LONDON: Taking a look back at the week’s news across the Android world, this week’s Android Circuit highlights a number of stories including the curves of the Galaxy S6, echoes of the iPhone 6, can the S6 be perfect, Katy Perry fights Kim Kardashian through mobile gaming, Android Lollipop at 1.6% share, Lollipop 5.1 is available on Android One, new Android malware discovered, and Bing arrives on your lock screen.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android over the last seven days (and you can read the weekly Apple news digest here).
Samsung’s Curve Ball On Galaxy S6 Launch Dates
Samsung invited the world’s press to an event on March 1st, and the prevailing wisdom is that the event will be the launch of the Galaxy S6. It is part of the ‘Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2015′ event at Mobile World Congress, and the there is every indication that ’design’ will be Samsung’s focus. Forbes Gordon Kelly looks at what we know about the S6, which is almost everything inside the chassis:
The Galaxy Note Edge is expected to be the inspiration for at least one variant of the Galaxy S6. Its display extends down one side giving quick access to buttons, apps and widgets without interrupting action on the main screen. Initially many saw it as a gimmick, but critical response has been strong and Samsung appears determined to use it as a key differentiator from rivals.
The Galaxy S6 is going to be a critical handset that could easily determine Samsung’s future in the smartphone space. We’ll bring you full coverage, analysis, and review of the S6 (and potentially the S Edge) here on Forbes.
What about the outside of the Galaxy S6? Well, that question has been answered by Nowhereelse.fr. Sporting an impressive track record with leaks on the S6 dimensions and the iPhone 6 design and schematics ahead of its launch last year, it has found the chassis elements of the S6.
Forbes Gordon Kelly has analysed the images, and one conclusion is obvious. Samsung’s designers really like the iPhone 6.
Still looking back at what Nowhereelse has shown off, I can’t help but feel disappointed if this is the extent of Samsung’s grand Galaxy S6 reinvention. Yes adding other elements like the screen, buttons and a possible and much improved fingerprint sensor may add visual differentiators, but it remains dangerously close to Apple territory.
Furthermore, while many have long wished Samsung would move to more premium build materials, this step now appears to be taken at the price of features that Galaxy owners have long loved – like a removable battery.
There could be a certain cold logic to all of this – the Galaxy S5 has not been a strong seller, and the design look was far away from Apple’s design. Moving back towards the iPhone style in a small way might bring out catcalls and critical comment, but if it increases the sales potential of the device, is it worth the flack?
Wishing About A Perfect Galaxy S6
Before the Galaxy S6 details are officially revealed, Forbes’ Jay MacGregor has taken a look at the landscape to argue the features that he would like to see in Samsung’s latest handset, starting with the battery:
But there’s room for improvement, the standard battery size for a 2014/2015 flagship device is around-and-above 3000 mAh (the S5 has a 2800mAh battery). If Samsung plans to make the jump to a 2K screen, then it obviously needs a larger power pack in the S6.
There’s also the recent news that Samsung has begun manufacturing its own ePoP (embedded package on package) memory for high-end smartphones… This saves up to 40% of space in a handset, which could mean a much larger battery. Combine this with the ePoP’s efficiency and you could be looking at days of battery life.
Android Lollipop Finally Charting
This month’s update to Google’s ‘Android Dashboard’ finally gives us a market share number for Android 5.0 Lollipop. After missing out in January’s update because it failed to pass the 0.1% threshold for inclusion, the latest version of the mobile operating system saw a 1.6% share.
The data is derived from Android devices that connected to the Google Play Stare over a seven-day period that ended yesterday. During that time, 1.6% of the devices connecting to the app store were running the latest major build of Android.
The path to an Android update is a long and fragile one, including Google, manufacturers, carriers, and the end-users, so there is a reason behind the long delay to roll out the Material Design influenced OS. But knowing the reason doesn’t make the landscape any smoother.
Nevertheless, the rollout of a new version Android is a labyrinthine and laborious process. It is a weak point for Android. Google cannot push hard with its tweaked vision of the platform in Material Design, Developers have a moving target of handset capabilities to target and test against, manufacturers and carriers have a wide range of OS versions to support, and users have to contend with a weaker platform that has to accommodate older version of the OS for a longer time period.
How Many Viruses Are Lurking On Android?
Mobile malware is still a touchy subject. That it exists is not in question, but the volume is harder to calculate. So when reports come in of a set of trojan application that are available on Google Play, and could have been downloaded up to ten million times, it’s worth paying attention.
One such piece of malware was identified this week by Avast. Filip Chytry writes on the Avast blog:
Each time you unlock your device an ad is presented to you, warning you about a problem, e.g. that your device is infected, out of date or full of porn. This, of course, is a complete lie. You are then asked to take action, however, if you approve you get re-directed to harmful threats on fake pages, like dubious app stores and apps that attempt to send premium SMS behind your back or to apps that simply collect too much of your data for comfort while offering you no additional value.