Android One will become more like Android because manufacturers want more freedom
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We love the idea of Android One – a standardized platform of smartphones, hardware and software, for emerging markets. Unfortunately, it seems manufacturers don’t see it that way and Google is having to change its stance on it. Previously, Google had mandated that components had to come from a list of approved vendors, however this is now being loosened so that manufacturers can use their own vendors. And while Google has tried to keep pricing relatively standard between manufacturers, Android One manufacturers are now also allowed to control the pricing of their devices.
If this is all starting to sound a bit familiar, let’s just add one more thing into the mix. Whereas Google had previously said that Android One would be getting updates straight from Google (because they all had the same hardware, hence this was possible), the change to the arrangement with manufacturers has meant this will change to updates coming from the manufacturers themselves. In case you haven’t caught on already, all these changes mean that Android One is now effectively the same as Android – and apparently this is what manufacturers want. If Google wants to change how devices are made for emerging markets, they may end up having to do it themselves with a low-cost Nexus range.
What do you think about these changes to the Android One program? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Wall Street Journal via Phone Arena
The post Android One will become more like Android because manufacturers want more freedom appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Google buys Fly Labs, Photos to get in-app video editing
The team at Fly Labs announced on Friday that Google had acquired their company and will be rolling their image-editing technology into Google Photos. “We’ll be pouring the same passion into Google Photos that we poured into Clips, Fly, Tempo and Crop on the Fly,” the company wrote in a blog post. Existing users should note that while Fly Lab’s existing suite of tools will remain free and available in the App Store for the next three months or so, there will be no more updates. Furthermore, if you’ve already downloaded the apps, they’ll continue to work even after this three-month grace period. You won’t, however, be able to re-download them once they’ve been removed from the App Store so make sure you don’t go accidentally uninstalling them.
Source: Fly Labs
Google to talk AI ethics with top minds in the industry
To some it’s scary and to others it’s exciting, but the scientific consensus is that artificial intelligence will have a drastic impact on humanity, probably within our lifetimes.
What exactly that will look like is a debated range of sci-fi scenarios. Stephen Hawking made waves when he claimed that the development of AI could end the human race. While real-life Tony Stark Elon Musk and Microsoft’s Bill Gates chimed in with concerns of their own, other experts believe the threat of artificial intelligence has been exaggerated. What everyone can agree on is that developing intelligence is something we should be very, very careful with.
When Google purchased DeepMind to the tune £400 million, the London-based AI startup had some pretty firm ground-rules regarding the two companies’ relationship. Demis Hassabis, the DeepMind CEO, said that a condition to their acquisition by Google was for Google to form an internal ethics committee. DeepMind also refuses to allow any of their technology to be used for weapons or military interests.
What everyone can agree on is that developing intelligence is something we should be very, very careful with.
Hassabis has announced that he and many of the top minds currently working with AI research will be meeting in New York in early 2016 to discuss and debate ethical issues surrounding their work. Although no official list of participants has been released, big players such as Apple and Facebook will almost certainly have representatives present.
Since purchasing the AI company, Google has been using DeepMind’s technology in a wide array of implementations. Artificial intelligence has improved Google’s image recognition technology (if you remember when DeepMind’s “dreams” went viral earlier this year) and is also helping services like Google Now anticipate user’s needs more accurately. Talks like the one expected to occur in New York will likely serve to create ethical frameworks that will guide the development of this and other technologies.
What do you think about this development? Should scientific research not involving living creatures be fettered by ethical concerns? Is AI going to be the proverbial genie that won’t go back in the bottle? Are we going to throttle ourselves into a wasteland future that sees every human being wailing “What has science done?” under the authoritarian bootheel of robotic overlords? Let us know in the comments!
Google Maps and Search now display holiday hours
With the holiday season approaching, Google has rolled out a special update to two of their most-used apps. In addition to showing normal operating hours, Maps and Search will now display holiday hours as well.
Jonathan Sidi, the Product Manager of Google Maps and Local Search, posted on the official Google Maps blog today that holiday hours have been added to the apps. Now, if a holiday falls within the next seven days, businesses will display the holiday hours without you having to specifically search for them. This looks like it could be quite the nifty time-saver. It will probably also help you avoid those irritating situations when you haul yourself all the way to your favorite noodle restaurant only to be surprised to find that the lights are out and one’s home. Oh yeah, Chinese New Year.
This update to Google Maps and Search is global, as Sidi points out, so if you’re traveling abroad it can help you tabs on operating hours affected by holidays you might not have considered. “How’s that for traveling like a local?” Sidi quips. If no holiday hours are available in Google’s system for a given business, users will encounter a warning message, giving them a heads up that operating hours might be different due to a looming holiday.
It’s a slick little addition to an already intuitive pair of apps. Since you don’t have to specifically access this feature (and it is turned on in the background), most users will just find themselves stumbling upon it organically. What do you think of the addition? Share your thoughts in the comments.
The New York Times VR app took me inside the news
I’m standing in the center of a rubble-filled classroom. The floor is ankle deep in books with overturned desks jutting up like volcanic islands in a sea of literature. At the chalkboard, a young boy is writing something. It’s difficult to see what he’s writing on the one item that establishes that kids used to learn in this room. I do know that the boy’s name is Oleg and he’s one of three child subjects of the New York Times’ VR app (NYT VR) lead story, The Displaced. He starts telling me his story and I’m spinning trying to take in the virtual environment the publication has dropped me in. Everything is fuzzy at first while I adjust my iPhone in the Google Cardboard headset. Then after a few adjustments, everything lines up. It’s not crystal clear, but the story starts to unfold without the technology getting too much in the way. That should be the end game for The New York Times. Tell stories without the tech getting in the way. The app is a good — yet gimmicky — start, but it’ll need more adjustments to bring it into focus and really change the way we get our news.
Source: NYT
Marshmallow debuts in less than one percent of Android devices
Google’s latest version of Android, Marshmallow, only started rolling out last month. As such, it shouldn’t come as surprise to see that the current adoption numbers for it are extremely low. According to Android’s Platform Distribution rates for the month of November, Marshmallow is running on a mere 0.3 percent of “active” devices. The data is collected from signals sent to the Play Store, which helps identify what Android version is on handsets or tablets. Lollipop (5.0 and 5.1), on the other hand, accounts for nearly 26 percent, while Kit Kat (4.4) is the most popular version with about 38 percent of the total. The slow adoption rates for Marshmallow are by no means Google’s fault, however, since it is often carriers and manufacturers which fail to keep their phones up to date.
Latest Google Play Services further simplifies the sign-in experience
The latest version of Google Play Services debuted yesterday and while most of the changes really don’t directly affect consumers and matter mostly to developers, there are a few changes that are worthy of your notice.
The most significant change is the introduction of an improved Google Sign-In API. The newly improved sign-in method no longer requires device accounts permissions, has the new Google branding and logo, and basically makes an already smooth process even better. While there’s some more technical changes behind the scenes, bottom-line is that Google is cutting down the number of steps required by users to sign in to apps that utilize this API.
The other noteworthy changes are that the Smart Lock API now lets users pick previously used email addresses to fill in forms more easily, and the data API now gives developers more control over how data is synced to wearables.
There’s a few other changes beyond this, and for those interested, you can learn more at the Android developer’s blog (and/or check out the video at the top of this post). As is typical, it could take a little while for this update to reach all devices, though you really won’t notice any difference until developers start taking advantage of this under-the-hood API changes.
Nexus 6P vs iPhone 6S Plus
Buy Nexus 6P
Buy iPhone 6S Plus
Google decided to take its Nexus smartphone line down a new path with the Nexus 6, a premium device that unfortunately featured a price tag to match its quality. Continuing on that path, the Nexus 6P is the most premium Nexus device yet, and comes at a lower price tag than its predecessor.
In the other camp is the latest large display smartphone from Apple. Even though this is an “S” year for the series, this device strays for the standard formula by bringing to the table some new and useful additions and upgrades. How does these large display flagships compare? We find out, in this comprehensive look at the Nexus 6P vs iPhone 6S Plus!
Design
As far as the design is concerned, its clear that metal is the order of the day with both smartphones.
The iPhone 6S Plus, as the name suggests, is the larger of Apple’s two new smartphones of this year, and given that it is an “S” iteration, it’s not surprising that the design language of its predecessor has been retained, bringing back the metal unibody construction seen with last year’s iPhone 6. Rounded sides and corners keep the phone feeling really smooth in the hand, maybe too much so however, resulting in a somewhat slippery handling experience, which isn’t great news for a device with a large display.
2.5D glass adorns the front, with the signature home button the only real blemish to be seen here, once again featuring an embedded fingerprint scanner. The sides retain the classic layout as well, with the volume rocker under the silence toggle, and at the bottom is the Lightning port, flanked by the single speaker and the headphone jack. On the back, the only clear lines on the phone outline a rectangle in the middle, and there is also the protruding camera at the top left corner.
On the other hand, the Nexus 6P features a big departure from the way Nexus smartphones have been constructed in the past. While Nexus manufacturers have tended to borrow design cues from their own flagship offerings, things are a little different this year. With Huawei at the helm, there has been a distinct re-imagining of what a premium Nexus smartphone should be.
Metal encompasses a more boxy design, with the flat sides contributing to the handling experience. The volume rocker and power button are all placed on the right side, with the latter placed to be within easy reach and featuring a textured pattern to make it easy to locate by feel. The front face of the device is dominated by the large display, and there is not much else to be found here, save for the front-facing camera, and the dual speaker setup. The headphone jack is up top, and at the bottom is the USB Type-C port, that brings a new standard to the world of Android.
On the back is where the unique design element is to be found, with the black bar up top that houses the camera package. It might look a little odd, but it certainly grows on you, and looks much better than what the initial press renders may have suggested. If nothing else, it serves the purpose of keeping the camera physically protected. On the back is also where you will find the new fingerprint reader, powered by Nexus Imprint, in the middle, placed within comfortable reach of your index finger.
Deciding between these two designs is obviously a matter of personal choice, but the choice can be pretty easy when looking at such different devices. The iPhone 6S Plus feels like the sleeker of the two, but the Nexus 6P takes the series to new premium heights with a sturdy feel and industrial look. While both smartphones do look great, it is worth mentioning here that while the iPhone 6S Plus is simply a much larger version of its flagship counterpart, the Nexus 6P stands alone, with only the plastic clad Nexus 5X as its smaller alternative.
Display
Displays on these two devices brought higher resolutions than what were found in previous iterations, even if Apple still doesn’t try to match up to the standards currently set by the Android powerhouses.
The iPhone 6S Plus features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a Full HD resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 401 ppi. 1080p was a development that wasn’t made available to Apple users until the arrival of the Plus line, but the company has always done a good job with their displays, regardless of their comparatively lower resolutions. Colors are nice and vivid, and the translucent effects in iOS help showcase how well the IPS display can perform. Brightness is of no concern either, even if it has to be pumped up to the highest level in daylight for optimal viewing, and while sharpness might be slightly lacking in comparison, reading text is of no issue on this Full HD screen.
1080p is a thing of the past when looking at the latest and greatest in the world of Android however, with Quad HD becoming the accepted flagship standard. The 5.7-inch AMOLED display of the Nexus 6P features a 2560 x 1440 resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 518 ppi. AMOLED is always a good choice if you’re looking for deep backs and high contrast, that really make the colors pop. The high resolution makes everything from media to text look great, with everything as sharp as ever.
The spec hungry will obviously prefer the Quad HD display, but we know that 1080p is still considered the bare standard, and performs just fine for the vast majority of people. Apple does a good job leveraging the IPS display for good quality viewing, but its Android competitor not only brings a higher resolution, but also an AMOLED construction, that allows for a very enjoyable experience of its own.
Performance
A by-the-numbers comparison is not indicative of performance capabilities here, given the two very different ecosystems these processing packages have to power, but in both cases, we are dealing with the pure version of the respective software experiences, resulting in performances that are as high as it should be.
Apple makes its own processing packages, and the iPhone 6S Plus packs a dual-core Apple A9 processor, clocked at 1.84 GHz and backed by the PowerVR GT7600 GPU and 2 GB of RAM. Android fans will consider this really paltry compared to what dominates in the Android world, but for iOS, this processing package works just fine. Moving in and out of screens and applications is smooth and easy, all applications thus far have run without incident, and the gaming experience remained very good during our testing as well.
On the other hand, the Nexus 6P comes with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, clocked at 2 GHz, and backed by the Adreno 430 GPU and 3 GB of RAM. This processing package is the current flagship standard, and with the stock software experience to be found on-board, performance is definitely as good as ever. There were no problems getting just about anything done on the Nexus 6P, and gaming has been a wonderful experience as well, further enhanced by the availability of a high resolution display and great sounding front-facing speakers.
All said and done, regardless of which device you may pick, you will certainly not have a difficult time getting things done with these smartphones.
Hardware
Hardware is one area in which the separation between Android and Apple smartphones has gradually been decreasing, with similar features being added (or omitted) in both cases.
The iPhone 6S Plus brings back the fingerprint reader from previous generations, but in an even faster iteration, so much so that the finger used to press the home button doesn’t even need to rest there to unlock the device. Just the actual press of the button itself is more than enough for the sensor to register a fingerprint. Though there is only a single bottom-mounted speaker to be had, the sound coming from it is actually fairly robust, even if not particularly loud.
The Lightning port, when it was first introduced, was a pretty big change for plenty of Apple users, and this is a growing pain that Android users will now have to contend with when it comes to USB Type-C. Finally, in battery, the 2,750 mAh unit of the iPhone 6S Plus is large enough to provide only about a day and half in total with low overall usage, though the standby time is impressive on the Apple phones. Also worth mentioning here is the fact that fast charging has yet to come to the Apple world.
A new hardware addition with the Nexus 6P is the fingerprint reader that is mounted on the back, and is the main point of reference for the new Nexus imprint portion of Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The scanner does work very well, even if it is a little slower than Apple’s, but an index finger on the back wakes the phone and gives you direct access to the homescreens. The Nexus 6P also goes above and beyond with the availability of dual front-facing speakers, that do a great job of bringing pretty loud, full, stereo sound to whatever you are doing, making gaming and media-consumption very fun experiences.
USB Type-C is the new standard for Android, and while it is kind of hard to remember to bring the cord along when heading out, the benefit here is the fast charging, that allows for the large 3,450 mAh battery of the Nexus 6P to fully charge in around 90 minutes. Battery life also benefits from the new Doze feature of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, allowing for standby times that now rival that of the iPhone. It does require the phone to be sitting flat without any sensors being triggered at all, but the bottom line is that, with typical moderate usage, users could get the device to last for as long as 2 days fairly easily.
Simply put, the Nexus 6P is the phone that will appeal to the power user, with its front-facing speakers, reliable fast charging, and big battery that can go the distance. Plenty of users have been able to get power usage of the iPhones, but without these extras, it falls just short, and will definitely need a tether faster than its Android competitor.
Camera
Moving on to the camera, the iPhone 6S Plus features an upgraded 12 MP rear camera with a f/2.2 aperture, along with a 5 MP front-facing unit. The main addition with the rear camera is the ability to record 4K video, which puts it on par with plenty of current generation Android smartphone cameras. Optical image stabilization is also something the iPhone can boast over the Nexus 6P, which surprisingly left it out.
Taking selfies gets an extra feature with a screen-powered flash, and while this does tend to wash out subjects no matter what kind of picture it is, users can at least get some light in really dark situations. As far as the camera application is concerned, the features are fairly robust, but without much manual control. Swiping on the view finder brings up the photo, video, timelapse, and hyperlapse options, but the main focus here is on offering a good default camera interface, and it works pretty well in that regard.
On the other hand, the Nexus 6P also comes with a 12 MP rear camera, which – as Google made sure to tout – has a bigger sensor size than most other Android smartphones, but also the iPhone 6S Plus. OIS is missing here, but the larger sensor should still be able to get in a little more light than typical. The front-facing camera is 8 MP, so pictures will be larger on the 6P than they are on the iPhone, but without a secondary light source, selfies in poorly-lit conditions will be a pain.
Nexus 6P camera samples
Google’s own camera application is also focused on being an automatic shooter, so there aren’t really manual controls to be seen here either. Other than the ability to make HDR+ automatic or not, use Lens Blur for a depth of field look, or capture a Photo Sphere, the app is pretty simplistic, and doesn’t come with too many bells and whistles.
iPhone 6S Plus camera samples
Of course, what matters the most here is the quality of the shots possible with these cameras, and in this case, the two phones are on an even playing field. The iPhone family has always been lauded for bringing good camera experiences, and that continues with the iPhone 6S Plus. OIS does a good job of getting in a little more light in poorly-lit conditions, and it does get a bit more than the Nexus. While previous Nexus devices were infamous for their average camera quality, the Nexus 6P marks new territory with a larger sensor, that, even without OIS, does a great job in photos. To that end, we actually found plenty of photos to be a toss-up in terms of detail and visuals.
Software
Finally, on the software side of things, we return to the age-old comparison of Android vs iOS, that might have admittedly been much easier to conduct only a couple of years ago.
iOS is still aesthetically about the same as its past few iterations. The homescreens contain all the installed applications, and while widgets are still unavailable, a few additions over the last couple of years have made a difference. The notification dropdown is similar to Android’s original creation, but a secondary screen can bring up a few extra shortcuts and glances at some contextual information, and a swipe up from the bottom opens the Control Center, where a number of controls and toggles are easily accessible.
Of course, the biggest addition with the iPhone 6S Plus is 3D Touch, which leverages a layer of sensors underneath the screen to sense any harder than normal presses. By doing so, shortcuts will appear from icons on the homescreens, and previews pop up in various built-in applications. This is a level of input that Apple has effectively added in, and adds a new dimension to what has been a very familiar software experience over the years. Apple’s design prowess permeates through iOS, with all the elements shown in a very smooth and pleasing way. Such is the benefit of a focused, unitary ecosystem, that anyone who gets an iPhone will get this kind of experience without fail.
That is also why the Nexus family is so important to Android lovers. If the purest software experience is what you’re looking for, the Nexus is where one will have to go to get it. Android 6.0 Marshmallow is the latest iteration of Android the way that Google wants it to be experienced, and while it is as smooth and snappy as ever, it is also a robust package in and of itself.
You can, of course, fill up your homescreen with icons, but this being Android, a variety of widgets are available. On the side is Google Now, and the notification dropdown here includes its own version of Quick Settings, so that everything you may need remains within easy reach. Marshmallow has refined some of the well-known aspects, like adding a frequently used apps line in the now vertical scrolling app drawer. App permissions bring a certain level of security to daily tasks, similar to how iOS might constantly notify users that other apps are being triggered or opened, but a whole page for deeper insight is now available too.
Google Now on Tap is an easy way to quickly do a search based on what is on the screen, though it might seem a little fickle at times. Though Material Design arrived a couple of versions ago, the overall Android experience has been refined, and made not only easier on the eyes, but also easier on workflow. Multi-tasking might be a little bare, but you won’t have any trouble with work or play on this mature operating system.
People that are already entrenched in the Android or iOS camp will have little reason to move to the other ecosystem. In the past, app support for iOS used to be more robust than on Android, but that gap is all but closed.
Specs comparison
| Moto X Style / Pure Edition | iPhone 6s Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.7-inch AMOLED display Quad HD resolution, 518 ppi |
5.5-inch IPS LCD display Full HD resolution, 401 ppi |
| Processor | 2 GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 Adreno 430 GPU |
1.8 GHz dual-core Apple A9 PowerVR GT7600 GPU |
| RAM | 3 GB | 2 GB |
| Storage | 32/64/128 GB no expansion |
16/64/128 GB no expansion |
| Camera | 12 MP rear camera, 1.55 micron pixel size, laser auto focus, dual LED flash 5 MP front-facing camera |
12 MP rear camera with OIS 5 MP front-facing camera |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.1 GPS + GLONASS NFC USB 2.0, USB Type-C |
a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.2 GPS + GLONASS NFC ( with Apple Pay only) USB 2.0 |
| Software | Android 6.0 Marshmallow | iOS 9 |
| Battery | 3,450 mAh | 2,750 mAh |
| Dimensions | 159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3 mm 178 grams |
158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm 192 grams |
Gallery
Pricing and final thoughts
Prices for both of these devices reach the premium brackets, but the iPhone is notorious for being a very expensive phone, especially when a higher storage capacity is factored in. $749 total in payments to T-Mobile gets you the 16 GB version, with the 64 GB iteration setting you back and additional $100. On the other hand, the Nexus 6P is more aggressively priced, but given its unlocked nature, requires a full payment. $499 will get you the base model, requiring another $50 for the 64 GB edition.
So there you have it for this in-depth look at the Nexus 6P vs iPhone 6S Plus! These are the bigger quintessential devices of their respective lines, and they both certainly bring a lot to the table. Apple jumped into the large form factor game only last year, and with the 6S Plus, it is more about refining the formula, aside from the one main addition in 3D Touch. The Nexus 6P is Google’s latest attempt to not only provide a great reference point, but rather be a device that is worthy of claiming the flagship crown. With a design overhaul, Marshmallow additions, and an improved camera, it is worthy of being considered as such.
If you want a larger display with performance to match, either of these devices will do. Purists will stick to what they know and love, and in this comparison, we see that the grass is greener on the other side, in either case.
Google Wallet app adds support for multiple bank accounts in new update
Version 11.0 of Google Wallet brings support for linking multiple bank accounts and some other nice features as well.
Google Wallet, although its own application, has gotten much of its attention taken away now that Android Pay is out. But if you’re like me, and you still use Google Wallet, here are some good reasons to update to the latest version.
The newest version of the Google Wallet application allows users to add multiple bank accounts. So if you have a checking account and savings account, which most do, you can now add both of them to make money transfers all within the app. Google Wallet is also bringing a new lock button for an added security. This comes into play right after one uses the Google Wallet app, but has not ended the task. What this will do, is rather than keeping it in your device’s memory, users can click the new lock button to return to the pin entry screen. This will ensure that nobody gets into your account if you happen to leave the app open. You can find it at the bottom of the navigation bar once logged in. Google hasn’t started pushing the update to the Play Store just yet, but it should be arriving shortly. If you’re impatient to get it, you can download via the safe APK download below. Just enable “unknown sources” in your settings and you’re good to go. Happy updating!
Via: Android Police [APK Download]
Come comment on this article: Google Wallet app adds support for multiple bank accounts in new update
Google to offer discounts to Play Music subscribers?
If you’re a fan of Google’s Play Music service, you may be in for a treat. Reddit user Thomas79 pointed out that when he purchased an app, he received what looks to be a 10% Play Music subscriber discount. While this may turn out to be a glitch, it is also possible that Google is readying a discount for its existing Play Music customers, which would be a nice bonus for the holiday season. It is worth mentioning that Thomas79 lives somewhere in Europe, and this discount was not applied when we attempted to purchase the same app here in the U.S.
We also have no indication as to which apps this discount would apply to in the Play Store, or if it would apply to books, movies, or other content. It’s not clear when (or if) this will be rolling out to all users, but we will definitely keep our eyes open for future discounts.
The post Google to offer discounts to Play Music subscribers? appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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