Android Central Podcast

We've got a roundup of new Bluetooth earbuds this week, followed by more thoughts about the latest Android 12 beta. The gang also talk about Wear OS support, Google's new retail store, and more.

• Sony WF-1000XM4 review: Magical ANC + long battery = close to perfect | Android Central
• Jaybird Vista 2 review: Workout earbuds to like with an app to love | Android Central
• Mobvoi TicWatch E3 review: An instant buy with one enormous question | Android Central
• Google says it's not that simple, future Wear OS support is still being worked out | Android Central
• OnePlus announces 'deeper integration' with OPPO, promises faster updates | Android Central
• OnePlus' relentless launch cycle is hurting its software updates | Android Central
• Honor 50 Pro is here with Google apps support, Snapdragon 778G, 100W charging | Android Central
• Honor reportedly plans to launch its first foldable this year after Huawei split | Android Central
• The Motorola RAZR might take a gap year to figure itself out | Android Central
• RAVPower products disappear from Amazon just days before Prime Day | Android Central
• The first Google Store has a space for customers to play Stadia games | Android Central
• Google just brought back emoji blobs in the most magical way | Android Central

This week, Daniel and Ara welcome iMore's Joe Keller and Android Developer Chris Lacy of Action Launcher and SwirlWalls fame onto the show. They have an in-depth conversation about Apple's announcements at WWDC 2021 and the latest Android 12 beta from Google.

• WWDC 2021: All the biggest Apple news and announcements | iMore
• Apple will bring head tracking to spatial audio on Apple Music later this year | iMore
• Apple is bringing FaceTime to Android in the most green bubble way possible | Android Central
• Google is walking back on one of our favorite Android 12 design tweaks | Android Central
• Android 12 will bring the end of third-party share menus | Android Central
• With Android 12 and the new Wear OS, Google can now better compete with Apple | Android Central
• Amazon Sidewalk is revolutionary, but its massive scope has privacy experts worried | Android Central
• Action Launcher's Chris Lacy debuts a hypnotic new live wallpaper app called SwirlWalls | Android Central
• SwirlWalls: Interactive UHD Wallpaper Backgrounds
• Action Launcher: Pixel Edition
• Chris Lacy (@chrismlacy) / Twitter
• Joe Keller (@jkeller87) / Twitter

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In this episode, Ara, Jerry, and Dan are joined by Adam Molina. He's the producer of Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast and a freelance journalist. They nerd out over Bluetooth headphones, lossless music streaming, upcoming Android phones, Led Zeppelin, and more.

• Adam ⁠🆒 (@AdamLukas17) / Twitter
• The new Google Pixel Buds A-Series launch with a familiar design, more affordable price tag | Android Central
• Leaked promo video of the Sony WF-1000XM4 reveals a ton of features | Android Central
• Here's why Apple and Amazon are 'giving away' lossless music to subscribers | Android Central
• Apple Music will upgrade your audio at no extra cost, Android users to miss out on its best new features | Android Central
• Spotify launches new lossless 'HiFi' plan to take on Tidal and Amazon | Android Central
• Spotify's new 'Only You' feature brings in even more personalized playlists | Android Central
• Huawei Watch 3 review: Crown prince | Android Central
• Huawei guns for the iPad Pro with its first HarmonyOS tablet | Android Central
• Official Huawei P50 teaser gives a first look at the Galaxy S21 Ultra challenger | Android Central
• Xiaomi's insane new 200W 'HyperCharge' tech can charge a phone in just 8 minutes | Android Central
• OPPO Watch 2 tipped to feature the Snapdragon Wear 4100, may run Wear OS | Android Central
• Your Chromecast with Google TV could be getting a feature it should have had from day one | Android Central
• Apple TV arrives on the NVIDIA Shield and other Android TV devices | Android Central

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The AC gang kick off the Holiday weekend in the United States with everything we know so far about Qualcomm's new Snapdragon processors and Arm v9 mobile architecture. They also talk about a revision to USB-C and Power Delivery that adds 240W charging.

Additionally, Fuchsia OS finally goes public, Amazon buys MGM for a whole lot of cookies, and introduces a new range of Chromebooks.

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 is here to make your Zoom calls more tolerable | Android Central
• Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 778G is a mid-range 'gaming' chip with truly global 5G | Android Central
• Arm announces the new v9 mobile architecture: Cortex-X2, Cortex-A710, and Cortex-A510 | Android Central
• USB-C and Power Delivery revisions add 240W Extended Power Range support | Android Central
• Google's mysterious Fuchsia OS is finally going public with a big Nest Hub update | Android Central
• Acer Chromebook Spin 713 adds Thunderbolt 4 and Intel 11th Gen processors | Android Central
• Amazon acquires MGM Studios in $8.45 billion deal to boost Prime Video | Android Central
• Here's what Amazon could've bought for $8.5 billion instead of MGM | Android Central

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This week, we check out all of the announcements from Google I/O 2021. There's more news on Android 12, a new design language call Material You, the emergence of Wear, and much more.

• Google announces Android 12 beta with a ton of design and privacy changes | Android Central
• Android 12 beta hands-on: This is the way forward | Android Central
• Android 12 will have more precise privacy controls, but experts aren't fully convinced | Android Central
• Google's new design language is Material You, and it breathes new life into Android's tired aesthetic | Android Central
• Android 12 beta on Xiaomi, OnePlus, OPPO, and Vivo: Everything you need to know | Android Central
• Google announces that Android has over 3 billion active devices | Android Central
• Here's why I'm so excited for Samsung to make a Wear OS watch | Android Central
• Samsung and Google merge Tizen and Wear OS: Everything you need to know | Android Central
• With Samsung ditching Tizen, here's when your Galaxy Watch still stop receiving updates | Android Central
• Google shows off a new Wear OS launcher along with a long-awaited task switcher | Android Central
• Google Assistant is going to get a lot more conversational with LaMDA | Android Central
• Google's new ARCore update opens the door to new AR experiences | Android Central
• Google's new ARCore update opens the door to new AR experiences | Android Central
• Google's Project Starline aims to bring the future of video calls to the present | Android Central
• Google Assistant is adding widgets to phones and full-screens smart display apps | Android Central
• Google Reader returns from the dead in new experimental Chrome feature | Android Central
• Google Photos is making it easier to relive your favorite memories | Android Central
• Google will soon let you lock away your private images, delete the last 15 minutes of search history | Android Central
• Google is building a digital car key into Android 12, arriving on select phones later this year | Android Central
• Google's Smart Canvas brings Meet calls into your spreadsheets later this year | Android Central
• Google just made its password manager way more useful on Chrome and Android | Android Central

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Some leaks from reliable sources give us a look at the upcoming Pixel 6 lineup. Alex, Ara, Jerry, and Daniel check out the renders along with Galaxy Watch 4 rumors, MediaTek Dimensity 900 vs. Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G, and loads more phone and gadget news.

• Google I/O 2021 schedule features updates on Android 12, Wear OS, Google TV, and more | Android Central
• Google Pixel 6: News, Leaks, Release, Specs, and Rumors! | Android Central
• New details of the Galaxy Watch 4 hint at launch date, Samsung ditches plans for useful health feature | Android Central
• MediaTek Dimensity 900 beats Qualcomm's Snapdragon 768G in early benchmark leak | Android Central
• MediaTek's new Dimensity 900 5G chip aims to bring flagship features to mid-range phones | Android Central
• High-res Sony WF-1000XM4 renders show just how tiny the charging case is | Android Central
• Amazon announces updates to the Echo Show 5 and 8, introduces all-new Echo Show 5 Kids | Android Central
• Popular brands like Aukey allegedly involved in massive fake Amazon review scheme | Android Central
• Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) review: Amazon made its good buds even better | Android Central
• Xiaomi Mi Band 6 review: The best budget fitness band gets even better | Android Central
• ASUS Zenfone 8 review: Small phone, big specs, surprising price | Android Central
• ASUS Zenfone 8 Flip review: Playing it safe | Android Central
• Smart home initiative between Google, Amazon, and Apple gets rebranded | Android Central
• Google Pay adds international payments thanks to Western Union, Wise | Android Central
• Twitter not 'closing the door' on adding pronouns to platform after Instagram announcement | Android Central
• Dozens of state attorneys general sign letter asking Zuckerberg to abandon Instagram for kids plan | Android Central

There's only a smattering of device news this week, but a whole lot to discuss regarding Google services and their strategies. Daniel, Ara, and Jerry also offer their take on Apple vs. Epic and what it could mean for other platforms.

• Google accidentally announces the Pixel Buds A-Series early | Android Central
• Samsung 'accidentally' confirms the mid-range Galaxy A82 5G is on its way | Android Central
• Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Tab S7 Plus Lite leaks with new book cover case | Android Central
• Here's your 'first look' at Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 | Android Central
• Google will allow some employees to permanently work from home | Android Central
• Google's new policy for Android app listings will give you more information about how your data is used | Android Central
• YouTube expands its TikTok rival Shorts to all creators in the U.S. | Android Central
• It will soon be easier for creators to keep YouTube Shorts from using their content | Android Central
• Ex-Google AI manager heads to Apple after Timnit Gebru controversy | Android Central
• Google has more Stadia woes as product head John Justice leaves | Android Central
• Apple vs Epic | iMore
• Epic CEO: Sony forces Epic to pay for Fortnite cross-play on PlayStation | Android Central
• Epic wanted to emulate Fortnite on Android to get around Google's 30% Play Store cut | Android Central
• Apple considered bringing iMessage to Android in 2013, but chose not to | Android Central
• Epic Games would have accepted special deal with Apple, says CEO | iMore
• Internal emails reveal Epic concerns ahead of 'Project Liberty' | iMore
• Email reveals Apple had given Hulu special access to App Store API | iMore

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On this episode, we talk about announcements to expect at Google I/O 2021, massive corporate earnings, and a truckload of new devices. We also wonder what the world would be like if Apple's iMessage came to Android.

Finally, we say goodbye to Russell Holly and Hayato Huseman as members of the team. Russell is moving on to become a Managing Editor for CNET, and Hayato will be joining the crew over at MKBHD's YouTube empire as a video producer. Maybe we can start calling him HHUHD? Good luck to you both, gentlemen. We will miss you so much!

• Google I/O 2021 schedule features updates on Android 12, Wear OS, Google TV, and more | Android Central
• Amazon's new Fire HD 10 tablets bring more productivity and entertainment for the whole family | Android Central
• Samsung announces ultra-light and thin Galaxy Book Pro and Book Pro 360 Windows laptops | Windows Central
• Samsung posts record Q1 revenue on 'solid' Galaxy S21 sales | Android Central
• Sony confirms it has sold over 7.8 million PS5 consoles since launch | Android Central
• Qualcomm continues to rise thanks to 5G sales, despite global chip shortage | Android Central
• Celebrating a strong start in Europe for 2021 - OnePlus Community
• Alphabet beats expectations as Google Cloud narrows losses, drives more revenue in Q1 2021 earnings | Android Central
• Imagining a world where iMessage came to Android | Android Central
• Roku warns it might lose YouTube TV for not complying with Google's 'unfair terms' | Android Central
• Samsung Galaxy A52 5G review: Mid-range mastery with three minor mistakes | Android Central
• Acer Chromebook Spin 513 review: Sending a mobile processor to do a desktop's job | Android Central
• Google Stadia finally gets a search bar and more a useful Library UI, with more features coming soon | Android Central

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In this episode, Hayato, Daniel, Ara, and Jerry check out the final Developer Preview of Android 12. They also talk about Sony's Xperia 1 III, the TCL Fold 'n Roll concept phone, and the Fitbit Luxe.

Apple had their Spring Loaded event this week, so the gang take some time to view their announcements through the lens of Android users.

• Android 12's final Developer Preview lands with new app launch animations, better camera support for third-party apps, and improved haptics | Android Central
• The Sony Xperia 1 III is one of the last flagship phones for hardware fanatics | Android Central
• I can't get my hands on TCL's wild Fold 'n Roll concept phone soon enough | Android Central
• The $150 Fitbit Luxe is a fitness tracker with high-end sensors and plenty of style | Android Central
• Apple's Spring Loaded event debuts impressive Mini LED iPad Pro, AirTags, pricey new Apple TV 4K, and more | Android Central
• Apple's AirTag can work with Android phones — but not how you think | Android Central
• Why the Chromecast with Google TV beats the new Apple TV 4K on price and practicality | Android Central

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Jerry, Ara, and Daniel are here with a mixture of news, rumors, opinions, and apologies as they Pixel Watch leaks, the OnePlus Watch, an upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event, Amazon Echo Buds, and more.

• Alleged Pixel Watch leak shows us the Wear OS watch we've been waiting for | Android Central
• The Google Pixel Watch is not the magic bullet Wear OS has been waiting for | Android Central
• OnePlus Watch review: This isn't the smartwatch you've been waiting for | Android Central
• Samsung's 'most powerful Galaxy' teased for April 28 Galaxy Unpacked event | Android Central
• Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 2 will reportedly arrive sooner than expected | Android Central
• Amazon's new Echo Buds are the affordable AirPods Pro alternatives you've been waiting for | Android Central
• Google just accidentally leaked the upcoming Pixel Buds A | Android Central
• Google Pixel 5a 5G will get limited US and Japan release later this year, canceled in other regions | Android Central
• The global chip shortage means Google has to get its own chip in phones as soon as possible | Android Central
• Google's replacement for third-party cookies on Chrome is being blocked by other platforms | Android Central
• Google blocks the UK's NHS COVID-19 app update over privacy concerns | Android Central
• PS5 update adds USB storage for all games, SSD expansion coming in the future | Android Central

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