Android Circuit: Exciting Galaxy S7 Leak, Microsoft Invades Google Play, Nexus 6P Secrets Revealed

Taking a look back at seven days of news across the Android world, this week’s Android Circuit includes the force-touch enabled Galaxy 7 display, Samsung’s new hero handset for 2016, Microsoft’s Android app store, leaked images of the HTC One X9, fitness tools in Pebble’s latest smartwatch update, Fairphone profiled by the BBC, secrets of the Nexus 6P and 5X, and Google’s Android-powered lightsaber.

Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week .

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (image: Ewan Spence)

Samsung Follows Apple For Force Sensitive Display

If you believe some reports, we could be seeing the Galaxy S7 in a little over a month’s time, with a potential launch just after CES. Most people think the traditional pre-MWC slot in late February is more likely, but information on Samsung’s Galaxy S7 handset is already coming out. One interesting leak points to a new technological addition to the screen.

So how will this pan out? Obviously the WSJ’s source will need to be on the money, but assuming the paper is correct (and it has a great track record in recent years) Samsung is likely to point to similar technology developed by Qualcomm as a defence. In fact using Qualcomm’s technology may well be the strategy, though it is impossible to imagine a world where Tim Cook isn’t furious and Apple’s legal team aren’t unleashed to start a new series of lawsuits that tie up the courts for years to come.

So what would Samsung get out of it? The fact that the lawsuits take years to be settled, nearly always for far less than the company makes from the tech in the intervening period, and that it gets a potentially major differentiator from Android rivals while keeping pace with Apple’s tentpole feature.

There’s one other Samsung device of note that was revealed this week, and that’s the Galaxy A9. This is a mid-range device, sporting a SnapDragon 620 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. Those are really good specs, and I’m expecting this mid-range device to be a popular seller. Given Samsung’s failure in 2015 to grow the sales of the flagship Galaxy S devices and a reliance on volume sales in the mid-range devices to keep its mobile revenues up, the A9 is arguably Samsung’s hero device for 2016.

As the flagship sales fall away, Samsung’s mobile division is becoming more reliant on these mid-range devices. These devices sell in large quantities, but at a lower cost. A manufacturer relying on mid-range devices to drive a division’s revenue is going to need to have high-specification devices at attractive price points, the ability to invest in marketing, and an efficient distribution network that keeps costs low.

…It may not be slick or sexy, but it will be competent, reliable, and functional. It will offer vendors a competitive flagship from a manufacturer that they all have a solid relationship with. No high-street sales assistant is going to be fired for selling a Samsung.

And One [Microsoft] App To Rule Them All

Microsoft continues to expand its portfolio of Android apps, and is now at the point where many of your day-to-day tasks on your Android smartphone can be achieved exclusively with Microsoft apps. Curiously the one area you’ll leave Redmond’s reach is browsing the web. Microsoft’s latest app is a simplistic work of genius… an app that lists all of Microsoft’s apps. TechCrunch’s Alex Wilhelm:

There are two parts to this development. The first is that Microsoft’s cross-platform work continues, and that the company has yet to let up an inch on its work to bring its software and services to users on every rival operating system. And, the second point is that Microsoft has created an effective Android app store — catalog? — inside of the actual Android app store.

It might seem a bit pointless, but one of the biggest problems in the App Store is visibility. If a user cannot find your apps, they will never get installed. Microsoft now has a single point of focus that it can promote in its apps and externally to hook a user into its Android ecosystem. It’s like a little app store… inside the Google Play app store.

Microsoft Slide (images: Microsoft App Store Listing)

Early Images Of The HTC One X9 Leak Out

Cam Bunton reports on HTC’s next smartphone, the One X9. Another mid-range device, fighting for the same market space as the Galaxy A9, the One X9 sports a look that could be considered ‘iPhone-like’ and while it might not be flagship-levels, the construction has many advantages:

Although it may not seem it, I think the most important detail here is the panel surrounding the camera module on the back. As you can see from the images below, it’s clearly a different material from the rest of the housing. That, along with the antenna bands on the edges, clearly indicates that the One X9 will be made primarily from metal. While it will gain the One-series moniker, it’s clear to me that this phone is a replacement for (or upgrade to) the HTC Desire range. It’s a mid-ranger with decent specs, but made from metal instead of plastic.
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Microsoft Corporation Invites Users to Vote for Games

Users have 5 options, i.e. Chess, Bubble, Casino, Hearts, Word to choose from. The organization is also set to release a preview program for the users to experience the games

Microsoft Corporation is roping users in to vote for the next game in Windows 10, in order to receive feedback so it may improve game features in future. Voting is open until December 17, 2015. Users can vote by clicking here. Users have five options to choose from, i.e. Chess, Bubble, Casino, Hearts, and Word. Microsoft's Casual Games division is responsible to roll out the games for casual players.

For this purpose, the Windows maker has created a website where players can cast their vote, share views regarding upcoming features and current games, and read about the development of casual and existing games. Furthermore, they can join Microsoft Casual Games Inner Circle program and get early access of builds as well as behind-the-scene information. They can also choose the upcoming features for development, and work directly with the game development team.


The organization is also likely to release a preview program for the users to experience the game’s early version. In a blog post, it shared the excitement to collaborate with fans for product and development decisions. Microsoft has been developing casual games for over 25 years. It started this journey with Solitaire in Windows 3.0. The design director, Kevin Lambert and the lead producer, Derek Dutilly showed their enthusiasm for empowering the corporation's fans to make choice of upcoming casual games for next year.
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Microsoft app tries to lure you from Android to a Windows phone

It's true that Windows Phone (and now Windows 10 Mobile) doesn't have as many apps as Android or iOS. However, the perception of that app deficit may be just as problematic -- why would you switch to a Lumia 950 if you assumed that none of your favorite apps had Windows equivalents? Microsoft clearly isn't happy with this state of affairs, as it justreleased AppComparison for Android to help set the record straight. The app (a spiritual sequel to the old Switch to Windows Phone) tries to match the Android apps on your phone with their mobile Windows counterparts, either giving you an exact parallel or the next best thing.

Whether or not you agree with the findings is another matter. It's good at finding some third-party software (such as Dropbox and Spotify), but it's evident that the company is reaching when it comes to apps from Google, Windows' best-known holdout. It tends to suggest apps and services that either aren't really analogous (UC Browser may be fine, but it's not Chrome) or would require a ton of reinvestment. Are you really going to transfer years' worth of Google Drive files to OneDrive? There are also some conspicuous gaps -- AppComparison didn't find a Windows match for Sonos' controller app, even though Phonos has been around for years. The tool should still be useful, but you'll want to double-check its findings before kicking your Android phone to the curb.

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This Promotion Shows How Microsoft Corporation Thinks About Mobile

Forget Windows Phone: Microsoft is using apps to win.

THE LUMIA 950 XL. IMAGE SOURCE: MICROSOFT

Windows Phone has been a failure.

Despite spending billions to acquire Nokia's handset business, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)hasn't been able to drive interest in its mobile operating system. Windows Phone's market share hovers in the low single-digits -- far behind Apple's iOS and Alphabet's(NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Android. Microsoft wrote off the bulk of its handset business in July. It will continue to make Windows Phones, but according toBloomberg, the company will produce far fewer models than it did in the past.

Yet Microsoft isn't giving up on mobile computing -- just the opposite. Although the company may not control the operating system, it's offering an increasing number of mobile services and apps. A recent innovative promotion serves to highlight Microsoft's new mobile strategy.

Get paid to download apps
Last month, Microsoft gave out $25 gift cards at its retail stores. The gift cards were free, but carried one catch: Those who wanted them had to allow an associate to install three of Microsoft's mobile apps on their smartphones. They didn't have to be Windows phones -- they could've been iPhones, or Android handsets from one of Alphabet's many hardware partners. Simply download some Microsoft apps and get paid.

Microsoft has a large and growing number of mobile apps. It's a top developer on both the iTunes app store and Google Play. Microsoft's mobile offerings include messaging stalwart Skype and its Office programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), but also OneDrive, Bing, and Cortana. In recent months, Microsoft has acquired popular productivity apps Wunderlist, Acompli (now known as Outlook), and Sunrise, and released experimental apps, including Tossup.

Microsoft brings its ecosystem to other platforms
Many of these apps have been widely praised: The Verge labeled Outlook the top email app for iPhone users. Despite its name, Outlook supports third-party email services, including Alphabet's Gmail -- but most of Microsoft's mobile apps serve as conduits to its online services, and even its Windows operating system.

Cortana, Microsoft's digital personal assistant, is available for Android in beta form and will make its debut on iPhone in the near future. It's powered by Microsoft's search engine, Bing, and it interfaces with Microsoft's other services, including Xbox Live. Like Siri and Google Now, Cortana is capable of setting reminders and relaying relevant information. It's also directly embedded into the Windows 10 task bar. By using the same Microsoft account, iPhone and Android handset owners can link their smartphones to their Windows PCs.

Microsoft's Office mobile apps are free to download, but work best when they're paired with an active subscription to its Office 365 service. Using the included 1 terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage, users can easily handle their Office files between their Windows PCs, smartphones, and tablets, and edit them on whichever device they choose.

Bing is profitable and Office 365 continues to grow
These initiatives are already benefiting Microsoft's bottom line. As of the end of September, 18.2 million consumers subscribed to Office 365, up from about 15 million in July. Last month, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella highlighted the performance of its mobile apps during the company's earnings call, noting that "[Microsoft] surpassed 200 million downloads of Office Mobile, more than 1 billion to-do lists have been created so far in Wunderlist, and more than [500 million] people manage their documents and photos in OneDrive."

Bing could offer more upside if Microsoft can convince mobile users to download Cortana. Fueled by its Windows 10 integration, Microsoft's search engine achieved profitability last quarter for the first time in its history. Greater usage of Microsoft's mobile apps could propel Bing even further.

Microsoft may not own the platform, but through its apps, it's still finding a way to succeed in mobile.

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Xbox beta app for Windows 10 gains new social features

Last month, Microsoft released a public beta version of its Xbox app for Windows 10 so that gamers could provide feedback on new features before they’re released to the general public. On Friday, Microsoft announced a handful of new features for the beta app, including some bolstered social sharing tools.

Highlights include a new Facebook friend finder feature that looks through your Facebook friends for any with Xbox Live accounts and lets you add them as
Xbox Live friends. The idea here is to make it easier to find people to play with. All you have to do is go to the app’s settings and link your Facebook account with your Xbox Live account.

Game DVR gets some love in this beta update as well. With this new version of the beta app, you can now record yourself narrating your game clips as you play, saving you the hassle of having to go back in a video editing app and dub in your narration. 

Microsoft made a handful of additional improvements to the app as well, such as an overhauled Xbox store that features both Xbox and Windows 10 games. The new store also features enhanced search functionality, improved code redemption, and more.

Anyone running Windows 10 can try out the new Xbox beta app for free and provide feedback to Microsoft: Simply head on over to the Microsoft Store  to download the latest version.

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Microsoft to Clear the Windows Store Clutter

Ever go to the Windows Store looking for a particular app and find dozens of options, all of which pretty much do the exact same thing? It's a common problem for app stores, but Microsoft is now looking to remedy it for Windows users.

The tech giant on Wednesday announced a new effort aimed at eliminating app clutter and ensuring all apps are appropriately priced and clearly labeled — so you can find what you're looking for faster and easier. As part of the effort, Microsoft has introduced a stricter app certification policy for new and existing apps to help cut down on the bloat.

"These changes will help customers more rapidly find the apps they are specifically seeking," Microsoft's Bernardo Zamora wrote in a blog post. "We will identify apps that are not following the policies, informing developers of issues we locate, and removing apps that don't comply."

Zamora admitted that many apps in the Windows Store have similar icons and titles, which can be confusing to users. Other apps have icons and titles that don't even match their content. That's about to change.

Going forward, Microsoft plans to remove any apps that "can't be distinguished from other apps in the Store, have icons or titles that are too similar to other apps already in the Store, or don't properly represent the functionality of the app," Zamora wrote.

The company also plans to remove apps that are overpriced. Developers can still set their own prices, but Microsoft said that similar apps should be comparable in price.

"If an app is priced significantly higher than other apps in its category and it is determined that users might be confused and believe (incorrectly) that the higher price is warranted based on superior functionality or value, it may be removed from the Store," Zamora wrote.

Microsoft will also now require informational apps like guides, tutorials, instructional content, and reference materials to be labeled as such. This way, you won't accidentally purchase a game guide when you meant to buy the actual game.

Finally, Microsoft is also cracking down on apps that are not labeled correctly. The company said that developers sometimes use popular and irrelevant keywords to manipulate their app's placement in search results or overall ranking. From now on, apps with inaccurate titles, descriptions, and tags may get the heave-ho.

The changes come after Microsoft last year removed more than 1,500 apps from the Windows Store as part of an effort to crack down on shady, misleading apps.

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