⚡ Welcome to The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 182nd edition here, with Pixel 7 leaks, another Galaxy Unpacked, and an S22 Ultra review.

📚 I’m off to a crime fiction festival in the frozen North of Scotland next week, leaving you in Nick and Tristan’s capable hands for the next couple of weekends while I geek out over books, but there’s still time to play Horizon Forbidden West first!

Popular news this week

Google:

• First Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro details leak: Early days yet, but the phones will likely have a second-gen Tensor chipset and a new Samsung-made modem — codenames could be “cheetah” and “panther.”
• Google announces Chrome OS Flex, an easy way to turn your current computer into a Chrome OS machine, pushing it as a green way to reutilize older machines
• You can run Windows 11 on your phone thanks to Android 13: the latter’s improved support for visualization makes this possible.
• And you may soon be able to stream all Android apps from your Pixels to your PC.
• Google made a smart lamp you’ll probably never be able to buy: The dLight’s for employees only, apparently.
• Meanwhile, Google wants to make Gmail notifications only pop up on one device.
• Also this week: Miss the good ol’ Google inbox? New email client Shortwave just brought it back.

Samsung:

• Samsung announced another Galaxy Unpacked, happening on February 27 at 1PM ET, announcing the next generation of Galaxy Books.
• There was controversy when it seemed like Galaxy S22, S22 Plus screens weren’t as great as Samsung first claimed: It seemed like the phone screens only dropped down to 48Hz, not the 10Hz originally claimed, which could be bad news for battery economy. Samsung later clarified that screen specs were changed as the display hardware only drops to 48Hz but the data transfer rate from the processor to the screen can be dropped to 10Hz.
• Speaking of the Galaxy S22 series, orders are already facing shipping delays due to “all-time-high” interest, so your best bet might be to grab one from your nearest brick-and-mortar store, if you haven’t pre-ordered.
• And Samsung paused some Galaxy Tab S8 preorders in the US due to “overwhelming demand,” though it looks like they’re reopen again now ahead of the February 25 release date.
• Samsung Galaxy A23 renders leak: Looks similar to the upcoming Galaxy A53, with a waterdrop notch on the 6.6-inch display and a substantial chin.
• According to Korean news outlet The Elec, the Galaxy Z4 could be next to get an S Pen slot.

OnePlus:

• The OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is here, virtually identical to the OPPO Reno 7 SE but with a slightly better camera system, Dimensity 900 chip, and faster 65W charging, coming to India, the UK, and the rest of Europe.
• And the OnePlus 10 Pro could finally launch outside of China in mid-March.

Microsoft:

• Microsoft’s testing one of Android’s best accessibility features in Windows 11: Live Caption.

Motorola:

• Motorola Frontier renders show a camera bump on top of a camera bump.

Apple:

• Apple filings show three new Macs are on the horizon: we could see a refreshed Mac Mini, 27-inch iMac, and MacBook Pro at Apple’s event next month.
• Apple’s been fined again by The Netherlands for applying “unreasonable” conditions to dating apps following that Dutch antitrust order.
• This week Apple celebrated the NBA’s 75th anniversary with special edition Beats Powerbeats Pro, featuring red and blue ear tips and an NBA logo.

Space:

• Rocket heading for Moon impact may not be SpaceX’s after all: Looks like it may belong to China.
• SpaceX plans its first commercial spacewalk for later this year: Polaris Dawn is planned for the fourth quarter of the year.
• And the James Webb telescope has taken its first few photos, despite not being properly calibrated yet: the images are part of its startup and mirror alignment process.

Elsewhere:

• The OPPO Find X5 Pro launch date and time’s been confirmed: February 24 at 6 AM ET.
• Xiaomi launched a gaming-focused flagship with Mercedes F1 on Wednesday: The Redmi K50 packs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, 6.67-inch 120Hz flat OLED screen (FHD+), 120W wired charging speeds, and a pair of shoulder buttons, plus includes a Mercedes F1 edition, but it’s a China-only launch for now, though could come to global markets as the POCO F4 GT.
• Also this week: The realme 9 Pro series launched: a color-changing mid-ranger with a flagship camera, available in the UK and India, no news on European or wider timelines yet.
• And the Nokia G21 was announced: A more powerful processor, faster charging, and a 90Hz refresh rate, but no ultrawide camera.
• Meanwhile, Carl Pei’s teasing a Snapdragon-powered phone for Nothing, with some cryptic tweets.
• More launches this week: The Sony LinkBuds WF-900 launched on Tuesday, with a hole to let in outside sound, for $179.
• After OnePlus, Oppo’s Find X phones get the Hasselblad treatment.
• Peloton’s new Lanebreak feature gamifies your ride, with around 20 levels to start.
• Finally, this is like something out of the future: The US is testing robot dogs to potentially patrol the border.

Movies/TV:

• The first trailer for The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power debuted at the Super Bowl.
• Jordan Peele’s Nope also saw a freaky first trailer this week, landing in theaters July 22.
• Speaking of freaky, the trailer for Shudder’s The Bunker Game looks dark and terrifying, premiering March 17.
• And the latest Texas Chainsaw Massacre landed on Netflix on Friday and is already creating quite a buzz (sorry).
• Speaking of Netflix, it’s confirmed a partnership with Take-Two Interactive for a live-action adaptation of 2007 video game BioShock.
• And Marvel shows are leaving Netflix March 1 after its deal with Disney expires.
• Meanwhile, Stranger Things season 4 is so big it’s being split into two volumes, with volume 1 premiering May 27 and volume 2 coming July 1.
• Critics are trashing Tom Holland’s Uncharted movie, though it’s not Holland himself coming under fire.
• Finally: Check out Park Chan-wook’s new short film, shot on an iPhone 13 Pro.

Gaming:

• Amazon’s Lost Ark (originally released in Korea in 2019) hit western markets last week and has set a new concurrent player record on Steam, with over 1.3 million players online less than 48 hours after launch.
• Horizon Forbidden West landed on Friday but reviews were in earlier in the week, with Kotaku calling it “a stellar open-world RPG” while IGN said, “A triumphant combination of enthralling combat, top-tier creature and character design, and a captivating open world, Horizon Forbidden West is an absolute blast and fantastic showcase for the power of the PS5.”
• Upcoming psychological horror game Martha Is Dead has been censored for PlayStation: Publisher Wired Productions released a statement on Twitter saying it “had to modify the experience on the PlayStation 4 and 5 versions, with some elements no longer playable,” though it’s not clear what content was modified, and the game won’t be censored for Xbox or PC — we should find out more when the game lands on February 24.
• And Intel delays its first Arc desktop gaming GPUs until spring.
• Some players lost their Wordle streaks with the game’s controversial move to The New York Times, but they’ve returned for some. Also this week: The feared NYT Wordle divergence has begun, with some people on the NYT version and some playing the original version, both with different words.
• And Capcom’s teasing an event with a countdown on its site, so we should find out what’s happening on Sunday, if not before: Could it be Streetfighter 6?
• Cyberpunk 2077 gets next-gen console patch and free 5-hour trial (only for next-gen consoles) for those who haven’t taken a chance on the game yet, 14 months later.
• Finally, Elden Ring spoilers are appearing online ahead of the game’s release next week.

Reviews

• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review: The power user’s best friend — Somewhat lacking in soul, but checks off almost all the boxes for power users.
• HUAWEI P50 Pro review: Curated hardware, callous software — Those pervasive full-screen ads make this a hard avoid.
• Lenovo Tab P12 Pro review: Close to the whole package — “With a fantastic display, excellent battery life, and speedy performance, the Lenovo Tab P12 Pro comes close to the best available from Apple and Samsung.”
• Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch) long-term review: A true desktop replacement — “For creative professionals who want or need macOS at full power on the go, Apple’s MacBook Pro (16-inch) is the go-to machine.”
• ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 (2021) review: One of the best 15-inch gaming laptops you can buy, hitting the sweet spot between performance and portability” (Trusted Reviews).

Features

• Pixel cameras are foolproof, but I’m the fool who wants a manual mode: “If this camera can handle anything, why can’t I fully control it and get the exact picture I want?” (Android Authority).
• What is the metaverse, and why is it so controversial? What the metaverse is, how it could affect our lives in the future, and why it’s such a controversial subject today (Android Authority).
• Do good doorbell cams make good neighbors? Is getting a video doorbell somehow unneighborly?(Wired).
• How Telegram became the anti-Facebook: “Hundreds of millions of users. No algorithm. No ads. Courage in the face of autocracy. Sound like a dream? Careful what you wish for” (Wired).
• Remembering Tumblr’s strangest, most formative communities: The often forgotten communities on Tumblr that made it such a meaningful platform to so many different people live on in our memories (Mashable).

Weekly Wonder

This week (February 14) in 2005, YouTube was launched. Somehow it feels longer ago? We dive into some of the history of the world’s most popular online video platform, then take a look at just how big YouTube is today.

A brief YouTube history

First, some historical-ish YouTube facts:

• The YouTube domain name was activated on February 14, 2005.
• YouTube was founded by three guys who worked for PayPal: Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim.
• YouTube’s first HQ was in San Mateo, California, above a pizza joint and Japanese restaurant.
• The service was originally called “Tune In, Hook Up,” and was designed as an online video dating service. Catchy!
• The first-ever YouTube video was uploaded on April 23, 2005. “Me at the zoo” shows 25-year-old co-founder Jawed Karim at San Diego Zoo and has more than 221 million views to date.
• The service grew from around 30,000 viewers a day to over 25 million videos uploaded and around 20,000 uploads a day by March 2006.
• On October 9, 2006, the site was purchased by Google for $1.65 billion in stock, Google’s second-largest acquisition at that time.

YouTube today

Today YouTube gets over 30 million visitors per day, with the average number of mobile YouTube video views around 1,000,000,000 per day.

• Almost 5 billion videos are watched on the site every day.
• And around 3.25 billion hours total hours of video are watched on YouTube each month.
• YouTube is available in 76 different languages and has launched local versions in over 88 countries.
• YouTube reaches more 18 to 34 and 18 to 49-year-olds than any cable network in the US.
• And the number of hours we’re spending watching videos on YouTube is ever-increasing, up 60% year-on-year.

Fun financials

Let’s finish up with some financials behind the world’s biggest online video platform.

• It costs $6,350,000,000 annually to run YouTube.
• And Google generates $4,000,000,000 in annual revenue from YouTube.

What about YouTubers?

• As of 2022, there are over 51 million YouTube channels, up 36% from 2021.
• And as of January 2022, there are around 29,000 YouTube channels out there that have over one million subscribers.
• The world’s richest YouTube star in 2021 was ten-year-old Ryan Kaji (Ryan’s World), whose 31.8 million subscribers have netted him $29.5 million.
• MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) was close behind, earning around $24 million with his humorous stunts videos.

And VisualCapitalist has this colorful infographic showing who the most popular YouTuber is in every country — you can see the full version here.

Tech Calendar

• February 24: Motorola’s next flagship global launch (Moto Edge X30?)
• February 24 @ 6AM ET: OPPO Find X5 Pro launch
• February 25: Samsung Galaxy S22 on sale
• February 25: Steam Deck hits markets for pre-orders
• February 25: Elden Ring launches for PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC
• February 27 @ 1PM ET: Galaxy Unpacked (next-gen Galaxy Book)
• February 28-March 3: Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022 in Barcelona
• March 4: Gran Turismo 7 lands for PS4/PS5
• March 8 (TBC): Apple Spring event?

Tech Tweet of the Week

See you in a fortnight!

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor