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Valentine's Day sale drops prices on Nexus 6P, 5X
If the earlier price drop for the Nexus 5X wasn't quite enough to make you pull the trigger, you might want to look again. Google has quietly slashed its official store's price on the 5X once again, to $299; we understand that European prices have dropped, too. It's not clear how permanent this cut will be, but it's making the reference Android phone that much more tempting compared to upper-mid-range competition from the likes of Motorola or OnePlus. Just be patient -- we've seen at least some reports that the Nexus 5X is out of stock, so you may have to wait a little while to plunk down some cash. Update: The Google Store listing reveals this is part of a Valentines Day promotion, which also includes a $50 price cut on the (matte gold-only) Nexus 6P. Also, 6P buyers can get an additional $50 off towards the purchase of a Huawei Watch.
Google Now launcher forces Android apps to literally fit in
Anyone wringing their hands over the fact that their Android apps just don't line up flush will be delighted with an update to Google Now's launcher -- the de facto home screen for Nexus-branded Android phones like the 6P. In response to the fact that some Android app makers aren't following Google's guidelines, those rogues, the company has taken it into its own hands, forcing consistent icon size inside the launcher. The main difference: oversized logos chill out a bit, shrinking to fit Google's in-house apps and third-party app icons that followed the rules.
Google's Nexus 5X now starts at $349
If you've been looking for an excuse to buy Google's latest entry-level smartphone, the Nexus 5X, here's your chance. Today, the search company announced a permanent price cut for the LG-made device, bringing down the cost of its 16GB and 32GB models to $349 and $399, respectively. This, of course, will make the Nexus 5X even more appealing to people, as it has received nothing but great reviews from the press -- including us, where it tallied a total of 88 in the Engadget Score.
Huawei just brought the gold Nexus 6P to the US
The Nexus 6P is our favorite Android phone on the market right now, but let's face it: the Aluminum, Graphite and Frost finish options don't have enough pizazz for everyone. To help up the phone's baller quotient, Huawei just announced that the matte Gold version of the phone will see the light of day in the United States. Yep, its days as a Japan and India exclusive are over — the thing will be available at Best Buy stores and Google's starting at 1PM Pacific time today, also known as right now. Consider it a CES miracle.
Google drops Nexus 5X and 6P prices by $50 for the holidays
Google announced on Wednesday that it has reduced the price for its flagship Nexus 6P and 5X handsets by $50. That means you can pick up a 6P or a 5X for as little as $450 and $330, respectively (and depending on how much onboard memory you spring for). What's more, the company is offering free overnight shipping throughout the holiday season. The discount promotion runs through December 22nd while free shipping lasts until December 30th. These deals are only available to customers in the US and Japan, mind you. So if you're in the market for one of these phones and don't want to go through your carrier to get it, now is the time to act.
Android's new emoji arrive next week on Nexus devices
Android head Hiroshi Lockheimer said new emoji were on the way, and now they're right around the corner. The Google exec revealed that next week Nexus devices will be updated with the new taco, unicorn and lion face emoji that are part of the Unicode 8.0 standard. The change will require a "new keyboard, new font, new code" so it means a full system upgrade is on the way (as far as any other changes, Lockheimer is declining to "ruin the surprise"). If you don't have a Nexus phone, you'll have to wait for your manufacturer to push the upgrade... eventually. No matter how long that takes, emoji addicts will be happy to see Android picking up the pace on its Unicode support, following Apple which added the latest standard to iOS 9.1 and OS X El Capitan.
New in our buyer's guide: The iPhone 6s, Surface Book and much more
Sorry we haven't updated the buyers's guide in a couple months -- we've been too busy pumping out reviews of all the new devices. Now that things have finally started to slow down (fingers crossed), let's take a step back and look at all the awesome stuff we've had a chance to test this fall. For starters, there's a bunch of excellent smartphones that we absolutely need to add to our guide. Namely: the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the Nexus 6P and 5X, and the Moto X Pure. On the tablet side, we're inducting both the iPad mini 4 and the Surface Pro 4. Microsoft makes another appearance in the laptop section, where we've added the Surface Book, along with Dell's Chromebook 13. Rounding out the list, we threw in a few miscellaneous items, including the new Xbox One Elite Wireless controller, the redesigned Sonos Play:5 wireless speaker and Google's $35 Chromecast Audio.
New Android exploit can hack any handset in one shot
Hackers have discovered a critical exploit in Chrome for Android reportedly capable of compromising virtually every version of Android running the latest Chrome. Quihoo 360 researcher Guang Gong demonstrated the vulnerability to the PSN2OWN panel at the PacSec conference in Tokyo yesterday. While the inner workings of the exploit are still largely under wraps, we do know that it leverages JavaScript v8 to gain full administrative access to the victim's phone.
Google's Nexus 5X phone is now on sale in the UK
Google's successor to the much-loved Nexus 5 smartphone has arrived. The LG-developed Nexus 5X is now available via the Google Store in the UK, starting at £339 for the 16GB model. There are three colours to choose from -- carbon (black), quartz (white) and ice (mint) -- with the option to double your storage for another £40. To save a little cash, however, you might want to order through Carphone Warehouse instead, as the retailer is selling both the 16GB and 32GB models SIM-free for £40 cheaper. The new not-quite-flagship, if you need a reminder, boasts a 5.2-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 808 processor and the marshmallowy goodness of Android 6.0. While not as luxurious as the Nexus 6P, it's capable and should appeal to those still resisting the phablet trend.
Nexus 5X review: Google's triumphant return to smaller, cheaper phones
While the Nexus 6 received plenty of praise when it debuted last year, it also got its fair share of flack. Why? Because it was just too big. For many, the Nexus 6 was the size of a tiny giant, with its 5.96-inch display and 10.1mm-thick profile that dwarfed smaller hands. Additionally, it started at $649, whereas the previous-gen Nexus 5 cost just $349. Not wanting to disappoint its customers, Google decided to release two handsets instead of one this year: the pricier 5.7-inch Nexus 6P (made by Huawei and starting at $499 for 32GB) for those who do indeed want a larger phone, and the cheaper 5.2-inch 5X (made by LG and starting at $379 for 16GB) for those who wanted a sequel to the original 5. While it may certainly be the smaller and lower-end device of the pair, I found the 5X to be far better than I anticipated, delivering plenty of value for the money.
Nexus 6P review: Google gets better at big phones
Every year, like clockwork, Google and some popular phone maker cook up a handset to be a standard-bearer for the newest version of Android. Well, maybe not every year: This time around there are two of them. While the LG-made Nexus 5X is a direct successor to the beloved Nexus 5, things aren't quite as straightforward with Huawei's Nexus 6P. It's a sleeker, smaller, more powerful take on the phablet formula Google and Motorola tried to crack with the Nexus 6, and it seems to hit all the right notes. Hell, with a price tag that starts at $499, it's even cheaper than its predecessor. All that said, there's never been a better time to be in the market for a new phone -- Android or otherwise -- which means the Nexus 6P faces some stiff competition.
Android Marshmallow begins rolling out to Nexus devices today
As expected, Nexus owners are in for a treat this week as Google's latest OS revisions begins rolling out to select devices. According to a post on the Official Android Blog, the Nexus 5, 6, 7 (the 2013 model), 9 and Player are all in line to receive the over-the-air software update starting today. The newly released Nexus 5x and 6P handsets, of course, come with Marshmallow already installed. [Image Credit: Shutterstock]
Ask the Nexus 5X and 6P developers anything right now on Reddit
The team behind the Nexus 5X and 6P will be on Reddit today starting at 11AM PT, answering all kinds of questions about the new smartphones. The 6P, you'll recall, is Google's sturdy, sophisticated collaboration with Huawei, while the 5X is a smaller LG model with some seemingly nice upgrades.
Google and LG's 5X is the Nexus for the rest of us
When Google (and Motorola) showed off the Nexus 6 last year, most nerds were excited. Others, making up a surprisingly vocal minority, reacted as though the companies dropped ice cubes down the backs of their shirts. Bigger isn't always better, and they were more than a little concerned that the days of easy-to-grip Nexus phones were nearly over. They were wrong. To go with the big-screened Nexus 6P, Google once again teamed up with LG on a Nexus 5 -- the 5X this time -- and it's shaping up to be the successor that N5 fans have been hoping for.
Meet the Nexus 6P, Google and Huawei's shockingly svelte flagship
After last year's unwieldy attempt, Google had to think a little more carefully about how its nerd-friendly Nexus line should work and feel. Rather than just offer one new phone today, Google showed off two -- the Nexus 5X and 6P -- meant for different subsets of people. The former? It provides enough horsepower for the masses in a body that normal humans won't have trouble carrying (and I'll have a deeper dive ready shortly). The 6P, on the other hand, is the more sophisticated cousin, and more impressive than it might look at first glance.
The After Math: Google Nexus 2015 press event
Google held a press conference in San Francisco this morning to announce a slew of new and updated devices. We saw two powerful new mobile phones, the Nexus 5x and 6P, as well as a new iteration of the Chromecast (and its new audio-only cousin). Google also unveiled its take on the Microsoft Surface with its Pixel C convertablet. Here's how all these new products stack up, by the numbers. Get all the news from today's Google event right here.
The Nexus 5X vs. the competition: Smaller is still powerful
If last year's Nexus 6 was too big for your hands, this year Google and LG have scaled things back a bit with the Nexus 5X. It sports a more manageable 5.2-inch screen size, while also dropping some new features into the mix like USB Type-C and Nexus Imprint. But are these added bells and whistles enough to carve out a space for LG's new Nexus among smaller flagship handsets? We've stacked up the 5X versus the similarly-sized Galaxy S6 as well as Apple's latest 4.7-inch iPhone to find out.
Android Marshmallow reaches devices next week
Anxious to know when Android 6.0 Marshmallow will reach your existing devices? Google is more than happy to oblige. Existing Nexus devices will start getting Marshmallow next week, including the 5, 6, 7, 9 and Player. And of course, if you spring for the shiny-new Nexus 5X or 6P, you'll get Marshmallow right out of the box. There's no word on third-party device updates just yet, but we'd expect news from some manufacturers in the near future. Be prepared to wait longer than Nexus owners, though -- other companies' customized takes on Android typically require more time in the oven. Get all the news from today's Google event right here.
Google's Android Sensor Hub knows how your Nexus is moving
In addition to its new Nexus 5X and 6P handsets, Google also revealed a low-power secondary processor during its September 29th event. This added chip resides in both models. It's called the Android Sensor Hub and acts to monitor the device's movement, not unlike the co-processor in the new iPhone 6s. The dedicated processor connects directly to the camera's sensors to reduce the phone's overall power consumption. This chip allows the phone to run advanced activity-recognition algorithms that, say, notice when you start a run or hop on your bike -- even if you haven't turned on the screen. This feature also will allow users to subtly check their notifications. With the Sensor Hub, the phone knows when it's been picked up and will automatically display notifications in a low-power white-on-black text until the screen has been properly activated.
LG is making another Nexus: meet the Nexus 5X
The rumors are true: LG is back to build Google's 5.2-inch Nexus 5X. Leaked repeatedly over the last few weeks, the specs aren't much of a surprise -- or outpacing the also just-announced Nexus 6P -- but it's still packing quite a bit of power, featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 12.3MP rear camera that's capable of shooting 4K video and boasts laser-assisted autofocus and dual flashes. There's a 2,700mAh battery inside, and it's going to be available in both 16GB and 32GB versions with colors including black, white and ice blue. Nexus 5X pricing starts at $379; it will begin shipping in late October and two years of Nexus Protect coverage is available for $69. Update: Pre-ordering for the Nexus 5X (and all the other new hardware) is live now.
