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dimanche 31 janvier 2021

Some Galaxy S21 users in Europe report issues with Samsung Pay and software updates

Early Galaxy S21 series buyers in the U.S. and Europe started receiving their devices last week, and some users in the U.K. and Italy are facing issues with Samsung Pay and software updates on their new phones. According to reports, some users are not able to use Samsung Pay on their devices, and they haven’t received any of the software updates that rolled out over the last week.

While Samsung is yet to release a statement on the matter, it seems like the issue stems from the affected devices having the wrong software region set up. For the unaware, Samsung toggles certain features on a regional basis by setting the CSC. In the UK, some users report that their CSC is set to EUX (European Union) rather than BTU. Due to this, they’re not able to use Samsung Pay in the country or receive OTA updates.

As of now, it isn’t exactly clear what triggered the wrong CSC to be set up on the affected Galaxy S21 devices, but some speculate that it happened because they set up their phone without inserting their SIM card during setup. A few users in Italy have also reported having the wrong CSC set up on their devices, and according to a report from HDBlog, Samsung has started rolling out a fix in the region.

Our tipster, James Bennett (@JBennett360 on Twitter), reports that he also received a similar carrier services update in the UK to set the CSC to BTU. After receiving the update, he was able to download OTA updates and use Samsung Pay. This leads us to believe that Samsung is already on top of the issue and is rolling out updates to affected Galaxy devices to set up the correct CSC for their region. In case you’re facing a similar issue and haven’t received a carrier services update so far, you can try the steps outlined in this post to see if it corrects the CSC.

The post Some Galaxy S21 users in Europe report issues with Samsung Pay and software updates appeared first on xda-developers.



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The OnePlus 7 and 7T are getting their final Android 10-based OxygenOS update

Last month, OnePlus finally released the first Open Beta of Android 11 based on OxygenOS 11 for the OnePlus 7 and 7T series, allowing early adopters to test drive the latest software ahead of the public release. As OnePlus works on readying the Android 11 for prime time, the company is rolling out a new software update to the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7T series in what will be the final Android 10-based stable update for these 2019 smartphones.

This is an incremental update that mostly fixes bugs and improves the overall stability. The update also bumps the Android Security Patch level to January 2021.

The full update changelog for the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7T series:

  • System
    • Updated Android Security Patch to 2021.01
    • Updated GMS package to 2020.09 (except 7 Pro 5G EU)
    • Improved the stability of the system (7 Pro 5G EU)

The OxygenOS 10.3.8 update is being pushed to the OnePlus 7 (Global and India) and OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro (India) while their equivalent EU and Global models will receive their respective updates shortly after.

As always, this will be a phased roll-out, meaning the update will be rolled out to a small batch of the user base initially, followed by a wider roll-out in the coming days. If you don’t want to wait for the OTA to reach your device, however, you can manually flash the update on your OnePlus phone using the OTA package provided below. Simply download the appropriate firmware package corresponding to your variant and place it in the root directory of your internal storage. Then navigate to Settings > System Update > “Local Update“ and select the downloaded package to initiate the installation.

XDA Forums: OnePlus 7OnePlus 7 ProOnePlus 7TOnePlus 7T Pro


Downloads

OnePlus 7

OnePlus 7 Pro

OnePlus 7T

OnePlus 7T Pro


Thanks to XDA Senior Member Some_Random_Username for the download links!

The post The OnePlus 7 and 7T are getting their final Android 10-based OxygenOS update appeared first on xda-developers.



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Telegram and Signal are the two viable alternatives to WhatsApp

WhatsApp has become the go-to messaging app for a big chunk of the world. And that is with good reason: it’s a (sort of) lightweight app that works amazingly well with all Android smartphones, old and new. Plus, you really have no way to go: with over 5 billion installs on Google Play, and a lot more on other platforms such as iOS, it’s safe to say that at least a good chunk of the world’s entire population is on WhatsApp. You can’t realistically compete against a communication app with this much momentum. Except, something made that tide turn a bit: WhatsApp tried to introduce more invasive privacy policies (then delayed them after backlash), and users started flocking to other, competitor apps.

Are you part of this crowd? So what are these alternatives, you might ask? Today, we’re gonna look at two of them: Telegram and Signal, which are the two that became the most popular after the WhatsApp controversy. And we’re gonna stack both of them up against WhatsApp, which is still king in terms of sheer userbase but lacks features compared to the other two. Read on to know more!

Signal: Unbeatable on privacy and security

Signal messenger logo

If security and encryption are all you’re after, then Signal is as good as it’ll get when it comes to both of those things. It is fully open-source both in the server-side of things as well as the client itself, which in user terms means that everything the app does, picks up, and does with your information is fully transparent. And the app is fully ad-free and developed, maintained, and funded by the Signal Foundation, which is completely non-profit, unlike WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, Inc—people who care quite a bit about profits.

It doesn’t store any of your data, and also comes with a flurry of privacy-focused features as well as, of course, end to end encryption for all of your messages and conversations, so nothing that goes through the app’s server can be seen or intercepted by anyone—it’s encrypted on the server end and decrypted on the recipient end. It’s definitely not the end-all of secure messaging, something that has been proved by the occasional bug. But if you care about your privacy a lot, as we said before, then Signal will do you good.

It’s also a fairly friendly messaging app as the app is pretty basic so far. The UI comes across as kind of iOS-ish on Android, and it lacks a wide array of features that come with other messaging apps, such as stories. And the other rough point is that, well, it doesn’t have remotely the same user base as WhatsApp or even Telegram. It has grown greatly in the past few weeks, don’t get me wrong, but at 50 million installs, it has roughly 10% as many users as Telegram, which itself recently broke 500 million installs. It also has 1% as many installs as WhatsApp, which clocks in at 5 billion installs to date.

If you’re lucky enough to have the people you care about on Signal, though, then it’s really, really worth it if you mind privacy a lot.

Signal Private Messenger (Free, Google Play) →


Telegram: Middle ground with lots of features

 

A lot of security analysts point out that Signal is more secure than Telegram. Telegram’s apparent “negative” is that it features a different method of encryption. While Signal uses its own Signal protocol, which encrypts data end-to-end, Telegram doesn’t have end-to-end encryption (secret chats do, though). Telegram chats are fully accessible on any device you log into and are stored in the cloud using a symmetric encryption scheme called MTProto, developed in-house by the Telegram team and touting features such as 256-bit symmetric AES encryption, 2048-bit RSA encryption, and Diffie–Hellman key exchange.

Telegram goes a long way towards being more of an integrated social ecosystem compared to other messaging apps. The app features channels as well as groups with thousands of people that act more like communities rather than just group chats. It also enjoys a diverse install base on both iOS and Android for this very same reason. And it’s absolutely packed with features. Just to mention some of them, there’s support for bots that add extra functionality to the app as well as to group chats, there are animated stickers, the app is fully customizable, it has chat folders, it allows you to use more than one phone number (or not use one at all)… I could go on and on.

It’s my personal favorite among the three. And it also has a pretty steady user base: with the recent WhatsApp controversy, the Telegram team recently announced that they had surpassed 500 million active users, a new milestone that is still far less than the one WhatsApp has, but it’s still pretty good and a healthy sign for what’s to come for the Telegram team.

Telegram (Free, Google Play) →


WhatsApp: The popular choice

whatsapp

Finally, we have to measure WhatsApp against the two other options I’ve listed. And contrary to what you might think, it doesn’t stack up that badly. WhatsApp actually features end-to-end encryption for everything including messages, calls, and video calls, and it uses the very same protocol Signal uses, the Signal protocol. Your message history is, however, stored unencrypted in backups, so that’s something you should have in mind.

In reality, though, concerns regarding the app don’t arise for security, but rather for privacy. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, which doesn’t exactly have a good track record when it comes to privacy, and they’ve been forced to keep the app free to use and free of ads because of user outrages (although they do want to change that). And the newest privacy policies, which are set to come into effect in May now, have made these concerns way worse.

WhatsApp also picks up a lot of information, such as your personal information, your phone number, your location, and more, which certainly raises the ears of those who care about privacy. Nonetheless, WhatsApp remains popular, and for mainly one reason: its massive userbase. A big majority of smartphone users at a global scale are using WhatsApp as well, and while outrage over these new policies have made a lot of people switch to other alternative apps, it hasn’t really been enough to steal WhatsApp’s thunder, at least for now.

As for features, though, it actually comes with a healthy amount of features. It supports video calls, stickers, stories, and they recently even introduced disappearing messages. They also have a special application for businesses, that allows users to chat directly with a business and even buy things right from the app if you’re in the right market.

WhatsApp Messenger (Free, Google Play) →


The Bottom Line: Which is Better?

Honestly, it depends on what your priorities are and, rather unsurprisingly, which messaging services your friends and close ones use. WhatsApp is the messaging app I use the most because it’s the one where most of my friends and family members are, but in terms of features and overall user experience, my favorite, by far, is Telegram. Both WhatsApp and Telegram are considered one of the best apps to install first on a new smartphone, and there’s fairly good reason for that.

Then again, if you care a lot about privacy and are lucky enough to have all of your friends on it (or you can get the people you care about to download the app), then Signal is the better option by far among the best WhatsApp alternatives due to all of the privacy and security-focused features the app packs, not just encryption. If you care about features and having a messaging app that you can actually make work the way you want to, then Telegram is probably the best option for you.

If you don’t care about either of those things and you just want something you can use to reach friends and family, then WhatsApp is, at the moment, probably the best option for you. This might change in the future and WhatsApp’s current stronghold in the market might fade a bit as the two other big players grow, but for now, that hasn’t happened.

If you really want to get rid of WhatsApp, perhaps the best middle ground is to use both Signal and Telegram — Signal for anything that is worth keeping private, and Telegram for all of its features.

The post Telegram and Signal are the two viable alternatives to WhatsApp appeared first on xda-developers.



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Create Your Own HUAWEI Watch Face and Win a HUAWEI P40 Pro!

The recent launch of the HUAWEI Watch GT2 Pro is an exciting moment for smartwatch users everywhere. This new smartwatch has a heavy focus on personalization and design. Creative people from around the world are putting their skills to use by making watch faces that others can enjoy. These creators include Medialink Creative, who designed the Le Petit Prince Watch Faces [seen in the image above].

The selection of watch faces continues to grow as HUAWEI’s community is constantly uploading new designs. You can also participate in this, by submitting your own design for a new watch face. By submitting your own design, you will be entered to a HUAWEI P40 Pro giveaway.

HUAWEI Themes has started the Empower Designer Incentive Program to encourage people from Europe to upload their Themes and Watch Faces. Join the Empower Designer Incentive Program and upload your own creations!

Get more information here.

     Huawei Watch GT2 Pro
    It offers a range of impressive features, including a 1.39-inch AMOLED display made from Sapphire Glass, battery life of up to two weeks, over 100 different fitness modes, wireless charging, around-the-clock heart monitoring, sleep monitoring, and oxygen saturation detector, 4GB of onboard storage, the ability to answer or reject phone calls, water resistance, and lots more.

 

One of the best ways to show off your custom watch face is with a Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro. This premium smartwatch comes with LiteOS, which is one of the best fitness-based OSes that there are. Pairing your watch with Huawei Health app can help you set up your ideal fitness tracking environment. You’ll find features for people who love snow sports, golfing, hiking, running, and just about any other major sport you can think of. There are over 100 workout modes that you can use to track your progress. The watch will automatically know when it’s time to start tracking, based on your movement. This means you’ll spend less time setting up a workout, and more time doing what you love.

Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro

The benefits of the Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro don’t end with fitness. Weather alerts can be seen at a glance. You can also monitor your health with Oxygen Saturation Detection and heart monitoring. A key aspect of good health is good sleep. Use the Scientific Sleep Monitoring with HUAWEI TruSleep 2.0. These features just scratch the surface of the many capabilities of the Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro.

We thank Huawei for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.

 

 

 

 

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[Update 2: Xiaomi Files Complaint] US bans Americans from investing in Xiaomi, citing ties to Chinese military

Update 2 (01/31/2021 @ 2:05 PM ET): Xiaomi has filed a legal complaint against the U.S. Defense and Treasury Departments. Click here for more information.

Update 1 (01/14/2021 @ 07:06 AM ET): Xiaomi has released a statement on the ban. Click here for more information. The article as published on January 14, 2021, is preserved below.

The U.S. Department of Defense under the outgoing Trump administration has named nine Chinese firms to an investment blacklist, including Chinese phone maker Xiaomi. The list that Xiaomi and eight other firms have been added to is a list of companies that are alleged to be “Communist Chinese military companies” that are operating either directly or indirectly within the United States. This is in accordance with the statutory requirement of Section 1237 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999.

The Department of Defense announced its latest list earlier today. Under Section 1237 of the NDAA for FY 1999, the U.S. defines “Communist Chinese military companies” as “any person identified in the Defense Intelligence Agency publication numbered VP-1920-271-90, dated September 1990, or PC-1921-57-95, dated October 1995, and any update of those publications for the purposes of this section” as well as “any other person that–(i) is owned or controlled by the People’s Liberation Army; and (ii) is engaged in providing commercial services, manufacturing, producing, or exporting.” It’s unclear how Xiaomi fits this bill, as the company has mostly stuck to making consumer products.

As reported by Reuters, American investors will need to divest their holdings in each of the blacklisted firms by November 11, 2021. That’s because of an executive order signed by President Trump in November of 2020, barring Americans from investing in any companies added to the DOD’s list. Companies previously placed on this blacklist include Huawei and SMIC. What this means for the future of Xiaomi is not immediately clear, as while it’s not an outright ban on all trade, it’s possible that the company receives a large amount of investment from U.S.-based companies. For example, Qualcomm Ventures has publicly invested in Xiaomi, so by November 21st, Qualcomm may need to divest its holdings. That would affect Xiaomi’s stock price, but fortunately for the company, it won’t affect their supply chain.

If Xiaomi were to be placed on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Entity List (à la Huawei and DJI), the company would be barred from conducting any business with U.S.-based companies. Furthermore, any company using hardware or software developed primarily in the U.S., which includes many chip foundries and chip design firms, would also be subject to a trade ban with Xiaomi. Huawei’s placement on the Entity List crippled its ability to sell Android-based smartphones internationally, owing to its lack of a GMS license. The placement also crippled Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon’s ability to design new ARM-based chips.

Fortunately for Xiaomi, they have had time to prepare for the worst, which has yet to happen. “In any case, if in the future something happens, we have a plan B. Among other things, we are investing heavily in various semiconductor manufacturers in China, but we believe that our business strategy should not be conditioned by decisions made by politicians. Until now, we have opted for integrating the best components into our products, and we will continue to do so in the future”, Abi Go, Xiaomi’s global product manager, told Xataka early last year. It’s also possible that the forthcoming Biden administration may remove Xiaomi from this blacklist, though that reversal is not guaranteed. Whatever the case may be, this is a major developing story and the impact may not be felt for some time.


Update 1: Xiaomi releases statement; Qualcomm had already exited long back

Xiaomi has released a statement on Twitter disputing the allegations that it is a company tied to the Chinese military. Xiaomi says that the company is not owned, controlled, or affiliated with the Chinese military.

As well, it turns out that Qualcomm has already divested its holdings in the company at an unknown date. The venture capital arm of Qualcomm, Qualcomm Ventures, lists Xiaomi as “exited”. While no date has been confirmed for this exit, I was able to verify that the company has been marked as “exited” since at least August 6th, 2020.


Update 2: Xiaomi files legal complaint

On its official blog, Xiaomi has announced that it has filed a legal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The complaint is addressed to the Department of Defense and the Department of the Treasury, which are undergoing changes in leadership with the transition from President Trump to President Biden. Xiaomi claims the DoD’s decision was factually incorrect and deprived the company of due process. The investment restrictions are set to go into effect on March 15, 2021, unless Xiaomi is removed from the list.

 

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How to run multiple Android apps on your Windows 10 PC with Microsoft’s Your Phone

As a part of its partnership with Microsoft, Samsung had announced during the launch of the Galaxy Note 20 in August last year that the Your Phone app would soon offer support for running multiple apps on Windows. Following the announcement, Microsoft had started rolling out the feature to users who had opted for the Windows Insider program in November. The feature recently became generally available for all users with select Samsung smartphones.

According to Analy Otero Diaz, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, the multiple apps experience in the Your Phone app is now available to all users running the Windows 10 May 2020 update or later. In order to run multiple apps from your Samsung device via Your Phone on Windows, there are a few prerequisites. These include the following:

  • The latest Windows 10 May 2020 update or later. It is recommended that you update to the latest version of Windows 10. You can check and update by heading to Settings > Updates & Security > Check for update
  • A recommended 8GB of RAM on your Windows PC
  • The latest version of Your Phone app on your Windows PC with version 1.20102.132.0 or higher
  • Your Phone companion app to link Windows with your Samsung device. Make sure you have version 1.20102.133.0 or higher. You can download the app from the Google Play store
  • You also need the latest Link to Windows Service with version 2.1.05.2 or higher. This can be downloaded from the Galaxy Store
  • Both the phone and PC should be connected to the same Wi-Fi network

Your Phone app for Windows 10

While Microsoft mentions that you need an Android 11 device to enable multi-app support on Your Phone, not all devices running Android 11 are supported. On a separate page, Microsoft lists all supported smartphones which currently only includes a bunch of Samsung devices. Here is the full list:

  • Samsung Galaxy Fold
  • Samsung Galaxy Note20 5G
  • Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
  • Samsung Galaxy S20
  • Samsung Galaxy S20+
  • Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
  • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
  • Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
  • Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G
  • Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G
  • Samsung Galaxy Note10
  • Samsung Galaxy Note10+
  • Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite

How to run multiple Android apps on Windows using Your Phone:

  1. Once you have met all the requirements mentioned above, open the Your Phone app on your Windows PC
  2. The app will ask you to select between Android or iPhone. Select Android and click on Continue
  3. Next, you will be asked to install/update to the latest version of Your Phone Companion app on your Samsung smartphone by heading to this link (www.aks.ms/yourpc)
  4. After you have installed/updated the companion app on your phone, confirm the same on the Your Phone app on your PC and open the QR code
  5. On your supported Samsung smartphone, head over to Settings > Advanced Features and head to Link to Windows
  6. Enable the service and tap on Add Computer and use the phone’s camera to scan the QR code displayed on the Your Phone app on your PC
  7. Sign in to your Microsoft account and wait for a confirmation to allow your phone to be connected to your PC
  8. You should now be able to see your phone on the Your Phone PC app
  9. Head over to the Apps section on the left to get access to all apps installed on your phone

How to interact with apps:

One can interact with apps using your PC’s mouse, trackpad, keyboard, pen, or touch-enabled screen.  Here are some tips if you are using a mouse and keyboard:

  • Single click  will behave the same as any single touch/tap interaction
  • Right click  anywhere on your phone screen to navigate to the previous page
  • Click and hold will behave the same as a tap/hold interaction
  • Click and hold and drag to select content
  • Mouse scroll to move between pages vertically or horizontally

The post How to run multiple Android apps on your Windows 10 PC with Microsoft’s Your Phone appeared first on xda-developers.



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OnePlus Nord N100 unbrick tool is now available

OnePlus had a busy 2020. Apart from the regular offerings, the Chinese OEM also dipped its toes into the budget smartphone market with the OnePlus Nord N10 5G and the OnePlus Nord N100. The wallet-friendly Nord N100 might not be a powerhouse with its 4G-only Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 SoC, but it does share a few things in common with its siblings: a display with a 90Hz refresh rate, an unlockable bootloader for tinkering, and last but not least, the ability to boot into Qualcomm’s Emergency Download Mode (known as EDL) on user trigger. Well, who doesn’t know that the easy availability of EDL flashers (commonly referred to as “MsmDownloadTool”) is the reason why most OnePlus devices are, for the most part, unbrickable?

OnePlus Nord N100 XDA Forums

In case you have a OnePlus Nord N100 and cannot help but wonder why the unbrick tool is not yet available for your device, we are glad to inform you that your wait is over. Our favorite OnePlus aficionado Some_Random_Username has managed to mirror the device-specific MsmDownloadTool package and write a guide explaining what steps are needed to recover a bricked Nord N100 all by yourself.

Download MsmDownloadTool for the OnePlus Nord N100

If your OnePlus Nord N100 is already bricked, connecting the device to a USB port on a PC running Windows should expose it as “QDLOADER 9008” (or “QHUSB_BULK”, if the required driver isn’t properly installed) under Device Manager. To manually trigger EDL mode, hold down both volume up and volume down buttons, and plug the phone into your PC.

There are a few caveats that you need to be aware of prior to using the tool to unbrick your OnePlus Nord N100. The most important being that if you wish to cross-flash a different regional build of OxygenOS during the flashing process, this will not work as the low-level firmware is now tied to the internal device region ID. Also, since OnePlus utilizes VMProtect 3.0 as an obfuscation/anti-debugging measure while building the flasher, your antivirus might flag it as a potentially rogue piece of software. This is a typical case of false-positive, so just ignore the warning and add the tool to the exclusion list of the antivirus.

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Discussion: Has Samsung actually gotten good at software updates?

If you’ve been keeping watch these past few months, you’d have noticed that Samsung has been slaying it with its software updates. Besides working relentlessly to roll out the latest Android 11-based One UI 3.0 update to a wide range of flagships and flagship-killers, Samsung has also rewarded several mid-range devices with a similar treatment. Along with this commendable promptness, the brand also deserves our appreciation for updating mid-rangers that other brands often forget. So, in this edition of our weekly Discussion series, we ask you if you think Samsung is leading the way among Android manufacturers when it comes to software updates?

Here’s when your Samsung Galaxy phone may get the One UI 3.0 (Android 11) update

While Samsung appears to be at the top of its game, the condition was certainly much different a few years ago. Ironic to the brand’s global reputation, Samsung also earned the blame for delaying software updates, limiting key updates — such as Android version incremental updates — to its flagship devices, and offering a cluttered user experience with its TouchWiz user interface that was later refreshed as Samsung Experience. Samsung addressed complaints about the poor UX by majorly overhauling it with the first One UI update back in 2018. Not just that, the frequency and the availability of the latest updates have also improved majorly in the last few years.

Samsung started floating the first One UI 3.0 beta in October 2020 and subsequently started rolling out stable updates in December 2020, starting with the Galaxy S20 series on Verizon. Since then, a slew of devices has received the stable One UI 3.0 updates. The list includes:

Aside from these devices, Samsung’s latest Galaxy S21 series comes pre-loaded with One UI 3.1, which brings a few extra features such as the improved Google Home Device controls. The Galaxy Tab S7 has also been updated with One UI 3.1 with a set of features to enhance collaboration and productivity.

Despite this promptness, however, Samsung still lags in one area and that is support for Seamless Updates on Android. The feature was introduced with Android Nougat, and it allows new updates to install in the background while the phone is still being used. While updates may normally take only a few minutes to install, we cannot deny that saving that time is also a bonus, especially in an age where we are constantly dependent on our phones. Until Google does not make Seamless Updates mandatory for manufacturers, we can expect Samsung to its own sweet time.

Whether Seamless Updates improve the user experience or not is another topic for yet another Discussion. For now, we would like you to share your opinions on what you think about Samsung’s enthusiasm for updates. Comments your views below!

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samedi 30 janvier 2021

OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T seeing work for mainline Linux kernel support

One of the perks of buying a OnePlus smartphone is the aftermarket development support. The company is generally known for its timely kernel source code releases (they have been slow at publishing sources a couple of times) and promotion of custom ROMs for EOL devices among other things, which makes it a fan favorite in the developer community. We often speak about devices outliving their generation by leaps and bounds, and now it looks like two OnePlus phones are about to achieve a similarly remarkable feat in terms of third-party development. It’s been nearly three years since the launch of the OnePlus 6 series, but if you still have a OnePlus 6 or a OnePlus 6T lying around, it may soon be possible to boot it with the mainline Linux kernel.

OnePlus 6 Forums ||| OnePlus 6T Forums

The one thing that might convince many users to finally lay their old device to rest is if unofficial software support ends for the foreseeable future — something that is almost a guarantee to happen with nearly every smartphone out there. However, there is an independent developer named Caleb Connolly, who has been working hard to include the OnePlus 6 and 6T in the mainline Linux kernel, which will surely help pave the way for the prolonged life of these devices. He has already taken the important step of successfully booting a postmarketOS instance on the device duo.

OnePlus 6 running postmarketOS Linux

With the OnePlus 6/6T being built atop the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 platform, the upstreaming effort isn’t too convoluted but principally adding the appropriate device tree bits for the kernel. Thanks to the existing minimal mainline support for the platform, features like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 3D Acceleration are already working at the current stage of development. What’s more interesting is that users can even dual-boot postmarketOS and Android on the OnePlus 6 and 6T using the custom installer created by the developer.

postmarketOS for the OnePlus 6 and the OnePlus 6T

Previously, there have been Windows 10 ARM bootstrapped for the OnePlus 6T by another independent developer, albeit it didn’t spark too much interest. The situation is entirely different now, as Caleb has been actively involved in the process of upstreaming kernel patches with hopes of improving the situation for those wanting to run Linux on the OnePlus 6 and 6T in the near future. We look forward to many years of continued development for these phones.

The post OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T seeing work for mainline Linux kernel support appeared first on xda-developers.



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How to add support for the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller on your rooted Android phone

Did you manage to get your hands on a PlayStation 5 at long last? If you did, you surely must be enjoying the new DualSense controller accompanying the console. Since the launch of the DualShock 4 with the PlayStation 4, the controllers for the PlayStation have also been an amazing controller to use on other devices, such as your PC, and yes, your smartphone. Android does support the DualShock 4 for the most part in current versions, and you can expect to use your controller just the way you would use it on your PS4. The PS5’s DualSense, though? Your mileage may vary. To be clear, it’s an amazing controller that adds to the best aspects of the DualShock 4 with new features and improvements across the board. But it’s too new, and so your older Android device may not support it. If your device is rooted, though, then all you have to do is install the 1Controller Magisk module to make the DualSense controller map button presses properly.

We’ve covered this mod before, but in case you missed it, the 1Controller module basically provides layout files for various controllers, such as those from the PlayStations, Xbox controllers, and more. While Android has controller layouts for a bunch of popular controllers, such as the DualShock 4, the availability of controller layouts may vary depending on your manufacturer and Android version. Thus, if you have a controller that is popular but is not properly supported by your system, then this module will have you covered. Conveniently, this module supports the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller which, being so new, may not be properly mapped on many Android devices.

1Controller XDA Thread

So, does this all sound good to you? It sure does to me. Be mindful that you do need to install Magisk on your device in order to install this module, so if you haven’t rooted your phone yet and you want to use your oh-so-white controller with your smartphone, then go install Magisk and then come back. Done? Then you should by all means go ahead and check out the newest version of this Magisk module.

Download the 1Controller Magisk Module

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vendredi 29 janvier 2021

The ROG Phone 5 could have a dot matrix on the back for Aura Lighting

The ROG Phone from ASUS is the quintessential gaming phone. It has the most powerful chipset in an Android phone, shoulder buttons, an uninterrupted display, an active cooling attachment, and RGB lighting. The ROG logo that lights up on the back hasn’t changed in the 3 generations of ROG Phones that ASUS has released, but it looks like the Taiwanese brand will shake things up with the next phone in the series: the ROG Phone 5. (We don’t know exactly what it’ll be called, but there’s a chance ASUS will refrain from marketing it as the ROG Phone 4 given the popularity of the tetraphobia superstition in East Asian countries.)

Earlier this month, ASUS published a teaser on its Weibo page that hinted at the next ROG Phone’s upcoming launch. Given the ROG Phone 3 launched in July of 2020, the launch of the ROG Phone 5 seems to be happening a bit earlier than expected. A lot of devices are being released earlier than usual this year, though, so this isn’t too surprising. Shortly after ASUS teased the ROG Phone 5, a photo and later a brief hands-on video of the alleged device were posted to Weibo. The leaked image and video gave us a first look at the phone’s tiny secondary display on the back. This small display appears to support showing alerts for games and notifications for incoming calls.

Now, a listing published on the Chinese certification site TENAA shows us the ROG Phone 5 in greater detail. On the back, we can see the number “05” (which suggests this is indeed the ROG Phone “5”), “REPUBLIC OF GAMERS”, “EST. 2006” (the year the brand was founded), and “TENCENT GAMES.” ASUS has typically offered a custom version of its ROG smartphones in China in collaboration with Tencent Games, so we’re likely looking at the Tencent version of the device here. The Tencent model typically compromises on a few internal hardware components in order to cut down on costs, but the overall design should be similar to the international model.

We can also see on the back that the area on the bottom-left is a dot matrix used for the phone’s Aura Lighting feature. The image of the rear submitted to TENAA shows the ROG logo lit up, but the lighting can likely be customized in the phone’s software. The dot matrix design on the back of the ROG Phone 5 reminds me of the Lightning Armor case that ASUS offers for the ROG Phone 3.

Other than the aforementioned changes to the rear design, we don’t see a lot of other design changes. The cameras look the same, the dual front-facing speakers are still there, the selfie camera on the right is still there, the display still seems to have no notch or hole-punch, and the ports still seem to be in the same location. The SIM card tray cover has a neat red color, but we’re not sure if that’s a Tencent-exclusive design change.

Not much else is known about the ROG Phone 5. According to the rest of the certification listing (H/T @_the_tech_guy), the device will have a 6.78-inch OLED display, a dual-cell battery design (2x 3000mAh batteries), run Android 11, and measure 172.834 x 77.252 x 10.29 mm in dimensions. A previous certification listing revealed the device will support 65W fast wired charging. We expect it’ll have Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888, ample amounts of RAM and storage, and other flagship-tier hardware.

The ROG Phone 3 was our favorite gaming phone of 2020. With competition from new entrants to the field like Lenovo and soon Redmi, the ROG Phone 5 will need to debut with exclusive gaming features that’ll justify its likely high price tag.

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Popular RSS reader app ‘Inoreader’ gets a big UI refresh with version 7

Finding the right RSS reader can be tough, especially to fill gaping hole Google Reader left behind. One of the best is called Inoreader, and it’s getting even better thanks to a big UI refresh with version 7.

Inoreader’s refreshed look makes it look more modern by following the latest Material Design standards. How it functions and how you use it is largely the same, but a fresh coat of paint, along with new icons, make it feel like a more premium experience. The changes aren’t drastic, but your eyes will be happier staring at the app, which just looks cleaner.

One of the biggest changes is the dark title bar is gone when using the light theme. Instead, it’s an all-white background. Up at the top you’ll also notice that buttons for Mark As Read, Search, and Display options are all on the same line while on mobile. Meanwhile, thumbnails are a little rounder, while the cards in the Card view have been shrunk down to make room for more content.

Inoreader describes itself as being used worldwide by techies, business professionals, digital marketers, research institutions, content publishers, and more. “Inoreader is a news app that offers not only a beautiful and light reading experience, but also powerful news aggregation and curation features that let you build a perfectly personalized news feed.”

Inoreader features a free plan and a pro plan, the latter of which is available for $49 per year. The free plan includes day and night reading mode, free search and full archive of your subscriptions, the ability to save pages from the web for viewing later, and more.

The update is currently available in version 7 of Inoreader, which is currently in beta on Android. You can join the app’s beta testing waitlist, or simply wait for it to be released in a stable build.

Inoreader - News App & RSS (Free+, Google Play) →

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NVIDIA GeForce NOW adds support for Chrome on Windows and macOS

One of the top cloud gaming services is NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW, which launched its first browser-based client back in April of last year for Chromebooks. In November, NVIDIA made GeForce NOW available for iOS/iPadOS devices through Safari, bypassing Apple’s App Store. At the time, the company said it planned to officially expand support for its browser client to more Chrome platforms, including Linux, PC, Mac, and Android. Now, version 2.0.27 of the service is rolling out with beta support for the Chrome browser on Windows and macOS.

In the release notes for the update, NVIDIA says that users of Google Chrome on Windows and macOS can start streaming games by visiting https://play.geforcenow.com/. NVIDIA states that other platforms able to use the Google Chrome browser may work by visiting the site, but the company does not guarantee support. The company used the WebRTC framework to optimize the browser experience to feel as close as possible to the native app. It was previously possible to access GeForce NOW’s web client on any operating system by spoofing the user agent string, but users who did so often noted high input lag, making many games unplayable.

You’ll still need to be in a supported region to access GeForce NOW, and if you visit the website today using Google Chrome on Windows or macOS, you’ll see a notification that recommends you download the native client for the best experience. Native clients for GeForce NOW are already available for x86 and x64 PCs running Windows 10, and a client is now also available for Macs with Apple Silicon. However, there isn’t a native client for Linux or Windows 10 on ARM, so this new browser experience will be the best way to play games through GeForce NOW on those platforms. We reached out to NVIDIA to inquire about the status of Chrome on Linux support and if Chromium-based browsers like Microsoft Edge will be officially supported, and we’ll update this article if we receive a response.

On top of expanded device support, NVIDIA also introduced a handful of new features to improve the browser experience. For example, you can now easily add desktop shortcuts to your favorite games on GeForce NOW and share a URL for any game on the platform with your friends. Features like these will help GeForce NOW reduce friction in the user experience. I am personally a fan of NVIDIA’s cloud gaming model, but the company still has a ways to go to catch up to the user-friendliness of Stadia and xCloud.

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Samsung plans to make a slidable display this year

Samsung Display is the market leader in OLED panels for smartphones, and they’ve extended their dominance into the emerging market for foldable displays, according to the analysts at Display Supply Chain Consultants. After using a few foldable devices, we’re convinced that foldables are the future, which is why the advancements in foldable display tech are exciting for us to watch unfold. Samsung’s foldable smartphones are so far ahead of the competition that other foldables feel like gen 1 products in comparison, and now they’re preparing to dip their toes into a new form factor: the slidable display.

In its Q4 2020 earnings call, KwonYoung Choi from the Business Planning department at Samsung Display said the company is planning to “qualify [its] presence in the display market through innovative form factors such as foldable and slidable displays.” Since Samsung Display is a panel vendor, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Samsung Electronics is planning to make a smartphone with a slidable display (though they’ve submitted a few patents hinting at it). Korean media recently reported that Samsung Display is beginning to supply foldable displays to Chinese smartphone makers. It’s possible that Samsung Display is making a slidable display only so it can compete with Chinese panel vendors like BOE and CSOT for business. BOE is apparently the panel vendor for OPPO’s rollable concept phone, the OPPO X 2021, while TCL’s CSOT is the vendor for TCL’s rollable phone concept. There’s also LG with its own rollable display in a phone supposedly headed to market this year. Clearly, a lot of smartphone vendors are exploring making a product with a rollable/slidable display, so it makes sense that Samsung Display wants to create its own offering.

Alternatively, it’s possible that the slidable display that Samsung is making is intended for a larger device, such as a TV. LG Display currently dominates the TV OLED market, and the company recently unveiled the first rollable TV — the LG Rollable OLED TV R. No doubt that Samsung won’t rest on its laurels, giving LG Display an easy win here. After all, during the earnings call, KwonYoung Choi talked about the company’s broader core strategies and outlook for 2021, touching upon the company’s display business across mobile, TV, and even automotive.

Here’s the full quote from the earnings call:

“Finally, I’ll share our outlook for the display market and the display business core strategies for 2021. For the Mobile Display business, we expect demand to rise for OLED display panels for high-end models and OLED penetration to increase in mid-range segments, driven by expansion of 5G smartphone market alongside recovery of smartphone demand. We will further solidify our leadership in OLED market by taking full advantage of our such market conditions.

Moreover, we will further differentiate our proprietary technologies for features such as adaptive refresh rates and lower power consumption to base for uncertainties caused by demand fluctuation under-prolonged impact of the pandemic and also aggressive market entry of competitors.

At the same time, in response to a growing demand in contactless communication and services, we will endeavor to diversify applications within areas such as note PCs, tablets and automotives by employing advantages of OLED, including ultra-thin and narrow bezel.

Also, we’ll promote market expansion for foldable displays. In the meantime, we’ll also qualify our presence in the display market through innovative form factors such as foldable and slidable displays.” – KwonYoung Choi from the Business Planning department at Samsung Display

Featured image: the OPPO X 2021, a concept smartphone with a rollable display

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Magic: The Gathering Arena is now available on Android in early access

Magic: The Gathering Arena, developed by Wizards of the Coast, is now available on Android in early access. The free-to-play title supports cross-play, allowing Android users to join their desktop counterparts.

Wizards of the Coast said that Magic: The Gathering Arena players can expect the same experience enjoyed by those on desktop. The game has been optimized to support smaller screen sizes and touch-based controls. If you already play on desktop, you’ll be able to log into your Wizards Account and complete quests, play competitively, and build decks.

Magic: The Gathering Arena on Android will include all current card sets, formats, events, dev building and more. Players will also get access to the Viking-themed Kaldheim deck, which is available on digital today. The game is free to download, but you can spend money on purchasing cards. If you own a physical copy of the Planeswalker decks, you will get a code to unlock them online.

Wizards of the Coast says that the game has been optimized the run on higher end devices. Here’s what the developer recommends:

Android Version: 6.0 (Marshmallow) or newer
RAM: 4GB or more
Graphics API: OpenGL ES 3.0
Texture Compression: ETC2

Required Chipsets

  • Kirin 970 -or-
  • Snapdragon 845 -or-
  • Exynos 9810

The list of supported devices includes everything from the Google Pixel 3 all the way up to the Galaxy S21 series:

  • ASUS ROG Phone 3
  • ASUS ROG Phone II
  • Galaxy A71 5G
  • Galaxy Note 9
  • Galaxy Note 10+
  • Galaxy S10
  • Galaxy S10+ 5G
  • Galaxy S20 Ultra
  • Galaxy S9
  • Google Pixel 3
  • Honor Play 4
  • Huawei Mate 20 Pro
  • Huawei Mate 30 Pro 4G
  • Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G
  • Huawei P20 Pro
  • Huawei P30 Pro
  • LG G7 ThinQ
  • Motorola One 5G
  • OnePlus 6T
  • OnePlus 7 Pro
  • OnePlus 8
  • Oppo Reno 3 Vitality
  • Oppo Reno 3 5G
  • Realme V3
  • Redmi K30 Ultra
  • Redmi 10X Pro 5G
  • Redmi K30 5G Racing
  • Xperia XZ2
  • Xperia XZ3
  • Vivo Y70s

“Due to the wide and variability of Android devices, we are unable to provide a comprehensive list of supported devices,” Wizards of the Coast said. All of the devices listed above assume your phone meets the standard requirements.

The developer said wider Android and iOS support of Magic: The Gathering Arena is coming later this year.

Magic: The Gathering Arena (Free+, Google Play) →

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ZTE teases the Axon 30 Pro 5G with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888

Although much of the focus has been on Huawei, another Chinese tech company, ZTE, had a run-in with the former Trump administration. Fortunately for the company, the U.S. eventually lifted its ban, allowing the brand to sell smartphones in the country. Since the company overcame this debacle, its international product launches have been rather low-key (and unimpressive.) That changed with the launch of the Axon 20 5G in September of 2020, the world’s first smartphone with a selfie camera underneath the display. After it launched globally in December of 2020, we had a chance to try it out for ourselves but came away disappointed. Now, ZTE is preparing to launch its successor: the Axon 30 Pro 5G.

In a post on Weibo, ZTE Mobile shared a poster that teases the release of the Axon 30 Pro 5G. The company sadly doesn’t confirm if the Axon 30 Pro will have an under-display camera like its predecessor, but we’d be surprised if ZTE abandons such a marketable feature. Ni Fei, the company’s President of Mobile Devices, does state that the new device will have the “industry’s strongest imaging system.” He hasn’t shared exactly how the Axon 30 Pro will best its competition when it comes to imaging, so we’re chalking this up to marketing until we learn more. Separately, Lu Qianhao, Director of Consumer Experience Department at ZTE, essentially confirmed that the Axon 30 Pro 5G will feature Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 silicon. In his post, he touts the computing performance of the Snapdragon 888’s Spectra 580 ISP. However, he stops short at confirming which features the Axon 30 Pro 5G will actually support, thus it would be a stretch for us to say his post confirms any details about the phone’s actual imaging hardware.

We’re pleasantly surprised to see that the Axon 30 Pro 5G will feature Qualcomm’s latest silicon. After all, the last two smartphones in the Axon series, the Axon 11 5G and Axon 20 5G, featured Qualcomm’s mid-range Snapdragon 765G chipset. Previous devices in the Axon lineup, such as the Axon 7, Axon 9, Axon 10 Pro, and most recently, the Axon 10s Pro, featured Snapdragon 8-series chipsets, so it seems that ZTE is returning to making flagship Axon phones after a brief stint with making mid-rangers. Here’s hoping Google does the same for its next Pixel smartphone.

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The Clearly White model of the Pixel 4a 5G is now available, plus save at least $40 on all colors!

Earlier this month, we reported on the Clearly White color of the Google Pixel 4a 5G–specifically, that the new color of the popular 5G smartphone would go on sale at the end of the month. Well, it’s the end of the month! So you know what that means… it’s time to pick up your Clearly White device!

Wondering if the Clearly White Pixel 4a 5G is worth it? The standard model was named the best mid-range phone of 2020, and if you’re looking for a 5G smartphone, this is the best one to get for cheap. Better yet, the Clearly White model is already at a discount! At Amazon and the Google Store, you can save $40 on the device with no hassle and no strings attached. At Best Buy, if you activate today, you’ll save $90!

Not interested in Clearly White? I don’t blame you. While I like the look of white tech, the color never seems to stand up to the test of time. So instead, you can get the Just Black color instead! Sure, it may be a little boring, but you can always jazz it up with a case, and the black color is simply going to last a little longer. You can get the same discounts on the Just Black 4a G5 as well. To recap, that’s $90 off at Best Buy be activating today, and $40 off everywhere else.

Of course, while this covers unlocked phones, there are plenty of other deals on the Pixel 4a 5G, just check out our deals round-up for more!

By the way, if you’re planning on picking up this great mid-range phone, why not grab a great case to go with it? The Otterbox Commuter cases for the phone are currently on sale at Amazon! Available in black and pink, these cases are Otterbox tough without the usual Otterbox bulk.

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Netflix is testing a sleep timer feature on Android

Do you fall asleep to your favorite show on Netflix? Great British Baking Show is a soothing option. If this is part of your nightly routine, we have good news: Netflix is launching a global test today on Android that will allow subscribers to set a sleep timer.

The feature will allow users to set a timer of 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, or to turn off when whatever they’re watching ends. Once these timers end, the Netflix app will stop. That’s the perfect solution for anyone who puts on a TV show or movie to help them sleep.

We actually got a glimpse of this feature toward the end of last year. In an APK teardown of the Netflix app for Android, we found reference to a sleep timer. At the time, we couldn’t find any related assets, so it was unclear how the feature would work. But now that Netflix’s sleep timer is officially in testing, we have a much clearer idea.

Netflix Sleep Timer

When you’re watching a program, you’ll see a new “Timer” button in the top right corner of the program you’re watching. This will then launch a timeline with the different options you can choose. If you’re still awake when the timer goes off, you can hit snooze like a normal alarm.

The Verge said the feature is being tested globally on Android devices, but Netflix is open to bringing it to more devices, including TVs. If the feature is popular among Netflix subscribers, we could see it become a more permanent part of the service.

Personally, I would love Netflix to introduce the opposite of a sleep timer. How often have you run into the “are you still watching” dialog? There’s no way to turn that off, and it often interrupts whatever show I’m binging.

Netflix’s sleep timer feature could work well with its audio-only mode, which is also being tested. Imagine putting on your favorite show and just listening to it as you fall asleep. Once the timer runs out, the Netflix app on Android could close.

That sounds like the perfect implementation of new features to me.

Netflix (Free+, Google Play) →

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