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Phones

Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Nothing’s rumored to shift its focus to AI accessories like a speaker and smartwatch.

Android Authority points to a report from Smartprix that says Nothing’s “repositioning itself as an AI-first company,” with a slate of upcoming devices that includes AI-enabled earbuds and a smart speaker from its CMF brand. Nothing’s also reportedly planning to launch a new smartwatch and second-generation Nothing headphones.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Honor reveals the Robot Phone’s impressive camera specs.

World Cup cameo aside, we haven’t heard much since MWC, but Honor is gearing up to release the gimbal-equipped phone in China soon. It’s teasing the camera’s capabilities, including a 200-megapixel, f/1.6, 1/1.2.8-inch-type gimbal camera, and a separate 200-megapixel, f/2.6, 1/1.4-inch-type periscope. The gimbal itself will support automatic subject tracking and six different shooting modes.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Civilizational decline.

Vertical video has been taking over for years, and David Pierce says the conquest may now be complete. It didn’t have to be this way.

gregorsmith:

I’m old enough to remember when Google Camera app put a rotate device icon on screen if you tried to shoot vertically

Every day we stray further from gods light

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

I almost forgot Samsung’s Z Flip 8 was a foldable

Cover screen? More like cover phone.

David Imel
Samsung’s wider Z Fold 8 feels just right

But $1,900 is a hell of a lot for a phone with no telephoto camera.

Dominic Preston
Samsung’s newest foldable finally feels Ultra

One small step for phones, one giant leap for foldables.

David Imel
Samsung can’t afford to play it safe with Apple’s first foldable looming

Reports of a new wider foldable phone suggest Samsung is ready to take a risk.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Honor’s Robot Phone made it onto the pitch at the World Cup final.

Two separate videos captured Spain’s Eric Garcia testing the gimbal-equipped phone in the aftermath of his team’s victory over Argentina. Preorders for the Robot Phone just opened in China, though it isn’t expected to launch in either Spain or the US, where the final was held.

David Imel
David Imel
You want a smartphone with that e-reader?

Hisense has started teasing an e-paper smartphone with a detachable LCD, instead of the other way around. I guess that’s one way to drop your Instagram Reels consumption.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
That’s all folks.

My Trump phone review is here. And with that, it’s time to wrap up the weekly coverage. I’m not entirely done with the T1 yet — I’m still trying to find out how many buyers have one, and how and where it’s made — but I’ll give the execs at Trump Mobile a break for a bit.

I spent a week using the Trump phone — it sucks

3

Verge Score

The T1 is a marketing stunt, not a serious phone.

Dominic Preston
David Pierce
David Pierce
Today’s Vergecast: We finally have a Trump Phone.

We promised ourselves a while back that, if and when the Trump Phone ever arrived, we would immediately go live and talk about it. I’m still not entirely sure why. But we are people of our word, and Dominic Preston and I now have Trump Phones! Update: Thanks to everyone who watched and commented! You can catch up on the stream below, or wherever you get podcasts.

I finally got my Trump phoneI finally got my Trump phone
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Honor’s latest foldable is finally out in the UK and Europe.

The Magic V6 is available to order now in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. It’s officially priced at £1,999.99 / €2,299.99 (about $2,600), but Honor’s early offers slash hundreds off that price and throw in freebies like earbuds or tablets too.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Samsung starts teasing its wider foldable phone.

All signs point to Samsung launching a wide version of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 this month, and now the company has released its first teaser. There are video versions too, all along similar lines teasing a “new shape” from the company.

Image: Samsung
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Clicks shows off its Communicator phone in action for the first time.

The BlackBerry-esque Communicator has a nifty homescreen based on the minimalist Niagara Android launcher, a fingerprint sensor built into the space bar, and a removable back panel that certainly hints its battery might be easy to replace. It’s still on track to ship in Q4 for $499.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Motorola might be next to adopt Qi2.

Ever since Google added magnetic Qi2 charging to the Pixel 10 line, we’ve been waiting for another Android manufacturer to follow suit. Motorola may be first, with the Edge 70 Max spotted on the Wireless Power Consortium certification database with MPP25 support — which should mean 25W charging with built-in magnets.

Certification images of Motorola Edge 70 Max from multiple angles
Image: Motorola / WPC
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
iPhone 18 Pro leaks are dropping in.

Yesterday we reported that images showing an iPhone 18 Pro drop test had leaked online following a data breach at one of Apple’s manufacturing partners — and now some video footage has appeared too. These clips, originally shared by an X account imitating the well known leaker EvLeaks, could be an early look at the upcoming iPhone flagship.

Update, June 30th: Updated to clarify the original video source.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Nothing’s Phone 4B arrives in blue next month.

The full release of the upcoming budget phone is now set for July 7th, but Nothing has already revealed its design, with a dual camera, textured camera island, and a similar LED Glyph Bar to the Phone 4A.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Nothing is teasing the Phone 4B.

Days after confirming there won’t be a new budget CMF-branded phone because of RAMageddon, Nothing has started teasing… a new budget Nothing-branded phone. We’re not sure how the economics work there, but it certainly looks like the Phone 4B is on the way, presumably cheaper than the midrange Phone 4A.

Sony’s Xperia 1 VIII is still a phone for the fans

6

Verge Score

A new look and an upgraded telephoto aren’t enough to make this a mainstream contender.

Dominic Preston