Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines across the Android world, including Galaxy S25 special offers, Honor Magic7 Pro review, Nubia’s RedMagic 10 Pro examined, Nothing Tech’s AI plans, global smartphone growth, Google offers undo key, and a new Instagram challenger.
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.
S25 Release Dates And Special Offers
Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event takes place next week on Jan 22, with the Galaxy S25 amily widely expected to launch. Also expected will be the special offers Samsung will offer to those participating in the pre-order window:
“Last year saw several exclusive colors only available through Samsung.com, a free upgrade to the next tier of storage (so those buying the Galaxy S25 Ultra priced for the 512 GB model would receive the 1 TB storage model), and generous trade-ins on a wide range of smartphones both from Samsung and other manufactures including Google and Apple.”
(Forbes).
Honor Magic7 Pro Review
Following a successful release in China at the end of 2024, Honor’s Magic7 Pro has been introduced in Europe this week. It builds on last year’s Magic6 and Magic6 Pro, but brings in the latest chipset to increase the available power and performance. Forbes’ contributor Ben Sin takes a closer look at the handset:
“Performance is excellent, obviously, as mobile silicon has long surpassed what 99% of people need on a mobile device. Whether it’s splicing together video clips on CapCut or scrolling through Instagram, sending emails or uploading files to Slack, this phone doesn’t miss a beat.
(Forbes).
Alongside the Magic7 Pro, Honor has released its third collaboration with Porsche Design and the luxury-focused Porsche Design Honor Magic7 RSR. It features some small bumps in specs over the Magic7, but the real impact comes from the styling:
“The new device merges premium sports car inspired design with state-of-the-art technology, again showcasing a powerful collaboration meticulously crafting a groundbreaking product.”
(Honor Press).
RedMagic 10 Pro Review
Also in for review this week is Nubia’s latest gaming smartphone. The RedMagic 10 Pro follows on from the 9S Pro released six months ago. The rapid RedMagic product cycle keeps Nubia’s hardware at the top of the tree, but ongoing support is an issue:
“For those looking to be as competitive as possible when playing, a new RedMagic phone is guaranteed to provide top-of-the-line hardware. But that competitive price comes with a cost… the number of software and security updates Nubia will provide. For me, this is the weakest point of the RedMagic 10 Pro package—it comes with just one Android update (taking the handset to Android 16 but no further), two years of UI upgrades, and three years of security updates.”
(Forbes).
Nothing Plans For Artificial Intelligence
A recently leaked email written by Nothing Tech’s co-founder Carl Pei has laid out some of the steps that the company is taking during 2025 to build on the company’s early smartphone success. Naturally, AI plays a large part of the plan.
“Intriguingly, Pei goes into more details of what’s coming, confirming that the next flagship, Nothing Phone (3) will launch this year. “It will introduce breakthrough innovations in user interface, taking our first step toward our AI-powered platform. We’re aiming at redefining the user experience of personal computing devices – creating technology that knows you, makes your life easier, and is present where you are.”
(Forbes).
Global Smartphone Market Is Growing
The latest report from Counterpoint Research on the global smartphone market is showing a four percent rise in the overall market, a turnaround from a weak 2023. Who is benefiting the most?
“The top two brands, Samsung and Apple, were largely flat YoY in 2024. Xiaomi grew fastest among the top five and ranked #3. OPPO lost volume but held on to #4 ahead of fast-growing vivo that did well in selected markets.
(Counterpoint Research).
Take That Back!
Google has begun a staggered rollout process for a new feature on the Android GBoard keyboard. The Undo feature was spotted in the code back in summer 2023 but is only now starting to be publicly available. Like many new features, the release is staggered so is not immediately available to every user:
“In brief testing, this feature appears to let you undo if you close the keyboard and open it again. However, once you exit an application, the memory is reset. When you can’t take any action, tapping the Undo key will cause the Undo/Redo chips to appear but they’ll be grayed out.”
(9to5Google).
And Finally…
The fallout from Meta’s changes to its content moderation policy play out, the federated web service Pixelfed has released its smartphone apps. With many seeing it as an alternative to Instagram, having a mobile app is crucial to find growth in this current window of opportunity.
“Pixelfed is now available as a mobile apps for both iOS and Android. The open source, decentralized platform offers image sharing similar to Instagram. However, Pixelfed has no advertisements and does not share user data with third parties. The platform launched in 2018, but was only available on the web or through third-party app clients. “
(Engadget).
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!