Taking a look back at seven days of news and headlines across the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit includes confirmed Samsung Galaxy S23 details, Pixel 7’s hidden price cut, Huawei’s camera challenge to Apple, OnePlus’ mysterious plans, Nothing Phone (1)’s OS update, Xiaomi 13 Pro launched, and overclocking your phone’s display.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).
This Is Definitely The Galaxy S23
Two more national bodies (Thailand’s NBTC and India’s BIS) have certified new phones from Samsung, going so far as to have the Galaxy S23 moniker attached. It’s a small detail, but the global launch of the South Korean flagship is looking wider and wider with each governmental sign-off
“Previously, it was speculated that the model number of one of the variants of the Galaxy S23 is SM-S911B/DS. However, there was no confirmation about it. Today, the same model made an appearance on Thai NBTC for certification. Interestingly, the listing mentions that its marketing name is Galaxy S23, confirming the previous speculation about its name and model number.”
(SamMobile).
The Google Pixel 7 Pro phone is displayed at its launch in New York on October 6, 2022. – Once a … [+]
Pixel 7’s Almost A Price Cut
Now that the promotional launch period of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro has come to an end, it’s back to regular prices not just for the 7 handsets, but also the trade-in values that Google is offering. It’s not quite a price rise on the Pixel 7 family, but for those looking to trade in, it feels like it:
“The easiest example to point towards is the Pixel 6 series – where the Pixel 6 was previously worth around $480 when trading in, it’s now worth just $150. The Pixel 6 Pro has also dropped to $190 from around $550. It’s a drastic drop, to say the least. Other older Pixel phones have also dropped by similar amounts. “
(9to5Google).
Comparing The Conventional And The Curious Cameras
Speaking of the Pixel, Google continues to spend time promoting the photographic ability of the handset. The message is certainly getting through. How impressive is the Pixel 7 Pro compared to the opposition? Andy Boxall finds out:
“Although both the iPhone 14 Pro and the Pixel 7 Pro have fantastic cameras, they’re what could be considered “conventional” on a phone. The Phantom X2 Pro and the Mate 50 Pro aren’t so conventional, as both have cameras that do something very different from the ones on the Apple and Google phones.
“The Huawei Mate 50 Pro has a manually adjustable aperture, where you can vary the main camera’s aperture using a slider control in the app between f/2.0 and f/4.0. The Tecno Phantom X2 Pro has a pop-out portrait camera with a large f/1.49 aperture that’s ready to take photos with a deep, natural depth of field.”
What The OnePlus?
What is OnePlus planning for this weekend? A mystery event is taking place on Saturday and the obvious answer to “what is this for?” is “the next OnePlus smartphone”; but this feels early for an announcement compared to previous years, and it comes in a period of relatively quiet news around OnePlus devices:
“We often see consistent teasers from OnePlus ahead of big launches, so we believe this is a separate event. It’s expected that OnePlus will first reveal its next-gen phone in China before bringing it to worldwide markets at a later date, but December 17 is also remarkably early. Earlier this year, OnePlus used a similar method, but it waited until January 2022 to reveal its OnePlus 10 Pro.”
Android 13 Coming To Nothing
Nothing Tech is preparing to update the Phone (1) with version 1.5 of its Nothing OS. Based on Android 13, the company has released an Open Beta for testing. A number of upcoming features have been highlighted, including a widening of theming options, improved gaming mode, and more AI usage to increase the longevity of the phone. It’s also going to be available to users in the US who have access to the smartphone:
“While Android 13 Open Beta is gradually being rolled out in our existing markets, we will be extending it to the US market via a testing program with access to Phone (1). Would love to get feedback from our community there. Stay tuned.”
Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro Launched
Xiaomi has released its latest flagship pairing in the self-titled Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro. These are the company’s first smartphones with Qualcomm’s latest system-on-chip design and a paring of the Sony image sensor in the main camera with a new Leica-branded camera lens. As it stands, these handsets are only for the Chinese market, but in previous years a Global release has arrived a few months later:
“Both handsets run on Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset based on TSMC’s 4nm manufacturing process. Perhaps more importantly, the two devices offer a substantial upgrade in the camera department and flaunt a new design. They are only launching in China, but we expect them to be released globally soon enough.”
(GSM Arena).
And Finally…
In the dim and distant pace, overclocking was all about the processor on your desk-bound beige box. Times have changed, and now the brave new world is overclocking your smartphone display. But sometimes a developer needs a team to move forwards… and that includes Nathan Brooke’s “Pixel 6a to 90 Hz” project:
“In a post on Twitter, Brooke includes a link to the project on GitHub and says that he just doesn’t have enough time to work on it. The mod activates a seemingly untapped 90Hz refresh rate on the budget-friendly Pixel 6A, which would otherwise ship with a 6.1-inch OLED display running at 60Hz. While The Verge’s senior editor, Sean Hollister, confirmed that the mod does work, there are a few caveats.”
(The Verge).
Android Circuit rounds up the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future, and of course read the sister column in Apple Loop! Last week’s Android Circuit can be found here, and if you have any news and links you’d like to see featured in Android Circuit, get in touch!
