Classic gamers rejoice, RollerCoaster Tycoon and a new Space Invaders game are also coming to the service.
Google’s new affordable phone has leaked repeatedly already, but it’s back again in new images shared by Evan Blass on X. They’re mostly marketing images and renders of the purple model — supposedly dubbed “Iris” — and closely match the design we’ve seen before, complete with an almost perfectly flat camera bump.
The 9A is rumored to launch this month with a bigger battery, new cameras, and a $499 starting price.
Meta AI fans on Android will soon be able to get to the chatbot more quickly via WhatsApp. A widget is in the works offering direct shortcuts to open the chat with the AI, send an image to it, or begin a voice chat. Some WhatsApp beta users already have the widgets available, though no date’s been set for an official launch.
Meta is reportedly working on a standalone AI app too.
The keyboard app’s latest beta transforms its rectangular keys into... circles, as spotted earlier by Android Authority. It kind of looks like a digital version of Logitech’s Pop Keys keyboard, which isn’t all that pleasant to type on.
Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple’s first foldable will drop Face ID and add a Touch ID button instead, to help hit 4.5–4.8mm unfolded thickness (close to the 4.2mm world’s thinnest). He expects two rear cameras, a late 2026 launch, and a price tag north of $2,000. Just take it with a pinch of salt, as Kuo says Apple hasn’t finalized the specs yet — not to mention he’s been wrong about their foldables before.
0Never mind rotating smartwatch crowns, rotating cameras rings are the next frontier. Nubia’s Focus 2 Ultra has a spinning dial around its rear camera, and it’s actually functional: it controls the phone’s camera zoom. It’s surprisingly easy to rotate with one finger while you’re holding the phone in portrait, and is a gimmick I’d probably end up using.
This is the Nubia Music 2. Like the first Music it packs a 2.1-channel sound system perfect for annoying people on public transit, designed to be 600 percent louder than the average phone. This year, it adds LEDs and an AI music generator. God help us if they ever release a Music 3.
In case there were any doubts about what Nothing’s next phones look like (spoiler: there weren’t) the company has formally unveiled the designs at MWC. The 3A series phones are under glass for now, but we’re expecting a full launch tomorrow so it won’t be long before we get the full picture.
Samsung has the Galaxy S25 Edge on display here at MWC, but as was the case at Unpacked, it’s strictly hands-off. Tecno, on the other hand, its Spark Slim concept phone powered on and available to handle. It’s 5.75mm thick and includes a 5,200mAh battery. And it sure is slim! So is the company’s tri-fold concept phone, which I caught sight of outside its glass case. Pretty slick, and it even has a name: the Phantom Ultimate 2.
The 14 Pro and 14 Pro Plus, which launched in India last month, are coming to Europe, too, starting at €429.99 (around $450). The big hook is a temperature-sensitive, color-changing finish, with the pearlescent white back turning blue as it drops below 61 degrees Fahrenheit. And with an IP69 rating, Realme put both to the test at once by flooding the phone with cold water in a live demo at Mobile World Congress.
Motorola’s Smart Connect lets you wirelessly connect a Moto phone to a Lenovo PC, and it’s getting an AI update. And it actually looks useful: you can search for documents with natural language across devices, or tell your phone to cast Instagram on your PC screen. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but abstracting away the part where you tap a bunch of icons to do a thing is supposedly what AI will do for us. I’m ready for it.
Agency chair Brendan Carr criticized Verizon’s “lack of progress” on ending DEI initiatives in a letter telling its executives to contact FCC staff working on its pending Frontier acquisition, according to Bloomberg. That implies the merger’s approval is tied to Carr’s DEI agenda, fellow Commissioner Geoffrey Starks told the outlet in a statement critical of the move.
DEI is also at the center of the FCC’s Comcast probe.
Disclosure: Comcast is an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company.
Honor has announced that its flagship Honor Magic phones will now receive seven years of Android OS updates and seven years of security support, starting with the recent Magic 7 Pro in the EU.
That makes Honor the first Chinese manufacturer to match software support pledges from Samsung and Google — Oppo and Xiaomi tend to offer four or five years of support for their phones.
The £179 (around $225) add-on for the company’s new 15 Ultra flagship hasn’t changed too much from last year’s except for the eye-catching color. The battery is bigger at 2,000mAh, though, so it’ll keep the 15 Ultra running a little longer. The two-stage shutter button and other controls are also now joined by a thumb rest, which may look like a film advance lever but sadly doesn’t do anything other than sit there.
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