Android Circuit: New Galaxy S6 Model Leaked, Sony's Smartphone Error, Samsung Attacks Apple
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can read the weekly Apple news digest here).
Samsung’s New Galaxy Handsets For The Summer
After the launch of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, the Galaxy S6 Active was discovered. To be honest it was more confirmation than surprise, as the pattern followed Samsung’s device playbook from the S4 and S5 days. So again, it’s not a surprise to realise that there are two more S6 branded handsets on the way from the south Korean company.
A pair of fascinating leaks have emerged this week claiming to reveal the existence of both a high-powered 4.6-inch Galaxy S6 and a 5.5-inch ‘Galaxy S6 Plus’, the latter of which has the same curved display as the Galaxy S6 Edge.It looks like there is one major deviation from Samsung’s standard playbook, and that is the S6 Mini comes with the same high-end specifications as the vanilla S6, compared to the path charted by last year’s slower and cheaper S5 Mini. The full details are here.
How credible are these? In my opinion, very.
Galaxy S6 Sales Falling Short
The tech world is still waiting on Samsung to confirm sales numbers for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. With a plan to sell 70 million units during 2015, realistically the South Korean company will be looking for around twelve to fourteen million in the first month of sales. Recent data from Counterpoint Research suggests it is achieving just over half of that target:
It’s worth noting that Counterpoint’s research is based on estimates of sales to consumers, and not shipped handsets. That reduces the ‘ten million units‘ numbers around the Galaxy S6 family to around six million sold, with another four million left in the channel. Samsung has yet to comment on the ‘ten million S6 units sold’ stories. If the S6 and S6 Edge between them sold just six million handset in the three weeks of April, then the mobile devices division of Samsung is going to be an even bigger drag on the company compared to last year.Nine Secrets of Android M
With the reveal of Android 6.0 (code letter ‘M’, confectionary branding to follow) developers, analysts, and the wider geekerati are getting to grips with the potential of the new operating system. Forbes’ Gordon Kelly is no exception and he has taken a look at Mountain View’s latest to find out nine great secret features:
Secret # 1 – Full App State BackupYou can read the other eight here.
Quite frankly I’m stunned Google left this out of its presentation because it’s huge. With Android M Google will now automatically backup all app preferences and settings within Google Drive.
This brings Android into line with iOS and means restore or upgrading a phone will be virtually painless: apps will not only be reinstalled, but fully setup. Better still apps don’t need to do anything to be compatible with this change, Full App State Backup is built into the core of Android M.
Time To Attack Apple?
Samsung is back on its favourite subject for a commercial about a Galaxy smartphone… throwing some curveballs towards Apple and the iPhone.
Both adverts have a pop at Apple’s iPhone 6 for lacking functionality. The playful cool-guy voice-over helpfully points out that the iPhone 6 doesn’t have wireless charging *burn*, wide-angle selfies *burn* or even a curved edge *burn*. Rounding off with one large burn: “when you do the math, it’s clear, 6 is greater than 6”. Finishing with the final sentence “the next big thing is here”.
As Jay McGregor points out,
this follows the same style and attitude as the campaign that pushed
the Galaxy S2 to greatness. It worked then as Samsung was the scrappy
underdog fighting Apple… now it might not have the same impact.
Sony’s Managed Smartphone DeclineSony’s mobile division has cut 975 staff from its Research and Development unit in Sweden. Sony noted earlier this year that the layoffs would be happening as part of a restructuring to reduce costs and hopefully bring the smartphone and mobile devices. Ingrid Lunden summarises the news at TechCrunch:
Sony Mobile is cutting 1,000 jobs in Sweden, one of the company’s key manufacturing and R&D centers, as part of a larger restructuring to push the struggling handset maker into profitability… In all, 575 staff and a further 400 contract positions will be eliminated across all divisions, covering both administrative positions and technical staff. The reduction will cut the total number of people working at Sony Mobile’s operations out of Lund, Sweden by nearly half, with 1,200 people remaining.I’m not sure how reducing staff and selling fewer devices will help Sony. With the news that the Xperia Z4 in Japan is being rebranded the Xperia Z3 Plus in Europe, this feels like another step along a managed decline, rather than a radical idea to revitalise the team behind some of the smartest smartphone designs on the market.
Xperia Z2, Xperia Z3, Xperia Z4, Xperia Z3 Plus
Staying with Sony, the issue with the Xperia Z4 flagship being renamed the Xperia Z3 Plus for its European release continues to amaze industry watchers. Tommi Ahonen has written about the decision that could destroy Sony’s chances of an Android smartphone recover with a typically furious and forensic post:
The phone is the same! What the world was shown as the Xperia Z4 is now to the rest of the world only the Z3 Plus. All the marketing was done to convince the world to want the Z4. Now we only are given a Z3 Plus instead. What is wrong with Sony? Do they want their sales to fail? This was their Razr Moment.
Some who own a Z3 have been waiting eagerly to buy a Z4. Some Samsung owners who were disappointed with the Galaxy S6 were told that wait a few weeks, the brand new Sony Xperia Z4 is coming. Now they will be offered a Z3plus instead. Nobody with a Z3 will bother to buy the ‘modest upgrade’ Z3plus and will rather wait for – yes – the ‘real’ Z4…
An employee of Japanese electronics giant
Sony displays the new smartphone ‘Xperia Z4′ connected to wireless
headphones (YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)
Looking to maintain its advantage with mobile mapping (ahead of a potential update to Apple Maps at the upcoming WWDC), Google has improved the data available to the public transport route planner. Jordan Kahn notes down the details at 9to5Google:
And Finally…Google announced today that it’s improving transit data in Maps with real-time updates showing a summary of your journey that’s easily accessible. It also announced that it’s adding 25+ new partners to the 100+ it works with to gather real-time transit data. The new additions bring more transit data to customers in the U.K., Netherlands, Budapest, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Nokia might not have an Android smartphone on the current market (just the Foxconn-manufactured N1 tablet) but it continues to improve the Android launcher used in the N1 which is also available for download by Android users around the world. The latest update adds in one of the most requested features… support for widgets. From the blog post:
We’ve worked hard to add widgets in a manner consistent with the principles of Z Launcher: simple, elegant, and easy to use….You can download your copy from zlauncher.com.
Since we have only one page for widgets, we wanted to maximize the space available and therefore we don’t show the bottom row of pinned apps on the widgets screen. We also decided to limit this page to hosting just widgets — not a hodgepodge of widgets and pinned apps – that way you’ll be sure to fit those most important widgets. We believe this keeps it clean and simple — widgets on one page, apps on another.
Head of Product Business at Nokia
Technologies, Sebastian Nyström presents Nokia’s new N1 Android Table at
the Slush 2014 event in Helsinki, Finland (HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/AFP/Getty
Images)
‘Android Circuit’ will
round-up the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes.
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