[Update: Verizon too] Motorola Moto Z4 starts receiving official Android 10 update

Update 1 (04/01/2020 @ 09:30 AM ET): The Verizon variant of the Motorola Moto Z4 is also receiving the official Android 10 update. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on March 13, 2020, is preserved below.

Long before the rise of the Android One program, Motorola decided to ship a close-to-stock version of Android under the management of Google. After being acquired by Lenovo, the situation deteriorated over the years. No more blazing fast updates from Motorola anymore, along with the fact that the Moto Z lineup does not carry a true and proper flagship anymore. To rub salt on wounds, the Motorola Moto Z4 will reportedly get only one major Android OS version update.

Moto Z4 XDA Forums

A bunch of Motorola phones recently received the Android 10 update over the air, and looks like the Moto Z4 becomes the newest member of that club. The OTA is hitting US retail Moto Z4 units and carrying the version number QPF30.130-15-7. The included security patch level is January 2020. Owners of the phone can now enjoy features like system-wide dark mode and the new gesture-based navigation.

Motorola’s US-specific website does not mention anything about this particular build as of yet. Moreover, we can’t spot any reference of the Android 10 related kernel source code for the Moto Z4 (codename: foles) inside the official repository of Motorola. It could be possible that the current build is part of a soak test conducted by the OEM, while a full-scale rollout may be in the works. On the flip side, the Verizon variant of this phone got the January 2020 patches in the form of Android Pie-based PDFS29.105-74-10 build just last month, thus it might take a few more weeks (or months) for the new firmware to reach to the carrier-specific model.

The fourth-generation Moto Z was initially speculated to be a high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 device, but it turned out to be a mid-ranger with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC. The phone runs Android Pie out of the box, as well as has the ability to use Verizon’s 5G network via the 5G Moto Mod. Thanks to Motorola’s decision, the official Android 11 based firmware will not land on this otherwise capable device. So users will have to stay content with their Android 10 update.

Source: /r/MotoZ

---

Update: Verizon Moto Z4 is also receiving its Android 10 update

Users are reporting that the Verizon variant of the Motorola Moto Z4 is also receiving its Android 10 update through an official OTA, with March 2020 security patches.

Source: Moto Z4 XDA Forums, /r/MotoZ

The post [Update: Verizon too] Motorola Moto Z4 starts receiving official Android 10 update appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/2viNdlX
via IFTTT

Honor is offering deals on smartphones, wearables, and laptops for the next 2 weeks

Following the launch of the Honor 30S, Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has officially announced the Honor Global Fans Day 2020 sale during which it will be offering deals on a variety of devices in its portfolio. The sale, which will last till April 14th, is already live in 18 countries and regions, including Germany, France, the UK, Russia, Czech Republic, Malaysia, and more. Along with the sale, Honor has also unveiled its first-ever Honor Experience Offers, as part of which renowned social-media influencers from around the world will be demoing the company’s smart devices.

In a statement regarding the sale, Honor’s President George Zhao, was quoted saying, “Until the end of 2019, we are so proud to have over 220 million fans around the world. We are delighted to be celebrating Honor Fans Festival 2020 with our fans and offering a range of great deals and discounts on our best-in-class products. This is our way of saying thank you for the continued support. We also hope more fans to join our global community… In line with our 1+8+N strategy, 1 Honor smartphone, 8 categories of in-house devices and a wide range of products from our partners, we launch this year’s Fan Festival themed as Honor Your Smart Life. Honor strives to create a more connected and intelligent world of global youth. Through the festival, we hope more people to enjoy the smart living brought by Honor all-scenario smart products.” Here are a few noteworthy deals that you can claim during the Honor Global Fans Day 2020 sale:

Product	SRP	Promotional pricing	Validity	Availability
Honor MagicWatch 2 (46mm)	GBP159.99	GBP139.99	Mar 27- Apr 14	Argos/Amazon
Honor MagicWatch 2 (42mm)	GBP149.99	GBP129.99	Mar 27- Apr 14	Argos/Amazon
Honor Band 5	GBP29.99	GBP26.99	Apr 1 – Apr 14	Argos/Amazon
Honor MagicBook 14	GBP549.99	GBP549.99 with free Honor MagicWatch 2	Apr 7 – Apr 20	Argos/Amazon
Honor 10 Lite	GBP149.99	GBP129.99	Apr 1 – Apr 14	Argos/Amazon /Carphone
Honor 20 Lite	GBP189.99	GBP169.99	Apr 1 – Apr 14	Argos/Amazon /Carphone
Honor 9X	GBP219.99	GBP219.99 with free Honor Band 5	Apr 1 – Apr 14	Argos/Amazon /Carphone
Honor 8S	GBP99.99	GBP89.99	Apr 1 – Apr 14	Argos/Amazon /Carphone
Honor 7S	GBP79.99	GBP69.99	Apr 1 – Apr 14	Argos/Amazon/Shop Direct
Honor 8A	GBP139.99	GBP99.99	Apr 1 – Apr 14	Argos

The post Honor is offering deals on smartphones, wearables, and laptops for the next 2 weeks appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/341PqiA
via IFTTT

Download: Xiaomi Mi 8, Mi 8 Pro, Mi 8 SE, Mi 9 SE, Mi 9 Lite receive stable Android 10 with MIUI 11

The initial batch of MIUI 11 update for several Xiaomi and Redmi phones went live during Q4 2019. However, the underlying software was still based on older versions of Android in most of the cases. The company eventually published the kernel sources of the Android 10 update for the Mi Mix 2s, Mi Mix 3, POCO F1, and the Mi 8 series late last year, while the actual builds have been greenlit for broad scale rollout after a few months. Following the footsteps of the POCO F1 and the Mi Mix 3, the Mi 8 series has now received stable MIUI 11 based on Android 10. Mid-rangers from the Mi 9 series, i.e. the Mi 9 SE and the Mi 9 Lite, are also getting the same treatment.

Let’s make one thing clear – we are talking about “true” stable version of MIUI 11 on top of Android 10, not the early beta builds. As a result, the owners of the aforementioned devices can freely sideload the update packages without bothering about Mi Account authorization. Xiaomi has also published the device-specific Fastboot firmware bundles so that the end users can perform a clean install.

Sr. No.	Device, Device Codename, and XDA Forum Link	Build Number and Region	Recovery ROM	Fastboot ROM
1.	Mi 8 (dipper)	V11.0.3.0.QEAMIXM (Global) V11.0.2.0.QEARUXM (Russia)	Download Recovery ROM Download Recovery ROM	Download Fastboot ROM Download Fastboot ROM
2.	Mi 8 Pro (equuleus)	V11.0.3.0.QECMIXM (Global) V11.0.1.0.QECRUXM (Russia)	Download Recovery ROM Download Recovery ROM	Download Fastboot ROM Download Fastboot ROM
3.	Mi 8 SE (sirius)	V11.0.2.0.QEBCNXM (China)	–	–
4.	Mi 9 SE (grus)	V11.0.2.0.QFBMIXM (Global) V11.0.2.0.QFBEUXM (Europe) V11.0.2.0.QFBRUXM (Russia)	Download Recovery ROM Download Recovery ROM Download Recovery ROM	Download Fastboot ROM Download Fastboot ROM Download Fastboot ROM
5.	Mi 9 Lite (pyxis)	V11.0.1.0.QFCMIXM (Global)	Download Recovery ROM	Download Fastboot ROM

Apart from the flagship grade Mi 8 (Pro), the company has yet to share the Android 10 kernel source code for the remaining models. The SE variants of the Mi 8 and the Mi 9 share a common tree, while the Mi 9 Lite (rebranded Mi CC9) is closely related to the China-exclusive Mi CC9 Meitu Edition.

---

Source: MIUI ROM Download

The post Download: Xiaomi Mi 8, Mi 8 Pro, Mi 8 SE, Mi 9 SE, Mi 9 Lite receive stable Android 10 with MIUI 11 appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/3bIBHQA
via IFTTT

Huawei reveals how its smartphone and tablet business fared in 2019

Huawei recently published its Annual Report for 2019, which details how the company’s various businesses performed last year. The report sheds light on Huawei’s mobile business and how it performed despite the harsh sanctions imposed on the company by the Trump administration. Separate reports from earlier this year have already revealed that the brand managed to do quite well irrespective of the trade ban, overtaking Apple to take the second spot as the largest smartphone brand and managing to sell more 5G smartphones than its Korean competitor Samsung. Here are the highlights from the latest report released by the company:

Huawei’s consumer business managed to generate a revenue of CNY 467,304 million (~$66 billion) in 2019, marking a 34% increase YoY. The company’s monthly active user base surpassed 600 million worldwide. Last year, the company kickstarted its “1+8+N” strategy, where “1” represents mobile phones, “8” represents tablets, PCs, VR devices, wearables, smart screens, smart audio, and head units, and “N” represents IoT devices. Thanks to this new strategy, Huawei managed to ship more than 240 million Huawei and Honor-branded smartphones, marking a 16% YoY growth. Out of the total shipments, 6.9 million devices were 5G-enabled.

Citing reports from IDC and Strategy Analytics, Huawei also revealed that the company and its sub-brand Honor managed to capture 17.6% of the global smartphone market, making it the second-biggest smartphone brand in the world. The company shipped over 44 million Mate and P series devices in 2019, a 53% YoY growth over 2018. Shipments of its flagship Huawei P30 series exceeded 20 million units within 8 months of launch. Huawei’s PC segment also saw tremendous growth and its PC shipments grew 200% YoY. However, the company did not share how many units were shipped in 2019.

In the tablet segment, Huawei revealed that its shipments continued to grow despite an overall decline in the tablet market. Citing a report from IDC, the company claimed that its tablet market share in China overtook that of Apple in Q3 and Q4 of 2019. Huawei’s wearables and smart audio products also saw significant growth, with 170% and more than 200% YoY growth respectively. Huawei credits this growth to the strong sales of its Watch GT 2 and FreeBuds 3.

Following the trade sanctions, the company launched Huawei Mobile services last year — a replacement for Google Mobile Services. The company claims that HMS already has over 400 million monthly active users, with over 55,000 apps integration with HMS Core. Its AppGallery, which is an alternative to the Google Play Store, is available in over 170 countries and has already surpassed 210 billion app downloads. To promote its services, the company claims that it held 45 Huawei Developer Day events in 32 countries and regions over last year and managed to register over 1.3 million developers. On top of that, the company has also increased its Shining-Star Program incentives from CNY 1 billion (~$142million) to US$1 billion and expanded the program to global developers. The program helps developers create apps through the entire creation process.

As far as device security is concerned, Huawei says that it developed an in-house microkernel Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), which first made an appearance on the Huawei Mate 30 series. The TEE is used for storing users’ biometric data and passwords, and for performing operations like fingerprint verification, facial recognition, and password confirmation. Huawei added that its TEE has received EAL5+ certification. And finally, the report also talks about the company’s growth in offline retail, highlighting that it has over 65,000 retail stores, display zones and display counters worldwide, and over 6000 experience stores. To provide users with effective after-sales support, Huawei has also established over 2600 offline service centers in 105 countries and regions.

Even though Huawei reported significant growth across all verticals, everything hasn’t been hunky-dory for the company. The US trade ban has obviously had a severe effect on its business, with reports from CNBC revealing that Huawei saw a $12 billion shortfall in revenue due to the blacklisting. In a bid to curtail any further losses, the company is now hoping that Google will place its apps in Huawei’s AppGallery to bolster the performance of its service.

---

Source: Huawei

The post Huawei reveals how its smartphone and tablet business fared in 2019 appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/2WYPDlh
via IFTTT

OEMs are raising prices of smartphones in India following a tax increase

India is one of the most competitive markets for smartphone brands. Before the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on commercial activities, India was the only positively growing smartphone market in the world. The sheer number of smartphone users (about 400 million) and the huge potential to onboard a larger number of new users has drawn several brands to target India specifically. As a result, smartphones are sold at very lucrative prices with thin margins, especially by brands like Xiaomi and Realme. But as all good things come to an end, this glorious period of tempting smartphone deals in India might become less attractive following the 50% hike Goods and Service Tax (GST) hike that is effective starting today i.e. April 1st, 2020.

Last month, India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced an increase in the GST rate on mobile phones and specified parts. As compared to the previous rate of 12% GST, the new applicable rate is 18% – i.e. a sharp 50% increase. The announcement comes in spite of the depreciating value of the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar, extensive competition, and already slim margins.

Mi fans, #GST on mobile phones has increased by 50% from 12% to 18%.

After much deliberation & in keeping with #Xiaomi policy of maintaining <5% margin on our hardware products,we will be increasing prices of our products.

New prices will be effective immediately. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/mdTqKdXm3r

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) March 31, 2020

As a result of this hike, smartphone makers are left with no alternative but to increase the prices of smartphones and accessories. Xiaomi, India’s largest smartphone seller, has already confirmed its intention to increase the prices of the phone citing the increase in GST rate and the poor performance of the Rupee. In an open letter to its patrons, Xiaomi announced that it will be increasing its prices.

Xiaomi’s spin-off brand POCO has also announced an increase of ₹1,000 (~$15) in all variants of the POCO X2 (review). In the meantime, while OPPO and Vivo didn’t announce a price hike formally, offline retailer Mahesh Telecom shared details about the increased prices of some of the top-selling models.

Likewise, Realme has also increased the prices of its phones.

While we are still awaiting details on the exact price hikes by companies, we have collated a list of smartphones with increased prices.

Old vs New Smartphone Prices in India after GST hike

Brand	Model	Old Price with 12% GST	New Price with 18% GST
Xiaomi	Redmi K20 Pro 6GB/128GB	₹24,999	₹26,999
	Redmi K20 Pro 8GB/256GB	₹27,999	₹29,999
	Redmi K20 6/64GB	₹19,999	₹21,999
	Redmi K20 6GB/128GB	₹22,999	₹24,299
	Redmi Note 7 Pro 4GB/64GB	₹9,999	₹10,999
	Redmi Note 7 Pro 6GB/64GB	₹10,999	₹12,999
	Redmi Note 7 Pro 6GB/128GB	₹11,999	₹13,999
	Redmi Note 7S 3GB/32GB	₹8,999	₹9,999
	Redmi Note 7S 4GB/64GB	₹9,999	₹11,999
	Redmi 8 4GB/64GB	₹8,199	₹8,999
	Redmi 8A 2GB/32GB	₹6,499	₹6,999
	Redmi 8A 3GB/32GB	₹6,999	₹7,499
POCO	POCO X2 6GB/64GB	₹15,999	₹16,999
	POCO X2 6GB/128GB	₹16,999	₹17,999
	POCO X2 8GB/256GB	₹19,999	₹20,999
Realme	Realme X50 Pro 6GB/128GB	₹37,999	₹39,999
	Realme X50 Pro 8GB/128GB	₹39,999	₹41,999
	Realme X50 Pro 12GB/256GB	₹44,999	₹47,999
	Realme X2 Pro 6GB/64GB	₹27,999	₹29,999
	Realme X2 Pro 8GB/128GB	₹29,999	₹31,999
	Realme X2 Pro 12GB/256GB	₹33,999	₹35,999
	Realme X2 4GB/64GB	₹16,999	₹17,999
	Realme X2 6GB/128GB	₹18,999	₹19,999
	Realme X2 8GB/128GB	₹19,999	₹20,999
	Realme X 4GB/128GB	₹16,999	₹17,999
	Realme X 8GB/128GB	₹19,999	₹20,999
	Realme 6 Pro 6GB/64GB	₹16,999	₹17,999
	Realme 6 Pro 6GB/128GB	₹17,999	₹18,999
	Realme 6 Pro 8GB/128GB	₹18,999	₹19,999
	Realme XT 4GB/64GB	₹15,999	₹16,999
	Realme XT 8GB/128GB	₹18,999	₹19,999
	Realme 6 4GB/64GB	₹12,999	₹13,999
	Realme 6 6GB/128GB	₹14,999	₹15,999
	Realme 6 8GB/128GB	₹15,999	₹16,999
	Realme 5 Pro 4GB/64GB	₹12,999	₹13,999
	Realme 5 Pro 6GB/64GB	₹13,999	₹14,999
	Realme 5 Pro 8GB/128GB	₹15,999	₹16,999
	Realme 5 3GB/32GB	₹8,999	₹9,499
	Realme 5 4GB/64GB	₹9,999	₹10,499
	Realme 5 4GB/128GB	₹10,999	₹11,499
	Realme 5i 4GB/64GB	₹8,999	₹9,999
	Realme 5i 4GB/128GB	₹9,999	₹10,999
	Realme C3 3GB/32GB	₹6,999	₹7,499
	Realme C3 4GB/64GB	₹7,999	₹8,499
Samsung	Galaxy S20	₹66,999	₹70,500
	Galaxy S20+	₹73,999	₹79,900
	Galaxy S20 Ultra	₹92,999	₹97,900
	Galaxy Z Flip	₹1,09,999	₹1,15,890
	Galaxy Note 10	₹69,999	₹73,600
	Galaxy Note 10+ 12GB/256GB	₹79,999	₹84,200
	Galaxy Note 10+ 12GB/512GB	₹89,999	₹94,700
	Galaxy Note 10 Lite 6GB/128GB	₹38,999	₹41,000
	Galaxy Note 10 Lite 8GB/128GB	₹40,999	₹43,100
	Galaxy S10 Lite 8GB/128GB	₹39,999	₹42,142
	Galaxy S10 Lite 8GB/512GB	₹44,999	₹47,300
	Galaxy A71	₹29,999	₹31,500
	Galaxy A51	₹23,999	₹25,250
	Galaxy M31 6GB/64GB	₹15,999	₹16,856
	Galaxy M31 6GB/128GB	₹16,999	₹17,910
	Galaxy M30s 4GB/64GB	₹13,999	₹14,749
	Galaxy M30s 4GB/128GB	₹14,999	₹15,803
	Galaxy M30s 4GB/128GB	₹15,999	₹16,856
	Galaxy M21 4GB/64GB	₹13,499	₹14,222
	Galaxy M21 4GB/64GB	₹15,499	₹16,329
OPPO	Reno3 Pro (Global)	₹29,990	₹31,990
	Reno2	₹36,990	₹38,990
	Reno2 Z	₹25,990	₹27,490
	Reno2 F	₹21,990	₹23,490
Vivo	Vivo U20	₹17,990	₹19,990
	Vivo S1 4GB/128GB	₹15,990	₹17,990
	Vivo S1 6GB/64GB	₹17,990	₹19,990
	Vivo S1 Pro 8GB/128GB	₹18,990	₹20,990
	Vivo V17 8GB/128GB	₹22,990	₹24,990
iQOO	iQOO 3 4G 8GB/128GB	₹36,990	₹38,990
	iQOO 3 4G 8GB/256GB	₹39,990	₹41,990
	iQOO 3 5G 12GB/256GB	₹44,990	₹46,990

The list above is incomplete but we’ll be adding more recently launched devices as we learn about the increase in prices of other smartphones in India. Needless to say, the tax increase will affect the entire industry. Those who can absorb the rise in cost, will; while those with thin margins will have no option but to pass on the burden to the end consumer. However, keep in mind that the country is on COVID-19-related lockdown, so sales on both offline and online platforms are on hold.

The post OEMs are raising prices of smartphones in India following a tax increase appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/2UyCNIL
via IFTTT

Chinese OPPO Reno3 Pro gets certified by the FCC, may launch as the Find X2 Neo

Towards the end of last year, OPPO launched the Reno3 and Reno3 Pro in China. The mid-range devices from the company featured MediaTek’s Dimensity 1000L chipset and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G SoC, however, the international variants that were launched earlier this month featured completely different specifications. Instead of featuring the MediaTek Dimensity 1000L chip, the OPPO Reno3(global) packed in MediaTek’s Helio P90 chip and, on the other hand, the OPPO Reno3 Pro(global) featured the Helio P95. Just a few days ago renders of the OPPO Find X2 Lite and Find X2 Neo surfaced online, which featured the same design and specifications as the Chinese variants of the OPPO Reno3 series. This led us to believe that the Chinese Reno3 and Reno3 Pro could be launched as the Find X2 Lite and Find X2 Neo globally.

Now, an upcoming OPPO device has been certified by the FCC which features the same design and specifications as the Chinese OPPO Reno3 Pro. The listing features the device’s user manual, which confirms that the device features a 6.5-inch FHD+ display with a punch-hole cutout for the front camera. The device has also made an appearance on the Bluetooth SIG listing, which confirms that it’ll be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G chip. The FCC listing also includes the user manual for the device which reveals that it packs in a 4,025mAh battery with 30W fast charging support. Additionally, the FCC listing includes images of the device that reveal the exact same design as the Chinese Reno3 Pro.

On top of all that, our Editor-in-Chief, Mishaal Rahman, ran one of the IMEIs from the FCC filing through an IMEI database and the phone was identified as the Reno3 Pro. Since OPPO has already launched a different phone under the Reno3 Pro moniker internationally, it’s unlikely that this new phone will also be launched under the same name. This gives the previous rumor about the device launching as the Find X2 Neo some credibility. As of now, OPPO has revealed no information about the launch date for the device. But since it has already received FCC certification, it shouldn’t be long before OPPO finally launches it internationally.

---

Source: FCC (certification, user manual, photos), Bluetooth SIG

The post Chinese OPPO Reno3 Pro gets certified by the FCC, may launch as the Find X2 Neo appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/3aAKYtD
via IFTTT

[Update: 5G variant too] Samsung Galaxy Fold receives Android 10 with One UI 2.0

Update 1 (04/01/2020 @ 03:15 AM ET): The 5G variant of the Samsung Galaxy Fold is also receiving the update. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on March 26, 2020, is preserved below.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold (review) might not be the perfect folding phone we had all hoped for, and the company has even released an alternate clamshell design with the Galazy Z Flip. Even with the insane pricing, Samsung has allegedly been able to sell a respectable number of Galaxy Fold units. Keeping aside the initial hype, the owners of this bleeding-edge device have been stuck with Android Pie to date, but there is a new ray of hope. Samsung has now started rolling out the long-anticipated One UI 2.0 update on top of Android 10 for the Galaxy Fold.

Samsung Galaxy Fold XDA Forums

According to Samsung’s Android 10 update schedule, the Galaxy Fold is expected to receive the taste of Android 10 in April. As the month of March is almost ending, the arrival of the OTA for this device – albeit only on the global 4G variant (model number SM-F900F) – is certainly a noteworthy event. The version number of the latest firmware is F900FXXU3BTCD, which is currently available in France. Samsung has not incremented the bootloader version (v3), thus it is possible to revert back to Android Pie though manual flashing. Regarding the Android Security Patch Level (SPL), it is bumped to March 2020 from January 2020.

We are unable to get our hands on the complete changelog at the time of writing this article, so it is not possible to tell whether Samsung shipped all the goodness of One UI 2.1 in this update or not. The OTA may take several weeks to reach other regional markets, but those who are interested can manually download the complete firmware package directly from Samsung update server using tools like Frija.

Samsung has not published the kernel source code for this particular build yet. Moreover, the aforementioned firmware is not at all compatible with the 5G Galaxy Fold variant (SM-F907x), so stay away from cross-flashing.

Source: Samfrew

---

Update: Samsung Galaxy Fold 5G variant receives One UI 2.0 update with Android 10

The 5G variant of the Samsung Galaxy Fold has also begun receiving its One UI 2.0 update with Android 10.

Samsung has also published the Android 10 kernel sources for the 4G variant (SM-F900F).

The post [Update: 5G variant too] Samsung Galaxy Fold receives Android 10 with One UI 2.0 appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/2vPEVCk
via IFTTT