Mobile News 3 Days

Last updated: August 13, 2026, 8:50 PM ET

Pixel 11 Series Launch

Google made its biggest splash of the year at its Made by Google 2026 event, unveiling the full Pixel 11 lineup with the new Tensor G6 chip. The lineup includes the Pixel, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and the $1,900 Pixel 11 Pro Fold. The base model gains faster charging and a 10.8MP telephoto camera, though it lacks an RGB notification LED, according to a leak. Camera upgrades include larger sensors and an Instant Night Sight mode. Google also introduced the new Pixel Tag for its Find Hub network and improved the Pixel Buds Pro 2 with Dynamic ANC and Live Translate. The Pixel Watch 5 focuses on health, GPS, and AI, while a new Health Guardian feature can monitor blood pressure and insulin resistance. All models cost about $100 more than last year's, and the Pro models actually have less RAM.

Verizon is already offering exceptional preorder deals on the Pixel 11 Pro, while T-Mobile will give you the base Pixel 11 for free with no trade-in. For the Pixel Watch, T-Mobile is offering $300 off when you add a line with Watch Plan Plus 2.0. Google also promises 7 years of spare parts for the Pixel 11 series. A hands-on with the Pixel 11 Pro Fold called it great but largely unchanged from its predecessor. The Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL get a new camera bar with indicator lights. Meanwhile, the screen-less Fitbit Air launches in India this October. Google is also sending discount codes via email to some customers.

Foldables and Repairability

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8 fared poorly in a teardown, with repairability falling short of expectations. The device does have an IP48 rating, meaning it's not fully waterproof. Honor, meanwhile, surprised with its new Robot Phone, a phone-gimbal hybrid with an ARRI partnership and Agile Gimbal. A hands-on called it an intriguing combination that works surprisingly well. Honor also teased the Magic9 series for a September launch and is reportedly in trial production for a 12,000 mAh battery.

Software Updates and New OS Versions

Xiaomi unveiled HyperOS 4 with a glass look and more AI. One UI 9 Beta 5 is rolling out to Galaxy S26 testers amid rumors of One UI 9.5. Motorola has started the Android 17 rollout for the Signature and will bring it to 50+ phones with Hello UI. Samsung also released a new ringtone based on Chopin for the Galaxy Z Fold8.

New Smartphones and Leaks

The Tecno Pova 8 Pro is official with an Alive Matrix Display and 144FPS gaming. Realme launched the Realme 16x with a 7,000 mAh battery and 144Hz screen, while the P4s Lite was certified for India. Redmi K100 Pro and K100 Pro Max were announced in China with impressive specs. Leaks detail the vivo X500 series and the iQOO 16T with a 200MP camera. The Poco F9 Pro and F9 Ultra battery details leaked, and the Fairphone 6+ will feature a Snapdragon 7s Gen. Sony says the Xperia 1 VIII is selling well, calling the micro SD slot and headphone jack integral. A leak claims Apple will raise iPhone prices by $100 next month, and the iPhone 18 is reportedly delayed to 2027. Samsung's Galaxy S27 series reportedly won't copy Apple's variable aperture. Full specs of the Galaxy S26 FE leaked, detailing changes and carry-overs. The Galaxy Tab S12+ and Tab S12 Ultra moved closer to launch with Bluetooth certification. Our editor admits being more excited about smartphone colors than features in 2026.

Wearables and Audio

Huawei introduced the Watch GT 7 and GT 7 Pro with up to 21-day battery life. The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic's One UI 9 Watch beta appeared on test servers. Samsung's Galaxy Buds received FDA clearance for a hearing aid feature. The DJI Mic Mini 2S offers pro audio with 32-bit float recording. We pitted Bose QuietComfort Ultra vs Sony WF-1000XM6 in three noisy tests. The Garmin Cirqa is compared with the Fitbit Air, while the Moto Watch (2026) disappoints in review.

Market Trends and Industry News

The US smartphone market contracted by 5% in Q2, with budget devices hit hardest due to the memory chip crisis. Global shipments dropped 7% in Q2, according to FDM CCS Insight. A German nonprofit filed a criminal complaint over Meta smart glasses privacy. England and Wales banned Meta glasses from courtrooms. Meta is giving away 15,000 AI glasses to blind people in Ireland and rolling out neural handwriting for Ray-Ban Display. Spotify will label AI artists and remove them from recommendations, and partnered with Kobalt for AI-powered covers. The unreleased Xbox Elite Controller 3 may have been sold early. A rare two-player Computer Space arcade machine is up for auction. Netflix shut down Night School Studio weeks after praising its game. X is testing a shadowban checker tool. TikTok was unbanned from government devices. The US government will allow private companies to carry out cyberattacks. CBP officers are misusing surveillance tech. Virgin Galactic postponed its new spaceship's first commercial flight to 2027. A flight tracking service is suing Kalshi for unauthorized data use. Abbott partnered with Google Health for AI glucose monitoring. OpenAI expanded Daybreak cybersecurity access. Thirteen authors face backlash for a 2022 Google AI study. Amazon is exiting MMO publishing for Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty. A St. Louis PBS station is suing a data center provider to rescue a 70-year archive. Namecheap went down after a data center cooling failure. Microsoft's AI blob Mico was demoted from Copilot Voice. Bumble now lets either person message first. Apple TV added classic movies like The Martian and E.T. The new Instagram logo is getting roasted. Google's Pixel 11 event was called a Trevor Noah cringe fest. A leaked Zelda Switch 2 could be Nintendo's next collector hit. The Gecko emulator challenges Dolphin for Game Cube emulation. Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition arrives October 1 with a new story arc. Spotify alternatives are listed for those fed up with the service. Chat GPT's free tier in 2026 allows unlimited texts. Twitch lets you stop AI training on your streams. Lenovo's next gaming tablet hits AnTuTu score of 4,585,844. The XGIMI Horizon Ultra projector gets a massive discount with a code. Amazon's Back to School sale has top Android deals. How-to guides cover upscaling photos, fixing stick drift, digital wallet pros/cons, wearing headphones while driving, and how the iPhone changed in 5 years.