We were surprised to find that, during HTC’s big Mobile World Congress reveal, the manufacturer failed to mention anything about the oft rumored HTC One M9 Plus (aka HTC Hima Ultra). This was after the handset had been leaked numerous times, allegedly coming equipped with a MediaTek processor and fancy Samsung-like home button.
For all those anxious to get their hands on the HTC phablet, it seems it wont be much longer. According to @upleaks, he confirmed via his Twitter account today that the phone will allegedly launch towards the end of Q1 (late March), or the beginning of Q2 (early April). What’s more is the official launch name will be the One M9+, not “Plus.”
Touch based finger print sensor (located on front)
Android 5.0.2 with Sense 7.0
20.7MP + 2.1MP rear cameras (Duo Camera)
13MP front facing camera
BoomSound
Bluetooth 4.1
2,840mAh Battery
Originally, @upleaks mentioned the EMEA/USA version was going to carry a Snapdragon processor, but had been cancelled. While it seems the M9+ is apparently now on for EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), apparently it will still feature the same MediaTek processor as the Asian variant. Boo.
After we learned that you’ll be able to officially buy the HTC One M9 (unlocked model) direct from HTC starting tonight, Verizon is now chiming in with their own availability. The nation’s largest carrier has announced that pre-sales for their version of the HTC One M9 will begin on April 1st — no, this is not a joke — with an official launch taking place on April 10th.
Both colors will be available (2-tone gold/silver, or metal black) for only 0 with a 2-year agreement, or a month for 2 years with Verizon Edge payment plan. Verizon also notes that their version will support Advance Calling 1.0 out of the box for HD Voice and Video Calling to other compatible smartphones on their network.
Acer already showed off their entry-level Liquid Z220 and Z520 during last week’s Mobile World Congress, but apparently they still have some new stuff coming down the pipeline. The manufacturer is announcing an upcoming event in New York where they’ll unveil… something.
We’re not sure exactly what they have up their sleeve (Android devices? More Windows 8.1 phones? Nobody knows for sure. In fact, the invite we received is more of a notification that an invite will come at a later date, but to be prepared and start making arrangements for travel. Stay tuned for more.
Apple already gave us a peak at their first ever smart watch back in 2014, but we haven’t gotten many hard details until just now. This is the Apple Watch, and even if you don’t plan to buy anything Apple anytime soon there’s good reason to take notice. They’ve finally let loose a release date — April 24th, with pre-sales commencing April 10th — and it’s that very day we’ll see just how big of a market there truly is for smart watches.
With reports that only 700,000 Android Wear devices have been sold there’s no secret it hasn’t quite exploded yet, but many of today’s smart watch manufacturers are facing the typical challenges of an infant market that is only just now starting to find its way. You might hate to admit it, but the Apple Watch has decent enough potential to change that.
We’ve seen Apple do it time and time again. Smartphones of today wouldn’t be the smartphones of today without Apple’s influence. Tablets of today wouldn’t be the tablets of today without Apple’s influence. Google’s early work on wireless payments with Google Wallet was overlooked until — you guessed it — Apple Pay made the world wake up.
It’s an unfortunate trend to see, but it’s a trend that does exist. We suspect it’ll continue in the realm of smart watches. Is that to say the sudden arrival of Apple’s first wearable is going to make the Android Wear space explode overnight?
Not necessarily. There’s still a lot of work to be done such as platform maturation, improvements to low-power technology and battery life and, most importantly, increasing accessibility in areas of usability and price.
LG, ASUS, Motorola and Huawei aren’t going to wake up tomorrow morning and find an extreme uptick in sales because people are suddenly more aware that smart watches are a thing (or else that would have happened the first time Apple showed the Apple Watch). But what this will do is spur the sort of competition that will fuel those companies’ desire to innovate and make a smart watch experience that’s truly irresistible.
There’s also the issue of Apple’s own chance to do well in the space. We tend to assume everything “Apple” will sell well, but what they showed today was actually quite dull and does very little to disrupt the smart watch scene that other OEMs haven’t already tried.
Using your watch to make and receive calls? We’ve seen that in the Samsung Gear S and the upcoming LG Watch Urbane LTE (though both admittedly don’t run Android Wear). Apple Glances that show you stuff like music controls, weather, calendar updates and more information from your most used apps? That’s basically Google Now, the driving platform behind Android Wear’s very existence.
Saying the Apple Watch is basically an iPhone that can be slapped to your wrist isn’t the least accurate description. Apple hasn’t done anything relatively new with the Apple Watch, though we’ll admit it does seem to be the beneficiary of damn good engineering.
That raises a very interesting question, though: if Android Wear hasn’t done enough to capture the interests of the public, what exactly does the Apple Watch do differently? As we always say, it doesn’t matter who does things first, it matters who does them right. The verdict is still out on the Apple Watch and whether it gets everything right.
The initial word around Phandroid’s water cooler is that there really isn’t any one thing that blows the competition out of the water. Its underwhelming 18-hour battery life, a minimum price tag of 0 and a lack of support for standard 22mm watch bands are the biggest knocks. We also imagine consumers won’t be rushing out to buy the versions of these that will cost upwards of ,000 and ,000. No, really, Apple has actually lost it:
It’s those exact reasons why Android Wear manufacturers — and any company that makes a smart watch, really — can use this as a perfect excuse to do better. Apple may not be changing the game through never-before-seen features and innovation, but their sheer presence and the power of their name alone certainly gives other OEMs a lot more incentive to compete for top honors. Let’s hope that competition will bring a horde of devices worth getting excited for and help the wearables category blossom into a viable, long-term and lucrative area of business for everyone involved.
LG has finally set a date for their first big event since CES 2015. The company has announced an April 28th shindig where they want us “see the great” and “feel the great.” We imagine this event will serve as the launching pad for the LG G4, especially since it’s being simultaneously held in 6 different cities (New York, London, Paris, Seoul, Singapore and Istanbul) and because LG has yet to bring us their flagship contender for 2015.
We still don’t know what, exactly, to expect out of LG for the G4. Recent leaks have shown that the device will adopt a design similar to that of the LG G3 of yesteryear and the LG G Flex 2 revealed at CES a few months ago. That said, leaks aren’t always reliable — ask @evleaks — and we could end up seeing something totally different.
One thing to note about the invitation being sent to press is that it looks like a leather book cover, such as one you’d find on a premium notebook. Does this mean the LG G4 will have that same faux leather with stiching we loved (or hated) on Samsung’s 2013 phones? That’s a slim possibility, but our bet is that — if this invite is indeed showing a notebook in its background — it’s teasing the Note variant of the LG G4 that will come with a stylus.
Or it could just be that LG’s PR team wanted to use a nice looking background, and we’re talking a whole lot of something about a whole lot of nothing. Either way we’ll know what the company is planning for sure once April 28th rolls around. Mark your calendars!
Quick heads-up to Verizon faithful who have their eye on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge — the company has announced that pre-sales will begin April 1st! Samsung didn’t make it a secret that the device would launch April 10th so Verizon figured they might as well announce their pre-sale event well ahead of schedule, too.
We still don’t know how much you’ll have to pay for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, though recent contest rules have revealed a 0 retail price for the former. Note that those contest rules didn’t specify which storage model the price tag applied to, but we’ll have to assume it’s the base 32GB model for now.
Those are all the details Big Red had to share with us today, but we’ll certainly be digging for more in the days to come. For now, start making plans to siphon off a good portion of your income to pay for one of these once they’re finally available.
For those that missed it, Lollipop is already available for T-Mobile’s LG G3 — but only through their PC updating tool. Which is odd, given these things are typically pushed out in the form of an over-the-air the update and downloaded straight to your device.
No matter, T-Mobile’s resident device guru Desmond Smith has shared with us the exact date we can expect Android 5.0.1 Lollipop to hit the phone over-the-air, no computer necessary.
According to Smith, T-Mobile will be pushing out the update on Tuesday, April 7th. So, if perhaps LG’s updater wasn’t working out for you, or you didn’t want to bother with manually flashing the OTA file, rest assured the update is less than a week away.
It was back during Mobile World Congress that HTC announced their flagship for 2015, the HTC One M9. But in Asian markets — specifically Japan — HTC’s flagship line is also known by another name: the HTC Butterfly. Sporting mostly the same One internals (but a much different design), this is HTC’s high-end device that goes head-to-head with the best from from Panasonic, Sharp, and Kyocera.
Up until now, we haven’t heard much about what HTC had planned for the Butterfly line in 2015. But in a few recent tweets from @upleaks, we could see the HTC J Butterfly 3 aiming for a late April/early May release in Japanese and Asian markets. The device is said to come equipped with a slightly larger, higher res display than the HTC One M9, measuring in at 5.2-inches and Quad HD (1440p) resolution.
The Butterfly 3 will launch first on KDDI in Japan where it’s said to support their new VoLTE network and will be available in 3 colors: red, white, and blue.
Have you looked at your calendar today? If not, let me tell you what day it is: March 31st. You know what that means? Tomorrow is April 1st, the infamous April Fools day. That means companies are about to flood the internet with jokes, press releases about fake products and other cheeky shenanigans.
There’s just one problem this year: some companies can’t help but to get started a day early. Google has already unleashed a few of their own, the most cool of which is an interactive new Google Maps feature that turns your local area map into a game of Pacman. You can actually play it right now by clicking here, if you want (or stroll into the Google Maps for Android app).
It’s not a joke, per se, but it’s a cool and fun little quirk that Google likely tossed in to celebrate the goofiness of tomorrow’s pseudo-holiday. It’s also a great way to promote the real-world augmented reality counterpart being featured in the latest Ingress update.
It doesn’t stop there for them. They’ve sneakily baked a feature into the latest version of Google Chrome that will enable a new “Chrome Selfie” feature once the calendar turns.
Steve is blown away by that dreamy Samsung user interface concept! The idea is that you take a selfie with your reaction of whatever site you’re viewing, and you can send a shot of that selfie and website off to your friends to view. It’s the one killer feature we’ve always been waiting for! Not. You can give it a try right now by changing the timezone on your calendar to GMT +10.
It isn’t just Google’s US arm having a good time, either. Those in Japan have already gotten their fun in, with Google Japan teasing a new “hornpipe” input feature that allows you to input text in Japanese without having to type or even speak anything. Just blow!
And then there’s Samsung, whose Samsung Galaxy Blade Edge smartphone promises to serve dual purpose as a butcher’s knife. It’ll feature built-in thermometer styli, a fold-up handle for easy conversion and, you guessed it, a fire proof display.
Oh, and food porn. Finally, we’re able to record our meat chopping experience from the perspective of the destructive tool that makes it all happen, and then easily take a photo of the finished product afterward!
Sad to say it, folks, but this is only the beginning. The Next 24-48 hours will spawn an even greater number of jokes. Some will be funny. Some will even make us wish they were actual ideas and products. And then there will be the bunch that will outright make us cry, cringe and wish this day never existed, all the while actual announcements have to be questioned for their legitimacy in a sea of ridiculous satire. This is April Fools. Prepare yourselves.
In case you didn’t catch it during the live stream or our post chock full of info, Samsung has already spilled the beans on the exact release date for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. April 10th is the big day, and Samsung says to expect a rollout of global magnitude on that very day.
It’s hard to imagine Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon in the US would deny offering either of these devices so there shouldn’t be any need to do any carrier hopping to get this phone. We imagine that will also be the case for the major carriers in other countries and markets.
Pricing will likely vary from region to region and carrier to carrier so Samsung has yet to release any details about that. We do know you’ll be able to get it in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB options, though, so pricing will definitely depend on how much space you need. We’ll look to provide more detailed availability information once it comes to light.
It was only a couple of short months ago that Cyanogen vowed to steal Android from Google, and only shortly after that was Microsoft revealed to be a potential partner in crime to make that happen through a lofty investment. Cyanogen would have you believe otherwise, but new evidence suggests Microsoft actually did invest in the company, and they’ve somehow pried Android from within the Googleplex and made it their own.
You’ll even find mentions of the code that adds Microsoft’s flair sprinkled throughout the source code of the latest builds. No formal details have been made available yet, but we imagine the two are gearing up to announce later today that they’ve joined forces and have successfully stolen Android from Google (whatever that means).
April Fools! Nothing you read above is real. That code does actually exist, though it’s only in the latest nightly and is obviously a joke, likely to be scrubbed away from nightlies built April 2nd and later.
It’s April 1st, the day tech companies like to come up with ridiculous and silly ideas to market as if they were real, and get fools like you and I to fall for them. We don’t, of course — we assume everything announced on April 1st is fake unless someone makes a really convincing argument (we’re looking at you, Amazon Dash Button).
But just because we have our guard up doesn’t mean we can’t laugh about a lot of this stuff anyway. We’ve had a blast around the digital Phandroid offices sharing and talking about some of the great April Fools pranks we’ve seen across the web so far, and we’re here to share the best ones we’ve seen aside from the charade narrated above.
We all hate mail, but it’s not because it’s usually boring, littered with bills you don’t want to pay, and filled with spammy coupon offers from low-grade local businesses. It’s because the contemporary mailbox is a pain to use and look at!
That’s why Google created the Smartbox. With automatic hand-warming technology, a smart filter system, spam-busting contraptions and a touchscreen for using Android apps for the 2 seconds you’re near a mailbox every day, this is literally the best mailbox ever imagined.
This is Smartbox. Which was made by the folks who made Inbox. Which was made by the folks who made Gmail. Which was made by the folks who created Google. Which started in a garage. That’s the real ‘murican dream.
Do you get tired of tech companies detailing the “beauty” of their devices in a way that makes you think Picasso himself was responsible for their creation? Sketches of early prototypes and hipster designer engineers be damned Motorola does too, so they parodied this growing trend by doing the same thing for a selfie stick.
We don’t know why a selfie stick would need to be “beautifully hand-crafted” and all that jazz, but we’re sure some company is actually going to pull that ridiculous, overplayed angle someday. Oh by the way, Motorola has a 0 off Moto X deal today only, and that’s not a joke. Check it out right here.
Smart socks. It’s happening, folks, and you’re going to freaking love it. No longer do you have to look to your phone or smart watch to be notified of new messages, emails and Tweets — they’ll go right to your ankle instead!
This is perfect for those moments where you have to bend over to, um, put socks on. Oh, and perhaps change and tie your shoes! Hard to use a phone or smart watch while doing all that so these smart socks are sure to be a big hit.
Other features include a sock hole warning system, GPS for making sure a pair of socks are never separated, and even has super SuperSlip Coating technology for making sure you get the best possible slides when running across your kitchen floor like a madman during a home alone karaoke session. You’re laughing right now, but I really wish these things existed. =(
OK, Google Panda
Forget smartphones, tablets, watches and glasses: the real future of connected technology is stuffed pandas. Google Panda is a cuddly companion that can wrap itself around your arm and answer any question you may have within 0.3 seconds. It does so in 50 different languages, and uses the power of Google’s Knowledge Graph to deliver only the most accurate information.
The funniest thing is we aren’t even excited about this technological advancement for its practical uses: we’re geeked up about the fact that we can officially say that a panda bear is more smart than Siri ever will be.
OK, so dogs and cats can’t use smartphones and tablets, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need connected devices (smart collars, anyone?). That’s why T-Mobile’s Pet Freedom plan is perfect — per month to your existing lines for your pet to have their own pool of data.
A joke, obviously, but T-Mobile’s joke actually rewards pets for everyone who visits this fun page: they’re donating per visit (up to ,000) to the Humane Society to help endangered animals and pets who have found themselves in tough situations. Kudos, Magenta!
No, that backwards URL wasn’t an error. Click it — Google is mirrored! Alongside a flip-flopped search engine that hurts our head more than makes us laugh, this cool April Fools prank showcases one of the new top-level domains Google was able to get approved in the latest ICANN expansion. You can find a full list of other TLD extensions they filed for below.
Ah, AOKP. Your misunderstood (and perhaps inaccurate) history as a ROM with code borrowed from top ROMs such as CyanogenMod and Paranoid Android makes room for a lot of jokes, so why not make it the star of a good ol’ April Fools joke?
Their schtick is that they have been tapped by Xiaomi to make MIUI 7, and will internally call it MiKangy (not to be refused with the porn marketplace app MiKandi). They’ll shamelessly copy the best features from many of the top ROMs, and look to create a user experience that “evolves” over time based on your usage so no two ROMs are the same (likely a parody of the trend of software engineers always claiming their apps and ROMs have a life of their own and learns so much about you that they know what you want even before you do).
Share some you’ve seen!
Those are just a few of the cool and funny April Fools pranks from around the web. You can’t forget yesterday’s introduction of the Samsung Galaxy Blade Edge that transforms into a butcher’s knife, Google Chrome’s new #SelfieReaction feature, Pacman on Google Maps and the innovative Party Horn text input device from Google Japan.
Any others you’ve seen that we don’t have here? Feel free to share them in the comments section below, and we’ll be adding to this list throughout the day as more pranks and jokes potentially roll in. Keep your guard up and have a happy April Fools!
There are few companies that can boast a global brand presence as big as Samsung’s. The South Korean giant has their hands in just about everything these days, with televisions, washer machines, and smartphones accounting for their billions in revenue every year.
But despite their best marketing efforts, Samsung may not have much pull in Japan, where total mobile sales account for barely 5.6% of smartphones sold in the country. While it’d be easy to assume this could have something to do with the Japanese mostly favoring national brands like Sharp, Fujitsu, or Sony, keep in mind Apple occupies nearly 40.8% of the market. In any case, that’s not about to stop Samsung from who will be bringing their new Galaxy S6 flagship to the country on April 23rd.
What’s interesting is Samsung’s branding — at least for the NTT Docomo model — has been completely stripped from the phone, as pointed out by The Korea Herald. The S6 Edge model is completely devoid of any Samsung branding on the front, with only the carrier name and “Galaxy” branding on the back. The regular S6 model has Docomo’s branding on the front (where the Samsung logo would normally go) and once again, only “Galaxy” on the back. No S6, no S6 Edge — none of that.
According to Samsung, they feel the Galaxy brand has been “well established in Japan” but declined to comment further. While it’s not uncommon to find Japanese carrier Docomo de-brand handsets in favor of their own logo (it was the same case for last year’s Samsung Galaxy S5 and even their Note line in Japan), you’ll find Sony’s Xperia line was left alone. Go figure.
Huawei is looking to challenge the Moto Es and Moto Gs of the world with a new affordable smartphone set to launch in a couple of days. The device is modeled Huawei G620-A2, and while its listing on Amazon has its shelf name as the Expo, Huawei is planning to sell it as the Huawei SnapTo (as evidenced by a banner on the very same page).
We’re not sure why they decided to throw it onto the online retailer in such quiet fashion, but they’ve done so with 0 price tag and a spec sheet that’s not all that bad for that amount of coin. Here’s what we’re expecting:
The device also isn’t designed bad, to boot. It features a faux-leather textured backing for a premium look and feel despite its non-premium price tag.
It might not be the most powerful, best looking or even the most affordable smartphone on the market right now, but the Huawei SnapTo sounds like a device anyone wouldn’t mind owning for the small price you’re paying. You can pre-order the device right now and Amazon will have it shipped to you as soon as April 9th hits.
HTC had a big shindig in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago to unveil the HTC One M9, and now the variant we were really hoping to see could be due April 8th. The company is sending invites to Chinese press to show that they have “More Than One” device on tap this year, and they’ll be unveiling the latest in Beijing.
The invitation shows a device that looks to be similar to the rear of an HTC One M9, except it has the same dual camera setup we’ve seen on previous leaks instead of the lone camera featured on the company’s 2015 flagship — this, folks, is likely the HTC One M9 Plus.
That’s all we can tell from the company’s official teaser, though we know the device will have a couple of key differences up front. The main one is that there will be a physical home button smack dab in the middle of the bottom set of BoomSound speakers and will have dual functionality as a fingerprint scanner. The display is also a tad bigger, though at 5.2 inches (if OnLeaks’ most recent information is to be believed) it’s not the phablet-sized monster we were expecting.
The device is expected to have Quad-HD resolution at 2560 x 1440, 3GB of RAM and a 20 megapixel camera sensor. It might also have MediaTek’s 64-bit Octa-Core MT6795T.
Oh, and it looks like the mockup made by @OnLeaks was about as accurate as accurate can be — the in-the-wild shots seen below definitely show a device that looks like a slightly bigger HTC One M9 with a fingerprint scanner.
Its Chinese debut might suggest this device won’t be made available for many other regions to start, though we’ll have to wait for official word from HTC to be clued in on their exact plans.
As we’ve noted in the past, Huawei is so hot right now. They showed off a beautiful Android Wear smartwatch, and their name is being tossed around for the next Nexus. People might not be able to say their name correctly, but they are definitely paying attention to Huawei. So what’s next?
Huawei is sending out invites for an event in London on April 15th. They’re expected to show off a successor to the Huawei Ascend P7. We’re not sure what market this device will be for, but Huawei does say it’s a “global product launch.” It’s also possible we could hear more information about the Huawei Watch and other devices. Hopefully they have something for us here in the U.S.
How do you feel about Huawei lately? Are you feeling the hype around their devices? Do you want a Huawei device?
Blizzard has announced that their highly-anticipated expansion pack for popular card game Hearthstone — dubbed Blackrock Mountain — will officially launch April 2nd. The previous launch window given was simply “next month” so we weren’t expecting it so soon after the calendar turns.
Blackrock Mountain will be handled similarly to Hearthstone’s first expansion Curse of Naxxramas. Cards will be released in the form of weekly “wings” where you will face a horde of enemies and bosses to unlock new cards.
There will be 5 wings total, and the new card count sits at a comfortable 31. Each wing costs .99, but those who don’t mind parting ways with in-game gold can also buy them for 700g. There’s also the option of preordering the entire lot for .99, a move that will net you an exclusive Blackrock-themed card back.
Blackrock Mountain centers around the neverending struggle between Dragons and the other fiery evils that claim the volcano as their home, all the while disturbing the covenant of dwarfs in the taverns throughout. As such, the Dragon card classification will get a vast majority of the attention here as Blizzard looks to add new cards to that pool and create a lot more synergy for those who prefer to play them.
Sounds like an exciting change of pace that should affect the meta in a big way once all the cards are made available. Be sure to download Hearthstone for your Android tablet right here (it’s free to play) if you aren’t already addicted.
The HTC One M9 has already been launched in Taiwan, but the company has been a bit hushy about release dates for other regions. Thankfully the questions are over for those of us in the United States: the HTC One M9 will be available starting April 10th (which coincidentally happens to be the day Samsung is launching the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge).
Details are scarce, but McKenzie was clear in saying that availability would only “start” April 10th. Whether that be at retail or through one or more carriers at the same time is yet to be determined, but it’s important to know that they’re not promising every carrier and store will have it on that day.
What he did promise is that the phone will eventually make its way to all major carriers in the United States, which we identify to be Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and US Cellular.
Other interesting notes from the Q&A:
Uh-Oh Protection is available no matter which carrier or retailer you buy your device from
Phones with root or custom ROMs are eligible to be replaced under Uh-Oh Protection
Uh-Oh Protection does not cover lost or stolen devices
The 0 credit to buy the next HTC One you get for going 12 months without an accident is not dependent on trading your HTC One M9 in — you can keep your old phone and still use your credit for a new one (or trade the phone in and stack the credit on top of that)
Uh-Oh Protection will be available for buyers of the HTC One M8, but only if you buy your HTC One M8 after the HTC One M9 has launched.
Let us know if you’ll be planning to pick one up once they finally hit store shelves.
The April Fools Day “pranks” were weak this year, but a few products that seemed like jokes were actually real. Chris still doesn’t believe the Amazon Dash Buttons are real. We also talk about our HTC One M9 and LG G Flex 2 reviews, and share some of our own favorite April Fools Day pranks from back before #brands ruined the holiday. Thanks for watching/listening!
Many of the Star Wars junkies out there likely already have both the original and follow-up trilogies on DVD, VHS or Blu-Ray by now, but what about digital? Lucasfilm and Disney have been reluctant to go that route for quite some time, but those fears seem to have melted as all 6 Star Wars movies will be available for digital purchase online beginning April 10th.
Stores where the goods are available include iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and yes — Google Play. The films will cost you each to start, though that’s not much more expensive than these movies usually go in the digital realm. You can also snap up the entire collection in one fell swoop for .99, saving you about if you’re addicted enough to plunge for it all at once.
There is one unfortunate catch to this: these aren’t the original, unaltered films. They’re the “special edition” re-releases that change up a bit of the original sounds, dialog and visuals for purposes of remastering and fulfilling George Lucas’ original vision.
Star Wars purists (we’re talking about the hardest of hardcore) will likely have an issue with that, though those of you who don’t know right from wrong in this regard will likely be fine. You can place your pre-order right now at Google Play and expect the films to unlock as the calendar turns to April 10th.
Samsung has been sending out the official Lollipop update on Galaxy S5 SM-G900H for a quite some time and has been continuously rolling out in several countries until now. However, there are still some countries has not yet to see the coming of the Lollipop updates while others gets several Lollipop update version from the past three months period. Way back in January, we have seen the first official Lollipop update dubbed with build version G900HXXU1BOA7 in Europe . Then followed by another Lollipop update build version G900HXXU1BOB8 for the Galaxy S5 G900H users in the Americas and the build version G900HXXU1BOC3 in Asia.
Recently, we have spotted several rounds of Galaxy S5 SM-G900H Lollipop update which are seeding out in select countries for this month of April 2015. Noting that Samsung has released a variety of different Android 5.0 Lollipop build version to each specific continent across the globe. So here are the roundup of what software build version and which countries could benefit this new rounds of Lollipop update.
Lollipop update on Galaxy S5 SM-G900H as of April 2015
1) Lollipop Update build version G900HXXU1BOC4
This update is seeding out in Argentina and it’s the first official Lollipop update for the country’s Galaxy S5 SM-G900H users. It’s basically rolled out for the carrier branded Galaxy S5 devices. Here are the technical details of v5.0 G900HXXU1BOC4 update which can be viewed via Settings>>About device.
Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900H
Android version 5.0 (Lollipop OS)
Baseband version G900HXXU1BOC4
Kernel version 3.4.0-4372703
Build number LRX21T.G900HXXU1BOC4
2) Lollipop Update build version G900HXXU1BOCA
This particular Lollipop update has seen in Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan of which among of these countries got the first official update in January. Not only that there is also another Lollipop update followed in just a matter of days which was dubbed with build version “G900HXXU1BOAD”. So this is technically the third official Lollipop update that has been released on those countries as of April 2015.
Android version 5.0 (Lollipop OS)
Baseband version G900HXXU1BOCA
Kernel version 3.4.0-4521975
Build number LRX21T.G900HXXU1BOCA
3) Lollipop Update build version G900HXXU1BOD1
The G900HXXU1BOD1 is the recent one and now rolling out in Argentina and Brazil. Noting that the rest of Latin America countries already got a Lollipop update such as Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay and Uruguay to build version G900HXXU1BOB8 way back in February. So this is a continuation of the roll out to the rest of the region.
Android version 5.0 (Lollipop OS)
Baseband version G900HXXU1BOD1
Kernel version 3.4.0-4619314
Build number LRX21T.G900HXXU1BOD1
In addition, seeing that the Lollipop update has kept on coming on several countries there still few countries did not see the update yet. Some of these countries like South Africa, including those in Middle East and South Asian countries are still awaiting their Lollipop update. So if you were from those mentioned regions, just keep eyeing out of it. It could arrive very soon.
Below, is the step-by-step guide on how to get the Lollipop update for your Galaxy S5 SM-G900H device. Just make sure to learn the basic approach as you might need it if and when the Lollipop update arrives in your areas.
How to Update the Galaxy S5 SM-G900H to the Android 5.0 Lollipop
Samsung always advises us to prepare the following important notes to consider before performing the software update. I have also added some useful insights why you should follow this procedures to keep your phone in safe.
Recharge the phone’s battery – You should make sure your device is fully recharged before performing the software update. Do not also remove the battery during the software update is in progress. A power failures may cause damaged to your device that might results as we so-called “soft-bricks”. If this happens your device may just stuck on Samsung logo or welcome screen and can’t reboot normally.
Back important data – You should back-up your important files, including contacts, emails, messages, photos, videos, apps and other stuff. Like I said while during software update process is interrupted there is a possibility that your data stored from your device internal SD card may lose or deleted when a sudden unexpected failure happened and it forces you to perform a factory data reset which basically wipes your phone’s memory.
Galaxy S5 has no root – Your device should not be modified and rooted, as there is a certain circumstances that a modified and rooted Galaxy S5 SM-G900H may not accept any official software update anymore or it can accept an update but it might harm your device once the update has made. Learn about the new Samsung KNOX security suite. Most known error that says ‘firmware upgrade encountered an issue, please select recovery mode in kies and try again‘ or “Your device has been modified Software update are not available” you should try to avoid that from happening.
Update to5.0 Lollipop via Over-The-Air (OTA)
This is usually how the carrier branded or locked Samsung Galaxy S5, performs a software update. This method is Firmware Update through over the air or called as OTA update, which usually a notification message will directly sent to you from your network provider or Samsung and notifies you that there is a new update available for download. If you did not receive any notification messages you can manually check fro the update instead. Doing this you may only tap on your Galaxy S5 SM-G900F Settings>>About Device, tap Software Update.
Find “Software update”
Slide your finger down the display starting from the top edge of your mobile phone.
Tap the settings icon.
Tap About device.
Tap Software update.
It will automatically tells you that a new update is available or your software is up to date when there is none yet. You can simply tap install now when you want to perform an update or install later.
Update to 5.0 Lollipop Through Kies
The second method is a firmware update through Samsung Kies. You may head-over to your local Samsung support page from where you can download Samsung Kies from there, and install it in your Windows or Mac computer. Choose the new Kies 3 which supports the Galaxy S5 SM-G900H and other Samsung devices running with Android 4.4.2 and up OS . Once you installed Kies 3, all you need is connect your Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900H to the computer using the USB cable, then simply run and follow Kies on-screen software update instructions.
