Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines across the Android world, including Pixel 9 price rise, Galaxy AI goes further, Goodbye Chromecast, Realme GT6 review, AI for your ears, next-generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, and Mighty Doom is shut down.
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.
Why Push The Pixel Price?
This week, we should see the reveal of the Pixel 9 family of phones at Tuesday’s Made By Google event. Much is known about the phones, but one detail has been the cause of much speculation. Why is the price going up? While Google is updating the camera, the display, and the Tensor chipset, the real reason may be that more fundamental specifications are needed to drive AI. Memory:
” According to leaks, Google is equipping the entire Pixel 9 series with more RAM this year. The base Pixel 9 will allegedly ship with 12GB of RAM, while the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL (and Fold) will get 16GB of RAM by default…Looking at the Galaxy S24 series as a means of comparison, 12GB and 16GB really does eclipse Google’s primary competition, as the base Galaxy S24 only have 8GB of RAM.”
(9to5Google).
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy Unpacked 2024, London, United Kingdom
Galaxy AI For More
Samsung debuted Galaxy AI in January 2024 on the Galaxy S24 family. Since then, it has pushed the platform to older S devices. The latest move to widen the audience of Galaxy AI will see it arrive on two of the key Galaxy A handsets, although these mid-range handsets may not get the full feature set:
“… not every Galaxy AI feature will be released for the Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A55. There’s no information regarding which AI tools will make the cut and which ones will be missing, but we’re guessing Samsung will leave out the ones that require vast amounts of on-device processing power.”
(SamMobile).
Google Replaces Chromecast
Google has updated several of its home-based services, including its TV-based peripherals. After ten years, Chromecast is leaving the scene, but it will be immediately replaced by Google’s new TV Streamer product. Naturally, AI will play a significant role.
“The AI features are powered by Gemini. This will allow users to view summaries and reviews of TV shows as they select something to watch. Gemini will also curate content for users, across all subscriptions, based on their viewing habits, and let users build watchlists with AI recommendations.”
(Forbes).
Realme GT6 Review
With the launch of its GT6, Realme is once more promising a powerful phone in the mid-range market. It offers fast charging and extended battery life, but the benchmarks are down on last year’s model. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 lies at the heart of the system, but on closer inspecition, the branding promises more than the actual numbers.
In our benchmarks, the mid-range phone, which we use in the top configuration variant with 12 GB DDR5X RAM, performs at a high level, although the values are lower than those of the Realme GT5. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 installed in the GT6 has to admit defeat to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the multi-core of Geekbench 6. The Realme GT6 performs conspicuously weakly in our AI tests, especially in comparison to a Motorola Edge 50 Ultra.”
AI For Your Ears
The latest version of the Google App has some curious code tucked away. Several text strings ready for the UI point to the inclusion of AI into headphones and earbuds. With Google expects to launch the next generation of Google Buds at next week’s Made By Google event, it’s time for some more AI in your ears:
“The actual text that’s present here seems to generically refer to “headphones” and “earbuds,” but the names assigned to the strings themselves, with that repeated “gemini_on_buds” label… That said, other Gemini headphone references like the kind we’re looking at today have been around for months, so the timeline is far from certain. “
The The Lesser Spotted Snapdragon 8 Gen 4
Next year’s flagships will need a flagship chipset, and many will turn to Qualcomm. The annual upgrade to the Snapdragon Series 8 chipset has been spotted on benchmarking tools across the web this week. Someone, somewhere, has decided now is the time to quietly show an ankle and offer some numbers to the community:
“Now, we have first Geekbench results from what appears to be a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 device. The tested ended on 8,840 points in the multi-core scenario and 2,884 points in the single-core run. We don’t know about GPU performance just yet, but the CPU jump from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is almost 30% in the multi-core test and up 35% in the single-core case. We used the Xiaomi 14 as a reference, which scored 6,810 points in multi-core and 2,125 points in single-core.”
(GSM Arena).
And Finally…
The curious top-down shooter Mighty Doom—part of the legendary Doom franchise—has been closed down today. Because of the need to talk with online services, with the servers closing, the game is now effectively deleted from every device and may never be played again:
“So a piece of Doom history has officially been removed, and is not likely to be officially seen again. Mighty Doom has shut down. Forever. Whoever you liked it or not, this game is still a huge part of Doom, and even after it is gone, I still count it as one. It was one of the best mobile games out there in my opinion, so to see it go is actually very heartbreaking”
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!