2016 in Review: What was the Best Flagship Smartphone of 2016?

As we enter the final days of the year, it's time to get your opinion on all the events, news, releases and controversies that we witnessed so far in 2016.

This year saw some great releases by OEMs big and small. Some smartphones took a gamble to differentiate themselves from the crowd, while some played it safe and improved on conventional expectations.

The competition was fierce, but a winner has to be chosen. So, today's question to you is,

What was the best Flagship smartphone released in 2016? Why does this smartphone deserve to be called the very best? What features attracted your interest towards this phone? What were your needs and expectations, and how were they fulfilled?

Let us know in the comments below!

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Google will launch two flagship smartwatches with Android Wear 2.0 next year

In an exclusive interview with The Verge, Jeff Chang, product manager of Android Wear at Google, states that the company will launch two new flagship smartwatches in the first quarter of 2017. Furthermore, these two smartwatches will be the first devices to run Android Wear 2.0.

We learned of the existence of these two smartwatches earlier this year and even caught a glimpse of what the smartwatches could look like, but this is the first time we have official confirmation from Google. We now also have some additional information about the smartwatches thanks to Mr. Chang.

According to Mr. Chang, these new devices will not carry the Pixel branding, but will instead be OEM branded. What this tells us is that these two Google devices are going to made in close conjunction with their OEM partners, much like the now-defunct Nexus program. Mr. Chang reports that Google collaborated with the manufacturer on both the hardware design and software integration for the two smartwatches, and that their partners have had prior experience in making Android Wear smartwatches.

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Android Wear 2.0 Release Timeline

After the release of these two smartwatches, Mr. Chang states that older Android Wear smartwatches will begin receiving their updates to Android Wear 2.0. As we've covered previously, the update to Android Wear 2.0 brings a plethora of changes including Google Assistant integration, a standalone app store, in-app billing, better two-factor authentication sign-in support, new gestures, and more. Although not every existing Android Wear smartwatch will be upgraded, most recent models are expected to make the cut. Mr. Chang states that although certain features such as Android Pay require NFC, the company will not make NFC a requirement to receive Android Wear 2.0.

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Devices Expected to Receive Android Wear 2.0. Via The Verge.

• Moto 360 Gen 2
• Moto 360 Sport
• LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE
• LG Watch Urbane
• LG G Watch R
• Polar M600
• Casio Smart Outdoor Watch
• Nixon Mission
• Tag Heuer Connected
• Fossil Q Wander
• Fossil Q Marshal
• Fossil Q Founder
• Michael Kors Access Bradshaw Smartwatch
• Michael Kors Access Dylan Smartwatch
• Huawei Watch
• Huawei Watch Ladies
• Asus ZenWatch 2
• Asus ZenWatch 3

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As we approach January, Google will release the fifth and final Android Wear 2.0 Developer Preview, which should include support for Android Pay and Google Assistant. In addition, the final Developer Preview will finally bring support for iOS, which has been confirmed to be compatible with the Android Pay feature.

In the future, Mr. Chang teases that several OEMs are planning on releasing their own Android Wear 2.0 devices, with some announcing them at CES next month. Given the news this year that the likes of Motorola, LG, and Huawei passed on releasing an upgraded model of their smartwatch, we may see some of these OEMs release a new smartwatch sporting Android Wear 2.0.

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Source: The Verge

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Best Apps of 2016

Google has has released their picks for the best apps of 2016. This list features several different categories containing the best apps in each category. For this video, I'll take a look at the best app from each section. So check out the video to see the best apps of 2016 in action.

Best self improvement app: Memrise

Most beautiful app: Adobe Illustrator Draw

Most share-worthy app: Adobe Photoshop Fix

Best Local App: Letgo

Most entertaining app: Violin: Magical Bow

Best app of 2016: Prisma

 

2016 was a great year for new and exciting apps from the Play store.. If you don't see your favorite app on this list, let us know in the comments what it is!

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Guide for Full ADB Root, System RW, and DM-Verity Off on the Sprint LG G5

XDA Senior Member Honestly Annoying has created a guide to walk you through getting ADB Root, System RW & DM Verity Off on the Sprint LG G5. The process can be done on Windows, macOS or Linux, but it will only work on the ZV4 build.

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Acer Will No Longer Be Selling Smartphones in India

India is one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world. Companies like Google, Xiaomi and OnePlus have looked at this growth and have started to invest in getting their brand known within the country. Bringing their phones, apps and services to as many people within the country as possible. This move has been lucrative and successful for some, but not so much for others.

LeEco has been having financial issues due to their expansion plan, and they've been forced into laying off a number of workers within the country. Even Google wanted the country to adopt their initial Android One program, but they decided to change the guidelines when it didn't turn out to be as popular as they had first hoped. There is a lot of potential with the mobile smartphone market within India, but some countries are finding it difficult to be successful.

This week, it was reported that Acer has announced they will no longer be selling smartphones in India. Instead, the company says they would rather focus their efforts in to expanding their laptops and other hardware businesses within the country. This is a company that has been selling hardware in the country since 1999 too and then shifted to sell smartphones there about 6 years ago. One of Acer's top India executives has come out and said this change is because multiple government policies have made it difficult for them. They feel the government would rather have small businesses succeed in the country than larger corporations. Then they also talk about how smartphones have become a commodity based on its price rather than its experience.

We're starting to see this in other markets too. Markets where it's getting harder and harder for OEMs to sell as many high-end premium devices when compared to the mid-range and low-end market.

Source: Mashable

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OnePlus 2 OTA Update Brings OxygenOS 3.5.5 to the Device

OnePlus has announced they are starting to roll out a new OTA update to the OnePlus 2. This new update will bring your device up to version 3.5.5 of OxygenOS, and it comes with a lot of new features and changes. The company warns users that updating to 3.5.5 can cause issues with things like WiFi and network connectivity, as well as the fingerprint sensor if the person tries to downgrade back to version 3.1.0.

It is possible to downgrade to 3.1.0 without issue, but you'll need to use a special 3.1.0 downgrading version and flashing tool. Doing this will wipe all of the data from your phone. The main changes with this update are the new features that OnePlus has added. We're told that this update enables VoLTE functionality for select carriers but doesn't go into detail about which carriers and that it also comes with an App Lock feature.

They've added a Battery Saving Mode, a Gaming Mode, and put in some new options for the Alert Slider within the settings. The update comes with a redesigned volume adjustment bar, adds in some optimizations for their Shelf feature, and comes with an updated user interface for the clock application. We're also told that the Clock, Calculator, and Messages applications will be replaced with stock OnePlus apps unless you have updated the corresponding Google apps.

If this is the case for you, and you want to continue using Google's apps, then you can download them from the Play Store. This new OTA update brings new UI changes to OxygenOS as a whole, they've increased the stability, fixed a number of bugs, and included December's security patches too. OnePlus also warns that this update will reset "many" of the phone's settings (like device name, ring tones, accent colors, etc).

So you'll want to go back through your settings and adjust these options if you notice something is different from before.

Source: OnePlus

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Rumor Reveals Specs of a 4.6″ Flagship from Xiaomi

Over the years, the screen size of smartphones has gotten bigger and bigger. A few years back, smartphone makers were ridiculed for releasing a product with a display that was 5″ or bigger. Some have enjoyed this transition while others merely put up with it. Then there are some within the community who outright loathe the trend and wish things could go back to the way they used to be.

Granted, there have been some smartphone OEMs who release smartphones with a screen smaller than 5 inches. However, the majority of these devices have low-end, or even mid-range specs, and do not get the software support that they deserve. Sony filled this gap with the compact series of their Xperia line, but even changed this year with the release of the Xperia X Compact and it's Snapdragon 650 SoC. Some people just want the latest hardware in their device and it's a market that has been largely ignored for years. A new rumor from China suggests Xiaomi may be looking to fill that void with a smartphone called the Mi S. If true, this device will have a 4.6″ display, Snapdragon 821 SoC, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of UFS 2.0 internal storage.

The rumors say the dimension will be 128.3mm, 64.2mm and 8.2mm, with a 12MP Sony IMX378 sensor for the rear camera and a 4MP front-facing camera. The images show a fingerprint scanner in the bottom bezel of the display, they mention it has USB Type-C with Quick Charge 3.0 technology, and a 2,600mAh capacity battery. That battery size might be on the small with today's standard, but we have to remember that it only has a 4.6″ display.

Does this sound like a smartphone you would buy (even if you had to get one from a reseller)?

Source: GizmoChina

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