I’m the first to admit that I’m a rather disorganized person; flitting between must-do tasks and fleeting fancies like there’s no tomorrow. I’ve never been a note-taker, and I regularly misplace any tiny scraps of paper I bother to jot stuff down on, but this is increasingly coming back to bite me. Having read about the success my colleagues have had with the likes of Obsidian and Notion, I thought it was about time I hopped on the productivity app bandwagon.

However, I couldn’t immediately get on with Obsidian, because my entire problem with taking notes is having to dig them up. I need something instantly accessible, whether on my phone, tablet, work, or personal laptops. Given that I’m still testing the note-taking waters, I’m not paying Obsidian $48 a year to sync across devices. Notion seemed like the better option, but I don’t really want all my notes to be online-dependent either, and the learning curve looks quite steep. Talk about picky requirements, I know.

My phone is the center of my digital life, so when Android 15 added some new theft protection features, I knew I should check them out. Specifically, I wanted to test the novel Theft Detection Lock. Sure, it’s not going to do anything to prevent the actual theft of my phone, but it should keep thieves from accessing my bank account or my photos or deleting all of my Pokemon Go shinies.

What I didn’t expect was that I wouldn’t be able to get it to work at all. Well, not without a little help, at least.

I’ve been a Gmail user for a long time, and I’m quite happy with it. Honestly, I don’t see myself moving to another email provider anytime soon; I’m just too used to the interface and its quirks. Besides, its tight integration with Google Workspace, including Gemini, is a huge plus.

However, despite my general satisfaction with Gmail, I still fondly remember Inbox by Google. This long-gone email client was, in my opinion, superior to Gmail in several key ways. It felt more intuitive to use, genuinely helped me stay on top of my emails, and boasted a far more pleasing user interface.

If there’s a training plan out there, I can almost promise I’ve tried it. I’ve run marathons with Coros and Stryd, I trained for my first half marathon with Nike Run Club, and now I’m exploring Garmin’s revamped training as part of Connect Plus. But, for all of my training plans and experimentation, I’ve never tried something as highly customizable as Runna. So, when I found out that Strava was buying Runna, it excited me for the future of my favorite social media platform — here’s why.

Wait, what exactly is Runna?

My colleague Megan is losing faith in Duolingo. Her recent article on why she’s considering giving up her 550+ day streak is very well reasoned, but as a 700+ day streaker, I still believe in the app. It looks like a lot of you agree, and I encourage doubters to double down.

Megan outlined six good reasons why she no longer felt the benefit of the wildly popular language learning tool. She also ran a poll for readers in her article, and the results below show the love-hate nature you have with these apps.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Google’s widgets. Regarding aesthetic cohesion, they all adhere to the company’s love of pastels and rounded edges. So if you use a Google Pixel daily, they probably won’t seem too misplaced on your particular device. However, if you value information density or customization options, Google’s widgets are far from the best options for your home screen. To prove my point, I detail some of the best Google widget alternatives I use on my phone.

Event Flow Widget

These days I spend nearly all of my time behind a keyboard, but once upon a time I was a furniture maker with a workshop full of tools and machinery. That life ended nearly a decade ago, but I still feel the urge to make things — real, physical things you can touch. Digital creations just don’t hit the same.

I’ve toyed with 3D printers and laser cutters over the years, but when the eufyMake UV Printer E1 landed on my doorstep, I knew it was something special. There’s nothing like it on the market, and after testing it for a few weeks, my mind is swimming with potential projects it can tackle. This could be a game-changer for any creative small business.

Motorola has done something huge with its 2025 Razr family. As you’ve probably heard by now, there aren’t two new Razrs like we were expecting. Instead, there are three: the Razr, Razr Plus, and Razr Ultra. That means more choices, more price points, and (most importantly) more colors. As a longtime Motorola and Razr fan, I should be thrilled.

I should, but I’m not.

I’ve been using Gemini Advanced for a while now, and for the most part, I’m really enjoying it. It significantly speeds up my workflow, whether I need brainstorming help for work or I’m diving deep into a topic I’m currently obsessed with.

But while I find it tremendously useful, there’s definitely room for improvement. There are features I find myself missing when using Gemini — capabilities that I believe would make this already great AI chatbot even better. I’ve compiled a list of five key areas for enhancement. While some might seem ambitious for now, I’m optimistic we’ll see them implemented eventually.

Garmin has long been my go-to smartwatch for fitness tracking, especially the Garmin Venu 3, which offers stellar workout tracking and amazing battery life. But this year, the OnePlus Watch 3 caught my attention. With even better battery performance and an updated tool kit, it’s the first Wear OS smartwatch to tempt me away from Garmin. So, I set out to test both of these unlikely competitors to see which one was a better overall fitness watch, and the results surprised me a bit.

A look at the basics

I bet we all have a love/hate relationship with notifications. They’ve become a necessary part of our digital lives, yet they can also be endlessly annoying and overwhelming if not controlled. While Google has grander plans for notifications in Android 16, and it’s about time, many of us need a solution today. I can vouch for one particular app to tame your notification demons. It’s called Buzzkill.

What is Buzzkill, and what does it do?

As of April 29th, Plex’s new pricing scheme is live — lifetime memberships have now doubled to $250, and monthly fees are creeping into streaming service territory. Ouch.

While the Plex faithful likely already bagged themselves a membership while it was “cheap,” those lumped with the new higher recurring cost or setting up a home media server for the first time might, quite reasonably, be wondering if there’s a more affordable option. Thankfully, there is — Jellyfin.

Last week, Google made a surprise announcement regarding its smart home offerings. Later in October this year, the original Nest Learning Thermostats — Gen 1, Gen 2, and the European version of Gen 2 — will go “dumb.” They aren’t getting bricked, but Google is removing all the features that make the smart thermostats, well…smart. When this happens, they will be no better than a $20 unit you could buy at any hardware store.

It’s not all bad, though, as Google is already reaching out to people affected by this change with coupon codes to apply towards new thermostats. They are hefty discounts, too, at nearly 50% off. I wrote an explainer piece about all these enormous changes for Nest thermostats, which you should read if you own any affected products.

A little under five years ago, Google released one of its most crucial streaming devices ever: the Chromecast with Google TV. It was the first streaming gadget to launch with Google TV, which, issues aside, offered a much more personalized and refined smart TV experience than Android TV ever did. Paired with fun colors, a great remote, and a $50 price tag, the Chromecast was an instant hit.

Google replaced the Chromecast with Google TV with the better (and more expensive) Google TV Streamer last September, and this February, the Chromecast with Google TV was officially laid to rest. The Google TV Streamer is a superior product overall, but for folks who liked the small size and lower price of the old Chromecast dongle, the Streamer is not a 1:1 replacement.

When shopping for a new smartwatch, you have a pretty general idea of how much you need to spend to get something of good quality. Whether you’re looking at one of the best smartwatches from Google, Samsung, OnePlus, Garmin, or any other major brand, spending anywhere from $250 to $400 is about the norm.

Then there are the extremes on either end of that range. Samsung showed us what happens when it goes all out and creates the most rugged and feature-rich watch possible. The result was the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and while extremely capable, the $650 price tag is as prohibitive as the watch is powerful. But what about the other end of the spectrum? That’s where a watch like the Amazfit Bip 6 comes into play.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite is Qualcomm’s latest smartphone processor and is a radical departure from its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, in a couple of key areas. There’s a highly anticipated return to custom CPU core development, greatly enhanced graphics performance, and a load of new stuff for AI and imaging.

So, let’s explore all the new features in more detail, starting with that swanky CPU setup.

If you’re in the market for a new phone and have $500 or less to spend, there are plenty of solid options this year. At the higher end, we have the Google Pixel 9a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro. If you’re looking to save a bit more without sacrificing too many specs, the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G and the standard Nothing Phone 3a are strong contenders. Below that, ultra-budget choices like the Moto G series still have their place. While these phones differ in many ways, one key area to focus on at this price point is the processor.

Thankfully, budget chips aren’t as sluggish as they used to be, but choosing a high-performance processor is still a smart move. Who knows what apps, games, or features your phone might need to handle years down the line? Software support now stretches to four years or more—but the hardware needs to keep up, too. Planning ahead can save you both money and frustration later on.

By now, we’ve compared and contrasted almost every approach to smartphone camera filters. We’ve dug into Apple’s customizable Photographic Styles and praised Samsung for filters you can create from photos, and we’ve generally all agreed that filters make smartphone cameras more exciting. However, there’s one other approach to recoloring your smartphone photos that we haven’t discussed, and it might be the nerdiest one. Yes, it’s time to dig into how you can upload LUTs to your Nothing Phone 3a or 3a Pro and how cool that is.

Wait, what’s a LUT?

I’ve long believed that wired is superior to wireless in almost every instance, and it mostly is. You’ll get the best speeds when physically tethered to the wall while charging a phone. Ethernet is generally more reliable than Wi-Fi will ever be, while wired headphones remain the best option for those who value audio quality. However, going wireless has its benefits in some cases. This was made very clear to me when I bought a cheap wireless Android Auto dongle.

When I got my car, I knew I’d have to use a USB cable for Android Auto. This wasn’t a problem initially, but I soon encountered a few practical issues. For one, I didn’t like the idea of my device sitting on a hot dashboard while charging, slowly sucking the potential from the battery. Over time, this would probably force me to upgrade to a new device earlier than expected, and when that phone offers seven years of software support, I’d like the hardware to last at least as long.

This past Wednesday, I woke up feeling a bit off. I shook myself, took a hot shower, and got to my desk, hoping it was temporary. Throughout the day, though, it became clear that I wasn’t at my best. I hit my 10,000 steps on my treadmill while working, but my energy level was scraping the bottom of the basement garage. Getting up and down the stairs at home felt more exhausting than running a marathon, and by 4 PM, I dragged myself up to bed, swallowed an acetaminophen pill, and took a short nap. I dragged on until nighttime and collapsed in bed, hoping it would go away.

The next day, I woke up feeling more off and feverish. I considered using my Pixel 9 Pro’s built-in thermometer to measure my temperature, but I knew forehead thermometers rarely work for me. My fever manifests differently: my body gets hot, my hands get icy cold, but my forehead remains at a normal temperature. Then it occurred to me: Both my Pixel Watch 3 and my Oura Ring 4 have a temperature sensor — let’s see what they’re saying. And this is where I was surprised.

When I first reviewed the OnePlus Watch 3, I gave it a solid four stars for its fantastic battery life, refined design (read: a functional rotating crown), and smooth Wear OS 5 performance. At the time, it felt like a strong step forward for OnePlus in the smartwatch space and a great option for anyone prioritizing battery life. However, I also noted that the watch was too big for my wrists. And after a few months of wearing it, that shortcoming has become more of a deal breaker than I anticipated.

You already know how much we typically like Google’s Pixel camera experience. Not a launch goes by where we don’t praise clever wrinkles like the rebuilt panorama feature or the excellent image processing in any lighting conditions. And yet, it’s not without the occasional quirk. We’ve knocked Google for taking an eternity to add manual camera controls, and we’ve dinged its natural color profile as occasionally being too natural. So, with pieces of both of those complaints in mind, I think it’s time for Google to add camera filters to its Pixel 10 series, and here’s why.

Please, Google, let me spice up my color profile

When it comes to fitness trackers, the best ones don’t just count your steps or monitor your sleep, they help you achieve your wellness goals. Or at least that’s what I tell myself whenever I pick up a new device to test. For me, the best fitness companion offers useful health data and keeps me motivated, but also fits into my real life. That balance can be hard to find. I’ve spent a few weeks with both Fitbit and Oura, and while each has its strengths, neither is quite right for me. If Fitbit were a coach, it’d be the kind that says, “I’m not angry, just disappointed.” Meanwhile, Oura is more like a well-meaning parent who insists, “The important thing is that you tried!”

Fitbit: The Tough Love Approach

More so than any other subscription service, I’ve never been more conflicted about one than YouTube Premium. YouTube ads are horrendous; between non-skippable ads, pre-roll ads, mid-roll ads, etc., the amount of advertising you have to sit through for a 10 or 15-minute video is ridiculous. Surely, paying for YouTube Premium to remove those ads would be a no-brainer, right?

I’ve subscribed to YouTube Premium for a couple of months here and there, but I haven’t been able to commit to it long term. When the core YouTube experience is available for free and I have no use for the included YouTube Music Premium service, paying $14/month to essentially use only half of the subscription’s functionality is something I’ve had a hard time justifying.

It’s that time of year once again. Along with blooming flowers and chirping birds to mark spring’s arrival, Motorola has also announced some new Razr phones. And this year, we have more new Razrs than ever before.

Alongside the new baseline Razr and Razr Plus for 2025, Motorola also introduced the Razr Ultra for the very first time. It has upgraded performance, cameras, battery capacity, and charge speeds to justify its “Ultra” branding — in addition to a whole lot of AI. While those things are fine and dandy, they’re not what has me the most excited about Motorola’s newest Razr.

Although I host virtually all of my media on my home NAS, I’m still a pretty big fan of Google Photos. With its powerful organization features and cutting-edge editing tools packed into my pocket, it’s a tough option to beat for both convenience and features.

Still, if you’re eager to remove Big G’s prying eye from your life or simply want to follow the 3-2-1 rule of good backups, there are a growing number of Google Photos alternatives on the market. Ente is a privacy-focused service that looks like an almost like-for-like replacement to Photos, so I gave it a shot.

It’s been nearly a year since Google launched its AirTag-competitor network, Find My Device. In the time since, we’ve seen more Bluetooth trackers released that work with this network, added support for people finding, and signs of more features to come, like ultra-wideband (UWB) for short-range direction and locating.

But nothing proves the network’s immaturity and lack of features more than the two best trackers you can buy today: the Chipolo POP and Moto Tag. Both are packed full of extras, but in order to get those, you have to use a third-party app.

Whether it’s for reviews, features, or just general curiosity, we spend plenty of time with smartphone cameras here at Android Authority. That doesn’t mean we’re all amazing photographers (certainly not me), but it does mean there’s a collective wealth of knowledge on the subject.

So with that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to ask the team about their favorite smartphone photography tips. Whether it’s an obscure pointer or a very basic but still welcome tip, here’s what they came up with.

If you’re still holding onto an old Nest thermostat, Google recently broke some bad news about its future. The 1st and 2nd gen versions of the Nest Learning Thermostat are officially being laid to rest, with Google ending software updates and killing Nest/Google Home app compatibility on October 25. You’ll still be able to use them as traditional thermostats, but almost all of the smart functionality is going away.

If you’re upset or frustrated by this news, I don’t blame you. The models in question may be old, but if you’ve got one and it’s still working well, hearing that it’ll be reduced to a “dumb” thermostat in just a few months isn’t the best feeling.

I spent at least two or three years begging Motorola to bring a telephoto sensor to its revamped Razr series. I felt like I spent long enough complaining about the zoom capabilities (or lack thereof) on flip phones that a dedicated sensor was the only way forward. Then, Motorola listened. It loaded the Razr Plus (2024) with a 2x optical sensor for Super Zoom up to 30x. For a second, I had everything I wanted. Then, I realized that the grass wasn’t greener.

Although the image quality from the telephoto sensor was fine, I wasn’t using it nearly enough to justify its presence over an ultrawide camera. After all, a capable primary sensor can handle zoom well enough for most use cases, and the Razr Plus already had that. So, now that the brand-new Razr Ultra is returning to the tried and true wide and ultrawide pairing, I know that it’s the right call — here’s why.

When renders of the Google Pixel Watch 4 leaked, I immediately clicked on the link to see what Google had done to improve on its already impressive Pixel Watch 3. Smaller bezels and a larger display looked good, because even though I appreciate the 1.4-inch display on my 45mm variant, I would never say no to more screen estate and more data at a glance, especially if that doesn’t entail moving to a gigantic watch like the OnePlus Watch 3.

What I didn’t expect to see, though, or not see to be more accurate, is the lack of charging pins on the back. Now, these are still leaks, not official renders, and I’d like to treat them with the benefit of the doubt, but Steve ‘OnLeaks’ Hemmerstoffer is rarely wrong. His track record isn’t spotless, but it’s quite reliable in general. That’s why I instantly thought, “Oh hell no, not again!” — at least not unless we’re looking at Qi2 on the Pixel Watch 4.

The new Pixel 9a might appear an unassuming mid-range phone at just $499, but it actually packs Google’s largest-ever battery into a 6.3-inch form factor. The 9a’s new 5,100mAh cell is a significant upgrade on last year’s 4,500mAh battery and even flies past the 4,700mAh cell packed into Google’s far more flagship Pixel 9 and 9 Pro handsets as well.

The Pixel 9a might not be fighting it out for the crown of the biggest battery in a smartphone ever, but this still represents a huge boost in capacity that surely has to be a boon for multi-day use. But what we really need to help us know for certain is some hard data. I’ve run the Pixel 9a through our suite of battery drain tests to see if this larger cell can live up to the hype.

A few months ago, I wrote about a few of the things that I wanted Google to steal from Safari and add to Chrome. It’s no big deal, I figured. We voice opinions all the time, and they don’t usually go very far beyond having strangers on the internet agree with us — it’s just kind of the way it goes. This time, though, I feel like someone out there was listening, because the latest update to Chrome looks like it’s adopting the very first suggestion on my list. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to move the address bar from the top of your display to the bottom, and I couldn’t be happier.

What’s so great about an address bar at the bottom of Chrome?

For a long time, Oura’s been more of a sleep and wellness tracker than an activity one. With the latest round of updates, though, it’s clear Oura isn’t resting on its rest-tracking laurels. The company is starting to deliver more usable fitness tracking tools, potentially taking real swings at the Fitbits and Apple Watches of the world. For me, the smart ring still has a ways to go, but it’s definitely moving in the right direction.

Oura’s latest activity updates

I’m a few days in with Oura’s latest activity tracking updates, which rolled out in mid-April. At a glance, the refinements are all about smarter, more meaningful activity tracking. The biggest change for me is now being able to edit or add workouts from the past week. Thanks to the smart ring’s set-and-forget nature, I don’t always remember to add my workouts, and the mess of missing data used to be a pain. Now, Oura lets you fill in the gaps from the past seven days and retroactively updates your Readiness and Activity scores.

Motorola just hosted a major launch event introducing three new Razr models, including the Razr Ultra, which might just be the best flip phone of the year. In my mind, the stage was perfectly set for the company to drop an equally powerful wearable. A bold return to the market with a proper Wear OS smartwatch could’ve reignited the Moto 360 lineup and pushed the entire category forward. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be.

In fairness, the newly announced Moto Watch Fit seems like a functional enough fitness tracker. With a square-shaped, 1.9-inch OLED display, it looks a lot like an Apple Watch, and that’s fine by me. I have no affinity for the company’s circular past, and square displays fit more data on screen anyway. The device also features a titanium build, Gorilla Glass protection, an IP68 rating and 5ATM water resistance, and 1000 nits peak brightness. So it should be hardy enough to survive most workouts.

The tenth anniversary of the Apple Watch is upon us, and with it, the tenth anniversary of the company’s famous fitness tracking rings. In those ten years, my activity levels have run the full spectrum, from training as a serious athlete to bed rest after multiple surgeries. Through it all, Apple’s colorful rings have been a constant companion. My feelings about them have been mixed, but overall, it’s hard not to feel nostalgic after a decade-long relationship.

Ringing in a decade of influence

To recap: Apple’s activity rings are three colorful circles that turn your daily movement into a low-stakes game of self-worth. The pink Move ring tracks active calories burned, the green Exercise ring counts minutes of effort (think brisk walking or more), and the blue Stand ring just wants you to get off your butt once an hour. When users hit their daily goals, the rings close with a celebratory sparkle. Like many Apple Watch users, I’ve been closing rings for years, building and breaking streaks like my abs depended on it.

There are few launches I look forward to every year more than Motorola’s Razr series. Sure, it had its stumbles in the first few years, falling behind the Galaxy Z Flip early on and eventually skipping a year or two in the US, but it’s come back impressively strongly in the years since. Now, it’s back again and bigger — quite literally — than ever. I spent some time with all three (yes, three) of this year’s Motorola Razr models just before the official launch event, and I think they’re in a position to be the best flip phones of the year. Here’s what has me so excited.

Ultra really does mean ultra this time

Specs for a new Samsung Galaxy S phone recently leaked — and no, they’re not for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. They’re for a phone that’ll be here much sooner: the Galaxy S25 FE. Like the Galaxy S24 FE before it, we expect the S25 FE to deliver specs and features similar to the main Galaxy S lineup, but at a much more reasonable price.

This is the first major Galaxy S25 FE leak we’ve seen, and at first glance, it seems like bad news. Code viewed by Android Authority suggests that the S25 FE will use Samsung’s Exynos 2400e chip, which, for context, is the same one found in the S24 FE last year. In other words, likely no performance or power efficiency upgrades for this next generation of the FE.

In March, Google rolled out the newest Pixel Drop. Among a slew of new phone features dropping for the Pixel 6 series through to the Pixel 9 series, Google launched a new tool called Connected Cameras. This feature allows you to use an extra camera during livestreams by wirelessly connecting two devices together. Think of it like a mini TV studio where you can easily bounce from Camera 1 to Camera 2 without interrupting your stream.

I gave Connected Cameras a shot using a Pixel 9 Pro and a Pixel 9 as Camera 1 and Camera 2, respectively. Overall, the feature worked well and is a terrific idea, but getting everything set up was not a smooth experience, and there are too many limitations for it to see wide adoption amongst creators right now.

Google’s Gemini is a fantastic AI assistant, but diving in can sometimes feel confusing. One of the main reasons is that the chatbot currently offers four different models/options within the app, making it tricky to know which one is best for your needs.

I’ll try to simplify all four in this post, giving you a clear idea of what each of them is designed for and which tasks suit it best.

Google Fi announced some new and updated plans this week, and I have to admit — they look fantastic. The new Unlimited Essentials plan gives you unlimited talk, text, and data (the first 30GB being high-speed data) for just $35/month. Meanwhile, the other two unlimited plans saw significant high-speed data and hotspot allowance increases without a price hike. In today’s carrier world, that’s pretty rare.

After seeing the news, I went to the Google Fi website and started pricing things out. I’ve been subscribed to T-Mobile for several years now, and while I don’t have any major complaints, the tweaks to Google Fi are compelling enough that I was debating a switch.

Of all the Google products I use daily, Android Auto is perhaps my favorite. Whenever I hop into my car, it reliably boots up with all my apps and audio ready to go, alongside my Google Maps screen detailing nearby traffic. It works flawlessly as a driving assistant, but it’s more of a challenge to use as a passenger.

Android Auto isn’t passenger-friendly

Google Photos used to offer unlimited storage for free, a feature many of us relied on. That all changed back in June 2021. Like many others, I quickly received the inevitable “storage full” message after the change and decided to pay up. I’ve been paying for a Google One plan ever since, and honestly, I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon, even though free alternatives exist.

Convenience is king

I’ll admit, I kind of resented Google when it ditched the unlimited free storage for Photos. It certainly felt like a classic bait-and-switch: get everyone hooked on a great free service, build a massive user base dependent on it, and then start charging once we were all accustomed to it.

There’s no shortage of free image editing apps to choose from on Android. Many boast AI features and tools like background removal, while OEMs have significantly improved their own native image editors with more advanced features.

But at the end of the day, there’s one app I always recommend for editing mobile photos: Snapseed. While it doesn’t get many updates (the last one was in May 2024) and lacks the generative AI features of many of its competitors, Snapseed is still the best mobile image editor out there in my opinion.

I was eight years old when Jawed uploaded the first video, “Me at the zoo,” to YouTube. I don’t remember it. In fact, I don’t think I even saw the video that started it all until later, when people began celebrating YouTube’s origins. That also means I don’t remember a time without YouTube. It’s just kind of always been there as a way to watch music videos, stumble down rabbit holes, and, of course, “broadcast yourself.”

But now, after 20 years, it feels like YouTube has changed. It’s grown from a wide-open video-sharing platform full of some of the funniest skits and sketches I’d ever seen to an ad-laden content empire full of influencers, carefully choreographed brand activations, and, yes, videos of cats doing cute things. And, while I haven’t loved every change that YouTube has made, I don’t think the internet would be the same without it.

For many years, Nova Launcher was my go-to Android launcher. However, after a brief period using the standard Pixel Launcher, I found myself craving something new, fresh, and simple. That’s when I decided to try Niagara Launcher, and it turned out to be exactly what I needed.

Having used both launchers extensively, I have a good understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. While I’m very happy with my current choice and don’t see myself switching away from Niagara anytime soon, I recognize it’s not the perfect fit for everyone. Depending on your personal preferences, Nova might still be the better option for you.

When Google first announced what was then called Project Fi on April 22, 2015, I was more than a little intrigued. As a tech journalist, it was easy for me to see the appeal of a carrier with flexible data that worked seamlessly in the US and abroad. I signed up immediately.

At the time, it was hard to imagine a better option. Not only did I love the international coverage, but the service itself felt more like a postpaid provider. I used the service for more than six years straight, but fast forward to 2025, and I haven’t been a regular Google Fi user since about 2021. I still reactivate it occasionally for testing, and I’d likely use it again if I started traveling more frequently.

Since I got my Nexus 6 in 2015, I’ve loved big phones, always choosing the larger version of whatever I buy. After moving back to Samsung in 2019, I’ve owned the Galaxy S10 Plus and every Ultra phone in the S series until the S24 Ultra. I had planned to do the same with the Galaxy S25 series but decided that not enough had changed to warrant the upgrade. I also wanted to try something small and comfortable. So when I got to spend some time with the smallest Galaxy S25, I jumped at the opportunity. Can this pocket-sized phone win me over from the “phablets” I’ve used for over a decade?

Endurance is hit or miss

Opinion post by

Dhruv Bhutani

If you’d told ten-year-old me that I’d be able to play the latest console games like Resident Evil on a device that fit in my pocket, I’d have refused to believe you. But it’s 2025, and that possibility is now reality. Except, for the longest time, that would require a top-tier flagship Android smartphone to get a rock-solid framerate or support for the latest titles. So imagine my surprise when for the last month, instead of my Pixel 9 Pro or OnePlus 13, I’ve been reaching out to Apple’s budget-minded iPhone 16e as my portable console of choice.

After a few weeks of using it as my main mobile gaming device, I honestly think this is the best value-for-money gaming phone that most people should buy. It’s high-end gaming — just without the high-end price tag. Here’s why.

When I canceled my Netflix subscription after the last round of price increases, I thought I was out for good. I had paid for my own plan after getting kicked off of my mom’s plan when geo-restrictions became more rigid (we live in different countries), but there was no way I could justify more than $15 a month for a single streaming service.

Then I noticed that everything I want out of Netflix is available on the cheapest ad-supported plan: HD streaming, two simultaneous streams, the incredible catalog of Netflix mobile games, and, most importantly, a healthy dose of My Little Pony episodes my five-year-old daughter has been nagging me to watch. It was an easy decision at less than half the Standard plan’s price.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is shaping up to be another smash hit for the Japanese company, at least until pricing is considered. The $450 price tag on the console itself isn’t too far off from what most people expected, but the jump to $80 for games like Mario Kart World makes it a tough pill to swallow in today’s economy (and that’s before tariffs).

But the good news is there are Switch 2 alternatives! And I’m not talking about the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, or even the PlayStation Portal. I’m talking about Android gaming devices, which have absolutely exploded in popularity over the past few years.

I’ve previously explained why I resist getting smart home hardware, but I did clarify that I think security is the exception. Keeping your home protected is one area where the smart home revolution has been a game-changer, and it turns out that my dad worked that out before me.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree because my dad didn’t have any smart home gadgets either — until recently. While it was a scary incident that compelled him to upgrade, it’s safe to say that he’s officially a convert.

Last year’s Pixel 8a packed a modest 4,500mAh battery and sluggish 18W charging speed that wowed no one. So, one of the most welcome upgrades to Google’s new Pixel 9a is a much larger 5,100mAh power cell and faster 23W charging capabilities — a power level that now matches the flagship Pixel 9 model.

Has Google finally nailed battery life and charging on the Pixel 9a? Well, we’ve certainly been impressed by the former, but I took our handset to our lab to see if Google’s historically finicky charging finally comes good.

Samsung has offered DeX mode since 2017, providing a PC-like interface when connected to an external display. Several other Android phone brands have since embraced this feature, but I’d argue that DeX is still the best.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra continues to offer DeX along with an extremely powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor. This level of performance should be fantastic for games, but what happens when I combine the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s DeX mode with demanding emulators — to make the most of a big screen and Dex’s PC-like interface? Let’s find out.

Shortcuts are everywhere on Android, and I use them daily to speed up my workflow. Long-time Android smartphone owners may be familiar with shortcuts that appear when icons are long-pressed or the various swiping gestures available that trigger a variety of other actions. But Android also hides a bevy of other shortcuts in a context menu when selecting text.

What are these hidden Android shortcuts?

Before you run off selecting everything on your device, let me first define what I’m specifically referring to.

I’ve been a Strava user for as long as I can remember — or at least since I started taking fitness seriously again at the tail end of college. Shortly after, I upgraded to Strava Premium, hoping it would give me a better training plan than I was getting from Nike Run Club. Since then, I’ve watched Strava evolve, picking up new mapping features and adding social elements like messaging, and I’m impressed by what it’s become.

However, I also find myself using fewer and fewer of the platform’s latest features, either because I’m not traveling to as many new places or because I don’t need Strava DMs to keep in touch with my friends. So, I let my membership lapse and decided to try Garmin’s new Connect Plus service. Here’s how it’s going so far.

If there’s one thing I must have in my smartphone camera, it is a robust long-distance zoom that brings me closer to the action. Today’s best Android phones offer a wide range of zoom options, with different zoom levels, lens apertures, and sensor sizes contributing to some rather different capabilities. Just because it has a 5x periscope camera doesn’t mean they’re all the same.

To test what this means for actual photos, I’ve grabbed the Pixel 9 Pro, Galaxy S25 Ultra, OPPO Find X8 Pro, and Xiaomi 15 Ultra to showcase the differences these sensor specs can make. The latter has a huge number of megapixels to work with, while the Find X8 Pro has the longest optical zoom. Flagships from Google and Samsung sit somewhere in between.

Over the past five years, it’s been really easy to figure out what phone will be remembered as the best Android phone of the year by both us who work here at Android Authority and our readers. Our favorites often seem to teeter between whatever the best non-foldable phones are from Samsung and Google. Sometimes, Google wins our hearts (and our internal voting; the Google Pixel 9 Pro was voted best of 2024 by Android Authority), and sometimes, Samsung snatches everyone away (the Galaxy S24 Ultra was voted best of 2024 by our readers), while other phones rarely manage to stick long enough in our collective memory to be deemed as “best of” anything by the end of the year.

However, I sincerely hope this changes in 2025. I think the OnePlus 13 is already the best phone of 2025 and will likely continue to hold that crown throughout the rest of the year.

I have nothing but respect for the de-Google movement and everyone involved in it. With Mountain View’s influence over our household technology ever strengthening, it’s quite understandable that some people want to rid themselves of Google products, services, and apps as much as possible. I’ve always wondered just how easy that actually is, though.

It’s no exaggeration that every screen in my house is a potential portal to a Google service. I own a Nest Mini, several Android phones and tablets, and a smart TV. Even my car can access Android Auto in some capacity. Google is omnipresent, but I wanted to know if this is out of necessity or convenience.

I’ve been a Notion user for years. I genuinely love it, although it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows from the very beginning. The learning curve is undeniably steep, and the time investment required to tailor Notion to my workflow was substantial.

However, that initial effort is arguably part of the beauty and effectiveness of Notion’s approach. After pouring so much time and energy into building my system, the mere thought of switching to a competing platform fills me with dread. And I suspect I’m not the only one who feels this way.

Google has a tradition of hiding a little surprise inside each Android OS generation. It can be a quirky mini-game, an odd animation, or just something delightfully weird. These Android Easter eggs aren’t announced or advertised, but if you know where to tap, you’re rewarded with a glimpse into the Google dev team’s more playful side. We decided to go back through the vault and rank them all from worst to best.

We’re just rating the eggs here — it isn’t a guide on how to discover or use them. You can find the full list with all of those instructions in our comprehensive guide to the Android Easter eggs. However, they all start by going to Settings > About phone > Software information and then tapping on the Android version repeatedly.

Compared to today, the mid-2010s seem like such an innocent and naive time on the internet. People were making Vines and hotly debating the color of a dress, but there was also some mischief on the rise. Somewhere between the peak of 4chan trolling culture and the growing cult of Apple, a bizarre trend emerged: fake iPhone features that convinced people to destroy their own phones.

As odd as it sounds, these hoaxes weren’t as obvious scams as they might seem today. They were sleek, well-designed mockups that looked just like official Apple ads, claiming each new iOS update secretly unlocked incredible hardware abilities. One claimed to make your phone waterproof. Another encouraged you to drill into your shiny new iPhone 7 to access a secret headphone jack.

Between the Google Pixel 9a, Apple iPhone 16e, and Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, we’re spoiled for flagship-tier features without the price tags. Still, with prices ranging from $499 to $659 and a lot of differences under the hood, there’s plenty to weigh up when deciding between these three for your next purchase.

Having previously examined the performance of these three plucky mid-rangers (TL;DR: the iPhone 16e and Galaxy S24 FE come out on top), it’s time to see which one is the best for all-day battery life — and hopefully a bit more. I’m feeling pretty good about the Pixel 9a’s chances here; its new 5,100mAh battery is the biggest of the bunch, but let’s find out if reality matches the specs.

Samsung has done something incredible with One UI 7. Easily Samsung’s biggest Android update in years, One UI 7 has ample new features and a much-needed fresh coat of paint across the board — making it the most enjoyable piece of Samsung software I’ve used in a long, long time.

Simultaneously, Samsung has botched the release of One UI 7 to a degree I didn’t think was possible. It took a mysteriously delayed beta program, followed by months of additional delays and poor communication, before Samsung finally started rolling out One UI 7 to the public on April 10 — six months after Android 15 came to Pixel phones. And just a few days later, Samsung paused the rollout out of the blue.

With a commendable balance of fitness features and everyday smarts, Fitbit’s smartwatches used to be regular fixtures on our best lists. Ever since Google took the reins, I’ve witnessed a slow unraveling. It didn’t take long for once-promising wearables to start feeling deliberately held back, and the reasoning is obvious. The Pixel Watch is the brand’s sole smartwatch focus. The recent removal of Google Assistant from Fitbit’s alternative lineups is just the latest sign.

From the writing on the wall to the latest demotion

When I started using Duolingo to learn and practice foreign languages in February 2023, I never envisioned myself using the app daily. But recently, I hit my 550-day streak, meaning that I’ve used the app daily for 1.5 years.

While I’m slightly impressed by the fact that I maintained my streak for so long, I have also been considering whether it’s time to give it up for a variety of reasons, including the fact that I no longer feel like it’s teaching me what I need to know. While I always considered Duolingo one of the best Android apps for language learning, my experience is making me doubt this.

I’m in the process of moving into my brand-new apartment, and honestly, the whole experience has been stressful, to say the least. Between trying to decipher all the legal paperwork tied to my real estate purchase and figuring out how to decorate the space so it doesn’t feel cramped or tacky, there have been a lot of challenges to overcome.

Thankfully, I wasn’t alone in this. I had the help of my good friend, AI. I found myself leaning heavily on Gemini for the vast majority of issues I ran into, although I did switch over to NotebookLM for one specific, very important task.

Of all the Android phone brands on the market today, there’s one company I’ve long had a soft spot in my heart for: Motorola. While far from perfect, Motorola’s history in the Android world has tremendous highs. From the first Moto G revolutionizing budget phones to the resurrected Razr line bringing flip-phone foldables to the masses, Motorola’s impact on Android is undeniable.

That impact is also seen in Motorola’s flagship portfolio. The Moto X series remains one of the most iconic projects, not just for Motorola but also for Android as a whole. Particularly, the first two generations of the Moto X struck an incredible balance of capable specs, unique software features, and unmatched customization. (Moto Maker, I still miss you.)

With a diverse range of powerful watches, Garmin earns a top spot in the wearables market. As a fitness enthusiast, I absolutely love Garmin’s entire lineup, from the Fenix 8 to the Vivoactive 6. The company’s lifestyle smartwatch, the Venu 3, offers fantastic heart rate and GPS accuracy, and a wealth of performance metrics. But despite its impressive features, I can’t bring myself to wear one every day. If you’re all about health and fitness, Garmin’s perfect. But if you need a smartwatch that handles everything, well, Garmin ain’t it.

The power of Garmin’s devices

I love to obsess over new iPhone releases as much as I do for new Android flagships, but not everyone cares about smartphones as much. If your life doesn’t revolve around tech, you’ll find that phones have become increasingly complex and overkill. Huge sizes to accommodate big displays, multiple cameras shrouded in megapixels and marketing, AI this and AI that, and a price tag that breaks the bank — it can be rather overwhelming to pick your next smartphone if you see them merely as a tool to use and not a cult to follow.

A large part of the world just wants a phone for simpler use cases like basic apps, media and social media consumption, and the occasional calls and texts. My parents are part of this demography, and to them, spending over $1,000 on a fragile phone every couple of years is a rightfully preposterous idea.

Every feature addition that Google makes to Android and its other products always seems to funnel me back to the company’s original purpose: search. As its name suggests, Circle to Search is one very obvious example. Long-pressing the home button to pull up a search dialog that trawls the internet for content you’ve highlighted on your screen is as convenient as it is useful, but not perhaps in the way Google intended. Marketing material pitches Circle to Search as a tool for finding products to purchase in shows and other visual media. However, I’ve found a far more natural use for it (pun intended).

I’m an avid nature lover, and thrive on learning about new species I encounter on my travels. I have specific identification apps on my phone for identifying birds and plants based on images. However, they’re often slow to trigger and cumbersome, demanding too many seconds to activate or a still snapshot before my subject inevitably flies away. These tools are undoubtedly useful for shots that are already stored on my device, but they largely fail to suffice in the moment.

If you’re a Samsung fan and have been looking forward to the company’s long-awaited One UI 7 update, you’ve probably heard the bad news by now. On Monday, Samsung unexpectedly halted its One UI 7 rollout — just days after it finally started being released to the general public.

On its own, this would be annoying enough. One UI 7 is one of Samsung’s most significant updates in years, offering a truckload of new features and visual refreshes. To have Samsung release an update this big just to delay it less than a week later isn’t a good look.

It’s almost May, and in the Android world, that can mean only one thing: it’s almost Google I/O time. Google’s annual developer conference is always home to an onslaught of news and announcements, and I/O 2025 won’t be any different. In addition to expected talks about Gemini, Android 16, and Google apps like Gmail and Maps, we should also hear about Wear OS 6.

Although we don’t anticipate Google to launch its next Wear OS update at I/O (it’ll likely be released later this summer or fall), it is very likely Google will give us our first glimpse at Wear OS 6 next month. And, hopefully, it’ll be a big deal. Last year’s Wear OS 5 update was fine, but beyond a new app drawer layout and under-the-hood changes to health tracking and watch faces, there wasn’t much else to sink our watch bands into.

There’s very little more that I desire from the modern smartwatch. Sure, I wouldn’t say no to additional sensors to track even more health factors. I could also take slicker software and smoother animations. I’d even smile at brighter, higher-resolution screens. But beyond all those incremental improvements, I still yearn for a sizeable leap in battery life. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem too far off.

We’ve already seen one of the most significant smartwatch launches of 2025: the OnePlus Watch 3. Beyond its bulky design and hit-and-miss heart rate accuracy, it’s hiding a technology I’m truly excited to see on smartwatches: silicon carbon batteries.

I’ve spent a lot of time with Motorola phones in my pocket over the last few years. From the rock-bottom budget Moto G Play and Moto G 5G to the top-end Razr that I pick up again and again, I’ve tried them all. Along the way, I’ve taken my Motorola devices to neat places and captured scenes I’ll probably never forget. I’ve used a Razr Plus to take a photo of the original Razr queen, Paris Hilton, and I’ve used a Moto G Power to document Bark in the Park at Camden Yards during the dog days of summer, and I wouldn’t have wanted a different phone in either scenario.

Well, maybe I would have — but only if I were swapping a smartphone for my trusty Fujifilm X100V, which doesn’t seem like a fair trade. Either way, I hope you’ll indulge me for a moment and look at what I’ve achieved with Motorola devices at several different price points. And, if you really want to be floored by a mobile photographer, check out my colleague Rita’s gallery of Pixel photos from 2024 — just don’t ask me for her secrets.

Since its launch in 2023, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 () has become a sensation in the world of content creation. As a creator, I see dozens of them at every tech event. Since I started using one myself, I’ve convinced the wider Android Authority team to adopt it. We now usually have three or four of them with us when we travel to major events like CES, MWC, and Google I/O.

Recently, though, DJI launched another stellar product that everyone seems to love, too: the DJI Osmo Mobile 7P (). It’s similar to the Pocket 3 in that it is a travel-friendly accessory that helps you capture content quickly and easily. However, since it requires one of the best camera phones to function well, it differs significantly from the Osmo Pocket 3.

I love my Shokz OpenRun Pro. They’ve come in clutch for everything from early morning runs on busy roads to long train rides when I want to catch up on a podcast but still be able to talk to friends traveling with me. I have no hesitations about recommending a pair to someone looking to try bone-conduction headphones. And yet, my favorite thing about them is also their greatest weakness — they don’t block any outside noise.

So, when the gas company came down my street, ripping up a strip of pavement in the name of maintenance, I thought I would lose my mind. I couldn’t escape the sound of jackhammering or the feeling of my entire apartment shaking, at least not with my favorite ‘buds in my ears. In a moment of desperation, I dusted off a pair of CMF Buds Pro 2 that I hadn’t used in a few months, and now I wish I’d been using them all along. Here’s why.

You might be surprised to know this, but I hold on to my personal Android phones for as long as I can. I’ve had my Pixel 7 Pro since late 2022. Prior to that, I had the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro since late 2018. Both devices were great camera phones, which was good news as photography is one of my top priorities.

However, I’ve grown to realize that there’s one major feature I can’t do without on all my future smartphones, and that’s a zoom camera. In fact, every time I have to review a phone without a zoom camera, I can’t wait to switch back to my personal Pixel or the vivo X200 Pro I’m currently using as my secondary device.

This year, I had the pleasure of meeting my Android Authority colleagues for the first time at MWC. After a long day at the convention center, Hadlee and I did what any self-respecting nerds do: we hit up some local retro game stores.

Granted, with two kids and a mortgage, I was just window shopping. But while Hadlee was off spending his adult money on the best games of yesteryear at World Viceous, I decided to chat with the owner about his thoughts on emulation. There weren’t any Retroid or Anbernic handhelds tucked between obscure Japanese Famicom games and binders of used Nintendo DS cartridges, but I wanted to get his take on the rise of these modern emulation handhelds.

When the first renders of the Pixel 9a leaked, I had a very negative gut reaction to the phone’s design. It looked cheap, it lacked personality, and I thought Google had ruined one of its Pixel line’s most iconic design features — the camera bump. Going for a nondescript flat camera module seemed to reduce the Pixel 9a to a generic-looking budget Android phone, not a unique one filled with Google’s personality and its camera and AI wizardry.

I wasn’t too excited about testing the phone, but when it dropped at my doorstep and I unboxed that eco-friendly cardboard, I was a little stunned. Maybe it’s the flashy — really flashy — “Peony” fuchsia-pink color, maybe it’s the aluminum frame with flat edges, but the Pixel 9a looks anything but cheap. And now that I know why exactly Google went for this design, I am much more inclined to look at it positively.