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Google Begins Rolling Out Android 7.0 Nougat (venturebeat.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Google today started rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat to existing Nexus devices via an over-the-air software update. This is a gradual rollout: The Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, Pixel C, and General Mobile 4G (Android One) will all be updated, but " it may take several weeks" before everyone gets the latest and greatest, a Google spokesperson told VentureBeat.The Nexus 5 (2013), which packs in a Snapdragon 800 SoC coupled with 2GB of RAM and 5-inch full-HD display, won't be receiving Android Nougat update -- despite having all the hardware capabilities required for a phone to receive Google's latest OS update. The truth of the matter is if Google wanted to update the Nexus 5 with the latest Android software, it could have. It just chose not to. It's very likely that same will be the case for the Nexus 6, a phone that has 3GB of RAM, and Snapdragon 805 SoC, next year when the company releases Android O update.
Are you serious? v6 introduced Doze mode, which help battery life. v7 extends Doze mode further, which means it should finally be possible to use an android phone for more than a day without needing to somehow shoehorn an absurdly large battery.
Android 6 also finally introduces various privacy features, so you can choose what access you are willing to grant to an individual application. Up until v6, Android was a identity thief's wet dream, cause a developer could request ridiculous amounts of access from your device, and the permission warning screen was confusing enough that most people ended up just ignoring it in the same way they ignore "Agree to our ToS" screens.
It also marks the point where Google has finally pulled it's head out of the sand and realized that it cannot rely 3rd party manufacturers to properly support their devices, and is taking back control of things like updates, and whatnot.
I can only hope that all this means the desperately needed end of the "Landfill Android" era.
I still take issue with the fact that MTK will not open source their drivers or offer a Cyanogen based option for 4.4.2 KitKat Devices that need to be updated. I have an up to date Blu Studio 5.0CE D536U. The last Patch it got, V14, did a fix for Sim Cards in Equador, and completely ignored the mountains of CVEs filed against
I want to load Cyanogen Mod on it, but the MTK6572 the device has is not well understood enough to run Cyanogen Mod.
I can only hope that all this means the desperately needed end of the "Landfill Android" era.
The landfill will be full of Nexus 5 models. What they have seen with their camera sensors we people wouldn't believe. Car tires on fire at the shores of the New Jersey. They have watched Wifi-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate fast food joint in Texas. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears...in...rain. Time for them to die.
I spent a few hours trying to get Chromecast working on a TV on a 10.0.0.0/8 subnet at a large university, and it simply cannot do it. Chrome cast will only work on a /24. Miracast will, but Google disabled it on their Nexus line, for no greater reason than trying to push Chromecast.
So Google, do you care about making your customers happy, or some random mid-level MBA at the Googleplex who thought they were Dr. Evil when they came with the idea of reducing functionality?