Skip to main content

Throw exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones in 'Grand Theft Auto V'

The Grand Theft Auto series has always served as a biting satire of contemporary society, and a modder’s latest creation just might be the series’ most entertaining gag. You can now buy a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in Grand Theft Auto V, but you won’t be using it to call your friends or check the stock market: it’s a bomb.

The mod, created by GTA5-Mods user HitmanNiko, replaces the Sticky Bomb weapon already available in the game, and can be stuck to vehicles or other obstacles like the original explosive. Its screen, camera, and logo look identical to the real phone when using the first-person mode, though its destructive power might be a little greater than the Galaxy Note 7s we’ve seen explode thus far.

Recommended Videos

Protagonist Michael Townley doesn’t just come packing one Galaxy Note 7. No, with the magic of video games, he has at least nine stored away in his pockets, which he then uses to cause an enormous traffic accident and send the citizens of Los Santos running in panic. And people thought your cell phone in Watch Dogs was powerful.

This actually isn’t the first time we’ve seen an exploding cell phone used as a weapon in Grand Theft Auto V. A main mission tasks you with assassinating “LifeInvader” CEO Jay Norris — who says he founded the network “in [his] parents’ pool house” — by calling his cell phone during a major conference. Armed with an explosive, the phone nearly takes Norris’ entire head off.

What other cell phones would you like to see in Grand Theft Auto V? An iPhone 7 with a better camera? A Nokia that can be used as a bludgeoning weapon to take down armored SWAT team members? Let us know in the comments, and tell us about your favorite Grand Theft Auto V mods.

Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Grand Theft Auto 6 is just the tip of the iceberg for video games in 2025
Lucia and her partner rob a store in GTA 6.

A lot of long-awaited video games will finally release in 2025. But don’t let them be the only ones to grab your attention this year.

If all goes according to plan, 2025 will contain the launches of Nintendo’s Switch successor, Metroid Prime 4:Beyond, and Grand Theft Auto VI. Other high-profile games like Elden Ring: Neightreign, Doom: The Dark Ages, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and Ghost of Yotei flesh out Digital Trends’ most anticipated games of 2025 list. It’s likely that these AAA adventures, and whatever Nintendo decides to deliver with its new console, will dominate gaming conversations throughout the year.

Read more
Grand Theft Auto Trilogy developer is not happy about this change in latest update
Carl Johnson in a green shirt walking away from a car on a bridge. He's holding a gun.

The poorly received Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy -- The Definitive Edition got a surprise and much-needed update earlier this week, but not everybody is happy with the results. After the update went live on PC and consoles, fans noticed quickly that Grove Street Games, the studio that developed Definitive Edition with Rockstar Games, had been removed from the splash screen ahead of the start menu. Now Grove Street CEO Thomas Williamson has spoken out on X about the situation.

"Speaking entire hypothetically: It's a [jerk] move to remove primary developers from credits in an update, especially when an update includes hundreds of fixes that were provided by those developers that stayed out of players' hands for years," Williamson wrote.

Read more
Grand Theft Auto: The Definitive Edition trilogy gets a welcome update after 3 years
Carl Johnson piloting a boat in the water under the golden gate bridge in San Andreas.

The controversial Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy -- The Definitive Edition got a surprise update on Tuesday that brought some welcome and much-needed changes to the game -- and it only took three years.

As reported by Rockstar Intel, the "definitive" versions of Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One got a slew of fixes and updates, including one that fixes a huge sticking point with the release: lighting.

Read more