Google has integrated its Gemini Spark AI assistant with Google Photos, letting it perform multi-step tasks like editing, organizing, and sharing images from a single prompt. Spark can also extract text from photos, summarize events, build visual stories, and run recurring tasks such as weekly album updates sent automatically to family or friends. The feature is rolling out gradually and currently limited to US users 18 and older with a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription.
Android Authority ran a reader poll after reviewing Google's Tensor G6 chip inside the Pixel 11, which improves AI and efficiency-focused tasks but falls behind rivals in gaming and raw performance. Of over 2,800 respondents, 34.3% said they'd prefer more raw power, 30.5% valued efficiency instead, and only 15.7% felt the chip strikes a good balance between the two.
A hands-on comparison from Android Authority weighs Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 against Motorola's book-style Razr Fold, noting the Fold 8's wider 5.5-inch cover screen and 7.6-inch inner display make multitasking and everyday use smoother than past Samsung foldables. The reviewer says Motorola's alternative undercuts the $1,900 Fold 8 Ultra on price while still offering a traditional foldable experience for buyers who don't need flagship cameras.
Fresh leaks suggest Samsung may retire the Plus tier in 2027 and introduce a Galaxy S27 Pro that shares the Ultra's design language in a smaller size. Analysts covering the rumor argue the move would resolve the awkward positioning the Plus model has had since the Galaxy S23 generation, sitting between a mid-range price and Ultra-level features without clearly justifying either.
Leaker Digital Chat Station claims the upcoming HONOR Magic 9 series will offer an external 500mm teleconverter lens, delivering roughly 20.8x optical zoom. That would surpass the vivo X300 Ultra's 400mm teleconverter, which offers about 16.6x zoom. The leak also points to dual 200MP ARRI-branded cameras, a camera grip, a cooling fan and an ~8,000mAh battery.
Solipsism Browser is a new open-source Android browser built on Chromium that launched about three months ago, offering extensive customization and design options typically associated with Firefox forks rather than Chrome. Despite its early stage, reviewers note it already feels highly polished and distinct from mainstream Chromium-based browsers.
UGreen has introduced three smart home hubs — the HomeAgent HA100, HomeAgent HA100 Pro, and MasterAgent MA100 — that handle voice commands, camera monitoring, and Matter device control entirely on-device rather than through cloud servers. Each unit combines a two-bay NAS with dedicated video storage and varying levels of onboard AI horsepower, including NVIDIA hardware in higher-end models, with the base HA100 offering 16GB of RAM and 26 TOPS of AI performance.
UGREEN has launched a set of new smart home devices including three cameras (one indoor, two outdoor), a smart speaker, and a digital photo frame. The cameras—Indoor Cam ID500 Pro, PoE Cam OD600 Pro, and Battery Cam OD800 Pro—all feature 8MP 4K main sensors and are built to integrate with UGREEN's local-AI smart home hubs for video processing and storage. The new SynCare Smart Speaker connects users to UGREEN's own AI assistant, called Uliya.
UGREEN has released the MagFlo Pro, a 10,000mAh magnetic battery pack offering 25W Qi2 wireless charging and 45W wired USB-C output. The device uses a multi-layer liquid cooling chamber with a visible circulating coolant, which the company says is the first such system built into a Qi2 power bank. It's priced at roughly $150 on Amazon, alongside new foldable 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 chargers aimed at Apple device users.
Android Authority found new code in a Digital Wellbeing beta build (version 1.47.964183037) showing Google testing a redesigned interface with a Material Expressive look. The changes include a reworked app activity dashboard, multi-app selection for setting shared daily timers, and a restructured Bedtime mode that removes collapsible sections and reorders elements like Bedtime routine and Weekly average.
A former UK Competition and Markets Authority official has filed a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) lawsuit against Apple on behalf of app developers, alleging that its App Tracking Transparency system imposes tougher restrictions on outside developers than on Apple's own services. Apple maintains that all developers face identical requirements under the policy.
Google has introduced WeatherNext 3, its newest AI-driven weather forecasting model, which will feed into Search, Gemini and Maps. Unlike its predecessor, which updated every six hours at a 25km resolution, the new model can refresh hourly and pinpoint conditions down to 5km by incorporating live satellite data instead of older simulation outputs.