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Here's your first look at the upcoming Samsung Galaxy open-ear earbuds

What you need to know

  • Samsung is reportedly working on Galaxy Buds On, a new pair of open-ear earbuds with a clip-on design.
  • Leaked renders show two rounded sections connected by a silicone loop, with black and white color options expected.
  • Galaxy Buds On could offer Auto Volume, head gestures for controls, and automatic pausing when you fall asleep.

It looks like Samsung is cooking up a pair of open-ear Galaxy Buds, and they could launch fairly soon.

While the best wireless earbuds still offer features like ANC and superior sound quality, open-ear earbuds have suddenly started taking over. We recently checked out the Huawei FreeClip 2, which we called one of the most comfortable open-ear earbuds we've tried, and now it looks like Samsung is preparing to challenge the throne.

As reported by SammyGuru, Samsung appears to be working on a pair of open-ear earbuds called the Galaxy Buds On. The publication has shared what appear to be product renders of the device, giving us an early look at the earbuds.

Leaked images of the Galaxy Buds On

(Image credit: SammyGuru)

According to the leak, the Galaxy Buds On will feature a fairly standard open-ear design, with two rounded sections connected by a flexible silicone loop. One side will presumably sit closer to the user's ear, while the flatter section will remain on the outside and likely provide an area for touch controls and gestures.

The leaked renders show the Galaxy Buds On in black, although a white color option also appears to be in the works.

The publication was also able to extract illustrations showing how the Galaxy Buds On will clip around the user's ears. The report claims the earbuds will feature Auto Volume, which will automatically adjust the volume depending on your surroundings, alongside head gestures like nodding and shaking.

Leaked images of the Galaxy Buds On

(Image credit: SammyGuru)

Another interesting feature will reportedly detect when the wearer has fallen asleep and automatically pause whatever is playing.

There's still no word on exactly when Samsung plans to launch the Galaxy Buds On. However, the company now has several products rumored to be waiting in the pipeline, including the long-awaited Galaxy Glasses and Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra, so we could be hearing much more about Samsung's upcoming hardware fairly soon.

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RIP Pixel Tablet: Google has officially pulled the plug

What you need to know

  • Google has officially removed the Pixel Tablet from its online store after listing it as out of stock.
  • The Pixel Tablet has also disappeared from major retailers including Amazon and Best Buy.
  • Google reportedly canceled plans for second- and third-generation Pixel Tablets due to sales and profitability concerns.
  • Existing Pixel Tablet owners will continue receiving software updates until mid-2028 despite the lineup's end.

The Pixel Tablet is finally dead. Like, properly dead dead.

Google launched the Pixel Tablet back in 2023 as a hybrid device that could work as both a traditional Android tablet and a smart home display when placed on its charging dock. At $499, the Pixel Tablet offered a pretty interesting combination on paper, but reactions to the device were mixed after launch.

Google reportedly had plans for a second-generation Pixel Tablet in 2025 and even a third-generation model in 2027. But amid poor sales and profitability concerns, the company reportedly pulled the plug on those plans back in 2024. Despite that, the original Pixel Tablet remained available through the Google Store and retailers for quite some time. Until now.

The Google Pixel Tablet showing a picture of a deep blue hydrangea, pulled from Google Photos while docked

(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

As spotted by Jetstream, Google has officially removed the Pixel Tablet from the Google Store. The tablet was listed as "out of stock" until a few days ago, but the product page has now been removed altogether, effectively confirming that Google is done selling the device. The Pixel Tablet has also disappeared from retailers, including Amazon and Best Buy.

That means there's now no official way to buy a new Pixel Tablet. You may still be able to find remaining stock through smaller online retailers or pick one up from a reseller, but Google's own inventory is officially gone.

The good news for existing Pixel Tablet owners is that software support isn't ending anytime soon. Google is expected to continue supporting the device with updates until mid-2028. But unless Google decides to resurrect its tablet ambitions again, there won't be another Pixel Tablet waiting to replace it.

The Pixel Tablet was an interesting idea. Having one device that could work as both an Android tablet and a smart home display made plenty of sense, especially inside Google's ecosystem. Unfortunately, the idea never really took off.

So, RIP Pixel Tablet. This time, it looks like it's actually over.

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6 iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro features Apple copied from Samsung, Motorola, and Google

The new iPhones are finally here. After months of leaks and rumors, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro series alongside its first-ever foldable smartphone, called the iPhone Duo, at its September 9, 2026, launch event.

The iPhone Duo marks Apple's first entry into the foldable phone market, though Android manufacturers have been selling foldable phones for nearly a decade.

And as is usually the case with a new iPhone launch, Apple has brought a bunch of features to its ecosystem that Android users might find pretty familiar. Here are some of the biggest iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro features that Samsung or Google did first.

The iPhone Duo's passport-style design

Apple iPhone Duo official renders

(Image credit: Apple)

The iPhone Duo isn't the first foldable phone we've seen, of course. Samsung has been experimenting with book-style foldables for years, while Apple is only just jumping on the bandwagon.

And if you think Apple's shorter and wider passport-style form factor is something new, that's not the case either. Google's first-generation Pixel Fold used a very similar approach, with a shorter and wider cover display that unfolded into a more tablet-like inner screen.

More recently, Samsung has adopted a similar form factor with the Galaxy Z Fold 8, while the Xiaomi 18 Fold we saw at IFA 2026 also follows the same wider design. So while the iPhone Duo might be Apple's first foldable, the form factor itself is anything but new.

Stylus support and hidden cameras

Using the AI doodle feature on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

The iPhone Duo supports Apple Pencil on both the outer and inner displays, so you can use the stylus to jot down notes, draw, or mark things up on either screen. But this isn't the first time we've seen stylus support on a foldable phone.

Samsung offered S Pen support on its Galaxy Z Fold phones for years before eventually dropping it from its newer models. And even today, you can find other foldables with stylus support, including the Motorola Razr Fold.

Another feature Apple seems to have borrowed from Android foldables is the under-display camera on the inner screen. Samsung used an under-display camera on several generations of Galaxy Z Fold phones before finally dropping it with last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7. However, we're curious to see if Apple's implementation is any better.

Samsung beat Apple to the anti-reflective inner display

iPhone Duo's anti-reflective inner display

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple's iPhone Duo comes with a 7.6-inch inner display, and one thing Apple talked at length about is its specialized matte nano-texture finish, which, in simpler terms, is an anti-reflective coating.

The inner display on any foldable phone can be quite reflective because of the materials used to make the screen flexible. Adding an anti-reflective coating should reduce those reflections and make things like watching videos or reading content much easier in bright light.

But again, we're not seeing this for the first time. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8, which launched earlier this year, also features an anti-reflective coating on its inner display. Apple's implementation may turn out to be better or more advanced, and we'll have to put both phones side by side to know for sure. But the idea of reducing reflections on a foldable's inner display is great, though certainly isn't new.

Samsung has been doing Flex Mode for years

iPhone Duo's flex mode

(Image credit: Apple)

Unlike the regular Galaxy Z Fold 8, which either stays fully open or snaps shut, the iPhone Duo's hinge can hold the phone open at different angles. This means you can partially fold the iPhone Duo and prop it up to take photos with the rear cameras or just watch videos on one half of the display.

It sounds great, but again, Apple isn't the first to do this. Samsung offers similar functionality on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra with Flex Mode and has offered it on previous generations of Galaxy Z Fold phones as well. Samsung has even optimized several apps to take advantage of the partially folded position, so this is another area where Apple is following an idea we've already seen on Android foldables.

The iPhone finally gets proper manual camera controls

Taking a picture of flowers at 5x zoom using a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

Switching our focus (pun intended) to the iPhone 18 Pro models, another new feature this year is what Apple calls "Pro Controls," which essentially brings proper manual camera controls to the iPhone for the first time.

You can now manually adjust things like aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and other camera settings instead of relying entirely on Apple's automatic processing. It shifts the iPhone from being primarily a point-and-shoot camera to giving serious photographers much more control over the final image.

But again, this isn't exactly new. Pro and manual camera modes have been available on Android flagships for years, with phones from Samsung and other manufacturers already letting users manually adjust these settings.

Split screen, App Pairs, Dual View, and more

Dual view photo capture on iPhone Duo

(Image credit: Apple)

Finally, the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro offer plenty of software features we've previously seen on Android smartphones.

The iPhone Duo, for example, finally brings proper split-screen multitasking, letting you run two apps side by side on the larger inner display. You can also save two apps together as an App Pair and quickly relaunch them in split screen later.

There's also Dual View, where the cover display can act as a viewfinder for the person you're photographing while you're using the rear cameras. Again, these are useful additions, but they're features Motorola and other Android foldable makers have offered in some form for years.

So while Apple's implementation might be different or more polished in certain areas, quite a few of the iPhone Duo's headline software features will feel very familiar if you've used an Android foldable before.

And if you haven't used one before, we have a handy guide on why you should buy a foldable and what you can expect.

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