Android 15 out to devs, Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is here, Week 36 in review

Another week down, so let’s recap. Google released Android 15 to developers and Pixels are expected to get the update within “weeks”. Other makers should announce their update roadmaps shortly.

Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3. The new mid-range platform comes to take over from the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 as the company seemingly forgot there’s no second-gen version of the 4nm chip. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 brings improved AI performance for tasks like activity tracking and noise cancellation during calls. The chip is really similar to the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 with some downgrades in the CPU and Display departments.

The chip choice of the Galaxy S25 family has been a point of discussion in the past few weeks. First we heard that it would be an Exynos-only affair, then two separate reports told us to expect Snapdragon everywhere. Now another rumor, from Samsung’s home of Korea, confirms the Snapdragon win.

The Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra will all allegedly use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 globally. This has apparently been done to “maximize the performance” of the S25 series. The Exynos 2500 will instead be used in the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 that will be released in the second half of next year. That’s an interesting twist, as the foldables have so far relied on Snapdragon chips.

Or anyone who isn’t a developer – not yet at least.

That would be an interesting change of strategy.

The chipset is just like the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 but with underpowered efficiency cores.

A certification has revealed what Samsung is planning.

We saw the first render of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition. It’s noticeably thinner than the ongoing Galaxy Z Fold6, has a brushed finish on the back, and a slightly different camera island. One of the lenses looks like a periscope zoom, and we expect a 200MP main camera. Sadly, rumor has it this phone will be exclusive to China and South Korea.

IFA kicked off this week. Among the key announcements were the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus, Honor holding the global launch of the Magic V3, MagicPad 2, and Intel-powered MagicBook Art 14. Honor also unveiled a Snapdragon X Elite-powered variant of the MagicBook Art 14.

Finally, Huawei’s tri-fold Mate XT was pictured in the wild, and later on the company released a teaser of it.

No frills but also no worries either.

It’s a rebrand of the Oppo A3 Pro launched earlier this summer in India.

Joining it is a small but extra tough phone, the Armor Mini 20T Pro with a 4.7″ display.

It’s got similar looks to the Fold6, but it’s not identical.

The authenticity of the shot cannot be verified, though.