The latest release of Android is here! And it comes with a heaping helping of artificial intelligence baked in to make your phone smarter, simpler and more tailored to you. Today we’re officially introducing Android 9 Pie.
We’ve built Android 9 to learn from you – and work better for you – the more you use it. From predicting your next task so you can jump right into the action you want to take, to prioritizing battery power for the apps you use most, to helping you disconnect from your phone at the end of the day, Android 9 adapts to your life and the ways you like to use your phone.
The Android Developers blog has more information on Android 9’s release. It’s coming to Pixel phones starting today, and phones that participated in the Android 9 beta program will get Android 9 before the end of Autumn. For all other devices – the devices people actually buy, i.e., Samsung devices – you may get Android 9 within 12-18 months, or you may not get it al, but who really knows.
I recently had to switch from Windows Mobile to Android. I was pleasantly surprised when the phone that I chose turned out to be on of only 7 in the Beta-program, so I will be happy to see this new “Android focused on me” release appearing soon. I also get the idea that many more manufacturers are going to provide this update to many more models than in the past, so maybe I moved to Android on the right time and with the right device?
(so much for optimism, checking, Android version 8.1.0, security patch level July 1 2018….my Windows Mobile would have gotten a patch today so that makes my up2date Android 40 days behind the “dead” Windows Mobile platform /s)
I’ve said it before, if my carrier supported Windows devices I’d never have left Windows Mobile for the iPhone. I still can’t stomach having a Google based device, but I’d be open to something based on Lineage OS or Replicant. Unfortunately my carrier also doesn’t work with custom ROMs.
I think perhaps once my contract is up I’ll be going back to Ting where I can use any damn device that accepts a GSM SIM card.
I don’t think I will ever understand this whole “Carrier” thing that seems to be US specific and that the people there just accepted.
I just buy a phone outright, put my SIM in it and it works everywhere in the world. This was the same for my Nokia 1520 with Windows 10 Mobile that died after 5 years and my new Nokia 7 Plus with Android. I basically pay 10 dollar per month for unlimited phonecalls, texts and 5 GB of cellular data. Lately inside of Europe it is even completely affordable to do so wherever I am. Also, phone updates don’t get blocked/delayed by any carrier.
Well to be fair, most US carriers have done away with contracts and replaced them with payment plans for flagship devices all the way down to throwaway phones. Instead of being beholden to a contract with an early termination fee, you are roped into interest-laden device payments subject to a full balance due if you end service before the device is paid for.
I went with my current carrier for two reasons: trying out the then-new Xfinity Wireless service offered by my cable company, and their excellent cellular coverage in my area as they use the Verizon network. At this point I can afford to pay off the balance on my device, sell it, pay myself back and use the remaining money to buy another Windows phone, and I’m contemplating doing just that.
A Windows Phone like the 1520 should be about 50 dollar now, a 950 about 100 dollar and you should be able to buy an Elite X3 including dock for 150 dollar. You really need to love Windows to consider those devices nowadays though because for just a bit more you could buy Android One devices that are much faster with much better software availability and longer support
Actually I’m hoping Microsoft gets off its ass and revives the WP platform in the form of a Surface Phone. I’m not holding my breath though, and I’ll probably pick up another Lumia 640 when the time comes to switch carriers.
Actually I am looking for a 950xl or elite 3x, both are available to me for the same price. But I am not going to pay that, I am going to wait it out. I don’t use apps and waze works better in windows mobile, the color scheme on Android is stupid.
Waze still works? I think I used it 3 years ago and then several things (audio) stopped working. I cannot find out when it was last updated but according to the comments it is a dead app indeed: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/waze/9wzdncrfj2m3
Sorry, Microsoft lost my trust when they insta-obsoleted two OS generations (WinMo 6.5 and WP7) months after the flagship devices running them were still being sold. Even some WP8 devices lost the upgrade train to Windows 10 Mobile, despite Microsoft promising upgrades for all WP8 devices. I don’t trust them that this new “Andromeda” thing they ‘ve been working on (but neither confirming non denying its existence in true NuMicrosoft fashion) won’t insta-obsolete Windows 10 Mobile. How it could happen: “Look, our phones are built around the x86 ISA and run win32 apps now, and btw all Windows 10 Mobile phones we sold yesterday are dead”
Edited 2018-08-07 13:49 UTC
I was lucky to have the 1520 that did get basically all the updates and is still supported, but the 1020 that I had got screwed! I had to laugh at “all Windows 10 Mobile phones we sold yesterday”…The last device they made is so ancient now that it is about to run out of official 36 months support and if you can find anyone that has bought a new Windows 10 Mobile device “yesterday” I will grant you the title of “master-finder”.
Andromeda IS Windows 10, so it is not going to obsolete Windows 10, just going to add some features (Composable Shell) that will make it useful on “mobile devices with cellular connectivity”
Windows 10 Mobile will be officialy dead next year, but that won’t be sudden because you can easily check the date of support for your device.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search?sort=PN&alpha=w…
Windows Phone 8.1 died last year. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search?sort=PN&alpha=w…
Edited 2018-08-07 14:15 UTC
Nice try, but the official marketing position of Microsoft is that Windows 10 Mobile is, at the moment I write this, the latest and greatest version of Windows that you should buy if you want Windows (and Microsoft) on your palm. There is no official marketing copy saying that Windows 10 mobile will be thrown under the bus the moment that this “we won’t confirm our deny” Andromeda thing will be out, please don’t buy any of our Windows 10 mobile devices anymore. And yes, new Windows 10 mobile devices are being sold in Amazon. This is why I can’t trust them in mobile: flat out two facedness and unclear roadmaps.
And anyway, Microsoft has “reboot” their phone offerings so many times now (with each reboot cutting existing devices from new apps using the new API entirely, no support library here) that you ‘d be crazy to trust them to commit to Andromeda, whatever the thing is and whenever it gets released. If it exists at all.
Don’t buy Microsoft phones in any case.
Edited 2018-08-07 14:46 UTC
Nobody, not even me, buys Microsoft Phones anymore. Just because they are offered on Amazon doesn’t mean that they get sold! Anyway, the last Microsoft Phone is already out of official support (“Starting with Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft will make updates available for the operating system on your phone, including security updates, for a minimum of 24 months after the lifecycle start date”) from a hardware perspective. However because of the 6 months software upgrade cycle the lifecycle kept resetting several times until it will finally elapse for all devices next year (including the ones that are now offered on Amazon!). None of this is unexpected and Microsoft has been extremely clear about this.
But seriously, who cares? Windows 10 Mobile is now 0.1% of the entire market and that includes devices sold in the past!
Once Andromeda comes out we will see if that is interesting or not, but it will have no influence at all on Windows 10 Mobile
Then why is Microsoft officially promoting Windows 10 Mobile in their website? I cannot trust any communication that comes from Redmond nowadays, and won’t trust them when they commit to Andromeda (when it comes out in the form it comes out, if it comes out). And this is their biggest problem right now.
Well duh, it is the ONLY version of Windows for your palm. Windows 10 Mobile completely failed and Microsoft is only doing what it is legally obligated to do (updates, development tools, store) for that platform.
Got it yesterday evening on a Pixel 1. I was expecting another 8.1 security update but that was the Android 9 update.
* Clock moved to the left part of the notification bar. This makes harder to get a quick glance to see if there are new notifications, as the clock is always there, instead of a blank space. Also, if I have a non-notch device, why have I to struggle with notch-related limitations like this?
* Half-baked gestures: They are less natural than iOS ones, and given that Pixel 3 will have only gestures and not a classic navigation bar, we better hope they improve gesture-based navigation quick. Double clicking the right button in the navigation bar was a great feature, and having now to swipe to do the same doesn’t always work as expected (sometimes it goes back not to the last app, but the next one)
* Horizontal app switcher. I understand this is “enforced” due to the new gesture-based navigation, but now I cannot see more than the last app (and part of the next one) when I could see and switch to many of them before
Come on, Google, are you a leader or a follower?
Edited 2018-08-07 11:15 UTC
They implemented webOS-style multitasking, which is great and which I adore (I loved webOS!). But I hear you about not being able to see more than one app in the multitasking view. I hope they implement another great webOS multitasking feature: card grouping. That way, you can just drag open apps on top of each other so that you can create groups of opened apps, which also gives you a better overview as there are more apps displayed than just the current one.
Multitasking overview is definitely a weak point of Android. I liked the one from Windows 10 Mobile that showed 4 miniature windows at once: https://www.tenforums.com/attachments/tutorials/24317d1436804364-swi…
My essential phone got the update already..
Interesting, I was all ready to bash google for this crazy comment in the announcement.
But maybe that’s just being extremely conservative? End of fall is DEC 21… For devices that were already working with a beta that seems insane. But if they are already getting updates then, good on them and google.
I don’t want a phone that tries to predict my actions, “morphs” with time or pretends to have any such organism-like qualities. I want a phone that behaves predictably, does same thing in the same way every time, all the time.
If they do it right, you shouldn’t be able to notice the difference. If they don’t, well then it sucks…
Too late. Already sold all my smartphones and switched to a feature phone that can’t do anything else apart from phone calls and SMS.
I am pretty sure it can play snake as well
So I guess that makes you better than the rest of us?
How exactly?..
Its ok, it has the clipper chip. You are secure, proceed with your daily life, confident in your technology choices, citizen.
Whaaa?.. What is “the clipper chip”? And why do you think my choice has anything to do with security?
Just a joke. But seriously, going to a feature phone is an odd reaction. But whatever your reasoning was, I’m sure it made sense to you. So good job there.
I know, everyone considers you “odd” if you do things slightly differently than majority.
My main reasoning was, and still is, that I simply don’t need a smartphone. So why should I use something I don’t need?
Quite a lot of people is switching. I couldn’t but I see the point.
I am pretty predictable and I would love it if my phone learned my behaviors. So if it would automatically
* Start playing the latest podcast when it detects drivingmode
* Sends a text to my wife that I am leaving for home when it detects drivermode when my car is not close to home
* Turns off auto-rotate during quiet hours
* and several other behaviors that I won’t share online but that my phone should know
Whatever happened to the idea of a cellphone actually being a cellphone?
You know, something you actually used to make phone calls with, not some idiotic internet device used to play crappy videos,music and games on?
People who buy Samsung devices don’t care about upgrades to Android 9.0 and don’t have to. Deal with it.
Not wrong. The days of huge improvements with an android release are gone. The biggest need to update are security patches. Samsung hasn’t been too terrible, but not especially great either.
Samsung: we’re not completely terrible and you know it.
This is how the entire company rolls and the secret to their success: One standout feature and predictable mediocrity in every other aspect. Even the prized Samsung TVs have a standout panel, but mediocre speakers (even by embedded TV speakers standards), mediocre free-to-air receivers and mediocre software.
Edited 2018-08-07 14:46 UTC
I have a Samsung washer powerful enough to spin itself to destruction. So there was a recall a better piece of plastic, and STICKERS! They basically downgraded their recommendations for washing clothes. Yeah we thought it would be safe to wash yoga pants on this setting, but it apparently it causes it to esplode. Sorry bout that, here’s a warning sticker. Please help us to ensure that explosions do not happen. Your co-operation is appreciated.
I had one of the washsploders too. Got my handy stickers and tried to participate in the repair program. The repair shop that Samsung sent me to called me back and basically said they won’t make the repair, that Samsung sent them a thousand customers and they couldn’t possible repair all of those washers in a reasonable time. Luckily, the washer’s transmission ate itself before it the whole thing had a chance to explode. Rather than replace the transmission (which cost 80% of the purchase price of the washer) we replaced the whole thing with a NON-Samsplode device. No more Samsung appliances for us.