Mobile News 24 Hours

Last updated: July 1, 2026, 5:30 AM ET

Foldable Phones & New Form Factors

Samsung strongly hinted at a July 22 Unpacked event in London, where it is expected to unveil the Galaxy Z Fold, Fold 8 Ultra, and Flip. The company has already begun teasing the wide-screen foldable, with leaks revealing detailed specifications for the Z Fold 8 variant and a set of accompanying cases appearing online after Samsung wiped its social media. Separately, iQOO quietly launched the Pad 5c in China, a new tablet featuring a 12.1-inch display and a 10,000mAh battery, joining its existing Pad 5 lineup. In a nod to classic designs, Clicks showed BlackBerry-inspired Communicator in action, a device that could appeal to those who dislike touchscreen keyboards.

Smart Glasses & Wearables

Meta has begun rate-limiting its smart glasses' Conversation Focus feature, now offering only three hours of free monthly usage. Meanwhile, Samsung's first smart glasses, confirmed to be named Samsung Galaxy Glasses and running Android XR with One UI XR, were showcased within their management app. On the wearable front, Samsung confirmed the Galaxy Ring, with successor models expected in early 2027 with improved battery life. Motorola is also reportedly upgrading its audio lineup and tracker, with the Moto Tag 2 potentially being a larger upgrade than its luxury-styled earbuds.

AI & Software Updates

Google's Gemini app mac OS now includes its Spark agentic AI assistant, while the company's Notebook LM has been significantly upgraded to use AI for generating 60-second video summaries of research documents aiming to simplify note-taking. In enterprise AI, Anthropic received US government approval to redeploy its Mythos and Fable models starting July 1, and has also trained its new Sonnet model to better handle agentic tasks that are proving costly for businesses driving up enterprise bills. Proton's Lumo chatbot has gained image generation and editing capabilities, and Netflix has used AI to replicate Gene Wilder's voice for a new reality show. Samsung's Android 17-based One UI 9 is now in testing for the Galaxy A25, following the stable release of One UI 8.5 last month.

Mobile Hardware & Launches

The Punkt. MC03 "Sovereign Smartphone," designed in Switzerland and manufactured in Germany with a Swiss-built OS, is now shipping globally following pre-orders offering a privacy-focused alternative. Commodore has revised the pricing for its Callback 8020 flip phone, with pre-orders now starting at $399, down from the initial $499 price point, and a day-one discount code available on June 30 making the device more accessible. Motorola is expected to release the Edge 70 Max, which has been certified with Qi2 25W wireless charging, potentially beating Samsung to a feature currently exclusive to Apple and Google. The Redmi K90 Ultra has launched in China, featuring the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and a large active cooling fan for enhanced performance.

Gaming & Entertainment

Xbox reportedly plans layoffs that could include closing Arkane studios and canceling the Blade game, with cuts expected to begin next week. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is set to launch on Peacock on July 30, following the success of the previous animated Mario film which grossed over a billion dollars. In California, a bill aimed at preserving online games failed a committee vote for this legislative session.

Retail & Pricing

Amazon will pay $2.25 to settle an FTC case regarding alleged failures to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act concerning identity theft. Best Buy launched its 4th of July sale, offering discounts on numerous items, including the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 earbuds, which are currently 50% off as part of the sale. Some YouTube Premium subscribers who signed up through Apple may face higher prices avoiding the "Apple tax". Apple products are currently avoiding a price hike, though this situation may change for now.

Other Tech News

Discord is now available natively on Meta Quest headsets, a move announced at last year's Meta Connect conference. The Supreme Court will hear an appeal in the ongoing legal battle between Apple and Epic Games concerning App Store fees following Apple's contempt finding. The World Power Consortium met at Xiaomi's headquarters to discuss the future of Qi2 wireless charging, aiming for 50W speeds up from the current 25W standard.