These Are The Best Android Phones For Power Users

These Are The Best Android Phones For Power Users

Smartphones are incredibly useful tools no matter which way you look at them, packing plenty of features into a compact form factor. But what if you specifically need a device for productivity purposes? Or maybe you need a Swiss Army Knife that offers a feature for every eventuality?

There are plenty of Android phones for power users out there, so here are the devices you should be adding to your wishlist.

Check out other device lists here!

Here are the best phones for gaming (February 2019) Android smartphones with the best battery life (January 2019) Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Our 2018 Best of Android smartphone of the year is also one of the best Android phones for power users too, and there are plenty of reasons why.

The integrated S-Pen stylus enables some nifty functionality, such as controlling your presentations (if your phone is connected to an external screen) and jotting down notes. The former is a pretty handy use-case too, reducing the need to lug your laptop to work for that pitch meeting.

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The Galaxy Note 9 also offers a 4,000mAh battery that should give you plenty of juice for the day (with some to spare). It also marks the biggest battery in the Note range yet, while trouncing the Galaxy S9 Plus.

Core specs are cutting-edge too, offering a Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810 chipset, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 128GB or 512GB (!) of expandable storage, and a 6.4-inch 1440p OLED screen. Toss in IP68 water resistance, a headphone jack, and wireless charging, and you’ve got one of the best flagships of the year. Just make sure you look around for a good deal, because the device starts at $999.

Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro took an “everything and the kitchen sink” approach, cramming almost every imaginable feature into its frame (save for a 3.5mm port). The biggest highlights are the triple rear camera setup (ultra wide, normal, telephoto), reverse wireless charging, and an in-display fingerprint sensor, but it also packs a few more useful features.

The 4,200mAh battery is probably the largest you’ll find in a mainstream flagship phone today, giving you a day and a half to two days of usage. But it also packs the fastest charging you’ll see, period, going from zero to 70 percent in just 30 minutes. So if you over-slept or simply don’t have time to fully charge your phone, it’ll work particularly well.

The biggest downside is that the phone ordinarily starts at 1,049 euros (~$1,217), making it $200 more expensive than Samsung’s flagship phablet. The lack of a headphone jack is also disappointing, but it’s tough to argue that you aren’t getting one of the better phones for power users and productivity in general.

Google Pixel 3

Google’s latest phone doesn’t have the biggest battery, the most storage, or the most cameras, but it has one massive advantage over Huawei and Samsung’s phones. Yep, you’ll be getting stock Android as well as the latest and greatest updates.

Read: Here are the best smartphones running stock Android

Even if you don’t care for pure Android, it’s tough to argue with Google’s commitment to feature and security updates. The company generally commits to two years of feature updates, and three years of security patches. The latter should provide for some peace of mind if you need a (figuratively) bullet-proof phone in your line of work.

But the Pixel 3 series also stands out thanks to its camera experience, offering a 12MP single rear camera and a dual-camera pairing up front. The Mountain View company’s photography efforts also earned it a gong in our best of Android awards.

OnePlus 6T

OnePlus had a stellar 2018, and this is in large part due to the excellent critical and commercial reception to the OnePlus 6T. The phone definitely makes a few compromises compared to the more expensive devices on the list, but it’s tough to argue against its inclusion nonetheless.

The OnePlus 6T offers a speedy Snapdragon 845 chipset, 6GB to 8GB of RAM, and 128GB to 256GB of storage. This puts it on similar footing to the OnePlus 6, but the brand has also tossed in an in-display fingerprint sensor and a 3,700mAh battery (compared to the older phone’s 3,300mAh pack). 

But one of the best things about the phone is its OxygenOS skin, offering a feature-filled yet lightweight take on Android. Toss in the company’s commitment to updates and the developer community, and you’ve got another phone worth adding to the list.

BlackBerry Key2

Was there ever any doubt that the BlackBerry Key2 would make the list? TCL’s 2018 device cracks a nod based purely on the fact that it has a QWERTY keypad — a rarity in this day and age. Sure, virtual keyboards are often faster for many people, but the ability to assign apps to specific keys is pretty smart.

The phone also has a dedicated shortcut key (be it for the camera shutter, Play Music or Google Assistant), LG-style system profiles that change your settings depending on location, and a 3,500mAh battery that keeps on chugging. In fact, reviewers Jimmy Westenberg and David Imel both said they averaged between five and seven hours of screen-on time, while Jimmy said he’d regularly end the day with 40 percent capacity remaining.

Now if you consider a power user to be someone who needs the fastest, the Blackberry Key2 obviously doesn’t hold its own as well in this department. The addition of a mid-weight Snapdragon 660 chipset, 6GB of RAM, and 64GB to 128GB of expandable storage makes for a big improvement over the KeyOne‘s budget specs. But it’s far from a performance beast. Still, if your definition of a power user is someone who lives on his or her phone and needs it to fuel their productivity, the Key2 is hard to beat. 

Do you know of any other great phones for power users? Give us your picks in the comments! 

Android Testing Out Auto Updates Without Google Log-in

It looks like Google is testing out a new feature on its Google Play-enabled Android devices that would enable these phones to update apps even if you’re not signed on to your Google account. This new thing doesn’t just apply to Google apps but to third-party apps as well as developers from the latter are receiving the notification as well. This would be a faster way to update apps especially for those who are not automatically logged on all the time.

The notification of the test from Google states that they have identified that one or more of their apps have been pre-loaded on Android devices. They are suggesting that they verify the updates and new releases of their apps “with or without a Google account”. It will only apply for devices that are running on Android Lollipop and above. It probably will start with apps that were created by smartphone manufacturers and then move on to any apps that are pre-loaded on these devices.

This new feature will also be an opt-out service as there might be some people who want to still manually update their apps for some reason. Although of course, it’s almost always recommended that you update to the latest version of any app to be able to use it properly. And of course it will not work on devices that don’t have Google Play installed, like Amazon Fire devices for example.

This may just be the first of several updates that will let the certified for Google Play versions of Android devices different from the non-Google Android devices out there, as few as they are. We’ll see if this feature finally rolls out globally and if there will be other updates to the Google Play Store soon.

VIA: SlashGear

New Android Bug Can Let Hackers Attack Phone With PNG Image File

The good news is that Google has patched the problems with an update to Android. Unfortunately, many third-party device makers can takes months to roll out security patches to their own phones.

What's the harm in opening a digital image? Well, Google has uncovered a new method to hack Android smartphones using malicious PNG files.

The problem was disclosed this week in Google's Android security bulletin. A serious flaw in the operating system's framework can let a remote attacker execute computer code on an Android device by using a "specially crafted PNG file," the notice said.

The bulletin is deliberately vague on details, but Google said the issue was the most critical security vulnerability to be addressed on the list. It isn't hard to imagine why; by exploiting the flaw, a hacker could send harmless-looking PNG files to victims over email, a messaging app, or social media that in reality trigger an Android device to download additional malware.

It isn't the first time security research has shown that PNG files can be rigged for dangerous effect. Experts have demonstrated that you can encrypt Android malware inside images as a way to evade antivirus software. A separate app can then read the image file and decrypt it to launch the hidden computer code inside.

The flaw found in Android specifically deals with three vulnerabilities. The good news is that Google has patched the problems with an update to Android. Unfortunately, many third-party device makers can take weeks, if not months, to roll out security patches to their own phones. So you won't be protected until your Android handset receives the 2019 Feb. update. Older Android phones, however, will probably never receive the patch due to the vendor support expiring.

Still, Google hasn't released technical details of the flaw. That means it won't be easy for anyone to discover the hacking method. The company has also received no reports of anyone exploiting the vulnerability against real users.