Android

TL;DR Samsung has announced that it’s obtained FDA clearance to offer at-home hearing tests and OTC hearing aid functionality in some of its Galaxy Buds earbuds. Galaxy Buds Pro 3 and Galaxy Buds Pro 4 are supported. The features also require a Galaxy phone. Samsung’s Hearing Aid features will be available starting in Q4 of this year. Some Samsung earbuds will soon work as over-the-counter hearing aids. Samsung’s announced that it’s obtained clearance from the FDA to offer OTC hearing aid functionality, including at-home hearing tests. Samsung announced in a press release this morning that later this year, you’ll be able to use the Galaxy Buds Pro 3 and Galaxy Buds Pro 4 to test your hearing at home, and then use them to boost the volume of sounds you have difficulty hearing without amplification.

Credit: Megan Ellis / Android Authority TL;DR Google Photos users are reporting that they can no longer use drag to quickly select multiple photos. Because of the bug, the affected users can only select multiple pictures one at a time. Google confirms that a fix is on the way. When you want to quickly select multiple pictures in your gallery, Google Photos has a handy feature that lets you drag to select all the pictures you want. It’s far more convenient than having to select multiple images one at a time, especially if you plan on selecting a lot of photos. This feature inexplicably disappeared recently for a large number of users, but it should be back soon. If you’re unaware of what’s going on, here’s a quick overview. Dozens of Google Photos users, including members of our own team, have been reporting that drag-to-select stopped working for them in recent days. When they would attempt to activate the feature by long-pressing on a photo, dragging their finger across the screen would only cause the screen to scroll up or down. While tapping and holding enabled multi-select, these users could only select multiple images one by one. This bug has been spotted on multiple models of Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, and OnePlus phones.

Credit: Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR Recent Google Messages beta builds (v20260731 beta onward) have disabled the Android system-level “Clear data” button. This is not a bug, as the accompanying Manifest declarations point to a new, unfinished “ManageSpaceActivity” that will likely be used for selective data management and cleanup within the Messages app. Until Google activates the feature, uninstalling updates or rolling back to a stable release are the only ways to completely wipe app data. The Google Messages beta build is a great way to try out upcoming features for the messaging app (as long as the server-side flags align with your preferences), ranging from revamped context menus to UI overhauls. However, if you’ve recently jumped into your phone’s system settings to free up storage from the app, you might have noticed something strange. Recent Google Messages beta releases no longer allow users to clear app data directly from the Android system settings page, leaving the “Clear data” option grayed out. Before you panic, there is a very good reason behind this change: Google is potentially laying the groundwork for a dedicated, in-app storage manager. Android app developers can choose to redirect Android’s system-level data-clearing functionality to a custom activity by making the requisite declarations in the app’s Manifest file. When this is in effect, tapping “Clear data” in the Android system settings’ sub-page for the app will not wipe user data as it does for other apps. Instead, it will launch a custom “Manage space” section within the app where users can selectively clear different data types.

TL;DR SwitchBot has just launched the Kata AI assistant to manage a range of tasks, including setting up new devices and automations. This chatbot will be accessible via the SwitchBot app starting with version 9.29 and newer, the company said. SwitchBot is placing a daily cap on the number of commands you can ask the AI chatbot. Smart home manufacturer SwitchBot is known for a variety of products, ranging from home curtains to smart locks and robot butlers. Its long list of products is controllable through the dedicated SwitchBot app, and that experience is getting a major upgrade now. The app is picking up a fully functional LLM-based generative AI assistant, known as Kata AI. This assistant can answer and act on natural language queries about SwitchBot-branded smart home products, activate new devices, create new automations, or even troubleshoot issues, the company said in a press release.

TL;DR The Minimal Phone 2, with a physical QWERTY keyboard, has been launched via a Kickstarter campaign. Minimal’s original funding goal of $100,000 has already been breached, with the total now crossing $800,000. Shipments of the Minimal Phone 2 will begin in December this year. The Phone 2 features a 3.92-inch AMOLED screen, 256GB/512GB of storage, MediaTek’s Dimensity 8300 chip, and a 3,000mAh battery, with prices starting at $599. There was a time when phones with QWERTY keyboards were all the rage. That’s no longer the case today, where a bulk of the phones we see on retail shelves are conventional slab-style devices. However, some brands have tried to resurrect the idea of QWERTY keyboard phones, with Unihertz being among the more popular names out there. If you’ve been on the lookout for more options in this segment, the latest offering by Minimal may be worth checking out. Minimal has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund its second-generation smartphone, known as the Phone 2. Starting with a goal of just $100,000, the project has already surpassed the $800,000 barrier, suggesting there’s plenty of excitement for its latest offering. Minimal says it will start shipping the Phone 2 to backers by December this year.

Credit: Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Merely opening the Google Home app on iOS is automatically turning on connected smart lights for many users. The issue appears to affect smart lights from multiple brands (Govee, Philips Hue, Tapo, Kasa) and even hub bridges, but is confined to the iOS app so far. Manual toggles fail as lights turn back on seconds later, forcing users to unplug devices or unlink third-party accounts. A strange new bug in the Google Home app for iOS is turning smart lights on across users’ homes whenever the application is opened. While Google recently rolled out a major Google Home update packed with third-party camera support and performance tweaks, this new glitch appears to be causing severe headaches for iPhone and iPad users trying to manage their smart setups. According to Reddit user MST-1229 and others, simply launching the Google Home app on iOS causes connected smart lighting devices, including dimmers, bulbs, and LED strips, to turn on automatically. Attempting to switch the lights off manually is seemingly futile as the app forces them back on just seconds later.

It’s difficult to get away from the Pixel 11 hype this week, but let’s try. Although it’s no longer a player in the EU and North American markets, OnePlus has confirmed this month that its next flagship is indeed in the works. The OnePlus 16‘s ins and outs remain nebulous, but it’ll seemingly pack a 165Hz display according to pre-release marketing slides, while rumors point to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 SoC, a 200MP periscope camera, and a roomy 9,000mAh battery. It sounds brilliant on paper, but do you even care?

Setting up a network-attached storage system is one of the most rewarding tech upgrades you can make for your digital life. Be it for ditching expensive cloud storage subscriptions, streaming your personal media collection through Plex, or even building your own self-hosted Google Photos alternative, a NAS gives you more control over your data while allowing you to run a plethora of services on top. But, like any other appliance, buying a NAS box requires a fair amount of research. With a wide range of options on the market, your choices range from selecting the fastest processor around, more drive bays for future expansion, or software that adds simplicity and reliability to your setup. The latter is much more important than you’d think. After all, you are investing in a software ecosystem that will determine how easy your data is to access, back up, and secure for as much as a decade.

When the Fitbit Air debuted as Google’s screenless fitness tracker, early adopters tried using it as an analog watch strap. As someone who bought the Fitbit Air to be less reliant on smartwatches and enjoy low-profile health monitoring, I became immediately intrigued. I was also skeptical. I wasn’t sure whether I could successfully swap out my watch band without damaging it, if the Fitbit Air would be comfortable as a watch band, or whether the combination would even look stylish. For the first month or so of owning my Fitbit Air, I kept the fitness tracker on my left wrist and a traditional watch on my right. Then, I added the Fitbit Air to my wristwatch, and I’ve been wearing the combo together for over a month.

TL;DR Acer’s upcoming Googlebook could come with an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. It could also feature a 14-inch OLED display with a 2.8K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Acer’s Googlebook could be priced around $1,150 and could launch on November 8. Ever since Google announced the Googlebook at I/O 2026, we’ve seen several Googlebook leaks, including a Googlebook-branded Lenovo mouse last month. However, ASUS and Lenovo aren’t the only brands preparing to launch Googlebooks. Acer is joining the fray as well. According to information found in the Bluetooth SIG certification database, Acer is preparing to launch at least four Googlebooks with the model numbers GP714-91N50A0, GP714-91N58Y2, GP714-91N596Q, and GP714-91N70CH (via GbookHub).

Even though I like to think of myself as a platform-agnostic writer, I end up spending a large portion of my tech life with Apple devices. The Mac is my preferred work OS (although I still use Windows), and my SIM card is primarily in my iPhone, though I use my Google Pixel 9a daily, with multi-device WhatsApp sync, messaging apps, and more. I adore my Pixel 9a. It’s light, it’s small, it goes with me everywhere with ease, and the stock Android experience hasn’t let me down once. Every time I pick up my Pixel, I catch myself doing wonderfully ordinary things that my iPhone just won’t do (or won’t do as well).

TL;DR New Claude models launched from August 2 will embed invisible watermarks in generated text. The marks will apply worldwide, can travel with copied text, and can survive some editing. Anthropic says existing Claude models will also gain marking support during the EU AI Act’s transition period. Anthropic is adding invisible watermarks to text generated by the latest Claude models, giving AI-written content a hidden signal that can follow it even after it’s copied out of the chatbot. The change comes as Anthropic signs the EU AI Act’s Article 50(2) Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content. In an update published on its privacy and legal support page, Anthropic says that new Claude models launched from August 2, 2026, will support machine-readable marking from day one. Despite the EU regulation prompting the move, the markings will apply worldwide wherever Claude is offered.

TL;DR YouTube channel JerryRigEverything conducted a Galaxy Z Fold 8 teardown and durability test. The host noted that the inner screen still scratches easily, likely due to the pre-applied screen protector. The phone also holds up well during a bend test. Samsung launched its new foldable phones last month, and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has attracted most of the attention due to its wide yet compact form factor. The phone also offers an extremely thin design, but what does this form factor mean for durability? Popular YouTube channel JerryRigEverything posted a Galaxy Z Fold 8 teardown and durability test. For starters, Samsung says it uses a so-called Flex Titanium structure on the new foldable. This tech also includes replacing a layer of the folding screen’s plastic film with a titanium alloy film. However, host Zack Nelson bemoaned the “titanium wide screen” for scratching at level two on the Mohs hardness scale, with deeper grooves caused by his fingernail.

Credit: Shimul Sood / Android Authority Samsung has a few new tricks up its sleeve for its latest foldable phones, and one of the most important features for daily use is support for faster charging. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra now support 45W wired charging, up from a rather meager 25W in the previous generation. Unfortunately for the Z Flip 8, it’s still stuck with slower charging for at least another generation. Now, to make use of this faster charging speed, you may or may not need to grab a new charger — particularly if you’re coming from an older, slower charging foldable. The initial temptation might be to rush out and grab one of Samsung’s USB-C power accessories, but I’d urge caution. Not because they’re overpriced or ineffectual — Samsung’s 45W and 50W Duo chargers offer the right specs to fast-charge the Z Fold 8 series, they’re reasonably compact, and can be picked up for under $30 these days. They’re also a pretty good value, especially for the peace of mind that comes with buying an officially sanctioned product.

TL;DR Google’s Made by Google event starts August 12 at 6 PM ET, with the Pixel 11 family expected to headline the show. Pixel Watch 5 and the rumored Pixel Tag could join the phones, while Pixel Buds Pro 2 may get a new color. Tensor G6, HiLight, Gemini Intelligence, higher prices, and 256GB base storage could define this year’s Pixel story. Google has almost nothing left to hide about the upcoming Pixel 11. After months of leaks, renders, regulatory filings, and carefully timed teasers from Google itself, we already have a surprisingly clear picture of what the company plans to unveil at its Made by Google event on August 12. The Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold are all expected to take the stage, alongside the Pixel Watch 5. There’s also a genuine wildcard: Google’s long-rumored Pixel Tag.

Credit: Stephen Radochia / Android Authority TL;DR Lenovo’s official Spanish blog has published the list of Motorola devices eligible for the Android 17 upgrade, including Signature, Razr, Edge, and Moto G models. The stable update is currently rolling out to the Motorola Edge 2025, with flagship foldables like the Razr 70 and Edge 70 lineups slated for priority next. Android 17 brings HelloUI enhancements such as Dynamic Island-style Live Updates around the front camera, upgraded Moto AI (Qira), lock screen tweaks, and revamped haptics. Motorola has been testing its Android 17 update for a while now across a wide range of devices. Users have enthusiastically shared what is new in this upcoming update, and there is plenty to look forward to. If you’re wondering whether your Motorola phone will receive Android 17, Motorola has finally shared the answer. Lenovo’s official blog for Spain has shared a list of Motorola phones set to receive the Android 17 upgrade:

TL;DR Samsung says Galaxy cameras can fall back to 12MP under certain conditions, even when set to 24MP in the Camera Assistant app. These conditions include zoom, low light, Motion Photo, flash, continuous shooting, and heat. Some Galaxy Z Fold 8 and S26 Ultra users have reported seeing this downgrade behavior. Samsung has explained why some Galaxy phones can switch from 24MP to 12MP shooting even when users have enabled the option to keep 24MP active in the Camera Assistant app. The explanation comes after a Galaxy Z Fold 8 user reported the behavior on Samsung’s Korean community forum. A Samsung moderator initially said the feedback had been forwarded to the relevant team before returning with findings based on the affected users’ logs and original photos.

TL;DR Google has released v26.31 of Google Play Services. It improves the accuracy of workout routes through server-side processing of location data captured by Wear OS smartwatches. Users will also be able to open app details directly from the Play Store’s “Top Charts” page on Android tablets and foldables. Google has released a new version of Google Play Services, bringing a useful improvement to Wear OS smartwatches along with a bunch of developer-oriented features. The latest version of Google Play Services (v26.31) brings a feature that runners and cyclists will appreciate: Wear OS smartwatches can now process raw location data server-side. This could help improve the accuracy of workout routes displayed by users’ connected health apps. It’s a useful fitness feature for people who like running, walking, or cycling outdoors. It’s worth noting that Wear OS smartwatches without cellular connectivity will likely only be able to display more accurate workout routes once they are reconnected to Wi-Fi or to the user’s smartphone.

Credit: Evan Blass/LeakMail TL;DR A tipster has claimed that the base Pixel 11 lacks the HiLight/Pixel Glow feature and only offers 12GB of RAM. We wouldn’t be surprised if the phone only has 12GB of RAM, as the last two base models also had 12GB of memory. The leaker adds that you should expect a 10.8MP telephoto camera, but there’s no word on the focal length. Google will launch the Pixel 11 series tomorrow, and the standard Pixel 11 is expected to be the cheapest model. We’ve already seen some major leaks in recent weeks, but a leaker has now revealed a few more details about the vanilla model. Tipster @evowizz reports that the standard Pixel 11 won’t have the Pixel Glow or HiLight feature. That’s a shame if you wanted this glorified notification LED without paying a ton of cash.

TL;DR ASUS is offering three months of Google AI Pro or Plus with select ASUS and ROG laptops. You may qualify even if you bought your laptop before the promotion began. The plan you get depends on your laptop, with AI Pro offering 5TB of storage and AI Plus offering 400GB. If you’re looking to buy a new laptop to take advantage of the latest AI features, you need to be smart. While a large number of new laptops are advertised as “supporting” the latest AI features, there’s often a catch: Getting the most out of those AI features requires you to opt into a paid subscription. Thankfully, a new ASUS promo can get you started without paying anything extra. The Taipei, Taiwan-based company is offering three months of free Google AI Pro or Google AI Plus subscription access with select ASUS and ROG laptops.

Credit: Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority TL;DR Yelp and OpenAI are deepening their partnership to bring reservations and waitlists to ChatGPT. You’ll be able to book a table or join a waitlist without having to leave your conversation. OpenAI has also partnered with Resy and OpenTable. ChatGPT can be used for a variety of purposes, from answering questions to helping you vibe code. Recently, OpenAI and Yelp entered into a partnership that allows the chatbot to surface reviews, photos, ratings, and other business details to help you discover local recommendations. Now the two are deepening their partnership to bring a new capability to the chatbot. Yelp has announced a new integration with ChatGPT. This integration will bring Yelp Reservations and Waitlist directly to the AI. That means you’ll now be able to book a table or join a waitlist through Yelp without having to leave your conversation.

TL;DR YouTube is raising its requirements for creators joining its Partner Program. Effectively doubling minimum views, the new rules are set to take effect in February. YouTube is also expanding access to Premium Lite subscriptions. Everybody hates YouTube ads, right? For all the time you may spend grumbling about them, trying to block them, or complaining about how much it costs to eliminate them, it can be easy to forget that these ads are what make it possible for your favorite creators to support themselves and continue to produce the videos you love. But now YouTube’s got some big changes coming to how it compensates creators, and there’s the chance we could see some real-world fallout from the adjustments. When you’re making videos for YouTube, the dream is to be accepted into the YouTube Partner Program, opening your account up to revenue sharing while getting you access to all of YouTube’s latest and greatest features. But Google also gatekeeps this honor, limiting it to creators who pass certain performance and engagement thresholds. And today YouTube shares that it’s seriously raising the bar for entry.

TL;DR Meta’s Muse Glimmer is a 30-billion-parameter AI model designed to run locally on a Mac or PC. It focuses on agentic AI, with the ability to code, use tools, handle multi-step tasks, and recover from errors. The model is available now on Hugging Face, with support for popular local AI tools coming soon. Most modern, capable AI models rely on cloud computing to give you fast and reliable responses — your prompt and associated data has to leave your device, head to a server, get processed by the model in use, and then make its way back to you as a response. But we’ve also seen models taking an on-device approach, one that minimizes concerns related to cloud-based AI, but at the same time introducing their own limitations. A new model from Meta takes the latter approach, and it does so in a way that tackles some of on-device AI’s main constraints head on. With cloud-based AI, one of the biggest limitations is that models cannot run without an active internet connection. Models like Meta’s new Muse Glimmer that run totally on-device don’t face this limitation.

Credit: Andy Walker / Android Authority TL;DR Samsung could introduce dark theme icons in One UI 9.5. References to a dark theme icon option were spotted in a recent version of the Nearby Device app. Samsung is going full steam ahead with its next major update. Last week, a build for One UI 9.5 was spotted on Samsung’s test servers. Fast forward a few days, and the topic of One UI 9.5 is coming up once again. This time, it’s for a feature that could be included in the rollout. According to SammyGuru, version 1.3.07.3791 of the Nearby Device app contains references to a dark theme icon option. This option would automatically swap out the lighter background of the icon for a darker one. As a result, this would help deliver a more consistent look to your home screen when dark mode is enabled.

TL;DR Gemini’s visual Neural Expressive update is now available on at least some Wear OS devices outside the Pixel Watch line. Our own Tushar Mehta is seeing Neural Expressive on his Galaxy Watch Ultra running Wear OS 6. Gemini Intelligence features for Wear OS are still forthcoming. When Google announced its Wear OS 7 update, it teased an update to the wearable Gemini app that’ll introduce a new design language the company is calling Neural Expressive. In the context of Gemini on Wear OS in particular, Neural Expressive entails a new gradient effect that can be displayed over top of your watch face when you’re talking to the AI assistant. That visual update began rolling out to Pixel Watch models last week, and now, it looks like it’s hitting non-Google wearables, too. Android Authority‘s Tushar Mehta has confirmed that the new look for Gemini has reached his own first-generation Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra running Wear OS 6 (or One UI 8 Watch, in Samsung parlance). Predictably, the Neural Expressive overlay looks the same on Galaxy Watch as it does Pixel Watch.