AC Information Weekly
Information Weekly is our column, the place we spotlight and summarize a few of the week’s prime tales so you’ll be able to compensate for the most recent tech information.
That is Android Central’s Information Weekly, your go-to supply for a concise roundup of the week’s most vital tech tales. That is the place we delve into the highest headlines that present the most recent developments and improvements contributing to the digital panorama.Â
This week, the tech world noticed Google’s recent spherical of layoffs, HTC’s comeback with a brand new cellphone, Samsung teasing extra of its units, Qualcomm’s Q2 level to a restoration, and Google messages simply acquired higher. Let’s get into it.Â
Google makes job cuts, once more.
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Not every week goes by when Google does not make it to the headlines. This time, in a recent spherical of layoffs, Google let go of 200 of its ‘core’ workers to maneuver sooner and align with the corporate’s targets.
These core groups have been answerable for the technical basis behind a lot of Google’s services for safety and on-line security. The corporate has additionally reportedly began a “reorganization” that strikes roles to India and Mexico.
Paperwork obtained by CNBC additionally advised that workers came upon about these cuts every week earlier than they have been introduced, with Google stating that it will assist it align with its “broader targets.” Google’s vp of its Developer Ecosystem, Asim Husain, knowledgeable workers that “this was the most important deliberate discount” for the crew in 2024, throughout a city corridor. These cuts come at time, after Google’s Q1 earnings report introduced a whopping $80.5 billion in income with “sturdy efficiency” throughout companies.Â
Google confirmed these layoffs, and a spokesperson added that these affected can reapply for different roles throughout the firm.
HTC’s new cellphone may get a serious improve
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HTC is a reputation that you just would possibly suppose is off the market, nonetheless, they’re nonetheless within the smartphone scene. Whereas they do not churn out smartphones as usually as different manufacturers, a brand new leak indicated that its U24 Professional may give them one other entrant out there.
In line with Android Headlines, it seems to be just like the Taiwanese firm is perhaps on the brink of introduce the HTC U24 Professional this month. Regardless that there is not any official phrase on the precise date but, the U23 Professional was launch in Might final 12 months, which has might be a cause to count on the identical with this 12 months’s addition.
A couple of days in the past, MySmartPrice caught sight of a tool on Geekbench and speculated that it would belong to the HTC U24 sequence. The cellphone has mannequin quantity 2QDA100, however that does not give away an excessive amount of.
On the design entrance, the HTC U24 Professional will most likely look rather a lot like its predecessor. That mentioned, it would sport a sooner processor —the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3. As for the worth, the U23 Professional hit retailer cabinets at $350, and the U24 Professional is more likely to keep in that vary. We will count on the machine to have Android 14 out of the field with both 128GB or 256GB of inner storage.Â
Samsung’s Q1 report offers extra information on wearables
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Samsung posted its income report for Q1 2024, and the corporate states it earned 71.92 trillion KRW in consolidated income and 6.61 trillion KRW in working income. Throughout its earnings name, the corporate acknowledged that its Q1 earnings noticed a 12.8% leap in comparison with final 12 months.
Samsung feels that Galaxy AI is the driving power behind its cellphone gross sales, stating it can “search annual progress.” The corporate additionally hinted at increasing its Galaxy portfolio by bringing Galaxy AI to “current and new flagship” merchandise like foldables and tablets. The opposite aspect of this enterprise is its wearables, to which Samsung mentions the Galaxy Ring—one thing that might increase income later this 12 months.
Smartwatches can even play a task, with Samsung stating it can look to “meet demand for upgrades via the launch of latest premium fashions.” It is unclear precisely what Samsung means right here, however rumors of an expanded Galaxy Watch profile have been circulating, with discuss of a Galaxy Watch 7, 7 Traditional, and seven Extremely.Â
Qualcomm’s Q2 earnings are wanting up
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Earlier this week, Qualcomm posted its fiscal 12 months Q2 2024 monetary earnings. The corporate reported $9.39 billion in income for the quarter, a rise of 1% over the identical quarter in 2023.
Qualcomm’s headset enterprise, which makes up most of its total income, additionally noticed a 1% improve throughout the quarter, reaching $8.03 billion. Whereas this will likely not appear to be a big achieve, it indicators wholesome progress within the smartphone trade after a little bit of a droop only a 12 months in the past. By comparability, Qualcomm’s FY Q2 2023 earnings revealed a 17% drop in headset and total income, so the current numbers look constructive.
“We’re enthusiastic about our continued progress and diversification, together with reaching our third consecutive quarter of document QCT Automotive revenues, upcoming launches with our Snapdragon X platforms, and enabling main on-device AI capabilities throughout a number of product classes,” says Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon in a press release.
With its present chipsets, Qualcomm is specializing in AI, which it expects will allow extra use circumstances in varied units, be they telephones, PCs, or vehicles. The corporate highlights its AI hub for builders to assist drive this adoption.
“I wish to step again and say, basically, I believe AI goes to profit all of the units,” Amon says. “I believe AI, when extends to working on-device—moreover the good thing about working alongside the cloud—they’ve utterly new use circumstances privateness, safety, latency value, personalization, and so forth.”
*Drumroll please* Audio emojis are right here
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Google is rolling out a novel new function on its cellphone app that lets customers specific themselves with six new sounds.
As noticed by Google Information on Telegram, the corporate is beginning to roll out “Audio Emojis” within the Cellphone app. Customers will be capable to toggle the function within the app’s settings. From there, Google describes the function as one that may assist customers “specific feelings and moods with feels like applause, laughter, unhappy, trombone, and extra.”
When enabled, customers can name their family and friends and begin experimenting with the brand new sounds. On the Cellphone app’s name display screen, there can be an choice to increase the Audio Emoji’s row of faces above the default toolbar.
Nonetheless, the function is arriving first within the app’s beta model. In line with DroidLife, Audio Emojis have been noticed on a Pixel 8 Professional working model 128.0.6 of the beta Cellphone app.
These are a few of the largest tales from this week. In the meantime, listed here are another tales which might be value catching up on: