This week, on our firmware news roundup: the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 gets updated to Android Pie stable, OnePlus 6 gets Bluetooth equalizer, and more!Google
Google
According to XDA Developers, the international version of Pixel 3 is expected to receive Band 48 support. This model is being sold pretty much everywhere except for Japan.Now, this band is really not that widely used. If we had to take a guess as to why then it's probably because of the poor penetration capabilities that this network has.It's expected that 5G will rely on this Band as its core. But, that doesn't mean that the Pixel 3 will support 5G - simply because you need extra hardware for that and the Pixel 3 doesn't have that.We don't have any information on when that update will arrive. But, we'll keep you updated if we find out anything new.
Good news for Zenfone 5 owners. If you haven't already, then you're going to get your slice of Pie pretty soon. But, unfortunately, we also got some bad news for you.You may be getting Android Pie, but that's about it. There are no new features or apps to find here. Most Pie phones are also getting the new gesture-based navigation system, Digital Wellbeing, and other Pie features. But, Asus doesn't mention anything like that on their changelog.So, we assume that you get nothing but the latest version of Android along with an updated security patch. Asus doesn't mention which one but we assume that it's either the December or the January patch. That's all for now.
Another update is here for the Mate 20 Pro and it further improves the camera along with face unlock. It weighs almost half a gigabyte. So, for an update that only brings a few improvements and fixes, it's definitely a little bit big.To be more specific about the improvements, the bug where the camera couldn't be launched in certain scenarios is now fixed, photos now have more natural colors, and the quality of photos in master AI mode got optimized. Huawei doesn't specify the improvements about the face unlock, but we suppose that it has to do something with low-lighting conditions.Furthermore, you will also be getting the December security patch. That's all we have for now. We'll keep you updated if anything else comes up.
Other than that, you also get improved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth stability, the December security bug, and a few other minor bug fixes and improvements. Furthermore, Nightscape performance has been improved as well.As per usual, this is an incremental OTA update - which means that it will only arrive for a small percentage of people at first. However, if nothing goes wrong, everyone should eventually receive it.We've also noticed that there is a small update for the OnePlus 5 available but it offers nothing but a few small bug fixes. That's all for now. If we learn anything new, we'll make sure to keep you updated.
The information that we currently have at our disposal suggests that the stable Pie build for the Note 9 will get delivered at the 15th of this month. Seeing how this is the fourth Beta update to arrive in a relatively short period of time, only increases our suspicions.This update is currently rolling out in India, Germany, and South Korea. It brings a few small bug-fixes along with the January security patch.To be more precise: force touch of the home button is now working in gesture mode, gallery app will no longer crash while playing motion photos, Bixby no longer crashes when in two phone mode, navigation bar is no longer changing to one-handed operation mode while you're in gesture mode, and the bottom right of the keyboard can now be touched.It weighs just about 123 megabytes. So, it's clearly a small one. As always, if you're a Beta tester, then do understand that it's normal to experience bugs like these every now and then. That's what Betas are for; to find any bugs and fix them.Again, we don't have any official information on when the stable build will arrive; but we're expecting to see it on the 15th of January.Update: the stable version of Android Pie is now being released for the Note 9. It came much earlier than we anticipated but that's for the best.At the moment, it has only been sighted in Germany but we expect that it'll reach the global market soon. If you're a Beta tester then the update is only going to weight a bit less than 100 megabytes. If you're upgrading from Oreo, then you'll probably see more than a gigabyte.Apart from Android Pie, you'll also get Samsung's new One UI. We hope you'll enjoy it.
This is only for Turkey's market as it comes from Samsung Turkey. So, the situation may differ in other regions. Other information also suggests that the Note 8 and S8 series may get a Pie Beta programme as well.The Pie test builds have been previously spotted but no remarks about a Beta programme have been made yet. So, all we can do at the moment is wait and see. That's all we've got for now. We'll keep you updated if anything else comes up.Feel like we forgot something important? Got something wrong? Then let us and everyone else know about it in the comments section down below!Like what you see? Then don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news, reviews, listicles, apps, games, devices, how-to guides, and more!
What's new this week?
- Pixel 3 is set to receive Band 48 support through an update
Asus
- Asus Zenfone 5 gets updated to Android Pie
Huawei
- Huawei Mate 20 Pro receives an update which improves the camera
OnePlus
- The latest update for the OnePlus 6 brings BT equalizer to the table
Samsung
- Galaxy Note 9 receives its fourth Pie Beta update and the stable version soon afterward
- The Note 8 will receive Pie ahead of the S8 series
Pixel 3
According to XDA Developers, the international version of Pixel 3 is expected to receive Band 48 support. This model is being sold pretty much everywhere except for Japan.Now, this band is really not that widely used. If we had to take a guess as to why then it's probably because of the poor penetration capabilities that this network has.It's expected that 5G will rely on this Band as its core. But, that doesn't mean that the Pixel 3 will support 5G - simply because you need extra hardware for that and the Pixel 3 doesn't have that.We don't have any information on when that update will arrive. But, we'll keep you updated if we find out anything new.Asus
Zenfone 5
Good news for Zenfone 5 owners. If you haven't already, then you're going to get your slice of Pie pretty soon. But, unfortunately, we also got some bad news for you.You may be getting Android Pie, but that's about it. There are no new features or apps to find here. Most Pie phones are also getting the new gesture-based navigation system, Digital Wellbeing, and other Pie features. But, Asus doesn't mention anything like that on their changelog.So, we assume that you get nothing but the latest version of Android along with an updated security patch. Asus doesn't mention which one but we assume that it's either the December or the January patch. That's all for now.Huawei
Mate 20 Pro
Another update is here for the Mate 20 Pro and it further improves the camera along with face unlock. It weighs almost half a gigabyte. So, for an update that only brings a few improvements and fixes, it's definitely a little bit big.To be more specific about the improvements, the bug where the camera couldn't be launched in certain scenarios is now fixed, photos now have more natural colors, and the quality of photos in master AI mode got optimized. Huawei doesn't specify the improvements about the face unlock, but we suppose that it has to do something with low-lighting conditions.Furthermore, you will also be getting the December security patch. That's all we have for now. We'll keep you updated if anything else comes up.OnePlus
OnePlus 6
The latest update for the OnePlus 6 brings Audio Tuner for Bluetooth earphones; aka an equalizer. And while you could always use something like PowerAmp for this kind of stuff, this is most certainly a welcome addition.
Other than that, you also get improved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth stability, the December security bug, and a few other minor bug fixes and improvements. Furthermore, Nightscape performance has been improved as well.As per usual, this is an incremental OTA update - which means that it will only arrive for a small percentage of people at first. However, if nothing goes wrong, everyone should eventually receive it.We've also noticed that there is a small update for the OnePlus 5 available but it offers nothing but a few small bug fixes. That's all for now. If we learn anything new, we'll make sure to keep you updated.Samsung
Galaxy Note 9
The information that we currently have at our disposal suggests that the stable Pie build for the Note 9 will get delivered at the 15th of this month. Seeing how this is the fourth Beta update to arrive in a relatively short period of time, only increases our suspicions.This update is currently rolling out in India, Germany, and South Korea. It brings a few small bug-fixes along with the January security patch.To be more precise: force touch of the home button is now working in gesture mode, gallery app will no longer crash while playing motion photos, Bixby no longer crashes when in two phone mode, navigation bar is no longer changing to one-handed operation mode while you're in gesture mode, and the bottom right of the keyboard can now be touched.It weighs just about 123 megabytes. So, it's clearly a small one. As always, if you're a Beta tester, then do understand that it's normal to experience bugs like these every now and then. That's what Betas are for; to find any bugs and fix them.Again, we don't have any official information on when the stable build will arrive; but we're expecting to see it on the 15th of January.Update: the stable version of Android Pie is now being released for the Note 9. It came much earlier than we anticipated but that's for the best.At the moment, it has only been sighted in Germany but we expect that it'll reach the global market soon. If you're a Beta tester then the update is only going to weight a bit less than 100 megabytes. If you're upgrading from Oreo, then you'll probably see more than a gigabyte.Apart from Android Pie, you'll also get Samsung's new One UI. We hope you'll enjoy it.Note 8 and S8 series
According to GSM Arena and Samsung, the Note 8 is expected to receive the Pie update ahead of the S8 and S8+. To be more precise, the Note 8 is scheduled to get Pie in February while the S8 series is scheduled to get it a month later somewhere in March.
This is only for Turkey's market as it comes from Samsung Turkey. So, the situation may differ in other regions. Other information also suggests that the Note 8 and S8 series may get a Pie Beta programme as well.The Pie test builds have been previously spotted but no remarks about a Beta programme have been made yet. So, all we can do at the moment is wait and see. That's all we've got for now. We'll keep you updated if anything else comes up.Feel like we forgot something important? Got something wrong? Then let us and everyone else know about it in the comments section down below!Like what you see? Then don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news, reviews, listicles, apps, games, devices, how-to guides, and more!