News Weekly is our column where we highlight and summarize some of the week's top stories so you can catch up on the latest tech news.
This is Android Central's News Weekly, your go-to source for a concise roundup of the week's most significant tech stories. This is where we delve into the top headlines that provide the latest developments and innovations contributing to the digital landscape.
This week, Samsung's earnings reveal its plans for 2025, Google Maps is getting better at navigation, OpenAI launches its Google Search competitor, the OnePlus 13 is official in China, and you can now buy a Certified refurbished Pixel phone.
Samsung's 2025: A cheaper foldable and XR glasses?
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Big tech earnings began this week, and Samsung announced its quarterly report on Thursday. While these can be kind of boring, sometimes interesting details can arise from them regarding a company's near-term plans. Samsung's summary of its Q3 2024 financial report highlighted its various businesses and gave us a glimpse into its plans for 2025 regarding phones, XR, and more.
Unsurprisingly, the company plans to launch the Galaxy S25 in the first half of 2025. If we go by last year's schedule, we can expect the phone to launch in January, along with the stable One UI 7 update. However, that may not be the only exciting phone coming next year, as Samsung seemingly teased a cheaper foldable could be in the works to help promote adoption and offer competitively priced devices. Samsung has previously dismissed the idea of a cheaper foldable, so we hope the company provides.
Finally, Samsung made a small mention of "XR devices" and its desire for the Samsung Health platform to take advantage of what we can assume will be Samsung Glasses, along with the Galaxy Ring.
Google Maps gets upgrades you'll care about
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A decade after Google Maps started guiding users to the correct lane during navigation, the company is now making it even easier to see which lane you should be in. With an update to Google Maps coming to Android phones and iPhones this month, users will be able to clearly see which lane they need to be in and when, thanks to a zoomed-in view.
This will initially be available in 30 cities in the U.S., but Google plans to eventually expand the feature outside North America as well as to Android Auto and Carplay.
Gemini is also getting some Maps integration and can provide ideas for activities, showing users various review summaries of places to figure out the vibe. There are a ton of other updates as well, such as help with parking, navigation to places from where you've parked, expanded user reports, and more, which you should start to see rolling out through November.
ChatGPT is moving in on Google's territory
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OpenAI's ChatGPT changed the game with generative AI to the point where many saw that Google was playing catch-up with the company. Now, OpenAI is playing catch-up with Google with its latest effort: ChatGPT search.
While you can still converse with ChatGPT naturally to get answers to queries, ChatGPT search will scour the web and display relevant results to users. This can happen within a chat, or users can manually begin a search, as a dedicated button will be integrated into the chat UI, making it a secondary component.
Furthermore, ChatGPT will make it easy to access sources, with links just under the results and accessible via a Sources bar on the side that you can open with just a click.
OpenAI says this will initially be available on the web and its apps for certain users, such as ChatGPT Plus and Team users, as well as those on the SearchGPT waitlist, while all free users will eventually have access to the feature.
The OnePlus 13 looks like the phone to beat
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The OnePlus 13 is officially here, although not for everyone. The phone has launched in China, with a global launch expected later this year or at the top of 2025, but this initial launch gives us a full look at the phone and what we can expect when it comes to the rest of the world.
The OnePlus 13 features a mostly flat 6.8-inch 2K OLED display that has a slight curve on all sides. The display has a 120Hz refresh rate and is incredibly bright, with a 4500 nit peak. On the back is a triple camera setup consisting of three 50MP cameras, including a 120-degree ultrawide and 3x telephoto lens.
The phone runs OxygenOS 15 based on Android 15, meaning you'll have some of the latest features like Circle to Search and more.
Powering everything is Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite and up to 24GB of RAM, meaning the phone is well equipped for the AI era and will have plenty of power. And keeping the lights on is a massive 6,000mAh battery that supports 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. There is magnetic charging, but only if you use a case.
The phone is available now for preorder in China, but we'll be on the lookout for a global launch.
Discounted Pixels
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Google has finally launched a Certified Refurbished program where it sells Pixel phones at a discount. These are fully inspected, with Google checking the battery, housing, and screens "for any imperfections" and using "authentic Google parts" to repair them if and when needed.
The Certified Refurbished program consists of the Pixel 6 and newer devices, with the phones discounted as much as 40% off and still getting the same one-year warranty as a new Pixel. Google also says the devices will feature the latest Android software, although it's important to note that as of October 2024, support for OS upgrades on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro has officially ended, meaning the devices will only receive security updates until 2026.
Google isn't the first to offer such a program, with Samsung continuously adding Galaxy phones to its Certified Renewed program. Still, it's good to see Google making the effort to bring more sustainable options, even if we question the pricing of these devices.
More stories this week
Those are some of the biggest stories from this week. Meanwhile, here are some other stories that are worth catching up on:
- Samsung wraps up the One UI 6 Watch beta, drops the stable version for the Galaxy Watch 6
- The future of Google's Pixel Watches is looking mighty powerful
- Samsung's Android 15 update gets an up-close reveal in this One UI 7 hands-on video
- The OnePlus Open 2 could get the one feature we wish its predecessor had
- Galaxy S25 colors leak along with some underwhelming screen specs
- Google is reportedly launching a new Gemini model in December
- Pixel Tablet 3 rumor makes it sound like a more useful laptop replacement
- Latest Google Pixel 9a leak says it might strive for Pro XL power levels
- Early leak claims Samsung is working on a couple of rugged Pro models
- Samsung reportedly considers dropping 'Galaxy' brand for some devices, but the move might not go how it thinks
