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Now that Android Q is nearly here, we're getting to the point where rolling out Pie updates is somewhat embarrassing. It's certainly better than staying on Android 8 Oreo forever, but it definitely should take this long. The latest phones to get Pie are the 2018 models of the Galaxy J3 and J3V on Verizon, which were originally released in June of last year.
Android updates aren't always guaranteed, especially on lower-end devices, so it's nice when budget phones receive newer versions of the operating system. Case in point, Android 8.0 Oreo is rolling out to Samsung's very affordable Galaxy J3 on Verizon.
Samsung announced today that it's bringing the mid-range Galaxy A6 and Tab A 10.5, plus the budget J3 and J7 phones, to the U.S., unlocked and via carrier partners. The company is aiming to provide great displays, awesome cameras, and solid performance for people who don't want to spend more on a smart device than they have to. All four will be available on September 14.
Earlier this month, Samsung announced the 2018 versions of its Galaxy J3 and J7 smartphones. No release date was given, with only "early June" as an estimate. It's very late in June now, but Verizon, Sprint, and Boost Mobile have launched their versions of the J3 and J7.
Samsung has announced sequels to last year's budget Galaxy J3 and J7 phones. This year's phones will go on sale "through select retail and carrier partners starting in early June and throughout the summer." Samsung didn't mention a price for either device; only that they'll be "affordable." Last year's J3 was $149.99, while the J7 was $219.99.
Samsung has just made a couple of changes to its Android security updates page, and they're not too pretty. Three devices --- the 2016 versions of the Galaxy A3, J1, and J3 --- have been dropped from security updates altogether, and out of the four new additions, three have been filed under the list for quarterly security updates.
Forget that rounded black biscuit sandwich filled with cream and let's talk about the chewy sweet made of egg whites and nuts instead. (Said no one, ever.) But seriously, let's just pretend Oreo doesn't exist and focus on Nougat. It was a great Android OS with multi-window, bundled notifications, quick replies, and plenty of other great improvements.
Thanksgiving is coming up this month in the United States, which means retailers are prepping for Black Friday. Just about every major store will have steep discounts on items, but whether they are worth fighting crowds for is another question. Target's ad for Black Friday was recently released, and there are a few noteworthy deals for Google, Amazon, and Samsung products.
In a perfect world, the phone you buy would get relevant and timely updates to add new features and fix security issues for many years after the initial purchase. Sadly, such a world does not exist (though it's easy to understand why in some cases), but at least people who purchased the 2016 Samsung Galaxy J3 (J320A) from AT&T have a significant upgrade waiting for them. The phone is getting Nougat 7.1.1 and the update includes the BlueBorne patch.
Samsung has always had budget-oriented phones alongside its flagship products, but they've rarely been sold widely as unlocked phones in the US. Today, it's doing just that. The Galaxy J3 (right) and J7 (left) are being released in the US as unlocked phones on July 28th.
Last year's Samsung Galaxy J3 was a decent little budget phone. It had a 5" 720x1280 Super AMOLED display, an Exynos 3475 processor, and 1.5GB of RAM. Now the J3's successor, named the Galaxy J3 2017 (nice branding), has appeared for sale at AT&T with seemingly no formal announcement or fanfare.
TWRP is by far the most popular custom recovery, and for good reason. Backing up your device, flashing ROMs, managing files in a pinch, and more are all possible through a customizable GUI. Now TWRP is expanding its reach to three more devices - the Sony Xperia XZ, Sony Xperia X Performance, and Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 Qualcomm (SM-J320YZ).
I never thought there would be a day when I'd know this much about US carriers and MVNOs, but this is what happens when you work on a US-based site like Android Police. Republic Wireless though comes a lot less often on our radar, and I just discovered why. Until now, the MVNO only had a couple of devices to choose from. Literally, a couple: the Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen) and Moto E (2nd Gen). It also seems to be ahead of its times, relying on Wi-Fi calling and piggy-backing on Sprint's network when Wi-Fi isn't available.
AT&T announced the Galaxy J3 last month, to rapturous applause almost no reaction at all. In case you'd forgotten, it has a 5-inch 720p screen and a quad-core Samsung Exynos processor.