In case you missed events and exciting news from the world of Android this week, check out this roundup of top stories, so you’re all caught up with everything Android.

This week, Huawei unveiled its first clamshell-style foldable smartphone, the P50 Pocket. The phone will rival the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip3. We also heard a rumor from leaker Evan Blass suggesting that the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will launch on January 11 next year. Additionally, a teardown of an early build of Android 13 revealed that the OS update would feature a new audio codec, app-specific language settings, and other quality of life improvements.

Huawei Unveils Its First Clamshell Foldable, the P50 Pocket

This week, Huawei pulled the wraps off its flagship foldable phone, named the P50 Pocket. The phone folds in half vertically like flip phones. The phone sports Huawei’s patented multi-dimensional hinge design, so the device is equally thick near the hinge and near the ends when folded shut, unlike the hinge used on the Galaxy Z Flip3. Despite the unique inclusion, the phone stays true to the design language of the company’s P50 lineup.

Huawei has equipped the phone with a 6.9-inch foldable screen on the inside that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR content playback, and full-spectrum DCI-P3 colors. The P50 Pocket is powered by a Snapdragon 888 processor mated to up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The phone has four color options, two of which are textured. It can be purchased in China for a starting price of ¥8,988 ($1,400).

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Tipped to Debut on January 11, 2022

Previous rumors indicated that the Galaxy S21 FE would debut in Q3 2021. However, several rumors later suggested the device would launch in January. This week, long-time leaker Evan Blass tweeted that the smartphone could make its debut on January 11. The speculation is independently corroborated by known industry insider Max Weinbach, analyst Ross Young, and tipster Jon Prosser. Prosser even claimed that Samsung will unveil the S21 FE at CES 2022 on January 4 ahead of its launch on January 11.

The Galaxy S21 FE is rumored to be powered by a Snapdragon 888 series or an Exynos 9 series processor paired with a 4,500mAh battery, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage. The phone is expected to feature expandable storage up to 1TB, a triple-camera setup on the rear, and minor tweaks over the S20 FE. We recommend you wait for the Galaxy S22 series to launch before deciding to buy a Galaxy S21 FE.

Leaked Initial Android 13 Build Reveals New Codec Support, More Notification Customizability

Android 12 has begun rolling out to end-users, and Android 12L beta is available ahead of its launch. This week, we saw XDA-Developers get their hands on an early build of Android 13. The software update comes with a number of minor yet noteworthy improvements, such as the support for a Bluetooth LE codec that promises high-quality audio transmission over BLE devices. Besides this, Android 13 will also let you allow/disallow notification access for new apps when you grant other permissions such as storage, location, etc.

Other useful features spotted on the early Android 13 build include “panlingual,” a feature that lets you define language preference for each app individually instead of having one system-wide language preference. The update could also bring battery optimizations through The Android Resource Economy (TARE). It rates apps on their power efficiency to let them perform tasks using a credits and payments system. Codenamed “Tiramisu,” Android 13 is still in the early stages of development, and several more features could be added.

Other Top Android Stories This Week:

• Creator Turns LG Wing’s Secondary Display into a Separate Smartphone
• Honor Teases Magic V, Its First Foldable Flagship Smartphone
• Google Announces It Won’t Be Physically Present at CES 2022 Amid COVID-19 Risk

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