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lundi 26 septembre 2016

Leak: Sony Xperia XZ & X Performance to get Nougat from October

Sony Xperia X Performance-21

Xperia users have been longing to know when they can get their hands on Android 7.0 Nougat. Their excitement was mixed with frustration when Sony announced last month an upgrade roadmap for a number of Xperia handsets, but without a concrete timeframe. But fret no more, thanks to Sony Slovakia, we now have a glimpse into when those Xperia devices will get their Nougat treats.

Sony Slovakia may have inadvertently let the company's Android Nougat roadmap slip in a press conference, when a presentation slide leaked what appeared to be a schedule for Sony's Nougat update. If the slide holds true, we may see Android 7.0 Nougat rolling out to Xperia XZ and X Performance in October and to the Xperia X and X Compact in November.

Sony-Xperia-Android-Nougat-Roadmap-768x518Via XperiaBlog

The leak comes as Sony confirmed that the Xperia XZ will be available for sale at $699.99 in the U.S. beginning in the first week of October.

The month of December is also slated for the Nougat upgrade for the 2015 Xperia Z series, including the Xperia Z5 line of handsets, the Xperia Z3+ and the Xperia Z4 tablet. Last in the pipeline will be the Xperia XA and XA Ultra, which are scheduled to receive the Nougat update sometime in early 2017.

The Xperia M4 Aqua/M5 and C4/C5 Ultra were not included in the slide, which means they are not likely to get the Nougat treat. Practically speaking, Sony didn't say it's going to extend the list of devices getting the Nougat update, so it's better not to get your hopes too high at this point in time.

If you own one of the devices listed in the roadmap, share with us how you feel about the update plan.



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dimanche 25 septembre 2016

Sony Xperia X Compact now available for purchase in the USA

Sony Xperia X Compact Review-16

The Sony Xperia X Compact started making its way around the world soon after its IFA announcement, but those of us in the USA had to wait for quite a bit. It was only last week when we saw the new mid-range phone go up for pre-order on Amazon, but today we bring good news to those who don't like waiting.

The Sony Xperia X Compact is now available for purchase and ready for shipping, marking the phone's official launch in North America. As we have mentioned before, though, the price is set a little higher than we would like to see it. The device will cost you $499.99, which is only a little cheaper than plenty high-end smartphones.

x-compactSee also: Sony Xperia X Compact hands-on review52

Hardware includes a 4.6-inch 720p display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor, 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage, a 23 MP rear shooter, a 5 MP front camera and a 2,700 mAh battery.

Amazon Prime users get free one-day shipping, so you can have the phone waiting at your door step real soon. Who is signing up?

Buy the Sony Xperia X Compact now


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Crowdfunding project of the week: the Blade4000 is a portable charger that also expands storage

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We are back with yet another 'Crowdfunding project of the week', an article series in which we highlight the coolest funding campaigns from sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Shall we jump right in?

Other featured projects:

Today we are taking a look at the Blade4000 battery pack. There are plenty of portable chargers out there, so we can understand why at first glance you might not get too excited about seeing yet another one. But this specific battery pack is actually very special, because it doubles as a storage device.

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Aside from the 4,000 mAh battery packed inside, the Blade comes with a microSD reader that accepts cards of up to 256 GB. This means it won't only become your battery charger, but also an external hard drive of sorts.

The best part is that the company worked really hard to make the Blade4000 compatible with most devices via USB OTG. It will work with iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS X and more. Just plug and play, as you would with any other USB external storage unit. It also helps that the actual unit is slim and good looking.

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Interested? First you must understand there are two versions of the Blade4000; one with the TF card reader and one without. You can grab the one without the card reader for as low as $10. That is a good deal if you just want a cool charger, but those who want to exploit the Blade4000's true potential will need to pay up. Adding the TF card reader will set you back at least $29, which is still a pretty accessible price.

Who is signing up?

Check out the Blade4000 on Indiegogo


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Galaxy S8 might have Exynos 8895 and Mali-G71 GPU

Samsung Logo Close Up AA

Things have been rather rough for Samsung the past few months: reports of the Galaxy devices exploding dominated headlines around the world, and just recently, we learned that a senior Samsung LSI official was arrested for attempting to sell confidential information to Chinese competitors. Samsung is now suing the exec, and we are seeing some interesting information about the upcoming Galaxy S8.

According to the leaked papers from the lawsuit, Samsung's eighth iteration of the Galaxy S series will have a 10nm Exynos chipset. This isn't particularly surprising given that MediaTek has already unveiled a deca-core chipset built using the 10nm fabrication process. Although we don't really know whether Samsung's upcoming chipset will be another octa-core processor or what speed it will be clocked at, we are starting to learn more about its GPU.

SamMobile is reporting that this 10nm Exynos chipset will be the Exynos 8895 processor, which will make use of ARM's new Mali-G71 GPU. The Mali-G71 is supposed to be 1.8 times faster than the Mali-T880 MP12 GPU that we find in the Galaxy S7 siblings. Also, if GFXBench results are any indication, it will be more powerful than the Adreno GPU found in the Snapdragon 830 chipset.

The Mali-G71 is supposed to be 1.8 times faster than the Mali-T880 MP12 GPU that we find in the Galaxy S7 siblings.

ARM unveiled the Mali-G71 back in May: ARM announced that it will be the first to be based on its next generation GPU architecture, Bifrost. As a result, it's supposed to be 20% more energy efficient and have 40% better performance density than Mali-T880. As we've come to expect from most high-end GPUs, the Mali-G71 will be compatible with the Vulkan graphics API.

The more intriguing part is perhaps that the Mali-G71 will support high-end 4K displays and smooth VR experiences. This should sound familiar because the rumor right now is that the Galaxy S8 will be the first Samsung phone to feature a 4K display and that the device will be Daydream-ready. Here's hoping that the rumor turns out to be true!

Samsung boothSee also: The Galaxy S8 will have a 4K display, analysts predict83

Of course, with the Galaxy S8 presumably launching in February or March next year, nothing is confirmed. However, with analysts predicting that Samsung's Q3 profits could fall by 8.6% due to the Note7 fiasco, Samsung is well aware, I'm sure, that the Galaxy S8 must be the brightest galaxy that it's ever created.

What features do you want to see in the upcoming Galaxy S8? Let us know by leaving a comment down below!



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Sony Xperia X Performance users can register for Android 7.0 Nougat beta program (but not everywhere)

Sony Xperia X Performance-5

Waiting for the next Android update can be remarkably frustrating. Right now all we can think of is getting a taste of Android 7.0 Nougat, and those who own a Sony Xperia X Performance might not have to wait until the official update comes around.

Sony Xperia X Performance-17See also: Sony Xperia X Performance review – is it worth $700?91

The Xperia X Performance joined the Android 7.0 Nougat beta program last month, and today you can finally register for it. This program will allow users to test the new software before rolling out to the masses, but keep in mind it's not for everyone. Beta testing software implies not everything will work perfectly, but you will be an important part of getting the new Android version ready to hit the market.

Screenshot 2016-09-24 at 5.47.46 PMThose who still want to dip their toes into wild waters can download the Xperia Beta Program app from the Google Play Store and get started. Sony users are also getting a notification about this program via Xperia Lounge app, so this is more than legit now.

There is one major caveat, though. The beta program is not open to everyone. It's only for those in the Nordics, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Iceland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. The rest of us will just have to wait.

Do we have any readers signing up for the Android 7.0 Nougat beta program?

Download the Xperia Beta Program app


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Grab a Chromecast Audio for $25 from the Google Store

chromecast audio review aa (7 of 7)

Looking to get yourself a Chromecast Audio? Right now is the time to do it, as it is being discounted to $25 in the Google Store. This is a great deal considering the gadget usually goes for $35. That's almost a 30% discount!

chromecast 2015 review aa (1 of 26)See also: Chromecast 2015 and Chromecast Audio Review20

For those who have been out of the loop, the Chromecast Audio is a device that plugs into any audio system through a 3.5 mm audio jack. It can then connect to your WiFi network and stream music. The audio is controlled through a smartphone or tablet. It's a simple and affordable way to make older technology smart.

Interested? Just head over to the Google Store and sign up. You better act fast, though. This promotion ends Oct 1, 2016 at 11:59 PM PDT. Are you getting one?

Buy the Chromecast Audio now


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5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly


paralign Android Apps WeeklyParalign

[Price: Free]
This week's edition of the Android Apps Weekly show is sponsored by Paralign! This is a fun little social app that lets you express random thoughts and ideas anonymously. The app will also help you track your thoughts and ideas so you can get a better view of yourself over time.
The interface is wicked simple to use and you should be able to open it up and get to writing in no time flat. You'll also get to check out the thoughts and ideas of other anonymous users which you can like and show support for. Overall, it's a pretty fun little experience and did we mention that it's completely free? Give it a shot and show your support for Android Apps Weekly!

Download now on Google Play!

paralign android apps weekly

Android Apps Weekly headlines

Welcome to the 159th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the headlines from the last week:

  • Samsung's Milk Music was finally put to rest this last week. As of September 22nd, the service is no longer available for download or use. It shouldn't surprise anyone because this was announced a couple of months ago. Prior Milk Music users will get a 14-day free trial for Slacker Radio since that was the service that powered Milk Music. It's still available in China and South Korea for now, but it won't last forever there either.
  • A study was released late last week that showed that 13% of all users downloaded 50% of all apps. That makes a lot of sense because us early adopters can and will frolic from one app to the next to see if it's any good. Another interesting stat is that 49% of people surveyed for this study didn't download a single app during the survey period. On average, people interested in apps download about 3.5 per month.
  • Google is formally rolling out AMP, or accelerated mobile pages, to everyone all around the world starting this week. For those who don't know, AMP is a project to help pages load much more quickly and take up far less data than their non-AMP counterparts. Google boasts that they've done up 600 million AMP sites in 232 regions. The only other thing of note is that this won't change the search results at all so you'll still see the same searches.
  • Yahoo sent out an email this week to tell everyone about a data leak all the way from 2014. On top of being massively late, Yahoo also revealed that they believe the culprit behind the hacks was a "state sponsored actor" and that it was more than just account passwords that got taken. They didn't mention which state or country the attack originated in, but there are really only a handful that target US based companies like Yahoo anyway. Of course, that also doesn't explain why it took them two years to tell us anyway.
  • The latest Humble Bundle is now live! This time around the bundle is based around Artifex Mundi games for both PC and mobile. You can pay whatever you want and get three games, beat the average and get six total games, or pay more than $5 and get every game in the bundle. There are some good titles here and it's also a great way to donate to charity and play some games at the same time.

For even more Android apps and games news, updates, and releases, check out this week's newsletter which is linked right here. There you'll find additional information that we didn't have space for here. If you'd like, you can use the form below and sign up for the newsletter which we send out every Sunday. You can get even faster updates with the Android Authority app!

Signup for our newsletter



paper planes android apps weeklyPaper Planes

[Price: Free]
Paper Planes is a cute little app where you make a paper airplane and throw it into the Internet. It is then eventually retrieved by somebody else. Likewise, you'll be able to catch planes thrown by other people. There is really not use for an app like this one and it doesn't provide much functionality, but it's kind of fun to see how far your paper airplane flew before it was caught by someone else. It's completely free and, again, it's not overly useful but it's there.

Download now on Google Play!

paper planes android apps weekly

construction crew 3d android apps weeklyConstruction Crew 3D

[Price: Free / $1.49]
Construction Crew 3D is a fun little time killer that has you driving and using various construction vehicles. That includes things like cranes, dump trucks, and various other vehicles and you'll have full control over their various implements of destruction. At its core, Construction Crew 3D is a puzzle game where you'll have to solve various puzzles to progress to the next level. It features over 90 missions, 15 vehicles that you can drive, and more. The free version is ad supported and you can buy the pro version as an in-app purchase.

Download now on Google Play!

construction crew 3d android apps weekly

google trips android apps weeklyGoogle Trips

[Price: Free]
Google Trips is a new app that helps you plan your trips. The central idea is that it gives you a one-stop hub for things like your itinerary, places of interest, restaurant reservations, and the other kinds of things you generally need when taking a trip. It'll also help you find stuff to do if you're not 100% certain of what you want to do once you get there. It's fully featured and can even be accessed offline in case you end up somewhere without an Internet connection. You can get it right now for free.

Download now on Google Play!

google trips android apps weekly

kerflux android apps weekly Kerflux

[Price: Free / up to $7.99]
Kerflux is a minimal puzzle game that a lot of people seem to be enjoying right now. The basic premise of this one is that you have a couple of waves that you need to line up in order to make it look like the third wave. It sounds easy when you say it out loud, but it does get rather difficult rather quickly. It's a great little time killer for those who like puzzles. Perhaps the best part is that the game is completely free to play with the in-app purchases being for developer donations if you want to give them a few bucks.

Download now on Google Play!

google allo android apps weeklyGoogle Allo

[Price: Free]
Google Allo was perhaps the most anticipated app of 2016 and now it's out for the public. The app features some goofy little things like stickers, emoji, and location messaging while also providing a clean look and feel. Allo's main feature is Google Assistant which you can ping in its own chat or in any chat where everyone is using Allo. It's not amazing just yet, but word is that new features will be coming swiftly. You can pick it up for free and if you want to learn more, we'll have our quick look linked below.

Download now on Google Play!

Related best app lists:

If we missed any big Android apps or games news, tell us about them in the comments! To see our complete list of best app lists, click here.



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