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Best feature alert: Samsung considering unconditional refunds for Galaxy S8

Alexandra Arici
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On March 29 Samsung is expected to announced the greatly anticipated Galaxy S8 flagship. The heavily rumored phone will come with tons of interesting, new features like the virtual assistant Bixby or the DeX desktop dock accessory.

But it seems the rumor mill has been saving the best for last. According to a new report coming out of The Investor, Samsung is apparently considering an unprecedented marketing campaign for the Galaxy S8.

Sources have revealed that Samsung is entertaining the idea of offering unconditional Galaxy S8 refunds even after up to three-month of use.

With this aggressive marketing strategy Samsung probably wants to show users don’t have to fear another Galaxy Note7 scenario. Even in the remotely unlikely scenario that something Galaxy Note7y did end up happening, Galaxy S8 owners wouldn’t see their investment fly out the window.

The news is also great for people who have a hard time deciding which device to get. A three-month trial is more than enough to decide whether you want to stick with the Galaxy S8 in the long run or not.

The big 8 is coming

But Samsung’s bold approach to marketing this year might stem from another reason. The Galaxy S8 might end up being quite disappointing for some people, given that it will come with limited Bixby functionality at launch.

So in the beginning Bixby will work only with 10 Samsung apps which will come pre-installed on the phone including gallery, contacts and messaging. The Korean tech giant is planning to launch a software update to add more functionality sometime in the first half of the year.

Nevertheless, we certainly hope Samsung will decide in the end to adopt this strategy. Only knowing a refund option is available, might put nervous customers’ minds to ease.

Want to win a Samsung Galaxy S8? Enter our giveaway here

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AT&T might soon help Huawei sell its phones in the US

Alexandra Arici
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Huawei might be the world’s third biggest smartphone manufacturer – but in the US the brand is pretty unknown. And it’s not because Huawei is not trying hard enough to make a statement in the country.

You see the Chinese device maker is facing a few hurdles on its way to greatness in the States. Most importantly US carriers are quite hesitant to work with Huawei for two chief reasons – poor brand recognition in the country and persistent concerns that China is using the company’s products to try and spy on the US.

However, this might change soon enough, as a new report coming out of The Information reveals that AT&T is exhibiting a willingness to give Huawei a chance.

According to the new info, Huawei is trying to work out a deal with AT&T, but negotiations have barely begun. At the moment, AT&T is in the early stages of approving Huawei’s proprietary Kirin chipset for use on its network. This approval might never come, but only after it does, will Huawei be able to start negotiating the full terms and conditions of the partnership.

FCC AT&TIt’s not like Huawei doesn’t sell ANY phones in the US. It’s high-end Mate9 flagship is currently available in its unlocked form from retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. We shouldn’t forget the Huawei and Google partnership which resulted in the Nexus 6P phone, but later refused to renew the collaboration when Google didn’t want to put the Huawei brand on the Pixel.

But despite all of these efforts, the company had to finally accept one cold fact about the US market – most phones are sold through carrier partners. And it’s not like the Chinese company has many options. Only AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks are fully compatible with Huawei’s Kirin chipsets. And Huawei is involved in a legal litigation with T-Mobile. So AT&T is its only hope at cracking the US market.

Now even if AT&T is open to the idea of adding Huawei phones to its portfolio, it might take a while before the deal actually goes through. If it ever does.

When can you expect Android O to come?

AG Deals Team
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Earlier today, Google introduced the first Developer Preview for Android O. Yep, that means we are that much closer to getting the latest version of Android on our favorite devices.

However, with this announcement, there’s a pretty standard question that everyone is probably asking. When am I going to see Android O on my personal device?

Unfortunately for many, the answer is one to damper your mood a bit. Despite today marking the launch of the first Android O Developer Preview, we’re not expecting to see an official launch until Q3 2017.

In fact, developers aren’t likely to see the next preview update until sometime in May. However, what this does is give Google and developers enough time to tinker with all the new changes, while updating their apps to support Android O.

Over the course of a new version of Android, there are generally 5 different stages, and here’s a quick breakdown:

  • Preview 1 (initial release, alpha)
  • Preview 2 (incremental update, beta)
  • Preview 3 (final APIs and official SDK, Play publishing)
  • Preview 4 (near-final system images for final testing)
  • Final release to AOSP and ecosystem

Preview 1, as everyone knows, has launched today. Preview 2 is expected to launch sometime in May, but before June. We’d put our money on seeing it launched during Google I/O 2017, which is scheduled to start on May 17th.

Preview 3 will launch sometime in June, with the final developer preview launching sometime in July. The “final release” is where Google has stated we’ll be seeing it sometime in Q3 2017. That time frame ranges from July until September. Yeah, we know, definitely nothing concrete.

In the meantime, we’ll be keeping everyone up to date on the new features and changes as they are added and/or removed. Plus, if you missed out on the news, you can hit the link here and check out everything included in Android O.

Let us know what you’re most excited for with Android O, and what you think the “O” will actually stand for?

How To: Install Android O developer preview on Pixel and Nexus devices

AndroidGuys
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Do you own a Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, or Pixel C? Did you know that you could be on the cutting-edge versions of Android? That’s right! You can install the latest, test and development releases of Android before it’s rolled out to the masses.

As of today the Android O Developer Preview 1 is being offered to the aforementioned devices. Indeed, it is also available for the Nexus Player, too.

How do you go about trying out the test releases of Android? It’s not all that hard, really. But, before you do, you should know some of the risks associated with Developer Previews.

First, the software is nowhere near completion and you should expect wonkiness or occasional problems. Moreover, the build is not optimized for battery yet and isn’t indicative of what you’ll get out of the final release. Really, it’s for developers who have apps and want to take advantage of the upcoming goods. Early adopters aren’t necessarily discouraged from taking the plunge; Google makes the software readily available.

How to get Android O Developer Preview

The main method of installing the Developer Previews is to manually flash the software image to your device. Manually flashing is useful if you need more exact control over your test environment or expect to reinstall frequently. If you’re considering dabbling in various ROMs or bouncing around from one build to another, this might be the way to go.

Caution: installing a system image on your phone removes all data from the handset. Back up your data first and proceed carefully. Worth noting, the manual route does not allow for automatic software updates.

Available System Images

  • Pixel
  • Pixel XL
  • Pixel C
  • Nexus 5X
  • Nexus 6P
  • Nexus Player

Instructions

The factory image downloaded from this page includes a script that flashes the device, typically named flash-all.sh (On Windows systems, use flash-all.bat instead).

To flash a device you also need the latest fastboot tool. You can get it from one of the following sources:

Once you have the fastboot tool, add it to your PATH environment variable (the flash-all script below must be able to find it). Also be certain that you’ve set up USB access for your device.

Flash System Image

  • Download the appropriate system image for your device from, then unzip it to a safe directory.
  • Connect your device to your computer over USB.
  • Start the device in fastboot mode with one of the following methods:
    • Using the adb tool: With the device powered on, execute: adb reboot bootloader
    • Using a key combo: Turn the device off, then turn it on and immediately hold down the relevant key combination for your device. For example, to put a Nexus 5 (“hammerhead”) into fastboot mode, press and hold Volume Up + Volume Down + Power as the device begins booting up.
  • If necessary, unlock the device’s bootloader using one of the following methods:
    • If you are updating a Nexus 5X or Nexus 6P device using the hammerhead or angler builds, update your fastboot tool to the latest available version (>=23.0.1), and then run this command: fastboot flashing unlock 
    • If you are updating an older device, run this command: fastboot oem unlock
  • The target device will show you a confirmation screen. (This erases all data on the target device.)
  • Open a terminal and navigate to the unzipped system image directory.
  • Execute the flash-all script. This script installs the necessary bootloader, baseband firmware(s), and operating system.

Once the script finishes, your device reboots. You should now lock the bootloader for security:

  • Start the device in fastboot mode again, as described above.
  • Execute: fastboot flashing lock
    • or, for older devices, run: fastboot oem lock

Locking bootloader will wipe the data on some devices. After locking the bootloader, if you want to flash the device again, you must run fastboot oem unlock again, which will wipe the data.

More Help

Google has excellent documentation to help guide you through the process of flashing software builds to the various Pixel and Nexus models.

Google debuts Android ‘O’ developer preview for select devices

Scott Webster
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Google on Tuesday introduced its next version of Android. Well, sort of. As it has done with the last few iterations of its platform, Google is giving developers early access to the upcoming release. Indeed, the first developer preview has been made available for select devices.

What’s New?

The first question we always ask when dealing with a new version of Android is, “what’s new or improved?” From the sounds of it, there’s definitely enough to merit a full release candidate. Will you notice the differences? It certainly sounds like we could.

Background limits

Building on the stuff that was implemented in Android 7.0 Nougat, Android O will place an emphasis on improved battery life and performance. To do so, Google is placing additional automatic limits on what apps can do in the background, across three key areas: implicit broadcasts, background services, and location updates. In other words, it will be easier than ever to design apps that have minimal impact on battery.

Notification channels

This new feature give users detailed control over different kinds of notifications — users can block or change the behavior of each channel individually, as opposed to a blanket change to an app’s overall notifications. Moreover, Android O offers up new visuals and grouping in notifications.

Picture in Picture

Phones and tablets pick up the ability to watch a video while answering a chat or banging out an email. Additionally, there’s a overlay window feature that can be used in place of system alert windows; multi-display support lets you launch an activity on a remote display.

Autofill APIs

You know how convenient it is for filling in fields and forms in Chrome once you have auto-fill in place? Android O brings to the platform level with an API that allows for saved and secure automatic data such as addresses, user names, and passwords.

Adaptive Icons

One thing we really enjoy about custom launchers is the uniform approach to icons. Android O features adaptive icons which can change shape based on the device. No more circles, squares, and random shapes for icons; this will be a much cleaner look

 

More

There’s plenty of other stuff under the hood for Android O, even in the first developer preview. Other touches include Font resources in XML, new Java Language APIs, enhanced connectivity, improved keyboard navigation, and wider audio codec support. You can read more about each of them at the Android Developer’s Blog.

Beware

Don’t be in too much of a hurry to rush out and install this on your device. Well, you can, but you should know that this is in very early stages. According to Google, there’s “still plenty of stabilization and performance work ahead of us.. but it’s booting”.

While it’s available to flash on select models, it’s positioned at developers only. In other words, it’s not intended for daily consumer use. Proceed with caution.

Eligible Devices

If you absolutely want to install the first developer preview of Android O, you can do so on a number of devices. Among those eligible are the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, Pixel C, Pixel, and Pixel XL.

Gentle Wakeup Alarm Clock uses light to wake you, might prove useless for deep sleepers (Sponsored Review)

Alexandra Arici
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If you are like me, you also have a problem waking up in the morning. By nature I am not an early riser and, most of the time, I have trouble leaving the comfort of my bed in the morning. Or even worse – I tend not hear the alarm go off at all.

I’ve been researching the topic of how I might facilitate the process of waking up and I’ve stumbled upon some apps which promise interesting things. Gentle Wakeup Alarm Clock – which theorizes that sleepers can wake up naturally by light. According to the creators of the app – light leads to biological process in the body leaving the deep sleep phase and preparing to wake up. So in theory the app should help me to wake up gently and refreshed every day. So naturally I had to give it a try.

This idea is actually based on a scientific theory which states that a very beneficial way to wake up refreshed is to rise during a period of your lightest sleep. Being woken in a light stage has proven to make people more energetic and alert upon awakening.

Setup

You can download the app for free from the Google Play Store. However, a Premium version is also available. You can upgrade to Premium from within the app for $5 a pop (which unlocks more Sound options). Once the app is installed all you need to get started is to access it. When you open the app for the first time, you’ll be asked whether you’d like to watch a video tutorial. If you think you can find your way around the app without watching it, then go ahead and skip it.

App Experience

When you open the app – all you will be able to see is the date and time, as all the other features are hidden on purpose. With a single tap on the display you can make additional options visible.

The whole purpose of the app is to let you configure your alarm clock in a way that suits you. So go on to Settings which is located in the lower right corner and tap it. From there you can click the Add button to add the time you want to be woken up. From the same panel, you can customize what you see on the main screen.

You can ask the app to display the date, day of the week, time, seconds, 24 hours mode, time for next wake up and more. You also have Brightness Settings at your disposal. You can choose the transparency of text, app brightness for light on and app brightness for light off. You should start playing with these features and see which one suits you best. What’s more the app can deliver Weather information as well (once you set your location)

Tapping on the Alarm you just set up, will reveal a bunch of options that help you customize your wake up process. The app is built on the idea that light can wake you up. That’s why the alarm will start weaving its magic with 20 minutes earlier than the intended wake-up hour, in order to prepare your body for wakeup.

However, the app offers other wakeup methods too like Sound and Vibration. And yes, you can combine all of them into a more powerful alarm system. Wake up by Sound allows you to choose the type of sound you want to hear (frogs, rooster, and train – whatever floats your boat). You can also choose the time after which the sound should reach its final intensity.

Add vibration to this equation and your phone will light up, buzz and produce animal sounds – all at the same time. Which should guarantee you’ll be jumping out of bed.

After setting/saving the alarm, you can go back to the main screen. You’ll see your next alarm which is set to start 20 minutes before the actual desired waking time.

I like the fact that there are a lot of options available and you can experiment with different combinations to see which suits your particular wake-sleep cycle. On the down side, the interface is quite boring and outdated. I would have liked to see a more modern interface.

Results

When it comes to results – don’t expect something spectacular. As I told you before, I’m a pretty deep sleeper that usually has to be up by 7.30 AM. Well given that we’re in spring now and the sun rises by 6.30 AM, the alarm’s light signal becomes almost useless. Only when the frogs started making noises (sound alarm) and the vibrations started was I bothered to open my eyes.

Also, if you want to rely only on the lighting scheme to wake, you will need to place your device in your immediate vicinity – which is not something I tend to be down for.  I like to leave my phone on a night stand beside my bed which is not super close to my bed. Another inconvenience is that you absolutely need to leave your device charged in overnight – as the alarm starts 20 minutes earlier, you risk waking up to a drained phone.

But once the alarm gets going, it’s pretty difficult to make it stop. In theory all you need to do is move the slider showing on the screen to the right. But that proves to be more complicated than it needs to be. I had to slide my finger numerous times before the noise finally stopped and instead of waking up refreshed, I woke up really annoyed. The snooze option (tapping on the screen) also proved glitchy at times.

On top of that, I noticed there’s no way you can set an alarm for the current day – an option that might come in handy for those who like taking naps.

Overall

Gentle Wakeup Alarm Clock is built around a great idea – deliver an app that can help you wake up gently. However, the implementation leaves a little to be desired. It would be nice if the team would upgrade the interface and give it a 2017 look and squish the bugs that need to be neutralized. Also unlocking the “premium” features is a bit more expensive than it needs to be.  However, if you’d like to try out the whole wake up by light scheme, you can try the app for free. Still, I’d recommend to test the app out in winter when the sun rises later during the day (unless you live in a Norse country).

For me, Gentle Wakeup proved to be more of a glorified Alarm Clock, but maybe it will work differently for you – given that everyone’s sleep/wake cycle is different.

Post-Review Update:

We reached out to the author about some of the issues that we experienced and he had some encouraging responses. Material design is coming in the next update, which is proposed for some time in April. He also intends to fix the slider to make it more functional.

He also states that the light may not need to be directly in your line of sight but just near you so that your subconscious mind can recognize the change in light levels.

We look forward to seeing what improvements are in store for Gentle Wakeup.

Google mobile app gets “tappable shortcuts” to help users easily explore topics of interest

Alexandra Arici
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Google’s popular search engine is getting more sophisticated. Today, the Mountain View-based company announced it was adding “tappable shortcuts” to its mobile version of Google Search. The new option is currently available only for users located in the US.

Tired of typing? The new shortcuts allow you to stay informed by employing a few, simple taps.  This is to say that Google’s search homepage for mobile, now comes bundled with shortcuts for areas of interests such as weather, sports, food, drinks and entertainment.

With the new update, users will be allowed to tap on individual topics or areas of interest and get an entire feed of stories related to it.  For example, if you tap on entertainment, you’ll prompt Google to respond with information about the latest shows on TV, timetables and trailers.

The update will affect both users of Android and iOS, but Android users will get more options including shortcuts for animal sounds, tip calculator, Solitaire and tick-tack-toe. In total, there would be 40 more shortcuts in Android than in iOS.

The app will learn from your tapping habits, so Google will place the most used shortcuts on the homepage and Android users can tap an arrow to see the other available options.

Google also notes it will be adding more shortcuts corresponding to major event, such as the NBA Finals which will become available soon enough.

Google has brought about this update to help users explore he topics they care about even deeper. Until now you had to type in the whole query, but Google just made it simpler.

Pixel C just got updated with Pixel launcher, multi-tasking and more

Alexandra Arici
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We recently reported that with the new Android 7.1.2 beta 2 update the Nexus 6P finally got the highly requested fingerprint scanner gesture feature.

Well the Nexus 6P is not the only device receiving the beta 2 build, but also the Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 5X, Nexus Player and Pixel C. Speaking of the Pixel C tablet, the update adds a slew of nifty features which are worthy of a mention.

Despite being a Pixel device by name, the Pixel C didn’t have a Pixel Launcher onboard. But that changes with the Android 7.1.2 beta 2 update.

However, a user on Reddit noted that the Pixel C’s Pixel launcher is different from the one on the Pixel phone, although they look very much alike (although not completely the same). The two have different package names. The Pixel launcher is com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher, while the Pixel C’s is com.google.android.apps.pixelauncher.

The Pixel-style nav buttons are also present now. And since there is no Google Assistant on tablets, expect the home button to just look like a regular circle.

Last but not least, there’s a new multi-tasking UI available, as you can see in the screenshot attached below.

Keep in mind that the update is currently available for members of the beta program, but a public Android 7.1.2 build should make it out in the upcoming weeks.

Andy Rubin’s upcoming high-end smartphone project loses SoftBank funding

Alexandra Arici
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Back in January, we heard that Android creator, Andy Rubin has gathered up a team and together they are working on a premium smartphone meant to take on the Google Pixel and Apple iPhone.

A device named Essential FIH-PM1 (most likely Rubin’s phone) even popped up in Geekbench revealing the phone might come with a Snapdragon 835 chispet, 4GB of RAM and Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. Whispers would also have us believe the device would come will modular add-ons in the vein of the Motorola Moto Z line.

It all sounded quite promising, but now a report coming out of the Wall Street Journal is putting a damper on our enthusiasm. According to the information, Sprint’s parent company SoftBank has decided to withdraw the $100 million funding meant to help the Andy Rubin and his team transform the Essential into a real life product.

Why the change of heart you might be wondering? Sources claim a conflict of interest is what prompted SoftBank to pull out from the deal.

High-end concept phone

It seems that SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son plans to open a tech oriented investment with $100 billion in capital. And one of the main investors poised to pour $1 billion into the fund is none other than Apple. Which in Son’s mind creates a conflict of interest, given that Rubin wants to create a product that will compete head-to-head with the Apple iPhone.

However, this doesn’t mean the Essential project is dead. The $100 million need to fund the project could be raised with the help of a few generous investors. The report goes on to claim that the Essential project is close to getting fully funded.

This is the first bump in the road for Essential, but will it be the last. It will be interesting to see if the phone will actually make it out on the market and if it does – will it be able to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone 8? It remains to be seen.

Nexus 6P finally gets fingerprint scanner gesture with Android 7.1.2 beta 2 update

Alexandra Arici
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Back in January, we told you Google unleashed the Android 7.1.2 Nougat beta build for a select number of devices including the Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 5X, Nexus Player and Nexus C. Surprisingly enough the Nexus 6P was left out of the loop.

The new build brought about the extensively requested fingerprint swipe gesture that allows users to access the notification tray. The Nexus 5X got it, while Nexus 6P was said to be joining the party “soon”.

Well the wait is now over now, at least for Nexus 6P users enrolled in the beta program who are now receiving the Android Nougat 7.1.2 beta 2. And according to the Android Police which received a tip from a reader, the feature has indeed landed on the Nexus 6P. The toggle is hiding under “Moves” in the Settings app.

To be clear the beta 2 is going out for users of the Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 5X, Nexus Player and Pixel C, as well. A stable release which will be made available for everyone, should make it out in the upcoming weeks.

We heard for the first time that Google was considering adding the Pixel-specific fingerprint gesture to the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P in November 2016. So after five months, Nexus 6P users finally have the option at their disposal.

As for the Android 7.1.2 update, Google said to expect an incremental maintenance release focused on refinements which means bug fixes, optimizations and a small number of enhancements (like VoLTE) for carriers and users alike.

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