Fortnite's going to have a whole lot of hardware to roll on whenever it gets to Android. First the Razer Phone, now the Xiaomi Black Shark are both ready and raring to go at the dawn of this new mobile gaming renaissance. At this very moment we don't yet have access to the latter device - but we've got the specs, so you know what that means: pre-battle spec fight!!
Android’s distribution charts have never been pretty. Unless you love seeing Ten Shades of Green every month. While there is indeed beauty in diversity, from a technical and consumer standpoint, it’s an ugly mess. So when the whole distribution takes a step closer to defragmentation, there’s definitely reason to be happy in Android land. Android Nougat, both 7.0 and 7.1 releases, have now surpassed Marshmallow as the most used version in the market, complemented by Oreo’s slow but sure rise to 1%.
How much would it cost you to have an Android phone with a more or less recent version of the mobile OS? If you’re willing to cut corners, apparently not that much. Of course, you will not be getting top of the line specs or features, but if you’re more concerned about the longevity of your phone in terms of software updates, then the LG Aristo 2 might be more to your taste. Arriving almost exactly a year before the first one, the Aristo 2 is probably the cheapest Android Nougat phone you’ll be able to buy from a big brand and a carrier.
It was a long time coming but, as they said, good things come to those who wait. And wait Android power users did, for over a year. The Xposed Framework (which has nothing to do with Sony Xperias) is finally available, in stable form, for Android 7.0 and 7.1 devices. This great news comes at a time when the Android rooting community has more or less been thrown into an emotional rollercoaster with the retirement of SuperSU creator Chainfire.
Having a bit of Galaxy Note 8 envy but don't have the opportunity to get even a considerably cheaper Galaxy S8? If you have a more or less recent Samsung phone, or at least one that's running Android 7.0 Nougat or later, then you're in luck. XDA Senior Member AlexiXDA has just extracted and ported some of the Note 8's apps to work on such Samsung devices. Best of all, they will work whether you're on a stock Samsung ROM or a custom one. The catch? You have to be rooted.
The relationship between Google and Amazon has just taken a sour turn, but they have never really been best buds from the beginning. While Amazon's Fire tablets and TV devices do run Android, they use a heavily customized, not Google-certified, version that doesn't keep up with the latest Android updates. At least until now. Despite making a big splash about new hardware products, Amazon was nearly totally silent about the release of Fire OS 6. And there reason might be to prevent user backlash about this latest update not being available to any existing Fire device in the market.
Today the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 has begun getting an update to Android 7.0 Nougat. This is nearly the newest iteration of Android available, and has appeared in some countries in Europe, first. The update works with Xiaomi's own user interface MIUI 8.5 and has Android 7.0 Nougat at its base.
Some, in fact most, manufacturers have short term memories. They tend to forget devices that sometimes aren’t even that old. Even those that are just 2 years old. Fortunately, LG, who prides itself for being a good Android citizen, hasn’t forgotten yet. Owners of the LG G4 have received notifications to upgrade to the latest Android 7.0 Nougat version. But if you still haven’t gotten it yet, you can manually force your way into Nougat, provided you have the right model.
Alongside fragmentation, security is one of the most criticized flaws of the Android platform. Although it takes the matter seriously, Google remains firm on not exercising an iron fist and instead implements “smart” systems to automate the checking of apps. Some malware, however, do slip through the cracks and others can be obtained from unofficial sources. In such cases, Android still tries to be smart without being heavy-handed in dealing with already installed and running malware. Like this hidden “panic detection” feature that presumes you’re phone is infected when you repeatedly press the back button too many times.
LG has recently been rather proud of how quick it is to bring the latest Android updates to its phones. But, truth be told, just like any other OEM, that's really only true for for its latest model or two. Case in point is the late 2015 LG V10, still well within the customary 2-year support period. It is only now that LG's first "second screen" phone is getting its Nougat update, and even then only up to Android 7.0.
Roughly 3 months since it announced the mid-range Meizu M5s, the Chinese company is coming out again with an even more wallet-friendly membe of its M5 family. The new M5c isn't going to win any race, but it tries to make up for that with a splash of color. But perhaps more than its looks, Meizu fans will probably be elated that it is also the first Meizu phone to run the latest Flyme 6, finally ushering in the age of Nougat.
![This Android O Pixel Launcher works for 6.0 [APK download]](https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/androidolauncherapk.jpg)
The Android O Pixel Launcher APK has been delivered to a wider variety of Android smartphones thanks to one intrepid XDA user. This download is not 100% guaranteed to work on every sincle smartphone - in fact most smartphones cannot make use of it. Smartphones must be running Android, first of all, and they'll need to be running Android version 6.0.1 Marshmallow for the launcher to be activated with all of its features.