Android News

Posted by Purnima Kochikar, Director, Apps and Games Business Development, Google Play Drum roll please! To kick off Google I/O this year, the 2019 Google Play Awards will take place on Monday, May 6th. We're excited to highlight nine categories this year, some familiar and some new, to recognize developers that continue to set the bar for quality apps and games on Google Play. Building on previous years, we celebrate our fourth year by recognizing some of the best experiences available on Android, with an emphasis on overall quality, strong design, technical performance, and innovation. The nominees were selected by various teams across Google, and meet criteria thresholds covering high star rating, Android vitals, and have had a launch or major update since April 2018. Congratulations to this year's nominees below and remember to check them out on Google Play at play.google.com/gpa2019 . Stay tuned as we announce the winners of each category at Google I/O. Standou

Samsung was quick to release the Android Pie update for its Galaxy J series phones, with the Galaxy J6 and Galaxy J8 being the first two to receive the latest version of Android . The Galaxy J6 and J8 had considerable success in the Indian market, and following the release of the Pie update for the Galaxy J6 in the country earlier this week, it is now the turn of the Galaxy J8 . Galaxy J8 Pie update comes with April security patch The 1.2GB update is rolling out over the air in India today, and in addition to most of the Android Pie features  and the new One UI interface, it comes with the latest Android security patch . Galaxy J8 owners should be able to start downloading the update by tapping the  Download updates manually  option in the Software update menu of the phone's settings. The big update is best downloaded over a Wi-Fi connection, and it's also a good idea to have at least 30 percent battery charge as major OS updates take a long time to install. We also

In this age of technology, the term 'smart' seems to be what everyone desires in their everyday gadgets. It started with mobile phones and now almost every day-to-day gadget is becoming smart. Perhaps the most notable of these gadgets is the watch we wear on our hand. Yes, we are talking about smartwatches. Smartwatches took the world by storm in the past few years — although they've been around for a while, it's only recently that major tech companies have started to produce innovative smartwatches. A smartwatch is very important to keep your life in order, so if you are planning to buy one, then this article is for you. Samsung Gear S3 Everyone knows about the popularity and success of Samsung in the world of technology. They produced smartphones that were game changers, and their smartwatches are no different. Unlike other smartwatches on the market, the Samsung Gear S3 has key features which makes it a useful partner for your smartphone. The watch has a prem

The sub-brand of Huawei has announced its new entry-level smartphone in Russia which is known as Honor 8S. As of now, there is no information on the global availability or pricing of the handset but in Russia, it is already available for sale for 8490 Rubles (approx $131) in Gold, Black and Blue color options. The device comes with a dewdrop notch on the front and has a small chin at the bottom. The volume rockers along with the power button are placed to the right of the smartphone. Now coming to the specs of this entry-level device, the Honor 8S is powered with a 2nm Quad-Core MediaTek Helio A22 chipset with a clocking speed of 2 GHz coupled with 2GB of RAM and PowerVR GPU. It comes with a decent 5.71-inch 1520 × 720 pixels (HD+) display along with a 19:9 aspect ratio. The device supports dual SIM connectivity and measures 147.13 mm × 70.78 mm × 8.45 mm and weighs 146 grams. The onboard storage of the smartphone is 32GB which can be extended via microSD card slot up to 512GB. I

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 on Sprint has started receiving Android Security patch for the month for April. Last week, the same update was pushed to the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus along with Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. This latest update to Galaxy Note 9 addresses five critical and many high-risk vulnerabilities in the operating system out of which 15 of them are on the South Korean Giant's own firmware. Since the update is rolled out on stages it might take some time before the update reaches your device. If you can't for it, then you can check if it is available for your device by heading to the settings of the handset and head to the Software update section. Not if you find the update, you need to download it and install. Make sure the battery on the handset is enough and do back up all the important data just to be on the safe side. Talking about the specs of the Galaxy Note 9, it comes 6.4-inch display with Corning Glass 5 protection on top. It also comes with the S-Pen which is

Samsung has launched the new Galaxy M series in Brazil. All three Galaxy M phones, the Galaxy M10 , M20 , and the Galaxy M30 , will be available in the country starting May 16. The devices will be sold through online retail stores only. Galaxy M30 is the top dog in the lineup Samsung introduced the Galaxy M series in India in January this year. The lineup so far comprises of three smartphones, all featuring a similar look, notches, multiple rear cameras, and big batteries. The Galaxy M30 ( review ) is the most advanced of them all. It features a 6.4-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-U display and is powered by an  Exynos 7904 SoC. The Galaxy M30 also gets a triple rear camera setup. The 13MP primary camera is accompanied by a 5MP depth sensor and a 5MP wide-angle lens. There is also a 16MP selfie camera with Live Focus support. The device packs a 5,000mAh battery with support for fast charging and gets a fingerprint reader on the back. The Galaxy M10 and M20 ( review ), m

Oppo has announced its new midrange device called as Oppo A9 in China. The device is included in the companies A series which will be available in Mica Green, Jade White and Fluorite Purple colors options and is priced at 1799 Yuan (approx $226). The handset will go for sale starting April 30 and is available for pre-order via Oppo Shop in China. There is no information on global availability nor the pricing as of now. The latest device from Oppo comes with a Dew Drop notch display on the front, offering a 90.7 percent screen-to-body ratio. Furthermore, it comes with a 3D gradient back giving it an elegant look and feel. It will be featuring a 6.5-inch (2340 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ display and is a dual SIM variant that supports Dual 4G VoLTE connectivity. Under the hood, there is a 12nm Octa-Core MediaTek Helio SoC coupled with 900 MHz ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU. There is a 6GB RAM along with 128GB of storage option which could be extended further up to 256GB via microSD card slot. It

The Galaxy S10 5G is nearing its launch in the US. Verizon has started taking pre-orders for the device in the country. As reported earlier , the phone will be available in Verizon stores on May 16. It will remain exclusive to the carrier for a while before arriving on others. Prices start at $1300 Starting today, the Galaxy S10 5G is up for pre-orders in the US. The Verizon-exclusive device will cost $1,300, or $54.16 per month for 24 months, for the 256GB model. The 512GB model is priced at $1,400, or $58.33 per month for 24 months, and may be the better option for those who require lots of local storage as the 5G Galaxy S10 doesn't have a microSD slot . Both phones are available in Crown Silver or the Verizon-exclusive Majestic Black. Deliveries are scheduled for May 16. Pre-orders for the Verizon Galaxy S10 5G include special goodies, too. Customers who pre-order the device will get a "VIP Kit" that includes a pair of Galaxy Buds , a wireless charging battery

US carrier Sprint has been on a roll as of late. Last week, it started rolling out this month's security update for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, as well as the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ — and now it's turned its attention to the Galaxy Note 9 , distributing a near-identical release for the handset. The update addresses five critical and dozens of high-risk vulnerabilities in the Android OS, as well as 15 that are exclusive to Samsung's own firmware. Sprint is no stranger to bundling a number of miscellaneous network improvements into its releases, so there could also be a few of them in there. Sprint, which was once notoriously slow at distributing updates, has pulled a complete one-eighty, now beating even Samsung to the punch in the United States. Notably, it was the first operator to start circulating this month's security update for the Galaxy S10 , Galaxy S10e and Galaxy S10+ . Like usual, the upgrade is being pushed out in stages. To see if it's avail

Samsung significantly expanded its 8K TV lineup by launching many 8K QLED TVs  at CES earlier this year. The company plans to sell  five million units of those TVs  globally by 2022. The latest Samsung premium TVs are already available in more than 60 markets around the world. Further expanding their availability, Samsung has now launched its 2019 8K QLED TVs in South Africa. New 4K QLED TVs also launched At an event in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, Samsung announced that its 2019 QLED TV lineup, which includes four 4K models and one 8K model, will be available in South Africa from May. The 8K model comes in four screen sizes, 65-inch, 75-inch, 82-inch, and 98-inch, whereas the 4K models are available in screen sizes varying from 55-inch to 82-inch. Samsung's new 8K TVs feature the company's proprietary Quantum Processor 8K, which is capable of up-scaling lower resolutions into crisp 8K content. You also get high contrast and an astonishing maximum brightness of 4000 nits.

At an event in Lagos, Nigeria, Xiaomi has announced a new smartphone called as the Redmi Note 7 and the Redmi 7. These devices were already launched in the other markets recently but it is made available in Saharan Africa now. The Redmi Note 7 will be sold by Jumia Nigeria from April 29th and can also be bought at Slot and Pointek stores. On the other hand, the smaller Redmi 7 can be bough in Jumia Nigeria on the online stores for a starting price of N42,000 Naira. Talking about the Redmi Note 7, it comes with a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display that features a water drop notch and has an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on top. The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor coupled with Adreno 512GPU. It comes with 48MP rear-facing camera coupled with a 5MP depth sensor and there is a 13MP camera on the front for selfies. There is a 4000mAh battery on the back with the support for Quick Charge 4 and will feature in 3/4GB of RAM and 32/64GB/128

Hi, everyone! We've just released Chrome 74 (74.0.3729.112) for Android: it'll become  available on Google Play  over the next few weeks. This release contains the following features, as well as stability and performance improvements: Translate any web page instantly by selecting Translate from the menu You can see a full list of the changes in the  Git log . If you find a new issue, please let us know by  filing a bug . Krishna Govind Google Chrome #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

AT&T officially confirmed the device a day after we exclusively revealed the Galaxy View 2 . It's the successor to the original Galaxy View "movable display" which was also launched on AT&T back in 2016. Some design changes have been made in the interest of increased portability. The new model also has a slightly smaller display and ditches the integrated handle. There's a collapsible kickstand at the back for propping up the Galaxy View 2. Apps can be used in both landscape and portrait mode. Galaxy View 2 price and release date The carrier hadn't initially come forward the pricing and availability details for this gigantic tablet. AT&T has now confirmed the Galaxy View 2 price and release date. It's marketed at people who would like to have a massive, portable display for watching movies and TV shows. Content consumption is indeed a solid use case for the Galaxy View 2. AT&T confirmed to Engadget that the Galaxy View 2 will be ava

There was no doubt about it and now Verizon has officially confirmed it. There's absolutely going to be a Galaxy Note 10 5G . Come to think of it, why wouldn't Samsung launch a 5G variant of a handset it has always aimed at power users? There's already a 5G variant of the Galaxy S10 so one would naturally assume that would be the case for its next phablet as well. The next phablet, likely called the Galaxy Note 10, won't be out before the second half of this year. Much like the Galaxy S10, it may have separate LTE and 5G variants. That's because the availability of 5G networks is still very limited. Verizon confirms the Galaxy Note 10 5G "The Note and the Galaxy coming this year will both have 5G," Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg confirmed during the company's Q1 2019 earnings call. He's also referring to the Galaxy S10 5G here which is going to be a Verizon exclusive for a while . This isn't surprising to anyone who has been following the

The dev channel has been updated to 75.0.3770.8 for Windows & Mac ( Linux update is coming soon) A partial list of changes is available in the log . Interested in switching release channels? Find out how . If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug . The community help forum is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues. Srinivas Sista Google Chrome     #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Samsung has started building the framework for its own blockchain mainnet, according to CoinDesk Korea . It's believed that the blockchain will be locked down when it first launches, but could be opened to the public soon thereafter, which would allow the Ethereum-based Samsung Coin token it's also said to be developing to be traded on exchanges, alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum. CoinDesk Korea noted, citing an anonymous source familiar with Samsung's internal situation, that the firm has had a dedicated task force researching and developing its blockchain network for the better part of a year. That same source also added that it's working on a number of related services; though there's no word on what they are, what they're called or what function they serve. Samsung already has a mobile wallet for Samsung Coin It's starting to look like Samsung developed its Blockhain KeyStore cryptocurrency wallet to pave the way for the introduction of Samsung Coin

Google I/O is happening on May 7-9, Featured videos and posts View as webpage  » April 2019   Focus on trust and safety This year, we're taking a comprehensive look to make sure our platform and policies evolve to ensure a safe ecosystem. We don't make these decisions lightly and are making every effort to listen and respond to developer feedback. Read our latest blog post to learn more about our recent changes to permissions. LEARN MORE Google I/O 2019 is happening on May 7-9. Join a I/O Extended and experience I/O with your local developer community. FEATURED VIDEOS AND POSTS Indie Games Accelerator Apply for class of 2019 Indie Games Accelerator Apply f