Articles about Nougat

Consider yourself extremely lucky: Santa just brought you one of the hottest smartphones of the year. The OnePlus 3T is the latest and greatest in OnePlus' line of flagship killers, packing really powerful hardware, a nice, big screen, solid camera, lovely software and a sleek design. It is also terrific value for money, but, hey, who cares about that right now?

If you are like me, all you can think about is taking it out of the box, setting it up and starting to use it right away. Here is what you need to know.

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The OnePlus 3 may have been discontinued in favour of the OnePlus 3T, but it has certainly not been forgotten. Just after confirming that the two devices will enjoy the same update schedule once Android 7.0 is released for them, OnePlus has pushed out a beta version of Nougat for the older handset -- and it's leagues above the unofficial build we saw recently.

As this is a beta, you have to jump through a few hoops to get yourself a copy of OxygenOS Open Beta 8 -- which is based on Nougat. Actually, there's just one hoop: rather than enjoying the ease of an OTA update, you'll have to install the beta manually.

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The OnePlus 3T is shaping up to be one of the best smartphones that you can buy today. Replacing the OnePlus 3, it is a slightly beefier version of the former "flagship killer" that, at first glance, also feels more refined. Visually, it looks nearly the same, but the updated internals and improved software could make a big difference in day to day use.

This is a first look at OnePlus' new flagship, which I feel is well needed as the OnePlus 3T today makes its European debut. Many of you will be considering it as your next smartphone, and for good reasons. Obviously, a full review is coming, but until then here are my first impressions.

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Android is in a weird place. The latest version, 7.0 Nougat, is on very few devices, which highlights the operating system's biggest issue -- fragmentation. True, most apps will work fine on slightly older versions of the OS, but the true problem is security -- not compatibility. Once a manufacturer stops supporting a smartphone or tablet, the user is at risk of future vulnerabilities.

With OS upgrade concerns in mind, I decided to test Android Nougat on a new Verizon smartphone -- the highly anticipated LG V20. This is the followup to the sleeper-hit V10. The new device retains the famed "second screen", but improves upon its predecessor in every way. Is it worth your money, however?

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Those who have followed me over the years know that I came somewhat late to the mobile computing party. I didn’t buy my first smartphone until 2014 -- an el-cheapo Samsung Galaxy Avant running Android 4.4.2. However, after languishing in the hinterlands of abandoned devices (Samsung never bothered to updated the Avant’s OS past "KitKat"), I finally bit the bullet and this past August splurged on a Galaxy S7 (I went for the nondescript black model to discourage phone thieves).

No question, the Galaxy S7 is a wonderful "piece of kit" (as my UK friends would call it). It’s fast, has plenty of RAM (4GB), and is expandable via microSD card (unlike its immediate predecessor, the Galaxy S6). But while it runs circles around my old Avant in terms of performance, I found the phone’s TouchWiz-enhanced Android 6.0 Marshmallow UI to be uninspiring.

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OnePlus has been working on the Android 7.0 Nougat update for its latest flagship killer for a few months now, but it has not provided many details about what it will bring new to the table. However, it looks like OnePlus 3 users will not have to wait long to find out.

That is because the Community Build -- a preview branch of OxygenOS -- will make the move to an Android 7.0 Nougat base this month, leaving Marshmallow behind. Sure, this is basically a beta build that should not be used on daily drivers, but the company will follow up with a release ready for prime time shortly after.

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Just over two months after its release, Google reports that Nougat is running on 0.3 percent of Android devices. That is a far cry from the 24 percent share that Marshmallow enjoys, but it should not really surprise anyone considering that the most popular Android devices are rocking an older distribution.

Things will improve as more players release Android 7.0 updates, and the latest to make a move in the right direction is LG. The South Korean maker just announced that it is now rolling out Nougat for its G5 flagship.

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Google has just announced that a developer preview of Android 7.1 Nougat will be released before the end of the month. At the Pixel and Pixel XL launch, it was revealed that these two new handset would be running this version of Android, but a developer preview was pencilled in for some time before the end of the year.

The release schedule seems to have been sped up slightly, and this is something that will please developers and end users alike. Google promises dev that "we’ll give you access to this update so you can start getting your apps ready". Among the changes are new APIs (API level 25), and -- of course -- it's Google's own handsets that are in line to get the update first.

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It's no secret that there's an Android 7.0 Nougat update on the way to the OnePlus 3, but the question is: when?

Of course it is already possible to get Nougat running on your OnePlus 3 if you're willing to install a custom Cyanogenmod 14 build. But what most people are interested in is the official release direct from OnePlus. Well, it's not only in the works, we have a video of it in action.

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The LG V10 was one of the biggest surprises of 2015. While it wasn't marketed as a flagship, many folks -- including yours truly -- preferred it to the LG G4. The V10 was special, as it featured an exclusive extra screen at the top of the device. While the secondary display looked like a gimmick, it actually worked well -- it proved useful. The LG V10 was built like a tank too, making it one of the best Android phones ever.

Earlier this year, LG released its G5 flagship, and sadly, it was a dud. It had build-quality issues, and was overall a boring product. The interchangeable modules were poorly executed, making it a bad choice. Luckily, the successor to the V10 is on the way to wash the bad taste of the G5 out of consumers' mouths. Don't worry -- the LG V20 has the extra screen like its predecessor. If you want to buy it on T-Mobile, I have good news -- today, the company reveals the release date. As icing on the cake, the cellular carrier is giving away high-end headphones when you buy the LG device.

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It may have been one of the worst kept secrets in tech launches, but today Google officially took the wraps off its Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. In terms of hardware it could be argued that there is nothing too spectacular here, but even if you ignore the (still very impressive) hardware side of things there are two features that directly take on Apple: Google Assistant to compete with Siri, and unlimited full-resolution photo backup.

Unlike Google's previous Nexus range, the Pixel handsets carry no other branding -- these are the first phones designed and built inside and out by Google and Google alone. We already knew just about everything about the two handsets -- which neatly compete with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but now everything, and more, has been confirmed.

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Now that Android 7.0 is officially available, OnePlus 3 users are starting to wonder when their "flagship killer" will receive a software update to Nougat. The smartphone has received frequent updates since its launch in June, but the latest version of OxygenOS that you can get today has yet to make the move from Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

OnePlus is committed to improving the software for its third flagship, as evidenced by the numerous updates released so far and the introduction of a community build, and, as such, it should not come as a surprise to hear that it is "actively working" on bringing Nougat to OnePlus 3.

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Israeli security firm Cellebrite -- the company said to have helped the FBI access the San Bernadino iPhone -- says that it has the power to break into, and extract data from, just about any phone out there. Speaking with the BBC, the company demonstrated how it can crack the password on a smartphone to access its data.

It said that it was able to extract data from the very latest handsets including Android 7 devices and the iPhone 7. Cellebrite says it works with law enforcement agencies around the world too, and stopped short of saying it refused to work with oppressive regimes. The interview raises some interesting questions.

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LG is something of a quiet player in the mobile market, but that could be set to change with the launch of the LG V20 -- the first smartphone to ship with Android 7.0 Nougat pre-installed. Announced just hours ahead of Apple's iPhone 7 event, LG's new flagship handset boasts more than just the very latest version of Android.

There's a 5.7-inch, 513ppi screen which is supplemented by a secondary 160 x 1040, 513ppi ticker display. On top of this there is a 3,200 mAh removable battery, dual rear cameras, all powered by a Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of RAM.

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Android 7.0 Nougat may be making its way out to Nexus devices, but this accounts for only a tiny proportion of Android users out there. Owners of other handsets are starting to wonder when they will get their hands on Nougat, but rather than waiting for an official rollout, OnePlus 3 users can run Nougat right now thanks to an unofficial Cyanogenmod 14 build.

As this is an unofficial build there are -- as you will no doubt have gathered from the headline -- a few issues to bear in mind. The bad news is that battery life is described as 'horrendous', but the good news is that developers are beavering away trying to improve things. So if you decide to slap this build on your OnePlus 3, what can you expect?

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