Update 1 (4/13/2020 @ 12:58 PM EST): A representative for Google Play told AndroidPolice’s Artem Russakovskii that this change is a bug.
Over the course of the last decade, I’ve downloaded thousands of different apps from the Google Play Store. Naturally, most of these apps aren’t on my phone anymore but if I ever feel like giving any app a second shot, I can easily navigate to the Library tab in the My Apps & games section on the Play Store and download them again with just a tap. The section lists all the apps that you’ve ever downloaded using the same Google account and it makes it easy to locate that one app that you tried a long while ago and can’t remember the name of. Unfortunately, it seems like Google is now getting rid of the Library and Installed tabs in order to give the My apps & games section a cleaner look.
Currently, the My apps & games section on the Google Play Store includes a maximum of 4 different tabs — Updates, Installed, Library, and Beta. These tabs list down all the available updates, installed apps, all the apps that you’ve ever downloaded using the same Google account, and the app betas that you’re currently enrolled in, respectively. However, Google is now testing an update for the My apps & games section which removes the Library and Installed tabs. The update comes just a few days after Google added download count and app size to the app search results in the Play Store and it is already available for some users on the latest version of the Google Play Store (v. 19.5.13). The change appears to have been triggered by a server-side update and, as of now, Google has released no official information about it. Additionally, we aren’t sure if the company will be providing an alternate method to see your previously installed apps, but we hope that they do.
Never before have so many people been so bored. With significantly more free time at home than we’re used to, not even Netflix and Hulu can keep us entertained week after week of isolation. If you’re looking for a better way to spend your time, tryBabbel. This highly-rated app helps you master 14 languages from around the world through fun picture quizzes and audio recordings of native speakers. For a limited time, you canpick up lifetime access for only $159at the XDA Developers Depot.
Learning languages at school was a painful experience for many of us. But with Babbel, the process is actually fun. Available online and on mobile, the app offers “high-quality, self-paced courses” in the words of PCMag.
By playing picture quizzes and listening to native speakers, you quickly pick up vocabulary. Babbel then uses speech recognition to rate your accent and provide instant feedback. The idea is to help you start holding real conversations.
For this reason, Babbel focuses on topics like travel, food, family, and business. As you grow in confidence, the app takes you from beginner-friendly lessons to advanced vocabulary.
Rated at 4.6 on both the App Store and Google Play, Babbel lets you practice at any time and even download lessons for offline study.
Worth $399, lifetime access to all 14 languages isnow only $159.
Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime Subscription (All Languages) – $159
Google Camera Go is a watered-down version of the Pixel’s Google Camera app. The app was released on the Nokia 1.3, an Android Go smartphone, and we recently went hands-on with the apk to see what the app can do. While the app itself is barebones, what excites us is the sheer potential it has in democratizing the Google Camera experience, extending the camera magic beyond the exclusive Pixel, all the way to the opposite end of the market. And to prove our point, we have now spotted upcoming HDR photography features on Camera Go, which can enable HDR on low-end Android devices.
GCam modders took a go at the Camera Go application to see what else the app is capable of. The modders discovered that the app has a hidden “Detail Enhance” toggle. This toggle enables HDR mode on the app. While the modders managed to surface the setting, toggling it doesn’t do anything just yet.
The three settings within Detail Enhance are Off, Auto, and On. It doesn’t appear that the app is making use of HDR+.
HDR, as its name implies, attempts to add dynamic range to photos. Instead of taking just one photo, HDR uses upwards of three photographs, all taken at different exposures. These images are then combined together to have their best bits highlighted. HDR+ is what Google calls its own proprietary implementation, one that it introduced back with the Nexus 5. HDR+ is available through GCam ports for quite some time, and the tech has been used by the community to really bring up the camera performance in the lower end of the market. Arguably, getting HDR+ to work reliably on an Android Go device may be a pipe dream — but so was Google Camera, and here we are.
If Google does bring along HDR+ to the app, and the app remains easily sideloadable across all Android devices, a lot of phones stand to benefit from the change. Even without HDR+, HDR by itself would be very useful for Android Go Edition devices. Remember, these devices are the absolute entry-level devices within the Android ecosystem, coming in with resource-constraints but at a very pocket-friendly price. For instance, the Nokia 1.3 has a single 8MP camera and a €95 price tag, and Camera Go enables reliable portrait mode on the device. These devices stand to benefit a lot from the improved camera functionality that the app brings along.
Thanks to XDA Senior Member cstark27 for the screenshots!
OPPO is among the top five smartphone brands in Asian markets, where it caters to the price-conscious consumers. But in select markets including its homeland China, India, and Europe, OPPO has also launched more premium devices like the Find X, Reno 10X Zoom (review), Reno Ace, and more recently, the Reno3 and the Find X2 series. The OPPO Reno Ace was launched last year in October with features like a 90Hz AMOLED display, quad-rear cameras, Snapdragon 855 Plus, and an insane 65W fast charging support. OPPO is now revamping the Ace lineup but dropping the Reno branding with the latest OPPO Ace2 5G which comes with Snapdragon 865, 90Hz display, 40W fast charging, and more.
The first thing to note about the OPPO Ace2 5G is the much cleaner design with a satiny finish just like the OnePlus 7T (or the upcoming OnePlus 8 series). The Ace2 comes in three colors – black, purple, and silver a gradient. The circular quad-camera arrangement on the back also looks like the OnePlus 7T (review) as well as the relatively newer Redmi K30 Pro.
On the front, the OPPO Ace2 5G features a 6.55-inch Full HD+ OLED display with a single hole punch opening for the selfie camera in the top left corner. The display sports a refresh rate of 90Hz and has a touch response rate of 180Hz for better touch accuracy making it a reliable and competent device for gamers. The display also features an in-display optical fingerprint scanner.
OPPO has equipped the Ace2 5G with a Snapdragon 865 chipset and up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM. The phone features what OPPO calls a “4D fever cooling system.” Besides the regular vapor chamber, the extra heat is transmitted to another metal plate which lies parallel to the vapor conduit. The phone also features a gaming enhancement mode called HyperBoost 3.0 that improves the performance by 12% while keeping the phone 1.4ºC cooler than without it. Additionally, it supports 4D vibration ensures haptic feedback for actions like shooting inside a first-person or third-person shooter game.
Thanks to the X55 modem on the Snapdragon 865, the phone supports both SA and NSA 5G networks. In addition, it also supports Wi-Fi 6 and you can combine the network streams for faster downlink and uplink connections.
OPPO Ace2 5G also comes with 65W fast wired charging. In addition, the phone also supports 40W fast wireless charging. For this, OPPO has also launched a special AirVOOC fast wireless charger for CNY 249 (~$35) with an inbuilt fan which helps it remain cool. The Ace2 5G also complies with Qi standards for wireless charging at 10W as well as supports reverse wireless charging at 10W for other wirelessly charging devices.
OPPO Ace2 5G features quite a similar camera setup to its predecessor. The 48MP Sony IMX586 primary camera remains the same and so does the 8MP ultrawide camera. Instead of the 13MP telephoto on the Reno Ace, the Ace2 5G features two portrait sensors, for improved portrait shots irrespective of the lighting condition. On the front, the smartphone features a 16MP camera for selfies.
In terms of software, the OPPO Ace2 5G comes with Color 7.1 based on Android 10. Very recently, Mishaal Rahman, our Editor-in-Chief recently reviewed ColorOS 7.1 extensively so make sure you check out the review for more details about the features it offers.
OPPO Ace2 Specifications
Specification
OPPO Ace2
Dimensions and Weight
160 x 75.4 x 8.6 mm
185g
Display
6.55-inch OLED
FHD+ (1080 x 2400), 20:9
90Hz refresh rate
100% DCI-P3
HDR
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Hole-punch
SoC
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865:
1x Kryo 585 (ARM Cortex A77-based) Prime core @ 2.8GHz
The OPPO Ace2 5G will go on pre-booking in China starting today and will be available for purchase starting April 20th. It comes in three models which are priced as follows:
8GB + 128GB – CNY 3,999 (~$565)
8GB + 256GB – CNY 4,399 (~$625)
12GB + 256GB – CNY 4,599 (~$650)
OPPO Enco W31
OPPO also launched the Enco W31 TWS earbuds along with the Ace2 5G. These earbuds are available in black, white, and rose gold colors. The earbuds come with IP54 protection and are priced at CNY 299 (~$43).
LG’s G series is expected to be retired soon in favor of the upcoming ‘Velvet’ lineup, but the company has no plan to abandon the legacy models in terms of software support. 2018’s LG G7 ThinQ, for example, is scheduled to receive the Android 10 update in Q3 2020. While we don’t know the exact date of the OTA rollout, LG has now shared Android 10 kernel sources for a couple of carrier-branded variants of the LG G7.
Back in February 2020, LG kickstarted the public beta testing of Android 10 for the Korean LG G7 variant (model number LMG710N). They also published the Android 10 kernel source for the phone on their open-source code distribution repository but removed it after a while for some unknown reason. This time, the new set of kernel source packages is intended for the Verizon and T-Mobile variants (LMG710VM and LMG710TM/TMP respectively).
Interestingly, LG Korea is planning to deliver the non-beta build of LG UX 9.0 on top of Android 10 for the LG G7 ThinQ in Q2 2020, i.e. quite before the global rollout. The availability of the kernel source, however, doesn’t necessarily indicate an early arrival of the OTA outside their home country. LG might take several months to roll out the stable version of Android 10 for the LG G7 ThinQ, just like they did with the Android Pie update.
The updated kernel source codes are actually beneficial for the aftermarket developers, who can use them to fix the bugs in existing custom ROMs and kernels. LG officially allows only the European variant of the LG G7 (model number LMG710EM) to be bootloader unlocked, but it is now possible to unlock other variants (except the T-Mobile variant) using a community-developed method. An unofficial build of LineageOS 17.1 is for this phone is also available on our forums as a viable alternative for users who want to migrate away from LG’s skin.
Last month, Nokia announced the Nokia 8.3,Nokia 5.3 and Nokia 1.3 smartphones. While everyone may be interested in the higher-end 5G device, the humble Nokia 1.3 also demanded some attention thanks to one key detail. The Nokia 1.3 with its Snapdragon 250 SoC runs Android 10 Go Edition, with upgrades planned to Android 11 Go Edition and Android 12 Go Edition too. The most exciting part about this admittedly low-end, €95 device is that it is the first phone to feature Google Camera Go.
If you aren’t familiar with Google Camera, it is one of the best camera applications available for premium smartphones and is one of the reasons why the Google Pixels are considered the arguable best smartphones for still photography despite not marketing any huge MP-count cameras or elaborate multi-camera setups. The app and the software magic underneath is testimony to the fact that a great camera experience isn’t just about the hardware — instead, it is a result of the harmony between software and hardware. Google Camera officially remains a Pixel-exclusive, though you can use unofficial community ports (lovingly referred to as GCam) on different devices with varying results.
Google Camera Go is a stripped-down version of the Pixel’s Google Camera app and is intended to be used on Android Go devices. Thanks to this app, low-end devices like the Nokia 1.3 with its singular 8MP rear camera can take advantage of Google’s photography algorithms and also click beautiful portrait mode photos, applying depth-of-field effects using only software. The app is deeply integrated into the OS and it doesn’t just exist as a photo filter on top, so the results are expected to be better. Because it is meant to be used on Android Go devices that typically come with very humble specifications, the app also suggests ways to clear up space when storage is low.
We extracted the APK from the Nokia 1.3 firmware and installed it on the Google Pixel 4 and OnePlus 7 Pro, to give you a hands-on of how the app looks and functions, and how it can seemingly democratize a good camera experience.
Google Camera Go: Hands-on
The UI within the app is very basic, which is to be expected. The landing page of the app has very little clutter to distract the user. You can spot the prominent shutter button at the bottom, flanked by the camera switcher and gallery shortcut. Underneath, you can find the mode switcher. The magnifying glass icon is a slider for digital zoom. Tapping anywhere on the screen lets you lock focus and contrast on that spot, though you can vary the exposure level through the slider that appears on the side. On the top, you get icons for Settings, storage cleaner and a shortcut for Flash settings. Within settings, options are once again very basic as you are limited to changing the Flash, Timer and beauty enhancements. The Storage Cleaner gives you an estimate on the number of images you can click. It will also seemingly guide you with steps you can take to reclaim space when you are running out. The Flash setting is a duplicate/repeated shortcut, but that’s alright. There are no buttons for lens-switching, which is intended by design as this app is meant for low-end devices that usually stick to just one rear camera.
The front camera UI is similarly barebones. Here, the Flash setting shortcut is replaced with one for Beauty mode/face smoothening.
Switching over to the different modes, the current highlight of this app is the Portrait mode. This mode aims to bring focus to a face and blur the background around it. It works on both the front and back cameras. You don’t get a live preview of the depth effect. The depth effect is applied through software since the app is intended to be used on single-camera devices.
The other two modes present on the app are Video mode and Translate mode. Video mode does not present any settings to the user other than the Flash shortcut. There’s an estimate on the number of minutes you can shoot before you run out of storage, which should come in handy on Android Go devices. There’s a Translate mode present too, but we could not get it to work on this build of the app. We presume that it will work in a similar fashion as Google Translate’s Live Translate feature does, though the challenge here is to do it on a resource-constrained device.
Camera Go: Image Samples
We took some photos with the new Camera Go app. Due to COVID-19 advisories, we are limited in the camera testing that we can do. Yes, we are trying this out on much more expensive, premium smartphones. We plan to try this on Android Go devices as well, soon.
Day shots
These day shots are taken with the OnePlus 7 Pro. We took photos with the Go app, as well as with a GCam 7.3 port by Arnova8G2 (v07/04), as well as the stock OnePlus Camera. HDR+ Enhanced was enabled on GCam, and HDR was forced on OnePlus Camera. The Go app does not have an HDR setting, but as you’ll see below, the results are decent regardless.
Night shots
These shots are taken with Google Pixel 4 using the Go app as well as the stock Google Camera app.
The results are obviously better with the stock Google Camera app, but the Go app also does perform well. Keep in mind that this app is intended for Go Edition devices, which typically retail for $100 and below. Once you factor in the price, the difference becomes all the more impressive.
What are your thoughts on Camera Go? Do you wish to see this app made available for all Android devices? Let us know in the comments below!
During Samsung’s Unpacked event last year, the company announced the “Link to Windows” feature for the Galaxy Note 10. The feature works in conjunction with the Microsoft Your Phone app and allows users to quickly connect their Galaxy Note 10 to a Windows PC. Towards the end of last year, Microsoft rolled out a new Windows 10 Insider Build with Link to Windows support for the Galaxy S10 series and the Galaxy Fold. Now, according to a recent report from Sammobile, the company is rolling out an update for the Link to Windows feature that will allow users to drag and drop files between their Samsung device and a Windows 10 PC.
As with the previous Link to Windows features, the new drag and drop file transfer feature works via the Your Phone app and allows users to transfer any file type across the linked devices. While there’s no limitation of file type, Microsoft has revealed that users won’t be able to transfer more than 100 files at a time and each file’s maximum size has been limited to 512GB. Other than these two limitations, the feature will work on all Galaxy devices running Link to Windows v1.5 (or higher) and Windows 10 PCs running the latest Insider build of the platform. The feature doesn’t require a wired connection, however, both the connected devices will have to be on the same wireless network in order to connect.
To use the new feature, you’ll first need to connect your supported Galaxy device to a Windows 10 PC and head to the phone screen on the Your Phone app on the PC. Once there, you can open the Gallery or My Files app, long press on a file till a checkmark appears on it, select additional files if you want, and then long press again to enable the drag and drop functionality. You can then drag the files and drop them to any location on your PC. Do note that minimizing the Your Phone window while files are being transferred cancels the operation, so you’ll have to wait for the process to complete before you can minimize the window.
To transfer files from your PC to your Galaxy device, you’ll need to select the files you wish to transfer and drag them over to the Your Phone app window. Once the cursor changes to notify ‘Copy’, you can drop the files and they’ll be transferred to your phone. Files transferred from your PC to your phone are stored inside the Downloads folder within the phone’s internal storage. In case you face any issues while using the new feature, you can head over to Microsoft’s official announcement post from the source link below and follow the troubleshooting methods listed there.
