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In this week’s top stories: The price of the next Made by Google Android TV dongle leaks, Samsung smartphones drop from the top 10 list, official LineageOS support arrives for the Pixel 2, 3a and 4 series, and more.
Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 won’t be the only things at this year’s Made by Google event, with leaks pointing to a new Android TV dongle codenamed “Sabrina.” This week, the Sabrina dongle had two possible price leaks, with one retailer listing it for $ 49 and others for $ 59.
Beyond the “Sabrina” price, we can also see that Google plans to release three different colors of its Android TV dongle. “Rock Candy” and “Como Blue” imply that Nest Mini’s “Chalk” and “Sky” colors could be found on this product. “Summer Melon”, on the other hand, implies a shade of pink that we’ve seen in some previously leaked marketing materials.
Market research company Omdia released a report this week comparing the best-selling phones of the first half of 2019 and the first half of 2020. In particular, Samsung, which ranked four places on the 2019 top 10 list, has dropped to just one bestseller, the Galaxy A51.
For Samsung, these results have to hurt. While the company’s flagship Android smartphones are absolutely reeling amid the pandemic, Apple’s high-end iPhone 11 Pro models are doing very well and the super affordable iPhone SE even better.
Thanks to the work of some of the collaborating LineageOS developers, the Pixel 2, Pixel 3a and Pixel 4 series phones are now compatible with the popular ROM. There is a temporary warning for the Pixel 2 though, as only Android Pie-based LineageOS 16 is available, not the newer Android 10-based 17.1 version.
LineageOS is currently one of the best ways to extend the life of your device far beyond what the manufacturer originally intended. For example, Google Nexus 6 since 2014, which only received official Android Nougat updates, can be upgraded to Android 10 via LineageOS 17.1.
Specifications for the OnePlus 8T hit the scene this week, revealing a lot of what you’d expect: Snapdragon 865+, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. The biggest updates mentioned so far are that the OnePlus 8T will have a 120Hz display and will ship with Android 11.
On the other hand, the cameras of the OnePlus 8T will also see an update. In terms of numbers, this is the same 48MP / 16MP / 5MP / 2MP matrix for standard, ultra-wide, macro, and portrait, respectively. This time, however, OnePlus is updating the 48MP primary sensor. That’s certainly appreciated, as the regular OnePlus 8 didn’t have as good a camera as the Pro version.
Finally, Qualcomm released a few announcements this week, including the reveal of the new Snapdragon 732G chip. Closely related to the 730G found in the Pixel 4a, the Snapdragon 732G packs some minor performance increases and will be featured in an upcoming POCO phone.
Other features haven’t changed, including the fourth-generation Qualcomm AI Engine and the X15 LTE modem. Quad HD + displays are supported, while 4K HDR with portrait mode is possible. There is also Bluetooth 5 and the chip is Wi-Fi 6 ready.
The rest of this week’s top stories follow:
Android |
Applications and updates |
Chrome / OS |
Google Stadia |
Made by Google |
OnePlus |
Videos |
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