Looking back on seven days of news and headlines in the world of Android, this week’s Android circuit includes Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra leaks, Google skips benchmarking, Pixel 7a specs, Huawei wins the smartphone camera price, Razr 2022 and Nokia X30 5G reviews, Qualcomm’s smartphone prediction and the death of the iMessaging killer.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of some of the many things that happened around Android in the past week (and you can find Apple’s weekly news digest here).
More Galaxy S23 Ultra specs leak
Samsung’s next flagship (at least for mainstream handsets0 if the S23 Ultra. And like many flagships before it, the South Korean company will build on its prowess as a camera maker:
“…the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 200 MP main camera, a 12 MP ultra wide camera, a 10 MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and a 10 MP telephoto camera with 10x optical zoom While only the main camera appears to get an upgrade, previous reports have indicated that the ultra-wide and telephoto cameras will also see improvements, thanks to better image processing.
(SamMobile),
Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro
The tensor test is not just a number
Everyone loves a benchmark, a nice clean number that says X is better than Y. But what happens when you design something that works better but doesn’t have the best number? Google is dealing with this right now and is very happy that its Tensor Mobile chipset doesn’t have this large number:
“They may tell a story, but we don’t feel like they’re telling the full story. And so for us, what we’re comparing are the actual software workloads that we’re running on our chip, then we strive with each generation of tensor chip to make them better, whether it’s better quality, better performance, less power.”
(Made by Google Podcast via 9to5Google).
Pixel 7a details leaked
Six months after the launch of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Google announced the Pixel 6a – a mid-range handset that brought the Tensor Mobile chipset and advanced AI to a wider market. Will it be surprising if a Pixel 7a is planned and Google adds it to the feature list?
“Another notable change that seems to be coming for the Pixel 7a is the introduction of wireless charging. As Android researcher Kuba Wojciechowski first noticed, the Lynx Pixel 7a is expected to include the “P9222” chip for charging. That said, according to the manufacturer, the Pixel 7a’s wireless charging chip is only capable of charging 5W and is best suited for something like the earphone charging case.”
(9to5Google).
The number 1 camera so far
Huawei’s Mate 50 Pro took the top spot in DXOMark’s global smartphone camera rankings, with its wide operating range and software processing both highlighted:
“In stills, the Mate 50 Pro earned the highest overall rating to date, thanks to excellent exposure, autofocus, and texture/noise results. It delivered very pleasing results overall, even in challenging conditions like low light or high dynamic range.”
(DXOMark).
Notice under the fold
Motorola’s full-screen but foldable Razr 2022 flip phone certainly has the iconic look, but does the latest iteration have what it takes to be considered the best handset in its class? The GSM Arena team reviews the handset to answer this question:
“The Razr 2022 is a truly premium device, through and through. Motorola has clearly gone all out on the foldable clamshell this time around, and it shows. Some of the phone’s main highlights include its sleek design and elegant and its excellent construction.In addition, the beautiful high-performance foldable screen and the solid stereo speakers.While not without problems, mainly related to strange software limitations, the camera configuration on the Razr 2022 does not didn’t leave us wanting either.
(GSM Arena).
Nokia X30 5G review
The Nokia X30 5G is the latest mid-range phone from the HMD Global team, and without anything in the higher price brackets, it’s actually the flagship device. Michael Allison has spent some time with the middle of the road phone and finds this description roughly matches:
“I’ve been using the Nokia X30 for a week and found it to be a very adequate phone, nothing special. It’s fine in a bubble, but at this very competitive price, it turns out to be in a problem.”
(Digital Trends).
Phone sales will drop
Qualcomm has predicted that mobile phone sales will fall over the next year, citing economic conditions in its latest financial reports, with a likely double-digit percentage decline…and the signs are already there:
“Two of those ‘biggest customers’ likely include Samsung and Apple, which use Qualcomm chips in their smartphones, and both would have struggled with not selling enough phones. In June, Korean industry site TheElec said Samsung had 50 million smartphones in stock at the time, while Bloomberg reported in September that Apple had decided not to ramp up production of its new iPhone 14 lineup. from Apple for the prior quarter were below estimates, another indication of lukewarm demand for the iPhone 14 lineup.”
(The edge).
And finally…
Google has shut down another service that was once considered a brave new world. Google Hangouts is no more. Ron Amadeo reflects on Apple’s potential response to iMessage and wonders what’s going on with messaging now:
“The Hangouts shutdown is the final chapter in the mess that is Google’s messaging history. Google Talk was launched 17 years ago, and Google still doesn’t have a competitive messaging platform. Part of the reason we’re on Google’s umpteenth Mail app is that there’s no solid, stable home for Mail inside of Google.”
(Ars Technica).
Android Circuit rounds up 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, let us know!