It’s a big day for LG and they’re showing off more than a new Android smartphone. The newly announced LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition is official and it is the first cellular Android Wear smartwatch. There are three buttons on the side and it also looks to come in many different flavors as well.
We’ve seen a lot of activity in the DxOMark mobile camera ranking list over the past couple of weeks and tonight we have a new entry. The DxOMark team has put the Sony Xperia Z5 camera to the test and it looks like we have a new mobile camera champion with an average score of 87 (beating out the Galaxy S6 Edge’s average score of an 86).
There’s a new advertising law in China that went into effect on September 1st of this year. This law forbids companies from using superlative adjectives when describing the products they are selling. In one of the recent ads for a Xiaomi product, the company used the term ‘the best’ to describe their product and this is what triggered the investigation.
Google and Microsoft has been going head to head in court over smartphones and the Xbox gaming console. These lawsuits have been taking place in both Germany and the United States and these will come to an end today. It seems like there will be “about 20” lawsuits dropped and both companies “anticipate working together” in the future as well.
Some people have been wondering when Google would implement Rich Communications Services (RCS) into Android as this is starting to become the new standard for SMS messages. To help Google bring RCS to a global audience, the company has just announced they have acquired the Jibe Mobile team so they can accelerate the adoption of his new mobile messaging standard.
The Google Play Store is, for most of us, the main source of applications. That’s not particularly surprising since it’s pre-installed on every Android smartphone you’re likely to get, and counts a huge selection of apps, passing 1.6 million in July.
It’s hard to have both quality and quantity with that number. There’s a lot of crud in the Play Store, but even if you ignore that, it’s no easy task to find the applications you’re interested in. While some categories and collections are available (we covered how to use those to the best apps before), looking through the top charts to discover good apps is near impossible with them being filled with games or other categories you’re not interested in.
Fortunately, the Play Store does provide some ways to further filter apps so we can browse lists we actually care about. It’s not well exposed on the website and hidden behind a few taps and swipes on the mobile app, but it’s possible to view top charts for applications only, games only, or by category. We’ve compiled a list for you to check them out:
Top applications (games excluded):
| Top Paid | Top Free | Top Grossing | Top New Free | Top New Paid |
Top applications by category:
Top family applications by category:
| Family | Top Paid | Top Free | Top Grossing | Top New Free | Top New Paid |
| Age 5 & Under | Top Paid | Top Free | Top Grossing | Top New Free | Top New Paid |
| Ages 6-8 | Top Paid | Top Free | Top Grossing | Top New Free | Top New Paid |
| Ages 9 & Up | Top Paid | Top Free | Top Grossing | Top New Free | Top New Paid |
| Action & Adventure | Top Paid | Top Free | Top Grossing | Top New Free | Top New Paid |
| Brain Games | Top Paid | Top Free | Top Grossing | Top New Free | Top New Paid |
| Creativity | Top Paid | Top Free | Top Grossing | Top New Free | Top New Paid |
| Family Education | Top Paid | Top Free | Top Grossing | Top New Free | Top New Paid |
| Music & Video | Top Paid | Top Free | Top Grossing | Top New Free | Top New Paid |
| Pretend Play | Top Paid | Top Free | Top Grossing | Top New Free | Top New Paid |
Top games by category:
Most of these (the only exception is the "Applications without games" category) are also accessible from within the mobile app. Just select the category you want then swipe to the right.
You also can combine this with our previous article about finding the best apps with Google’s picks and other tricks to discover interesting apps you care about, new collections or even create an RSS feed to monitor additions.
A full day before the scheduled press event for the LG V10, renders of the device have been leaked on Twitter. Coming to us from the ever-popular Evan ‘evleaks’ Blass, we get an up-close and very detailed look at what LG plans to announce tomorrow on October 1st. Do note the secondary display at the top of the main panel.
Android Studio has been updated to v1.4 in the stable release channel. Along with improvements under the hood, this release also brings in support for vector assets, a basic app theme editor, updated app templates and GPU rendering and network monitor.
Hiroshi Lockheimer and the Google Team that built the new Nexus phones are holding an Ask Me Anything over at Reddit, right now. If you want to learn more about the Nexus phones or leave them a question, head to the source and jump into the discussion!
Until now, Spotify has vehemently refused to let their customers stream their music to a Chromecast. At the time, the company was pushing a proprietary tech they called Spotify Connect, but it seems like they were able to come to an agreement with Google. A brand new update to the Spotify application will now let you cast your music to a Chromecast connected TV.
In a recent interview with CNBC, Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver told the world some interesting details about their upcoming Android Wear smartwatch. It seems like the company is getting ready for a November 9th launch date and that the device will run you $1,800. This is a $400 increase to what was previously rumored about the price of the smartwatch.
Now that the new Nexus phones are available for pre-order and that we know their prices, we can appropriately discuss which smartphone offers the most for the least amount of money. Considering that affordable phones are on the rise and flagships are on the decline, it’s not hard to find good bang-per-buck releases anymore. Which phone do you think truly gives you your money’s worth?
XDA Forum Moderator Heisenberg has put together a guide detailing the rather standard steps involved in unlocking, rooting and flashing the Nexus 6P. The guide is aimed to be beginner friendly for a phone that is developer friendly, and hence, has no special bells & whistles involved.
Even before OnePlus released the successor to last year’s flagship, we learned that the company was starting to work on a device that would be released in Q4 of this year. The latest rumors, from “factory sources”, for this device point to a Snapdragon 801 Soc with a 5-inch display. We are also being told that it could be priced at $249 and launch sometime in October.
There was a major focus put on streamed video games back when NVIDIA launched their Android TV set top box. At the time, this service was called the NVIDIA GRID and the company hadn’t announced a monthly pricing plan. This changes today. NVIDIA says the service is now called GeForce Now and it will cost you just $7.99 per month.
Yes, Samsung Pay has launched in the United States for a number of their flagship devices but not everyone can use the service just yet. Verizon customers have been told that they have to wait a “week or so” until the Samsung Pay application gets published in the Google Play Store before they can use it.
It’s being reported that 3 months after the G3 was launched, the company sold 930,000 units in North America. The latest report out of South Korea says that LG was able to sell 1 million more units by that same 3-month mark. This brought LG’s overall market share in North America from 11.9% in Q2 of 2014 to 15% in the same quarter of 2015 (according to data from Strategy Analytics).
There’s been a clear, rising interest in connected cars lately (not to be confused with self-driving cars, which are a bit further along the road). This is especially true when it comes to some major tech companies that are new to the automobile business, such as Google or Apple. New companies are also showing up to try and cater to the growing consumer interest in this field.
Vinli is such a startup behind a crowd-funded project to turn any recent car into a connected car with Bluetooth capabilities, Internet access (with the ability to act as a WiFi hotspot so you can connect your other devices to it) and several companion apps you install on your phone. It offers a small device (also known as «Vinli») you can connect to your car’s OBD-II port. Any car manufactured after 1996 should have one, usually below the dashboard. The idea is to turn your vehicle into a smart car without spending tens of thousands of dollars.
If you were one of the project’s backers on Indiegogo, the Vinli team has posted an update. After seeking approval for Apple’s App Store, their plan is to release companion apps on both iOS and Android simultaneously, right before shipment begins. About that, production has started on the first 1,000 devices, and the first batch (comprised of 100 units) will be sent to developers. This decision makes sense as it gives developers time to test their apps (thus making them available to users as soon as possible), and shows support to the development community. Another 4000 units are planned for production next, and a complete production schedule and shipping dates estimates should be available around next week.
If you’re interested in learning more about this project, check out the Vinli features page and the Vinli app store for an idea of what’s available. You may pre-order it now for $149.99 (plus shipping), or wait till it’s officially out if you’d rather wait for reviews. As for developers, the documentation and SDKs for building apps (Android, iOS and Node.js SDKs currently available) is already available on the Vinli developer portal.
Don’t forget to visit the XDA Connected Cars forum to discuss this and more with other enthusiasts, or the XDA Android Auto forum if you’re more interested about Google’s automotive platform and head units!
One of the features that was expected of the LG G4 was 1080p video recording at 60 frames per second. However, many were shocked when the option wasn’t included on some LG G4s. The device is compatible with 1080p@60fps, it just isn’t a selectable option. XDA Senior Member Pfeffernuss has found a way to enable the mode.
What You Need: Root, TWRP, and the Mod. If you can’t get the flashable zip to work, or would like to see how to enable the mod without TWRP recovery, XDA TV Host Rirozizo shows you what files to replace and how to replace the files. Check out the video for more instructions.
Be sure to check out other great XDA TV Videos.
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Before Google’s event, HTC went ahead and made the HTC Butterfly 3 official. The device rocks a 5.2″ QHD LCD3 display with SD-810 and 3GB of RAM under the hood. The phone also supports micro-sd expansion of upto 2TB! To complement all of this, this phone now has its own home in the forums!
Google announced an entire hardware fleet during today’s Nexus event, but the Pixel C stands out as a convertable with roots in multiple dissimilar worlds. On the surface, this 10.2″ Android slab with Google branding, the latest OS, and guaranteed updates appears to be a refresh of 2012’s Nexus. However, it’s the vision and stewardship of a design team that ultimately turns a hunk of specifications into a product, and this Pixel is clearly of the Chromebook pedigree. Can Google’s 100% in-house team and the Pixel C go head-to-head with other hybrid heavyweights? Is this tablet/laptop mix a response to the Surface Pro 3 and iPad Pro, or does it fill a different niche entirely? Let’s dive into the spec for a first look at Google’s upcoming release.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Display | 10.2-Inch 2560 x 1800 screen (308 ppi) |
| 1 : √2 aspect ratio, same as a sheet of A4 paper | |
| 500 nits | |
| sRGB color gamut | |
| Internals | Nvidia Tegra X1 CPU |
| Maxwell desktop-class GPU | |
| 3GB of RAM | |
| 32 GB or 64 GB ROM | |
| Battery size TBD | |
| Audio | Stereo Speakers |
| Four microphones for far-field audio | |
| Connections & Ports | USB Type-C |
| Bluetooth | |
| Operating System | Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
| Price | $499 (32 GB) or $599 (64 GB) through the Google Store |
| $149 for keyboard |
These line-items are what we have come to expect from high end tablets this year, and ranking the Pixel C against its peers is several months and many hours of testing away – release is not expected until later this year. But suffice it to say that this device holds its own on paper.
So what truly sets one tablet apart from the next? Build quality, features, and price.
The Pixel C follows in the Chromebook Pixel’s polished footsteps – high resolution screen, premium metal body, quality keyboard with excellent key travel, and USB Type-C. Every component appears to be finly tuned and built to exacting standards, and the Chromebook team made sure to harp on these points in their presentation. After all, the benefits of controling the entire pipeline from idea to production are frequent talking points from Apple. Turnabout is fair play, and we shall see how the rhetoric falls when reviews arrive.
Features are a slightly harder beast to tackle. Android tablets are plagued by stretched smartphone layouts from lazy devs (including those at Google), and perks like multi-window and stylus support have yet to make their way into AOSP. Ordinarly, these omissions wouldn’t be a big deal. Tablet users tend to favor media watching over productivity, or so the argument goes. However, this time the Pixel is being pushed a laptop first and a tablet second. It’s a device on equal footing with the business-focused Chromebook.
Glimpses of multi-window surfaced well before Google I/O, but even the latest Marshmallow builds lack split screen polish or official recognition. Can Android truly compete with the Windows split screen and stylus or the recent Apple clone of the same?
The Android world is no stranger to the tablet keyboard. In fact, the Nexus 9’s Keyboard Folio bears a striking resemblance to what we saw announced today. However, there are a few key differences this time around.
The keyboard itself will run $149, which is a steep price, yet still $20 cheaper than the similar iPad Pro Smart Keyboard.
Google has a reputation for producing some of the best looking (browser-based) laptops on the market, and now the same team is trying its hand at a productivity tablet. As expected, the slab looks great on paper. If you’re in the market for a 10″ Nexus buit in-house by Google itself, then definately keep the Pixel C on your radar. With that said, the new Pixel is not a Nexus, it’s positioned as a laptop replacement. Chromebooks have enjoyed tremendous success in this area, but the real question that remains to be answered is “which platform makes for a better laptop – Chrome, Android, iOS, or Windows?” As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Google’s Pixel C is not ready for pre-order yet, but you can sign up to be notified on the product’s official site and subscribe to the brand new Pixel C Forum here on XDA.
In the mean time, check out the convertable tablet in all of its glory below, and stay tuned to XDA for updates as these Google-made, non-Nexus marvels hit digital shelves.
Google officially announced a convertible tablet, the Pixel C, today during their press event. The device might not be in customers’ hands until later this year but that won’t stop us from discussing it today. The official XDA forums for the Pixel C are up right now so let us know what you think about the latest addition to the Pixel family.
Brian Young
Aamir SiddiquiNexus 5X
Nexus 6P:
Eric Hulse
Mario Serrafero 
Mathew BrackThe price of the phones in the UK has put me off buying them, it isn’t entirely Google, LG and Huawei’s fault of course a lot of it is down to Value added tax of 20%, It adds up quickly. The 2 things I’m most excited about are the family Google Play Music Family Account, (6 accounts for $14.99, amazing!) and the Chromecast audio, as I have been looking to buy a Bluetooth adapter for my speakers for a while but none have met my ideal combination of quality and price. So I’ll be ordering one soon. The pixel announcement bemused me, it was an interesting move and that magnetic keyboard is spectacular! However, I feel that Remix OS would have been a better move for it.
Chris GilliamThe event was fast paced, bringing us a lot of incremental details that built on existing projects from I/O. Cameras – larger pixel size is a tangible benefit that will help across the board, from speed to clarity to low-light performance. Couple that with laser auto-focus, and it could be a winning combination. I’m leery of Huawei’s decision not to include OIS. Can’t wait to test out the sensor, Google’s updated camera app, and competing apps like Manual Camera that can output RAW image data. For reference, the Galaxy S6 uses a 16 MP F1.9 sensor with 1.12 μm pixels. Google’s latest weigh in at 12.3 MP F 2.0 with larger 1.55 μm pixels, meaning that while slightly less light will make it through the aperture, a larger percentage of that light will strike each pixel.
I’m surprised by the 6P’s size . Although it has a smaller 5.7″ screen than its 5.9″ predecessor, its height is roughly identical. Add in that the screen is shifted up in the chassis, and I worry about how easy it will be to palm. Marshmallow is polishing up nicely. We still haven’t heard anything official about split screen, but the obnoxious alphabetical app drawer has been tamed, and Now On Tap looks better than ever. Can’t wait to flash the final release.
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It seems like HTC is sending out some emails to tell people about an upcoming smartphone launch event. In the email, HTC says that on October 20th, they will be announcing a brand new HTC One smartphone to the world. The note also tells us that “this is not your traditional smartphone” and that “this will not be your traditional smartphone launch event”.
With the release of the kernel source code, we’re now one step closer to getting custom ROMs on the Moto X Play. While this won’t mean much for normal users, developers can head on over to Motorola Mobility’s GitHub and grab the source code for Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.
The Nexus 6P has just stolen the 2nd place spot in DxOMark’s smartphone camera ranked list. Overall, they were impressed with the results of their quality tests and liked how the device performed in low light environments. However, they were not fans of HDR+ mode being activated in low light conditions as it produced irregularities in exposure, color, texture and noise.
Google officially took the wraps off its new set of Nexus devices, along with the new Chromecast and Chromecast Audio. While we almost knew everything there was before the announcement, having official confirmation and announcements puts a rest to all speculations, so let’s get to them!
Beginning with the LG Nexus 5X, this device comes as a successor to the much loved Nexus 5 by LG. On the front, the device features a 5.2″ FHD (1920×1080) LCD display with a pixel density of 424 ppi. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 with an oleophobic coating for smudge and fingerprint resistance. For the actual dimensions of the product, the LG Nexus 5X (147 x 72.6 x 7.9 mm) is a little larger and slightly wider from the Nexus 5 (137.9 x 69.2 x 8.6 mm) but still retains a ~70% screen to body ratio.
Powering the Nexus 5X is a Qualcomm 64-bit hexa-core Snapdragon 808 chipset, with quad-core Cortex A-53 clocked at 1.44 GHz and dual-core Cortex-A57 clocked at 1.82 GHz. For the GPU, the device uses the Adreno 418. There’s also 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM to accompany all of this. The device comes in the traditional 16GB and 32GB storage variants, and as is the way with Nexus devices, there is no micro sd card slot for expansion. The battery has received a bump up to 2,700 mAh capacity as well. The N5X comes in Carbon Black, Quartz White and Ice Blue.
For the camera, the Nexus 5X comes with a 12.3 MP rear camera with IR laser-assisted autofocus. The camera features a 1.55 µm pixel size as well as f/2.0 aperture, and is capable of 4K video capture at 30 fps. The front camera is a 5 MP sensor with a 1.4 µm pixel size and similar f/2.0 aperture. The phone does not feature Optical Image Stabilization.
| Region | 16 GB | 32 GB |
|---|---|---|
| USA | $379 | $429 |
| UK | £339 | £379 |
Next is the new Huawei Nexus 6P. This is the first Nexus to feature an all-metal design, which pitches it on to the flagship competition tier. The phone sports a 5.7″ QHD (1440×2560) AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and an oleophobic coating. The Nexus 6P (159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3 mm) is slightly less wide than the Motorola Nexus 6 (159.3 x 83 x 10.1 mm) and is considerably thinner, which should make it overall easier to hold.
Powering the Nexus 6P is the Qualcomm 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 810 chipset, with quad-core Cortex A-53 clocked at 1.55 GHz and quad-core Cortex-A57 clocked at 2.0 GHz. The presence of a Snapdragon 810 always raises doubts and concerns, so we will have to wait and see how this phone holds up with heat and thermal throttling. For the RAM, the phone rocks 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM, along with Adreno 430 for GPU. For internal storage, the device comes in with 32 GB, 64GB and 128GB storage variants, with no micro-sd card slot for expansion. There is also a 3,450 mAh battery, as well as an LED notification light as an added bonus. The N6P comes in Frost White, Aluminium and Graphite Black.
For the camera, the Nexus 6P comes with a similar setup as the 5X for the rear camera, but confirmation is needed if they both employ the same sensor. The rear camera is 12.3 MP sensor with 1.55 µm pixel size as well as f/2.0 aperture, and is capable of 4K video capture at 30 fps. The front camera is different from the 5X, with a 8 MP sensor and 1.4 µm pixel size as well as f/2.4 aperture. As with the Nexus 5X, the 6P also does not feature OIS.
| Region | 32 GB | 64 GB | 128 GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | $499 | $549 | $649 |
| UK | 449 Euro | 499 Euro | 458 Euro |
| Canada | 699 CAD | 749 CAD | 849 CAD |
| Japan | 74800 ¥ | 80800 ¥ | 92800 ¥ |
| Australia | 899 AUD | 999 AUD | 1099 AUD |
| South Korea | 670000 won | 730000 won | 850000 won |
| France | 649 Euro | 699 Euro | 799 Euro |
| Hong Kong | 4688 HKD | 4988 HKD | 5688 HKD |
Both the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P come with a USB Type-C port and support for Quick Charge, which we assume to be of QC 2.0 standards. The phones come with NFC thankfully, along with a new low power processor that is dubbed as the “Sensor Hub”. The Sensor Hub offloads sensor based data from the main processor to provide smart activity tracking with minimal power overhead. On paper, this does sound like something that is intended to reduce battery usage while still providing up to date tracking and fitness based data.
Then there is the fingerprint sensor. Both the phones come with a fingerprint sensor on the back, along with “Nexus Imprint”. This allows you to lightly tap the fingerprint sensor to turn the screen on and quick unlock your phone. Combined with recognition speeds as quick as 600 ms along with a low false reject rate, the Nexus phones open up fingerprint recognition for the entire Android app ecosystem, to be made use of in case of quick authentication.
Of course, both the phones run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and you can expect these to be on the very top of the update game for the near future. Below you can find a price-table for both the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P:
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Jason Mackenzie president of HTC America has announced 12 devices that will be receiving Marshmallow before the end of the year. These include the M8, M9, M9+ and several Desire devices.
Today Google will be announcing the LG Nexus 5X and the Huawei Nexus 6P as well as potentially a new Nexus player and chromecast. Join us as we take a look at the biggest news.
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We’ve seen a handful of leaked renders of the upcoming Android smartphone from BlackBerry, but today the company has put out the first official press images of their privacy-focused device. We get a look at the side, with the screen both down as well as up, and we get a full look at the PRIV from an angle with the screen slid up.
There’s an interesting device that just appeared in GFXBench with the model number H900. This has been called the LG G4 Pro and is said to be the upcoming high-end smartphone from LG for release in the 4th quarter of 2015. GFXBench shows that this device will have a 5.7″ QuadHD display, Snapdragon 808, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 16MP rear-facing camera and a 5MP front-facing camera.
Today we get another look at the unreleased One A9 from HTC. The photos seem to sure up the speculation that HTC’s new smartphone will indeed look very similar to an iPhone. Sadly, they look a little blurry (as with most leaked photos that are taken in a hurry), but we do get a look at the device from almost all sides.
