News Weekly: iPhone 17's surprising Android features, Galaxy Z Fold 8 plans, and Pixel 9's Rapid Growth

This is Android Central's News Weekly, your go-to source for a concise roundup of the week's most significant tech stories. This is where we delve into the top headlines that provide the latest developments and innovations contributing to the digital landscape.

This week, what the new iPhone stole from Android, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could keep the S Pen, Nothing Ear 3 launches soon, we could see two Galaxy Z Folds next year, and Pixel 9 propelled Google, making it the fastest growing premium smartphone brand in H1 2025. Let's get in!

iPhone 17 arrives with Android-like features

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Apple launched its "Awe-dropping" iPhone 17 series this week, and AC's staff was quick to notice some of the features that look very familiar to Android. While we felt that the list was not as long as it used to be, we were able to round up five obvious features that Apple "took" from Android.

For starters, Apple basically followed Samsung's suit in launching a slim "iPhone Air," a phone that's just 5.6mm thin. But Samsung beat Apple to the punch earlier this year when it released the Galaxy S25 Edge, which is surprisingly a bit thicker than the iPhone at 5.8mm, but has two cameras.

The iPhone 17 showed up with a camera bar that has been a staple of Google's Pixel thing, since the Pixel 6. Third, Apple stuck to its predecessor's pricing, following Google's footsteps with the Pixel 10 lineup. Satellight connectivity is coming to the Watch Ultra 3, which was first brought in by the Fenix 8 Pro, after which Google announced it for the Pixel Watch 4.

While Apple "stole" some features from Android, it also developed its own unique features, such as the "CenterStage camera," which is quite impressive. This feature utilizes the square camera sensor in a unique way, allowing the camera to crop in to provide portrait or landscape shots without requiring the user to physically rotate their device.

It also raised the bar to 256GB as a base storage option across the board. Another huge one is BP monitoring on the watch; while this feature is yet to be approved by the FDA, it could be a game-changer for the health industry.

S Pen stays put on the Galaxy S26 Ultra

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It looks like Samsung might keep the S Pen on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, according to a fresh leak. Many S Pen fans have been fearing the worst for the past few months, and for good reason.

Samsung has been making some moves that the S Pen fans, even though in the minority, have been caught off guard. First, it removed Bluetooth S Pen features on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and more recently, it ditched the S Pen on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, as the Korean OEM wanted to keep things sleek and compact on the phone, which has caused us to think about the future of the S Pen itself.

While the company continues to make phones lighter and sleeker, we feel that the stylus could be a thing of the past. However, this may not be the case for the next-gen Galaxy S26 Ultra, a new leak from prominent tipster, Ice Universe, hints that the device will indeed keep the S Pen, with alleged device renders showing a dedicated slot for it.

Nothing Ear 3 launches next week

With every product launch, Nothing basically drops a dozen teases, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination, and it has followed the same pattern with its new earbuds set to launch on Sept. 18.

Earlier this week, Nothing officially showcased its upcoming wireless earbuds, the Nothing Ear 3, giving us our first look at the design and even a sneak peek at one of the features. The Nothing Ear 3 looks a lot like its predecessors, with a similar design, earbuds with white ear tips, and a transparent-looking stem with silver finishes inside. The case also looks similar to what we have seen before, with a new silver finish for the bottom and a transparent lid, like previous designs.

However, the company seems to have snuck in a new feature. The "Talk" button is right up front in the earbuds' case. The USB-C port on the right also seems to have a new microphone and/or speaker next to it. It's unclear what the new "Talk" button does, but we expect it to bring up Gemini or its features.

Samsung could bring two Z Folds next year

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The Galaxy Z Fold 7 seems to be a massive hit, according to recent stats, where Samsung is basically scrambling to make more of its ultra-slim foldables. And now, rumor has it that Samsung has allegedly "shared its development plans" for a second Fold model in 2026, according to an internal source. The publication adds that the Galaxy Z Flip 8 will show up with two Z Folds, one being a "Wide" Fold model.

This Wide-Fold is reportedly aiming to combine dual 18:9 screens "to create an internal display with a nearly identical 18:18 aspect ratio." Basically, the Korean OEM could be going for a tablet-like phone. Furthermore, Samsung is looking to finalize the details about this phone by the end of September or early in October and is "expected to launch simultaneously" with 2026's expected Flip 8 and Fold 8.

Pixel 9 makes Google the fastest growing brand

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Counterpoint, the research firm, put out some interesting numbers earlier this week, noting that the premium smartphone sales did indeed see an uptick in the first half of 2025. However, Google seems to have stolen the show. The company became the fastest-growing premium smartphone brand, seeing 105% YoY growth. The report suggests that its sales have basically doubled since last year, as more people are opting to buy the Pixel 9 series.

Google has been pushing into new markets and ramping up marketing for the Pixel phones. The company has been emphasizing the unique features of these devices by focusing on their AI capabilities and sleek software, rather than just highlighting specs, which has worked in the tech giant's favor.

Apple leads the premium market with a 62% share, despite seeing only a 3% YoY growth. While Samsung came second, seeing a 7% growth, thanks to the AI-powered Galaxy S25 series, which seems to have outdone its predecessor (20% market share).

More stories this week

Those are some of the biggest stories from this week. Meanwhile, here are some other stories that are worth catching up on:

• The ultra-thin iPhone Air might seem cool, but it's much deeper than that
• Hypertension alerts on Apple Watch just put every smartwatch rival on notice
• Spotify 'Lossless Listening' lets Premium subscribers hear every refined note
• Amazon's secret AR glasses project, codenamed 'Jayhawk,' aims to rival Meta's dominance
• Nest Doorbell 2K leak gives us a look at the box and what's inside
• Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold just showed off its unfolding trick in a leaked animation
• The golden Oakley Meta HSTN gets a speedy update for its cameras
• OnePlus 15's color lineup may omit a long-standing favorite as it gains a 165Hz refresh rate
• Motorola's cheap 2026 mid-range phones start showing off in leaked renders
• Google says a fix is here for the Pixel 10's Android Auto problems—kind of