lundi 10 octobre 2016

Lior Tal Replaces Kirt McMaster as Cyanogen Inc. CEO

Cyanogen Inc. is undergoing a bit of reform recently. The team had laid off a large portion of its staff in late July 2016, and there were reports and refusals of Cyanogen Inc. shifting focus towards apps. Cyanogen Inc. refuted by stressing on the point that they were still an OS company, but their latest announcement mentions otherwise.

Cyanogen NOT pivoting to apps. We are an OS company and our mission of creating an OPEN ANDROID stands. FALSE reporting was outstanding.

— Kirt McMaster (@cyanogenone) July 25, 2016

As the Cyanogen Blog notes, the changes that Cyanogen Inc. is undergoing right now is the departure of Kirt McMaster from the role of CEO of the company. Kirt, famously quoted for his desire to "put a bullet through Google's head", is handing over the managerial reins of the company to Lior Tal, who was appointed as the COO around the same time the layoffs came. Kirt's current position within Cyanogen Inc. is of Executive Chairman, which as he reportedly notes, is more external-facing than internal. To add to the position shuffling, Steve Kondik is stepping down from his role of CTO and taking up the role of "Chief Science Officer", and will be reporting to Stephen Lawler, who is currently Cyanogen Inc's SVP of Engineering.

The other part of the changes comes with Cyanogen Inc. (and NOT CyanogenMod — sorry, but this needed to be made clear) moving out of the complete OS (full stack) business and venturing into a "modular" approach which is being called the Cyanogen Modular OS Program.

The new partnership program offers smartphone manufacturers greater freedom and opportunity to introduce intelligent, customizable Android smartphones using different parts of the Cyanogen OS via dynamic modules and MODs, with the ROM of their choice, whether stock Android or their own variant.

If we understand correctly, this is exactly what they had earlier refuted — moving from the OS business to Apps, albeit the form of it may have changed through the concept of MOD.

The announcement blog also mentions this:

At the same time, the program will offer the broader eco-system and developers the opportunity to tap into Cyanogen's expanding Artificial Intelligence cloud services, which learn usage patterns throughout the operating system and introduce smarter and more effective ways to resolve intent and interact with smartphones in a personalized and highly contextual way.

Details on the exact workings are sparse on this topic. Rather than speculate on what it is, we hope that more information is released on Cyanogen Inc's AI Cloud Services.

We will have to wait and watch what other developments take place with and within Cyanogen Inc., and whether their new mission is more feasible than their old one. With the reduced staff, a new CEO and a different purpose, Cyanogen Inc. certainly has another uphill battle ahead of it.

What are your thoughts on the recent changes within Cyanogen Inc.? How do you think these would affect the existing Android ecosystem? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Cyngn Blog

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Samsung Temporarily Halts Production of Note 7; US Carriers Halt Sales

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is turning out to be a bit of a blight to Samsung's otherwise impressive phone lineup, sales records and reputation in the market — all of which have taken a big hit ever since the Note 7's started catching fire. After the first few reports, Samsung had initiated a recall for the device and offered replacement units that were deemed to be "safe". But fresh reports pointed that these units were not any safer than the previous batch as several reports originated that these too had battery explosion issues.

Just as experts were pointing out that Samsung could face a second recall of the device, other stakeholders have swooped in to avert possible damage to customers. The latest in news comes from South Korea where it is being reported that Samsung has temporarily halted the production of the Galaxy Note 7. The halt is in cooperation with consumer safety regulators from South Korea, United States and China. The halt also includes a plant in Vietnam that was responsible for global shipments of the device.

In addition to this, shipment of replacement units to customers have also been paused. And to complement these moves, carriers around the world — including the Big Four in the USA and Telstra in Australia — have stopped selling the device. They are also advising customers to return the replacement units of the device as well. Many of the carriers are also offering customers the chance to pick up any other phone in the carrier's lineup as well, along with issuing refunds for accessories purchased in relation to the device.

There is strong insistence that the production halt is temporary in nature, but the carriers and the customers may not be as willing to give Samsung a third chance on this phone. The recall and its merits have been tarnished, and there is no way Samsung and the Note lineup walks out unscathed from this.

What are your thoughts on the overall scenario and its handling by Samsung? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Android Cast: Episode 21 – “Pixel Imperfect”

This week on The Android Cast:
——
– The crew discusses the latest October Announcement from Google.
– We look into the implications of Google's shift away from the Nexus line
– Finally we wrap up on a discussion about the other recently announced hardware such as Google Home and Daydream VR.
——

The Android Cast will bring you the best news each week from the perspective of the XDA team. Each week you can find our latest episode here, on Stitcher, on Google Play Music Podcasts, on TuneIn, on iTunes, on Youtube and on your favorite podcast app through the RSS feed: http://ift.tt/2cxz4n5.

Audio Version!

Video Version!

Today's cast includes:

Mario Serrafero: Twitter
Corey Feiock: Twitter
Daniel Marchena: Twitter

Check Out XDA on Social Media. Twitter, Facebook and Google+

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Google’s Pixel Exclusitivity Shows Why Carrier Exclusives Suck for Consumers

Amidst all of the craziness of the October 4th event, one thing that stood out was Google working only with Verizon as a launch partner in the US for the new Pixel phones.

On the surface this is a good thing for Google, a manufacturer who wants to gain a foothold in the US. Verizon is still the largest carrier, and they have an excellent track record with exclusives with the long running Droid lineup still going strong. AT&T has had lackluster success with exclusives, and Sprint and T-Mobile have had next to none. It also makes sense in that Verizon is co-branding the Pixel marketing push and judging by Verizon's home page, there is a mutual benefit at play. While Google in theory stood to benefit from this push, it also is showing why carrier exclusives suck and how we all lose…

The Note 7 will likely go down in history as one of the most publicly flawed devices in years. While the Amazon Fire Phone, HTC First, and Microsoft Kin would argue otherwise, none of them have crashed and burned in such a spectacular fashion. Now that two major US carriers (AT&T and T-Mobile) have discontinued sales of the Note 7, possibly for good, many potential purchasers of the phone are left looking for an equivalent replacement. Add to that the numerous current owners that are going to return their Note 7 units, again, only to look for something similar. So what will they find? The sad fact is that most US carriers do not currently carry a late-model, large-sized, Android flagship device – the Note 7 demographic – unless you happen to be on big red. To further compound this issue is that, like it or not, most US consumers still get their devices through the carrier with the rise of no interest loans or leases, myself included. This is where Google may have played its cards wrong.

By not making the Pixel phone available to all carriers through their installment plans, Google stands to lose out on potentially millions of sales from current and future Note 7 owners. As odd as it sounds, if you want a comparable device and you are not on Verizon your choices are limited to the LG V10, the currently-unreleased and promising LG V20 (which should arrive at the same time as the Pixel devices), or the Galaxy S7 edge. While the S7 edge may still be a solid contender, some Note 7 owners may want to break free from Samsung entirely leaving them with few choices. Further, LG simply does not carry the clout or notoriety that Google, Apple, or Samsung carry making even their flagship devices feel like a step down from what consumers may have desired. Sadly this leaves many few choices and at least some will flee towards the newly announced, and hard to find, iPhone 7 Plus. The market is just begging for a top tier flagship Android device to fill the large shoes the Note 7 will inevitably leave empty, and Google's brand recognition can easily make up for what it lacks in history as an OEM.

Google could never have imagined that the Note 7 would go down in history in such a fireball of failure, but it just goes to show why carrier exclusives and backdoor deals just suck for consumers. Hopefully the rumors of that exclusivity only lasting a short time pan out, even if it is a case of too little too late. Until then, I have no clue what device I will replace my Note 7 with…

So current owners of the Note7 what are you planning to do with possibly a second recall looming? Will you replace it with another Note 7, another Samsung device, or will you look elsewhere?

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Today Only: Save $50 on the Honor 8

Just a quick note that our friends at Honor are celebrating Columbus Day today with a nice discount on the Honor 8. Their dual-camera, premium phone, which is typically sold for $399 is available today only at $349. You can see the sale over at Best Buy where you'll get to choose Sapphire Blue, in addition to Midnight Black and Pearl White available elsewhere (like Amazon). In case you're having trouble deciding, take a look at our comprehensive review of the Honor 8 where we deemed it a capable and powerful little flagship on a budget. And of course, make sure you stay active in the Honor forums on XDA, because we're giving away dozens of prizes over the coming months thanks to our partnership with Honor.

Honor 8 Sale at Best Buy

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dimanche 9 octobre 2016

LlabTooFeR Leaks System Images for Pixel and Pixel XL

With the retail release of the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL fast approaching, it was only a matter of time before the system images started popping up.

Earlier today, well known HTC leaker LlabTooFeR posted the system images for the Pixel and Pixel XL, both of which are manufactured by HTC.

While it is not possible to test these images yet, LlabTooFeR assures that they are the final versions of the images that will be installed on the retail devices, and reminds people "that these images are for Developers only, you cannot install them on any existing devices" other than the upcoming Pixel phones.

The MEGA links for the system images for the Pixel (Sailfish) and Pixel XL (Marlin) (which contain the kernel boot.img, the apk and jar files in the system.img partition, and odex files in the system_other.img partition) can be found here, and the build information is as follows:

	Pixel (Sailfish)	Pixel XL (Marlin)
ro.build.description	sailfish-user 7.1 NDE63H 3256426 release-keys	marlin-user 7.1 NDE63H 3256426 release-keys
ro.build.fingerprint	google/sailfish/sailfish:7.1/ NDE63H/3256426:user/release-keys	google/marlin/marlin:7.1/ NDE63H/3256426:user/release-keys
ro.build.version.release	7.1	7.1
ro.build.version.security_patch	2016-10-05	2016-10-05
ro.build.tags	release-keys	release-keys
Download	Pixel (Sailfish)	Pixel XL (Marlin)

We've separated out the APK for the launcher for easy installation on existing devices. Be sure to install it as a system app to get the Google Now leftmost tab.

Source: llabtoofer.com

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Weekly Debrief

In this week's news we have Motorola phones getting nougat, new Google products announced, and Samsung continues to have trouble with exploding phones. Here are some of the best articles of the week.

A Replacement Galaxy Note 7 Caught Fire on Southwest Airlines

While this incident doesn't mean the new, replacement Galaxy Note 7 units are having the same issue as before, this certainly doesn't bode well for Samsung. This person on Southwest Airlines says he had his Galaxy Note 7replaced by AT&T on September 21st. If we remember back, we told you that AT&T had new units of the Samsung smartphone to replace the defective ones on that very date.

Motorola Announces Which Phones will Receive Android 7.0 Nougat

Motorola's reputation for fast and prompt OTA updates has been a bit shaky since they were acquired by Lenovo. There were times when Motorola would beat Google to the punch when it came to the latest Android update. They still do a respectable job with updates to some of their devices, but they have seemingly forgotten others. We're seeing Moto devices that are exclusive to Verizon receive security updates before devices that are not tied to a carrier (like the Moto X Pure Edition).

Meet the New Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL

After months and weeks of leaking little by little, the newest phones from Google have arrived. This time, there is a special emphasis on the "Made by Google" part, much more than what we have been used to with the Nexus lineup. The Pixel lineup is Google taking the reins back in its own hands, as the devices no longer remain content with just being developer reference devices. These are the phones that are made with the end consumer in mind rather than enthusiasts, with a view to pull a consumer deeper into the Google ecosystem with a slew of exclusive (as of now) features.

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