Phones

One of Google’s new Android updates is the beta for Call Reason, which allows callers to flag that it’s urgent. Sounds smart, but if you’re below the age of 40, “urgent” might be the only type of call you ever make.

Wondering how to use the extra screen space in Samsung’s new Galaxy Z TriFold? Don’t worry, we’ve got it figured out.

In Honor’s defense, the China-only 500 and 500 Pro aren’t especially thin phones, so they’re not cribbing on the iPhone Air in that sense. But that camera module has certainly been copying some of Apple’s homework.

When Honor first revealed its outlandishly named Robot Phone — really a smartphone with a flip-out DJI Osmo Pocket-esque camera arm built into the back — it was only in a slick CGI video. Now it’s shown off prototype hardware at its Honor User Carnival in China, suggesting this concept is one step closer to reality.

Years of irate comments have hammered home that not all our readers want us to cover politics. And hey, I’m just a humble phone reviewer, so I should stick to what I know. Now, let’s see if there are any new players in the phone industry this year...

Just... not the actual phones. Instead, it’s 2023’s repairable Fairbuds XL headphones that will go on sale on Amazon this month. As for the excellent Fairphone 6, CEO Raymond van Eck tells me launching that is a “complicated process,” but one he hopes will be sorted “in the near future.”

That’s when the company’s new flagship gets its global launch. We already know what to expect thanks to this week’s China launch event, including a huge 7,300mAh battery and fast 165Hz display, we just don’t know how much it’ll cost in the US and Europe.

Android Headlines and leaker OnLeaks have shared CAD renders of next year’s affordable Pixel handset based on leaked info, and you’d be hard-pressed to spot the difference between it and this year’s 9A. Hopefully Google has some upgrades planned under the surface if the design really is going to change so little.

The oh-so-hip phone manufacturer will launch what it’s calling its “first entry-level smartphone” this Wednesday, the Phone 3A Lite. The teaser confirms the return of some form of Glyph lighting, but we don’t know much more than that. Expect it to cost less than the $379 / £329 Phone 3A, though I suspect a US launch is unlikely.

The issue is caused by a font in the latest update to the app (version 10.x) that’s only available through Google Play Services. As a result, it’s crashing or simply failing to launch on phones running GrapheneOS and other “de-Googled” versions of Android, reports Android Authority.

Frustrated that Xiaomi’s new flagships, with second screens on the back, aren’t launching in the US? Nuu Mobile says its B40 is the first US phone with a second screen, though at $299.99 this is no flagship. Its Dimensity 7050 chip is basic, and the 64-megapixel main camera is joined only by a macro.

Bloomberg reports Samsung is finally ready to show off its first trifold phone — well, nearly. It will apparently appear at the APEC summit at the end of the month to demonstrate South Korea’s technological prowess in front of a few world leaders. But will we see it first at next week’s XR headset event?

The GT 8 Pro launches in China next week, but we already know about its most unique new feature: interchangeable camera mounts, replaceable with just a couple of Torx screws. Realme shows off a lot of options in the teaser video, the question will be how many actually ever launch.