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Google announces second Android 16 release of 2025 is heading to Pixels

The update is rolling out to Pixels starting today.

Google is following through on its pledge to split Android versions into more frequent updates. We already had one Android 16 release this year, and now it’s time for the second. The new version is rolling out first on Google’s Pixel phones, featuring more icon customization, easier parental controls, and AI-powered notifications. Don’t be bummed if you aren’t first in line for the new Android 16—Google also has a raft of general improvements coming to the wider Android ecosystem.

Android 16, part 2

Since rolling out the first version of Android in 2008, Google has largely stuck to one major release per year. Android 16 changes things, moving from one monolithic release to two. Today’s OS update is the second part of the Android 16 era, but don’t expect major changes. As expected, the first release in June made more changes. Most of what we’ll see in the second update is geared toward Google’s Pixel phones, plus some less notable changes for developers.

Google’s new AI features for notifications are probably the most important change. Android 16 will use AI for two notification tasks: summarizing and organizing. The OS will take long chat conversations and summarize the notifications with AI. Notification data is processed locally on the device and won’t be uploaded anywhere. In the notification shade, the collapsed notification line will feature a summary of the conversation rather than a snippet of one message. Expanding the notification will display the full text.

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Samsung reveals Galaxy Z TriFold with 10-inch foldable screen, astronomical price

Samsung’s long-awaited tri-fold phone is launching in Korea this month, with a US launch early next year.

Samsung has a new foldable smartphone, and it’s not just another Z Flip or Z Fold. The Galaxy Z TriFold has three articulating sections that house a massive 10-inch tablet-style screen, along with a traditional smartphone screen on the outside. The lavish new smartphone is launching this month in South Korea with a hefty price tag, and it will eventually make its way to the US in early 2026.

Samsung says it refined its Armor FlexHinge design for the TriFold. The device’s two hinges are slightly different sizes because the phone’s three panels have distinct shapes. The center panel is the thickest at 4.2 mm, and the other two are fractions of a millimeter thinner. The phone has apparently been designed to account for the varying sizes and weights, allowing the frame to fold up tight in a pocketable form factor.

Huawei’s impressive Mate XT tri-fold phones have been making the rounds online, but they’re not available in Western markets. Samsung’s new foldable looks similar at a glance, but the way the three panels fit together is different. The Mate XT folds in a Z-shaped configuration, using part of the main screen as the cover display. On Samsung’s phone, the left and right segments fold inward behind the separate cover screen. Samsung claims it has tested the design extensively to verify that the hinges will hold up to daily use for years.

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OnePlus 15 review: The end of range anxiety

OnePlus delivers its second super-fast phone of 2025.

OnePlus got its start courting the enthusiast community by offering blazing-fast phones for a low price. While the prices aren’t quite as low as they once were, the new OnePlus 15 still delivers on value. Priced at $899, this phone sports the latest and most powerful Snapdragon processor, the largest battery in a mainstream smartphone, and a super-fast screen.

The OnePlus 15 still doesn’t deliver the most satisfying software experience, and the camera may actually be a step back for the company, but the things OnePlus gets right are very right. It’s a fast, sleek phone that runs for ages on a charge, and it’s a little cheaper than the competition. But its shortcomings make it hard to recommend this device over the latest from Google or Samsung—or even the flagship phone OnePlus released ten months ago.

US buyers have time to mull it over, though. Because of the recent government shutdown, FCC approval of the OnePlus 15 has been delayed. The company says it will release the phone as soon as it can, but there’s no exact date yet.

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Commercial spyware “Landfall” ran rampant on Samsung phones for almost a year

Targeted attack could steal all of a phone’s data and activate camera or mic.

Another day, another malware attack on smartphones. Researchers at Unit 42, the threat intelligence arm of Palo Alto Networks, have revealed a sophisticated spyware known as “Landfall” targeting Samsung Galaxy phones. The researchers say this campaign leveraged a zero-day exploit in Samsung Android software to steal a raft of personal data, and it was active for almost a year. Thankfully, the underlying vulnerability has now been patched, and the attacks were most likely targeted at specific groups.

Unit 42 says that Landfall first appeared in July 2024, relying on a software flaw now catalogued as CVE-2025-21042. Samsung issued a patch for its phones in April 2025, but details of the attack have only been revealed now.

Even if you were out there poking around the darker corners of the Internet in 2024 and early 2025 with a Samsung Galaxy device, it’s unlikely you’d be infected. The team believes Landfall was used in the Middle East to target individuals for surveillance. It is currently unclear who was behind the attacks.

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The first liquid-cooled smartphone launches Nov 18 for $749 and up (REDMAGIC 11 Pro global launch)

The $699 REDMAGIC 11 Pro is a smartphone designed for mobile gamers. It has a 6.85 inch, 144 Hz AMOLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and a massive 7,500 mAh battery. It’s also the first smartphone to feature both a fan an…

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Leaker reveals which Pixels are vulnerable to Cellebrite phone hacking

Cellebrite can apparently extract data from most Pixel phones, unless they’re running GrapheneOS.

Despite being a vast repository of personal information, smartphones used to have little by way of security. That has thankfully changed, but companies like Cellebrite offer law enforcement tools that can bypass security on some devices. The company keeps the specifics quiet, but an anonymous individual recently logged in to a Cellebrite briefing and came away with a list of which of Google’s Pixel phones are vulnerable to Cellebrite phone hacking.

This person, who goes by the handle rogueFed, posted screenshots from the recent Microsoft Teams meeting to the GrapheneOS forums (spotted by 404 Media). GrapheneOS is an Android-based operating system that can be installed on select phones, including Pixels. It ships with enhanced security features and no Google services. Because of its popularity among the security-conscious, Cellebrite apparently felt the need to include it in its matrix of Pixel phone support.

The screenshot includes data on the Pixel 6, Pixel 7, Pixel 8, and Pixel 9 family. It does not list the Pixel 10 series, which launched just a few months ago. The phone support is split up into three different conditions: before first unlock, after first unlock, and unlocked. The before first unlock (BFU) state means the phone has not been unlocked since restarting, so all data is encrypted. This is traditionally the most secure state for a phone. In the after first unlock (AFU) state, data extraction is easier. And naturally, an unlocked phone is open season on your data.

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Nothing Phone (3a) Lite pares the Glyph light system down to a single notification LED

The Glyph light system has been a hallmark of Nothing’s smartphones since the company launched its first model three years ago. But it seems like each time the company introduces a new model, it reimagines those LED lights on the back of the phon…

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Google reportedly searching for 15 Pixel “Superfans” to test unreleased phones

Selected testers will have to sign an NDA and use a disguised case.

It took awhile, but Google’s Pixel line of smartphones has established itself as a mainstay of Android after 10 generations. The company has long operated a “Superfans” group to help promote Pixels, but now members have a slim chance to get their hands on Google’s next phones ahead of time. Google is reportedly looking for some lucky Superfans to test and provide feedback on unreleased devices, but they’ll have to promise not to leak anything.

It’s not unheard of for companies to have loyal customers help test new products, but it’s not usually big companies like Google with well-established products like Pixel. Google usually keeps its circle of hardware testers small and limited to employees. According to Bloomberg, Google is running a contest among Superfans to find 15 non-employees suited to test in-development hardware. An official document reviewed by Bloomberg describes the program as a chance to “provide feedback and help shape a Pixel phone currently in development.”

To apply, interested Superfans have to prove they are more super than the rest. They must demonstrate deep knowledge of the Pixel product family and suggest ways the phones can be improved. However, Google is asking this of its biggest supporters—people who still care enough about their smartphones to seek out a group specifically to talk about how much they care about their phones. Is Google going to get gushing praise or constructive criticism?

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REDMAGIC 11 Pro+ gaming phone features liquid cooling, 80 watt wireless charging, and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

As expected, REDMAGIC has introduced the first smartphone with a liquid cooling system designed to help squeeze a little extra performance out of the phone’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor. Like other recent REDMAGIC devices, the REDMAGIC 11 …

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Honor is making a phone with a flip-out camera on a robotic arm

Most modern smartphones are basically rectangles with a touchscreen on the front and a couple of cameras on the back. Every now and then a phone maker gets the bright idea if introducing a flip-out camera that lets the rear camera face forward so that …

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