Table of contents for 76 in Android Advisor

Google has announced that Android 10 was installed on 100 million devices in the first five months of its release, making it the Android version with the fastest adoption rate yet. Those figures are 28 per cent faster than Android 9 Pie, and today Android 10 is on nearly 400 million devices. Pushed out to Google Pixel phones in September 2019, Android 10 managed to make its way onto 100 million phones and tablets in 150 days. That’s significant for Android given that apart from Google, every manufacturer has to work like crazy to get its Android skin ready for release. OnePlus and Sony have been historically good at this, but it’s the improvement of Samsung in this area that has perhaps contributed to the numbers considering how many Samsung…

Android 11 has finally hit its public beta, making it far easier for curious users to road test this pre-release version of Google’s mobile operating system. Here’s how to get it. Which phones can get Android 11? As with any developmental build of Android, there are prerequisites for being able to access the beta in the first place. Right now, it’s limited to Google’s own Pixel devices, but more phones from other manufacturers may join the roster soon. This is the first major Android release that excludes the original Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, while also folding the mid-range Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL into the roster too. The full list of compatible devices is below: Pixel2 Pixel 2 XL Pixel 3 Pixel 3 XL Pixel 3a Pixel…

Price: £1,299 from fave.co/3iMeCRc Back in March Huawei unveiled the P40 range, which has since grown a bit in the UK as we’ve gained the P40 Lite which was originally launched in Spain and was thought to be a model that wouldn’t come to British shores. The P40 Pro+ sits at the opposite end of the range, as an ‘ultra flagship’ above the P40 Pro. It’s the first time Huawei has done this: last year, the P30 Pro was the range topper. In many respects, though, the Pro+ is hard to tell apart from the P40 as the two phones are largely the same: they have the same design, the same screen, the same CPU and other internals. What sets the Pro+ apart is its five rear cameras, ceramic back,…

Price: £1,099 from fave.co/2ANcsj1 The Find X2 Pro is nothing more than a statement of intent from Oppo. With Galaxy S20 Ultra-rivalling specs – and a price tag to match – this is a company saying: we don’t just make good phones. Or great phones. We make the best phones. And honestly? It’s not far off. Spec for spec there aren’t many phones out there that can match it, while the design feels premium – if a little pedestrian by Oppo’s usual standards, orange leather aside. This is undoubtedly one of the best Android phones on the market, so the only question that really remains is whether anyone in the UK and Europe is really willing to spend as much as they would on a Samsung or Apple flagship for…

It’s the end of the line for our favourite bang-for-buck Android phone. Google’s superb Pixel 3A and 3A XL are now discontinued, as rumours of an imminent Pixel 4a launch swirl. “Google Store has sold through its inventory and completed sales of Pixel 3a,” a Google spokesperson told Android Police, after the site noticed the phone switched to ‘Unavailable’ status. “For people who are still interested in buying Pixel 3a, the product is available from some partners while supplies last.” The Pixel 3a was the first cheaper Pixel to crack Google’s flagship line-up, and we fell in love immediately when it launched last July. “The Pixel 3a isn’t a cut-rate Pixel 3, it’s just a cheaper version of the same great phone,” we said in our round-up of the best Android…

Camera quality has become one of the biggest points of consideration when choosing a new smartphone. The arms race for sharper and smarter cameras in the sliver of glass, metal and silicon that resides in your pocket is easily one of the most heated right now. As such, it’s pushing manufacturers to create hardware capable of astounding image and video quality, despite the limited amount of space and size they have to work with. We’ve collated a shortlist of the best Android camera phones currently on the market, based on the latest and greatest smartphones to run through our review gauntlet. How we test phone cameras Rather than using controlled conditions and attempting to compare the cameras scientifically, we take photos and videos just as anyone else would, in real-world situations, without additional equipment…

Price: £199 from fave.co/300YnY5 Now joining Redmi Note 9S in Xiaomi’s 2020 budget phone range in the UK is this Redmi Note 9 and a higher-spec Note 9 Pro. For those on tight budgets the 9 is very slightly cheaper than the 9S, but sacrifices some screen estate, the Snapdragon 720G and a few additional features. Promising the same high-capacity 5,020mAh battery that drove the 9S to the top of our phone battery charts and a very similar quad-lens rear camera, we consider whether the small saving is enough to sway you in favour of the younger sibling. Design The Redmi Note 9 is a fine-looking phone, especially in our review sample’s Midnight Grey colour scheme. It is also available in Forest Green and Polar White. It should not surprise you…

You’re forgiven if you missed the official beta of Android 11, quietly launched by Google. Apple did the same with iOS 14 at its all-online WWDC, and before long we’ll be doing it all again next year. It needs to stop. Annual updates have painted Apple and Google into increasingly smaller corners, as they simultaneously rush and delay features to make sure each version update is packed with new stuff. With the relentless pace of updates over the years, it’s gotten harder to wow us with new features. The fact of the matter is, Android 11 is boring, and iOS 14 will be too. There is another way. But will Apple and Google be brave enough to break with tradition? It may take a few more boring updates to know…

Android 11 is now available as a beta download for Pixel 2, 3, 3a and 4 phones. Google pushed the update live after postponing its online launch due to the civil unrest in the US after the killing of African American George Floyd by a white police officer. Its announcement at Google’s annual I/O event meant it had already been delayed since I/O was cancelled due to coronavirus. In the meantime, we have a new version of Android to dig into. All you have to do is visit fave.co/38JsOpF to enrol your phone. You have to have a compatible Pixel and be logged into the correct Google account. Google has a few new changes up its sleeve as you’d expect, but just like Android 10, Android 11 doesn’t completely revamp…

For years now friends, family and even colleagues have wondered how I am able to spend so long playing around with power banks. They just charge your phone, right, so what’s the big deal? Not all power banks are created equal. You’ve got cheap ones and pricey ones as in all veins of consumer tech, and as with anything else sometimes you’re just paying for a name. But beyond that, there’s so much more to portable power than a charging brick with a USB output. What capacity do I need? Power bank capacity is commonly misunderstood. You don’t need to understand what is mAh, only that if your phone spec says it has a 4,000mAh battery you are going to need at least a 4,000mAh bank in order to get a…

Price: £169 from fave.co/3ejbR6v Sony’s smartphone division has fallen behind the likes of Apple, Samsung and OnePlus in recent years, forcing it to adapt. The release of the Xperia 1 in 2019 marked a shift in strategy for the Japanese company, introducing a 21:9 aspect ratio for the first time. Now, it’s bringing this tall, thin chassis to budget phones, starting with the Xperia L4. Can this standout feature make the phone a true budget contender, or are there too many compromises in other areas? Read on to find out. Design The first thing I noticed about the L4’s design is the shift to a 21:9 aspect ratio. It’s the most obvious difference over last year’s L3, and the first time Sony has brought this tall, narrow form factor to…