but that’s not necessarily a contradiction. RayNeo’s aim is that its new glasses’ tiny display is all you’ll need to quickly glance at information, eliminating the urge for you to unnecessarily reach for your phone and make your tech interactions overall less disruptive.

TL;DR RayNeo has announced the RayNeo GT and GT Max AR glasses featuring dual 1080p, 120Hz micro-OLED displays, dual-chip architecture, and Bang & Olufsen quad speakers. The RayNeo GT will cost you $299 at launch, while the RayNeo GT Max will cost you $399. These can be paired with the new RayNeo Pocket TV Pro, which is a RayNeo-specific Google TV streaming puck, to deliver Dolby Vision content. RayNeo has been making AR glasses for a while now, with its RayNeo Air 4 Pro glasses going global earlier this year at CES 2026. The company is back with a new cinema-grade pair, the RayNeo GT and GT Max, alongside the Pocket TV Pro streaming puck and the RayNeo iO Smart glasses. RayNeo GT and RayNeo GT Max

Credit: Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority TL;DR GrapheneOS says its first Motorola phones will arrive in 2027 as high-end flagships that will cost more than Pixel phones. The platform says lower-end devices will take longer to qualify because Qualcomm’s cheaper chipsets don’t currently offer the same level of security and long-term software support. GrapheneOS also plans to have its Motorola builds ready alongside major Android releases, but it will need to host and maintain its own AOSP repositories. GrapheneOS is getting ready to expand beyond Google Pixel phones in 2027, but the platform has now revealed that its first Motorola devices won’t be affordable alternatives. The privacy-focused Android project says its initial Motorola devices will be flagships with higher-end hardware and higher prices than comparable Pixels.

TL;DR Google has released factory images for the Pixel 11 series. There are three builds for each phone in the Pixel 11 series. Google has also confirmed the codenames for the new Pixel phones. The Pixel 11 series is finally available to the public, and pre-orders are now shipping out. Along with the release of its new smartphones, Google also released factory images for the entire Pixel 11 series today. These new images are based on Android 17, and there are three images for the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, and Pixel 11 Pro XL. Here’s the list of builds available for these phones: