Mobile News 24 Hours

Last updated: August 31, 2026, 2:10 PM ET

Phones & Tablets

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra (SM-X940) has surfaced on Geekbench 7, confirming it will run on a Dimensity 9500 chipset — exactly the silicon we anticipated. Meanwhile, Huawei is taking its MatePad Pro 2026 global this Wednesday, September 2. Xiaomi's next flagship tablet, the Pad 9 Pro Max, also leaked on Geekbench, scoring an impressive 3,471 points in single-core tests with its in-house Xring O3 chip.

Poco is gearing up for a September 4 launch of the X8 and X8 Power in India, with new specs revealed ahead of the event. The Poco F9 Ultra, debuting tomorrow alongside the F9 Pro, has an EPREL label promising 80-hour battery life but warning of worse drop resistance than its predecessor. Vivo is preparing the T5 5G for an Indian debut later this week, with camera specs now confirmed — a 50MP main sensor and 32MP front shooter. Leaked photos and a hands-on video of the alleged vivo X500 Pro Max reveal a massive camera island, suggesting the company is pushing hardware size even further than the X300 Ultra.

Huawei has opened pre-orders for its Mate XT 2 tri-folding smartphone in China, revealing color and storage variants in the process. Samsung is reportedly planning to ditch the Galaxy S27 Ultra's dual 3x and 5x zoom cameras in favor of a single all-new 4x zoom sensor, according to a new report. If you're weighing Pixel options, our Pixel 11 model comparison breaks down the merits of all three variants, while the Pixel 11 Pro is now in for review — the key question being whether the Pro justifies its €200 premium over the standard Pixel.

The Redmi Note 17 Pro Max boasts a 9,210mAh battery delivering two and a half days of use — the best battery life of any phone — but substantial downgrades elsewhere make it hard to recommend. For foldable shoppers, our list of five alternatives to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 covers the best options if you're not sold on Samsung's latest.

Wearables & Audio

Garmin's Cirqa smart band is a fine but utterly inessential device, lacking the software and AI insights needed to truly rival Whoop. On the other hand, the smartwatch flashlight feature — built into many Garmin watches and available on other brands — proves genuinely useful for nighttime tasks, from finding your keys to navigating a dark room.

Honor's Robot Phone hands-on reveals a promising hardware experiment: cramming a gimbal camera into a phone yields surprisingly stable footage, though Gaming & Entertainment

A massive Steam leak totaling 12TB has surfaced, containing beta builds and finished games from Valve and third-party developers spanning 2003 to 2013. PlayStation fans have a State of Play double bill to look forward to on September 3, with a Final Fantasy 7 revelation teased. The GameCube controller remains beloved 25 years on, and Nintendo continues to support the quirky peripheral — a testament to its enduring design.

Apps & Platforms

Chat GPT, Reddit, and Roblox are set to face the EU's strictest platform rules under the Digital Services Act, which imposes heightened content moderation and transparency obligations on very large platforms. Instagram is taking a stand against unlabeled AI-generated influencers, demoting accounts that don't clearly mark themselves as AI — though the app isn't cracking down on other forms of AI slop. Kalshi has issued its first-ever lifetime ban to former congressman George Santos, citing his failure to fully cooperate with an investigation into alleged insider trading on the prediction market.

How-To Guides & Tips

Apple Wallet makes it easy to add and remove cards — and they don't have to stick around once you're done using them. If you lose your phone, you can disable your digital wallet to protect your payment methods, even though lock screen security already provides a solid first line of defense. Android users dealing with erratic Bluetooth volume can disable absolute volume in settings — a quick troubleshooting step that often resolves unpredictable behavior. And if you're wondering whether turning off Bluetooth improves Wi-Fi, the answer is nuanced: both share the 2.4GHz band, so interference is possible, but modern devices handle coexistence reasonably well.

Connectivity

Laptops with dual USB-C charging ports offer real convenience — you can charge from either side — but cost and space constraints mean many manufacturers still ship with a single port. Android Auto users can leverage a call screening feature available on some phones to keep spam calls from interrupting drives. For better in-car audio, our guides cover improving Apple CarPlay sound quality and tuning Android Auto audio — both involve checking source quality, EQ settings, and connection type. Air Pods owners can also adjust audio settings to enhance their listening experience further.

iPhone Troubleshooting

If your iPhone is acting up, our guides walk through soft and hard resets — what each does and how to perform them. Getting an "iPhone Unavailable" message? You'll need your old passcode or Apple Account password to regain access. And if your PC gaming controller is broken or you need an extra, you can turn your iPhone into a Bluetooth controller with a simple setup.