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Take a look at the news and the big titles of this week in the Android world, including the Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro, Pixel’s growth, the Honor AI button, the new Qualcomm fast charge option, nothing is the next operating system, the open source of Android left and the broader range of AI Edge.
Android Circuit is there to remind you of some of the many discussions around Android in the last seven days. You can also read my Apple News weekly digests here on Forbes.
A new name for the first Galaxy S26
This week has seen CAD plans for the next Galaxy S26 model disclosed. One of the curiosities is the name – rather than a Galaxy S26 with vanilla succeeding the Galaxy S25, it is the Galaxy S26 Pro – which probably sit between the FE and the edge (which itself seems to replace the most), by ultra remaining at the top:
“The Galaxy S26 Pro includes all its physical buttons on the right side, as is its predecessor. A power / locking key is under the volume buttons from top to bottom. The frame is flat all around, most of them. It curves a little towards the edges, for the phone. Glass, just like the Galaxy S25.”
Golden growth of Premium Pixel
Google has another feather in its pixel cap this week because it claims the premium smartphone brand which is experiencing the fastest growth. Of course, no matter where you start to measure …
“According to new data from Counterpoint Research, the Premium smartphones market has been increasing lately, and Google Pixel is the fastest segment. In the first half of 2025, compared to the first half of 2024, the Premium smartphones market increased by around 8%.
(9TO5GOOGLE).
Press here for AI
With the expected Magic8 smartphone arriving at some point in the coming weeks, the honor already reveals certain details of the handset. However, other leaks highlight an idea … A physical interface to honor the AI:
“The launch of October which will rume puts in the spotlight squarely in the competition season, and this dedicated AI button approach resembles an intelligent decision. Instead of burying the features of AI in the menus, honor makes them before and at the center with physical equipment. It is the kind of daring decision that could distinguish them on a crowded market.”
(Phandroid).
Qualcomm’s latest fast charge technology
A faster load, less unnecessary heat and better experience, regardless of the device and the charger, is a goal sought by many in the smartphones ecosystem. The latest Qualcomm update to Quick Charge should deliver all this and more. Expect to see numbers corresponding to the specifications that appear in the phones that make their debut in early 2026:
“The fast charge has existed for more than a decade, which does everything, smartphones and laptops with VR helmets and wireless speakers. In 2020, fast load 5 set the pace with more than 100 W of power, which was sufficient to take a device of zero at 50% in about five minutes. Now, Qualcomm says a 5+ rapid charge keeps the same fast performance while directly approaching current heat problems A high load against the load. “
Nothing bone 4.0 coming soon
With Google providing Google SA Android 16 QPR1 for manufacturers, expect many updates and new versions of the individual builds of the operating system to start getting out of the beta version and in production units. Who does not include anything technical, who will see the fourth major version arrive shortly:
“In a brief video, nothing says that nothing bones 4.0 is” soon “with a” refined “and” redefined “experience. This seems to be largely made up of elements of updated design, with the video showing a new font as well as various icon updates. It is not clear if the expressive equipment will play any role, but it seems that we have a new layer of painting.”
(9TO5GOOGLE).
The open source Android project is waiting
After any major version of Android, Google has generally downloaded the changes in the open source Android project, which allows Android to be built for free, but without any of the Google’s own services. However, the release of Android 16 QPR1 did not follow a similar model, the open source team informed that the download of Google code would be “in the coming weeks”. With countless personalized ROM sets and projects according to AOSP, Google’s lack of emergency worries a lot:
“Google generally publishes the source code of the new Android versions within 1 to 2 days depending on the version, allowing independent developers to start quickly bringing new modifications to their personalized ROMs.
And finally …
The AI Edge Gallery application from Google, announced at E / S in summer, allows developers and consumers of AI models on EPXLORE disk on Google in a safe playground. The application remains on Github, but it is open to a wider audience with the addition of availability in the Google Play Store this week:
“To make these demonstrations powerful more accessible than ever, the Google Ai Edge gallery is now available in a beta version open on the Google Play Store. The code will continue to be open source on GitHub, offering you the best of both worlds: the easiest way to discover demos via the play store and the complete source code to explore on Gitub.
The Android circuit brings together news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Do not forget to follow me to miss any coverage in the future, and of course, read the sister column in Apple loop! Last week’s Android circuit can be found here, and if you have news and links that you would like to see in Android Circuit, contact yourself!
