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The Weekly Authority: 📱 Pixel Prototype
⚡ Welcome to The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 197th edition here, with that Pixel 7 prototype, Galaxy foldable specs, Final Fantasy 16 updates, and some good news for coffee drinkers.
🎉This week marked the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations here in the UK (the first British monarch to celebrate 70 years of service!), so I’ve been enjoying the two-day national holiday, and we had a street party here in town!
Popular news this week
Google:
- Google Pixel 7 prototype briefly listed on eBay, here’s what it looks like…
- Pixel 7 series reportedly may use the same display tech as its predecessor: 7 Pro matching the 6 Pro, vanilla 7 matching the vanilla 6.
- And Google out-leaked the leakers at I/O: Here’s what Evan Blass (evleaks) and Steve Hemmerstoffer OnLeaks think.
- Hints drop for a new Google Pixel line we’ve never seen before: Pixel Ultra?
- And Pixel Watch battery life likely won’t be too impressive, could feature a 300mAh battery.
- Meanwhile, Google’s combining Meet and Duo.
- And the YouTube Android app just upgraded casting to a TV in big ways.
- Plus, Google’s new Wi-Fi service expands coverage, eats into your data cap.
- Also this week: Google Play Points will soon work at checkout for in-app purchases — you can even combine points with other payment methods.
Samsung:
- Firm sues Samsung over basic battery tech, could have far-reaching impact.
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 specs leak: An incremental upgrade?
- Also, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 specs leak: A few welcome upgrades, including a bigger battery, bigger external screen, and faster wired charging, but is it enough?
OnePlus:
- Leaker suggests OnePlus 10 Ultra might land with confusing name instead: OnePlus 10T?
- And FCC filing for a OnePlus phone has shown how OPPO and OnePlus handle rebranding, confirms upcoming budget OnePlus phone is an OPPO device.
Xiaomi
- Xiaomi Mi Band 7 Pro leaks: A souped-up version on the way?
Apple:
- EU could pass legislation next week ending Apple’s Lightning connector, could be coming June 7, requiring USB-C for all smartphones and tablets.
- Apple’s WWDC kicks off on Monday, running June 6-10.
- And we’re unlikely to see Apple’s VR headset at WWDC, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
- Plus: The Apple Watch might be getting a camera after a new patent is filed.
Space:
- New tau Herculid meteor shower dropped bright fireballs, but no ‘meteor storm,’ for stargazers — though the photos are still spectacular.
- Check out this video of Ingenuity helicopter’s record-breaking flight over Mars.
- An asteroid mining startup will soon launch on a SpaceX rideshare mission.
Elsewhere:
- New York passed the Digital Fair Repair Act, the first bill in the US to require electronics manufacturers to support right-to-repair.
- The ASUS ROG Phone 6 will launch on July 5 at 8 AM ET: Specs remain unknown for now.
- You can now buy a 21,000mAh smartphone, from niche Chinese brand Oukitel, but should you?
- And TCL unveils the TCL Stylus 5G: All-day battery life and expandable storage, starting from $258.
- Amazon is ending Cloud Cam service and offering owners a free Blink Mini, happening December 2.
- And you can’t buy books via Kindle’s Android app anymore.
- Meanwhile, WhatsApp could soon let you edit messages, though no timeframe yet for when the feature might be released.
- Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down after 14 years.
- Qualcomm wants to team up with its rivals to buy Arm.
- And scientists gene-edited tomatoes to boost Vitamin D levels: According to New Scientist, larger trials of the genetically-modified tomatoes are set to take place this month.
- Good news for coffee drinkers: Drinking coffee could mean living longer — A study revealed “participants who drank any amount of unsweetened coffee were 16% to 21% less likely to die than participants who did not drink coffee.”
Movies/TV:
- Top Gun: Maverick’s Memorial Day weekend opener brought in $124 million at the box office last Sunday night ($248 million worldwide).
- The Boys season 3 hit Amazon Prime Video on Friday and the first reviews are in.
- And Stranger Things creators answer burning questions ahead of Volume 2 (spoiler alert if you haven’t already binged through Volume 1!).
- Meanwhile, Netflix’s new password sharing crackdown is a confusing mess in test markets in Costa Rica, Chile, and Peru.
- Speaking of Netflix, a trailer dropped for new action comedy The Man From Toronto, starring Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson.
- Owen Wilson’s superhero movie is coming to Paramount Plus: but no offical release date for Secret Headquarters yet.
- Spider haters look away now: An Arachnophobia remake’s in the works, with Christopher Landon on board as director, James Wan and Michael Clear named as producers.
- And: Beavis and Butt-Head Do The Universe gets a release date, premiering on Paramount Plus June 23 — plus there’s a trailer, and a new revival series coming later this year.
- We ranked Sam Raimi movies from worst to best, including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
- Also this week: Our pick of the best new streaming movies, from 13 Going on 30 to Colossal.
Gaming:
- Bad news for Diablo fans: Many of Samsung’s Exynos-powered phones can’t run Diablo Immortal, but Blizzard’s working on a fix.
- Speaking of, Diablo Immortal won’t be released in Belgium or The Netherlands, due to the countries’ laws around lootboxes.
- Steam Deck’s docking station indefinitely delayed with Valve citing “parts shortages and COVID closures.”
- And Amazon finally launches an invite system for buying a PS5 or Xbox Series X.
- Summer Game Fest reveals lineup of over 30 participating companies, taking place June 9-12.
- Meanwhile, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order sequel’s coming next year, will be next-gen only.
- The first Modern Warfare 2 trailer landed ahead of the June 8 full gameplay reveal.
- And Modern Warfare 2 art sparks Call of Duty platform speculation — could the game return to Steam?
- BioWare confirms next big fantasy RPG title — Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, but don’t expect it this year.
- Veteran Square-Enix producer Shinji Hashimoto retires — often credited for spawning Kingdom Hearts franchise, he also worked on FF VIII, FF IX, and The World Ends With You, plus its sequel.
- Sony’s going all in on live service games after buying Bungie — according to TechCrunch the company expects to spend 49% of its PlayStation Studios development budget on live service games by the end of the year.
- And one of Japan’s most revered game developers is making a game for Apple’s subscription service: Yu Suzuki and his team are working on Air Twister, out June 24.
- Also: This interview with Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney dives into Fortnite, the metaverse, and more…
Reviews
- vivo X80 Pro review: vivo’s best, (mostly) refined — “It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s still a welcome upgrade over its already great predecessor.”
- Samsung Galaxy A52s review: Jack of all trades — A high-end build, excellent display, long-lasting battery life, and long-term software support make this easy to recommend.
- HUAWEI Watch GT 3 Pro review: Titanium, ceramic, and compromises — “Lots to offer but hampered by too many software flaws, missing features at launch, and an extremely limited third-party app ecosystem unless you plan to stick with a HUAWEI phone.”
- Fossil Gen 5 Smartwatch review: An oldie but a goodie — The best Wear OS 2 watch you can buy.
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review: The power user’s best friend — “In addition to top specs and extensively-supported, feature-packed software, the Galaxy S22 Ultra boasts the S Pen and a plethora of productivity tools unmatched by the competition.”
Features
- How to build your own custom Android ROM in 2022: “Since all the Android source code is available, you can build your own firmware” (Android Authority).
- How to use Samsung Expert RAW to up your photography game: From ISO to shutter speed, and focus to white balance (Android Authority).
- Good Luck Not Accidentally Hiring a North Korean Scammer: “DPRK hackers are tricking their way into jobs with Western firms. A US government alert reminds employers they’re on the front lines — and potentially on the hook” (Wired).
- The big new idea for making self-driving cars that can go anywhere: “The mainstream approach to driverless cars is slow and difficult. These startups think going all-in on AI will get there faster” (MIT Technology Review).
- A Father-Son Team Solves a Geometry Problem With Infinite Folds: “The result could help researchers answer a larger question about flattening objects from the fourth dimension to the third dimension” (Wired).
- Something extra I enjoyed reading this week: In search of the least viewed articles on Wikipedia.
Weekly Wonder
This week PlayStation’s latest State of Play gave us lots to be excited about, including Final Fantasy 16 news:
If you missed it, you can catch up here, but otherwise keep reading for everything you missed:
- Things kicked off with a new trailer for the Resident Evil 4 remake, which we were expecting but still excited for. It’s coming March 24, 2023, plus being developed for PSVR2, and will come to PC and Xbox Series X/S.
- The PSVR2 news continued with a look at Resident Evil Village — to be honest, looks a bit scary for me but kudos to anyone brave enough to play it! Following up the horror was another scary title, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Ch2, and we also got a glimpse at a VR version of No Man’s Sky.
- But the PSVR2 trailer everyone wanted to see was a first peek at Horizon Call of the Mountain, with some amazing-looking gameplay — plus news on a new patch for Horizon Forbidden West, which landed Thursday.
Everything you need to know about PlayStation Plus
- On to the news I’m most excited for: We got a release date for Stray! It’s coming July 19! We also got another trailer that showed off some gameplay. Oh, and it’ll be included as part of higher PlayStation Plus tiers.
- What else? Spider-Man’s coming to PC on August 12, with Miles Morales to follow soon.
- We saw a trailer for survival horror The Callisto Protocol, giving us serious Dead Space vibes and coming December 2.
- Plus Rollerdrome‘s out August 16: the sci-fi roller derby game looks pretty fun — and anime action/dating sim Eternights lands early 2023.
- In case you missed it: Street Fighter 6 got a look in, showing off new character Jamie alongside Luke, Chun-Li, and Ryu, coming in 2023, with Xbox Series X/S and PC versions on the way too.
- The critically acclaimed Tunic hits PS4 and PS5 on September 27, and Season: A Letter to the Future looks hauntingly intriguing, coming this fall.
- But the biggest update, the one everyone was waiting for, was Final Fantasy XVI news. We got a trailer, alongside a summer 2023 release window. I. can’t. wait.
Tech Calendar
- June 6-10: Apple WWDC 2022
- June 9-12: Summer Game Fest
- June 10: The Quarry released on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One
- June 10: Jurassic World Dominion in theaters
- June 12: Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase @ 12 PM CT
- June 20-23: Collision (Toronto)
- June 26-July 3: Summer Games Done Quick
- July 5 @ 8 AM ET: ASUS ROG Phone 6 launch
- July 19: Stray lands on PS5, PS4, PC
Tech Tweet of the Week
Some DALL-E 2 Kermit The Frog-inspired goodness — The Sopranos one is pretty great:
“A still of Kermit The Frog in Blade Runner 2049 (2017)” #dalle pic.twitter.com/CxyWFRJETc— HeavensLastAngel (@HvnsLstAngel) May 31, 2022
Something extra: From Morning Brew — What do these famous travel movie trips cost in 2022?
Have a great week!
Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.