Android Circuit: Pixel Drop Surprises, Global OnePlus 13 Confirmed, Colorful Galaxy S25 Leaks

Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines across the Android world, including Google’s Pixel Drop of new features, the latest Galaxy S25 leaks, OneUI 7 beta launch, the cancelled Pixel Tablet 2 specs, OnePlus confirming global rollout for OnePlus 13, Qualcomms 8s Gen 3 benchmarks, and a Pixel 6 surprise.

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.

The Pixel Drop

In addition to new Android features for Android, Google has released December’s Pixel Drop this week. It sounds more like a loot box than a software upgrade, yet it brings new experiences and tools to its Pixel smartphones over and above the regular Android updates. Gemini AI is the focus, but several areas have been updated, including the Screenshots search facility, AI-powered call screening, and new software to search through your photos and videos:

“The latest Pixel Drop1 brings more intelligent, helpful and intuitive features to your devices, with new ways to use Gemini, camera improvements and security updates. Better yet, it brings some favorite features to more countries.”

Full details on the new apps and services can be found on Google’s Keyword Blog.

The Color Of The Galaxy

While many are watching for leaks on the specifications and software of the upcoming Galaxy S25 smartphones, more are hoping that the S25’s fashion characteristics will fit in with their own sensibilities. While we wait on some clearer shots of the full handsets, the new SIM trays have just enough color on the end caps to get a feel of the shoes on offer:

“As you might expect, there is a dark grey option that is as close to black as possible, a deep dark blue, pastel tones of purple and green, and a silver option that will likely be seen as the white option. No doubt Samsung’s marketing team will come up with some snappy descriptions that we’ll find out closer to the time.”

(Forbes).

OneUI 7 Beta Rolls Out

Samsung has launched a public beta for OueUNi 7, it’s implementation of Android for the Galaxy smartphone family. Like many manufacturers, Samsung is doubting down on the capabilities of generative AI to improve the user experience… alongside the usual raft of bug fixes, updates, and software tweaks. The latter includes more personalisation options, a new user interface for the camera, and a simplified home screen. As for the former, Samsung is highlighting two:

Advanced writing assist tools, with AI-powered content summarising, spelling and grammar checks, and notes formatting. Call transcript eliminates the need to take notes manually while multi-tasking, as recorded calls can be transcribed in 20 languages.”

(Samsung)

The Pixel Tablet That Was

Reports of the cancellation of the long-awaited Pixel Tablet 2 have been building over the week and the community has accepted that, while there may be a Pixel Tablet 2 released in late 2025 or beyond, it’s not the Pixel Tablet that’s sitting inside Google right now. So the leaked specs are less “what comes next” but “what could have been.” A bigger question than the cancellation is what the ipact will be on Android’s tablet ecosystem:

“impact of the Pixel Tablet 2 cancellation is in the ecosystem. Android’s support of large-screened devices falls behind Apple’s efforts to keep iPad hardware tightly connected. With the Pixel Tablet launch, Google made a strong statement of support to its Android partners that tablets were part of its consideration. The cancellation of the Pixel Tablet 2 diminishes that commitment.”

(Forbes).

Happy Ten Plus One, OnePlus

In an extensive post that looks back at its eleven-year history, OnePlus has confirmed that the latest OnePlus 13 handsets will have a global launch in January 2025:

“As we look forward to 2025, I’m excited about what’s ahead. We’re diving deeper into AI integration within OxygenOS, collaborating with Google to create a super personal assistant that’s not only intuitive but also secure, tailored to make your OnePlus experience even more seamless. And, as always, we are committed to sustainability, ensuring that our products remain as eco-friendly as they are innovative.”

(OnePlus Forum).

Qualcomm’s New Mid-Range Benchmark

Just as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is driving the next generation of Android smartphones, the soon-to-be-launched and presumptively named Snapdragon 8s Elite could offer a similar step up in performance to the mid-range handsets currently running the 8s Gen 2 and 8s Gen 3 chipsets:

“we thought the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 was a great upper mid-range processor. Our own testing revealed that the POCO F6 (Snapdragon 8s Gen 3) was able to beat the POCO F6 Pro (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2) for single-core CPU performance while staying competitive during GPU stress tests. So don’t be surprised if the Snapdragon 8s Elite takes the fight to phones like the Galaxy S24 series.”

(Android Authority).

And Finally…

During the launch of the Pixel 9 family, Google confirmed that the four handsets woudl recieve seven years of software and security updates. That’s a far cry form the three years offered to the Pixel 6. Those years expired in October with the release of Android 15, but an update to its support pages shows that Google has handed the Pixel 6 an additional two years:

“[Pixel 7a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro & Pixel Fold] will get updates for 5 years starting from when the device first became available on the Google Store in the US. This includes 5 years of OS and security updates, and may also include new and upgraded features with Pixel Drops.

(Google Support).

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!