Daily Authority: Google's slip-ups over the weekend, and more

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March 15, 2021

Google’s oopsies

No, the real story is more about mistakes.

Joe Hindy / Android Authority

First, Pixel DST problems: 

  • People across North America reported that their Google Pixels missed the switch to daylight savings time. A bunch of Reddit threads popped up, with owners of the Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, Pixel 4 series, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, and Pixel 5 all reporting the issue, with Arizona a problem area in particular, along with areas in Canada.
  • Most said a reboot fixed the problem, but stories of people missing work or struggling to know what the actual time was popped up.
  • It’s a throwback to yesteryear when Daylight Savings Time bugs would come up on iPhones and Android devices, often wrong alarm times meaning earlier or later wakeups, time and again(The Guardian).
  • Now, software developers will complain about timezones, daylight savings starting/ending variously across the world, and so on. It is not an easy problem. But it’s not exactly a hidden problem either.
  • In any case, it seems like anyone who sets their time via the network-provided time and timezone — the normal and good default setting — might’ve struck the problem. 
  • The blame lies somewhere there, and I look forward to Google talking about the bug and/or just fixing it before Europe, the UK, Australia, and so on, make the switch back/forward depending on hemisphere later this month.

Leaks

Google’s second slip-up was leaking the names of a bunch of coming unannounced phones. In a support document update to ARCore, its augmented reality platform, the docs list unreleased phones from eight Android OEMs, including:

  • Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
  • LG Stylo 7
  • Motorola Moto G100
  • Oppo Reno 5A and Oppo Reno 5 Pro Plus 5G Bosch
  • Realme 8 Pro
  • Samsung A82 5G

Spilling the beans:

  • We’ve only heard a few small leaks about a Samsung A82 5G phone, likely a successor to 2019’s Galaxy A80; maybe coming out after the A52 and A72 expected to launch week.
  • The Asus Zenfone 8 Flip hasn’t been announced or even officially teased yet so that’s a big mistake.
  • At least Realme 8 Pro is launching this month, so that’s not such a slip.
  • But LG’s Stylo 7, a 2021 edition of the LG Stylo 6, one of the only non-Galaxy Note phones to offer a built-in stylus, is also new.
  • Then there’s the Oppo Reno 5 Pro Plus 5G Bosch… which could be anything. What’s Bosch doing there?
  • In any case, Google removed all mentions of these devices in the docs, which more or less certifies it as an oopsie. 

Roundup

⚖ Xiaomi welcomes US judge’s ruling, temporarily halting its blacklisting (Android Authority).

Monday Meme

  • Now, arguably, Forrest Gump, The Godfather, and for some people, The Lord of the Rings, are better than the books.
  • The last one is most arguable though!

Cheers,

Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor

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