Android Authority

Credit: Joe Maring / Android Authority The latest Tensor G6 leak is good and bad news for the Pixel 11, adding more weight to what we already expected from Google’s next-gen chip destined for this year’s Pixel 11 series. On the one hand, it looks like Pixel 11 customers are set to benefit from a significant leap in CPU performance. The chip is expected to feature a single Arm C1-Ultra core at 4.11GHz, alongside four C1-Pro cores at 3.38GHz and two C1-Pro cores at 2.65GHz. Google is completely

Samsung Messages is shutting down in a matter of weeks. Starting in July, the app will no longer be supported, and Samsung will push users to switch to Google Messages instead. As it turns out, Samsung Messages has a lot of dedicated fans among Android Authority‘s readership, and you’ve all been vocal in our comments about the features Samsung’s app offers that Google’s doesn’t. Google Messages has been adding impactful new features pretty frequently lately — a new trash folder last month, real-

Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority Plex will soon charge you even more to stream your own media over the internet. While I’m not a fan of schadenfreude, decisions like this do make me feel vindicated about my choice to adopt Jellyfin instead of Plex several years ago. The very concept of being charged a subscription fee to access your own media rubs me the wrong way. It’s an anathema to the whole self-hosted ethos and a bid to escape the spiraling costs of music and video subscription s

It’s fair to say that Nova Launcher was once the pinnacle of the Android launcher space. While many of its loyal fans still believe it is, there’s no doubt it has experienced some ups and downs in recent years. You likely know the Nova Launcher story by now. The app was sold in 2022, lay dormant for years afterward, and was recently purchased, with development ramping up once more. The launcher’s new custodians have focused on stability over new features, but some worrying additions have alienat

Motorola has been teasing its first book-style foldable, the Razr Fold, since January. Finally, though, the phone will be available for pre-order in the US on May 14, with sales starting a week later on May 21. There’s a lot to get excited about here, including the large 8.1-inch 2K LTPO display with pen support, the 6,000mAh battery with 80W of fast charging, and a triple 50MP camera setup with a main lens, an ultrawide, and a 3x telephoto. But, despite Motorola’s pedigree in the Razr clamshell

Our hearing is important, and it’s something we should want to protect. Google agrees; Pixel phones have something called “Sound Exposure Notifications” that monitor how loud your audio is and provide a warning if it thinks things are too loud. That sounds all well and good, but in some situations, like when driving, this feature puts users in danger instead of protecting them.

It’s always exciting when a product receives a new software update, but I can’t help but shudder nowadays when Google TV rolls one out. With its latest revision, Google seems intent on making you love YouTube Shorts, placing the short-form video content made for vertical devices on the default Google TV home screen. Thankfully, you don’t have to stand for this or any of the home screen quirks. The first thing I did after purchasing my Chromecast with Google TV was install a third-party launcher.

Generative AI is everywhere, whether it’s used as a cornerstone of a service, used to build apps, or employed to boost functionality within them. But with so many new products appearing all the time, which ones are worth checking out? We’re here to help with a new bi-weekly series covering the best and freshest AI apps and services that you should know about.

Credit: Joe Maring / Android Authority Samsung launched the Galaxy S26 series back in February, and the base Galaxy S26 is one of the best smaller Android phones on the market. I say “smaller,” because you and I both know that this isn’t actually a small phone. In fact, it’s virtually impossible to find a legitimately small phone from a major manufacturer in 2026. Here’s why I miss them and really want them to make a comeback in the near future.

Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority The current state of the economy is no joke. The rise in living costs means it’s the best time to strap in and start saving money wherever we can. One easy way to save hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars a year is to ditch your expensive phone plan. We’re not about to live without our phone plans, but you can definitely switch to something like Mint Mobile, which offers some of the best phone plans if you want to get top-quality service at a barga

A few years ago, I never thought I’d be paying for a YouTube Premium subscription. But over time, ads got longer and a lot harder to ignore. Eventually, I gave in and subscribed. I won’t lie — it turned out to be a pretty good decision. The subscription came bundled with YouTube Music, which, at the time, I didn’t think much of either. In my head, I was never really going to use it. I already had Apple Music, my playlists were set, and I wasn’t looking to switch. But one random evening, I opened

A modern mainstream phone will do just fine during outdoor adventures, but that doesn’t mean it’s the optimal tool for those who live and breathe adventure. This is why the rugged phone market remains so healthy in 2026. I haven’t delved into this niche category for a while, so getting the RugOne Xever 7 Pro in the mail was definitely a nice surprise. Especially now that I am more of an outdoor person. I live in a mountainous area surrounded by wilderness, often visit national parks, and have be

I’ve worn a Pixel Watch on my wrist since the original dropped in 2022, and have moved through all four models of Google’s smartwatch. Before that, I had worn a Fitbit for many, many years, starting with the original Fitbit One and moving through the Flex, Alta, Charge, Blaze, and more. I love the product line, and it’s no surprise to say that I’m really, really excited about the new Fitbit Air. It is quintessentially the Fitbit experience I grew to love with the screenless Flex, but brought int

Google can be slow to roll out new features and functionality to its stable app versions, and few apps are more affected by this cautious approach than Android Auto. The digital driving aid is an essential part of the commute for many users worldwide, including myself. Since I crave faster development to bring much-requested features to my dashboard sooner, I decided to rejoin the Android Auto beta tester program. Yes, the program is open once again, but only for a limited time. Occasionally, Go

A clean Android experience is one of the key selling points of Pixel phones. Unfortunately, this “clean experience” is often misunderstood as barebones. Sure, other flavors of Android (like One UI) take the cake with their extensive feature set and customization options, but the Pixel UI is no slouch either. If you’ve used a Pixel phone, you know exactly what I’m talking about. In fact, you probably already use some of the signature features like Now Playing, Magic Editor, Call Screen, and Pixel

Credit: Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority TL;DR WHOOP is adding on-demand clinician video consultations in its app in the US this summer. The company hasn’t said whether clinician access is included in membership pricing or costs extra. The updates, which include other AI features, arrive a day after Google launched the Fitbit Air. With Google launching its Fitbit Air yesterday, WHOOP doesn’t seem ready to give up ground in the screenless fitness tracker space without a fight. The brand ju

TL;DR Codex users have been asking OpenAI for a way to remotely control sessions with the tool from ChatGPT on their phones. New text strings in the Android app reveal the company’s work towards this goal. Access to powerful AI models is changing the way software developers get their jobs done, and while some of you may roll your eyes every time you hear about vibe coding, there’s little denying that putting the right tools into the hands of capable devs can really enhance their productivity

TL;DR Discord is currently experiencing a service interruption. The company is actively working on a fix, but features are still being impacted. Update, May 8, 2026 (10:08 PM ET): Discord reports that all services are back up and working as expected. Original article, May 8, 2026 (04:14 PM ET): Is your favorite Discord server not working as it should this afternoon? It turns out there’s a good reason for that, as the company confirms that an active issue is impacting user connectivity.

Credit: Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Some Pixel Watch owners say SpO2 and skin temperature tracking stopped working after a recent Fitbit update. Google and Fitbit have acknowledged the permission reset issue and say work is underway to restore access. Reports include both Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Watch 4 users, but it’s unclear how widely the bug is affecting owners. Google launched the Fitbit Air yesterday, giving its wearable lineup a fresh screenless tracker and a new entry p

TL;DR Snapseed hasn’t seen an Android update in almost two years. Last year iOS got a major 3.0 release, but it passed Android by. After teasing a new 4.0 update earlier this week, it’s now starting to arrive. We knew it was coming: Earlier this week, Snapseed lead Giles Ochs teased that the eagerly awaited 4.0 update was just about to land, bringing Android users some long-overdue upgrades. And now, just ahead of the weekend, that new version is finally rolling out. Don’t want to miss the