Category: Android Oreo

The Android Distribution Report for April has been released and it reflects a sizable gain for Android Oreo.  The latest version of Android, either the 8.0 or 8.1 builds, jumped 3.5% over the February report’s figures for the version.  It now is on 4.6% of all devices that went to the Google Play Store for the 7 day period ending April 16, 2018.  It is the biggest single jump for Oreo in the reports so far.

The gains have been helped largely lay the number of manufactures who have released the Oreo update for their devices.  Samsung, Sony, HTC, Nokia and OnePlus have all been updating devices in the two months since the last report.

OnePlus has released OxygenOS 5.1 for the OnePlus 5 and 5T today, bringing Android Oreo 8.1 to the two phones as well as other improvements to the device.  On the OnePlus 5T, it also brings the new full screen gesture support which is similar to the gestures found on Apple’s iPhone X.  The gestures have generated a bit of controversy as they appear to almost directly mimic Apple’s gestures on their flagship phone – but the implementation in testing has been lackluster with multiple user issues.

Along with Oreo 8.1, OxygenOS 5.1 brings the April Android Security Update patches to the phone as well as a new optimizing gaming mode which pauses the adaptive brightness of the screen and has power saving features.

Today’s Deal is on one of my personal favorite phones from the past few years, the Sony Xperia X Compact.  Right now you can pick up this 4.6″ phone for just $289, by far the lowest price ever for this 2016 phone.  Why would you want to pick up a phone from 2016?  Well, in this case, Sony has already updated the X Compact to Android Oreo which makes it a compelling phone, especially at this price point.

I reviewed the Xperia X Compact in November of 2016 for those that want to read my comments about the phone.  It’s compact size is great but the overall performance and camera quality is excellent.

A few days after the unlocked variant of the Essential Phone began receiving its latest update, now too is the Sprint enabled version of the PH-1.   The update is the same as it was for the unlocked version of the phone, bringing the same updates and improvements to the only carrier locked version of the Essential Phone.

The update brings the April Android Security Update patch to the phone which, despite being a few days behind the unlocked variant, still makes it one of the first to get updated to the latest security patches.  Also, the software to enabled Bluetooth 5.0 is in this update.  The radios for 5.0 have been in the PH-1 all along but were not enabled via the software on the device.  That now changes with this update.

Here in the US, the Samsung Galaxy S8 has been updated to Android Oreo on AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint over the course of the past few weeks.  Now the unlocked variants, which usually get these big updates first, have finally started receiving their Oreo treatment.

The new build is about 1.5GB in size all in so you will certainly want to download it via WiFi.  Once you do have it downloaded, it will take about 15 minutes to install and will require a reboot.  Then you will have your Oreo goodness along with some improvements to the Samsung goodies on your S8 or S8+

Give credit where it is due:  AT&T is on a roll right now.  The US carrier was the first to release the Android Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 last month and now have become the first to release it for the Galaxy S8 Active.  The update has been released but as is often the case, it will be slow rolling out to everyone so give it a few days.

The update is R16NW.G892AUCU2BRC5 for those keeping score at home and it is about 1.2GB in size.  That means you will want to make sure you are connected to WiFi to download it from AT&T.