Android

When it comes to Android flagships, specs matter. Consumers love to compare the processors, displays, RAM, storage and other important features when assessing the platform's high-end devices, which is why manufacturers cannot afford to fall behind their competitors.

LG has ignored this, as for the past couple of years it has released flagships with outdated processors. The G6, for instance, ships with last year's Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, even though there's the Snapdragon 835 available. And, judging by the sales figures, consumers have penalized the company. However, that practice will end with its next flagship.

Millions of Android devices could have been affected by a new auto-clicking adware program found in apps developed by a Korean company.

Uncovered last week by security company Check Point malicious apps included a series of casual cooking and fashion games under the 'Judy' brand.

We still don't even know when the OnePlus 5 will be released, but the company is already in full-on marketing mode for the next version of its flagship killer. We've only just seen a sample photo from the OnePlus 5, and now keen photographers are being offered the opportunity to get their hands on the smartphone early.

This is not an early buying option for snap-happy Android fans, but a competition which will ultimately see ten people getting their hands on a OnePlus 5 for free.

The Honor 8 Pro is the latest premium smartphone from the Chinese manufacturer, best known as an offshoot of tech titan Huawei.

The company has grown hugely in the past few years as it looks to offer customers an alternative to the typical Apple or Samsung handsets, offering powerful hardware at a more affordable price.

We know that the OnePlus 3T is being discontinued as the launch of the OnePlus 5 is just around the corner. Ahead of the launch, the company behind the "flagship killer" has unveiled a referral program that lets its customers earn points to get money off phones and accessories.

The referral program is open to "anyone who's ever bought a OnePlus smartphone past, present, or future." You just need to apply for your unique referral code, and then encourage people to use it to make their OnePlus purchases to earn you points and money off.

A year after announcing the original Mi Max, Xiaomi unveiled its successor, the Mi Max 2. The phablet comes with the same major selling points as before, namely a huge screen and a massive battery.

The Mi Max 2 is a mid-range smartphone with a 6.44-inch display, which puts it closer to a small tablet than the average phablet, and a resolution of 1,080 by 1,920. The battery is a 6,300mAh unit, that is non-removable, with support for Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0 technology.

LG makes absolutely wonderful Android smartphones, with the G6 and V20 being two of my recent favorites. Both of the those flagships offer quality experiences, although they can be a bit pricey.

Today, LG announces a new phone called the "X venture." It borrows aspects from both of the aforementioned smartphones, but at an insanely low price. Exclusive to AT&T in the USA, the Android 7.0 Nougat phone has a massive 4,100mAh battery and features upgradeable storage via micro SD. Best of all, it is extremely rugged.

Netflix is the first big name on Google Play to block Android devices that are rooted or have an unlocked bootloader from downloading its app. And it looks like it may not be the last, as now Google is officially giving all developers the option to do the same.

Developers on Google Play can enforce support exclusions based on a device's SafetyNet status, which is also what Netflix has used to restrict access. Out of the box, rooted devices or devices with an unlocked bootloader are supported, but developers have two options that they can choose to change that.

The Facebook Messenger app for iOS and Android is an utter mess of ideas at the moment. The confused interface is all over the place and decidedly user unfriendly. All that is set to change, though, thanks to an update that rolls out this week.

The update brings a slightly updated look which makes navigation a little easier. Tabs help to keep things better organized so you can jump to where you want to be more easily. The changes do not go as far as letting you kill the endlessly irritating Messenger Day/Stories feature, but it does go some way to improving things.

Both augmented and virtual reality show no sign of slowing down -- these are certainly technologies to keep an eye on over the next several years. Microsoft and Google have been very public with their projects, while there are rumors that Apple is secretly working on both AR and VR too.

Google's Tango is one of the most ambitious such projects, bringing augmented reality capabilities to Android devices. Earlier today at Google I/O, ASUS announced that the upcoming ZenFone AR smartphone -- compatible with both Tango and Daydream -- will be a Verizon exclusive.

Google has showcased a number of major changes coming to Android at its I/O event yesterday, like Google Play Protect. It is designed to keep your smartphone safe using app usage analysis and machine learning, and includes a feature that many Android users are already familiar with.

Part of Google Play Protect is Find My Device, which has been previously known as Android Device Manager. Google decided to change the name, and add new functionality in the process, likely because it is more appropriate, considering what it is mainly used for -- which is to locate Android devices and remotely wipe or ring them.

There's no getting away from the fact that Android has something of an issue with dangerous and malicious apps. Google's latest weapon in the fight against such apps is Google Play Protect which uses machine learning and app usage analysis to weed out the bad guys.

The new system sees Google not only checking apps as they are submitted to the Play Store, but monitoring the apps you already have installed. By analyzing app behavior, Google is able to identify suspicious software that may have slipped through the net or has been installed from outside of the Pay Store.

With Android phones, just as with the iPhone, the focus has long been on the latest and greatest hardware. But this ignores the fact that not everyone in the world has an ultra-powerful handset. This is something that Google recognizes, and its solution is Android Go.

Android Go is an optimized version of Android that’s designed to be used on less-powerful, cheap phones. By this, Google means phones that could have under 1GB of RAM, and the operating system -- which is essentially an offshoot of Android O -- is due to make an appearance in 2018.

Today is the start of Google I/O 2017 -- be sure to watch the keynote here. There will be plenty of interesting announcements from the company. While much of it will be developer focused, there is sure to be news that will tickle the fancy of consumers too.

Gmail is one of Google's most popular services, and today, the company announces that it is bringing a cool feature to it -- Smart Reply. What is it? Well, the search giant's computers will read your emails, and then offer suggested replies. The service will even use machine learning to improve by reading your replies too. Understandably, some people will have privacy concerns.

HTC today finally unveils a high-end Android smartphone that you might actually want to buy. It's called the U11 and it comes with pretty much everything you can expect in a flagship in 2017, save for that awkward, tall display that you see on rivals like the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8.

HTC has had quite a few uninspiring devices in recent years, but the U11 represents a departure from that trend. It has the latest and greatest internals, the best camera around, an attractive design, and the latest version of Android. It's like HTC listened to all the complaints and decided to, you know, not screw things up this time around.