What could possibly go wrong?
Welcome to Fridays with Android Central. People all around the world are eagerly waiting in line to buy a phone that’s already sold out, Samsung is continuing to do all it can to get customers to turn in their defective Note 7s, and the budget Moto G4 Play is now up for sale in the U.S.
But more importantly, The Grand Tour is kicking off on November 18. The show will feature fast cars, a lot of swearing, and three middle-aged men making their transition from mucking around in a studio to having fun in giant tents. And with that, it’s time to do the news.
Moto G4 Play now available in the U.S.
After going up for pre-order earlier this month, the Moto G4 Play is now up for sale in the U.S. You can pick it up on Amazon for $149, or $99 if you don’t mind being inundated with lock screen ads. Motorola is also selling the phone directly, and if you’re a Verizon prepaid customer, you can pick up the handset for just $84.99.
Gargantuan Galaxy A9 Pro lands in India
The 6-inch Galaxy A9 Pro is now available in India. The phone will retail for ₹32,500 ($485), and will be available in black, gold, and white color options. Highlights include a 6-inch Full HD display, Snapdragon 652 SoC, 4GB of RAM, 32GB storage, microSD slot, 16MP camera, 8MP front shooter, NFC, and a 5000mAh battery. Overall, a great phone for the price if you can live with the 6-inch screen.
Samsung has already exchanged 130,000 Note 7 units in the U.S.
President and COO of Samsung America Tim Baxter issued a video message to the company’s customers, reiterating the Note 7 recall plans. Samsung has already exchanged 130,000 defective units of the phone in the U.S., and with the official recall now underway, customers are expected to get their devices exchanged by September 21.
Chrome 54 beta for Android brings redesigned New Tab page
Chrome 54 beta is now available on the Play Store, bringing a redesigned New Tab page. The Google search bar is intact, but thumbnails of your recently visited sites are replaced by recommended articles. The update also brings background video playback.
Samsung launches all-in-one productivity app
Samsung Focus is a “unified productivity app” that provides quick access to your emails (Exchange ActiveSync, IMAP, POP3), contacts, events, memos, and tasks from a single location. It’s like the BlackBerry Hub, but for Samsung phones running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and above. Download the app from here.
The Grand Tour will start streaming on Amazon Prime from Nov. 18
Clarkson, Hammond, and May will get back to their shenanigans from November 18. The Grand Tour is exclusive to Amazon Prime, with 12 episodes slated for the first season. New episodes will be broadcast every Friday. The show promises to be a cracker, and following the massive letdown that was this year’s Top Gear, I cannot wait.
That’s it from me for this week. Have a fun weekend everyone!