News Weekly
(
)
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?
()
Read more here.
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
()
Read more here.
Get the latest news from Android Central, your trusted companion in the world of Android
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 fro…