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You should think that Xiaomi has learned its lesson when it comes to Android updates as the manufacturer has long been battling faulty releases that brick or otherwise affect phones left and right. But that doesn't seem to be the case. Over the holidays, the company tried to roll out Android 11 to the Xiaomi Mi A3 running Android One, and owners report on Reddit and the company's own forum that it bricks their phones. Now the company has released a revised version of the update, though that comes with problems of its own.
Motorola announces plans to upgrade 21 phones to Android 11
This will be the only OS upgrade for most of them
Motorola has announced its list of smartphones that will receive the Android 11 upgrade presumably starting as soon as tomorrow but, more practically, throughout 2021. There will be pitfalls along the way as we find out which devices are gasping their last breaths and the technicalities getting in the way of others.
Xiaomi rolls out Mexican firmware to global Mi A3 units, breaks dual-SIM functionality
That's a 'yikes' from us
Xiaomi is cautioning Mi A3 owners not to download a global firmware update because of "a serious bug" that prevents dual-SIM customers from utilizing both slots. The warning comes after an Indian user came into trouble with his OTA.
Xiaomi Mi A3's Android 10 rollout is reaching Europe
Following a roller coaster of halts and re-releases
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You would think that Android One phones are usually among the first to get new OS releases, but many Nokia devices and the Xiaomi Mi A3 prove this wrong, as a lot of them still run Android 9 to this day. That's bound to change for the Mi A3, though, as Xiaomi has started to roll out Android 10 to the handset.
Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite Android 10 rollout resumes with broader availability
The first release was halted following widespread reports of bricked phones
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Xiaomi doesn’t have the strongest presence in the Android One space, while most of its popular handsets run a heavily customized (and better supported) software skin. The Chinese company has a habit of running into trouble when updating its Mi A-series phones with the latest Android builds,sometimes causing more problems than they fix in the first place. Hot on the heels of the Mi A3 fiasco just last week, a new Android 10 update for Mi A2 Lite is similarly up to no good, with word of it bricking handsets.
The Android One-equipped Motorola One Vision unfortunately never made it to the US, but owners in South America, Europe, India, and other markets can look forward to an update bringing Android 10 to the phone. It's currently rolling out to first people in Brazil, though it probably won't take long until it reaches more locations.
Earlier this month, Google revealed its updated design language for the Android logo ahead of the Android 10 release. In addition to elevating the bugdroid (or at least its head) to the logo itself, new typography for the "android" text was also shown off. As part of today's big push to update the various Android sites, the logos for Android TV, Android Auto, and Android One have all been updated to match those previous changes.
We've been tracking developments with Motorola's Android One phones in the pipeline. One of them is the Motorola One Action, a phone with a 21:9 full HD display with "hole-punched" selfie camera, three rear cameras — including a wide-angle "Action Cam" — a mid-range Samsung Exynos processor, and various memory configurations. We now have better views of the device and our first idea at how much an Action might cost.
After recent leaks, we knew Xiaomi would soon be introducing its latest Android One phone, and now the Mi A3 has been officially unveiled. Its predecessors were pretty well received, so we have high hopes for this one. For just €250 it offers a 48MP sensor as part of a triple camera setup, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and a 6-inch AMOLED display (Edit: Sadly it's only HD+, 720x1520 — no wonder they didn't emphasize that in the PR) with a waterdrop notch.
Last month, Nokia unveiled the 2.2, a strong contender in the budget smartphone market, thanks to its removable battery, 5.7" display, and Google Assistant button. Unfortunately, the device was only announced for the European and Indian markets, with no expected availability in North America. However, the brand just introduced the phone to the US, where it's selling for $139 starting today.The North American variant retains the same specs as the original version, including its quad-core MediaTek Helio A22 SoC, 5.7" 720p display, 3,000mAh removable battery, and 13MP camera. Nokia says the latter uses AI to improve low-light and HDR shots by snapping several pictures and merging them together. Also, although the device doesn't feature a fingerprint sensor, it's one of the rare smartphones in the budget category that has face unlock, thanks to the 5MP front sensor. As with all recent Nokia phones, the handset will ship with Android 9 Pie and receive OS updates for two years.The Nokia 2.2 can be ordered online starting today and will be available in select Best Buy stores beginning August 4. You'll also be able to purchase additional Xpress-on covers in Pink Sand, Ice Blue, and Forest Green colors to customize your device.Buy: Amazon, Best Buy
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- GSMArena has posted alleged photos of the Mi A3's retail packaging and the phone itself. The protective screen covering lists specifications that mostly confirm what WinFuture previously reported, but also contains a few new pieces of information. 18W fast charging is supported, the fingerprint sensor is under the screen, and one of the rear cameras is an "ultra wide-angle" lens.
Xiaomi's first stock Android device was the Mi A1, released back in 2017. It was a very good phone, especially for the low price of ~$230, and the company released a sequel last year. There wasn't much doubt that a Mi A3 was on the way, but now we have the first pictures of the device.
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It turns out that the One Vision isn't the only phone with a 21:9 display and an Exynos chipset that Motorola is planning to release; the One Action is also in the cards. The two One-branded phones share many similarities, with the Action appearing to be a lower-end version of the Vision.
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TWRP is the most trusted Android custom recovery around at the moment and is adding support for more devices all the time. Over the past month or so, 14 new phones and tablets have appeared on the TeamWin Recovery Project site, including the beastly new OnePlus 7 Pro. Support has also been added for all Android One Fifth Generation handsets.
The extensively leaked Motorola One Vision is official, and it looks like the leaks were dead-on. This Exynos-powered phone sports a super-tall 21:9 display with a hole-punch camera, and it runs Google's Android One build of the OS. You won't be able to buy it in the US, but Motorola will sell it in many other markets.
TeamWin Recovery Project, better known as TWRP, is the best custom recovery available for Android. It works on a wide range of devices, can backup/restore data, can flash ROMs, and more. Since the last time we covered TWRP, the project has added support for seven more devices.
What's next from Motorola? As we leave behind the Moto G7 series, we're left in a holding pattern for what might be a foldable phone that will bring up the legacy RAZR name. It's been a month since we last heard anything about the speculative project, but we now have some evidence from the Bluetooth SIG that there is at least a RAZR phone in the works along with a potential Android One phone.
LineageOS is one of the most popular custom ROMs available, with somewhere around two million active installations. It typically takes a while for the project to update to newer versions of Android, since development is largely done by maintainers in their spare time. Six months after the public release of Android 9 Pie, it looks like LineageOS is about ready to make the jump — but not before dropping older devices.
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The Nokia 7.1 and 6.1 Plus are mid-range Android One devices that were recently updated to Android 9.0 Pie. Following the update, HMD Global has published their kernel source code on its website.
Owners of HMD Global's Nokia 8 Sirocco understandably thought that buying the flagship Android One model would guarantee them fast updates, but they've since had to sit back and watch plenty of other phones get Pie ahead of them. Thankfully, the wait is over and the rollout starts today.