Shortly after the launch of the Galaxy S20 series earlier this year, we learned that the company was also planning on rolling out One UI 2.1 to older flagship devices. Towards the end of last month, the update finally hit the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 series, bringing some of Galaxy S20’s software features to the two devices. Now, according to a recent report from Sammobile, the company is rolling out the One UI 2.1 update to the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite.
The One UI 2.1 update (firmware version G770FXXU2BTD2) for the Galaxy S10 Lite is currently rolling out to users in Spain. The update includes a handful of features that made their debut with the Galaxy S20 series, along with the Android security patches for April 2020.
Following the update, Galaxy S10 Lite users will be able to enjoy improved AR Emoji with manual editing and enhanced facial expression recognition. The update also includes optimizations for the Gallery app, with the addition of a new Quick Crop feature that will allow users to easily cut images without entering the edit menu. Other One UI 2.1 additions include Quick Share, Music Share, and an updated Samsung Keyboard with multilingual translation, swipe-based text undo/redo, and an easier way to search for emoji/stickers.
Along with the aforementioned features, the One UI 2.1 update for the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite also includes a Pro video mode, however, it’s rather basic and doesn’t include advanced features like shutter speed control. As mentioned earlier, the update is currently only available to users in Spain, but it should roll out in more regions in the coming days. We expect Samsung to roll out a similar update for the Galaxy Note 10 Lite in the coming weeks.
Over the past year, Google has introduced a couple of useful accessibility features to help Android users with various disabilities. The company introduced Live Transcribe, Sound Amplifier, and Live Caption to help those with hearing impairments. Today, the company announced a new feature in its TalkBack service, an Accessibility Service that helps users with visual impairments to navigate their Android phone. Google has introduced a virtual Braille keyboard so users will no longer have to plug in a physical keyboard just to type on their Android device.
Google says they collaborated with Braille developers and users to create a virtual keyboard that will be familiar to anyone who has typed in Braille before. The keyboard uses a 6-key layout with each key representing 1 of 6 Braille dots that make any letter or symbol. For example, Google says that typing an “A” requires pressing dot 1 while typing “B” requires pressing dots 1 and 2 together. Users can also delete letters and words, add lines, and submit text using the keyboard. The keyboard can be toggled as easily as switching between international keyboards. Here’s a GIF demonstrating typing using the new Braille keyboard:
Source: Google
The new Braille keyboard is available as part of the TalkBack Accessibility Service contained within the “Android Accessibility Suite” application. The feature is rolling out today and will be made available for all Android devices running Android 5.0 Lollipop or higher. The feature works across all applications, supports Braille grade 1 and grade 2, and is available in English for now. To enable it, go to Settings > Accessibility > TalkBack > Settings and select “Braille keyboard.” You can learn more about how to use the keyboard on Google’s support page. The only caveat right now is that TalkBack gestures are not usable when the Braille keyboard is on.
This is a great feature that can help expand Braille literacy among persons with visual impairments. If you or a loved one has trouble using their Android device, Google’s new Braille keyboard could significantly improve how they use their smartphone.
The OnePlus 8 series is coming soon and as usual, we already know a lot about it. We’ve seen plenty of leaks and the company itself has revealed some information as well. In the last 24 hours or so, OnePlus and CEO Pete Lau have been trickling out more information, including some confirmation of the designs we’ve already seen.
There have been plenty of leaked renders of the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro to feast our eyes on. We’ve seen several eye-catching colors, including “Ultramarine Blue” and “Interstellar Glow.” Another color that has appeared in leaks in “Glacial Green,” which OnePlus confirmed in a blog post today. The company showed off the green color in the video below, highlighting the design.
CEO Pete Lau talks about the “CMF” of the devices: color, material, and finishing. The back of the OnePlus 8 series is made of “Matte-Frosted” glass, which they claim feels smoother and similar to the company’s “Silk White” OnePlus 6. Lau also shared that the OnePlus 8 is 8mm thick and weighs 180g, while the OnePlus 8 Pro comes in at 200g (he did not share the thickness of the Pro model).
Speaking of fit and finish, a small detail that not everyone notices is vibration motors. Android devices are notorious for having bad vibration motors that lack nuance. Pete Lau posted on Weibo about the OnePlus 8 Pro and said it has “the most advanced X-axis linear motor” of any Android phone. A OnePlus engineer went into more detail about what that means. Essentially, they are using a much larger motor than most phones.
Ultra wide that can get ultra close.
One side here was taken with a OnePlus 8 Pro, the other with another flagship phone (I think you can probably tell which is which). pic.twitter.com/qOR1OiNod0
Lastly, Lau shared some camera samples on Twitter and Weibo. He mentions “ultra wide that can get ultra close” in the photos that were taken at night. The OnePlus 8 Pro photos are on the left and they look pretty impressive. He also shared a video of a person to demonstrate how the phone adjusts in complex lighting situations.
OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro: Leaked Specifications
As a consequence of separating the Android OS framework and the vendor HALs and Linux kernel, Project Treble enables the ability to boot an AOSP Generic System Image (GSI) on any supported device. While Google does provide developer-centric Android 10 GSIs as well as a handy flash tool on its website, community developers have long been distributing their own custom GSIs based on popular custom ROMs or just plain AOSP. These distributions often incorporate device-specific fixes so that end users can easily substitute the heavily customized Android skin on their phones with an almost stock experience without breaking basic functionalities like Wi-Fi or RIL. The pioneer in this field, XDA Recognized Developer phhusson, has now updated his custom Project Treble GSI with the latest April 2020 security patches as well as a whole lot of other fixes.
The latest version of “Quack Phh-Treble”, phhusson’s self-compiled custom GSI based on Android 10, is v215, and it comes with double tap to wake gesture support on several Xiaomi phones. The developer has also added compatibility patches to detect the fingerprint scanners, including under-display sensors, on Realme phones since v214. Users can also find a remote debugging option (disabled by default) in the last few builds that enables the developer to connect to their device via ADB for troubleshooting.
Fix screen brightness control on some Huawei devices
Add persist.sys.phh.no_vendor_overlay property to disable all vendor overlays
If you want to try out phhusson’s GSI, you should determine your device variant using the Treble Info app linked below. Afterward, grab the corresponding build from the project’s GitHub release page (latest version can be found here) and flash it manually or using the tool developed by XDA Member stevegsames.
In typical Google phone fashion, we’ve already learned a great deal about the Pixel 4a before launch. Early last month, the Pixel 4a was shown off in a high-quality hands-on video. While many of the details are already known, there are some things left to discover. A new report fills in a few of those holes.
Google Pixel devices are traditionally available in three colors: white, black, and a third wildcard option. We’ve seen Really Blue, Not Pink, Purple-ish, Oh So Orange, and more. The folks at 9to5Google are reporting that the Pixel 4a will be available in a light shade of blue called “Barely Blue.” There will also be “Just Black” and the white model we’ve seen in leaks.
The next tidbit of information concerns the storage. We previously reported that the Pixel 4a will have 64GB of UFS 2.1 storage, which makes for much faster app loading times. The new report claims there will also be a 128GB storage option. UFS 2.1 is not mentioned, but we assume it will be the same as the 64GB model. Both models are said to have 6GB of RAM.
Here’s the full list of rumored specifications we know so far:
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 730
GPU: Adreno 618
RAM: 6GB
Internal storage: 64GB/128GB UFS 2.1
Display: Single hole-punch 5.81-inch display, 2,340 x 1,080 resolution, 443 dpi, 60Hz refresh rate
Rear camera : 12 MP sensor + LED flash + 4K video recording
The Pixel 4a was originally expected to be shown off at Google I/O in May, but that event has been canceled. We could see the announcement come at any time in the next few months. The device is expected to cost around $400.
Google Duplex was revealed back at Google I/O 2018. During the reveal, Google amazed the audience by showing off an AI chat service that could make a phone call and undertake telephonic conversations for placing orders and making reservations. The demo conversation was even interspersed with human-like “ums” and “ahhs,” which Google promised it would dial down in an effort to make Duplex more honest. Since its release, Google Duplex has rolled out to more devices, but it has only been available in the US. Now, Google is expanding the service to more regions, namely the UK, Canada, and Australia.
A support page relating to Google Duplex conversations has been quietly updated, as reported by VentureBeat. Google’s AI chat agent can now be used by customers in the UK, Australia, and Canada in a limited capacity. Previously, the support page only provided for phone numbers that Duplex (via Google Assistant) would draw from to call businesses in the US and New Zealand.
This new expansion comes in the backdrop of COVID-19 and the ensuing chaos the pandemic has brought along. Google is leveraging Duplex to let consumers confirm which restaurants are open or closed, giving them valuable information to help them decide whether to leave their house. In a blog post, Google had mentioned that it was increasingly using Duplex to contact businesses to confirm their updated hours in order to accurately display them on Google Search and Google Maps. VentureBeat confirmed that this rollout is part of that effort from Google.
To be clear, this expansion is not for the full Duplex experience that hinged primarily on making restaurant reservations under the Reserve with Google program. Duplex in the UK, Australia, and Canada is currently only limited to ascertaining the current business hours of businesses that are functional. Irrespective of the location, Duplex will explicitly mention at the beginning of the exchange that the call is automated. There is no word on when the full experience will roll out.
Google rolled out the first stable Android 10 update to its Pixel devices all the way back in September last year. Since then, several OEMs have released the update to some of their latest devices and are in the process of rolling it out to older devices. In order to give users an idea of when the update will be available on their devices, a few smartphone manufacturers even shared an update roadmap for their portfolio of devices. Among these was HMD Global, which has successfully managed to stick to the timeline listed in the Android 10 update roadmap so far. The company has already released Android 10 updates for a number of its Nokia branded smartphones, including the Nokia 9 Pureview, Nokia 8.1, Nokia 7.1, Nokia 7 Plus, and more. However, things seem to have slowed down a bit as the company barely managed to meet the timeline for the Nokia 7.2 update last month and is now rolling out the update for the Nokia 4.2, which was also expected to receive it last month.
The company’s Chief Product Officer, Juho Sarvikas, recently announced the Android 10 rollout for the Nokia 4.2 on Twitter and several users on the platform have confirmed that they’ve started receiving the update on their devices. The update introduces all the new features that Google rolled out with Android 10, including a system-wide dark mode, gesture navigation, smart replies, and more. On top of that, it also includes the Android security patches for March 2020. In a post on the Nokia community forums, the company has revealed that the update is being rolled out in a staggered fashion in order to ensure a smooth rollout and it will initially be available to just 10% of users across 43 regions that the company currently operates in. By April 12th, the update will be rolled out to 50% of Nokia 4.2 users and it should reach all users by April 14th.
