A look back at seven days of news and headlines around the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit includes confirmed details on Samsung’s Galaxy S23, Pixel 7’s hidden price cut, Huawei’s camera challenge to Apple, OnePlus’ mysterious plans, Nothing Phone (1)’s OS update, launched Xiaomi 13 Pro and overclock your phone’s screen.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of some of the many things that have happened around Android over the past week (and you can find the weekly Apple news roundup here).
This is definitely the Galaxy S23
Two more national bodies (Thailand’s NBTC and India’s BIS) have certified new phones from Samsung, even going so far as to nickname them the Galaxy S23. It’s a minor detail, but the global launch of the South Korean flagship looks increasingly broad with each government approval
“It was previously 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 appeared on the Thai NBTC for certification. Interestingly, the listing states that the marketing name is Galaxy S23, which confirms the previous speculation about the name and model number.”
(Sam Mobile).
The Google Pixel 7 Pro phone is shown at the launch in New York on October 6, 2022. – Once a week … [+]
Pixel 7 is almost a price cut
With the promotional launch period of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro coming to an end, it’s back to normal pricing, not only for the 7 handsets, but also for the trade-in values that Google is offering. It’s not much of a price hike for the Pixel 7 family, but for those willing to trade in, it feels like this:
The easiest example to refer to is the Pixel 6 series – where the Pixel 6 used to be worth about $480 at trade-in, it’s now worth just $150. The Pixel 6 Pro has also dropped from about $550 to $ 190. It’s a drastic drop, to say the least. Other older Pixel phones have also dropped by similar amounts.”
(9to5Google).
Comparison of the conventional and the curious cameras
Speaking of the Pixel, Google continues to spend time promoting the handset’s photographic prowess. The message is definitely getting through. How impressive is the Pixel 7 Pro compared to the competition? Andy Boxall finds out:
While both the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro have great cameras, they are what could be considered “conventional” on a phone. The Phantom X2 Pro and the Mate 50 Pro aren’t quite as conventional, as both have cameras that are slightly very different from those on the Apple and Google phones.
“The Huawei Mate 50 Pro has a manually adjustable aperture, where you can use a slider in the app to vary the aperture of the main camera 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 ready to shoot with deep, natural depth of field.”
(Digital Trends).
What the OnePlus?
What is OnePlus up to this weekend? There’s a mysterious event happening on Saturday and the obvious answer to “what’s this for?” is “the next OnePlus smartphone”; but this feels early for an announcement compared to previous years, and it comes during a period of relatively quiet news around OnePlus devices:
“We often see consistent teasers from OnePlus ahead of major launches, so we think this is a separate event. OnePlus is expected to unveil its next-gen phone in China first before launching it in global markets at a later date , but December 17 is also remarkably early. OnePlus used a similar method earlier this year, but it waited until January 2022 to unveil its OnePlus 10 Pro.”
(Android Police).
Android 13 comes 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 broadening of theme options, an improved game mode and more AI use to extend the life of the phone. It will also be available to users in the US who have access to the smartphone:
“As Android 13 Open Beta gradually rolls out in our existing markets, we will expand it to the US market through a testing program with Phone(1) access. I would love to get feedback from our community there. Stay tuned.”
(Android authority).
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 pairing 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 came 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 terms of cameras and show off a new design. launched in China, but we expect them to be released globally soon enough.”
(GSM Arena).
And finally…
At 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 screen. But sometimes a developer needs a team to move forward… and that includes Nathan Brooke’s “Pixel 6a to 90 Hz” project:
In a post on Twitter, Brooke adds a link to the project on GitHub, saying he just doesn’t have enough time to work on it. The mod activates a seemingly unused 90Hz refresh rate on the budget-friendly Pixel 6A, which would otherwise be comes with a 6.1-inch OLED display running at 60 Hz. While The Verge’s editor-in-chief Sean Hollister confirmed that the mod works, there are a few caveats.”
(The edge).
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 news and links you’d like to see in Android Circuit, please get in touch!