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RedMagic has released its 12 Pro flagship phone outside China, marking an earlier global rollout than the company's usual practice. A ZDNET reviewer ran Geekbench 7 benchmarks comparing it to a Pixel 9 Pro and found the RedMagic device nearly doubled multi-core scores and edged out single-core performance, falling only slightly behind Apple's iPhone 18 Pro Max in single-core tests.
Engadget's review of the Lenovo Googlebook 15 finds Googlebook OS easy to use, with a familiar interface borrowed from Android and Chromebook conventions, including simple side-by-side multitasking. The review highlights cross-device sharing features that let users pair the laptop to an Android phone via QR code, transfer files, cast apps, sync notifications and resume browsing sessions across devices. The reviewer notes these 'Better Together' features were initially unavailable on Samsung phones at launch but have since been enabled.
Researcher Mark Blaszczyk disclosed a flaw in Android's telephony stack where a malformed WAP Push SMS causes an unchecked integer cast to produce a negative array size, triggering an uncaught exception that kills the com.android.phone process. The crash requires no interaction from the recipient and can terminate active calls, including emergency calls. Google classified the report as non-security and marked it won't fix, so no CVE was issued despite the 90-day disclosure window elapsing.
An Android Authority writer shares six Gboard keyboard settings they adjust immediately after setting up a new Android device, including enabling a dedicated number row that normally stays hidden until a password field appears. The piece walks through accessing Gboard's Preferences menu via the suggestion strip's gear icon or through the Settings app to toggle these options.
Google's support documentation confirms that any verified phone number on an Android device is now automatically linked to every Google account signed into that device, including accounts added later or numbers from new SIM cards. The company and carriers periodically re-verify these numbers, a process that can incur carrier charges, and the linkage can only be adjusted from the phone itself. Verification also enables features like phone number sign-in, lost device location, emergency services, Quick Share, and a newer account-recovery tool launched in October 2025.
A reader survey conducted by the publication found that many Android users have lost trust in Google after discovering the company began linking phone numbers to Google accounts without first asking for consent. Respondents said they were unaware of the change until noticing the new account requirement on their devices.
Amazon is offering the TCL 60 XE NXTPAPER 5G at a 30% discount off its retail price, bringing the paper-like-display Android phone to under $200. The deal represents an $85 price cut from the phone's normal cost.
Google has quietly changed Android behavior so a device's phone number is automatically verified and linked to every Google account signed in on it, including secondary, work, and throwaway accounts. Users discovered this after receiving unsolicited emails from a Google phone-verification address, and the change appears to have been made to Google's support documentation between August and October 2025. The setting can be disabled via Settings > Google > All Services > Privacy & Security > Phone number verification.
CNET's Andrew Lanxon received an early Oppo Find X10 Pro unit under embargo and shared test photos taken with its main and ultrawide rear cameras around Edinburgh. He is barred from disclosing camera specs such as resolution or sensor technology until Oppo's official unveiling later this month, when a full review and comparisons to rivals like the Leica Leitzphone will follow.
Android includes a phone number verification setting that is enabled by default, which associates a user's phone number with every Google account signed into that device. Users must manually opt out if they do not want their number linked across accounts.
Amazon has launched new tablets built around its Alexa assistant, following up on the failed Fire Phone experiment from 2014. The devices reportedly reflect lessons Amazon learned about why the Fire Phone did not succeed, according to the commentary.
A tech advisory recommends that buyers of budget Android phones prioritize certain baseline specs: at least a 5.6-inch AMOLED display with 1,000 nits peak brightness, a minimum of 6GB RAM (8GB for gamers), and 128GB storage with 256GB preferred if expandable storage isn't available. It also advises checking processor age and performance reviews before purchasing to avoid sluggish performance.