Welcome to In Brief, the AndroidGuys tech briefing. Today is Wednesday, October 17th, and we’re taking a look at all the tech news you need to know. In this post, we want you to learn about the news the way you want to learn. We’ve embedded a podcast version of all this news below. If you don’t want to listen, you can read just like you normally would.

In today’s edition, Spotify launches a new Wear OS app, the Mi Mix 3 could come with 10GB of RAM, and big news out of Essential.

We’d love feedback on this post, so please let us know what you think in the comments. If we can improve in some way, we’d love to know!

Brand new Spotify app coming to Wear OS

Despite its struggles over the last few years, Google is still seemingly committed to Wear OS. Not only is Google still on the horse, but various other services are also dedicated to providing a great wearable experience.

The latest company to show its commitment to Wear OS is Spotify. The music-streaming giant has announced a brand new standalone app for Wear OS.

The app will launch later this week, and will make it possible to browse through your favorite content from your wrist. Additionally, Spotify has partnered with Fossil Group to have the new app pre-installed on all Fossil Gen 4 and Michael Kors Access Runway smartwatches.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 will have 10GB of RAM

If you thought that we were done seeing new smartphones in 2018, then you would be wrong. Next up on the list will seemingly be the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3, which is set to be revealed on October 25th.

The company has started sending out press invitations for the official unveiling. The invite itself doesn’t share too much information, other than the fact that the Mi Mix 3 will be compatible with 5G.

Additionally, there is some information which suggests that there will be a variant launched with 10GB of RAM. This likely won’t be the entry-level version, but that much RAM in a smartphone is absolutely insane.

You can now pre-order the Pocophone F1 in the US from B&H

The Xiaomi Pocophone F1 was introduced back in September and has been one of the most exciting phones of the year. Until now, you had to rely on different websites to have the device imported from China.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Pocophone F1 Review

It seems that is all about to change as B&H Photo has the handset listed as available for pre-order. However, there are some issues for those that are interested in the Pocophone.

Namely, the carrier support is severely lacking, as there are no major LTE bands included with the device. If you can get past that, or just want a great handset with incredible specs, you can pre-order one for yourself today for just $369.99.

Essential lays off a-third of its staff

After reports surfaced that Essential was working on an “AI-centric” smartphone, those reports now be put to bed. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company confirmed that it has now laid off one-third of its staff.

Those laid off were primarily located in the hardware and sales divisions. In the statement, Essential claimed that they are still working on a new “truly game-changing consumer product”.

Considering that Essential only had a staff of 120 workers, this is a substantial blow. We are hoping to see the company rebound, but it may end up being too little too late.

RED Hydrogen One Specs are leaked ahead of launch

In July of 2017, the RED Hydrogen One was announced, with a unique focus on camera performance. Since then, the company has experienced a few issues, which has caused some delays.

It seems that we are finally nearing the launch as the spec sheet for the device has been leaked. The sheet reveals the Hydrogen One will sport dual 12.3MP rear-mounted sensors along with dual 8.3MP front-facing cameras.

We will also see a rather unique design with front-firing speakers, a huge 4500mAh battery, and more. The only information not shared was the processor, which is believed to be the Snapdragon 835 chipset.

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