Xiaomi launches the Mi 11i, the global version of the Redmi K40 Pro+

Alongside the Mi 11 Ultra, 11i, 11 Lite 5G, and 11 Lite 4G, Xiaomi has also unveiled the Mi 11i, which seems to be a rebadged version of the Redmi K40 Pro+ that the company launched in China last month. The Redmi K40 Pro+ is a true flagship smartphone in every way, meaning the new Xiaomi Mi 11i is no different.

The front is almost fully bezel-less with an expansive 6.67-inch AMOLED display at a Full HD+ (2400 x 1080) resolution with an up to 120Hz refresh rate. The display can reach up to 1300 nits in peak brightness, is HDR10+ certified, and has a 360Hz touch sampling rate. Xiaomi also touts the phone’s RGB ambient light sensor which allows the device to tune the display’s white balance in accordance with the ambient lighting. Lastly, the phone supports MEMC to boost the frame rate of videos as well as Super Resolution to upscale the resolution of content.

In terms of performance, the Mi 11i is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 mobile chipset, 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a large, 4,520mAh battery which can be charged via the included 33W wired charger. The Snapdragon 888 is a 5G-enabled chipset with its integrated Snapdragon X60 modem. The phone comes with 128 or 256GB of built-in UFS 3.1 storage.

The Xiaomi Mi 11i has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner rather than an optical or ultrasonic under-display one. It has dual stereo speakers tuned with Dolby Atmos but no 3.5mm headphone jack. It has a triple camera array headlined by a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM2 sensor, an 8MP ultra wide-angle sensor, and a 5MP telemacro sensor. On the front, there’s a single 20MP sensor.

Xiaomi Mi 11i Forums

Xiaomi is shipping the Mi 11i with its MIUI 12 software release based on Android 11.

Specification	Xiaomi Mi 11i
Dimensions & Weight	163.7 x 76.4 x 7.8mm, 196g
Display	6.67″ AMOLED display FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) 120Hz refresh rate 360Hz touch sampling rate 1300nits peak brightness, 900nits typical brightness Gorilla Glass 5 True Tone 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio HDR10+ MEMC
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888  CPU 1x ARM Cortex-X1 @ 2.84GHz 3x ARM Cortex-A78 @ 2.4GHz 4x ARM Cortex-A55 @ 1.8GHz GPU: Adreno 660 Samsung’s 5nm (5LPE) manufacturing process
RAM & Storage	8GB LPDDR5 RAM + 128GB UFS 3.1 storage 8GB LPDDR5 RAM + 256GB UFS 3.1 storage
Battery & Charging	4,520mAh 33W fast wired charging
Security	Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
Rear Camera(s)	108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM2, f/1.75 primary camera 8MP ultra wide-angle camera, f/2.2, 119° FoV 5MP telemacro camera
Front Camera(s)	20MP selfie camera
Port(s)	USB Type-C No 3.5mm headphone jack
Audio	Dual speakers Dolby Atmos certification Hi-Res Audio certification
Connectivity	Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 4G LTE and 5G integrated modem Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.2 NFC and IR blaster GPS, GLONASS, QZSS, NavIC, Galileo, Beidou
Software	MIUI 12 based on Android 11

Pricing and Availability

The Mi 11i comes in Cosmic Black, Frosty White, or Celestial Silver in Europe and costs €649 for the 8+128 version or €699 for the 8+256 version. It will be available through Xiaomi’s online retail partners.

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Galaxy Max Hz is an app for Samsung Galaxy owners to fine tune their high refresh rate displays

High refresh rate displays have become a core part of our smartphone experience. Once reserved for premium, top-tier smartphones, this display property can now be found on a wide range of budget and mid-range smartphones. Like other phone manufacturers, Samsung too had restricted the high refresh rate panel for its top-shelf offerings such as the Galaxy S20 series, Galaxy Note 20 series, Galaxy Fold 2, and Galaxy Tab S7. But that finally changed this year when we saw Samsung finally democratizing the high refresh rate tech and bringing it to the cheaper models such as the Galaxy A52, Galaxy A32, and Galaxy M12.

But that buttery smoothness has its price: battery life. That’s why many OEMs offer what they call an “Adaptive Refresh Rate” technology, which tweaks the refresh rate based on the on-screen activity. For example, if you’re watching a video, your screen doesn’t need to be refreshed at its maximum refresh rate — 60Hz or even 30Hz would suffice. It’s only while you’re actively interacting with the display, say scrolling through a list or navigating around the system, that you would want the screen to refresh at above 60Hz for a smoother experience. Though users can always manually toggle between the high refresh rate and the standard 60Hz mode depending on their need, most phones don’t offer more granular control over the refresh rate. For example, if your phone has a 120Hz display and you want to set the refresh rate to a middling value, say 90Hz, there’s a high chance your phone will not let you do that. Not to mention you have to visit the display settings every time you want to change the refresh rate, which is, of course, not very convenient.

Luckily for Samsung Galaxy owners, XDA Senior Member tribalfs have come up with a handy app called Galaxy Max Hz that allows them to fine-tune the screen refresh rate to their liking while also making it easier to switch between different modes on the go.

Here’s what you can do with the Galaxy Max Hz app:

• Control the max refresh rate and force a hidden 96Hz mode (on supported devices)
• Add a Quick Settings tile for switching between various refresh rates on the go
• Bypass the adaptive refresh rate and lock the refresh rate to the maximum or any other value supported by your device
• See the display refresh rate in real-time using the Refresh Rate Monitor
• Quickly change between different display resolutions using the quick setting tile
• Enable experimental adaptive refresh rate mode on devices that don’t natively support Samsung’s “Adaptive Motion Smoothness” technology (e.g., Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy A52, Galaxy A72, etc.)
• Set minimum refresh rate value for the adaptive mode to 60Hz or lower
• Force the lowest refresh rate when the screen is off (Overriding Samsung’s default behavior which locks the display to its maximum refresh rate when the screen goes off)

The Galaxy Max Hz is so far tested to successfully work on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Galaxy S20 series, Galaxy S21 series, and Galaxy Z Fold 2. However, it should work on any Samsung phone that offers a high refresh rate display, including the recently released Galaxy A52, Galaxy A72, and Galaxy A32. The best part is that the app doesn’t need root access — it does require a one-time ADB setup, though. The app is free to download with an option to remove ads and unlock extra features for a one-time fee.

If you’re interested, you can download the Galaxy Max Hz from the developer’s GitHub page. For more information, check out the Galaxy Hz’s official XDA thread from the link below.

Galaxy Max Hz XDA Thread

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How to set videos as live wallpapers on your Android phone or tablet

The Google Play Store is home to an insane number of live wallpaper apps. These apps offer a vast selection of live wallpapers to help you customize your device. But there’s one crucial personalization feature that most of these apps don’t offer — the ability to set your own videos or GIFs as live wallpapers on your device. Thankfully, there are a couple of handy apps that can help you do just that. In this post, we’ll be taking a close look at how you can use one of these apps to set videos as live wallpapers on your Android device, how you can do so on some Samsung phones without a third-party app, and we’ll also take a look at a couple of alternative apps that you can use for this purpose.

How to set videos as live wallpapers on Android

To set videos as live wallpapers on an Android device, you’ll need to install a third-party app like Video to Wallpaper. The app is quite simple to use, and I’m sure most of you will be able to figure out the process by yourself. But if you face any issues, here’s a quick overview of how you can use it to set any video as a live wallpaper on your phone:

1. Install the app from the Google Play Store by clicking this link.
   
2. On the app’s home page, tap on the + icon in the bottom right corner to add a new video.
   
3. In the following pop-up, tap on the “Choose” button to select the wallpaper from your device’s internal storage.
   
4. Select the video of your choice by tapping on it in the following window. In this case, I’m using one of the leaked OnePlus 9 live wallpapers that we shared earlier this month.
   
5. Tap on OK on the following screen to confirm the selection.
   
6. The selected wallpaper will appear on the app’s homescreen, and you’ll have to tap on the “Apply” button underneath it to proceed to the next step.
   
7. This will bring up another pop-up window with instructions on how to apply the wallpaper. Tap on OK on the window.
   
8. Select Video to Wallpaper on the following page.
   
9. You should now see a preview pane with a “Set Wallpaper” button at the bottom. You can tap on this button to proceed to the next step, or you can check the Preview option in the top right corner to view the wallpaper in full-screen mode.
   
10. Tapping on the Set Wallpaper button will bring up a prompt asking you to select where you want to apply the selected wallpaper. It includes two options — one to apply the wallpaper to your homescreen and the other to apply it to both the homescreen and the lockscreen.
    
11. You can select either of the two options to apply the wallpaper.

The live wallpaper should now appear on your homescreen and/or lockscreen based on your selection. You can follow the same steps to change the live wallpaper whenever you please. All the live wallpapers you pick in step 4 will appear on the app’s homescreen for easy access, so you’ll be able to switch between them without following steps 2 and 3 every time.

Video (.MP4; .MOV) to Wallpaper (Free, Google Play) →

Video to Wallpaper is one of the simplest apps you can use to set videos as live wallpapers on your Android phone. I picked it over the other apps mentioned below for one simple reason: It’s ad-free. If you’re looking for an app that offers more controls and customization options or is easier to use, you should check out the alternatives mentioned below.

Before we get to the alternatives though, let’s take a look at another handy trick that will let you set videos as live wallpapers on a Samsung Galaxy device without a third-party app.

How to set videos as live wallpapers on Samsung Galaxy phones

You can set videos as live wallpapers on Samsung Galaxy phones without using any third-party apps. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Open the video you want to set as a wallpaper in the Gallery app.
   
2. Tap on the three-dot menu button in the bottom right corner.
   
3. Select the ‘Set as wallpaper’ option in the menu.
   
4. This will bring up two options — ‘Lock screen’ and ‘Call background’. Tap on the ‘Lock screen’ option to set the video as a wallpaper on the lockscreen. Do note that the feature supports videos up to 15 seconds, and you’ll have to crop your video if it’s longer in the next step.
   
5. In the following window, tap on the scissor icon on the video to crop it or tap on the ‘Set on Lock screen’ button to apply the wallpaper.

Sadly, this feature won’t let you set a video as a live wallpaper on the homescreen. You’ll still have to rely on a third-party app for that purpose. Thankfully, there are quite a few options out there. We’ve already talked about the Video to Wallpaper app. Now let’s take a look at four other apps that you can use for this purpose.

Best apps to set videos (or GIFs) as live wallpapers on Android

1. Any Video Live Wallpaper

Although the Video to Wallpaper app is quite simple to use, if you want something even simpler and don’t mind a couple of ads, you can try the Any Video Live Wallpaper app. The app has a minimal UI with just two large buttons in the center.

You can tap on the ‘Video’ button to pick the wallpaper you wish to use, select it on the following screen, check the preview, tap on the ‘Set wallpaper’ button, and apply it to either the homescreen or both the homescreen and the lockscreen.

Any Video Live Wallpaper – Video Wallpaper Maker (Free, Google Play) →

2. Video Live Wallpaper

For those who need some additional customization options, the Video Live Wallpaper app is another great alternative. The app not only lets you set any video as a live wallpaper on your homescreen or lockscreen, but it also gives you a couple of additional settings to trim the video, enable/disable audio, and scale the video to fit the screen.

Additionally, the app offers a ‘Color’ tab that you can use to set a solid color static wallpaper on your phone. However, the app has a couple of drawbacks. It has a persistent ad banner at the top, its UI looks outdated, and the video selection screen isn’t the most ideal.

Video Live Wallpaper (Free⁺, Google Play) →

3. Wallpapers free — Video Wallpapers and Backgrounds

The Wallpapers free app offers a vast selection of live and static wallpapers across various categories. On top of that, it lets you set your own videos as live wallpapers. However, the process isn’t exactly straightforward. To set your own videos as live wallpapers, tap on the hamburger menu button in the top left corner of the app’s homescreen. Select the ‘Photos and videos on your device’ option in the menu, tap on ‘Accept’ on the following page, and then pick a video from your phone’s internal storage.

Once again, the app’s video browser isn’t great, so looking for the video you want to set as a live wallpaper might be a bit difficult. The app also has large banner ads and the occasional pop-up ad, which may turn away many users. On the upside, the app offers a bunch of additional live and static wallpapers. It even includes an auto change wallpaper feature with which you can set up a couple of static wallpapers to cycle on your homescreen automatically.

Wallpapers free - Video Wallpapers and Backgrounds (Free⁺, Google Play) →

4. Video Wallpaper

The Video Wallpaper app is another simple alternative that lets you set any video as a live wallpaper with just a couple of taps. The app’s homescreen shows a list of videos from your internal storage that you can use as a live wallpaper. Sadly, tapping on any video brings up a full-screen ad. After you remove the ad, the app gives you a couple of customization options that let you turn on audio on the live wallpaper, scale to fit the screen, and double-tap to start/pause the live wallpaper.

To set a live wallpaper, tap on the ‘Set as launcher wallpaper’ button, check the preview, and tap on ‘Set wallpaper.’ The app lets you set videos as live wallpapers on just the homescreen or the homescreen and lockscreen both. Out of all the apps mentioned on this list, the Video Wallpaper app was the most annoying to use because of the sheer number of ads.

Video Wallpaper - Set your video as Live Wallpaper (Free⁺, Google Play) →

If I had to pick just one app out of the lot, I would go with the Video to Wallpaper app because of the reasons mentioned above. But the Any Video Live Wallpaper app is also a decent alternative.

Which app are you going to use to set videos as live wallpapers on your phone? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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This new app helps Pebble watches continue working with new Android phones

Pebble was one of the first modern smartwatches when it launched on Kickstarter in 2012. It became popular for its long battery life, massive library of applications, and open software, and was later followed up by several more models. Pebble shut down in 2016 after running out of funds, but not before the company updated its watches to continue functioning without a central server. The community-run ‘Rebble’ project has continued to keep the watches alive with updated software, and now Rebble has released a new app to keep Pebble watches functional on newer devices.

Before Pebble shut down, the Android and iOS mobile apps were updated to allow Pebble apps to be sideloaded from a file. However, the Pebble app often isn’t recognized as a handler for Pebble files on modern Android devices, so applications and watchfaces can’t be easily transferred to the watch. Pebble’s founder, Eric Migicovsky, even ran into the issue himself recently.

I just tried opening the pbz in astro, but same issue (no applications found for this file type)

— Eric Migicovsky (@ericmigi) September 14, 2020

To solve this, developers Alice Grey and Lavender Glaab from the Rebble project created an Android application called Sideload Helper by Rebble. The app can open Pebble files on modern Android devices, then transfer them to the official Pebble app for installation.

The Rebble blog wrote, “in addition to sideloading .pbw (watchface/watchapp), .pbl (language), and .pbz (firmware) files, the app also handles Rebble appstore links — in fact it will even translate legacy Pebble appstore links, providing users have Rebble Web Services set up. Finally, the app will facilitate the eventual transition to Rebble’s own in-development mobile app.”

The team said the app still needs to be localized in more languages, and if you’re up for the challenge, there’s now a Crowdin page for crowd-sourcing translations. In the meantime, the app is available for download on both the Play Store and F-Droid, and the source code is on GitHub.

Sideload Helper by Rebble (Free, Google Play) →

Sideload Helper by Rebble (Free, F-Droid) →

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Today only, save $200 on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and get $50 in instant credit!

It’s the final day of the Samsung Discover event! They’ve saved the best for last, too, and today only you can save $200 on the Galaxy S21 Plus! On top of that, you’ll receive $50 in instant credit for your purchase. That seems good to use for a new case to go with your new device!

Earlier in the week, Samsung revealed some impressive trade-in deals for the Galaxy S21 Plus, but the problem with trade-in deals is that you need to have a good phone to get the maximum discount. Instead, today’s deal is just a flat discount that you can combine with trade-in offers for even bigger savings. Normally $1,000, this brings the middle child of the new flagship series to $800.

When you purchase the Galaxy S21 Plus, you’ll also receive $50 in instant credit. This is perfect for a new accessory or two to go with your new smartphone! All around, this is an impressive discount on a newly released phone.

You may not have seen much hype about the Galaxy S21 Plus. That’s mainly because the standard Galaxy S21 is seen as the affordable flagship experience, and the Ultra is the high-end flagship, leaving the Plus in an awkward spot. But, at $200 off, that makes the Plus the same price as the standard Galaxy S21, and with the upgrades, it’s worth purchasing. That’s not even factoring in trade-ins and the instant credit! Finally, this deal is available on both unlocked and carrier phones, so you don’t have to feel locked in one way or the other.

Just remember, this deal only lasts until the end of the day, so don’t sleep on it!

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

Today only, save big on a new flagship! The Galaxy S21 Plus is $200 off, and you'll get $50 in instant credit, as well.

Save $200 at Samsung

If you want to see all of the Samsung Discover Week deals, check out their deal page below. Today’s the last day, so it’s your last chance to grab whatever you’ve been eyeing this week!

Samsung Discover Week

Head over to the Samsung Store to see everything that the retailer has on sale this week.

View the deals at Samsung

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What’s the next feature Samsung should add to its Galaxy A series?

Samsung’s Galaxy A series has sold like hotcakes since its debut in early 2019. Despite the enormous number of options available in the smartphone market, Samsung’s mid-rangers thrive on the brand’s reputation, wide availability across the globe, and faster than ever software updates. With the recently launched Galaxy A52/A52 5G and the Galaxy A72, Samsung has brought a once previously premium feature to the lineup: a higher refresh rate display. What are some other features you wish to see Samsung add to its next Galaxy A devices?

As we noted in our Galaxy A52 review, Samsung’s mid-range smartphones are typically priced above competitors from brands like Xiaomi or Realme. In fact, you can even buy “flagship-killers” like the POCO F3 for nearly the same price as the Galaxy A52. But even so, Samsung is bridging the gap between its premium and mid-range phones with a different approach.

Instead of glorifying its smartphones as spec-heavy goliaths, the company is bringing premium features like dust and water resistance, the same 25W fast charging technology available on flagships like the Galaxy Note 20 and the Galaxy S21 series, and high refresh rate displays. Samsung’s promptness in terms of software updates and the promise of three generational Android version updates — as well as four years of security updates — makes the new Galaxy A series devices even more enticing. Alongside these factors, Samsung’s brand image inspires confidence in the new smartphones.

This approach not only solidifies Samsung’s opportunity to sell more phones, but it can also help the company invade the segment of flagship killers — or devices that are seen as viable alternatives to flagship phones. Features such as 5G connectivity further strengthen this possibility.

What are some features you want to see on the next Galaxy A series smartphones? How do you feel about Samsung’s new Galaxy A devices in comparison to Xiaomi’s new POCO series? Let us know in the comments below!

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What do you think of Qualcomm’s rumored Nintendo Switch clone that runs Android?

Gaming phones have usurped a major share in the market of handheld gaming devices. While brands like ASUS have gone as far as making gaming phones like the ROG Phone 5 that offer functionality similar to a gaming console, the Nintendo Switch has still stood at the top. Its ability to be used both as a handheld gaming device or a dedicated console that can be hooked up to a bigger screen has made it immensely popular. While an upgraded Nintendo Switch is set to arrive later this year, chipmaker Qualcomm is also reported to be working on its own gaming console with a Snapdragon chipset and running a modified version of Android 12.

A report earlier this week revealed that chipmaker Qualcomm has envisioned a handheld gaming console with functionality similar to the Nintendo Switch. It is even suggested to come with detachable controllers like Nintendo’s Joy-Con. While the onboard chipset has not been confirmed yet, Qualcomm’s console could come with 5G connectivity, Quick Charge support, a beefy 6,000mAh battery, and SD card support.

If it does see the light of the day next year, it could run on Android 12. Running on top of Android, the gaming console is said to feature a custom launcher tailored for games and may even include the Epic Games launcher for easy access to Fortnite. The console is expected to be priced under $300, making it unlikely a flagship Snapdragon 800 series chipset will be packed under-the-hood.

If Qualcomm plunges into the portable gaming console segment, we may see a viable alternative to the Nintendo Switch for reasons other than price. The NVIDIA Tegra chip that powers the Switch is old and has a relatively underpowered CPU even compared to most mid-range Qualcomm SoCs. Therefore, Qualcomm’s expertise as a chipset manufacturer can help it offer higher performance than the Nintendo Switch and the Switch Lite for a lower price.

The biggest issue, of course, is the difference in size between Android’s and Nintendo’s gaming libraries. The number of AAA games available on the Switch — both from Nintendo and from third-party studios — far exceeds the number of titles available on Android. Still, the number of high-quality games on Android is growing with recent additions like Final Fantasy VIII: Remastered, Genshin Impact, and Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated. Android is also a far more capable platform for retro console emulation, which is admittedly niche but has a growing number of fans.

What do you think of this news? Would you at all be interested in buying this product once it comes out? Will Qualcomm’s entry spur interest in developing or porting AAA titles to Android? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Featured image: Nintendo Switch running an Android 10 port

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