The Weekly Authority: ???? Everything Google I/O

⚡ Welcome to The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 244th edition here and it’s that time of year again, Google I/O! If you missed Wednesday’s big event, we’ve got all the updates. Also in this week’s TWA, we’ve got loads of Motorola Razr 40 Ultra leaks, Sony’s Xperia 1 V launch, the latest on Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal, and Google and Wendy’s AI drive-through makeover — plus pricing, specs, and a release date for the ASUS ROG Ally.

????️ Since hearing about Sony’s shutdown of PixelOpus, I’ve started playing Concrete Genie, and it’s such a colorful, addictive little game; plus, it’s currently included with PS Plus Premium.

• Weekend viewing at the ready: Our pick of the week’s best new streaming movies, including Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-nominated The Fabelmans.
• If you prefer a new show to dive into, the week’s best new streaming shows include FX thriller miniseries Class of ’09 and Apple TV Plus’ City on Fire.
• Disney combines Hulu and Disney Plus, will raise price of ad-free plans.
• Does Peacock have live TV? We cover what’s included with your Peacock subscription at the free and paid tiers.
• Marvel’s Blade pre-production is on hold due to the Hollywood writers’ strike.
• Elsewhere, we saw a first teaser for Yorgos Lanthimos’ next movie: Poor Things will star Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Remy Youseff, and Christopher Abbott.
• Following last week’s teaser, Black Mirror unveiled episode titles for Season 6: Joan is Awful, Loch Henry, Beyond the Sea, Mazey Day, and Demon ’79.
• And Dan Stevens joins the cast of the Scream Team’s as-yet-untitled monster movie known as Radio Silence, also starring Melissa Barrera (Scream) and Alisha Weir.
• Also: Good Omens Season 2 is coming this summer, premiering July 28 on Amazon Prime Video.

• ASUS ROG Ally price, full specs, release date announced, and there’s not long to wait for the Z1 Extreme model.
• Sad times: It looked like we might be saying goodbye to the best Nintendo Switch emulator for Android – but wait! It might live on as Strato.
• Speaking of, here’s everything we know so far about the Nintendo Switch 2, and what we want to see.
• More sad news: Sony is shutting down PixelOpus, the studio behind Concrete Genie.
• Speaking of Sony, 23 games hit PS Plus Extra, Premium next Week in big update, including Humanity and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launched on Switch Friday — a new trailer targets an unexpected demographic, and reviews are in, with The Guardian calling it “pure magic,” and Eurogamer saying, “Tears of the Kingdom is an astonishing, quite literally top-to-bottom sequel, adding complexity and splendor to the Breath of the Wild formula without sacrificing its enchantment.”
• European Commission reportedly set to approve Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal, as soon as next week.
• Meanwhile, Hollow Knight: Silksong is delayed, but no further news yet on when we can expect to see it.
• And NYC’s Tribeca Festival will feature several upcoming video games plus a documentary about Hideo Kojima.

Grab a cuppa and settle in as we’re about to dive deep into everything from Google I/O 2023, which took place on Wednesday.

All things Android 14

First up, some Android 14-related announcements.

Hardware highs

Of course, there was a ton of hardware revealed at the event, too, including the Pixel 7a, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet.

We already knew a ton about the phone thanks to the constant stream of leaks and rumors, but in a first for A series Pixels, the Pixel 7a revealed its 90Hz display refresh rate and wireless charging — even if it is super slow at just 7.5W).

• Otherwise, there were no great surprises on the specs front: Under the hood, the Pixel 7a‘s powered by Google’s Tensor G2 chip, with a plastic back to keep costs down and the dual-lens camera system we’d expected, though the main lens gets an upgrade to 65MP.
• There are no pre-orders, and the Pixel 7a is available to buy now, but it’ll cost you more than the Pixel 6a did at launch, with a $50 price hike. It’s $499 in the US, just $100 less than the Pixel 7, $599 (CAD) in Canada, £499 in the UK, and €509 in the rest of Europe.

We finally saw the Pixel Fold, which Google claims is the thinnest foldable on the market (well, in the markets it’s sold in, at any rate). It also sports a more compact form factor than the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

• Specs-wise, it’s powered by the Tensor G2 chip, with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB or 512GB of onboard storage, plus a 120Hz FHD+ 2,092 x 1,080 OLED display.
• Like Samsung’s foldables, the Pixel Fold has a Flex Mode-style ability, and you can also take selfies with the main camera, using the cover screen as a viewfinder.
• As for battery life, it packs a 4,821mAh battery with 30W fast charging and wireless charging.
• Pre-orders are now open, though the phone isn’t yet available: general sales start in June.
• It’s only available in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan, and anyone pre-ordering will get a free Pixel Watch (unless you’re in Japan).

We first laid eyes on Google’s Pixel Tablet at last year’s Google I/O, and pre-orders are now live, with in-store availability coming June 20.

• You can grab the Pixel Tablet in Porcelain, Hazel, or Rose, with 128GB or 256GB of onboard UFS 3.1 storage.
• It’s available in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK, and the rest of Europe, starting from $499/£599/€679/CA $699 for the 8GB/128GB model — around $20 more than the OnePlus Pad.
• As for other specs, the Pixel Tablet packs a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution LCD display, Tensor G2 chip, 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, 128GB or 256GB of onboard UFS 3.1 storage, and 8MP front and rear cameras.

There was also a whole slew of the usual other announcements outside of hardware:

• We saw announcements for Bard’s AI art generator, Google Maps Immersive View for routes, RCS, Google Home, Find My Device, and more.
• Then there were the AI announcements with updates, including PaLM2, Google Photos Magic Editor, Search, and Gmail’s “Help me Write.” Plus, Google’s opening up Bard to more users, and more countries.
• And here’s how you can try out Google’s exciting new AI-powered features for yourself in Google Labs.
• We also got some smaller reveals, like the new Pixel Buds A series colorway, Samsung’s XR headset, and the Pixel Tablet’s clever case. And Google announced Wear OS 4 is coming later this year, with a developer preview out now.
• Plus, a surprise! Google showed off a teaser for a new notebook concept, Project Tailwind, which is aimed at students and will be an “AI-first” notebook trained off of your documents.

Tech Calendar

• June 1 (TBC): Motorola’s two Razr foldables launch?
• June 1: Meta Quest VR gaming showcase
• June 5: Apple WWDC (Reality One or Reality Pro mixed-reality headset?)
• June 8: Summer Game Fest
• June 11: Xbox Games Showcase
• June 12: Ubisoft event
• June 13: ASUS Rog Ally Z1 Extreme model on sale
• June 20: Pixel Tablet goes on sale in stores

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.