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mercredi 18 décembre 2019

Modded Fossil Smartwatches app extends notification support to many more apps on Fossil Hybrid HR

The Fossil Hybrid HR is one of the most interesting smartwatches around. Rather than opt for a full-blown smartwatch on the Android Wear platform, the Hybrid HR opts for a traditional watch dial and physical watch hands, on top of a low-powered monochromatic always-on display. This allows the watch to stay a watch at all times while offering features such as fitness tracking capabilities, weather information, and app notifications, along with exemplary battery life. However, some features are handled through the official Fossil Hybrid Smartwatches app, which lacks some functionality. If you are looking to realize the hybrid smartwatches full potential, check out this modded Fossil Hybrid Smartwatches app.

This modded Fossil Hybrid Smartwatches app by Reddit user /u/coronafire started off as a way to fix some of the limitations that existed in the official watch. The official app previously supported notifications from only a handful of apps, with no way to display any notifications from other apps. So the modded app fixed this, as well as introduced a way to display the icon of the app which sent the notification. The modded app also allowed the watch to respect the phone’s DND setting, a feature that was curiously missing. The dev was also working on using custom backgrounds for the display, but the official app has just now incorporated the same, along with the ability to display notifications from more apps.

Modded Fossil Hybrid Smartwatches app

The custom background feature as teased by the dev of the mod

The official app still does not display icons properly for these notifications, and also does not have DND incorporated, so the modded app still retains utility.

Modded Fossil Hybrid Smartwatches app 

Since this is a mod of the official application, you need to uninstall the official application to install this one, because of the change in signature with which the app is signed with, because of its unofficial nature. If you are worried about the unofficial nature of the app, you can always check out the source code since the mod is open-sourced.

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OnePlus 6/6T Open Beta 3 brings November 2019 security patches and restores notch hiding options

Following the recent Android 10 rollout for the OnePlus 6/6T, OnePlus has now started rolling out OxygenOS Open Beta 3 for the devices. The update brings the Android security patches for November 2019 and it brings back the notch hiding option which was removed in a previous release. Additionally, OnePlus 6/6T users in India get an update for the OnePlus Care app which offers rewards and exclusive offers to those who sign up.

OnePlus 6 XDA Forums || OnePlus 6T XDA Forums

OxygenOS Open Beta 3 for the OnePlus 6/6T changelog:

  • System
    • Added the notch area display options under Settings>Display>Notch display>Hide the notch area
    • Updated the GMS Package
    • Updated Android security patch to 2019.11
    • Improves system stability and general bug fixes
  • OnePlus Care (India only)
    • Sign up to get rewards, premium experience, and exclusive offers

OnePlus has started rolling out the OxygenOS Open Beta 3 update to OnePlus 6/6T users who are already on the beta channel. If you’re running Open Beta 2 on your device, you should receive the update notification soon. In case you’re not on the beta channel, you’ll need to install OxygenOS Open Beta 2 on your device first before installing the latest release. Before you go ahead and install the Open Beta release, do note that the build won’t be as stable as the official OTA and you might encounter some unwanted bugs.

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Picture Manager’s latest updates add duplicate and similar image finder, EXIF editor, and more

Apps like Google Photos have largely taken the pain out of organizing photos for users who do not mind sharing them with Google. But there are users who prefer keeping their memories private and stored locally. This is where apps like Picture Manager come in, allowing users to up their organization game by automatically timestamping and organizing photos in a few different ways. We previously covered the app in April 2018, and since then, the app by XDA Recognized Developer j to the 4n has received updates that have added in more key functionalities.

Changelog for Picture Manager’s last few updates are as below:

  • v2.0.0:
    • Introducing duplicate and similar image finder
      • Find duplicate images with crc32 calculation
      • Find similar images with PHash and AverageHash
      • Option to calculate bluriness of an image
    • Added option to copy instead moving files for organizer
    • Counter now accepts leading zeros to be defined
    • Some UI changes and fixes
  • v3.0.0:
    • Added EXIF Editor:
      • Single and Batch Mode available to edit 149 EXIF attributes
      • Batch Mode with conditions
      • Delete all EXIF Attributes
    • Added option to backup and restore picture manager settings
    • Some UI changes. Trying to make it easier for new users
    • Updated android-gif-drawable library to fix CVE-2019-11932

Key highlights of the recent updates are the ability to find duplicate images and similar images, as well as the Exif Editor which can function in single edit mode and batch edit mode for as many as 149 EXIF attributes. The update also fixes the “double-free bug” as defined in the CVE-2019-11932.

Picture Manager — XDA Discussion Thread
Download Picture Manager from the Google Play Store


Picture Manager: Rename and Organize with EXIF (Free+, Google Play) →

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YouTube Music improves music discovery with three personalized playlists

Ever since its launch back in May 2018, YouTube Music has received several updates that introduced key features that were missing in the initial release. The app has received support for Android Auto, the ability to play locally stored media, an Android widget, and gapless playback support in previous updates. These new features make YouTube Music one of the best media players and music streaming services on Android, but it’s still far from being perfect. For instance, discovering music on the platform still isn’t as good as rival apps like Spotify and that isn’t the only problem with the app. Thankfully though, Google is now addressing this issue with the latest update for YouTube Music.

According to a recent blog post from the company, YouTube Music is now getting an update that brings three new personalized playlists for improved music discovery. The new Discover Mix, New Release Mix, and Your Mix playlists aim to keep you up to date on what’s new and introduce you to artists and songs based on your interests. These playlists are automatically updated at regular intervals based on your listening history and each playlist offers a unique experience.

The Discover Mix playlist helps you discover new artists and songs based on your preferences and listening history. It offers 50 completely new tracks each week and is updated every Wednesday. The New Release Mix, as the name suggests, brings all the latest releases by your favorite artists along with new releases from similar artists. The playlist will receive a major update every Friday with a couple of smaller mid-week updates throughout the week. Finally, the Your Mix playlist features your favorite songs and artists, along with a few similar songs that you’ve never heard before. The playlists will receive small updates regularly based on your most recent activity.

The blog post states that all three new playlists are now available in YouTube Music globally, however, at the time of writing, I was only able to see the Your Mix and New Release Mix playlists on my device.

YouTube Music - Stream Songs & Music Videos (Free, Google Play) →


Source: Google Blog

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[Update: Launched in India] Nokia 2.3 launches with Android One based on Android 9 Pie and a microUSB port

Update 12/18/19 @ 5:45 AM ET: Following its launch in Egypt, the Nokia 2.3 has now been launched in India. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on December 6, 2019, is preserved as below.

Following the launch of the Nokia 6.2 and Nokia 7.2 at IFA 2019, HMD Global is back at it again with a new budget-centric device. At a recent event in Egypt, the company announced the new Nokia 2.3 an Android One device running Android 9 Pie out of the box. The device features a 6.2-inch HD+ display, a dual-camera setup on the back and it boasts of some impressive AI features.

Specifications

Specification Nokia 2.3
Dimensions and Weight 157.69x 75.41 x 8.68 mm;
183g
Display 6.2″ HD+ (720 x 1520);
Waterdrop notch
SoC MediaTek Helio A22:
Quad-code (4x A53 @2.0GHz)
RAM and Storage 2GB + 32GB;
Expandable through dedicated microSD card slot
Battery 4,000 mAh
USB microUSB
Rear Camera 13MP, f/2.2 + 2MP depth sensor
Front Camera 5MP, f/2.4
Android Version Android 9 Pie

The new Nokia 2.3 is powered by a MediaTek Helio A22 chip, coupled with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It includes a microSD card slot for expansion with support for up to 400GB cards. While the hardware may not sound all that impressive, Nokia is banking on the device’s AI capabilities to entice buyers. For instance, the company talked about a new ‘Recommended Shot’ feature that will help users take great photos with the device’s 13MP + 2MP dual-camera setup. It also includes features like ‘Portrait mode’ and a night mode for better image capture in a variety of settings. Up on the front, the device has a 5MP selfie-shooter house in the notch at the top.

The device is backed up by a 4,000mAh battery which, the company claims, can easily provide two days of use on a single charge. In order to provide the best battery life, Nokia has included an AI-assisted Adaptive Battery technology in the Nokia 2.3. This technology will learn from your usage and optimize apps to offer longer battery life. On the outside, the phone features a design reminiscent of other budget devices from the company with a durable polymer body that has a 3D nano-textured coating to ensure that the device sits securely in your hands.

Speaking of the launch, HMD Global’s CPO Juho Sarvikas was quoted saying, “Consumers world over have really appreciated the Nokia 2 family of products. The Nokia 2.3 is a step forward in our promise of offering you an experience that stays fresh longer – giving consumers access to two years of OS upgrades and three years of monthly security updates even in the affordable price tier. On top, it offers industry-leading AI for this segment, large screen and our signature promise of two-day battery life – making it the ideal pick for those who rely on their smartphone as their primary screen.”

While the device ships with Android 9 Pie, Nokia has promised regular security updates for three years and OS update for two years. This means that the phone will be upgraded to Android 10 sometime down the line. One really interesting thing about the device, however, is that it features a dedicated Google Assistant button to help users easily activate the voice assistant. In terms of connectivity, the device includes 4G LTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/A-GPS, a micro-USB port for charging and data syncing, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Nokia 2.3: Pricing and Availability

The Nokia 2.3 will be made available in Cyan Green, Sand, and Charcoal color variants and it’s priced at a reasonable €109(~$121). The device is expected to go on sale mid-December, but we currently don’t have any information regarding its India release.


Update: Nokia 2.3 launched in India for ₹8,199 (~$115)

HMD Global has announced that the Nokia 2.3 will also be made available in India, starting from December 27, 2019. The phone will come in Cyan Green, Sand, and Charcoal colors, and will cost ₹8,199 (~$115) for the 2GB/32GB variant. You can buy it from Nokia.com as well as offline retail outlets across India.

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Now-fixed Google Chrome bug broke data storage for many apps using WebView

Earlier this month, Google started rolling out Chrome 79 on all platforms. The update brought a ton of new features, including better password protection, real-time phishing protection, expanded predictive phishing protection, and more. But along with the new features, Chrome 79 also introduced a bug that has been causing data loss for Android apps that use the WebView API.

As per a recent report from Ars Technica, the data loss was a result of Google changing where Chrome 79 stores profile data without migrating the old data. This resulted in the affected apps resetting to a freshly installed state. In a statement regarding the bug, a spokesperson from Google wrote, “The M79 update to Chrome and WebView on Android devices was suspended after detecting an issue in WebView where some users’ app data was not visible within those apps. This app data was not lost and will be made visible in apps when we deliver an update this week. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Google has since started rolling out Chrome 79 (79.0.3945.93) for Android which brings the following features, along with stability and performance improvements:

  • WebView bug fix: Resolves an issue in WebView where some users’ app data was not visible within those apps. The app data was not lost and will be made visible in apps with this update. See crbug.com/1033655
  • Password safety: When you sign in to a website, Chrome can now warn you if your password was previously exposed in a data breach
  • Support for virtual reality: The WebXR Device API enables immersive and inline VR experiences for the web
  • Reorder bookmarks: Drag bookmarks into place, or tap a bookmark’s options menu and select Move up or Move down

The full list of changes introduced in Chrome 79 can be seen in the Git log. You can download the Chrome 79 hotfix update from the Play Store by following the link below. In case you were one of the several people affected by the aforementioned bug, you should get back all your old data following the update. However, do note that you may lose any new data collected by an affected app after the previous update.

Google Chrome: Fast & Secure (Free, Google Play) →


Source: Google Blog

Via: Ars Technica

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mardi 17 décembre 2019

[Update: Screenshots] Google Pay (Tez) for India prepares to add 2020 stamp rewards, One-Time Mandates, and Stories for merchants

Update 12/18/19 @ 1:40 AM ET: We now have some screenshots of the upcoming 2020 stamps as well as of the tokenized cards. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on December 12, 2019, is preserved as below.

Google Pay is Google’s unified payment platform, but the company also has an app with the same name but different functionality for users in India. This India-only Google Pay is a rebrand of the erstwhile Google Tez, and the app has gone on to add more functionalities after the rebranding. We last spotted Google Pay (Tez) preparing to add gold gifting options for its users in India. Now, the app is preparing to bring stamp rewards for 2020, One-Time Mandates, and stories for merchants.

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by the developers in a future build.

Google Pay (Tez) 49.0.003_RC05 contains new strings that indicate that Google is working on some new features.

Google Pay — 2020 Stamp Rewards

Google managed to strike gold with its Diwali stamp rewards campaign during the recent festive season in India. Google Pay presented users with the task of collecting 5 Diwali-themed stamps, promising an assured payout of ₹251 ($3.5) and a chance towards winning the grand prize of ₹1,00,000 ($1,400).

Some of these stamps could be earned by scanning Diwali items around you, while some others like the Rangoli and Flower could be earned by making bill payments and other merchant transactions within the app. You could also gift stamps to other users, and request one from them. Google also added a leaderboard towards the end, essentially making the whole experience a game of collecting stamps. The end result of this campaign was that it really clicked with the urban Indian audience and went viral for positive reasons as users playfully jostled to collect all the stamps, earn their assured prize and also participate towards the grand prize. Google did not release any metrics for this campaign, but from observation around on social media and my own surroundings, this campaign did push Google Pay as a preferred payment method, if only for the campaign period.

Now, Google is aiming to replicate some of that same success with the New Year, as strings indicate a similar campaign in the works for 2020. These are the new strings added to v49 of Google Pay (Tez):

<string name="adcatcher_ui_listening_description_1_with_youtube_link_2020">"Catch an ad to collect a reward! Just stay on this page when you're listening to a Google Pay ad on TV or Google India's %1$s playlist."</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_listening_description_2_2020">"Open the Youtube playlist on a different device to listen to it now. The microphone only listens on this On-Air page, and audio never leaves your device."</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_dialog_reward_daily_limit_action">Got it</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_dialog_reward_daily_limit_title">"You've reached the daily limit"</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_dialog_reward_general_error_action">Try again</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_dialog_reward_general_error_description">Try again in a short while.</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_dialog_reward_general_error_title">Something went wrong</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_dialog_reward_success_action">Keep playing</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_dialog_reward_success_description">"Congrats, you've collected a 2020 stamp!"</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_dialog_reward_success_title">1 %1$s</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_dialog_reward_timeout_action">Try again</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_dialog_reward_timeout_description">"We couldn't find the number 2020 with the audio scanner. Bring your phone closer or try with a different ad."</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_dialog_reward_timeout_title">Our scanner timed out</string>
<string name="adcatcher_ui_listening_toast_retry_2020">"Can't hear any ads. Move your phone closer to the speaker or try a different ad."</string>

While the Diwali stamps campaign involved scanning Diwali items like diyas with the phone’s camera, the 2020 campaign is likely to involve the camera and the microphone as two means to earn stamps. The strings above suggest that users will have to leverage their phone’s microphone to listen to a Google Pay ad on TV or Google India’s YouTube playlist. The audio scanner will attempt to pick up the number “2020” within the ad audio and reward users with a 2020-themed stamp.

Some older strings also had their descriptions changed:

  • <string name=”diwali_scandiwali_hint_on_what_to_scan”>Scan a Diwali item to collect a stamp</string>
    changed to
    <string name=”diwali_scandiwali_hint_on_what_to_scan”>Scan the number “2020” anywhere near you to collect a stamp!</string>
  • <string name=”social_diwali_scan_success_description”>”Congrats, you’ve collected a Diwali stamp! Keep playing to complete your set.”</string>
    changed to
    <string name=”social_diwali_scan_success_description”>”Congrats, you’ve collected a 2020 stamp!”</string>
  • <string name=”social_diwali_scan_timeout_description”>We could not detect any Diwali items. Bring your scanner closer or try a different item.</string>
    changed to
    <string name=”social_diwali_scan_timeout_description”>”We couldn’t find the number 2020 with the AR scanner. Bring your phone closer or try with a different image.”</string>

These indicate that simply scanning the number 2020 will also earn you a stamp, though we reckon some stamps will not be available through this medium, just like how Rangoli and Flower could not be earned through scanning in the previous campaign.

There’s still half a month to go for 2020, so we will have to wait to hear more about the rewards and other finer details for the campaign.

Stories for Merchants

This new version of Google Pay is also preparing to allow merchants to add stories.

<string name="merchantstories_content_description">%1$s story button</string>
<string name="merchantstories_more_stories_title">See all</string>
<string name="merchantstories_stories_title">Highlights</string>

Why do we need stories within Google Pay? We can only speculate. Google did add private messaging to Google Photos recently, so why not add stories within Google Pay too. We are also making an educated guess that “story” within this context refers to the temporary photo and video highlights that social media sites have incorporated on their platforms.

One-Time Mandates

One-Time Mandates are part of the UPI 2.0 feature rollout. With this feature, users can pre-authorize a transaction and block funds in their account with an intention to have them debited later. This blocking ensures that you have sufficient funds in your account till the transaction needs to be executed and that you continue earning interest on the amount, as well as allows the transaction to be scheduled and executed automatically.

Google Pay (Tez) v49 contains a few new strings and several older strings for One-Time Mandates:

New Strings:

<string name="india_mandates_preferences_title">One-Time Mandates</string>
<string name="india_mandates_mandateamount_error_max_amount_text">Maximum amount %s</string>
<string name="india_mandates_mandateamount_error_min_amount_text">Minimum amount %s</string>
<string name="india_mandates_mandateamount_input_hint">Amount</string>

Older Strings:

<string name="india_mandates_action_paying_to">Paying to</string>
<string name="india_mandates_action_sending">Sending request…</string>
<string name="india_mandates_amount_paid_label">Amount paid</string>
<string name="india_mandates_call_bank_message">Try calling your bank.</string>
<string name="india_mandates_cannot_reach_bank">"We can't reach your contact's bank. Please try again later."</string>
<string name="india_mandates_category_title">Mandates</string>
<string name="india_mandates_content_source_failure">Could not get mandates from server</string>
<string name="india_mandates_end_date_label">End date</string>
<string name="india_mandates_execution_date_label">Execution date</string>
<string name="india_mandates_incorrect_pin_message">To continue, please raise a new mandate.</string>
<string name="india_mandates_incorrect_pin_title">Incorrect UPI PIN</string>
<string name="india_mandates_insufficient_funds_title">Insufficient funds</string>
<string name="india_mandates_mandate_details_label">Mandate details</string>
<string name="india_mandates_mandate_name_label">Mandate name</string>
<string name="india_mandates_notes_label">Notes/description</string>
<string name="india_mandates_original_amount_header">Original amount</string>
<string name="india_mandates_original_end_date_header">Original end date</string>
<string name="india_mandates_payment_disclaimer">Payments may take up to 3 working days to be reflected in your account</string>
<string name="india_mandates_purpose_code_label">Purpose code</string>
<string name="india_mandates_request_failed">Request failed</string>
<string name="india_mandates_start_date_label">Start date</string>
<string name="india_mandates_status_approve_by">Confirm by %1$s</string>
<string name="india_mandates_status_approve_within">Confirm within %1$s</string>
<string name="india_mandates_status_countdown">%1$shr %2$smin</string>
<string name="india_mandates_status_declined_on">Mandate declined on %1$s</string>
<string name="india_mandates_status_executed_on">Mandate executed on %1$s</string>
<string name="india_mandates_status_expired_on">Mandate expired on %1$s</string>
<string name="india_mandates_status_label">Status</string>
<string name="india_mandates_status_refunded_on">Mandate refunded on %1$s</string>
<string name="india_mandates_transaction_details_label">Transaction details</string>
<string name="india_mandates_try_again_title">Try again</string>
<string name="india_mandates_unique_number_label">Unique mandate number</string>
<string name="india_mandates_updated_amount_header">Updated amount</string>
<string name="india_mandates_updated_end_date_header">Updated end date</string>
<string name="india_mandates_upi_credentials_challenge_permission_required_error_description">%1$s needs your phone permissions to ensure that the SIM card in your phone matches with the registered mobile number.</string>
<string name="india_mandates_upi_restore_primer_description">You need to reactivate the following bank account:</string>
<string name="mandates_browsing_details_announce_content_description">Details of mandate</string>
<string name="mandates_browsing_list_announce_content_description">List of mandates</string>

Since we found a combination of both older and newer strings, we are unsure if the feature is new and does not already exist for some users. The main preference title was just added, so we are inclined to believe that the feature is not live yet.


Update: Screenshots of 2020 Stamps and Tokenized Credit Card landing page

Twitter user Rohan Bathla has managed to enable the initial landing pages of the tokenized credit card feature as well as the 2020 stamp. Though, clicking on these elicits no response yet.

Tokenized card support was announced back in September 2019 at the Google for India event. Strings for the feature have existed within the app since a few versions, but since the feature was already announced, these weren’t of particular interest. However, having these surfaced shows that the feature is finally ready for rollout, and we can expect to hear more about it very soon.

The user also managed to surface the feature redirect window for the upcoming 2020 stamps feature.


Google Pay (Tez) - a simple and secure payment app (To be announced, Google Play) →

Thanks to PNF Software for providing us a license to use JEB Decompiler, a professional-grade reverse engineering tool for Android applications.

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