Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines across the Android world, including a new Pixel prive for Google, Pixel 8 misses out on AI tools, Moto’s foldable offers, Nothing Phone (2a) arrives, Galaxy Ring launch dates, and a new Google One offer…
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.
Google’s Pixel Prize
The annual Best Smartphone Award from the organisers of Mobile World Congress has been Samsung’s icing on the cherry of the long-running event… except for this year. MWC 2024’s blue ribband award has gone to a rival:
“At this year’s Mobile World Congress, Google picked up its first-ever Best Smartphone award. This award is handed out at MWC by the GSM Association (GSMA) every year, and the Pixel 8 was chosen as the winner among all the devices that were in the running… The GSMA says that “the Best Smartphone award combines outstanding performance, innovation and leadership as determined through assessment of smartphones on the market”, and the Pixel 8’s aggressive price probably helped its case.”
(SamMobile).
AI For The Largest
When Google launched its flagships last year, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro were heavily marketed as “AI-first” smartphones. The latest AI initiative is set to reach the mobile space, but Gemini Nano will only be available on the larger handset.
“It was confirmed earlier today that Gemini Nano will not be coming to the Pixel 8 during the MWC ’24 and AI-centric episode of The Android Show on YouTube. The company’s remarks during its Q&A were brief, with a Google representative telling viewers that “Nano will not be coming to Pixel 8 because of some hardware limitations.” That said, the company is working on bringing Nano to more “high-end devices in the near future.”
(9to5Google via Android Police).
Satellite Emergency Calls For Pixel
Tucked away inside the latest Android code for the Google Pixel 8 Pro is code for “Satellite SOS” emergency connections. There’s no word on the technical details nor when the service will be activated in various regions around the world… but it’s clearly coming soon:
“We don’t know exactly how the feature will work because it’s not available to use right now, but it is possible to see it. The option can be found in the safety and emergency settings sub-menu on a Pixel phone (at, least on my Pixel 8 Pro), but if I tap it nothing happens. Clearly, the feature isn’t ready for prime time yet, so Google may have accidentally added it in during an update, or it is teasing the upcoming feature.”
(9to5Google via Forbes).
Moto’s Foldable Discounts
Motorola is pushing to establish its new Razr handsets in the market with some significant offers on the latest hardware. Now that the MWC launches are out of the way and the competition is known, Motorola is working hard to be established as one of the clear alternatives to Samsung:
“The company is running a new “daylight savings” deal which knocks up to 25% off of some of its hardware. The most interesting deals are for the Motorola Razr and Razr Plus 2023, which are $200 and $300 cheaper respectively… The real draw here, though, is the heavily discounted Razr series, which is the company’s most impressive piece of tech.”
(Forbes).
Notihg Phone (2a) Announced
The third phone from Nothing Tech is targeting the mid-range. The Nothing Phone (2a) brings over the same brand identity both in the software theming but primarily with the strips of alert LED lights on the rear of the handset:
“Nothing has a trademark transparent industrial design, with the clear back teasingly showing the shapes of internal components along with Glyphs, the company’s name for LED light strips that shine out. These can be customized to flash in particular ways, telling you who’s calling even with the phone face down, for instance. As well as the black version that I’ve been reviewing, it comes in white, as before and a rather fetching cloudier color called milk.”
(Forbes).
Galaxy Ring Set For Summer Release
Samsung’s summer event, the titular Galaxy Unpacked, is established as the launch date for the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip foldable phones. Now, another piece of cutting-edge hardware is set to arrive at the July event. Samsung’s Galaxy Ring is set to be here this summer:
“There is a high chance that Samsung will launch its Galaxy Ring at this summer Unpacked event. The company has already hinted at releasing it later this year and it has been showing reporters prototypes of the device at MWC this week. This is easily one of Samsung’s more anticipated devices in recent years because it’s so different from other wearable tech on the market right now”
(SamMobile via Forbes).
And Finally…
Google has bundled two existing services into the Google One subscription product. Home automation and health services are now included, although there’s no big announcement:
“I checked my Nest account and Fitbit app and both now have access to the premium features. Google has long been rumored to beef up One with both services, but Google’s plans and pricing page doesn’t yet explicitly mention that Nest Aware and FitBit Premium are rolled into the higher tier plans. Nor has there been an official announcement.”
(Forbes).
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!
