News Weekly: Pixel Watch 3 feature gets nod from FDA, Slack's massive outage, some Android phones get insane updates, and more

An Android statue wearing a headband and a dummy Pixel Watch 3, standing behind a display of Pixel Watch 3s.

(Image credit: Michael Hicks / Android Central)

News Weekly

(Image credit: Android Central)

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.

We're currently gearing up/packing our bags to head to sunny Barcelona to witness the yearly tech conference — Mobile World Congress (MWC). Two of Android Central's best, Derrek Lee and Harish Jonnalagadda, will be on the ground, giving us a first-hand account of all the tech innovations that will be showcased this year, and here's a gist of what we expect to see.

Now, getting back to what went down this week — the Pixel Watch 3 got FDA approval for loss of pulse, Slack's massive outage impacted workplaces globally, Clicks cases have landed on Android phones, Qualcomm plus Google collab gives the latest Android phones eight years of upgrades, and Nothing continues to drop specs of the Phone 3a ahead of launch next week. Let's get into it.

Pixel Watch 3 gets nod from FDA for loss of pulse feature

Pixel Watch 3 41mm and 45mm with Buds Pro 2 — (Image credit: Andrew Myrick / Android Central)

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On Wednesday, Pixel Watch 3 received FDA clearance to add a Loss of Pulse Detection feature to this wearable in the U.S. Here's how it is supposed to work: the watch will "detect when you’ve experienced a loss of pulse," which will then vibrate with a check-in message before setting off an alarm to alert people nearby. If you continue to be unresponsive, it will attempt to call 911 and send an automated message with your location to the emergency responder.

While this feature isn't new on the wearable, since it is already integrated into the Watch 3 in 14 countries in the EU and UK, it is now that users in the U.S. will finally have access to it.

The rollout of the "loss of pulse detection" is said to happen this month; however, this will only be limited to the Pixel Watch 3, and older generations will not see this feature.

Slack outage leaves workplaces scrambling

Screen grab of Slack outage — (Image credit: Android Central)

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No, you were not fired, but Slack was on a 'break' for thousands across the globe. The messaging app experienced an outage and workplaces that rely heavily on this app to communicate across the seem to have been seeing a "We’re having trouble loading your workspace" message pop up at the center of their screens.

When faced with the outage, Android Central's team creatively came up with a workaround to use a shared Google document to communicate, although it was far from perfect and mostly a hilarious mess.

Slack's status page indicated that the outage began at around 10:30 am ET, and users could not send or receive texts, view workflows or threads, and use other in-app features. Some are having trouble logging in to the app as well. Services were fully restored by the end of the day.

Click cases finally landed on Android phones

Clicks case — (Image credit: Clicks Technology)

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Gone are the Blackberry days, but if you're someone who loves keypads, this one's for you. Clicks is finally going beyond iPhones and expanding its case compatibility with Android phones.

The company is rolling out new cases for the Google Pixel 9 series, Motorola Razr Plus, and Samsung Galaxy S25 series. These cases bring back tactile typing, giving you the satisfaction of using a keypad when you send out a text. These cases can snapped on by aligning your phone's charging port with the connector inside the case. This helps these cases run without any additional intervention. However, it is important to note that Clicks cases are not compatible with MagSafe chargers, but wireless charging could still work, nevertheless.

Users with a Google Pixel 9 and 9 Pro, the Motorola Razr Plus 2024, and the Samsung Galaxy S25 can pre-order these cases at a lowered cost of $99 until March 21. After this, the price will hit $139, with shipping for some starting in April.

Qualcomm and Google collab a win for some Android phones

The Snapdragon logo at the Qualcomm booth in Maui for Snapdragon Summit 2024

(Image credit: Michael Hicks / Android Central)

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Qualcomm announced this week that it will be teaming up with Google to bring 8 years of updates to new and upcoming Android devices that have the new Snapdragon 8 series chipset or new Snapdragon 7 series chips launching later this year.

This means phones like the OnePlus 13, the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, Honor Magic 7 Pro, and the Asus ROG Phone 9 are all among the devices included to potentially receive up to eight consecutive years of Android software and security updates, assuming OEMs opt in. This collaboration promises to make it cheaper for manufacturers to provide these yearly upgrades.

Qualcomm is leaving eligibility for these updates to the OEM's discretion. That said, Google has already offered extended software support since the Pixel 8 series, offering 7 years of updates with its newer Tensor chipsets, and Samsung offers the same software update promise with its latest phones, including the Galaxy S25 series. Looks like the tech giant is trying to bring that same level of support to other phones on the market.

Nothing 3a series to get Pixel-like camera bar

Nothing flagship phone's camera array — (Image credit: Nothing)

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Nothing seems to be dropping more than just hints before it launches its next flagship phone. Recently, it teased the rear panel and camera array for a device from the Phone 3a series. The X post reads, "Technically refined. Enlightened in every aspect." The video shows a white device with three curved Glyph lighting LEDs around a horizontal camera bar. Ring a bell? The bar looks similar to the one we saw on Google's Pixel 7 Pro.

Earlier this week, In a separate teaser, the company showed off a gray device, allegedly the Phone 3a Pro, with a massive, circular camera with three lenses: a 50MP main camera, a 50MP periscope telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and an 8MP ultra-wide lens. The triple array also features quite a hefty camera bump, but it's still surrounded by a few of the company's signature Glyph lighting.

In a separate rumor, tipster Shivam Kumar claims that a new action button on the Phone 3a will launch a whole host of things that are part of an AI suite called "Essential Spaces."

That said, our speculations will be soon put to rest as the Nothing is set to launch both these flagship models on March 4.