⚡ Welcome to The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter breaking down the week’s top Android and tech news. Edition 209 here, with our Galaxy Z Flip 4 review, a new Google folding patent, Apple’s Far Out event, an upcoming Days Gone movie — and more. 👻 This week I’m going to the Edinburgh Festival to see (or should that be heard?) three of Darkfield’s exciting shows, Eulogy, Flight and Seance — and I’m not going to lie, I’m super scared but also excited!

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Social media:

Spammed by the Facebook bug that flooded users’ feeds with endless posts from celebrity accounts? Creepy: TikTok Tracks Your Keystrokes — The company’s in-app browser could track your activity on external websites and could even capture your credit card details or passwords. Twitter’s security is a huge mess, according to whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, who was just fired as Twitter’s chief security officer and wrote a report outlining a number of issues, including that “more than half of Twitter employees had direct access to the service’s live code and data.” Elon Musk is subpoenaing Jack Dorsey as he prepares for his Oct. 17 trial — the subpoena “seeks information related to fake or spam accounts and information about how Twitter reports spam accounts.”

Somewhere else:

A $1,200 phone was the most popular Android phone in North America in the second quarter of 2022. A surprise Fitbit launch on Wednesday saw Fitbit launch three new wearables: the Fitbit 2, Versa 4 and Inspire 3 are all available for pre-order now. And Sony announced an event on September 1, hinting at a compact device, which could mean the Xperia 5 IV is coming. The post-Leica Huawei Mate 50 series officially launches next month, almost two years after the Mate 40 series. This week also saw the launch of the DJI Avata hybrid racing drone which is easy to fly and offers a fun experience. Now even Redmi Note phones may skip the charger in the box: No phone line safe? Leak reveals Bose’s upcoming QuietComfort Earbuds II: they look a lot more compact. And this modern Chromebook prototype is made from recycled materials — not at all improbable in terms of performance either. Elsewhere, T-Mobile is bringing Starlink satellite coverage to users, with a beta program expected by the end of next year — but there’s a lot of coverage involved. Tesla is raising the price of Full Self-Driving mode to $15,000 in North America, up from an already high $12,000. Speaking of which, Tesla wants videos of its cars running over child-sized dummies taken down, it claims are defamatory. And UK drivers may not be liable for accidents when their vehicle is autonomous later this decade. Instead, the builders will take the fall. Also: The data privacy bill would give you more control over the information collected about you and force companies to change the way they handle data. Finally this week: DuckDuckGo is now offering its anti-tracking email service to everyone and adding new features.

Movies/TV:

Over 10 million tuned in for the premiere of House of the Dragon, but just how much do you know about Game of Thrones? We also have some shows like House of the Dragon that you will enjoy. Speaking of fantasy, we’ve seen a new LOTR: The Rings of Power trailer, and we’re stoked — we also asked which you’re more excited for, House of the Dragon or The Rings of Power… We got a tantalizing 20-second look at HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation, featuring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie. Speaking of adaptations, Sony is reportedly making a Days Gone movie, which may seem like an odd choice, but is likely due to the game’s newfound success on PC. And Umbrella Academy creator Steve Blackman is adapting Horizon Zero Dawn for Netflix. Good news: Netflix’s ad-supported tier may not play ads during newer original movies, possibly children’s content. Meanwhile, a new Google TV update finally improves speed and storage. It’s been a week of security breaches: You should change your Plex password now, as the service announced a possible data breach, and on Friday, LastPass also confirmed a breach, though the company said user data and passwords were not compromised. Cineworld, the world’s number two cinema chain, is preparing to file for bankruptcy. And the revamped MoviePass returns on Labor Day, launching a new invite-only beta service — the service has already partnered with a quarter of U.S. movie theaters, with prices ranging from $10 to $30 a month. A new film based on the rise and fall of BlackBerry was recently completed. Yes really.

Games:

Critics

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Characteristics

Ryan McLeod / Android Authority

Weekly Wonder

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority I’m still surrounded by moving boxes, so I thought for this week’s edition of the Weekly Wonder, I’d look at a few tech-related things that can help with your move. Last week my colleague C. Scott Brown wrote about moving house and how he realized that saving boxes of tech products was useless.

I have to admit, I’m guilty of accumulating boxes of tech products myself, with a “you never know when you might need it” mentality. However, it’s definitely one more thing to sort and pack amongst a mountain of stuff, and I’ve finally realized that the smaller I can make that mountain, the less stressful my move will be. I’ve reserved about 90% of my tech boxes, only keeping a few for larger items that are still under warranty, but they double as packing for moving items, so I think it works.

We asked you if you kept your tech product boxes, and it turns out that very few of you throw away all of your boxes, with the majority (45.2%) saying they only threw away some of their boxes. Almost as many of you (44.5%) kept all your tech boxes, with just 10.3% of readers polled saying they threw all their boxes out — and that’s probably a reasonable option if you’re dealing with limited space storage.

Get around with your smart home technology

There is so much to think about when moving house, including migrating your smart home technology, as well as considering home security for your new place.

Smart doorbells, thermostats, locks and outdoor security cameras — as well as other hard-mounted products — can be cumbersome to move, so it might make more sense to leave them behind. It’s often easier to invest in a new wireless security camera, smart video doorbell, or window coverings like smart blinds or shades rather than taking your existing smart home technology with you, though that can be prohibitive given the seemingly never-ending costs of moving.

Fortunately, this isn’t an issue for my move – I’m moving from an older property that doesn’t even have electric lighting in all the rooms, let alone any smart home technology. One thing I know for sure through all of this is the importance of getting enough sleep to combat the stress of commuting. Sleep tracking apps are really helpful here, as are meditation apps — Calm helped me stay sane, but there are plenty of other good options out there.

Technical Calendar

Now through August 28: Gamescom September 1: OnePlus 10T pre-orders open (US) September 1st @ 3am ET: Sony Xperia (Xperia 5 IV?) launch event September 2-6: IFA Berlin September 6: Presentation of the Huawei Mate 50 series September 7th @ 10am PT (1 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CET): Apple’s Far Out event September 10 at 9 p.m. CEST: Ubisoft Forward Exhibition September 29: OnePlus 10T Sale October 6: Presentation of the Pixel 7? (TBC) October 13: Pixel 7 Sale? (TBC) November 8: Skull and Bones Release Date on Xbox Series S/X, PS5, PC,…