⚡ Welcome to The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 213th edition here, with loads of Google news, including a peek at the Pixel 7 Pro design, Dynamic Island on Android, GTA 6 leaks, and Nicolas Cage’s CatCon.

📺 I’m off on a road trip to visit family and can’t wait to see Don’t Worry Darling on the big screen this weekend. So far, I’ve managed to avoid any trailers or spoilers…

Popular news this week

Google:

• Google finally gave us an official first look at the front of the Pixel 7 Pro: A new image posted on the company’s Pixel Superfans Facebook page seems to show off a slightly less curved screen.
• And Pixel 7 gets a preorder date and a bizarre ‘censored’ first impressions video.
• Plus, there’s more! US pricing for the Pixel 7 series leaked, and it’s good news: If accurate, the prices of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will match their predecessors at $599 and $899.
• We also got a peek at a promotional video for the Pixel Watch — and here’s what the Wi-Fi model costs and what colors could be available.
• Speaking of the Pixel Watch, Google teases new face and Google Assistant button.
• And more Pixel Tablet details leak, including size and storage options.
• Google Tensor G2 details leak: There’s good news and bad news.
• Here’s how much the Google Nest WiFi Pro could cost: Set to launch at Google’s October 6 event.
• We really need the Google Home app to display smart home voice commands.
• We asked, you told us: A ton of you want a smaller flagship Pixel phone.
• And another Google service might be on its way to the graveyard.
• Also: Turns out YouTube doesn’t really care that you dislike a video — you’re better off choosing “remove from watch history” or “don’t recommend channel.”

Samsung:

• One UI 5 beta now available for Galaxy S21 devices in the US: You’ll need to use the Samsung Members app to see if you’re eligible.
• A follow-up to the Samsung Wireless Charger Trio could be in the works as Samsung’s purportedly working on a Wireless Charger Hub.
• And Android 13 could finally bring seamless updates to all brands (even Samsung).
• Also: Samsung surprises Galaxy S6 owners with new update — not a major update by any measure, but still nice to see.

OnePlus:

• The OnePlus 10 Pro is finally getting stable Oxygen OS 13, first coming to those who were part of the open beta.
• And it looks like the OnePlus 11 Pro could be a bare minimum upgrade with faster wired charging and a new chipset.

Apple:

• Some iPhone 14 Pro cameras are making a disturbing grinding noise when using the camera in third-party apps — a fix is rolling out now.
• Apollo update transforms the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island into a home for ‘Pixel Pals,’ cute Tamagotchi-like critters.
• Meanwhile, iPhone 15 Ultra could finally catch up to Android with rumors of 8K video, longer battery life, and more.
• Also: Apple Music to sponsor Super Bowl halftime show amidst push into sports.

Social media:

• TikTok’s search suggests misinformation almost 20% of the time, says report.
• Twitter announced an incident impacting password resets — the bug allowed Twitter accounts to stay logged in from multiple mobile devices after a voluntary password reset.
• And Facebook users sue Meta for bypassing beefy Apple security to spy on millions.

Space:

• The race to reinvent the space station: NASA is funding American companies to build commercial replacements for the International Space Station.
• New research suggests Saturn’s moons could have been born from the death of an icy moon: The planet’s gravitational field could have played a part.
• And Nanoracks cut a piece of metal in space for the first time: the technique could be critical for the development of lunar habitats and large-scale space stations.

Elsewhere:

• At least one Android OEM is considering a Dynamic Island rip-off.
• Speaking of, you can now add a Dynamic Island to your Android phone with this app.
• ASUS announced the ROG Phone 6D and 6D Ultimate, with MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000 Plus chip.
• Meanwhile, a YouTuber just reviewed the canceled LG rollable phone: A great look at what could’ve been.
• NVIDIA announces next-gen RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 GPUs: The RTX 4090’s coming first, on October 12.
• And Amazon’s next generation Fire HD 8 gets preorder date and new models.
• Elsewhere, Microsoft will host its next Surface event on October 12: We’re expecting the Surface Pro 9 and Laptop 5, with an Arm device also tipped.
• Speaking of, Microsoft started rolling out Windows 11 update this week, with video editor and Start menu folders.
• Elsewhere: Get ready to say goodbye to your Fitbit accounts — Fitbit’s ending support for them in 2025.
• You told us: You’re split over your current phone having an in-box charger.
• Transparent OLED brings past to life: A cutting-edge bus tour of the historic city of Suwon, South Korea shows what life was like there in 1795.
• Uber was breached to its core, purportedly by an 18-year-old, who announced it in the company’s Slack.
• An EV with 600 miles of range is tantalizingly close: Two models of Chinese brand Zeekr’s cars will feature the next-gen battery as soon as next year.
• DeepMind says it had nothing to do with research paper saying AI could end humanity: A researcher with a position at the company co-authored the paper, published in peer-reviewed AI Magazine, but DeepMind is distancing itself from the work.
• Elon Musk faces skeptics as Tesla gets ready to unveil ‘Optimus’ robot.
• Spotify launches a huge library of audiobooks in the US.
• Finally: Instacart expanded “the future of grocery,” introducing new in-store tech Connected Stores, which includes products such as Carrot Tags, e-ink price tags with LEDs and QR codes, and Caper Cart, a smart shopping cart with scales, sensors, and a screen that lets you order, navigate, and check out from your cart.

Movies/TV:

• We finally saw a full trailer for Mike Flanagan’s The Midnight Club, coming to Netflix October 7.
• This week also saw another trailer for the new Hellraiser movie: It’s not a remake, it’s a new story set in the same freakishly terrifying universe, landing on Hulu October 7.
• Upcoming Apple TV Plus spy thriller Argylle is shrouded in mystery: first-time novelist Elly Conway proves elusive, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
• If you haven’t seen Speak No Evil yet, watch it before you read Mashable‘s review, calling it “A frightening parable of f*ck politeness.”
• Netflix Tudum 2022 returns on Saturday, September 24, and TechRadar has everything you need to know.
• Speaking of the weekend, if you need viewing inspiration, why not check out the best Amazon Prime Video original movies?
• And we’ve got our regular weekly roundup of the best new streaming shows and movies, including the Quantum Leap reboot and rom-com with a sci-fi twist Meet Cute.
• Also: New Chromecast with Google TV is locked to 1080p and it’s mad cheap, plus pretty much the same as the original model outside the resolution.
• Been wondering about the Quantum Leap reboot? Here’s how it compares to the original series.
• We also heard Keanu Reeves is returning for the Constantine sequel, with Francis Lawrence (who made his directorial debut on the original movie) and JJ Abrams on board.

Gaming:

• Logitech’s cloud gaming handheld finally has a price and release date: $350, which seems pretty steep considering the budget processor and the fact you can get a Steam Deck for an extra $50 — plus, The Verge went hands-on with it.
• We saw a massive possible GTA 6 leak as purported development footage appeared on the Rockstar forums — later in the week, Rockstar Games confirmed the leak: The company suffered a “network intrusion” resulting in a leak of 90 early development versions of the next chapter in the franchise — looks like the game will be set in Vice City with Bonnie and Clyde protagonist duo Lucia and Jason.
• Speaking of leaks, an enormous Diablo IV leak showed almost 45 minutes of dungeon crawling footage.
• And Cyberpunk 2077 is a hit on Steam again thanks to its Netflix anime spinoff.
• Hollow Knight: Silksong will come to the PS4 and PS5, eventually, though we don’t know exactly when.
• Elden Ring’s coming to a tabletop near you: Steamforged Games is adapting the smash-hit game into a board game.
• Ars Technica’s spoiler-free review of Return to Monkey Island is well worth a read and will make you want to play the game, out now for PC and Nintendo Switch.

Reviews

• Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro review: Excellent ANC, ecosystem limitations — “The best buds for Galaxy users,  but are the compromises too much for everyone else?” (Android Authority).
• First impressions: ASUS ROG Phone 6D Ultimate review — “The newest gaming phone from ASUS once again seeks to raise the bar for what’s possible from a handset purely dedicated to gaming does it succeed?” (Trusted Reviews).
• Sony Inzone H9 review: Good, albeit quite inexpensive, and ANC does a good job of blocking 0ut noise (Trusted Reviews).

Features

• How accurate are sleep trackers? Should you rely on them? “We break down what you can and cannot expect from these potential bedmates” (Android Authority).
• Framework’s modular Chromebook is the Chrome OS laptop of my dreams: “Thanks to Framework, you no longer have to pay a premium for top-tier hardware paired with Chrome OS” (Android Authority).
• No, YouTube, I will not subscribe to Premium: AA’s Adamya Sharma weighs in on YouTube’s aggressive methods of pushing Premium on users (Android Authority).
• Their teacher is a robot named Sophia. The lesson is their humanity: “Can humans and robots peacefully coexist?” (Mashable).
• The 17 best films of the fall festivals: “‘Tár,’ ‘The Fabelmans’ and more” (Variety).
• This uncensored AI art tool can generate fantasies — and nightmares: “Open source project Stable Diffusion allows anyone to conjure images with algorithms, but some fear it will be used to create unethical horrors” (Wired).

Weekly Wonder

We’re always hearing about the most popular apps, but which apps out there do users complain about the most? A recent report by Decluttr reveals all.

• The report looks at which of the most downloaded apps in the Apple App Store had the highest percentage of one-star reviews.
• Facebook tops the list, with 61% of its 1.25 million reviews rating the app one star. It currently holds an overall 2.2-star rating in the Apple App Store, not faring much better on Google Play either, with a 3.1-star rating.

Which other apps irritate users?

• Taking second place is HBO Max, with 38% of the app’s reviews rating it one star. The HBO Max app is known for its frequent crashes and unstable performance, and it gets an overall 2.8-star rating in the Apple App Store (3.6 on Google Play).
• In third place is Snapchat, with 24% of all reviews rating the app one star. Most negative comments were from parents concerned about children’s safety and privacy, and comments about poor image quality, with images appearing grainy and pixelated.
• Coming up fourth is Netflix, with 22% of all the app’s reviews giving it a one-star rating, mostly due to poor recommendations, auto-playing trailers by default, and issues during playback.
• Other apps that made the top ten included Tinder, Facebook Messenger, and Yelp.

Which apps distract us most?

The study also revealed which apps distract us the most:

• The average person gets between 65 to 80 notifications a day.
• YouTube and Facebook were the top two most distracting apps.
• WhatsApp and Instagram followed close behind.
• TikTok also made the top five, with users spending over 11 hours a week using the app.

Interesting stuff!

Tech Calendar

• September 29: OnePlus 10T on sale
• October 6 @ 10 AM ET: Pixel 7 launch and preorders open
• October 11 @ 1PM ET: Meta Connect Conference (new VR headset?)
• October 12 @ 10 AM PT: Samsung Developer Conference
• October 12 @ 10 AM ET: Microsoft Surface event (Surface Pro 9, Laptop 5?)
• October 13: Pixel 7 on sale? (TBC)
• October 18: Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld launch
• November 8: Skull and Bones release date on Xbox Series S/X, PS5, PC, Stadia, and Luna
• November 9: God of War: Ragnarok launches on PS4, PS5
• November 15-17: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit
• November 18: The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me launches on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and PC

Tech Tweet of the Week

Something extra: Could Ferris Bueller’s Day Off really be done? The Washington Post finds out. 

Until next week, have a great one!

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.