Google Plans to Release its Own Smartphone This Year

If you are an Android enthusiast, and chances are that you are since you are here on XDA-Developers, you would likely need no introduction to the Nexus lineup of devices. Nexus devices are devices that are a result of partnership between Google and the lucky OEM: Google takes care of the development and software end of the device, while the OEM is in-charge of manufacturing it up to spec of Google’s requirement. Nexus devices are at the forefront of Android updates, since they come directly under Google’s wing. They are also the prime choice for developers and for people who care about Android updates.

But it seems that Google is not content with the status of the current relationship. If The Telegraph and their sources are to be believed, the software giant is planning to get into the smartphone war directly, with the launch of its own handset.

The Telegraph notes:

The technology giant is in discussions with mobile operators about releasing a Google-branded phone that will extend the company’s move into hardware, sources familiar with the discussions told The Telegraph. The new device, which will be released by the end of the year according to a senior source, will see Google take more control over design, manufacturing and software.

So, apart from the two upcoming HTC-Nexus in 2016, there is now a possibility that there will be a third device, this one directly from Google. This information is still in its early stages, as the Android world has so far received no other news or leaks on the existence of plans of this move. If the hardware is to arrive by the end of the year, we should be privy to more details soon enough. Until then, we take the news with a pinch of salt, but with our fingers crossed.

What are your thoughts on Google taking absolute control over the hardware? How will this affect Nexus devices, and other Android devices? Which market segment should this device tackle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Are Third Party SMS Apps Worth It?

 

Third party SMS apps are meant to add a bunch of wonderful customization and security features to your texting experience. While the default texting app on your phone is probably pretty simple, some of these apps may be able to offer something that improves the way you communicate.

I will go through some of the most popular texting apps and point out some of my favorite features about each one.

Textra SMS

Texting someone is something that I don’t want to put a lot of effort into. If I have to stop and search for a particular feature in the middle of a conversation, it can be very frustrating. The “Hey Bot” that comes with the Textra app is a messaging bot that will answer any questions that you have about how the app functions. It will come in handy when exploring the many tools that Textra offers.

My two favorite features about this app are the customization settings and the notification bar quick reply. You’ll have the ability to customize the look of this app down to the very last detail. You can even change the color of the app icon and style from within the settings menu. The quick reply will offer a fully functional texting experience from within the notification menu. You wont give up access to any tools like emojis or attachments when using the app in quick reply mode.

 

Chomp SMS

Chomp SMS stands out with its security feature that lets you enable a passcode to access your app. This is a valuable feature to have because your text messages are some of the most sensitive information that you’ll store on your phone.

The themes that you can choose from are really great. You’ll find a really cheesy one here and there but from the most part they’re easy on the eyes. You can even create and save your own themes.

EvolveSMS

Evolve has an awesome desktop messaging feature that is compatible with pushbullet. As someone who uses pushbullet everyday, the ability to send and receive texts from my favorite browser extension is a very attractive feature.

Evolve has the same passcode feature as Chomp but with a little something extra. Not only can you set a passcode for the app but you can protect individual conversations as well. This will hide those secret conversations that you have with your ex from prying eyes.

 

Yaata SMS

It’s very important for a texting experience to go smoothly. A single lag or unreasonably long load time can have you throwing your phone across the room. Yaata SMS is a lightweight and super fast texting app. Sure your customization features are plentiful, but this app is for those that like a clean interface that doesn’t get in the way of your conversation.

This app is very pleasant to use, but without offering some sort of feature that really improves my texting sessions, I would only switch to this app if I was unhappy with my default app.

What is your favorite texting app? Let us know what you like about it!

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Next Note Device Likely to Bear “Note 7” Moniker, Specs Leaked

If you are waiting for the Samsung Galaxy Note 6 to sweep you off your feet and give you your reason to upgrade, you might me waiting indefinitely. Because as current leaks and rumors go, the Note 6 is likely to never be released.

Okay, we are being a bit overtly dramatic here. The “Note 6” is what will not be released, as the next Galaxy Note device will most likely skip over to the “Note 7” moniker. Everything else about the device itself, including its launch period, remain the same — it’s just the name that is different.

It was earlier reported that the next Note will feature Dual Edges like the S6 Edge does. It was also noted that the term being used by various sources for the device at that moment was Note 6/7, referring to the uncertainty of the name. Now, Evan Blass has “confirmed” (more like leaked) that the device will be called the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

Confirmed. http://pic.twitter.com/jo1EF3Mp3J

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) June 25, 2016

More information follows, as the initial specs of the device have also been leaked by Evan. First up, the Note 7 will likely come with an iris scanner, though there is no more information on how exactly would this work out. The other leaked specs mention a 5.7″ QHD Super AMOLED Display, 64GB of internal storage with expandability options via microSD card slot, a 12MP “Dual Pixel” rear camera with a 5MP front camera. The last bit of info is that the Note 7 will be rated for IP68 for Ingress Protection, just like the Galaxy S7. This is a big deal because the Note lineup also features the removable S-Pen, so it is to be seen how exactly Samsung has worked this around for protection. Our guess is that the pen needs to be inserted and fit correctly for the claim, but again, it is just a guess at this stage. The Note 7 will come in black, silver and blue color variants.

Just to reiterate, these are still considered as leaks and not official information. Things could change for the future, but Evan Blass has a good track record.

What are your thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7? Do you mind the number jump on the device? How do you feel about the initial specs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Oculus Stops Device Check for Rift-Exclusive Titles

Oculus was blocking owners of the HTC Vive from buying and playing Oculus Rift-exclusive games, but the company has now reversed its decision. The device checking features that were added recently are now removed. Oculus mentioned to The Verge that the decision to check for Rift hardware was consciously made for the long-term success of the VR industry.

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Microsoft to Stop Surface 3 Production by Late-2016

Microsoft has little plans to manufacture the entry-level Surface 3 tablet by the year end. The Surface 3 launched in May 2015, and has been running low on stock for a while. A statement from the company confirms that production of the Surface 3 would be wound down over the next few months.

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HTC 10 vs Galaxy S7 microSD Speed

So here is something that a lot of people usually don’t think about when it comes to the performance of their phone. How fast is the microSD slot? We put two of this year’s biggest phones to the test to see what we would find.

So first off, we will find the fastest SD Card we can get. Even though two devices might have seemingly identical internal specs, one might read and write to the same SD Card faster than the other. That’s because not all microSD slots are built the same. So we decided to test he R/W speed, app launching speeds and in-game FPS performance of the SD card slots in the HTC 10 and the Galaxy S7 to see which is faster.

R/W Speed

These tests will be using a SanDisk 32GB UHS-1 card. We will use an android storage benchmark app called Androbench to test the R/W Speeds of a single file as well as the R/W speeds of a multiple files.

These tests indicate that the HTC has a slight advantage over the Galaxy S7. This is good information for moving files around from within your device but what about pushing files to and from your device using a PC?

PC Transfer Speed

Using a 1GB file, we tested the speed of pushing files to and from the SD Card VIA a USB cable connected to a computer.

We timed the speed of the transfers using an old sundial and the HTC came out on top once again.

App Launching Speeds

Next we will test the app and game launching speeds from apps stored on the SD Card. We will be using an app called DiscoMark Benchmark that allows us to run a bunch of tests to see which is faster.

The HTC 10 pulls through in the lead once again by just barely a second. Not a massive difference but still consistently points to one device being faster than the other.

In-Game Performance

For the last test we will use GameBench to test the FPS performance of the games that we run from the SD Card. Here are the results of several different games that we tried out.

Here we can see that the in-game performance wasn’t massively affected by the speed of the SD Card slot. The two phones scored nearly identical other that a difference on 1FPS on Need for Speed.

So what does all of this tell us? Well if you know you’re going to be using the microSD a lot, sometimes going for a device with the fastest internal storage isn’t always the best option. Instead look for the device with the fastest SD Card reader and it may end up being much faster for what you’re going to be using it for.

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Sprint Hinting at Deals Tomorrow – Here Are the Details!

If you look at Sprint’s social media today you might have noticed tweets like the one below:

The wait is almost over! Come in to any Sprint store TOMORROW & get amazing deals! https://t.co/AgDyr1dshv http://pic.twitter.com/Ix7P622wir

— Sprint (@sprint) June 24, 2016

It’s clear that as part of that #SprintSaysThanks campaign they intend to do something big. And thanks to David Vaughan, the corporate account manager for the day job, we were clued into a few special deals tomorrow as what is being internally called a “Blow The Roof Off” campaign. We were also told that these are specific to corporate stores and they may ask how you heard – so please do a favor and make sure you thank him for the early news. Deals also appear to be both for business and consumer accounts.

From 9 am until noon any activation gets a $100 credit. The example given was 10 lines and no limit was specified. Then from noon until the store closes each line ported gets a $50 port-in credit, while adding lines are also given a $50 “Add-a-Line” credit. Eligible lines can claim both if applicable. A social media discount will also be announced tomorrow that will give 30% off all accessories under $99.99. And finally, A $50 bounce back credit for those who may miss tomorrow and activate on Sunday or Monday.

All in all Sprint is trying hard to claw back some of the market share it has lost to its rivals over the years and continues to try new ways to do so. With different attempts to attract customers back such as the sales tomorrow and the recent advertisement below featuring Paul Marcarelli – formerly Verizon’s “Can You Hear Me?” ad man – now “switching” to Sprint – is it working? We’ll surely see soon enough as the first quarter to its fiscal year next week and they announce their results in either late July or August.

So do any of the deals strike your fancy? Are you a current Sprint subscriber and happy with your service? Or perhaps a former subscriber but have been thinking of coming back? Feel free to comment below!

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