Tag: Android Marshmallow

The Android team has released the Android security update patches for October today.  The patches, two this month instead of three, have been released for all supported Nexus devices as well as the Pixel C.  As is the norm, the updates have been released as Factory Images and OTA images for those who want to flash their devices immediately.  If you don’t, the OTA update should be coming to your devices over the course of the next week or so.  For those who have Nexus 6 phones, the news is really great for you as Android Nougat has finally been released for your phone and includes this October update.

Google has been splitting up their patches the last few months and October is no exception.  Unlike the last couple of months however, there are only two this month.  The first patch is the 2016-10–1 patch and it is the one for all devices and manufactures.  It contains 12 high priority security patches, mostly around elevation of privileges and denial of service threats.  The second patch, 2016-10-05, is primarily aimed at Nexus devices and contains 5 critical patches focused on remote code execution.  If you have a Nexus device, you will see the October 5th update which is inclusive of the fixes in the October 1st update.

OnePlus has finally released its Android Marshmallow build for the OnePlus X.  The update comes in the form of OnePlus’ homebrew Android, OxygenOS, and you are looking for build 3.1.2 if you have the 5″ phone.  The update is rolling out now but it could take several days for everyone to get it.  The update includes, interestingly, the October security update (yes, we are still in September) along with Marshmallow 6.0.1.  Jump on it now X owners, this is likely the last major update for the phone.

Paranoid Android, the name of the team and AOSP-based ROM for a number of Android devices, has announced that they have setup a partnership with Nextbit and have released a ROM for the device.

The device lineup has been updated to include yet another device – The Nextbit Robin. Huge thanks to Nextbit for hooking us up with devices and believing in the open source project. This release is only for the Robin & the OnePlus 3.

The news is exciting for those who like what is arguably one of the cleanest and more robust ROMs available for Android devices.  Having the addition of the Nextbit Robin and the OnePlus3 will give those tech savvy users an option over the stock Android builds from each manufacture.

As a general rule, I try not to pick on any one particular carrier or device because whichever they happen to be, meets the need for some of the Android faithful.  But seriously AT&T, you need to get your act together.  Yesterday the carrier began rolling out the Android Marshmallow update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and the Note Edge on their network.  That is nearly three months after the last carrier in the US (T-Mobile) updated the device on their network, six months after the first updates were done by Sprint and yes, a year after Marshmallow was released by Google.  AT&T is notoriously slow at getting updates out to their devices (which isn’t helped in this case as Samsung is slow as well) and this may well be one of the best cases.

Okay, enough complaining.  It’s here and that’s the good news.

If have a Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge on the Verizon network, there is a new software update waiting for you.  The new build of Android Marshmallow addresses some call quality issues as well as enabling the FM radio built into the device.  Specifically, you are looking for Verizon’s software version MMB29M.G935VVRU2APG5 for those keeping score at home and it is currently rolling out to customers.  You can manually check for the update by going to Settings>System Updates.  It is a small one as Verizon is allowing users to download it over LTE but you can expect about a 10 minute download and another 10-15 minutes to install and reboot your device.

Today’s Deal over at Amazon is on the powerful but friendly priced BLU VIVO 5.  Right now the 5.5″ device with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage is down to $199.99 in either Gold or Silver.  BLU has made a name for themselves by having low cost devices that pack a fair amount of punch for the price.  The VIVO 5 is no different.  It is a full metal body design with a 5.5″ AMOLED display that gives you full HD quality, it has 3GB of RAM and has 32GB of storage built into it. You can expanded that up to an additional 64GB of storage (96GB total) thanks to the MicroSD slot in the chassis.  The phone is powered by the MediaTek 6753 processor which is a 1.3GHz octa-core processor so you should find it nicely responsive, especially coupled with the 3GB or RAM.