Taking a look back at seven days of news and headlines across the world of Android, this week’s Android arena includes Galaxy S24 Ultra specs leak, Pixel 8 Pro feature drops, Genshin Impact improvement, financial success of foldable phones, and details of the new OnePlus 12 and Snapdragon 8. Gen specs The fourth and the new Discord application…
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 our weekly Apple news summary here).
The galaxy is missing some memory
Leaked specifications of the Galaxy S24 Ultra disappointed community members this week. Many expected the premium phone to come with the previously leaked 16GB ROM. Unfortunately, it looks like the Ultra will go up to 12GB.
“The latest leaks about the three new Galaxy S phones highlight the available memory options, as the Galaxy S24 will come with 8 GB of RAM, the Galaxy S24+ with 8 GB or 12 GB, and the S24 Ultra with 8 GB or 12 GB.” Disturbed the community. Although not released yet, several Galaxy S24 Ultra models have been spotted running 16GB of RAM. “It now appears that Samsung has pulled the specs on the smartphone down the ante.”
(Forbes).
Pixel 8 Pro feature drop
This week, Google began rolling out a software update for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones. The Pixel 8 Pro Features Drop unlocks several features that were announced at launch but are marked as coming soon. This includes AI-powered Video Boost to tweak your recorded video into something better:
Exclusive to Google’s larger flagship, Video Boost will be available starting today. It “uploads your videos to the cloud where our algorithmic photography models adjust color, brightness, stillness, and grain,” according to Google’s blog. So you receive “An impactful video that ‘looks true to life.’ This is something no one has experienced much of yet, so we’re all about to find out together where Video Boost works well and where it doesn’t.”
(the edge).
New Pixel GPU
The update also includes a new GPU driver. This has a noticeable impact on high-end games like Genshin Impact and Fortnite, two titles that highlighted the Pixel 8 series’ weaker performance at launch.
“Since this is just a GPU kernel driver upgrade, we shouldn’t expect Pixels to suddenly outperform devices with Snapdragon chips, but it should lead to improvements across many games. From the QPR2 beta, users have noticed upgrades in Fortnite , as mentioned, as well as Genshin Impact, both of which are among the most intense games available on Android today.”
(9to5Google).
Standard quarter for foldable devices
They may still command a high price tag, but foldable phones have captured the minds of designers across the ecosystem, and consumers are responding with rising sales across existing and new foldable manufacturers.
“Foldable smartphone sales rose 215% QoQ and 16% YoY in Q3 2023 to reach 7.0 million units, 1% above expectations, surpassing the previous record set in Q3 2022.” Which amounted to 6.1 million, or 16%. Samsung enjoyed its traditional peak in the company’s market share in the third quarter of 2023, with European demand dominating, reaching 72%, down from 86% last year, as its competitors launched more models and aimed to achieve higher volumes. Larger. Huawei ranked second with a 9% share, followed by Honor with 8%.
(digital supply chain).
Details of the new OnePlus 12 phone
Following the confirmation of the OnePlus 12 last week, several previews have been published, giving us a look at the specifications of the flagship phone. The critically acclaimed OnePlus Open Camera makes its way into this traditional design along with 24GB of RAM to give it as much memory as possible to boost performance:
“The phone’s RAM isn’t the only spec that attracts attention. Charging speeds are fast too, with support for 100W wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging (a feature that was completely missing from the OnePlus 11)… The OnePlus 12 battery has a rated capacity of 5,400 mAh.”
(the edge).
Snapdragon 8 4th generation details
While Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor is rolling out in flagship phones around the world, it’s busy designing and preparing a Gen 4 chip next year. One interesting detail this week concerns its manufacturing partner. Qualcomm committed to TSMC:
“According to @Tech_Reve, Qualcomm will once again rely solely on TSMC to manufacture its 3nm-based Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset next year. Reportedly, the chip designer has decided to bet on TSMC again as it plans to use custom Oryon CPU cores. “And you don’t want to compromise on power and efficiency with the new set of cores. “You can say that Qualcomm is not convinced by Samsung’s productivity or performance.”
(GSM Arena).
And finally…
Discord has released an important update to the popular chat-based service. At first glance, not much will change, but the basic ethos of the app is now mobile-first, rather than echoing desktop:
“Instead of updating designs meant for mice and keyboards, it’s a new look meant for a touchscreen that fits in your pocket… This time we’ve designed mobile as its own standalone experience — something you can use as your main Discord app when you’re on the go, not something you use alongside it.” With the desktop application.”
(Discord blog).
Android Circuit rounds up news from the world of Android every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any future coverage, and of course, read my sister column in the 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, hit us up!
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