Hey,
It’s Pete Matheson with a new issue of Experiments in Progress.
A lot has been happening in tech recently. So this week I’m pulling together the updates that actually matter:
🤖 Google just made its biggest AI push yet at I/O 2026
Google I/O happened last week, and it was dense.
The headline: Gemini is going everywhere.
New models, a redesigned Gemini app, an AI shopping cart that flags incompatible PC parts before you buy them, Gmail Live for conversational email search, and a 24/7 agent called Gemini Spark that runs in the background and proactively helps you get things done.
If you use Google products daily, a lot is changing this summer.
👉 Worth keeping an eye on:
the Universal Cart feature, which works across Search, YouTube, and Gmail and adjusts prices in real time.
👓 Smart glasses are coming and they don't look like tech glasses
Google and Samsung revealed Android XR glasses designed with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster that are built to actually look normal.
Two types: audio-only (lighter, cheaper, arriving first) and display glasses (with an AR overlay).
They're launching this autumn, likely alongside Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 event in July.
This is Google going directly after Ray-Ban Meta. And unlike Google Glass, they're not trying to make you look like you're wearing a prototype.
📦 Amazon is still building a phone
This one's been circling since March, but it keeps coming up:
Amazon is reportedly developing a smartphone codenamed 'Transformer' over a decade after the Fire Phone quietly died.
The idea is AI-first. Alexa+ as the core interface, potentially replacing traditional apps altogether.
No launch date. No price. Could still get cancelled.
👉 Here's why it's worth watching:
Amazon launched Alexa+ earlier this year and it's now on over 600 million devices. A phone would give them the one screen they don't yet own.
📱 Apple's foldable is apparently real and on track for September
The iPhone Fold (or iPhone Ultra) is reportedly in trial production at Foxconn and still on schedule for a September 2026 launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro lineup.
It's a book-style design, optimised software for multitasking on the larger inner screen, and the display is being made by Samsung.
🎨 Nothing Phone (4a): a proper mid-range challenger
Nothing launched the Phone (4a) series back in March, and it's one of the more interesting releases in the mid-range space this year.
The standard (4a) starts at £349 with a 6.78-inch AMOLED display, a 50MP triple camera setup, and a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset.
The Pro (£499) gets a metal build, IP68 rating, periscope telephoto, and a 144Hz AMOLED panel — a significant jump.
Carl Pei has confirmed there's no flagship from Nothing this year. The (4a) Pro is as high as it goes and it's a strong option at that price.
🧲 Modular accessories are quietly becoming a thing again
Fully modular phones failed but snap-on accessories powered by magnets and standards like Qi2 are making a comeback in a much more practical form:
Smarter add-ons, data and power through attachments, more flexible device ecosystems.
Companies are building around this rather than forcing modularity into the phone itself. Which is probably the right call.
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