Galaxy S21 Video, Nokia 5.4 Released, OnePlus Change Year

Taking a look at seven days of Android news and headlines around the world, this week’s Android Circuit includes new video images of the Galaxy S21, Samsung drops the power adapter, HMD Global launches a new Nokia, more cases antitrust against Google, OnePlus’ year of change, the closure of Google Things and Discord stars in the smartphone streaming …

Android Circuit is here to remind you of some of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find Apple’s weekly news roundup here).

Galaxy S21 + leaks on Instagram

Given that Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy S21 family in mid-January, a month earlier than the traditional pre-MWC slot, it is no surprise that the leaks also come a month earlier. The latest leak comes via an Instagram review video of a pre-release unit and shows much of the package and specs. Dominik Bošnjak reports:

“In all seriousness, this five-minute video definitely means business, as it shows the Galaxy S21 + in all its pre-production glory. Among other things, it seems to confirm that the gold center of the Galaxy S21 line will feature a Super AMOLED flat screen with a 6.7-inch diagonal instead of a 2.5D screen found on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, as previously suspected. “

More on SamMobile.

Following Apple’s lead in power

Apple caused a stir at the launch of the iPhone 12 family as it removed the EarPods and charger from the iPhone retail package. The question on the minds of many geekerati was simple. When will the competition continue? Details from Brazil’s telecommunications office suggest that the response is around three months, at least in the case of Samsung. James Peckham reports:

“A new listing this week from Brazil’s Anatel (a telecommunications agency in the country) suggested that Samsung will not include a charging plug in the box. It also claims that there will also be no free headphones, although it is unclear whether a charge will be included. While this is not a certainty, it is the strongest evidence yet that Samsung’s next flagship phone will follow Apple’s lead and stop using its charging technology in the box. “

More on TechRadar.

Here comes a Nokia for New Years

HMD Global has culminated its 2020 with the launch of a new phone. With a price of 189 euros, the Nokia 5.4 could be seen as the upper end of the low-end or the lower end of the mid-range. Semantics aside, the Nokia 5.4 is a capable phone that offers the full Android experience at a very competitive price.

Andy Walker reports:

“Helping at that low price is a 6.39-inch 1,520 x 720 screen with notable bezels. The Nokia moniker remains a prominent feature on the phone’s chin, while a hole for the 16MP selfie camera is also included in the top left.

“That said, it is by no means an ugly smartphone. Color combinations include a Dusk purple variant or a dark blue Polar Night option. Nokia’s new circular rear camera array is a benchmark on the rear over a capacitive fingerprint sensor and another vertical logo. “

More on Android Authority.

Google search under another legal focus

Google is facing another antitrust lawsuit this week when a strong coalition of 38 states filed against the company over its search engine, which asks the courts to “restore a competitive market.” Makena Kelly reports:

“Colorado Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser and Nebraska Republican Attorney General Doug Peterson led the bipartisan group of states’ lawsuit accusing Google of anti-competitive behavior, such as designing its search engine to take advantage of the products themselves. of the company over those of its competitors.

“Google is at the crossroads of so many areas of our digital economy and has used its dominance to illegally crush competitors, monitor nearly every aspect of our digital lives, and make billions of dollars in profits,” said the Democratic Attorney General of New York, Letitia James. in a statement Thursday. “

More at The Verge.

OnePlus change year

2020 was a year of change for OnePlus. It launched a new line of smartphones in the Nord range, made some fundamental changes to the beloved user interface on its OxygenOS, and decisions on pre-installed software were at odds with previous statements. What does CEO Pete Lau think of the year and the issues? Raymond Wong sets the stage for his interview with Lau to discover:

“OnePlus got off to an excellent start even with the pandemic underway. After years of falling short of its “flagship killers,” the ever-popular Chinese brand launched the OnePlus 8 Pro with a camera system that put even Samsung’s best Androids to shame.

“Then everything fell apart.”

Read the full interview on Input.

Close another Google service

Google is shutting down the consumer side of its ioT system. Google Things was part of Google’s efforts to increase Android’s footprint. Google Things sat alongside projects like Google’s smartwatch operating system, smart displays, VR headsets, and more. The promise of a simplified version of Android that offers common elements between devices is not possible. Developers can continue to update projects until January 2022, but non-commercial projects may not be added to dashboards after January 5, 2021. Ron Amadeo reports:

“The problem with Android Things was that Android is really heavy and while a smartphone operating system can be extended to cars and televisions quite easily, Android Things devices were always bigger, more power hungry, and more expensive than typical IoT form factors. Google tried to remove the operating system by removing items such as the system user interface, settings, widgets, telephony, USB support, NFC, biometrics and more, but never came to a cheap, small form factor. I think the smallest test form factor was a 2-inch square board that used a low-end smartphone chip (a Snapdragon 212) normally found in a $ 100 smartphone. “.

More on Are Technica.

And finally…

Discord, widely used by the gaming community, is getting a new mobile feature … Mobile Screen Sharing. Although useful for many reasons, the high technical requirements for games have undoubtedly led to a better product. Greg Kumparak reports:

“As the name suggests, screen sharing allows users to capture and cast everything on their phone screen and broadcast it to a group of friends. The company tells me that they have particularly focused on making it work well when there is a lot of movement on the screen., allowing things like streaming games or YouTube / TikTok remote viewing parties with high frame rates and minimal latency. “

More on TechCrunch.

Android Circuit summarizes the news from the Android world every weekend here at Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future, and of course read the sister column on Apple Loop! Last week’s Android Circuit can be found here, and if you have news and links you’d like to see on Android Circuit, get in touch!