Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines across the Android world, including Galaxy Z Fold6 secrets, Samsung plans S25 surprise, Pixel 9 Pro display decision, Google AI incoming, smartphone AI races, Xiaomi’s MIX Fold 4 leak, and Android’s desktop mode.
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.
Galaxy Z Fold6 Secrets
Ahead of Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked launch event next week, the final details on the folding flagship Galaxy Z Fold6 are coming out. One area of interest earlier this week was the hinge:
“Intriguingly, these renders offer more details on the critical hinge assembly. From the bulky and exposed hinges on the early Z Fold devices, the technology has matured to allow for a design with fewer internal moving parts, a smaller physical size, and greater protection against environmental conditions. It’s clear from these images that the Z Fold6 has continued the trend for a smaller hinge assembly…”
(Forbes).
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy Unpacked 2024, London, United Kingdom
Samsung Cuts S25+ Plans
Looking further ahead, is Samsung planning to cancel one of the three core Galaxy S models? The Galaxy S Plus range sits between the vanilla model and the Ultra high-end model and generally shares the specs of the entry-level model. Is it still needed?
“It appears the company might be ditching the “Plus” model for 2025. We know Samsung is actively developing the S25 series, with work already underway for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Our database has revealed details on Samsung’s upcoming devices, revealing the existence of regular Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Ultra, but the S25+ model is notably missing, suggesting Samsung actually ditched the S25+.”
Pixel 9 Pro’s New Display
Google’s August event is expected to launch the Pixel 9 family of devices (with a pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL. It’s a chance for Google to showcase new software and hardware, and one area may be with a new long-life display.
“While not specifically called out, this likely uses the new dual-stack tandem technique in the OLED panel. This uses two light-emitting panels that sit on top of each other. The two panels individually put out lower levels of light, but in combination they offer a brighter panel. This allows the panels to run more efficiently, and the panel’s rate of degradation is reduced.”
(Forbes).
Google AI Preparies Pixel Debut
In terms of software, the Pixel 9 family is expected to debut Google AI, a branded suite of three AI tools. The first is “Add Me”, a photo enhancement tool to bring people into a picture; Studio, a creative assistant for generating media; and Pixel Screenshots, which allows you to explore images of your phone’s screen:
“instead of automatically capturing everything you’re doing, it will only work on screenshots you take yourself. When you do that, the app will add a bit of extra metadata to it, like app names, web links, etc. After that, it will be processed by a local AI, presumably the new multimodal version of Gemini Nano, which will let you search for specific screenshots just by their contents, as well as ask a bot questions about them.”
The Next AI race
Given we already have Samsung’s Galaxy AI, and Apple introducing Apple Intelligence in Q1 2025, the move to introduce Google AI is key. Where are the main smartphone manufacturers in the space? I took time to analyse the state of AI play earlier this week:
“Early July will see the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6. While the foldable market is smaller than the regular candybar phones, it allows Samsung to continue talking about the current success of Galaxy AI and what comes in its second wave of AI. Notably, Samsung will introduce this next generation of AI a month before Google introduces its next steps.”
(Forbes).
Xiaomi’s Next Folding Phone
Samsung is not the only company that has an upcoming foldable device. Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi is preparing the MIX Fold 4, building on a thin design and a four-lens camera:
“A large camera array occupies the top quarter of the phone’s back plate, housing four lenses, a flash, and what appears to be a mirrored panel. We can’t glean much else from the folded rear shot apart from the slight hinge on the phone’s right side and the striking powdery silver colorway.”
And Finally…
It has been hinted at a few times, but will the next version of Android be the version that introduces a desktop mode to the OS? Adding a keyboard and a monitor to your smartphone could give you a desktop-styled setup. Samsung has taken a similar approach with its own DEX software, but Google could make it universal:
“Desktop mode could be the latest in a long series of OEM-pioneered features Google has co-opted into the core Android experience, joining the likes of split-screen multitasking and theme customization as stock Android standards. We know the Pixel 9 series is launching at an event in August, and we’re confident Android 15 will debut on Google’s new phones.”
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!