Category: Android Nougat

Google and other developers continue to update their apps to support multi-window views in Android Nougat and the latest to get the treatment is Google Calculator.  Now let’s be honest, calculator apps aren’t exactly exciting.  The principles of mathematics haven’t changed and frankly, no app is going to make it really exciting.  It is utilitarian. But, that said, having the ability to have the calculator on one pane while say in Sheets or Excel in the other?  That can be really handy.

The updated build is version 7.1.1 for those keeping score at home and the update is available now in the Play Store.  If you have the app already installed, you should see the OTA update for it over the course of the next few days.  Don’t expect to see a lot of changes.  It is a calculator.  But it is a calculator that you can now run in parallel on your screen with another app which can be quite handy.

For those who don’t remember how to get to multi-window in Nougat, have at least two apps open and then tap-and-hold the Recents button.  You will then be able to select the app you want at the bottom (or right in landscape mode) on your screen.  Tap it and you have two apps visible.  You can then use the bar between the two apps to resize one window to make it larger depending on your needs.

Motorola has posted on their company blog a full list of devices that they plan to upgrade to Android Nougat.  The list is reasonably comprehensive although there are some notable devices missing, and should give those of you who have Motorola devices some hope for your phones.  The post states that the Moto Z and the 4th generation Moto G will be the first devices to see the update and that will happen in Q4 of this year.  As for the rest of the list, there isn’t a specific timeframe given.

At their event held today, Google announced their two new flagship Android devices, the Google Pixel and the Pixel XL.  The announcement was of little surprise given the promotional information from Google indicated a phone-shaped device was on the offer as well as the countless leaks over the course of the past two weeks.  Still, the phones are now official and you will be able to pre-order yours starting today.  Pixel and Pixel XL general availability will be October 20th.

Google Pixel, it is a 5″ Full HD display with 441 ppi and protected by Gorilla Glass 4.  It is powered by the quad-core Snapdragon 821 processor running at 2.15GHz and that is coupled with 4GB of RAM.  The main camera is 12.3MP f/2.0 shooter with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) while the front camera will be an 8MP unit.  It will have all of the normal base features of a contemporary phone such as a fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C connector and NFC.  Yes, it will have a 3.5mm headphone jack too.  Interestingly, the phone will have two storage options:  32GB or 128GB and it will be powered by Android Nougat 7.1.

The Android team has released the Android security update patches for October today.  The patches, two this month instead of three, have been released for all supported Nexus devices as well as the Pixel C.  As is the norm, the updates have been released as Factory Images and OTA images for those who want to flash their devices immediately.  If you don’t, the OTA update should be coming to your devices over the course of the next week or so.  For those who have Nexus 6 phones, the news is really great for you as Android Nougat has finally been released for your phone and includes this October update.

Google has been splitting up their patches the last few months and October is no exception.  Unlike the last couple of months however, there are only two this month.  The first patch is the 2016-10–1 patch and it is the one for all devices and manufactures.  It contains 12 high priority security patches, mostly around elevation of privileges and denial of service threats.  The second patch, 2016-10-05, is primarily aimed at Nexus devices and contains 5 critical patches focused on remote code execution.  If you have a Nexus device, you will see the October 5th update which is inclusive of the fixes in the October 1st update.

If there is one fact in Android life that remains true, it is that Samsung will be slow in getting updates out to their devices.  It was four months after Android Marshmallow was released before the company pushed it out to the Galaxy S6 and they have been even slower on other devices and releases.  So when reports that Samsung has a test build of Android Nougat in the wild for the Galaxy S7, just weeks after it was released, it is good news.

Before you get your hopes up, no, a release of Nougat on the S7 lineup is not immanent.  In fact it is probably months away.  But SamMobile is reporting that Samsung has confirmed to them that they are indeed testing Nougat on a S7.

Last month eBay had the Nexus 5X down to $239.99 and it has returned at this great price.  Currently the 32GB model of the Nexus 5X is down to $239.99, a savings of about 40% over what you can pick it up from Google directly. Right now both the Carbon and Quartz colors are in stock.

Obviously with the new Marlin and Sailfish Nexus devices on their way, we can expect to see the prices starting to drop on the 5X and 6P but these are still solid devices.  Plus, as you probably already know, the 5X is upgradable to Android Nougat.

As a reminder, the specs of the Nexus 5X are pretty impressive.