Tag Archives: phones

This $249 Phone Becomes a Game Console With One $29 Snap-On Tile

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Feature phones have been having something of a quiet comeback, driven largely by people who are tired of the attention-capturing machinery baked into modern smartphones. Most of what’s on the market offers a stripped-back feature set with very little room to grow. Calls, texts, maybe a basic camera, and that’s about where the conversation ends, which hasn’t exactly made the category feel like an exciting place to be.

The Sidephone SP-01 has been quietly building a different kind of case for itself since its debut in 2025, not by piling features onto a simple phone but by letting users choose what kind of phone they want through a swappable modular keypad system. The Mini Controller Keypad is the fourth tile to join that family, and it’s the most unexpected one yet.

Designer: Sidephone

Unlike the T9 pad used for texting or the Sundial’s iPod-wheel-style controls for music, the Mini Controller brings a game controller layout to the front of the phone. It carries a D-pad, A, X, Y, and B action buttons, plus Start and Select, all of which will feel immediately familiar to anyone who has ever held a handheld gaming device. The keypad sells separately for $29, the same price as the other add-on tiles.

To go with the hardware, Sidephone has developed two mini games that ship alongside the keypad: Mini Asteroids and Mini Blocks. They’re clearly starter content rather than the main event, but they establish that this isn’t just a novelty tile. The company has plans to open a community development environment so that third-party developers can build their own games and apps for the platform, which is when things will likely get more interesting.

What Sidephone has been sketching out goes considerably further. GBA and arcade emulator support has been floated as a longer-term possibility, alongside universal smart remote functionality. If even a portion of that lands, the Mini Controller starts looking like less of a playful add-on and more of a meaningful expansion of what a deliberately simple phone can do on an idle evening.

The whole system rests on the premise that a feature phone doesn’t have to be a featureless object. The SP-01 runs a custom Android-based OS, carries a 2.8-inch touchscreen and a 12 MP camera, and supports essential apps without dragging in the full weight of a smartphone’s notification ecosystem. The swappable keypad system, which uses pogo-pin connectors and magnets to click tiles into place, is what allows the device to shift personalities without requiring a hardware upgrade.

The Mini Controller sits alongside a growing family of tiles that now spans T9 dialing, compact QWERTY typing, scroll-wheel media control, and controller-style gaming. What started as a phone built around the premise of doing less has turned into a modular platform that keeps finding new things to do, each one contained in a $29 tile that snaps onto the same core hardware.

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Honor Magic V6 Review: Big battery, slim body, refined experience

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PROS:


  • Slim and comfortable design

  • Bright and crisp internal and external displays

  • Outstanding battery capacity, backed by fast wired and wireless charging

  • Great main and telephoto camera for a foldable

CONS:


  • Feels more like a small upgrade over the Magic V5 than a major generational leap

  • Ultrawide camera is decent, but not as impressive as the main and telephoto cameras</li?

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

Honor may not have radically changed the formula, but the Magic V6 shows just how far thoughtful refinement can go.

Honor unveiled its latest foldable, the Honor Magic V6, at MWC 2026 back in March. Now, three months later, the phone is starting its global rollout in Malaysia and Singapore. That shift from launch event to retail availability is where the real test begins, because foldables have reached a point where being thin or flashy is no longer enough on its own.

The Magic V6 does not completely rethink what Honor has already been doing with its book-style foldables. Instead, it builds on a formula that already worked well, pushing it further with a bigger battery, a slim and comfortable design, and a hardware package that feels unusually complete for a foldable. After spending time with it, the Honor Magic V6 feels less like a dramatic reinvention and more like a careful refinement of what Honor already got right.

Designer: HONOR

Aesthetics

Foldables still have a habit of looking oddly cautious. For devices built around one of the most dramatic ideas in modern consumer tech, they often arrive in the safest shades possible. Black, grey, silver, maybe a muted blue if a brand is feeling adventurous. The color choice itself is usually limited, which can make many foldables feel more sterile than stylish. Honor is one of the few brands that has tried to bring a little more personality into the category, and the Magic V6 sticks with that idea.

At first glance, the Magic V6 looks very similar to the Magic V5. The overall silhouette is familiar, the octagonal camera module is still there, and even the color direction feels like a continuation rather than a reset. This is clearly not a redesign for the sake of it. Honor seems comfortable with the look it has established for the Magic V line, so the V6 feels more like a polished follow-up than a fresh visual statement.

The finishes do a lot of the work in giving the phone its character. Honor offers the Magic V6 in four colors, and they feel more thought-through than the usual selection in this category. The red version I received is the most striking, with a soft-touch finish, a subtle hairline pattern, a gold frame, and a matching gold camera ring that make it feel a little warmer and more expressive than most foldables. The gold version goes in a different direction with a crisscross pattern that gives the back more texture and a slightly dressier look. If you want something more restrained, the white and black versions are there too.

Honor has also paid attention to the accessories. Each color comes with a matching case with a built-in kickstand, while the optional Special Edition case adds a bit more flair. Designed with Yoni Alter, it uses red aramid fiber and a colorful mosaic-style horse motif, while also adding built-in magnetic support. It is a small detail overall, but it suits the phone. The Magic V6 may not change Honor’s foldable design language, but it does show that the company is still putting real thought into how this series looks and feels.

Ergonomics

The ergonomics feel more like a refinement of the previous model, and I think that is a good thing. To me, the Magic V5 was already the most ergonomic book-style foldable around, so Honor did not really need to rethink the formula. What it has done instead is rework the internal architecture to fit what is currently the biggest battery in a foldable phone while still keeping the Magic V6 among the thinnest in the category.

There are slight differences depending on the color. The white version is the thinnest and lightest, measuring 156.7 x 74.5 x 8.75 mm when folded and just 4.0 mm when unfolded, with a weight of 219g. The other color variants are slightly thicker at 9.0 mm folded and 4.1 mm unfolded, and they weigh 224g.

In use, the Magic V6 still feels like one of the most comfortable foldables around. The hinge feels secure and firm, and opening and closing it feels fluid and well-judged. The frame is now flat, but the edges are ever so slightly curved, so it does not dig into your hand. The volume rocker and the power button, which also doubles as the fingerprint scanner, are placed where they are easy to reach. You can also customize the double press on the power button, which is a nice little touch in daily use.

What I like most is that the Magic V6 does not really feel like a typical large book-style foldable when it is closed. Folded shut, it feels surprisingly close to a regular slab phone, which makes it much easier to use casually throughout the day. It is this kind of refinement that makes the Magic V6 so easy to live with day to day.

Performance

The Magic V6 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which puts it right where a flagship should be in 2026. It is paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, although other configurations are available depending on the market. There is no real issue here with multitasking or with playing demanding AAA titles. Apps open quickly, moving between tasks feels smooth, and the phone has the kind of power that lets the larger display feel properly useful rather than overambitious.

Software is often where foldables either come together or start to feel more awkward than they should. The Magic V6 runs MagicOS 10 based on Android 16, and as with Honor’s recent devices, the focus seems to be on giving users plenty of AI features and cross-platform connectivity. Honor is leaning quite hard into interconnectivity with Apple devices. Using Honor Connect, the Magic V6 supports two-way notification sync with iPhones and iPads, while an Apple Watch can display messages and notifications from both devices. Through Honor WorkStation, the phone can also connect to a Mac and act as an extension of the desktop environment, with support for wireless screen casting, content transfer, and one-tap file sharing, including original-format Moving Photo.

On a foldable, though, the more important question is whether the software makes good use of the larger screen, and here the Magic V6 feels well equipped. Multitasking on the V6 is solid. The inner display gives you enough room to run apps side by side without things feeling cramped, and the phone has more than enough power to keep everything moving smoothly. On a device like this, that matters just as much as raw specs, because a foldable only really makes sense if the larger screen feels genuinely useful in everyday use.

Honor has equipped the Magic V6 with a 6.52-inch 2420 x 1080 AMOLED outer screen and a 7.95-inch 2352 x 2172 AMOLED inner display, and both are vivid, sharp, and fluid. Both panels support a 1 to 120Hz LTPO refresh rate, with up to 5,000 nits on the inner display and 6,000 nits on the outer, alongside eye comfort features such as 4320Hz PWM dimming. In use, the displays are excellent. The crease is barely noticeable, though not quite as invisible as on Oppo’s Find N6. The stereo speakers are also plenty loud and punchy, which suits the phone well for video and games.

The Magic V6 comes with a 50MP main camera with an f/1.6 aperture and OIS, a 64MP telephoto camera with an f/2.5 aperture, a 1/2-inch sensor, and OIS, and a 50MP ultrawide. On paper, that is a solid setup for a foldable, especially in a category where cameras have often felt like one of the first compromises.

In practice, the main and telephoto cameras are both strong for a foldable. Images come out sharp, colors are pleasing, and the overall look tends to lean a little on the brighter side. The ultrawide is satisfactory, though it does not stand out in quite the same way as the other two cameras.

Battery life is one of the Magic V6’s biggest selling points. Honor has managed to fit a 6,660mAh silicon-carbon battery into a foldable that is still among the thinnest in its class, while the 1TB version in China goes even further with a 7,150mAh battery. That is a huge battery even by slab flagship standards, never mind in a foldable.

Charging is strong too, with support for 80W wired and 66W wireless charging on the global model. A foldable this slim with this much battery capacity and this level of charging support is still unusual, and it is a big part of what makes the Magic V6 feel so easy to trust as an everyday device.

Sustainability

When it comes to foldables, durability can still be a concern for some people. Honor is clearly aware of that. The outer screen uses silicon nitride-based Nano Crystal Shield glass with up to 5,600 ultra-precise coating layers, while the inner display uses UTG flexible glass and is said to be 33 percent more impact resistant than the Magic V5. It is also rated for 500,000 folds.

The Magic V6 also comes with IP68 and IP69 ratings, which is the kind of protection you would more often expect from a slab flagship than a foldable. Honor is also promising seven major OS updates, which helps strengthen the long-term ownership story. What would make that sustainability angle more complete is greater use of sustainable materials, which is still an area where Honor could do more.

Value

Value is always a tricky part of the conversation with foldables because these devices are expensive by nature. No one is buying something like the Magic V6 because it is a bargain. Honor is beginning its wider rollout in Malaysia and Singapore. In Malaysia, the Magic V6 is priced at RM 7,699 for the 16GB RAM and 512GB storage version, which works out to roughly US$1,920 at a simple direct conversion. At that price, it is still very much a premium purchase, but the hardware does a lot to justify it. You are getting a slim and comfortable design, strong performance, large and bright displays, a huge battery, fast charging, and a durability story that feels more complete than what many foldables have offered in the past.

Value still depends on what you want from a foldable. If battery life, ergonomics, and high-end hardware matter most to you, the Magic V6 makes a very strong case for itself. If software polish is your top priority, some rivals may still feel a little more mature. Even so, the Magic V6 feels like a foldable that gives you a lot of substance for the money, not just novelty.

Verdict

The Magic V6 feels like Honor refining a formula that was already working well. It does not try to reinvent the book-style foldable, but it improves on the parts that matter most. The design still has personality, the ergonomics are excellent, the displays are strong, and the battery is genuinely standout for this category. The main and telephoto cameras are also better than what many people might expect from a foldable, which helps round out the overall package.

It is not without a few caveats, though. The software still does not feel quite as polished as the very best in the category, and the price places it firmly in ultra-premium territory. Even so, the bigger picture is very easy to like. If you want a foldable that feels slim, practical, powerful, and unusually easy to live with, the Magic V6 makes a very convincing case for itself.

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This $99 Rugged Phone Has a Keypad and Won’t Let You Doomscroll

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The case for a second phone has gotten easier to make over the past few years. Whether it’s for a work line, a travel SIM, or simply a device that doesn’t pull you into a scroll every time you pick it up, the idea of carrying something smaller and simpler alongside a primary smartphone has moved from eccentric habit to reasonable strategy. What that second device should actually be, though, has been harder to settle.

Ulefone’s Armor Mini 5 answers that question with a format that most people assumed was retired alongside early BlackBerries and Nokia candy bar phones. It combines a physical alphanumeric keypad at the bottom with a 2.8-inch touchscreen above it, runs Android 11, and wraps the whole thing in a rugged shell certified to IP68, IP69K, and MIL-STD-810H standards. The result is something that sits deliberately between a feature phone and a smartphone.

Designer: Ulefone

The display at 240×320 pixels isn’t going to run any graphically demanding apps, and that’s clearly the point. Ulefone pre-loads WhatsApp and markets the device explicitly as a way to stay in touch with the people you care about while sidestepping the attention-draining machinery of a modern phone. WhatsApp calls, voice messages, and texts work fine at this resolution. Instagram doesn’t, which is by design.

At 142mm x 62mm x 16.5mm and 170g, the Armor Mini 5 fits comfortably in a chest pocket where most modern 6-inch devices wouldn’t. The physical keypad keeps texting fast for anyone comfortable with predictive T9 input, and the number keys double as a quick-dial interface, the kind of interaction muscle memory that never quite goes away once it’s formed. Calls are the first-class experience here, with the touchscreen adding access to apps when needed.

The rugged credentials are serious ones. IP68 means submersion up to 2 m for 30 minutes. IP69K adds resistance to high-pressure water jets, which is the standard applied to equipment that gets hosed down in industrial or outdoor settings. MIL-STD-810H covers drop, vibration, humidity, altitude, and temperature extremes. A phone this small is significantly more likely to be dropped than a larger device, so the reinforced shell earns its place.

Battery management is where the form factor pays its most practical dividend. The 2,500mAh cell powers up to 12 days of moderate use and reaches 311 hours of standby, numbers that come from the low-resolution display and efficient quad-core MediaTek MT6739 chipset rather than from a massive capacity. The battery is also removable, which hasn’t been a feature on most consumer phones for nearly a decade, and it means carrying a spare for genuinely extended off-grid use.

Storage is 8GB internally with 1GB of RAM, paired with a triple-card slot that accepts two nano SIMs alongside a microSD card. For a phone that handles calls, texts, and WhatsApp, 8GB is more than sufficient. The dual-SIM configuration makes it practical as a travel device, keeping a local data SIM and a home number active simultaneously without buying a second handset.

The Armor Mini 5 currently sells for $99.99, down from a regular price of $109.99. For a phone that most people would describe as a deliberate step backward in screen size and software capabilities, it makes a surprisingly coherent argument that fewer features, handled well and built to survive a job site, might actually be the more useful device for what a second phone is actually supposed to do.

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CASETiFY releases an original Tamagotchi, phone cases, charms, and exclusive accessories to pique nostalgia

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Tamagotchi, the virtual pet created by Bandai, a Japanese toy manufacturer, was seen constantly hanging from schoolbags in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when I was growing up. As brands now consistently mine millennial nostalgia for Gen-Z delight, many collaborations in the recent past have given birth to or revived the Y2K-era devices, of which the new Tamagotchi x CASETiFY collaboration is a true testament.

The device, which was a consistent charm for people, especially the kids, appeared clipped onto keychains or held as fidgets in the hand, is now getting a new life through the charismatic collaboration. The collection transforms the favorite nostalgic character into smartphone and tablet cases, charms, collectible accessories, and Tamagotchi chase cards.

Designer: CASETiFY

Officially launched on May 29, 2026, the CASETiFY’s Tamagotchi lineup includes customizable phone cases, earbud pouches, charms, a carry-on suitcase, and also features an original, limited-edition Tamagotchi device, each designed to be styled with interchangeable modular accessories. The exclusive range of products starts at roughly around $15 and goes up to $799.

The highlight here, of course, is the release of the Original Tamagotchi Casetify Limited Edition. This collectible object, reimagined as a usable tech accessory, is priced at $45, and comes in a small, egg-shaped form factor with three buttons, just like the real thing launched in 1996. This playable device will be available in a strictly numbered quantity through CASETiFY.

The full collection, including the original Tamagotchi, is now available at casetify.com and CASETiFY stores worldwide. Besides the rare piece, the collaboration, reviving the retro gaming imagery includes, Tamagotchi Collectible Plush Charm for $70, Tamagotchi Jumbo Pattern Snappy Cardholder Stand (MagSafe compatible) for $40, and Egg Tablet Case for the iPad at $79.

A restoration of the bright colors, character graphics, and the pixilated interfaces that made the Tamagotchi a force to reckon with is seen in the accessories covered in the character’s motifs, beyond the phone, tablet cases, detachable phone charms, and patterned straps. Amid these, the plush pouches designed to hold earbuds really stand out.

The collection, however, is not just about these smaller accessories. In fact, it comprises a customizable carry-on luggage from the CASETiFY Travel Tamagotchi luggage series. Using different Tamagotchi characters and retro typography, the appeal of the suitcase, available in pink and blue colors, can be enhanced to a decorative height that fans cannot deny.

It is difficult to point directly at what instigated Bandai for this collaboration with CASETiFY. But how it stands out, Tamagotchi nostalgia is seeing a rise in Japan. Themed displays inspired by Tamagotchi’s cute universe are everywhere, from cafes to parties. Reminding us that even after 30 years of its launch, Tamagotchi continues to have a fan following, which the two companies are leveraging through this collaboration.

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Oppo Made A MagSafe Display Accessory That Lets You Take Better Selfies With Your Rear Camera

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The rear camera has always been the better camera. That has been true for over a decade. Every benchmark, every low-light comparison, every zoom test confirms it, and yet selfie culture built itself entirely around the front-facing lens because there was no practical way to see what the good camera was capturing while it was pointed away from you. Oppo’s answer to that decade-old inconvenience is a circular magnetic screen that clips to the back of your phone and mirrors your rear camera’s live feed. Frame your shot, check your composition, tap to shoot, all without guessing.

Launched in China on May 25, 2026, the Oppo Bubble pairs with select devices in the Reno 16 lineup and streams a camera preview wirelessly up to 10 meters away. That range alone repositions it as a proper remote shooting monitor, useful well beyond selfies. The Bubble runs on a 550mAh battery, uses a circular AMOLED touchscreen, and supports custom wallpapers and media display when the camera preview is off. Apple has had the magnetic infrastructure for something like this since 2020. Six years on, the most ambitious MagSafe accessory in the lineup is still a card holder.

Designer: Oppo

Deep blacks, punchy colors, and a circular silhouette that reads more like tech jewelry than a utilitarian panel, the Bubble’s AMOLED touchscreen is the hardware doing the heaviest lifting in the whole concept. A washed-out, low-res preview would sink this accessory at its primary job, so putting a real AMOLED in here is arguably the secret sauce. The round form factor earns its keep on the design side too, giving the Bubble enough personality to avoid looking like a rectangular chunk glued to a phone case. Beyond the camera preview, Oppo lets you load it up with custom wallpapers, live photos, videos, and animated themes, so it has a visual life even when you’re not actively shooting. Yes, you can even load your boarding pass on it to show at the airport. No, you can’t play DOOM on it… yet.

 

Screenshot

Ten meters of wireless range turns the Bubble from a selfie tool into a legitimate remote shooting monitor, and Oppo built a remote shutter trigger in to go with it. At arm’s length, you’re checking your own framing before you tap. At 10 meters, you’re monitoring a camera on a tripod across the room, or confirming a group shot is actually composed before everyone has to reassemble for attempt number six. People used to buy separate Bluetooth remotes to approximate half of that workflow. The Bubble folds it into one small circular screen that lives on the back of the phone, which makes you wonder why no one shipped this sooner.

The live camera preview only works with select Oppo devices from the Reno 16 series it launched alongside, which means the headline feature is gated to a short device list even within Oppo’s own lineup at launch. That’s a real limitation for now, and one worth naming plainly before you get too deep into the pitch. Oppo has also teased a pendant variant of the Bubble, suggesting it has a standalone life beyond being phone-mounted, though whether that version carries the camera preview or strips back to a display has not been confirmed. The fact that Oppo is already thinking in form factor variations points toward a platform they intend to iterate on. Whether the compatibility net widens with the next generation is the question worth watching.

A rear camera selfie monitor that works 10 meters out, snaps on magnetically, and runs on a proper AMOLED display covers a gap that millions of people navigate every single day with timer sprints and front cameras they’ve quietly settled for. The Bubble is currently available in China, with no confirmed international rollout yet. Apple has had MagSafe on iPhones since 2020, built a respectable ecosystem of wallets, chargers, and cases around it, and left the screen real estate entirely untouched. Oppo just claimed it. How aggressively they expand the Bubble beyond a single phone series in a single market will say a lot about whether they actually believe in what they’ve built here.

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This Grungy Metal Case turns your iPhone 17 Pro into an iPod Classic

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The original iPod (even the iPhone) was designed to scratch. Contrary to the idea of Steve Jobs and Jony Ive chasing perfection, the idea behind having an iPod that wears and tears with use was that A. it would be less of a hurdle to get you to upgrade, but also B. it would make each iPod uniquely different.

The term designers and craftspeople use to describe this phenomenon is ‘Patina’, it’s when iron rusts a certain way, when bronze oxidizes in a unique style, or when leather wears down in a distinct manner that’s unique to each individual product and how it’s used. The back of the iPod would scratch based on whether you’d keep it on tables or in pockets, whether your pocket had keys, whether you accidentally scuffed it against your belt buckle or the railing of a flight of stairs. That patina was ‘by design’, and even though the new iPhones don’t have that feature, David Delahunty designed a case that lets you relive exactly that.

Designer: David Delahunty

Rather simply put the iPod Classic iPhone 17 Case, this distressed metal case was designed to fit around any iPhone 17 Pro or Pro Max, giving your phone the same grunge-ish vibe. It has the exact same curved body that the iPod Classic had, making the product feel almost identical to the original when held in your hand (bye bye sharp edges on the iPhone, you won’t be missed). The case sports the same artwork on the back too, with an iPod symbol and the Apple logo, along with even the certification text at the bottom… but what steals the show are the scratches.

Now it’s difficult to say if Delahunty designed each case to be unique, but that’s because these are just conceptual… for now. The designer, who goes by ‘delahuntagram’ on social media, churns out unique ideas of quirky products (like this MS paint makeup kit or this Apple Spinning Wheel Tennis Ball). Some products end up making it to reality, like the MacOS Folder SSD that is now available for sale. With enough interest, I don’t see how such a product couldn’t hit the mainstream. Delahunty even rendered an image of Drake (although I choose to see MJ) holding the phone in his hand while wearing those bejewelled gloves.

It isn’t the first time the iPhone’s been used as a canvas for Apple-of-the-past. Spigen routinely releases cases that transform the iPhone into Apple icons like the Lisa/Macintosh, or the iMac G3, or even the original iPhone 3G. The ‘scratched’ iPod is a fairly new design take, and something you could totally expect from the mind of Delahunty. I wonder if the case has a faux 3.5mm jack just for kicks…

The post This Grungy Metal Case turns your iPhone 17 Pro into an iPod Classic first appeared on Yanko Design.

Vertu AlphaFold starting at $6,880 makes the Galaxy Z Fold seem ultra-affordable

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When mainstream smartphone designs became too generic, the next evolution took the form of foldable phones. These devices, targeted towards power users who want the dual utility of a phone and a tablet in one, are quite popular and becoming mainstream, so much so that their look and feel have again come full circle and become boring. We do live in a pace-paced tech world where every next trend is longing for the next exciting evolution.

Making all the other foldables on the market feel boring and obsolete as far as design is concerned, the Vertu’s AI-powered folding smartphone is here for fat-pocketed tech whizzes who are willing to shell out anywhere between $6,880 to $46,880. For a price tag as exorbitant as that, the $3,000 Galaxy Z Trifold or the expected-to-be-pricey iPhone Fold also seems reasonable!

Designer: Vertu

The Hong Kong-based luxury premium smartphone maker has just dropped the Alphafold foldable, which is based on the reskinned Nubia Fold. If bling is your thing, the device goes perfectly well with your lavish lifestyle, even though it doesn’t boast the latest and greatest specifications, considering the eye-watering price tag. In the latter half of 2025, the brand released the AI-powered Agent Q phone, which was equally exorbitant, but this one hits different. The Android foldable comes with a business-oriented AI dubbed Hermes Agent that is tailored for completing productivity tasks thrown at it.

Things like managing workflows, schedules, and business tools, or simply identifying a sudden drop in sales attributed to hidden issues. Hermes can seamlessly interact with a suite of apps like Google’s tools, Amazon Shopping, Expedia, Booking.com, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, and many more. The agent works with the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, organizing all your business-related activities into a single dashboard.

Vertu’s custom UI on top of the Android 15 layer manages all this for a custom solution. Since you’ll be sharing a lot of personal and professional data with the in-built AI, Vertu promises the device-level security systems via the A5 security chip only process the data locally, and sensitive information like financial transfers or assigning roles still requires the user’s permissions in real time. The maker extends the concierge service beyond the AI agent, offering human managers to handle needs such as booking private jets or gaining access to exclusive events.

Coming on to the hardware, AlphaFold comes with a primary creaseless folding display measuring 8.05 inches (2480 x 2200 pixel resolution), and an external screen that measures 6.53 inches (2748 x 1172 pixel resolution). Both the screens are LTPO OLED’s with a refresh rate of 120Hz, and shielded on the sides with the carbon fiber and titanium hinge that can withstand 650,000 folds. Powering the innards is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 4 processor; however, we wished it had the latest Elite Gen 5 SoC. The CPU is mated to 16GB RAM and has a fixed storage capacity of 1TB. The phone gets a rear triple camera array including a 50-MP primary sensor, a 50-MP ultrawide camera, and a 5-MP telephoto lens. In the mix is a modest 20 MP selfie camera. The device gets a 6,500mAh silicon-carbon battery, which can be fast charged with a 68W wired charger, and wireless charging support.

Talking point of the smartphone is the use of premium materials in the back panel that is handcrafted from Calfskin (priced $6,880), or Italian alligator belly leather (price tag of $8,880 – $13,800), depending on the color and variant chosen. You can also all-in with Himalaya Gold IV or diamond inserts that’ll set you back $46,880. Have that amount of money to spare on a phone without breaking a sweat? Then you can pre-order it right away, globally.

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$199 Galaxy A17 Beat the Galaxy S22 to One UI 8.5

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Budget smartphones have always existed in a sort of software slow lane. Manufacturers have typically prioritized their flagship and upper-midrange lines when rolling out major updates, leaving the cheaper devices to wait months, sometimes longer, before seeing the same software features. That pecking order has been so consistent for so long that it’s practically become an unspoken rule of the Android ecosystem, especially within Samsung’s own Galaxy lineup.

Samsung’s Galaxy A17 5G is changing that, at least for now. The $199 phone, which only made its way to US store shelves earlier this year, began receiving One UI 8.5 before several pricier Galaxy models, including the Galaxy S22, the A55, and the A35. That makes it not only the cheapest Galaxy phone on the new software, but also a very unexpected one to lead the charge.

Designer: Samsung

The rollout began in South Korea on May 26, 2026, with firmware version A175NKSU5CZE9, before expanding to other regions. Samsung releases updates to multiple devices at a time, so getting new software the same week as other phones isn’t remarkable. The order, however, tells a different story. The Galaxy S22 was once a top-tier flagship, and both the A55 and A35 sit comfortably above the A17 in Samsung’s current lineup.

On paper, the Galaxy A17 5G doesn’t have much to shout about. It runs on Samsung’s Exynos 1330 chip, pairs that with a 6.7-inch display, and backs everything up with a 5,000 mAh battery. Those are solidly mid-tier numbers, and at $199.99, the phone was never going to compete with the Galaxy S25 or even the A55 on raw performance. That was never really the point, though.

Samsung promises six years of OS and security updates for the Galaxy A17 5G, which is genuinely compelling at this price. Google’s Pixel 9a offers seven years of support but costs $499 to start. At $199, the A17 gets surprisingly close to that coverage level, putting it in a different conversation entirely, one that’s less about what the hardware can do today and more about how long it’ll stay relevant.

One UI 8.5 brings a range of new features and interface improvements, including enhancements to Gemini AI. Not everything will run at full capacity on the A17’s Exynos 1330, since some of the more demanding AI tools favor higher-end chipsets. But for someone who bought a $199 phone expecting years of use, getting a meaningful software update rather than just a security patch is the kind of thing that counts.

Android 17 is also expected to hit stable release in the coming weeks, based on where Google’s release notes currently stand, which means Samsung will soon have to decide which phones get One UI 9. The A17 just showed it’s on the list for timely updates, and with six years of committed support on the books, there’s good reason to think it’ll be there when that time comes.

The post $199 Galaxy A17 Beat the Galaxy S22 to One UI 8.5 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Xiaomi 17 Pro Review: Refined in All the Right Places

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PROS:


  • Capable camera setup with excellent 5x telephoto camera

  • Great battery life from the big 7,000mAh battery

  • Refined, premium design with rich color options

  • Bright, smooth display with strong eye-care features

CONS:


  • Telemacro mode is not especially sharp

  • Fingerprint sensor sits too close to the bottom edge of the display

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The Xiaomi 17T Pro is a confident refinement of an already strong formula, pairing elegant design with excellent battery life and one of the best telephoto cameras in its class.

Xiaomi is bringing back its T series with the Xiaomi 17T and Xiaomi 17T Pro, but this time the schedule feels unusually aggressive. Instead of the typical September-style annual launch, the new models arrive only about six months after the 15T series. That shorter gap also brings the T series closer to the Xiaomi 17 and 17 Ultra launch window, which usually falls between late February and early March, making the company’s flagship lineup feel more cohesive across the year.

The Xiaomi 15T Pro was one of my favorite affordable flagships of the past year, particularly for its design and camera performance. So I was pleased to see that Xiaomi has not abandoned that formula. The design language remains largely the same, and so does the familiar triple camera setup.

Designer: Xiaomi

On paper, the Xiaomi 17T Pro still makes a strong case for itself. It features a 6.83-inch 144Hz display with peak brightness of up to 3,500 nits, a triple camera system with a 5x periscope telephoto camera, and a larger 7,000mAh battery with 100W wired charging. Continuing a partnership with Leica that is now in its fifth year, Xiaomi also introduces Leica Live Moment with the 17T series, adding a new layer of visual storytelling shaped by Leica’s photographic look.

I have been testing the Xiaomi 17T Pro for about a week to get an early sense of how this year’s T series performs. Even at this stage, it already feels like a phone that knows exactly what made its predecessor appealing. The question is not whether Xiaomi changed everything, but whether it refined the right things.

Aesthetics

At first glance, the Xiaomi 17T Pro looks almost identical to its predecessor, and that is not a bad thing at all. When a design language already works, refinement can be more valuable than reinvention. Rather than chasing a dramatic visual reset, Xiaomi builds on a form that already felt resolved, keeping the same restrained character while sharpening the details that made the earlier model appealing.

What continues to make this T series design stand out is the way restraint is paired with color. The silhouette remains minimalistic, but it is lifted by finishes that feel subtle yet premium. Instead of relying on loud textures or flashy accents, the phone creates presence through tone, depth, and gentle shifts in light, giving it a more personal quality.

Compared to the 15T Pro, there is also a clear shift in the finish itself. The older model had more of a shimmer, while the 17T Pro moves toward a sheen finish instead. Both have their appeal. The shimmer of the 15T Pro feels lively and expressive, while the sheen of the 17T Pro feels smoother and more understated.

The Xiaomi 17T Pro comes in Deep Blue, Deep Purple, and Black. I received the Deep Blue variant, and it made the strongest first impression with its deep purple undertone, which adds richness and subtle variation depending on the light. Deep Purple feels a little warmer and more expressive, while Black is the most understated of the three, though it still has a deep navy undertone that keeps it from looking flat.

Another key part of the visual identity is the square camera housing, which is color-matched to the rest of the body. The continuous side frame and matching buttons also help the device feel more unified and architectural. The only minor distraction is the regulatory markings on the lower right of the back panel, which are a bit more noticeable than I would like on an otherwise very clean design.

Ergonomics

The Xiaomi 17T Pro remains close to its predecessor in both size and weight, measuring 162.2 x 77.5 x 8.25mm and weighing 219g. Those numbers are substantial, but they make sense for a phone with a 6.82-inch display, 7,000mAh battery, and a capable camera system. Given the hardware it packs in, Xiaomi has done a good job balancing flagship ambition with everyday usability.

This is not really a one-handed phone unless you have large hands, but it avoids feeling awkward. The smooth pebble-like texture of the back panel helps here, making the phone feel softer and more natural in the hand. Combined with the frame and the gentle transitions from the back panel, the edges do not dig into the palm even when you are using it a little awkwardly with one hand. The weight is also well balanced, which makes the phone feel more controlled than its size might suggest.

One detail that could be improved is the fingerprint sensor placement. It sits quite close to the bottom edge of the display, which makes unlocking the phone feel a bit awkward at times. It is something you can get used to, but a slightly higher position would have felt more natural.

Performance

The Xiaomi 17T Pro feels fast and responsive in everyday use, which is exactly what you would hope for from a flagship built around the MediaTek Dimensity 9500. Paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage, the phone has more than enough headroom for smooth navigation, quick app launches, and fluid multitasking. The phone runs Xiaomi HyperOS 3 based on Android 16 out of the box, and so far, the overall experience feels snappy and polished rather than overly busy.

A big part of that impression comes from the display. The 6.83-inch AMOLED panel has a 1.5K resolution of 2772 x 1280, a refresh rate of up to 144Hz, and peak brightness of up to 3,500 nits. It also supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, which helps content look vivid and high contrast when the source material allows. Xiaomi includes both DC dimming and PWM dimming and introduces Xiaomi Vision Care with the 17T Pro. The 17T series is also the first in the industry to receive TÜV Rheinland quadruple eye care certification, including Low Blue Light, Circadian Friendly, Flicker Free, and Intelligent Eye Care, with the display designed to deliver a more comfortable viewing experience over longer sessions.

The camera system builds on what already worked well on the 15T Pro rather than trying to reinvent the formula. On the back, you get a 50MP main camera, a 50MP telephoto camera, and a 12MP ultra-wide camera, while the front houses a 32MP selfie camera. All three rear cameras carry Leica branding, and as usual, Xiaomi lets you choose between Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic color profiles. I usually prefer Leica Authentic because it delivers that signature Leica look, though Leica Vibrant tends to work better for food photography, where a little extra punch can be welcome.

1x Main, Leica Authentic

1x Main, Leica Authentic

5x Telephoto, Leica Vibrant

The 23mm-equivalent main camera with its f/1.67 aperture takes great photos with a pleasing level of detail, good exposure, and a wide dynamic range in good lighting. Colors look realistic rather than overly processed, which gives the images a more natural feel. Low-light performance is also strong overall, with good detail retention and very little visible noise. It feels like a dependable main camera that can handle a wide range of situations without much fuss.

5x Telephoto

10x Telephoto

The 115mm-equivalent telephoto camera with its f/3.0 aperture is really the star of the show. It delivers shots with strong detail, good exposure, and a wide dynamic range, while color stays fairly consistent with the main camera. Even in low light or more difficult lighting conditions, it manages to hold onto detail impressively well. The telemacro mode is less convincing, though. It is not especially sharp, and with a minimum focus distance of 30cm, it does not let you get quite as close to the subject as I would have liked.

0.6x Ultra-wide, Leica Vibrant with Film Positive filter

5x Telephoto, Leica Authentic

5x Telephoto, Leica Authentic

The 15mm-equivalent ultra-wide camera with its f/2.2 aperture and 120-degree field of view is the weakest of the three rear cameras, but it still delivers solid results. Detail can look a bit softer compared to the main and telephoto cameras, though dynamic range remains good, and the overall output is still perfectly usable. It may not be the standout lens in the system, but it does its job well enough for most casual wide shots.

Portrait mode is another strong point. You can choose between Master Portrait and Leica Portrait, and both styles deliver attractive results with natural-looking background blur. Subject isolation is consistently well judged, which helps portraits look polished without feeling overly artificial.

2x Main, Master Portrait

5x Telephoto, Master Portrait

5x Telephoto, Master Portrait

One of the more playful additions is Leica Live Moment, which lets you capture live motion photos with Leica color tone. I usually turn off live motion photos on most phones because the still image quality often takes a hit, and the moving portion can end up looking blurry. With the 17T Pro, though, I could clearly see the appeal.

It adds a little more story and spontaneity to the image, and the fact that it is available even in Portrait mode makes it more versatile than I expected. I tried it with kids, pets, a couple dancing, and an approaching train, all of which felt like good examples of where the feature makes sense. In those moments, it preserved a bit of movement and atmosphere that a still image alone would not fully capture. You do need to keep the phone fairly still; the motion portion can end up showing too much camera movement. Even so, when it works, it is a genuinely fun feature.

2x Main, Leica Vibrant with B&W Filter

Video is another area where the 17T Pro feels well-equipped. The main camera can record up to 8K at 30fps or 4K at 120fps. The telephoto and ultra-wide cameras are capped at 4K at 60fps, while the front camera tops out at 4K at 30fps. Xiaomi also lets you shoot in Log with all rear cameras, and there is a Movie mode that adds cinematic background blur for a more stylized look. Video quality has been very good across different lighting conditions on both the main and telephoto cameras, with wide dynamic range, solid exposure, and a generally polished result.

Battery size is one of the biggest improvements over the previous model. With its 7,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, the 17T Pro gives a reassuring sense of stamina that matches its large size, and it has felt great in day-to-day use. Even with a full day of heavy camera use, the phone was able to last the entire day, and with lighter use, it can easily stretch beyond that. It supports 100W wired charge, 55W wireless HyperCharge, and 22.5W wired reverse charge.

Sustainability

The Xiaomi 17T Pro makes a reasonable case for longevity through both durability and software support. It comes with an IP68 rating, Corning Gorilla Glass 7i on both the display and back panel, and a high-strength aluminum frame. Those details may not define sustainability on their own, but they do suggest a phone built to hold up well over time.

Xiaomi is also promising 5 generations of Android upgrades and 6 years of security patches, which gives the 17T Pro a longer life beyond the hardware itself. That matters because one of the most practical forms of sustainability is simply keeping a phone useful for longer. The 17T Pro may not radically change the sustainability conversation, but it does feel like a device designed with longevity in mind.

Value

The Xiaomi 17T Pro comes in three configurations: 12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GB, and 12GB + 1TB, with prices starting at 899 euros. That is 100 euros more than the 15T Pro, which is a noticeable jump for the series. It does make the 17T Pro feel a little less aggressively priced than its predecessor.

Still, the increase does not feel entirely surprising given the recent rise in memory prices. Xiaomi is also unlikely to be the only brand adjusting prices in 2026. With its larger 7,000mAh battery, refined design, strong telephoto camera, and solid software support, the 17T Pro still feels like a well-rounded flagship that offers good value overall.

Verdict

The Xiaomi 17T Pro does not try to reinvent what made the T series appealing, and that is exactly why it works. Instead, it takes the core strengths of the 15T Pro, including the restrained design, strong camera system, and flagship-like everyday performance, and refines them in ways that feel practical rather than flashy. The result is a phone that feels more mature than dramatic, but also more complete.

What stands out most is how balanced the overall package feels. The telephoto camera is genuinely excellent, the battery life is a major step up, and the design still has a quiet confidence that helps the phone stand out without trying too hard. There are a few compromises, of course. The ultra-wide camera is merely good rather than great, the fingerprint sensor sits lower than it should, and the higher starting price means the 17T Pro no longer feels quite as aggressively positioned as earlier T Pro devices.

Even so, Xiaomi has refined the right things. The 17T Pro feels like a phone that understands its own appeal and leans into it with confidence. It is not chasing attention with gimmicks or trying to prove itself through excess. Instead, it delivers the kind of thoughtful, well-rounded flagship experience that becomes more convincing the longer you use it, and that is what makes it easy to recommend.

The post Xiaomi 17 Pro Review: Refined in All the Right Places first appeared on Yanko Design.

REDMAGIC 11S Pro Review: Gaming Phone That Shows Its Worth, Literally

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PROS:


  • Distinctive flat and boxy design with visible liquid cooling

  • Top-tier performance

  • Has rare 3.5mm headphone jack

  • Large battery with 80W wired and wireless charging

CONS:


  • No telephoto camera

  • No formal IP dust resistance rating

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The REDMAGIC 11S Pro proves that a gaming phone doesn't have to apologize for what it is.

Most premium smartphones are converging toward the same design language: a glass sandwich, a growing camera island, and a polished finish that looks good in press photos but feels indistinguishable from everything else on the shelf. The harder question has always been whether a phone can look genuinely different without feeling like a novelty, which gaming phones have always struggled to answer.

REDMAGIC has been building gaming-first phones since 2018, and the 11S Pro is the brand’s most coherent statement yet. It doesn’t try to disguise its identity with a mainstream-friendly exterior. Instead, it leans into its engineering, turning the cooling system and gaming hardware into the visual story. But does that actually work in its favor? We spend time with it if it’s truly a deliberate choice or just an accident.

Designer: REDMAGIC

Aesthetics

The first thing that stands out about the REDMAGIC 11S Pro is that it doesn’t look like anything else. The transparent rear in the Nightfreeze colorway exposes the internal structure, giving the phone a graphic, almost industrial quality. A large circular motif sits centered on the back, and blue accents run through the design with enough restraint to feel technical rather than theatrical.

The flat back makes an immediate impression. Without a protruding camera module, the rear reads as a unified composition. The camera cluster sits quietly in the upper corner, which keeps the visual hierarchy centered on the cooling hardware and transparent body rather than the lens arrangement. It’s a deliberate order of priority that gaming phones rarely manage to get right.

Of course, the real standout is that the visible liquid cooling system isn’t decorative at all. The AquaCore’s structure shows through the transparent body, meaning the design and engineering are the same thing. Most phones hide their thermal management entirely, but the 11S Pro treats it as something worth showing, giving the phone an architectural confidence that’s hard to ignore.

The Nightfreeze black colorway reads quietly, which is a little surprising for a gaming phone. The RGB lighting strip adds presence without being overbearing, and the blue accents feel more mature than typical gamer aesthetics. It’s a design that rewards a closer look rather than demanding attention from across the room, setting it apart from most flagships chasing the same polished minimalism.

Ergonomics

Holding the 11S Pro makes clear it’s a substantial phone, though not in a way that feels unintentional. The weight reflects the 7,500mAh battery and the active cooling system tucked inside, and the flat sides with squared-off edges create a secure, confident grip. It doesn’t try to disappear in the hand the way ultra-thin phones do, which feels appropriate given what’s inside.

In landscape orientation, which is where the 11S Pro truly comes into its own, the balance improves noticeably. The flat rear makes it easy to steady the device during long sessions, and the 520Hz capacitive shoulder triggers sit exactly where the fingers fall. If you’ve played competitive titles without a controller nearby, those triggers aren’t a nice addition. They’re a genuine advantage.

Performance

Under the hood, the REDMAGIC 11S Pro runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Leading Version, Qualcomm’s highest-binned variant of the chip, paired with the brand’s own RedCore R4 co-processor. Storage configurations go up to 16 GB of RAM, and the full package includes a 144 Hz AMOLED display and the AquaCore active cooling system, keeping performance from overreaching its own thermal limits.

The performance story here isn’t really about peak benchmark numbers. It’s about whether the phone can maintain that output through a two-hour ranked session or a streaming marathon without throttling back to catch its breath. In testing, the 11S Pro handles sustained workloads with a composure that most phones struggle to match, frame rates staying consistent, and the device never getting uncomfortably warm.

That’s largely down to the AquaCore cooling system, which combines a 13,116mm² vapor chamber, a built-in fan spinning at up to 24,000 RPM, and a liquid metal thermal layer. The fan operates below 30dB, so it’s audible but not distracting. What matters most is that the thermal management works as claimed, keeping temperatures controlled even through extended, back-to-back gaming sessions.

The 6.85-inch BOE X10 AMOLED panel is easy to understate. At a 2,688×1,216 resolution with a 95.3% screen-to-body ratio and a peak brightness of 1,800 nits, the display holds up in virtually any lighting condition. Paired with shoulder triggers and a retained 3.5mm headphone jack, the complete control package covers every input a serious mobile gamer could reasonably ask for.

Battery life is where the REDMAGIC 11S Pro makes a strong case beyond gaming. The 7,500mAh cell supports both 80W wired and 80W wireless fast charging, and endurance in mixed usage stretches comfortably into the following day. In FPS gaming at full frame rates, testing ran for several hours before significant drain, making the phone practical well outside a dedicated desk setup.

The cameras are capable, without being the main attraction here. The 50MP primary sensor with optical image stabilization delivers dependable photos in most conditions, and the 50MP wide-angle lens handles everyday shooting well enough. Low-light results are solid rather than exceptional, which is perfectly respectable for a phone that’s investing this heavily in sustained performance, active cooling, and battery endurance.

Sustainability

The REDMAGIC 11S Pro isn’t marketed as a sustainability story, and it doesn’t need to be. The aluminum alloy frame, Corning Gorilla Glass protection, and IPX8 water resistance contribute to a phone built to survive more than just a few drops. A dust-resistant design alongside full water resistance means the device holds up under conditions where most flagships would start showing wear considerably sooner.

There’s a longer-term argument here, too. Better thermal management means the internals aren’t running at temperatures that accelerate degradation. A 7,500mAh battery means fewer charge cycles per year compared to smaller cells. Combined with robust construction, the 11S Pro has a credible case for lasting beyond the typical two-year upgrade cycle, which is its own kind of sustainability without the marketing language.

Value

It’s worth considering what comes with the REDMAGIC 11S Pro as a complete package. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Leading Version sits at the top of the current chip hierarchy. The 7,500mAh battery with dual-mode 80W fast charging is a meaningful inclusion. Add a 144 Hz display, active cooling, shoulder triggers, a 3.5mm jack, and NFC, and the list leaves very little out.

Most premium phones ask buyers to make trade-offs: a thinner profile at the cost of battery life, a camera upgrade at the cost of gaming performance, or a mainstream look at the cost of personality. The 11S Pro doesn’t follow that logic. The transparent design and visible cooling system aren’t decorative flourishes. They’re central to what makes the phone feel worth its position.

Buyers looking for a camera-centric flagship would feel better served elsewhere. But for anyone drawn to gaming performance, long battery life, tactile controls, and a design grounded in its own hardware, the REDMAGIC 11S Pro makes a concentrated argument. The trade-offs are real but narrow, and the things it does well, it does with enough clarity that the package feels specialized without feeling limited.

Verdict

The REDMAGIC 11S Pro is a refinement of an idea that’s been building for years: that a gaming phone doesn’t have to apologize for what it is. The AquaCore cooling, the transparent body, the shoulder triggers, and the sustained performance all point in the same direction. It’s a phone that knows its priorities and has the engineering to back them up coherently.

It won’t be for everyone, and it doesn’t try to be. That clarity is actually what makes it interesting as a design object. Gaming flagships often struggle to find an identity that doesn’t feel borrowed from PC hardware aesthetics or overstyled past the point of reason. The 11S Pro avoids both traps, and that’s harder to pull off than it looks.

The post REDMAGIC 11S Pro Review: Gaming Phone That Shows Its Worth, Literally first appeared on Yanko Design.