Android 5.0 for HTC One Google Play edition delayed

f you’ve got an HTC One (M8) or One (M7) Google Play edition device and you’re waiting patiently for your update to Android 5.0, well, you can stop waiting now.

HTC’s Mo Versi has revealed on Twitter that the HTC One GPe Android 5.0 update has been “delayed,” explaining that Google wanted “one more SW spin.” Versi hasn’t offered a new timeframe in which the update may be released, but he promises that he’ll let us know when Google approves the software.

Is it disappointing that HTC One (M8) and One (M7) GPe users won’t get to enjoy a tasty new Lollipop this weekend? Certainly, but delays like this happy, and we’re glad that HTC is at least keeping us informed about what’s going on. And because HTC has been spot-on with updates in the past and we’re now just waiting for Google’s approval of this update, we’re betting that it won’t be too much longer before you HTC GPe folk are on Android 5.0.

Sources: @moversi (1), (2)

Huawei Ascend Mate2 is going to be updated to Android 5.0 in early 2015

In June, Huawei released the Ascend Mate2 with 4G LTE functionality for GSM carriers. It was certainly a big step for the manufacturer, especially with a budget device with plenty of worthwhile internals and features. Unfortunately, by the end of October, the excitement may have wavered a bit.

At the end of October, it was revealed by Huawei that the Ascend Mate2 would not actually see an update to KitKat after launching with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean on board. While Huawei did confirm that the hardware of the Ascend Mate2 warranted an update to KitKat, the company noted that there were other factors in that particular decision and that they’d be focused on making their “next device” even better.

Turns out, customer feedback has won the day, and even earned a big bonus.

On Friday, November 21, Huawei confirmed via its official blog that the Ascend Mate2 will indeed be receiving an update, but it won’t be to Android 4.4 KitKat. Instead, Huawei has opted to leap a version number and go right for Android 5.0 Lollipop. The author of the blog post notes that the reason this update is coming is due to customer feedback and that the manufacturer takes this feedback very seriously. As a result, the Ascend Mate2 will be updated to the latest variant of Android.

Huawei Device is pleased to announce that Android Lollipop will be available for the Ascend Mate2 in the first half of next year. In light of your feedback, we have reassessed our upgrade strategy. We take our customers’ feedback seriously and want to ensure they have the best experience possible with the Mate2. The Mate2 upgrade will go from the current JellyBean directly to Lollipop.

Motorola Nexus 6 has a secret RGB LED behind the speaker grille

The Motorola Nexus 6 has a cool feature called Ambient Display, which means as notifications land on the device, the display will light up and give a quick indication of what’s waiting.

If that’s not enough of a notification for you, or maybe you simply miss a little light that brightens up when you get an email or text message, the Nexus 6 has you covered. Sort of. According to a post by Droid-Life, the newest member of the Nexus smartphone lineup has a secret RGB LED set behind the speaker grille, as shown off in the image in this article.

The RGB LED was discovered by owners of the Nexus 6, as well as the developer behind the app Lightflow. It’s still unclear why Motorola decided to disable the LED right out of the gate, but considering the Ambient Display is a selling point of the new smartphone, that could very well be one reason.

Unfortunately, for Nexus 6 owners that don’t feel like rooting their device, then it would seem the little LED will be just out of reach. If an owner does indeed plan on rooting (or has already done it), then there’s a nice set of instructions to get the LED working. As Lightflow team continues to work through the discovery, there’s a set of instructions here that can show you how to enable the LED, as well as adjust its colors.

AT&T sending back Nexus 6 stock due to fatal software bug

AT&T’s Nexus 6 has been significantly modified by the carrier to its taste. And of course, AT&T’s taste isn’t very good. There’s a SIM lock, AT&T ringtones and disabled tethering until you pay extra for the feature. Many folks are mad, as Nexus devices are supposed to be pure and untouched. But if you’re buying a device with AT&T’s payment plans, it makes sense for them to want to modify it. It sucks, but it makes sense.

However, there are other issues with carrier modifications greater than a few extra ringtones. We’ve seen before how carrier mods end up making a device unusable (Galaxy Note 3 with AT&T GPS files, anyone?), and the Nexus 6 is no different. Some shipments of the device were sent with old software, causing obvious usability issues like a black screen. Due to this, AT&T is sending all of the old stock back to Motorola to make sure no more customers get a bad device.

Luckily, there is no recall so folks with a good device won’t be bothered. If you do have issues, AT&T will replace your phone under instruction from the higher-ups. It’s a shame to see a device having issues at launch, but this one seems to have been quickly taken care of.

Motorola Camera and Gallery get Material refresh

Motorola’s apps get pretty frequent updates thanks to the fact that they’re on the Play Store. This means that any bugs can be worked out without a system update, and features can be added at any time. And the latest update to both the camera and gallery apps do just that.

The camera app has been updated with some Material styling. The color has been changed from the old Holo blue to the new Material teal. It’s also quite a bit flatter. Outside of aesthetics, Motorola added a timer mode and a new feature to twist the device to switch between the front and rear camera. The last feature only works on devices with motion sensing, like the Moto X and latest model Droids.

The Motorola Gallery app has been given a partial makeover as well, and it’s somewhat Material. The flat and colorful aesthetic is spot on, though the slide out pane and other details are still of the old Holo design. It’ll get there with time, but it already looks pretty good.

If you want to update either of these apps, head to the Play Store on your Motorola device or hit the source links to check out the apps. It’s good to see OEMs embracing the new Material design, and it’s starting to really grow on me. What do you think of Motorola’s new design aesthetic?

Pebble’s latest update adds full notification support and more

Despite Android Wear being out and taking all the lime light, there are still many people withPebbles out there. With a screen that’s easy to read in daylight and awesome battery life, the Pebble still has a competitive edge over Android Wear devices in some respects. And starting today, an awesome new update is rolling out to it.

This update introduces a redesigned Pebble app, which includes full notification support. This means that any app can send notifications to your Pebble, much like with Android Wear. I’m sure this a big deal for Pebble owners, as they will no longer have to wait for app developers to add support and will now see important info on their wrist.

Also added is support for many new languages. According to Pebble itself, over 98 percent of Pebble users will now be able to receive messages in their native languages. The list is quite long.

For Android users, the update will be rolling out starting today. Only 10 percent of people will get this update initially, with more getting it in the following weeks. A staged rollout is expected with such a large update, so you may have to wait a while. And if you don’t want to wait, hit up the Pebble beta channel to try it out now!

How many of you still use your Pebbles? Leave a comment!

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Lollipop leak shown off on video

By now, it’s no secret that Samsung has been working on Lollipop for its recent devices.We’ve already seen a few older Samsung devices running the new operating system, but now it’s the Galaxy Note 3′s turn. The year-old device still has plenty of life in it, and SamMobile is showing off a new build of Lollipop for it.With Lollipop comes a somewhat new aesthetic and some fresh new animations. Samsung’s styling has long been vaguely similar to Material design, with the bright colors and fairly flat look. But now it’s upgraded to Material styling, and it looks pretty nice, despite not being anywhere close to AOSP. And the addition of all the fancy new animations is a nice touch and something I’m excited for.Of course, with Lollipop come massive changes below the skin. A new camera API, tons of new features and a complete redesign of many staples of Android-like notifications. This build isn’t downloadable at this point, but it’s great to see what it’ll look like and how close to finished it is. We can’t wait until it’s released to the public; it looks pretty close!