✂️ Happy Wednesday! I got my biannual haircut this week, and once again the hairdresser scolded me for not cutting it more often. I would have tried to explain my social anxiety, but, you know… 🤷

Samsung may skip the Galaxy S24 Plus

We’re nearing the release of the Galaxy S23 lineup (which now has an event date), but rumor has it the company is planning on a major shakeup for next year’s S24 devices.

• Korean media outlets report that Samsung may skip the Galaxy S24 Plus model in favor of the standard S24 and premium S24 Ultra.
• This would be the first change since the Ultra model was introduced in 2020’s Galaxy S20 series.
• At that point, it was largely to replace the Galaxy Note series, and apparently, it’s here to stay.
• The Plus series, on the other hand, has reportedly seen disappointing sales.
• It’s believed that the Galaxy S22 Plus accounted for just 17% of shipments, with the S22 Ultra leading the way with 45% and the standard S22 taking 38%.
• In a way, this makes sense, as the middle phone in the lineup was always destined to be overshadowed by its cheaper and more premium siblings.
• However, if it’s true it’s a real shame because the Galaxy S22 Plus was actually our favorite phone in the lineup. In fact, we think it’s the best Android phone for most people.
• The company is also rumored to be reducing the number of models in the Galaxy A series too, which is a bit more welcome considering how similar they have become.

Microsoft shifts focus for the Surface Duo 3

Microsoft’s gamble on a two-screen foldable hasn’t really paid off, but now it looks like the company is considering shifting to a true foldable design for the next iteration.

• The Surface Duo and Duo 2 featured two screens connected by a folding hinge, offering a unique experience over a folding phone.
• However, we found that the costs greatly outweighed the benefits in our review, especially when it came to software.
• This new report says that although Microsoft had already finalized designs for another two-screen device for a late 2023 release, the company is now exploring single-screen designs.
• Considering the software improvements made to Android foldables like the Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 and OPPO Find N2 with Android 12L, this may be the right move.
• In any case, the Duo lineup clearly isn’t making a splash, so a rethink is certainly in order.
• Personally, I would still like to see a two-screen tablet like the Surface Neo teased years ago, but it looks like that wasn’t meant to be.

Roundup

📽️ We’re still a few weeks out from the next Galaxy Unpacked, but Samsung has already dropped the first Galaxy S23 teaser videos (Android Authority).

📲 Good news for Americans looking for a new budget phone: The Nothing Phone 1 is coming to the US through beta membership (Android Authority).

🙂 I still prefer fingerprint scanners, but the iPhone 16 series could offer under-display Face ID next year (Android Authority).

🤳 Move over TikTok, Twitter now defaults to a For You page (The Verge).

🤔 We asked, you told us: You’re intrigued by a RISC-V Android phone (Android Authority).

🤖 Health startup Koko generated controversy by using an AI chatbot to provide mental health advice — without telling patients (Vice).

🔋 What is Qi2 wireless charging? Everything you need to know (Android Authority).

🐢 Netflix added TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge to its mobile games lineup, and you really should play it if you’re subscribed (The Verge).

🚀 Terrible news for Virgin Orbit as the first orbital launch attempt from the UK ends in failure (Arstechnica).

🧑‍🚀 On that note, however, 2022 was an exciting year for space flight, and here’s a look at what the industry might look like in the years ahead (Arstechnica).

Wednesday weird

Last week Microsoft unveiled a new text-to-speech AI model called Vall-E, and the results are shockingly good. Using technology that’s far too complicated to explain in this paragraph, researchers were able to generate a synthetic voice that matches a sample voice using just three seconds of audio. But not only does it match the sound of the speaker’s voice, it also matches their emotion and acoustic conditions. For example, if the audio sample is an angry voice on the telephone, the AI will synthesize audio that matches those conditions.

Really though, the proof is in the pudding, so go check out the audio samples if you don’t believe me. Thankfully, the researchers are aware of the potential ethical issues, so they did not release the full model to the public. They also note that it’s possible to create a protocol to detect speech that has been altered or spoofed in the wild.

From a real human person,

Nick Fernandez, Editor.