Google CEO is looking closely at Indian sweets, Microsoft Cortana breaks Android smartphones, Samsung with Huawei are considering abandoning major announcements at CES and MWC, and Apple thinks about the new canons of mobile fashion …
As everyone is well aware, until now, versions of this OS were named after various sweets, and the names were chosen in alphabetical order: Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, and so on. It is not yet clear which number will receive the next major update Android, but the fact that the name of the new version will begin with N is obvious now.
In recent years, the names of versions Android have generally received a surprising amount of attention. If in the days of Android 2.x everyone was worried about the functions and capabilities of the new version of the OS, now the main controversy is around its name. In my opinion, the situation is somewhat unhealthy, but Google is completely satisfied with this state of affairs.
During a recent trip to India, the Google CEO even suggested that the new OS name would be chosen through a vote by the users themselves. Moreover, he hinted that if the inhabitants of India are active enough, then they will have a real chance to 'push through' the name of some local sweet.
I don’t know, maybe to Indian owners Android of technology such an application will really seem extremely interesting. Personally, an old Russian proverb comes to my mind: 'Yes, at least call it a pot, just don't put it in the stove.'
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In general, there are more than enough rumors, hints and vague promises at the end of the year. But the specifics are minimum. Before the New Year holidays, companies are trying to increase sales to the maximum by selling everything that is stored in warehouses. Announcements of new generation flagships and stories about how much better they are than all current models will be completely out of place here and will only interfere with sales. Attempts to 'turn the old generation of devices into a pumpkin' will certainly be, but a little later, already in the new year.
The problem is one thing – the beginning of the year in the mobile industry does not always coincide with the generally accepted calendar. A few years ago, the CES exhibition served as a starting point, at which there were many bright announcements and unusual devices. To a certain extent, it was she who determined the trends of the beginning of the year and showed what exactly and from whom should be expected. Over the past couple of years, the importance of CES has dropped markedly and all the main events began to take place a month later at the mobile congress in Barcelona. Although there were many additional presentations from a variety of manufacturers during the spring, summer and even fall, the start of the season took place at MWC.
But what the MWC will be like this year is not yet clear. There are many rumors about the upcoming exhibition, but there is no clarity yet. It is even possible that the manufacturers themselves have not yet finally decided on their program and have not fully agreed on the timing of the main presentations.
For example, take Huawei P9. If you believe the rumors, then the development of the smartphone is complete and theoretically the company can hold its presentation already during CES. But there is one 'but' – at the moment the lineup Huawei looks pretty good anyway, so the announcement of the new item may well be postponed until March.
Little is known about the smartphone. It is believed that it will receive a Kirin 950 processor and 4GB of RAM, with a screen diagonal of 5.2 inches. Judging by the latest photos leaked to the network, it will have two versions at once (lte and delux), and both there will be a dual camera in the style of last year's HTC One.
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A similar fate may befall the presentation of the Samsung Galaxy S7 – although it was originally assumed that it will take place during the MWC, new data cast doubt on this. Judging by the slides from the presentation of the Chinese mobile operator China Mobile, the announcement of the novelty has also been postponed to March.
As for the presentation of Samsung at CES, it will mainly be devoted to household appliances, not mobile technology.
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The only manufacturer from whom you should definitely not expect any announcements on MWC is Apple. But rumors about the future iPhone still persist even on the network, and not only fans of apple products are interested in them. One can argue for a long time about whether there is still the same 'magic Apple' and 'whether it happened under Jobs', but that all the main market players are watching the actions of this company is an indisputable fact. The new 'chips' of the future iPhone will be successful or not, but in a bunch Android smartphones they will in any case move. Even if we are talking about an iron built into a smartphone or an opener for cans.
There is no need to go far for examples – according to IHS forecasts, this year 25% Android of smartphones will receive a touch-sensitive screen. And two years later, there will be 50% of such smartphones.
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The next 'apple' trend may well be the transition to OLED displays. If you believe the rumors, this is exactly the screen will be in the new iPhone. It is reported that Apple is already negotiating the supply of OLED panels with all major suppliers, among which, first of all, it is worth noting LG and Samsung.
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But Microsoft, on the contrary, will most likely gladly take the opportunity to once again remind about the indisputable advantages of its young mobile OS. But I'm afraid that everyone who is at least a little interested in the issue has already learned these lectures by heart – in recent years, only the ordinal number of the OS has changed in them and that's all.
As in the case of Apple, it makes sense to follow the news of this company even for people completely far from Windows Phone \ Mobile. True, for a completely different reason – although the manufacturers themselves Android and iOS devices are unlikely to adopt any ideas from Microsoft, the company itself will do everything to make everyone happy with them.
First of all, we are talking about applications and services Microsoft, which are gradually becoming available to owners of devices on any OS, in particular, about the voice assistant Cortana, which will have to 'wipe its nose' at the same time and Siri and Google Now.
In a sense, the capabilities of Cortana are truly amazing – however, such a surprise is not always pleasant. So, some owners of smartphones Android who decided to use this application one fine day found that the microphone did not work in their devices. As reported on the official MS website, the 'Hey, Cortana' function, which allowed calling the application with a voice command, was to blame. Judging by the reviews, some of the users found it enough to simply delete the ill-fated application from their smartphone to solve the problem, while others did a complete reset of the device's settings.
I don't know how many happy smartphone owners ran to service centers and how much it cost them to diagnose the problem and 'repair', but the company decided to temporarily block this function in Android version of Cortana. However, not forever – all the same official website hints (or threatens? …) that one day she may return. As the icing on the cake, an invitation to everyone to use 'Hey, Cortana' and further, just go to Windows Phone.
Of course, this feature may return in the near-future. But, for now, if you really want to try “Hey, Cortana”, you need to get a Windows Phone ????
Maybe someone will say that I simply do not have a sense of humor, but this joke does not seem funny to me at all. Errors happen to everyone, and no program can do without a bunch of bugs. But to break someone else's smartphone and immediately gladly offer to buy a new one from ourselves is a kind of height of cynicism.
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Although I remember, back in 2013, Stephen Elop persuaded people to switch to Wndows Phone, snatching journalists iPhone from their hands and smashing them on the floor right on the air. Apparently, the company just decided to automate this process, at the same time helping to make the right choice also to the owners Android of smartphones.
At the end of the issue – data from the last report Meizu. The company has shown an explosive growth this year, increasing smartphone sales by 350%. Even despite the fact that in absolute terms the growth is not so impressive (20 million devices against 4.4 million a year earlier), the numbers are still impressive.
I am sincerely happy for the success Meizu. Although almost from the first days of the company's foundation, it has been accused (and it must be admitted that it is not without reason) of copying ideas Apple, smartphones Meizu have enough interesting finds and bright ideas. From hardware (starting from the same multifunctional button) to software. Although Flyme OS has very little to do with 'clean' Android, it left a very pleasant impression on me. A kind of symbiosis of ideas iOS and Android, convenient and not overloaded with unnecessary functions.
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Rather, the question is how long this 'Chinese miracle' will last. Will the company be able to come up with something new, does it understand what exactly to offer users and in which direction to further develop Flyme OS? Despite the design with apple flavor, now the devices Meizu are perceived by many as a breath of fresh air, as a step away from the sore brands. But sooner or later the effect of novelty will come to naught and from high-quality, convenient and stylish smartphones “not like everyone else's” the company's devices will turn into regular “Chinese” with a relatively good price / quality ratio. The world of mobile technology is cruel and rarely forgives mistakes. Here, as in the Looking Glass, you have to run with all your might just to stay in the same place. And I really want to believe that Meizu will not repeat fate HTC.
