Welcome back The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 153rd edition, right here!
Tristan Rayner with you and this week’s news is that, I think, I think I got a PS5! Finally! I mean, I paid for it, Sony seemingly has my money, it just has to get here now while I stare out the window waiting…
Popular news this week
- Motorola Edge 20 series: Moto’s back with the Edge 20 series, with a Pro, a Lite, and a middle-tier edition too. The Pro looks beefy: a 6.7-inch 144Hz OLED, a Snapdragon 870, triple camera including 5x periscope lens, and a 4,500mAh battery. Not bad for £650/€700. The middle or standard version cuts a few high-end features to drop back to a £430/€500 buy, but still looks very good, while the Lite edition for £300/€350 drops back to a Dimensity 720 chipset, but keeps the Edge 20 series spirit with its other features.
- Motorola’s decision to only guarantee two years of Android OS upgrades and at least two years of bi-monthly security updates wasn’t well received.
- Huawei P50 series: Once a major release where Huawei would fly in the world’s media, the P50 series launched in China with limited details about when others might see it.
- The star of the P50 Pro is the camera, as usual with a quad-lens system: 50MP main, a 13MP ultra-wide, a 64MP telephoto, and a 40MP monochrome sensor, with high-end color accuracy. DxOMark said it was the new number one on its rankings, performing well in nearly all conditions, though images in the phone preview versus final captures were a little off, “especially in high-contrast light conditions,” DxO wrote.
- Surface Duo 2: A leak showed a second-generation Microsoft Surface Duo, with some confirmation out of Windows Central that the concept is legit, even if the leaks looked a little raw.
- The main thing on display was a rear camera module, something badly needed after the original Surface Duo had a bad camera for a $1,399 price tag. Possibly more important is how hard Microsoft has re-worked the software experience, given that wasn’t great either.
- Nothing Ear 1 reviews: The good news for Carl Pei’s venture is that his first product, the Nothing Ear 1, is good! An array of reviews went live, including at our sister site SoundGuys, which said: “These are some of the lightest and most comfortable earbuds around. The Nothing Ear 1 also sounds pretty good, has active noise cancellation, and has a great microphone.”
- A 7.4/10 is pretty solid at the $99 mark.
- Google bans sugar daddy apps: Google stepped in over some debate about dating apps, or more specifically, less mainstream dating apps that connect people of different wealth levels, for potential sugar daddy purposes. In a statement to Android Police, Google said: “We have updated our inappropriate content policy to prohibit apps that facilitate sexual acts in exchange for compensation following feedback we received from NGOs, governments, and other user advocacy groups concerned with user safety. This aligns our policies with other Google policies and industry norms.” Apple already did so back in 2018, after the FOSTA-SESTA act.
- PlayStation 5: Sony said it had sold 10M units of its latest console (The Verge), meaning it’s sold faster than any other PlayStation to date, despite the lack of availability. Even my colleagues at Android Authority have struggled to buy one despite being Very Online People! In any case, Sony said “We still have a lot of work ahead of us as demand for PS5 continues to outstrip supply.” Blame the pandemic, blame the chip shortage!
Reviews
- Mega shootout: The best camera phones of 2021 so far, tested
- Unihertz Atom XL review: Walkie-talkie meets smartphone
- Chipolo One review: Free features and flashy colors for everyone
Features
- “There’s only one feature I want from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: affordability.”
- The head of design at Nothing explains how the Ear 1 can be good at the price (Wired).
- Transylvanian shepherds top this year’s best iPhone/iPad photos (IPPAwards)
- The Jessica Simulation: Love and loss in the age of GPT-3 (SF Chronicle).
- The lie of “expired” food and the disastrous truth of America’s food waste problem (Vox).
Tech Calendar
- July 31-August 5: Black Hat USA
- August 5: Motorola event in China
- August 11: Samsung Unpacked event
Tech Tweet of the Week
The Metaverse Hype Cycle: pic.twitter.com/1BsHgBQsAd
— Ryan Duffy (@RyanfDuffy) July 28, 2021
As always, thanks for reading!
Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor.