Samsung

Samsung is working on a new type of digital wellbeing feature for One UI 9 that lets you restrict internet access for certain apps. It seems to be pitched at boosting concentration, but could apply to parental controls too — though right now it’s a Labs feature that may not ever launch.

In case you missed it, yesterday’s Android Show stream included a brief list of every phone with current and confirmed plans for AirDrop support in Quick Share. Google also told The Verge that Xiaomi is planning support this year, though we don’t yet know to which phones.

The next version of Samsung’s OS, based on Android 17, features improved Quick Panel customization, with each widget independently adjustable and new size options for each, along with a couple new accessibility features.

It’s part of One UI 8.5, rolling out now in the US after the Korean rollout began last week. Along with AirDrop compatibility, the update brings other features that launched on the Galaxy S26, including an updated Bixby, AI call screening, and easier AI image editing in Creative Studio.

The British disco revivalist says the company was using her likeness to sell TVs by including her image on the box. She became aware of it last year and asked Samsung to remove her from the packaging, but according to the complaint, their response was “dismissive and callous.”

Samsung’s updated take on Android first appeared on its S26 phones back in February, but it’s taken until now to reach older hardware. Flagship phones and tablets from the last two generations or so are the first eligible for the update, which is rolling out now in Korea, with other countries to follow.

The company is planning to discontinue certain consumer electronics products in the region — including home appliances and televisions — amid intensifying competition from domestic brands. Phone sales will be unaffected. As popular as Samsung TVs are, this goes to show they do struggle somewhere.

After launching its first smart ring two years ago, Samsung is developing a more comfortable Galaxy Ring 2 with battery life increased from seven to up to 10 days, according to a translated Etnews report spotted by 9to5Google. However, the new version isn’t expected to be announced until early next year.

The company’s stock shot up over 15 percent today following record earnings and reports of a potential chipmaking deal with Apple. It’s only the second Asian company to break the milestone, along with rival chipmaker TSMC, both riding high on AI demand.

It was the top-selling phone in Q1 according to Counterpoint, with 6 percent of global sales. The 17 Pro and Pro Max weren’t far behind, with Samsung A series phones and the Xiaomi Redmi A5 also at the top. The Galaxy S26 Ultra just missed the cut, after launching in the middle of the quarter.

New announcements made at SID Display 2026 include the “world’s widest color gamut OLED” for phones, with BT.2020-96 color coverage at up to 3,000 nits of brightness. There’s also an updated version of the health-sensing OLED it revealed in 2023, which can measure heart rate and blood pressure through the panel.

Bloomberg reports that Apple has held “exploratory discussions” with the chipmakers to produce the main processors for certain devices in the US, though the Cupertino company still has concerns about using non-TSMC technology. Perhaps Intel really will return to Macs next year?

Samsung has announced the Galaxy Book 6 Edge, but so far only for France. There’s no price for the slim laptop yet, which will launch in early May with 512GB or 1TB storage, a Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite processor, and a 16-inch 120Hz OLED screen.

Yesterday we got our first good look at the purported design of Samsung’s smart glasses, and today Samsung itself confirmed they’re on the way, though it probably didn’t mean to. SamMobile spotted a mention of support for “Glasses” in an update to Samsung’s Nearby Device Scanning app, mentioning quick pair support too.

Project Luna — a round screen with a swiveling head that reminds me of Samsung’s “AI OLED Turntable” — offers a glimpse of what’s to come from Samsung’s design, according to chief design officer, Mauro Porcini. Samsung teased the bot in a YouTube Shorts, and now Fast Company has some exclusive details.

After announcing that the Galaxy Z TriFold phone would be discontinued and offering one final restock, Samsung now says that the “limited-run” phone is “completely sold out,” as reported by 9to5Google. If you want to know what it was like to actually use, check out Allison Johnson’s writeup.

Never did I expect Samsung to be the more affordable option, especially next to Hisense, but its 65-inch R95H is $3,200 — $300 less than the Hisense UR9. The step-down R85H is also only $1,600 in the 55-inch size. As more companies announce pricing, things are bound to get more competitive.

The fairly reliable leaker OnLeaks has shared his first CAD renders for the Galaxy Z Flip 8, via MyMobiles, and it looks… pretty much identical to the Z Flip 7, actually. It’s apparently slimmer though, with 0.5mm shaved off when closed, which should make it fractionally more pocketable.

If you want a shot at buying the expansive, expensive, and discontinued foldable, it’s going on sale on Samsung’s website at 10AM ET on Friday morning. It will also be available at seven Samsung Experience retail stores, according to Phone Arena.

As Artemis II sends back some wallpaper-worthy photos of the Moon and a solar eclipse, it may have given Samsung some inspiration for its next generation of smartphone cameras.

The Elec reports that Samsung Display secured a three-year exclusivity deal for folding iPhone screens, with the maybe-delayed, maybe-not-delayed Apple foldable due later this year. The question is whether Apple is getting the nearly creaseless panels Samsung showed off at CES, which it will need to match the Oppo Find N6.

Preliminary earnings suggest an eightfold increase in profit (57.2 trillion won estimated, or about $37.8 billion) from the same quarter in 2025, exceeding its entire profit for all of last year. The spike is likely due to strong demand for its memory chips, which have only increased in price as Big AI gobbles up all available inventory.

The app will no longer be available on devices with Android 12 or newer in July 2026, according to an update on Samsung’s website. Samsung is encouraging users to switch to Google Messages, which it began shipping as the default messaging app on flagship Galaxy devices in 2024.

Android Authority has found references to an expanded AirDrop-like system in Android 17 beta and Canary builds called “Tap to share” that uses NFC to help transfer files between phones brought close together. As it sits at the OS level, the feature could be coming to all Android devices.

The QuantumBlack film reduces light reflectance by 20 percent helping to boost the perceived contrast of QD-OLED displays in settings where ambient light is unavoidable. It also improves a panel’s surface hardness and durability from 2H to 3H so a display can resist even accidental fingernail scratches when it’s being moved.

The Samsung Browser is available for Windows 11 and Windows 10 devices, though some of its AI-powered features — including multi-tab awareness and a chatbot assistant that searches the web for you — are limited to the US and South Korea. An expansion to other regions is “expected in the future.”