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mercredi 5 février 2020

Xiaomi Mi 10 will feature Micron’s LPDDR5 RAM

At the Snapdragon Tech Summit last year, Xiaomi confirmed that its upcoming flagship — the Xiaomi Mi 10 — would feature Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 865 SoC. Soon thereafter, we also confirmed that the company was planning on launching another device alongside the Mi 10 — the Mi 10 Pro. The pro version was spotted in an MIUI 11 build for the Redmi K30 5G, which confirmed the names of the two devices along with their marketing names. At the time, we also learned that the Mi 10 Pro will also feature 66-watt fast charging but we didn’t know much else about the two devices. Earlier this month, we managed to obtain build.prop files for the two devices which confirmed that they’d also include a 108MP primary sensor. Now, we have some more information about Xiaomi’s upcoming flagship Mi 10.

According to a recent report from a Chinese publication, American memory manufacturer Micron has managed to mass-produce the world’s first low-power LPDDR5 DRAM chip which will be used in upcoming high-end smartphones. Micron’s LPDDR5 RAM makes use of advanced packing technology that allows the company to cram 12GB of RAM on a single die. The RAM boasts of a transmission rate of up to 6.4 Gbps, which is nearly twice as fast as LPDDR4, 20% faster than LPDDR4x, and features a 50% improvement in data access speed. In terms of power consumption, the LPDDR5 module reduces power consumption by more than 20% compared to the previous generation.

Additionally, the report also reveals that the Xiaomi Mi 10 will be the first device to feature the new LPDDR5 module. This information has been confirmed by Xiaomi’s CEO and co-founder Lei Jun through Weibo. In a recent post on the Chinese social media platform, Jun revealed that the company initially planned on including the LPDDR5 module only on premium variants of the Mi 10. However, owing to the significant improvement in performance, the company chose to include the new LPDDR5 module in all Mi 10 variants.

Micron further claims that LPDDR5 powered devices will have 5-10% improvement in battery life while delivering better operation speeds. Compared to LPDDR4 RAM modules, the new faster RAM can also improve performance in demanding AR apps, reduce processing time for 100MP photos and high-resolution video editing. The company believes that devices equipped with LPDDR5 RAM will include 8GB or 12GB of memory in the first half of this year, but could bump up to 16GB in the second half. This leads us to believe that the Xiaomi Mi 10 could feature up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM.


Source: Sina, Weibo (1,2)

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Exclusive: This is Motorola’s Next 5G Phone with a Curved “Waterfall” 90Hz Display

Motorola recently celebrated the success of its Moto G line, and later this month at MWC 2020, the Lenovo-owned company will introduce 3 new devices to the Moto G line. Alongside the new smartphones in the Moto G series, Motorola is also expected to launch two new high-end smartphones. Motorola notably hasn’t launched a flagship phone since the Moto Z3, and even that device could barely pass as a flagship given it featured a then year-old Snapdragon 835. Today, we’ve received the first live images of one of the two new Motorola devices from our trusted source, and we’ve also gathered a lot of information about the specifications and features of the two phones. We’ve heard the marketing name “Motorola One 2020” used in reference to these phones, though we aren’t 100% confident that Motorola will go ahead with this branding. In any case, here’s what we know.

The Motorola One 2020 Series

Design and Display

Smartphones with curved displays have been around for years since Samsung’s Galaxy Note Edge, but it’s only recently that we’ve seen curved displays that wrap almost entirely around the sides of the phone. The industry seems to have settled on the term “waterfall” to describe these extremely curved displays, and examples of these displays can be seen on the Vivo Nex 3 5G and Huawei Mate 30 Pro.

Left: Huawei Mate 30 Pro. Right: Vivo Nex 3 5G. Image via Max Weinbach.

Motorola’s upcoming upper mid-range and flagship phones will feature really curved displays approaching “waterfall” status, though judging by the images I’ve received, the curved edges are slightly less dramatic than those on the Vivo or Huawei phones. XDA’s Max Weinbach, who has both the Vivo Nex 3 and Huawei Mate 30 Pro, agrees that the device seems to have an “80% waterfall” display. In one of the images we were sent, we see what appears to be a volume rocker on the right, a component that’s notably missing on the Vivo and Huawei phones. Motorola internally refers to the display as a “waterfall” display, though I don’t know if that’s how they’ll actually be marketing it. We’ll have to wait for the company to show the device to the press at MWC 2020 to confirm.

These images were sent to us by a trusted source. We edited out the background as well as any information on the screen that could potentially be identifying.

Another feature of the display is the single hole-punch in the top left corner where a front-facing camera resides. Motorola has used hole-punch displays on its smartphones in the past, starting with the Motorola One Vision, but the hole-punches on earlier smartphones were quite large. In contrast, the hole-punch on the upcoming Motorola One 2020 seems to be much smaller. I’m unsure if Motorola is using a Samsung-made OLED hole-punch display on these new phones versus the BOE-sourced LCDs on its older phones. What I do know is that these phones will be Motorola’s first to support higher-than-60 refresh rates—specifically, these phones will be capable of a 90Hz refresh rate at Full-HD+ resolution. Motorola will, therefore, be joining a growing list of brands offering smartphones with high refresh rate displays.

Specifications

During Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Tech Summit, Motorola confirmed that they would ship a phone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765/765G as well as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. Thus, it should come as no surprise to hear that these two phones are running on Qualcomm’s latest chips. The upper mid-range model is code-named “racer 5G” or just “racer” whereas the flagship model is code-named “burton,” though I’ve also heard it referred to internally as “racer turbo.” Both devices appear to have the same display, that being a 6.67-inch 2340×1080 curved panel running at a 90Hz refresh rate, though I can only truly confirm this to be the case for “racer 5G.” Racer 5G will have either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 or 765G, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a 48MP primary rear camera, a 4660mAh battery, support for NFC, and will run Android 10 out of the box. On the other hand, “burton” will have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, 8 or 12GB of RAM, a 5170mAh battery, and will also run Android 10, though I don’t know any details about this device’s storage capacity, cameras, or connectivity.

I’ve heard the name “Motorola One 5G 2020” in reference to racer 5G and “Motorola One 2020” in reference to burton, which raises the question of why racer 5G’s marketing name has “5G” branding in its name while burton’s does not. Both the Snapdragon 765/765G and the Snapdragon 865 support 5G modems; in the Snapdragon 765’s case, the 5G modem (Snapdragon X52) is integrated into the SoC, while in the Snapdragon 865’s case, the 5G modem (Snapdragon X55) is a discrete, yet required unit. I don’t think it’s likely that the Motorola One 2020/burton will miss out on 5G connectivity, though it’s possible that Motorola may sell the device without 5G support enabled in certain markets to drive down costs. For instance, Motorola will very likely be selling burton in the U.S. on Verizon under the “Motorola Edge+” name, and it’s likely the carrier will market the phone as supporting its growing 5G network. The Motorola Edge+ branding was first revealed by Evan Blass late last month. The existence of this branding is corroborated by multiple benchmark listings for the Motorola Edge+ with build names referencing “burton_vzw,” CPU and GPU configurations matching the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, and overall scores matching those of devices based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 “kona” test platform.

Specification Racer Burton
Model XT2063-3 ???
Display 6.67-inch 2340×1080 curved display @ 90Hz 6.67-inch 2340×1080 curved display @ 90Hz
SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
RAM 6GB 8GB/12GB
Storage 128GB ???
Rear Camera(s) 48MP + ??? ???
Front Camera(s) ??? ???
Battery 4660mAh 5169mAh
Connectivity NFC, at least one variant with dual SIM ???
Software Android 10 Android 10
Possible Marketing Name Motorola One 5G 2020 Motorola One 2020/Motorola Edge+

Software

Motorola will launch several new software applications with the Motorola One 2020 series. The applications include:

  • Moto Edge Assistant: An application to customize tap actions on the curved edges. The user can customize the edge area to minimize unintended actions, or they can customize a double-tap gesture to launch certain shortcuts such as switching between applications.
  • Moto Gametime: An application to provide quick access to certain tools and settings to improve your mobile gaming experience. You can either tap a floating button or swipe in from one of the sides to access the toolbar. The toolbar can contain up to 2 application shortcuts that open in freeform multi-window mode when launched. In the settings of Moto Gametime, the user can choose to block notifications or incoming calls from interrupting gameplay, and the user can also lock the brightness level to prevent unintended adjustments from the auto-brightness.
  • Moto Audio: An audio-tuning app that can automatically adjust the audio profile to best match the current content. For example, the voice profile can boost voice clarity during calls or voice recordings. The user can create profiles for audio accessories connected via Bluetooth or USB-C, or they can pick from existing profiles such as ones for gaming, movies, or music.

The Moto Edge Assistant app will be exclusive to the Motorola One 2020 series since those are Motorola’s only phones with curved edges. The Moto Gametime app may come to other Motorola devices such as the upcoming Moto G Stylus, though I’m unsure if the Moto Audio app will be available for other devices.

Launch Date and Pricing

We expect Motorola to unveil these two smartphones at MWC 2020 later this month. We don’t know when the phones will go on sale or at what prices they’ll be sold at. We’ll likely learn more information in the coming days leading up to MWC.

The post Exclusive: This is Motorola’s Next 5G Phone with a Curved “Waterfall” 90Hz Display appeared first on xda-developers.



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Android Auto starts showing speed limits during Google Maps navigation for many users

Knowing the speed limit is a critical part of being a safe driver, but it’s not always easy to know it. Some roads are poorly marked, and you certainly can’t base it on how others are driving. Thankfully, Google has shown the speed limit in the Google Maps mobile app for a while now, but it has never migrated over to Android Auto in the car dashboard for most users. That appears to have recently started changing for many users.

The Google Maps mobile app has shown the speed limit for over a year. When using turn-by-turn navigation, you’ll see a little speed limit icon in the bottom left corner. This is great, but it has never shown up in Google Maps for Android Auto. Obviously, that would be super useful as well. According to users on Reddit, it’s finally present in the Android Auto screen.

The rollout of this feature appears to be very sporadic. Some report having seen it for months while others still don’t see it. The rollout also appears to be happening in multiple countries as people in the US and the UK are reporting it. If you do have it in Google Maps on the Android Auto screen, it appears in the bottom left corner in a floating circle icon while using navigation.


Source: Reddit

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You can now open iCloud’s mobile website on your Android device

By and large, Apple’s ecosystem is a locked ecosystem, leading to the famous “walled garden” expression. However, many users do use multiple ecosystems interchangeably. They may have an Android phone and an iPad, for example. Google’s services can be accessed through apps on both Android and iOS as well as through well-designed mobile websites. On the other hand, Apple is lagging behind here. Out of all its services, the company offers only the Apple Music app for Android, while vital apps such as iCloud are not available. Google Drive can be accessed on any Internet-connected device, and it’s shocking to believe that iCloud didn’t have a mobile website up until now. It did have a desktop site available, which could be accessed by requesting the desktop version of the non-existent mobile site. However, like all desktop sites, it was cumbersome to use on mobile. This means that Android users didn’t have an easy way of accessing the iCloud account data on their Android phone. Apple has finally fixed this issue by developing a proper mobile site of iCloud.com, which works on both iOS and Android.

Apple iCloud mobile website

Source: The Verge

The development of iCloud’s mobile website means that iOS and Android users can access Apple services such as Notes, Photos, Reminders, and Find My iPhone from their phone’s web browser. The UI of the site looks similar to the iCloud mobile app on iOS. This makes it much easier to use on a smartphone as compared to using a desktop site with small touch targets. For Android users who use Apple devices such as iPads or secondary iPhones for work, the improvement will be particularly welcome. Even iPhone users will benefit from this as the Find My iPhone service will now work on an Android phone.

The new UI is live on iCloud.com, but it’s limited to the aforementioned four Apple services. Other iCloud features such as Contacts, Calendar, and iWork apps aren’t available yet. With iCloud, Apple proved to be shockingly late to the mobile website/web app business, as Google is so far ahead in offering services across ecosystems. Still, it’s better late than never.


Via: The Verge

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Google will update Chrome to block three kinds of intrusive video ads

Ads are a controversial topic in web browsing and video streaming. The use of ad blocking software is held by web publishers to be counterproductive practice as it reduces or in some cases wipes out websites’ earnings by blocking their primary source of revenue. Equally, however, some users justify ad blockers because of intrusive ads that interfere with web browsing, reduce battery life on devices, and in general, lead to a deterioration in user experience. The theoretical solution is simple. To reduce ad blocker usage, ad providers have to agree on standardized forms of ads that aren’t intrusive. To that end, Google has been working the group responsible for developing the Better Ads Standards: the Coalition for Better Ads. Now, Google has announced that it will update Google Chrome to block three kinds of intrusive video ads.

The company notes that Chrome has a long history of protecting users from annoying experiences such as blocking popup windows and warning users if a page has malware. For the last years, Google’s focus has been to address annoying, intrusive ads. In 2018, it started removing the ads from websites that continually show intrusive ads that violate industry standards. It also updated its own advertising solutions to ensure that it’s not selling or serving the kinds of ads that users find the most annoying. Apparently, it has since seen ad blocking rates “drop significantly” in Chrome in North America and Europe.

For the determination of intrusive ads, Google relies on the Better Ads Standards. The Coalition for Better Ads has now announced a new set of standards that show during videos, based on research from 45,000 consumers worldwide. According to its research, while there are many types of video ads, there are three ad experiences that people find particularly disruptive on video content that is less than eight minutes long.

The first one is long, non-skippable pre-roll ads or groups of ads longer than 31 seconds that appear before a video and that cannot be skipped within the first seconds.

The second category is mid-roll ads of any duration that appear in the middle of a video, interrupting the original content.

The third type is image or text ads that appear on top of a playing video and are in the middle 1/3 of the video player window or cover more than 20% of the video content.

The Coalition for Better Ads has announced that website owners should stop showing these type of ads to their site visitors in the next four months. In compliance, Google has announced that Chrome will expand its user protections and stop showing all ads on sites in any country that reportedly shows these disruptive ads beginning August 5, 2020. Surprisingly, the company notes that YouTube, just like any other website with video content, will be reviewed for compliance with the standards. This is a significant announcement.

Google will also update its product plans across our ad platforms, including YouTube, as a result of the new standard. For websites that show ads, Google advises owners to consider reviewing their site status in the Ad Experience Report, which is a tool that helps publishers to understand if Chrome has identified any violating ad experiences on their site. The company will update the report this week with information to help publishers resolve any issues with the new video standards.

It’s fairly clear that these new video standards represent a momentous change for video ads, especially for YouTube. A strict implementation of the new standard will essentially change how YouTube currently serves ads on videos, and will represent a big step back from the brink of highly intrusive ads that cheapened the video content experience. For viewers, such a change is certain to be viewed in a highly positive manner.


Source: Google

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Motorola Razr leaked renders reveal unannounced gold model

The era of foldable phones has officially kicked off. It has been looming over our heads for close to a decade, and it has been highly anticipated during this time. Last year, Samsung officially took the wraps off the Galaxy Fold, the first “mainstream” foldable phone to launch to the wider public. Other companies like Huawei have also had their dig at the concept, but one of the most interesting ones came from Motorola late last year, with the Motorola Razr. It’s a throwback to the RAZR flip phone launched in 2004, albeit in a newer form factor and carrying a foldable display.

Motorola Razr XDA Forums

Far from just appealing to the nostalgic crowd, something that the new Motorola Razr does an amazing job at, the device also showcases one of the foldable form factors that make the most sense to the wider public: a classic flip phone that can flip open into a regular, old-fashioned smartphone. Even Samsung themselves are taking a jab at this form factor as well with the launch of the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip, set to be announced alongside the upcoming Galaxy S20 lineup. The Razr is now available for pre-order, but leakster Evan Blass has now showcased a gold version of the device, featuring a gold bottom bezel and back.

motorola razr motorola razr motorola razr

It’s unclear whether this device will be released sooner or later, as Motorola didn’t initially announce any color variants for the Razr at all—we only got to know a black variant. It might be that this color variant doesn’t see a release at all either. There is the possibility, however, that Motorola could announce it by the same time as Samsung’s newest announcements in an attempt to try to sour interest in the Galaxy Z Flip. New device announcements at MWC 2020 are on the horizon, so we shall wait and see.

Source: Twitter

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YouTube will kill its classic desktop user interface in March

YouTube is the most popular video streaming service on the Web. Over the years, the Alphabet-owned company has redesigned its desktop user interface multiple times. In 2017, the desktop version of the service received a major redesign based on Google’s Material Design principles, including the use of more white space and bigger fonts. The redesign also included new features such as a dark mode (which arrived in Android in 2018) and better playback of portrait videos. It first started rolling out in March, and received a wider roll-out in August of that year. The interesting thing was that YouTube still retained an option for users to disable the new YouTube interface and switch back to its classic desktop UI. In fact, it was the default option on other web browsers for many months, until they were switched to the design incrementally. Now, the company has announced that it will kill the classic interface in March 2020.

Users who are still using the classic desktop interface will now get a notification that tells them to “Switch to the new YouTube”. The notification will also mention if their current browser is compatible with the new YouTube. YouTube’s reasoning for killing off the classic UI is that older versions of YouTube are missing “many of the new features and design improvements [that the company] has introduced over the past three years, including top requests based on [user] feedback”. The company also says that users may need to update their browser if it’s not compatible with the new version. The exact date for the transition was not mentioned.

It’s worth noting that the new YouTube design has a history of performing poorly in non-Chromium-based browsers such as the old Microsoft Edge and Firefox because of its reliance on a deprecated shadow DOM UI (it used Polymer 1.0 instead of newer versions such as Polymer 2.0 or Polymer 3.0). Specifically, it could even perform five times as slower in Firefox and Edge than in Chrome. The new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge has no problems with the new design, as expected. Users of older browsers that were still using the classic UI will have no choice but to upgrade their browser now to keep using YouTube, as it doesn’t seem as if any workarounds will be available to keep using the old UI. Therefore, the march to a Chromium-dominant web will continue.


Via: 9to5Google

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