American technology behemoth Google announced earlier this week that the latest version of its Android operating system will be officially called Android 10. By this decision, the company has also broken on the long going tradition of naming the versions after sweet treats or desserts. The latest release also marks the tenth version of the platform, as is evident from the name. The operating system may have had a rocky start back in the year 2008, it has significantly evolved over the years. So to mark the landmark release of Android 10, we look at the extensive history of the software over the years.
Android 1.0 and 1.1
The one that started it all. The first [...]
Google released the latest generation of its Operating System, Android 9 Pie back in August last year for Pixel smartphones. The update marked the ninth major release of the software by the company. But, despite the latest generation of Android out almost seven months ago, many of the modern devices are still stuck at one or more generations older software. What’s even more surprising is that some OEMs are launching new smartphones with old software on purpose.
This disparity in Android devices makes the mind think about what problems could there be that restrict some manufacturers into providing older versions of the software. The alarming number of different [...]
When the Shenzhen based company, OnePlus first entered the smartphone industry, it took the world by surprise. The company launched its “flagship-killer”, the OnePlus One in India on 2nd December 2014. It was the first smartphone under the Rs. 30,000 price bracket which offered flagship-like features. The smartphone had two versions of Android 4.4.2 KitKat, a CyanogenMod 13 variant and an OxygenOS 2.1.4 variant. Currently, OnePlus is among the top smartphone brands in India. The recently launched OnePlus 6 sold close to Rs. 10 Crore worth of smartphones in the first ten minutes of the sale. Now with the rumours of a OnePlus 6T possibly launching soon, here is a list of [...]
Xiaomi has launched one of the most affordable Mi A1 Speaker in China. The accessory has been launched along with the Mi MIX 2s and the Mi Gaming Laptop. The Mi AI Speaker comes with a cubical design with rounded corners. The speaker is priced at 169 Yuan (Rs 1,699) in China. The speaker has a shiny white plastic build quality, which is acceptable for the price tag. As of now, the company has not made any announcement on the global availability.
The mini speaker is powered by AI, which has an access to more than 35 million songs. Additionally, the speaker can also work as a smart alarm clock, with the ability to schedule a memo or a reminder. Similarly, the speaker can also [...]
In this day and age of companies pulling the plug on software support only a year after launching it, Xiaomi has taken a different route. After rolling out the MIUI 9 update for the Redmi 1S, the company has started updating the Redmi Note to MIUI 9 as well.
However, it is worth noting that this updates the smartphone to MIUI 9 which is built on Android 4.4 KitKat and not Android Nougat or Oreo. While the UI of the phone sees an upgrade, the security patch is dated as far back as October 2016. The Redmi Note and Redmi Note Prime, both have started receiving the new update.
The version for the Redmi Note is MIUI 9.2.2.0.KHIMIEK, while the Prime variant is [...]
Google Assistant, the AI assistant that is omnipresent on all Android devices running Android 6 Marshmallow or higher is finally available for devices that are still on Android 5 Lollipop. The update has started seeding which will enable Android tablets and smartphones running Android 5 Lollipop to experience the smart assistant. On tablets, Assistant will be limited to Android 7 Nougat and Android 6 Marshmallow OS versions for now.
At the time of its introduction, Google Assistant was only available for Android devices running Android 7 Nougat. Due to the highly fragmented Android smartphone market, it was [...]
Even though we’ve almost reached the end of 2017, there is a constant flux of high-end phones launching week in and week out. We recently saw three high profile Android phones launching in November itself, the Razer Phone, HTC U11+ (a mid range variant called the HTC U11 Life was launched as well) and the OnePlus 5T. Excluding the HTC U11+, the OnePlus 5T and the Razer Phone have the best specifications you can ask for in an Android phone. Snapdragon 835, up to 8GB of RAM and umpteen amount of storage.
But, these two phones have one thing in common which should not be acceptable in November of 2017. Both the devices run on an Android OS [...]
With the launch of the next big Android revision just around the corner, it is disheartening to see that the upgrade cycle of Android is lower than ever. According to Google, Android 6.0 updates have only reached 7.5% devices running the Android OS, and this includes non-Nexus handsets.
In comparison, Android Kitkat and Lolipop have been the most successful for the company with a reach of 32.5% and 35.6% respectively. However, penetration has hugely improved from the 1.2% penetration that Marshmallow had back in February. The large boost is assumed to be from upgrade cycles of companies like Samsung and HTC who recently started to push Android Marshmallow [...]
Mi India has slashed the price of the Mi Pad. The Chinese electronics major announced today that the 16 GB Mi Pad is now available for Rs 10,999, down Rs 2,000 from the original launch price of Rs 12,999 and can be purchased through its exclusive online partner Flipkart or on Mi.com.
The Mi Pad comes with specifications of a high-end device. The device is thin at 9.4mm and sports a 7.9-inch IPS display with a resolution of 2048×1536. The tablet is powered by a 2.2 GHz Nvidia Tegra K1 SoC ARM Cortex-A15 processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB inbuilt storage space. The Xiaomi tablet runs on Android 4.4 KitKat with MIUI skin on top. The device comes with an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front [...]
Mi India is all set to launch its second ‘Made in India’ smartphone, the Redmi Note Prime, on Amazon.in. The device will go on sale starting 10.00am on the 15th December.
Mi India has been teasing the launch for a few days now, posting on its social media page with the hashtag #PrimeisComing. Xiaomi had announced in August that it would manufacture its devices locally in India as part of PM Narendra Modi’s push for ‘Make in India’. The first device launched by Xiaomi was the Redmi 2 Prime. Commenting on the launch of the Redmi Note Prime, Manu Jain, India Head, Xiaomi said:
“We are really happy to be able to deliver to our promise of [...]Google revealed earlier this week that 71.6% of Android users are still using the pre-Lollipop version of the OS. The divisions are as follows: 36.6% of devices are still running Android 4.4 KitKat, while a 26.9% of users are still running various versions of Jelly Bean. While the latter was released in 2012 and hasn’t seen an update since October 2013, the former first arrived two years ago.
As for iOS users, a huge 70% of them are running iOS 9 which came out only in September this year. Additionally, iOS 8 is being used to run about 92% Apple devices, an OS released not more than 16 months ago.
Though Android 6.0 Marshmallow has enough things to like about it, [...]
Flipkart is having its ‘Power Packed Festival’ starting today; and we bring to you a short list of the best deals.
1. iPad Air 2Apple’s iPad Air 2 comes with a 16GB of internal memory along with Wi-Fi connection. It has a 1.2 MP secondary camera and an 8MP primary camera with a 9.7 inch display. The tablet is run on the iOS 8 operating system. Originally priced at Rs.35,900; it is now priced at Rs.32,065 on the Flipkart smartphone app.
2. iPhone 6sApple’s iPhone 6s will be available on Flipkart at Rs.49,290 rather than its original MRP of Rs.54,490. [...]
Diwali is right around the corner and we are all receiving and sending gifts to one another. However, picking the right gift is always a very tricky affair. So, in order to make it slightly easier for you, we bring you a list of smartphones in different ranges that could help you pick your Diwali present.
Low-Range Smartphones (Rs.5,000 – Rs.10,000)1. Moto E 2nd Generation: Motorola has been doing quite well this year with its budget smartphones and the Moto E 2nd Gen is definitely one worth sending out as a Diwali present.
This phone boasts a:
5MP primary camera with auto focus, HDR and 0.3MP front facing camera 4.5-inch (11.43 centimeters) quarter HD IPS [...]Yu Yuphoria is now available at a price of Rs. 6,499 on Amazon, following a Rs. 500 price-cut. The phone was launched in the country in May with a price tag of Rs. 6,999. Another update the smartphone comes with is that of the operating system. The older Android Lollipop-based Cyanogen OS 12 custom ROM has now been replaced with stock Android 5.0 Lollipop.
Yu Yuphoria
Additionally, the company made Yureka Plus available at a price of Rs. 8,999 on Amazon. Cyanogen OS 12 of the phone has been replaced with Android 4.4.4 KitKat. Yunique is another smartphone by Yu which has been updated in a similar fashion. [...]
