Android

TL;DR Some Google Messages users are facing RCS connection issues, particularly on Samsung Galaxy devices. The issue seems to occur only after using the Smart Switch app, with Google saying it may be caused by corrupted cache files. While multiple remedies are currently floating around, not all of them appear to be effective. One of the biggest draws of the Google Messages app is RCS messaging, an upgraded version of SMS that adds features like encryption, read receipts, and media support. So it’s no surprise that it’s the preferred method of communication for most people. It now looks like some are facing trouble connecting to RCS in the app. In a thread on Reddit, a user describes switching over from a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and being unable to connect to RCS, reportedly seeing the error code 3100. A Google rep has since chimed in with a potential remedy, while hinting that this may be due to corrupted cache files that could have snuck through while switching devices via Samsung’s Smart Switch app.

Amazon has already knocked $40 off the new Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 in Olive, bringing them down to $189 from the $229 recommended retail price. That is a 17% discount while the new colorway is still on pre-order and set to release tomorrow. See the deal at Amazon

Amazon has cut the 50-inch Fire TV Omni QLED down to $269.99, which is $200 off its $469.99 recommended retail price. That is a 43% discount relative to the RRP, and it is the lowest price we’ve ever tracked, dropping below the previous low of $299.99. See the deal at Amazon

It’s not the best time to buy a smartphone right now. The RAM crisis has driven up prices and widened the gap between mid-range phones and flagships. It’s harder than ever for manufacturers to offer phones that feel like good value without hiking prices. And while market pundits may argue that buying a premium flagship makes more sense than settling for a watered-down mid-ranger, the Pixel 11 makes a surprisingly strong case for spending less. The base Pixel 11 starts at $899 — $100 more than the Pixel 10 — but still $200 less than the Pixel 11 Pro. And the more time I spend with it, the more I realize that most of what I actually want from a Pixel is already here.

Credit: Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR The Pixel 11 series has officially abandoned Samsung modems in favor of a new MediaTek platform. While Reddit forums claim the new hardware brings true Dual-SIM Dual-Active (DSDA) support, Google has now confirmed the phones don’t support the feature, validating our hardware tests. The Pixel 11 series operates strictly in Dual-SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) mode, proving Google has restricted simultaneous data and voice paths at the software or hardware level. Following weeks of heavy speculation on tech forums like Reddit, Google has finally stepped in to deliver the official verdict on Dual-Sim Dual-Active (DSDA) support for the Pixel 11 series.

TL;DR The Pixel Watch 5 will officially be available tomorrow, but some customers who pre-ordered have received their watches early. Some users report that they have been unable to pair their Pixel Watch 5 wearables, with the Pixel Watch app showing an error. Google says this issue will be resolved today with updates to the Pixel Watch and Google Health apps. Google’s new Pixel hardware was made available for pre-order last week. General availability officially starts tomorrow, but as per usual, some lucky customers are getting their orders early. Some folks who’ve received a Pixel Watch 5 ahead of schedule are reporting that their new watches aren’t working — but if you’re in that boat, don’t worry. Google says it’s normal. User litalela posted a screenshot of the Pixel Watch app to the Pixel Watch subreddit that says “This Pixel Watch” (a Pixel Watch 5) “is not compatible with this version of the app.” Multiple users commented on litalela’s post to report similar experiences. On a separate post, though, Google commented to clarify that this issue will be resolved later today.

Credit: C. Scott Brown / Android Authority TL;DR Android Automotive users are having trouble with Google Maps. A bug is causing navigation to reroute endlessly. The issue appears to be affecting the Polestar brand primarily, but other vehicle owners are running into the same glitch. Google recently fixed a Maps issue that prevented traffic data from showing up. While that problem is no longer a concern, a new issue has now emerged. This problem deals with navigation rerouting and affects Android Automotive users. A Polestar 2 owner has posted on Reddit, highlighting an issue with Google Maps navigation. Specifically, when navigation is active, Google Maps will attempt to reroute endlessly. Despite resetting the system, it appears that the bug still persists.

Govee’s Floor Lamp 3 Lite is a smart floor lamp built for colorful accent lighting, adjustable white light, and easy control through your phone or voice assistant. It sits in Govee’s 2026 lineup as a more affordable option than the brighter Floor Lamp 3, and there’s a solid deal on it right now at Amazon. See the deal at Amazon

Credit: Amazon TL;DR Amazon is bringing Alexa Plus to all Fire TV users for free. Access to Alexa Plus on Fire TV devices previously required an active subscription or an Amazon Prime membership. Free perks do not include extra Alexa Plus features, such as Routines and other home automation modes. Riding the conversational AI wave, Amazon opened up a limited preview of its improved Alexa Plus assistant to users in the US last year. A year later, i.e., around February 2026, Amazon rolled it out to all users of Echo and Fire TV devices in the US, and has since expanded availability to other regions, including the UK, Australia, Canada, and Europe. Today, Amazon is announcing another upgrade, aimed especially at users of its Fire TV Stick and smart TVs that run Amazon’s Fire TV OS. Amazon is making Alexa Plus available for free on all eligible Fire TV devices in the US. Previously, it was free only for Prime users, while others had to pay to use the next generation of Alexa.

TL;DR Code in the Google Gemini app (v1.0.95) reveals a new “Remember this with Gemini” shortcut, likely coming to the Android system share sheet. Selecting the shortcut automatically would pre-fill a “@Remember this image” prompt, allowing Gemini to extract and save key details from photos to its contextual memory. The feature is currently unreleased, but we have enabled a functional demo that shows how seamlessly it logs and recalls information, such as flight details from a boarding pass. Google is always refining how seamlessly Gemini integrates into everyday Android workflows. Currently, sharing an image or file to Gemini via the native Android share sheet opens the app with the media attached, allowing you to manually type out questions or request image edits. However, an APK teardown of the Google Gemini app (v1.0.95) reveals that Google may be developing a much smarter one-tap shortcut designed to feed your AI assistant’s long-term memory. You’re reading an Authority Insights story. Authority Insights brings you all the latest exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage from the Android Authority team that you won’t find anywhere else.

TL;DR The Pixel 11 Pro comes with an upgraded telephoto camera sensor. As demonstrated by a Reddit user, compared to the Pixel 10 Pro and 9 Pro, the Pixel 11 Pro’s telephoto camera can focus on closer subjects. Google hasn’t responded to our request for comment. The Pixel 11 Pro comes with quite a few low-key upgrades, including a new telephoto camera sensor. The new sensor is the same 48-megapixel resolution as the one used in the Pixel 10 Pro and 9 Pro, but the 11 Pro’s version is a little larger compared to the one used in the previous to generations. That should make for better low-light performance, but the upgraded telephoto hardware also brings another, smaller improvement: it can focus on closer subjects. As shared by user pcman2000 on Reddit early this morning, the Pixel 11 Pro’s telephoto camera is apparently able to focus much closer to the phone than the telephoto in the Pixel 9 Pro. They shared an image showing their Pixel 11 Pro next to a 9 Pro, both with their camera apps in manual mode and their telephoto cameras’ focus sliders set to the minimum distance. The 11 Pro is sharply focused on its box situated a couple of feet away, while the 9 Pro’s image is very blurry.

Credit: Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Snapseed v4.1.4 for Android contains code for importing custom .cube LUT files for precise and uniform color grading. The app is also preparing to bring the Motion Blur tool, previously seen on iOS, over to the Android app. Both features were manually enabled ahead of launch and haven’t been announced for Android yet. Google appears to be giving Snapseed quite some attention lately. Following recent signs of new color grading options and creative tools, Snapseed is now preparing to add support for importing and applying custom Look-Up Tables (LUTs) and to bring the brand-new Motion Blur tool from iOS to the Android app. You’re reading an Authority Insights story. Authority Insights brings you all the latest exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage from the Android Authority team that you won’t find anywhere else.

Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority Welcome to Wallpaper Wednesday! In this weekly roundup, we’ll give you a handful of Android wallpapers you can download and use on your phone, tablet, or even your laptop/PC. The images will come from folks here at Android Authority as well as our readers. All are free to use and come without watermarks. File formats are JPG and PNG, and we’ll provide images in both landscape and portrait modes, so they’ll be optimized for various screens. For the newest walls, as well as all those from previous weeks, check out this Drive link. Want to submit your own? Head to the bottom of this article.

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority TL;DR A developer has released an unofficial Android port of Skate 3. The Xbox 360 game runs smoothly on a mid-tier Retroid handheld, and the developer says it’s playable on the sub-$160 ANBERNIC RG406V. The port is quite buggy at the moment, but the developer has already released a few updates. We’ve seen a raft of Xbox 360 games unofficially ported to PC in recent months, and Skate 3 is one of these titles. The popular skateboarding game received two fan ports a few months back, but what about Android? We now have good news on this front. Developer Buku313 released an unofficial Android port of Skate 3 on GitHub this week, dubbed Skate 3 Mobile. This is a fork of the recent Skate3Recomp project for PC. Unlike many other Xbox 360 ports, which often still emulate the GPU, both of these Skate 3 ports have a native Vulkan renderer. In plain English, you can expect fast performance compared to typical fan ports of many Xbox 360 titles.

TL;DR After our APK teardown last month revealed a new Redact tool buried in Google Photos’ code, we’ve now got it working in v7.89. The tool sits in the Markup section next to Pen, Highlighter, and Text, and offers three redaction styles: Mosaic, Mosaic Light, and a noise-based Blur. The feature is still in development with no public rollout in sight, but this hands-on demo shows Google has gone from a broken button to a functional feature. Google Photos’ Redact tool has moved from a string buried in the code to something we could actually tap, and we’ve got the demo to prove it. We first flagged this feature last month during an APK teardown of Google Photos v7.85, when a code string promised to “redact sensitive areas of your photos.” Back then, the button crashed the app the moment it was tapped, leaving the actual redaction method a mystery. Google Photos has since moved on to version 7.89, and we managed to enable it ahead of its release to put it through its paces. You’re reading an Authority Insights story. Authority Insights brings you all the latest exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage from the Android Authority team that you won’t find anywhere else.

TL;DR New Fire TV hardware running Android 16-based Fire OS 16 appears to be getting close, with developers now being asked to prepare their apps for upcoming devices. Vega OS won’t completely replace Android across the Fire TV lineup. Future Fire TV Sticks will use Vega OS, while other Fire TV hardware will continue using Android-based Fire OS. The exact devices and launch timing are still unknown, though September looks plausible based on Amazon’s usual hardware release schedule. The Fire TV lineup is entering a slightly strange phase. New Fire TV Sticks are moving over to Vega OS, but Android isn’t being pushed out of the picture entirely. A couple of months ago, we learned that Fire OS 16, which is based on Android 16, is headed to Fire TV hardware. Now, signs suggest the first devices running it may not be far away. According to a Reddit post (via AFTVnews), the company has started emailing developers whose apps could run into compatibility issues with Fire OS 16. More importantly, the message says it is getting closer to launching “new Fire TV devices running on Fire OS 16.” This strongly suggests that new Fire TV hardware running Fire OS 16 could launch soon.

Plenty of changes are coming to the Google Play Store this year. For one, Google is now rolling out its sideloading crackdown for apps sourced outside the Store. But in a more positive move, the Play Store is also set to welcome apps from various third-party stores, making it much easier to install them. This is a huge change to how the siloed Play Store functioned in the past, but do readers feel this is a good idea? In our rundown of the changes, we ran a poll asking readers if they’re looking forward to the third-party app store integration on the Play Store. We received just under 2,000 votes, and here’s what the majority had to say.

Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority When shopping for the best camera phones in the business, we’re increasingly spoilt for choice, with the best flagships offering multi-sensor setups with huge megapixel counts, wide apertures, long-range zoom, and swathes of other flagship-tier camera technologies. However, move away from the very top-of-the-line camera phones, and it’s all too common to see that slightly cheaper flagships and mid-range phones are stuck with far less sophisticated camera arrays. The Pixel 11 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro are good exceptions to this trend because they share the same hardware as their even more expensive XL and Max siblings, though the regular Pixel 11 and iPhone 17 miss out on some features. The same can’t be said for Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Plus, however, which is a pale imitation of the Ultra. I’ve been dabbling back in with Samsung’s flagship phones in recent weeks and was having trouble putting my finger on exactly why the Plus felt like such a mediocre camera package — until I took another look at the spec sheet.

TL;DR Google is working on a new “Map” option for Ask Photos. It will display search results on a map if they have geolocation data in their metadata. A similar map view is already available in Google Photos’ “Collections” tab. Ask Photos is a useful AI-powered feature in Google Photos that helps users easily find photos and videos with natural language queries. Google has been working on a bunch of new features for Ask Photos over the past few months, and now we’ve spotted yet another new development that could make it a lot more useful. You’re reading an Authority Insights story. Authority Insights brings you all the latest exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage from the Android Authority team that you won’t find anywhere else.

TL;DR Claude can now send emails in Gmail and manage files in Google Drive. Anthropic is also expanding Claude Cowork to mobile and web apps. It is also extending the 50% increased weekly Claude Code limits through August 31. Claude already has a ton of integrations with third-party apps and services. It can also check your Gmail for unread emails, action items, and do a lot more. However, Anthropic is now adding even more capabilities to its Gmail and Google Drive integrations. The company announced in an X post that Claude can now send emails in Gmail and manage files in Google Drive. Previously, Claude could check emails and give users a summary of any action items or important messages, but couldn’t respond to them. Now, however, users can ask Claude to reply to emails, and it will draft and send them.

The Google Pixel Watch 5 is the company’s newest smartwatch, featuring fresh case and band colors, improved performance, larger batteries, more local storage, and new health and fitness tracking metrics. On the surface, it looks virtually identical to the Pixel Watch 4, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the Watch 4 was already a fantastic-looking smartwatch. The Pixel Watch 5 costs more, though, as is the case with all new tech launches in 2026. The higher cost is particularly annoying, given that the hardware in the Pixel Watch 5 is not very different from that of its predecessor. Thankfully, if you’re disappointed by the price increase and limited changes, you’re not out of luck.

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority TL;DR The latest version of GameNative brings a variety of CPU and GPU power controls for Samsung, AYN, and Retroid devices. These controls let you either switch between preset performance profiles or make granular adjustments to CPU and GPU clock speeds. This update also brings a community configuration browser, faster loading from external storage, and a favorites tab. GameNative is arguably the best way to install and play PC games on your Android device, while also offering quick access to your digital gaming library. Heating is one notable challenge for these types of apps, though, but the team has just unveiled a solution. GameNative v1.2.0 is out now on GitHub as a pre-release update, and it brings a host of CPU and GPU power controls. These controls work on Samsung Galaxy devices as well as AYN and Retroid handhelds. I can confirm seeing it on my Retroid Pocket G2.

Credit: Android Headlines TL;DR The Galaxy S26 FE’s battery has reportedly been rated by Europe’s Product Registry for Energy Labeling (EPREL). The rating highlights improved battery backup on the Galaxy S26 FE. It also notes a sharp reduction in the number of charging cycles for the battery. Samsung’s final device in the Galaxy S26 series — the S26 FE — is expected to arrive soon. Samsung hasn’t officially spoken about the device yet, but with plenty of leaks already out, it wouldn’t be surprising if Samsung follows the same launch schedule as the Galaxy S25 FE last year. Ahead of its launch, we’ve come across the European Union’s Energy Ratings for the Galaxy S26 FE (via YTECHB). A massive Galaxy S26 FE leak from earlier this week suggests the phone might come equipped with the same battery. Despite that, the European Product Registry for Energy Labeling (EPREL) rates the device higher than before, highlighting some improvements in how the device consumes its battery juice.

I uninstall a lot of the pre-loaded apps and software that come with some phones and computers. Many of them are nothing more than bloat I’ll never use. If you have a Motorola phone, you might assume this is true of the Smart Connect app. Smart Connect comes preloaded on Motorola phones and Lenovo laptops, but it can be used on any Android or Windows device. I decided to give it a shot on my Motorola Razr before uninstalling it, and I couldn’t be happier that I did.

Credit: Joe Maring / Android Authority The Google Pixel 11 series arrived last Wednesday to a mixed reception. While there were interesting and noteworthy changes and upgrades made to Google’s newest quartet of flagship phones, I’ve been stuck chewing over the universal price increases since the keynote ended. Google, of course, didn’t tell us that prices have gone up during its presentation, so here’s a table to show you what I mean, compared to what the equivalent Pixel 10 model cost.