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
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?
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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VLC finally available for Chrome OS
When in doubt of whether you’ll be able to play some obscure media file or not, just download VLC. That has been our philosophy for a long time. VLC is famous for supporting the largest variety of media formats. I have personally never encountered a file which doesn’t work with this player, and now Chrome OS users can finally enjoy it.
This happens to be huge news, as Chrome OS was one of the last major operating systems without official VLC support. VLC is pretty much everywhere right now. There are versions for Android, iOS, Windows, Linux and OS X, as well as more obscure operating systems like Solaris, Haiku, ReactOS and others.
Chrome OS was certainly late to the party, but that is due to very valid reasons. Adopting solutions like PPAPI, NaCL and Javascript would require rewriting all the code and would bring some issues to the database. Of course, this was before Google announced ARC (Android Runtime for Chrome), a feature that would allow Chromebooks to run Android apps.
See also: 15 best Android apps of 2015
This changed everything for VLC. They were able to keep 95% of the code they already had, and adapting the rest to work with the web-based operating system. The final result is an application that works just as well as all other VLC versions.
It supports the same video and audio formats, as well as subtitle files. You can even play streams. Other supported features include playlists, accelerated playback, an audio equalizer, audio/video synchronization and hardware-accelerated video/audio decoding.
The only trick here is that the team has only tested it with two Chrome OS devices: the Chromebook Pixel and the HP Chromebook 14, which are the only two machines the team had access to. Please do test it on your own devices, though, and try to report any bugs you find.
Ready for some mad media playback? Just click through the button below to download the app from the Chrome Web Store. And don’t forget to hit the comments and let us know how VLC for Chrome OS is treating you!
Chrome will soon stop supporting weak SHA-1 certificates
Google hasn’t had confidence in SHA-1’s — the algorithm used for encryption by most SSL certificates, which add the “s” to https:// — ability to keep your info safe for a long time. Now, the company is determined to stop supporting it and has revealed when it plans to do so. According to Google’s Online Security blog, Chrome version 48 (currently in beta) will show a message that says “Your connection is not private” starting early next year whenever it detects an SHA-1-based certificate issued on or after January 1st, 2016.
Mountain View says it’s hoping you don’t ever encounter the message, because Certificate Authorities are required to stop issuing SHA-1 certificates in 2016. Just in case, Google plans to continue issuing warnings until Chrome completely stops supporting SHA-1 on January 1st, 2017. When that day comes, a website that still uses the function will trigger a fatal network error.
SHA-1 has been growing weaker and more insecure everyday for a decade now, which is dangerous considering we tend to trust websites with “https://” in their URLs. Other browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge also plan to stop supporting it in an effort to encourage website owners to switch to more secure SHA-2 certificates as soon as possible.
Source: Google Online Security
[Deal] Canadian PayPal users can claim a discount to the Play Store for a limited time
From now until the end of the year, PayPal users living in Canada can get a discounted price to Google’s Play Store.
Canadian PayPal users can get $3 off their next purchase from the Play Store so long as the transaction is $5 or more. This obviously excludes music considering the fact that all music costs less than $5. However, apps, movies, shows, books and magazines are all fair game.
Users must pay using PayPal to claim the discount, which will be applied at checkout. The discount will be listed on your email receipt from Google.
Hurry up, because the offer doesn’t last long!
[PayPal]
Come comment on this article: [Deal] Canadian PayPal users can claim a discount to the Play Store for a limited time
We are giving away the ultimate gift package! An Amazon gift card, Chromecast Audio, Star Wars Cardboard and more
2016 is coming to an end and we are just a week away from Christmas. I know everyone doesn’t celebrate Christmas, but many of you do support giving and especially love getting free stuff.
One perk of writing we have as writers, is getting free stuff to review. We do our best to give you readers an honest opinion so you can make an informed purchase, but the cool part is we get free stuff.
I personally want to thank each and everyone of you, but I cannot afford to buy all of our readers gifts. However I will be giving away a host of items, some of which I personally bought, while others are products I received as review units. It’s a way to say thank you for your support.
Here are some of the products I will be giving away to ONE reader within the United States(I wish I could ship worldwide but shipping fees are expensive):
Dead Zebra Android Mini Special Edition – Bingle Bear
These Android Mini collectibles from Dead Zebra sell out quickly, and are so popular that they frequently gain value over time. Last year’s Christmas edition Androids are selling on ebay for over $50. I love the Android Minis because they look cool and are perfect for any fan of Android. There will also be a couple other Android Minis from my personal collection in the giveaway as well.
Tis the season for gift giving! No doubt the elves have been busy at the workshop.. but so have the lesser known toy production bears! Bingle Bear by Scott Tolleson is here to deliver holiday cheer!
- 3″ vinyl figure.
- Includes removable hat and present accessories.
- Limit two per household.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Cardboard
Apparently some move called Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now out in theaters, and I guess more than a few people are excited about it. Technically this Cardboard was free from Google, but they ran out of them very quickly, because millions of people around the globe are head over heels for Star Wars! Google Cardboard is a great way to experience Virtual Reality, and you can read more about it at Google Cardboard. The giveaway will include the Google Cardboard Storm Trooper Edition.
$25 Amazon.com Gift Card
Amazon.com is without a doubt my favorite place to shop, and included in the giveaway is a gift card valued at $25. An Amazon.com gift card is almost as good as cash because you can buy practically anything, from gadgets to groceries, Amazon has all of your needs covered.
1byone Plasma Ball Music Speaker
1byone has been behind a couple of big giveaways this year on Androidguys.com, and included in the holiday giveaway will be my review unit of the Plasma Ball speaker. I hate to see this 1byone Plasma Ball go, but I think one of you will enjoy it. You can read my review here. Thanks to Kara at 1byone! 1byone is a company based in China that makes great products at unbelievably low prices.
There are still a few hours left for the 1byone giveaway for 10 portable multi-function power banks here!
Solove Titan 20000mAh Ultra Slim Power Bank
The people behind the Solove Titan 20000mAh are hooking it up with a free 20000mAh portable power bank. My Titan is a must have in my gadget bag and I bring it with me whenever I need power on the go. It earned a 5/5 star rating in my review. I think you’ll love it too. It’s one of the best all around portable power banks you can get today.
Chromecast Audio
Have you heard of Google? The Chromecast Audio was added to its lineup of connected devices and enables you to stream music to any speakers in your household.
What is Chromecast Audio?
Chromecast Audio is a small device that plugs into your speaker for streaming music through WiFi.
Once set up, simply use your iPhone®, iPad®, Android phone and tablet, Mac® and Windows® laptop, or Chromebook to cast your favorite tunes to the best speakers in the house.
dbrand Nexus 5X skin
dbrand is a company you need to check out if you haven’t already. They shipped me two skins for my Nexus 5X(I gave away the extra 6P skin to a lucky reader), but I can only use one. dbrand’s phone skins are literally so cool that people asked where they could buy the carbon fiber version 5X. People who see my 5X truly think my phone is made from carbon fiber. They make a wide variety of skins and you can check them out here.
Tronsmart Quick Charge 2.0 54W 4 Ports Rapid USB Car Charger – LINK
Tronsmart is giving away a four port Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 car charger. Most of us have more than one device that needs charging these days, so do it in style with the car charger from Tronsmart.
There are going to be more surprises in the giveaway box, and one lucky reader is going to win it all. I will be selecting a winner on Christmas Day, December 25th, and will be sending that winner a personal email notifying them of all of the free stuff they will be receiving. All you have to do to enter in the giveaway is make a comment below in the Comments section, and if you don’t mind, follow us on Instagram. But if you don’t do social media, that is okay too – a comment will qualify you for the giveaway. I will need a shipping address, but am not looking to collect your information for any other reason. Your personal information will not be shared with anyone.
We also have a few great coupon codes for you as well if you’re in need of discounts.
Solove Roco 10000mAh Power Bank for $24.99 (Save $10 on the regular price) with code ROCOXMAS
Solove Titan 20000mAh Power Bank (Gray, Silver, Green, Gold) for $29.99 (Save $15) with code LUVEXMAS – Gray LINK, Gold LINK
Vantrue PowerUp C1 Quick Charge 2.0 Car Charger for $5.99 (Save $4) with code VANTXMAS – LINK
This is the season for giving and it is my favorite time of year. By no means do you have to give in order to qualify for this giveaway, but if you’re in the spirit of giving and have a few extra bucks to spare, check out a few of my favorite charities.
Animals are near and dear to my heart. My cat Poi came all the way from Maui, where she showed up on my doorstep as a kitten, and I simply had to give her a home. My dog Taro was abandoned at a foreclosed home in San Diego as a puppy, and she has filled my heart with love and joy for the past eight years.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty has worked endlessly to fight animal cruelty and neglect. They are the nation’s leader in the areas of rescue, adoption and welfare and none of it would be possible without donors like you.
Escondido(San Diego) Humane Society
The Escondido Humane Society is where I adopted Taro and they will always have a special place in my heart. Taro is all I need for Christmas and she is the gift that never stops giving. If you love animals, I promise you that the Escondido Humane Society does wonderful things for domestic animals.
Taro and Poi.
Sacramento, CA is my hometown, and taking care of the hungry and sheltering the homeless has always been a passion of mine. I am heading back to Sacramento to spend time with my family, and my mom and I will be feeding breakfast to the homeless and to those that are less fortunate. Christmas is a time of giving and we should all have compassion for those in need.
Almost all of us use Wikipedia as a resource of endless information. Wikipedia is not paid for by corporate powerhouses and survives solely on the generosity of its readers. They are asking for help to keep us informed without ads. If you use it, consider giving back and help keep it free and ad free.
In no way do you have to donate to charity in order to qualify for the giveaway. Simply make a comment below in order to enter into the contest and a winner will be selected on Christmas Day. But if you do have a few extra dollars, consider giving back and spreading the holiday cheer.
I want to personally thank you for being dedicated and loyal readers. Stay safe and from all of the writers here at AndroidGuys, we wish you happy holidays.
AndroidGuys – Instagram
AndroidGuys – Twitter
The only other rule is that you must live within the United States in order to win.
The post We are giving away the ultimate gift package! An Amazon gift card, Chromecast Audio, Star Wars Cardboard and more appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google uses fingers to demonstrate variety in new ad
Google posted two new video advertisements that just like so many others, show off some of the best capabilities one gets with Android.
The first of the two focuses on Android Pay. It shows a revolutionary war soldier rushing to gather what he needs. He then runs up to the counter and pays using Android Pay in very little time with little effort. The major point of this ad is clearly how fast and simple Android Pay is to use no matter where you travel.
The second ad is called ‘Android: Fingerprints’ and follows Google’s long-stressed idea of ‘be together not the same.’ In the ad, a bunch of fingers take the role of people and spend time together through a variety of scenes and holidays. At the conclusion of the ad, the fingers all come together at the dinner table. All the fingers are different through means of clothing, face expression and hair style therefore going along with the theme of ‘be together not the same.’
Click here to view the embedded video.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Come comment on this article: Google uses fingers to demonstrate variety in new ad
Take a VR tour of the White House’s Christmas splendor
Think your Christmas decorations are impressive this year? Think again. Google has released a 360-degree video of the White House today which shows off some of its most impressive Christmas trees and ornaments. The tour winds through a number of lavish rooms and corridors, including the East Colonnade, the East Garden Room and the White House Library, as well as the Vermeil Room and the China Room. It only lasts for five minutes, but during that time you can look around or simply kick back and listen to the narrator explain every bauble and tinsel-covered branch.
The experience was captured using one of Google’s Jump rigs, which consists of 16 camera modules in a circular formation. The contraption was co-designed by GoPro, and costs a steep $15,000 — although for that price, you also get access to Google’s “assembler” software, which stitches together the different video feeds into one seamless 360-degree video.
You can take the White House tour by popping your Android phone into a Google Cardboard, or by simply playing the video on YouTube and panning around with your iPhone or iPad. Google says it’s also made a Google Expedition version so that teachers can guide Cardboard-equipped groups around the building, highlighting points of interest along the way.
[Image Credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster]
VLC brings its feature-rich video player to Chrome OS
Considered the Swiss Army Knife video players, VLC is available on a plethora of different mobile and desktop platforms. However, the app has proved elusive on Google’s Chrome OS. The web-orientated operating system isn’t really known for its media abilities, but the VideoLAN team have managed to tick it off their list, allowing users to open a wide array of video and audio files, including MKV containers, ISOs, MP3s, FLAC formats. There’s also support for subtitles, network streaming and hardware accelerated decoding.
The app was made possible by Google’s App Runtime for Chrome (ARC), which allows developers to repurpose Android apps to work on Chrome OS and other platforms. The team says it was able to “recycle 95 percent of the Android code and optimizations” it utilizes in its existing Android app. While VLC for Chrome OS has been tested on a Chromebook Pixel and an HP Chromebook 14, some users have reported issues on Samsung Chromebooks. If it doesn’t work for you, VideoLAN’s Jean-Baptiste Kempf says the team will work quickly to fix bugs, so be patient.
Via: VideoLAN
Source: VLC (Chome Web Store)
Android Nankathai? What if Android fans got to name Android N?
What if Android users got to say what Android N will be called? Sundar Pichai casually floated the idea during a Q&A session yesterday at India’s Delhi University.
Pichai is in India this week to present Google’s initiatives for the country, a crucial market that Google sees as a testbed for its projects and an engine of its future growth. Among other things, Google’s CEO announced plans to equip India’s biggest rail stations with WiFi, a connected bike initiative, further support for users on slow 2G connections, and a major expansion of the Google campus in Hyderabad.
Getting back to the Q&A, one of the questions that Indian students had for Sundar Pichai was when is there going to be an Android version named after an Indian dessert. Cheers erupted from the audience, and Pichai jokingly said he would ask his mom for suggestions and that he would consider the idea of having an online poll that would let people vote the name of Android N.
If enough Indians voted, said the Google boss, perhaps “[they] could make it happen.”
Maybe Pichai just wanted an easy way out of the question. But there’s no reason why Google couldn’t let Android fans vote for the Android N. It would be a great way to spread the word about the new version and to make fans feel like they’re part of something bigger.
After all, Android is more than just a platform or an ecosystem. It’s a huge, vibrant community with millions of dedicated fans that would love nothing more than to have a say in naming their favorite OS.
So, just for fun, what is going to be? Android Nankathai or another Indian favorite? Or something more international? Nougat? Nutella?
Samsung teaming up with Google to make TouchWiz better than iOS
TouchWiz, everyones favorite Android skin… Ok, not exactly, but at least Samsung has been working on improving it over the years. The current version is a much more stripped down version than it used to be. However, TouchWiz might become even smoother when it launches on the Galaxy S7.
There has been some rumours circulating saying Google may be working with Samsung to make TouchWhiz much more fluent. The rumours say Google engineers are said to be directly helping Samsung with TouchWhiz’s code, so it can have “greater fluency than iOS”. Bold words, but we can only hope it’s true.
Source: ITHome
Via: Sam Mobile
Come comment on this article: Samsung teaming up with Google to make TouchWiz better than iOS
AIVAnet 