Sony Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 receive official Android 10 update

Back in September this year, Google officially rolled out a stable build of Android 10. Since then, several manufacturers have rolled out stable Android 10 builds for their devices. While Sony might not have been the fastest to jump on the bandwagon, the company did promise Android 10 builds for 8 Xperia smartphones last month. As per the update schedule, the company was expected to release Android 10 builds for the Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 this month. Sticking true to its promise, the company has now started rolling out the update for the two devices.

As per a recent report from PiunikaWeb, the company is now rolling out an Android 10 OTA (v55.1A.0.748) for the Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 worldwide. The update not only upgrades the two devices to Android 10 but also packs in the Android Security patches for November 2019. Before you go ahead and install the update on your device though, there are two things that you should know. The update is causing issues for some users and completely disables calling and mobile data functionality and once you install the update, you won’t be able to revert back to the previous software release. So it would be best if you wait for Sony to address these issues before installing the update. Along with the Android 10 rollout, Sony has also updated the AOSP binaries, but the company is yet to publish the kernel source for the latest build.

The Android 10 update is currently rolling out to users in the US and Europe in a staged fashion. In case you haven’t the OTA notification yet and you wish to manually install it on your phone, you can directly download the update firmware from Sony’s servers using tools like XperiFirm. Once you’ve downloaded the update, you’ll need a flashing utility like Flashtool to install the update on your device.

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Source: XDA Forums

Via: PiunikaWeb

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Huawei Watch GT 2 with two-week battery life and Kirin A1 chip launched in India

While Huawei has witnessed strong growth in homeland China, they have been slowly recovering from the damage done due to the U.S. government’s executive order barring them from engaging with American companies. As a result of having its Android license revoked, the launches of Huawei’s new smartphones including the premium Mate 30 series was met with a lukewarm response despite packing in excellent hardware. Relatively, Huawei’s ecosystem for accessories has not been as hampered since it is not dependent on Android and the company is today launching a new smartwatch – the Huawei Watch GT 2 – powered by Kirin A1 chip in India.

Huawei launched the Watch GT 2 globally along with the Huawei Mate 30 series back in September this year as an updated version of the Watch GT, which was announced earlier this year. The Huawei Watch GT 2 comes with a similar outer design and display but packs in an upgraded HiSilicon Kirin A1, a chipset is designed dedicated for wearables and can be used across a variety of them. The purpose of the Kirin A1 chip is to bring Bluetooth 5.1 and BLE 5.1 at the same time while minimizing the power consumption of the accessory it is powering.

In terms of design, the Huawei Watch GT 2 comes in two dial sizes – 42mm and 46mm. Both of these have a round AMOLED display but the larger one has a 1.39-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 454×454 while the smaller one has a 1.2-inch display with a resolution of 390×390 pixels. The capacities of the battery inside these also vary between the watches with the 46mm using a 455mAh battery while the 42mm variant using a 215mAh battery. Thus, the claimed battery lives of the two variants also differ with the larger one claimed to last two weeks while the smaller one lasting only half of that i.e. a single week. That might reduce further with the AOD.

Huawei Watch 42mm, Khakhi Leather and Rose Gold Milanese straps

In terms of software, the Huawei Watch GT 2 runs the company’s own LiteOS, which also runs the older version. The smartwatch also gets the ability to apply custom watchfaces besides tracing 15 different types of workout activities with support for VO₂ tracking. Additionally, there’s 2GB of onboard storage that should help users store nearly 500 MP3 tracks and apart from pairing a Bluetooth headset to the watch, you can also enjoy music from the tiny speaker on it.

In terms of connectivity, the Huawei Watch 2 gets both Bluetooth 5.1 and BLE 5.1, thanks to the Kirin A1 chip. This allows for connectivity at a distance of 150 meters and for perspective, that’s twice the width of a regular soccer field. Additionally, the’s in-built dual-frequency GPS for positioning.

There are four color options for both the variants. The 46mm variant has three options for the dial – Matte Black, Titanium Grey, and Pebble Brown – and the 42mm comes only with a Night Black dial. Each of these comes with individual strap options:

• 46mm
  • Titanium Grey Metal Strap
  • Orange Fluoroelastomer Strap
  • Brown Leather Strap
  • Black Fluoroelastomer Strap
• 42mm
  • Khaki Leather Strap
  • Cyan Fluoroelastomer Strap
  • Rose Gold Milanese Strap
  • Black Fluoroelastomer Strap

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Huawei Watch GT 2 Specifications

Specs	46mm Huawei Watch GT 2	42mm Huawei Watch GT 2
Display	1.39-inch 454×454 AMOLED display	1.2-inch 390×390 AMOLED display
SOC	Kirin A1	Kirin A1
Battery	455 mAh	215 mAh
Connectivity	Bluetooth v5.1, Wi-Fi, GPS	Bluetooth v5.1, Wi-Fi, GPS
Health Features	Heart rate, sleep tracking, stress monitor, breathing guidance, 15 fitness modes, dual-frequency, VO2	Heart rate, sleep tracking, stress monitor, breathing guidance, 15 fitness modes, dual-frequency, VO2
Water Resistance	50 meters water-resistant, not IP-rated	50 meters water-resistant, not IP-rated
Storage Capacity	2GB	2GB
Software Version	LiteOS	LiteOS

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Price & Availability

The Huawei Watch GT 2 will be available in India via Amazon, Flipkart, Huawei’s online store, and offline stores starting December 19, 2019. The pre-sale goes live starting December 12, and early buyers will get the Huawei FreeLace Bluetooth headset worth ₹6,999.

The 42mm variant will be priced at ₹14,999 whereas the larger 46mm variant has three options, each priced differently. The 46mm Black Sport is priced at ₹15,990, Leather Sport for ₹17,990, and the Titanium Grey for ₹21,990.

The watch is more or less the same as the recently launched Honor Magic Watch 2 with the Honor smartwatch having a larger, 4GB onboard storage.

 

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Android 10 rolls out again for the OnePlus 6/6T with OxygenOS 10.0.1

At the OnePlus 7T Pro launch event earlier this year in October, the company announced the Android 10 rollout schedule for older devices. In keeping with the schedule, the company rolled out a stable Android 10 update for the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T in the first week of November. However, due to some unforeseen bugs in the builds OnePlus temporarily halted the rollout. OnePlus seems to have fixed all the issues in the previous release as it has now started rolling out OxygenOS 10.0.1 based on Android 10 for the OnePlus 6/6T.

OnePlus 6 XDA Forums || OnePlus 6T XDA Forums

The update upgrades the system to Android 10 and introduces a brand new UI redesign that we’ve previously seen on the OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7T Pro. The build also includes some new OxygenOS-specific features like keyword blocking in the OnePlus Messages app and the contextual display feature. Here’s the official changelog for the latest update for the OnePlus 6/6T:

• System
  • Upgraded to Android 10
  • Brand new UI design
  • Enhanced location permissions for privacy
  • New customization feature in Settings allowing you to choose icon shapes to be displayed in the Quick Settings
  • General bug fixes and improvements
• Full Screen Gestures
  • Added inward swipes from the left or right edge of the screen to go back
  • Added a bottom navigation bar to allow switching left or right for recent apps
• Game Space
  • New Game Space feature now joins all your favorite games in one place for easier access and better gaming experience
• Contextual display
  • Intelligent info based on specific times, locations, and events for Ambient Display (Settings – Display – Ambient Display – Smart Display)
• Message
  • Now possible to block spam by keywords for Message (Messages – Spam – Settings – Blocking settings)

As always, the OxygenOS 10.0.1 update based on Android 10 is rolling out to a limited set of users right now. Once OnePlus confirms that it doesn’t have any major bugs, it should roll out to the remaining users. In case you don’t wish to wait for the update notification to pop up, you can download the update package from the links below and manually install it on your device. Do note that the incremental update package is only for those of you who updated to the previous Android 10 release before it was paused.

OxygenOS 10.0.1 for the OnePlus 6 (Full) || OxygenOS 10.0.1 for the OnePlus 6 (Incremental)

OxygenOS 10.0.1 for the OnePlus 6T (Full) || OxygenOS 10.0.1 for the OnenPlus 6T (Incremental)

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Thanks to XDA Senior Member Some_Random_Username for the download links!

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Google Maps prepares to add a “Lighting” layer to highlight brightly lit streets for safer night travel

Google Maps is one of the most popular navigation apps, with millions of users relying on it for their daily commute across familiar routes, as well as to guide them along unfamiliar territory. For those instances when you are visiting a new area for the first time, Google has worked to introduce features like a Translate button for names and addresses, the ability to find compatible plugs for your electric vehicle, and even alerts for when your taxi goes off route. Now, Google is preparing to introduce a new layer to Google Maps called “Lighting”, aiming to highlight streets that are brightly lit.

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.

Google Maps v10.31.0 beta contains strings that indicate that Google is working on a new feature that will help make your night time travels a bit safer. According to the string descriptions, this new Lighting Layer will highlight streets that have good lighting with a yellow color highlight, and by extension, help users avoid streets with poor or no lighting.

<string name="LAYER_SAFETY">Lighting</string>
<string name="SAFETY_LAYER_ONBOARDING_DIALOG_BODY">Yellow lines show streets with good lighting</string>
<string name="SAFETY_LAYER_ONBOARDING_DIALOG_BUTTON_START">Start</string>
<string name="SAFETY_LAYER_ONBOARDING_DIALOG_NO_LIGHTING_INDICATOR">No lighting info available</string>
<string name="SAFETY_LAYER_ONBOARDING_DIALOG_POOR_LIT_INDICATOR">Poor to no lighting</string>
<string name="SAFETY_LAYER_ONBOARDING_DIALOG_TITLE">See how brightly lit the streets are</string>
<string name="SAFETY_LAYER_ONBOARDING_DIALOG_WELL_LIT_INDICATOR">Good lighting</string>
<string name="SAFETY_LAYER_TOOLTIP_PROMO">New! See how brightly lit the streets are</string>
<string name="SAFETY_LAYER_UNAVAILABLE">"Lighting view isn't available at this zoom or in this region"</string>
<string name="SAFETY_LAYER_ZOOM_IN_SNACKBAR">Zoom in more to see lighting data.</string>

We do not have screenshots of the feature as it is still in development, and not yet live.

There is no indication in the strings that this feature will be specific to any region, but a good educated guess would be that this will be piloted in India first, and then rolled out to other parts of the world. India has very recently seen horrific incidents of rape that have shaken up the entire country. While a discussion on the root cause of this social evil is beyond the scope of our website, a feature like this within Google Maps will help women feel relatively safer than before when traveling at night. This will also help all individuals for their night travels through unfamiliar territory, say in a new country, as tourists would prefer traversing through a well-lit street. It isn’t immediately clear how Google will collect data on street lighting though, and how it will keep it up-to-date and realtime.

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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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Netflix tests a new “Downloads For You” feature that automatically grabs recommended content

There are several reasons that make Netflix one of the best video streaming services out there. Not only does the platform have some great content on offer, but it also includes some really handy features that can significantly improve your viewing experience. For instance, the smart downloads feature can really come in handy when you’re watching videos on your phone or tablet. It automatically downloads the next episode of whatever TV series you’re watching to offer uninterrupted playback. Now, Netflix is testing a similar feature called “Downloads For You” that aims to further enhance your binge-watching experience.

As per a recent report from Android Police, the new “Downloads For You” feature automatically downloads shows and movies that you haven’t watched yet. Once you enable the feature, the Netflix app will download content that it thinks you’ll enjoy but haven’t watched yet. You can set a storage limit to prevent the app from using up all your internal space, but by default, it offers to use an additional GB of space. Once the TV show/movie is downloaded, it appears in the Downloads tab in a new category just below your other smart downloads content.

The Downloads tab has also received a UI refresh with the new feature and it now shows much larger cards for the shows that have already been downloaded. Content that’s downloaded by the new feature also includes a brief description, along with the genre and other category information. Whenever the feature downloads some content, you’ll get the same notification that you get for other downloads. The feature only works over a WiFi connection, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally using up all your mobile data by downloading shows that you might not watch after all.

Along with the new feature, the latest beta update for Netflix also introduces a Playback Specification pane in the diagnostics section. The feature appears in the More tab within the Diagnostics section in the app settings and it allows you to check device-specific playback settings. With the new feature, you can instantly tell if your device is HDR compatible, check the supported codecs, and the maximum playback resolution. On top of that, the update also brings in-app brightness controls to the app. These new brightness controls show up as a slider and you can use it to change the brightness levels without pulling down the notifications shade.

As of now, it isn’t clear which version of the app includes these features. I wasn’t able to find the “Downloads For You” feature or the new brightness slider on the latest Netflix beta (v7.37.1) running on my Galaxy S10e. However, the Playback Specification feature was available in the same release.

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Via: Android Police

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PUBG Mobile will get 90fps and true 10-bit HDR support

At the ongoing Snapdragon Tech Summit 2019 in Hawaii, Qualcomm has announced its next-gen flagship Snapdragon 865 chip. The new top-of-the-line SoC from the company not only boasts of improved performance, but also comes with support for 5G, 200MP cameras, and 144Hz displays. But that’s not all. The processor also features some key functionality that will help improve gaming performance, especially for PUBG Mobile players. During day 2 of the Snapdragon Tech Summit, Qualcomm has revealed that PUBG Mobile will get support for true 10-bit HDR and a 90fps mode.

Snapdragon 865 powered devices will be able to push 90fps in-game, allowing users to make full use of the high refresh-rate displays on their smartphones. We can expect PUBG Mobile to feel even more fluid on devices powered by the new chip when compared to Snapdragon 855 powered devices with 90Hz displays.

The visuals will be enhanced even further with support for true 10-bit HDR, which will go above and beyond PUBG Mobile’s current HDR mode. The HDR mode that can be found in the in-game settings right now doesn’t really offer a significant bump in visual quality. But with true 10-bit HDR support, we can expect to see even better dynamic range.

As of now, we can’t be sure how these two features will impact PUBG Mobile gameplay. But we’ll definitely test it out as soon as OEMs start rolling out their Snapdragon 865 powered devices.

What do you think of the 90fps and 10-bit HDR support in PUBG Mobile? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! 

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Qualcomm Snapdragon 865’s SPU has integrated Dual SIM, Dual Standby and supports saving driver’s licenses in Android 11

Earlier today, Qualcomm revealed the full specifications and features of their latest premium Snapdragon 800 series SoC: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. We covered all of the major details you need to know in that article, but as always, there are smaller tidbits of information that were revealed during the keynote. During the keynote, Jesse Seed, a senior director of product management at Qualcomm, talked about some of the new security features in the Snapdragon 865. Notably, the Secure Processing Unit (SPU), the on-die secure element responsible for protecting biometric credentials, payment information, and SIM data, now fully supports dual SIM, dual standby and Android 11’s upcoming IdentityCredential API.

Integrated Dual SIM, Dual Standby

Android smartphones with eSIMs are still scarce, though there are a few on the market, including the Pixel 2, Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, Galaxy Fold, and the Motorola Razr. Storing SIM card data requires secure hardware, which for most devices means needing a dedicated chip. For the Pixel 2, that’s the ST Microelectronics ST33G1M2 32 bit MCU with ARM SecurCore SC300, according to iFixit’s teardown. The Secure Processing Unit on the Snapdragon 855, however, has smartcard equivalent EAL4+ certification, meaning it’s been deemed secure enough to handle SIM data. Qualcomm partnered with a company called Gemalto to enable eSIM support in the Snapdragon’s Secure Processing Unit.

Expanding on this work is the announcement that the SPU in the Snapdragon 865 now fully supports dual SIM, dual standby (DSDS). This means that not only can the SPU store eSIMs provisioned from more than one carrier, but the secondary, inactive eSIM can still receive calls and texts.

Support for Android 11’s IdentityCredential API

Back in March, Google started working on a new IdentityCredential API. This API allows for storing credentials, such as a driver’s license or passport, electronically on the device. Google announced at I/O 2019 that they’re working with ISO to standardize the implementation of mobile driver’s licenses, and that they’ll develop a Jetpack support library so applications can support asking for identity credentials. Now, Qualcomm has confirmed that the SPU in the Snapdragon 865 supports Google’s IdentityCredential API.

To be more precise, this announcement likely means that the Snapdragon 865 will support the “direct access” mode mentioned by Google in the IdentityCredential HAL implementation. This mode allows the credential to be pulled up even when there isn’t enough power to boot the main Android OS.

The API is still a work-in-progress but we’re tracking its progress in AOSP. Google plans on releasing this API along with the Jetpack library in the next Android release, which is Android 11.

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