Techmeme
August 20, 2025, 5:10 PM

Top News

Allison Johnson / The Verge:
Google unveils the $1,799+ Pixel 10 Pro Fold, with a Tensor G5 chip, a new hinge with a gear-less design, 6.4" outer and 8" inner screens, available October 9  —  They actually did it. … Finally, a foldable to take to the beach.  The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is official …
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
Google unveils the $999 Pixel 10 Pro and $1,199 10 Pro XL, with 6.3" and 6.8" OLED displays, Tensor G5 chips, Zoned UFS storage, available on August 28  —  Google's Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL are, on the surface, the least upgraded devices in the company's 2025 smartphone lineup, but that's because everything is hiding under the hood.
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
Google unveils the $799 Pixel 10, featuring a new Tensor G5 chip, 6.3" OLED display, Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and Qi2 support, available on August 28  —  After many leaks and a lot of anticipation, Google's Pixel 10 is finally here, and this year's base model is the ultimate crowd pleaser with a refined …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Damien Wilde / 9to5Google:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Matt Swider / The Shortcut:
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Google unveils $130 Pixel Buds 2a with a Tensor A1 chip, Gemini features, seven hours of battery life with ANC, and a replaceable battery, available October 9  —  There's new software coming for the Pixel Buds Pro 2, too. … The new budget buds are $30 more expensive at $129.99 …
Andrew Liszewski / The Verge:
Google launches its first magnetic wireless charging accessories under the Pixelsnap brand; the Pixel 10 phones are compatible with Qi2 and MagSafe accessories  —  Google announced a handful of Qi2 accessories taking advantage of its new MagSafe alternative called Pixelsnap.
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge:
Google announces Gemini for Home, a new voice assistant for Google Home, with support for Gemini Live, coming later this year and replacing Google Assistant  —  The all-new, more powerful assistant will arrive on Nest smart speakers and displays later this year.
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Made by Google on YouTube:
A recording of the Made by Google 2025 event hosted by Jimmy Fallon  —  Tune in to see something special.  Watch the #MadeByGoogle live show on August 20 at 1pm ET.Available in:American Sign Language - https://youtube.com/watch?v= ...
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Sony says it is raising PlayStation 5 prices by $50 for all models in the US due to a “challenging economic environment”, starting on August 21  —  The prices will go up by $50 for all three models. … Sony is raising the price of all PS5 models by $50 in the US due to a …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft and Asus plan to launch the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X handhelds on October 16; leaks suggest the Ally and Ally X will cost €599 and €899, respectively  —  Microsoft also has a handheld compatibility program to showcase which games run well on the new Xbox Ally devices.
Peter Hall / MIT Technology Review:
NASA and IBM release Surya, an open-source AI model trained on over a decade's worth of NASA solar data to predict solar flares and winds  —  NASA and IBM have released a new open-source machine learning model to help scientists better understand and predict the physics and weather patterns of the sun.
Greg Bensinger / Reuters:
Sources: Amazon plans to revamp its Fire tablets and release a higher-end Android tablet as soon as 2026, after using its Android-forked Fire OS since 2011  —  Amazon (AMZN.O) is plotting a big change to its Fire tablet lineup following years of escalating gripes from consumers and app developers …
Reuters:
Sources: China is considering allowing yuan-backed stablecoins to boost yuan adoption globally and its State Council may approve a roadmap later in August  —  China is considering allowing the usage of yuan-backed stablecoins for the first time to boost wider adoption of its currency globally …
Michael L Hicks / Android Central:
Qualcomm unveils the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 2 and W5 Gen 2 for wearables, with a new satellite messaging feature, improved GPS accuracy, better efficiency, and more  —  Its NB-NTN satellite connectivity, smaller size, and dual-band GPS upgrades will make a significant difference — just not to raw power.
Brian Schwartz / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Elon Musk is quietly pumping the brakes on his plans to start a US political party, telling allies he wants to focus his attention on his companies  —  The billionaire has sought to maintain ties with JD Vance, a potential heir to Trump's MAGA political movement
ProPublica:
Document: Microsoft's 2025 System Security Plan submitted to the DOD, dated February 28, failed to disclose China-based engineers maintaining DoD cloud systems  —  The tech giant is required to regularly provide U.S. officials with its plan for keeping government data safe from hacking.
Tom McArthur / BBC:
Kick says it is “urgently reviewing” the circumstances around the death of a French livestreamer subjected to violence and sleep deprivation during streams  —  An investigation has been launched into the death of a French streamer known for extreme challenges.

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More News

Ali McCadden / CNBC:
Julian E. Barnes / New York Times:
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Earlier Picks

Steve Holland / Reuters:
Sean Endicott / Windows Central: