10 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
Skip to main content

Android

Android is Google’s open-source mobile operating system; think of it like a public park compared to Apple’s walled garden. It dates back to 2007, and though its dessert-inspired version names were retired in 2019 for a straightforward numbering system, there will always be a special place in our hearts for an OS called “Oreo” and “Ice Cream Sandwich.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Gemini gets profound on mobile.

The Google AI assistant’s Deep Research mode now works on both Android and iPhone, though is still exclusive to paying Gemini Advanced subscribers. The mode, which can produce relatively detailed research reports, launched as a web-only option in December. It expanded to Android last week and iOS yesterday.

ChatGPT has its own deep research feature, which we tested last week to mixed results.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
More Moto.

Here’s our first look at this year’s Motorola Razr Plus, courtesy of Android Headlines, and it looks an awful lot like last year’s Motorola Razr Plus. The design appears just about identical, so the only thing that’s really new here is the dark green color with a stitched faux leather finish.

Last year’s Razr phones launched in June, but apparently this year’s models could arrive much sooner.

<em>The full-screen cover display is back.</em>
<em>Last time the cameras were a main and a telephoto.</em>
<em>Even the vegan leather isn’t new, but this green is.</em>
1/3
The full-screen cover display is back.
Image: Android Headlines
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
The world’s thinnest foldable launches next week.

Oppo has confirmed a February 20th global launch for its Find N5. The company already teased the phone’s thinness, waterproofing, and nearly invisible display crease, and we only have ten days to wait for the rest. A new trailer shows the phone off in full, but sadly this global ad doesn’t include the purple version China is getting.

It may launch in the US as the OnePlus Open 2.

Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Android 16 might get time zone change notifications.

Android Authority spotted Android 16 beta code that would add a new “Time zone change” toggle in Android Date and time settings under Notifications. A description below the toggle reads, “Receive a notification when your time zone is automatically updated.”

As a person who’s made many long, time zone-crossing road trips, that would be a very welcome feature.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Evleaks finds the Find N5.

Oppo hasn’t exactly kept its new foldable a secret, but the leaker has done one better, sharing renders in three colors and a variety of angles. It’s our best look yet at the Hasselblad rear camera, rumored to include three 50 megapixel shooters.

The Find N5 is reportedly the world’s thinnest foldable, and has a remarkably subtle display crease. It launches globally this month, and may reach the US as the OnePlus Open 2.

Renders of the Oppo Find N5 in three colors, leaked by Evleaks
Image: Evleaks
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Crease? What crease?

Oppo can’t stop teasing its Find N5 foldable. Chief product officer Pete Lau took to X to show off the phone’s almost invisible display crease — especially compared with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 beside it — and demonstrate its water-resistance.

The Find N5 is apparently the thinnest foldable phone yet, barely thicker than its USB-C port. It launches globally in two weeks’ time, and we hope eventually reaches the US under the OnePlus banner.

<em>The Find N5’s crease is less noticeable than Samsung’s.</em>
<em>It’s also confirmed to feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite.</em>
<em>And boasts IPX6, IPX8, and IPX9 water-resistance ratings.</em>
1/3
The Find N5’s crease is less noticeable than Samsung’s.
Image: Oppo
Wes Davis
Wes Davis
A Nothing button.

Along with an image teasing a new button on the side of (presumably) the Phone 3A, Nothing cryptically posted, “Your second memory, one click away.”

What is the button for? 9to5Google’s suspicion of a dedicated camera button makes sense, but so does a key for summoning an AI assistant or even a Nothing take on the iPhone Action Button. We’ll find out soon enough; the phone launches March 4th.

Image showing what looks like an x-ray of the side of a smartphone, with two pill-shaped regions outlined in white.
Nothing to see here.
Image: Nothing
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
March madness.

Google’s cheaper Pixel A-series phones usually launch in the summer, but the 9A might come early. Android Headlines reports that Google will open preorders on March 19th, with shipping a week later. Previous leaks reported that the phone will once again start at $499, but may break from recent Pixel design philosophy by ditching the camera bar.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Nothing confirms the Phone 3A date.

A teaser hints that we can expect the 3A series to have Nothing’s first triple-camera along with updated Glyph lighting when it launches on March 4th. Last year’s affordable 2A and 2A Plus never officially released in the US, and we don’t yet know if the 3A will change that. It’s separate from the regular Phone 3, which CEO Carl Pei promised would be “flagship” when it arrives.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
You’re running out of time to get Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete for $9.99.

The new version of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp -- free of in-app purchases -- debuted last December at $9.99 for a limited time.

For those who have been dragging their feet on buying the new Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete for either iOS or Android, that limited time offer runs out before the end of this week. At 1AM ET on January 31st, the game will increase in price to $19.99.

A screenshot of the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete game in the Apple App Store.
Starting early in the morning on January 31st, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete will double in price.
Screenshot: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Google Photos gets the mirror mode we thought it already had.

Turns out Google’s photo manager wasn’t able to flip photos from left-to-right — until now. The editing feature has just been added, found within the Crop tools, which cover photo rotation too. For now at least, it’s Android only.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
MKBHD shows what it looks like to wear Samsung’s first Android XR headset.

Yes, it does look a lot like Apple’s Vision Pro, but that is actually Project Moohan, the Samsung / Google project we tried out last month and saw again recently at Samsung Unpacked.

In this YouTube video, Marques Brownlee shows some views you may not have seen yet of the hardware and what the Android UI looks like for the wearer.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Something from Nothing.

Carl Pei’s upstart tech brand teases a new launch on March 4th, right in the middle of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) event. The post hints at what might be the company’s first triple camera on a phone. Earlier this month Pei promised “a landmark smartphone launch” in Q1, but will this be the “flagship” Phone 3, or something else entirely?

Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Google removed all but the most recent Pixel 4A OS images.

A Reddit user spotted that the only available Android image for Pixel 4A phones is this month’s mandatory update Google issued to address unspecified battery problems, reports 9to5Google.

That’s unlike Pixel and Nexus phones before and since, for which Google still offers years of downloadable Android OS images. We’ve asked Google for more information.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Google buys part of HTC’s XR business.

The $250 million deal — announced after Samsung’s extended reality headset made its public debut yesterday — includes parts of HTC’s XR headsets and glasses unit, with some of the VIVE engineering team relocating to Google.

Google had previously purchased most of HTC’s smartphone business for $1.1 billion in 2017. HTC Vice President Lu Chia-te says the XR deal isn’t “a buyout nor an exclusive license.”

This is the Samsung Galaxy S25 EdgeThis is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
Play