Android is global, so news about the world’s biggest mobile OS doesn’t come to a halt when a few regions go on holiday. Sure, things on the AOSP side slow down a bit when Google’s engineers go on vacation, but hardware leaks and user reports keep flowing just the same.
The week in mobile stayed surprisingly busy, with wearable, foldable, and even boring-old-smartphone news spilling out of Samsung’s camp regarding the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event. Samsung’s software made headlines, too, with One UI 7 features revealed through a beta program that might be more exclusive than we originally thought. Meanwhile, Google found itself in hot water on more than one front — both with regulators and users.
Last Week’s Roundup
The user-facing side of Android 16 starts taking shape in last week’s news
Plus Galaxy S25 details galore
Samsung Unpacked got unmasked while you unwrapped gifts
At this point, we’re pretty sure the next Samsung Unpacked is happening on January 22, when the Galaxy S25 series is expected to be announced. This week, it became apparent that there might be some big Galaxy Ring news too, as reports point to larger sizes debuting at the event. But even bigger, a report that came through on Boxing Day suggests that the Galaxy Ring 2 might make its first appearance at the event.
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The Galaxy Ring 2 could make its first appearance at Samsung’s upcoming Unpacked event
It might grace the Unpacked stage soon
On the phone side, we learned that the Snapdragon 8 Elite should allow the S25 to perform core AI tasks entirely on-device for better speed and security. And while we’d heard an announcement date already, we learned that the Galaxy S25 series could hit store shelves on February 7 — not much of a wait, is it? And even if that’s still too long for you, a popular accessories manufacturer has already started taking orders for Galaxy S25 cases.
The only bad news for Galaxy fans came in the form of a roadmap leak based on Samsung’s projected manufacturing volumes. Compared to last year, Samsung could be scaling back production on the Galaxy Z series while increasing output for the Galaxy S line in 2025 — in other words, reacting to market trends to make more traditional phones and fewer foldables going forward. But this just makes January’s Unpacked event all the more important, considering the one coming this summer might not be as much of a spotlight-stealer.
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One UI 7 beta looks nice, if you can get it
The OS version expected to ship on the Galaxy S25 series has already made its debut — albeit in beta form and for only one of Samsung’s phones. But this week, code sleuth Mishaal Rahman dug into One UI 7 for the Galaxy S24 and uncovered signs of a new feature that would bring the iPhone’s Continuity Camera to your Galaxy. Meanwhile, a new setting was discovered that lets you filter alerts into any of three categories, and those that fall under one are grouped into a “More notifications” pill at the bottom of the notification panel.
As excited as we are about One UI 7, news emerged this week that might dampen the fanfare. While the beta build is currently only available for the Galaxy S24 series, we had been hoping for an S23 version after the holiday break. It turns out that version might never come, as Samsung is now rumored to be skipping One UI 7 betas for older Galaxy devices and keeping the pre-release version exclusive to its S24 series.
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OnePlus quietly released the next big mid-ranger
The OnePlus 13, expected to launch internationally in early 2025, has already made its debut in China, so there isn’t much left to learn about the device except for any software differences. Its little brother, on the other hand, had remained elusive — until this week. With Christmas and Hannukah not being as commonly celebrated in China and the new year not happening until the end of January, it was just another week in OnePlus’ home country. Evidently, a perfect week to debut a phone.
As of December 26, the OnePlus 13R has now gone official — but under a pseudonym (Ace 5), and only in China at the moment. This version of the phone packs different connectivity radios than what you might find in the States, and while the OS is still Android, it’s an entirely different OEM skin than what we’ll see in western markets. Still, we can now confirm details like a flat screen, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and a 6,415mAh battery ahead of its expected January 2025 international debut.
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OnePlus 13R launches with a huge battery upgrade, starting in China
But its Pro variant might skip the global stage
Google does damage control at home and abroad
Early in the week, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission accused Google of breaking the country’s laws after an investigation into the Chrome browser that started last October, sending a cease and desist letter to the company’s Japanese offices. Google almost immediately issued a public response, saying “We have continued to work closely with the Japanese government to demonstrate how we are supporting the Android ecosystem and expanding user choice in Japan.”
If this sounds familiar, that’s because a similar scene has been playing out in various courtrooms around the world. In the US, Google has been deemed “a monopolist” by the DOJ, and while punishment is still pending, the court wants the company to sell Chrome to end this monopoly. This week, Google proposed multiple changes to its operations in the hopes of avoiding a breakup, and none involve selling Chrome or Android. However, the court gets the final say on whether it will accept these proposals.
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Google proposes multiple changes to its strategy following antitrust ruling
Selling Chrome is not one of them
Google’s December Pixel (data) Drop causes headaches
Following the themed icon bug spotted in Google’s December Pixel Feature Drop, multiple users on Reddit are complaining of random data drops after installing the update. Affected users say that their signal meter “only shows an exclamation mark,” and that restarting the device temporarily fixes the issue, only to have the exclamation mark return eventually.
Resetting mobile network settings under Settings → System → Reset options seems to work as a long-term fix, but this erases saved Wi-Fi passwords and Bluetooth pairings. Some users say disabling VoLTE under Settings → Network & Internet → SIMs → Provider’s name remedies the issue, but Google has yet to issue public comment on the matter.
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Pixel users report data drops after Google’s December update
There are some temporary fixes worth trying
