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You may remember earlier this year, Google announced a feature called “Ask Photos” during its Google I/O event. We have discovered a Google Photos extension for Gemini that could be related to that very feature.

While digging into the Google app (beta version 15.33.36.29.arm64), we stumbled upon a few interesting lines of code. Specifically, there’s a mention of an “ask photos” extension for Gemini. You can see the lines of code we found below.

<string name="assistant_robin_action_ask_photos_single_image_content_description">Google Photos Image</string>
<string name="assistant_photos_card_a11y_description">Results from Google Photos extension</string>
<string name="assistant_photos_card_title_string">Google Photos</string>
<string name="assistant_photos_icon_content_description">Google Photos icon</string>

Just as a refresher, “robin” is the internal codename for Gemini. Based on the code we found, it seems like the extension could have a lot in common with the Ask Photos feature for the Google Photos app.

As Google explained back in May, this feature would allow you to interact with your photo library through natural language queries. For example, Gemini would search through photos containing car license plates if you were to ask it something like, “What’s my license plate number?” Ask Photos’s functionality was also said to extend past basic search functionality, being capable of tasks like organizing and sharing photos.

It appears this ask photos extension is fairly early in development, so don’t expect it to roll out anytime soon. We’ll have to wait a little longer to get more clues about this feature.

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Multiview, the feature that allows you to watch up to four screens at once, has long been an exclusive to YouTube TV. Now that feature is finding its way over to YouTube, but there’s a small catch.

Today, Google announced a few new perks it is giving to its NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers. The most notable of which are the improvements to Multiview. On YouTube TV, these football fans will be able to build a Multiview of any combination of two, three, or four NFL Sunday Ticket games. In the past, Multiview only offered preset picks, so this improvement should offer more freedom over what you watch.

The bigger news, however, is that Multiview is coming to YouTube for the first time. Unfortunately, the feature will only be available to NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers for the purpose of watching football games. Google says this option will be available at the start of the football season, which the season starts on Thursday, September 5. Users will be able to use the YouTube Multiview feature on TVs, mobile devices, and tablets.

Outside of Multiview, the company announced that NFL Fantasy and Yahoo Fantasy players can connect their accounts to Fantasy View. This way, fans can keep track of their fantasy teams without having to take their eye off the game. It has also launched a spoiler mode feature that hides scores for specific teams so you can avoid final scores if you plan to watch a game later.

This is all great news for NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers. At the same time, we hope this also means that Multiview on YouTube will eventually open up for everyone else and for other types of content.

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Titanium phones seem to be all the rage these days, at least for Samsung and Apple. Samsung has made a big deal about the Galaxy S24 Ultra being made with the material, and now reports claim the company may also use the metal for the rumored Galaxy Z Fold 6 “Slim.”

According to The Elec, Samsung’s parts suppliers say the firm is making the final decision on whether to use stainless steel or titanium for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim’s backplate. This would be the first time the tech giant has used titanium for the backplate on any of its foldables.

Up until now, the company has used either stainless steel or carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) for its backplates. Specifically, it used stainless steel up to the Fold 2, then switched to CFRP with the Fold 3 and onward. The reason why this switch was made has to do with the addition of S Pen recognition, which first appeared on the Fold 3. A digitizer is used in these devices to recognize the stylus and a metal backplate can interfere with that recognition.

It’s reported that this slim variant of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 does not have S Pen recognition support. As such, Samsung is free to use metal again for the backplate. Using titanium as the backplate material over stainless steel is not as straightforward as it would seem. Titanium is stronger and lighter than stainless steel, but it’s also harder to process.

Whatever Samsung decides, the outlet says that decision will be made soon. It also claims that the phone will be released in the fourth quarter of this year.

Don’t get your hopes up if you live in the US, however. This foldable is expected to only release in China and possibly South Korea.

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Update, August 20, 2024 (12:22 AM ET): Users are reporting that the Song Search/Audio Search feature in Circle to Search is now rolling out.

The feature has been spotted on Samsung Galaxy flagships, but it should soon become available on all phones that support Circle to Search.

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Original article, August 12, 2024 (02:44 PM ET): There are plenty of ways to identify a song these days. There are apps like SoundHound and Shazam that can help, or you could even use the Pixel’s Now Playing feature to have the song’s name and artist displayed on your lock screen. Soon there could be one more method you can use to figure out what music you’re listening to.

Back in June, we discovered through an APK teardown that Google is working on a new function for Circle to Search (CTS). This new function is called “Audio search,” and it’s an ability that can identify music. When we found this feature, we surmised that it would help identify songs playing on your device, but it appears that was only half of the story.

In beta version 15.32.36 of the Google app, we were able to activate this feature and provide a first look to show how it works (see video above). In addition to identifying songs playing on the device, it appears it can also identify music that’s playing ambiently, even if you’re just humming it.

To use the feature, you just have to bring up CTS as you normally would. To the right of the search field, you’ll now see a button with a music note icon. Tapping on this button initiates a “listening” overlay where Google will then perform a search for the song.

When using the feature, an alert will inform the user that CTS can search for songs now. This alert is likely a one-time thing to ensure users are aware of the new feature.

In our demonstration, the search fails, but this is likely due to a server-side issue. Although we performed the search while in YouTube Music, it should work anywhere as evidenced in the above screenshots.

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When you use Google’s search engine, you can choose to have it tailor your search results based on your activity. The point is to provide results that are more relevant and helpful to you. It appears Google plans to change the way you access and manage this feature.

As Google describes on its help page, Search personalization isn’t something that affects all results. Only some results are personalized while others aren’t. If a result is personalized, you’ll find a message saying so in the “About This Result” panel. This is an optional feature, so you can turn it off if you don’t want your results personalized. This can be done by going to the Google app settings > Privacy & Safety > Search Personalization, or you can access it at https://myactivity.google.com/personal-results.

While investigating the Google app (beta version 15.32.37.28.arm64), we found that the company has redesigned the account switch menu to add a new Search Personalization option. No changes have been made to the feature itself, but it seems Google has completely redesigned the personalization page.

 

This redesign brings pretty much everything into one place. It also introduces yet another way to access this setting. It appears this will indeed roll out eventually as no flags were needed to show the redesign.

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It appears Google has no shortage of ideas on how it could improve Circle to Search, from handling full-screen queries to an Audio Search function. Now the tech giant seems to be working integrating its new Pixel Screenshots app to the feature.

Google recently debuted its new Pixel Screenshots app, which uses on-device AI to analyze all of the screenshots you take. You can then use Gemini to ask questions about something you did on your phone and the AI will use those screenshots to try and connect the dots to provide an answer.

In the Google app (beta version 15.32.37.29.arm64), we discovered that Google is working on integrating the Pixel Screenshots app into Circle to Search (CtS). When enabled, anything you circle while using CtS can be saved directly to Pixel Screenshots as a screenshot.

In the video above, you can see this integration in action. After selecting any element on the screen, a Save option with the Pixel Screenshots icon next to it will appear above. Tapping on Save will save the screenshot and will bring up a snackbar (pictured below) that will allow you to view the screenshot in the Pixel Screenshots app.

Choosing to view the screenshot will direct you to a page that tells you when the screenshot was taken. There’s also an alert box that will inform you if the screenshot is AI-enabled for AI summaries, smart actions, and search.

As with any APK teardown, it’s unknown if or when the feature will be made available.

Update: August 19, 2024 (1:40 AM ET): We’ve updated our Galaxy S25 series rumor hub with a leak about the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s purported screen size.

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Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series launched in the middle of January 2024, arriving a little earlier in the year than the last couple of generations. Along with it, the company introduced Galaxy AI, a titanium frame, new camera tricks, and a number of other features. But now that the Galaxy S24 launch has come and gone, it is time to start thinking about the next iteration in the series. How will the Galaxy S25 series set itself apart from its predecessor? What new features will Samsung come up with for the next generation? Will 2025 finally be the year we see a major shift in the Galaxy S design philosophy? Here, we’ll break down everything we know so far about the Galaxy S25.

Will there be a Samsung Galaxy S25?

Samsung releases a new Galaxy S series phone on an annual cadence, and there’s no reason to believe it will stop at the Galaxy S24. But if that’s not enough to convince you, there have already been plenty of leaks and rumors about the incoming family of handsets that we’ll get into later on. Obviously, nothing is official until Samsung announces it. The company could always suddenly decide to shut down development, but that is extremely unlikely given how profitable its smartphones are. We would say it’s less of a question of whether Samsung will release a Galaxy S25 and more of a question of when it will launch in 2025.

What is the most likely Samsung Galaxy S25 release date?

• Galaxy S22 — February 9, 2022
• Galaxy S23 — February 17, 2023
• Galaxy S24 — January 31, 2024

The Galaxy S24 lineup launched in January, so we’re still a fair distance away from the expected release of the Galaxy S25 series. As such, it will be a while before Samsung provides an official launch date for the device. As far as leaks and rumors are concerned, there’s not really anything on that front, either. Given the lack of information, we’ll need to speculate on what the date could be.

The South Korea-based firm usually launches its Galaxy S phones near the beginning of the year. For the last three years, the release date has fallen in the months of January and February. We assume Samsung will keep the same cadence for the Galaxy S25. Unfortunately, we’ll need to wait to find out the exact date.

What rumored specs and features could the Samsung Galaxy S25 have?

Even before the Galaxy S24 launched in January 2024, we were hearing rumors about the Galaxy S25. Now that it has been a while since the release of 2024’s Galaxy phones, the rumor mill for next year’s phones has picked up a lot of steam. These rumors and leaks span the gamut from the SoC to the design and more. Let’s take a moment to break down all of the available information.

Name

It stands to reason that the Galaxy S25 series will consist of the Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25 Plus, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra. After all, Samsung has used this naming convention since the Galaxy S20 series.

Tipster Yogesh Brar made a rather interesting claim on August 16, though. The leaker claimed that Samsung could be thinking about a name change for the Plus and Ultra models. More specifically, Brar asserted that the Galaxy S25 Ultra could become the Galaxy S25 Note, while the S25 Plus could become the S25 Pro.

We’ve previously seen Apple offer the iPhone 15 Pro, which has more features than the iPhone 15 Plus. So we’re guessing an S25 Pro could be a more feature-packed offering than an S25 Plus. But this is just a rumor for now so you shouldn’t hold your breath for this change.

Design

The design of the Galaxy S series has hardly changed in the last few generations, but we might finally be in store for something a little different with the next iteration. Leaker Revegnus said that Ilhwan Lee, a former Mercedes-Benz designer, has been tasked with making the Galaxy brand feel “fresh” and that design changes are expected.

With the release of Samsung’s 2024 flagship devices, the company introduced titanium to the Galaxy S line, specifically for the Ultra model. There is reason to believe Samsung will continue to use the same metal in the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The question, however, is whether the firm sticks with the same type of titanium that appeared in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It is also unknown if this build material will come to the regular and Plus models in 2025, though that seems unlikely.

In a now-deleted social post from PandaFlash (via Android Headlines), the tipster claimed, “I have doubts about the rumors of the Highest-Grade titanium in the Galaxy S25 Ultra.” In case you didn’t know, titanium comes in different grades. For example, Apple gave the iPhone 15 Pro series Grade 5 titanium, which is an alloy made of titanium, aluminum, and vanadium. The Galaxy S24 Ultra, on the other hand, uses Grade 2 titanium, which is all titanium. The difference is that Grade 2 titanium is softer, cheaper, and easier to work with than the Grade 5 version. If PandaFlash is correct, then it looks like the tech giant may stay on the same path.

Another rumor, this one originating from a now-deleted social post from PandaFlash (via Android Headlines), suggests Samsung is testing four prototypes for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Although the tipster didn’t have renders of these prototypes, they did create mock-ups of what they thought the Ultra might look like based on their information:

According to the rumor, the main changes seem to revolve around the frame and bezels. We could see thinner bezels but the same frame as before, a thinner and flatter frame with slimmer bezels, thinner sides but a thicker top and bottom, or a thinner frame with rounded edges. Outside of that, it appears the front of the device will look mostly the same as the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Leaker Ice Universe claimed in late June that the Galaxy S25 Ultra could gain a more rounded design, saying it would be “as round as the Galaxy Note 7.” The tipster also asserted that the Ultra phone will measure 8.4mm thick, making it thinner than all previous Galaxy S Ultra phones. Later on, the tipster claimed that the frame would be more rounded towards the back panel and straight on the display side. It’s said this design will make the frame thinner than the one on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and reduce the bezels on the sides.

Ice Universe would go on to post an apparent mock-up showing the front of the Galaxy S25 Ultra in August, and it indeed shows a phone with a more rounded design. The leaker also posted a mock-up comparing the S25 Ultra design to the boxier S24 Ultra design. Check out the images below.

Meanwhile, leaker Bennett Buhner claims that Samsung might increase the display size of the Galaxy S25 Ultra to something closer to 6.9 inches. This could mean that the device will be slightly bigger, but it could also just mean the screen has smaller bezels, giving it a slightly different aspect ratio.

Ice Universe posted the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s apparent screen size on Weibo on August 17, claiming it will have a 6.86-inch screen which “can be considered as 6.9 inches.”

The Ultra isn’t the only model rumored to see some design changes. Korean blogger yeux1122 has claimed on Naver that the base Galaxy S25’s screen size could grow by 0.16 inches, putting it at 6.36 inches. If this is true, it would be the second time in the last three generations that Samsung has increased the diagonal screen size of the base model.

Specs

One of the first pieces of information to leak about the S25 was the camera specs. Early rumors were very conflicted, with some claiming massive overhauls (such as going with a simple, triple-lens setup) and a big upgrade for the primary 200MP lens. However, as the year has gone on, most of those early rumors have been shot down. The most recent info points to a few upgrades for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but not a complete overhaul.

Ice Universe posted a load of apparent Galaxy S25 Ultra camera specs on Weibo on May 27. They claimed that the Ultra phone would stick with a 200MP main camera and 50MP 5x periscope telephoto zoom but would switch to a 50MP 3x camera and a 50MP ultrawide lens. The 50MP 3x camera would be a big upgrade over the current 10MP 3x lens, which has been used since 2021’s S21 Ultra.

Later, leaker Sperandio4Tech posted info on sensor upgrades for those two upgraded lenses. Allegedly, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s ultrawide lens could get “a new version of the 1/2.76-inch JN1 sensor.” Meanwhile, the 3x telephoto lens could get “a new 1/3-inch Isocell sensor.” These upgrades would be combined with the previously mentioned resolution upgrades to 50MP for both lenses.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra could offer upgraded 3x and ultrawide cameras, according to one significant leak.

On June 27, we finally got a closer look at what is likely to be the sensor for the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus, as the company announced several new sensors, but it was the ISCOELL GNJ that caught our eye. The GNJ has a sensor that’s roughly on par with the main camera sensor in the S24 and S24 Plus at 1/1.57-inches, versus the 1/1.56-inch sensor found on the two S24 handsets. The new sensor also sports one-micron pixels, much like the sensor used on the S24 and S24 Plus.

Moving on to the display, not much is currently known about display specs outside of the rumor that the series could go bigger. However, Samsung has been working on next-generation OLED displays that would allow fingerprint scanning anywhere on the screen, as well as open up the ability to scan multiple fingerprints simultaneously. At the time, the CEO of Isorg, Dieter May, predicted that Samsung would be ready to deliver these displays by 2025.

Samsung itself made some promises regarding Galaxy S25 series upgrades during its Q2 2024 earnings call on August 1. Executive Daniel Araujo promised that the S25 series would get “top-of-the-line” camera and display upgrades, although he didn’t issue any specific details.

The Samsung representative also issued vague AI plans for the new phones:

So looking forward, we expect to be able to understand the context of conversations and provide a natural conversation and experience across our devices. To achieve this, we’ll strengthen partnerships and collaborations while developing our AI technologies further.

Some of the biggest Galaxy S25 rumors so far have related to the processors. Samsung brought back its tradition of offering the Galaxy S series with a Snapdragon processor in selected markets and an Exynos chip for the rest of the world with the S24. This was after the much-welcome shift in 2023 of abandoning Exynos and offering Snapdragon processors for all handsets around the world.

While a few previous rumors suggested Samsung might return to its all-Snapdragon-everywhere policy in 2025, a conflicting report says Samsung is hoping to improve its Exynos 2500 chip yields so it can once again offer multiple chip configurations depending on the market. Furthermore, at least one leak claims the company could also utilize a MediaTek Dimensity SoC for select models. This seems less likely and it’s important to mention the sourcing is a bit questionable with this one, so a grain of salt is necessary. Still, it seems likely Samsung isn’t happy paying Qualcomm’s high pricing for its chips and is actively looking for other options.

This means that every Galaxy S25 phone, regardless of location, would have a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. This is reportedly due to Samsung’s manufacturing issues with the supposed Exynos 2500 chipset, which would appear in the Galaxy S25 series. As of now, this is the strongest rumor we have, so it’s looking likely we could see only Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S25 phones next year.

It's possible we could see a return to all-Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S25 phones in 2025.

If Samsung does go all-in on Snapdragon, it looks like the Galaxy S25 could get a nice speed boost. Tipster Digital Chat Station claims that “Tongzi” — supposedly the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s codename — chips will hit 4GHz. This would be a notable improvement from the Gen 3 processor, which is capable of reaching 3.3GHz.

On to battery specs, it’s possible Samsung could be planning to use stack technology for the battery in the S25 series, according to a report from The Elec. This tech is commonly used in electric vehicles, but it appears Samsung’s research and development department is considering bringing it over to smartphones. Stacking refers to the way cells in the battery are arranged, which can lead to a higher energy capacity inside a smaller volume. According to the report, the arrangement could provide a 10% improvement in energy density.

Meanwhile, a report from GalaxyClub says the standard Galaxy S25 could have the same 4,000mAh capacity as the Galaxy S24. This isn’t bad news, but it might be disappointing for anyone hoping to eke out a bit more juice from the Galaxy S25. As for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, tipster Digital Chat Station says to expect a 5,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging.

In a reply to a social post from Samsung, tipster Ice Universe claims that the base Galaxy S25 will once again have 8GB of RAM. Presumably, the leaker is suggesting that only 8GB of RAM will be available, regardless of the configuration. If true, this would mean the S25 will have the same amount of memory as Samsung gave the S24 and S23.

While it is possible we won’t see a change in the amount of memory, the storage story could be different. Samsung Semiconductor released a roadmap for the next generation of UFS. That roadmap states the company will release UFS 4.0 4-lane CS in 2025 before jumping to UFS 5.0 in 2027.

Based on the roadmap, UFS 4.0 4-lane CS will double the read/write rates of the current UFS 4.0 standard. The additional speed will provide a number of benefits, like faster load times and more efficient on-device AI applications.

What might the Samsung Galaxy S25 price be?

• Galaxy S22 — $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,199 (Ultra)
• Galaxy S23 — $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,199 (Ultra)
• Galaxy S24 — $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,299 (Ultra)

When it comes to pricing, Samsung has stayed fairly consistent over recent years. For the last three years, in fact, the base and Plus models have remained at $799 and $999, respectively. The only price change that happened during this time span was with the Ultra model, which went up by $100 in 2024. The good news is there’s not enough information to suggest there will be a price increase for any model. On the other hand, the bad news is that there’s also not enough information to suggest that Samsung won’t implement a price bump. If we had to guess, however, we believe the cost will be the same as it was in 2024.

Should you wait for the Samsung Galaxy S25?

Unless you’re dead set on getting the latest and greatest from Samsung, there’s not really any reason to wait. The exception to that is if you’re not in immediate need of a new phone. In that case, it might be worth waiting to see how the Galaxy S25 series pans out.

If you need something now, Samsung’s Galaxy S24 (), Galaxy S24 Plus (), and Galaxy S24 Ultra () can likely serve all your needs. Likewise, you have your choice of perfectly capable non-Samsung handsets that range anywhere from premium to budget-tier and everything in between. For example, the Google Pixel 9 Pro () is a solid device that has great cameras and neat AI features powered by Gemini. There’s also the Nothing Phone 2 () if you want a flagship smartphone that won’t hurt your wallet.

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Update, Aug 5, 2024 (11:40 PM ET): Google’s President of Global Affairs, Mr. Kent Walker, has released the following statement on this DOJ decision:

This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available.

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Slowly, but surely, we’re getting a clearer picture of the set-top box Google is planning to replace Chromecast with Google TV with. The latest leak gives us details on the hardware’s full name, price, color, and possible launch date.

Leading up to next week’s Made by Google event, Dealabs has been leaking pricing information on to be announced products left and right. Its latest target is what we know as the Google TV Streamer, which its full name is reportedly the Google TV Streamer 4K. It’s unknown if this 4K suffix suggests that there will be an HD model in the future like with the Chromecast for Google TV.

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If you have read receipts enabled in Google Messages, then you know they normally appear below the text bubble when you’re in an RCS conversation. But it looks like Google could be considering moving them to another place.

In Google Messages, read receipts are sandwiched between the time/date and RCS encryption lock icon located underneath the text bubble. Read receipts come in four states: a timer, single check, double check, and color-filled double check. These states mean the message is being sent, the message was sent, the message was received, and the message was read, respectively. While the placement of read receipts is fairly visible, they could move to an even more prominent place.

Spotted by 9to5Google, it appears Google has begun testing a redesign in the Messages app. That redesign relocates read receipts, placing them inside the text bubble instead of below it. You can see in the images below a screenshot of the current version on the left and the redesign on the right.

In the redesign, the read receipts appear in a circle sitting inside the text bubble. The circle is slightly lighter than the text bubble itself, allowing it to stand out. According to the outlet, this redesign allows read receipts to appear on every message instead of only appearing below the most recent message. The publication says there’s only been one report of this redesign, so far.

This isn’t the only change that has come to the app recently. Just last week, it was discovered that Google was pushing out face filters for some users.

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If you have read receipts enabled in Google Messages, then you know they normally appear below the text bubble when you’re in an RCS conversation. But it looks like Google could be considering moving them to another place.

In Google Messages, read receipts are sandwiched between the time/date and RCS encryption lock icon located underneath the text bubble. Read receipts come in four states: a timer, single check, double check, and color-filled double check. These states mean the message is being sent, the message was sent, the message was received, and the message was read, respectively. While the placement of read receipts is fairly visible, they could move to an even more prominent place.

Spotted by 9to5Google, it appears Google has begun testing a redesign in the Messages app. That redesign relocates read receipts, placing them inside the text bubble instead of below it. You can see in the images below a screenshot of the current version on the left and the redesign on the right.

In the redesign, the read receipts appear in a circle sitting inside the text bubble. The circle is slightly lighter than the text bubble itself, allowing it to stand out. According to the outlet, this redesign allows read receipts to appear on every message instead of only appearing below the most recent message. The publication says there’s only been one report of this redesign, so far.

This isn’t the only change that has come to the app recently. Just last week, it was discovered that Google was pushing out face filters for some users.

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Only weeks ago, OnePlus held its Summer Launch Event, during which it unveiled four new products. Before the event, it was thought that one of the announcements would be for the OnePlus Buds Pro 3, but the company launched the Nord Buds 3 Pro instead. If you were disappointed by the OnePlus Buds Pro 3’s absence, then this new wireless earbuds leak is for you.

The folks over at Smartprix have divulged a slew of new information and images for the OnePlus Buds Pro 3. According to the outlet, the flagship earbuds will come in two colors: Midnight Opus (black) and Lunar Radiance (gold).

We can see from the images that the case appears to have a leather texture in the front, with a pairing button on the side. The earbuds seem to mimic the case’s style with a glossy stem and matte finish for the earbuds and ear tips. Additionally, the case has a USB-C port on the bottom and the earbuds have an engraved L and R for easy identification.

Speaking of the case, its dimensions are 6.5 x 5.2 x 2.6cm with a weight of 61 grams. Together with the case, earbuds are said to last up to 43 hours, which is a four-hour increase compared to the current generation. Additionally, you’ll get five hours of playback after just 10 minutes of charging. Other notable specs include an IP55 rating and Bluetooth 5.4.

In regards to sound, the earbuds reportedly come with a dual driver setup that features an 11mm woofer and 6mm tweeter. These buds have a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) and support an LHDC 5.0 audio codec with 24-bit/192 kHz audio. Meanwhile, these earbuds are said to have a slight improvement in noise cancelation, moving up to 50db from 49db. Finally, OnePlus has fit in a Dynaudio EQ, which will provide EQ presets tuned for specific music genres.

The last part of the leak mentions dual connection support. This means the earbuds will be able to connect with two different devices at the same time.

The outlet predicts that the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 will cost around ₹12,000 in India. Converted in US currency, this would be about $143. It’s important to note that the price in India could be different than the price that will be listed in the US. For comparison, the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 launched at $179 in the US.

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We’ve all experienced that moment where we exit out of a tab(s) we didn’t mean to close. If you weren’t paying attention, finding that lost page can be a hassle. A new feature Google is introducing to the Chrome browser could make it a little easier to rediscover the sites you visited.

In a new blog, Google announces a few new features headed to Chrome, including a new browsing history feature. This feature leverages the tech giant’s conversational AI to help users find previously visited web pages by asking Chrome questions in natural language. For example, you can ask, “What was that ice cream shop I looked at last week?” Chrome will then respond by presenting you with relevant pages from your browsing history.

To use this feature, all you have to do is access your history and begin typing (pictured below). Google notes that this feature will not include any browsing data from incognito mode. If this feature is not of interest to you, Google says you can turn it off by going to settings. You can expect the feature to arrive in the US in the coming weeks.

The other two features you may have heard of before. The Tab compare feature was previously seen in Chrome Canary and the Circle to Search functionality on desktop was available in the beta channel.

Just to briefly summarize, Tab compare (seen below) creates an AI-generated overview of products across the tabs you have open. This puts all of that product information in one place, allowing you to easily compare different items.

Meanwhile, Google Lens in Chrome desktop works exactly like Circle to Search on your phone, except you’re highlighting objects instead of circling. Once something on the screen is selected, you can quickly get more information about that subject.

The company says that Tab compare will be rolling out in the next few weeks. Google Lens in Chrome desktop, however, will be available in the next few days.

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If you were formerly a Sprint customer and stayed to join T-Mobile after the merger, you may want to take a look at your bill. Some customers are realizing that for years they’ve been paying an unnecessary monthly fee.

On Reddit, a user who appears to be a T-Mobile representative, posted a PSA alerting customers to an extra fee they may not know they are paying. The user urges customers to check their bill and talk to a representative to have the fee removed. In the post, the Redditor states:

I see it every single day people coming in for upgrades and on sprint, and they were on a month to month lease program that they’re paying usually per line with no end day! It’s till the end of time! It can be removed with a press of a button. So go in store and get your account features looked at.

The fee in question is connected to Sprint’s infamous Flex Lease program. This program offered to let customers get a new phone at a low monthly cost with the ability to cancel the contract after a set period. Unlike other plans that apply lease payments toward the cost of the phone, however, this plan required customers to verbally opt into that option; otherwise, they would be charged a monthly fee indefinitely.

In the past, customers have reported that they never received a notification at the end of the contract that they could terminate the lease. Others have said that if they wanted to own their device, Sprint would require them to pay an extra fee on top of the monthly lease payments, despite already paying the carrier more than what the phone was worth.

Additionally, there was a class-action lawsuit filed against Sprint, which alleged that the company was tricking customers into lease agreements and trapping them in recurring fees. The lawsuit also claims that Sprint prevented some customers from canceling the plan even after the end of lease period.

Another Reddit user, who also appears to be a T-Mobile representative, responded to the PSA putting the onus on the customer. The user says that customers should pay more attention to their bills, adding that they act as if they are doing the customer a favor when they remove the fee. That user states:

You don’t need a manager to remove it just remove it under features and let the customer know you did them a courtesy by removing it typically the customers are happy about that super easy. It’s amazing how customers do not pay attention to there bill get upset because they have been charged years for something. On you to check the bill buddy but I’m glad to reduce it by 45.00 if you want to help me out and buy something that be great

We have reached out to T-Mobile for comment on the situation. This article will be updated when more information is available.

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There’s been an avalanche of Pixel 9 series leaks leading up to August’s Made by Google event. Those leaks aren’t slowing down as a new report claims the Pixel 9 Pro won’t capture 8K video.

The 50MP main lens in the Pixel 8 Pro is expected to make a return in the Pixel 9 Pro. Although this camera is capable of shooting video in 8K, it appears Google won’t let you do that with the 2024 model. According to Android Headlines, the Pixel 9 Pro will rely on Video Boost to upscale 4K video to 8K with the help of AI.

For a bit of background, Video Boost is a feature that debuted on the Pixel 8 series. This feature works by uploading the content you captured to the cloud where it is then processed and enhanced. It’s unclear if this AI upscaling will be an optional feature or if Video Boost will offer preferences.

Outside of this, there are two other interesting pieces of information mentioned in this report. One is that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will not get this 8K enhancement, however, it will still support Video Boost. It’s important to note that the main sensor on the Fold is different than the one that will appear on the Pro.

The second piece of information claims that Zoom Enhance will be available for the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL. Google revealed Zoom Enhance — a generative AI feature to enhance a picture’s details after you zoom in — last year, but it has yet to roll out. However, it’s unknown if the feature will be available at launch or a later date.

It was also revealed today that the Pixel 9 series could launch with Android 14 instead of Android 15. We’ll have to wait until August 13 to get all of our questions about the Pixel 9 answered.

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Galaxy devices offer plenty of privacy and security features, such as Auto Blocker, Samsung Pass, Private Share, and more. That list could soon get a little longer with the addition of a new way to lock your apps.

First spotted by Tarun Vats on X (formerly Twitter), it appears the upcoming One UI 7 update could introduce a built-in app locking feature. According to the screenshot, the feature would matter of factly be called App Lock.

Update: June 20, 2024 (01:00 PM ET): We’ve updated our Galaxy S25 series rumor hub with apparent camera specs, more chip leaks, possibly battery specs, and more!

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Original article: Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series launched in the middle of January 2024, arriving a little earlier in the year than the last couple of generations. Along with it, the company introduced Galaxy AI, a titanium frame, new camera tricks, and a number of other features. But now that the Galaxy S24 launch has come and gone, it is time to start thinking about the next iteration in the series. How will the Galaxy S25 series set itself apart from its predecessor? What new features will Samsung come up with for the next generation? Will 2025 finally be the year we see a major shift in the Galaxy S design philosophy? Here, we’ll break down everything we know so far about the Galaxy S25.

Will there be a Samsung Galaxy S25?

Samsung releases a new Galaxy S series phone on an annual cadence, and there’s no reason to believe it will stop at the Galaxy S24. But if that’s not enough to convince you, there have already been plenty of leaks and rumors about the incoming family of handsets that we’ll get into later on. Obviously, nothing is official until Samsung announces it. The company could always suddenly decide to shut down development, but that is extremely unlikely given how profitable its smartphones are. We would say it’s less of a question of whether Samsung will release a Galaxy S25 and more of a question of when it will launch in 2025.

What is the most likely Samsung Galaxy S25 release date?

• Galaxy S22 — February 9, 2022
• Galaxy S23 — February 17, 2023
• Galaxy S24 — January 31, 2024

The Galaxy S24 lineup launched in January, so we’re still a fair distance away from the expected release of the Galaxy S25 series. As such, it will be a while before Samsung provides an official launch date for the device. As far as leaks and rumors are concerned, there’s not really anything on that front, either. Given the lack of information, we’ll need to speculate on what the date could be.

The South Korea-based firm usually launches its Galaxy S phones near the beginning of the year. For the last three years, the release date has fallen in the months of January and February. We assume Samsung will keep the same cadence for the Galaxy S25. Unfortunately, we’ll need to wait to find out the exact date.

What rumored specs and features could the Samsung Galaxy S25 have?

Even before the Galaxy S24 launched in January 2024, we were hearing rumors about the Galaxy S25. Now that it has been a while since the release of 2024’s Galaxy phones, the rumor mill for next year’s phones has picked up a lot of steam. These rumors and leaks span the gamut from the SoC to the design and more. Let’s take a moment to break down all of the available information.

Design

The design of the Galaxy S series has hardly changed in the last few generations, but we might finally be in store for something a little different with the next iteration. Leaker Revegnus said that Ilhwan Lee, a former Mercedes-Benz designer, has been tasked with making the Galaxy brand feel “fresh” and that design changes are expected.

With the release of Samsung’s 2024 flagship devices, the company introduced titanium to the Galaxy S line, specifically for the Ultra model. There is reason to believe Samsung will continue to use the same metal in the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The question, however, is whether the firm sticks with the same type of titanium that appeared in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It is also unknown if this build material will come to the regular and Plus models in 2025, though that seems unlikely.

In a now-deleted social post from PandaFlash (via Android Headlines), the tipster claimed, “I have doubts about the rumors of the Highest-Grade titanium in the Galaxy S25 Ultra.” In case you didn’t know, titanium comes in different grades. For example, Apple gave the iPhone 15 Pro series Grade 5 titanium, which is an alloy made of titanium, aluminum, and vanadium. The Galaxy S24 Ultra, on the other hand, uses Grade 2 titanium, which is all titanium. The difference is that Grade 2 titanium is softer, cheaper, and easier to work with than the Grade 5 version. If PandaFlash is correct, then it looks like the tech giant may stay on the same path.

On March 19, 2024, a tipster who goes by Kro on X (formerly Twitter) posted a brief but interesting statement. That statement simply reads, “S25 Series CAD Drawings in Development.” While these drawings have yet to leak, this would suggest Samsung is currently working on the design.

Another rumor, this one originating from a now-deleted social post from PandaFlash (via Android Headlines), suggests Samsung is testing four prototypes for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Although the tipster didn’t have renders of these prototypes, they did create mock-ups of what they thought the Ultra might look like based on their information:

According to the rumor, the main changes seem to revolve around the frame and bezels. We could see thinner bezels but the same frame as before, a thinner and flatter frame with slimmer bezels, thinner sides but a thicker top and bottom, or a thinner frame with rounded edges. Outside of that, it appears the front of the device will look mostly the same as the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Meanwhile, leaker Bennett Buhner claims that Samsung might increase the display size of the Galaxy S25 Ultra to something closer to 6.9 inches. This could mean that the device will be slightly bigger, but it could also just mean the screen has smaller bezels, giving it a slightly different aspect ratio.

The Ultra isn’t the only model rumored to see some design changes. Korean blogger yeux1122 has claimed on Naver that the base Galaxy S25’s screen size could grow by 0.16 inches, putting it at 6.36 inches. If this is true, it would be the second time in the last three generations that Samsung has increased the diagonal screen size of the base model.

Specs

One of the first pieces of information to leak about the S25 was the camera specs. Early rumors were very conflicted, with some claiming massive overhauls (such as going with a simple, triple-lens setup) and a big upgrade for the primary 200MP lens. However, as the year has gone on, most of those early rumors have been shot down. The most recent info points to a few upgrades for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but not a complete overhaul

Ice Universe posted a load of apparent Galaxy S25 Ultra camera specs on Weibo on May 27. They claimed that the Ultra phone would stick with a 200MP main camera and 50MP 5x periscope telephoto zoom but would switch to a 50MP 3x camera and a 50MP ultrawide lens. The 50MP 3x camera would be a big upgrade over the current 10MP 3x lens, which has been used since 2021’s S21 Ultra.

Later, leaker Sperandio4Tech posted info on sensor upgrades for those two upgraded lenses. Allegedly, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s ultrawide lens could get “a new version of the 1/2.76-inch JN1 sensor.” Meanwhile, the 3x telephoto lens could get “a new 1/3-inch Isocell sensor.” These upgrades would be combined with the previously mentioned resolution upgrades to 50MP for both lenses.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra could offer upgraded 3x and ultrawide cameras, according to one significant leak.

Moving on to the display, not much is currently known about display specs outside of the rumor that the series could go bigger. However, Samsung has been working on next-generation OLED displays that would allow fingerprint scanning anywhere on the screen, as well as open up the ability to scan multiple fingerprints simultaneously. At the time, the CEO of Isorg, Dieter May, predicted that Samsung would be ready to deliver these displays by 2025.

Some of the biggest Galaxy S25 rumors so far have related to the processors. Samsung brought back its tradition of offering the Galaxy S series with a Snapdragon processor in selected markets and an Exynos chip for the rest of the world with the S24. This was after the much-welcome shift in 2023 of abandoning Exynos and offering Snapdragon processors for all handsets around the world.

Now, the most recent rumors suggest Samsung might return to its all-Snapdragon-everywhere policy in 2025, meaning that every Galaxy s25 phone, regardless of location, would have a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. This is reportedly due to Samsung’s manufacturing issues with the supposed Exynos 2500 chipset, which would appear in the Galaxy S25 series. As of now, this is the strongest rumor we have, so it’s looking likely we could see only Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S25 phones next year.

It's possible we could see a return to all-Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S25 phones in 2025.

If Samsung does go all-in on Snapdragon, it looks like the Galaxy S25 could get a nice speed boost. Tipster Digital Chat Station claims that “Tongzi” — supposedly the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s codename — chips will hit 4GHz. This would be a notable improvement from the Gen 3 processor, which is capable of reaching 3.3GHz.

On to battery specs, it’s possible Samsung could be planning to use stack technology for the battery in the S25 series, according to a report from The Elec. This tech is commonly used in electric vehicles, but it appears Samsung’s research and development department is considering bringing it over to smartphones. Stacking refers to the way cells in the battery are arranged, which can lead to a higher energy capacity inside a smaller volume. According to the report, the arrangement could provide a 10% improvement in energy density.

So far, the only battery capacity rumor we have relates to the vanilla model. A report from GalaxyClub says the standard Galaxy S25 could have the same 4,000mAh capacity as the Galaxy S24. This isn’t bad news, but it might be disappointing for anyone hoping to eke out a bit more juice from the Galaxy S25.

Meanwhile, in a reply to a social post from Samsung, tipster Ice Universe claims that the base Galaxy S25 will once again have 8GB of RAM. Presumably, the leaker is suggesting that only 8GB of RAM will be available, regardless of the configuration. If true, this would mean the S25 will have the same amount of memory as Samsung gave the S24 and S23.

While it is possible we won’t see a change in the amount of memory, the storage story could be different. Samsung Semiconductor released a roadmap for the next generation of UFS. That roadmap states the company will release UFS 4.0 4-lane CS in 2025 before jumping to UFS 5.0 in 2027.

Based on the roadmap, UFS 4.0 4-lane CS will double the read/write rates of the current UFS 4.0 standard. The additional speed will provide a number of benefits, like faster load times and more efficient on-device AI applications.

What might the Samsung Galaxy S25 price be?

• Galaxy S22 — $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,199 (Ultra)
• Galaxy S23 — $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,199 (Ultra)
• Galaxy S24 — $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,299 (Ultra)

When it comes to pricing, Samsung has stayed fairly consistent over recent years. For the last three years, in fact, the base and Plus models have remained at $799 and $999, respectively. The only price change that happened during this time span was with the Ultra model, which went up by $100 in 2024. The good news is there’s not enough information to suggest there will be a price increase for any model. On the other hand, the bad news is that there’s also not enough information to suggest that Samsung won’t implement a price bump. If we had to guess, however, we believe the cost will be the same as it was in 2024.

Should you wait for the Samsung Galaxy S25?

Unless you’re dead set on getting the latest and greatest from Samsung, there’s not really any reason to wait. The exception to that is if you’re not in immediate need of a new phone. In that case, it might be worth waiting to see how the Galaxy S25 series pans out.

If you need something now, Samsung’s Galaxy S24 ( ), Galaxy S24 Plus ( ), and Galaxy S24 Ultra ( ) can likely serve all your needs. Likewise, you have your choice of perfectly capable non-Samsung handsets that range anywhere from premium to budget-tier and everything in between. For example, the Google Pixel 8 Pro ( ) is a solid device that has great cameras and neat AI features powered by Gemini. There’s also the Nothing Phone 2 ( ) if you want a flagship smartphone that won’t hurt your wallet.

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There were rumors about Apple and OpenAI partnering up for a collaboration that would bring ChatGPT-like AI features to Apple’s devices. This was finally made concrete after an announcement during WWDC. Now Elon Musk is threatening to ban Apple devices at his companies.

During its WWDC keynote presentation, Apple announced it is teaming up with OpenAI to enhance its virtual assistant Siri. When iOS 18 rolls out, Siri will be integrated with ChatGPT-like smarts, giving it the flexibility of a conversational AI chatbot. While most queries will be handled by Apple’s technology, an algorithm will determine if a task should be handed over to OpenAI’s technology.

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Today is the start of WWDC, and with it, Apple’s keynote presentation, during which it announced new AI features. However, Samsung doesn’t seem too impressed with what its rival is offering.

During the first day of WWDC, Apple revealed a whole slate of AI features that will arrive with the next versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. For example, the Notes app is getting voice transcription and AI summaries. Another feature called “Clean Up” uses AI to erase items from a photo.

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As expected, WWDC 2024 has been filled with a plethora of software announcements. Many of these announcements are related to Apple’s AI push, including a big revamp for Siri.

Today, Apple revealed its virtual assistant is getting infused with the company’s new “Apple Intelligence.” The Cupertino-based firm claims that Siri has been improved to be more natural, contextually relevant, and personal than before.

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Apple’s big WWDC event is underway with plenty of software announcements to be made. One announcement of note came near the beginning of the event where the company revealed that users will soon be able to customize their home screens and app icons.

For decades, Apple has restricted what users can do to customize the appearance of their phone’s screens outside of changing the background. The software always had to match the clean lines and simplicity of the hardware. However, the tech giant is giving users a little more freedom to choose how they want their screen to look.

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We’re over a week into June and Samsung is now rolling out its latest software update to the Galaxy S24 series and Galaxy S23 series. This month’s update appears to be exclusively security-focused.

Galaxy S24 series and S23 series owners in the US are first in line to get the June 2024 patch. It’s currently available if you have Verizon and some T-Mobile customers are starting to see the update as well.

Update: June 10, 2024 (12:21 PM ET): A spokesperson for AT&T has now reached out to Android Authority with the following statement:

The AT&T wireless network is operating normally. We are not experiencing a national or regional outage.

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Anker, best known for its power banks and chargers, is recalling its 321 Power Bank. The company has announced that the product poses a fire risk due to a manufacturing defect.

According to Anker’s blog post, the firm has discovered that the lithium batteries used in the 321 Power Bank (PowerCore 5K, model number A1112) have a defect. That defect can cause the power bank to overheat, melt the plastic components, create smoke, and become a fire hazard.

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We’re only about a month out from Samsung’s next Unpacked event, yet there have been more than enough leaks to start making some predictions. For example, we could see the company’s new foldables, smart ring, and more. A new leak, however, may narrow down what we should expect to see in July.

Trustworthy leaker Evan Blass has released a collection of images that are meant to reveal the announcements Samsung plans to make at Unpacked. The images in question are scrambled, but they’re just clear enough to make out what devices are contained in the renders.

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Samsung introduced Instant Slo-Mo to the Galaxy S24 as one of its many generative AI features. It allows you to instantly slow down any video you’re watching from the gallery by pressing and holding down on the video. Now this feature is about to get support for HDR10+.

Instant Slo-Mo works by using generative AI to create new frames in a video, which are then inserted between the real frames. The result is an artificially extended video with a slow-motion effect applied.

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Although Apple joined the AI race late, it has been working on a bevy of AI features for its products. At WWDC, it’s expected we’ll finally see the fruits of the company’s labor. A new report says about half of next week’s presentation will focus on AI and it will center around the tech giant’s new AI system.

Mark Gurman of Bloomberg has laid out everything Apple plans to announce during its WWDC event on June 10. At the event, the Cupertino-based firm will reportedly unveil its new AI system, which it has dubbed “Apple Intelligence.” It will be available for the iPhone 15 Pro and for the iPhones coming out this year, as well as for iPads and Macs with at least an M1 chip. The AI will arrive in the latest versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

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Next week, Apple will hold its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Apple is expected to use this year’s event to showcase all the AI projects it has been working on. Along with its AI announcements, we could also get an announcement for a new app for managing passwords.

According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to unveil an app called Passwords on June 10 at WWDC. This app can generate and keep track of passwords, support verification codes, and act as an authentication app just like Google Authenticator.

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Just yesterday, Google’s service and repair ToS contained wording that said it would not return your device if it found non-OEM parts in the Android phone you sent in for repair. The firm has now changed its terms and conditions to reflect that it won’t steal your phone.

Earlier this week, Google landed in hot water after it was discovered that the company could keep your phone if you sent it in for repair with non-OEM parts. After pointing out the language, a Google spokesperson reached out to Android Authority to clarify that it doesn’t keep Pixel phones, regardless of whether they have non-OEM parts or not. The company also said it would be updating its terms and conditions.

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Google is continuing the transition from Manifest V2 to Manifest V3 in Chrome. The rollout will begin next week and will first land on pre-stable channel builds.

Back in November 2023, Google revealed a timeline for its phase-out of Manifest V2. Now the company has announced that it is ready to begin the process.

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A new report claims that TikTok is working to create an independent clone of its source code in an attempt to stay in the US. However, TikTok is denying the report, calling it “misleading” and “factually inaccurate.”

Back in April, a bill was passed and signed into law that requires Beijing-based parent company ByteDance to divest its ownership stake in TikTok to keep the short-form video platform in the US. The bill stems from bipartisan concerns about TikTok’s connection to China and the platform’s influence on its users. To stay in the US without having to sell its business, TikTok has been exploring ways to appease US lawmakers.

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Google has canceled and revived its AR glasses project (Project Iris) multiple times. Despite its tumultuous relationship with the XR space, it doesn’t look like Google is giving up on augmented reality any time soon as it has entered into a partnership with Magic Leap.

On Thursday, Magic Leap announced in a blog post that it has formed a strategic partnership with Google. According to the post, the partnership will combine Magic Leap’s AR expertise and optics leadership with Google’s technology platforms. We have reached out to Google for further comment and will update this article accordingly.

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Google released the first Android 15 beta back on April 11, with the second beta following it up on May 15. Only a day before the second beta went out, Nothing rolled out Beta 1 to the Phone 2a. Now the company is opening up the update to the Phone 2.

Nothing announced in a blog post that Phone 2 owners can now join in on the Android 15 Beta 1 party. If you want to take part in the beta, the London-based phone maker warns that this build is meant for developers and advanced users. It also warns users to back up their data as the storage device will be formatted, and all data will be erased.

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Back in March, we discussed a Chrome feature Google was testing that would allow you to minimize custom tabs into a picture-in-picture (PiP) window. Now it looks like the feature is ready for the main stage as it is rolling out in the latest update for Chrome.

In a blog post, Google announced it is rolling out a feature in the latest version of Chrome for Android. The feature in question is called Minimized Custom Tabs, and as its name suggests, it allows you to minimize a custom tab.

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We’re only a few days away from the reveal event for the ROG Ally X. Unfortunately for ASUS, a recently discovered retail listing may have stolen some of the event’s thunder.

First spotted by the Korean YouTube channel Performance Department Connect, it appears a Korean online retailer may have published a listing for the ROG Ally X a little early. The listing in question labels the device as the ROG Ally 2, however, it’s far more likely this is the new, slightly improved X model.

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Using PayPal to purchase things with Google Wallet is nothing new. The ability to use the service as a payment method has been around for a while. Something you haven’t been able to do, however, is use PayPal on your smartwatch. But the latest Android Feature Drop will change that.

Google has just announced a bevy of new features coming to Android in today’s Feature Drop. Among the many new functions coming our way, Google revealed that Wear OS watch owners are getting a way to pay from their wrist.

💾

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It’s not often that Apple feels compelled to bring its services over to Android, which makes today’s discovery particularly interesting. It appears the Cupertino firm is planning to bring the TV Plus app to Android phones.

First spotted by Bloomberg, Apple posted a job listing on May 25 requesting the services of an Android software engineer. According to the post, this engineer would join the Apple TV app team to “design and architect a sophisticated application.”

The listing doesn’t outright say it, but it heavily suggests that the company plans to create an Android version of the streaming service phone app. At the same time, it also suggests that the tech giant is interested in growing the service’s user base.

While the iPhone may be the most popular smartphone in the US, it trails behind Android phones on the global stage. In fact, over 3 billion active devices around the world happen to run on Google’s OS. So opening up TV Plus to Android users could greatly increase its user numbers.

Apple has invested heavily in the TV Plus platform, spending money on original programming like Ted Lasso, Severance, and more. As such, the more eyes it can get for its service, the better for business.

Expanding the service shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as the company has a history of bringing the app to other third-party platforms. It can be found on devices like Roku, PlayStation, Xbox, Amazon Fire Stick, and more. This wouldn’t even be the first time Apple TV Plus has flirted with Android as the service is available on Google Chromecast devices and smart TVs that run on Android. So it’s nice to know that it appears Android phone owners could soon use the app as well.

We have reached out to Apple for comment. We will update this article if we get a response.

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T-Mobile isn’t the only carrier thinking about satellite connectivity; Verizon is also getting in on the game. Instead of following T-Mobile’s lead by partnering with SpaceX, however, Verizon is partnering with AST SpaceMobile.

Today, Verizon and AST SpaceMobile announced they are entering into a strategic partnership with a $100 million commitment from Verizon. The result of which will provide Verizon customers with direct-to-cellular satellite service from AST SpaceMobile when they need it.

If you’re unfamiliar with AST SpaceMobile, it is a Midland, TX-based company that offers satellite cellular broadband. The company currently partners with over 45 mobile network providers from around the world who “collectively serve 2.8 billion existing subscribers.”

AST’s network uses an 850MHz spectrum, which it claims on its website is designed to provide connectivity at 4G and 5G speeds. As Verizon also uses an 850MHz spectrum for some of its 4G LTE and 5G connectivity, you won’t likely have to upgrade your phone to take advantage of this benefit, if the phone is new enough.

AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan claims that the partnership will allow it to “target 100% coverage of the continental United States.” Meanwhile, Verizon SVP Srini Kalapala states:

By entering into this agreement with AST, we will now be able to use our spectrum in conjunction with AST’s satellite network to provide essential connectivity in remote corners of the U.S. where cellular signals are unreachable through traditional land-based infrastructure.

As Kalapala alludes to in his statement, the goal of this partnership is to eliminate dead zones. Verizon wants to have the ability to continue providing coverage for its customers even in remote areas where cellular service is traditionally difficult to obtain.

Shortly after the announcement was made, it appears that AST’s stock skyrocketed. According to CNBC, the firm’s stock went up by more than 57% compared to where it closed previously.

With Verizon and T-Mobile taking two different approaches to satellite connectivity, we want to know what you think. Who would you trust more with your satellite connectivity needs: T-Mobile and SpaceX or Verizon and AST SpaceMobile?

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While you wait for the launch of Samsung’s highly anticipated Galaxy Ring, we have some news to help tide you over. It appears the smart ring could have some loss prevention and security features you won’t find on its biggest competitor.

The Samsung Find app — the app that helps users find misplaced Galaxy smartphones, tablets, watches, earbuds, S Pens, and other devices — recently got an update after more than a month. While investigating the update, we discovered strings of code referencing a feature called “Lost mode” for the Galaxy Ring.

<string name="lost_mode_guide_description_ring">Lost mode helps protect your ring while it's missing.</string>
<string name="message_default_ring">I lost my ring. Please help me find it.</string>
<string name="ring_dialog_error_ring">Couldn't connect to Ring to start blinking.</string>
<string name="ring_dialog_ready_ring">Tap start to make the light on your ring blink.</string>
<string name="ring_dialog_ringing_ring">Ring light is blinking.</string>
<string name="pairing_lock_description_ring">This ring will be locked to your Samsung account. No one else will be able to use it.</string>

According to the strings, it appears a user will be able to turn Lost mode on via the app. If you can’t find the ring without help, the app will give you the option to turn on a light that’s embedded in the ring and have it start blinking. The app will also tell the user if the light is blinking or if it is unable to connect with the ring to trigger the blinking. Additionally, it seems Lost mode will allow users to lock their Samsung accounts from the app so no one else can use the ring or access your information.

This feature would be pretty handy if you were ever in the unfortunate position of misplacing your smart ring. It’s also something that would set it apart from what Oura offers with its competitor hardware.

As Oura explains on its support page, if you lose your Oura Ring, it will enter into Restricted Mode when attempting to pair with a new device. Restricted Mode causes the Oura App to prompt you to factory reset the smart ring. Factory resetting erases the data since your last sync, but historical data before your last sync is still available.

As this is an APK teardown, it’s unclear if/when the feature could roll out. But we would imagine it would likely be ready around the time the Galaxy Ring launches. That launch date is still a mystery, but rumors point to a significant Samsung launch on July 10, so it might be then.

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Plenty has leaked about the iPhone 16 and that’s only natural as we inch our way to the eventual launch. And we’ll likely continue to hear more as time passes, such as today’s rumor that may have revealed the colors for Apple’s next-gen flagship.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared his expectations for the iPhone 16’s colors. Kuo claims that two new colors could replace some of the existing shades.

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Despite being three years old, Apple’s AirTags still come in handy when you need to find something like your keys or wallet. But they could probably use an update by this point, and it looks like the Find My Device rival could get that update in the next year.

In today’s “Power On” newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple is in the midst of developing a next-generation AirTag. Codenamed B589, the item locator is reportedly being tested by the tech giant’s manufacturing partners in Asia.

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It’s been almost two years since Samsung launched its Camera Assistant app. While the tech giant’s flagship Android phones have enjoyed the app’s benefits, that hasn’t exactly been the case for some of the Fan Edition phones. But it looks like Galaxy S21 FE owners can now take advantage of the app.

First reported by SamMobile, it appears Samsung quietly rolled out support for Camera Assistant to the Galaxy S21 FE. In fact, support may have come out as early as January, as that’s the last time the update was updated.

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A fair amount of details have already come out about Motorola’s upcoming 2024 clamshell Android foldables. However, a new leak may have spilled the beans on the colors and may have revealed an interesting improvement to the cheaper Razr.

In coordination with leaker Sudhanshu Ambhore, 91mobiles shared a handful of new renders for the Motorola Razr and Razr Plus (known as the Razr 50 and Razr 50 Ultra outside the US). Based on the images, it seems we can expect the Razr to come in grey and khaki, while the Razr Plus has peach, green, and blue color options.

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It has been a busy week with a ton of announcements, as expected for any Google I/O event. The company unveiled tons of new AI stuff, as well as news on Android 15, Wear OS 5, and more. If you were following the event closely, you may have even noticed a couple of things that seemed like sneakily quiet announcements, such as a potential widget for Google Home.

During the Build beautiful Android widgets with Jetpack Glance session, which is meant more for developers than consumers, Google discussed the importance of widgets. The company explained that great widgets are helpful, simple, adaptive, cohesive, and discoverable. However, it was a slide that showed up near the end of the session that was particularly interesting.

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Google is making a small change to Google Maps that should help clean up the home screen a bit. It appears that change is now slowly starting to roll out to Android users.

During the Material You session at Google I/O this week, the tech giant debuted a new, simplified design for Google Maps. Specifically, the company reduced the number of tabs that appear in the bottom bar.

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Circle to Search first arrived at the beginning of the year on the Galaxy S24 series. It later came to the Pixel phones and tablets. Google said during this year’s I/O event that it plans to expand Circle to Search’s reach to 200 million devices by the end of 2024. This could maybe include the iPhone.

The folks over at The Mac Observer spotted something interesting hiding in Chrome for iOS. There appears to be a new “Lens Circle to Search” flag that was quietly added to the app. Once the flag is enabled, the Circle to Search feature will be available within Google Lens on iOS.

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Android already makes signing into accounts easy by auto-filling your credentials in two taps. However, Google is simplifying the process even further in Android 15, while also bringing Credential Manager to Wear OS.

This week has been filled with announcements from Google I/O and now the company has revealed changes to Credential Manager. One of those changes will simplify the sign-in experience for passkeys.

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Earlier this month, Samsung and Synopsys published a joint press release to announce it successfully mass produced its prototype 3nm process design. The press release didn’t specifically say, but it was believed the 3nm process would be used for the Exynos 2500. A new report claims this will be the case for the SoC expected to appear in the Galaxy S25.

A report from Business Korea claims Samsung plans to mass produce the Exynos 2500 using the 3nm process and that the processor will appear in the Galaxy S25 series. The outlet adds that the Exynos 2500 may end up surpassing Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip, which is also expected to use a 3nm process.

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We’re nearly halfway through the year now, which means we’re that much closer to the launch of the iPhone 16. Everything seems to be on schedule as display production will reportedly start soon.

In a tweet limited to subscribers, display analyst Ross Young claimed that Apple will start screen production for the iPhone 16 series in June. Young added that the base model and the iPhone 16 Pro are projected to have the highest volume of production among the four incoming models.

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A while back, it was reported that Google was removing the “Nudge” feature from Messages. Now it appears the tech giant is preparing to bring the feature to the app.

Nudges were first introduced in 2018 as a function for Gmail before expanding out to Google Messages in 2021. In Messages, the feature would prompt you to reply to messages and encourage you to follow up on outgoing messages by pushing unfinished conversations to the top of your conversations list. The feature was also used to remind users about birthdays if a date was stored in the contacts app.