The Galaxy S25 sadly doesn't support the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF).

If this doesn't change in Android 16, it means the device won't support the new Terminal app that lets you run a Linux distro in a virtual machine.

The reason I'm surprised by this is that Android 15's vendor software requirements state that chipsets that launch with vendor API level 202404 must declare support for AVF. That means every device with the Snapdragon 8 Elite is capable of supporting it, but I guess Samsung still chose to disable it. Maybe it still interferes with the Knox hypervisor?

Hopefully Samsung adds support in a future release, because Android 16's Terminal app is shaping up to be an incredibly useful feature!

TalkBack image descriptions on the OnePlus 13 are powered by an on-device generative AI model from Google.

So I guess this confirms the OnePlus 13 indeed supports the multimodal Gemini Nano model.

The model occupies about ~4GB of space so I hope more use cases emerge for it. Once the AI Edge SDK opens up more, I'm hoping some 3P apps start to use it.

The Google Play Store is going to show a "Verified" badge for some VPN apps.

These badges will appear on store listings for VPN apps that "prioritize user privacy and safety, help users make more informed choices about the VPN apps they use, and build confidence in the apps they ultimately download."

VPN apps have to earn the badge by "adhering to the Play safety and security guidelines" and successfully completing a "Mobile Application Security Assessment (MASA) Level 2 validation." They also have to have at least 10k installs and 250 reviews, be published for at least 90 days, and submit a Data Safety section declaration while opting into independent security review and encryption in transit.

Nord, hide dot me, and Aloha Browser are among the few to secure the badge. You can easily find more by searching "VPN" in the Play Store.

Out of curiosity: What VPN are you currently using, and why did you choose it?