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The most popular custom ROM available, LineageOS, keeps on getting better and better. Since we last covered the project, two more devices are now supported, and a number of great features have been added. The project recently posted a new changelog, highlighting recent improvements and device changes:
HTC published Android 7.0 Nougat kernel source code for the HTC 10 at the tail end of last year. It was only available for the unlocked version at the time, but now the company has updated the page with the code for the T-Mobile, Telstra, and Verizon versions of the phone, too. Furthermore, the HTC One A9 has had its code published for the first time, with a great deal more variants available.
The U Ultra is HTC's first flagship phone for 2017, and it didn't get great reviews. It's expensive, has poor battery life, lacks waterproofing and a headphone jack, and the US model only supports GSM networks. If you really wanted one for some reason, the U Ultra is now $150 off at HTC's website, along with several other phones.
One of HTC's promises for the One A9 was that it would receive all updates within 15 days of Nexus devices. The first one or two security patches came on time, but the Taiwanese company virtually gave up after that. It took until January of this year for the US unlocked A9 to receive Nougat, and another month on top of that for the Sprint model. Now, the European A9 is receiving this long-awaited update.
We're finally getting a good, steady stream of Android 7.0 updates for major smartphones. Several months later than we'd like to have them, of course, but such is life in the current world of Android software. Today owners of the HTC A9 on Sprint get a turn, at least according to HTC's official support page. The page says that software update 2.18.651.2 includes an upgrade to Nougat, as well as bringing the core security patch up to January of this year.
HTC has been sort of falling apart lately. While the 10 was a solid improvement over the last year's M9, the A9s was a downgraded and even more iPhone-inspired version of the A9, and the recently-announced U Ultra is already somewhat doomed thanks to its lack of a headphone jack, very small battery, limited availability, and ambitious price tag. In the latest installment of the saga, the mid-range One A9 is just now receiving Android 7.0 Nougat.
The HTC 10 was released early last year to mostly positive reviews, minus the high price tag, and caused us to give HTC the "Most Improved OEM" award for 2016. The Nougat rollout for the unlocked HTC 10 in the US started last month, but users across the pond will have to wait a little longer. Graham Wheeler, Product and Service Director for HTC EMEA, announced that the unlocked HTC 10 and One M9 in Europe will receive Nougat in the next two weeks.
Got an old phone that the manufacturer or carrier has stopped pushing updates to? Chances are, there's a CyanogenMod ROM that will breathe life back into it. This week, CM maintainers have brought CyanogenMod 14.1, which is based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat, to the AT&T and T-Mobile versions of the Samsung Galaxy S III, the LTE model of the second-generation Moto E, the Moto X Play, and more.
Earlier today, some disappointing news came from Steve Kondik, CyanogenMod's founder and Cyanogen Inc.'s cofounder; because of Cyanogen Inc.'s failure, "(CyanogenMod) is very much affected." For the time being, though, CyanogenMod maintainers are still churning out new builds of CM14.1 (Android 7.1 Nougat) for many devices. We've got seven new devices with CyanogenMod 14.1 nightlies this time around (well, more like five, since two pairs of the devices are almost exactly the same).
Last year's HTC One A9 was perhaps most famous for being an iPhone clone, but it was also a pretty solid smartphone. With this leak by the famed Evan Blass (@evleaks), it appears that the One A9's successor, the One A9s, will resemble a certain fruit-named company's flagship (no, not the BlackBerry Priv) even more. Blass's source is someone familiar with the phone.
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- Now that Android 7.0 Nougat is out, HTC has shared again its plans to roll it out to the 10, One A9, and One M9, with a small additional detail: the Unlocked HTC 10 will get it first in Q4 2016, followed by the unlocked One M9, One A9, and then the carrier versions of these phones. It's not much to go on, but at least it tells you not to expect anything before October.
Android N still isn't officially released yet, but that hasn't stopped HTC from trying to grab some attention and get its time in the limelight during I/O's news cycle. The company announced through its official Twitter account that Android N will come to three of its existing devices.
The 2016 Nexus "Sailfish" may have a "recycled" design, but does it even matter?
Making the rounds now is a GIF by Android Police alumnus Ron Amadeo. In it, Ron uses our leaked photo of the 2016 "Sailfish" Nexus device and frames it against a perspective-shifted image of the HTC One A9. The comparison has absolute merit: there is clearly some relationship between the front panels and overall proportions of these two devices.
After this morning's surprise announcement of Android Nougat (comment on the original post to express your displeasure at the name, por favor), HTC wasted no time in using it for a little social media marketing. About an hour later the company posted the tweet below on its official international account, promising an upgrade for the current HTC 10 flagship, last year's One M9, and the sleeker One A9.
The HTC family welcomed a new member yesterday – the HTC 10. From our initial impressions, it's a pretty sweet phone that packs some impressive hardware and software. However, the 10 isn't the only phone HTC makes, and it can be difficult to keep track of changes from one product generation to the next. With that in mind, I've put together a handy-dandy chart for you, our dear readers, so you can compare HTC's last three flagships spec by spec*.
Good news for HTC and Nexus fans, your favorite Taiwanese manufacturer is having another big sale. With the launch of the M10 eminent, HTC has temporarily dropped the price of the M9, as well as a few other devices – including the Nexus 9. Here's the full list of devices that are currently on sale.
When HTC announced the One A9 back in October, it decided to sell it for an introductory price of $399. That made a lot of sense for what is essentially an upper midrange device with excellent build quality and very good specs. However, when the phone passed the preorder period, its price shot back up to $499 (or even $520 with AT&T), which made it a lot less desirable. After all, you were paying top dollar for a 5" 1080p smartphone with a Snapdragon 617 whereas you could get a more powerful processor and a better screen for the same amount of dough.
HTC announced the One A9 late last year with support for T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint out of the box. Verizon support was promised in early 2016. However, it looks like that dream dies today with word that HTC has been unable to get certification for the Verizon network.
The Team Win Recovery Project can be considered the most popular, best supported custom recovery available for Android devices. This is the kind of software you need to flash custom ROMs or make a complete backup of your device. Recently Team Win introduced support for two more devices. Yes, those two, but also the HTC One A9 and the Galaxy Trend.
HTC's One A9 is the luckiest Android but non-Nexus non-Android One phone on the planet these days. It keeps getting updates sooner than most other OEM smartphones and is even receiving the monthly security patches faster than all of them too. The unlocked version of the device received Marshmallow 6.0.1 at the end of 2015 and now, one month later, the Sprint carrier version is ready for this update too.