Androidifying

2018 has been a year of excellent smartphones , pleasing and shocking news stories , as well as firsts and lasts for a number of tech companies. Here’s a look at some of the most significant numbers in the smartphone industry throughout the year. 1.48 billion: smartphones sold Almost a billion and a half smartphones shipped this year, according to researcher estimates . It’s a hefty number to be sure, but this is actually a slight decline compared to previous years. Global smartphone shipments have been mostly flat since 2016, declining by roughly one percent this year, depending on which calculations you look at. The global picture is made up of major growth in India and a few other newer markets. Meanwhile, traditional Western consumers are holding onto their smartphones for a little longer these days, hence the overall plateau. The picture will probably look very much the same in 2019, and this is expected to have a knock-on effect for some of the world’s biggest manufacture...

Motorola The Motorola Moto G6 Plus isn’t available in North America, unfortunately. However, if you’re lucky enough to live in a country where the device is available, you can now upgrade your Moto G6 Plus to the latest Android 9 Pie . According to the Indian support page for the Moto G6 Plus, OTA update notifications are rolling out to the device now. If you can’t wait, you can follow the instructions below and update your device manually. The upgrade to Android 9 Pie on the G6 Plus brings all the usual improvements, including adaptive battery, adaptive brightness, security enhancements, and various changes system-wide to UI elements. Editor's Pick Moto G6 Plus launches in India but there are better, cheaper phones Motorola The Moto G and Moto E series have traditionally been held up as great examples of capable budget smartphones. Now, the Moto G6 Plus has been released in India, but it seems like … The Moto G6 Plus is very close in both design and specs to the...

It wasn’t that long ago that 8GB of RAM was considered a pretty sizeable capacity, even for a computer. Now, phones with 8GB of RAM are a thing – in fact, phones are even starting to offer 10GB of RAM ! While that’s arguably an overkill, more RAM is never a bad thing, especially if you plan to keep your handset for several years. More RAM doesn’t necessarily mean you’re totally future proof, but it certainly helps. If you’re in the market for a phone with 8GB of RAM, you’ll be happy to hear there are already quite a few of them to choose from — check out the five best ones below. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 was announced in August and is currently one of the best smartphones you can get your hands on. We here at Android Authority named it the smartphone of the year . It comes with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, although a version with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is also available. The flagship sports a 6.4-inch display with QHD+ resolution and is powere...

The Essential Phone is out of stock and that stock will no longer be replenished. This news led many to believe that the company as a whole is going down in flames. However, Essential’s head of research and development tweeted that the company isn’t done, “not by a long shot.” Late last week, we found out  the Essential Phone’s stock had run dry and would not be replenished. Many news publications took that information and ran with it, posting headlines such as “The Essential Phone is dead,” and “RIP Essential Phone.” After reading headlines like those, one might jump to the conclusion that Essential itself is dying as well. However, Jason Keats — the head of research and development at Essential — would beg to differ. Shortly after the headlines began making their way across the ‘net, Keats took to Twitter to dispel the rumors: All these stories about Essential’s demise just end up feeding my desire to rub their faces in it in the future. We aren’t done, not by a lon...

Verizon began its preparations for 5G years ago by densifying its 4G LTE network using small cell sites in highly-populated areas. The company’s current fiber-based network — a huge web consisting of 900,000 global fiber route miles as of August 2018  — will deliver data to Verizon’s millimeter ( mmWave ) 5G small cell sites scattered across the nation. In rural areas, Version will install fiber cable in 1,000-foot intervals . Overall, Verizon’s 5G rollout plan is the exact opposite of T-Mobile: Sell a fixed in-home 5G-based service first and launch a mobile 5G service sometime thereafter. T-Mobile is focusing on nationwide 5G coverage using long-range LTE Band 71 and two other short-range mmWave bands first, followed by an in-home service at a later date. Related: AT&T 5G Sprint 5G T-Mobile 5G While T-Mobile’s 5G service is based on industry standards approved by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project  conglomerate (3GPP), Verizon is initially using its proprie...

Didn’t get your newspaper on Saturday? Blame the hackers. The attack, which disrupted the production of several major publications, was just the latest in a long cybercriminal hitlist this year. From police departments to hospitals, cybercrime is on the rise, and cybersecurity specialists are needed . You can learn the skills to fight the hackers. It won’t happen overnight — you really need to be certified  first — but the training is available online. Right now the Complete Cyber Security Certification Bundle is on offer, and you can pay what you like . This nine-part learning kit has all the instruction you need to  detect and prevent cybersecurity threats . Each of the nine courses also fully prepares you for one of the top cybersecurity certification exams out there. The full cybersecurity rundown: CompTIA Security+ SY0-501 — $399 value Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI) — $299 value Cisco 210-260: Implementing Cisco Network Security — $299 value ...