Huawei has been on a roll with its EMUI 8.0 update. It has been pushing out the update which also brings Android 8.0 Oreo to a number of its devices. While a large percentage of these devices were released in the last one year, Huawei has now extended the update to older devices.

About a month ago, it announced that phones like the 2015 Mate 8 and 2016’s Honor Note 8 will get updated to Android 8.0 Oreo. And true to its words, the update is now available for these devices and more. The announcement was made yesterday on Weibo.

If you own the following devices you should check for the EMUI 8.0 (Android 8.0) update:

1. Huawei Mate 8
2. Huawei P9
3. Huawei P9 Plus
4. Honor 8
5. Honor Note 8
6. Honor 6X
7. Mate 9, Mate 9 Pro, and Mate 9 Porche Design
8. Huawei P10, Huawei P10 Plus
9. Honor 9
10. Honor V9
11. Nova 2, Nova 2 Plus, Huawei Nova Youth
12. Honor 7X

READ MORE: Huawei Mate 20 Lite may come in two variants

To get the update, head to the Huawei member app on your device, select services and apply for the upgrade to be pushed to your device.

(Source, Via)

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After releasing the list of Honor phones that will receive the latest EMUI 8.0 software update, Huawei has now announced the list of its own devices that will get the Android Oreo-based EMUI 8.0 update.

The devices from Huawei which will be updated to the latest version of EMUI include Mate 8, Huawei P9, P9 Plus, Nova Youth Edition, Nova 2 and Nova 2 Plus. The company’s recently launched Mate 10 series already runs Android 8.0 Oreo-based EMUI 8.0 out-of-the-box.

Huawei is currently developing the latest update for these phones and has not yet revealed the timeline to roll out the latest update. We just hope the wait isn’t too long.

The EMUI 8.0 — the successor of EMUI 5.1 — was officially rolled out by the company a couple of weeks ago. The company decided to change the numbering scheme of its Android-based custom skin to sync it with the Android version numbers.

According to the company, EMUI 8.0 is “an avant-garde technological software which is efficient, secure and above all, user-friendly.” It comes with artificial intelligence that makes the software experience smarter and quicker.

The updated version of the operating system comes with features like Real-Time Scene and Object Recognition, Smart Tips, and AI-accelerated language translation, among others. It also brings some artificial intelligence-based capabilities such as resource allocation, context awareness as well as user behaviour or behaviour prediction.

Since the latest custom operating system from Huawei is based on Android Oreo, users will also have access to features like split-screen interface, navigation dock, one-hand operation and smart view. The company had earlier said that it provides faster and smarter phone experience, powered by advanced AI technological features.

Read More: Huawei P11 Launch Could be Postponed to Avoid Clashing Galaxy S9, S9+ at MWC 2018

Earlier, the company had revealed that  Honor V10, Honor 9, Honor V9, Honor 7X, Honor 8 Youth, Honor 8, Honor V8and Honor Note 8 will receive the latest EMUI 8.0 update.

(Source)

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After weeks in beta testing, Huawei has finally announced a stable EMUI 8.0 update for the Mate 9 series. The update also brings Android 8.0 Oreo to the 1-year old flagship.

The EMUI 8.0 update is currently not available as an OTA but can be manually downloaded to the phone. Supported Mate 9 versions are listed below:

1. Mate 9 MHA-AL00
2. Mate 9 Full Netcom Version MHA-TL00
3. Mate 9 Pro Full Netcom Version LON-AL00
4. Mate 9 Porsche Edition

Users who can’t wait for the OTA can request for the update by going into the Huawei Mobile Services app and selecting upgrade request as seen in the image below.

EMUI 8.0 brings a number of cool features to the Mate 9. Key feature is the AI-experience which works underground and allocates resources to frequently used apps and also on the surface for apps like the camera, which recognizes scenes and provides suggestions.

It also brings PC Mode for a full desktop experience when connected to an external display. This is similar to what Samsung’s Dex does but with the aid of only a cable. With support for dual Bluetooth, you can pair a wireless mouse and keyboard to your device.

EMUI 8.0 also brings a smart split screen feature. This comes in handy when you are watching a video and an incoming notification comes in. The notification pop-up also includes a split-screen icon which when selected allows you go into split-screen mode without interrupting your video.

READ MORE: Huawei Nova 2S Official Invite Includes 4-in-1 Clip-on Lens Kit

There is also Dynamic Wallpaper which changes the wallpaper as your day progresses; One-Step Shortcut for adding app shortcuts to the homescreen; and LinkedIn Built-In for syncing your contact list with your LinkedIn account.

(Source)

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Lenovo has today confirmed that it will roll out Android 8.0 Oreo update for its three smartphones — Lenovo K8, K8 Plus and K8 Note.

The company has also revealed the timeline for the update. The Lenovo K8 will be the first smartphone to get the latest Android version update, in June next year. Update for the Lenovo K8 Plus and K8 Note will be rolled out a month later, i.e. July 2018.

This new information revealed by the company also confirms that other than these three devices, no other smartphone from Lenovo will get the Android 8.0 Oreo update.

Lenovo has confirmed that the company is already working on the Oreo update and the process is “in progress”. The company has not cleared whether the phones will be upgraded to 7.1 Nougat for now, or they will skip it altogether and move directly to Oreo.

Currently, these three smartphones — K8, K8 Plus and K8 Note are running on Android 7.0 Nougat operating system. Considering the timeline, there is still a lot of time before the smartphones get the Oreo update.

This is surprising given that the smartphones run on stock Android and should not take such long for the company to roll out updates.

By the time Oreo reaches the Lenovo K8 series, it will be at least ten months old. Looking at the timeline for the Android version launch, Google could launch Android 9.0 in August 2018.

Read More: Latest OxygenOS Open Beta Update Brings Android Oreo to OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T

Recently, Motorola — which is a sub-brand of Lenovo, had confirmed that it is working to upgrade 12 smartphones to Oreo very soon. This includes Moto Z, Moto Z Droid, Moto Z Force Droid, Moto Z Play, Moto Z Play Droid, Moto Z2 Play, Moto Z2 Force Edition, Moto X4, Moto G5, Moto G5 Plus, Moto G5S, Moto G5S Plus, and the Moto G4 Plus.

Other smartphone companies, including HMG Global (Nokia), OnePlus, HTC, among others, have already announced their plans regarding the Android Oreo update.

(Source)

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Earlier this month, it was reported that the Android O may debut in the second week of this month. Fresh information shared by David Ruddock, the managing editor of Android Police reveals that Android O release has been delayed. However, there is no information available on why Google may have delayed the release of Android O.

Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones were expected to get the final version of Android O by mid-August. However, the tweet from Ruddock states that the Android O update for Pixel has been pushed back. Through another tweet he maintains that it is a completely unverifiable rumor. His other tweet suggests that Google may do something grand on the release of Android O. However, it is unlikely to hold a launch event for it.

https://twitter.com/RDR0b11/status/895711402995757056

https://twitter.com/RDR0b11/status/895720628426166273

Read More: Renders of Google Pixel 2 Leaked in High-Resolution Images

There is a possibility that the Android O may still contain some bugs and the company is trying to fix them before releasing a stable version for the Google Pixel smartphones. It is also likely that the upcoming Google Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 that will come loaded with Android O will debut the new Android version. However, these smartphones are slated to get unveiled in October this year and Google may not delay the release of Android O to such an extent.

In the previous year, Google had released the Android 7.0 Nougat OS on Aug. 22 to a couple of Nexus devices before making it available on the original Google Pixel phones. Since Google has recently released the fourth and last Android O Developer Preview, it seems the currently delay may not be a long one and it may release at any time. Earlier rumors have revealed that this year Google will be releasing the Android O earlier this year. So, even though it is delayed now, Android O may hit Nexus devices and original Pixel phones before Aug. 22.

Google is yet to confirm on the official name for the Android 8.0 (Android O) operating system. The rumor mill has claimed that it may either arrive as Android Oreo or Oatmeal Cookie. Ruddock is of the view that the official name of Android 8.0 will be declared on Aug. 21, the day of the solar eclipse.

The LG V20 from last year was the first non-Google phone to arrive with Android Nougat preinstalled. Since the alleged Nokia 8 was spotted with Android 8.0 on Geekbench earlier this month, rumors claimed that the Nokia 8 could be the first non-Google to arrive preloaded with Android 8.0.

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Android 8.0 is the upcoming version of the Android OS that will succeed Android 7.0 Nougat. The official name of the Android O is still under the wraps. Currently, the Android 8.0 version is being referred as Android O by various tech sites. Last year, Android 7.0 Nougat was officially released on Aug. 22. According to Android Police’s managing editor, David Ruddock, Google may release Android 8.0 in the coming week.

The first developer preview of the Android 8.0 was released in March followed by the second, third and fourth developer previews in respective months of May, June and July. The official Android Program Overview page states that the final version of Android will be releasing in the third quarter of this year.

At the start of June, Ruddock had claimed that Android O would be releasing in the first or second week of August citing an unnamed reliable source. He had claimed that the Android O would be releasing a bit earlier than Android Nougat in 2016.

https://twitter.com/RDR0b11/status/872150867784478720

https://twitter.com/RDR0b11/status/892805211395284992

Through a new tweet, Ruddock claims that the Android O update would be officially hitting Google Pixel devices in about a week. There is a possibility that its arrival may get delayed at the last moment. Hence, the search engine giant does not always make announcement on the arrival of updates.

Some rumor have claimed that the Android O will be officially introduced as Android Oatmeal Cookie. The references of Oatmeal Cookie were found in the Google I/O 2017 slides. Earlier rumors have claimed that it may arrive as Android Oreo. Apart from Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones, the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Google Pixel C and Nexus Player are also expected to get Android O update. The upcoming Google Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 flagship phones are likely to come preloaded with it.

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Google‘s upcoming Android version which is known by the code-name Android O is expected to be officially launched in the third quarter of the year which means it will drop any moment from now. But the actual name of Android O still remains a controversy that has persisted for a while now. The meaning has hovered between Oatmeal Cookies and Oreo for a long time now but Google’s VP Hiroshi Lockheimer seems to have hinted at another name entirely for the new Android version.

The Google senior VP who oversees Platforms and Ecosystem, including Android, shared a photo on Twitter which seems to suggest that the O on Android O may stand for Orangina. The photo contains a number of names including Onion and olive but Orangina is very much prominent than the others and is really the only sweet thing on the list. In case you don’t know, Orangina is a sweet carbonated orange drink found in France. The Google Exec didn’t disclose any thing else so we can’t be so sure about this. But if it eventually turns out to be true, this will be the first time Google’s naming convention would deviate from desserts and candies in the naming of Android. However, Oreo seems likely to be the name of the new Android OS, as the same VP had teased Oreo in the past. Google recently teamed up with Oreo to launched an Oreo minigame and also recently, Oreo cookies were laid out for the press at this year’s Google I/O event.

#nocomment pic.twitter.com/N23o1vblsA

— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) July 25, 2017

Related: Android 8.0 Update: Launching in Q3 2017 For AOSP & OEMs, Codenamed Oreo

Google has already confirmed that Android O will be available for AOSP and ecosystem releases in the third quarter of this year after the Fourth and final Developer Preview has rolled out. Although there is no specific release date yet, a number of sources are pointing to a release in August this year. Android 8.0 is expected to come with a number of new features, including support for picture-in-picture, application badges, notification dots, support for automatic filling, higher text selection, a substantial improvement of the notification system. There are also some changes seen in the Developer Preview already, such a new media notification, new icon and clock.

(source)

The post Google’s VP May Have Finally Revealed Android O’s Real Name appeared first on Gizmochina.

Google‘s next operating system is already known to go by the model name Android 8.0 and its identified also with the codename Android O. The true meaning of the O is yet to be officially identified. While some think it is Android Oreo, a divergent speculation says it is likely Android Oatmeal Cookie. Another theory has emerged that argues that the O in Google’s Android O still stand for Oreo. As a matter of fact, both names are derived from biscuits but that isn’t the most important thing about the upcoming OS.

The Android O timeline has been buzzing steadily towards its official launch with progress being made with the release of the first, second and third Developer previews. While Google’s new OS seems to be mostly in a finished state, there are a few new additions to the developer previews. The first Developer Preview was launched in March this year with some update and in mid-May, the second Developer Preview was rolled out bringing more new contents. The third Android O Developer Preview for Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, Pixel C, Pixel and Pixel XL devices hit the Internet in June bringing some new APIs that would appear in the final version. The release of the fourth and final version is expected any moment from now before the Stable ROM starts rolling out.

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Before the introduction of Android Nougat moniker, it was referred to as Android 7.0 and Android N. Now, when the tech enthusiasts are speculating on the launch name of Android 8.0, a leaked information has hinted that it would be launching as Android Oatmeal Cookie. However, previous speculations claimed that Google’s Android 8.0 would be introduced as Android Oreo.

The Android 8.0 source code and commit logs contains some references to “oc-dev.” It is now being speculated that “oc” may probably stand for “Oatmeal Cookie.” This is not just one evidence that claim that Android 8.0 would be called Oatmeal Cookie. It is said that there were references of Oatmeal Cookie at the Google I/O 2017 event that was held in May this year.

However, before accepting Android 8.0 as Oatmeal Cookie, one should also consider that it could be a temporary codename that is being internally used to referred to Android 8.0. In 2013, Google had referred to Android 4.4 as Key-Lime Pie, but it was actually launched as Android KitKat. Hence, there is a possibility that Google introduce Android 8.0 with a different moniker.

Here are the references of Oatmeal Cookie in Google I/O slide

Looks like at least internally Android O is “Oatmeal Cookie.” Noticed this in an I/O slide. pic.twitter.com/9AZD0Zdc8l

— Yoni Samlan (@ysamlan) June 6, 2017

Oatmeal Cookie appears at I/O as (presumably) the internal codename for O, so I’m still hopeful for a release name of Android Oreo pic.twitter.com/LRHihJvtNs

— WhiteTiger (@WhiteTigerAE) May 19, 2017

Oatmeal cookie used on one of the slides. Might be the name of the next #Android version? #io17 pic.twitter.com/jxYj9c2Ng4

— bolot (@bolot) May 18, 2017

Read More: Android O Official OTA Release for Pixel in August

As far as Android Oreo moniker is concerned, it seems that it won’t be happening because Google and Nabisco reportedly could not development an agreement on using “Oreo” name for Android 8.0. The first developer preview of Android 8.0 was released in March. In May came its second developer preview. Earlier this month, the third Android 8.0 developer preview was released. Google is expected to release the last developer preview soon and in the third quarter of this year, Google will be releasing the final version of Android 8.0 At that time, its actual moniker will be announced.

It goes without saying that the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 smartphones will come preinstalled with Android O. Also, the Android O be also brought first to last year’s Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. In 2016, the first non-Google branded smartphone to deliver Android 7.0 out-of-the-box experience was LG V20. Speculations have it that the LG V30 that is rumored to get announced on Aug. 31 would be the first non-Google phone to arrive preinstalled with it.

(source 1,2,3,4)

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Last year a Lenovo-backed company released a ZUK Z2 – a phone that had a great design and killers specs. Right now you can get this phone for just about $180 and it seems to be one of the best phones for the price since it has a Snapdragon 820 chip, 4GB of RAM and a lot more! Learn more in our ZUK Z2 review after 1 year.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0KVJ_ogfEs[/embedyt]

Check out Lenovo’s deal page

ZUK Z2 Review: UNBOXING

The phone ships with all the usual stuff that includes the USB C cable, a fast charger, SIM ejector pin and some paperwork.

ZUK Z2 Review: SPECS

ZUK Z2 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

As far as design goes, it has changed quite a bit if we compare it to the ZUK Z1.

Now we have a rather compact phone, which uses a very high quality and sturdy metal frame around the device. I love the fact that all the buttons and a dual SIM card tray are on the right and all other stuff is on the bottom. Thus, other sides of the phone look clean.

The sound quality from the loudspeaker is pretty good but nothing we haven’t heard from similarly priced phones.

Also, we have Gorilla Glass 4 on the front and rear. A great thing is that the phone has some sort of anti-fingerprint coating and it does its job very well.

We have a 5” 1080p display, which is nice and sharp but it could be slightly brighter for a better sunlight legibility.

An 8MP shooter is here for selfies along with a notification LED light on the top.

On the bottom, we have just one physical home button but it has tons of features. First of all, you can physically press it and it takes you home. Also, you can tap it and it acts as a back button or swipe it from left to right if you e.g. want to access your recent apps. Also, the button is highly customizable and you can assign different tasks. I have to say that this is one of the best home button implementations I’ve ever seen.

Last but not least we have a fingerprint scanner, which is accurate and it reads a fingerprint straight from the standby mode.

On the back, we have a 13MP shooter with f/2.2 aperture and a single LED flash.

Overall, the phone is well-built, it feels nice in the hand and it sports some flagship-worthy materials in the construction.

ZUK Z2 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

ZUK Z2 still sports some flagship-grade specs. It has a Snapdragon 820 chip, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of on-board storage without the microSD card slot.

As you may have guessed, the phone can handle anything you throw at it without a sweat. All the games ran almost perfectly on the highest graphics. However, the phone does quite warm on the top portion of the device but there are no overheating warnings or anything that could impair the performance.

ZUK Z2 Review: USER INTERFACE

When it comes to the user interface, there are two different versions. The one I reviewed like 8 months ago shipped with the Chinese ROM that had quite a bit of bloatware and no Google services. The one I have ships with the fully de-bloated ZUI rom, that is built on top of Android 6.0.

First of all, I love that the UI looks clean and it is fast and fluid. Also, there are some extra features and customization options. Besides the ability to do a lot of stuff just by swiping on the home button, you can swipe from the bottom to open up quick settings toggles, which are highly customizable too.

It would be great to have the Android 7 on this ROM but honestly, I really love it and so far it looks a lot better than the Chinese ROM.

ZUK Z2 Review: CAMERA

When it comes to the camera, we have a few shooting modes but there is no manual mode to take a full control of the images you take. Also, there are some basic settings to play with. In addition, the phone can take pictures very fast, which is probably the most important aspect for most users. Finally, the device triggers HDR mode automatically.

ZUK Z2 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

ZUK Z2 can take some nice looking daylight images with a good amount of detail, accurate looking colors and sharpness.

The camera starts struggling in lower-lit situations as the images have quite a lot of noise and less detail. Still, you can get some usable images out of this phone.

The 4k video looks really good for a $180 phone. However, the footage could have less noise and compression, and the green color of the grass looks oversaturated. See a video review for a video sample.

An 8MP selfie snapper can take some decent looking selfies for social media needs.

Overall, ZUK Z2 does not have a perfect camera but it is definitely one of the better cameras in a $300 phone.

ZUK Z2 Review: CONNECTIVITY

I didn’t have any connectivity issues with the phone as the signal reception was good and the call quality was decent. Also, the Wifi worked fine and the GPS was accurate.

ZUK Z2 Review: BATTERY LIFE

The ZUK Z2 ships with 3500mAh built-in battery and it performs great.

I could constantly get over 5 hours of screen-on time on a mixed use, which involved using the camera, browsing the web, a bit of gaming and so on.

The phone ships with a fast charger and I was able to fully charge the phone in 1 hour and 30 mins.

ZUK Z2 Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have it, ZUK Z2 after the buzz. With the recent price drops, I honestly believe that this is one of the best phones you can buy. Sure, it has a few shortcomings to consider but given the fact that it has really powerful internals, great and compact design, the ZUK Z2 is a fantastic offering for about $180.

The post ZUK Z2 Review after 1 year – The Best Budget Smartphone for $180? appeared first on Gizmochina.

The Android 8.0 Developer Preview is now available for the developers to download. Since it is a developer preview edition, it is not aimed towards general users. Google has cleared mentioned in the release notes of Android 8.0 that its Developer Preview is not intended for daily use on phone or tablet for non-developers. As of this writing, it is called Android O. The official name of the new Android version will be revealed after a few months.

There are several improvements included in Android O. With the new Notification Channels, users will have the power to see only those alerts that are relevant to them. For instance, if a user wishes to see only technology news alerts from his news app, he would be able to disable news from other categories. It will also let users to snooze notifications so that they can be seen later. Notifications can be also set to dismiss automatically. Notifications can also feature background colors so that they can be distinguished easily.

Background Limits has been added on Android O to improve battery life significantly. It can severely control the battery power consumption by limiting services running in the background. It can also restrict broadcasts and location updates. Autofill APIs can let users make use of an autofill app to easily fill login information such as usernames, addresses and passwords. Since it is an API, it can be supported and implemented by developers.

With Picture-in-Picture (PIP), users can continue to watch a video while answering a call. Apps can be made to run in picture-in-picture mode from a paused or resumed state. Developers can also modify the aspect ratio and assign customized interaction like play or pause.

Related: Larger non-Pixel Google Phone Codenamed as Taimen Rumored to Release This Year

With Adaptive Icons toolset developers can create icons of different shapes for different devices. For instance, the Twitter app can have a circular shape on Galaxy S8 and have a square shape on Pixel phone. Hence, OEMs can use them to provide users with unique icons.

For better audio experience through Bluetooth, Android O will carry support for LDAC codec. Wi-Fi Aware will make Android O devices to discover and connect with each other without Wi-Fi or data connectivity. The inclusion of new “arrow” and “tab” navigation will assist in better predictable navigation on keyboards. Android O supports Java 8 language APIs and offers optimized runtime.

The formal launch of Android O is expected to happen at the Google I/O 2017 event that will be held in May. It is currently available for Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, Pixel C, Pixel, and Pixel XL.

(source)

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