Week in Review: The top stories in phones, AI, entertainment, and more

Apple's $1bn AI gamble, Motorola unveils an iPhone Air rival, and Black Friday starts early Created for techradar.com@quicklydone.com | Web Version   November 7, 2025 CONNECT WITH TECH RADAR  CONNECT WITH TECH RADAR    SIGN UP ⋅   WEBSITE Welcome to the Week in Review We're exactly three weeks out from November 28, but Black Friday has already started in all but name, with deals on everything from TVs and laptops to vacuums and air fryers already popping up at retailers. We’ve got a roundup of the best early deals in the US, and some early UK Black Friday deals, all hand-picked by TechRadar's experts; my deal of choice is a Nintendo Switch 2 one in the UK that I’m sorely tempted by.   Away from the Black Friday build-up, Samsung's tri-fold phone is looking set to launch soon, and iOS 26.1 has landed for your iPhone – and I have my own musings on why I want phone cameras to get exciting again. Perhaps the biggest story of the week is how Apple’s Siri could get the equivalent of a digital brain transplant by tapping into the power of Google’s Gemini. Neither tech giant has said anything official, but reports indicate that such a mash-up could be in the works, even though Apple and Google are to a degree rivals in the virtual assistant space – and our Editor at Large Lance Ulanoff is all for this injection of Siri smarts injection.   Lance has been busy elsewhere this week, testing and reviewing Samsung’s new Galaxy XR mixed-reality headset. He’s a big fan of Apple’s Vision Pro, if not its price tag, so what does he make of Samsung’s rival? As we’re heading into the weekend, I want to put the machinations of tech brands on ice and get down to watching at least one of the new movies and TV shows we’re recommending that you stream this weekend. I’m leaning towards Netflix’s Frankenstein; the story has been given the Guillermo Del Toro treatment, and all reports suggest that it lives up to the hype – I just hope there’s a reference to the 1931 movie’s "It’s alive!" moment. Whether you're busy deal hunting, pondering the singularity, or simply settling down for a Netflix binge, have an enjoyable weekend!   Roland Moore-Colyer, Managing Editor, Mobile Computing and Deals   The week in Apple Siri could get an added injection of Gemini (Future) Google Gemini could give us the Siri we need The rumor is that Apple might be about to pay Google $1 billion a year to have Gemini power parts of Siri – and if it means better Apple Intelligence, then we're fine with that. Read the full story Apple's $1 billion AI gamble might be too late to tempt users back iOS 26.1 has landed – these are the 5 biggest new features Apple could have a huge 2026 with these products – here’s what to expect The week in Phones The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Future) We may have a launch date for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Mark your calendars, because industry sources have pinpointed a potential launch date for the Samsung Galaxy S26 – and there's more news about the Samsung tri-fold as well. Read the full story Motorola's iPhone Air rival brings a lot to the ultra-thin table Apple, Samsung, and Google need to make phone cameras exciting again Which smartphone feature do you think is most important, and why? TechRadar recommends The iPhone 16 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Future) These are the phones the TechRadar experts use We love a good tech buying recommendation here at TechRadar: find out which phones the team are using day-to-day, why they rate them, and the deals to look for over Black Friday. See our top picks These are the 3 top bean-to-cup machines I recommend The most highly recommended air fryers of the year so far The best TechRadar-tested earbuds for every budget Today's best deals, hand-picked by TechRadar's experts These are the 71 best early Black Friday deals at US retailers Early Black Friday sales are live at Amazon, Best Buy, Target and other big retailers, and we've rounded up today's best deals on TVs, Apple devices, appliances, vacuums, gifts and more. View US deals Today's 35 best deals at Amazon US: Apple, Ninja, Keurig, LG, and more. Best Buy adds more deals to its Black Friday sale – these are the 17 best Black Friday starts now in the UK: these are today's best early deals on tech and appliances at Amazon, Currys, Argos, John Lewis and more The week in AI Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman (Microsoft) Could AI really achieve consciousness? Much of the talk around AI centers around the prospects of such intelligence becoming sentient – and Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman has some refreshing opinions on the subject. Read the full story Android users finally get a taste of the Sora AI video app AI video commercials are spreading – but do people trust them? Coca-Cola faces another backlash for its new AI holidays ad The week in Entertainment The Fantastic Four are now on Disney+ (Marvel Studios) The best new movies and shows to stream this weekend From the final Marvel film of 2025 and Benicio del Toro's Frankenstein, to a new show from the creator of Breaking Bad, don't miss our recommendations for your weekend viewing. See our top picks Netflix releases the opening five minutes of Stranger Things season 5 New report may confirm when the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer drops Pluribus' The Joining explained: more on the Apple TV show's big mystery Help Spread the Word Share Now Or copy and share your personalized link: newsletter.smartbrief.com/techradar/?referrerId=mvaKglYwVl Follow TechRadar Contact Us: Feedback | Advertise Sign Up | Update Profile | Unsubscribe Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms and Conditions © Future Publishing Limited. Reg No. 2008885 England. Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA.