Android Authority this week – December 20, 2015

Android fans, this week brought us a ton of details about Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S7, a first look at HTC’s One X9, a possible glimpse of Motorola’s future design language, updates to a bunch of Google apps, and Marshmallow OTA news.

Inside AA HQ

Following ten days of voting and six days of in-depth comparisons, this week we announced the results of Best of Android 2015 and Smartphone of the Year: Reader’s Choice. The Galaxy Note 5 won our comparison series, beating the Nexus 6P by a large margin. But Google’s phablet took the first place in the Reader’s Choice vote, gathering more than twice as many votes as the runner up, the Note 5. Read the full details about the competition in our announcement post and congratulations to Paulo from Portugal, who won a Nexus 6P in our giveaway.

This week the prize in our beloved weekly giveaway is the Nexus 5X! Throw your name in the hat here.

The stuff you shouldn’t miss

• Tech talk: Which phone charges the fastest? We test the most popular ones out.
• Review: Lanh brings you a second opinion on the Nexus 6P.
• Comparison: Note 5 or S6 Edge Plus: we help you make up your mind.
• Feature: What will a flagship Android look like a year from now?

Top news of the week

Juicy Galaxy S7 details

• WSJ: Galaxy S7 to go on sale in March, with pressure-sensitive screen, USB Type C, and microSD
• Report: Samsung Galaxy S7 to have software optimization that rivals the iPhone

Galaxy A9 leaks

• Samsung Galaxy A9 leaks ahead of launch: 4000mAh battery, 6-inch display

Marshmallow for all

• When will your Lenovo phone get Android 6.0 Marshmallow? Details show up online
• HTC One M9 to get Marshmallow for Canadian carrier variants in early 2016
• HTC One A9 international unlocked variant receives OTA: no Android 6.0.1 or December security patch present
• 11 Samsung phones to receive Android 6.0 in Q1 2016
• Moto X (2014) now updating to Marshmallow in India
• Samsung Galaxy S3 gets Android 6.0 Marshmallow, courtesy of CyanogenMod 13

Google app updates

• Chrome Beta v48 adds custom notification buttons, Presentation API support and more
• Google Play Music updated with notification panel rating
• Android Pay can now take care of your in-app purchases
• Google Now on Tap gets new features, now supports French, Spanish and four other languages
• Report: Hangouts to lose SMS integration, gain notable new features in next big update
• YouTube to receive background downloading and pause buffering
• Google’s Androidify app receives a big holiday update

New Moto?

• Metal Moto: New leak shows a possible redesign for Motorola’s 2016 handsets

HTC One X9

• (Update: first review & new images) Clear HTC One X9 images leak online
• More pictures and a video of the HTC One X9 surface

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