Tag: Source: Androidcentral.com

Google has rolled out a new feature in Android 16 that incorporates Parental Controls straight into the Settings app on Google Pixel phones and tablets. This enhancement, part of the December 2025 Pixel Drop, enables parents to oversee their child’s device without requiring the standalone Family Link app. The revamped Parental Controls section in the Settings app simplifies the configuration process and offers choices for app limits, screen time constraints, and content filtering. This feature improves the parental control experience on Pixel devices, delivering a more efficient method for managing children’s device usage.

The Moto G Power 2026 and Samsung Galaxy A26 are each available for $299, offering a decision between functionality and software enhancements. The Moto G Power 2026 boasts a robust design with an IP69 certification, MIL-STD-810H approval, and a more substantial battery. It comes with a 6.8-inch screen, stereo audio output, and a 32MP front-facing camera, yet it only includes two operating system updates. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy A26, showcasing a more upscale aesthetic, features a Super AMOLED display, Gorilla Glass Victus+, and guarantees six operating system updates. It does not include stereo speakers and has a lesser battery capacity but delivers superior software assistance and artificial intelligence capabilities. Ultimately, the decision hinges on whether you value toughness and features or extended software updates.

If you’ve been thinking about switching to Verizon, now is an ideal moment to take the leap. Verizon is currently running a limited-time offer where new customers can get a complimentary $200 gift card when they buy a new phone and add a line at Verizon.com. However, this promotion is set to end tomorrow, January 14th, so swift action is required.

This deal is especially attractive because it can be stacked, meaning you can combine it with other Verizon promotions to enhance your savings. For example, you can acquire a free Google Pixel 10 Pro with qualifying trade-ins or benefit from an offer that provides four Galaxy S25 phones with four lines for only $25 per month.

Verizon’s myPlan options, including the Unlimited Welcome plan and the Unlimited Ultimate tier, qualify for this promotion. These plans deliver unlimited talk, text, and data on Verizon’s expansive 5G network, as well as extra perks like premium mobile hotspot data, international coverage, and entertainment benefits.

The $200 gift card can be utilized on Verizon’s website for a range of products, such as devices, cases, and accessories, or even to reduce your phone bill. It’s an excellent opportunity for anyone already contemplating a switch to Verizon, as the gift card amounts to essentially free money.

While many of Verizon’s specials may persist beyond the January 14th date, the opportunity to combine these offers with a free $200 gift card is a time-sensitive chance. If you’re intending to change wireless providers, move quickly to take advantage of this promotion.

Horizon Worlds Developers Confront Job Reductions Amid Meta’s Strategic Transition

Meta’s Reality Labs segment, which is tasked with the creation of virtual reality (VR) innovations and platforms, is experiencing major transformations as the company realigns its strategic priorities. Reports suggest that Meta intends to eliminate roughly 10% of its Reality Labs personnel, equating to about 1,500 positions. These layoffs mainly focus on the metaverse sector, impacting staff involved in developing VR headsets and the VR-centric social platform, Horizon Worlds.

This move follows an earlier budget cut in December 2025, which redirected resources towards artificial intelligence (AI) and smart eyewear, instead of VR. Even though Meta Quest headsets saw robust sales during the holiday period, Horizon Worlds has faced difficulties in competing with rivals such as Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft.

Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, has scheduled an important meeting for January 14, 2026, to discuss these developments. The company is said to be shifting its focus towards creating an ultralight VR headset, which may debut in late 2026 or 2027. This forthcoming device is anticipated to boast premium features and a corresponding price, marking a shift away from Horizon Worlds and external Horizon OS development.

As Meta reorients its focus on first-party VR headsets and gaming, the prospects for Horizon Worlds and its developers remain unclear. The forthcoming meeting is expected to shed more light on the company’s trajectory and its implications for its workforce.

When you purchase a smart home gadget that depends on an internet connection or cloud services for operation, a countdown begins. These gadgets won’t function indefinitely, as the manufacturers will eventually opt to stop supporting them. Certain smart home and Internet-of-Things devices may endure longer than anticipated, while others may be rendered obsolete much sooner than users expect.

Devices linked to the internet will ultimately be phased out — this is unavoidable. What follows remains unclear. Some brands leave their customers stranded with inoperable hardware, while others provide refunds or store credits to facilitate upgrades to newer (supported) models.

The optimal choice, however, is for smart home manufacturers to open-source the software behind discontinued devices. This approach allows the community to intervene and maintain their smart home devices for an indefinite period. Once the software is open-sourced, users can self-host their smart home systems, integrate with platforms like Home Assistant, and utilize community-driven projects to prevent hardware from ending up in landfills.

A few months back, Bose revealed that its SoundTouch speakers were entering their end-of-life phase, ceasing official support in February 2026. What transpired afterward serves as a model for how smart home companies should engage with their customers when it’s time to gracefully retire products they can no longer support.

Bose initially faltered but then corrected its course

Speakers should ideally last indefinitely, but with the addition of smart functionalities, assumptions can’t be made. Bose’s SoundTouch range of home audio speakers and soundbars featured “smart” technology relying on cloud capabilities for music streaming and multi-room audio. Their cost was also significant, with some variants exceeding $1,000.

In its initial announcement in October 2025, Bose declared that as of February 18, 2026, it would cease cloud support for all SoundTouch offerings. The hardware would stop receiving security updates, the app would be discontinued, and features such as Spotify/TuneIn integration and multi-room listening would vanish.

Naturally, this news didn’t sit well with customers, who expressed their discontent on Reddit regarding their smart speakers becoming non-smart. According to the initial plan, SoundTouch speakers would still be able to stream music via Bluetooth, Aux, or HDMI, but that was the extent of it.

Don’t let anyone convince you that collective dissent is ineffective, as Bose altered its approach last week in light of customer feedback. An updated email from the company stated that Bose has “been listening closely” to SoundTouch users and is adjusting its plans accordingly.

Specifically, the end date for cloud support has now been pushed to May 6, 2026, the SoundTouch app will remain accessible for local control after the shutdown, and the SoundTouch API will be open-sourced for community use.

This is about as significant a victory as Bose SoundTouch owners could have hoped for. While cloud support will eventually be discontinued, AirPlay and Spotify Connect “should continue to operate,” according to the company. When the cloud services are deactivated, the SoundTouch app will be updated to a local variant, allowing users to set up, configure, control remotely, and group their systems.

Although some functionalities, like cloud music services and presets, will be eliminated in May, they may not be gone for good. Bose’s consumer-friendly choice to open-source the SoundTouch software presents the community with an opportunity to restore lost features.

Open-sourcing smart home technologies benefits all involved

Open-sourcing the SoundTouch software always appeared to be the wisest path for Bose. It serves everyone’s interests. Bose can safely deactivate the cloud infrastructure supporting SoundTouch systems, reallocating those resources to new product lines. In the meantime, consumers can continue to access most of their speakers’ functionalities, and the open-source community can assist them in reclaiming — or even exceeding — lost features.

This stands in stark contrast to how other companies have addressed the phasing out of older hardware. Last year, Google withdrew support for the first and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostat models. This action effectively disabled their most valuable features, reducing them to “dumb” thermostats. Does that sound familiar? It’s a similar opening to Bose’s handling of SoundTouch speakers.

However, Google only offered owners of affected Nest Learning Thermostats a $130 discount on a new fourth-generation model. It made no attempt to restore essential functionalities or open-source the software for community access.

As is often the case, the open-source community found a way forward nonetheless. One developer, Cody Kociemba, reverse-engineered the Nest API to restore certain features of the Nest Learning Thermostat in a project named NoLongerEvil Thermostat.

The end result is arguably similar — both Bose and Google Nest users have a makeshift workaround to prolong their devices’ functionality — but the public sentiment diverges. Bose appears open to feedback and demonstrates concern for its customers, while Google’s approach seems more anti-consumer.

Major companies like Google, Amazon, and Samsung should take notes.

Rarely do companies imitate Bose’s actions from last week. It is uncommon for a business to take steps,

Pixel 10 users have faced challenges in recent months, but Google is rolling out solutions to assist.

What you should be aware of

– The January patch from Google is now available, bringing GPU solutions for the concerns Pixel 10 users have encountered.
– The announcement indicates that “general performance” enhancements are included for the GPU, in addition to fixes for touchscreen sensitivity, battery drain, and other issues.
– In October, Pixel 10 owners reported lag and freezes during gaming, compelling the company to promise ongoing GPU updates.

Google is commencing the week on a high note, as its monthly security patch is being distributed to Pixel devices with a significant fix that has been eagerly anticipated.

Earlier today, Google shared the details of its January 2026 security patch on its Pixel community forum. This patch is being issued for devices from the Pixel 7a through the Pixel 10 series. All devices are gearing up for the update designated as vBP4A.260105.004.E1. The primary focus of this patch is the introduction of a fix for various GPU-related problems that have affected many Pixel phones.

The announcement specifies, “General enhancements for GPU performance in specific situations” are rolling out today (Jan 12).

Naturally, these concerns mainly involve the Pixel 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL, and the 10 Pro Fold. Additional display fixes for this month include yet another patch for the AOD (always-on display) addressing “flickering in specific scenarios.” This was an issue the Pixel 10 series frequently encountered in December, following the previous update. Furthermore, editing images in Adobe Lightroom on the Pixel 10 occasionally led to “noisy line flashes,” which has also been resolved.

Interestingly, Google mentions it is deploying a fix for the touchscreen issues within the Pixel 10 series, as some users reported it would occasionally stop responding. This should no longer be an issue after installing this update, but as always, remain attentive.

The rest of the January 2026 patch includes:

– Resolution for noisy ringback tones during Webex calls under certain circumstances
– Resolution for battery drainage issues in certain scenarios
– Resolution for an issue where removing a Live Universe wallpaper could sporadically render the Wallpaper and style app unusable until a device reboot

Addressing the challenges

The Pixel 10 has been grappling with its GPU since its release, with Google providing minor updates since September and October. It is expected for the series to utilize the Tensor G5 chip internally; however, Google’s proprietary chip still lags in performance, often disappointing users with high-end gaming. In October, users reported lag and freezes during games, resulting in dissatisfaction.

Google has allegedly committed to enhancing and updating the GPU in its Pixel 10 series, which is becoming evident in January.

It is also important to note that some of the fixes in the January patch were initially highlighted in December, including touch concerns and battery drain. Pixel 10 users faced display unresponsiveness and troublesome touchscreen problems, prompting the critical mid-December update. Nonetheless, it appears users are still contending with persistent issues. The January patch will gradually start to circulate, and hopefully, this marks the resolution of these complications.

The Galaxy S26 Plus, Samsung’s forthcoming flagship device, seems to be almost identical to its predecessor, the S25 Plus. Reports indicate that the S26 Plus will keep the 6.7-inch display, 4,900mAh battery, and 45W wired charging inherited from the S25 Plus. A significant enhancement is the addition of Qi2 support, which could improve wireless charging speeds past the earlier 15W limit. Production for the S26 Plus is scheduled to commence this month, following the Ultra model, which began in December. Initially, Samsung contemplated substituting the Plus model with a sleeker Galaxy S26 Edge but reverted to the Plus due to market dynamics and underwhelming sales of the S25 Edge. The S26 Plus will feature a 6.66-inch AMOLED QHD+ screen, akin to the S25 Plus. While the Plus model stays mostly the same, the standard Galaxy S26 is predicted to experience a minor increase in screen size to 6.27 inches. Although there are no major hardware changes, escalating component expenses may result in a price hike. The Galaxy S26 series is expected to be announced at an Unpacked event on February 25, with retail launch in March.

Create a fresh line and this highly rated foldable might be entirely yours.

This marks the initial occasion we’re encountering anything regarding the S27 Ultra’s camera, and they are already attempting to generate excitement around photography.

Recent speculations surrounding Samsung’s Galaxy S27 Ultra suggest that the smartphone might feature “new technologies” for its camera setup. A source on X indicates that the device could come with an ISOCELL HP6 sensor; however, it might still perform with the expected 200MP resolution. Earlier leaks hinted that future Galaxy S models could reintroduce the previous dual-aperture option from Samsung’s earlier releases.

It’s astonishing to consider that we are still anticipating the Galaxy S26 series while there are already rumors swirling about the Galaxy S27 Ultra (notably focused on its cameras), yet here we are.

Over the weekend, speculation from the tipster Ice Universe on X claims that Samsung is actively enhancing the camera for its Galaxy S27 Ultra (via SamMobile). The informant made a statement, asserting that Samsung is incorporating “more new technologies” into its 2027 Galaxy S Ultra camera system. Although the specifics of these new technologies weren’t detailed, one would assume they would enhance both photography and potentially videography quality.

On a hardware front, the X post mentioned that Samsung might adopt a new sensor for the device, referred to as “S5KHP6.”

Speculation suggests this is likely the ISOCELL HP6, particularly since the tipster points out that it may maintain the same “size” as the HP2. As noted by SamMobile, if this is accurate, then the HP6 could possess 200MP capabilities, most likely for the primary lens, in addition to a 1/1.3-inch format.

The timing of this rumor on social media is intriguing, given that Ice Universe previously shared another report regarding the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s camera. Leaks suggest that the phone could receive an improbable camera enhancement through a 24MP mode, thanks to Good Lock’s Camera Assistant. It was speculated that, once activated, a 24MP option would appear in both Photo and Portrait modes within the camera application.

Currently, nothing is confirmed, as the tipster indicated that Samsung is merely exploring this concept.

Additional rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S camera imply that the company might even revive a classic (but cherished) feature: dual-aperture. There are claims that Samsung could bring back “narrow” and “wide” apertures, a feature particularly useful in low-light situations. The lower the aperture number, such as f/1.8, the wider your lens, and conversely. The report suggested that Samsung might pursue this in response to Apple. Should this come to fruition, there’s considerable speculation and excitement surrounding it for the S27 series.

Other rumors regarding the S27 series include a “full-face” biometric scanner that is reportedly “spoof-resistant.”

Despite impressive year-over-year growth, the Google Pixel brand still falls short of Apple and Samsung on a global scale.

What you need to know

– Google Pixel shipments increased by 25% in 2025, yet the brand remains significantly behind Apple and Samsung globally.
– Apple dominated global smartphone growth in 2025, fueled by robust iPhone sales and expansion into emerging markets.
– Samsung experienced year-over-year shipment growth, but its global market share decreased as competition heightened.
– Smartphone shipments may drop in 2026 due to DRAM shortages and anticipated price increases.

According to a fresh report, Google had a robust 2025, with Pixel sales rising by approximately 25%. Despite this growth, the figures indicate that the Pixel brand still significantly trails Apple and Samsung in total shipments.

Counterpoint Research has unveiled its global smartphone shipment report for 2025, revealing that total smartphone shipments grew by 2% year over year compared to 2024. Apple emerged as the primary beneficiary, with the report noting a 10% year-over-year increase in shipments for the Cupertino company, elevating its global market share to 20%.

The report attributes Apple’s success to a strong product lineup from the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 series, along with growing traction in emerging and mid-sized markets. This increase came at the cost of several Android brands, as Samsung’s market share dipped to 19% in 2025, down from 20% in 2024, even as shipments rose by nearly 5% year over year.

A positive year for Pixel, but still a lengthy journey ahead

Google, on the other hand, celebrated a remarkable year. Driven by the Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 series, Pixel shipments surged by 25% in 2025 compared to the prior year. Nevertheless, Google remains categorized under “Others” in the report, a segment that actually witnessed a 1% decline in its overall market share.

The report also highlights that Nothing gained significant momentum, with shipments increasing by nearly 31% in 2025, although it too remained within the “Others” category. Among other Android brands, Xiaomi maintained the third position with a 13% market share, while Vivo achieved a modest 3% year-over-year rise in shipments.

Looking forward, Counterpoint cautions that overall smartphone shipments may decrease in 2026 due to DRAM shortages and as chipmakers focus more on AI data centers than smartphones. Price increases could also be a factor, with Samsung reportedly contemplating hikes for its upcoming Galaxy S26 series.