The Weekly Authority: 😲 Galaxy foldables coming early

⚡ Welcome to The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 248th edition here with Galaxy foldables officially coming earlier than expected, the OnePlus Nord N30 5G launch, (possibly fake) Nothing Phone 2 renders, everything you missed at Summer Game Fest’s opening event, and some tips on defeating Street Fighter 6 opponents…

This week I’ve been enjoying being an 80s late-night radio talk show host, bent on saving the town’s population from a serial killer. Yes, I’m talking about Killer Frequency, on PS5. Once I’ve finished, I might give it a go on Quest 2 as well to see what it’s like in VR!

Popular news this week

Samsung:

• The Galaxy Z Flip 5, Fold 5 are officially coming earlier than expected, and here’s everything we know so far about the Z Flip 5 and the Z Fold 5.
• Meanwhile, leaked Galaxy Z Flip 5 specs paint a familiar picture.
• The Galaxy Watch 6 series inches ever closer to launch.
• And the Samsung One UI 5 Watch beta is finally open, just a week after Samsung confirmed a delay.
• Also: New Galaxy Watch feature confirms Samsung’s wearables are still ahead of Google.

Google:

• The Pixel 7 Pro drops to its best price ever.
• PSA: Your Pixel Watch can turn itself off due to excessive heat.
• YouTube Music is getting a Spotify-style feature on Nest speakers.
• The most popular Android version isn’t even Android 12.
• Mind-boggling: Google Photos now face-tags people from the back.
• Google Assistant gets its first meaningful update in a long time: Two new voices.
• Android 14 beta 3 lands, bringing the system to Platform Stability.
• And Android 14 could get stylus-related improvements for the Pixel Tablet.
• The customizable lock screen is working in Android 14 beta 3, check it out!
• Also: Google could skip an Android version for Android TV, Wear OS.
• Plus: Google Reminders must be moved to Tasks this month.

OPPO & OnePlus:

• The OnePlus Nord N30 5G is official, goes on pre-order in the US and Canada.
• And here’s when and where the OnePlus Fold could launch.

Nothing:

• We saw Nothing Phone 2 renders leak but these were later dismissed by Carl Pei as fake.
• And the Nothing Phone 2 could offer Pixel-like software.

Apple:

• Apple launched its Vision Pro headset at WWDC: It’ll set you back $3,499, available in 2024 — but Tim Cook says it’s “a great value.”
• Here’s what else you could buy with $3,500, including 7 Quest 3s.
• And Apple’s Vision Pro headset uses Galaxy S8 tech for a key feature.
• Apple also launched a new 15-inch MacBook Air and M2 Ultra-powered Mac Studio, available for pre-order now.
• And Apple’s new M2 Ultra chip offers even more ridiculous performance than before.
• Apple TV hardware will get VPN access with tvOS 17.
• Plus: watchOS 10 brings focus back to widgets for Apple Watches.
• Hell will freeze another day: Sideloading is still absent from iOS 17.
• Also: Apple is changing how Android affects iMessage, but not in the ways you want.
• Meanwhile: iPhones can now help you avoid unwanted nudes.
• Finally: Apple announces macOS Sonoma with desktop widgets and more.

Microsoft:

• Microsoft is finally putting Cortana for Windows out of its misery.

ASUS:

• ASUS confirms the Zenfone 10 is coming soon with an official render.
• ASUS also confirms that the Zenfone 10 will remain a compact flagship.
• And here’s everything we know so far about the ASUS Zenfone 10 ahead of its June launch.

Social media:

• Reddit has issued five defending statements of its policy changes that could kill third-party apps. Later in the week, Reddit relented, making first concession in its plans to impair third-party apps.
• And sitewide Reddit protest planned for June 12 with 48 hours of shutdowns — some subreddits won’t come back at all until planned changes are altered or dropped.
• Reddit app Apollo will officially shut down June 30 (Update: more apps).
• Also: Instagram may be getting its own AI chatbot soon, similar to Snapchat’s My AI.
• Instagram’s Twitter rival will be ‘sanely run,’ and here’s what it looks like.
• And Twitter’s ad sales have reportedly dropped by 59% since last year, could be fuelled by a rise in hate speech and pornography.

Space:

• NASA spends $45M to seed tech from hundreds of space businesses.
• Former US intelligence officer claims US secretly operating UFO retrieval program and possesses “intact craft of non-human origin” but what’s really going on?

AI:

• Bard gets Google Sheets export, improved logic and reasoning skills.

Elsewhere: 

• Xiaomi could be working on a thin and light Galaxy Z Flip rival.
• Sony WF-1000XM5 leaked renders showcase a smaller and cleaner design.
• This great alternative to Google Photos is free on the Play Store right now.
• Beats Studio 4: Release date, rumors, price, features, and what we want to see.
• Amazon might get into the phone service game, but is it a good idea? Update: This could be just a rumor; watch this space.
• Report: Average selling price of a smartphone in North America jumped $119.
• WhatsApp introduces Channels, a private way to send and receive broadcasts.
• Common eye drops may provide hope for nearsighted kids: eye drops containing atropine, used to dilate the pupils before eye exams could slow myopia progression in kids, with few side effects.

Movies/TV

• Here’s what to watch this weekend, with the best new streaming movies this week, including Avatar: The Way of Water and horror comedy Renfield, starring Nicolas Cage as Count Dracula.
• Or you could always dive into this week’s best new streaming shows, from Based on a True Story to Prime’s The Horror of Dolores Roach.
• Fancy some anime? Here’s where you can watch (almost) all the Studio Ghibili films in 2023.
• Android TV 14 could finally offer remappable shortcut buttons for your remote.
• We’ve also got the best documentaries on YouTube: 15 free titles to watch in 2023.
• And Summer Game Fest showcased the world premiere of the trailer for The Witcher Season 3 Vol 1, coming June 29.
• Also: The Expendables 4 trailer has Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, and Jason Statham back in action.
• Plus: Charlie Brooker got ChatGPT to write a Black Mirror episode, but it was ‘sh*t.’
• Finally: Amazon Prime Video is reportedly planning an ad-supported tier, though discussions are still in the “early stages.”

Gaming: 

• Summer Game Fest kicked off on Thursday, and Eurogamer has a great roundup of everything announced during the two-hour opening event, from an extended look at Mortal Kombat 1 to a trailer for Witchfire, Nic Cage in Dead by Daylight, (and on stage), and a teaser for an Annapurna Interactive showcase, happening on June 29 at 3 PM ET.
• Street Fighter 6 hits 1m players after strong launch weekend.
• Here are all the new VR games announced in last week’s Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, including Assassin’s Creed: Nexus VR, Attack on Titan VR, Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire, and more.
• GTA 5 is getting a massive San Andreas story expansion — GTA Online: San Andreas Mercenaries launches June 13 and we saw a first trailer.
• Meanwhile, Nintendo Switch Online gets another weird assortment of classic games, including Harvest Moon (SNES).
• Ouch: Twitch apologizes after changes to branded content met by streamer backlash.
• Xbox Games Showcase is happening on Monday, June 11 and Pure Xbox has some predictions.
• And Capcom announced its own summer games event for Monday, June 12, where we’ll likely see more of Exoprimal and maybe Dragon’s Dogma 2.
• Also: Apple’s new Proton-like tool can run Windows games on a Mac.

Reviews

• GuliKit KingKong 2 Pro review: Should you buy it? “It looks like an Xbox gamepad, but the GuliKit KingKong 2 Pro can do so much more.”
• vivo X Fold 2 and X Flip review: Should you buy them? “They’re stuck in China for now, but should you look into importing them?”
• Motorola Moto G 5G (2023) review: Should you buy it? “5G speeds are no longer an exclusive feature on Motorola’s budget-friendly Moto G.”
• Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 review: A top Windows 2-in-1 for Samsung users — “Samsung’s new star shines bright, but its light dims a bit too quickly.”

Features

• 8 features Apple ‘borrowed’ from Android for iOS 17: “Android and iOS frequently take inspiration from each other, but here’s what iOS 17 cribbed from Android” (Android Authority).
• 5 cool features Android should steal from iOS 17: “Apple grabbed more than a few features from Android, but Google and OEMs should return the favor” (Android Authority).
• The bizarre reality of getting online in North Korea: “New testimony from defectors reveals pervasive surveillance and monitoring of limited internet connections. For millions of others, the internet simply doesn’t exist” (Wired).
• Why millions of useable hard drives are being destroyed: “Millions of storage devices are being shredded each year, even though they could be reused” (BBC).
• People let a startup put a brain implant in their skull — for 15 minutes: “Precision Neuroscience’s brain-computer interface sits on top of the brain, not in it. That could make it easier to implant, and less likely to damage tissue” (Wired).

Weekly Wonder

If you’re excited by the new Mortal Kombat 1 trailer and already loving Street Fighter 6, you’re going to love this (h/t SoraNews24).

• Capcom wants Street Fighter to be more accessible to those new to the franchise, and with that in mind, it’s released a series of fun how-to-beat videos for Street Fighter characters.
• With the help of Saori Yoshida, three times Olympic Gold medalist, you’ll learn the best tactics to use for fights against certain opponents.
• You’ll find advice on how to defeat opponents like Ryu and his Hadouken fireball, Luke with his taunt, and yoga master Dhalsim with his extendable limbs and powers of levitation.
• The videos are designed to be instructional, yet the added soundtracks ensure they’re funny too.
• Sadly, the instructions are all in Japanese, but you can still watch for tips if you’re struggling to beat any of the game’s opponents.
• With 18 playable characters, there are over a dozen left for Yoshida to take down, though we don’t yet know if she’ll be filming strategy videos for all of them.
• Want to play more fighting games? We’ve rounded up some of the best ones for Android.

Tech Calendar

• June 12: Ubisoft event
• June 12: Capcom event
• June 13: ASUS Rog Ally Z1 Extreme model on sale
• June 20: Pixel Tablet goes on sale in stores
• June 29: ASUS Zenfone 10 launch @ 9 AM ET
• June 29: Anapurna Interactive showcase @ 3 PM ET
• July 26 (TBC): Samsung Galaxy Unpacked (Galaxy Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5)
• October 24-26: Snapdragon Summit 2023 (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3?)

Tech Tweet of the Week

Very relatable…

Something extra: Just some weekend cuteness!

I’ll see you in two weeks, as Andy’s covering for me next week while I’m on vacation. Until then!

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.