Skip to main content

This week in Android: It’s weird phone week

We got to play with a lot of cool tech at CES 2019, but little was cooler than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855. Qualcomm had a reference device sporting the new SoC and we were able to put it through its paces, including our very own Speed Test G. The results are impressive.

In other big news this week, we found out Motorola is planning on bringing back the Razr phone, made famous in the mid 2000s. We don’t know a lot about the phone itself, but we can make some guesses based on a patent from August of last year.

Plus, we look ahead at the future of LG and OnePlus, including a new peculiar accessory for LG. Also, we have good news and bad news about Huawei’s security.

Here are your top stories for the week

4:20 – Snapdragon 855 performance and benchmarking: Speed Test G, AnTuTu & Geekbench

At CES, Gary Sims previewed the Snapdragon 855 processor in reference hardware. He had some fun with it.


21:45 – You’ll flip for the foldable Motorola Razr smartphone reboot

Motorola (read: Lenovo) is talking about releasing a new version of the Razr phone, this time with a folding screen.


34:40 – Google Pixel 3 Lite leaks in video review: Should you expect flagship photo quality?

The back of the Google Pixel 3 Lite. Andro News

The Google Pixel 3 Lite wanted to be just like its older siblings and come out with a full leak before its official announcement. Mission accomplished.


44:20 – Yes, there is a system-wide dark theme in this early Android Q build

You’ve been asking for it. Google’s giving it to you. A full, system-wide dark theme for those late-night phone-using sessions.


Meanwhile, here are some stories we couldn’t cover on the podcast

OnePlus in 2019: A force to be reckoned with

OnePlus made some remarkable strides in 2018, including working with a U.S. carrier for the first time. Will OnePlus be able to keep that momentum going in 2019?


Huawei Mate 20 Pro camera review

Huawei Mate 20 Pro triple camera close up

We took a deep dive into the camera on Huawei’s latest flagship and the results are a little surprising. No spoilers here though. You gotta click through.


LG in 2019: No more excuses

LG has not made great strides in the mobile space of late. It’s time for LG to do something to finally gain some world-wide ground.


LG might make a phone you can add another screen to… no joke

But honestly, LG, this probably isn’t it.


Opinion: Slider phones might seem cool, but are a design dead end

Slider phones are a great way to get smaller bezels, but they’re not a permanent solution. We break down why.


Huawei founder breaks years-long public silence to talk company security

The founder of Huawei had a few things to say about security and how the company handles security. Which is nice and all, but…


Huawei is reportedly under federal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department

Now don’t get us wrong, this particular case isn’t as bad as it sounds, but it’s not good either.


Xiaomi’s new in-display fingerprint sensor solves one big issue

Xiaomi showed off a video of a new kind of in-screen fingerprint sensor which has a larger touch area, making it easier to unlock your phone.


Galaxy S10 Plus photo leak: Is this Samsung’s new flagship?

A Samsung Galaxy S10 was spotted in the wild. Check it out here!


Who wants to win a Samsung Galaxy Note 9?

This week, we’re giving away a brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 9Enter this week’s Sunday giveaway for your chance to win!

Don’t miss these videos

That’s it, folks! We’ll have another giveaway and more top Android stories for you next week. To stay up to date on all things Android Authority in the meantime, be sure to subscribe to our newsletters at the link below.

Join our newsletters!

Join over 200,000 subscribers for the latest tech reviews, hot deals, and exciting giveaways.
We guarantee 100% privacy. Your information will never be shared. Sign up now and get FREE access to our upcoming exclusive AA Insiders Club:


from Android Authority http://bit.ly/2RDphnl
via app promotion

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Specs comparison: Honor Play 8A vs Honor 8X

The Honor 8A has been the talk of the town for quite a period of time. The phone was leaked on TENNA earlier then revealed on the Chinese website called Weibo. Finally, the smartphone got launched in China last week with a MediaTek chipset. On the other hand, the Honor 8X is another mid-range segment device by the company that is powered by a Kirin 710 octa-core processor. We are comparing these two smartphones to see which one will be the right choice in terms of specifications?  The Honor Play 8A sports a 6.03-inch display that offers a resolution of 720 x 1560 pixels, while the Honor 8X features a slightly bigger 6.05-inch display that comes with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. The Honor Play 8A has a water-drop notch on top of it, which houses the front-facing camera, while the Honor 8X has a traditional notch.  Coming to the processor, the Honor 8X is powered by a Kirin 710 octa-core processor, which is paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory. On the other hand, the Hono

First ever drone-delivered kidney is no worse for wear

Drone delivery really only seems practical for two things: take-out and organ transplants. Both are relatively light and also extremely time sensitive. Well, experiments in flying a kidney around Baltimore in a refrigerated box have yielded positive results — which also seems promising for getting your pad thai to you in good kit. The test flights were conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland there, led by surgeon Joseph Scalea. He has been frustrated in the past with the inflexibility of air delivery systems, and felt that drones represent an obvious solution to the last-mile problem. Scalea and his colleagues modified a DJI M600 drone to carry a refrigerated box payload, and also designed a wireless biosensor for monitoring the organ while in flight. After months of waiting, their study was assigned a kidney that was healthy enough for testing but not good enough for transplant. Once it landed in Baltimore, the team loaded it into the container and had it travel 14

Face unlock easily defeated with photo in over 30 smartphone models

We’ve seen a resurgence in face unlock across the mobile industry, arguably due to Apple’s  iPhone X  touting the technology. Unfortunately, a new study shows that plenty of phones can be defeated with a simple photo. The Dutch  Consumentenbond organization found that out of 110 devices tested, 42 could be unlocked with a high quality photo of the owner (h/t: The Register ). To be fair, the organization counted regional and dual-SIM variants as separate models in its testing, so the real number of dodgy devices is actually in the 30s. Nevertheless, this still represents a massive number of devices that are vulnerable to a simple photo. The list wasn’t restricted to a few manufacturers either, as the likes of Alcatel , BlackBerry , Huawei , Lenovo , Nokia , Sony , and Xiaomi were all featured here. Most of these phones were budget devices, but we also have a few flagships affected by shoddy face unlock. These devices include the HTC U11 Plus , the Huawei P20 Pro , and Sony’s Xper