Daily Authority: 📱 Thin for the win?

☕ Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday’s Daily Authority. It’s currently 5°C here and I’m writing this from underneath a huge blanket with a homemade chai pumpkin latte. Cozy!

Is thinner better?

We’re talking about phones, of course. Thin phones were a huge trend a few years ago, but is it still something you care about? That’s what we’re asking in our poll — do you still care about phone thickness? There’s still time to vote, and we’ll share the results as soon as they’re in.

• AA‘s Hadlee Simons writes, “Even the modern smartphone era saw some brands obsess over reducing thickness, particularly in the late 2000s to early 2010s.”
• Though it seems like smartphone manufacturers these days aren’t as obsessed with thickness anymore.
• We totally get why you might care about your phone’s thickness: We all want a phone that’s slim, light, and isn’t bulky in your pocket or awkward to carry.
• If you have small hands (like me) or use your phone one-handed on the regular, thickness becomes even more of an issue, along with phone size.
• We already know a ton of you want a smaller flagship Pixel phone, following our poll earlier this month.

Slim comes with compromises

But before you hunt for the slimmest phone out there, or head off to vote in our poll, consider this: with thinness often comes compromise.

• A thinner phone might mean reduced battery capacity.
• It could also mean other cutbacks like lower-quality camera hardware.
• Many of us prioritize these features over a slimmer design, given the choice.
• Some of the slimmest phones out there include the Motorola Edge 30, measuring a svelte 6.79mm.
• Compare that to the latest flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (8.9mm), the OnePlus 10T (8.75mm), and Apple’s iPhone 14 (7.80mm) — both are still relatively slim but noticeably thicker than the Edge 30.
• For top-specced devices, it looks like we might have to cope with a few extra millimeters.

What do you think? Is phone thickness your main consideration when buying a new device, or do you not care about it at all? Don’t forget to vote in our poll.

Roundup

📱 Google Pixel 7 specs leak, and we also saw a leaked spec sheet for the Pixel 7 Pro. Both look like iterative upgrades (Android Authority).

⌚ Google suspiciously makes Pixel Watch bezels smaller in new video, following last week’s video showing thicker bezels (Android Authority).

🔋 This foldable beats the Galaxy Z Fold 4 with bigger battery, faster charging (Android Authority).

💰 An error is preventing some people from using Google Wallet, and we’re waiting on a response from Google (Android Authority).

👮‍♂️ Alleged GTA 6 leaker has been formally charged by police: The 17-year-old was also arrested earlier this year for hacking NVIDIA and Microsoft (GamesRadar+).

🔨 Apple Watch Ultra survives hammer beating while the table underneath it cracks: It’s a tough nut to crack (Android Authority).

🚌 Beijing bus drivers have been told to wear wristbands to monitor their emotions, supposedly to protect safety (South China Morning Post).

🎮 E3 2023 returns in June with separate business and consumer days: June 13 to June 16, 2023, are the dates for your diary (Digital Trends).

🌍 HUAWEI announces international launch of the Mate 50 series: The lineup will feature a 10-scale adjustable physical aperture and enhanced drop resistance (Android Authority).

📷 There’s a fix incoming for the Google Photos image corruption issue, and your original photos aren’t impacted, phew! (Android Authority).

🧟‍♂️ HBO Max releases The Last of Us trailer to bring more gamers to the streaming service: The first full trailer gives us a glimpse of Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie (Tech Crunch).

🚀 DART goes silent after hitting an asteroid: We’re still waiting on full details, but the probe’s last image indicates success (Ars Technica).

Tuesday Thing

Fancy relaxing in a luxury pod rather than taking a short flight? That could one day be a reality…

• VW’s Gen.Travel “design study” EV would be completely autonomous (SAE Level 5).
• The bubble-liked pod would feature a modular interior that’s customizable for each trip, so seats could be converted into beds, or a conference table for important meetings.
• Other additions could include dynamic lighting to reduce motion sickness and maintain sleep cycles, augmented reality games for kids, and more.
• Range could be extended with a combination of AI and platooning (convoy driving) — great for road trips with friends.
• Sadly, you probably won’t ever get a chance to sit in the Gen.Travel — it’s just a research vehicle designed to test the concept and functionalities. However, it is a real prototype, and VW says some features could find their way into series vehicles in the future.

Enjoy the rest of Tuesday!

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.