A video of the OnePlus 2 has leaked where we see a user running AnTuTu Benchmark on the OnePlus 2, complete with the fingerprint scanner we saw in the design leaks and the OnePlus USB Type C cable. The 16GB “ONE A2001″ was running H2OS at 1080p resolution and managed to get a score of 49,221.
The Dell Venue 8 7840 tablet received Lollipop 5.1 not long ago, and with it came the “OEM Unlock” developer option that allows you to then unlock the device’s bootloader. Once toggled, you can issue the mythical “fastboot oem unlock” command — but remember to backup your data. Root has also been achieved!
You can now request an invite to purchase the OnePlus 2 from their website. Currently there are over 30,000 people in the queue, a number that is increasing very rapidly. However, by inviting your friends to register, you can also be moved up the list meaning you will receive your invitation sooner.
Apps are at the front and center of any smartphone experience, and with over a million apps on the Google Play Store and new apps being submitted to our forums every day, staying up to date on the latest apps and games can be a hassle. At XDA we don’t discriminate apps – if it’s interesting, innovative, original or useful, we mention them. The XDA Portal Team loves apps too, and here are our top picks for this week.
Notable Updates:
That is it for this week. We hope that you might have found some of these apps as interesting, useful or entertaining as we did. Whether you are a student, a developer, a designer or a gamer, Android has you covered. We will try to reflect that each week with a variety of picks to spark your interest, and if you see (or publish!) any new apps that you think are worthy of a feature, be sure to send us a tip and we’ll give it a look. Until next time!
The OnePlus 2 launch is right around the corner, and the OnePlus team has released their app on to Google Play. The app will allow you you to experience the launch event, scheduled for July 27, 7 pm PST, in VR as well as non-VR 360-degree video mode.
Good news for carrier-based LG G4 owners!
After what may seem like months of waiting, some of the carrier variants of the LG G4 can be safely rooted by users. This root method comes through combined efforts of XDA Recognized Developer thecubed, XDA Recognized Developer and Recognized Contributor autoprime, XDA Member IllegalArgument and XDA Forum Moderator and Senior Recognized Developer jcase.
Back in June, we did feature that root was achieved for the carrier variants by the same set of developers involved. However, the root methods used were not deemed safe enough for usage for the general public, with high chances of bricking the device, and hence were not released. The developers did assure that they will work to figure out a safer and distributable working method.
This is exactly what they achieved, as you can now root your carrier based LG G4 with Low Effort Root tool. This method is currently working for the T-Mobile H811 10H version, the VZW VS986 11A version and the International H815 10c version of LG G4, with support for more variants coming soon. The method involves quite a few steps as well as downloading a ~1.5 GB file, so be sure to read and follow along the thread correctly and with patience. Wrong steps could lead to a bricked device, but as long as you follow the thread perfectly, you will have a rooted device.
“This root will root any LG G4, provided we have a pre-rooted system image for it. This is akin to ‘flashing a rooted odin’ image on a Samsung phone, as we’re simply writing a system partition that contains Superuser.
No exploits here, no trickery, just a plain and simple flash and be on your merry way.”
– XDA Recognized Developer thecubed
One thing to point here is that Official Bootloader Unlock is available for only International H815 variant. These carrier based variants did not have Official Bootloader Unlock, and are very unlikely to receive an official one in the future. Achieving root without much help from LG makes the method all the more commendable.
So if you have a Verizon or T-Mobile LG G4, try this out and let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
Read on for related coverage:
Back at MWC 2015, when Samsung announced the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge, it also unveiled its ambitious attempt on the existing mobile wallet scene. In order to stand above the crowd and competition from services of Google and Apple, Samsung’s methodology involved use of NFC as well as a new proprietary technology called Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST).
In their own words:
“To date, mobile wallets have had extremely low acceptance with merchants utilising conventional magstripe terminals. With Samsung Pay, consumers can now utilise their mobile devices to pay at existing point-of-sale terminals. To achieve this, Samsung leverages both Near Field Communication (NFC) and a new proprietary technology called Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) to make mobile payments more accessible to merchants and consumers than ever before.
Samsung Pay has the potential of being accepted at approximately 30 million merchant locations worldwide, making it the only mobile payment solution with near universal acceptance. Consumers can use Samsung Pay in merchant locations regardless of whether the terminals support NFC or traditional magstripe, which is the vast majority of existing terminals.”
In simpler words, Samsung Pay aimed to be the next best thing as it utilized the existing terminals of merchants, thereby overcoming the shortcoming of Google Wallet, which simply relied on NFC and put the onus on merchants to obtain supporting machinery.
If you are an Android enthusiast who values device freedom but couldn’t resist purchasing a Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge, you may not be able to use Samsung Pay. As reported by Sammobile, it was speculated that “rooting” the phone would disable Samsung Pay. Earlier this week, fresh reports emerged which claimed that rooting the phone would disable Samsung Pay.
However, it is a misconception that “rooting” the phone would disable this feature. As several XDA Members have posted (here and here), tripping the KNOX counter (not “rooting” the device) is the action which disables Samsung Pay. Posting members have claimed that running unrooted stock roms on a tripped Knox counter did not re-enable Samsung Pay.
Wouldn’t rooting the device trip the Knox counter? No, this is not the case for all methods used for rooting. Talking specifically about the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, PinPong Tool allows you to root your device without tripping the Knox counter. And if you have the T-Mobile S6 and S6 Edge on Android 5.1.1, you are covered on that end too.
So if you are a Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge user, you can still use Samsung Pay (when it is available in your country) even if you are rooted. Just make sure that the Knox counter is not tripped while you try to achieve root.
Let us know your thoughts on Samsung Pay and its connection with root and Knox in the comments below!
Read on for related coverage:
