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    Android What should I buy Thursday (Jun 11 2020) - Your weekly device inquiry thread!

    June 12, 2020

    Android What should I buy Thursday (Jun 11 2020) - Your weekly device inquiry thread!

    What should I buy Thursday (Jun 11 2020) - Your weekly device inquiry thread!

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 04:12 AM PDT

    Credits to the team at /r/PickAnAndroidForMe for compiling this information:

    Note 1. Join us at /r/MoronicMondayAndroid, a sub serving as a repository for our retired weekly threads. Just pick any thread and Ctrl-F your way to wisdom!

    Note 2. Join our IRC, and Telegram chat-rooms! Please see our wiki for instructions.

    submitted by /u/AutoModerator
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    Google Maps for Android now supports YouTube Music when navigating

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 04:51 PM PDT

    Google Photos working on built-in ‘Explore Map’ to view by location [APK Insight]

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 03:35 PM PDT

    Pokémon GO to discontinue support on 32-bit Android devices

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 08:38 PM PDT

    Google is working on the "Explore Map" feature in Google Photos

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 03:41 PM PDT

    Google's official Android beta account announces that Bubble notifications will roll out soon in the Messages app on Android 11

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 10:31 PM PDT

    The firm behind Nokia 9 PureView camera tech calls it quits on phones

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 08:52 PM PDT

    Don't call it a comeback. HTC to unveil new phone 6/16

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 07:50 AM PDT

    Sony is rolling out Android 8.0 Oreo for its 2015 Bravia Android TVs (x-post /r/AndroidTV)

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 10:46 PM PDT

    Google's hardware reliability is a nightmare that won't end - 3 RMA replacements in 18 months.

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 09:26 AM PDT

    Hey r/Android

    This post is out of sadness not anger. Likewise none of my interactions towards Google have been anything short of smiley and friendly.

    I've been a Google fanboy for as long as I can remember. I started my android journey with an HTC Dream running Donut and since then I've had countless devices.

    I've dealt with the Android development journey (I still remember the days of my music shutting off on bluetooth when the screen was off). But for all of the teething problems with software bugs I feel that Google's total lack of an ability to make a device that keeps working has beaten me down to a point where I completely admit defeat.

    My Nexus 5x hit the infamous bootloop problem a few months outside of warranty. My Nexus 9 started randomly freezing and restarting whenever the GPU spiked, the screen developed weird little bubbles and the official case stained the back of the tablet (again all soon after the warranty expired). But the worst journey by far has been my Pixel 2XL.

    There are many things about this phone that I love. I'm at a point where I'm no longer desperate to buy the latest and greatest of everything, on paper and in my hand the phone has been perfect. It feels great, the OS is buttery smooth and reactive, the camera is amazing and the speakers are fantastic. Sadly that's not the whole story.

    My First Pixel 2xl was a brand new Pixel 2xl in January 2019, I didn't have the money or the need for the Pixel 3 and the spec of the "2" was perfect for my needs. The device lasted 3-4 months until late April 2019, when it turned out to be faulty because the cabled headphone adapter had no sound output, google first replaced the adapter to no avail, then asked me to factory reset the device, finally agreeing to replace it when we couldn't resolve the issue.

    I'm in the UK so had to send the device to Poland (as my device was purchased from a third party I don't get access to their faster service that allows you to return your device after receiving a new one) and await a replacement. From memory this took a couple of weeks of living with my partners still working Nexus 5x (yes I kept her with Google official devices as well) while I waited for a refurbished replacement (A bit disappointing to not get a new sealed one after only 4 months of use but I was assured that Google have strict quality controls for their refurbished units).

    My Second Pixel 2xl worked for 9 months until January 2020. It had a blip one day and randomly shut off at around 20% power. This progressively got more frequent over the next few months until a point where I was certain the battery was dying and it wasn't just me imagining it. In April I went through the familiar process of contacting google, being asked to fully factory reset the device and eventually them agreeing to replace the device for a refurbished replacement. This time they offered to ship me a device first (the premium service). I'll never know whether this was in error or in light of it being my second warranty replacement.

    They asked me to put a holding charge of £799 on the replacement device (by the way that's an absolutely outrageous charge for a refurbished device you can now pick up for £160 all day long). After 9 days I heard nothing so I contact Google to chase it up. I'm told to sit tight it should be despatched soon, a short wait and an email comes through telling me the device has been despatched (I've no idea whether chasing up Google is what made the difference or if it was just chance). I received my new device, returned the old one and got on with life.

    My Third Pixel 2xl worked for just 4 weeks until it randomly started hard power cycling at anywhere between 0-100% even sometimes plugged in. After a lot of experimentation I realised the that tilting the phone or a gentle wobble triggered the power reset, I then realised a "knock" inside the phone as I tilted the device. I was fairly sure the battery is loose inside my device.

    I contact Google again and a very friendly Google rep chats to me and after finding I've already completed every troubleshooting step and hard reset the device (because I now know their procedure so well) agrees that Google will send me a replacement device. I ask how I know the next one won't fail like the previous 3 and am told something along the lines of "I can assure you all refurbished Google devices are quality checked and tested to the highest standard, you won't have a problem". The sweet irony when the system wouldn't let the rep process the replacement order because the previous replacement is still trapped in a warehouse in the middle of the RMA process. The Rep apologised and told me they were elevating it to their "specialist team" and it would have the highest priority due to my previous problems. They asked if I'd like to wait on the chat while they wait for a response or whether they could follow up by email. I said the latter was fine as I didn't want to be pushy I received and email that said "We've escalated your case to our product specialists, and we'll follow up with you in the next 1-2 business days." In the following day or so I emailed a few extra details that I had discovered.

    The device has since completely died and I dropped back to my partners old Nexus 5x again. 6 Days have now passed and I've heard nothing. I expect it will be August By the time Google finally get their act together and send me a phone.

    By the time my warranty expires in January 2021 I'll have lost over 4 months of use due to faults (and in hard numbers will have been waiting for Google to replace my completely broken devices for an accumulated total of over a month of my warranty period). During my most recent interaction I asked whether my warranty would still expire in January 2021 as I've yet to have a device thats last for more than 9 months without failure. I was told that regardless I have a 2 year warranty and it ends in January 2021.

    I think January 2021 will likely be the end of my Google journey. I've given them every chance but I'm in an abusive relationship, I've become disenfranchised. They talk to me nicely while treating me badly. The products I've owned have failed at an unacceptably high rate, despite me keeping them all in mint condition. I keep going back bright eyed hoping "this time it will be different" but unless Google can pull a rabbit out of the hat I think it's best that we're through.

    Mods:

    Thanks for letting me post this, I have no voice anywhere else and I'm really hoping for the million to one chance somebody from Google will see this and change how they do things. Or another manufacturer who can convince me their devices are different.

    Some Numbers:

    Total Google Devices failed in under 36 months: 5

    Pixel 2xls Failed in warranty: 3

    Factory Resets: 5 in 18 months

    Remaining Warranty: 210 Days

    TLDR

    I've had 3 Pixel 2xls fail in 18 months and I'm now stuck in limbo unable to receive my 4th. My love for Google has died.

    submitted by /u/deadmatt
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    Xiaomi Mi Band 5 goes official with 1.2” OLED display, magnetic charging

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 06:31 AM PDT

    (DOWNLOAD LINKS) OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro are getting the Android 11 Beta

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 08:35 AM PDT

    Adobe Photoshop Camera is no longer in preview and can be downloaded from the Play Store!

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 11:03 PM PDT

    Adobe's product page: https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-camera.html

    Original blog post: https://theblog.adobe.com/introducing-adobe-photoshop-camera/

    Play Store link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.lens.android

    System requirements page: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-camera/system-requirements.html

    Android Versions

    • Android 9, Android 10

    Devices

    • Pixel 3/XL, Pixel 4/XL
    • Samsung S9/S9+, Samsung S10/S10+/S10 5G, Samsung Note 9, Samsung Note 10/10+/10 5G, Samsung Galaxy S20 5G/S20+ 5G/S20 Ultra 5G
    • OnePlus 6/6T and above

    Languages

    • Deutsch
    • English
    • Español (iOS only)
    • Français
    • 日本語
    • Português (iOS only)
    submitted by /u/MishaalRahman
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    Google Stadia adds touch controls, official support for more OnePlus phones, and experimental support for any Android device

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 10:58 PM PDT

    Motorola Moto E (2020) and Moto G Fast review: smartphone basics on a budget

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 12:38 PM PDT

    Features we need in Android

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 01:21 PM PDT

    So it seems Android at this point is mostly refining itself and as The Verge put it, it's a matured operating system. But still, there's things missing from Android that I feel Google should really add to make it a better experience

    Note: everything up ahead is in reference to Stock Android, not any custom ROM or skin

    1. Google has been working on making better privacy controls on their phones. But these privacy controls are only protection between a user and an app. Google should be introducing privacy controls that protect the user from anyone getting a hold of their phone. This is where app locks come in. Many skins have app locks but Stock doesn't. I find myself often torn between skins and stock (even though I LOVE stock android) simply because of these privacy features. Google should add an app lock feature and even a feature into their launcher to hide apps. This will be especially useful. I know android has lockdown(super useful by the way) but I feel like Android needs an extra layer of protection in case someone gets a hold of your phone is you accidentally leave it open or they know your password or forge your fingerprint(in display fingerprints are optical so this is possible). There's not even a good third party app to substitute a system app lock. The best alternative is the Xposed one(Max lock) but I really don't like it that much and a system one would be better.

    2. Better Google Assistant integration. Before I go forward I know that Google Assistant is absolutely amazing and still is the best voice assistant out there. Problem is it's integration. While it does work pretty well I do find it annoying how sometimes when you summon the Google Assistant and then tap out of it, there's a Google Assistant app card in my recents tray. I've noticed this on stock android(occasionally) and more so on MIUI.

    3. Switching Recents providers. Since Android Pie there has been an issue with installing launchers. Your default launcher doesn't automatically become your recents provider. Therefore when you switch to a different launcher, you don't get the animations or the fluidity of multitasking and it all feels like you're executing an action and it's just happening without showing the process of happening. The only way around this is QuickSwitch which requires root. This takes away from one of Android's biggest selling points, it's customisation. If you can't change your stock launcher to a more feature filled or more attractive third party launcher without rooting your phone (because most people haven't rooted their phones and don't even know what rooting is) then there's no point in even getting another launcher

    4. Animations and Fluidity. Android 10 has very fluid animations and I really like how seamlessly everything flows but there are some exceptions. Android 11 has fixed some of these(example: keyboard sliding up and down). But I feel like there are still some areas where there's room for improvement. One of them being switching between apps that are in different orientations. Let's say you're in reddit and you switch into a game like call of duty, it feels very stuttery and android pauses for a second almost like it's confused until it's properly displayed. MIUI handles this and rotation in general way better. The animation for rotation of the screen in stock android doesn't feel very smooth and it feels very jittery. Another area is switching between apps by swiping on the bar at the bottom. Swiping left or right doesn't feel very smooth or intuitive. I'm not sure whether this is to do with the small area where you can swipe or the animations but it doesn't feel very smooth and there's definitely room for improvement

    5. More customisation. There's lots of customisation features in custom ROMs and skins and stock android should have them. Things like changing accent colors(but colors that the user can define using a color pallet or hexadecimal), changing the system theme color (like for example, maybe a dark mode where it's gray for devices that don't have AMOLED displays). Some more Always On features. Maybe support on the AOD for wallpapers like super wallpapers(the wallpaper would have to have a specific setting for AOD). The pulse animation on AOD for notifications. More control over the system theme app and an option for icon pack as well. Maybe even an option for blurring the background in status bar(it really looks quite nice with some wallpapers)

    I know stock android is supposed to be simple but the absence of many features I have listed holds stock android back instead of keeping it simple. If anyone knows how to get an Android developer's attention to look into these, it would be appreciated. But this post was mainly for discussion. If I think of anything else or someone comments something else I may also add it in this post.

    submitted by /u/not_thereal_leon
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    The best deal in Android are used LG phones. Flagship specs at budget to midrange prices.

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 06:37 AM PDT

    Shared this in a comment in another post but thought I'd post it here as well since I'm not sure how many people are aware. If you're looking for a cheap phone with great specs, used LG phones are absolutely the way to go. They are ridiculously cheap compared to what you get.

    The V35 can be found for like $150-200 with an SD 845, 1440p screen, waterproofing, headphone jack with a quad-dac, good to great battery life. The one I'm looking at right now is the V50. About $300-350 and it has an SD855 + all of the above. Waiting for it to drop a little cheaper before I jump on it, but it's almost certainly gonna be my next phone.

    I know LG kind of sucks with updates but they are getting a little better. My V35 just got Android 10, but for what I paid for it I wouldn't have cared too much if I never got it anyway.

    Bottom line is, midrangers are nice, but for the same price or less you can get a flagship from 1-2 generations back by buying a used LG phone. Definitely the way to go IMO.

    submitted by /u/Smash678
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    Xiaomi Redmi 9 with quad cameras, 5020 mAh battery, FHD screen, Helio G80 launched in Spain, starting at €139

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 06:20 AM PDT

    Gboard should add "landscape mode"-friendly split keyboard

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 08:53 AM PDT

    It's been brought up before but I feel like it needs more attention

    Phones are getting bigger and taller which means landscape mode is getting wider and wider

    Splitting the keyboard just seems like the obvious thing to do, considering the amount of media like movies and games constantly having us use the phones in landscape mode whenever we might get a text that we'd wanna reply to immediately.

    submitted by /u/FinnDarius
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    Realme X50 Pro and iQOO 3 join the list of devices getting an Android 11 beta!

    Posted: 11 Jun 2020 11:20 PM PDT

    iQOO (Vivo spin-off brand) announced on Weibo that their iQOO 3 will get an Android 11 beta. No announcement that I can see from iQOO India yet.

    A Realme spokesperson confirmed to me that the X50 Pro will get an Android 11 beta in mid-July. They haven't posted an announcement yet, but we have the details here.

    So far, these other devices are getting Android 11 betas:

    • Google Pixel 2 --> 4 (already available)
    • OnePlus 8/8 Pro (already available)
    • OPPO Find X2/X2 Pro (later this month)
    • Xiaomi Mi 10/Mi 10 Pro and POCO F2 Pro (sometime soon)

    If you have an Essential Phone, you can boot the Android 11 GSI.

    submitted by /u/MishaalRahman
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