Android System Intelligence (ASI) is a system component baked into Android that powers on-device smart features like Now Playing and Live Caption, and it cannot be uninstalled like a regular app, though many manufacturers let users disable it in Settings. Android Authority found in January 2026 that turning ASI off does not break core phone functions, but it does disable the AI-driven contextual features that rely on it. Google has not published a full list of what stops working per device, leaving some uncertainty for users who disable it entirely.
Android Authority surveyed over 2,000 readers asking whether they would pay to unlock newer AI features on their older Pixel phones. More than 82% called such a purchase a waste of money, while roughly 10% said they'd rather buy a new phone outright, and just 6.8% would pay a subscription to extend their current device's life.
An unreleased feature discovered in Google Photos version 7.90 lets users long-press albums, folders, or people to pin them as shortcuts in a new horizontal bar at the top of the Collections tab. Android Authority manually activated the hidden option and found it largely functional, including a dedicated Edit menu for reordering pinned items and browsing library categories.
Google's newly announced Pixel Tag Bluetooth tracker won't ship until November, leaving buyers without an option for months. Android Authority points to five trackers already available, with Motorola's Moto Tag 2 standing out at $20 (or $99 for four), offering UWB support, a replaceable CR2032 battery, IP68 water resistance, and roughly 600 days of battery life, all while working with Google's Find Hub network.
An Android Authority writer asked ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude to name the best Google Pixel phone for most buyers in 2026, factoring in the newly released Pixel 11 lineup. The three AI models gave conflicting recommendations, with ChatGPT notably sticking with the older Pixel 10 rather than favoring Google's latest flagship.
New outline renders shared by leaker Ice Universe suggest Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S27 Pro will adopt the same iPhone 17 Pro-style camera plateau expected on the Galaxy S27 Ultra, replacing Samsung's traditional vertical camera island. However, the Pro model appears to omit the S Pen slot and has the speaker grille and microphone positions swapped compared to the Ultra.
Google has replaced the Exynos modem used in previous Pixel phones with a MediaTek modem in the Pixel 11 series, promising better reliability, speed, and power efficiency. Android Authority ran side-by-side signal and performance tests comparing the Pixel 11 Pro against last year's Pixel 10 Pro using identical SIM cards and network conditions to verify these claims.
New leaked renders from Android Headlines and OnLeaks reveal Samsung's Galaxy S27 Ultra sporting a camera layout that departs from the three-ring design used across recent Ultra models. An Android Authority writer who has used Samsung's flagship phones for years says this marks the first real design shift he's noticed in a while, though he remains uncertain about the final look.
IDC's August 2026 forecast predicts worldwide smartphone shipments will drop 16.7% this year, a steeper decline than the 13.9% estimate from May. The cause is a severe shortage of NAND and DRAM chips, with component costs up over 300% year-over-year as manufacturers redirect capacity to AI data centers. As a result, average smartphone selling prices have jumped 27.6% to $581, effectively pushing sub-$100 Android phones out of the market.
Google is broadening the rollout of its 'find in note' feature in Keep, which lets users search within a single note or list for specific text, similar to Ctrl+F. The feature had appeared in a limited release earlier this month but is now showing up more widely across devices, though not universally yet.
After users reported that Gemini on Google Home devices couldn't properly add items to Google Keep lists, a Google spokesperson confirmed the company is rolling out a fix. Google described the issue as a set of 'UI issues' rather than a change to Keep support, and said the patch should reach all affected users within a few days.
An APK teardown of Microsoft's Link to Windows Android app has uncovered hidden code for remotely shutting down, restarting, updating, or putting a paired Windows PC to sleep. The app currently only supports remotely locking a PC, and these new commands would extend that functionality with built-in warnings about lost work or disconnection.
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