One of the major advantages of Google making phones like the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL is that it can deliver new features to those phones. The company has proven that by releasing a slew of those features to Pixel devices, most of which are now available to owners of any Pixel 2 or later.
First, Google is improving the Adaptive Battery feature on the Pixel 2 and later. Adaptive Battery already learns the user’s favorite apps, and can prioritize how much battery it gives certain apps depending on that information. Now, however, Google is able to better predict how long a battery will last depending on that information — and as a result, can reduce the power to certain apps for longer.
Google also wants to help users get to bed on time. Now, the Clock app will help users maintain a sleep schedule with a new bedtime tab. Through this tab, you’ll be able to play calming sounds to get to sleep quicker, limit interruptions during the night, and more. You’ll also be able to see things like how long you’re spending awake past your bedtime and which apps you’re using when you do.
Even Google Assistant is getting updates. Notably, Google Assistant will now work better with the Recorder app and Google Docs. For example, you can now tell Google Assistant to start a recording, and it will use the Recorder app to do so. Plus, transcripts of those recordings can now be saved to a Google Doc, which makes it easier to share. This feature is only available on the Google Pixel 4, however.
Google is adding some safety features to Pixel phones, too.
For starters, the Personal Safety app that was on the Pixel 4 is now expanding to the Pixel 3 (but not the Pixel 3a). Pixel phones will also offer a safety check. If you go for a hike, Google explained, the safety check feature will make sure you made it back from your hike safely. If you don’t respond to the check, your emergency contacts will be alerted. You can also trigger an emergency sharing feature, which will notify your emergency contacts that you need help, and share your location in real time through Google Maps.
You can see the new features for yourself by heading to the Settings menu, checking for a software update, and updating your phone. The rest will be handled automatically, as is the case with any major Android software update. As noted, some features will work on all phones, but features like the safety check, and Recorder transcription to Google Docs, are only available on newer Pixel devices.
Updates like these often roll out in waves, so if you don’t see the option to update yet, give it some time; it will appear later.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.
Apple's first foldable phone is now on shelves, in short supply, but with an unreal amount of buzz around it. After all, it's the first foldable iPhone, and there's plenty that this phone gets right. But there's also a lot that is either broken or underwhelming. What's peculiar is the dialogue around this phone, and how it has completely overshadowed every other attempt at making a phone with a similar form factor.
I've spent some time with the iPhone Duo, and I've used the Galaxy Z Fold 8 for almost three months now. In my opinion, Samsung deserves more credit. When the Galaxy Z Fold 8 arrived earlier this year, it was celebrated in some circles and ridiculed in others for supposedly copying what Apple would eventually deliver with the iPhone Duo. The dialogue was pretty odd, for multiple reasons. Samsung has been making foldable phones for years, so claiming that it copied a product Apple hadn't even launched was simply absurd.