Table of contents for 43 in Android Advisor

Google’s annual hardware event on 4 October didn’t disappoint. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL were revealed, as expected, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. The tech giant also expanded the Google Home line-up with not one, but two new smart speakers of various sizes, tweaked its Daydream VR headset, and finally rolled out the Pixelbook – a sleek (and more versatile) successor to its swanky high-end Chromebook Pixel. Plus, a Babel Fish-like rival to Apple’s AirPod earbuds even appeared. Funnily enough, though, the software on these devices almost outshone the hardware itself. Over the following pages, we reveal everything Google announced earlier this month. Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL aren’t as exotic as Apple’s iPhone X, but…

£179 inc VAT from fave.co/2gebE9w Although the Nokia 5 was launched by HMD Global at MWC 2017 back in February, it’s only recently hit the shelves. If you’re wondering who HMD Global is, the company has made a huge splash this year by launching four phones with the Nokia brand: the wonderfully nostalgic Nokia 3310 as well as three budget and mid-range Android phones with excellent price tags – the Nokia, 3, 5, and 6. Here, we review the Nokia 5, which sits in the middle of the range when it comes to size, specs and price. Design We love the design of the Nokia 5. We were so pleasantly surprised when we first picked it up, already knowing how low the price tag is. It has a 5.2in display…

Google made a big deal out of Google Lens at its I/O 2017 opening keynote, and if it works as is claimed then it’s something with which we can all get on board. It has since announced that Google Lens will be built into the new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, which is available to buy now and on 15 November respectively (see pages 11 and 20 for further details). Google Lens is a smart camera app that can read and actually understand the information within your images. We’re not talking about the image metadata, but the places, names and even Wi-Fi passwords depicted in your photos. It can then offer up intelligent ways to deal with that information. What is Google Lens is perhaps best answered with some…

Moving to a new phone can be a pain. Android might have the edge over iOS when it comes to tight integration with cloud services, but Google still has a way to go when it comes to effortlessly transferring all your data off your old phone and onto the new one. But it has got better. You’ll need to rely heavily on Google’s services, of course, but moving your personal info has never been easier. It’ll still take a some vigilance and a little work, but you don’t need to be an Android whiz anymore to ensure your data is ready to move the next time a catastrophe hits your phone. Note, the phone we use in this tutorial is running Android Nougat. Know your backup options Before you can…

Microsoft’s Cortana is available on Android phones. It’s interesting that rather than being rivals, we’re seeing voice assistants popping up on other platforms more are more. The latest news is that soon – probably by the end of 2017 – the Cortana be able to communicate with Alexa, Amazon’s assistant built into Echo and Fire devices. The two companies are working together so that you’ll be able to use the capabilities of both assistants regardless of whether you’re using a Windows or Amazon device. For example, you’ll be able to access Cortana (even on an Android device, we presume) to check and schedule meetings through an Amazon Echo, or turn on your smart lights when sitting at a Windows 10 PC, via Alexa. Getting started To find the Cortana app…

£629 inc VAT from tinyurl.com/ybkwo29d One year after launching its first Pixel phones, Google is back with its second generation of handsets. Once again there are two sizes to choose from and we were lucky enough to get an early look at both devices. We look at the Pixel 2 here and the Pixel 2 XL on page 20. Design The Pixel 2 is manufactured in partnership with HTC. The Taiwanese firm made both of Google’s phones last year, but the Pixel 2 XL is made by LG, which over the years has made numerous Nexus devices. The result is that these are two quite different handsets rather than simply being two different sizes of the same thing. The Pixel 2 is the cheaper option, though the design isn’t as…

£74 inc VAT from fave.co/2huHaU5 One of the most difficult things in choosing a budget tablet is knowing how far you should compromise on specifications and performance. You don’t expect a powerhouse with an amazing screen, but you also don’t want to waste your money – no matter how small an amount of cash that is – on what is in essence a rubbish device that you’ll probably bin in a few months. Two of the most popular budget tablets on the market right now are Amazon’s Fire 7 (£49 from tinyurl.com/ydzcc6g2) and Fire HD 8 (£79 from tinyurl.com/y9kwbmgy). We think they’re great tablets, well-priced and -sized for children especially, but they have one massive drawback in that they don’t support Google services, including Google Play. If you are buying…

Google has had voice search features in Android for years, but when Google Assistant rolled out on the Pixel in October 2016, everything finally came together. It now comes on plenty of Android devices, and Google has improved the platform with a raft of new features. It can be easy to miss these if you don’t obsessively keep an eye on the news, so here they are in one place. 1. Explore menu Google used to hide all of Assistant’s features in a series of esoteric, buried menus. Now, there’s a much more sensible way to find out what sort of cool things you can do with Assistant in the Explore menu. To access this menu, open Assistant and tap the blue drawer icon in the upper right corner. Here,…

If an Android update is available to your device you’ll find it in your phone or tablet’s Settings menu. However, just because a newer version of Google’s OS exists it doesn’t mean it will be available for your device – now or ever. That is entirely dependent on what device you have (and sometimes which operator you are with). Unfortunately, about two years into the device’s lifetime you might see updates becoming rarer. There are no obligations from the manufacturers to support updates for older models. Check Android is up to date If you don’t already know, you can see what version of Android your phone or tablet is running in the Settings > About phone/About tablet/ About device menu. You may have to tap on ‘Software information’ if the…

Many cheap Android phones come with a paltry 4 or 8GB of storage, and even 16GB isn’t really enough for lots of apps, high-resolution photos and videos, plus a music library. Fortunately, the vast majority of Android phones have a memory card slot, into which you can slot an inexpensive microSD card. Getting started Before you buy one, check what capacity your phone will support. Flagship phones tend to accommodate 128GB or higher, but many cheap Androids accept only 32GB. To be fair, 32GB will be enough for most people. Once you’ve got the microSD card, it’s easy to set things up so that it becomes the default place for new apps, photos, videos, music and more. You can switch the storage location within your camera settings or Google Play…

£799 inc VAT from tinyurl.com/ybkwo29d Expectations were high for the second-generation Pixel phones, and Google hasn’t disappointed. This year’s flagship is better in every conceivable way, but it does come at a higher price. We’ve spent some time with the new phone – set to go on sale on 15 November – and here are our initial impressions. We’ll update this with our final conclusions once we’ve had time to properly test out every area of the phone, specifically its camera performance and battery life. Design With its 6in screen, this isn’t a small phone. But thanks to minimal screen bezels it isn’t as big as you might imagine. It feels exceptionally well made, and although it’s tall, it’s not to wide to comfortably hold in one hand and not…

£129 inc VAT from tinyurl.com/y7jtb2Lm Do you want to build really cool Lego robots, and then control them with your tablet? Yes, please. Lego Boost is aimed at children aged seven to 12, so I was a little worried that it would be too hard to enjoy with my son – he’s five just started school. But while I had to direct the complicated builds, controlling the finished robots and vehicles with the iPad app was well within his grasp – and so much fun for both of us. Lego Boost teaches children in two ways: the builds themselves are a lesson in mechanics, showing how the motor, gears, and pieces fit together to make a moving robot. Plus, the tablet app is full of programming challenges to direct the…

Google has been dabbling in photo hosting for years, but it wasn’t until it released the revamped Google Photos in May 2015 that it really took photo archiving seriously. We can now back up all our photos for free, and even get our images printed in Photo Books. Photos leverages Google’s machine learning muscle to do a lot of cool things – you just need to know where to look. Here are five of the best features hidden in Google Photos. 1. Name people Face detection was one of earliest examples of Google Photos’ machine-learning. From the very beginning, can could open the Photos search interface, type in ‘faces’, and see groupings of all the faces that commonly appear in your photos. That’s handy, but you can make this feature…

Now that Android Oreo is official on Google’s Pixel and Nexus devices, we’ve been able to play around with some of the new features. You may have also done this, or got a Pixel or Nexus that you’ve just downloaded the update to. Some things have changed from Nougat, though it’s more of a subtle update to proceedings than we’ve come to expect from Google. Apps now come adorned with notification dots. If you’ve got a notification but haven’t attended to it yet, a small dot will appear on the app icon whether they are on your home screen or in the app tray (see above). You can ,of course, tap the app icon as normal to go into the app and deal with the notification from there, but the…