It’s been rumored for a while that HTC and Google are working on two Nexus phones for 2016, but a new rumor has surfaced which claims that we will be seeing even more HTC-built Nexus devices in the future. According to the report, HTC and Google have worked out a deal which puts HTC in line to build Nexus phones for three years. If we assume the deal start with the two 2016 Nexus phones, we should see additional HTC-build devices with a Nexus logo on the back in 2017 and 2018.

HTC and Google had a very close relationship when Android was introduced. HTC build the first prototype hardware for Android (Google Sooner), the first commercial Android phone (T-Mobile G1) , the first Android developer phone(Android Dev Phone 1) and the original Nexus One. This partnership helped HTC solidify its position as the top Android smartphone manufacturer. Google eventually turned to Samsung to build two Nexus devices and LG was selected to build three. While Nexus phones have never been popular among regular consumers, the manufacturers who have built the phones have benefited greatly through their close partnership with Google.

There’s no guarantee that securing a three-year Nexus deal will have an impact on HTC’s flailing smartphone business, but it definitely won’t hurt.

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No, this is not a doom and gloom article about the Samsung Galaxy S7. While industry sources in South Korea are reporting that pre-order numbers for the Samsung Galaxy S7 have not been as strong as they were for the Galaxy S6 last year, that does not mean that Samsung is doomed. The report claims that the South Korean consumers are generally less keen to pre-order smartphones than they were a year ago since the price of the phone through their service providers isn’t made available until later. Waiting until the phone actually goes on sale allows potential Galaxy S7 buyers to find the best deal on the phone – especially if they are planning on switching from one service provider to another.

One major factor that was not mentioned is the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. It’s unclear if the larger phone was included in the pre-order estimates for 2016. If pre-orders for the two models are counted separately, that could be the main reason why the numbers for the Galaxy S7 are lower than last year. Consumers appear to be more interested in picking up the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, which would lead to fewer pre-orders of the standard S7.

So far, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge appear to be the must-have Android smartphone of 2016. We’ll have to wait a month or two to see if the phone will outsell last year’s Galaxy S6, but we doubt anyone at Samsung is worried that LG, Sony, Huawei or Xiaomi will be taking its place as the most popular Android smartphone manufacturer in 2016.

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Huawei has announced an event on April 6 in London with no detail on what is to be revealed. The tag line is “Change the way you see the world,” and it might be the company revealing the Huawei P9.

The revealing of the P9 would make sense, as the phrase seems to be a reference to the dual cameras. We saw some leaks of the device last week, and it looks to be camera-focused, boasting dual 12MP cameras on its rear.

The rest of the specs are quite decent, with a 5.2-inch 1080p display, an octa-core Kirin 950 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a beefy 3900mAh battery, and a fingerprint reader. It should also launch with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow on board.

It looks to be a solid device, and we can’t wait until it’s unveiled. Are any of you excited to see what Huawei does with the dual camera setup? Leave a comment!

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Google I/O is Google’s biggest event of the year, where the company shows off all its newest features, technologies, and Android improvements. We’ll likely see a new version of Android there as well. But the show is also a haven for developers, with events and talks to help you make a better product.

If you want to go, registration is now open and will be until March 10 at 5 PM Pacific time. Google will then allow some of those who registered to buy tickets. Registering first won’t improve your chances, so there’s on need to rush.

Hit the source link to register! Are you planning to head to beautiful California and attend Google I/O?

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Marshmallow has had a very slow growth on Android distribution graphs published by Google. And to be fair, only Nexus devices had it at first, with a few less-than-popular phones like the Moto X Pure Edition receiving it soon after. But in the last month, Marshmallow nearly doubled its place on the charts.

Last month, Marshmallow accounted for just 1.2% of all devices that checked into Google Services, and now it’s at 2.3%. Yes, it’s still tiny, but it’s an improvement. We’re now seeing more popular flagships receiving the update, and the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are now available for purchase on some carriers. And in the next few months, we should see a lot of major devices receiving the update.

Though the number for Marshmallow devices remains small, we should see it skyrocket in the next few months. It’ll definitely be interesting to see just how much it goes up.

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Google is running an impressive sale right now across all of Google Play with some solid deals on apps, music, movies and books. Some of the deepest discounts can be found on apps, with a total of 28 apps all available for 99 cents, including some typically pricey audio software from DJiT and a host of other apps and games.

The music offerings similarly feature a number of albums discounted to just 99 cents and dozens of others on sale for between $7 to $9.

There are a couple separate deals running on movies in Google Play, depending on whether you are looking to rent or buy. The Play Days sale is focused on purchases and has several titles at almost 50% off. If you are just looking to rent, you can still snag 50% off a single rental of any movie before March 17th.

The Play Books deal is pretty interesting this time around, as it is just giving you an extended preview on a few dozen books, meaning that you can read up to 50% of the book before you need to decide if you want to make a purchase. Take a look at the titles and if you find anything that piques your interest get started for free.

That’s a lot of deals to sort through, so if you see any of your personal favorites on sale across any of the categories, we’d love to hear about them.

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Xiaomi is a company that’s made itself a name not just in smartphones, but also in accessories. The company offers a wide variety of accessories and accompaniment devices for smartphones and has garnered positive feedback for its Powerbank portable charging packs. Xiaomi is now launching a new variety, the Mi Powerbank Pro, which offers great value and is future-proofed for the next generation of smartphone charging.

Xiaomi’s Mi Powerbank Pro offers a 10,000mAh capacity with smart charging capabilities, allowing it to offer the proper voltage for the fastest charge on your device. The Mi Powerbank Pro also supports the new USB Type-C standard, which is fitting considering that the Xiaomi Mi 5 will be using USB Type-C. This new charging pack is 42% thinner than the previous model and comes with an 18W charger that allows it to be charged to full capacity in just three and a half hours.

The Mi Powerbank Pro is currently available only in China for ￥149, or about $22 USD. The company hasn’t yet released details on global availability, but in the past, Xiaomi’s Powerbanks have become globally available fairly quickly.

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Despite being a pretty good phone, the $499 price tag of the HTC One A9 has kept many at bay. That should change today as HTC has given the phone its Hot Deal treatment, cutting its price by $100. For today only, you can buy the HTC One A9 for just $399. As with all of HTC’s Hot Deals, the offer is only valid until midnight Pacific Time and can only be redeemed by those living within the US.

We’d also like to remind you that HTC just announced that the One A9 will not be receiving an update which would have added support for Verizon’s network. Those who purchased the phone before March 5th with the hopes that the phone would eventually work on Verizon can return the phone to HTC for a full refund. They will also get a 20% discount voucher which can be applied to a purchase of any HTC phone before the end of the year – an amazing offer if you had your sights set on purchasing the upcoming HTC 10 which is expected to be announced in mid-April.

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Project Fi’s first birthday will be next month, but Google isn’t waiting until then to celebrate.

Google today announced two big pieces of news regarding Project Fi. First up, invitations are no longer required to sign up for service. That means that anyone in the US can now sign up for Fi and give Google’s wireless service a go.

Of course, Project Fi only supports a few Nexus devices, and not everyone that’s interested in Fi may own one of them. Google knows this, and so it’s discounting the Nexus 5X for new Project Fi customers. Simply buy a Nexus 5X and activate Project Fi service and you can save $150 on your new phone. That’ll leave the 16GB Nexus 5X at $199 and the 32GB model at $249.

The Nexus 5X deal will be valid from March 7 through April 7.

We’ve seen quite a few nice deals on the Nexus 5X lately, but this is the biggest discount that the 5X has gotten yet. And while it’s not quite as high-end as the Nexus 6P, $199 for a Nexus 5X with 5.2-inch 1080p screen, hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor, 12.3-megapixel camera, and Android 6.0 is a pretty nice deal. If you’re not yet a Project Fi customer, you can sign up right here.

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Every week we cover new Android apps with Fresh Meat on Wednesday, followed by Android Gaming on Thursday and Top 10 App Updates on Friday. When Monday rolls around, we look back to see which apps were the most appealing to our audience. Read on for the five most popular Android apps from last week. These apps are ones that are most likely new and haven’t appeared in the top five list more than three times.

1. Evo Explores

App info: Manipulate impossible surreal structures, explore optical illusions and solve mind blowing puzzles. Every new level will unravel the history of Byte planet and its citizens.

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2. phraser

App info: New words and phrases learning has never been so easy! This app will make you remember new words even if you don’t want to.

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3. Font Changer Free Style

App info: My Fonts is an amazing application help you change font style for android esily. With milion of beautiful fonts for Android. Editing text font on phone beautifully with My Font.

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4. HOUND Voice Search & Assistant

App info: Hound is the best way to search using your voice. Hound is different: Extremely fast responses, You speak naturally, no need to learn special keyword phrases, Follow-up to filter, sort, or add more information to your query so you can be specific.

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5. Ignatius

App info: Ignatius is a atmospheric puzzle-platformer game with an interesting story. The game with its visual form and plot refers to the old silent movies.

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Note:  To ensure that all apps receive a fair chance to make the list, we will retire any app that has made the list for three consecutive weeks.

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