Analysis

For longer articles that analyze trends, smartphones, companies, etc. Articles in this category are automatically placed in the “Analysis & Opinion” sidebar in the Forums.

Early Google Pixel 4a performance review compares the 2020 mid-range Pixel to the Pixel 4, Pixel 3a, and Pixel 3 XL

Early Google Pixel 4a performance review compares the 2020 mid-range Pixel to the Pixel 4, Pixel 3a, and Pixel 3 XL

May 13, 2020
If there wasn't a global pandemic to worry about, then Google would have held its annual developer conference, Google I/O, in Mountain View, California this week. At last year's I/O, Google unveiled its first-ever mid-range Pixel devices, the Pixel 3a and 3a XL. This year, we're expecting Google to follow-up with a new mid-range Pixel...
The push for 5G may have unintentionally killed the “Flagship Killer” this year

The push for 5G may have unintentionally killed the “Flagship Killer” this year

May 10, 2020
In the early days of Android, smartphone wars amongst OEMs were solely about the spec sheet. Big numbers, fast numbers, many numbers -- it was all a race to the top. The idea of a flagship was to throw as many things as you could together and present it to the consumer at a price...
How Indus App Bazaar is hyper-localizing mobile apps with Indic languages: Interview with Rakesh Deshmukh

How Indus App Bazaar is hyper-localizing mobile apps with Indic languages: Interview with Rakesh Deshmukh

April 25, 2020
India has only about 2% of the landmass on Earth, but it accommodates nearly one-fifth of the world's population. The massive population makes it one of the world's largest consumers of electronics and especially, mobile phones. India's mobile phone penetration stands at about 90% of the population. On top of that, affordable smartphones and incentives...
How the Iris 5 chip from Pixelworks can improve the visual experience of Android smartphones

How the Iris 5 chip from Pixelworks can improve the visual experience of Android smartphones

March 21, 2020
Smartphone screens continue to improve in visual quality every year in typical ways like color accuracy, color gamut, and brightness. However, we've come to a point where many of the technical advancements in even the top-tier displays are now imperceptible or unnoticed. Panel vendors and OEMs are constantly trying to come up with new ways,...
How Monthly Android Security Patch Updates Work

How Monthly Android Security Patch Updates Work

March 2, 2020
Google has been publishing monthly security bulletins since August of 2015. These security bulletins contain a list of disclosed security vulnerabilities that have been fixed which affect the Android framework, Linux kernel, and other closed-source vendor components. Every vulnerability in the bulletins was either discovered by Google or disclosed to the company. Every vulnerability listed...
Critical MediaTek rootkit affecting millions of Android devices has been out in the open for months

Critical MediaTek rootkit affecting millions of Android devices has been out in the open for months

March 2, 2020
On the first Monday of every month, Google publishes the Android Security Bulletin, a page that discloses all the security vulnerabilities and their patches submitted by Google themselves or other third-parties. Today was no exception: Google just made public the Android Security Bulletin for March 2020. One of the vulnerabilities that are documented in the...
Opinion: Waterfall Displays are the Future of the Glass Slab Smartphone

Opinion: Waterfall Displays are the Future of the Glass Slab Smartphone

March 1, 2020
Curved screens have been one of the more controversial additions to phones in the past few years. A lot of phone enthusiasts dislike the extreme curves as they pose practical usability issues. Other people swear by curved displays, claiming that the look and feel of the curves are worth the usability trade-offs. This has been...
Dirac’s Android app seeks to improve the audio quality of your existing headphones

Dirac’s Android app seeks to improve the audio quality of your existing headphones

February 29, 2020
If you're deeply interested in the audio quality on your smartphone, Dirac is probably a name you've heard before. We've covered the company a few times here on XDA. Dirac is a Swedish audio research company that develops audio software used by many OEMs. There's a decent chance you'll find Dirac's technology in the device...
Xiaomi needs a better way to unbrick its devices instead of Authorized Mi Accounts

Xiaomi needs a better way to unbrick its devices instead of Authorized Mi Accounts

February 29, 2020
Over the years, Xiaomi has become the golden boy of the Indian smartphone market. From being just a starter entity in 2014 to becoming the leading smartphone OEM in the market for several quarters in a row in 2019, it's certainly been a wild ride for Xiaomi. We here at XDA-Developers have witnessed the company...
The iQOO 3 is the first Snapdragon 865 phone that comes in both 4G and 5G models

The iQOO 3 is the first Snapdragon 865 phone that comes in both 4G and 5G models

February 21, 2020
It's time for the first Qualcomm Snapdragon 865-powered flagship phones to arrive in the market. The Snapdragon 865 is Qualcomm's 2020 flagship SoC, and it was announced in December. The first phones to be announced with the Snapdragon 865 were the Snapdragon 865 variants of the Samsung Galaxy S20 series. Two days later, Xiaomi launched...
[Update 3: Supreme Court declines relief] India stares at a carrier monopoly with Reliance Jio as Airtel and Vodafone Idea face uncertain future

[Update 3: Supreme Court declines relief] India stares at a carrier monopoly with Reliance Jio as Airtel and Vodafone Idea face uncertain future

February 14, 2020
India has the world's lowest call and data tariffs in the world right now, riding on the back of mega telecom operators and hyper-competition among them. But that hasn't always been the case in the country, as a lot of it can be traced back to a few key defining moments in the telecom sector's...
Samsung is making 5G mainstream in the U.S. with the Galaxy S20

Samsung is making 5G mainstream in the U.S. with the Galaxy S20

February 11, 2020
Last year, Samsung was the first to offer a 5G-enabled smartphone in the world with the Galaxy S10 5G. This 5G phone launched nearly two months after the Galaxy S10 series launch and despite a rough start, it was met with great demand. Samsung followed up this success with a special Galaxy Note10+ 5G model....