No, we’re not kidding. Over three and a half years after its debut, Google is rolling out an update to its Nexus 6. There’s no Oreo on board here, but rather, just an updated version of Android 7.1.1 Nougat.
It might have taken 18 months but Nougat has finally become the most used version of Android. While most of the phones released in 2017 came with Nougat pre-installed, it has taken quite some time for older devices to receive the update.
Has your Android device been updated to Nougat yet?
Amazon’s Fire OS, which runs on all of its Fire tablets and Fire streaming sticks/boxes, is finally getting an upgrade to 7.1.2 Nougat. While this forked version of Android is a pretty big step up from Fire OS 5 (which is based on Lollipop or Marshmallow depending on the device), unfortunately, version 6 won’t be rolling out to many devices…
With O’s official summer release imminent, Nougat is about to lose its title as the latest version of Android. Till then, Nougat and Marshmallow continue to rise in the latest August distribution numbers.
Rumors for the upcoming LG V30 are in full-force, but even with LG focused on getting its latest flagship out the door, the company managed to set some time aside to finally release the Android Nougat update for the V10 on T-Mobile.
Android hit a milestone this past month as Nougat — versions 7.0 and 7.1 combined — finally made its way onto 11.5% of devices. Even though the next version of the operating system is set to go live in the next couple of months, this is sort of a big deal as a tenth of the market is now on the latest stable build of Android.
Has your Android phone and or tablet been updated to Nougat yet or are you still waiting for your OEM to upgrade your device?
With several devices running Nougat launching in the past month, Android 7.0 — released nearly a year ago — has finally passed 10% in the July distribution numbers.
Android apps have yet to roll out to the majority of the Chrome OS ecosystem, but as they do, Google is perfecting the formula and making the functionality feel much more native. One of the biggest upgrades to this function to date has been Android Nougat, and now that rollout is extending to several more Chromebooks.
Following an on-stage jab by Apple at WWDC 2017 this morning, the Android distribution numbers for June are now available. Nougat saw a sizeable jump with the latest version of Google’s operating system now at 9.5%.
When budget Android smartphones hit the market, they don’t often come with the promise of lots of future updates. Motorola has done well in the past with this, and startup Nextbit pushed well over a dozen updates to the Robin. Now, both of these companies are pushing Google’s latest OS to very affordable and solid Android smartphones ─ the Nextbit Robin and Moto Z Play.
Honor debuted its mid-range 6X back at CES 2017, and while it’s a pretty good smartphone overall, it shipped with one mind-boggling issue — it came out of the box with Marshmallow and Huawei’s terrible EMUI 4. The company said that it would be updated “soon,” and today, it’s finally living up to that promise, albeit a bit late.
Android Nougat — specifically version 7.0 — continues its steady rise according to the platform distribution numbers for May. This increase is likely aided by the launch of major flagships by Samsung and LG around the world this past month.
Unlocked phones are usually pretty fantastic, and one of their main perks is usually faster updates. More often than not, updates roll out faster to unlocked phones since carriers don’t get in the way, but that hasn’t been the case for the unlocked Galaxy S7 family. Now, that phone is finally getting its long-awaited update.
One of Xiaomi’s first big releases in the US was the Xiaomi Mi Box, an affordable 4K set-top box powered by Google’s Android TV. Since its debut, it’s been one of the better options for bringing Android TV to the big screen, but with one notable omission — Android Nougat. Now, a beta version of Nougat is finally available for the Mi Box.
Nougat saw solid growth in April’s distribution numbers as more devices get updated to the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system. Adoption will only increase in the coming months as this year’s flagship phones begin hitting the market.
Nextbit started testing out Android Nougat for the Robin late last year, but this week the update is officially rolling out to all Robin owners. The final release version carries update number 88 and brings along with it various new features, an updated security patch, and a new privacy policy as well.
Today Google pushed out the second public beta of Android 7.1.2 to Nexus and Pixel devices. For the most part, this update brought with it performance improvements, but the Pixel C got a refreshed look and feel as well as the addition of a new grid-style multitasking menu. Do you like the look of the new menu and think it should be the default on tablets?
Android 7.1.2 beta 2 debuted today on Pixel and Nexus devices and, despite being a minor version update, it brings a lot to the table for Google’s devices. Let’s take a closer look at what it offers…
Despite having the same name as the Pixel smartphone, Google hasn’t shown the same favor to the Pixel C tablet. Where the Pixel phones have had early access to things like Google Assistant and to new software versions, the Pixel C has been treated like a Nexus ─ that’s to say kept up to date but not given any preferential treatment. However, that has seemingly changed today…
Following its upgrade from Marshmallow to Nougat last month, ZTE is today making a slightly newer version of Android available to Axon 7 owners ─ 7.1.1. While it’s no major update, 7.1.1 brings along some welcome changes for the device, as well as bringing updated security patch levels to the phone.
Update, Apr 14, 2017: Now available for iPhone too.
Following apps like YouTube Kids, Google is working on providing a more child friendly experience for Android. Launching as invite only, Family Link allows parents to control what apps children can use on managed devices, as well as set screen limits and usage locks.
Google’s Nexus 6 is outside of its update window at this point, but owners were glad to learn that the phone would be upgraded to Android 7.1.1, even though it was delayed for quite some time. Eventually, Google rolled out the update, but it later pulled it. However, that left some users on 7.1.1, and apparently, Google is trying to downgrade those users back to 7.0.
Update: A Google employee has responded to Reddit users with the following information:
There was a recent OTA update for Android 7.0 that is causing confusion for some Nexus 6 users. For those of you that want to guarantee future OTA updates, you will need to get back on the 7.0 supported track. If you are experiencing issues after accepting the 7.0 update, please factory reset your device to help resolve any problems.
For any Nexus 6 users that want to continue flashing/sideloading future builds, you can stay on 7.1.1 and continue to do so.
Android Nougat has a lot of features hidden under the hood, but one of the least used by apps, yet most convenient is app shortcuts. Not unlike 3D-Touch on iOS, these app-specific shortcuts make it easier to access certain portions of an app directly from the homescreen. It’s not something you’ll use every day, but it’s undeniably handy.
At this point, it’s been several months since Android Nougat debuted, and while adoption hasn’t been impressive, plenty of users on popular smartphones have access. Sadly, app shortcuts are only available on Android 7.1, unless you’re using a 3rd-party launcher which has support, like Action Launcher 3 or Nova. However, you’ll still need to be using one of a select few apps that actually support the feature, so let’s take a closer look at 9 non-Google apps taking advantage of app shortcuts.
