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Samsung raised prices on the Galaxy S26 by $100

The Galaxy S26 lineup is jumping on this year’s biggest smartphone trend: $100 price hikes.

Stevie Bonifield
Huawei made a whole camera to attach to its latest phone

This 24–240mm zoom lens has its own sensor too.

Dominic Preston

Latest In Mobile

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Android’s developer verification rules just took effect for the first time.

To distribute an Android app in Brazil, Thailand, Singapore, or Indonesia — even outside Google’s Play Store — developers must now go through Google’s verification. It’ll roll out everywhere else from next year. Unverified apps can still be sideloaded, but the new process includes a 24-hour waiting period before apps can be installed.

Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Huawei says RAMageddon has increased its smartphone costs by $200.

Its consumer business chief Richard Yu said the higher costs are hurting Huawei’s profitability “very badly,” and Huawei will “have to raise prices going forward, though it will be moderate,” Bloomberg reports.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon launch joint venture aimed at eliminating dead zones.

First announced in May, the joint venture aims to expand network connectivity by pooling spectrum resources and bringing satellite coverage to more parts of the US. Paul Roth, who previously held leadership positions at AT&T, Cingular Wireless, and Ameritech, will serve as interim CEO while the companies search for a permanent leader.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Pixel HiLight should get better, with new colors on the way.

The Pixel 11 Pro light is so far underwhelming, only working for calls from favorite contacts or Gemini interactions. Google always said message support is on the way, but a report from Android Authority suggests new colors are coming too, expanding on the five available now. That’s still behind what other devs have done with it.

Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Konami’s celebrating Castlevania’s 40th anniversary with a free mobile port.

The original 1986 NES Castlevania is available for free on iOS and Android until October 24th, arriving ahead of the newest title in the series, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, launching on October 15th.

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A screenshot of Castlevania: 40th Anniversary on Android
Image: Konami
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
The Motorola Signature 27 will run GrapheneOS.

When Motorola announced its funky-looking new flagship the other day, a bunch of you wanted to know if it falls under the partnership with Graphene. The devs previously said they were waiting for security features in Qualcomm’s new chips. GrapheneOS will also roll out to Motorola foldables, but the Signature 27 comes first.

Allison Johnson
Allison Johnson
Another Clicks Communicator update.

Clicks is offering another updated look at the much-awaited Communicator and a couple of pleasant surprises for those who have already pre-ordered the device: more RAM, a slightly bigger battery, and Android 17 included as standard.

It’s expected to ship in December to customers, and this video gives a look at some of the software features Clicks has been working on.

Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Cricket Wireless offers home internet now, too.

Similar to home internet offerings from Mint Mobile and Straight Talk, customers can bundle Cricket’s 5G home internet with a phone plan starting at $75/month for new customers or as a $45/month add-on for existing customers. Both prices factor in an autopay discount.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Google’s motion sickness dots are no longer a Pixel exclusive.

Motion Assist is similar to Apple’s Motion Cues, displaying moving dots that track a vehicle’s movement and help reduce motion sickness in the process. It rolled out for Pixel phones last month, but Google’s Mishaal Rahman says it’s now generally available in Android 17.

To use motion assist, you’ll need an Android device running Android 17 or higher with Google Play Services updated. To set it up, open Settings, tap your profile > All services, then tap “Motion assist” under “Personal & device safety.”

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
MediaTek’s Dimensity 9600 Pro is its first 2nm phone chip.

It packs Arm’s new G2-Ultra NX GPU, supports 4K at 240fps slow-motion video, and has two NPUs for more (and more efficient) AI processing. Its joined by a 9600M chip for cheaper models. Oppo has already said its Find X10 Pro Max will use the 9600 Pro, as will Vivo’s X500 Pro.

Update: Added Oppo and Vivo hardware confirmations.

1/2Image: MediaTek
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Using iPhone Handoff will cost $5 per month on T-Mobile.

The new iPhone Handoff feature lets you use a secondary iPhone simultaneously with your T-Mobile number but comes with an extra monthly fee, according to a T-Mobile press release. The feature will work with any iPhone on iOS 27.

Allison Johnson
Allison Johnson
This Qi2 ring charger has a built-in fan.

Charging your phone wirelessly can get mighty toasty. ESR’s new CryoBoost 25W charging pad has a clever solution: a fan built right into the charging puck. The company claims the design allows it to charge an iPhone 17 Pro halfway up to 28 percent faster than the official Apple MagSafe 25W charger. Maybe I’m no fun, but once you’re plugging a cable in to run a fan while you charge your phone why not… just use wired charging?

Update: We’ve seen chargers with fans (and some with fanless cooling too) before; let us know if you’re using one with this type of design and if they live up to the sales pitch.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Motorola has its own wide foldable on the way.

The Razr maker didn’t want to feel left out by Apple’s iPhone Duo, the latest in a wave of passport-shaped foldables. This clip of its flip phones and foldables, including this year’s Razr Fold, ends with a shorter, wider phone, shown briefly and only in silhouette. Motorola calls it “our next move.”

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Here’s Apple’s iPhone Duo design guidance for app developers.

It’s an interesting video that gives you a better idea of how apps might look on the device. I really like all the different ways apps can appear based on the “pose” of the Duo, and I hope a lot of developers do the right things to make that all work. Apps that aren’t updated for iOS 27 SDK might look a little wonky, though.

Hands-on with the foldable iPhone DuoHands-on with the foldable iPhone Duo
Allison Johnson and Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Honor’s Magic 9 series gets an apple-green camera plateau.

The company has never been shy about its Apple-inspired designs, though this one feels a little more Honor’s own with the large circular camera incorporated too. The Magic 9 phones launch in China on September 28th, and feature cameras designed with Arri, support for two different teleconverter lenses, and this soft green color, which I do rather like.

1/5Image: Honor
Apple says ‘Fold’ and competitors ask ‘How wide?’

The launch of its first foldable iPhone proves Apple still calls the shots.

Dominic Preston