Android Authority this week – November 15, 2015
Android fans, this week brought us the first luxury Android smartwatch, from Tag Heuer; Google is reportedly discussing making its own phone; Xiaomi launched new affordable devices; Samsung and Qualcomm launched their powerful new processors; Google open sourced its AI software, released a new version of Android Wear, and launched the YouTube Music app; Cyanogen hinted at its plans for 2016; and we got our first glimpse at the Android-powered BlackBerry Vienna.
Inside AA HQ
Can you feel it in the air? Holidays are around the corner, and that – along some other, actually meaningful things – means buying the right gifts for friends and family. If you’re looking to start Christmas shopping early, we’ve already compiled all the info we have on the best Black Friday deals. Check out our Black Friday guide for deals on mobile, electronics, and IT, and come back for updates through the end of November. And, if you just need a little inspiration, our year-end gift guides for all budgets are coming soon.
This week we’re giving away three smartphones in our Sunday Giveaway. Want to win a Blu Pure XL? Head over here!
The stuff you shouldn’t miss
- Unboxing: Fresh out of the box, the beautiful OnePlus X
- Review: With the V10, LG managed to thoroughly impress Lanh
- Opinion: The Nexus 5X is a great phone, but it’s not perfect – Matt weighs in
- Review: Bailey reviews the affordable Zenfone 2 Laser
- Opinion: Rooting and Roming: are you still into it?
- Opinion: In his first feature piece, John asks: should Google make Android more like iOS
Top news of the week
Google’s phone
Xiaomi news
- Xiaomi just released a 20,000 mAh Mi power bank with Quick Charge 2.0 for $24… AND a fitness band for $15
- ‘Enhanced’ Xiaomi Redmi 2A boasts double RAM and ROM
- Xiaomi absolutely killed it on Singles Day
- Metal Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro spotted at TENAA
Android Wear, with a Swiss touch
- The TAG Heuer Connected is the first luxury Android Wear smartwatch
- Android Wear no longer limited to Bluetooth and WiFi; cellular support on board
Snapdragon 820 vs Exynos 8890
- Qualcomm officially unveils the Snapdragon 820
- http://www.androidauthority.com/exynos-8-octa-8890-655143/
- Snapdragon 820 vs Exynos 8890: the 2016 mobile SoC battle begins
Google giving away its AI brain
Google apps updates
- Google Maps adds offline turn-by-turn navigation, search, and more
- Google rolling out an update that simplifies Hangouts video calls on the web
- YouTube Music finally launches on Android, 14-day free trial available as well
- Google Wallpaper Art extension will make your Chromebook look gorgeous
- Google Play Books updated with better comics support, free issues up for grabs
Cyanogen in 2016
- Official Cyanogen apps now available for CyanogenMod users with the C-Apps package
- Cyanogen teases multiple cheap devices for next year, CM13, and maybe a flagship
BlackBerry Vienna: second Android phone
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Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) and Galaxy A7 (2016) further leak in picture form!
When Samsung released the Galaxy Alpha last year, it signaled a new sign of the times. A focus on materials as well as specs. While said device was only partially made with metal, it was only a matter of months before all metal models were manufactured. Now that’s it’s been roughly a year since, the Korean conglomerate’s latest doings are becoming more likely to leak, and as such we now have the clearest shots yet of the new Galaxy A5 and A7.
The devices have clearly been inspired by the Galaxy S6 design language, complete with what looks like a separate metal frame, and a larger home button. While this was not touched upon in today’s leak, given the fact that (1) the Galaxy A8 has such a sensor, and (2) Android 6.0 has native support for such a component, it would seem to be a logical conclusion.
The Galaxy A5 (2016)
Samsung models for Hong Kong/China typically have an extra “0” at the end of their model number. Hence SM-A5100.
The Galaxy A5 (SM-A510) is purportedly going to ship with a 5.2-inch Full HD display (presumably SAMOLED) and a 1.6GHz Octa-Core Exynos 7 SoC with Mali-T720 GPU. There will allegedly be 2GB of RAM inside and 16GB of on-board storage. The A5 includes a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera. It ships with Android 5.1.1 and will include support for microSD. The body will be made of metal.
The Galaxy A7 (2016)
Chinese models often have an extra “0” in the model number, hence SM-A7100.
The Galaxy A7 (SM-A710) is purportedly going to ship with a 5.5-inch Full HD SAMOLED display, a 1.5GHz Snapdragon 615 SoC with Adreno 405 GPU, 3GB of RAM, and 16GB of on-board storage. It will allegedly feature a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera. It will purportedly ship with Android 5.1.1 and also be made of metal. Presumably it will also include microSD card support.
While the Gold color variant of the Galaxy A5 pictured clearly looks like it has a metallic back, the A7, at least from the above shot, almost looks like it will be made of glass due to the reflective surface, which clearly looks the same as the front of the device. This could be a lighting issue, or it could even be a coating on the metal itself, or it could actually be glass.
Wrap Up
While these leaked pictures would definitely seem to indicate the Galaxy A5 and A7 are on their way to release, Samsung itself has yet to actually say anything specific. To this end, we recommend that our readers take everything with a dose of scrutiny. They have, however, already been leaked. At the very least, it is worth pointing out that whereas last year the Galaxy A3 and A5 were released early, this year it seems like it will be the A5 and A7, at least with respect to leaks. There is supposed to be an A3 refresh, but it failed to appear in the source’s content today.
Additionally, the use of the year (2016) as displayed on the System information page -assuming it’s legitimate- might suggest that Samsung plans to release these devices next year, or at least has given them a forward-thinking branding, something akin to how the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 released at the end of 2013.
Also we want to remind readers that hardware configurations can and do, change from region to region, and thus the report that the A7 has a Snapdragon and the A5 has an Exynos may ultimately differ when and if a final product is procured.
Are you interested in these products? Assuming they are made of metal, would this actually be preferable to the Galaxy S6 given the microSD card support? Leave us your thoughts below and be sure to let us know!
Inhabitat Week in Green: An EV that could last a million miles, and more!
Here’s something we never thought we’d hear: Wind farms in Texas are generating too much energy — and some utilities are actually giving it away for free. In other news, the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor is set to switch online this month, and it could unlock the key to limitless cheap electricity. Clean energy is on the rise around the world: A new study shows that renewables account for half of all power plants built in 2014, Taiwan is building the world’s largest dual axis solar tracker station and a Swiss company built a giant machine that sucks up CO2 and transforms it into electricity.
FCC: yes, you’re allowed to hack your WiFi router
A few months ago, the FCC proposed regulations that theoretically banned the use of open source firmware on your WiFi router. Needless to say, that rubbed a lot of enthusiasts the wrong way — how were you supposed to improve features or security on your own terms, especially on routers that were designed to be hacked? Well, you needn’t fear any longer. On top of reassurances from October, the FCC has modified its proposal to allow open source firmware like DD-WRT or Tomato. The agency will only forbid tweaks that take a router “out of compliance,” such as an overly strong signal. In short, you can flash your WiFi hotspot in the future without worrying that the feds will come knocking.
Via: Hack A Day
Source: FCC
BLU Pure XL International Giveaway! [3 Phones!]
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 Nexus 5X International giveaway: Lasaro M. (USA). Enjoy your new smartphone!
This week we are giving away THREE brand new BLU Pure XL’s!
BLU’s Pure XL manages to offer features beyond what its price point would suggest, including a fantastic display, smooth and snappy performance, and an excellent camera, all packed in a beautiful, 6 inch form factor. There’s no denying that this device is BLU’s best smartphone offering to date.
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url: “//player.ooyala.com/v3/456099a54cc04bafb07a186890fa7e7e?namespace=OoyalaPlayer1759&platform=html5-fallback”,
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Enter Giveaway:
BLU Pure XL International Giveaway [3 Phones!]
https://js.gleam.io/e.js
More Giveaways:
- JayBird X2 Bluetooth Earbuds giveaway at SoundGuys.com
- Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet giveaway at TabTimes.com
Winners Gallery
Winners Gallery on Google+
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.
- This giveaway is operated by Android Authority.
- The prize will ship when it is available to purchase.
The first big ‘Halo 5’ update brings 16-player vehicle battles
Whatever you think of Halo 5‘s solo component, 343 Industries is determined to keep you interested in the multiplayer part. As part of a first content drop due next week (Battle of Shadow and Light), the studio is introducing 16-player Big Team Battles where vehicles play a big role. If your favorite memories of Halo involve epic Warthog duels, you’ll likely get a kick out of the new mode and its four accompanying maps. You’ll also find dozens of armor, weapon and vehicle sets (such as the Tundra Mantis, below). It should all be good news if you’re a fan of the Halo series, although the real question is whether or not 343 will keep this up. Hopefully, you won’t run out of things to do in the Xbox One’s flagship title several months down the road.
Source: Halo Waypoint
The Big Picture: A psychedelic portrait of Pluto by New Horizons
No, you’re not tripping. This is really Pluto — it’s just dressed in hues much more exciting than its usual cream, white, gray and copper. Think of this color scheme as the dwarf planet’s mardi gras outfit, and the tamer ones as its office suits and classic dresses. The New Horizons team used a technique called principal component analysis to process the images taken on July 14th by its spacecraft’s Ralph/MVIC camera. Their goal is to amplify the subtle shade differences between Pluto’s regions, and seeing as the final product looks like a psychedelic world with several distinct colors, we’d say it was a success.
Source: NASA
Xposed framework now supports Android 6.0 Marshmallow – customize away!
Fans of the Xposed framework have something to celebrate today. After weeks of telling you support for Android 6.0 Marshmallow was getting closer and closer, developer rovo89 has finally released version 77, with full Marshmallow compatibility.
For those who have no idea what Xposed framework is: it’s a tool for root users, which allows them to customize individual parts of the system and UI. I find that it’s best for those who do not want a full-blown change of experience, but would prefer to tweak a few things here and there.
All the user would need to install Xposed is a custom recovery and a rooted phone (of course). As always, there are certain things to consider, though. Keep in mind that rooting and tinkering with your phone may harm your device and/or void its warranty, so be very careful and spend a good deal of time doing your research.
With that in mind, the developer does have some comments you should keep in mind. Here they are:
- I have only tested this with SuperSU installed, due to which dm-verity and some SELinux rules are disabled. Especially dm-verity would definitely conflict with the modifications of the system partition.
- Access to preferences files might be blocked by SELinux, and Xposed is currently not able to work around that. (*) Some modules might be affected by this, nevertheless I strongly recommend to keep SELinux enabled and enforcing to keep your device as safe as possible.
- I could not test all Xposed APIs. The system is booting without any error messages from Xposed, but some functions that the framework makes available might still need to be adjusted for Marshmallow.
- Obviously, modules themselves might need to be updated as well due to changes in AOSP. Please be patient and give module developers the time to make the required changes. If you absolutely “cannot live” without module X, don’t update to Marshmallow yet.
- Some issues might arise from JIT (disabled by default, even in AOSP) and the “optimizing” compiler (which rewrites apps’ code to be more efficient, due to which some calls might simply be skipped). Both of these are new in Marshmallow and might have various consequences in combination with Xposed, from hooks that silently don’t work to crashes. However, as it’s running stable for me, I decided not to disable them and will instead look into them in more detail if concrete issues are reported.
Also, some reports say a few Samsung and Sony phones on stock software are having issues with bootlooping. With that in mind, try to be careful and make a backup before doing anything. Happy flashing!
Turkey blocks Reddit through its internet censorship law
The Turkish government’s eagerness to censor the internet isn’t letting up any time soon. The country’s officials have blocked Reddit under the guise of Internet Law 5651, which lets Turkey ban sites it suspects of hosting ‘scandalous’ content like piracy, porn or criticism of first President Mustafa Ataturk. It’s relatively easy to circumvent the block (you just have to switch your DNS settings), but there’s no hint that the government is about to have a change of heart.
Via: The Verge
Source: Reddit
UFC doesn’t want you posting Ronda Rousey fights on Instagram
The running joke about a Ronda Rousey fight is that you can fit the whole thing into a 15-second Instagram video, if not a 6-second Vine — she’s so good that her opponents usually crumble in seconds. You may not see many of those bite-sized clips from her title bout this weekend, though. In a first, UFC is discouraging the press (not just the general public) from sharing unauthorized footage of the fight on the internet, whether it’s a GIF animation or a looping video. There’s no official explanation, but it’s easy to see the concern: the league is worried that you’ll skip that pay-per-view purchase knowing that a fan site could recap everything in a tweet.
Source: Motherboard
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