Looking back at seven days of news and headlines about the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit features Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra leaks, Google ignores benchmarking, Pixel 7a specs, Huawei wins smartphone camera award, Razr 2022 and Nokia X30 5G reviews, Qualcomm’s Smartphone Prediction and iMessaging Killer Killing.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of some of the many things that have happened around Android in the past week (and you can find the weekly Apple news summary here).
More Galaxy S23 Ultra Specifications Leakage
Samsung’s upcoming flagship (at least for traditional handsets) is the S23 Ultra. And like many flagships before, the South Korean company will lean on its prowess as a camera manufacturer:
“…the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 200MP primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, and a 10MP telephoto camera with 10x optical zoom. While only the primary camera appears to be getting an upgrade, previous reports have indicated that ultra-wide and telephoto cameras will also see improvements, thanks to better image processing.”
(SamMobile),
Google’s 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 now and is quite happy that its Tensor Mobile chipset doesn’t have such a huge number:
“They might tell a story, but we don’t feel like they’re telling the full story. So for us, we benchmark the actual software workloads we run on our chip and then we strive to work with each generation of tensor chips to make them better.” , whether it’s better quality, better performance, less power.”
(Created by Google Podcast through 9to5Google).
Pixel 7a Details leak
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 a surprise that a Pixel 7a is planned and Google adds to the list of features?
Another notable change that looks set to come for the Pixel 7a is the introduction of wireless charging. As first noted by Android researcher Kuba Wojciechowski, the Lynx Pixel 7a will feature the “P9222” wireless charging chip. That said, according to the manufacturer, the Pixel 7a’s wireless charging chip can only charge 5W and is best suited for something like the earbud charging case.”
(9to5Google).
The number 1 camera so far
Huawei’s Mate 50 Pro has taken the top spot in DXOMark’s global smartphone camera ranking, highlighting both its wide range and software processing:
“In photo, the Mate 50 Pro received the best overall score to date, thanks to excellent results in exposure, autofocus and texture/noise. It delivered a very pleasant rendering overall, even in difficult conditions such as low-light scenes or a high dynamic range.”
(DXOMark).
Below the fold reviews
Motorola’s full-screen yet foldable Razr 2022 flip phone certainly has the iconic look, but does the latest version have what it takes to be considered the best handset in its class? The GSM Arena team takes a look at the handset to answer that question:
“The Razr 2022 is a truly premium device through and through. Motorola has clearly decided to pull out all the stops on the foldable clamshell this time around, and it shows. slick design and the excellent construction “Also the beautiful, high-performing foldable screen and solid stereo speakers. While not without problems, mainly due to strange software limitations, the camera setup on the Razr 2022 also left us wanting.”
(GSM arena).
Reviewing the Nokia X30 5G
The Nokia X30 5G is the latest mid-range phone from the HMD Global team, and with nothing in the higher price ranges, it is basically the flagship device. Michael Allison has spent time with the middle-of-the-road phone and thinks that description pretty much does it right:
“I’ve been using the Nokia X30 over the course of a week and I’ve found it to be a very capable phone with nothing to stand out. That’s fine in a bubble, but at this very competitive price, it turns out to be a problem.”
Phone sales going down
Qualcomm has forecast that cell phone sales will decline over the next year, citing economic conditions in its latest financial report, with a double-digit drop likely… and the signs are already there:
Two of those ‘biggest customers’ are likely Samsung and Apple, which use Qualcomm chips in their smartphones, and both have reportedly struggled with not selling enough phones. smartphones in stock, while Bloomberg reported in September that Apple had decided not to increase production of its new iPhone 14 series, and Apple’s iPhone revenue for the previous quarter was lower than expected, another indication of lukewarm demand. to the iPhone 14 series.”
(The edge).
And finally…
Google has closed yet another service that was once seen as the brave new world. Google Hangouts is no more. Ron Amadeo looks back at the possible answer to Apple’s iMessage and wonders what happens to messages now:
“The Hangouts shutdown is the latest chapter in the mess that is Google’s messaging history. Google Talk launched 17 years ago, and Google still doesn’t have a competing messaging platform. Part of the reason we’re on Google’s umpteenth messaging app is that there is no solid, stable home for messaging within Google.”
(Ars Technica).
Android Circuit rounds up the news from the Android world every weekend right here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any news in the future, and of course read the sister column in Apple Loop! Last week’s Android Circuit can be found hereand if you have any news and links you would like to see in Android Circuit, please contact us!
