Taking a look back at seven days of news across the Android world, this week’s Android Circuit includes new details on the Galaxy Note 7 iris scanner, the color choices available for the phablet, the waterproof phone that started leaking, Samsung's big chip order from Apple, a review of the new Moto Z range, a thermal imaging smartphone, Unity's global gaming report, Samsung's spot the difference challenge, and the easter egg inside Android N.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).
This Is The Galaxy Note 7
With less than two weeks until Samsung's latest phablet is revealed, more details on the large-screened device are coming out, including some of the marketing images. SamMobile has the pictures:
An image showing the Note 7 in blue, gold and silver has leaked online. What we are seeing clearly for the first time are the sides of the device – as expected it curves on both the front and back, and what’s nice to see is how Samsung has opted to make the color of the metal rim contrast with the color of the phone itself (just look at the gold rim on the blue variant to see what we mean).
So, black, blue, gold or silver?
Look Carefully Into The Note 7 Scanner
One thing that the leaked videos are showing is the Galaxy Note 7's iris scanner. The magical 'look at the phone to unlock' feature has some obvious gotchas that UberGizmo's Tyler Lee has picked up:
According to a recent screenshot that surfaced, it shows some of the alleged restrictions of the iris scanner. One of those limitations is how the phone needs to be held 25-35cm away from the face in order for it to work properly. It also suggests that glasses, contact lenses, or direct sunlight should be avoided for the scanner to work properly.
We suppose this might have something to do with the reflection being cast of glasses that might interfere with the scanner. We’re not sure what the failure rate will be if one does wear glasses, but if it is high, this could be very inconvenient for users who will have to keep taking off their glasses just to use it.
Expect some very carefully organised demonstrations on stage when the phone is launched, followed by every geekerati reporter trying to fool the sensor when they start working on their reviews!
Samsung Slammed By Sneaky Apple
Samsung and TSMC have shared chip fabrication for the iPhone's A9 System-on-Chip. We know that the South Korean balance sheet is going to come under pressure this year as all of the A10 production is handed to TSMC. It is now being reported that TSMC will have all the orders for the iPhone 8's A11 chip in 2017. Apple is doing its best to restrict Samsung's available capital as it catches up to the iPhone's level of innovation:
If Apple has locked Samsung out of the next iteration chips for the iPhone 8 (expected to launch in 2017 and stay in the portfolio for the regulation three years), that’s a big slice of revenue and profit that is being denied to the South Korean company.
If you consider the competitive smartphone ecosystem as a continual drain on resources that needs refreshed, Apple has throttled one of Samsung’s major sources that keeps it fresh, hungry, and able to innovate.
More thoughts on this strategic move here.
S7 Active's Waterproofing Woes Still Under Warranty
Samsung is rightly proud of the waterproofing present in the Galaxy family, so news that a Galaxy S7 Active had failed Consumer Report's dunk test would not have made for comfortable reading. While the South Korean company stands behind the IP rating, it will replace any handset under the limited warrant should water damage occur. Brian Reigh reports:
Consumer Reports put the Galaxy S7 Active in a water tank pressurized to 2.12 pounds-per-square-inch, which is the equivalent of just under five feet of water, and set a timer for 30 minutes. As we previously reported, both of the units tested failed spectacularly, resulting in a flickering screen and moisture inside its parts. For your information, its “less active” siblings – the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge – passed the test comfortably.
Samsung's first reply can be found in its pressroom, while details on the update to the manufacturing process to address the issue are reported here.
Do Lenovo's New Moto Smartphones Deliver?
Lenovo's Moto Z handset has been reviewed by Ron Amadeo. He found that this iteration of the Moto lineage has seen a lot of change, and not all of them are for the best:
Along with the new name (RIP, Moto X) comes a huge jump in price: Motorola's flagship has gone from $400 in 2015 to $720 (for the Z Force) in 2016. That's an 80-percent increase. Moto Maker—Motorola's design service that let you customize the outside of the device—is dead, at least for the flagship. Motorola's love of software updates seems to have gone out the window, too. Major updates now take several months instead of several weeks, and a Motorola rep told us the company won't be providing security updates for the Moto Z.
Amadeo's full review on Ars Technica looks in detail at the full range, the modular system and the changes that Lenovo is making to the Moto branded smartphones.
The Thermal Smartphone Creating A New Image
If you are looking for an unusual and robs smartphone, the Cat S60 (from the company that brings you the Caterpillar industrial vehicles) is a highly specific smartphone for a number of workers. Why? It ships with a built-in thermal imaging camera. Forbes' Monty Munford reports:
...the company was besieged with pre-orders for the Cat S60, a smartphone that could use this technology. It promised to create instant diagnosis and real-time reporting for a wealth of professions such as builders, frogmen, the emergency services and even farmers looking for lost sheep.
In an age of apps-for-everything, this isn’t the case for thermal imagery. Such technology can’t be downloaded and has to come integrated with the handset, a not inconsiderable undertaking. So, enough of the hype, has the Cat S60 delivered on its promises now that is has been released?
Gaming Goes Global With Unity
The team behind the Unity development platform has published its latest Global Insights Report. The Unity platform (which powers countless apps, including the recent viral smash hit Pokémon GO) is now running across 1.7 billion devices in the last quarter with 4.4 billion installed apps. BRIC countries take up four of the top five countries for mobile gaming and forty-one percent of global gaming installs:
This marks the third data report developed in conjunction with the Unity Analytics team and is based on the anonymized data of the 238K Made with Unity games which generated 4.4B installs from 1.7B unique devices in Q2 2016.
Unity's blog has the details and the downloadable report.
Spot The DIfference?
As Iterations of smartphones become ever more similar, ensuring the latest model stands out is key to marketing. Gordon Kelly has been looking back at Samsung's flagship S7 and how it compares to the S6. Most of the time the S7 wins out, but not always:
So does the Galaxy S7 do anything worse than the Galaxy S6? Actually yes, it’s external speaker.
The Galaxy S7 is noticeably quieter than the Galaxy S6 and the latter was already not in the same league as front firing, stereo equipped phones like the Nexus 6P. Why the downgrade? It’s due to the additional insulation Samsung had to apply to make the Galaxy S7 waterproof. In some ways this makes it an understandable trade-off, but it is a shame.
And Finally...
The latest version of Android N to developers is the fifth preview released ahead of a public release later in the year. Abner Li has take a closer look at this iteration of Nougat on 9to5Google to find out what's new, including the delightful emoji easter egg:
With the Nougat name and Android version now official, DP5 features an updated Easter Egg. On the Easter Egg screen, tapping the ‘N’ will cycle through a series of emoji. Additionally, the ‘N’ drops the purple-blue colors for a more faded beige that matches the color of nougat bars.
More features can be found here.
Android Circuit rounds up the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future, and of course read the sister column in Apple Loop! Last week’s Android Circuit can be found here, and if you have any news and links you’d like to see featured in Android Circuit, get in touch!
