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News Weekly is our column where we highlight and summarize some of the week's top stories so you can catch up on the latest tech news.
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, the OnePlus 15 gets its spotlight, Qualcomm's AI-focused Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 launches, One UI 8.5 leak brings the next Galaxy Buds Pro news, Pixel Watch users get the M3 Expressive update, and Google Search gets a new "Live" feature. Let's dive in!
OnePlus 15's square camera bump is the real deal
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Nope, you didn't miss the OnePlus 14, cos there isn't going to be one. The company showcased the OnePlus 15 on stage at Qualcomm's Summit in Hawaii this week, and went straight to the 15, likely due to cultural reasons. The company also confirmed that the OnePlus 15 will be one of the first phones to feature Qualcomm's latest and powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile chipset.
“With Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 at its core, OnePlus 15 carries that legacy forward—delivering the speed, intelligence, and efficiency our users demand today and into the future,” said Pete Lau, founder of OnePlus.
Furthermore, OnePlus also confirmed the massive redesign of its new device, giving us a clear look at its rear panel, which seems to have moved away from its traditional circular camera array on the rear panel for a vertical pill-shaped setup showcasing three lenses, also in line with previous leaks.
That said, the OnePlus 15 could indeed launch in the U.S., but there's no official date yet. The OnePlus 13 debuted in the U.S. on January 7, 2025, and we expect OnePlus to follow the same timeline this year as well, despite chatter about an early launch.
Qualcomm unleashed the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
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It has been quite an eventful week for Qualcomm, as it launched its next Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, built using Oryon cores. The chip is solely designed for flagship Android phones, keeping agentic AI and other powerful capabilities in mind.
The new 3nm chip delivers a significant 20% boost to CPU performance, featuring two prime cores clocked at 4.6GHz and six performance cores optimized for lower-power tasks. This is further enhanced by a faster Adreno GPU, which Qualcomm claims can deliver a 23% performance boost while consuming 20% less power, allowing you to get more out of your gaming experience while worrying less about your battery.
To put things into perspective, OEMs these days want to pack their devices with as much AI as possible, making sure it doesn't eat up the device's power with all the "thinking" it is doing. A powerful chipset like this one will help take the load off the phone.
This chip also comes with a 37% faster NPU (Neural Processing Unit); Qualcomm hopes to enable more on-device agentic AI features. This means your phone should be able to predict your behaviour and make recommendations based on context.
Samsung's Galaxy Buds 4 and 4 Pro leak
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One UI's next update has been been at the centre of many leaks for a bit now and the most recent one gave us more than just a sneak at what One UI 8.5 could bring.
The leak suggests that the Korean OEM has started naming its next buds, the Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds Pro 4, with what seems like internal code names. Seen in the test server build supposedly holds clues in its code about the alleged earbuds, with hints to a base and Pro model numbers SM-R540 and SM-R640, respectively.
Since they were found in the strings in Samsung's test server code, there's not much enough information about them, so nothing on specs or features as yet. But we do know that they exist and are in the works. In another leak from tipster Alfaturk on X, claims the company has also started developing the firmware for these alleged Buds 4 and 4 Pro models.
Pixel Watch users finally get their M3 Expressive update
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Pixel Watch users may finally be seeing their Pixel Watch app show up in a completely new look. According to recent reports, Google seems to be rolling out the Material 3 Expressive changes to the app. The UI sports larger design changes, such as the vertical, pill-shaped row of key Pixel Watch features. The update places Fitbit, Personal Safety, Gemini, and Google Wallet right above your device's illustration.
Beneath that illustration, users will find their connectivity info, battery percentage, and the last time the watch was synced with Fitbit's services. As part of the "main" feature set, users will find Watch Faces and Tiles before scrolling down into their Settings. These new containers and subtle line separators are present throughout the entire app, as well, especially when scrolling through your tiles and other sub-menus.
The update will bring more pronounced Pixel Watch illustration that's a blue, purple mix, as Google moves away from its classic four-color getup.
Google Search gets 'Gemini-ed'
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Google is bringing Project Astra's capabilities to Google Search, to get real-time answers via Live Search within AI Mode. Think of it as an upgrade to the current Google Lens, and Google's way of pushing Gemini's multimodal capabilities onto more platforms.
With "Live Search," users can have real-time, interactive conversations with Google Search in AI Mode, much like speaking to the AI chatbot on Gemini Live. This feature allows users to share their phone's camera feed, and they will have the ability to respond to your questions in real time. Since this feature is tied to AI Mode, it will also provide links for intensive research as well. Accessing this feature seems to be a lot more easier as opposed to navigating a ton of steps to help Gemini Live see what you see.
For instance, you're new to making a cup of matcha — all users have to do is open the Google app (Android and iOS) and tap the new "Live" icon under the search bar. Then point the camera at the equipment in your matcha set and ask what each tool is used for. Or you could even ask it questions for a deeper understanding of matcha's history or its rise to fame as a beverage. The Live Search option is available to all Android and iOS users in the U.S. starting Sept. 24.
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:
- Android users will now be able to test an unreleased YouTube AI feature
- Amazon is about to drop Vega OS on Fire TV sooner than expected
- Samsung's Galaxy TriFold wants to be your tablet and PC in leaked animations
- Chrome for Android now has the same Audio Overviews feature as NotebookLM
- COROS is teasing an 'all-new Apex' mountain watch; here's what we expect
- Flaw in OnePlus phones lets apps read your texts, fix rolling out soon
- Qualcomm Summit 2025 surprised crowds with a Samsung XR headset showcase
- Honor enters its 'Dual-Engine' AI era, teasing the Magic 8 Pro at Snapdragon Summit 2025
- Apple's iOS 26.1 may enable Galaxy Watch notifications for iPhone users—Here's what we know
- Verizon launches 6G Initiative, promising to transform wireless communication
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