Android Circuit: Galaxy Z Fold7 Details, Honor Magic V5 Previewed, OnePlus Nord 5 Arrives
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
Taking a look back at this week's news and headlines across the Android world, including Galaxy Z Fold7 specs, Pixel 10 Pro features leak, Galaxy S26 benchmarking, OnePlus Nord 5 released, Poco F7 debuts, Honor promises record-breaking Magic V5, and Google Photos' upgrade.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Android in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Apple news here on Forbes.
Galaxy Z Fold's Practical Upgrade
Samsung has revealed details of the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold7 on three occasions in the last three weeks, and it may not be done yet. Nevertheless, new details on the specs are coming out alongside the official teasers. One of those regards the cover screen of the foldable and how practical the Fold 7 will be when closed:
"This is good news and precisely what Fold users, myself included, have been calling for since rivals OnePlus and Google launched their wider-screened foldable phones. As exciting as that design shift will be, it was expected. I thought Samsung would make this change immediately after the Fold 6 launched last summer."
(Forbes).
Pixel 10's New Camera Feature
Google looks set to make a switch with its macro photography option for the Pixel 10 family by moving the feature from the ultrawide hardware into the telephoto hardware. It's an approach used by other manufacturers, leading to improved close-up images:
"Telephoto sensors are typically better, optics-wise, than the ultrawide sensor. Providing a better quality image on macro. Additionally, using the telephoto sensor means you can be further away from the subject, which is great for capturing insects. But it also means that you and the camera won't be blocking the light. Keep in mind that macro photography does need a good bit of light to produce a good image."
(Android Headlines).
Galaxy S26 Ready To Challenge The iPhone 17
Looking further ahead to next year's Galaxy S26 family, new details have leaked on the potential performance of the Snapdragon Elite 2 chipset earmarked for the South Korean flagship. The numbers match the single-core numbers of Apple's upcoming A19 Pro, and show a significant lead in multi-core performance:
"The Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chip is rumored to be fabricated on TSMC's third-generation 3nm process node. Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station (DCS) has posted the chip's preliminary CPU performance results on Weibo. The chip's octa-core CPU reportedly scores over 11,000 points in Geekbench 6's multi-core CPU performance test and over 4,000 points in the single-core CPU performance test."
(SamMobile).
OnePlus Nord 5 Revealed
OnePlus has confirmed a launch date of July 8 for the latest Nord phone, the OnePlus Nord 5. Alongside it, OnePlus also revealed the OnePlus CE5 OnePlus Pad Lite, OnePlus Watch 3, and OnePlus Buds 4.
As the Nord 5 is squarely in the flagship-killer category, OnePlus will be balancing performance with price, none more so than in the choice of processor. It has stepped back to last year's flagship Snapdragon, which should offer capability while keeping the cost relatively low:
"The Nord 5 is the latest in the company's mid-range smartphone line, and is the first Nord to feature a flagship Qualcomm chip — in this case the Snapdragon 8S Gen 3, which was designed for cheaper flagship phones — along with an upgraded cooling system and support for LPDDR5X RAM. That's all we know about the phone's specs, but from the picture we can glean that it'll come in a pale blue finish (officially dubbed 'Dry Ice') and features a dual rear camera."
(The Verge).
Poco F7 Debuts Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
We already knew that the F7 would ship with 12 GB of memory, presumably backed up by various storage levels and a 6,000 mAh battery. As well as confirming a release date of June 24, Poco has announced the F7 will ship with the leading Snapdragon 8 chipset:
"Poco has been drip-feeding us with information about the Poco F7, which will be unveiled on June 24. The brand previously revealed its battery size (7,550 mAh) and charging speed (90W), and yesterday, it gave us our first official look at the smartphone. Today, Poco confirmed that the F7 will be powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC."
(GSM Arena).
Honor Teases Record Breaking Foldable
Honor has confirmed that its next foldable will launch on July 2nd in the Chinese market. Previous Magic V handsets have had an international launch a few months after China, and we'd expect the same to happen here. We're also expecting the push for innovation and records to continue in the V5:
"Honor has suggested that its new foldable will depart from the current Magic V3 with a more powerful chipset, PC-level productivity and a design that is thinner than the Oppo Find N5 while also being lighter than the Vivo X Fold5."
(Notebook Check).
And Finally...
Following hints at the new features in Google Photos, a deep dive into the pre-release APKs by the Android Authority team has revealed more about the features. No tools have been removed; they are laid out in a more logical fashion, many of the AI tools are now under Auto, and several new additions are included:
"The 'Filters' section is also getting some love. A new 'Sky styles' option lets you choose from dramatic skyline effects like Luminous, Radiant, Vivid, Ember, and more. Google has also made a minor visual tweak to the filter selection tray, making it more intuitive to adjust filter strength."
(Android Authority).
Android Circuit rounds up the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Don't forget to follow me so you don't miss any coverage in the future, and of course, read the sister column in Apple Loop! Last week's Android Circuit can be found here, and if you have any news and links you'd like to see featured in Android Circuit, get in touch!
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