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, we find out just how popular the Pixel 9 is, the OnePlus 12 gets OxygenOS 15 based on Android 15, Samsung is rumored to have a Galaxy S25 Slim in the works, Google rolls out the November 2024 update to Pixels, and Amazon is having some issues with its Colorsoft Kindle.
Google has a hit on its hands
The Pixel series may not be as popular as Samsung’s Galaxy lineup, but Google has seen more success with its smartphones in recent years, and the latest numbers show how popular the phones have become. According to a report from Counterpoint Research, Google’s smartphone shipments grew 20% in Q3 2024, which can be attributed to the much earlier launch of the Pixel 9 series.
A second report from Statcounter shows just how drastic Pixel growth has been, with a graph revealing a jump from about 5% to a whopping 14% share between September and October. The Pixel 9 series went on sale at the end of August, when there was a noticeable uptick in share, giving Google a good amount of time to see the Pixel 9 affected Q3 sales figures. It’s worth noting that the Pixel 8 did not go on sale until Q4 2023.
While Google still has some catching up to do to reach the numbers of Samsung Galaxy phones, it’s clear that the company’s strategy is working. The Pixel 9 series has have been impressive thanks to great cameras, standout designs, a better chipset, and fun on-device AI features.
Breathe new life into the OnePlus 12 with OxygenOS 15
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It hasn’t been that long since Google rolled out Android 15 to its Pixel phones. Now, OnePlus is getting in on the action by rolling out OxygenOS 15 to the OnePlus 12, the company’s current global flagship (the OnePlus 13 is still China-only for now). Some Android Central staff have already received the update, which is steadily arriving on global variants of the phone.
The update brings a host of visual improvements to the home screen, themes, and animations and should make things more fluid and uniform throughout the UI. The pulldown menu can now be separated by notifications and quick settings, similar to iPhones and some other Android phones. There’s also a new Live Alerts feature that mimics Apple’s Dynamic Island by showing real-time updates for apps and activities in an expandable pill at the top of the display.
There are a ton of new updates, but Android Central senior editor Harish Jonnalagadda has highlighted some of his favorite OxygenOS 15 features.
Galaxy on a diet, with an “Ultra” appetite
Samsung is gearing up to launch the Galaxy S25 series sometime in 2025, but rumors are circulating that the company is preparing a “Galaxy S25 Slim.” The device, as hinted by the name, would be a thinner model, but that apparently might not mean that it’ll be a watered-down version. A recent leak suggests that despite its thinner profile, the phone may feature an “Ultra” camera.
While the leak doesn’t specify what that means, it’s not hard to guess that it could adopt a 200MP camera similar to the Galaxy S24 Ultra and previous Ultra models. If true, it’ll be interesting to see how this will fit in the phone; will it feature a massively protruding camera sensor? We don’t know how “slim” this phone will be, but it may likely be thinner than the current batch of Galaxy S24 models, which come in at 7.6, 7.7, and 8.6mm for the S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra, respectively.
It’s also being said that if the Galaxy S25 Slim does launch, it won’t arrive with the rest of the Galaxy S25 series, which is expected in January. That said, it’s not clear when Samsung is planning to launch the device if it does end up coming to market.
Pixels grab post-Android 15 update
October was a big month for Pixel phones with the rollout of Android 15. November isn’t as big, but there’s still plenty to look forward to with the November 2024 update, which has begun rolling out to Google’s smartphones from the Pixel 6 and newer.
Most of the bug fixes address issues with the Pixel 9 series, such as Adaptive brightness not kicking in or problems pertaining to Bluetooth range. There’s also a fix for the cameras when zooming in between sensors, which would cause tilting under certain conditions.
Meanwhile, all eligible Pixel smartphones received performance improvements for UI animations, while the Pixel 8a received a specific display fix for an issue that would cause flickering.
The November 2024 update is rolling out with version numbers AP3A.241105.007 and .008, depending on the device, and your phone must be running Android 15 to receive the update.
Amazon’s first color Kindle runs into problems
Amazon made headlines when it launched its first full-color Kindle. However, as exciting as it seems, the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition has already encountered some problems, with owners complaining about a yellow tint at the bottom of the display that bleeds into about an inch of the screen. Not only that, but apparently, the dark mode is not working on the device.
The problem has led to plenty of low reviews on Amazon, with the device sitting at an average of 2.6 stars. With Amazon well aware of the issue, the company is working on a fix and noting that owners can contact customer service and request a replacement or refund. That said, replacements may take some time to arrive as Amazon works on fixing the screen tint issues, although there’s no word on the dark mode issue.