Taking a look back at seven days of news and headlines across the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit includes Galaxy S24 Ultra camera leak, Pixel battery boost, OnePlus 12R details, the next Nothing Phone revealed, Snapdragon vs Dimensity, and the popularity of vanilla Android.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).
Stunning Galaxy S24 Utlra Camera
There may be a range of new frontiers to explore with 2024’s smartphone designs, but the old favourites are still easily understood by consumers. This means the camera on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy handsets will be an essential point to promote. This week, we had confirmation on the new camera setup:
"The image of these camera modules for the Galaxy S24 Ultra appears to have leaked from a manufacturing facility for the new device. We see many of them placed in a bin alongside a that provides a description, part number, and some other information [which backs up previous leaks of] a 200-megapixel primary sensor with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide, a 10-megapixel telephoto, and a 50-megapixel telephoto sensor. The zoom sensor provides 2x, 3x, 5x, and 10x optical zoom."
(SamMobile).
A Google Pixel 8 Pro phone (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)
Pixel Battery Boost
The latest feature drop of Android 14 has arrived for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones. They are the first to receive Android’s battery health monitor:
"The manufacture date and cycle count aren’t the only battery-related statistics that Android 14 exposes to apps through new APIs, though. Other battery health details like the date of first use, charging policy, charging status, and state of health are also available. The state of health is particularly interesting because it’s an estimate of the battery’s current full charge capacity, expressed as a percentage relative to the battery’s rated capacity. "
OnePlus 12R Design Confirmed
The OnePlus R smartphones have been popular mid-range handsets which sold well in India. With the OnePlus 12 series being prepared for a January launch, the OnePlus 12R is set to spread the R-wings wider than India with a global launch. Why is this important?
"As OnePlus pushes the mainline handsets higher in specifications and price, it leaves a notable gap in the portfolio. The 2020 Nord series launch started to fill this gap; since then, Nord has pushed itself into cheaper price points while the mainline pushes higher. This is the gap that the R series can fill, and this is probably one of the big arguments in favor of a global introduction of the OnePlus 12R."
(Forbes).
Nothing Phone (2a)
Also coming soon in the mid-range department, although not yet confirmed, is the Nothing Phone 2a. Given the naming convention, this is expected to be a lower specced and lower-priced variant of this year’s Nothing Phone 2:
"The Nothing Phone 2a features a dual camera setup possibly arranged horizontally. It houses a primary camera – 50MP Samsung S5KGN9 shooter with 1/1.5” sensor size and 1.0micron pixel size... There’s a secondary 50MP Samsung S5KJN1 ultrawide camera with 1/2.76” sensor size and 0.64micron pixel size. For reference, this is the same setup as the Moto G84, and even the Nothing Phone (1) and Phone (2) are using the same sensor."
(Smartprix).
Snapdragon vs Dimensity
While the eyes of Samsung fans are on the Snapdragon vs Exynos debate around performance and efficiency, another chipset battleground will reach beyond the Galaxy S24 family. Mediatek’s new Dimensity chip is set to take on Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon. Who will win out:
"It’s clear that Qualcomm and MediaTek’s new chips are on an even footing as far as CPU performance is concerned, with the two trading blows in single-core and multi-core benchmarks. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 takes a clear lead in the GPU tests, though, but the Dimensity 9300 is still best of the rest here."
And Finally...
A lot of details about Android have come out of the Epic vs Google Antitrust case. One of these is just how customised the Android space is. While the Android Open Source Project is available to all and has a so-called ‘vanilla’ clean version of Android with no additional apps or services, it’s rarely used:
"Jason Kint has posted confidential documents from Epic v Google antitrust trial. This page caught my attention from Google's documents where they say clean android devices represent less than 5 % of android ecosystem."
(Reddit).
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 any news and links you’d like to see featured in Android Circuit, get in touch!
