I always enjoy using limited-edition phones (who doesn't?), and I liked what Realme did last year with the 15 Pro Game of Thrones Limited Edition. The brand is following that up with another fantasy-related collaboration, this time launching the Harry Potter Edition of the 16 Pro.
I'm a Potterhead; I grew up with the Harry Potter books, and not being content with the canon, I went down the fanfic rabbit hole (HPMOR is incredible). My wife and sister also like the books, and we went to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios a few years ago (it was a thoroughly enjoyable three days, and I highly recommend it).
Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android CentralApoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central
Anyway, let's talk about the device itself. Realme has proven that it knows how to make a limited-edition phone, and the brand outdid itself with the 16 Pro 5G Harry Potter Edition. The attention to detail with the box, accessories, and the phone itself makes this one of the best collaborations in this category, and I know what I'm talking about — I used every phone-based collab to come out in the last decade.
The design is centered around Hogwarts, and the box that the phone comes in reflects that. The box is styled after Harry's Hogwarts trunk, and it comes with a ton of accessories: you get the Hogwarts letter (which is just plain cool), Platform 9 3/4 train ticket, bookmarks of each house, and four postcards.
There's a delightful SIM card ejector styled like the Hogwarts crest, a phone case with the crest on the rear, and a charger and cable that are of the same color as the phone itself. This is a big deal in and of itself, because most limited-edition collabs use the same charger as the regular models.
All of this leads to an unboxing that feels quite special, and honestly, it's clear that Realme put a lot of thought into this edition. The phone itself continues the Hogwarts livery, with the four-house crest highlighted on the rear along with Harry Potter and Realme inscribed underneath.
I also like the soft brown leather texture, and the pattern contrasts really well with the crest (it's also a good choice if you're into Burberry). Realme says the camera island is styled to look like Hedwig's eyes, and there's a laser-engraved Welcome to Hogwarts etched on to the mid-frame on the right.
I didn't notice this in the beginning, but the crest has what Realme calls Quadra Light-Sensing Color-changing Tech, which basically means it shows the colors of each house when you shine a UV light over it. This is undeniably cool, and I'll admit I wouldn't have come across it if I didn't go to Realme's product page.
There's a lot to like with the software as well. Realme added unique icons and animations, and it makes the device stand out from the regular model. If you don't like the styling, you can use the standard icons that come with Realme UI.
Other than that, the rest of the phone is similar to the Realme 16 Pro. It's a reliable mid-ranger, and it honestly is one of the better choices available in this category. You get a 6.78-inch AMOLED panel, Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Max, 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage, a 200MP main camera, and 7,000mAh battery.
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On the whole, the Realme 16 Pro 5G Harry Potter Edition is one of the best limited-edition phones I used. It does a great job reliving the magic of the Wizarding World, and I like the number of accessories Realme included this time around. of course, the result of that is the phone being costlier than the regular model; it costs ₹62,999 ($656) in India, and that's a considerable hike over what the standard 16 Pro costs in the country. Still, if you're a Potterhead and want a new phone, it is a great choice.
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Qualcomm provided travel and lodging to Snapdragon Summit. There was no additional compensation, and Qualcomm did not have any input on this article prior to publication.
This year's Snapdragon Summit came and went, and I was fortunate enough to be on the ground in Maui to check out everything that Qualcomm and its partners had to show off. From powerful new smartphone chips to very interesting smartphones, more capable earbuds to chonky AR smart glasses, and, of course, the first batch of Googlebooks.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Extreme was the star of the show, but Summit also showcased a host of devices powered by Qualcomm's latest chip and other Snapdragon platforms. Here are some of the most interesting things I saw during Snapdragon Summit 2026.
Xiaomi 18 Pro comes with two unique displays
(Image credit: Android Central)
It's not too surprising, but Xiaomi was the first Android OEM to launch a smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series. In fact, it has two phones, the Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, sporting each of the new Snapdragon chips.
Beyond using some of the most powerful smartphone chips, the Xiaomi 18 Pro series has unique features you won't find on most Android smartphones. The most obvious is the rear display, which lets users set customizable wallpapers, check notifications, adjust settings, and even take selfies using the rear 200MP cameras.
(Image credit: Android Central)
In addition, the front OLED display utilizes a new pixel layout that lets the Xiaomi 18 Pro utilize a new privacy display feature, similar to the Galaxy S26 Ultra. With it, you can hide the contents of your display from onlookers while still seeing your display clearly. It's also customizable, so you can hide only notifications or specific apps.
The Xiaomi 18 Pro is available in China, with a global launch coming soon.
Motorola Signature 27 brings the heat to Samsung
(Image credit: Future)
The original Motorola Signature didn't make it to North America, but its successor, the Signature 27, will launch globally later this year. The phone is a true Motorola flagship, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, with a completely new design and some impressive-sounding cameras.
The main camera is a 50MP Lytia 910, and there's also a 200MP periscope telephoto lens, with cameras supported by Qualcomm's Image Stabilization tech and the device’s 3.5-degree OIS hardware. This is all housed in a striking camera layout, covered in ceramic and brushed aluminum.
(Image credit: Future)
Motorola is also partnering with Bang & Olufsen to deliver a high-quality audio experience and has promised up to seven years of software updates, which is pretty rare for Moto phones.
We don't know exactly when the Signature 27 will be available, but it's at least coming in 2026, so it won't be much longer.
Snapdragon gaming is getting a major boost
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 is a powerful chipset that promises to upgrade your gaming experience with a new Adreno Neural Fusion. This enables new features like advanced AI frame generation for smoother gameplay and Super Resolution to improve graphics quality.
During my hands-on with reference devices, I played a game that used both features and could toggle them on or off to see the difference. This also included Unreal Engine's Lumen lighting engine.
Derrek Lee / Android CentralDerrek Lee / Android CentralDerrek Lee / Android Central
The visual and gameplay differences were quite obvious, and Qualcomm says developers could decide themselves which of the Adreno Neural Fusion features they want to utilize for their games for the best experience.
Googlebooks bring your phone to your laptop
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
Google has finally introduced the next evolution of Chromebooks, and it features a lot more Android. The first batch of Googlebooks is here, with devices from HP and Dell running the new Googlebook OS and powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
The result is a more premium experience than what you'd expect from most Chromebooks. For starters, the Googlebook OS is built on an Android foundation, so it's more capable than what's possible on current Chromebooks. This makes it easier to add more features to the OS and supports AI features like Rambler, Gemini Live, Magic Pointer, and more.
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Googlebooks can also access the full suite of apps on the Play Store, and connecting to your phone is now easier and more intuitive. You can access your phone's files from your laptop without plugging them in, drag and drop files between devices, and even cast apps from your phone to the laptop with ease.
Googlebooks start at $899, and they'll eventually come down in price and replace Chromebooks. But for now, the Googlebook experience is shaping up to be a premium one.
Snap Specs are cooler than I thought
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Snap Specs were announced in July, but I finally got my hands on Snap's rather divisive AR glasses. Given their bulky design, I expected to hate them. However, once I put them on, it was clear that Snap has done something quite impressive.
Unlike other dual-display smart glasses, Specs don't require an external puck for battery and processing; everything is squeezed into the glasses, including the two Snapdragon processors, which is part of why they're so huge. That said, despite their size, they're surprisingly light and comfortable to wear.
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I was able to play with a few demos, including a Harry Potter experience and a putting app. I was rather impressed with how well the glasses tracked my hand movements and anchored content to my environment. It felt a bit like using a Meta Quest 3 headset, but on a smaller, more comfortable pair of glasses. And while the Specs features some surprisingly good visuals, I was fairly disappointed in the field of view, which was rather narrow.
I can't imaging these going mainstream, but they're still pretty cool for anyone willing to spend $2,195 on these.
Your headphones are getting new superpowers
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Alongside the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series, Qualcomm also introduced the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2, which promises some pretty neat features for your next pair of headphones.
While headphones and earbuds generally route AI requests to your smartphone, Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 brings micro-power Wi-Fi, so your earbuds can connect to your AI assistant or other services without your smartphone. And with Snapdragon Sound Apps & Agents, manufacturers can build on these experiences, which could greatly enhance your audio experience.
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In one demo, I translated audio from several languages into English directly on the headphones I was using. Another demo highlighted the AI capabilities, where the earbuds enhanced the voice of the person speaking directly in front of me.
The best part is that Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 is targeting not only headphones and earbuds, but also smart glasses, AI wearables, hearing aids, and even a new category of camera buds.
Your glasses want to be your next doctor
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In an interesting demo, I saw how medical professionals could use smart glasses to help diagnose you. A nurse or doctor could wear smart glasses while assessing you, and the glasses would use visual cues to decide what questions to ask next to get the right information.
While I'm not sure if something like this would be well-received by the public right now, especially when there's so much scrutiny surrounding the use of smart glasses, I can see how something like this could be used to help medical professionals triage patients, especially during busy times when there may be a wait to see an actual doctor.
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This also appears to be part of Qualcomm's new Personal AI Health Alliance, which aims to make the health data our wearables capture meaningful through a more proactive, detailed, and accessible approach.
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Qualcomm and MediaTek have unveiled their flagship chipsets, and we should see these coming to 2027 devices soon. With manufacturers pushing up their launch schedules, we don't actually have to wait until 2027 to see how these chipsets hold up — phones like the OPPO Find X10 Pro Max, Vivo X500 Pro Max, and the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max are already available in China, and will go live globally in the coming weeks.
Just having Elite in the name wasn't enough for Qualcomm, so this year's chipset is dubbed the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. And while MediaTek didn't go anywhere as overboard with the naming convention, it added a Pro moniker this time, leading to the Dimensity 9600 Pro.
What's new this year is that both Qualcomm and MediaTek are using a 2nm manufacturing node. This is a big deal as the last three years have been on 3nm. The move to TSMC’s 2nm manufacturing node delivers huge gains across the board, and both chipsets include LPDDR6 and UFS 5.0 storage integration. So let's take a look at what these platforms have to offer, and when you can get your hands on devices powered by these chipsets.
These CPUs are extreme in all the right ways
(Image credit: Qualcomm)
Like last year, Qualcomm is leveraging its custom-core design, but this time the two main cores go up to 5GHz, which is wild. Qualcomm went with a standard 2+6 core configuration, with the six Performance cores going up to 4.0GHz. There's 16MB cache, and Qualcomm touts 13% increased performance with the new cores alongside a massive 37% gains in efficiency.
MediaTek, meanwhile, continues to use Arm's latest cores to great effect, and it is doing things a little differently than Qualcomm when it comes to the core configuration. It is using a 2+3+3 core configuration, using two of the C2-Ultra cores at 4.55GHz along with six C2-Pro cores, one cluster going up to 4.35GHz and the other at 3.1GHz.
This is similar to what MediaTek did last year with the Dimensity 9500, and having used the Vivo X300 Pro and Find X9 Pro that featured the silicon, I only have good things to say about how MediaTek implemented this system. MediaTek is claiming a 17% increase in performance this year, with 61% better energy efficiency with multi-core workloads and 37% with single-core workloads.
It's the latter number that should make a bigger difference in daily use, and I'll put these claims to test when I get my hands on phones powered by the platform — it shouldn't be too long a wait as OPPO and Vivo are launching their phones globally in October.
The GPU goes neural
(Image credit: MediaTek)
Normally, I would just say that Qualcomm has the edge with the GPU, but it may not be as straightforward this year. Arm has doubled down in this area, and is leveraging neural tech to good effect, and the Mali-G2-Ultra-NX in the Dimensity 9600 Pro is highly intriguing as a result.
Qualcomm is also doing something similar with the new Adreno matrix cores, but it hasn't showcased just how much of a difference this tech would make in visually-intensive gaming. Qualcomm is touting 44% increased performance and 40% gains around energy efficiency, but the latter is a nebulous claim as it relates to games that use its neural tech. MediaTek, on the other hand, lists a decent 27% gain in performance this year, and 24% better energy efficiency at load.
Given all the overheating issues I noticed on Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phones, I'm going to wait and see how the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 holds up in this regard. MediaTek did a much better job with thermal management last year, and it is entirely likely that may be the case this time as well.
Get ready for the next big imaging upgrade
(Image credit: OPPO)
Qualcomm has always done a great job with its ISPs, and this year it is including 3K60 video, ultra-low-light video at 4K60, and slow-motion video at 4K240. There's tight AI integration, and it remains to be seen if manufacturers leverage any of these features in their devices.
MediaTek made considerable headway in this area over the last 18 months — mostly due to its collaboration with OPPO and Vivo — and it has a lot of the same features as Qualcomm: 8K60 video, 4K240 slow-motion video, and tight integration with the NPU. As the Vivo X500 Pro and Find X10 Pro Max use this platform, there's no doubting that the ISP can hold its own against what Qualcomm is doing.
Coming soon to a phone near you
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OPPO and Vivo are launching their flagships globally in October, and while Xiaomi hasn't confirmed when the 18 Pro will debut outside China, it is bound to launch later this year. Interestingly, the 18 Pro models will come to India as well, and that makes things very interesting.
Most Chinese manufacturers don't sell phones in the U.S., but Motorola is launching the Signature 27 in North America, and it is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. The device should be available ahead of the holiday season, but we'll know details closer to launch.
I'll be getting my hands on phones powered by these two platforms soon, and I'll share my findings shortly thereafter. Based on the little I've seen of what Qualcomm and MediaTek have shared, I'm excited to see just how much of a difference there is against 2026 (and older) flagships.
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