News

Google is already working on Android Q!

But few have Android Pie

Published

September 10, 2018

Luigi Leonardo

Do you remember the rampant speculation over Android P’s name? If you do, that’s because it was practically a couple of months ago. The eventual Android Pie railroaded through the news like a bullet train. Naturally, everyone’s mouths are still salivating to get the new update. Yet, here we are.

Without even waiting to catch their breath, the Android developers over at Google are back at it again. This time, their workaholic hands are busy with Android Pie’s successor — the still-untitled Android Q.

Based on some recently uncovered commits, we can confirm that the successor is already in development. Eagle-eyed watchdogs from XDA-Developers have uncovered the very first features from Android Q.

For one, a commit will alter the system’s behavior towards old apps. Whenever users will try installing old apps (intended for Lollipop or lower), Android will warn them before installation. Above anything, the move will likely help users against optimization issues. At this early stage, it remains unclear whether this is just a warning or actual prevention.

Meanwhile, a second commit confirms a subtler feature. Using proximity and gravity sensors, the phone will detect if you’re on a call (or simply holding your phone to your ear). If another call comes through in this situation, the phone will automatically lower the ringtone’s volume. Naturally, this will prevent calls from blowing your eardrums out.

While these two are very low-key features, their existence confirms that Google is already working on Android Q.

However, this is just a minuscule consolation for most Android users. At the time of this writing, only 14.6 percent of users have Android Oreo. Google’s number-crunching doesn’t even include Android Pie yet.

Unfortunately, Google’s eagerness to upgrade Android underlies its hesitation to push new updates to more people. While Android Q is a welcome update, hype from speculating on its name can only go so far. But enough of that: What do you think Android Q’s name is?

Related Topics:Android Oreo Android Pie Android Q Google

News

iPhone 17 is the best-selling phone of 2026 so far

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 series didn’t make the top ten list.

Published

May 7, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

With more than a quarter of the year done and dusted, it’s time to figure out which smartphone has taken the early lead in the charts. According to the numbers, it can’t get any clearer. The iPhone 17 is currently dominating the charts.

According to Counterpoint Research, the bestselling smartphone in the world as of the first quarter is the base iPhone 17. The model took 6 percent of the global share in unit sales. Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Pro took the second and third spots, respectively. Only a bit surprisingly, Apple rounded out its quarter with the iPhone 16 taking the number 6 slot.

The stranger thing is Samsung’s presence on this list. The South Korean brand took five spots on the top 10 list. However, none of them are of the Galaxy S26 series. All of them are from the Galaxy A series: in order, Galaxy A07 4G, A17 5G, A56, A36, and A17 4G. (The Galaxy S26 series narrowly missed the top 10.)

That makes nine. The final spot was taken by the Xiaomi Redmi A5.

Going only by the last two paragraphs, you’ll likely assume that the midrange market is rightfully dominating the charts in the months following the Christmas season. However, the iPhone 17’s dominance confirms that Apple has not lost its stride.

Plus, with the iPhone 17e only just having launched, Apple might continue its run well into 2026.

Apps

Google, on Android adopting Liquid Glass: “Not happening!”

Just in case you were wondering.

Published

May 7, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Google is slightly moving away from Material Design. Last week, a set of icon changes saw Android adding splashes of gradients to its formerly flat app icons. To poke fun at Android’s move away from flat designs, a user on X created a mockup of Android running Apple’s Liquid Design. Google, however, had a response ready in the chamber.

On X, @Micetor made a mockup of Android, specifically on the upcoming Pixel 11, using Apple’s latest Liquid Design aesthetics. It looked much like what an iPhone does except with Google’s icons and fonts.

Clearly, Google does not need to reply to any unsubstantiated mockups about its ecosystem. But they still did.

Sameer Samat, Google’s head for the Android ecosystem, personally replied to the mockup with a simple rebuttal: “Not happening!”

Not happening! Y'all are wild. 😂

— Sameer Samat (@ssamat) May 5, 2026

Despite using the design language for over a decade, Google does not want to drop Material Design altogether. Though the new gradients have revitalized the design language somewhat, the essence of flat design is still there.

Apple, on the other hand, wants a return to 3D. Liquid Design mimics the transparent aesthetics of Windows Vista. Though a bunch of users have found the design polarizing, other brands have started copying the design for themselves, incorporating elements on Liquid Design on their interfaces.

Whatever Google is doing, it’s coming in due time. The company is hosting its annual Google I/O on May 12 to showcase new developments coming to the Android ecosystem, including its design.

Gaming

Stranger Than Heaven is a Yakuza prequel with Snoop Dogg

The story spans different eras and regions across half a century in Japan.

Published

May 7, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

In my review of Yakuza Kiwami 3, I groaned about how every new entry in the Yakuza and Like a Dragon franchise — original and remake — looked identical with each other. I ended that playthrough hoping desperately for a new era. Thankfully, those hopes did not fall on deaf ears. In its first trailer, the upcoming Stranger Than Heaven showed off an interesting reimagining of the Yakuza universe. Oh, and Snoop Dogg is in it.

First announced back in late 2024 as Project Century, Stranger Than Heaven has now confirmed itself as a prequel to the prequel to the Yakuza games. It didn’t start that way, though. When it was announced, there was hope that the then-untitled game featured a new story disconnected from Yakuza. It looks like the final game is making the best of both worlds.

Stranger Than Heaven chronicles the rise of the infamous Tojo Clan. Unless this is decidedly different from the Tojo Clan in the Yakuza series, this is the clearest sign that this is, in fact, a prequel.

Makoto Daito, a Japanese boy living in Chicago, escapes America to forge a new life in Japan. Along the way, he meets Orpheus, a smuggler played by Snoop Dogg, who drags Makoto into the criminal underworld. Eventually, Makoto decides to do things his own way by creating a new crime family called the Tojo Clan.

Unlike other games in the series, Stranger Than Heaven spans different eras and regions in Japan, starting with Fukuoka in 1915 and ending with Kamurocho in 1965. It will also have different fighting mechanics by mapping the left and right bumpers/triggers to left and right attacks.

Off the bat, Stranger Than Heaven looks like a new era for the series. It launches winter this year for all major platforms.