Android Circuit: New Samsung Galaxy S10 Secrets, OnePlus 6T Exposed, Massive Google Pixel 3XL Leak
Taking a look back at seven days of news and headlines across the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit includes a disappointing Fortnite exclusive, what the Galaxy Note 9 is missing, the massive Pixel 3XL leaks, the Galaxy S10’s secret weapon and missing features, details on the OnePlus 6T, a new Nokia flagship next week, and Google tracking your location through Android.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).
Fortnite Was Samsung’s Secret Weapon
At the launch of the Galaxy Note 9, Samsung announced an exclusive period where its devices would be the first to debut the Android version of 'Fortnite: Battle Royale'. That period was a lot shorter than expected - just three days - but was enough to equate ’Samsung’ with ‘Fortnite’ in the headlines. Now of course the whole Android would can pick up the beta. Damien Wilde takes you through the complicated steps to install it:
Epic has said that players can download the game from Epic’s web site or Samsung’s Galaxy App Store — as of now, it’s not going to be available on Google Play. You can also sign up for the beta at the link at Fortnite.com should you wish.
If you’ve never played Fortnite before, then you may need to wait for that invite to be approved before you can take part in the open beta. We’re not sure what the timings for when an invite will be accepted, but we’d imagine it won’t be longer than a few days.
Just remember that you can’t get it in Google Play, as the store helpfully reminds you:
By saying upfront that the Play Store doesn’t have Fortnite, Google is attempting to protect unknowing users who might download some malicious clone of the app.
Epic Games requires users who want to run Fortnite on Android to download an APK of the beta directly from its site. The decision essentially cuts Google out of potential revenue from app purchases, which would have been a 30 percent cut.
More on the ‘Not Here, Guv’ at The Verge.
DJ Koh, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics, introduces the new Samsung Galaxy Note 9 smartphone at the Barclays Center on August 9, 2018 (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
What Is The Note 9 Missing?
What’s clear from the various reviews of the Galaxy Note 9 is that, although it polishes the concept of Samsung’s phablet to a high degree, the new technology being worked on by many smartphone manufacturers is not preset. Lynn La looks at what the South Korean company could be holding back for the S10, including 3D forward facing cameras, remapping the Bixby button, and the under-screen fingerprint reader:
Known as Fingerprint On Display, or FOD, we've already seen this technology in the Vivo X20 Plus UD and Vivo Nex. The Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS, announced in March, has it too. We expect the feature to roll out in plenty of more phones in the near future, with one report from IHS Markit predicting it will be available in 100 million phones by 2019.
With the Note 9's expansive 6.4-inch screen, the phone definitely had room for it. Unfortunately, this is a trend waiting in the wings, so we may just have to wait for FOD in the Galaxy S10.
When Is Your Pixel Too Big A Pixel?
Has Google gone too far with the Pixel 3XL screen? Set to be launched this autumn, Mountain View’s design of the larger third-generation Pixel smartphone is going to be larger than the Galaxy S10, larger than the Note 9, and larger than the iPhone X Plus. Has someone misread the expected 6.2 inch screen, or has Google taken to XL with a lot of enthusiasm? Gordon Kelly reports:
Earlier this week, a Ukrainian blogger managed to attain a genuine Pixel 3XL stamped by Google and he did an unboxing video confirming the addition of USB-C headphones. Now in a new follow-up video (via Android Police), the blogger has benchmarked the phone and it reveals the Pixel 3XL is a jaw-dropping 6.7-inch display.
Earlier Pixel 3 XL concept is close to the new leaked rendersConcept Creator
What Will Be The S10’s Secret Weapon?
If not Fortine, what will be the crowning achievement of the Galaxy S10 family? Apart from the third ‘lower tier’ model which should go head to head against the presumptively named iPhone 9, the real gee-whizz is likely going to come from the camera - specifically the triple-lensed S10 Plus. I discussed Samsung’s advantage earlier this week:
It’s clear from the choice of lenses that Samsung will be relying heavily on photography to market the Galaxy S10 Plus (which is expected to be the only one of the S10 family to have the triple-lens set up). The telephoto lens should offer 3x optical zoom, while the wide-angle lens will allow an increase in quality of the pictures at all zoom levels. Rather than choose to focus on a single area (such as P20’s optical zoom capability), the S10 Plus is going to be the ultimate all-rounder.
Given Samsung’s leadership role in smartphone photography at the high-end with the dual-lens cameras on the S9 and the Note 9, the South Korean company is setting up the Galaxy S10 Plus to be ‘the handset to beat’ in 2019 as regards photography.
What Features Has The Galaxy S10 Had To Drop
Samsung has a lot of segmentation in its production line, and that means it is rare to have one handset with every feature. This week the South Korean company confirmed that one top-line feature will not be in the Galaxy S10:
As carriers prepare to switch on 5G technology to allow for mobile data speeds rivaling Wi-Fi, they are looking for flagship handsets that can be sold to consumers that take advantage of 5G. And Samsung Mobile’s CEO DJ Koh has confirmed that the Galaxy S10 family will not carry 5G.
Speaking to the press, Koh noted that the Galaxy S10 will not be the first Samsung handset to carry 5G.
More on the missing data protocol here.
Galaxy S10 Concept (Creative Commons, by mobil-helden.de)Creative Commons, by mobil-helden.de
Features Revealed For The OnePlus 6T?
Although details of replacement to the OnePlus 6 (the presumptively named OnePlus 6T, expected in november) remain secret, with the release of the Oppo R17 it’s possible to make an educated stab at the upcoming features - including a smaller notch, improved camera, and waterproofing - thanks to the often close relationship between the two brands. I discussed the similarities and potential earlier this week:
The question, of course, is how likely is the Oppo R17 going to guide the OnePlus 6T. OnePlus has acknowledged to myself in the past that there is a connection, namely ”OnePlus is a separate company from Oppo. We do have a shared investor and are therefore able to have access to aspects of their supply chain.”
The two product lines also have form in this space, with similarities in design and function reaching back to the first OnePlus (the eponymous OnePlus One) and the Oppo Find 7a, right up to this year’s OnePlus 6 and the Oppo R15 Pro.
You don’t need to have the deductive power of Sherlock Holmes to both notice the link and extrapolate the results.
The Most Awaited Phone… The Nokia 9?
Following on from another stylish - and slightly retro - feature phone release in the shape of the Nokia 8110 4G Matrix/Banana phone (reviewed here by David Phelan), it is time to look at the top end of HMD Global’s Nokia portfolio, specifically the Nokia 9. It looks like the flagship is arriving next week on August 21st. James Rogerson reports:
We’ve already seen one Nokia flagship this year, in the form of the Nokia 8 Sirocco, but that used an old chipset, and the phone we really want is the Nokia 9. Well, the wait for that might almost be over, as Nokia Mobile itself has teased that a new phone is coming on Tuesday, August 21 – and it sounds a lot like a flagship.
In a Tweet, Nokia Mobile posted an image showing a silhouette of a handset along with the text ‘get ready to unveil the most awaited phone’, while text accompanying the image stated the announcement would be happening on Tuesday.
We are thrilled to bring you the Nokia smartphones event for one of the most awaited phones on Tuesday 21st August. Stay tuned for more! #Nokiamobile #BringItOn pic.twitter.com/LXgnzguDvm
— Nokia Mobile (@Nokiamobile) August 16, 2018
And Finally…
Following an investigation by Associated Press, Google’s ability to track your personal location through your Android smartphone was revealed this week. Ryan Nakashima reports on the findings:
Google wants to know where you go so badly that it records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to.
An Associated Press investigation found that many Google services on Android devices and iPhones store your location data even if you’ve used a privacy setting that says it will prevent Google from doing so.
Computer-science researchers at Princeton confirmed these findings at the AP’s request.
Full details on AP’s findings can be found here.
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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