Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines across the Android world, including the Galaxy Z Fold 6 design, Xiaomi14 ultra camera blades, Honor Magic6 Pro review, OnePlus Watch 2 announced, Nothing Phone (2a) details, Nubia Flip arrives, and Google’s emoji replacement.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Android in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Apple news here on Forbes.
The Thick And Thin Of The Z Fold 6
Leaked details on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 show Samsung addressing one of the concerns on last year’s flagship foldable… the size. The upcoming Z Fold 6 is going to cut the depth of the foldable from 16mm to 11mm, offering a significant drop in dimensions and a much better user experience:
“This would make it the thinnest of any Samsung foldable and thinner than devices from Oppo and OnePlus. That doesn’t match the 8.6mm depth of the Galaxy S24 Ultra (and, of course, all these measurements handily ignore any camera island jutting out the rear of the phone), but the impact of this change when holding a foldable will be noticeable.”
(Forbes).
Xiaomi Blade Bonanza
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is the company’s flagship smartphone for the year, and there’s a huge focus (ahem) on the camera. Not only does Xiaomi offer an attachable “grip” peripheral with more physical controls that feel “DSLR-like”, but it has also built on last year’s variable aperture, moving from two blades to six, allowing for a wider range of sizes:
“Just like a traditional camera, there is a very tiny six-blade mechanical iris in the main lens that can open and close to adjust the aperture of your photo. Last year, Xiaomi had a similar system, but it only used two blades and could only snap between the “blades open” f1.9 mode and the “closed blades” f4.0 mode. With six blades, you get a “stepless variable aperture” that lets you pick any spot in the phone’s f-stop range.”
(Ars Technica).
The Formidable Magic6 Pro Is Here
As part of a raft of launches and reveals (including its first Fliphone and smart ring), Honor has announced the global release of the Honor Magic6 Pro, its flagship smartphone in what can best be described as the “boing” candybar form factor. I’ve taken a closer look at the new phone here, including the design of the textured rear mimicking a high-end wristwatch:
“…[with] an interesting texture across the rear panel (available in two colors), and a camera island that takes three different shapes to catch your eye. There’s the raised lip to a square squircle, reading into a silver washer and then to the glass-covered surface of the camera island. That the various elements are symmetrical around the vertical is the final subtle touch”
(Forbes).
100 Hours Of Clock Watching
How does OnePlus address the shortcomings of its first smartwatch? It decides to launch a second watch with a second OS built in! Sitting alongside WearOS is a smaller lightweight OS… the former for the heavy lifting, the latter for basic functionality such as displaying the time. The result? Up to 100 hours of battery life, claims OnePLus… and the reviewers are busy testing that right now:
“The result is a dual-OS structure that sounds a smidge like Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 5. The BES 2700 MCU will run an RTOS and handle background activity and “simple tasks.” Meanwhile, the Snapdragon W5 will run more intensive tasks like apps. This, plus a 500mAh battery, is what nets you that supposed 100 hours of battery life.”
(The Verge).
The Design Touches Of The Nothing Phone (2a)
Nothing Tech has revealed the look of the Nothing Phone (2a), its first entry into the competitive mid-range pace. It leans heavily into the design aesthetic of the first two mainline phones while retaining a unique look:
“Behind the iconic “eyes” – represented by cameras inside the NFC coil – is the hub of intelligence that powers the phone, much like a brain. The rest of the elements are positioned using a circular grid system. This extends all the way to the edge of the phone to create more rounded corners, which now have a larger radius. Overall, this gives a coherent and softer look and feel to the device.”
(Nothing Tech).
Nubia Flip Arrives With A Competitive Price
Nubia has released its first flip smartphone at MWC and priced it aggressively to take on the mid-range with a folding portable smartphone—the Nubia Flip (also known as the Libero Flip for Japanese customers). For a $599 fliphone, the specs are solid, although with no sign of an official IP rating or wireless charging, it’s clear that some hard decisions have been made to get it to an expected €599 price.
“That means you’ve got a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset, a 6.9-inch foldable OLED screen (120Hz), a tiny cover display, and a 4,310mAh battery with 33W wired charging. In saying so, the Nubia Flip demo units show 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage compared to the ZTE model’s 6GB/128GB allotments.”
(Android Authority).
And Finally…
If you thought emojis could not be topped, then get ready to shout about their successor. Tucked away inside the beta of Google’s “Phone” app is code for a new type of reaction. The Audiomoji:
“According to TheSpAndroid, a new “Audiomoji” reaction was spotted in the Google Phone app’s latest beta version 124 (via Android Police). The tipster stated various code files discovered during the deep dive point toward the app’s upcoming “sound reactions” feature. It was discovered that users could soon have screen effects with sound when on a call with another person.”
(The SpAndroid via Android Central).
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!
