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After three years of official support, Google confirmed yesterday that the long-lived Nexus Player would no longer receive Android updates. While Android Oreo will continue to serve most users just fine, the custom ROM community will likely keep it updated for years to come. LineageOS already supported the set-top box with Nougat builds, but now it has been updated to Android 8.1 Oreo.
Manufacturers are gearing up to bring Android 8.0 Oreo to devices, but we frequently forget that there are plenty of them still being sold right now that haven't had a taste of Android 7.0 Nougat. Up until just recently, Verizon and T-Mobile's Samsung Galaxy Tab E were among the devices stuck on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. But now those of you with carrier-branded units can enjoy all the features Nougat brings. This applies to Verizon 9.6" or 8" models, as well as the T-Mobile 8" model.
One of the best parts of LineageOS (and its predecessor, CyanogenMod) is that it can breathe life into older devices. Some phones and tablets can end up with several more years of Android updates thanks to the ROM community. Since we last looked at LineageOS, a whopping 10 more devices have been added, most of which are a few years old at this point.
Team Win Recovery Project is the de facto standard for Android custom recoveries. While the open-source project often makes its way to disparate Android phones and tablets by the efforts of interested indie ROM developers, the maintainers of the project work tirelessly to bring official builds out as well. Today no less than seven new devices get the official treatment, and most of them are more niche, low-volume hardware that might not get major attention otherwise.
The last tablet Barnes & Noble and Samsung collaborated on was somewhat of a premium product. The Galaxy Tab S2 Nook provided a 2048x1536 resolution on an 8-inch Super AMOLED display, which is plenty sharp for something you're presumably buying to consume books and magazines on.
If you're looking for a relatively cheap tablet with access to the Verizon network... well, then you probably already own one of those Ellipsis things. But if you want one with an actual name brand behind it, Samsung would like a word. The company just released the Galaxy Tab E, a tablet that hasn't been seen in the US before today, on Verizon. You can get one for $329.99 outright, not bad for an LTE tablet, or just under $14 a month for two years on the installment plan.