ICYMI: here's the week's 7 biggest tech news stories from the Google Pixel 11 launch to Honor's revolutionary Robot Phone

Date:
Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Description:
The week's biggest tech news stories from Google, Garmin, Spotify and more
for August 15, 2026.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter This week Google debuted its Pixel 11 tech, and Honor wowed us with a Robot Phone. Though we doubt it's
the next iPhone revolution.

To catch up on all this and more scroll down for the week's seven biggest
tech news stories, plus links to the wider picture if you're desperate to learn more. And before that test your memory against last week's biggest tech news stories with our quiz. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: 7. We reviewed Garmins 5-Star smartwatch (Image credit: Future / Matt Ray) We spent months with the latest Garmin Fenix Pro 8 smartwatch it survived heatwaves, blizzards and 4,000m altitudes and our reviewer decided to declare it the pinnacle of multisport smartwatch performance.

Why? Well, it boasts the full suite of Garmin functionality from sleep tracking to a bewildering array of activity tracking options, as well as the ability to follow stats like altitude and atmospheric pressure. Plus, it can operate as a full-on dive watch, and boasts satellite messaging for the extreme wilderness wanderers amongst us. You may like ICYMI here's the week's 7 biggest tech news stories for August 7, 2026 The week's biggest tech news from Nokia, Sony, and more for July 11, 2026 ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories, from Android to Lego

The only downside is that it costs significantly more than the AMOLED version and has a shorter battery life (its still four days, though, and turning the always-on display off will see it jump to over 10), but these dont stop it from being the champion of the sports tracking world right now. Read our full Garmin Fenix Pro 8 microLED review 6. Spotify labelled AI music (Image
credit: Spotify / Future) Earlier this week, Spotify announced its new AI Persona tags, a new feature designed to differentiate human artists from
those that are AI-generated. The tags are tipped to roll out in
mid-September. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me
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Once AI Persona becomes available, it will give users some peace of mind knowing that theyre listening to music that hasn't been generated by AI. Spotify added that artists with AI Persona tags will be excluded from all personalized recommendations by default which is an added bonus.

Artists can disclose to Spotify if they are AI musicians, but Spotify will conduct reviews of profiles where it thinks an artists images have been created using generative AI to imitate a lifelike persona. The only caveat is that Spotify uses an artists image to determine if theyre an AI Persona, and not the music itself. Read more: Spotify is introducing AI Persona tags to differentiate real artists from fake ones 5. We spent two hours with Honors Robot Phone Introducing the HONOR ROBOT PHONE - YouTube Watch On Look. We
love to call out marketing department hyperbole as much as the next tech news outlet, but while we must disagree with Honors attempt to position its new device as the evolutionary successor to the iPhone the best-selling phone of all time it is fair to say the Robot Phone is unlike anything weve seen before. What to read next ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories from Google's Search overhaul to Sony's priciest wireless headphones ever ICYMI: here's the week's 8 biggest tech news stories for June 13, 2026 ICYMI: the 7 biggest tech stories of the week, from OpenAI to Samsung

TechRadars Axel Metz was among the first tech journalists to touch and test the new phone, and the devices unfolding gimbal is genuinely impressive as a content capture tool effectively combining the DJI Osmo Pocket with Honors flagship Magic 8 Pro .

It also allows the phones assistant, YOYO, to express itself in a physical way. This is the definition of gimmicky, though controlling the gimbal with hands-free controls can be genuinely useful. Read more: I spent two hours
with the Honor Robot Phone, and this ridiculous, remarkable device made me feel like a kid again 4. We photographed the solar eclipse (Image credit: Getty Images) The peak of the Perseid meteor shower, with perfect viewing conditions and a rare six-planet alignment, was a celestial treat on August 12, but it was the total solar eclipse hours before that captured the world's attention. In select parts of Europe, northern Spain and in Iceland, totality lasted around 2 minutes while a partial eclipse could be seen as far afield
as northern North America. Viewers lucky enough to get solar glasses could enjoy the phases around totality, while others came outside with their DIY pinhole cameras and colanders. Predictably, we've been treated to spectacular images in the aftermath of this once-in-a-generation show. Read more: 9 of
the best photos from Europe's 2026 solar eclipse 3. Google gave us its answer to Apples AirTags (Image credit: Google) Apple s AirTags launched over five years ago, and we now finally have a Google-made equivalent for Android fans. The Pixel Tag is a little tracker that weighs only 12g and helps you follow the location of your keys, luggage, or devices via a web browser or Android app.

Unfortunately, it wont actually be launching until November, but when it
does, youll be able to buy one for $29 / 29 / AU$49 for a single Tag or $99 / 99 / AU$169 for a four-pack. Thats pretty competitive considering the Pixel Tag is water-resistant and has ultra-wideband (UWB) support for more precise location tracking.

However, as you can read below, the Find Hub network still has weaknesses compared to its Apple Find My equivalent, which we hope Google addresses by the time its Tag launches in a few months. Read the full story: The Pixel Tag is here but it won't be an AirTag for Android until Google fixes these Find Hub issues 2. Googles Pixel Watch 5 debuted (Image credit: Google) Along with Google's cornucopia of new phones, the Google Pixel Watch 5 was also released in two sizes and with the same teardrop design as previous years. However, we've got a bunch of new features and improvements at play, with more
accurate GPS, the redesigned Google Health app with its AI coach, better on-device Gemini, and a suite of Health Guardian features. These include Breathing Emergency Detection, which alerts emergency services and contacts
if you have a consistent blood oxygen drop, and Insulin Resistance Trends, which helps users control their blood sugar levels. Apple and Samsung haven't quite cracked this technology yet, and we can't wait to test them for ourselves although hopefully we don't have any breathing emergencies during our review. Read more: Sorry, Apple and Samsung I test smartwatches for a living, and the Google Pixel Watch 5 specs beat the Series 11 and Galaxy
Watch 9 in these five key areas 1. Google debuted its Pixel 11 lineup (Image credit: Google) Of course, the stars of Wednesday's Made by Google 2026 event were the debut of new Pixel 11 phones.

They boast the usual slew of updates you should expect from flagship
refreshes by now, but also a brand new HiLight. This is an array of LED
lights built into the cameras flash module, which can alert you to calls from favorite contacts via customized color glows when your phone is face down and silenced. And these lights will also pulse when Gemini is listening,
thinking, or responding.

Not everything is an improvement, disappointingly. You'll only get 12GB of
RAM as standard rather than 16GB, perhaps a reflection of the surging
computer memory costs. Read more: Ive used the new Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro,
and Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Google's made nearly all the improvements I wanted
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/tech/icymi-heres-the-weeks-7-biggest-tech-news-stori es-from-the-google-pixel-11-launch-to-honors-revolutionary-robot-phone


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