Google's second Pixel Feature Drop rolled out yesterday together with the March update, and it delivers quite a few tweaks to Google's Pixels. To be honest, it's probably an even bigger deal than the first Android 11 Developer Preview when it comes to user-facing changes — there are a lot of individual improvements present. I've spent the last two days or so mucking about with this latest Pixel experience, and here are my thoughts.
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Another Android 11 feature appears to have trickled down to Android 10. In addition to all the named features Google rolled out with the March update as part of its second Pixel Feature Drop, Pixels are also picking up the ability to pin apps and specific recipients to the share sheet/share menu.
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Despite updates to Samsung's roadmap indicating that Android 10 for the Galaxy S9 and S9+ might be further out than expected, the company has just started pushing the latest Android build to first phones from 2018's lineup. In contrast to the Galaxy S10's extremely slow rollout, the update is already live in the US and a few countries in Europe.
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Google increasingly focuses on security and makes it harder for third-party services like Tasker to switch on and off certain radios on Android 10. While the company still doesn't allow apps to automate this, it is at least working on a Rules feature that lets your phone's DND settings react to a limited set of conditions. We first saw this functionality on a few phones last year, but it looks like it's now rolling out wider.
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LG's tendency to update its devices incredibly slowly has become something of a running gag in the tech community, especially after the company unveiled a 'Software Upgrade Center' last year that didn't change matters much. It seems like the company's current flagship is receiving Android 10 in a timely manner, but don't get excited yet.
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Last year, after the Android 10 update first started rolling out for Pixel owners, there were a handful of reports that device sensors — things like the ambient light sensor for screen brightness, orientation sensor for auto-rotation, and Active Edge sensor — stopped working. A workaround was found for those with unlocked bootloaders, and many of those affected were part of the root and ROM crowd, but almost six months later, many phones are still affected, and those with Verizon-branded, locked devices are still simply out of luck.
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Evidence has surfaced that Google is working on a power menu redesign in Android 11 that accommodates smart home controls and NFC payment cards and passes. However, it looks like the company is also finally adding the latter capability to Android 10 after a few teases that hinted at the existence of the feature. First Pixel users on the stable Android 10 release report seeing their Google Pay wallet in the power menu.
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Ahead of Android 10's official launch, developer Kieron Quinn published DarQ, an application that forces the new OS' dark theme on a per-app basis, complete with a scheduling option that's still extremely useful to this day. Until now, the product had exclusively relied on root access, but Quinn shared with us that following a recent update to version 1.2, you can grant the needed permissions via ADB — no root required anymore.
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Until recently, the words "Samsung" and "timely updates" were never uttered in the same sentence, unless you were emphasizing the contradiction between them. The Korean behemoth had a reliable, albeit very leisurely update schedule, pushing Android users who valued prompt access to security patches and new features away. With Android 10, things changed drastically, and Samsung has been impressing us more and more, with both major OTA rollouts and monthly security patches. Whether it's due to a different strategy, new team or leadership, Android's Project Treble, or some magical potion, Samsung is quickly becoming the OEM to beat for Android updates and we can't help but applaud its recent efforts.
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ZTE's had a rough go of things in the US, but last year we saw the company step back up to the plate and try to tempt shoppers with the affordable Axon 10 Pro. First launching with Android 9 Pie, Axon 10 Pro owners in Europe started seeing the arrival of Android 10 OTA updates earlier this month, and this week we learn of the availability of a sideload update package for users in the US.
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