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Android Pie hits 10 percent adoption two months ahead of its ancestors
Google left people in the dark regarding Android Pie's adoption for more than half a year, but it's finally lifting the curtain -- and Pie is doing better than its predecessors. Updated stats supplied to VentureBeat show that 10.4 percent of active users were using Pie after eight months. That may not sound like much, but it took about 10 months each for Oreo and Nougat to reach the 10 percent milestone. Google's efforts to spur Pie's uptake appear to have paid off, even if it's not a night-and-day difference.
Android can launch apps based on where you are
Google really wants the apps you use to take the context of where you are into account. Thus Nearby, a feature that uses Bluetooth and your device's GPS to deliver you apps based on where you are. The post on Google's official Android blog gives a few examples of how this might work: printing photos directly from your phone when you're in a CVS Pharmacy or using the Mobile Passport app to duck the customs line at certain airports.
Marshmallow is now on 10 percent of Android devices
The latest version of Android just hit a big, big milestone. Google's early June developer stats have revealed that Marshmallow is now on just over 10 percent of Android devices, representing a huge jump from just 2.3 percent in March. Notably, only some of that surge can be credited to people upgrading from Lollipop. While the not-quite-current version's adoption did go down (to 35.4 percent), the biggest declines in usage were for Jelly Bean and KitKat. In essence: many of those moving to Marshmallow may well have been replacing devices that were 3 or more years old.
Lollipop becomes the most popular version of Android
At last, there's a new flavor of Android on top of the heap. Google has published updated stats which show that Lollipop is now the most-used version of Android, snagging 36.1 percent of device share in early March versus former champ KitKat's 34.3 percent. It's a big milestone that suggests many Android users are using a reasonably modern take on the mobile platform.
You get what you pay for with Walmart's $10 Android phone
Walmart is known for its heavily discounted goods, and in another display of price-slashing has just announced that it will sell two Android smartphones for $10 each. Prior to this offer, the cheapest smartphone on the market was the $35 Firefox OS phone. Wondering what you get for $10? Well, not a whole lot. Both TracFone LG handsets (the Sunrise L15G and Lucky LG16) offer low-grade specs and old software, running Android 4.4 KitKat, the version released two years ago. However for that price, you shouldn't expect them to run Marshmallow. You also get WiFi, but no 4G and no front-facing camera which means it's going to be a lot harder to take a selfie. On the plus side, the phones support a microSD card which means you can ramp up the measly 4GB of storage. With all that said, there's no clear difference between the two models as all the specs and software are the same. However, if you want a bare-bones yet functional smartphone for less than the price of dinner, we're sure you know where to find a Walmart. [Image credit: LG]
The Ora-X smart headphones include a flippable AR display
Google Glass was, by all accounts, a spectacular flop in the eyes of potential consumers. Now, another company hopes to succeed where Google has failed by incorporating an AR display into a device people are far more familiar with: over-ear headphones.
Nearly a quarter of Android users are running Lollipop
Android Lollipop is enjoying its last, shining moment in the sun before Marshmallow arrives in earnest. Google's not-quite-current operating system now accounts for 23.5 percent of active Android users, a healthy 2.5-point boost from what you saw just one month ago. That's still trailing behind Jelly Bean (30.2 percent) and KitKat (38.9 percent), but it's clear that all those new devices and upgrades are starting to add up. The real question is whether or not that momentum will last. Marshmallow is arriving relatively quickly, and shouldn't suffer from the early performance and battery life woes that kept some people from upgrading last year. If the newer release catches on quickly, Lollipop might not reach the lofty adoption rates of its predecessors.
Break me off a piece of that YouTube bar
Remember when Google teamed up with Nestle and went and named a flavor of Android after a four-fingered chocolate bar? Turns out it wasn't the last we'd see from this unlikely partnership. To celebrate 80 years since the KitKat went on sale, the two companies announced today that 600,000 "limited edition" packs will feature the name "YouTube Break" instead of the familiar KitKat logo in the UK. According to Nestle, it'll form just one of 72 different "breaks" that will feature on more than 400 wrapper designs. The plan is to produce 100 million packs, with the search giant only playing a small role. That said, YouTube will get involved, allowing smartphone owners to watch the day's top trending videos with a "OK Google, YouTube my break" voice search. If you didn't think things could get more sickly sweet, Google and Nestle just proved you wrong.
Study says Android 4.0 and iOS 8 are most likely to crash your apps
Ever had the feeling that certain phone operating systems are more likely to crash your apps than others? It's not just you. Crittercism has posted its latest breakdown of crash reports from about 20,000 apps, and it's clear that certain operating systems aren't as friendly as others. On Android, Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) is most likely to wreck your day; KitKat (4.4) is close behind, while Lollipop's early reputation for glitches apparently doesn't affect apps. With Apple devices, however, the tables turn. While iOS' app crash rate is lower overall, iOS 8 is a bit more problematic than its predecessor. That's not surprising given that Apple hasn't had as much time to tackle issues in 8, but you may feel better if you're still holding on to 7.
Android Lollipop is slowly (very slowly) hitting more devices
Lollipop didn't exactly take the Android world by storm when it first launched. Early adoption was slow enough that it made no real impact in usage share stats for the first couple of months. People are starting to take to Google's latest dessert-flavored OS, however -- it's finally on the official radar. Google's data now shows that about 1.6 percent of active Android users were using Lollipop as of the start of February. That's certainly not a lot, but it's clear that all those Nexuses and early Lollipop upgrades (most notably from HTC, LG and Motorola) count for something.
Lollipop isn't making a dent in Android usage numbers (yet)
Now that Android 5.0 Lollipop is finally rolling out to devices around the globe, you might be wondering just how much of an impact it's making on the Android ecosystem. The short answer: not much. Google has released its latest Android usage stats, and Lollipop doesn't even register yet -- in other words, less than 0.1 percent of Google Play users have moved to the new software. That's not surprising given that both the upgrade and Lollipop-native devices like the Nexus 6 are weeks old at best, but it suggests that the new OS will take a while before it makes its presence known.
KitKat is now running on more than 20 percent of Android devices
In case there was any doubt that KitKat now has a solid foothold in the Android world, Google just offered some proof. Its usage data for early August shows that KitKat is on more than a fifth of active Android devices, at 20.9 percent. That's a healthy improvement over July (17.9 percent), and a big leap over the 14.9 percent we saw in June. The folks in Mountain View aren't explaining the steady growth, but it's easy to figure out what's going on -- big-name devices like the LG G3 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S are bringing this latest OS flavor to a wider audience, and many older gadgets are still getting upgrades.
Kogan's latest phone one-ups the Moto G LTE with a bigger screen
The Moto G LTE offers a lot of smartphone for the money, but Kogan reckons that's not quite enough value for your hard-earned cash -- the Aussie outfit just brought its latest smartphone, the Agora 4G, to the US and UK. Pay the same $219 (£149) you would for Motorola's device and you'll get a larger 5-inch screen, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a beefier 2,500mAh battery on top of speedy LTE data (on AT&T) and a quad-core Snapdragon processor. Sounds great, doesn't it?
ASUS MeMO Pad 7 and 8 review: small, speedy tablets that cut a few corners
The MeMO Pad HD 7 was arguably the sleeper hit among small tablets in 2013. ASUS' device didn't have the speed of the Nexus 7 or the interface tricks of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 3 line, but it was superbly balanced. It ran smoothly, packed smart software and (most importantly) carried a sub-$200 price. For that reason, this year's MeMO Pad 7 and 8 are potentially exciting; they stick to that familiar formula while bringing in faster processors and a fresher interface. What's not to like? As you'll find out in our review, there are a few aspects that definitely need improvement, or even take steps backward -- but it's also clear that ASUS has budget-tablet design down to a science.
HTC Desire 816 review: A mid-range M8 let down by sluggish cameras
HTC may have some problems behind closed doors, but outside, it's still widely regarded as one of the world's top phone makers. We already gave this year's One M8 flagship a rather jolly review, and now it's time to see if the same qualities are preserved in its mid-range counterpart, the Desire 816. Indeed, back at Mobile World Congress, HTC called this $390 LTE phablet the "flagship mid-range" to emphasize its competitiveness. But has it lived up to its name? Or is it too little, too late in a world full of affordable options? Let's find out.
Samsung unveils a quartet of Android smartphones for the budget crowd
Not everyone can justify splurging on a powerhouse phone like the Galaxy S5, and Samsung clearly knows it -- the tech firm just unveiled four Android KitKat handsets for frugal types. The Galaxy Core II (shown here) is the standout of the bunch, although it's a curious case of taking two steps forward and one step back. While it has a larger 4.5-inch (if still WVGA) screen and a much faster quad-core 1.2GHz processor, it also drops from 1GB to 768MB of RAM and cuts the built-in storage in half, to 4GB. Thank goodness there's a microSD card slot, or that storage could get cramped very quickly.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S review: slim design, long battery life, stunning screen
It'd be silly of me to talk about tablets in the past tense -- we still write stories about them daily and clearly, we review them, too. But of the ones we've seen lately, most have been low-end; mid-range at best. The market for high-end slates, once crowded with companies big and small, now looks more like a fraternity. At this point, the only players left are mostly big names like Apple, Microsoft, Sony. And, of course, Samsung. The outfit just announced the Galaxy Tab S, its flagship tablet for 2014. Available in 8.4- and 10.5-inch sizes, it comes armed with the best possible specs, including a stunning 2,560 x 1,600 Super AMOLED screen, 12-hour battery life and a slim build that measures just 6.6mm thick. In addition, Samsung added a fingerprint reader (still a rarity on tablets) and free goodies like popular magazines, Dropbox storage and a six-month Wall Street Journal subscription. The tablet's up for pre-order now, starting at $400 for the 8-inch model and $500 for the 10-incher. So, you can't test-drive it yet, but, as it happens, I've been playing with it for almost a week. Suffice to say, I've enjoyed myself. Mostly.
The next version of Android will enhance battery life, speed up apps
Several months ago, Google added an experimental runtime option to speed up apps in Android 4.4 KitKat. A runtime, for the record, supports the apps running on your device -- without it they'd be nothing but piles of useless code. Called ART (short for Android Runtime), that same mode will become the default when Mountain View releases the next version of its operating system. Developers spotted tweaks to Android's open-source code indicating the upcoming change, and the update looks to be a positive one. Without getting bogged down in details, ART essentially makes apps run faster and more efficiently, with the downside being that they'll take up slightly more space on your phone, as well as lengthier install times.
KitKat is now on nearly 14 percent of Android devices
You know how Apple was keen to point out that only 9 percent of Android users (technically, 8.5 percent) were running KitKat in May? Well, that figure's now out of date. Google has published fresh usage stats which show that 13.6 percent of Android owners are using KitKat as of early June. That's still far from a majority, but it represents a 60 percent jump in a single month. It's not hard to see why the newer OS would be making such big strides. Major new phones like the HTC One and Galaxy S5 have had more time on the market, and KitKat upgrades are still making their way to older gadgets.
Meet the One, OnePlus' $299 Nexus killer
Rarely do we see a tech startup spending five months actively hyping up an unborn product; and when we do, most of them end up being vaporware. Luckily, that's not the case with OnePlus. Today, the Shenzhen-based company has finally unveiled its first smartphone, the One (not to be confused with the HTC One). While the device's impressive specs have already been listed in detail beforehand, OnePlus had remained tight-lipped about the actual prices (unsubsidized) until today: $299/£229/€269 for the 16GB model, and $349/£269/€299 for the 64GB flavor; both due mid to late May. This aggressive pricing is obviously going right after the Nexus 5 ($349 for 16GB, $399 for 32GB), but is this too good to be true?
