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vendredi 2 septembre 2016

Best Android phones (September 2016): our picks, plus a giveaway

With Android thoroughly dominating the mobile industry, picking the best Android smartphones is almost synonymous with choosing the best smartphones, period. But while Android phones have few real opponents on other platforms, internal competition is incredibly fierce.

From sleek devices that impress with premium design, to powerhouses brimming with features, to all-around great devices, and affordable phones that punch above their weight, the Android ecosystem is populated by a staggering variety of attractive phones.

But "greatness" is subjective, and sometimes spec sheets and feature lists are not enough to make an idea of how good a phone really is. In this roundup, we're looking at the absolute best – the Android phones you can't go wrong with.

Best Android tablets
Best Android watches

Editor's note: We will be updating this list regularly as new devices launch.

Update, September 2016: This month we added the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to our list.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 stands out from the competition in more ways than one. Not only is it the best big-screened smartphone out there, it might be the best smartphone on the market right now.

It sports a big, bright 5.7-inch Dual-edge Super AMOLED Quad HD display, a powerful Snapdragon 820 processor, plenty of RAM and on-board storage, an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, and microSD expansion. It also comes with the same great rear- and front-facing cameras that are present on the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. The camera package isn't the only thing the Note 7 borrows form the Galaxy S line. It also features a Dual-edge display, so all of the handy Edge display features found on the S7 Edge are present here, too.

The Note 7's S Pen has gotten a lot more useful as well. Now you can record pretty much anything on your screen and make it into a GIF, and you can also translate text from other languages, magnify certain parts of your screen, and much, much more.

This is a very pricey device, though, so be sure to weigh your options before spending over $800 on a smartphone.

Specs

5.7-inch Dual-edge Super AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 518ppi
Quad-core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 or Octa-core Samsung Exynos 8890 processor
4GB of RAM
64GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 256GB
12MP rear camera, 5MP front camera
Non-removable 3,500mAh battery
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9mm, 169g

Buy now from Amazon

Note: Due to potential battery issues, this phone is in a current recall, but Samsung is actively working to fix affected units and so this remains a great phone — it just might be advisable to wait to buy a handset until the dust has settled as far as the recent recall is concerned.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

Samsung did a killer job with their 2015 flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Design-wise, many would say those two phones were close to perfect. The company forwent a plastic design and instead included glass front and back panels with an aluminum frame. They weren't without their flaws, though. The S6 and S6 Edge didn't offer expandable storage or removable batteries — two features Samsung has been known to include in all its smartphones for years.

Now the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have made their way to the masses, and they fix many of the problems the S6 line introduced last year. While they don't offer removable batteries, Samsung included expandable storage on both handsets in case the 32 GB of on-board storage isn't enough. Samsung mostly stuck to the same design this time around, though they did shrink down the camera bumps on the back and made the devices a little thicker to make room for larger batteries.

In terms of specs, these are top-of-the-line smartphones. They come with Quad HD Super AMOLED displays, Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processors, 4 GB of RAM, great 12 MP rear-facing cameras and run the latest version of Android. Instead of featuring the same screen sizes this time around though, Samsung kept the S7 at a smaller 5.1 inches, while the S7 Edge has been bumped up to a larger 5.5-inch panel.

Seriously, these are some incredible smartphones. They are a little pricey, but all in all, we think the high asking price is worth it.

Specs

Samsung Galaxy S7

5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 577 ppi
Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
4 GB of RAM
32 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 200 GB
12 MP rear camera, 5 MP front camera
Non-removable 3000 mAh battery
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm, 152 g

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 534 ppi
Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
4 GB of RAM
32 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 200 GB
12 MP rear camera, 5 MP front camera
Non-removable 3600 mAh battery
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm, 157 g

Buy the Samsung Galaxy S7 Buy the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

Moto Z and Moto Z Force (Droid Editions)

Motorola (well, Lenovo actually) is doing something different with their flagship phones this year. Instead of releasing just one flagship under the Moto X moniker, they've decided to release two new smartphones that do things a bit out of the ordinary. The Moto Z and Moto Z Force not only bring flagship-level specs, but also support for modules.

These modules, called Moto Mods, attach to the back of both phones via magnets. There are only a few available right now, but they actually bring some handy features to the phones. You can purchase an external battery module, a powerful speaker, and even a projector!

They both have killer specs, too. Both devices come with a 5.5-inch Quad HD AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, plenty of on-board storage, expandable memory, and run Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. You might be wondering – what's the difference between these two phones? The standard Moto Z is super thin at only 5.2mm in thickness, but it only comes with a 2600mAh battery. The Moto Z Force is thicker, has a 3500mAh battery, and also has a shatterproof display.

These aren't the cheapest phones on the market, but they're certainly some of the best.

Specs

Moto Z

5.5-inch AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 535ppi
Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
4GB of RAM
32/64GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 256GB
13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera
Non-removable 2600mAh battery
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
153.3 x 75.3 x 5.2mm, 136g

Moto Z Force

5.5-inch AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 535ppi
Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
4GB of RAM
32/64GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 256GB
21MP rear camera, 5MP front camera
Non-removable 3500mAh battery
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
155.9 x 75.8 x 7mm, 163g

Buy the Moto Z from Verizon Buy the Moto Z Force from Verizon

Nexus 6P

As the successor to last year's Motorola Nexus 6, Google recently unveiled the Huawei-made Nexus 6P. This device is the higher-end of the two Nexus phones announced at Google's event, and that's incredibly apparent when looking at the spec sheet.

It comes with a big 5.7-inch Quad HD AMOLED display, super fast Snapdragon 810 processor, a giant 3450 mAh battery and an impressive 12MP rear-facing camera. Want to get your hands on one? The Nexus 6P is pretty cheap, considering the specs and build quality. You can purchase it from the Google Store starting at just $499!

Specs

5.7-inch AMOLED display with 1440 x 2560 resolution, 518 ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor
3 GB of RAM
32/64/128 GB of on-board storage, no microSD card expansion
12 MP rear-facing camera, 8 MP front-facing camera
Non-removable 3450 mAh battery
Android 7.0 Nougat
159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3 mm, 178 g

Buy now from Amazon

ZTE Axon 7

ZTE's Axon Pro from 2015 was a good phone, but it fell short in a few key areas. It came to market with only one storage option, no expandable memory, and the dual camera setup on the back of the device felt a bit gimmicky. Not only does the company's latest flagship fix all of those problems, it brings much more to the table.

It has a big 5.5-inch Quad HD AMOLED display, the latest Snapdragon processor, plenty of RAM, multiple storage options, and yes, expandable memory up to 256GB. It also sports some killer front-facing speakers, all-day battery life, a great camera, and a sleek, attractive design. While certain parts of the software could use a little more polish, the ZTE Axon 7 goes toe-to-toe with the best in the Android market. It's also inexpensive at only $400, making this an even more attractive option for folks looking to score a solid flagship device.

Specs

5.5-inch AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 538ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
4/6GB of RAM
64/128GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 256GB
20MP front camera, 8MP rear camera
Non-removable 3250mAh battery
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
151.7 x 75 x 7.9mm, 175g

Buy now from Amazon

HTC 10

HTC needed a saving grace this year, and the 10 just may be it. The Taiwanese company finally designed a phone that's different enough from its predecessor yet still sports a familiar design language. With an all-metal chassis, front-mounted fingerprint sensor and a new-and-improved speaker setup, the HTC 10 easily made its way to our best Android phones list.

Under the hood, the 10 comes with some killer specs. A 5.2-inch Quad HD display, Snapdragon 820 processor and 4 GB of RAM are in line with most other flagships this year, and it also comes with expandable storage up to 200 GB and a 3000 mAh battery that will have no problems lasting an entire day on a single charge. HTC also improved the camera this time around, which was a big flaw in last year's One M9 flagship.

All in all, the HTC 10 is an awesome device. Great specs and a solid build quality are what you'll get here… what more could you ask for?

Specs

5.2-inch Super LCD5 display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 565 ppi
2.15 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
4 GB of RAM
32/64 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 200 GB
12 MP rear camera, 5 MP front camera
Non-removable 3000 mAh battery
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
145.9 x 71.9 x 9 mm, 161 g

Buy now from HTC

LG G5

While the Galaxy S7 series is a minor refresh in terms of design, the LG G5 sees a massive departure from the design language used in the G series, ditching the rear volume/power setup that first debuted with the LG G2. The G5 also adopts a unibody metallic design that has a removable cap for access to the removable battery and a port for modules that allow users to expand the phone's capabilities by adding a camera grip and other special accessories.

The distinctly different design of the LG G5 may not be for everyone, but there's little denying that LG has went out of its way to try and innovate in a market where big changes like this aren't all that common.

Spec wise, we're looking at a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 with 4 GB RAM, a 5.3-inch display, and 32 GB storage with microSD for expansion. The specs here are certainly impressive all across the board. It's also worth mentioning that LG has revamped its software, making it faster and less bloated. One controversial move with the software, however, is the removal of the app drawer in favor of what LG says is a "simplified experience."

Specs

5.3-inch IPS LCD display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 554 ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
4 GB of RAM
32 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 200 GB
16 and 8 MP dual rear cameras, 8 MP front camera
Removable 2800 mAh battery
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 mm, 159 g

Buy now from Amazon

Cast your vote, and participate in our giveaway!

There you have it – our picks from the best Android has to offer right now. Out of those listed, which do you feel is the very best? Be sure to sound off in the poll below. Each month we will also be conducting a giveaway, giving our readers a chance to win the phone with the most votes.

Congratulations to Prasad A. from India, the winner of our August 2016 giveaway!

Best Android Phone (September 2016)

Check out our related best lists:

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Samsung now selling refurbished devices in the US

samsung refurbished pre-owned store

Late last month, we caught word that Samsung may start selling refurbished high end devices in the US. Sources close to Samsung reported to Reuters that this may come about as early as 2017. However, it looks like Samsung had these plans well in the works by the time news leaked, because the Korean tech titan just launched their Certified Pre-Owned device store.

Although some users may grouse at the idea of using a refurbished smartphone, it's an excellent option for people who want to experience flagship tier technology but who previously haven't had to the cash to shell out for them upon release.

Devices purchased through Samsung's official refurbished store will get a 12-month limited warranty, and all devices come with free shipping. The latest and greatest like the Note 7 or the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are sadly not available, but grabbing last year's big hitters is now pleasingly affordable. You'll save $200 on a Galaxy S6 Edge, for example, as the refurbished model is only $449.99.

Click the button below to head over to the main landing page and check out these refurb devices for yourself. They are supported on all four of the major US carriers, and Samsung says they'll be continuing to add to the listing of available smartphones.

What do you think of this move by the smartphone giant? Will this coax more users away from today's midrange and over to yesterday's flagship lines? Would you use a refurbished device from previous years as your daily driver? Let us know in the comments below!

Check it out at Samsung

Next: Huawei means to trump Apple and Samsung in smartphones sales in the coming years34

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Facebook Messenger joins the fray with new Instant Video feature

Facebook-Messenger-Instant-Video

Being that many of us are intertwined with the social network machine that is Facebook, we inherently use its Messenger chatting client as a primary form of communication (especially since it was made mandatory). Therefore, it's imperative that Facebook keep up with features that we'd expect to see in a competent messaging platform. We learned that it's doing just that in regard to video chatting, by rolling out a new feature called Instant Video.

There isn't a whole lot to the feature; it's more about modernizing the video sharing capability – especially in light of Google Duo's fancy live preview ability. Now, when you're chatting away and suddenly want to display something, there'll be a video icon on the top right corner that will instantly pop up a real-time feed from your camera. This is as opposed to the old way of pinging the request to do a video call, and the other party having to accept before seeing anything. You can now quickly show something you're seeing while out and about.

Facebook-Messenger-Instant-Video-2

Instant Video is meant to supplement the text conversation, so the feed will float on the top right corner so that you can keep the chat going. Audio won't be enabled by default; the recipient can toggle it with just a tap. Messenger doesn't toss the good old fashioned video one-on-one, if your buddy wants to partake in the video action.

Get Facebook Messenger from the Play Store

Of course, both parties will have to have the latest version of Facebook Messenger installed, so look out for the update that is rolling out. What do you think about Instant Video? Are you glad to see the live preview capability come to Messenger, and do you like how Facebook implemented it?

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Google’s biggest blunders

Google logo Android peace

When you think of some of Google's contributions to the today's technological landscape, failure is probably not the word that comes to mind. The company's roots extend back to 1995 when co-founder Sergey Brin met Larry Page, Google's other co-founder, at Stanford University when Brin was coincidentally assigned to give Page a campus tour. The duo first collaborated on BackRub, which could be seen as the first incarnation of the search engine that was essentially the Plymouth Rock of the digital age.

Look back over the company's illustrious history and you'll see one groundbreaking, game-changing success after another. We take it for granted today, but the introduction of Google's image search in July of 2001 was momentous and made more than 250 million images available with just a quick query. Google added Blogger to its résumé in 2003, which was largely the jumping-off point for the blogging craze that remains one of the most important digital communication tools today. And that's without getting into Google Maps, Android, virtual reality, and some more recent innovations that have become or are becoming part of the technological zeitgeist.

But as innovative as Google has been, not every risk the company has taken has paid off. When you're a perpetual boundary-pusher, there will inevitably be times when you've pushed the limit just a bit too far. Or perhaps the world isn't ready for one of your big ideas. Or maybe something gets lost in translation between your good intentions and the mess that comes out on the other side. With that in mind, we're going to take a moment to reflect on some of Google's biggest blunders.

Google Answers (2002–2006)

google-answers

Before the launch and quick popularity of Yahoo Answers, Google launched its own Q&A platform in 2002 by the thrilling name of Google Answers. However, while the Yahoo version would be more like a forum in that knowledgeable users are motivated to answer other users' questions by the accumulation of reputation points and notoriety, Google's idea was to make Google Answers a paid service. In essence, users would post their questions and have to pay as little as $2 or as much as $200 for answers from "experts".

Google Answers was widely panned almost from the start. A few years after the start of Google Answers, Yahoo Answers was launched and effectively squashed what little appeal Google Answers had to offer. The platform languished in obscurity for another year while hoping the Google name would allow it to at least compete with Yahoo Answers in terms of popularity. Actually, it was Google's hope that the promise of more high-quality answers would drive revenue, but that was definitely not the case. The plug was pulled on Google Answers in 2006 with Google referring to the failure as a "great experiment" that provided them with lots of "material for developing future products".

Google Wave (2009–2010)

google-wave

Before there was Google+, Hangouts, Google Docs, and Inbox, Google had a platform that strived to be a combination of all of the above. The platform was a confusing mess called Google Wave, a real-time collaborative editing, instant messaging, blogging, file management and sharing, emailing, and social networking client that was a little overzealous in its ambitions.

At a glance, Wave appeared to be a standard email inbox; however, imagine receiving emails at the speed with which you'd receive instant messages in a group chat with your entire social media friends list.At the same time, anyone in your address book could go back through all those messages and make changes at any and all points in the conversation. Wave users found it impossible to keep up with the barrage of conversations by themselves, and who knew what changes your contacts were making in the far corners of your inbox. It was like cyber hide-and-seek. Apparently, someone at Google took a productivity idea, attached it to a collaboration bomb, and hoped something resembling utility or productivity could be pieced together in the aftermath.

While there were a select few users who appreciated what Google was trying to do with Wave, the majority of people who gave the client a chance found it convoluted and unusable. Google would go on to break Wave down into the half a dozen or more separate apps that we all know and love today, just a year after the client's launch.

Google Buzz (2010–2011)

google-buzz

Remember Google Buzz? It's okay. Nobody else does either.

The easiest way to describe Google Buzz would be as the ancestor to the ever-unpopular Google+. Buzz gave you many of the essential social media functions known and loved today: sharing links, sharing media, leaving comments, sending messages. Obviously, the best way to make Google Buzz accessible and make sure people used it would be to pack all those features right into your existing Gmail inbox. No muss, no fuss.

Understandably, this made Google Buzz pretty convoluted from a usability standpoint. There were also some concerns over privacy and whether adding Buzz into Gmail would make your Gmail vulnerable. As well, many of the social features were provided by accessing very private information. For instance, the social graph feature tapped into users' address books, which was a major point of contention. And when it came down to it, Buzz didn't offer anything that wasn't done better (in most cases embarrassingly better) but the social media powerhouses with which Google has desperately tried to compete.

Although Google would come to realize that you can't jam a social network into an email inbox and has fared better with Google+ — which was born from the ashes of Google Buzz — it's becoming blatantly clear that social networks aren't the search engine giant's strongsuit. And there's no shame in that. (Do you hear us, Google?)

Google Nexus Q (2012–2013)

Nexus Q - Google Play - Google Chrome_2012-06-27_20-43-50

The year was 2012 and streaming video was taking off in a huge way. Although the idea of streaming media from the web wasn't exactly novel since the Apple TV debuted in 2007, it took a while before market competition resulted in some truly impressive streaming media players. By 2012, Roku and Google TV were two of the biggest competitors of Apple TV, but Google had hoped to up the ante by debuting the Nexus Q at I/O 2012. The Nexus Q was a streaming media player that made media consumption an interactive group activity, which was seen as a very creative — albeit somewhat confusing — concept at the time.

Google's Nexus Q was praised for having impressive, powerful internals and an eye-catching, orb-like design (like "a Magic 8 Ball designed by Porsche"), but usability was a problem that plagued the Q from day one. For one thing, the concept of group media conception — which meant that everyone with an Android smartphone could control the device via an app — was better in theory than in practice. Users complained that the shared control of the device took the focus away from media consumption, which was an area in which the device was actually quite limited. The Nexus Q supported only Netflix, YouTube, and the Google Play Store, leaving out other popular services — like Hulu, Crackle, and others — and severely hindering the potential of the Q. Some of the device's quirks might not have been so devastating to its sales performance if the Nexus Q didn't have a price tag of $300, higher than even the Apple TV.

Despite the praise it received for even attempting such an innovative approach to media consumption, the Nexus Q was abandoned before it really ever had the opportunity to hit many customer hands. However, a number of the ideas behind the Nexus Q went into Google's Chromecast, which debuted in 2013 and features much better implementation of the queued media for group consumption.

Google Glass (2013–2015)

Google Glass with earbud

In theory, it's a brilliant idea, but Google Glass was a little ahead of its time and never caught on the way Google had hoped. The idea was simply to give users a computer that they can use anytime and in a way that integrated their usage of the device into their daily life. By wearing the glasses, you could see a map seemingly projected onto your field of vision or scroll through your Twitter feed. It's a concept that you've surely seen in countless sci-fi movies; however, there were a couple problems with Google Glass that doomed it from the start.

First, the price tag. Although it didn't see a mainstream release, virtually anyone could purchase the initial incarnation Google Glass — called the "Explorer Edition" — directly from Google for a cool $1,500. Obviously, that's not the kind of money that people are willing to pay for a prototypal device that hasn't really had its functionality established. Another major problem was that what little development that was occurring for Google Glass was slow and very incremental. Google hasn't officially pulled the plug on Glass, but there's basically no longer any active development currently being done for the device. As well, Google is known to have filed a number of patents for a potential follow-up to Google Glass last year, which is a pretty clear indicator that Google has either abandoned Google Glass or is pursuing an alternate version of the experimental device (Time Magazine suggests the latter).

Google Helpouts (2013–2015)

Helpouts

Many people thought Google Helpouts would have some serious legs. Like several of Google's other gambles, however, the subpar marketing and availability of more popular alternatives eventually led Google to pull the plug on Helpouts on Friday the 13th in February of last year.

You might say that Google Helpouts was a cousin of Google Answers.

It had a similar Q&A foundation while reflecting the recent popularity of video chat. As with Answers, users of Google Helpouts could pay a fee to post questions that needed answering. Meanwhile, anyone who could pass for an expert in any particular fields could sign up to answer those questions via video chat in Hangouts, getting paid in the process. Alternately, a user could peruse through the directory of experts and pay to schedule video chats according to the experts' schedules. This might sound promising, but there were some major limitations that, in hindsight, spelled death for Google Helpouts from the beginning.

For one thing, both users and experts had to have Google+ accounts since Helpouts worked by capitalizing on how Google+ is essentially the apex of all Google integrations. You signed up for Helpouts through Google+, synced your Google Calendar to Google+, used Hangouts through Google+. If you were staunchly against Google+, it was impossible for you to use Helpouts. And then there's the fact that Google made a 20 percent royalty from each transaction, which rubbed people the wrong way since Helpouts mostly utilized Google services that already existed and were free. Also, because the experts were essentially the sole reason for any revenue Helpouts could've netted. Oh, and you had to use Google Wallet to pay or get paid for chat sessions.

Depending on the length of the chat session, the cost would either be predetermined or calculated per minute. As well, there were steep cancellation fees (of 50 percent or more) if a user needed to cancel or reschedule a chat session with an expert. With all these caveats, it's really not surprising that Google Helpouts didn't last very long.

Google Wallet Card (2013–2016)

Google Wallet card AA

Google Wallet is the infamous precursor to Android Pay that was a much less refined and less capable mobile payment solution. Whereas many of us are making mobile payments using NFC on our phones, Google Wallet was initially designed around an actual, physical card: the Google Wallet Card.

The Google Wallet Card made its first appearance after a leak in 2012. This first iteration of the card would have been a real game-changer as a "programmable" payment card. In effect, you could leave all but your Google Wallet Card at home. At any given time, you could choose which of your debit or credit cards to link to the Google Wallet Card via the Google Wallet app; upon swiping the Google Wallet Card, the charge would be forwarded to the debit or credit card of your choosing. This essentially would have combined your entire wallet into a single card, so it's not surprising that a lot of buzz surrounded this initial Google Wallet Card leak. But that's not the card we got.

When it was released in late-2013, the Google Wallet Card was essentially a prepaid MasterCard that used your Google Wallet balance like any other prepaid debit card. Whatever funds you deposited or received to your Google Wallet account was the amount you could spend with your Google Wallet Card. What it really boils down to is Google attempting to take on PayPal: Youcould receive online payments, make payments with a physical card, and send money to or receive money from family and friends. If this wouldn't have given you cause to doubt the longevity of the Google Wallet Card, the release and relatively quick adoption of Android pay all but sealed the fate of the Google Wallet Card, which paid its final transaction just two months ago on June 30.

Google+ (2011–20??)

Android apps

The determination that Google has exhibited to capitalize on the popularity of social media has resulted in the last blunder on our list. Although Google+ is still functioning, the platform has never been the success that Google had hoped it would be despite aggressively pushing Google+ at us every chance the company got. According to insiders, by the early 2010s, the creation of the next big social media network was at the top of Google's to-do list. It's said that Vic Gundotra — who would become the chief architect of Google+ — told Larry Page over and over again that the company would need to create a social network or be overthrown by Facebook. In fact, this is one of the primary reasons Page returned to his more proactive position as CEO after a number of years in a more hands-off role.

"We're turning Google into a social destination," Gundotra said in a 2011 interview. Sure enough, Google cobbled together a rudimentary interest-based network that offered something of a combination of LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. Unfortunately, the hodgepodge of features shamelessly plucked from other social networks lacked cohesion and purpose. One of the network's calling cards was its unintuitive and disjointed navigation. Even trying to navigate around your own profile is made much more confusing than it should be. Aside from Hangouts integration and Google+ communities, which would become the network's most well-known and praised feature, most everything that Google+ offered could be found on other networks where it was usually put to much better use.

It remains to be seen how much longer Google+ will be around, but there's no question that the network's days are numbered. Less than 1 percent of all Google users are active on Google+. Of course, there are still many holdouts who refuse to attach Google+ to their Google accounts, so that may not be the most representative figure. The average Google+ user spends just 7 minutes using Google+ each month. The network accounts for just 3 percent of all social sharing in the U.S. More than 90 percent of all Google+ accounts are inactive without so much as a single post. Meanwhile, Google is spinning out many Google+ features into their own, separate entities like they've done with Google Photos. Even Hangouts On Air is now a YouTube rather than Google+ feature. As well, users no longer need Google+ accounts to write Play Store reviews and you can now use Google instead of Google+ when signing up for accounts on various websites.

What do you think about Google's aforementioned failures? Do you consider G+ one of them, or are we still too early in predicting its fall? Were you ever a user or fan of any of them? Do you think any of them would be more successful today? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.

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Lenovo debuts Lenovo K6 family of phones

lenovo-k6-family

It's not just laptops and tablets that Lenovo is showing off at IFA 2016. In addition to yesterday's announcement of the Moto Z Play, Lenovo has also revealed a series of metallic mid-rangers as part of the new K6 family. There are three models in total, the Lenovo K6, K6 Power, and K6 Note.

Under the hood, the trio offer many of the same specs including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, microSD for expansion, dual-SIM support, LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, Dolby Atmos certification, fingerprint scanners, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow-based software. Where the phones differ is in the RAM, camera packages, batteries, and screen sizes.

The base Lenovo K6 and the K6 power both offer up either 2GB or 3GB RAM, depending on if you pick the 16 or 32GB storage model. Meanwhile, the K6 Note has 32GB storage and your choice of either 3 or 4GB RAM.

On the display front, the K6 and K6 power rock 5-inch 1080p displays, while the Note gets a bump to 5.5-inches with the same 1080p resolution. Turning to the camera, you get an 8MP front cam on all models, with a 13MP main shooter on the K6 and the Power and a 16MP shooter with phase detection autofocus on the Note.

Lastly, the K6 the smallest battery at 3000 mAh, with the Power and Note both offering a 400mAh battery.

Details on pricing and availability aren't clear just yet, though we can pretty much bet they will never make their way stateside. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to Android Authority, where we will do our best to bring you more great IFA coverage.

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Carphone Warehouse offers customers £25 credit for Galaxy Note 7 delays

samsung galaxy note 7 unboxing aa (16 of 27)

You've probably heard that Samsung is recalling its new Galaxy Note 7 handsets by now, due to an issue related to potentially dangerous batteries. As a result, pre-order shipments and store stock is going to be delayed around the world while Samsung replaces handsets. If you happened to pre-order a Note 7 from the UK's Carphone Warehouse, the company will credit your account with £25 for the inconvenience.

Unfortunately, the Carphone Warehouse doesn't give any indication about when Galaxy Note 7 shipments and sales will recommence in the country, as this will all depend on how long it takes Samsung to address the issue and begin re-filling its supply chains. Carphone Warehouse customers who don't want to wait or have been put off their purchase can contact the company to cancel their order.

The UK isn't the only country affected by a halt to Galaxy Note 7 sales. In the US, Verizon has announced that it is delaying shipments of the Note 7 until September 7th. Samsung has stated that it is suspending handset sales worldwide while it investigates and takes action on the malfunction. It's likely that other retailers will make their own announcements and may offer similar compensations seems soon.

samsung galaxy note 7 recall fire explosion 2

With rival smartphone launches from LG and Apple right around the corner, this development has come at a particularly bad time for Samsung. But at least the company is taking consumer safety seriously enough to put a full brake on sales until the problem is fully understood.

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Qualcomm’s Snapdragon VR820 headset could make VR more affordable

Snapdragon VR820 front

At a small press-conference at IFA in Berlin, Qualcomm has been outlining its plan to slash the costs of virtual reality hardware. The mobile processor giant has unveiled a reference headset design, called the Snapdragon VR820, that is built around its Snapdragon 820 processor. The aim is to allow manufacturers to cut development costs, which should make VR cheaper for consumers too.

Along with four of Qualcomm's custom Kryo CPU cores and an Adreno 530 GPU, the Snapdragon VR820 comes with a pair of 1440×1400 AMOLED displays with 70Hz refresh rates. The headset features eye-tracking hardware, six-axis motion tracking, and two forward-facing cameras. Interestingly, these cameras can transmit data to the display, allowing the headset to double up for augmented reality applications too.

The added upside of Qualcomm's design is that, just like other headset that use smartphone technology, the VR820 will be free from cables, offering up superior freedom of movement. However, the hardware tucked inside the headset is much less capable than top-notch PC hardware, so customers shouldn't expect the same gaming performance and titles as the Rift of Vive. Even so, there are lots of potential uses for mobile-based VR products.

"The Snapdragon VR820 integrates key technologies and features for an exceptional VR experience and provides a springboard for OEMs and developers to usher in the next generation of truly portable and untethered devices that we think are necessary for mass consumer adoption of VR," – Anthony Murray, senior vice president and general manager, IoT, Qualcomm

Given the huge costs of high performance PC hardware and a Rift or Vive, or a flagship smartphone and a Samsung Gear VR headset or equivalent, there's certainly room in the market for cheaper competitors. By focusing on just the necessary hardware and providing support dedicated to a single reference design, Qualcomm's strategy should help to make cheaper hardware a reality.

Importantly, Qualcomm isn't looking to sell its own headsets directly to consumers. Instead, the Snapdragon VR820 will act as a blueprint for other manufacturers to design around, which could generate extra chip sales for Qualcomm.

This article was originally published on our sister site VRSource.com

Show Press Release

Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon Virtual Reality Reference Platform for Immersive User Experiences on Standalone Head Mounted Displays

SEP 1, 2016 BERLIN, GERMANY

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced at IFA 2016 that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., has introduced its first virtual reality (VR) reference platform, the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ VR820. Based on the powerful Snapdragon 820 processor, the Snapdragon VR820 enables OEMs to quickly develop standalone head mounted displays (HMDs) optimized for VR content and applications while meeting the processing and performance demands of an all-in-one, dedicated VR headset.

"Consumers everywhere are captivated by truly immersive VR experiences, and Qualcomm Technologies' capabilities in graphics, displays, video, audio, computer vision and sensor technologies, as well as power and thermal efficiencies proven over years of smartphone innovation, uniquely positions us to help customers bring these experiences to life," said Anthony Murray, senior vice president and general manager, IoT, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. "The Snapdragon VR820 integrates key technologies and features for an exceptional VR experience and provides a springboard for OEMs and developers to usher in the next generation of truly portable and untethered devices that we think are necessary for mass consumer adoption of VR."

Developed with Goertek, a leading global ODM, the Snapdragon VR820 includes advanced features such as integrated eye tracking with two cameras, dual front facing cameras for six degrees of freedom (6DOF) and see-through applications, four microphones, gyro, accelerometer, and magnetometer sensors, all contained in an elegant, sleek and comfortable design. The reference platform combines Goertek's innovative system design including mechanical, electrical, optical, acoustic, and firmware development with the groundbreaking computing, graphics, sensor fusion, audio, connectivity, power management, VR software and system capabilities of the Snapdragon 820.

The platform is built upon the groundbreaking Snapdragon VR Software Development Kit (SDK) providing OEMs and developers with access to optimized, advanced VR features, to help simplify development and improve VR performance and power efficiency with the Snapdragon 820 for standalone VR HMDs.

Snapdragon 820: Designed with VR in Mind

The Snapdragon VR820 is built upon the powerful Snapdragon 820 mobile processor, which is designed to support and advance the requirements for immersive VR. The Snapdragon 820 processor is an ideal solution that allows the platform to provide compelling visual and auditory experiences, as well as intuitive interactions.

Visual Quality:
- Qualcomm® Adreno™ 530 GPU for next-generation console-quality VR gaming and apps, while delivering up to 40 percent improvement to graphics performance and compute capabilities compared to its predecessor
- Smooth, stereoscopic 3D, with foveated rendering, and support for the latest graphics APIs
- 1440×1440 resolution per eye, AMOLED panel that supports up to 70Hz
- 360° 4K video playback processing with HEVC compression and display refresh rates at 70 FPS
- Qualcomm® TruPalette™ display gamut mapping, color enhancement comprehensive control over colors
- Qualcomm® EcoPix™ pixel compression, with variable refresh for extended battery life
Sound Quality:
- Stereo, binaural positional audio, and 3D surround sound, powered by Qualcomm Aqstic™ audio technologies
- Four microphones with Fluence™ HD noise filtering and active noise cancellation
Intuitive Interactions:
- Dual Qualcomm Spectra™ camera ISPs combined with Qualcomm® Hexagon™ DSP for advanced vision features such as look-through imaging and 3D reconstruction, eye-tracking and hand gestures
- Predictive, monocular visual motion tracking with full 6DOF at 800Hz for smooth tracking of head motion in movement as well as rotation
- Ultra-fast sensing, processing with average motion to photon latency under 18ms
Powerful computing:
- Custom-designed 64-bit Qualcomm® Kryo™ quad-core CPU for high-performance computing
- Integrated Hexagon 680 DSP for efficiently processing advanced vision, audio, and Qualcomm All-Ways Aware™ ultra-low power "always-on" sensor technology without impacting CPU processing load

The Snapdragon VR820 is anticipated to be available in Q4 2016 with the first commercial devices based on the platform expected to be available shortly thereafter.

About Qualcomm Incorporated

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm's licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm's engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 30 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

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Qualcomm’s Snapdragon VR820 headset could make VR more affordable

Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon Virtual Reality Reference Platform for Immersive User Experiences on Standalone Head Mounted Displays