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Pixel 11 Pro Fold design leaks ahead of Google launch event

2026-07-30T13:04:31-04:00

Weeks ahead of Google's next Pixel hardware event, Leaker Evan Blass has shared what appear to be marketing renders of the unannounced Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold in a post on his Substack.

The renders, if accurate, show that the new foldable will look fairly similar to last year's model - it has a tall outer screen instead of using a shorter style like the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the rumored foldable iPhone. The renders also show that the inner screen will retain the 8-inch size. However, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold's back camera array has been slightly redesigned and will apparently get the glowy light that Google has already teased for the Pixel …

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Qualcomm is raising phone chip prices starting September 1st

2026-07-29T17:41:56-04:00

RAMageddon won't be the only reason your next phone costs more - Qualcomm is about to raise prices on all its processors, as well. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said on Wednesday that "prices are going to go up" on the company's products starting on September 1st, CNBC reports. The price hikes were rumored last week to be "a percentage in the double digits."

Qualcomm announced the planned price increases while reporting a 20 percent year-over-year drop in revenue from its handset business, the lowest it's reported since 2021. In its quarterly earnings presentation, Qualcomm said this drop is due to "unprecedented increases in memory pricing …

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Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 feels like the future

2026-07-29T09:54:55-04:00

A short king.

Is this the future of foldable phones?

Samsung clearly thinks so. The company has given its new wide foldable the "Z Fold 8" name, positioning the phone not as a widescreen oddity, but as the new normal, the default design for foldables going forward. Rumor has it that Apple feels the same way, with a similar squat shape widely predicted for the first foldable iPhone, expected to launch in September.

Whether you want to give the credit to Apple, Samsung, or even Huawei (which got here first with the Pura X Max), I think they might be onto something. After a week, the Z Fold 8 feels comfortable, natural, and normal, despite being the short …

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Amazon’s trying to launch a global satellite cellphone network in 2028

2026-07-27T11:40:38-04:00

Amazon filed an FCC application on Saturday to launch a new Leo satellite constellation that will provide direct-to-device satellite service for "voice, messaging, data, and emergency services." If approved, Amazon will begin deploying the new constellation of 5,105 satellites in 2028. It says it plans to partner with mobile network operators to offer direct-to-device satellite service, similar to Starlink's partnership with T-Mobile.

Earlier this year, Amazon announced it's acquiring Globalstar's satellite network and taking over its deal to provide direct-to-device satellite services for Apple devices. Amazon says its new constellation w …

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Qualcomm is about to raise prices and that’s bad news for everyone

2026-07-24T15:23:53-04:00

Qualcomm sent a letter to customers on Friday warning of plans to increase its prices by "a percentage in the double digits," Bloomberg reports. The price hikes will go into effect starting with products shipped after September 1st.

Qualcomm claims it has "exhausted its ability to absorb higher costs from suppliers," as ongoing component shortages continue to drive up prices. The company also said it attempted to source components from alternate suppliers prior to announcing the price hikes.

As Bloomberg notes, Qualcomm's price increases will likely have a ripple effect, particularly for smartphones. Qualcomm's chips power everything fro …

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Nothing confirms layoffs, but calls market exit rumors ‘fake news’

2026-07-24T14:10:22-04:00

raw | Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge

In response to a report that Nothing is planning to "exit 12 markets as global shipments decline," Nothing cofounder Akis Evangelidis said the company is "reorganizing" and laying off some of its staff, but that "the reported numbers are way overblown." Evangelidis disputed a claim about underwhelming sales for Nothing's Phone 4B, saying it "sold 29,537 units on Day 1 only, breaking records in its price segment."

He also said Nothing isn't shutting down in any markets, and is instead "consolidating" its operations into regional hubs as well as introducing an "AI-native" business unit.

The update comes as rising component prices squeeze the …

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Samsung’s newest foldable finally feels Ultra

2026-07-22T08:30:21-04:00

While we wait for Apple's rumored foldable iPhone, Samsung is polishing a design it already has on the market. I just spent three hours with my hands on the new Z Fold 8 Ultra, and all I can think about is how Samsung finally made the crease invisible.

Samsung says it achieved this thanks to its new Flex Titanium display tech. Its foldable screens now utilize a titanium film that sits below the OLED panel, which Samsung says has 20-times the mechanical stiffness as opposed to the polymer film it used in its old foldables. This film is bonded to a new titanium plate, and when used together, the crease that used to plague foldable devices is …

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Samsung’s wider Z Fold 8 feels just right

2026-07-23T06:14:40-04:00

The new Z Fold 8 is squat and wide, but don’t hold that against it. | Photo: David Imel / The Verge

A year after overhauling its Z Fold phone with a radically thinner design, Samsung has changed things up again, this time altering the shape entirely. The Z Fold 8 is wider than any of Samsung's previous foldables, and shorter too, a size and shape somewhere between Samsung's traditional Flip and Fold models.

In photos, I wasn't impressed by the squat shape. In person, to my surprise, it feels great, and almost immediately intuitive. If you want to get a feel for it yourself, grab your passport - the Z Fold 8 is about the same height and less than half an inch more narrow.

This isn't Samsung's only new foldable this year, and in fact, its …

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I almost forgot Samsung’s Z Flip 8 was a foldable

2026-07-22T10:56:25-04:00

Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip 8 feels more like a regular phone than ever. It's thinner, lighter, and has a front screen you can do just about anything on. Whether that's a good or bad thing, I'm not quite sure yet.

I spent three hours with Samsung's newest flip phone last week, and it doesn't look too different from last year's Z Flip 7. It's still got a 6.9-inch FHD+ AMOLED display on the inside. It's still got a 4.1-inch Super AMOLED cover screen on the outside. It still starts at 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and it still has a 4,300mAh battery. But this year, Samsung has added even more features that make this thing a full-on phone …

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Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026: The 6 biggest announcements

2026-07-22T12:37:01-04:00

Samsung's annual summer event kicked off on Wednesday morning with the company unveiling a new lineup of watches and foldables. Following weeks of rumors and leaks, Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold 8 with a completely new design that's shorter and wider than last year's Fold, a new "Ultra" Fold, an updated Flip model, and refreshed versions of the Galaxy smartwatches.

If you weren't able to watch the event yourself, you can catch up with all of this year's biggest Galaxy Unpacked announcements below.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 launches with a new wide design

The highlight of Galaxy Unpacked was the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which got a major redesign …

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