If you’re like me, then you understand the value that having a tablet can provide. However, even with hundreds of tablets on sale for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, finding a good one is becoming increasingly difficult.
That said, when you’ve used as many tablets as I have, you tend to remember which ones stand out, and these are the three deals that I’d recommend to anyone.
When trying to find deals to include, it wasn’t long before I realized that all three of these tablets were once considered amongst the best of 2024. And there’s a pretty good chance that if successors weren’t released, each one of these would still be on that list.
There are even more tablets that I’d like to include, but honestly, the list is longer than I initially realized.
Now is an excellent time to dive into the world of tablets, especially if you want a flagship experience. The money saved by these deals has the added benefit of giving you some wiggle room to pair each with some accessories.
While it’s not as big of a deal if you pick up the Kindle Scribe, it’s a bit more important with the other two. Obviously, it all depends on how you plan to use each tablet, so at the very least, I’d recommend snagging a case to protect the screen.
But at the same time, both Samsung and OnePlus offer keyboard covers that double as regular cases when they aren’t being used.
After the download completes, four options appear: Play Now, and under the three-dot menu, PC Game Settings, Add to Home Screen, and Uninstall Game. The menu works with both touch and a controller; I first tested it with the Ayn Odin. Inside PC Game Settings, under Compatibility and Translation Params, there are multiple default profiles for each game, such as Extreme. If a game doesn’t launch immediately, switching this to “Stable” or “Compatible” can sometimes help.
When tapping “Play Now”, you must enable Bluetooth and allow location access, otherwise the required firmware and driver download won’t start. A nice touch: while the drivers are downloading, the game’s trailer plays in the background. After the game launches, the controller detected by GameHub appears in the top-right corner. Unfortunately, GameHub then hangs during startup. Switching to “Steam Light Weight Mode” didn’t help, and neither did changing from proton10.0-arm64x2 to proton9.0-arm64x3. The same issue occurred with Amnesia: The Dark Descent, The Stanley Parable, Outlast, and Raft. No game would launch, despite the different parameters I tested.
So I switched hardware and tried a tablet with the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, 8 GB RAM, plus 8 GB of virtual RAM. Most titles still refused to run, but I noticed that a few games in my Steam library had a green check mark, as if GameHub was hinting “try these instead.” Alongside Crysis 2, the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot had this green check. I installed it and gave it a shot. I made it to the setup menu, but it wouldn’t go further, even after changing various parameters.
Fine, one last chance. Two more titles were marked with green checks: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (too large to download just for testing) and Outlast. I installed Outlast. And yes: it finally worked. The game runs acceptably at 1280×720 and around 30 FPS, with only a few graphical glitches. So there are some bright spots after all.
OnePlus has flipped the script on its usual release schedule, releasing the flagship OnePlus 15 this month merely nine months after the OnePlus 13. That was in part to make sure the new phone was the first on the UK market to feature the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset from Qualcomm.
Not content with beating its rival Samsung to the punch with that accolade, it now appears OnePlus is set for another Android first with the announcement of the OnePlus 15R, a presumably cheaper version of the £899 OnePlus 15 that will be the first to use another new Qualcomm processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.
OnePlus teased the release of the OnePlus 15R, which will be fully unveiled on December 17, saying in a press release the phone will be the firm’s “ultimate value flagship device”. A picture on its official website (above) appears to reveal the phone has dual rear cameras, rather than the three on the OnePlus 15.
“OnePlus 15R is the latest member of the OnePlus R series, flagship devices with a legendary laser-like focus on performance and high end gaming,” OnePlus said. “This ethos begins with the chipset and OnePlus 15R will be the first device to launch with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 mobile platform, the newest iteration of the Snapdragon 8 Series which also powered OnePlus 11R, OnePlus 12R and OnePlus 13R.”
This new chip is a small step down in power from its ‘Elite’ sibling but will still pack a punch, claiming a 36 percent increase in CPU performance over the previous generation, plus an 11 percent boost in GPU performance and 46 percent improvement in AI performance.
“Our commitment to delivering fast and smooth performance is taken to the next level with the OnePlus 15R, which is part of OnePlus 15 flagship series and a 2-generation upgrade in power, intelligence and design,” said Celina Shi, Chief Marketing Officer of OnePlus Europe.
The “2-generation upgrade” refers to the fact the OnePlus 13R used the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which was replaced by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and then the 8 Elite Gen 5.
Qualcomm’s confusing naming aside, the release of an 8 Gen 5 marks a return to the naming convention we last saw with the 8 Gen 3 – skip ahead two generations and you get Gen 5, a chip that is now outgunned by the 8 Elite Gen 5.
Nice and simple, right?
“As such, we’re thrilled the OnePlus 15R includes the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, one of most powerful chipsets on the market and we’re excited to see how our users take to the OnePlus 15R when it launches later this year,” Shi said.
While the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is likely to feature on upcoming phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra as the most performant Android chipset from Qualcomm this generation, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 will be no slouch, with two prime cores and six performance cores, just with a slightly lower clock speed.
OnePlus has kept all other spec information under wraps, along with the price, so we will have to wait until December 17 to find out full details. The OnePlus 15 starts at £899 and the OnePlus 13R from earlier this year cost £679, so hopefully the 15R is priced below £700 for those Android buyers who value top performance but don’t want to splurge close to £1,000 on a smartphone.
A sophisticated new Android malware family dubbed “Albiriox” has emerged on the cybercrime landscape, offering advanced remote access capabilities as a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS).
Identified by researchers at Cleafy, the malware is designed to execute On-Device Fraud (ODF) by granting attackers full control over infected devices, allowing them to bypass security measures and drain financial accounts.
Albiriox first appeared in September 2025 within exclusive underground forums, transitioning from a private beta phase to a public commercial offering by October.
The operation is believed to be managed by Russian-speaking threat actors who have aggressively marketed the tool. The service was launched with a subscription model, charging affiliates approximately $650 per month to access the malware’s comprehensive toolkit.
Unlike simple credential stealers, Albiriox is engineered for real-time interaction. It leverages a VNC (Virtual Network Computing) module that streams the victim’s screen directly to the attacker.
This allows criminals to perform banking fraud manually on the victim’s device, often while the user is unaware, effectively circumventing device fingerprinting and two-factor authentication (2FA) protocols.
Two-Stage Infection Chain
The distribution of Albiriox relies on a deceptive two-stage process designed to evade detection. Early campaigns targeted users in Austria using a fraudulent version of the popular “Penny Market” application. The infection chain typically follows these steps:
Social Engineering: Victims receive SMS messages with shortened links promising discounts or prizes, redirecting them to a fake Google Play Store page.
Dropper Installation: The user downloads a dropper application (e.g., the fake Penny app).
Payload Delivery: Once installed, the dropper requests “Install Unknown Apps” permissions and fetches the actual Albiriox payload from a command-and-control (C2) server.
Recent iterations have evolved to include WhatsApp-based lures, requiring users to enter phone numbers to receive download links, further filtering targets to specific regions like Austria.
Albiriox’s architecture focuses on stealth and control. It utilizes “Golden Crypt,” a third-party crypting service, to render the malware Fully Undetectable (FUD) by static antivirus engines. Once active, it employs Accessibility Services to execute overlay attacks and keylogging.
The malware comes hardcoded with a target list of over 400 applications. This extensive list includes major traditional banking apps, cryptocurrency wallets, and payment processors worldwide, Cleafy added.
The following table outlines the technical profile of the Albiriox operations observed during the analysis.
Albiriox’s rapid development cycle suggests it is positioning itself as a dominant tool for financial fraud. Its ability to combine screen streaming with accessibility manipulation enables threat actors to operate invisibly behind black-screen overlays, making it a critical threat to financial institutions and Android users worldwide.
This is DJI’s second gimbal within 12 months, following the Osmo Mobile 7P, and it can be viewed as something of a correction. That’s not to denigrate the OM7P, which remains a very capable gimbal unto itself, but the $159 Osmo Mobile 8 addresses numerous shortcomings of its predecessor.
The gimbal space is more cutthroat than it’s been in a while, largely spurred by tighter competition between a myriad of Chinese brands, like Insta360, Hohem, Zhiyun, and others. Vloggers have never had it so good. The previous OM7P introduced the Multifunction Module to handle subject tracking, and its successor takes a couple of useful lateral steps.
DJI Osmo Mobile 8 Review: Familiar Design
If DJI did indeed just take the mold of the OM7P and make a few alterations, then that’s exactly how it feels holding the OM8. It even looks that way, making it easy to confuse the two. Even the Multifunction Module looks the same.
The gimbal weighs about the same (370 grams), uses the same style motor, has the same handle, button/joystick/dial placement, retractable tripod, and battery. DJI also brings back the 8.46-inch extendable rod and retains the magnetic phone clamp. From sheer appearance alone, this looks every bit an iterative change.
The Osmo Mobile 7P (left) next to the Osmo Mobile 8 (right)
So, what’s different? The motor can now rotate 360 degrees without restrictions, resolving a key limitation from the previous model. There’s a counterweight mounting hole on the roll motor to help balance the gimbal in case you want to use external lenses, filters, or heavier cases that might otherwise throw it off. No weights come in the box; you need to buy them separately — and only from DJI. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test this out.
Interestingly, next to the counterweight hole is a new USB-C port that acts as a passthrough charging method when using the small included cable to charge the phone from the gimbal’s battery. It may also be there to accommodate a newer module that doesn’t need to solely attach to the mounting clamp, but that’s just my own speculation. I just think it’s possible because DJI has a separate $20 OM Magnetic Quick Release Mount that sheds the weight of the clamp and enables MagSafe-capable phones to attach directly. You place one end on the phone, and the other snaps into the OM8’s slot.
It’s hard to tell if the magnet is stronger or not. I repeatedly attached the clamp and Quick Release Mount to both gimbals, but couldn’t tell if there was a significant difference. It’s a strong magnet to begin with, so I’m not complaining, but I admittedly felt a little more nervous using the quick release over the mounting clamp.
The handle also now includes an NFC chip on the side that enables quicker pairing with phones. However, DJI utilizes the chip more for Apple’s DockKit pairing, which enables subject tracking in Apple’s camera app and other third-party iOS camera apps.
I should also note the OM8 works seamlessly with DJI’s wireless mics: Mic 2, Mic 3, and Mic Mini. Given the distance and ambient noise when using this handheld, capturing clearer audio with a wireless mic makes a world of difference.
DJI Osmo Mobile 8 Review: Setup and Controls
Setup doesn’t generally change. Unfold the OM8’s arm, and it’s ready to go once paired with a phone. The DJI Mimo app is still easier to install on iPhone because it’s available in the App Store, whereas Android users have to download the APK from DJI’s website (a QR code is included in the box). I already had the app on my Android phone but still had to download the file to trigger the update to the latest version. Fortunately, some updates download without that process, so it’s not all bad.
Once done, it pairs pretty easily with the gimbal. After that, it’s likely either the gimbal or module needs a firmware update — also straightforward. I ran into some trouble with this when setting it up during a trip to China, but it was fine once I was back home in Canada.
Again, this felt like I was setting up the OM7P all over again, so I could appreciate the continuity from that standpoint. The same video tutorials are available for the OM8, only this time they cover some of the newer features, including the new 360-degree rotation and DockKit tracking. If you’re new to gimbals or you have a much older Osmo model, it’s worth going through the six videos to catch the nuances involved, especially for the different ActiveTrack methods.
Not that the control scheme changes a whole lot. The small display shows Bluetooth status, along with battery life and the gimbal mode. All four automated modes come back. Pan Tilt Follow (PTF) remains the default, only this time it isn’t blocked by any mechanics, letting it follow a subject by panning all around in both horizontal pan and roll. Pan Follow (PF) can do this, too, albeit without any tilt or roll involved. FPV, on the other hand, can’t keep up with a subject walking around the OM8 despite the mode being more unfettered. This is also the case with SpinShot’s spinning effect.
Those latter two modes are actually better suited to manual control, so while you can freely turn the gimbal all around with the joystick, you also have to be stable when framing the subject. Part of the problem is that the OM8 and its module tend to lose focus on the subject’s movement depending on how and where they move. A slow pace is generally fine, but sudden, fast movements can throw off tracking to the point where it struggles to reacquire.
DJI Osmo Mobile 8 Review: Stabilization and Tracking
Stabilization has its own nuances and since DJI changed little to the overall heft and footprint, the same caveats apply to the OM8. For one, the built-in tripod legs aren’t sturdy enough to keep a shot stable in breezy conditions when used hands-free. If it’s windy, forget about it. The standard thread at the bottom of the grip is a better option to secure on a tripod, leading to far better results.
Fortunately, tracking a subject in a busier space is a little easier when manually selecting it by tapping the face-detection box onscreen. This locks onto that particular person (or dog or cat) and sticks with them so long as they’re visible in the frame. The motor will move to stick with them, except reacquiring the subject is hit or miss, often requiring that you tap again to confirm ActiveTrack is active.
What’s neat is that the DockKit integration enables you to stay on a subject while switching lenses on the iPhone. Its wide and telephoto lenses work through a feature called Dual Lens Boost to maintain focus and tracking. If they slip out of the frame with the telephoto, the OM8 can apply a tracking box onto the subject by moving to find them with the main camera. It’s slick but not immune to giving up if said subject keeps appearing and disappearing, though an interesting implementation, nonetheless. It just won’t work the same way on Android phones.
Despite that, there is some extra wiggle room for creativity. The OM8’s extender rod is nice but attach the gimbal to something like DJI’s long 2.5-meter Extended Carbon Fiber Selfie Stick, and things get really interesting. While it’s risky to go the full length because you have no way to reorient the phone or fix tracking issues, it offers cool perspectives if you set it up right. The only thing is, unlike the DJI Osmo 360 that removes the stick from the resulting photo or video, it’s evident in the frame if you try this combination to take selfies. Still, there’s enough creative license here to try things out if you have all the components.
DJI Osmo Mobile 8 Review: A Sign of Things to Come
The OM8 feels like a bridge device to me. It brings in elements the previous OM7P should’ve included (as evidenced by the quicker product cycle), yet still relies very heavily on the DJI Mimo app. The Multifunction Module is also reliant on the mounting clamp, which creates its own limitations when it comes to case thickness and positioning.
My sense is that an Osmo Mobile 8 Pro is coming to address some of this, perhaps opening things up further for tracking in third-party apps, as well as LOG recording and remote control. I’m just speculating, mind you, but DJI seems to like the form factor it’s created, choosing to tweak and improve the user experience however it can.
The good thing is that the form factor makes the OM8 easy to transport and travel with. So long as your phone isn’t too heavy or thick, you should have no problem pulling it all together to capture something interesting.
Are There Alternatives?
The fact the OM8 is a gimbal that works with phones is convenient because it’s then easy to work on or share the footage right after. But if that’s not all that important, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is an intriguing alternative given its smaller footprint and flexible options. I can see why YouTubers and journalists use it often.
As for other gimbals, the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro is similarly priced and includes Apple DockKit functionality. The Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra has a similar footprint, includes a separate tracking module, and also features a small detachable monitor with live view for more remote control. There’s no DockKit integration here, but Hohem suggests its tracker is more than good enough with third-party apps. I’m testing this gimbal out now, so I will see how true that is.
For something more serious, Hohem’s iSteady M7 is double the price but takes everything up a notch, including more advanced object detection and tracking, a larger 500-gram payload, and a detachable remote with a larger 1.4-inch touchscreen.
Zhiyun undercuts the competition with its $99 Smooth Ultra, a gimbal that includes a tracking module, wireless remote with built-in mic (no screen), and integrated fill light with 226 lux.
Should You Buy It?
Only if you really value the tweaks and upgrades. The Osmo Mobile 7P is the same design, otherwise, and competitors offer more for the same or less money, so it largely depends on what your workflow needs most. DJI’s integration is tighter, as you learn very quickly when using its mics, but the lack of remote control hurts the OM8 when it comes to expanding creativity from all possible angles.
Before the recent switch to Vega OS, all Echo devices ran on a modified version of Amazon’s Android-based Fire OS. While modding and rooting Fire OS on Fire TVs and Fire Tablets has been common from the start, Echo devices have remained locked down, despite having the same potential from the beginning. Just as Amazon has started to move on from Android, an XDA Forum user by the name of Rortiz2 has figured out how to fully unlock the bootloader of several older Echo models, making way for root access, custom recovery, and custom ROMs.
XDA Forum user bengris32 has taken the two newly unlocked Echo models with a screen and built a custom ROM for them using LineageOS. You can find the Echo Show 5 ROM here and the Echo Spot ROM here with instructions for both.
With Rortiz2’s unlocked bootloader and bengris32’s LineageOS custom ROMs, you can turn these older smart displays into little table-top Android tablets with the ability to sideload and run numerous Android apps. If you’ve got either of these old Echo devices collecting dust somewhere, you can now breathe new life into them with a bit of fun tinkering.
Early on when I first started testing EVs, I got spoiled by how I could access Android Auto and CarPlay wirelessly in them. The fact that I could start my car and have my phone’s functionality seamlessly at my disposal through the main dashboard display was game changing.
That’s been my method over the past year testing out the best electric cars. Whenever I came across a new vehicle I was testing that offered wired connectivity as opposed to wireless, like the Hyundai ioniq 6, I would ding it for that because I craved the convenience of not having to deal with a wire. But I’ve had a change of heart recently, as I’ve experienced more inconveniences lately with wireless Android Auto and CarPlay. Here’s why I think going wired is the better option for phone connectivity in your car.
Not as much battery drain
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Since wireless Android Auto and CarPlay connectivity uses your phone’s Wi-Fi to directly communicate to it, this ends up becoming a big drain to your battery. My daily commute whenever I drive is about an hour and 15 minutes long depending on traffic, but I’ve seen countless times when I arrived home with my phone begging me to activate its low power mode.
By choosing to go with a wired connection, this method obviously charges your phone so that it remains at a decent level by the time you arrive at your destination. You might argue that I could counteract the battery drain by putting my phone on a wireless charger, but that brings up my next point.
Your phone will run cooler
(Image credit: SHutterstock)
Another unintended result from using wireless CarPlay or Android Auto is that the constant transfer of data causes my phone to work hard, and as a result, becomes frequently hot to the touch. This usually gets annoying 15 minutes into my driving because of the warm feel I get in my pocket.
I know very well how heat buildup can be a slow killer to any device, including any of the best phones out there because it does long term damage. Going with a wired connection makes your phone work less, which in return keeps it a more moderate temperature. If I could use one of the infrared cameras I test out every now and then, I wouldn’t be shocked by the results.
Your best bet is to place your phone in the center console area, but even then I’ve noticed my phone being quite warm when I exit the vehicle.
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Practically no latency issue
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
The last point I want to make about why wired Android Auto and CarPlay is better than wireless actually came to me only in the last month. For some reason while I was testing out the Lexus UX 300h, I began to notice a delay in some typical media controls whenever I streamed songs from YouTube Music.
At first I didn’t think much of it, but then it started to get worse with a delay of about a couple of seconds trying to fast-forward a track. That might not sound like a lot of time, but trust me it is when you’re shuffling a playlist in the hope of getting the right song.
Not surprisingly, the media controls were much more instant when I switched back to a wired connection — which leads me to believe that wireless connectivity impacts latency. Plus, it doesn’t help when you’re in gridlock traffic with other people around who are probably using Wi-Fi to an extent.
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)
More vehicles now than ever offer support for wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, but you should still consider going with a wired connection. I’ve explained my experience of using it, which I think has more practical benefits in the long run. From keeping your phone from having to overwork itself, to the near instantaneous communication between your phone and those services, I no longer consider wired connectivity as a bad thing.
It seems that Samsung has decided to go to battle with itself over the title of ‘best Black Friday phone deal’, as this Galaxy S25 Ultra deal and the mentioned Galaxy Z Fold 7 discount are some of the most impressive Black Friday deals we’ve seen so far. For what it’s worth, I’m backing the Galaxy S25 Ultra – at $859.99 it’s hardly more expensive than the basic Galaxy S25 or Apple’s iPhone 17, and is capable of so much more.
Additionally, if you’ve got an older phone lying around to trade in, you can get up to $700 off the Galaxy S25 Ultra. You’ll need a Galaxy S24 Ultra or Galaxy Z Fold 7 in good condition to get the maximum trade-in discount, though, and it doesn’t stack with the $560 cash saving.
(Not in the US? See today’s best deals in your region below)
Today’s best Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Black Friday deal
That’s because it’s got one of the strongest spec sheets on the market. Let’s start with its huge 6.9-inch display, with a resolution of 1440 x 3120 pixels and a pixel density of 498 pixels per inch, making it one of the sharpest smartphone displays, period.
Under that massive display, the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy adds bespoke overclocking to the best Android chipset, and 12GB of RAM gives you plenty of headroom for multitasking and an abundance of AI tools courtesy of Google Gemini and Galaxy AI. A large 5,000mAh battery and 256GB of storage round things out.
And we can’t not talk about the cameras – the Galaxy S25 Ultra sports Samsung’s iconic quad-camera array, with a 200MP main camera, 50MP ultra-wide camera, 10MP 3x telephoto camera, and 50MP 5x telephoto camera. That gives you more versatility (not to mention sheer resolution) than almost any other phone. Be sure to check out our full Galaxy S25 Ultra review for photo samples.
Frankly, $859.99 would be a steal for the standard Galaxy S25 Ultra with 256GB of storage – Samsung doubling this to 512GB of storage is just the cherry on top. I’ll be surprised if Samsung improves this offer, so it could be wise to buy now if you’ve been eyeing this uniquely powerful Android phone.
This is the best time of the year for a multitude of reasons. Not only does family get together to celebrate and watch football, but it also means that Christmas is right around the corner. It also means we’re bound to see some steep discounts on some of our favorite devices, like being able to save $400 on the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Most of the time, we don’t see very many discounts on Samsung flagship devices once pre-orders have ended. Because of that, it makes seeing deals that much more enticing, and it doesn’t get much better than this Black Friday deal. The best part about this deal specifically is that you can save hundreds on Samsung’s latest foldable from Amazon, Best Buy, and Samsung, as opposed to only being available at just one or two retailers.
✅Recommended if: You want the latest, greatest, and thinnest foldable that money can buy.
❌Skip this deal if: You’re on a budget, or you would prefer a foldable phone that still includes stylus support.
After years of releasing iterative updates to its flagship foldable phone, Samsung went back to the drawing board with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. What we got was the thinnest foldable on the market, and that includes devices released abroad like the Honor Magic V5 or Vivo X Fold 5.
While Samsung went in-house with the Exynos 2500 on the Galaxy Z Flip 7, the company stuck with Qualcomm for the Fold 7. As such, we have the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy at the helm, which is paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. This top-spec model is also on sale for $400 off as part of the Black Friday festivities.
With the Galaxy Z Fold 7, not only did Samsung introduce a completely overhauled design, but we also got a long-overdue camera upgrade. Samsung finally ditched the 50MP wide-angle lens from years past in favor of a 200MP sensor. This is joined by a 12MP ultrawide lens and a 10MP telephoto sensor with a 3x optical zoom.
In fact, the 200MP camera is the same sensor that you’ll find in the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which is an enormous upgrade. If you’re interested in seeing how the Z Fold 7 performs, we compared it to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
In our review, we gave the Galaxy Z Fold 7 a 4.5/5 star rating, making this an easy recommendation for anyone who is interested in picking up one of the best foldable phones.
