What Do You Think of Enhanced Re-Releases of Smartphones?

The launch of the OnePlus 3T has caused an uproar among existing OnePlus 3 users. On one hand (objectively speaking) OnePlus has taken their best product yet and made it even better to stay ahead of the flagship market competition. On the other hand, the timing of the launch undermines the greatness of what the other flagship once was.

Similarly, other OEMs like ZTE have also taken to releasing second iteration of their flagship, with the launch of the ZTE Axon 7 Enhanced (which, to be fair, was available in other regions before). Other Chinese OEMs are also releasing different variants of the same phone with differences in processor, memory, storage and more right alongside the main launch, often denoting said differences with monikers like "Premium" or "plus". So our question to you is,

When is it alright to release an "upgraded" version of a flagship? After a particular amount of time, or at any time? How long should an OEM ideally wait to release an enhanced re-release? Should Android OEMs hold onto significant enhancements for a proper release cycle?

Let us know in the comments below!

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Android 7.1 Dev Preview 2 Images are Live for Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus 9 and Pixel C

Not too long ago we received hints that we'd see a second 7.1.1 developer preview for Nexus devices, as the rollout process had reportedly begun yesterday. Now, we finally see the system images become available for select Nexus devices!

This is the final update to the Android 7.1 Developer preview before the final release, and it includes the developer features available on the Pixel and Pixel XL as well as extra optimization and bug fixes. If you are a developer, using this preview you will be able to make sure your apps are ready for 7.1.1 once it reaches consumers.

The update includes the features and APIs (level 25) included in the first developer preview, and Google is also updating the SDK build and platform tools in Android studio. The latest version of the support library (25.0.1) is available as well for you to add image keyboard support, bottom navigation and more to your apps running on devices running lower API levels.

Below you can find links to install the update on your Nexus or Pixel C. Alternatively, you can follow this link to find the same links and instructions. Finally, you can enroll for automatic OTA system updates in the Android Beta Program as well.

Device	Download
Nexus 5X "bullhead"	bullhead-npf26f-factory-0e9ab286.zip
Nexus 6P "angler"	angler-npf26f-factory-0cd1829d.zip
Pixel C "ryu"	ryu-npf26h-factory-caed9427.zip
Nexus 9 "Volantis"	volantis-npf26f-factory-c0591bf3.zip
Nexus 9 LTE "volantisg"	volantisg-npf26f-factory-412bba4a.zip

You can also find the list of big fixes in Android DP2 here, but keep in mind many of these won't be present in this release. We'll keep you updated with the changes we find!

 

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Google Pixel NPF26J Update Brings Two New Gestures and More!

Updates and more usually begin off with the region of USA being amongst the first to experience it. But this time, it's Canadian users of the Google Pixel who are reporting of a new update rolling out for the smaller of the two Pixels by Google.

Clocking in at 261MB, this update is curiously rolling out to Canadian Pixel owners without a changelog in the official updater screen. The update build number is NPF26J, which does not really tell us much on the face of it. Redditors on the Google Pixel subforums however have noted that the build date for this release is October 26th. Compared to the previous NDE63V build with a build date of September 1st, this update likely involves a whole bunch of fixes that Google has managed to undertake in more than a months work. Further, the shift from the "P" development branch from the "D" development branch could be indicative of yet more changes.

Along with the presumed security and bug fixes, the NPF26J update brings in two new gestures to the Pixel. As spotted by eagle-eyed Redditors who received the update, the new "Moves" are Double-Tap-to-Wake and the Lift-to-Wake gestures. Custom ROM and several OEM skins have implemented features like these since a while now, and now the Google Pixel will also be joining in on the convenience.

Both of the new gestures are enabled by default in the update, though you can disable them if you prefer not using them.

Meanwhile, word is floating around that a new Android 7.1.1 Dev Preview 2 is right around the corner. The upcoming builds are number NPF26F for the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus 9 and Android One, while the Pixel C will be getting NPF26H.

We are waiting on the official changelog of the update, along with requisite download links. We will inform our readers of new information soon.

What are your thoughts on the newest Android version updates? Have you received the update? Let us know in the comments below!

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MediaTek’s UltraCast Technology Adds 4K Capabilities to Miracast

Miracast was launched back in 2012, and it allowed for a wireless connection from devices like a smartphone, tablet or laptop to other devices like TVs, monitors and projectors. Many people described this technology as HDMI over WiFi, and we saw a number of products using it as a selling point. As of April this year, the WiFi Alliance said there were over 5,000 devices that support this Miracast technology standard.

While there were a lot of reasons to get behind such a standard, it did have some pitfalls. For instance, the Miracast standard has "optional components" like Wireless Multimedia Extensions (WME) which is also known as WiFi Multimedia (WMM). This does improve the user experience when the component is used, but not all devices have it and that can lead to some issues when a user expects something that isn't here. The certification for Miracast also does not require a device meet certain latency requirements, so again, this can lead to some issues when a consumer expects their device to perform a certain way.

Nevertheless, Miracast is very convenient and MediaTek wanted to improve upon it. MediaTek describes it as the "first chipset-enabled streaming technology on the market that enables users to enjoy the stunning clarity of 4K video content generated by their smartphones and stream it wirelessly to a 4K-ready television or set-top box." But there are already other products on the market that do this (like the Chromecast Ultra for instance).

Competition is always good though, and it's nice to see MediaTek building upon an open standard and adding 4K support on top of the Miracast standard. MediaTek says this new chipset will be included in MediaTek Helio series smartphones, but doesn't go into detail as to which ones we can expect at this time. The company is also encouraging 3rd-party vendors to integrate this technology in their smartphones, TVs, set-top boxes and more.

Source: PR Newswire

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Google Publishes November’s Cast SDK Release Notes

Along with the change log for the latest Google Play Services update, Google has also published the changes that went into the new Google Cast SDK update. The new update requires Google Repository revision 39, which is for version 10.0.x of Google Play Services. This brings some improvements to Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) scans, adds several improvements and bug fixes with the latest update to Firebase, and also brings back Nearby Notifications.

The November 21st update to the Google Cast SDK comes with support for the 4K video format. There's a new method in MediaStatus that gets the current instance of VideoInfo (a new class). The 4K video format is indicated by constants HDR_TYPE_*. There's another new method that exposes CastState, and that holds the current session state so the SDK knows if devices are available and whether or not a session has been established.

It also adds new @drawable button attributes so developers can customize button styles. It includes a fix for a bug that caused the image aspect ratio to be displayed incorrectly. There's a new method that exposes MediaRouteSelector that will describe the routing of media channels and streams. This will be used from the current sender device to the receiving screens, speakers, etc. Sender apps will be able to discover and use these routes, but most developers can ignore this since version 3 of the framework SDK does this automatically.

There are two new classes that have been added for ad breaks. They are AdBreakclipInfo and AdBreakStatus, and they'll hold static information like the clip's ID, content URL, mime type, total duration, playback position, and click-through URL. This update includes the ability for the sender device to turn off Remote Control Notifications as well (a new feature that was recently added. Lastly, all methods within CastContext that your app calls must be called from the main thread. If an application fails to do this, then an Exception will be thrown.

Source: Google Developers

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Google Play Services and Firebase to Drop Support for Gingerbread in Early 2017

This week, Google announced some future plans that they have for both Google Play Services, as well as Firebase for Android. Google Play Services version 10.0.x is what is currently available and this will continue to support Gingerbread devices. Things will be changing with the upcoming 10.2.x release though, and Google says this will be made to the public sometime "in early 2017." We don't know exactly when, but it will likely happen within the first quarter of next year.

Since Gingerbread is a 6-year-old platform, Google feels they will be able to provide a more robust collection of tools for Android developers once they no longer have to support the platform. The latest Android distribution numbers, which were released in November, say that only 1.3% of active devices (connecting to the Play Store) are using the Gingerbread OS. So we've already seen developers drop support for this version anyway.

Google reminds developers that they will still be able to use Google Play Services and Firebase as they are today. It's just that new features that get added will not be able to be able to work on these devices since they can't update to version 10.2.x. So developers have the option of publishing an application that targets API level 14 (which is what Google recommends), or you can build multiple APKs that specifically support an API level less than 14. You should be able to do this with build variants within Gradle.

Google has also published the official change log for Google Play Services version 10.0. Along with a warning that Gingerbread support is being dropped soon, this update includes some changes to the Cast API, some improvements to Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) scans, the reintroduction of Nearby Notifications and some improvements and bug fixes from the latest update of Firebase.

Source: Android Developers Blog

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Projekt ScriBt Eases Android ROM Building by Providing an Interactive Interface

Projekt ScriBt is a Bash Shell Script for Linux systems that helps users in the process of building an Android ROM from source. The script issues prompts that guide a new developer in learning how to build a ROM from source.

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