Meta's Threads is paying some creators thousands of dollars for…

Last year's POCO F8 Ultra was one of my favorite phones. It had a delightful denim-based design, powerful internals, great cameras, standout battery, and didn't cost anywhere as much as its rivals. Basically, POCO delivered one of the best value flagships of the year with the device. In 2026, the brand is continuing that trend with the F9 Ultra and F9 Pro. The F9 Ultra isn't too different to its predecessor, and that is unquestionably a good thing. There is a bigger 8,050mAh battery that lasts two days with ease, a new 200MP main camera, and a model with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, which is what I'm using. (Image credit: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central) The F9 Ultra is coming to 25 countries globally, including the U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, and the UAE. Annoyingly, it isn't launching in India, and I don't quite understand why that's the case — POCO has a strong userbase in the country, and the device should do well considering its intended audience. Let's start with what it costs. The F9 Ultra comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and it costs the equivalent of $799, with an early-bird deal of $729. It is costlier in the west, retailing for €1,099 ($1,273), but the launch price of €829 ($961) makes it that much more accessible. Then there's the 16GB/512GB model that costs $949 ($799 at launch), and €1,199 ($1,389) (€899 ($1,042) at launch). The 16GB/1TB model is $1,199 in Asian markets with a deal price of $1,059, and it

What you need to know The Google TV Streamer has jumped from $100 to $150 at the Google Store and Best Buy. Retailers including Amazon may still have older stock at the original price, but supplies could disappear quickly. The Nest lineup also gets across-the-board markups, with all five Nest cameras and doorbells seeing price increases of $20 to $50. If you've been holding off on picking up Google’s smart home hardware, your hesitation just got a lot more expensive. The tech giant has quietly increased prices across its streaming and security hardware lineup. The Google TV Streamer arrived in 2024 for $100, replacing Chromecast as Google’s flagship streaming box. It was also pretty easy to find below that price, with holiday discounts knocking a few bucks off. Now, Google has quietly bumped up the device’s price by $50 to $150, as spotted by 9to5Google . The new price is already appearing at Google Store and Best Buy , though some retailers are still selling remaining stock for $100. For example, not all listings have been refreshed by Amazon yet. If you are fast enough, you may be able to pick up older stock at launch prices before it is cycled out. Google mentions increased component costs, with the Streamer’s 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage making memory costs a likely factor behind the increase. Other recent Google hardware has already been under the same broader cost pressures. (Image credit: Google) The Nest lineup is taking a hit, too. Google has increased the price of

What you need to know The Google TV Streamer has jumped from $100 to $150 at the Google Store and Best Buy. Retailers including Amazon may still have older stock at the original price, but supplies could disappear quickly. The Nest lineup also gets across-the-board markups, with all five Nest cameras and doorbells seeing price increases of $20 to $50. If you've been holding off on picking up Google’s smart home hardware, your hesitation just got a lot more expensive. The tech giant has quietly increased prices across its streaming and security hardware lineup. The Google TV Streamer arrived in 2024 for $100, replacing Chromecast as Google’s flagship streaming box. It was also pretty easy to find below that price, with holiday discounts knocking a few bucks off. Now, Google has quietly bumped up the device’s price by $50 to $150, as spotted by 9to5Google . The new price is already appearing at Google Store and Best Buy , though some retailers are still selling remaining stock for $100. For example, not all listings have been refreshed by Amazon yet. If you are fast enough, you may be able to pick up older stock at launch prices before it is cycled out. Google mentions increased component costs, with the Streamer’s 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage making memory costs a likely factor behind the increase. Other recent Google hardware has already been under the same broader cost pressures. (Image credit: Google) The Nest lineup is taking a hit, too. Google has increased the price of

What you need to know Android 17 QPR2 has officially hit Platform Stability with Beta 4, meaning APIs are locked and the update is in its final stretch focused entirely on system polish and bug fixes. Google fixed several Pixel pain points, including overheating, unexpected reboots, gesture navigation, battery-limit charging, Recents, Bluetooth audio, and screen-recording issues. Hardware support gets attention, too, with fixes for USB-C XR mirroring, 3D smart-glasses displays, and low-light Face Unlock. Google’s Android 17 QPR2 beta cycle is moving into its final stretch. Beta 1 was released on July 20 , with Beta 2 following on 3 August and Beta 3 only 11 days later . Now, Beta 4 has arrived with a long list of fixes, and more importantly, Android 17 QPR2 has reached Platform Stability. That milestone means Google has locked the API surface for the release, giving developers a much more stable target for testing apps ahead of the update reaching users more broadly. QPR2 is a pretty small SDK update that has no planned behavior changes, so this build is much more about polish, stability, and fixing things that could make a Pixel frustrating to use. Critical bug fixes And there are a lot of things to fix. As per the changelog , Beta 4 resolves a bug in thermal management that could cause overheating and reboots. Another solution is for the 80% battery limit feature that takes way too long to finish charging the last 2%. Google has also fixed broken gesture navigation and a tr

What you need to know Android 17 QPR2 has officially hit Platform Stability with Beta 4, meaning APIs are locked and the update is in its final stretch focused entirely on system polish and bug fixes. Google fixed several Pixel pain points, including overheating, unexpected reboots, gesture navigation, battery-limit charging, Recents, Bluetooth audio, and screen-recording issues. Hardware support gets attention, too, with fixes for USB-C XR mirroring, 3D smart-glasses displays, and low-light Face Unlock. Google’s Android 17 QPR2 beta cycle is moving into its final stretch. Beta 1 was released on July 20 , with Beta 2 following on 3 August and Beta 3 only 11 days later . Now, Beta 4 has arrived with a long list of fixes, and more importantly, Android 17 QPR2 has reached Platform Stability. That milestone means Google has locked the API surface for the release, giving developers a much more stable target for testing apps ahead of the update reaching users more broadly. QPR2 is a pretty small SDK update that has no planned behavior changes, so this build is much more about polish, stability, and fixing things that could make a Pixel frustrating to use. Critical bug fixes And there are a lot of things to fix. As per the changelog , Beta 4 resolves a bug in thermal management that could cause overheating and reboots. Another solution is for the 80% battery limit feature that takes way too long to finish charging the last 2%. Google has also fixed broken gesture navigation and a tr

What you need to know Android 17 QPR2 has officially hit Platform Stability with Beta 4, meaning APIs are locked and the update is in its final stretch focused entirely on system polish and bug fixes. Google fixed several Pixel pain points, including overheating, unexpected reboots, gesture navigation, battery-limit charging, Recents, Bluetooth audio, and screen-recording issues. Hardware support gets attention, too, with fixes for USB-C XR mirroring, 3D smart-glasses displays, and low-light Face Unlock. Google’s Android 17 QPR2 beta cycle is moving into its final stretch. Beta 1 was released on July 20 , with Beta 2 following on 3 August and Beta 3 only 11 days later . Now, Beta 4 has arrived with a long list of fixes, and more importantly, Android 17 QPR2 has reached Platform Stability. That milestone means Google has locked the API surface for the release, giving developers a much more stable target for testing apps ahead of the update reaching users more broadly. QPR2 is a pretty small SDK update that has no planned behavior changes, so this build is much more about polish, stability, and fixing things that could make a Pixel frustrating to use. Critical bug fixes And there are a lot of things to fix. As per the changelog , Beta 4 resolves a bug in thermal management that could cause overheating and reboots. Another solution is for the 80% battery limit feature that takes way too long to finish charging the last 2%. Google has also fixed broken gesture navigation and a tr

What you need to know Instagram is changing its "AI creator" label to "AI-generated profile" to give users better clarity over whether or not the content (and person) they're viewing is real. The platform states there will be restrictions and limits imposed on profiles that do not adhere to this label. Instagram already has its AI Info option, which lets users know if something on the platform was made with AI, such as photos and videos. Instagram is tightening the screws around AI content on its platform this week. Specifically, the app is bringing more clarity for users when a profile is deemed to be nothing but AI. This morning (Aug 31), Instagram announced that it is changing its "AI creator" label to "AI-generated profile." It states this change was made to "make it more clear to people when a profile features an AI-generated person rather than a human." Here's the thing: if someone is running an AI-generated account, meaning the person users see isn't real, they will face limits. Instagram says these limits will be imposed on their accounts' reach, meaning their views and interactions will suffer. These "unlabeled accounts" can make things right by adding the new AI-generated profile label to their account. Additionally, they can appeal the decision if there was a mistake. Instagram has made these decisions due to user feedback. It states users "don’t like seeing a profile that seems human, only to find out later that the person featured is AI-generated." If something w

What you need to know Instagram is changing its "AI creator" label to "AI-generated profile" to give users better clarity over whether or not the content (and person) they're viewing is real. The platform states there will be restrictions and limits imposed on profiles that do not adhere to this label. Instagram already has its AI Info option, which lets users know if something on the platform was made with AI, such as photos and videos. Instagram is tightening the screws around AI content on its platform this week. Specifically, the app is bringing more clarity for users when a profile is deemed to be nothing but AI. This morning (Aug 31), Instagram announced that it is changing its "AI creator" label to "AI-generated profile." It states this change was made to "make it more clear to people when a profile features an AI-generated person rather than a human." Here's the thing: if someone is running an AI-generated account, meaning the person users see isn't real, they will face limits. Instagram says these limits will be imposed on their accounts' reach, meaning their views and interactions will suffer. These "unlabeled accounts" can make things right by adding the new AI-generated profile label to their account. Additionally, they can appeal the decision if there was a mistake. Instagram has made these decisions due to user feedback. It states users "don’t like seeing a profile that seems human, only to find out later that the person featured is AI-generated." If something w

What you need to know Instagram is changing its "AI creator" label to "AI-generated profile" to give users better clarity over whether or not the content (and person) they're viewing is real. The platform states there will be restrictions and limits imposed on profiles that do not adhere to this label. Instagram already has its AI Info option, which lets users know if something on the platform was made with AI, such as photos and videos. Instagram is tightening the screws around AI content on its platform this week. Specifically, the app is bringing more clarity for users when a profile is deemed to be nothing but AI. This morning (Aug 31), Instagram announced that it is changing its "AI creator" label to "AI-generated profile." It states this change was made to "make it more clear to people when a profile features an AI-generated person rather than a human." Here's the thing: if someone is running an AI-generated account, meaning the person users see isn't real, they will face limits. Instagram says these limits will be imposed on their accounts' reach, meaning their views and interactions will suffer. These "unlabeled accounts" can make things right by adding the new AI-generated profile label to their account. Additionally, they can appeal the decision if there was a mistake. Instagram has made these decisions due to user feedback. It states users "don’t like seeing a profile that seems human, only to find out later that the person featured is AI-generated." If something w

What you need to know Google Pixel 11 Pro users on Reddit have started voicing problems with the device's recording capabilities when Video Boost is active. A report states statis bursts every "five seconds" emerge in recordings when this enhancement feature is active, completely ruining the end-product. A Google support team member has responded, curious to learn more; however, users have discovered an at-home fix for this problem. It's the end of August, and we're all unpacking our Pixel 11 phones, but some users say there's already an issue. Reports highlight a video enhancement feature that's working in reverse. Over the past week, reports on the Pixel Phones subreddit have emerged, highlighting a problem with Video Boost on the Pixel 11 Pro (via 9to5Google ). The original poster (OP) said that after recording, they noticed "static bursts" in the audio "every five seconds." The report specifies that this has only occurred with videos recorded with Video Boost enabled. The OP followed up with a better example , showing how egregious these static bursts are every few seconds. Users entered the thread. Some say they've encountered the same problem when Video Boost is active. Another questioned the OP , wondering about their video quality. The user was recording in FHD at 6fps, not 4K. However, another recording at 4K displayed signs of these disruptive static bursts. Users lamented the problem, stating it's disheartening to have such a problem on top of the phone's price. Th

What you need to know Google Pixel 11 Pro users on Reddit have started voicing problems with the device's recording capabilities when Video Boost is active. A report states statis bursts every "five seconds" emerge in recordings when this enhancement feature is active, completely ruining the end-product. A Google support team member has responded, curious to learn more; however, users have discovered an at-home fix for this problem. It's the end of August, and we're all unpacking our Pixel 11 phones, but some users say there's already an issue. Reports highlight a video enhancement feature that's working in reverse. Over the past week, reports on the Pixel Phones subreddit have emerged, highlighting a problem with Video Boost on the Pixel 11 Pro (via 9to5Google ). The original poster (OP) said that after recording, they noticed "static bursts" in the audio "every five seconds." The report specifies that this has only occurred with videos recorded with Video Boost enabled. The OP followed up with a better example , showing how egregious these static bursts are every few seconds. Users entered the thread. Some say they've encountered the same problem when Video Boost is active. Another questioned the OP , wondering about their video quality. The user was recording in FHD at 6fps, not 4K. However, another recording at 4K displayed signs of these disruptive static bursts. Users lamented the problem, stating it's disheartening to have such a problem on top of the phone's price. Th

What you need to know The Galaxy S27 Ultra could replace its 3x and 5x telephoto cameras with a single new 4x f/1.9 zoom camera. The rumored 4x telephoto camera would match the native optical zoom of the iPhone 17 Pro. Leaked CAD renders appear to show room for only one telephoto camera alongside the Galaxy S27 Ultra's main sensors. A new leak may have revealed the new zoom camera Samsung is planning for the Galaxy S27 Ultra. The Galaxy S27 Ultra is finally starting to take shape. We recently saw CAD renders of the Galaxy S27 Ultra that revealed a redesigned camera module with an iPhone 17 Pro-like horizontal camera plateau. Another leak also suggested that Samsung might finally increase the battery capacity on its upcoming flagship. Now, the same leaker who claimed Samsung is working on self-healing display glass for the Galaxy S27 Ultra has shared on X that the phone could feature a new 4x telephoto camera with an f/1.9 aperture. Until now, Samsung has used two different zoom cameras on its recent Ultra flagships, traditionally offering a combination of 3x and 5x telephoto lenses. But with the Galaxy S27 Ultra, it looks like Samsung could be changing that strategy. (Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central) The company will reportedly switch to a single telephoto camera offering 4x optical zoom. Interestingly, that's also the zoom level Apple offers on the iPhone 17 Pro. The recently leaked CAD renders also appear to leave room for only one telephoto camera inside t