People Can Fly, the developer of Outridersand Gears of War: Judgement,announced Monday that its ending development on two of its upcoming games due to issues with its publisher and an inability to secure funding to continue development. As part of this decision, People Can Fly will be forced “significantly regroup” and “scale down [its] teams,” the studio’s CEO Sebastian Wojciechowksi shared in a statement on LinkedIn.
The statement doesn’t elaborate on how many staff will be impacted by the cuts, but does call out Project Gemini and Project Bifrost as the two games being cancelled. People Can Fly made the decision to shut down Gemini because the game’s publisher failed to provide a publishing agreement and didn’t communicate “its willingness to continue or terminate the Gemini project.” Without that publishing deal or the funds to continue working on Bifrost — a self-published VR game — the studio was forced to cancel it, too.
This isn’t the first time People Can Fly has shut down a project or made cuts to its teams. In December 2024, the studio announced that it was ending development on a game called Project Victoria and also reducing the number of people working on Bifrost. In that same announcement, People Can Fly also revealed that Square Enix was publishing Gemini.
People Can Fly last worked with Square Enix to publish Outriders, somewhat of a minor cult hit now, but not a commercial success at launch. Even with the cuts and cancelled games, the studio still has multiple upcoming projects in the works, including Project Delta, which People Can Fly is creating for Sony and Gears of War: E-Day, which the studio is co-developing with Xbox studio The Coalition.
It’s Pixel 10 leaks day, apparently, as a collection of ringtones from Google’s upcoming smartphones have just leaked following other new information coming out.
Earlier today, leaks revealed that Google’s Pixel 10 series will launch on the same day as last year – August 13 – while another leak showed the Pixel 10 Pro XL in the flesh for the first time and confirmed a few key changes and specs. Yet another leak that came out today, though, includes a batch of new ringtones that are allegedly coming with the Pixel 10.
Tech & Leaks Zone on Telegram obtained a handful of sound files that are claimed to be the new ringtone, notification, and alarm sounds for the Pixel 10 series.
The new ringtone is called “The next adventure” and is an updated version of the current “Your new adventure” ringtone. It’s a bit more upbeat and uses a different style compared to the piano in the current ringtone, but still feels very familiar, just as the name would imply. It almost feels ripped from a video game at parts.
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A new default notification chime is called “Kernel.” It sounds very similar to the existing “Eureka,” but with a slightly more subdued sound effect.
Finally, “Fresh Morning” is a new alarm sound and starts off very subtly before getting a bit louder and faster as it goes along. It sounds like a really nice way to wake up! Like the other two, the underlying melody is the same as “Bright Morning” and “Fresh Start,” just with a new set of instruments and pacing.
You can listen to all three of the new sounds in the video below, while an APK claimed to be pulled from a Pixel 10 Pro allows for easier use of these ringtones on your device (though we don’t necessarily recommend installing a random APK, so do so only at your own risk.
Notably, too, we don’t know for sure if these will be the default on the Pixel 10 series. Beyond that, your current settings will likely be pulled over to the new device if you upgrade and transfer your data.
Mike Trout blasted a three-run homer against Fitts that traveled 454 feet and left his bat at 112.1 mph.
“Horrible,” Fitts said. “I felt our team did enough to win tonight outside of me.”
The Red Sox did battle back after falling behind 6-0. A four-run fifth inning cut it to 6-5.
“So I feel terrible about it,” Fitts said. “Put us in a terrible spot not just for this game but for days to come with our bullpen, too. So nobody hates this more than I do.”
The Red Sox rushed Fitts (right pectoral strain) back last week without a rehab assignment out of necessity.
The team needed a starter last Tuesday in Milwaukee after it played a doubleheader three days earlier. So Fitts — instead of making his scheduled rehab start for Triple-A Worcester that day — pitched vs. the Brewers. He was only able to go three innings (44 pitches).
Manager Alex Cora said before Fitts’ start here Monday that he was built up enough to throw 75-80 pitches.
But it took 33 pitches before Fitts recorded his first out in an ugly first inning. Righty Hunter Dobbins took over to begin the second inning. He pitched well, allowing just one run in 5 innings.
“I was falling behind in counts with my offspeed stuff, whether it was good shapes or not,” Fitts said. “Getting into counts where (the) hitter knows (a) fastball is coming. … And it’s right down the middle. These are really good hitters and anybody can hit that ball out and those guys did the damage on it. And that’s all there is.”
Fitts threw 3 scoreless innings vs. the Brewers last Tuesday but it looked like the lack of a rehab assignment caught up to him vs. the Angels.
“Last outing I felt great. This outing I felt great physically. Just wasn’t able to execute,” Fitts said. “I don’t think there’s anything about me being out of the game or anything. I think it just comes down to not being able to get the job done today.”
After a while, Danae Shell got tired of hearing the same story over and over again.
“Something bad would happen to someone at work, and the story always ended the same way,” she told TechCrunch. “They just left, because doing anything else was incredibly complex and expensive.”
One doesn’t need to look far to notice that for many people, seeking legal recourse feels so daunting and complex that many just don’t try. Even for someone with a cushy tech job, the prospect of going against their company is daunting.
That bothered Shell so much that in 2022, she launched Valla, which seeks to make legal support more accessible to workers.
The company focuses on employment law, and since its launch, it says, more than 12,000 workers have successfully brought complaints against employers and negotiated settlements.
“The basic thesis of Valla was, ‘If we can build tools that let someone file their tax return from their mobile phone, surely we can build something that can help them manage their own legal issue,’” Shell said.
Valla platform enables users to collect their own evidence, generate documents, and then talk to legal experts who “coach” them through what the legal process would be for each stage of their case. For example, Shell said, a user can keep track of an ongoing issue at work, draft a Tribunal claim, and then purchase a coaching package to prepare for the preliminary hearing.
Like nearly every other startup these days, Valla uses AI to streamline knowledge transfer. “The GenAI engine in our platform acts as a legal secretary in the background,” Shell said. “It does everything from briefing the coach on the case, taking notes and actions during any calls, and picking up all the admin and reminders as the case progresses.”
Investors seem to like what they see at Valla: Today, the company said it had raised a £2 million (about $2.7 million) seed round led by Ada Ventures. Active Partners and Portfolio Ventures, as well as returning investors Techstart and Resolution Foundation, also invested.
Shell said Valla started using generative AI in early 2023 and paired with the early traction her product received, that helped investors see the potential of her product.
The company will use the fresh capital to boost marketing, build relationships with worker unions and insurers, and build more AI features within the platform. After employment law, Shell said the company hopes to expand into small claims and tenancy.
“Then we will broaden out to other geographies,” she said. “We’re already looking at opportunities in the U.S. and Europe.”
Game developer and publisher IO Interactive is participating in Summer Games Fest 2025 with its own showcase. The presentation will take place on Friday, June 6 at 9PM ET/6PM PT. You can watch the IOI Showcase live on multiple platforms: , and . We’ve also got the YouYube stream embedded above, so that you can watch here while keeping up with our coverage of all the other developments happening during this year’s packed Summer Games Fest lineup.
IO Interactive parlayed its work on the excellent Hitman trilogy into a gig making . Today, the company teased the title, 007 First Light, and it seems like there will be a game reveal during the showcase on Friday. The presentation will also introduce new content for the studio’s Hitman World of Assassination and as well as a game called MindsEye from its publishing branch. “We’ve prepared some truly exciting surprises” for the event, IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak said, so there will probably be additional announcements beyond those three titles.
Following Gmail for some users and Photos, Google Messages is beginning to roll out a Material 3 Expressive redesign of just the chat interface.
The main change to the conversation screen is placing the message thread in a container with rounded corners at the top so that the app bar is its own (darker) layer.
Similarly, the ‘plus’ menu is a separate container with Gallery, GIFs, Stickers, etc. placed in pill-shaped containers instead of circles. It’s using the same background as the app bar. Google has also lowered the density of this grid and removed the colorful icons.
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When you open the emoji menu, you’ll see the connected button group used to switch between Emoji, GIFs, Stickers, and Photomoji (which has been moved to the very end after being the first item in the current design). The entire thing is a rounded container with the current tab you’re viewing a pill. A nice change involves the search bar moving one line down so you don’t have back-to-back text fields.
We’ve so far received one report of this going live with beta version 20250528_00_RC00 of Google Messages, specifically the Samsung variant. We’re not seeing it on other devices we checked today.
No other part of the app (homepage, search, settings, etc.) has been updated today. It seems like we’re in for a piecemeal approach to Material 3 Expressive in Google Messages. Meanwhile, the app historically has a long lead time between beta/first appearance and wide availability.
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A New Hampshire man was sentenced to decades in prison on Monday for violently raping three different women he picked up in Boston in 2023, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office announced.
On May 16, 2025, a jury convicted 25-year-old Newton, New Hampshire, resident Maxwell Newman of four counts of rape, three counts of assault and battery, two counts of assault to rape and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, the district attorney’s office said in a press release.
On Monday, Judge Debra Squires-Lee sentenced Newman to 28 to 34 years in state prison followed by five years of probation, the district attorney’s office said. While issuing the sentence, she noted his “repeated acts of violence, deliberate targeting of vulnerable women and degrading treatment” of the victims.
On April 20, 2023, Newman was driving in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard in Boston when he approached the first victim, the district attorney’s office said. He brought the woman to a secluded parking lot at 128 Gerard St. and raped her.
On June 12, 2023, at about 1:30 a.m., Newman was driving in the same area of Boston when he approached the second victim outside a Sunoco gas station, the district attorney’s office said. He offered to pay the victim $120 and brought her to the same parking lot despite the victim’s request that they park elsewhere.
Newman then violently raped the second victim, the district attorney’s office said. She immediately reported the crimes to the police and was taken to a local hospital.
Later that evening, Newman returned to the same area of Boston, approached the third victim and invited her into his car, the district attorney’s office said. After driving her around Boston and New Hampshire for a while, he brought her to a state park.
Two fishermen were walking back to their car when they heard the victim screaming and saw Newman on top of her, the district attorney’s office said. They found the victim with fresh bruises and cuts that were swelling and bleeding.
She reported being punched in the face, beaten and raped, but said she did not fight back because she feared for her life, the district attorney’s office said. Detectives were able to identify Newman as a suspect in this assault through video footage showing him entering and exiting the state park in his Kia Forte.
In October 2023, detectives determined that DNA from the first two assaults were from the same perpetrator using a national crime scene database, the district attorney’s office said. A DNA sample from Newman that they obtained via court order after his arrest for the third rape linked him to the prior two crimes.
“Maxwell Newman set out to terrorize some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society, and he did exactly that, including assaulting two victims in the same day,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in the release. “I’m proud of the investigators, prosecutors and victim witness advocates who helped secure a measure of justice for these women, and I’m grateful that the jurors held this man accountable for his cruel actions.”
The surge in data company acquisitions continued Monday with Snowflake’s purchase of Crunchy Data.
Cloud data platform Snowflake announced its intent to acquire Crunchy Data, a Postgres database partner, late this afternoon. A source familiar with the matter estimated the deal to be worth around $250 million.
The terms weren’t disclosed. Snowflake declined to comment on the deal’s valuation.
It’s the latest in a string of tech giants buying data startups to bolster their underlying database offerings that power AI agents. Last week, Salesforce acquired decades-old Informatica to fortify its data management tooling for AI agents. A few weeks ago, Alation acquired Numbers Station to give its customers access to AI agents that could run on top of structured data. And earlier this month, ServiceNow acquired Data.World with AI agents in mind.
Crunchy Data gives companies the tools they need to build with Postgres, an open source and object-relational database management system that is popular with developers and works well with the SQL database language. The 13-year-old company works with clients including UPS, SAS, and Moneytree, among others, in addition to public sector organizations like the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The acquisition will give Snowflake the underlying tech needed to launch Snowflake Postgres, an enterprise-grade PostgreSQL database for its customers, and partners including Blue Yonder and LandingAI. This deal also further bolsters Snowflake’s database offerings in the age of AI agents.
This tech will be available in private preview soon.
“Our vision is to deliver the world’s most trusted and comprehensive data and AI platform to our customers,” said Vivek Raghunathan, SVP of engineering at Snowflake, in a press release provided to TechCrunch. “Today’s announcement of our proposed acquisition of Crunchy Data represents another reason why Snowflake is the ultimate destination for all enterprise data and AI needs. We’re tackling a massive $350 billion market opportunity and a real need for our customers to bring Postgres to the Snowflake AI Data Cloud.”
Regardless of what kind of exercise you’re into, if you’re working out, you’ll want a pair of wireless workout headphones. They allow you to be free and untethered during a serious weight-lifting session, a 5K run, an hour at the skate park and everywhere in between where you’re moving and sweating a ton. There are dozens of great wireless headphones and wireless earbud options out there, but for exercise in particular, there are additional factors to consider before picking one up like water resistance, battery life and overall comfort.
At Engadget, we’ve tested a bunch of fitness-ready headphones and earbuds to come up with our top picks, plus some advice to consider before you pick up a pair. All of our top picks below will work in and out of the gym, so you can invest in just one pair and make those your daily driver. If you’re primarily a runner, check out our list of best headphones for running.
Best workout headphones for 2025
Beats
Connectivity: Wireless | Style: In-ear with wingtip | Assistant support: Google Assistant, Siri
The Beats Fit Pro came out at the head of the pack thanks to their comfortable, secure design, good sound quality and transparency mode, among other things. As my colleague Billy Steele detailed in his review of the Fit Pro, the buds’ wingtip design sets them apart from other Beats earbuds and makes them particularly good for running and other workouts. The buds are fairly small and light, and the wingtip on each is flexible enough to hug your ear nicely without putting too much pressure on it. This helps them feel more secure when you’re moving around a lot be it during a morning jog or while taking a HIIT class. The buds are also IPX4 rated — not the highest amount of protection I encountered, but enough to keep the buds working well even during my sweatiest sessions.
As it were, the Beats Fit Pro stayed put during every single workout. However, adjusting their position on the fly can lead to one of my few gripes with the buds: accidental presses of the onboard controls. There were a number of times when I went to adjust a bud and I ended up pausing my music in the process because the buttons are so easy to trigger.
Sound quality is solid and particularly great for exercising thanks to its punchy bass and overall balanced profile. Spatial audio support is great to have, and while Adaptive EQ means you can’t adjust the EQ yourself like you can with other buds, it does make for consistently good audio quality. It’s also one less thing to play with out of the box, which I expect many people will appreciate; these earbuds are a true unbox-and-go option. ANC is also strong and transparency mode will come in handy for those who often run, cycle or otherwise exercise outside. It was the most natural-sounding transparency mode of any earbuds I tried, and it’s easy to turn on or off either with onboard controls or from the control panel on your iOS or Android smartphone.
Speaking of, the Beats Fit Pro work particularly well with iPhones thanks to their built-in H1 chip, but Android users can download their companion app to access things like quick pairing, control customizations and a battery status indicator. I didn’t get into detail about the setup process because, well, there isn’t much of one. But I will say that, upon unboxing, I was surprised how cheap the charging case feels. While it provides an extra 21 hours of charging on top of the buds’ promised six hours of life, the build quality feels like a real step down compared to the buds themselves. Aside from that and the touch controls, though, the Beats Fit Pro offer a complete package for athletes, one that can be used all day in addition to training sessions. Plus, their standard $200 price isn’t too cost-prohibitive, and they can often be found on sale for less.
If you have less than $50 to spend, the $30 JLab Go Air Sport+ are a great option. These are the latest version of our previous pick here, the Go Air Sport. When I tested those, I didn’t have high expectations going into testing these buds, but I was quickly impressed by their comfort and sound quality. Lots of headphones designed for workouts have this hook that wraps around the top of your ear, and it does help the Go Air Sport stay securely attached to your head.
The Sport+ maintains that design. The hooks are quite flexible and have a soft-touch finish, which adds to their comfort. Admittedly, this design will take some getting used to if you’re new to it, but it’s a surefire way to get a little extra stability during high intensity workouts.
Sound quality is pretty good on these buds as well, although not nearly as balanced as that of our top pick. I also appreciate that you can cycle through three different EQ modes — Signature, Balanced and Bass Boost — using the buds’ onboard controls. There’s no app to fuss with, and that was a nice change of pace after mostly testing buds with some kind of app connectivity.
You can expect over nine hours of playtime on the Go Air Sport+, plus another 26 hours of battery life with its charging case. JLab also fixed a major pain-point about the previous versions here: instead of the old, built-in USB-A cable for charging, it’s now a more modern USB-C cable. Still, the case is on the bulky side; you can still throw it into a backpack or purse easily, but it’s not as svelte as cases you’ll see on more expensive buds.
The Shokz OpenFit 2 are the latest iteration of these open-ear headphones, with our previous top pick here being the original OpenFit. Earbuds with open designs like this allow for more situational awareness, with the goal being to let noise in rather than block it out. In my experience, the OpenFits do a great job of this without skimping on sound quality or comfort.
The buds themselves almost float over your ear cavern and Shokz’s soft-finish “dolphin arc” hook is flexible enough to securely wrap around the top of your ear without putting too much pressure on it. There’s a bud-like portion at the other end of the hook that acts as counterbalance, resulting in a reliable fit that never faltered during all sorts of activities including running, strength training and indoor cycling. Granted, none of those exercises involve shaking your head too much; maybe don’t wear the OpenFit to listen to head-banging death metal (if you can’t control yourself).
Sound quality is solid considering the design, and the OpenFit gets pretty loud as well. These buds have Shokz’s Direct Pitch technology, which uses reverse sound waves to optimize the distance and angle to your ear canal. The company claims this helps reduce sound leakage. In my testing, I found that true to a certain extent. The OpenFit had the best sound quality and overall volume out of all of the open-ear devices I tried, but if you crank the volume up to the max (or close), the person next to you will definitely hear what you’re listening to. Overall, these are a great option for anyone who doesn’t find in-ear buds particularly comfortable, or those who just prefer to have more awareness of their surroundings while working out.
Pros
Comfortable open-ear design
Design allows for more situational awareness
Good sound quality and volume
Cons
No ANC
Not as secure when compared to in-ear or hook-toting buds
Some prefer to wear over-ear headphones all day, every day, and if that sounds like you, there’s a good chance you already use your daily-driver headphones at the gym. But if you’re noticing increased wear-and-tear on those cans due to sweat or extended periods of use, you may want to consider a pair of over-ear headphones specifically for working out.
In that case, consider the H2O Audio Ript Ultra. While these wireless headphones don’t have a specific IP rating (they’re not designed for the pool, to be clear), they do claim to be “100 percent sweatproof” thanks in part to their removable and washable earcups. They survived some of my toughest runs and strength-training sessions without issue, and the earcups are pretty easy to remove when you want to give them a wipe-down. There’s also a second pair of earcups included in the box so you can swap them in when the originals eventually give up the ghost.
Sound quality is decent, but it should be better on a pair of $250 headphones. The Ript Ultra has custom 45mm drivers and active noise cancellation up to 30 dB. While the overall sound quality isn’t better than our top pick, it’s more than enough to get your blood pumping during a workout. But more importantly, you’ll likely get better sound quality on a pair of Bose or Beats headphones at the same price range; you’re really paying for the enhanced durability with the Ript Ultra. Ultimately, if you want a pair of headphones for the gym that can handle sweat and (potentially) last longer than other cans in the same price range, the Ript Ultra is a good choice.
The Apple AirPods Pro have an IP54 rating, which protects them from brief encounters with dust and splashes. While that’s more dust protection than many other earbuds we tested, it’s the same level of water resistance that most exercise-specific competitors have. We generally like the AirPods Pro, but the Beats Fit Pro offer many of the same features and conveniences (namely good transparency mode and the H1 chip), with a design that’s more appropriate for working out.
Beats Powerbeats Pro
The Powerbeats Pro are a good alternative to the Beats Fit Pro if you’re a stickler for a hook design. However, they cost $50 more than the Fit Pro (although they often hover around $180) and don’t offer any significant upgrades or additional features aside from their design. They’re also quite old at this point (launched in 2019) and it appears Beats is putting more effort into upgrading and updating its newer models rather than this model.
Anker Soundcore AeroFit Pro
The Soundcore AeroFit Pro is Anker’s version of the Shokz OpenFit, but I found it to be less secure and not as comfortable as the latter. The actual earbuds on the AeroFit Pro are noticeably bulkier than those on the OpenFit, which caused them to shift and move much more when I was wearing them during exercise. They never fell off my ears completely, but I spent more time adjusting them than I did enjoying them.
JBL Endurance Peak 3
The most noteworthy thing about the Endurance Peak 3 is that they have the same IP68-rating that the (now discontinued) Jabra Elite 8 Active do, but they only cost $100. But, while you get the same protection here, you’ll have to sacrifice in other areas. The Endurance Peak 3 didn’t blow me away when it came to sound quality or comfort (the hook is more rigid than those on my favorite buds of a similar style) and their charging case is massive compared to most competitors.
What to look for in workout headphones
Design
Before diving in, it’s worth mentioning that this guide focuses on wireless earbuds. While you could wear over-ear or on-ear headphones during a workout, most of the best headphones available now do not have the same level of durability. Water and dust resistance, particularly the former, is important for any audio gear you plan on sweating with or taking outdoors, and that’s more prevalent in the wireless earbuds world.
Most earbuds have one of three designs: in-ear, in-ear with hook or open-ear. The first two are the most popular. In-ears are arguably the most common, while those with hooks promise better security and fit since they have an appendage that curls around the top of your ear. Open-ear designs don’t stick into your ear canal, but rather sit just outside of it. This makes it easier to hear the world around you while also listening to audio, and could be more comfortable for those who don’t like the intrusiveness of in-ear buds.
Water resistance and dust protection
Even if a pair of headphones for working out aren’t marketed specifically as exercise headphones, a sturdy, water-resistant design will, by default, make them suitable for exercise. To avoid repetition, here’s a quick primer on durability, or ingression protection (IP) ratings. The first digit you’ll see after the “IP” refers to protection from dust and other potential intrusions, measured on a scale from 1 to 6. The second refers to water resistance or even waterproofing, in the best cases. The ratings for water resistance are ranked on a scale of 1 to 9; higher numbers mean more protection, while the letter “X” means the device is not rated for protection in that regard.
All of the earbuds we tested for this guide have at least an IPX4 rating, which means there’s no dust protection, but the buds can withstand splashes from any direction and are sweat resistant, but probably shouldn’t be submerged. For a detailed breakdown of all the possible permutations, check out this guide published by a supplier called The Enclosure Company.
Active noise cancellation and transparency mode
Active noise cancellation (ANC) is becoming standard on wireless earbuds, at least those above a certain price point. If you’re looking for a pair of buds that can be your workout companion and serve you outside of the gym, too, noise cancelation is a good feature to have. It makes the buds more versatile, allowing you to block out the dull roar of your home or office so you can focus, or give you some solitude during a busy commute.
But an earbud’s ability to block out the world goes hand-in-hand with its ability to open things back up should you need it. Many ANC earbuds also support some sort of “transparency mode,” or various levels of noise reduction. This is important for running headphones because exercising outdoors, alongside busy streets, can be dangerous. You probably don’t want to be totally oblivious to what’s going on around you when you’re running outside; adjusting noise cancelation levels to increase your awareness will help with that. Stronger noise cancelation might be more appealing to those doing more indoor training if they want to block out the dull roar of a gym or the guy exaggeratingly lifting weights next to you.
Battery life
All of the Bluetooth earbuds we tested have a battery life of six to eight hours. In general, that’s what you can expect from this space, with a few outliers that can get up to 15 hours of life on a charge. Even the low end of the spectrum should be good enough for most athletes and gym junkies, but it’ll be handy to keep the buds’ charging case on you if you think you’ll get close to using up all their juice during a single session.
You’ll get an average of 20 to 28 extra hours of battery out of most charging cases and all of the earbuds we tested had holders that provided at least an extra 15 hours. This will dictate how often you actually have to charge the device — as in physically connect the case with earbuds inside to a charging cable, or set it on a wireless charger to power up.
How we test workout headphones
In testing wireless workout headphones, I wear them during every bit of exercise I do — be it a casual walk around the block, a brisk morning run or a challenging weight-lifting session. I’m looking for comfort arguably most of all, because you should never be fussing with your earbuds when you should be focusing on working out. In the same vein, I’m cognizant of if they get loose during fast movements or slippery when I’m sweating. I also use the earbuds when not exercising to take calls and listen to music throughout the day. Many people will want just one pair of earbuds that they can use while exercising and just doing everyday things, so I evaluate each pair on their ability to be comfortable and provide a good listening experience in multiple different activities.
While I am also evaluating sound quality, I’m admittedly not an audio expert. My colleague Billy Steele holds that title at Engadget, and you’ll find much more detailed information about audio quality for some of our top picks in his reviews and buying guides. With these headphones for working out, however, I will make note of related issues if they stood out (i.e. if a pair of earbuds had noticeably strong bass out of the box, weak highs, etc). Most of the wireless workout headphones we tested work with companion apps that have adjustable EQ settings, so you’ll be able to tweak sound profiles to your liking in most cases.
The flip phone foldable is a popular form factor, but Google has yet to make its own “Pixel Flip.” After a few weeks using the Motorola Razr Ultra, I’ve got a few ideas on where Google could do better.
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The Motorola Razr series is, in my mind, the best example of a flip phone foldable. The expansive cover display, tiered approach to different models, and added attention to fit and finish really makes for a compelling device. The Razr Ultra in particular is somewhat of a tougher sell as its price is quite high, but Motorola has really just put together a solid lineup.
That’s the reason I’m increasingly skeptical that a “Pixel Flip” from Google would stand out. From a hardware perspective alone, Google’s approach to smartphone design probably wouldn’t do much to “beat” Motorola. If anything, it’d be hard to maintain the design language of Pixel in that form factor without giving up cover display space.
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So what could a “Pixel Flip” do better than the Motorola Razr?
Photos: Astrophotography, group shots, etc
I think it stands to reason that a “Pixel Flip” could deliver a better photography experience than a Razr, for a number of reasons, but primarily due to software processing. The reason that so many foldables are behind the curve in photography is due to the lack of space for larger sensors. Google has shown time and time again that it can produce consistently good photos from lesser sensors, so I think a Pixel would win on photos right out of the gate.
Beyond that, I think Google’s photographic feature suite would translate really well to a flip phone. Features that use the device as a tripod came straight to mind, such as astrophotography and “Add Me,” as a posable hinge would make it easier to capture these shots on the fly compared to a traditional slab phone. Google already touts these improvements with the Fold series, and I think it could be even better on the smaller, lighter, and more versatile flip form factor.
Look and Talk, but Gemini
One of Motorola’s AI features on the Razr Ultra is “Look and Talk,” a feature which uses the cameras to detect when you’re looking at the foldable, but only when it is in a mode where the cover display is propped up. I didn’t find this particularly useful, but mainly because I wasn’t speaking with anything particularly useful. Moto AI has its place, but Gemini is more versatile, and that’s obviously what Google would use.
A glanceable Gemini voice assistant could be super useful for answering questions on the fly, getting tasks done, and even smart home controls through Google Home. Motorola has a good idea here, but I think Google could make it an actual selling point.
Plus, Google has done exactly this before, with a feature of the same name on the Nest Hub Max.
I mean, this already looks like Gemini!
Google Translate on outer display
I’m as tired of translate features as anyone, but an obvious feature add on a “Pixel Flip” would be to integrate Google Translate with the cover display. When propped up, this provides a quick and easy in-person translation experience between two people, and one that’s perhaps a bit less cumbersome than the existing integration on book-style foldables.
Finally, I think Google could leverage widgets in a smart way. Motorola already allows users to place widgets on the outer display on dedicated panels, but Google has a framework in place that could translate nicely to this form factor.
Last year, the company introduced lock screen widgets on the Pixel Tablet as a layer to the unlock process. That could be very handy on a flip phone’s cover display. Even more so, the simple and proactive At a Glance widget just makes too much sense as a primary cover display widget.
But what do you think? Would you buy a Pixel Flip from Google? What would you want it to do better? Let’s discuss!
This Week’s Top Stories
Samsung’s Android 16 beta is here
After a ton of rumors, Samsung this week released the first beta of One UI 8, the Android 16 update for Galaxy devices. While it’s nowhere near as major as One UI 7 was, there are a few key tweaks. Samsung will release its first stable version of this update on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7.
Cryptic teasers of Nothing’s future
The Nothing Phone (3) is right around the corner, and Nothing has some strange teasers of what’s to come. The company confirmed that its signature “Glyph Interface” – aka all those lights on the back – has been “killed,” hinting it won’t be on Phone (3). Meanwhile, Carl Pei has some wild ideas for the future of smartphones.
![Pixel 10 series may bring some delightful new ringtones [Video]](https://eyeobserver.online/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Pixel-9-Pro-XL-camera-bar-1-768x402.jpg "Pixel 10 series may bring some delightful new ringtones [Video]"){kind=tracking}
