10 Most Hotly Debated Android Stories of 2016
2016 was a pretty eventful year in the world of Android. Google ditched the “Nexus” name in favor of the Pixel, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was hot for all the wrong reasons. Needless to say, there were quite a few topics that got the commenters whipped up into a frenzy. Here are 10 articles from the past 12 months that received a lot of debate on Phandroid.
10. Watch the Galaxy S7 destroy the iPhone 6S in a low light camera shoot out
Android fans love a good iPhone bashing. In this article, the Galaxy S7 goes up against the iPhone 7 in a low-light comparison.
Feb 22nd – While some could argue that there isn’t a huge difference between the newly announced Samsung Galaxy S7 and last year’s Galaxy S6, it’s hard to argue that the camera wasn’t significantly improved from its predecessor. See what happens when you pit the Galaxy S7 against the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6S in a low light camera shoot out.
9. Are you going to buy a Pixel phone?
The title doesn’t seem very controversial, but the Pixel phones have received their fair share of criticism. Not everyone is on board the Google hype train.
Oct 4th – Now that the Pixel and Pixel XL are officially unveiled, we wanna know if you’re gonna be buying one! Did you like what you say? Let us know.
8. 7 million would-be Galaxy Note 7 buyers could jump ship to iPhone; will you be one of them?
The Note 7 fiasco was obviously a hot topic, but when you throw the iPhone into the mix it gets even hotter. Especially when you suggest people are switching over to the enemy.
Oct 17th – It’s no secret by now that Samsung took a huge blow with their Galaxy Note 7 situation. The amount blown on the ordeal has already exceeded $3 billion, and it could hurt Samsung’s bottom line even more hard in the future.
7. Should Samsung kill off the Note brand?
A byproduct of the Note 7 recall was a lot of bad publicity for the “Note” name in general. We wondered if Samsung would ever use the name again. It has clearly been tarnished in the minds of many people.
Oct 12th – Samsung’s Note brand has been thriving for years, but will Samsung need to kill off the brand due to the Note 7’s explosive tendencies.
6. Google Maps error causes demolition company to destroy the wrong home
Technology is usually very helpful, but sometimes it makes a mess of things. A demolition company thought they could trust Google Maps. They were wrong.
Mar 24th – To err is human… and robotic, too. Google Maps is being blamed for a very unfortunate accident which occurred following a round of Christmas tornadoes ripping through a Texas neighborhood.
5. How unfair expectations killed the Allo launch
Google Allo did not have a very good launch. A lot of people downloaded it and were immediately disappointed. We wrote an editorial about how expectations hurt Allo at launch.
Sep 22nd – Google’s Allo is the latest product to fall victim to lofty expectations and hype. Allo is exactly what Google told us it would be back at I/O, but a lot of people are disappointed. They were expecting something that only exists in their minds.
4. LG thinks the LG G5 is better than the Samsung Galaxy S7, but do you?
It’s always fun when manufacturers take shots at one another. LG, unsurprisingly, sent out material to show why the G5 was better than the Galaxy S7. The comments had the same argument.
Feb 24th – No company is going to say their smartphone isn’t the best thing to hit the planet since it was discovered bacon was edible, so it comes as no surprise that LG is sending out material to show why their phone — the LG G5 — is better than the Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge. Is it really, though? Let’s find out!
3. More than 1 million Galaxy Note 7 devices still in use, despite recall
The Galaxy Note 7 was a great phone, maybe even the best Android phone ever, but it has a fatal flaw. Still, many people are using the device. Android fans are very passionate about the Note 7.
Oct 14th – Despite being recalled twice now, there are more Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices being used than before the first recall began back at the beginning of September.
2. Trump and other republicans say Apple is wrong to refuse smartphone backdoors for the FBI
Well, it was inevitable that Trump would make his way into tech news. Apple and other tech companies refused to help the FBI break into a terrorists phone. It was one of those stories that everyone had something to say about.
Feb 18th – The FBI has ordered Apple to help them break into a terrorists’ phone using a security circumvention method, but Apple has taken the bold stance to refuse that order. Here’s where important government and tech figureheads stand on the subject.
1. 9 features the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch 2 stole from Android
Did we mention Android fans love bashing the iPhone? In this article, we outlined 9 things that Apple stole from Android. It was a lot of fun.
Sep 7th – The cat is out of the bag: the iPhone 7 is here! Apple introduced some interesting changes, additions, and improvements on this milestone release, and they did everything they could to make it sound magical, revolutionary, and “new.” But how much of that “newness” is actually old news? Let’s find out!
What was your favorite Android story from 2016?
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