Mobile News 24 Hours

Last updated: July 29, 2026, 2:30 AM ET

Mobile Devices and Wearables

Motorola has announced the Moto Pad 70 Groove tablet, set to launch in India this week with a 12.1-inch display and a nine-speaker JBL audio system. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 appears to be gaining significant traction, with early reports suggesting preorder popularity is exceeding expectations, and a review highlighting its wider form factor as beneficial for media consumption. T-Mobile is offering the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 for free with a new line and specific plan, while AT&T has a deal for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 that brings its monthly cost down to $5.56 with a trade-in and new line. The Honor X7e Plus has been officially released, featuring an improved 6.87-inch TFT LCD and an SD 4 Gen 4 processor with an 8,100mAh battery. Additionally, the HMD Asha 305 has debuted in the Philippines as a "lite smartphone" with a removable battery and Android AOSP. The iQOO Z11 is slated for an August launch in India, reportedly featuring a different processor and a 3D curved display, and the Redmi Note 17 series is confirmed to launch in India on August 6. Huawei's nova 16 SE is rumored to be launching soon with a substantial 8,500mAh battery.

Smart Home and AI Developments

Apple is reportedly planning to release a new smart speaker, the Home Hub, featuring a display and leveraging its upcoming Siri AI, with a launch anticipated between October and early next year planning to release the Home Hub. In the realm of AI regulation, a thousand employees from major tech companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta have signed a petition urging the US government to implement AI regulation. Meanwhile, the AI company Hugging Face is reportedly facing issues with a majority of its models generating non-consensual adult deepfakes. Chat GPT has begun refusing requests to imitate the writing styles of famous authors, both living and deceased.

Industry News and Legal Matters

Elon Musk's X platform has finally rolled out its X Money feature to Premium and Premium+ subscribers in the US, a service originally planned for last year. The US government is enacting a national security strategy that includes banning foreign-made humanoid robots and power inverters to encourage domestic production of emerging technologies. In a legal settlement, eBay and several former executives have agreed to compensate a journalist couple who were victims of a cyberstalking campaign initiated in 2019 to silence their critiques of the company. A former Tesla manager has filed a lawsuit accusing the company of overstretching safety operators for its Full Self-Driving cars, describing them as "rolling hazards". Xbox has explained that a recent major outage was caused by a licensing service external to the Xbox network. Amidst industry shifts, Double Fine has laid off approximately one-third of its staff.

Audio and Entertainment

The CW's live sports programming is set to become available on ESPN starting August 4. The HBO Max app has introduced a "shorts" feature, expanding its content offerings. For audio enthusiasts, a discussion clarifies the distinction between swimming headphones and regular headphones, addressing why standard earbuds are not suitable for pool use, and a hearing protection guideline known as the "60-60 rule" for AirPods is explained. Amazon's Echo Dot and Echo Dot Max differ primarily in their bass performance and processor generation.

Gaming and Retro Tech

Despite being abandoned 25 years ago, Sega's Dreamcast retro console continues to receive new game releases, appealing to gamers who value older technology with online capabilities.

Sustainability and Device Longevity

Efforts to reduce electronic waste are highlighted, with advice on repurposing old iPhones with various tips and a suggestion that old Google Pixel smartphones could be repurposed for use in data centers. In a contrasting environmental note, the Trump administration has reportedly exempted data centers from pollution laws aimed at preventing acid rain.

Mobile Software and Features

Motorola has launched the Indigenous Collections app for Android, designed to preserve language and cultural knowledge from the Rainy Lake Ojibwe community. Google's latest Play services and Play Store updates are enhancing features for seamless wrist payments via Wallet, improving Wear OS, Play Games, and the app discovery storefront.

Camera and Display Technology

Honor has revealed significant camera details for its upcoming Robot Phone, emphasizing its AiMAGE image engine and aiming to deliver cinematography-level features. Separately, a new leak suggests that the upcoming Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro might be priced lower than their predecessors, despite a Google executive confirming upcoming price increases for the Pixel lineup.