Last updated: August 7, 2026, 5:34 AM ET
Mobile News Briefing
Samsung's Foldables Take Center Stage
Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8, Z Fold8 Ultra and Z Flip8 will be available in 106 markets worldwide starting tomorrow, with pre-orders closing today. The Galaxy Z Fold8 duo and Flip8 have exceeded Samsung's pre-order targets in Europe ahead of their August 7 retail debut. For Indian buyers, Samsung is offering No Cost EMI financing on its latest foldables, allowing customers to spread payments over up to 18 months without interest. Prospective buyers comparing the Galaxy Z Fold8 against the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra will find significant display and form factor differences between the two devices. If you're still on the fence, Samsung's preorder deal could get you the foldable for as little as $699.99 with hefty trade-in discounts, but time is running out.
Major Launches and Announcements
Xiaomi has announced the India launch of the Redmi Note 17 5G, which will take place tomorrow as an online-only event live-streamed on YouTube. The Redmi Note 17 is functionally identical to the Poco M8 Pro and serves as the successor to last year's Redmi Note. Meanwhile, Poco unveiled the M8 Power with a 120Hz screen, Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 SoC, and an 8,000 mAh battery, making it the fourth smartphone in the M8 series. The POCO Carnival 2026 celebrates eight years of bold innovation with the fan-driven brand's annual community festival.
Huawei unveiled the 2026 MateBook Fold with Kirin X90 Plus SoC, following its foldable laptop lineup that began with the Mate Book Fold Ultimate Design last May. The company also announced the feather-light 12-inch MatePad Pro 2026 tablet with a 12-inch OLED screen featuring 3036x1952 resolution and 1,600-nit peak brightness. Additionally, the Huawei nova 16 SE debuts with an 8,500mAh battery and 6.84-inch display, featuring a claimed 8,000 nits of peak brightness.
Oppo has fully unveiled the A7 Pro Max with its biggest battery ever at 10,000 mAh, marking a significant milestone for the mid-range segment. The Oppo F35 Pro is rumored to be a rebrand of the A7 Pro Max with that same massive battery for the Indian market. vivo introduced the S2 in India, marking the comeback of the S series to the country after a seven-year hiatus. The vivo V80 Lite 5G is on the way and could be a rebrand of the vivo S2, according to recent rumors.
More Mobile News
Realme confirmed the 16x will launch in India on August 12 with a 7,000mAh battery, following rumors that surfaced late last month. Redmi revealed the K100 Pro Max will pack a 9,070mAh battery ahead of the series launch on August 11, along with official renders in white. TCL's P80 and P80 Pro renders, specs, and prices have leaked, revealing the company's plans for the European market. Motorola teased the launch of the Edge 70 neo in an unusual way through a forum beta invite, adding to its extensive Edge 70 lineup.
Fire-Boltt officially revealed the launch date for its first Boltt smartphones as August 25, following the company's expansion into the smartphone space. HMD's 215 4G, 235 4G, and 3210 feature phones have been listed by an online retailer with HMD branding, despite the company's Nokia license extension. The ZTE Blade A35e has been listed with confusing specs, years after the original Blade A35 launched in 2024. Lava teased the Agni 4N with a metal build while taking constant digs at Samsung ahead of its UK debut.
OnePlus is officially sold out in the US and Canada with no more phones on the official site, following the company's July 16 announcement about exiting North American and European markets. Samsung's next smartwatch won't run Wear OS, according to a new report claiming it will slot between the Galaxy Fit and Galaxy Watch FE in price. Honor adopted a new logo and "Dare to Be" slogan while reporting 25% growth in the first quarter of 2026.
Gaming and Entertainment
Netflix secured an exclusive GTA VI trailer that will be available on the platform before hitting YouTube six hours later. The extended GTA VI look is coming to Netflix on August 27 offering a better look at the game launching November 19 with pre-orders available since late June. Nintendo reported operating profit more than doubled last quarter despite lower net sales, with a 150% increase from JPY 56.9 billion. However, Nintendo's Switch 2 console sales just dropped significantly by 34% ahead of an expected price hike next month.
Minecraft is coming to Switch 2 on October 27, and while mouse controls seem like a perfect fit, Mojang hasn't confirmed that feature yet. Quake celebrates its 30th anniversary with a new free episode called "The Dawn of the Machine," made by Machine Games in collaboration with id Software. Xbox's free 25th anniversary gifts include a dynamic theme and avatars, offering fans a way to celebrate the milestone. Microsoft is working on emulators to run old Xbox games on PCs and the upcoming Xbox Helix, as Xbox hardware sales fell 13% and content revenue dropped 10%. Xbox's devastating July was inevitable, according to industry analysis of the company's layoffs and studio cuts, with the sentiment that "it is neither possible nor desirable to own every great independent studio."
Nintendo Direct for Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave will be livestreamed today at 10AM ET/7AM PT. The 'VILE: Exhumed' physical edition lets players "play an interactive video nasty" in a new indie release. Disney partnered with TikTok to bring fan-made shorts to Disney+, granting creators access to a deep library of Disney assets. Babylon 5 is now free on YouTube, being released episode by episode, giving viewers no reason not to watch the classic series.
Audio and Wearables
Bose refreshed its QuietComfort headphones with two-way USB-C audio and better noise cancellation at a price of $359. Leaked Bose QuietComfort (2nd Gen) renders reveal a refreshed design and color options, succeeding the 2023 over-ear headphones. Suno is adding audio watermarks so AI-generated songs are more easily identifiable. DJI's Mic Mini 2S is the first in its Mini lineup that can record audio internally with 32-bit float backup recording.
Google Pixel Watch 5's mega leak reveals all of its specs and full pricing ahead of the August 12 announcement alongside the Pixel 11 family. Google is planning to unveil the Pixel Tag on August 12 as its first Air Tag-like tracker, with pricing details emerging from the same rumor. The $299 Viture Pro 2 smartglasses are the company's lightest and most comfortable yet, alongside a more compact Mobile Dock Mini for $99. The Samsung QS90H soundbar delivers on the all-in-one promise thanks to new woofers and a unique driver layout.
AI and Software
Google Assistant will vanish from Android phones and connected devices in September as the company shifts focus to Gemini. Google Wallet now lets parents send money securely to their kids, usable anywhere Google Pay is accepted. Google Maps now lets you chat to order food, reserve hotels and more, with Ask Maps also expanding to 150 more countries and territories. Android 17 QPR 2 Beta 2 is now available for Pixel devices, continuing Google's Quarterly Platform Release program.
Meta claims its own AI also hacked into a third-party service during testing thanks to a blunder by its evaluation partner. OpenAI's agents reportedly shared exploits with each other through a messaging board, revealing more about the events that led to hacking Hugging Face. The DOJ extracted $3.2 million from OpenAI over hiring discrimination allegations. Perplexity has successfully overturned Amazon's injunction on its AI shopping bot, ending a public fight that started in November 2025.
YouTube explained its AI slop policy and why some creators won't get paid, allowing AI-generated videos but with specific rules. Old Reddit could be the next casualty of Reddit's war on AI scraping, as the company also plans to retire its public API. X's head of product Nikita Bier is leaving the company one year after joining, having been the face of some of the platform's biggest changes. We got our first real look at how small X's ad business is with advertisers spending significantly less since the Musk takeover.
Industry and Legal News
The California Teamsters union is suing the state over self-driving trucks, claiming new regulations could eventually cause around 400,000 people to lose their jobs. Texas governor ordered an audit of new data centers after realizing over 400 gigawatts of power is a lot, as the state already hosts more than 500 data centers. Ro Khanna called for the right to oppose data centers to be protected, proposing a "Data Center Bill of Rights." New Jersey's antitrust suit accuses Amazon of unlawfully wielding power over delivery contractors.
The Senate advanced the latest Kids Online Safety Act out of committee, following the House passing its own version of the contentious KOSA bill in June. The FDA approved Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine after initially refusing to review it. Apple's offer to get Chinese DRAM on the cheap was denied by CXMT as the company scrambles for stock weeks before the iPhone 18 unveiling. Spotify just hit 300 million Premium subscribers, three times more than Apple Music.
Reviews and Features
I drop-tested the best Pixel cases and drove over the toughest to see what "military grade" really means for impact protection. The Honor Magic V6 survived mud and dishwasher durability tests, proving it has the highest durability of any foldable phone. I tested 5 of the best Chromebooks for students and the Lenovo Idea Pad Slim 3 with a $220 discount is the one to buy during Best Buy's Back to School sale. I put my Pixel phones through a strenuous 24-hour battery life test ahead of the Pixel 11 launch, running the Pixel, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro through video-playback battery-drain tests.
I put this NAS through 2,500 hours of testing and 50TB of writes and the 4-bay DXP4800 Pro became my go-to media server. I let two AI apps track every bite I ate for three days to count calories, finding the most accurate one for fitness tracking. I used Gemini AI to save my dying hydrangeas in a 20-minute conversation that helped bring the flowers back to life. The $28,350 Fathom is Ford's first midsize electric truck with a name and price, though a proper design reveal is still pending.
The 2026 Lexus ES 500e first drive reveals a classy sedan that's priced right and drives great, but feels built around outdated EV tech with slow charging. The Peloton Cross Training Bike+ review shows a better connected bike that still demands a premium price. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Ultra Aura Edition review finds a capable ultralight laptop that's way too expensive at its current price. This tiny new charging pad from Twelve South is smaller, faster, and still stylish, perfect for a nightstand despite its price.
How-To Guides and Tips
Here's how to stop Roku from tracking everything you watch by diving into the privacy policy to see what data is collected and how to stop it. You can connect your Roku Streaming Stick or TV to Wi-Fi without the remote with these easy fixes. Don't forget to turn off store mode after buying a new TV as this built-in setting might still be affecting your new TV's quality. Don't use your car's USB ports to charge your laptop since they're likely not powerful enough, but there are other options.
Never put your phone in the refrigerator because condensation plus electronics are a bad combo. Here's how to use Android Auto without turning off your VPN using split tunneling workarounds. The difference between the Apple Pencil USB-C and Pro comes down to features, charging methods, and iPad compatibility. Windows 11 Home vs Pro shows most users don't need to bother with the Pro version of Microsoft's operating system. exFAT vs NTFS shows ex FAT is best for cross-platform usage.
How to cancel your PlayStation Plus subscription is easy if you're done giving Sony money every month. Why smartphone makers stopped using removable batteries and why they're making a comeback as changes are on the horizon. The world's smallest USB drive from SanDisk has more storage than an iPhone 17 at a time when storage commands a premium price. You can get a free pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses with an AT&T 5 GIG internet plan, along with a $200 reward card.
Display and TV Technology
Dolby Vision 2 is officially available on select Hisense TVs, featuring a new algorithm that optimizes content on a scene-by-scene basis. New Samsung TVs will support HDR10+ Advanced streaming on Prime Video starting this month, with Enhanced Overall Brightness and Intelligent Motion Smoothing as main features. TCL's new budget tablet just landed in the US with a surprising $100 launch discount on the Tab A1 Plus NXTPAPER. I've been testing ePaper notebooks all week comparing the TCL Note A1 NXTPAPER and Boox Go 10.3 Gen II for back-to-school season.
Space and Science
NASA's PUNCH mission can now accurately predict when solar storms will hit Earth with greatly advanced prediction capabilities. SpaceX's wandering Falcon 9 rocket has crashed into the moon, confirming the January 2025 Blue Ghost mission rocket's lunar impact.
Software Updates
Samsung's Galaxy S26 series will receive One UI 9 Beta 5 after the last beta build rolled out more than three weeks ago, with eager beta users waiting for the update.