9to5Google

Google rolled out Android 17 QPR2 Beta 6 and Beta 6.1 in quick succession to continue the preview ahead of the stable December launch.

With Android 17 QPR2 Beta 6.1, HiLight on the Pixel 11 Pro series now supports message notifications.

Following last week’s release, Google today is rolling out Android 17 QPR2 Beta 6.1, including for the Pixel 11 series.

Welcome to episode 46 of The Sideload, a 9to5Google podcast. This week, Will is joined by Allison Johnson to discuss her experience with Meta’s new agentic AI chatbot Muse, and whether agents are really prepared to save their users time. Plus some thoughts on the iPhone 18 Pro’s variable aperture, Allison’s hands-on impressions of the iPhone Duo, and much more.

Sponsored by NordVPN: Listeners to The Sideload can save up to 76% on a two-year subscription alongside four extra months for absolutely free by signing up for NordVPN using this link. Thanks to NordVPN for sponsoring this week’s episode.

Subscribe

• YouTube Podcasts
• Pocket Casts
• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Amazon Music

Subscribe to 9to5Google Pro for exclusive bonus content, podcast episodes, and more.

Ahead of next month’s launch, Google is beginning the marketing push for Googlebooks with Henry Cavill.

Pixel Recorder is getting a small quality-of-life update that surfaces your audio files to other apps on your device.

Right as Meta’s Muse avatar agent has taken the AI world by storm, OpenAI is today announcing Dots as “always-on agents” you can customize to your needs.

Google Play today is giving Android developers more payment options around subscriptions, including Usage-Based Billing.

The first leak of Google’s upcoming Pixel 11a just hit the web, revealing a virtually unchanged design, as well as suggesting that the mid-range device might get a purple colorway.

The Moto Tag 2 is the product of Motorola playing it safe, and that means the Android Find Hub tracker fits in most tracker accessories on the market, making it a pretty good deal. It’s on sale right now for $19 – 33% off after a time out of stock.

Previous Galaxy S27 Ultra leaks have directed attention to the new camera island, but don’t overlook the missing camera lens left behind with the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Apparently, that camera is the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra’s 10MP 3x zoom.

A partial outage has left the Spotify app in shambles, with core functions not working for many users.

The floodgates are open. After a delay and staggered starts, Samsung is widely rolling out its Android 17-based One UI 9 update for Galaxy S26 users around the globe, and they’re not alone.

An issue with Google’s Firebase left thousands of iPhone apps crashing overnight, but a fix has already been applied.

I’ve been on a tear recently trying to find some of the best Fitbit Air accessories and bands. It has been one heck of a process, but I think I’ve found another affordable gem that’s better than the official Fitbit Air Active bands.

Good morning. Today I’m going crazy over the NYT’s list of the best TV shows of the 21st century, redoing all of my vibe-projects with Opus 5.5, girding my loins for another Witcher 3 play-through now that the free remaster is out, and devouring Colson Whitehead’s new novel, Cool Machine.

As a reminder, Inbox is the tech newsletter that goes beyond the news cycle. We cover the most important 9to5Google stories from the last couple of days along with a few highlights from around the web. We publish every Tuesday and Thursday, and if you like what you read, please subscribe.

Nothing is today introducing its new Headphone (1) Pro over-ear headphones which deliver hardware improvements, better ANC, and deeper control over how you can tune the final output.

OpenAI has scrapped plans to release GPT-6.1 Astra in the next few weeks over concerns that the model is misbehaving.