9to5Google Weekender

The Google Pixel Tablet is an annoying little asterisk in the company’s ecosystem, falling short of greatness despite being overall pretty good. While there are questions around future Pixel Tablet sequel releases, I know what I want from the future – a throwback to the past.

Foldables have improved drastically since their full debut in 2019, but Samsung has been stagnating on progress for quite a while now. That’s why I can’t explain why I still enjoy the Galaxy Z Fold 6 so much, especially after having spent a lot of time with some of the best foldables the market has to offer.

The Nest brand has been built up for years as it was a pioneer of the smart home, but Google has slowly moved away from what so many people bought into as it has built up the Google Home ecosystem. Now, the Nest you knew is gone for good, and we know what the future looks like.

Foldables already feel stagnant despite having hit the market a mere 6 years ago, but one new device this week showed that there are still new ideas to be had. So, what do you want next?

We got our first look at the Pixel 10 series this week and it looks rather familiar, but Google is apparently planning to add a third camera to the base model, and that raises a lot of questions.

Google is officially bringing back lock screen widgets on Android, but it begs the question – what would you want to use?

The going trend for smartphones in 2025 seems to be cutting down on thickness. But, the more I think about it, the more I’m curious – who actually wants this?

The camera has always been the reason to buy a Pixel phone. As time has gone on, though, Google’s camera lead has eroded both as the competition improves, and as the Pixel’s camera feels just a tiny bit worse. Despite it being “boring,” though, there’s one reason that there’s no phone I’d rather carry besides a Pixel.

After releasing the most highly-praised foldable in recent memory back in 2023, OnePlus says it still won’t release an “Open 2” in 2025, and the brand’s reasoning for the delay doesn’t seem to make much sense.

Earlier this week Apple released its latest app, Apple Invites, as a clever combination of iCloud services for digital event invitations. Apple Invites is a great idea, but one that I can’t help but feel like, with products like Calendar, Gmail, and Photos at the ready, Google could have done better.

Android tablets are finally, kind of, getting a little exciting again. But I’m tired of the same stupid asterisk on all of them. Android tablets need to stop “cheaping” out on biometrics and using insecure, effectively pointless face unlock.

This week, Samsung launched its new Galaxy S25 series and, in so many ways, it’s just a slightly newer version of the same thing. From the perspective of someone who’s job is to talk about these devices, it’s getting really boring, yet these devices still continue to sell. So, are you actually happy with these devices?

Fingerprint and face unlock are an expected, and crucial part of our modern devices, but after spending some time with the OnePlus 13, I’m reminded of a couple of annoying quirks that OnePlus still needs to address.

The Find My Device network was full of promise, but Android’s alternative to the tech behind Apple’s AirTag launched to a rough start in 2024. Over time, though, it seems to finally be getting better. Are you actually using it?

There were a lot of good smartphones released in 2024, and it’s actually not easy to settle on “the best.” But, for me at least, I struggle to put the Galaxy S24 Ultra at the top of that list.

YouTube TV has seen a number of price hikes over the years as the service has grown, and as it now serves millions of viewers, it was inevitable that another rise would be coming. That’s finally arrived this week, and it begs the question of whether or not YouTube TV will ever offer cheaper streaming packages.

Samsung’s One UI 7 update is huge and, for the most part, pretty good, but there’s some clear influence throughout as Samsung has seemingly been trying to replicate a bunch of features and design traits from iOS. Here’s a list of all of the ways Samsung’s Android 15 update tries to copy iOS.

Google’s Pixel Tablet is a product that’s a bit outside of the norm, probably to its detriment, but in crafting upcoming sequels, I hope Google doesn’t lose the charm of the first generation.

The improvements Google made in the Pixel 9 Pro Fold over what came before continue to astound me a couple of months into using the device, but there are two design quirks I want Google to address.

The Pixel 9 series seems to be a massive hit for Google, and it comes at least in part from Google fixing the biggest problems with from its past smartphones.

Google’s new remote for the Google TV Streamer has some clear upgrades, but when it comes to the volume buttons, I strongly feel the Chromecast got it right the first time around.