Looking back at this week’s news and headlines in the Android world, including Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, the Galaxy A35, OxygenOS 15 confirmed, Google’s Photo Picker request, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 4 expectations, and farewell to the original Google Meet .
Android Circuit is here to remind you of some of the many discussions surrounding Android over the past seven days. You can also read my weekly roundup of Apple news here on Forbes.
Customers experience Samsung’s newly released screen phones Galaxy Fold6 (photo credit should have read … [+]
Meet the special edition from Samsung
A new variant of the Galaxy Z Fold6 is expected to be launched in the coming weeks. The z Fold Special Edition will make the current flagship foldable and reduce its size. The 4.9mm depth certainly undercuts devices like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but it still doesn’t beat the current champion: Honor’s Magic V3:
“Given the assumption that most of the work on a foldable device is done when it’s opened, the Z Fold SE will have the advantage over the Google device’s 5.1mm. It’s an impressive win over Google, but even this Special Edition can’t match the Honor Magic V3 and win. That foldable device stunned the market when it was launched in July, it’s 9.2mm, open 4.4mm.
(Forbes).
Samsung’s next Galaxy A
This isn’t the only Samsung device to leak. It seems that the popular Galaxy A series will get a new mid-range phone before 2025 in the form of the Galaxy A35. It has been indexed by Geekbench and the team at SamMobile noticed the new details:
“The octa-core CPU has four high-performance CPU cores clocked at 2.4 GHz and four low-power CPU cores clocked at 1.8 GHz. Digging further into the Geekbench listing, we discovered that the chip uses the Adreno 710 GPU. So the chip is the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 or the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2. Both chips are made using Samsung Foundry’s 4nm (4LPX) manufacturing process.”
(SamMobile).
OnePlus confirms new OxygenOS update
With Android 15 at the top of the update pile, manufacturers are working to integrate the new code with their own additions to upgrade their operating systems and push them to existing customers (and also prepare them for new hardware). OnePlus has confirmed when OxygenOS will switch to Android 15. The date? October 24.
“As one of the first operating systems based on the Android 15 update, OxygenOS 15 leverages OnePlus’s extensive research and deep user insights to create a new generation of software that embodies the iconic Never Settle spirit.
“Equipped with industry-leading Fast&Smooth experience, meaningful new AI features and a distinctive design style that highlights OnePlus’ personality, OxygenOS 15 will be the fastest and most user-friendly OxygenOS ever.
(OnePlus).
Choose Google’s dialer
Google is reaching out to several developers to point out the benefits of using the built-in photo picker API instead of coding their own API, which would require a lot of user consent. It certainly has security benefits for users (and the bonus effect of bringing developers closer to Google’s preferred security model):
“In 2022, Google introduced the Photo Picker API, a privacy-preserving method that allows apps to access your photos and videos. Using the Photo Picker API, apps can request access to the photos or videos of your choice without having to ask for permission to access to your entire media gallery. It is intended for apps that have a one-time or irregular need to access certain photos or videos.
Ready for Snapdragon 4
Qualcomm’s flagship chipset will likely power many of the smartphones of 2025. You’ll see the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 appear in many spec sheets, going up against similar chips from Samsung’s Exynos range and Mediatek’s Dimensity. Nevertheless, Qualcomm stock is poised to reap the rewards regardless of the competition:
“I believe Qualcomm’s share price has already taken into account the negative impact of Apple developing its own 5G chips. The company’s stock will benefit not only from better-than-expected momentum in 4Q24, but also from favorable trends in 2025, including AI smartphones. and AI PC growth and higher SoC prices due to the adoption of TSMC’s N3P process.”
(Ming-Chi Kuo on Medium).
And finally…
While Google Duo won the inter-business competition as the messaging app of choice for Google (and subsequently took over the branding), the original Meet app survived in a subtle ‘original’ guise to support business partners. That period of grace – even if measured in years – seems to have come to an end:
“Google is currently adding features it first introduced for business customers to the personal version of Meet. This includes an updated user interface, an audio-only mode on the go, live captioning and more expressive features.”
(9to5Google).
Android Circuit collects the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any future coverage, 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 would like to see in Android Circuit, please contact us!
