This week saw a lot of Samsung news (as usual), with more details about the Galaxy Fold starting to trickle out. Xiaomi also showed off its 100w charger that can juice a 4,000 mAh battery in just 17 minutes. And more!
Samsung News: Watching the Fold Fold
Let’s start with the Samsung stuff this week, shall we?
Samsung showed off how it tested the Galaxy Fold’s seam durability. It can fold 200,000 times. [Android Police] All versions of the Fold will reportedly ship with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855. Not surprising. [Android Police] The Fold will be released in 15 countries in Europe starting at €2,000. That’s so many €. [Android Police] The Galaxy A90 was teased, with Samsung saying it will have a “Notchless Infinity Screen. ” Curious! We’ll find out more on April 10th. [The Verge] If you can’t wait for the A90, however, the A70 was released this week. [Samsung] NBC used a Galaxy S10+ to shoot an entire episode of The Tonight Show. I wonder how much Samsung had to pay for that? [Engadget] The March security update was pushed to the S10. That’s…pretty much up to date! [9to5Google] The Galaxy A6+ Android Pie w/ One UI updated started rolling out. [XDA Developers] The Galaxy Note Fan Edition also started getting Android Pie with One UI. Hey, that rhymes. [XDA Developers] Sprint’s S8, S8+, and Note 8 are all getting Pie with One UI. [Android Police] In slightly weird news, some Samsung device owners were concerned when the “Notification” app got updated. Yeah, it’s nothing. Just a Samsung thing. [Android Police] If you’re not into the S10’s hole punch camera cutout, a new app called Energy Ring may change that. It moves the battery indicator to around the camera. So clean. [Android Police]
I’m honestly kind of shocked to see this much talk about the Galaxy Fold. I don’t see Samsung moving a lot of Fold units this year—and I don’t think it expects to, either—but the fact that it’s being talked up this week proves that the company believes in this foldable design overall. Still, $2,000 is a lot of money for a phone (or for anything, really), so unless a more affordable way to manufacturer foldables comes out, they’re still not going to have much of a future.
Google News: YouTube’s Monster Mobile Traffic
Google I/O is getting close, and the schedule is out. YouTube draws a crazy amount of mobile traffic. You can use Google Assistant to get a Play Store refund. Wait, did you know you could use Google Assistant to get a Play Store refund?
Google I/O starts on May 7th with the opening keynote at 10:00 AM PST. Get hyped. [9to5Google] Need a refund for a Google Play purchase? Just as Google Assistant! [Android Police] The Pixel Launcher in Android Q is testing Digital Wellbeing integration to let you pause apps directly from the home screen. Also, did you know you can pause apps with Digital Wellbeing [XDA Developers] YouTube accounts for 40% of all mobile web traffic. Out of all the websites on this planet, YouTube gets nearly half the traffic. It boggles the mind. [9to5Google] Google Fit got some nice enhancements that bring back elevation data and sleep tracking info from third-party apps. [Android Police] Android Auto was also updated with support for widescreen display. You can run two panels on the same screen! [9to5Google] When Google announced the Pixel Slate, there was a $599 version with a Celeron processor and 4GB of RAM. But that version never actually made it to release—and it likely never will. [9to5Google] Advanced call blocking abilities may be coming soon to a Google Phone app near you. The phone tweaks are the main thing I miss about using the PIxel line. [Android Police] YouTube TV is now available in every US TV market. [Engadget]
There are two main times of year I look forward to: Christmas and Google I/O (which is kind of like Google Christmas). Even though I’ve moved away from covering just Android and Google products, I’m still “an Android guy” in my heart of hearts, and I look forward to I/O every single year. This year is no different.
Google I/O is the time of year when we get a glimpse of everything Google has planned for Android, Chrome, Chrome OS, and beyond. It gives all users something to look forward to in the coming months. All of the company’s coolest innovations and ideas are shown off at I/O.
And I love it so much.
Other News: Xiaomi’s Crazy 100w Charger
Have you ever had a dead battery and thought to yourself “man, if only a way existed to charge this battery completely in like 17 minutes”? If so, Xiaomi has some good news for you.
Xiaomi showed off an insane 100w charger that will charge its 4,000 mAh battery to 100% in just 17 minutes. I can’t fathom how hot it gets in the process. [Liliputing] Xiaomi also teased its foldable phone in a new video. What if—and hear me out here—it can fold and get a full battery in 17 minutes? [The Verge] The Huawei P10 and Honor 8x are both getting Android Pie. [9to5Google] Also! The P30 and P30 Pro were officially announced. [XDA Developers] In other Huawei news, the CFO didn’t even carry a Huawei device, but an iPhone instead. 🤔 [9to5Mac] There’s a new scam that allows advertisers to run ads in the background on your phone. They make money, and your phone’s battery gets crushed. If only you could recharge it in 17 minutes—then everyone would win! I think? [The Verge] Substratum Lite was released, which is faster, smaller, and more stable. If you’re into those things. [XDA Developers] Last but not least, WhatsApp beta offers Dark Mode. That’s the new hotness, apparently. [XDA Developers]
Imagine you work for a company. Now imagine you’re pretty high up at that company. How do you feel about that company? Do you love its products? Do you believe in its products? Or do you find yourself, I dunno, preferring a competitor’s products? That’s pretty much what Huawei’s CFO did, which is just bizarre to me. But she’s the founder’s daughter, so I guess anything flies.
