From the Editor’s Desk: Narrowing our focus
Let’s keep things a little light for this week’s column, shall we? Probably the biggest news of note is that we’re going to start doing more series work. That is, we’ll take a specific topic and do more cohesive coverage of it, instead of shotgunning stories here and there throughout the year. It’s the right way to do it, and so that’s how we’re going to do things going forward, especially when it comes to non-device content.
That said, we’re starting with a device this week, though not in the traditional phone-or-tablet sense. Any guesses as to what it might be?
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s great to see that folks are enjoying Shen Ye’s Futurology series. (Check out Part 1 on batteries and Part 2 on displays. We’re hoping to have Part 3 ready later this week. (Anyone still want to complain that we only focus on the folks new to Android?) We’ve got some more cool series on the way as well. Stay tuned.
And, of course, we’re going to get way in deep on all the new phones that are about to hit. Nothing’s going to get in the way of that.
So with that, a few other thoughts on the week that was.
OnePlus tweaks name of next device, feeds the Snapdragon 810 monster
Although OnePlus may have annoyed some buyers with their invite system and some marketing gaffes for their inaugural smartphone during 2014, the company succeeded in creating quite a bit of demand for their OnePlus One. That success has led many to watch the company to see what 2015 will hold for a successor. Sources have revealed some information about the name for the next device and some release schedule projections that feed into the issues swirling around the Snapdragon 810 processor.
On the naming front, OnePlus has apparently decided to switch from a text-based naming convention to one that uses digits. This means the next version of their smartphone will be the “OnePlus 2″ instead of “OnePlus Two”.
The bigger news that sources have revealed is that OnePlus is pushing the release date for the new OnePlus 2 into the third quarter of 2015. That in itself may not be considered a major change in an industry which has seen devices delayed, but the reason is sure to stir things up a bit. According to the sources, OnePlus is delaying the new smartphone while Qualcomm works on “manufacturing challenges with the Snapdragon 810.”
This move by OnePlus is only going to feed the controversy surrounding the Snapdragon 810 and whether it suffers from an overheating problem. Already Samsung has reportedly dropped the Snapdragon 810 for use in their Galaxy S 6 smartphone, opting to go with their in-house Exynos chip. The move by OnePlus appears to support the theory that there is a problem with the Snapdragon 810.
On the other hand, both LG and Xiaomi have announced devices using the Snapdragon 810 and in the case of LG, the company has come out and said overheating is not an issue.
source: Forbes
Come comment on this article: OnePlus tweaks name of next device, feeds the Snapdragon 810 monster
These transparent hybrid cases for Galaxy Note 4 are only $7.95 today
Featuring a see-through, impact resistant hybrid casing with a durable TPU bumper, this SlimGrip Cover shields your Galaxy Note 4 from impacts while retaining a low-profile design. Available in both black and white bumpers, you can save 47% while supplies last!
Comics and columns and podcasts, oh hi!
The only constant at iMore is change. Go ahead, make your name jokes. I’ll wait. All done? Okay. So the new year means new features here. Some of them you’ve seen already and some more are coming in February and beyond. So what’s here and what’s near?
The Pixel Project is the working name for a new weekly comic series by the ridiculously talented 8-bit pixel artist, Rich Stevens. It runs every Tuesday and pokes loving fun at Apple and those of us in the Apple community. Rich has also been generous enough to let us re-run some of his older Apple-centric work on Saturdays for some extra fun. It’s all gorgeous stuff, so we really hope you’re enjoying it — and sharing it! — as well.
Peter and Ally have been doing how-to articles on iMore for a long time now but this year we wanted to do something a little more community focused and a little more personal. So, they’ve both started new help columns: Mac Help and iOS Help. They’ll be taking your questions and helping solve your problems — or the questions and problems of anyone you send their way — on Tuesdays and Thursdays respectively. To send in a question or problem you can email machelp@imore.com or ioshelp@imore.com, or ask a question via the web. Please do make use of them!
I’m still doing the Editor’s Desk every Sunday, Serenity is still doing At the Core on Mondays, Peter is still doing NSFW on Fridays, and Ally is not only still doing DIY on Saturdays but she’s diversifying. She’ll still do iOS device repair guides, but she’ll be mixing in other fun projects as well, like making and Instagram collage IRL.
We’ve got a couple of new columns heading your way soon as well. We’re not going to announce them just yet — we want to make sure we have enough done that, once they launch, they keep going smoothly — but you’ll be hearing all about them soon!
Now, podcasts. The iMore show just hit episode 440. In terms of iTunes rankings it’s never done better. Having Serenity, Peter, and Ally on every week has really let us stabilize the show and round out the discussions. It’s gotten to the point where we feel safe in changing things up a bit.
So, starting sometime in February, we’ll be moving the iMore show to Wednesdays. We’ll likely keep it at 11am PT/2pm ET — let us know how that time works for you — and keep the same format. That’s the four of us, with occasional guests when someone can’t make it.
We’ll also be spinning off a couple of new shows. Again, I don’t want to give away too much until they actually launch, but they’re going to complement what we’re already doing and hopefully give you more of what you’ve been asking for in a way that makes it easy for you to choose exactly what you want to watch and listen to. Those shows will likely air on Fridays and Mondays.
There’s more to touch on, but this has already gone on longer than I expected, so I’ll save the rest for future columns. Before heading off to build with blocks, however, I want to take a moment to introduce you to our terrific new video intro (above, and sneak previous in iMore show 440 yesterday!). It was put together by Jose Negron and our supremely talented Mobile Nations design team. We all hope you love it as much as we do.
In case you missed it:
- Serenity’s spirit has been split between iPad and sketchpad but rumors of an Apple Pen are making things more complicated.
- Daniel was out covering the Windows 10 event this week while Peter was telling you how to install Windows 10 on your Mac for cheap
- Ally declared her love for selfie sticks and Serenity retaliated by telling everyone how to take better selfies.
- I spent the week wondering about the future of smaller iPhones, bigger RAM, and why the press use MacBooks so very always and everywhere
- Peter took a look at the controversy that is MacKeeper and all of us took a look back at the iPad Air 2 review, three months later.
From around the web:
- Illinois seems to have passed a law that requires students and parents to hand over social media logins. Bullying is absolutely a thing, but this appears to fly in the face of long-established constitutional protections.
- Sports Illustrated has canned their photographers. Make all the swimsuit jokes you must, but traditional photojournalism looks like it’s facing an extinction level event.
- I think I want to learn practical archery
- Brittney Cooper’s piece for Salon was a hard but incredibly enlightening read.
- I preferred the Age of Ultron teaser to the Age of Ultron trailer. There, I said it.
Android’s future is with us, not Google, according to Cyanogen CEO
Many things in our world splinter into a variety of subsects. Some of which are political parties, Protestant denominations, and Linux distributions, which includes Android. They all have something in common with that from which they derive, but all claim superiority in some fashion.
Kirt McMaster (CEO of Cyanogen Inc.) recently spoke to a crowd gathered at The Information’s Next Phase of Android event, to say that a new dawn is coming to the Android distribution and the daybreak will show Cid standing triumphant over Andy.
McMaster is no stranger to saying outlandish things. He’s called Google tyrannical and he’s gone on record stating that Samsung doesn’t have a clue when it comes to designing a mobile operating system.
To be clear, McMaster doesn’t want to get rid of Android. The Seattle-based company’s CyanogenMod is nearly entirely based off of Google’s Linux distro. Rather, he wants his company to be Android’s new overlord. McMaster feels that he would be a more magnanimous ruler than Google has been.
During the time of Android’s inception, Google set out to create a free mobile operating system that was open-sourced and available to all. This is the reason why we see it on so many different smart devices created by a variety of OEMs like Samsung, Sony, HTC, etc. This is also why we see its presence in such a huge range of third party ROMs, which is in fact where Cyanogen got its start.
Over time, Google has been more than aware that it has lost a great source of revenue by making Android free. During the past few years, in an attempt to rein in some control and profits, Google has tightened its clutches around the Android kernel and has forced OEMs to include the next best thing Google has to garner some income: its suite of Google apps must be included on every Android device.
McMaster offers a different vision for Android’s future. He gives Google Now as an example of what an app can truly do if given complete access to the very core of Android, and wants to offer the same ability to third-party app developers.
He goes on to state: “We’re making a version of Android that is more open so we can integrate with more partners so their servicers can be tier one services, so startups working on [artificial intelligence] or other problems don’t get stuck having you have to launch a stupid little application that inevitably gets acquired by Google or Apple. These companies can thrive on non-Google Android.”
While his statements with regard to third-party apps being acquired by Google are profoundly naïve, it would be interesting to see what app developers could do if they were able to offer a program as integrated as Google Now currently is.
McMaster further delved into the possibility of opening up many more app stores to consumers. Among those stores, he hopes to see a Cyanogen app store setting up shop in the next couple of years.
Cyanogen has also been busy lately creating partnerships with a variety of app services and companies. Most noteworthy is its relations with OnePlus, which runs CyanogenMod straight out of the box.
Additionally, and also appearing at the same conference, is its work with Nextbit’s Baton, a cloud-based service desiring to bring a more unified experience to consumers who use multiple smart devices. Its CEO, Tom Moss, was also candid with reporters about Android.
Further reading: Early Android employee says that Android and iOS likely to maintain status quo
Google and Cyanogen have had a peculiar relationship. Just last year, it was rumored that Google attempted to purchase Cyanogen, but both companies were unable to reach a final agreement. Also, Google removed Cyanogen’s CyanogenMod Installer application from the Play Store back in 2013.
Could McMaster be serious about wanting to remove Google from the Android picture? Or is this all smoke and mirrors in some secret attempt to get Google, Microsoft, or Yahoo to want them again?
Source: Android Authority via The Information
Come comment on this article: Android’s future is with us, not Google, according to Cyanogen CEO
Early Android employee says that Android and iOS likely to maintain status quo
If you’re an Android owner, you’ve probably experienced an iPhone-owning friend or family member asking you about whether or not they should switch to Android. For me, this question has increased in frequency over the years as the youthful Android devices have matured and planted themselves more clearly in the limelight.
Interestingly enough, I used to have more to say software-wise about the differences between the fruits and the robots, but as Apple has done a decent job lately of catching up to Android, a lot of the convergence has eliminated some of my old arguments. Notifications in iOS are handled better and there are now quick settings. The interface is still a glorified app drawer, though.
At a recent event held to discuss the future of Android, Tom Moss echoed this sentiment and focused on the business sector.
During The Information’s Next Phase of Android event, Moss stated, “I think, right now, Android doesn’t solve any different problems for users than Apple does and Apple has a better brand. As long as the platforms don’t solve any new and different problems, I don’t think anything will change the status quo.”
Moss went on to talk about Google’s upcoming Android for Work, but claimed that while it was nice that Google was finally addressing its absence from the enterprise environment, it’s just Google playing catch-up to Microsoft and Apple. Android for Work brings nothing new to the table, to paraphrase Moss’ laments.
The former Google employee wrapped up his statements nicely by tying it all back to his original comments, “It’s a second-order problem. If you give an employee the option to have an iPhone or Android phone, the first-order problem is that most of them are going to select iPhones.”
As I often say when discussing comparisons, it’s always a matter of if all things being equal. It applies to candidates for employment, it applies to holiday travel plans, and it definitely applies to business technology solutions.
As Apple rises from the ashes, what will Google do to further differentiate Android from iOS? For power-users, rooters, Google-lovers, and consumers who enjoy a better experience with apps on an open environment, Android will always trump Apple, but for the layman and woman? You get the idea…
On the flip-side of the coin, if all things are equal, Android does have one thing going for it: the hardware behind the operating system in its OEMs’ flagship devices cannot be matched.
Source: Business Insider
Come comment on this article: Early Android employee says that Android and iOS likely to maintain status quo
Need screen protection for your BlackBerry Q10? This 2-pack is only $9.95 today!
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Nexus 6 international giveaway!
Welcome to the Sunday Giveaway, the place where we giveaway a new Android phone or tablet each and every Sunday.
A big congratulations to last week’s winner of the OnePlus One giveaway: Raymond T. (Phillipines).
Ilay – Winner of our first Nexus 6 giveaway!
This week we are giving away a crowd favorite, the Nexus 6!
Illay from India just received his new Nexus 6 from our very first Nexus 6 giveaway. Maybe this week you will be the lucky winner of a Nexus 6.
You can earn entry tickets into the giveaway by completing the following tasks in the RaffleCopter widget located below.
- [1 Ticket] 1 Free entry!
- [1 Ticket] Follow AA on Google+.
- [1 Ticket] Follow AA on Twitter.
- [1 Ticket] Download the AA App.
- [1 Ticket] Subscribe to the AA weekly newsletter.
- [10 Tickets] Refer friends to the giveaway. You will be given a unique URL to share with your friends or social networks. You will receive 1 bonus entry (up to 10 max) for every person who you refer to the giveaway using your unique URL.
Join Now!
In case you haven’t heard, we have a new Android Authority podcast called the Friday debate. This week Josh talked with Joe, Andrew, and Jonathan about the HTC One M9 design rumours. You can find the AA podcast on iTunes, stitcher, pocket cast and RSS, we hope you tune in.
Related links
- Nexus 6 vs Nexus 5
- Nexus 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus
- Nexus 6 most common problems
- Is the Nexus 6 too large?
- Is the Nexus 6 really too expensive?
- Download Android 5.0 Lollipop wallpapers and sounds
- Nexus 6 vs the competition
- A history of the Nexus smartphone line
Nexus 6 forums | Nexus 9 cases
Terms & Conditions
- The giveaway is an international giveaway (Except when we can not ship to your Country.)
- If we can not ship to your country, you will be compensated with an online gift card of equal MSRP value to the prize.
- We are not responsible for lost shipments.
- You must be age of majority in your Country of residence.
- We are not responsible for any duties, import taxes that you may incur.
- Only 1 entry per person, do not enter multiple email addresses. We will verify all winners and if we detect multiple email addresses by the same person you will not be eligible to win.
- We reserve all rights to make any changes to this giveaway.
- The prize will ship when it is available to purchase.
Full terms & conditions and FAQ | Past giveaway winners [Gallery]
Nexus 6 international giveaway!
Welcome to the Sunday Giveaway, the place where we giveaway a new Android phone or tablet each and every Sunday.
A big congratulations to last week’s winner of the OnePlus One giveaway: Raymond T. (Phillipines).
Ilay – Winner of our first Nexus 6 giveaway!
This week we are giving away a crowd favorite, the Nexus 6!
Illay from India just received his new Nexus 6 from our very first Nexus 6 giveaway. Maybe this week you will be the lucky winner of a Nexus 6.
You can earn entry tickets into the giveaway by completing the following tasks in the RaffleCopter widget located below.
- [1 Ticket] 1 Free entry!
- [1 Ticket] Follow AA on Google+.
- [1 Ticket] Follow AA on Twitter.
- [1 Ticket] Download the AA App.
- [1 Ticket] Subscribe to the AA weekly newsletter.
- [10 Tickets] Refer friends to the giveaway. You will be given a unique URL to share with your friends or social networks. You will receive 1 bonus entry (up to 10 max) for every person who you refer to the giveaway using your unique URL.
Join Now!
In case you haven’t heard, we have a new Android Authority podcast called the Friday debate. This week Josh talked with Joe, Andrew, and Jonathan about the HTC One M9 design rumours. You can find the AA podcast on iTunes, stitcher, pocket cast and RSS, we hope you tune in.
Related links
- Nexus 6 vs Nexus 5
- Nexus 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus
- Nexus 6 most common problems
- Is the Nexus 6 too large?
- Is the Nexus 6 really too expensive?
- Download Android 5.0 Lollipop wallpapers and sounds
- Nexus 6 vs the competition
- A history of the Nexus smartphone line
Nexus 6 forums | Nexus 9 cases
Terms & Conditions
- The giveaway is an international giveaway (Except when we can not ship to your Country.)
- If we can not ship to your country, you will be compensated with an online gift card of equal MSRP value to the prize.
- We are not responsible for lost shipments.
- You must be age of majority in your Country of residence.
- We are not responsible for any duties, import taxes that you may incur.
- Only 1 entry per person, do not enter multiple email addresses. We will verify all winners and if we detect multiple email addresses by the same person you will not be eligible to win.
- We reserve all rights to make any changes to this giveaway.
- The prize will ship when it is available to purchase.
Full terms & conditions and FAQ | Past giveaway winners [Gallery]
Upcoming version of 3DMark will include benchmark test for Windows 10 and DirectX 12
Benchmark testing software company Futuremark has revealed it will add a test to its 3DMark product that will demo the graphical improvements in DirectX 12, which will ship as part of Windows 10.











