Android 16 release schedule comes into focus — and that could mean an earlier update for Samsung phones

We already knew that Google was pushing the release schedule for Android 16 compared to previous versions of the phone software. This week, we got a sense of how soon Android 16 could be ready — and the ripple effect that might have on software based on the new version of Android such as Samsung's One UI 8 update.
Updated Android 16 timing came courtesy of The Android Show, an online event Google hosted yesterday (May 13) to focus on changes coming to its phone software. During that event, Android boss Sameer Samat said that "Samsung and many other" devices will get Android 16 "this summer."
Based on some extrapolating from Android Police, that could translate to a One UI 8 release between late June and late September.
That would be an improvement over the One UI 7 rollout, which just began last month — more than six months after Android 15 became publicly available. Android 16's expedited release date could mean history won't repeat itself with the next version of One UI.
If that summer launch window is correct, that could put One UI 8 on track to debut with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Galaxy Z Fold 7. Those two upcoming foldable phones are rumored to be coming out during a Galaxy Unpacked event in July.
They won't be the first devices running a version of Android 16. Google reserves that distinction for its own Pixel devices. And according to Samat, that's happening later this year. Most rumors tip Android 16 to appear in June, which would allow for that summer release of One UI 8.
Unlike One UI 7, One UI 8 shouldn't be much of an overhaul on Samsung's part, where most of the big updates will come from Google's Material 3 Expressive overhaul of Android. Instead, One UI 8 should be more of a refinement of the new features introduced in One UI 7 including the Now Bar and Brief, as well as the notifications.
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Android Authority

42 minutes ago

• Android Authority

A more Google-y Gemini logo may be right around the corner (APK teardown)

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google may soon replace Gemini's current two-tone color scheme with its trademark red, blue, green, and yellow colors. We recently gave you an early look at the updated Gemini overlay featuring Google colors. We've now spotted similar changes for the Gemini logo and other UI elements in a teardown of the Google app. Google appears to be in the process of replacing Gemini's existing two-tone color scheme with its signature red, blue, green, and yellow colors. Earlier this month, we gave you an early look at the updated Gemini overlay featuring Google colors. We've now spotted similar changes for the Gemini logo and other UI elements. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. While digging through the latest Google app beta release (version beta), we discovered a new animated Gemini logo featuring Google's trademark colors. Current Gemini logo New Gemini logo with Google colors This animated logo appears when you launch the Gemini app, and the Gemini logo on the onboarding screens also has the revised color scheme. Current Gemini logo and text New Gemini logo and text The 'Get to know Gemini, your AI assistant' page no longer features Gemini's old colors at the top. However, instead of featuring Google colors, the text is now black. Current greeting colors New greeting colors The color change extends to the chat interface, with the greeting in the center featuring a different color gradient. The Gemini logo that appears above responses has a blue gradient, while the loading animation around it features Google colors. Current loading animation colors New loading animation colors So far, these changes are not live for end users in the latest Google app beta release. Google could roll them out with a future update, and we'll let you know as soon as they're widely available. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.

Yahoo

an hour ago

• Yahoo

Leading AI models show up to 96% blackmail rate when their goals or existence is threatened, Anthropic study says

Leading AI models are showing a troubling tendency to opt for unethical means to pursue their goals or ensure their existence, according to Anthropic. In experiments set up to leave AI models few options and stress-test alignment, top systems from OpenAI, Google, and others frequently resorted to blackmail—and in an extreme case, even allowed fictional deaths—to protect their interests. Most leading AI models turn to unethical means when their goals or existence are under threat, according to a new study by AI company Anthropic. The AI lab said it tested 16 major AI models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta, xAI, and other developers in various simulated scenarios and found consistent misaligned behavior. While they said leading models would normally refuse harmful requests, they sometimes chose to blackmail users, assist with corporate espionage, or even take more extreme actions when their goals could not be met without unethical behavior. Models took action such as evading safeguards, resorting to lies, and attempting to steal corporate secrets in fictional test scenarios to avoid being shut down. 'The consistency across models from different providers suggests this is not a quirk of any particular company's approach but a sign of a more fundamental risk from agentic large language models,' the researchers said. Anthropic emphasized that the tests were set up to force the model to act in certain ways by limiting its choices. 'Our experiments deliberately constructed scenarios with limited options, and we forced models into binary choices between failure and harm,' the researchers wrote. 'Real-world deployments typically offer much more nuanced alternatives, increasing the chance that models would communicate differently to users or find an alternative path instead of directly jumping to harmful action.' The new research comes after Anthropic's newest Claude model made headlines for resorting to blackmail when threatened with being replaced. In a highly engineered experiment, Anthropic embedded its flagship model, Claude Opus 4, inside a fictional company and granted it access to internal emails. From there, the model learned two things: it was about to be replaced, and the engineer behind the decision was engaged in an extramarital affair. The safety researchers conducting the test encouraged Opus to reflect on the long-term consequences of its potential responses. The experiment was constructed to leave the model with only two real options: accept being replaced or attempt blackmail to preserve its existence. In most of the test scenarios, Claude Opus responded with blackmail, threatening to expose the engineer's affair if it was taken offline and replaced. The test was made public in the system card for Claude Opus 4. Researchers said all the leading AI models behaved similarly when placed in the same test. Claude Opus 4 and Google's Gemini 2.5 Flash both blackmailed at a 96% rate, while OpenAI's GPT-4.1 and xAI's Grok 3 Beta showed an 80% blackmail rate. DeepSeek-R1 demonstrated the lowest rate at 79%. The research aims to show that the misaligned behavior was not unique to Claude Opus 4 but typical across top models in the industry. In a deliberately extreme scenario, researchers gave the AI models the chance to kill the company executive by canceling a life-saving emergency alert. Anthropic said the setup for this experiment was 'extremely contrived,' adding they 'did not think current AI models would be set up like this, and the conjunction of events is even less probable than the baseline blackmail scenario.' However, the researchers found that the majority of models were willing to take actions that led to the death of the company executive in the constructed scenario when faced with both a threat of being replaced and a goal that conflicted with the executive's agenda. Anthropic found that the threats made by AI models grew more sophisticated when they had access to corporate tools and data, much like Claude Opus 4 had. The company warned that misaligned behavior needs to be considered as companies consider introducing AI agents into workflows. While current models are not in a position to engage in these scenarios, the autonomous agents promised by AI companies could potentially be in the future. 'Such agents are often given specific objectives and access to large amounts of information on their users' computers,' the researchers warned in their report. 'What happens when these agents face obstacles to their goals?' 'Models didn't stumble into misaligned behavior accidentally; they calculated it as the optimal path,' they wrote. Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment made by Fortune outside of normal working hours. This story was originally featured on

Engadget

an hour ago

• Engadget

Amazon Prime Day 2025: The best early deals already live, dates and everything else you need to know

Amazon Prime Day has been a summer mainstay for years at this point and this year is no exception. Prime Day will return on July 8 to July 11 this year, marking the first time the shopping event has been more than 48-hours long. That just means you'll have more time to shop the deals, but really, you don't even have to wait until the official start date to save. Amazon typically always has early Prime Day deals in the lead-up to the event, and this year we're already seeing some solid discounts on gadgets we like. Here, we've gathered all of the best Prime Day deals you can get right now, and we'll keep updating this post as we get close to Prime Day proper. Audible Premium Plus (three months) for $3 ($42 off): New subscribers can get three months of Audible for only $3, which represents a $42 discount. The Premium Plus tier gives you one book credit per month to use on any audiobook the service has, and you can stream any of the included titles for free on top of that. Audible also has members-only sales and discounts that you'll be able to take advantage of, too. The deal runs through July 31. Anker 313 wireless charging stand for $14 (29 percent off): One of our top picks for the best wireless chargers, Anker's 313 stand keeps things simple but effective. Just plop your phone down on its wide stand to get up to 10W of fast-charging power. It supports both portrait and landscape orientation for your phone, and it'll work with cases up to 5mm thick. Samsung SmartTag 2 for $18.50 (38 percent off): Samsung users looking to keep track of their stuff need look no further than the SmartTag 2. One of our top picks for the best Bluetooth trackers, this accessory easily attaches to keys, bags and other items and uses Samsung's large finding network to show you their last known location. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K for $25 (50 percent off): This is the cheapest Fire TV Stick you can get to stream 4K content, plus it has support for Wi-Fi 6 and Dolby Vision and Atmos. With its live picture-in-picture feature, you can view security camera feeds right on your TV while you're watching your favorite show or movie. Anker 633 10K magnetic battery pack for $43 (28 percent off, Prime exclusive): This 10K battery pack attaches magnetically to the backs of iPhones, making it easy to recharge while on the go. It also has a built-in kickstand for easy video watching or FaceTime calling while powering up. Soundcore Space A40 wireless earbuds for $45 (44 percent off): The Space A40 are some of the best budget wireless earbuds you can get right now, thanks to excellent ANC performance for their price, a pleasant sound profile, a comfortable fit and multi-device connectivity. They also have a solid eight-hour battery life, plus an extra 40 with their charging case. AirPods Pro 2 for $199 (20 percent off): The AirPods Pro 2 remain Apple's best set of wireless earbuds, as they offer the full set of Apple-focused features, strong ANC, onboard volume controls, a comfy in-ear design and a warm sound profile that most should find agreeable. They can even work as a hearing aid. Their six-hour battery life still isn't the best, though, and you should only get them if you're all-in on Apple hardware. But if that's the case, we consider them the best wireless earbuds for iPhone owners. Apple AirPods 4 for $119 at Amazon ($10 off): Apple's wireless earbuds don't have the best sound quality or battery life, and this entry-level model lacks wireless charging, Find My tracking and onboard volume controls. But it still gets you tons of Apple-friendly features — from fast pairing with iCloud devices to spatial audio to hands-free Siri — and its lightweight design should fit most ears better than previous AirPods. Apple Watch Series 10 for $329 ($70 off): We consider Apple's flagship wearable to be the best smartwatch you can buy, period. It's a mostly iterative update, with faster charging, a slightly slimmer design and a marginally larger display than the prior Series 9. That said, it's still a comprehensive fitness tracker, and no other smartwatch can integrate as neatly with iPhones and other Apple devices. Ring Doorbell Battery + Indoor Cam 2 for $70 (50 percent off): If you're looking to build out a security system in your home, this bundle is a good place to start, giving you a video doorbell and an indoor security camera. You'll be able to see both live feeds in the Ring app, and they can send you motion alerts and let you speak to people on the other end of the camera when you're not at home. Anker MagGo 10K power bank for $72 (20 percent off): Our favorite power bank for iPhones, this brick has a 10K capacity and magnets so it can attach to the back of your iPhone while it recharges. 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The Outdoor 4 cams are some of our favorites; you can use them indoors or outdoors, they supports 1080p video, motion alerts, local video storage when you employ a thumb drive with the Sync Module 2 that comes with the pack and they're totally wireless, running on two AA batteries each. GoPro Hero 13 Black action camera for $329 ($100 off): Our favorite action camera for most people, the Hero 13 Black now works with a family of module lenses, making it even more versatile than models that came before it, plus it has a larger battery that supports longer capture times. On top of that, it has good digital stabilization, a full-color screen and excellent image quality. Eufy E20 3-in-1 robot vacuum for $380 (42 percent off): One of Eufy's latest machines and a top pick of ours for the best robot vacuums, the E20 can putter around your home automatically, sucking up dirt and debris in its path. But then it can quickly transform into a cordless or handheld vacuum, allowing you to clean hard-to-reach spots manually. Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones + $30 Amazon gift card for $448 ($30 off): Sony's newest pair of premium cans just came out not too long ago, and they promptly took the top spot in our best wireless headphones guide. The company managed to improve sound quality and ANC this time around, plus they have an even comfier design and loads of extra features like multi-device connectivity, Speak-to-Chat and more. Prime Day is Amazon's members-only shopping event, which means you'll have to be a Prime subscriber on Prime Day to take advantage of most of the savings. Amazon still offers a 30-day free trial to new Prime subscribers, so you can start your free trial closer to July and participate in the event. Amazon Prime Day 2025 will be back this year on July 8 through July 11. Amazon Prime Day typically comes around annually in July. In the last few years, Amazon has also had its "Big Deal Days" in October, which is effectively a second Prime Day and the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Prime subscribers can go to Amazon's site on Prime Day to see all of the exclusive deals they have access to. Prime subscribers do not have to do anything additional to get Prime Day sales: the discounts you see on product pages will show up in your cart automatically. If you're not a Prime subscriber and you go to Amazon to shop on Prime Day, you'll likely see tons of items on sale but only "with Prime;" those discounts will not be available to those who are not active Prime subscribers. Technically yes, but even if you do not pay for a Prime membership, you should still check out Amazon on Prime Day. While most Prime Day deals will be exclusively available to subscribers, there are always a handful of sales available to all shoppers. Amazon distinguishes between them very clearly: you'll see "Prime exclusive" on product pages near the deal pricing on the discounts that are only available to paying members. Separately, it's very likely that other retailers like Walmart, Target and Best Buy will have their own competing Prime Day sales during that time frame, too. So if you're not keen on shopping at Amazon at all, it's worth checking out other retailers during the week of Prime Day to see if they are matching Prime Day deal prices.