Android

Samsung Smart Switch will make it easier to jump from iOS to a Galaxy Z Flip 8 or Fold 8, sharing photos, videos, contacts and more with just a QR code, no iOS app install required. Similar features are already rolling out on some Pixels with Android 17.

The Google Contacts app is rolling out a new “Your info” card, which shows your image, phone number, email address, and other information — similar to “My Card” on iPhones. Tap into the card, and you’ll see an option to share your details with one of your contacts.

Instead of only showing purchases made with your phone, 9to5Google reports that the Wallet app’s transaction history can now also show money spent using the NFC chip in a Wear OS watch in one combined view.

Mirroring similar concerns raised by Apple, Google is now warning that “scammers and fraudsters could exploit greater access to apps’ permissions” if the EU pushes ahead with draft measures that would force the company to open its Search data and Android operating system to competitors. In a statement to Wired, Google security engineering head, Heather Adkins, said:

You can now use Google Wallet to create an ID pass with your passport, check in for your flight, and then enroll in TSA PreCheck Touchless ID at participating airports. That means instead of showing physical or digital ID at airport security, you can walk through with the TSA’s “facial comparison” technology.

When the Google Meet UI for Apple CarPlay launched in April, Google said Android Auto would follow soon, and now it’s here, with the rollout set to finish by June 26th. If you want to take a work call while in the car, you can see your schedule, dial colleagues, or join calls (audio only, both ways) without picking up your phone.

As we discussed, Epic and Google will be back in court July 16th to answer six specific questions from the court — as it decides whether to force Google to carry rival stores inside its own app store, or let it adopt “Registered App Stores” in the US instead. What do you think of the embedded arguments?

Pixel foldables get the new feature first, which is being added to Android 17 alongside native controller remapping, but only rolls out “in the coming months.” We’ve seen control options like this in other foldables before, but it’s welcome to see Google bake it into the OS.

Starting this summer, users in Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, and Estonia will be able to scan their passports to create a digital pass within the Google Wallet app. Unlike in the US, people can’t use Google’s ID passes for travel in the EU, but they can be used for online age verification as requirements sweep across the globe.

Android president Sameer Samat says the update also includes a feature that detects whether the page you’re about to scan is a duplicate, while automatically switching blurry scans to “the highest-quality frame.” The new scanner operates on-device and is available to Android users with 8GB of RAM or more.

The app, which you can pre-register for on Google Play, will let you use AI and prompts to starting building other apps.

MediaTek shared in a blog post that it will have chips in Google’s upcoming Googlebooks, joining Intel and Qualcomm. Interestingly, it mentions bringing Dimensity smartphone chips, not the Kompanio chips it already had in Chromebooks (and were quite good).

Sony’s trying to show off the AI Camera Assistant on the new Xperia 1 VIII, but I’m not sure a bunch of blown-out photos with weird ideas about highlights and shadows will convince anyone this is worth it. Our own Dominic Preston says he saw better results in his briefing, but this is looking pretty grim. (h/t Manideep!)

Samsung is working on a new type of digital wellbeing feature for One UI 9 that lets you restrict internet access for certain apps. It seems to be pitched at boosting concentration, but could apply to parental controls too — though right now it’s a Labs feature that may not ever launch.

When it announced the new Googlebook laptops yesterday, a few commenters noticed the name seemed familiar, but only one realized just how familiar.

In case you missed it, yesterday’s Android Show stream included a brief list of every phone with current and confirmed plans for AirDrop support in Quick Share. Google also told The Verge that Xiaomi is planning support this year, though we don’t yet know to which phones.

Adobe’s updated Premiere video editing app, which launched on iOS last September, will finally arrive on Android “this summer.” It’ll include some Android-exclusive templates and effects designed for YouTube Shorts.

The next version of Samsung’s OS, based on Android 17, features improved Quick Panel customization, with each widget independently adjustable and new size options for each, along with a couple new accessibility features.

It’s part of One UI 8.5, rolling out now in the US after the Korean rollout began last week. Along with AirDrop compatibility, the update brings other features that launched on the Galaxy S26, including an updated Bixby, AI call screening, and easier AI image editing in Creative Studio.