Category: Android

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After 5 months, just 5% of Android devices run Android 13

Six months ago, Google pushed its latest Android 13 update to its fleet of Pixel phones, ticking the clocks on everyone’s desk as they wonder when this update would hit their phones. Fast forward to this month and, unsurprisingly, many still continue to wonder when they will finally taste Google’s latest flavor of Android. Of course, at this point, an iPhone user will probably chuckle a bit before feeling kinda sorry for his friends with a non-Pixel Android phone in their pockets. For years, fragmentation has been the stick to beat Android with. Despite Google’s numerous endeavors to cut down on slow updates, there is no sign that it will cease to exist. However, Google’s latest OS distribution stats paint a slightly brighter picture.

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New Year. New Google, hopefully.

As a bright new year beckons us, it is always a good time to reflect on the past year as everyone writes down their resolution for the next one. It has been a mixed bag for Google, with some impressive highs and underwhelming lows steered by some questionable decisions. In light of these highs and lows, we thought we could lend Google a hand with their new year’s resolution. Here is what we hope to see from Google this year.

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The latest Google Messages beta fixes Apple’s annoying iMessage reaction texts on Android

For so long, Apple has had a sizeable lead over Google when it comes to texting, with iMessage featuring a number of exclusive features such as per-message emoji reactions and end-to-end encryption. In response, Google released RCS, bringing the messaging experience on Android much closer to that of Apple. However, one big problem that remained unresolved was cross-platform texting. For every reaction on iMessage, the same message is returned again to the other Android user, prefixed by their reaction, clogging up the chat thread with meaninglessly long messages, just because it’s not an iPhone-to-iPhone conversation. Well, it looks like those days will be over pretty soon. In fact, you could end this peril as soon as now.

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[Update: Patch rolling out] Several phones plagued by spontaneous app crashes, here’s how to fix them

Many users have been complaining about how their phones have been plagued by random app crashes this afternoon, particularly those who own more recent Samsung flagship and mid-range smartphones. Other phones such as the Google Pixel and OnePlus phones seem to be also affected albeit not as heavily. It’s been a cause of headaches for hundreds of users so far, with seemingly no particular reason.

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Google postpones the Android 11 Beta release and launch event

In a normal year, the new Android Beta release would usually launch at Google I/O in mid-May. However, I/O this year was completely canceled both in-person and online due to the coronavirus pandemic. A few weeks ago, Google later announced that it would hold an “Android 11 Beta Launch Show” online where it would release the public beta and provide a chance to ask the Android team questions about it. That event was scheduled for next week, Wednesday, June 3rd, but is now delayed.

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OnePlus might have become a victim of its own success, courtesy of the OnePlus 8

After numerous leaks and endless hyping, OnePlus unveiled the OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro. And as their monikers suggest, these are the latest sequels to last year’s OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7T Pro. While most people have been heaping praise on the latter, the OnePlus 8 has been nothing short of divisive. Sure, both phones share the burden of convincing the user base to spend $200 more on their yearly upgrade. But, in my not-so-humble opinion, the OnePlus 8 can’t even come close.

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The Pixel 5 might not be a flagship, and that’s a good thing

Despite newer generations of mid-range smartphones proving to suit the needs of more people, some people still find the urge to shell out some extra cash on flagship hardware inexcusable. In the past, there was a gulf between both tiers in terms of some crucial aspects, most notably in terms of performance. Fortunately, this difference started to diminish gradually over the years, with mid-range processors becoming more and more capable every generation, and manufacturers bringing more premium features to its mid-range phones lineup. Curiously, Google and LG seem to have recognized how capable newer mid-range processors have become. And if the latest rumors are to be believed, it looks like Google’s upcoming Pixel 5 will be a “premium mid-tier” smartphone instead of being a fully-fledged flagship. While that might upset the tech enthusiasts or the so-called power users a bit, I think this might have just made the Pixel 5 a more appealing offer to the overwhelming majority of average consumers. 

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How to install Android 11 Developer Preview on the Essential Phone

Last month, Google pulled the trigger and released the first Developer Preview build of Android 11 a little bit earlier than much of us anticipated. While it was an exciting prospect to be on the very bleeding edge, it was a bit of a mixed bag more than anything. Shortly after, Google released another Developer Preview build, ironing out some of the bugs reported in the initial release. This indeed is the ultimate gift to entertain all of the geeky owners of the Pixel 4, 3a, 3 and 2 devices during their quarantine (may the Pixel 1 rest in peace). And despite Essential pulling the plug on the PH-1, declaring no further support beyond the February security update, it’s fair to say Essential’s engineers were a bit too stubborn to let it go, treating their geeky users with the biggest surprise yet: Android 11 support. Here is a simple procedure to install the latest Developer Preview build of Android 11 on the legendary Essential PH-1. 

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