Motorola's magnetic charger leaks, and it's exactly what Android needed

What you need to know

• Leaked images show a polished, Apple-like magnetic puck from Motorola.
• The images show a slim, MagSafe-style circular puck with a braided USB-C cable, metallic finish, and a purple accent ring.
• The accessory hints that native magnetic charging could expand across Motorola's mid-range and flagship lineup.

Android hardware makers have been slow to adopt magnetic wireless charging, allowing Apple’s MagSafe and Google’s Pixel lineup to dominate the market. But it seems Motorola wants to join the party. A leaked accessory dubbed the Moto Snap suggests the company could be preparing more phones for Qi2.

Images posted by leaker Evan Blass on X show a slim, round Motorola charging puck with a USB-C connector and braided cable. It looks very similar to Apple’s MagSafe charger, with what look like magnets to automatically align the phone with the charging coil.

Moto Snap pic.twitter.com/G1sg24Sx8kAugust 19, 2026

Interestingly, Motorola has taken a rather unusual step with the Edge 70 Max, its first phone with built-in Qi2 magnets. The handset supports wireless charging up to 25W, with the magnets built directly into the phone, rather than requiring a special case.

Motorola says its phone can also get up to 12 hours of battery life from six minutes of wired charging with its 90W TurboPower setup.

(Image credit: Evan Blass / X)

The Moto Snap itself is much more portable. It’s a flat puck with a metallic finish, a Motorola logo, a braided cable, and what looks like a purple illuminated ring around the edge. It’s designed to be attached directly to the back of a compatible phone.

Of course Motorola has still not said anything. The charger may just be an accessory for the Edge 70 Max. But it makes more sense if Motorola plans to bring magnetic charging to more devices. That could be a big deal for Motorola, whose wider lineup still has plenty of phones without wireless charging in tow.

If the company begins adding native Qi2 magnets to more of its mid-range and flagship models, then magnetic charging could finally become the mainstream Android standard we’ve been promised for years.

Best Buy kicks off massive 60th Anniversary Sale, and I found 20+ tech deals that no Android user should miss

Best Buy apparently just turned 60, and the retailer is celebrating this milestone by dropping some incredible tech deals all across its site. Whether you want a smartphone, tablet, or class-ready Chromebook, all of the best Android-based deals from the sale can be found in this guide.

The best part is that, unlike Amazon's big sale events, you don't need to be a member to enjoy the savings. Stock is limited and the sale ends on Sunday, however, so don't wait too long if a particular item catches your eye. Didn't find anything today? Fear not: I'll keep adding new Android deals to this list throughout the week.

• See the full list of deals from Best Buy's 60th Anniversary Sale

Phones

Google

Pixel 11 256GB w/ $100 gift card

Motorola

Razr Ultra (2025) 512GB

Google

Pixel 10a 128GB

Samsung

Galaxy A37 5G 128GB

Samsung

Galaxy A57 5G 128GB

Motorola

Razr Plus (2025) 256GB

Tablets and Chromebooks

Lenovo

IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook

ASUS

CX14 Chromebook

Samsung

Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra

reMarkable

Paper Pro

Lenovo

Idea Tab Pro

Amazon

Fire HD 10

Wearables (mostly Garmin)

Garmin

Forerunner 265

Garmin

fenix 8 Sapphire Edition

Samsung

Galaxy Watch Ultra (2025)

Garmin

Vivoactive 5

Garmin

Tactix 8

Garmin

Venu 3S

Headphones and earbuds

Sony

WH-1000XM6

Beats

Studio Pro

Bose

QuietComfort Ultra

Beats

Powerbeats Pro 2

JBL

Tune 245NC

Beats

Studio Buds +

More deals today

• Phone deals: Best Buy | Walmart | Samsung | Amazon | Verizon | AT&T
• Smartwatch deals: Best Buy | Walmart | Amazon | Samsung | Dell
• Tablet deals: Best Buy | Walmart | Samsung | Amazon | Dell
• Headphone deals: Walmart | Best Buy | Amazon | Dell
• Chromebook deals: Walmart | Best Buy | Lenovo | HP | Amazon

This powerful Lenovo tablet is a good pick for students gearing up for the school year — and it's now 11% off at Amazon

As tablet deals take center stage for many who are about to start a new school year, retailers are launching new discounts left and right. One such example is Amazon, which is currently offering an 11% discount on the Lenovo Idea Tab Plus, representing $30 in savings on a solid, affordable device.

The Lenovo Idea Tab Plus comes with a first-party stylus, a 12.1-inch touchscreen, and a built-in Folio Case with digital pen storage. It's backed by Android 15 and features a relatively lightweight, albeit durable, aluminum build, as well as a basic 128GB of storage.

For those who need additional storage, it also comes with a built-in microSD card slot that offers up to 1TB of additional space. To be sure, it doesn't exactly feel like a premium tablet, but even at the normal sticker price, it offers a pretty good value for what you get.

Lenovo Idea Tab Plus (12.1-inch): $279.99 $249.99 at Amazon

Amazon's Back-to-School deals include a $30 price drop on the Lenovo Idea Tab Plus, bringing it down to just $250. With the included Folio Case and digital pen, some might even call it a steal before the discount.View Deal

✅Recommended if: you're looking for a powerful Android tablet with a large, useful touchscreen, and you'd prefer a device that comes with a first-party stylus; you need something with enough storage for a wide range of file types, even if it means utilizing a microSD card; you like having something thin, lightweight, and portable, and something that also feels durable and drop-proof.

❌Skip this deal if: you're looking for the best tablet on the market and you have the budget to spend money on a premium-level device; you plan to use this for fast-paced gaming and you'd rather spend more on something with top-notch performance; battery life is your top priority when it comes to using a tablet with a stylus.

Lenovo's Idea Tab Plus offers a mid-sized 12.1-inch touchscreen with a 90Hz refresh rate, clocking in at a slightly smaller overall size than the Tab Pro. It has 128GB of storage as well as a microSD port for expandable storage, and a great Folio Case with storage for the included Lenovo digital pen stylus.

Lenovo says the tablet will get users over 6 hours of battery life per charge, and while that isn't an industry-leading spec by any stretch of the imagination, it's likely enough for most casual users, students, and young professionals. If you're looking for a hardcore gaming tablet, however, you may want to look into higher-priced devices with better performance.

Fairphone Gen 6 Plus rocks Murena's /e/OS, and it's making all the right moves in its August launch

What you need to know

• Fairphone and Murena have teamed up to debut the Gen 6 Plus with /e/OS, a privacy-focused software based on Android.
• The Gen 6 Plus delivers 12GB of RAM, 12 replaceable parts for consumers, and a five-year warranty/five years of software updates.
• Murena Backup debuts with the Fairphone Gen 6 Plus, integrated into Murena Workspace Accounts, alongside the Advanced Privacy widget.
• The Fairphone Gen 6 Plus is available for $699 in a new Cobalt Blue colorway.

If Fairphone's Gen 6 caught your eye last year, the company's latest Gen 6 Plus is taking sustainability even further.

Together with Murena's /e/OS, Fairphone launches the Gen 6 Plus, categorizing it as its "latest achievement in the mission to make technology fairer, more modular, repairable and long-lasting while prioritising user privacy and experience." The original Fairphone Gen 6 launched in June 2025, but the company says the Plus model isn't anything to overlook.

The company states the Gen 6 Plus builds on "what already works" with the previous device. Fairphone is looking to "fight back" against current economic pressures, while improving the phone's lifespan. Repairability is a major highlight for Fairphone, and that's continuing with 12 replaceable parts in the Gen 6 Plus. Additionally, consumers will receive a five-year warranty and five years of software updates, carrying the Gen 6 Plus into 2033.

Elsewhere, Fairphone states the Gen 6 Plus comes equipped with 12GB of RAM and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7s Gen 4. This is a mid-range chip; however, Qualcomm boosted the SoC with stronger, "flagship-level" gaming capabilities. The CPU has been boosted by ~7% over the 7s Gen 3, which the Fairphone Gen 6 debuted with.

Privacy-focused software

(Image credit: Fairphone)

Murena stands tall with its privacy-focused software, and the Fairphone Gen 6 Plus will benefit from the latest updates. Murena states its source code is "fully open." This means that anyone can verify that it "does not collect user data" in the ways Google collects data. It states Google's OS (Android) has "tracking embedded in its source code and native apps that are constantly ‘pinging information to Google - with ambiguity surrounding how that data is used and where it ends up."

Murena does away with this. Moreover, /e/OS now has an Advanced Privacy widget. This will let users control the data collected by third-party apps installed on their devices. The Fairphone Gen 6 Plus announcement calls back to Murena's /e/OS 4 update, which rolled out in June. The patch focused on making it easy to switch from Big Tech. Users will find "one-click" migrations from Google that transfer their files, dates, emails, contacts, and more to Murena's systems.

One feature that was teased in June was cloud backups. That's not debuting with the Gen 6 Plus as "Murena Backup." It states this is "a new cloud-based backup and recovery solution fully integrated with Murena Workspace accounts."

Consumers can purchase the Fairphone Gen 6 Plus from Murena for $699. Fairphone highlights a new colorway: Cobalt Blue. However, you'll also find Forest Green and Horizon Black.

Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 is pretty neat, especially if you hate fraud and scams

What you need to know

• Google has started rolling out Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 for enrolled Pixel testers, bringing huge restrictions for call-forwarding fraud.
• The company is also fixing a couple of reported bugs from testers, while rolling out new features such as Quick Settings layout customization and app options for foldables.
• The Pixel 11 series has now debuted, and in the days ahead of its market launch, there are still pre-order deals users can check out.

Google's QPR2 beta continued this weekend, and enrolled Pixel testers should start seeing it become available on their devices.

On Reddit, Google detailed the arrival of Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 for Pixel phones and tablets. The company states users with a Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, 7 Pro, 7a, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet will download vCP41.260731.005.A2. All others will find vCP41.260731.005.B1. Google keeps Beta 3 pretty light, only detailing two important fixes.

The first involves opening the notification shade and Quick Settings. Users reported "visual corruption" and a strange device restart when attempting to open either option. This should now be fixed. Additionally, Google rolls out a fix for "erroneously displayed false battery capacity degradation warnings" in Device Health and the Support tool.

What takes center stage in the latest beta is Google's new "security restrictions" for call-forwarding fraud. Not only has the company rolled out API restrictions, but it's giving users direct system confirmation when forwarding calls. It states, "To combat social engineering scams, users manually dialing call-forwarding codes in the system dialer will now see a new OS-level confirmation dialog before the command is executed."

(Image credit: Mishaal Rahman / X)

Android Central's Take

I'm always a fan of little changes like this. Something as small as being able to customize the Quick Settings menu is a breath of fresh air. Not everyone values the same options as others. My music is more important than those tiles I hardly interact with, aside from a few exceptions. Brightness, too. Google always wants to make Android more approachable and user-friendly. This is the way (get it? Star Wars. No?)

Elsewhere, a post by Android Authority shined a spotlight on the new features Google packed into QPR2 Beta 3, as detailed by Mishaal Rahman on X. Among them is a new set of Quick Settings options that lets users alter its layout. The publication discovered three options, which shift around a few major buttons: brightness, tiles, and media. One option places the media card between the tiles and brightness bar, while others place brightness at the very top.

The post mentions a change for foldables, which brings an app handle to apps in a window. The publication states this handle lets users drag the app, capable of switching between full-screen and split-screen viewing.

Another beta & Pixel 11

(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

If you're wondering, QPR2 will likely be Google's December 2026 Pixel Feature Drop. It's been consistent in releasing new versions for its test since the first got underway in mid-July. This update was pretty minimal; however, it did well to solve stability problems across the board (or at least try to). Google was intent on fixing several Gemini-related reboot crashes, touch input bugs, and more.

Another major change was the removal of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro from the Android beta program. Both devices have reached the end of their upgrade cycles, meaning they are now excluded. From here on out, users will see past-gen devices starting from the Pixel 6a and up. On a related note, Google's Pixel 11 series is here and available for pre-order before the phones begin shipping in a few days.

Does your kid need a new tablet? The top-rated Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition just crashed to $69.99 for a limited time

Kid-friendly tablet deals are officially here as the new school year approaches, much to the delight of parents and children alike. As one example, Amazon has cut $40 off the price of the Fire 7 Kids Tablet, representing a 36% price cut and bringing the device down to just $70.

The Amazon Fire Kids lineup is well-liked for the interface's easy-to-use parental controls, and for the durable, hard plastic cover that's spill- and drop-proof enough to handle a child's active lifestyle. This particular deal is for the ad-free version of the Fire tablet, and it comes in red, blue, or purple, each with different colored accents of their own.

The Fire 7 Kids Edition is rated for children ages 3 to 7, and it comes with a free one-year subscription to Amazon Kids Plus. Parents also love the Parent Dashboard, which makes it easy to filter content based on their child's particular age, along with the ability to set device time limits, create educational goals, and even access kid-friendly versions of streaming apps such as Netflix and Disney Plus.

Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition: $109.99 $69.99 at Amazon

For a limited time, Amazon has cut 36% off the price of the Fire 7 Kids tablet, which marks a $40 discount weeks ahead of the first day of school. From parental controls to the sturdy hinge and plastic housing, this is a great ready-made device for children, and purchase also comes with a two-year worry-free guarantee.View Deal

✅Recommended if: you want one of the best Android tablets for kids, with easy access to parental controls, a small, durable build, and a price point that won't break the bank; you want a tablet for your kids that has plenty of storage for a variety of apps; you like having a long-lasting battery that will last through trips in the car or other longer-term use periods.

❌Skip this deal if: you'd rather upgrade your kids to the larger 8- or 10-inch displays, rather than the slightly cramped 7-inch option; you need a kids' tablet that's compatible with a wide range of Google services; you'd prefer to avoid an Amazon product and would want to consider the more educationally-focused LeapFrog LeapPad kids tablet.

The Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition comes with a small, easy-to-hold 7-inch screen, up to 10 hours of battery life, and 16GB of storage. If you expect your child to need more storage space, the device also has a 1TB microSD port, offering more than enough space for most.

T-Mobile is giving away the Google Pixel 11 Pro XL for FREE without trade — so what's the catch?

TL;DR: This T-Mobile deal will give you a free Google Pixel 11 Pro XL when you add a line with the Experience Beyond plan. You'll still have to pay for the wireless, any applicable sales tax, and the $35 activation fee. 

If you want the ultimate Pixel phone experience, the Google Pixel 11 Pro XL is the device for you. This powerful flagship was just unveiled last week with a $1,299.99 price tag, but you can already get the phone for FREE from T-Mobile when you add a line with the Experience Beyond plan.

That said, as with most carrier deals, "FREE" simply means that you won't pay the retail cost for the phone. You will still have to cover any sales tax and activation fees, not to mention the monthly cost of the phone plan. So is this Google Pixel 11 preorder deal really worth it? Let's break it down. 

Google Pixel 11 Pro XL 256GB: $1,299.99 FREE with Experience Beyond plan at T-Mobile

New and existing T-Mobile customers who add a line with the Experience Beyond plan will get their Google Pixel 11 Pro XL preorder for free. No trade-in required!

The Google Pixel 11 Pro XL is a powerful flagship phone with an efficient Tensor G6 chipset, 12GB of RAM, and an impressive 6.8-inch AMOLED display. You also get a massive 5,115mAh battery, incredible AI-boosted camera system, and the new HiLight LED array for customizable light-based notifications. View Deal

• Check out my guide to the best Google Pixel 11 preorder deals

For starters, it's important to note that Experience Beyond is T-Mobile's most expensive unlimited plan, which is why the company can afford to give you a $1,299 smartphone for free when you sign up. 

The plan starts around $100/month for a single line, although you can drop that price down considerably by using AutoPay and adding multiple lines at once. Adding four lines, for instance, could drop the price of each line down to $53.75/month. 

The good news is that you get a lot of bang for your buck. In addition to unlimited talk, text, and premium data on T-Mo's vast 5G network, the Experience Beyond plan gets you an unlimited mobile hotspot, a ton of international benefits, and free subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu. You also get a five-year price guarantee. 

(Image credit: Shruti Shekar / Android Central)

Is this deal right for you?

If you want one of the best unlimited plans in the business and you don't mind paying for it, definitely. For folks who can afford it, the Experience Beyond plan is a fantastic choice, especially when you get a powerful Android phone out of the deal. 

That being said, if you want to save money on your phone bill, there are plenty of other Pixel 11 deals that might be more cost-effective. For example, T-Mobile will give you the base model Google Pixel 11 for free when you add a line with "most plans" on the carrier's site, and that includes the more-affordable Essentials tier (which starts at just $55 per month for a single line). 

If you prefer the simplicity of unlocked phones, it's also worth mentioning that retailers like Amazon and Best Buy will give you a free gift card worth up to $200 when you preorder a Pixel 11 phone. Many of these stores also offer trade-in discounts if you have an old or broken phone lying around. 

In conclusion, there are a ton of ways to save money on a Google Pixel 11 ahead of the phones' August 20th release date — but if you were looking to sign up for T-Mobile's best unlimited plan anyway, now's your chance to get some great wireless and a great new phone in one fell swoop.