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lundi 9 décembre 2019

Google Play Movies prepares to add support for Dolby Vision HDR content

Google Play Movies first added support for 4K HDR content all the way back in 2017. While at the time the amount of HDR content on the platform was fairly limited, you now have access to most new movies and TV shows that support 4K HDR playback. In order to give users an even better viewing experience, Google is now prepping up to add support for Dolby Vision HDR. A recent teardown of Google Play Movies v4.17.22 has revealed strings of code that suggest that Google might soon add support for Dolby Vision HDR content.

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.

For the unaware, Dolby Vision is a proprietary 4K HDR video format developed and promoted by Dolby that delivers an arguably brighter, more dynamic image when compared to the open-source HDR10 format.

<string name="details_dolby_vision">Dolby Vision</string>
    <string name="content_description_dolby_vision">Dolby Vision</string>

The recently discovered strings suggest that supported titles will have a Dolby Vision tag in the details and content description section, notifying users of the compatibility. As of now, we have no information on when Google plans on rolling out Dolby Vision support to Google Play Movies.


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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Microsoft Math Solver is an Android app that finds solutions to basic and complex expressions

While Windows Mobile may have lost the race to Android, Microsoft is far from giving up on the mobile platform. Over the last couple of years, the company has released a number of apps for both Android and iOS that address several shortcomings on both the platforms. Some of these apps, including those from Microsoft’s Office suite, SMS Organizer, and Microsoft Launcher, have reached immense popularity and have several million users around the world. Now, Microsoft has released another app for Android that aims to help high school students with their math problems using the power of AI.

Microsoft Math Solver Microsoft Math Solver

The new Microsoft Math Solver makes use of an advanced AI to solve a variety of different math problems with ease. The app is quite simple to use and offers three ways in which you can input a new math problem. You can either enter an equation using the built-in calculator-like interface, click a photo of the problem (much like you would on Photomath), or write the math problem by hand. The app then makes use of the AI-powered math solver to instantly recognize the problem and delivers an accurate solution. If you’d like to learn how the app arrived at the solution, it also shows a step-by-step explanation, along with interactive graphs, similar problems, and video lectures regarding similar problems from the internet.

The list of supported problems for Microsoft Math Solver is quite extensive and it covers everything from elementary arithmetic to advanced calculus and integrals. Additionally, it even includes support for word problems, allowing you to solve problems like “Volume of a cone with height 5 and radius of 2” without any issues. On top of that, the app lets you bookmark problems to review at a later stage, it maintains a history of all your searches, and it includes a list of example problems to help you get started. You can try out Microsoft Math Solver by downloading it from the link below and get some much-needed help with your homework right away.

Microsoft Math Solver (Free, Google Play) →


Via: Android Police

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[Update: Rolling out] Google Opinion Rewards will start warning you when Play Store credits are about to expire

Update 12/09/19 @ 5:15 AM ET: Google Opinion Rewards now warns you when credits are expiring, right within the app. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on November 13, 2019, is preserved as below.

The Google Opinion Rewards app gives you an easy way to earn some Play Store credits by answering surveys. But a lot of people don’t know that the promotional credits you get from the app have an expiry date. According to Google, any Play Store credits accumulated by answering surveys will expire 1 year after they were earned. But sadly, the app doesn’t show when the credits are about to expire.

A recent post on Reddit caught the attention of a number of users and prompted them to check the status of any Play Store credits they accumulated on the app. The post highlights inconsistencies in Google’s expiration policy, with the user losing $63 worth of credits in one go. This seems quite odd, as anyone who’s ever used the app knows that it’s quite impossible to earn that amount in a single year, let alone in one day.

Google Opinion Rewards credit expiration warning 1 Google Opinion Rewards credit expiration warning 2

Google seems to have taken note of the issue and has since pushed a message in the Opinion Rewards app. The message warns users about the expiration policy and urges users to visit the Help Center in case they’ve noticed an unexpected drop in their Play Store balance. The Help Center link in the message redirects to this page, which reveals that Google is working on a way to notify users of impending expiration. It also urges users to check back in a week for an update, in case they saw a recent decrease in their Play Store balance due to a bulk expiration.

Check expiration date 1 Check expiration date 2

In case you have any promotional credits in your Play Store wallet, you can check the next expiration date in the Play Store. To do so, tap on the hamburger menu button in the app and then select the Payment methods option. In the following screen, you’ll find the next expiration date under the Google Play balance option. Several users have reported that the expiration date changes every time you make a purchase using your Play Store balance. However, some other users noticed no change in the date even after spending their credits in the app. As of now, we aren’t quite sure how the credit expiration works, but we expect to hear more from Google on this matter in the coming week.


Update: Rolling Out

The expiration date for Play Store credits is now prominently displayed in the Google Opinion Rewards app.

This makes it easier to keep track of the number of credits that are expiring, and when they are expiring.


Thanks to Somesh Sharma for the tip!

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Vivo V17 with the world’s tiniest hole-punch camera launches in India

Vivo is the third-largest smartphone seller in India and is among the most sought-after brands in the offline segment. In India, Vivo has had a two-fork strategy, targetting offline buyers with untraditional features like dual pop-up selfie cameras, while targetting the online buyers with wholesome packages at competitive prices. Vivo has just launched a new smartphone in India – the Vivo V17 – which belongs to the former category and it comes with the world’s tiniest hole-punch camera opening for an unintrusive viewing experience.

The Vivo V17 shares the same 6.44-inch Super AMOLED display with a hole-punch cavity, which is only 5mm in diameter, as the recently launched Vivo S5. The back design of the two phones differs even though the configuration of the quad-camera setup is nearly identical. The rear panel is made of plastic but the shiny appearance can be deceiving.

vivo v17

The rear camera setup on the Vivo V17 includes a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor for the primary camera, an 8MP wide-angle camera with a 108º wide field of view, a 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. The hole-punch on the front opens up to a 32MP selfie camera. For selfie connoisseurs out there, there are several features like the “Pose Master,” which suggests you better poses, AR Stickers, AI makeup, etc. Video recording is supported on the wide-angle camera besides the primary camera and there’s EIS for the primary camera as well.

To bear the load and demand for performance, the Vivo V17 gets a Snapdragon 675 SoC along with 8GB of RAM. Additionally, there’s 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage. Additionally, the phone supports the expansion of storage for up to 256GB via a microSD card. In terms of the battery, the V17 features a 4,500mAh battery with 18W fast charging via the USB-C port.

Vivo V17 Specifications

Specifications Vivo V17
Dimensions & Weight
  • 159.01×74.17×8.54mm
  • 176g
Display
  • 6.44-inch Super AMOLED
  • 1080 x 2400
  • Gorilla Glass 5
SoC
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 675
  • Adreno 612 GPU
RAM 8GB
Storage
  • 128GB UFS 2.1
  • microSD slot
Battery 4,500mAh, 18W fast charging
Fingerprint Sensor In-display fingerprint
Rear Camera
  • 48MP Sony IMX586 primary camera, f/1.8
  • 8MP 108° wide-angle sensor, f/2.2
  • 2MP macro sensor, f/2.4
  • 2MP depth sensor, f/2.4
Front Camera
  • 32MP, f/2.45
Connectivity
  • Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0
  • GPS, Beidou, Galileo, GLONASS
Android Version FunTouch OS 9.2 based on Android 9 Pie
Colors Midnight Ocean, Glacier Ice

Price & Availability

The Vivo V17 will be available in two colors – a graying Midnight Ocean and a whitish Glacier Ice. It comes in a single RAM/storage configuration and will be priced at ₹22,990 (~$325). It will be available online as well as offline starting December 17th.

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dimanche 8 décembre 2019

Google Play Store is reportedly failing to show newly published apps in search

Over the last couple of months, Google has introduced several new features for the Play Store. The Play Store has recently received a new dark theme on Android 10, one-tap buttons to unsubscribe from betas, clear wishlists, etc., and we’ve even seen hints of an upcoming incognito mode. But while Google may be hard at work on these new features, there’s a major bug on the Google Play Store that remains unaddressed. The bug in question affects the search functionality of the Play Store and doesn’t bring up recently added apps, even when you use the right keywords.

According to a recent report from Android Authority, the bug prevents you from finding certain apps and games on the Google Play Store. These apps, which are definitely live, don’t show up in the search results even when you type out the entire name. For instance, searching for the game ‘Deliver The Duck’ only brings up related results and doesn’t bring up the game itself. The game doesn’t show up even if you search with the full title ‘Deliver The Duck Water Game’. However, the game does show up if you search for ‘Deliver_The_Duck’.

Google Play Store bug

The bug has been reported by several big-name developers both on Google Play Help forums and on the Google Issue Tracker. As of now, it isn’t quite clear what the problem is in this situation, but it seems like Google might be hiding these search results for some reason. However, the fact that you can find the apps by slightly altering the search keyword leads us to believe that the issue might be a result of some recent changes to the search algorithm. While Google hasn’t released an official statement regarding the matter, a comment on the Issue Tracker reveals that the issue has already been escalated to the development team. We’ll update this post as and when Google releases a statement regarding the matter.


Source: Google Issue Tracker, Google Play Help

Via: Android Authority, Reddit

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[Update 2: More renders revealed] OPPO Reno3 Pro 5G teaser shows off thinnest dual-mode 5G phone

Update 2: 12/09/19 @ 00:30 AM ET: Shen has shared another render of the upcoming Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G showcasing its design.

Update 1: 11/29/19 @ 1:30 AM ET: OPPO’s VP Brian Shen has confirmed that the OPPO Reno3 Pro 5G comes with a 4025mAh battery despite its thin profile. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on November 28, 2019, is preserved as below.

As 5G adoption is picking up speed around the world, more and more smartphone manufacturers are releasing 5G devices in the market. Currently, manufacturers like Samsung, OnePlus, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc. offer 5G variants of their flagship devices in the market. Since these 5G devices are in the flagship category, they’re pretty much always out of the reach of the average consumer. To make the technology more accessible, Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi and Realme are about to bring the next-gen of 5G smartphones, like the upcoming Redmi K30 and Realme X50, to the market that will offer dual-mode 5G at a relatively affordable price. Now, Oppo is looking to join the affordable dual-mode 5G club with the launch of the Reno3 Pro later this year.

As per a recent teaser shared by the company’s VP and President of Global Marketing Brian Shen, the upcoming Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G might be the thinnest dual-mode 5G smartphone in its price segment. The device, which will feature an all-glass design, will measure in at just 7.7mm (excluding the camera bump). The teaser image reveals that the Reno3 Pro 5G will have minimal bezels on the top and sides, with no notch and curved edges. We can also tell that the device will have its power button on the right edge, but it isn’t clear where Oppo plans to house the front-facing camera.

At the recent ColorOS 7 launch event in China, Oppo revealed that the Reno3 series will be launched in the country next month. While we don’t have any information on the hardware specifications of the device yet, we expect to learn more in the days leading up to the launch.


Update: OPPO Reno3 Pro 5G to come with 4,025mAh battery

OPPO’s VP Brian Shen has confirmed that the OPPO Reno3 Pro 5G will come with a 4,025mAh battery.


So, despite the thin profile, the phone will have a decently sized battery that will definitely be needed when 5G is one of the highlight features of the phone.


Update 2: Latest OPPO Reno3 Pro 5G renders reveal key aspects of its design

OPPO’s VP Brian Shen has shared another render of the upcoming OPPO Reno3 Pro 5G showcasing its design. The animated render reveals that the device will feature a quad-camera setup on the back arranged in a vertical array on the top left corner of the back. The camera module also features a dual-LED flash, along with the AI camera branding.

While the render doesn’t reveal the front panel, we do get to see that the device will have curved edges on both the front and back. The volume rocker can be found on the left edge, flanked by antenna bands on the top and bottom. This means that the power button on the device will be on the opposite edge. The color variant showcased in the render has a red to blue gradient finish that looks quite appealing and shifts colors as the device rotates.

OPPO Reno3 Pro 5G

Along with the official render, a couple of unofficial images of the device have surfaced on Weibo. These images give us a clear look at the front panel, with an edge-to-edge curved display with minimal bezels on the top and bottom. The single hole-punch can be found on the top left corner of the display. The unofficial images also reveal that the Reno3 Pro 5G will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor, while the non-pro Reno3 will be powered by a MediaTek MTK6885 5G chip.

When it comes to the dimensions, the Reno3 Pro 5G will just be 7.7mm thick and weigh in at just 171g. On the other hand, the MediaTek powered Reno3 will be 7.96mm thick. It’s also worth noting that the non-pro Reno3 5G will have a waterdrop-style notch, unlike the hole-punch display on the pro variant. Finally, the post also suggests that the device will be launched in China on December 26th.


Source: Weibo

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OnePlus TV update brings Netflix support to the Android TV

Over the last couple of years, OnePlus has grown from being a no-name Chinese brand to one of the most popular premium smartphone brands in India. Earlier this year in September, the company branched out its product lineup and launched its first Android-powered QLED 4K TV, alongside the OnePlus 7T (review). The OnePlus TV received its first update early on in October, which introduced new lighting effects for the soundbar and fixed issues with the connectivity and HDR. Now, OnePlus is rolling out another update for the TV which brings official support for the Netflix app, among other things.

The latest update for the OnePlus TV Q1 and Q1 Pro (V1.8.0T1911211115) has finally introduced Netflix support, something that we sorely missed in our review of the TV. Following the update, OnePlus TV users will be able to download the Netflix app from the Play Store and enjoy their favorite movies/TV shows on the platform. Along with Netflix support, the update brings some minor improvements and optimizations. Here’s the official changelog for the OTA update:

  • Netflix on board!
  • Added setting for directly entering recent “Input Source” at startup
  • Optimized volume adjustment experience to increase or decrease audio volume more comfortable
  • Pressing volume up and down buttons together to mute the TV
  • Remote low battery and charging status notification on TV
  • Optimized PQ video pinkish issue

As with all updates from the company, the latest OTA update for the OnePlus TV is rolling out in an incremental fashion. The update will initially be available only for a handful of users, with a broader rollout to follow in the next few days.


Source: OnePlus Forums

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