Category: Android

After releasing the Android Oreo based OxygenOS 5.0 build last week for the OnePlus 3 and 3T, OnePlus as rolled out a minor update to address some bugs that cropped up in that build along with a few new features.  The new build is 5.0.1 and, as is always the case with OnePlus, they are slow rolling the update out to users.

The bug fixes are a key part of this update to OxygenOS as well as some performance improvements.  This 5.0.1 build also has the December 2017 Android Security Update patch.  According to the change log, here is the full rundown of features & improvements:

• Added support for aptX HD
• Added Wi-Fi hotspot device manager
• Added “adaptive mode” screen calibration
• Updated Android security patch to December
• General bug fixes and stability improvements

If you are already running the 5.0 build, the OTA incremental update is just shy of 145MB in size.

The sleep tracking app Sleep as Android has a major update rolling out today that brings a number of new features along with several improvements and fixes.  The new build is version 20171223 and should come to all users of the app over the course of the next few days.

This update brings support for a new time-based theme to the app which will be the traditional dark theme until sunrise where it turns to a light theme automatically.  You’ll also see that the sleep charts have been improved for easier reading and clarity of information.  In fact most of the app has had some type of face lift in this update.

For those that aren’t familiar with Sleep as Android, it is an app that allows you to track your overall sleep and the quality of that sleep using your Android phone or Android Wear device.  It is an app that I use daily and highly recommend for those who want to keep tabs on their sleeping patterns in this hectic world of ours.  You can read my review of it here in case you missed it.

Following in the footsteps of Verizon from last week, T-Mobile has released the Android Oreo update for the Moto Z2 Force on their network.  The update, which is just shy of 1GB in size, brings all of the goodness of Oreo to the 2017 flagship device as well as the December Android Security Update.  The new build, like Verizon, is ODX27.

With the size of this update, you will need to download it via WiFi and will need to have 80% battery life on your phone before you can install it.  The install process will take about 10-15 minutes after it is downloaded.

OnePlus has begun the process of rolling out an update to their OxygenOS Android variant to their 2017 flagship phone, the OnePlus 5T.  The updates build of OxygenOS is 4.7.6 and in normal OnePlus fashion, is slowing going out to a select number of users today with a broader deployment happening over the course of the next few days.

The update is still based on Android Nougat 7.1.1 so for those hoping this would bring Oreo to the flagship, you have to still wait a bit.  OxygenOS 5.0 is in beta with an early 2018 release expected.  This 4.7.6 update brings a lot of fixes to the camera, other system improvements as well as the December Android Security Update patch for the device.

The Google Pixel C, the latest Android-based tablet from Google, has quietly been removed from the Google Store.  It signals the end of sales for the 2015 tablet that was met with mix results both from a sales and overall satisfaction perspective.  The 10.2″ tablet was released in September 2015 and shipped with Android Marshmallow.  It was upgraded last year to Nougat and the latest update to Oreo rolled out in October.

The Pixel C was power packed and from a specifications perspective, was hard to top.  But it was released at a time when many were beginning to question the need for a tablet at all.  Rumors at the time were pointing to Android apps coming to Chrome OS or, perhaps, a melding of the two (Project Andromeda) which made it curious about releasing a tablet at the time.  Indeed rumors persist that the Google Pixel C was actually slated to run Chrome OS but was switched at the last minute to Android.

While there are dozens of health & fitness apps available for Android, Google’s own Google Fit has slowly but steadily been growing up.  The app was very basic in the early days but as Android Wear 2.0 was released earlier this year, the Fit app became far more useful and helpful in tracking not only your fitness goals, but getting injected data from other apps like Sleep for Android and MyFitnessPal.  It also gained things like tracking your heart rate (assuming you have a compatible Android Wear watch) during workouts as well as elevation changes for certain types of workouts like running, biking or skiing.

One of the best features of Google Fit is that you can setup multiple goals within the app, track them, and even have them as a widget on your Home screen on your phone.  It is a feature that often goes unnoticed but it is powerful as you can keep track of virtually any goal you desire to meet your own health and fitness goals.

In this How To I will show you how to create multiple goals within Google Fit and how to add them as a widget to your Home screen.  My assumption is that you have Google Fit installed so if you don’t, go get it from the Play Store before continuing.