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Yesterday β€” 22 July 2026Ars Technica

Samsung unveils new Galaxy Z8 foldables and Galaxy Watches, available August 7

22 July 2026 at 09:58

The rumors haven't left much to the imagination, but Samsung has unfurled its 2026 foldable lineup today. There are three models for the first time in Samsung's eight-gen foldable family, including the top-of-the-line Z Fold 8 Ultra. That phone is the successor to last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7, but the Z Fold 8 is newβ€”the company's first wide-body foldable designed for media over multitasking. And then there's a new, thinner flip phone, plus a pair of smartwatches.

You can preorder Samsung's new hardware today, but the component shortage has made these already spendy product lines more expensive this year. Even the Z Flip 8 is now well over a grand, and the Ultra costs almost twice as much.

Specs at a glance: Galaxy Z8 series
Galaxy Z Flip 8 ($1,200) Galaxy Z Fold 8 ($1,900) Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra ($2,100)
SoC Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy
Memory 12GB 12GB, 16GB 12GB, 16GB
Storage 256GB, 512GB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Display Main: 6.9" Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1080 x 2520) 400ppi, 120Hz; Cover: 4.1" AMOLED (948 x 1048) 342 ppi, 60/120Hz Main: 7.6" Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1848 x 2448) 403ppi, 120Hz; Cover: 5.5" Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1248 x 1972) 428ppi, 120Hz Main: 8.0" QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (2504 x 2256) 422ppi, 120Hz; Cover: 6.5" FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1080 x 2520) 422ppi, 120Hz
Cameras Rear: 50MP Wide (F1.8, OIS), 12MP Ultra Wide (F2.2); Selfie: 10MP (F2.2) Rear: 50MP Wide (F1.8, OIS), 50MP Ultra Wide (F1.9); Main/Cover Selfie: 10MP (F2.2) Rear: 200MP Wide (F1.7, OIS), 50MP Ultra Wide (F1.9), 10MP Tele (3x Optical, F2.4, OIS); Main/Cover Selfie: 10MP (F2.2)
Software Android 17 / One UI 9 Android 17 / One UI 9 Android 17 / One UI 9
Battery 4,300 mAh, up to 55% charge in ~30 min with 25W Adapter, 15W Wireless Charging 4,800 mAh, up to 67% charge in ~30 min with 45W Adapter, 20W Wireless Charging 5,000 mAh, up to 63% charge in ~30 min with 45W Adapter, 20W Wireless Charging
Connectivity 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.4, SIM+eSIM 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v6.0, SIM+eSIM 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v6.0, SIM+eSIM
Measurements Unfolded: 166.9 Γ— 75.4 Γ— 6.1 mm
Folded: 85.7 Γ— 75.4 Γ— 13.1 mm, 180g
Unfolded: 123.9 Γ— 161.4 Γ— 4.5 mm
Folded: 123.9 Γ— 81.9 Γ— 9.7 mm, 201g
Unfolded: 158.4 Γ— 143.2 Γ— 4.1 mm
Folded: 158.4 Γ— 72.8 Γ— 8.9 mm, 215g
Colors Pink, Graphite, Cream, Mint (online) Lavender, Graphite, Cream, Pistachio (online) Violet Shadow, Graphite, Cream, Green Shadow (online)

The Z Fold 8 Ultra has the same basic form factor as the last few Samsung tablet-style foldables. A 6.5-inch OLED on the outside is about the same ratio as a standard smartphone screen. Open it up, and you get an 8-inch display that's roughly twice as wide. That makes the main display close to square.

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Β© Samsung

Before yesterdayArs Technica

OnePlus confirms shutdown in the US and Europe, ending months of speculation

16 July 2026 at 12:29

OnePlus arrived on the scene in 2014 with brash marketing and a compelling pitch: What if your phone was cheaper and faster? More than a decade later, the market is much different, and so is OnePlus. Confirming months of rumors and speculation, OnePlus has confirmed it's ending phone releases in North America and Europe.

This development has been expected for a while. After a brief period of expansion in the US through deals with T-Mobile and Verizon, OnePlus began visibly shifting its focus to India after the pandemic. OnePlus has also increasingly come under the control of its parent company, Oppo, aligning its device releases and software experience with the larger brand. Still, OnePlus has continued to launch flagship devices in the US and Europe, with the OnePlus 15 going on sale in late 2025. That will be the last OnePlus phone many people see, though.

OnePlus denied rumors of a shutdown earlier this year, but its language was vague and never promised future phone releases. The new statement is also worded gingerly, but the outcome is clear. "As part of the proactive global strategy adjustment, OnePlus has decided to conclude new product rollouts in Europe and North America," the official post reads.

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Β© Ryan Whitwam

Google updates Android Bench with new LLMs, but Gemini still lags behind

8 July 2026 at 12:39

Code generation is emerging as one of the most popular applications for large language models (LLMs), but not all agents are equally good at all development tasks. Google created a benchmark earlier this year to evaluate how LLMs perform in Android app development, and Android Bench is getting a big update today. The leaderboard now includes a raft of new models, and Google has adopted a new framework that should be easier to use. Developers are invited to run their own tests and submit feedback that could shape the future of Android Bench.

While they are popular coding tools, LLMs don't get everything right. Separating the useful outputs from straight-up slop means choosing the right tool. Android Bench aims to demonstrate which AI agents do best on a suite of 100 Android development tasks. After launching Android Bench in March, Google has added metrics like cost and efficiency, as well as open-weight models.

To keep Android Bench relevant, Google is updating the test with eight new models, including all the latest heavy-hitters: Claude Fable 5, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Opus 4.8, GLM 5.2, Kimi K2.7 Code, MiniMax M3, Qwen 3.7 Plus, and Qwen 3.7 Max.

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Β© Ryan Whitwam

Google's Pixel 11 launch event is set for August 12, with possible price increases

7 July 2026 at 15:08

Google has announced its next Made By Google event, taking place on August 12 in New York City. Google's invite doesn't name names, but the imagery clearly shows a new Pixel phone that looks a whole lot like last year's phone. Some new rumors, however, suggest the updated phones will come with inflated price tags courtesy of the AI-driven component shortage.

The sleek lines of the phone in the teaser image are a dead ringer for Google's last few Pixel phones, and that matches some early rumors. Google's new phones will have similar shapes, with the Pro and Pro Fold models perhaps shaving off a little thickness. The most notable design change will probably be the rumored "Pixel Glow" lights, a rear-facing notification and status light.

Recent reports claim that Google is finally doing away with the base 128GB storage option for the smaller phones. In 2025, both the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro started at 128GB of storage, a bit lacking for a modern flagship device at a time when people don't upgrade as often. Google will reportedly move to 256GB as the base storage for both phones.

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Β© Google

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