Articles about Android 8 Oreo

As Samsung, Apple and even the likes of OnePlus push out flagship smartphones with ever-larger price tags, it's little wonder that people are increasingly seeking out cheaper alternatives. Where there's demand, supply follows, so there's no end of choice when it comes to handsets that pack a punch without breaking the bank.

It's possible -- probable, even -- that you've not heard of Poptel, but the Poptel P10 is a phone that's worthy of a second look. No, it's not a flagship-killer. No, it's not anything even approaching a competitor for the iPhone X or Samsung Galaxy Note9. But it is a highly capable dual-SIM phone which is waterproof, dustproof and shockproof, that boasts good looks, a slim design, and a pair of decent cameras.

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The big news from Samsung recently was the launch of the Galaxy Note9 smartphone, but the company also launched an Android tablet in the form of the Galaxy Tab S4. Starting at $649, the tablet may be beyond the reach of many people, but the Alldocube X is a cheap alternative.

This 10.5-inch Super AMOLED tablet started life as an Indiegogo campaign, and it was 180 percent funded in just 24 hours. Priced at $269 and due for release in October, the Alldocube X is billed as a 'Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 killer' -- but can it live up to this incredibly bold claim?

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A little over a month after introducing Android 8.1 in the open beta channel, today OnePlus officially rolls out the latest Oreo version to OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5 users across the globe. This makes it one of the few Android makers to have its latest flagships running up-to-date software.

The official build, OxygenOS 5.1.0, on top of upgrading Android, adds a couple of interesting new features and improves security, as it comes with the latest Android security patch (for April 2018). Of all the changes listed by OnePlus, only one is exclusive to the OnePlus 5T.

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It's become quite clear that the idea of having major updates available in a timely fashion remains a distant dream for many Android users. Lots of smartphones remain a version or two behind the latest big release of the popular operating system, even though the hardware is more than capable of handling it.

Trouble is it's not (just) obscure companies that are failing users, but major players too. Take Samsung and the Galaxy S8 for instance. The Oreo roll-out only just started, but it's based on Android 8.0 -- not 8.1, as you would expect. Fortunately, there are some exceptions, most notably OnePlus and its two most-recent flagships.

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Samsung kicked off the Android Oreo roll-out for the Galaxy S8 early this month, making the much-awaited update available to folks who've been part of the beta program first, with a wider rollout expected to take place shortly after.

However, due to a problem that caused unexpected reboots, Samsung pulled it a week ago. The good news is that the roll-out is back on track, with a new version now set to reach Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ users.

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It's only a week since Samsung started to roll out Android 8.0 Oreo to the Galaxy S8 and S8+, and now the company has paused the update.

A "limited number" of handsets receiving the update have been experiencing reboot problems after installing Oreo. While Samsung investigates the matter, the rollout has been paused and a new version of the update is being worked on.

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Samsung has kicked off the Android Oreo roll-out for the Galaxy S8, three months after introducing a public beta program. The first to get it are the testers who enrolled, starting with those in Germany.

What's interesting is that, even though version 8.1 exists, Samsung is pushing Android 8.0 Oreo. That's pretty much what happened last time round with the Galaxy S7, which received Android 7.0 Nougat, when 7.1 was available.

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OnePlus today kicked off the roll-out of OxygenOS 5.0.2, which finally brings Android 8.0 Oreo to its latest flagship killer, the OnePlus 5T. This build also adds a couple of changes to the UI and updates a number of the built-in apps.

The official Android 8.0 Oreo release lands nearly a month after OnePlus introduced the first public beta. Given the nature of such major under-the-hood changes, it will reach a limited number of OnePlus 5T users on day one, with a broader roll-out set to start in the next couple of days.

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When out and about, you may well find that you use free public Wi-Fi connections. The chances are that you use more than one as you battle to find one that offers a decent speed. With Android 8.1 Oreo, Google has a new feature that will help to make your life easier.

As the company has been talking about for a little while, Oreo now lets you see the speed of a Wi-Fi connection before you decide if you want to connect or not.

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A new beta of the Android tweaking tool Xposed Framework has been released. The big news is that the release brings support for Oreo, something of a surprise considering how recently Google pushed the latest version of its mobile operating system out of the door.

The latest Xposed Framework release comes mere months after Nougat support was added. While the Oreo-supporting release will be welcomed by mobile tweakers, the developer says it should be treated as a beta, and may be buggy.

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The OnePlus 5T is slated to receive Android Oreo early this year, but, until the update is deemed ready for prime time, users who want to sample the major changes can now give the first open beta a try.

The OxygenOS build targets more experienced users, as it's meant to be installed manually on the OnePlus 5T, and comes with a significant number of improvements for the launcher and system.

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If you're the owner of a OnePlus 5, you've no doubt been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Oreo on your phone. Well, the wait is over; you can now upgrade to Android 8.0.

The release served as a great present for anyone who had their ear to the ground on Christmas Eve, and a nice surprise for anyone who was too wrapped up in festivities to notice. As ever, the update will roll out gradually, but if you're feeling impatient, it's easy to force the download.

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Even though Google released Android Oreo a couple of months ago, this version of the popular operating system is not available on a significant number of devices yet. As always, it will take a while for manufacturers to support it. However, things are moving in the right direction, as the Android Wear roll-out goes to prove.

Google says that Android Oreo has already hit a number of smartwatches, with the LG Watch Sport being among the first five such devices to get the update. Question is, will your Android Wear devices get it as well?

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While major Android releases get the biggest new features, there is something in store for minor updates as well. With the introduction of Android 8.1 Oreo, Google made a number of interesting changes to the most popular mobile operating system that should make it run better on a very important category of devices: entry-level smartphones.

Android Oreo (Go edition), which is part of of Android 8.1 Oreo, is optimized for devices with less than 1GB of RAM. Google says that it gets improved memory usage, optimized Google-made apps, increased hardware targeting options for developers and higher visibility for apps that target this category of handsets on Google Play.

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When an app goes silent for more than a year, it's reasonable to assume that it has been killed off -- but that's not the case with VLC. The Android version of the popular media player has been updated to version 2.5 after getting stuck at 2.0 for 13 months.

Work has been going on for VLC 3.0, but you would have been forgiven for thinking that the app had just been forgotten about. With the launch of VLC 2.5 there are a number of new features to enjoy including a new dynamic UI, a night mode, and picture-in-picture support for Oreo users.

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