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Although stock Android isn’t without its flaws, Google gives every custom ROM developer a chance to make things better with their creations, and several smartphone brands like OnePlus and Samsung have stepped up the game with OxygenOS and One UI respectively. Meanwhile, independent custom ROMs like LineageOS also stay abreast with the latest Android updates, delivering them to a community of enthusiastic users. However, it also means older versions need to be discontinued, and it's time to pull the plug on LineageOS 18.1 now.
Android 11 is now the most popular version of the OS according to latest distribution numbers
Latest Android version adoptions seem to be speeding up each year
From religiously updating its Android Platform Distribution chart on a monthly basis, to yearly, and then doing away with it entirely, it's almost as if Google was getting increasingly shy of revealing its state of affairs and with good reason: despite the best efforts of speeding up adoption rates, the platform trails iOS by a mile to this day. Now, instead of uploading that info into a website, Google's been putting it into Android Studio — accessing it sure isn't as convenient as before, but we are just glad we aren't left completely in the dark. Today, we check out the latest numbers through this new means.
Nvidia Shield TV 9.0.2 improves external storage management and fixes controller pairing problems
The Shield TV update brings a lot of bug fixes to the table
Nvidia took its sweet time bringing Android TV 11 to the Shield TV after first deciding against upgrading the box to Android 10. As a surprise, the company even brought the update to the OG model that launched in 2015, making it one of the longest supported Android devices of all time. However, the Android 11 release shipped with a fair share of issues, including one that broke Plex servers and other third-party apps. The company quickly rolled out a new build to address the major concerns. Now, a couple of months later, Nvidia is releasing the SHIELD Experience Upgrade 9.0.2 update to squash the lingering bugs, including some enhancements for those relying on external storage.
You can now install Android TV 11-based LineageOS 18.1 on your Fire TV Stick
Not for the faint of heart, though
Amazon's Fire TV Stick lineup is among the most popular streaming dongles out there. Unlike other devices, they do not feature Android TV. Instead, they run a fork of Android maintained by Amazon dubbed Fire OS, with the Alexa integration and app library support being a key highlight. That's not to say the Fire TV interface is perfect, as it's loaded with clutter, filled with ads you cannot turn off, and lacks Play Store support in lieu of Amazon-supported apps and channels. Now, if you are willing to take matters into your hands, you can run Android 11 TV on your 3rd gen Fire TV Stick and the Stick TV Lite, all thanks to an unofficial LineageOS 18.1 ROM.
The OnePlus Nord CE 2 is official with minor upgrades over the original
Launching in 2022... running an OS from 2020
Apart from its flagships, OnePlus is also known for its Nord lineup of mid-range devices that offer pretty good bang for the buck — we count some among the best budget Android smartphones on the market. Following up on last year's Nord CE 5G (a.k.a the Nord Core Edition), the company has announced the Nord CE 2 5G — as it promised last week.
Restore your Shield TV's Plex server and app permissions with Nvidia's 9.0.1 update
You know, for your entirely legal video collection
Read update
It's hard to find a more dedicated fan base than Shield TV owners. Nvidia granted them a belated Christmas gift just a couple of weeks ago with a long-awaited update to Android TV 11, but unfortunately, it wasn't all sunshine and roses. A bunch of apps, including Plex, were outright broken after the upgrade. Thankfully, a new fix is on its way to help relieve many of those issues.
QR code scanning on Android turns out to be even more broken than we thought
OnePlus devices found to be affected, too
Read update
Over the weekend, Google fixed up issues with its QR code-reading capabilities in the Google Camera and Google Lens apps where URLs were misread for Android 12 users. But some of those errors exist and persist in Android 11 devices, too, and not just from Google.
Android 11 for the Nvidia Shield is breaking apps and Plex servers
Scoped storage is probably to blame, but there's a partial fix
Nvidia released the first Shield Android TV boxes back in 2015, and it's still updating them in 2022. The various generations of Shield just recently saw an update to Android 11, but owners have reported numerous apps, including the device's built-in Plex server, have stopped functioning. Nvidia is still working on a patch for the software, but you can (probably) get it fixed now if you're impatient.
The Nvidia Shield TV's long-awaited Android 11 update has arrived
After skipping Android 10, the long wait for a version update is finally over
We were all a bit surprised to see Nvidia decide against updating its Shield TVs to Android 10, instead opting to leave the devices on Android 9 until a more comprehensive update arrived. Considering the lack of user-facing changing changes, this now appears to have been a shrewd move. The wait for a significant update is coming to an end, though. The company has been testing Android 11 as part of a closed beta program on Shield TVs since October 2021, and now it's ready to deliver the stable version to eager users.
Microsoft says Android 11 will finally arrive for the original Surface Duo in the 'next few weeks'
Don't do that, don't give me hope
The Surface Duo was an exciting device when it came out, even with its quirks. Still, as thrilled as we were to see Microsoft launch its first Android smartphone (and in a unique form factor, nonetheless), buyers quickly realized that the phone had abysmal software support. The has been waiting the better part of forever to receive an update to Android 11, even with Android 12 being out and coming to more phones every day, 12L in the beta-testing stage, and 13 already in development. As if that's not frustrating enough, its successor, the Surface Duo 2, already has Android 11. The situation got so bad, it earned a spot in our "biggest tech fails of 2021" list. The phone's update still isn't here just yet, but according to Microsoft, you're not going to have to wait that much longer.
With Android 11 for the original Shield TV, Nvidia is about to set an Android update record
Was here, now gone
Nvidia is one of the few Android TV manufacturers that supports its devices for a substantial amount of time. The company announced that it would skip the Android 10 update for its Shield TV lineup but has since started beta testing the Nvidia Shield Experience 9 based on Android 11 on the devices. A few days ago, the company posted recovery images for the Shield Android TV 11 update, but it has since removed them.
Indie gaming classic Super Hexagon is back and better than ever
Today's update includes Android 11 and 12 support, along with high framerate and controller support
Terry Cavanagh is an indie developer best known for his minimal arcade games, such as VVVVVV and Super Hexagon. Well, he just published a blog post that details a significant update for Super Hexagon on Android. You see, the game has been broken for those on Android 11 and 12 for a while now, and today's update addresses this problem while also bringing with it a bunch of new features. Not only has controller support been added to the game, but so has high framerate support (up to 144FPS), along with folding phone/tablet support, improved touch response times, and UI optimizations. It's a banger of an update, and it's available right now.
The Nokia 9 PureView won't be getting its second guaranteed OS upgrade, producer HMD Global has announced. The company has confirmed that the device will continue to receive security patches for the time being and is giving owners up to a half-off discount on a new device.
TWRP 3.6 arrives with Android 11 support and faster install process
It's also easier to use with A/B partitions
TWRP, a.k.a TeamWin Recovery Project, is the custom recovery to use when you want to mod your Android phone by installing a custom ROM or kernel. It has been around for years now and supports a wide variety of devices. The last major TWRP release was announced at the very beginning of this year. Nearly a year later, TeamWin is back with another major update: TWRP 3.6. Apart from new feature additions, this release adds full support for devices running Android 11 out of the box.
Asus manages to bring Android 11 to the ROG Phone 2... only a full year late
And it's Taiwan-only at that
The name of the game with Android OS updates, as it always seems to be, is triage. How fast you get that version bump depends primarily on whether the maker of your phone is named "Google." So, it should be no surprise that Asus is only now bringing Android 11 to the ROG Phone 2.
The Fairphone 2 celebrates 6 years of support with an Android 10 beta
Didn't get up to an upgrade every year, but we'll take it
Imagine what it would be like if Android OEMs could or would update software for as long as Apple does with its products? There's no need to for owners of the Fairphone 2 as they are set to test and receive Android 10.
Google's latest Android version distribution numbers show 11 in dead heat with 10
One positive trend: more users are getting newer versions sooner
Google has been quite sparing with giving out platform version distribution for Android since its last regular dashboard in 2018 — and in the run-up to that one, reporting had become increasingly late. Today seems to be the day, though, when it has decided to put out new numbers.
The original Pixelbook may be four years old, but it's still a beautiful piece of hardware, and even my entry-level i5 model is more than fast enough for daily use. In fact, I write 99% of my content here on it. Despite it being a Google device, there's one thing that's felt a little off — the outdated Android version. Android 11 was announced for Chromebooks back in April, with a whole slew of Chromebooks slated to receive it. But the rollout has been slow, with Android 11 only quietly trickling out to more devices.
You can fix Android 12's mistake and add smart home controls back to the power menu with Tasker
Google taketh, Tasker giveth
With the addition of Device controls in Android 11, Google started displaying smart home controls right in the power menu, making it trivial to access them whenever needed. This was both faster and more convenient than using Google Assistant or an app to control smart home devices. However, what Google giveth, it taketh. Despite their usefulness, the company removed Device controls from Android 12's power menu and buried them in the Quick Settings panel.
Microsoft commits to an Android 11 update for the original Surface Duo this year
Alright, if y'all say so
The Surface Duo is a contentious little gadget, with a lot of cool hardware and a lot of glaring issues. One of them is slow software updates. Despite it being Microsoft's only mobile product, and an expensive one at that, it's still running the year-old Android 10. A day after announcing the sequel device, Microsoft says it'll have the original Duo upgraded to Android 11 before the end of this year.