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Taking a look at the world of Android, this week's Android Circuit includes Samsung deleting a controversial Note 9 feature, Galaxy S10 vs. iPhone XS, an early release for the Galaxy F folding phone, Android 9.0 Pie plans , OnePlus 6T details leak, details on the Nokia 1 and the Nokia 5, Huawei's Mate 20 release date and some curious Honor benchmark results are discussed.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).
Removing A Contentious Galaxy Note 9 Issue
Samsung loves to promote Bixby, even to the point of annoyance. Case in point is Bixby 2.0, which launched on the Galaxy Note 9. Why is it a specific problem for Note 9 users? Because of Samsung's decision to lock the functionality of the Bixby button to launch the Bixby App. That looks set to be removed in a forthcoming update, and I covered the issue earlier this week:
Samsung has placed a physical Bixby button on its flagship Galaxy S smartphones and Note phablets since the Galaxy S8 launch in March 2017 (along with appearances on the -A, -J and -C handsets). The Galaxy Note 9 has not been an exception.
That Bixby button is controversial. It's in easily accessible place, and has a touch of Bixby Home. As the Galaxy Note 9 featured Bixby 2.0, Samsung made the decision that users would not be able to disable the Bixby button, even though older versions of the code.
More here on Forbes.
Samsung introduces the new, super powerful Galaxy Note9 with all day performance, a new S Pen and smart camera (Photo by Bryan Bedder / Getty Images for Samsung)
Galaxy S10 And iPhone XS Go Head To Head
Meanwhile the Galaxy S10 is coming out thick and fast. Anyone who is thinking about the purchase of the iPhone XS now has a good idea what to expect in a head to head. And you know what? The Galaxy S10 looks better than the iPhone XS, starting with reliability:
Although Samsung has had a rather high-profile smartphone, it took visible action both immediately, during the investigations, and when reporting to the hardware. Compare that to Apple's own battery problems, the reluctance to admit to the problem, and the painful way Tim Cook and his team was dragged towards an acceptable outcome for consumers.
Now consider that the portfolios of the iPhone 6, the iPhone 7, and the iPhone 8 have all exhibited major flaws stemming from the hardware design of the smartphones. While past performance is no guide to future stability, consumers are more adept at recognizing patterns. The reliability of the Galaxy ranks in the mainstream media is streets ahead of the iPhone.
More here on Forbes.
Samsung's Folding Phone Forced Into Early Appearance?
Samsung is in a race with other manufacturers to be 'first' to release a smartphone with a folding display. Can it wait as long as MWC in February 2019? Could it hold off until CES in January? It appears that even those tent pole events are too far away. The presumptively titled Galaxy F could be here before Christmas. Forbes' Gordon Kelly reports:
Speaking to CNBC, Samsung's Mobile CEO Division DJ Koh has confirmed "it's time to deliver" to a smartphone with a smartphone. What's more, Koh hinted at the Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco.
Koh said Samsung is moving fast "after consumer surveys …" Samsung did not want to lose the world's first title "to a rival.
More on Samsung's mobile phone here on Forbes.
Samsung's Android 9.0 Maps Accelerate
As reported last week, Samsung is accelerating the speed of its Android OS updates, with the Galaxy S9 likely to be the first Galaxy to receive Android 9.0 Pie:
Here's where it gets fun. Android 9 Pie was released less than a month ago. To have the code and running on the S9 +, to the point where it can be run through external benchmarking tools, illustrates a significant increase in development pace. That means that Galaxy S9 and S9 + owners can expect to see the latest version of Android sooner than expected.
… While I would still expect the S10 to launch Android 9.0 (just as the S9 debuted with Android 8.0 Oreo), the real benefit of the fast turnaround should allow Samsung to distribute updates to the OS, but it patches, security updates, gold major version jumps, in a faster and more efficient manner.
Forbes' Gordon Kelly has been looking at the strategy, and why is there a recent update? The answer is likely to be Google
The stick is Samsung has little choice. The launch of Google's 'Android One' program brings you to Samsung's rivalry including LG, Motorola, Nokia and big Chinese threats: Huawei and Xiaomi. Google's growing Pixel also promised the same.
Suddenly, Samsung can not afford to lag behind. Especially following lackluster Galaxy S9 sales.
More here on Forbes.
Huawei Mate 20 Launch Date Revealed
Following on from the Mate 20 Lite announcement last week, the remaining handsets in the family will be revealed in London on October 16th. GSM Arena has more:
The Mate 20 series will consist of the Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro (perhaps a Mate 20 Porsche Design) and the Mate 20 Lite, which was announced last week. The Mate 20 will feature a 6.3-inch AMOLED screen with a water drop, triple cameras, 4,200mAh battery, Wireless Charging, stereo speakers and glass on both sides.
The Mate 20 Lite has raised eyebrows – it makes perfect sense to carry an entry-level device for the Mate portfolio, but it crashes straight into the top end of Huawei's Honor handsets, as Andrew Orlowski's Register dryly points out:
The Mate brand has been trampled into the crush to fling out phones. But, more charitably, the Mate brand is so much so stretches around every conceivable consumer market. The Mate 20 Lite is not remotely a "phablet", and it's expressly intended to appeal to the narcissistic millennial which Huawei's Honor unit so cringingly cultivates.
Nonetheless UK retail has embraced the Huawei Mate 20 Lite with an enthusiasm it finds for mid-range Chinese phones: Vodafone and EEA are stocking it, alongside Carphone and the online channels. You can see why they fancy it's something they can sell.
More on Mate v Honor match at 'El Reg'.
OnePlus' Mystery Date (image: OnePlus / Weibo)OnePlus / Weibo
An Empty Box And A Curious Date From OnePlus
OnePlus' social media team must have taken great delight in posting a mystery screenshot with 'January 15 2019' highlighted. According to previous statements, it is too late to be the release of the 6T, but too early to be the OnePlus 7. While the geekerati pondered that one, leaked shots of the retail packing of the OnePlus 6T arrived and pointed out a key feature, as I reported earlier this week:
But the most noticeable feature is that of the in-display fingerprint sensor. The internal illustration of the box shows not only the full screen display, but also shows a fingerprint icon in the lower third of the screen.
Paired up with the caption 'Unlock The Speed', the implication is clear that the OnePlus 6T is joining the part of Android devices with the biometric fingerprint scanner built into the display.
More thoughts on the release date and the leaked features here.
Reviewing the Nokia 1
Five years after Microsoft's Quixotic purchase of Nokia, the Nokia smartphone brand is going through another reinvention under HMD Global. Part of that is using Google's Android turnkey solutions to ease development costs and promote post-purchase updates. As the Android Go powered Nokia 1 launches in Pakistan, Nozair Hanif Mirza reviews the handset, including the key selling point of the OS:
Nokia 1 runs on Google's latest Android 8.1 Oreo (Go edition) that is a special version of Android tuned and tweaked to run well on low-end devices. It's a vanilla Android experience with access to Google's apps and services like the Play Store, Gmail, YouTube and Google Assistant as well.
The bundled version of the Google Play Store has been tweaked to highlight Go versions of apps, while still offering its entire catalog. The pre-installed version of Gmail is Gmail Go, but you can still find and download the standard version of Gmail if you choose so. Likewise, Google Play will mention if a version is available when looking for apps.
More at Daily Pakistan Global.
Nokia 5.1 Challenges The iPhone
In a cheeky move, HMD Global is also releasing the Nokia 5.1 to the UK markets this coming Wednesday, September 12th. While not leaving the iPhone, this mid-range handset continues the growth of the Nokia brand in Europe. Pocket Lint's Dan Grabham has more:
The Nokia 5.1 is based on the MediaTek Helio P18 2.0 GHz Octacore chipset, has 2GB of RAM, the above mentioned 16GB of storage, 16 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front snapper. Nokia reckons the device is around 40 percent faster than the previous version of the device.
The screen is a 5.5-inch Full HD + display in 18: 9 aspect ratio protected by Corning Gorilla Glass while there's NFC for Android Pay. Android Oreo is preinstalled, but it's Android Pie-ready, says Nokia, so expect an upgrade to the new operating system to drop at some point.
Here's the product page at Nokia.com. I'll have a review of the Nokia 5.1 here on Forbes next week.
And Finally …
With so much marketing in the hands of the world, the fastest, and the best, benchmarking has become a vital indicator for consumers and is a vital tool for marketers, and there is "a long and rich history" to maximize the return of a strong benchmarking test. Andrei Frumusanu and Ian Cutress take a look at the latest Huawei handsets and their approach to benchmarking tests:
Looking back at it now after some re-testing, it seems quite as much as it was going to be. Huawei and seemingly headroom. Ultimately, we have some whitelisted applications, the device performs super high compared to what a user might expect from other similar non-whitelisted titles. This consumes power, pushes the efficiency of the unit down, and reduces battery life.
This has knock-on effects, such as trust. The end result is a single performance number is higher, which is good for marketing, but is unrealistic to any user with the device.
Lots more detail on benchmarking, and discussions with Huawei, at AnandTech.
Android Circuit rounds up the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Do not forget to follow me in the future of Apple Loop! Last week's android Circuit, get in touch!
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Taking a look at the world of Android, this week's Android Circuit includes Samsung deleting a controversial Note 9 feature, Galaxy S10 vs. iPhone XS, an early release for the Galaxy F folding phone, Android 9.0 Pie plans , OnePlus 6T details leak, details on the Nokia 1 and the Nokia 5, Huawei's Mate 20 release date and some curious Honor benchmark results are discussed.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).
Removing A Contentious Galaxy Note 9 Issue
Samsung loves to promote Bixby, even to the point of annoyance. Case in point is Bixby 2.0, which launched on the Galaxy Note 9. Why is it a specific problem for Note 9 users? Because of Samsung's decision to lock the functionality of the Bixby button to launch the Bixby App. That looks set to be removed in a forthcoming update, and I covered the issue earlier this week:
Samsung has placed a physical Bixby button on its flagship Galaxy S smartphones and Note phablets since the Galaxy S8 launch in March 2017 (along with appearances on the -A, -J and -C handsets). The Galaxy Note 9 has not been an exception.
That Bixby button is controversial. It's in easily accessible place, and has a touch of Bixby Home. As the Galaxy Note 9 featured Bixby 2.0, Samsung made the decision that users would not be able to disable the Bixby button, even though older versions of the code.
More here on Forbes.
Samsung introduces the new, super powerful Galaxy Note9 with all day performance, a new S Pen and smart camera (Photo by Bryan Bedder / Getty Images for Samsung)
Galaxy S10 And iPhone XS Go Head To Head
Meanwhile the Galaxy S10 is coming out thick and fast. Anyone who is thinking about the purchase of the iPhone XS now has a good idea what to expect in a head to head. And you know what? The Galaxy S10 looks better than the iPhone XS, starting with reliability:
Although Samsung has had a rather high-profile smartphone, it took visible action both immediately, during the investigations, and when reporting to the hardware. Compare that to Apple's own battery problems, the reluctance to admit to the problem, and the painful way Tim Cook and his team was dragged towards an acceptable outcome for consumers.
Now consider that the portfolios of the iPhone 6, the iPhone 7, and the iPhone 8 have all exhibited major flaws stemming from the hardware design of the smartphones. While past performance is no guide to future stability, consumers are more adept at recognizing patterns. The reliability of the Galaxy ranks in the mainstream media is streets ahead of the iPhone.
More here on Forbes.
Samsung's Folding Phone Forced Into Early Appearance?
Samsung is in a race with other manufacturers to be 'first' to release a smartphone with a folding display. Can it wait as long as MWC in February 2019? Could it hold off until CES in January? It appears that even those tent pole events are too far away. The presumptively titled Galaxy F could be here before Christmas. Forbes' Gordon Kelly reports:
Speaking to CNBC, Samsung's Mobile CEO Division DJ Koh has confirmed "it's time to deliver" to a smartphone with a smartphone. What's more, Koh hinted at the Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco.
Koh said Samsung is moving fast "after consumer surveys …" Samsung did not want to lose the world's first title "to a rival.
More on Samsung's mobile phone here on Forbes.
Samsung's Android 9.0 Maps Accelerate
As reported last week, Samsung is accelerating the speed of its Android OS updates, with the Galaxy S9 likely to be the first Galaxy to receive Android 9.0 Pie:
Here's where it gets fun. Android 9 Pie was released less than a month ago. To have the code and running on the S9 +, to the point where it can be run through external benchmarking tools, illustrates a significant increase in development pace. That means that Galaxy S9 and S9 + owners can expect to see the latest version of Android sooner than expected.
… While I would still expect the S10 to launch Android 9.0 (just as the S9 debuted with Android 8.0 Oreo), the real benefit of the fast turnaround should allow Samsung to distribute updates to the OS, but it patches, security updates, gold major version jumps, in a faster and more efficient manner.
Forbes' Gordon Kelly has been looking at the strategy, and why is there a recent update? The answer is likely to be Google
The stick is Samsung has little choice. The launch of Google's 'Android One' program brings you to Samsung's rivalry including LG, Motorola, Nokia and big Chinese threats: Huawei and Xiaomi. Google's growing Pixel also promised the same.
Suddenly, Samsung can not afford to lag behind. Especially following lackluster Galaxy S9 sales.
More here on Forbes.
Huawei Mate 20 Launch Date Revealed
Following on from the Mate 20 Lite announcement last week, the remaining handsets in the family will be revealed in London on October 16th. GSM Arena has more:
The Mate 20 series will consist of the Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro (perhaps a Mate 20 Porsche Design) and the Mate 20 Lite, which was announced last week. The Mate 20 will feature a 6.3-inch AMOLED screen with a water drop, triple cameras, 4,200mAh battery, Wireless Charging, stereo speakers and glass on both sides.
The Mate 20 Lite has raised eyebrows – it makes perfect sense to carry an entry-level device for the Mate portfolio, but it crashes straight into the top end of Huawei's Honor handsets, as Andrew Orlowski's Register dryly points out:
The Mate brand has been trampled into the crush to fling out phones. But, more charitably, the Mate brand is so much so stretches around every conceivable consumer market. The Mate 20 Lite is not remotely a "phablet", and it's expressly intended to appeal to the narcissistic millennial which Huawei's Honor unit so cringingly cultivates.
Nonetheless UK retail has embraced the Huawei Mate 20 Lite with an enthusiasm it finds for mid-range Chinese phones: Vodafone and EEA are stocking it, alongside Carphone and the online channels. You can see why they fancy it's something they can sell.
More on Mate v Honor match at 'El Reg'.
OnePlus' Mystery Date (image: OnePlus / Weibo)OnePlus / Weibo
An Empty Box And A Curious Date From OnePlus
OnePlus' social media team must have taken great delight in posting a mystery screenshot with 'January 15 2019' highlighted. According to previous statements, it is too late to be the release of the 6T, but too early to be the OnePlus 7. While the geekerati pondered that one, leaked shots of the retail packing of the OnePlus 6T arrived and pointed out a key feature, as I reported earlier this week:
But the most noticeable feature is that of the in-display fingerprint sensor. The internal illustration of the box shows not only the full screen display, but also shows a fingerprint icon in the lower third of the screen.
Paired up with the caption 'Unlock The Speed', the implication is clear that the OnePlus 6T is joining the part of Android devices with the biometric fingerprint scanner built into the display.
More thoughts on the release date and the leaked features here.
Reviewing the Nokia 1
Five years after Microsoft's Quixotic purchase of Nokia, the Nokia smartphone brand is going through another reinvention under HMD Global. Part of that is using Google's Android turnkey solutions to ease development costs and promote post-purchase updates. As the Android Go powered Nokia 1 launches in Pakistan, Nozair Hanif Mirza reviews the handset, including the key selling point of the OS:
Nokia 1 runs on Google's latest Android 8.1 Oreo (Go edition) that is a special version of Android tuned and tweaked to run well on low-end devices. It's a vanilla Android experience with access to Google's apps and services like the Play Store, Gmail, YouTube and Google Assistant as well.
The bundled version of the Google Play Store has been tweaked to highlight Go versions of apps, while still offering its entire catalog. The pre-installed version of Gmail is Gmail Go, but you can still find and download the standard version of Gmail if you choose so. Likewise, Google Play will mention if a version is available when looking for apps.
More at Daily Pakistan Global.
Nokia 5.1 Challenges The iPhone
In a cheeky move, HMD Global is also releasing the Nokia 5.1 to the UK markets this coming Wednesday, September 12th. While not leaving the iPhone, this mid-range handset continues the growth of the Nokia brand in Europe. Pocket Lint's Dan Grabham has more:
The Nokia 5.1 is based on the MediaTek Helio P18 2.0 GHz Octacore chipset, has 2GB of RAM, the above mentioned 16GB of storage, 16 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front snapper. Nokia reckons the device is around 40 percent faster than the previous version of the device.
The screen is a 5.5-inch Full HD + display in 18: 9 aspect ratio protected by Corning Gorilla Glass while there's NFC for Android Pay. Android Oreo is preinstalled, but it's Android Pie-ready, says Nokia, so expect an upgrade to the new operating system to drop at some point.
Here's the product page at Nokia.com. I'll have a review of the Nokia 5.1 here on Forbes next week.
And Finally …
With so much marketing in the hands of the world, the fastest, and the best, benchmarking has become a vital indicator for consumers and is a vital tool for marketers, and there is "a long and rich history" to maximize the return of a strong benchmarking test. Andrei Frumusanu and Ian Cutress take a look at the latest Huawei handsets and their approach to benchmarking tests:
Looking back at it now after some re-testing, it seems quite as much as it was going to be. Huawei and seemingly headroom. Ultimately, we have some whitelisted applications, the device performs super high compared to what a user might expect from other similar non-whitelisted titles. This consumes power, pushes the efficiency of the unit down, and reduces battery life.
This has knock-on effects, such as trust. The end result is a single performance number is higher, which is good for marketing, but is unrealistic to any user with the device.
Lots more detail on benchmarking, and discussions with Huawei, at AnandTech.
Android Circuit rounds up the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Do not forget to follow me in the future of Apple Loop! Last week's android Circuit, get in touch!
