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This week in Android: Android 11 is live, Surface Duo review, OnePlus 8 giveaway
Android 11 is live! But first, Microsoft’s new Surface Duo was not well received by phone reviewers, and things just keep getting harder for HUAWEI.
In no surprise, the trade bans levied against HUAWEI are continuing to make life hard for the Chinese company. The U.S. has made it clear that doing business with HUAWEI is not a smart move, and we’re sad to see the continued effects of that. Reports rolled in this week that Samsung and LG will no longer be shipping displays to HUAWEI. That means the brand is missing Google software, missing chipsets, and now missing displays. By all accounts, HUAWEI will have a tough time for the foreseeable future.
The Microsoft Surface Duo is an exciting device. Two displays attach together by a thin, 360 swiveling hinge. When closed, there is no screen available, as you’d find on the Samsung Galaxy Fold, for example. When open, you can us it in different orientations and layouts with multiple apps running simultaneously. It’s a really cool design that promises to be a great pocket-computer. However, when evaluated as a phone, as most reviewers have done so far, it’s not that great. One-handed operation is almost a no-go, the camera does not keep up with modern flagship phones, and the battery life, while offering about 5 hours of screen on time, is being considered to be just average.
It does come with a last gen SoC, only 6GB of RAM and limited storage space, all while lacking a number of features we’ve come to appreciate on our mobile devices, but it’s a new form factor that we applaud Microsoft for venturing into. We hope future versions of these types of folding mobile devices can bring it all together, and for a price a little less than the current offerings.
Android 11 is final, OTA updates rolling out to Pixel phones and more now!
Here are the top Android stories of the week
- Rolling out now! — The best Android 11 features you need to know
- 3-inches? — What is considered a small Android phone in 2020 and what are your options?
- Mobile gaming — 5 best Nintendo DS emulators for Android!
- Say no to USB — The best phones with wireless charging to get in 2020
- Oh, snap — Snapchat is down for many — here’s how you can try to fix it
- I’m lost — 5 best find my phone apps and other find my phone methods too!
- Save some dough — The best budget camera phones you can buy
- We asked, you told us — Samsung’s new update policy would make you buy its phones
- How much? — Report: Samsung is making a huge profit on every Note 20 Ultra sold
- Amateurs only — Leak: OnePlus 8T won’t be joined by OnePlus 8T Pro
- Sounds good to me — Moto G9 Plus launches with a Snapdragon 730G and 6.8-inch screen
- New apps in our Android Apps Weekly — SlideScan, Lord of Heroes, Runelords Arena, and more
From around the network
Deals of the week:
- Our pick for device deal of the week: $200 off Samsung Galaxy Note 20
- Our AA TechDeals deal of the week: $28 Ninja Dragon Stealth 7 wireless mouse
OnePlus 8 international giveaway
This week, we’re giving away a brand new OnePlus 8 smartphone. One of the best Google phones to date. Enter this week’s Sunday giveaway for your chance to win!
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That’s it, folks! We’ll have another giveaway and more top Android stories for you next week. To stay up to date on all things Android Authority in the meantime, be sure to subscribe to our newsletters at the link below.