News Weekly: TikTok ban gets pushed back again, Galaxy S25 Edge delayed, Galaxy Watch 8 leaks, and more
News Weekly
This is Android Central’s News Weekly, your go-to source for a concise roundup of the week’s most significant tech stories. This is where we delve into the top headlines that provide the latest developments and innovations contributing to the digital landscape.
The week the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge launch gets pushed, Galaxy Watch 8 shows up in a leak, President Trump extends Tiktok’s deadline for the second time, Older Samsung Galaxy could get One UI 7’s Now Brief, and dream batteries could be a reality for Samsung wearables. Let’s dive in!
U.S. TikTok users can breathe another sigh of relief
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TikTok seems to have dodged a ban in the U.S. for the second time, thanks to President Donald Trump.
“My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,” Trump wrote in the Truth Social post. “The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.”
The social media company had until April 5 to divest its U.S. operations; however, in a statement on the social media site Truth Social, Trump said that he had extended the deadline for TikTok’s sale of U.S. operations for another 75 days.
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, previously went offline for a brief period starting Jan. 19, 2025, but service was quickly restored. ByteDance spokesperson hinted that they’re working with the Government to make sure that the social media site isn’t taken down.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge launch delayed
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Samsung has supposedly pushed the launch of its slimmest smartphone, the Galaxy S25 Edge, by another month. According to previous leaks, it was allegedly going to launch on April 15; however, it seems like the company will now launch the phone on May 13.
WinFuture says sources close to Samsung told the publication that the launch of the Galaxy S25 Edge was postponed at the last minute and that Samsung was dealing with some “technical issues with the device, which made further testing necessary.”
Other publications feel that Samsung wanted to push the launch due to internal company matters, particularly after the sudden passing of Han Jong-hee, the company’s co-CEO.
Whatever the reason behind the delay, the Galaxy S25 Edge is one of Samsung’s most anticipated phones yet, but we might already have another date set for May.
Galaxy Watch 8 series could launch as a duo
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Early signs of the Galaxy Watch 8 series have sprouted. Batteries that are meant for the next Galaxy Watch 8 series have allegedly received the SafetyKorea certification, and the next generation of the Galaxy Watch will supposedly include two models: the Galaxy Watch 8 and the Galaxy Watch 8 classic.
Two batteries with the codenames EB-BL330ABY and EB-BL505ABY have been approved by the SafetyKorea authority, and the leak by XpertPick alleges that these batteries could be associated with the Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch 8 Classic.
In a separate leak, a user on X revealed information on the supposed firmware that will be built into these wearables. Theordysm spotted model numbers SM-L320, SM-L325U, SM-L330, and SM-L335U, which could hint at the different size variants of the Galaxy Watch 8. Meanwhile, SM-L500 and SM-L505 could be associated with the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic variant.
The new Galaxy Watch 8 series is expected to debut later this year along with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7 at its summer Unpacked event, the publication added. While we wait, here’s what we wish to see from the upcoming Galaxy Watch 8 series.
Samsung Galaxy S24 tipped to get ‘Now Brief’
Now Brief was notable missing with One UI 7 Beta 4 on the S24. But there’s still traces left in the code, and maybe a way to enable it 🤔 pic.twitter.com/f3D0iR5VSrFebruary 21, 2025
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A leak popped up earlier this week indicating that Samsung could drop a version of One UI 7’s Now Brief on the Galaxy S24 series, according to tipster Mehmet Kaya on X (via SamMobile). The rumor started after Kaya allegedly discovered the feature while searching “Activity Launcher” in the latest OS beta. And when you search for Now Brief it will bring up its respective page full of feature details, as well as its list of supported Samsung apps.
However, it’s important to note that users won’t be able to see the feature in action in the beta version. The tipster further indicated that Samsung has “disabled it,” which could indicate more work is required before it can be seen.
Another user, Josh Guy, backs this claim by stating that the Now Brief feature appeared on the Galaxy S24 in One UI 7 Beta 4. The user states that they had to do some “root level” digging to find “traces of code” to even access the core function, which seemingly indicates the Galaxy S24’s ability to run Now Brief.
Samsung confirmed One UI 7 will finally arrive on April 10 in the U.S. However, its fully detailed rollout schedule was discovered on its Czech Republic website, giving us a good idea of what to expect.
Future Samsung wearables could be powered by ‘dream batteries’
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Looks like Samsung could be working on “all-solid-state” batteries for its future wearables, specifically to power the next-gen Galaxy Ring.
A report by Money Today (Korean) claims that these batteries are nothing short of a “Dream Battery,” containing “solid electrolytes,” which will not only reduce the “risk of fire” but also exponentially increase the battery life of devices using them since these types of batteries are said to hold more energy.
While these batteries could get devices to last longer on a single charge, there’s also a downside to it. Rumors claim that implementing this new battery technology into the next Galaxy Ring could make it more costly as manufacturing such a battery is “much more” expensive than the lithium-ion alternative.
For now, it is rumored that Samsung will apply prototypes of this tech to the next Galaxy Ring “in the fourth quarter this year.” And could look to bring these dream batteries to earbuds in 2026 and a future Galaxy Watch in “late 2027.”
More stories this week
Those are some of the biggest stories from this week. Meanwhile, here are some other stories that are worth catching up on:
