Gmail is one of my most used Android apps across personal and work contexts, but it’s far from what I consider to be a great experience.

Samsung has announced that Eclipsa Audio will be featured on Samsung’s 2025 TVs. This new audio standard has been a project of the company and Google for some time, with the audio format now taking ground instead of other, more popular standards.

2025 isn’t looking like a great year for Samsung’s foldables, as the company is reportedly not planning any major changes for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 despite shrinking sales.

YouTube officially announced the “badges” features in October, but YouTube Music users are now seeing existing ones doubled instead of getting their December Top Listener badge. 

Joining ongoing lows on the flagship Nothing Ear wireless earbuds set, we are now tracking New Year’s price drops on a range of OnePlus gear including the OnePlus 13 handsets with $50 off and a totally free $229 smartwatch as well as a straight up cash deal on the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 with the leather-like case and Google Fast Pair. From there, we move over to a collection of Chromebook deals headlined by Acer’s new touchscreen Chromebook Plus Spin 312 2-in-1 at $150 off, up to $2,000 off TCL mini-LED Google Smart TVs, and a sweet open-box offer with a full warranty on Google Pixel Watch 3 at up to $130 off. All of that and more awaits down below. 

Getting the most from your phone is easier than ever, but squeezing out a little more productivity requires some extra steps. Here are a few things you should enable to help improve your experience and make your Android phone a little more productive.

PayPal’s Honey has been a massively popular Chrome extension for years, promising to find coupon codes and save consumers money, all without costing a dime. However, a recent video exposed shady tactics by Honey, and has led to over 3 million Chrome users uninstalling the extension.

Google Pixel is finally gaining traction in India’s premium smartphone market, as the brand managed to grow while OnePlus took a nosedive.

An issue with Google Nest and Google Home speakers and smart displays is leaving some users unable to get answers for basic queries over the past few days, with commands simply not working.

Roughly a year ago Fossil announced that it was done with Wear OS smartwatches, and to start 2025, the last remaining of the brand’s smartwatches has officially been pulled from the market.

Some of the new gear landing for CES 2025 is already starting to surface, with the latest M9 AI-powered Samsung Smart Monitor and LG’s new bendable display, but we do have some notable deals to scope out today as well in today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Samsung’s LTE Galaxy Watch FE hits the Amazon low at $200 alongside the return of all-time low pricing on the Nothing Ear wireless earbuds set and a $150 price drop on . Those deals also join $100 in savings on the sweet Bose SoundLink Max Portable Speaker and a whole lot more down below. 

After being listed last month, the Bellroy Pixel Watch Strap is now available for purchase on the US Google Store.

Samsung’s rollout for One UI 7, the Android 15 update for Galaxy devices, has been slow and heavily delayed, and while a beta is ongoing, the question begs to be asked – is Samsung still bringing the One UI 7 beta to more devices?

Honor is gearing up for its Magic 7 lineup release with the launch of the first phone, the Magic 7 Lite. With an insane battery capacity and AI-focused features, the Magic 7 Lite acts as a precursor for what’s to come.

Samsung is kicking off the new year with the launch of its budget-oriented Galaxy A16 in the US, which also offers the most Android updates per dollar compared to anything else on the market.

The ability to limit the charge that your Pixel can take is one of the biggest and best additions in Android 15 QPR1 – AKA the December Pixel Drop. However, it has an issue. The 80% limit does not stay activated while your phone is powered off.

Samsung’s Good Lock allows for deep customizations to One UI without the need for root or any other complex mods, but the framework is limited to certain regions, and only accessible via the Galaxy Store. That’s changing in 2025, though, as Good Lock will be coming to the Google Play Store and all countries as Samsung expands the feature alongside One UI 7.

In what could be a bug or behavior change, the Google Play Store is not showing available updates for system-level apps. 

Last year, I wished that Google iterated more on the personal side of Gmail, Calendar, and other Workspace apps. In 2024, Google made a number of updates to the suite of productivity apps that I benefit from and appreciate on a daily basis.

At the end of Made by Google 2024, a Google Store in Santa Monica was teased and here’s where it will be located.