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Tag: Android 11

  • Fairphone 4 Slated to Receive Android 12 on February 1

    Fairphone 4 Slated to Receive Android 12 on February 1

    Fairphone 4 owners are finally getting a major update, with Android 12 coming to the device on February 1.

    The Fairphone is a different kind of smartphone, one manufactured with sustainability in mind. When the Fairphone 4 was launched in 2021, the device came pre-loaded with Android 11, but is now on the verge of receiving an update to Android 12.

    The company revealed the news in a blog post:

    We are preparing for a staggered rollout, starting with most regions on Wednesday, February 1st.

    The eagle-eyed among you noticed I wrote “most regions”. The current performance in some regions (Switzerland and France) does not meet our quality standards, so the Android 12 upgrade will be delayed for some Operators there. We hope to release it to everyone in the near future.

    The company assures users staying on Android 11 that they won’t be left without security updates:

    In order to keep Andrdoid 11 users up-to-date with security, we have prepared a maintenance release with a new security patch. Users won’t be left behind or without security. This will be pushed out shortly.

  • Surface Duo Owners Left in the Cold As Microsoft Fails to Deliver Update

    Surface Duo Owners Left in the Cold As Microsoft Fails to Deliver Update

    Microsoft promised an Android 11 update for the Surface Duo before the end of 2021, but the company has failed to deliver.

    The Surface Duo is Microsoft’s ambitious attempt to take on foldable devices. Unlike its previous attempts at a smartphone, the Duo runs Android, combining the world’s most popular mobile OS with Microsoft’s ecosystem of software and services.

    Original Surface Duo owners were waiting on an update to Android 11, which Microsoft promised to deliver before the end of 2021. Unfortunately for consumers, the new year has come and gone without an update, an update that promises to bring the V1 Duo closer to the V2 model, in terms of features and stability.

    Windows Central’s Zac Bowden placed the blame squarely on Microsoft’s mishandling of the situation.

    I’ve said this before, but Microsoft is the problem with Surface Duo. If the Surface Duo was a Samsung, Google, or Apple product, you can bet that those companies would have done everything in their power to fix up the product within the first few months of it being on the market. They would have been responsive about issues, and would’ve kept its customers assured that improvements and fixes were on the way.

    Bowden also makes the case that if Microsoft wants the Surface Duo to be taken seriously, it first needs to take the device seriously itself.

    Microsoft is going to be the sole reason this product ultimately fails if it doesn’t start taking Surface Duo more seriously. Surface Duo 2 launched in a much better state, which hopefully means that a Surface Duo 3 will be even better out of the gate whenever that launches. But now Microsoft needs to prove to its existing customers that it’s going to properly support Duo V1 and V2 with new features, bug fixes, and improvements on a regular basis throughout 2022.

    Hopefully Microsoft learns from this misstep and corrects course. The Duo is too unique of a device to let fall by the wayside.

  • Surface Duo to Get Android 11 This Year

    Surface Duo to Get Android 11 This Year

    Microsoft has confirmed that original Surface Duo devices will receive an upgrade to Android 11 by the end of the year.

    The Surface Duo is Microsoft’s dual-screen Android device that integrates the company’s software and services with Android. Microsoft is preparing to ship the Surface Duo 2, and the second-generation device will come with Android 11 pre-installed.

    Owners of the original device won’t be left out in the cold however, as the company told The Verge users can expect an Android 11 upgrade in the coming months.

    “We remain committed to providing updates to Surface Duo, and we’re working to bring Android 11 to existing customers before the end of this year,” a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge.

  • Android 11 Promises to Improve Entry-Level Device Performance

    Google has released the latest version of Android, including new features and some significant performance gains, especially for entry-level devices.

    Google first introduced the Go edition of its Android operating system in 2018, with the goal to bring high-end features to low-end devices. As a result, the Go edition is specifically optimized for devices that have less memory and slower processors.

    One of the main focus point of Android 11 is enhanced privacy features, giving people more control over what access applications are given. Go edition benefits from those same privacy enhancements. This version also introduces Safe Folder in Files by Google that can be used to protect sensitive files in an encrypted folder.

    One of the best features of Android 11 Go edition is improved performance for its target devices.

    ”In the past two years, smartphone manufacturers have produced high-quality Android devices—with features like dual cameras or fingerprint scanners—at more affordable prices,” writes Sagar Kamdar VP of Product Management, Android. “As more of these memory-intensive features come to entry-level smartphones, our partners have asked us to improve performance on these devices, particularly around speed, storage, and memory. So, starting next month Android (Go edition) will be available on all new devices with up to 2GB of memory.

    ”With the expansion to 2GB, apps launch up to 20 percent faster, and with an additional 270 MB of additional free memory, people can now run three to four more apps in the background. Android (Go edition) on 2GB devices also comes with up to 900MB of additional free storage space—enough to take up to 300 more selfies and download an entire movie.”

    This is good news for Android users, especially those on entry-level devices.