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Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge getting the Note 8’s new UI with next (big) update

Alexandra Arici
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Samsung’s 2016 flagships, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge might soon get a taste of the Galaxy Note 8 new UI, Samsung Experience 8.5.

The two flagships have remained stuck to Android 7.0 Nougat for a while now, which also brought a newer version of TouchWiz called Grace UX on board.

But the Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ introduced the new Samsung Experience 8.1 which received an update to version number 8.5 when the Galaxy Note 8 made a debut.

But while other Samsung smartphones like the Galaxy J5 or the 2017 Galaxy A series received Samsung Galaxy 8.1, year’s flagships continue to run the same UI. But according to a Samsung Members community admin, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge will get Samsung Experience 8.1 as soon as the next update – which will probably be Android 8.0 Oreo – starts rolling out. No exact timeline for the release was provided.

Given that the Samsung Experience 8.5 update is more cosmetic in nature and not feature-oriented, it would make little sense for the Korean tech giant to invest time and resources to deliver only a UX-focused update. The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge haven’t been updated that many times anyway and with Android 8.0 Oreo out, it’s quite unlikely the phones will get the bump to Android 7.1 or Android 7.1.2 now.

So there you have it. If you were hoping to get the UI running on the new and shiny Samsung Galaxy Note 8 on your older Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge, now you can rest assured you will. When will that happen? We can’t tell you at the moment, but we’ll update you.

Premium Google Home Max with stereo speakers said to be in the works

Alexandra Arici
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Just last week we found out Google is gearing up to introduce a new Google Home Mini speaker during the Pixel 2 launch event. But according to recent information coming to us from 9to5Google, it seems the search giant is also developing a larger version of its Google Home smart speaker.

Two industry insiders revealed for the publication that Google is also working on a larger, higher-quality Google Assistant-powered speaker dubbed internally the Google Home Max.

Sources agree that the device will come with stereo speakers that will be able to deliver advanced sound quality, as well as a premium design – although no specific details were offered further.

Google Home Mini

The status of Google Home Max is currently unclear, so we don’t know whether the smart speaker will make a debut alongside Google’s new Pixels and the Google Home Mini. One of the two sources said this was a possibility, but added nothing more.

Amazon, Google’s biggest competitor in the smart speaker market, just unveiled a smaller, re-designed version of its original Echo speaker, as well as the Echo Plus model which supports Dolby Sound.

And by the looks of it, Google will be replicating Amazon’s strategy by rolling out a smaller version of its Home speaker, as well as a larger higher-end version of it.

Twitter character limit expands from 140 to 280 to encourage more English tweets

AndroidGuys
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Twitter has become a thriving social media platform for brevity, with the company making changes all the time (such as the introduction of Twitter Lite earlier this year for less-than-stellar cellular data networks) to encourage growing participation by its growing user base.

While the company is famous for its 140-character limit, its brevity has proven to be a pain for English “Tweeters.” This week, Twitter Product Manager Aliza Rosen and Senior Software Engineer Ikuhiro Ihara took to Twitter’s official blog to announce the arrival of a new character limit for Twitter. Instead of the long-held 140-character limit, Twitter will now expand the character limit to 280 to help ease the frustration of cramming English expressions into 140 characters.

Rosen and Ihara state the motivation behind the character expansion: while English tweets must often be edited and reduced before posting, Japanese users don’t run into the same problem because “in languages like Japanese, Korean, and Chinese you can convey about double the amount of information in one character as you can in many other languages like English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French.” The old 140-character limit has put English users at a greater disadvantage, with 9% of English users reaching the 140-character limit when tweeting as opposed to 0.4% of Japanese users reaching the same character limit.

The company says that it is rolling out this feature to a few users before releasing it to the entire Twitter community, so most users will have to wait a while. The new feature will see a mass release, though a dedicated timeframe hasn’t been mentioned yet.

What do you think of the new 280-character limit? English tweeters, excited or indifferent? Let us know if you’re experiencing the new character expansion in the comments below.

ZTE’s upcoming Axon Multy foldable smartphone smiles for the camera

Alexandra Arici
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Remember we told you ZTE was gearing up to introduce a foldable smartphone? Well, the handset in question leaked this week giving us a glimpse of what to expect in the near future.

With rumors of Samsung’s foldable smartphone nearing launch, it now appears that ZTE will beat the Korean tech giant to the punch and introduce its on take on the concept first.

According to invites that have been sent out to some members of the press, we should see the new ZTE handset codenamed Axon Multy make a debut on October 17. And according to Android Authority who also revealed the first images of the device, the phone could launch as the Axon M with dual fullHD displays. The two screens will fold out to offer a larger 6.8-inch display with 1920 x 2160 resolution.

As you can see in the images, the two displays aren’t foldable on their own, but the overall device is thanks to the hinge system that connects the two parts.

According to previous rumors, the Axon Multy should make a debut with an older Snapdragon 820 chipset, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a 3,120 mAh battery. As it’s visible in the images, the phone will also include a 3.5mm headphone jack and should be just under 10mm thick.

Sure, the phone might not have the impressive specs of the LG V30 or Samsung Galaxy Note 8, but its unusual form factor will certainly attract curious onlookers.

It’s expected that the ZTE Axon Multy or Axon M will be sold exclusively by AT&T with a price tag of around $650. We’ll find out more about the device on October 17.

What do you think? Would you be interested in ZTE’s foldable phone?

Amazon’s new Echo speakers come in all shapes and sizes

Alexandra Arici
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It hasn’t been long since Amazon launched the Echo Show (back in May), but this week the tech giant introduced a new lineup of Alexa-powered devices including three new Echo models.

The first one is a re-designed Echo which is a shorter, rounder version of the original Echo speaker which will go on sale for only $99, despite bringing improved speaker and voice recognition capabilities.

That’s $80 less than the price of its taller predecessor. Amazon will offer a pack of three for $130, as well as cloth clovers of different covers which will ensure the device will match the the room it will be placed in.

Then we have the Amazon Echo Plus which looks very much like the original Echo speaker featuring a tall cylindrical body. Like the re-designed Echo, it will come with enhanced voice recognition, but also improved Dolby sound. It’s standout feature, however, is the ZigBee smart home hub which makes it easier to connect to smart products around the house. The Echo Plus will be available in white, black and silver for $149.99 and will ship out with a Philips smart light bulb on the house.

Next up, we have the Amazon Echo Spot which is a tiny smart speaker featuring a round 2.5-inch screen. According to Amazon, the Spot takes advantage of the best voice recognition system available and arrives with four built-in microphones. Thanks to the small display, it can be used for video calls and also doubles as an alarm clock. Customers will be able to get the Amazon Echo Spot for $129.99.

Last but not least, Amazon also introduced the Echo Connect which is a small device that turns any Echo products into a landline speakerphone.

Amazon has already opened up pre-orders for the new Echo models, including the re-designed Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Spot and Echo Connect. Expect them to start shipping in the fourth quarter.

Apart from all the new smart speakers, the tech giant also announced Echo Buttons – which are basically Bluetooth-powered buzzers that connect to Alexa to allow you to play games. For example, they will make trivia games more fun to play. Echo Buttons cost $19 for a two-pack.

Of course, Amazon also took this opportunity to reveal it has improved Alexa with a set of new features.

Now Alexa can do something which Amazon calls “routines”. This is a set of actions that can be triggered by a voice command. So if you walk into the kitchen and say “good morning” Alexa will immediately open the blind, turn on the lights and start reading the news/weather forecast.

What’s more, Alexa now allows users to group smart home devices and associate them with specific rooms. So now you can say to your Echo “Alexa, turn on the lights” rather than “Alexa, turn on the bedroom overhead lamp”.

Amazon also announced its expanding Alexa calling and messaging – which was introduced four months ago – to include support for free outbound calls to numbers in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

House of Marley Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones review

AndroidGuys
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The Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones are a $60 pair of Bluetooth-connected earphones and one of the latest models out of The House of Marley. A wireless take on an existing pair of in-ear headphones, they have the increasingly popular design which lets wearers drape them around the neck when not in use.

We were sent a pair of these earphones to review and spent a few weeks playing with them off and on. Here’s our impression of the Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones.

Setup is a little different from what you might expect in that the first time you power them on you are already in pairing mode. That’s not extraordinary, but each subsequent use of them requires you to press and hold the two volume buttons to get going. To us this seems backwards, and it takes a little time to get used to, but it’s not that big of an offense.

Controls are equally odd a times. Want to skip tracks? Double tap the volume up. Double tap volume down to go back a track. It took a time or two to master this as we were apprehensive about increasing or decreasing volumes. We’ve seen this in other models, but we tend to prefer to have buttons for skipping tracks that also double for fast forwarding.

The Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones feature a flexible, rubberized body with enlarged tips. The left side is where you’ll find the controls, microphone, charging port, and LED light.  The right side houses the battery; the two are weighted equally.

We liked that the headphones drape nicely and comfortably around the neck. There are other brands and models on the market that don’t have nearly as much “play”, giving the experience of a hard plastic halo or frame that feels like it will fall off easily. That’s definitely not the case here.

The headphones are IPX4 sweat-proof which means you’ll have no problems using them in a workout or environment where you plan to get sweaty. This is a nice touch as being waterproof isn’t the same as sweat-proof. Ask your FedEx driver about the earbuds he goes through because of sweat.

Given the $60 price point we didn’t expect the sound to be as warm and rich as it is. We were pleased to find a nice, generally even sound that doesn’t overpower or try to come off as something out of its class. The mid range could use a little help, but upper-mid and highs were crisp and clean.

Don’t be fooled into thinking these will counter or best headphones in a higher price range. While we liked the experience overall, we can appreciate that they’re nowhere near what you’d get from the likes of master & Dynamic. One is an every man model, the other is geared at an audiophile. It should be noted that neither aptX nor LDAC are supported by the headphones, somewhat reaffirming its position on the totem pole.

With battery life rated at eight hours we found ours to routinely get at least 6-7, on average. Mileage varies, of course, based on volume levels and length of listening sessions.  Charging takes around two hours when starting from zero and is done via microUSB. A cable is included in the box but you’ll need an adapter to plug into the wall.

Conclusion

The Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones are comfortable, affordable, and deliver a pretty decent sound. It’s just about everything you’d want out a set of headphones and doesn’t pretend to be more. The sweat-proof feature is a nice touch, especially for those who are active or spend time enjoying the dog days of summer. The buttons and setup can be a little wonky but it’s forgivable stuff. We really appreciate the two-year warranty that comes with House of Marley products and think that alone is worth extra money.

The main catch, to us, is the style of headphones. We’re not huge fans of the design in general and prefer more traditional things like earphones or on-ear/over-the-ear headphones. But, if this is your bag, the House of Marley Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones are worth the price. If you can get them cheaper, say, at a place like Amazon ($50), you’re doing even better.

Chuwi announces the Hi9, a budget tablet with some pretty impressive specs

Donovan Jeska
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Chuwi is a Chinese manufacturer that’s been trying to get into the US electronics market for a couple years now. Generally more well known for its dual-boot Windows/Android tablet PCs, Chuqi is now setting its sights on the Android Tablet market with the Hi9, an 8.4″ Android tablet that features some pretty powerful internals – rather far beyond what you’d expect from a budget piece of hardware. Announced at IFA 2017, the Hi9 has a solid if, perhaps, not premium set of features, starting with that display:

  • Screen: 8.4″ IPS LCD, 2560×1600 resolution
  • RAM: 4GB
  • ROM: 64GB
  • Processor: MTK8176 SoC
  • Software: Android 7.0 Nougat

While Chuwi has had some struggles breaking into the US market, and while the desire for Android Tablets is faltering a bit in an iPad-dominated market, the Hi9 offers solid mid-range specs for what is likely to be a reasonable price. We can’t confirm a solid price at the moment, but we’ll be sure to update you once we can, dear Android Guys.

Gear Up: Kenu car docks and mounts

AndroidGuys
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For those of you looking to purchase a new car mount for your phone, you might want to check out Kenu and its latest products. With four new models to choose from, there’s surely something for your needs.

First up are the new Airframe Magnetic and Airframe Pro.  Priced $24.95 and $29.95, respectively, they are designed to clip into your car’s air vents. Thanks to the way the clip is created, they’ll fit in any vent style: horizontal, vertical, circular, or angled.

The duo are built to hold all smartphone sizes so don’t worry about that giant new handset with a 6-inch display. Go ahead and plunk that Galaxy Note 8 down and use its screen for turn-by-turn GPS.

The Airframe Magnetic relies on the use of a magnetic plate that adheres to the back of your phone. Or, if you have a protective case, you can put the plate inside; the magnet is strong enough to bite it through most cases. The Airframe Pro, for its part, is more traditional with the expandable grip.

Another handy feature for the Airframe line is that you can insert a credit card or business into the back, essentially turning the clip into a makeshift desktop travel stand. This is perfect for flights as you can set the phone down in landscape mode and watch a film.

If you prefer a more traditional mount, check out the Airbase Magnetic and Airbase Pro. Sold for about $29.95 each, these are the sort of base that you’d stick to a dashboard or desk. Or, perhaps you might turn it upside down and adhere it to the windshield.

Both of the Airbase models feature a 360-degree pivot so you can turn the phone to just the right angle. Like the aforementioned models, the Airframe Magnetic employs neodymium magnets (safe for handsets) to keep things locked in tight. The Airframe Pro, as you would expect, features the expanding grip with stainless steel rods.

Learn more about Kenu products at its website: kenu.com

Google is working on an Android AI System to fight against malware

AndroidGuys
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Android has been a primary target for malware in the recent days. This is not surprising when you consider the fact that there are over 2 billion monthly Android devices that are active across the world. Google, the parent company of Android is taking these kind of Malware attacks on Android devices very seriously and it is making attempts to prevent and remove them as soon as possible.

This was the primary reason behind the launch of Google Play Protect, a scan engine integrated into the Google Play Services and the Google Play Store. It periodically scans every app installed on your phone and across the Play store to make sure they have not been affected by some kind of Malware.

Google’s latest attempt at this Malware battle is an AI-powered machine learning algorithm which apparently collects data from Android devices to self-train itself. Some of these collected data include what apps are installed or uninstalled, the behaviour of the app and so on.

Android Security head, Adrian Ludwig, mentioned at the Structure Security conference in San Francisco that their ultimate aim is to create an AI-based system that would be capable of automatically detecting and removing Malware from devices based on the behaviour of the app code.

According to Ludwig, the AI-based learning system is rapidly improving and it has now been able to identify almost 55% of malware from test samples. Six months ago it was only been able to detect about 5% of malware from the test samples. So, the system could be expected to improve a lot more before it makes a public appearance.

Earlier this year, reports suggested that about 0.6% of the 2 billion Android devices were affected by Malware but Ludwig claims that the value is now only 0.25%, all credits to the New AI in town. Google might also use this AI system to automatically detect Malware apps from the Play Store and remove them before more users download them.

With a humongous amount of data garnered from billions of users from every part of the planet, Google definitely has an upper hand when it comes to precision and the data training sets. But, as we all know there are some instances where certain Malware infected apps somehow pass through all these security checks. But Ludwig says that “Machine learning isn’t pixie dust” but it would certainly make a major difference in the days to come.

OnePlus 5 vs Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact (Smartphone Showdown)

Alexandra Arici
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On the market for an affordable flagship device? Well, the OnePlus 5 or “flagship killer” would be the obvious choice here, but Sony recently unveiled a pretty interesting handset too. The Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact bring some pretty worthy specs to the table, but cuts some corners in order to remain affordable.

Below we compare the two handsets to give you an idea which one might be best suited to your needs. Keep reading to find out more.

On the outside

The two phones have one big thing in common – they come featuring a classical design and not a modern bezel-less one. So if you’re looking for a phone with a more interesting look, you should probably consider other alternatives.

Anyway, OnePlus’ latest flagship sports an anodized metal back just like its predecessors, the OnePlus 3T and 3, but its slimmer than them boasting a sleek 7.25mm frame.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact, on the other hand, takes advantage of a glass fiber-reinforced plastic body. Unlike the OnePlus 5 – which is unofficially water-resistant – the Xperia XZ1 Compact features IP65/68 waterproofing.

To keep prices low, OnePlus has opted to include a 5.5-inch FullHD display and not a QHD one in its latest flagship. Sony took the same route with the Xperia XZ1 Compact and equipped it with a smaller 4.6-inch Triluminos display with rather low 720p resolution.

On the inside

Both handsets take advantage of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 processor – an octa-core Kyro 280 CPU with Adreno 540 GPU.

But while the OnePlus 5 offers a choice between 6GB of RAM + 64GB storage and 8GB of RAM + 128GB storage, the Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact only comes with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. However, the microSD card should supplement users’ need for more storage.

The OnePlus 5 relies on a 3,300 mAh battery with Dash Charge technology for fast charging, while the small Xperia XZ1 Compact relies on a tiny 2,700 mAh battery with QuickCharge 3.0 support.

Photography

The XZ1 Compact borrows the 19-megapixel, IMX400 ExmorRS or Motion Eye camera from the Xperia XZ Premium, which means you’ll be able to take great shots with this affordable flagship.

The main snapper includes f/2.0, predictive hybrid laser/phase detection/contrast autofocus, burst AF, IR sensor for white balance and LED flash. The camera can shoot 4K video at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps and 720p at 960fps. As for selfies, the phone offers the services of an 8-megapixel snapper with 1/4” front-facing ultra-wide-angle camera.

Like in the case of the Xperia XZ1, the Compact also offers the services of 3D Creator – a tool that can create detailed 3D models of objects and people than can then be easily 3D printed.

The OnePlus 5 is the company’s first phone to include a dual-camera assembly. So users will find a 16-megapixel main sensor with f/1.7 alongside a 20-megapixel telephoto lens with f/2.6 on the back. Up in front lives a 16-megapixel selfie shooter with f/2.0

The OnePlus 5 camera has been rated with 87 points by DxOMark which praised things as white balance, detail preservation in bright light and fast autofocus.

Other

The Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact and its larger brother, the Xperia XZ1 are the first phones to launch with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. So if you buy the device, you won’t have to worry about updates for a while.

The OnePlus 5 ships out with Android 7.1.1 Nougat, but it will certainly get updated to Android 8.0 Oreo at some point in the near future.

Another feature worth mentioning here is the Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact features stereo speakers and supports active noise cancellation with dedicated mic, as well as 24-bit/192kHz Hi-Res audio.

The OnePlus 5, on the other hand, offers a Reading Mode which turns the phone’s display to grayscale which makes staring at the screen much easier on the eyes. The handset also includes the Alert Slider button that lets you easily flip between three predefined sound modes: normal, priority and silent.

Pricing

The Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact just went up for pre-order on Amazon with a $599.99 price tag attached. Orders will start shipping out on October 4. For comparison sake, its larger brother, the Xperia XZ1 is currently available for $669.99 a pop.

The OnePlus 5 on the other hand, starts $479 for the 6GB of RAM + 64GB of storage variant. So if you want a phone with a larger display, better resolution, a dual camera and cheaper price you’ll probably go for the OnePlus 5. On the other hand, the Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact’s main camera is pretty excellent and also includes the unique 3D Creator feature, not to mention that the phone comes with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.

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