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dimanche 5 janvier 2020

TWRP is now available for the Nokia 7.1 and Snapdragon Moto E4

Custom recoveries like TWRP give users the option to customize and make the best of their Android devices by installing custom ROMs and kernels. TWRP is one of the most commonly used recoveries for installing third-party software on Android, however, it isn’t available for all smartphones. This is mainly due to the sheer number of new devices launched each month. Thankfully, the good folks at TWRP keep adding new phones to their list of supported devices ever so often. Most recently, the team added support for the Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro, Nokia 7.2, Nokia 6.2, Redmi Note 8/8T, Mi 9, and Realme X2 Pro. Earlier this month, the budget-friendly Xiaomi Redmi 8 also received official support for the custom recovery. And now, the team is adding support for the Nokia 7.1 and the Snapdragon-powered Moto E4.

Nokia 7.1 XDA Forums || Moto E4 XDA Forums

HMD Global launched the Nokia 7.1 all the way back in October 2018, running Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. The device was subsequently updated to Android 9 Pie and then Android 10, however, the stock Android-like OS meant that the devices lacked a couple of useful features. Now, thanks to the official TWRP support, Nokia 7.1 users will be able to install custom ROMs and kernels on their device and enjoy a plethora of new features that aren’t available on stock Android. If you’re interested in installing a custom ROM or kernel on your device, you can now download the official TWRP recovery from the link below.

Official TWRP for the Nokia 7.1

Along with the Nokia 7.1, the team behind the TWRP recovery has also announced support for Motorola’s Snapdragon-powered Moto E4. The device was launched back in 2017 and it hasn’t aged well, mostly because the company didn’t release many OS updates for the device. That might change with the official TWRP support as users will now be able to install third-party ROMs for the device based on newer versions of Android. In case you have a Snapdragon-powered Moto E4 lying around and you wish to breathe new life into it with an OS update, you can download the official TWRP custom recovery from the link below.

Official TWRP for the Moto E4 (Snapdragon variant only)

Once you’ve downloaded and flashed the TWRP recovery on your device, you can visit our device forums linked above to find custom ROMs and kernels for your device.

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Realme X2 and X2 Pro receive updates with December 2019 security patches, fix for fingerprint scanner on bootloader unlock

Realme has been doing a great job of releasing timely security updates for its devices over the last couple of months. Following the rollout of the Android security patches for December 2019 early last month, the company rolled out updates for several of its devices, including the Realme 1, U1, 3 Pro, XT, C2, 5 Pro and Realme X, with the December 2019 patches and some minor changes to the OS. Last week, Realme released a similar update for the budget-centric Realme 5 and Realme 5s with the December security patches and a few bug fixes. And now, the company is rolling out updates for the mid-range Realme X2 and its flagship Realme X2 Pro.

Realme X2 XDA Forums || Realme X2 Pro XDA Forums

Buy Realme X2 from Flipkart || Buy Realme X2 Pro from Flipkart

The company has started rolling out ColorOS 6.1 (v.RMX1992EX_11.A.17) for the recently launched Realme X2 (review). As mentioned earlier, the update packs in the Android security patch for December 2019, along with optimizations to the voice call quality, improvements to the nightscape quality for the selfie camera, font change support in the Theme Store, and more. Here’s the official changelog for the latest ColorOS update for the Realme X2:

  • Security:
    • Android security patch: December, 2019
  • Audio:
    • Optimized the voice call quality of the third-party application
  • Camera:
    • Optimized nightscape quality of front camera
  • Theme Store:
    • Updated font change supporting in Theme Store
  • Notification Center and Status Bar:
    • Added dark mode fast switch toggles in notification center
    • Added personal hotspot data consumption display
  • Power consumption:
    • Optimized standby power consumption in partial scenarios
  • Known issue fixed:
    • Fixed the issue of low sound when connected to AirPods2 headset
    • Fixed the problem that the background of the WhatsApp application dialog is not clear in dark mode
    • Fixed the issue of camera overexposure in some scenes

Realme’s flagship X2 Pro (review) is also receiving a similar update with the December security patches, a fast toggle switch for dark mode in the notification center, a new flash on call feature, and more. Here’s the official changelog for ColorOS 6.1 (v. RMX1931EX_11_A.08) for the Realme X2 Pro:

  • Security:
    • Android security patch: December, 2019
  • Launcher:
    • Added click the blank area to back to the launcher on recent task interface
  • Notification Center and Status Bar:
    • Added fast switch toggles of dark mode in notification center
  • Settings:
    • Added flash on call feature
  • Camera:
    • Added HDR feature of video mode
  • Known issue fixed:
    • Fixed partial issues to improve stability

Along with the aforementioned changes, the ColorOS update for the Realme X2 Pro brings fixes for two bugs that have been annoying users for quite a while. Firstly, the update addresses a bug that disabled the in-display fingerprint scanner when unlocking the bootloader. And secondly, the update also fixes the serious audio lag and delays some users were experiencing while playing PUBG Mobile.

As always, the ColorOS updates for both the Realme X2 and X2 Pro have started rolling out to users in India and you should receive the OTA notification soon. In case you don’t wish to wait, you can download the OTA package from the links below and manually install the update on your device.

ColorOS 6.1 (v.RMX1992EX_11.A.17) for the Realme X2

ColorOS 6.1 (v. RMX1931EX_11_A.08) for the Realme X2 Pro


Thanks to Somesh Sharma for the bug fix tip!

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samedi 4 janvier 2020

Get True Online Privacy in 2020 With 20% off VPN Protection

Over the past year, we have learned a lot about the way companies collect and use data. If you would like to restore some privacy in 2020, you might want to have a look at these lifetime VPN deals and multi-year discounts. You can get an extra 20% off everything below when you use code 20SAVE20 at the XDA Developers Depot.

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This award-winning VPN provides protection you can trust. The company keeps zero logs, and all your data is secured with military-grade encryption. Better still, you have 400 servers to choose from. Normally $499.99, lifetime service is now only $31.20 with code 20SAVE20.

Windscribe VPN Pro Subscriptions

This impressive service offers more than VPN protection. Available on multiple platforms, the Windscribe apps automatically block trackers, hackers, and ads. The company also has a no-logging policy, and you can sign up without giving an email address. Worth $108, one year of service is now $39.20 when you use code 20SAVE20.

Ivacy VPN: 5-Year Subscription

With 1,000 servers in more than 100 locations, Ivacy VPN lets you bypass restrictions and find a fast connection at home or abroad. You get 256-bit encryption and support for P2P file sharing, with unlimited bandwidth and no logging. Order now for $23.99 when you use code 20SAVE20 to get a five-year subscription, worth $899.

FastestVPN: Lifetime Subscription

As the name suggests, FastestVPN offers impressive speed, with servers optimized for P2P. This service also provides a NAT firewall, ad blocking, anti-malware protection, and a strict no-logging policy. Lifetime VPN service is normally $240, but you can get a subscription now for $11.99 with code 20SAVE20.

BulletVPN: Lifetime Subscription

Another speed merchant is BulletVPN, which offers a global network of servers to help you bypass geo-restrictions. As a result, you can stream content on Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and Amazon Prime Video from anywhere in the world. Worth $540, lifetime subscriptions are now $31.20 with code 20SAVE20.

Prices subject to change

You can’t beat free! Get $70+ worth of premium Mac apps for free today!

 

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Google News tests dark theme for articles and upvote/downvote buttons in the feed

Based on your interests and some machine learning, Google News provides you a curated feed of news articles crawled from different publications and blogs across the Internet. You can also subscribe to specific publishers or read more about a specific topic with a simple tap of a button. To put it simply, it’s a hub for all the news the average user may care about. The app is slowly being improved with new features; most recently, for example, the app gained the ability to let you view news articles in two languages. Soon, the app may add two new features to improve the reading experience: dark theme for articles and voting buttons to manually curate your feed.

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.

Dark Theme in WebView

Last year, Google News got a dark mode just like most other Google apps on the Play Store. However, this dark mode was confined mostly to the app’s own UI. Menus were displayed in dark colors, and so did some news articles as long as they were rendered natively by the app and not the Android system WebView. For articles that open in a WebView, the background color is still light. If you use the app to browse the news at night, then this can be annoying. In the near future, though, the app will open WebViews with a dark background. XDA’s Mishaal Rahman activated this feature manually in the latest version of the News app.

The AMP version of our website forced dark by the Google News app.

It’s likely this feature requires WebView versions based on Chromium builds that have the latest force dark mode code. Force dark mode in Chrome is still hit-and-miss, though, so it may take some time for this feature to roll out for users.

Voting in the Feed

Google is also planning to add an upvote/downvote function to the Google News app that takes the form of a thumbs up and a thumbs down. These will essentially help you curate your feed as you can easily tell the app which news sources/topics you like and which ones you don’t like.

Upvote/downvote buttons in the Google News app. Tapping the thumbs up will make the app show you similar stories, while the thumbs down button will indicate it that you don’t want to see content like this.

These features aren’t available yet for users and there’s no guarantee that they will become available anytime soon. However, given that they’re mostly complete, we expect them to become available to the wider public in a future version of the app.

Google News: Top World & Local News Headlines (Free, 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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vendredi 3 janvier 2020

Samsung Unpacked 2020 may take place on February 11th

Samsung Unpacked is Samsung’s big event for its flagship phone launches, and this year the brand is expected to unveil the Galaxy S20. While Samsung hasn’t officially confirmed when the Samsung Unpacked 2020 event will take place, we think we now have a good idea.

In an unlisted video posted by Samsung Korea on Samsung’s Vimeo account (first spotted by Twitter user @water8192), we can see an animation teasing 2 squares wrapped in plastic saying “GALAXY.” At the end of the video, we can see the date of the event and how to watch it. While the official press release announcing Samsung Unpacked 2020 isn’t up yet, we can probably expect the press release to go live soon with confirmation of the location and time of the event. The event is rumored to take place in San Francisco, California on February 11th.

 

The two squares in the video are likely teasing two major launches at the event. The left square seems to resemble the camera square of the Galaxy S20 Ultra, the highest-end model of the upcoming S20 series. This square is about the same size and shape that we have seen in the leaked renders. The right square is likely teasing the new clamshell Galaxy Fold. This is the Motorola razr-style foldable phone that recently leaked. According to a report from SamMobile, it will cost under $1000 as it’s a more mass-market foldable.

The Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra are rumored to launch with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 and Exynos 990 depending on the region. The S20 Ultra is the only model expected to feature a 108MP main camera, though the S20 and S20+ cameras will still have high MP sensors. There are multiple new camera modes in the works that we previously detailed if you want to learn more about the camera software. Of course, we’ll keep you up to date on Samsung Unpacked 2020, the Galaxy S20, and the new Galaxy Fold as we learn more.

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[Update 4: TENAA listing] Realme X50 will be Realme’s first smartphone with 5G

Update 4 (1/4/19 @ 1:15 AM ET): The Realme X50 has passed through TENAA, confirming its final specifications.

Update 3 (12/26/19 @ 1:32 AM ET): Realme has released official renders of the Realme X50 5G in Polar White color.

Update 2 (12/24/19 @ 3:50 AM ET): The Realme X50 5G will be launched at an event in Beijing, China on January 7, 2020.

Update (12/10/19 @ 00:30 AM ET): The Realme X50 will be powered by the Snapdragon 765G SoC. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on November 25, 2019, is preserved as below.

Following the recent launch of its first true flagship — the Realme X2 Pro — Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme is prepping up to launch its first 5G enabled handset. As per a recent teaser shared by the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, Xu Qi Chase, the upcoming device will be called the Realme X50. The teaser image shared on Weibo further reveals that the Realme X50 will offer support for dual-mode 5G, which means that the device will support both 5G Standalone (SA) and Non-Standalone (NSA) networks, just like the upcoming Redmi K30 5G. However, it isn’t clear whether the Realme X50 will make use of a MediaTek SoC or a Qualcomm SoC to offer 5G support.

The image also gives us our first glimpse at the device, highlighting its pill-shaped punch-hole display which will house dual selfie cameras. This is another feature that the device shares with the Redmi K30, which will also feature a punch-hole display with a similar design. However, the cutout on the Redmi K30 is on the opposite end of the display. It’s worth noting that back in September this year, Realme released a statement confirming an upcoming 5G smartphone based on the Snapdragon 7 series, so the Realme X50 could feature a Snapdragon 7 series chip. While we don’t have any further information on the specifications or release timeline for the device, Realme India’s CEO Madhav Sheth has previously confirmed that the company will launch its first 5G device this year. This, along with the recent teaser, leads us to believe that the Realme X50 might be launched in China in the next few weeks.

Source: Weibo


Update: Realme X50 5G confirmed with Snapdragon 765G

Earlier this month at the Snapdragon Tech Summit, we learned that the upcoming Xiaomi Redmi K30 and OPPO Reno3 Pro will be powered by the all-new Snapdragon 765G processor. Now, the Realme X50 is joining the lineup of upcoming 5G phones to features the Snapdragon 765G chip. The chip brings support for 5G connectivity, high refresh rate displays, and high-quality imaging to the mid-range price tier.

Realme X50 Snapdragon 765G

The Snapdragon 765G boasts of slightly higher single-core CPU performance  (Prime core clock speed increased from 2.3GHz to 2.4GHz) over the regular Snapdragon 765. It also offers slightly faster GPU performance (15% speed-binned) and select Snapdragon Elite Gaming features including Game Smoother, Game Fast Loader, Game Network Latency Manager, Jank Reducer 2.0, and Predictive Game Auto Tuner. For 5G connectivity, the Snapdragon 765G features the Snapdragon X52 5G Modem-RF System which supports dual-mode 5G.

Source: Weibo


Update 2: Realme X50 5G launches in China on January 7

Through its official Weibo account, Realme has announced that the Realme X50 5G will be launching at an event in Beijing, China on January 7, 2020.

Realme X50 5G China Launch

Source: Weibo


Update 3: Realme X50 5G official renders

Realme has released official device renders of the Realme X50 5G on Weibo.

These renders give us our first complete and official look at the upcoming device, now confirmed to be sporting a quad-rear camera setup. Alongside the mesmerizing white color and pattern, you can also notice the volume rocker on the left side and the power button on the right side of the device. Oddly, the power button looks recessed into the frame, which is a sign of a side-mounted fingerprint scanner — this is just a guess though, so wait for more confirmation on this end.

Source: Weibo (1, 2)


Update 4: Realme X50 passes through TENAA

The upcoming Realme X50 has passed through TENAA, revealing and confirming most of the specifications of the final product that consumers can expect to receive in their hands.

The TENAA listing for the Realme X50 RMX2051 reveals that the device will measure 163.8 × 75.8 × 8.9 mm and weigh 202 g. The phone will come with a 6.57″ FHD+ display, which TENAA mentions as “TFT”, and which we know through earlier teasers, will have cutouts in the display for the dual front cameras. The listing also mentions that the phone will have an under-display fingerprint sensor (“fingerprint recognition under the screen”). While TENAA listings are accurate, they are in Chinese, so context does sometimes get lost in the translation process. So either the Realme X50 comes with a TFT LCD display and an in-display fingerprint scanner, or it comes with an AMOLED display and in-display scanner, or it comes with a TFT LCD and side-mounted fingerprint scanner — all of these still remain possibilities.

The device will come in RAM options of 6GB, 8GB, and 12GB, and internal storage options of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB; but with no expandability. The rear camera setup on the device involves a 64MP main sensor, and auxiliary sensors of 8MP, 12MP, and 2MP resolution; while the front camera setup has 16MP and 8MP shooters. The phone also has a 4,100 mAh battery, but no headphone jack as the TENAA listing explicitly mentions the same. The Realme X50 5G also launches with Android 10 out of the box.

We expect to learn more when Realme officially launches the Realme X50 5G.

Source: TENAA

The post [Update 4: TENAA listing] Realme X50 will be Realme’s first smartphone with 5G appeared first on xda-developers.



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Xiaomi will pre-install Google Phone and Messages apps on all Global and European phones

Xiaomi’s MIUI software experience is one that invites polarized opinions. Compared to Android on the Pixel, MIUI provides a very different experience from the way it looks to the way it behaves with apps and notifications. It is certainly polished in many areas and has improved greatly in the past few years, but it’s still a heavily customized experience as of MIUI 11. In most versions of MIUI, Xiaomi usually includes its own suite of apps to streamline the user experience, but now, it seems that Xiaomi will be borrowing taking a few pages from the Pixel experience as well.

Going forward, Xiaomi devices sold outside of China, India, or Indonesia will include Google’s Messages and Phone apps instead of their MIUI equivalents. Xiaomi says that this move was made to abide by privacy laws and restrictions in certain regions, which likely refers to regulations in the European Union. We should note that Xiaomi has shipped these two Google apps on some of their phones already. For instance, in my Redmi Note 8 Pro review, I noted that the device came with Google’s dialer and messages app out of the box. The same is true for the Mi 9T Pro that launched in Europe in late August of 2019. What this announcement means, therefore, is that all new devices sold with the European Economic Area (EEA) or global (Global) MIUI software builds will have these two apps pre-installed.

While many of you will appreciate having Google’s dialer app on board (even if you can’t access some of the Pixel-exclusive features like Call Screen), there is one downside to note of this transition: you won’t be able to record calls anymore. That’s because the Google Phone app doesn’t support call recording, whereas its MIUI equivalent does. The forum post does state that this feature will be “obtainable again in 2020,” though, so that means call recording will be available sometime later this year.

Source: Xiaomi


Update 1: Shortly after publishing this article, we were informed that Russian versions of MIUI also have Google’s dialer app pre-installed. We have corrected our mention of this.

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