Things from Google

[sweenish]

Duo is beginning its rollout: https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2016/08/meet-google-duo-simple-1-to-1-video.html

And the Nexus phones have made their way to the FCC: http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/08/15/htc-nexus-marlin-sailfish-get-certified-fcc/

There's been some hubbub about the design of the smaller Nexus and by the transitive property, the larger one as well. I hated the 6P until the official reveal, and had I been in the market I very well might have bought it. So, I'm going to try my best to reserve judgment until Google officially announces the phones. With that, I am in the market this year and the Nexus line really is my go-to when it comes to Android phones.

I also hope Allo is following soon after. I know I won't be able to switch to it 100%, but I really want to give it a spin.

 

[Megatomic]

I am really more excited for Allo than I am for Duo but that being said I did get the Duo apk from APKMirror. I hope I can at least get my family to try these apps out.

 

[Red Storm]

Looking forward to trying Duo.

I don't like that they stopped with the front facing speakers this year, a bizarre move to me. I don't see the justification for bezels that large if there aren't stereo speakers. Somehow the one annoying thing about HTC phones made it to the Nexus design, and that's a shame.

 

[sweenish]

I am sad to be missing out out on front facing speakers. My N5 seems to have eclipsed the "fad."

If what they have is loud enough, I will probably be fine. But truth be told, the number of times I actually need my phone speakers to be decent is not a lot. That's my personal use case, but the ability to have quality phone audio should still be a thing.

All the leaks have been of the smaller phone, and I'm hoping that the larger phone is not 100% identical, in that the over-large bottom bezel would look absolutely ridiculous on a larger body.

 

[pete6032]

Really excited about the new Nexus devices but I can't believe the leaked photos we've seen are anywhere close to the final product. The leaked pics have been horrid looking.

 

[pete6032]

I am really more excited for Allo than I am for Duo but that being said I did get the Duo apk from APKMirror. I hope I can at least get my family to try these apps out.

You can pre-register to be notified when Allo comes out.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.fireball&hl=en

 

[tsupersonic]

I find it odd that Duo was released before Allo...I can't wait to see the new Nexus devices, and hope some of the rumored features trickle down to my 6P (which I plan on using as my daily for at least another year)

 

[Megatomic]

You can pre-register to be notified when Allo comes out.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.fireball&hl=en

I was enrolled for both but oddly the enrollment for Duo didn't get me any advanced knowledge of when it was going to be released. I tune in to Android Police for kind of info.

 

[sweenish]

Really excited about the new Nexus devices but I can't believe the leaked photos we've seen are anywhere close to the final product. The leaked pics have been horrid looking.

Yeah, that's why I'm waiting. I loathed the 6P before it was officially unveiled, and I seriously considered buying one afterwards. Google has decent design chops, so I'm hoping for a similar turnaround.

I was enrolled for both but oddly the enrollment for Duo didn't get me any advanced knowledge of when it was going to be released. I tune in to Android Police for kind of info.

I also didn't get any kind of notification until I was installing the app. Funny enough, when I searched for the app and went to its page, I couldn't install, but if I backed up to the search results, I was able to install from the 3 dot menu. I think the registration was trying to control the roll-out, but Google kind of doesn't get the point if that was intended to be the case.

 

[Commodus]

Duo seems kinda neat, but it's hard not to shake the "FaceTime for Android" image. That is, it'd have been revolutionary 6 years ago, but not so much now.

 

[dlock13]

Duo seems kinda neat, but it's hard not to shake the "FaceTime for Android" image. That is, it'd have been revolutionary 6 years ago, but not so much now.

I think the fact that it is so extremely simple by design that it makes it revolutionary. What I mean is that Google has been trying to get video chat into Android for a while now, but they keep pushing it out at an app/service level instead of at an OS level which is what Facetime does.

They've always made things more complicated than they're worth. The fact that Duo is so simple and will eventually integrate with the Phone app means that it could gain popularity since it is more seamlessly (hopefully) integrated with the system and only requires a phone number for sign up.

Right now, they actually have a solid foundation, and if they play their cards right, this can be a hit.

 

[Commodus]

I think the fact that it is so extremely simple by design that it makes it revolutionary. What I mean is that Google has been trying to get video chat into Android for a while now, but they keep pushing it out at an app/service level instead of at an OS level which is what Facetime does.

They've always made things more complicated than they're worth. The fact that Duo is so simple and will eventually integrate with the Phone app means that it could gain popularity since it is more seamlessly (hopefully) integrated with the system and only requires a phone number for sign up.

Right now, they actually have a solid foundation, and if they play their cards right, this can be a hit.

True, I'm not knocking the concept other than that it feels late and me-too. But having it means that everyone gets a FaceTime-like experience, not just iOS and Mac users.

 

[dlock13]

True, I'm not knocking the concept other than that it feels late and me-too. But having it means that everyone gets a FaceTime-like experience, not just iOS and Mac users.

Right, and I'm hopeful Google does make it a simple competitor to FaceTime. I mean people have been clamoring for an iMessage like experience from Google. With Duo and Allo, they might actually be able to implement that to a larger group of users (iOS, macOS, Windows via Chrome, Android, Chromebooks), so it could cut down on the use of Apple products and lead consumers to Google products such as a Chromebook or an Android device.

This is all completely hopeful and speculation on my part. This requires Google to build out Duo and Allo and stick with them instead of seeing squirrels and running astray.

 

[Red Storm]

To me, Knock Knock is the key feature that separates Duo from FaceTime and other video chat apps. Being able to get some context before answering a video call makes a huge difference, it's a very innovative and important feature. When you get a video call from a friend, you wonder where they are, who are they with (am I going to be seeing just them or will there be several faces looking back at me), what's the situation (are they out and about, lounging around home in their PJs, at work, at an event, a store, etc). Depending on that context, I may or may not want to answer that video call. Duo clears that up for you, which is absolutely brilliant. I hope everyone else copies it right away.

 

[sweenish]

Nougat is released: https://www.android.com/versions/nougat-7-0/

Now I just wait for the source so I can slap a ROM on my N5.

 

[disappoint]

Why didn't the N5 get Nougat when it has the same RAM (2GB) as the N5X? Snapdragon 808 isn't that much faster than the 800, it has 2 more cores but they are clocked lower than the other 4.

 

[shabby]

Why didn't the N5 get Nougat when it has the same RAM (2GB) as the N5X? Snapdragon 808 isn't that much faster than the 800, it has 2 more cores but they are clocked lower than the other 4.

This is the best guess http://www.androidcentral.com/Android-7-snapdragon-800

 

[shortylickens]

Most likely Duo will be used for phone sex. And I bet it gets hacked. And I bet we see some celebs naked before the end of the year.

 

[sweenish]

What is the point of that speculation?

 

[JAG87]

To me, Knock Knock is the key feature that separates Duo from FaceTime and other video chat apps. Being able to get some context before answering a video call makes a huge difference, it's a very innovative and important feature. When you get a video call from a friend, you wonder where they are, who are they with (am I going to be seeing just them or will there be several faces looking back at me), what's the situation (are they out and about, lounging around home in their PJs, at work, at an event, a store, etc). Depending on that context, I may or may not want to answer that video call. Duo clears that up for you, which is absolutely brilliant. I hope everyone else copies it right away.

It also wastes your data without your consent, so it's not all peaches and cream.

 

[disappoint]

This is the best guess http://www.androidcentral.com/Android-7-snapdragon-800

Thanks for the article, it was an interesting read but then at the end he says:

the General Mobile 4G, an Android One device that uses the Snapdragon 410 and is in every way weaker on the hardware front than any phone running the Snapdragon 800 — already has Android Nougat and this throws a huge wrench into even the most plausible theory.

Is Google breaking its own rules here in regard to the CTS? Or is everything we have heard and think we know all bullshit and it really is some sinister plot to make us angry? (I'm fairly certain Google is breaking its own rules because it can, but I'm just as certain that everything is bullshit, so I still have no idea.)

So now I still have no idea.

 

[WelshBloke]

It also wastes your data without your consent, so it's not all peaches and cream.

You can turn it off.

 

[Red Storm]

It also wastes your data without your consent, so it's not all peaches and cream.

How is it without your consent? You can enable or disable it in settings.

My whole family now uses Duo, once they saw it in action they were happy to switch to it from various other services. Knock Knock was a really cool feature to them.

 

[SAWYER]

Big fail on Allo if what I read is true, it can only be associated with one device and you can not use it on a pc/tablet like imessage

 

[JAG87]

How is it without your consent? You can enable or disable it in settings.

My whole family now uses Duo, once they saw it in action they were happy to switch to it from various other services. Knock Knock was a really cool feature to them.

Does it warn you when you start the app the knock knock will use more data? Does it turn itself off when you are on cellular data or roaming? Is it disabled by default? If any of these answers is no, then it's without your consent, most users will not go past installing it and using it (the thing is advertised for simplicity, so...)

Most people aren't savvy enough with technology. There are a lot of people who can't afford more than a 500mb or 1gb data plan, and there's a lot of people who travel and roam on limited data buckets.