This week, on our weekly firmware news roundup: ZTE Axon 10 Pro is now receiving the latest version of Android, both stable and beta Galaxy Note 9 users are now receiving Android 10, and more!
What's New This Week?
OnePlus
- OnePlus 7 series is now receiving One-Handed mode and more (Open Beta)
ZTE
- ZTE Axon 10 Pro is now receiving the latest version of Android
Samsung
- Galaxy Note 9 is now receiving the latest version of Android (For both stable and beta users)
- Android 10 development for the Galaxy A50 and A40 is now in progress
- Unlocked Galaxy Note 10 and 10+ units along with T-Mobile models are now receiving Android 10 in the US
- Multiple Samsung devices are already receiving the January security patch
OnePlus
OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro (Open Beta)
Open Beta 8 is here for the OnePlus 7 series and it brings one-handed mode with it along with a few other, smaller goodies as well.
In case you're not familiar with it, one-handed mode has been built with the purpose of making one-handed use easier. After all, there is no doubt that most phones are way too big for one-handed usage.
The exact method of achieving this can differ from phone to phone. But, generally, most manufacturers, including OnePlus, simply prefer making the UI smaller and bringing it closer to the right or left part of the screen for easier access.
This can come in handy when you're on the road and your left (Or right hand for lefties) is occupied. Other than one-handed mode, you also get December's security patch along with a few optimizations, improvements, and bug fixes as well!
ZTE
ZTE Axon 10 Pro
The ZTE Axon 10 Pro is one of the most powerful handhelds that ZTE has to offer at the moment - if not the most powerful. The fact that it is now receiving Android 10 stable only makes it better.
Apart from Android 10, you also ZTE's MiFavor 10 Android skin on top of it as well! And, as per usual, you can expect to get all the features that were introduced with Android 10 and MiFavor 10. Features such as Automatic Call Rejection, Group Ringtones, improved privacy options, system-wide Dark Mode, Google's new navigation system, optimized blacklist, Focus Mode, and more!
The update is currently only available in China. However, we expect that it won't be long before the rest of the world starts receiving it as well.
Samsung
Galaxy Note 9
Android 10 beta users of the Galaxy Note 9 started receiving the latest stable version of Android and it looks like stable users are now getting their turn as well.
As per usual, Germany is the first region to start receiving this update. It's a given that other regions will join in soon as well if they haven't already. So, all we can do is wait.
Do keep in mind that this is most likely an incremental update - which means that some of you may end up having to wait a bit more than others.
Apart from Android 10 and One UI 2.0, you also get all the features that are included in them along with the December security patch. To be more specific, we're talking about Google's new navigation system (Optional), Focus Mode, improved privacy controls, and more!
Galaxy A40 and A50
It makes sense for manufacturers to focus on their flagship-tier devices. After all, they are the most expensive to make and they are also targeted towards the "Premium" customers. However, that's not to say that more budget-oriented devices such as the Galaxy A50 don't get any love.
In fact, according to our sources, Samsung is now preparing the latest version of Android for both the Galaxy A40 and Galaxy A50.
The Galaxy A series is supposed to get Android 10 somewhere in April. But, both the Galaxy S10 and the Note 10 along with the Note 9 got it much sooner than expected. So, this may end up being the case with the Galaxy A40 and A50 as well!
Both the Galaxy M20 and M30 got their update less than two months after development started. So, it wouldn't unrealistic for us to expect the next A-series update somewhere in March or even sooner.
Still, take that last bit of info with a grain of salt. After all, nobody knows just what sort of issues and bugs may arise - not to mention Samsung's pace, incremental rollout delays, etc.
Galaxy Note 10
The Galaxy Note 10 started receiving the stable version of Android 10 a while ago. But, as per usual, the US variants remain slightly behind schedule. Not so much this time around, though.
After all, both the unlocked US variants of the Note 10 and Note 10+ are now receiving the latest version of Android! The rollout started about 3 days ago. So, you should be able to download the update after making a new check for updates on your settings.
If this is an incremental update, then you may have to wait until you get your turn. This typically doesn't last any longer than about a couple of weeks. So, be patient.
Apart from the unlocked variants, T-Mobile's Note 10 and Note 10+ are receiving the very same update as well!
Apart from Android 10 and One UI 2.0, this update also includes December's security patch (January's in Germany) along with all the features that you can expect to find on both One UI and the latest version of Android. Things like improved Digital Wellbeing, improved privacy, better privacy options, Focus Mode, etc.
Multiple Samsung Devices
Samsung has been making some serious improvements with pushing updates. The past couple of months have been especially great.
Not only we've seen numerous Android 10 updates being delivered before their promised date, but security updates are being delivered crazy fast as well.
We're only 3 days into January and these Samsung devices have already got (Or are in the middle of receiving) the January security patch:
- Galaxy A10, A10s, A20, A30, and A50
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e
- Galaxy S10e, S10, and Galaxy S10+
- And Note 10 (Only in Germany at the moment)
Samsung and Google have yet to mention the details about this security patch. But, at the very least, we're pretty sure that the above-mentioned updates include nothing more than the security patch itself and maybe some minor bug fixes or improvements.
One interesting thing to note is that we've yet to hear anything about the Pixel series - which means that Samsung essentially managed to push the latest security patch to their devices before Google themselves did. That's unusual, to say the least.
Do keep in mind that the January 2020 security update for the Galaxy S10 series only started being delivered a few hours ago in Switzerland. So, there is a good chance that most S10 users who are living in other regions are not going to receive anything just yet. However, the update should become globally available in a matter of days or a couple of weeks at most.
Closure
That's all we've got for now. Feel like we forgot to mention something important? Got anything wrong? Then let us and everyone else know about it in the comments section down below!
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