Evening news briefing: September 13, 2016
Samsung may cap Note 7 batteries at 60%, Lenovo delays its Tango phone, and some good news for Canadians!
I meant to get up out of this chair today, but the news wouldn't quit. As Samsung was busy announcing controversial OTA updates for the remaining Korean Note 7s that have yet to be replaced, it was also putting up and taking down an IMEI checker site to help people figure out which version Note 7 they have.
Meanwhile, Apple has a big day, launching iOS 10 — though it wasn't without its own problems — and OnePlus got caught up in a bit of a controversy of its own.
To be honest, I feel a little bad for Samsung. The company has been criticized of mishandling this recall process, but the scale is enormous, and the logistics equally so. On the other hand, we're hearing from people still having trouble returning their phones to carriers or getting replacements when promised, which is quickly exposing the sometimes frayed relationship between manufacturers, carriers, and their customers.
Lenovo's Tango-powered phablet delayed until later this fall
The giant Phab 2 Pro, which Lenovo debuted earlier this year at Lenovo Tech World, was supposed to debut this month. Instead, the company has delayed the augmented reality-powered device until later this fall.
The company hasn't revealed much about the delay, nor has it offered another launch date. Lenovo merely updated the official Phab 2 Pro page to say "coming this fall." You can sign up to receive a notification when the phone launches, but be sure to read through our preview beforehand.
Google launches 'Preview Program' for early Chromecast updates
Those who want to be the absolute first to get Chromecast updates can enroll in the Preview Program, and will be able to see new features before anyone else. The updates are still considered to be stable, but users are encouraged to send in feedback. More
Exploding Samsung phone which injured NY boy was not a Note 7
Instead it's emerged the boy was using a Samsung Galaxy Core, a mid-range phone with a removable battery. The phone in question was originally reported via the New York Post to be a recalled Galaxy Note 7.
Samsung will release an over-the-air update to limit recalled Korean Note 7s to 60% battery
The OTA will go out early morning Korean time on September 20. We don't yet know whether the update, which will only affect recalled Note 7s with potentially dangerous batteries, will eventually hit other regions. When asked about any plans to deploy such an OTA in the United States, a Samsung spokesperson told AC:
"Samsung is continuing to work with the CPSC and our carrier partners to develop and evaluate solutions that are best for US Note7 owners. No action will be taken without the approval of the CPSC. Customer safety remains our top priority."
Meanwhile a report by Samsung to Korean regulators blames a production error which "placed pressure on plates" in battery cells for the phone's battery faults. More
Samsung takes down Note 7 IMEI checking site
The link doing the rounds earlier today for checking that your Note 7 is safe now redirects to Samsung's local support site.
Android Pay now supports Santander, Ulster Bank, Natwest and RBS in the UK
The only major banks yet to launch Android Pay are now Barclays, which has its own NFC-based payment app and has said it's not interested, and TSB, which has told customers it'll be launching Android Pay in the coming weeks. More
Here's a really crappy photo purporting to show the Google Pixel XL
Twitter user @usbfl has posted the pic, which just about confirms the presence of buttons and a display in the larger of the two HTC-built phones (codenamed Marlin). Hooray!
Toronto cab riders get free Wi-Fi
Canadian carrier Telus has partnered with Co-op Cabs to provide free in-taxi Wi-Fi throughout Toronto. Starting this week, a number of Co-op cabs (which has one of the largest fleets in the city) will offer free Wi-Fi, rolling out to the rest of the vehicles by the end of the year.
Twitter will stop counting media and usernames as part of 140-character limit next week
Twitter will reportedly make one of the biggest changes to its user experience since its inception in 2006 on September 19. According to sources close to The Verge, Twitter will stop counting links, media, and usernames as part of its 140-character limit next week, which will allow for more room in Tweets without compromising the core tenets of the service. It remains to be seen whether Facebook will follow suit.
Pokemon Go got a big update this weekend, and you should care
Your mom, sister, brother, cousins and that one weird uncle probably play Pokemon Go, and this weekend's update adds one more reason to keep coming back to the popular mobile game: a buddy system. More
Honor 6X gets certified in China
We know nothing about this dual-camera, fingerprint-equipped phone, but given the numbering it's reasonably likely it's either a follow-up to the Honor 5X, or some big-screened cousin of the Honor 8. It's worth remembering we're talking about the Chinese market here, where the Honor 5X has been available since December 2015. So maybe it's time for a successor.
Big trouble in little OnePlus
Android Central has learned that OnePlus went through a developer exodus early this summer, forcing the consolidation of its two software programs, OxygenOS and HydrogenOS, into a single team. It's unclear whether this will affect the quality of OnePlus software going forward, but either way, OnePlus says they'll arrive more quickly. More
LG V20 is a big deal for Canadian LTE
The LG V20 is the first phone that supports Wind Mobile's upcoming LTE network, which is based on the newly-created unified Band 66. But whether that means Wind's network is launching in the coming months remains to be seen. More
Google Maps for Android (and Android Auto) now shows speed limits
In cities where the feature is supported, Google Maps for Android now shows speed limits, something that was a long time coming. According to Android Police, the toggle is server-side, but it appears to be slowly rolling out to all users in cities where speed limits can be enforced.
Apple launches iOS 10
Apple launched the latest version of its mobile operating, iOS 10, with a long of fanfare and more than a few problems. More
That's it for tonight! See you in the morning.
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