Information Weekly
Information Weekly is our column the place we spotlight and summarize a few of the week’s high tales so you possibly can compensate for the newest tech information.
That is Android Central’s Information Weekly, your go-to supply for a concise roundup of the week’s most vital tech tales. That is the place we delve into the highest headlines that present the newest developments and improvements contributing to the digital panorama.
This week, Qualcomm unveiled its highly effective new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip for 2025 flagship telephones, Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Particular Version, Arm is terminating its licenses with Qualcomm, Boox launches new e-readers, and Google Messages is tackling message spam.
Qualcomm is taking your subsequent Android cellphone to new heights
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The Snapdragon Summit kicked off on October 24, and the corporate introduced its newest flagship chip. Dubbed the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the chip adopts Oryon cores much like its PC counterpart, which brings boosted energy and effectivity, and, most significantly, AI efficiency.
The 3nm chip gives 45% higher CPU efficiency and 40% higher GPU efficiency in comparison with the already spectacular Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. NPU efficiency can also be up by 45%, which means the chip is rather more able to dealing with AI duties.
Curiously, the chip brings 44% higher effectivity despite the fact that it doesn’t embody any effectivity cores, and Qualcomm defined to Android Central that the Oryon cores make it in order that they don’t seem to be essential.
The primary telephones with the chip are launching this month, together with the OPPO Discover X8 collection, OnePlus 13, and Xiaomi 15.
The Galaxy Z Fold SE is what the Z Fold 6 ought to’ve been
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We simply received the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in July, however Samsung is again with a model new foldable cellphone, which has us scratching our heads a bit. The brand new Galaxy Z Fold Particular Version options an up to date design with bigger shows, a thinner profile, and a strong 200MP main digicam.
Different spec upgrades embody 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, all issues we want we had on the usual Galaxy Z Fold 6. That mentioned, in keeping with the official specs on the product web page, there is not S Pen help. That might be a deal breaker for some, because the common Galaxy Z Fold 6 helps the S Pen, though that may nonetheless be a further value for individuals who need one.
And whereas the brand new cellphone sounds improbable, the cellphone has launched completely in Korea, and it does not look like it is coming to different areas. Fingers crossed that Samsung expands availability or at the very least brings us a much-improved Galaxy Z Fold 7 with out the necessity for a particular version mannequin.
Arm is not too proud of Qualcomm
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Qualcomm is driving excessive on the success of the Snapdragon X Elite for PCs and the newly launched Snapdragon 8 Elite for telephones, however Arm is spoiling the occasion. The corporate, whose cores are utilized by main chip makers similar to Apple, Samsung, and MediaTek, has issued a 60-day discover to finish Qualcomm’s architectural license. Why? Due to the corporate’s continued use of Arm applied sciences following its buy of Nuvia again in 2021.
Arm sued Qualcomm a yr later, claiming that the corporate was illegally utilizing its chip designs and structure via the Nuvia acquisition. By means of the lawsuit, it has looked for Qualcomm to “destroy sure Nuvia designs” and is additional in search of an injunction in addition to truthful compensation for the trademark infringement.
As for the not too long ago introduced cancellation discover, Arm says it was “left with no selection however to take formal motion.” In the meantime, Qualcomm is claiming that the transfer is “fully baseless,” calling it “anticompetitive.” Android Central senior editor Jerry Hildenbrand believes the businesses will come to a last-minute settlement earlier than something drastic occurs, however he additionally factors out that Qualcomm wants Arm greater than Arm wants Qualcomm.
The brand new Boox Palma will get some good upgrades
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We’re followers of the unique Boox Palma e-reader, and now the corporate is again with a sequel, providing some welcome modifications. The brand new Boox Palma 2 comes with a sooner processor and the Boox Tremendous Refresh know-how, which means the gadget ought to really feel a lot sooner in day by day use and deal with scrolling higher than another e-readers. And even higher, the gadget runs Android 13, an improve from Android 11 on the earlier gadget.
The e-reader retains the 16MP digicam but additionally good points a side-mounted fingerprint sensor so you possibly can securely and rapidly unlock the gadget. In any other case, you get 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and entry to cons of apps by way of the Google Play Retailer.
The Boox Palma 2 is out there to order now in white or black and prices $279.99. It’s going to ship on November 12.
Along with the brand new Palma, Boox launched the $499 Be aware Air4 C with an improved show with higher coloration and distinction whereas additionally teasing the Be aware Max, which incorporates a 13.3-inch, “ultra-crisp” Carta 1300 e-ink show and a keyboard “shell” that provides it a laptop-like feel and appear. Boox has not revealed when the Max will probably be obtainable, however it should retail for $649.
Google Messages and the combat in opposition to spam
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All of us hate spam texts, and corporations attempt other ways to deal with it. With Google Messages, Android is about to develop into rather a lot higher at not solely detecting scams but additionally warning customers about doubtlessly dangerous/offensive messages.
To do that, the corporate is rolling out 5 new options to Google Messages, together with enhanced rip-off detection for beta customers. When the system detects scammy package deal supply or job-seeking messages, it should both warn the consumer or transfer the message into the spam inbox.
Google Messages will even give customers extra management over messages from unknown worldwide senders and warn customers about doubtlessly dangerous hyperlinks. A brand new on-device characteristic will detect and blur photographs in the event that they include nudity, much like Google Search’s SafeSearch, though that is an opt-in characteristic until the consumer is underneath 18 years of age (on this case, it will be opt-out).
Lastly, Google is engaged on an id verification characteristic to assist weed via spam messages of senders attempting to impersonate contacts or somebody you might know. We’ll have to attend a bit longer for this, because it will not arrive till subsequent yr.
Extra tales this week
These are a few of the largest tales from this week. In the meantime, listed here are another tales which are value catching up on: