This week, on our weekly firmware news: turns out that the Redmi 6 and 6A will not get updated to Android Pie, multiple Huawei devices set to receive the latest version of Android, and more!
What's New This Week?
Huawei
- Honor 8 Pro gets its slice of Pie
- Honor Magic 2 and View 20 are expected to get GPU Turbo 3.0 by the end of May
- 6 Huawei phones get updated to the latest version of Android
- P30 Pro gets AR measurement tool
HMD Global
- Nokia 9 PureView receives a ton of improvements with the latest update
Motorola
- Moto G6 is now receiving Android Pie in the US
Samsung
- Latest update for the Galaxy M20 improves charging speed
- Galaxy Fold is expected to receive at least one update out of the box
OnePlus
- Android Pie community beta is now available for the OnePlus 3 and 3T
Xiaomi
- Latest MIUI beta build brings a new feature to the table
- Redmi 6 and 6A unlikely to receive Android Pie
Huawei
Honor 8 Pro
The stable version of Android Pie is finally here for the the Honor 8 Pro. And along with it, EMUI 9.
If you're already running the beta version, then you'll only have to download something more than 300 megabytes. However, if you're on the stable version, then you're looking at more than 3 gigs. So, do keep that in mind.
Apart from Android Pie, you also get some of its features, like Adaptive Battery. Furthermore, you also get the new UI of EMUI 9 and lots of new stuff.
There is AI object recognition, Huawei Share 3.0, ViLTE, and more. March's security patch is included in the updated, which is always a good thing.
Honor View 20 and Magic 2
Honor Magic UI 2.1, Honor's custom ROM, is already in development. It's expected to become available in beta for View 20 and Magic 2 users by the end of this month.
If all goes well, everyone should see the stable version coming by the end of May. With this release, you can expect to see GPU Turbo 3.0. In case you haven't heard about it, GPU Turbo is a piece of software that increases gaming performance and power efficiency.
The only downside? It only works with a handful of games right now. However, as time goes on, it is expected that the list of compatibility will get longer and longer.
Apart from GPU Turbo, we're also expecting to see features like AI video editing, dual SIM switching, an AR measurement tool, and more!
Multiple Devices
Six more Huawei devices are getting upgraded to Android Pie. Those include the:
- Honor Play 7X
- Honor 9 youth version and Honor 9i
- Huawei Enjoy 7S
- Huawei Enjoy 8 Plus
Furthermore, starting from today, the Huawei Enjoy 9 Plus has also started receiving the update. Do keep in mind that this is most likely an incremental roll-out, which means that not everybody will receive the update at first.
Apart from Android Pie, you also get some of its features, like Adaptive Battery, along with EMUI 9.0. And of course, along with EMUI 9, you get the new UI and any new features that it has.
Huawei P30 Pro
When the P30 Pro was first revealed, Huawei showcased an interesting featured called "AR measurement". And what basically does is that it can measure the distance between two objects in real life by using the camera.
That may sound interesting, but we never came to see the feature on the actual released P30 Pro. Good thing that according to our sources, it's now being delivered through an update.
We can't say for sure just why the phone didn't ship with the feature included. Maybe it wasn't quite ready yet. Maybe it needed small improvements and/or fixes.
This is made possible by Huawei's time of flight sensor. At the moment, nobody can safely say just how accurate it is. Once it arrives on a worldwide scale and millions of people will be able to use it, then we'll definitely have more data to work with.
Speaking of worldwide delivery, according to our sources, this update is currently only available in China. Still, if it's already available in one region, then chances are that it'll go Global pretty soon.
So, if it so much happens that you've got a P30 Pro in your possession, let us know if you've received this update or not by using this comments section.
HMD Global
Nokia 9 PureView
The latest update for the Nokia 9 PureView improves system stability, brings the latest security patch, and offers user interface enhancements. It weighs about 250 megabytes, so, make sure that you're on your Wi-Fi.
However, according to numerous users, this update brings more improvements than what it says. HDR, fingerprint reader, and screen calibration have been improved. And other things like over-sharped images and weird skin colors have been fixed.
This update is currently rolling OTA. We don't know if it's incremental or not. So, there's a chance that you won't get it at first. In which case, it really is incremental and is being delivered in waves.
That's all we've got for now. We'll let you know if anything else comes up. So, stay tuned!
Motorola
Moto G6
Other regions had already started receiving Android Pie a couple of months ago. Now the USA joins in as well.
A potential reason for this delay is how carriers work there. Most, if not all devices are locked and this makes it much more difficult to deliver updates.
Apart from Android Pie, you're also getting some of its features along with the latest Android security patch. Now, according to our sources, Motorola pushes their updates only a few days after announcing them. So, you may have to wait for a tiny bit longer before getting your slice of Pie.
Samsung
Galaxy M20
The latest update for the Samsung Galaxy M20 is here. The description says that it improves fast charging, brings the March security patch, and brings a few general performance and stability improvements.
At less than 100 megabytes, this is a rather small update which doesn't bring much else to the table. The phone still runs on Android Oreo, which kinda sucks. But, hey, what can you do about it?
Galaxy Fold
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is Samsung's first handheld device that is flirting with a $2K price tag. So, it's no surprise that they are trying to ensure that their users will get the best possible experience out of it.
As the release date is coming closer and closer, more and more updates are stacking over one another. Security builds, bug fixes, etc. It's expected that you'll get several updates right out of the box.
OnePlus
OnePlus 3 and 3T
Good news for OnePlus 3/3T owners. You're now closer to Android Pie than ever before.
The community build is ready and pretty much everyone can try it. However, you can't install it OTA. At the moment, you need to head over to the OnePlus forums and follow the instructions.
However, do keep in mind that this is still considered a beta build. So, don't complain if anything goes wrong. You'll be installing it at your own risk.
As for the stable OTA version? Well, it's certainly hard to say at the moment. If everything goes well, you'll probably get it by the end of the next month. However, if more bugs keep on coming up with these tests, then OnePlus may have to extend the wait times.
That's all we've got for now. Stay tuned for more.
Xiaomi
MIUI
The latest MIUI beta brings a new feature to the table which highly resembles Google's Digital Wellbeing.
This is called screen time and it basically works like Digital Wellbeing. It counts how many hours you've been using your phone, which apps you've been using and the duration of usage, number of times that you've unlocked your device, number of notifications, and possibly more in the future.
We suppose that this is a good thing since Xiaomi won't have to worry too much about implementing Digital Wellbeing without experiencing extra bugs and issues. Not to mention that this integrates more deeply within the MIUI ecosystem.
Update: starting from today, this feature is now also available in the Global variant of the ROM.
Redmi 6 and Redmi 6A
The Redmi 6 series came about a year ago with Android Oreo out of the box. They were originally meant to get Android Pie. However, the company lately changed the development status to: "Change of plans - Suspension of recruitment".
If you ask us, that sounds like a polite way of saying that the phone will no longer be supported. So, since the those phones are no longer supported, chances are that they'll never get to see Android Pie.
This could be due to the fact that the phone is powered by a Mediatek chipset and that makes delivering updates a bit harder. Or it could be because this is one of the cheapest Xiaomi phones out there.
After all, when everything is said and done, smartphone manufacturers are known for focusing more towards their flagships instead of their budget devices. And to be honest, that's kind of the logical approach here.
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