Chrome OS may add a Phone Hub to manage notifications and pick up where you left off on Android

As part of Google’s suite of “Better Together” features, Chrome OS already offers easy integration with your Android phone for things like text/RCS messages, automatic Wi-Fi hotspot, and Smart Lock. Now, according to a recent report from 9to5Google, Google is working to expand Chrome OS’ integration with Android devices with a new “Phone Hub” feature.

A recent code change discovered on the Chromiun Gerrit points towards the upcoming Phone Hub feature flag, which “Provides a UI for users to view information about their Android phone and perform phone-side actions within Chrome OS.” The feature is expected to offer deeper integration between Chrome OS and Android devices, as the only information and “phone-side” actions currently available to users are viewing and responding to text/RCS messages.

Another code change regarding the feature reveals that the Phone Hub will be located in a new section of the Connected Devices page, right below instant tethering, smart lock, and Messages. The section will include three new settings, namely Phone Hub Notifications, Phone Hub Notifications Badge, and Phone Hub Task Continuation. While the code change doesn’t highlight what exactly will be available to users in the task continuation feature, 9to5Google suggests that the feature will let users seamlessly continue tasks from their Android device on a Chromebook.

As of now, it isn’t clear whether the Task Continuation feature will just let users move Chrome tabs between devices or if it will also allow users to continue app activity on their Chromebook. Since Phone Hub is still in its early stages of development, we currently only know that the feature will utilize Bluetooth to connect your Chrome OS device with your Android device. We also aren’t sure if the feature will require users to install a separate app on their Android devices.

It’s worth noting that Windows 10 offers a similar Your Phone feature which allows users to send and receive text messages, manage photos on their Android device, and use their phone’s media controls right from their Windows 10 machine. For Samsung devices, the Your Phone feature also lets users manage cross-device clipboards and view their device’s screen.

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Via: 9to5Google

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Mozilla rolls out Firefox 79 for Android with a year’s worth of changes

Mozilla Firefox is among the most popular alternatives to Google Chrome for both — mobile devices and desktops. Despite competition from Chrome, Mozilla Corporation — the organization behind Firefox — has been rolling out several updates over the years to keep their desktop and mobile apps relevant. After overhauling their desktop browser, known by its interim name “Firefox Quantum,” Mozilla has been working to upgrade the mobile browser — temporarily recognized as Fenix — for about a year. The new avatar has been available in the Preview channel (which was recently merged with the Nightly channel) for quite some time and is finally rolling out to the stable channel as Firefox 79 for Android, albeit without one key feature.

In July 2018, Mozilla for Android entered the maintenance phase to focus on developing an entirely new version without a new codebase instead of updating the existing one. Firefox for Android hasn’t received a major update since July last year and is now making a jump straight from version 68 to 79.

Among the new feature, Firefox 79 for Android brings a clean and modern UI. The codebase and thus, the functionality is the same as the Preview builds but one feature that’s lacking on the stable build is proper support for add-ons (a.k.a. extensions). Mozilla only starting adding support for add-ons on Firefox Preview/Nightly back in February this year. It added five more add-ons in April, and then another three earlier this month. As of now, the total number of add-ons supported on the stable as well as the Nightly channels is only nine. This means that Firefox for Android loses access to thousands of extensions that were supported on the previous versions.

While it is understandable that the complete migration of add-ons to the new codebase requires time, release without proper support is bound to disappoint those who like to use specific extensions avidly. If you want to continue using those add-ons, you may have to stick to the older version of Firefox for Android. But if you’re among those who want a cleaner and faster browser experience, you can go ahead and either update the app from the Google Play Store or download the latest version from APK Mirror.

Download Firefox 79 for Android from APK Mirror

Firefox Browser: fast, private & safe web browser (Free, Google Play) →

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Via: Android Police

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Download: Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 and Redmi Note 7S receive stable beta Android 10 update with MIUI 11

Update 2 (07/29/2020 @ 02:59 AM ET): Xiaomi has started rolling out Redmi Note 7’s Android 10 update to the European variant.

Update 1 (07/20/2020 @ 05:40 PM ET): The Redmi Note 7 is now receiving Android 10 for the global region. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on July 9, 2020, is preserved below.

Launched back in 2019, Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 7 brought 48MP camera to the masses. The company decided to use a different camera sensor on the Indian variant, but they quickly phased out the initial model in favor of the Redmi Note 7S with a 48 MP primary rear camera. There is virtually no difference between the regular Redmi Note 7 and the Note 7S except the camera. Both models share a common code-name (“lavender”), thus their firmware packages are identical as well.

Redmi Note 7/7S XDA Forums

The factory-installed operating system on the phone duo was MIUI 10 on top of Android 9 Pie. The MIUI 11 update kept the underlying Android layer intact for them, but the phones have received a taste of Android 10 via MIUI 12-based closed beta builds. Xiaomi is now rolling out the Android 10 update for the Redmi Note 7/7S through the stable channel of MIUI, but there are a few stumbling blocks you should be aware of.

First of all, the stable build is still based on MIUI 11, not MIUI 12. Moreover, the company treats the current update as a “stable beta”, which means an authorized Mi Account might be required to sideload the ZIP file. Once Xiaomi marks it to be stable enough, they are going to flip a server-side switch that will eventually remove the need for such authorization before flashing. Alternatively, they could also release new builds with additional bug fixes.

The software version of the new build is V11.0.2.0.QFGxxXM, and it bumps the Android security patch level (SPL) to June 2020. The OTA is rolling out in China and India as of now, while other regional variants should get their updates soon. In case the bootloader of your Redmi Note 7/7S is unlocked and you want to install the updated build right now, either pick the appropriate Recovery ROM from the following table and flash using TWRP or straightaway choose the Fastboot ROM to bypass the Mi Account authorization requirement.

Redmi Note 7/7S (lavender) — MIUI 11 Android 10 Download Links

Region	Build Number	Recovery ROM	Fastboot ROM
China	V11.0.2.0.QFGCNXM	Download Link	Download Link
India	V11.0.2.0.QFGINXM	Download Link	–
Global	V11.0.1.0.QFGMIXM	Download Link	–
Europe	V11.0.1.0.QFGEUXM	Download Link	–

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Thanks to XDA Recognized Developer yshalsager for providing the download links!

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Blurry photo of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 leaks, showing off the hole-punch display

Samsung is gearing up to unpack a load of new consumer tech at the Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event on August 5. Among the five devices to be launched at the event is the next generation bump of Samsung’s first foldable device. Seemingly called the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, instead of just the “Galaxy Fold 2”, there is a lot of excitement around the device as it marks a step of refinement for the series. Samsung has had a few foldable opportunities now, with the first Galaxy Fold, then the “fixed” version, then the Galaxy Z Flip, and the more recent Galaxy Z Flip 5G. Now, a leaked photo gives us an early look at the Galaxy Z Fold 2’s massive front.

This leaked photo of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 shows off the internal display of the phone, the one that actually folds along its central axis.

While there isn’t much that you can take away with a cursory glance on this photo, apart from the new name on the boot splashscreen, one can notice the hole-punch display if you take a very close look. Here is an edited photo that enunciates the hole-punch better:

As you can see now, the internal display on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 will have a single hole-punch front camera, centered on the right half of the screen. The protective lip around the device no longer has an extension for the hole punch. This is a big change from the front cameras present on the first generation device, which had a noticeably unique notch setup, as pictured below:

Front camera setup on the first-gen Samsung Galaxy Fold

Previous reports suggested the possibility of an under-display camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 2, but that no longer appears to be the case. Other than this, the new device is expected to come with a 7.7″ interior display, a larger exterior display, plenty of RAM and storage, the latest processors, 5G capabilities, and will continue to exclude the S Pen. We should learn more in the coming days.

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Source: Naver (deleted)
Rehosted by: @hwangmh01

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Google Assistant is testing a floating Chat Head bubble

Android 11 is coming soon and one of the big new features is “Bubbles.” These floating Bubbles for conversations have been around since Android Q Beta 2, but they’re getting more prominent in Android 11. Google is also testing a similar Chat Head-like bubble for Google Assistant.

“Chat Heads” is a feature from Facebook Messenger that has been around for a very long time. Notification Bubbles are the same concept. Your conversations can float on top of whatever you’re doing for quick access. We imagine that’s the same idea behind the Google Assistant bubble. Users won’t need to press a hardware button or perform a gesture to bring up the Assistant. It’s always right there on the screen.

According to an APK teardown performed by 9to5Google, Google app 11.21 includes two strings that describe the functionality. There is a tutorial that details how you can “Tap to talk to your Assistant.” Another string mentions how you can drag the bubble to the bottom of the screen to dismiss it, and this string refers to the feature as “Assistant Chat Head.”

Currently, the functionality is extremely basic. Tapping the floating bubble, which is simply the Google Assistant icon, brings up the Assistant panel from the bottom of the screen. The bubble can be dragged to any edge. We’re not sure if there will be a new UI to go along with the bubble when this feature is made official. It’s also not clear at this time how to open the Assistant Chat Head.

Is this a feature you would use? It seems redundant with all the other ways to launch Google Assistant, but not every device has those. This is yet another way Google can make sure people have easy access to the Assistant.

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Source: 9to5Google

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Google Stadia can now play games over 4G and 5G mobile data

Google Stadia launched last year as the company’s ambitious entry into the growing market of game streaming services. Understandably, Stadia was limited to Wi-Fi networks at launch. After all, streaming games from the cloud could rack up data usage quickly. If that doesn’t matter to you, it’s now possible to play games over 4G and 5G.

Streaming games over 4G and 5G comes to the platform via a Stadia Experiment that launches today. Users who wish to be able to play games on the go can opt-in to the Experiment in the settings of the Stadia app for Android. Tap your avatar in the top right corner, select Experiments, and then choose Use Mobile Data. 9to5Google estimates that Stadia consumes 2.7GB per hour, which suggests that the streaming quality is 360p.

Google didn’t reveal what the actual streaming quality will be, but we’d hope to see better than 360p on 5G. Carriers boast about all the amazing capabilities of 5G, but that doesn’t mean much is services are limiting streaming quality. This is just the beginning of mobile streaming for Stadia, though, so we’ll have to wait and see.

One side effect of playing games over 4G and 5G is you can’t use the Stadia Controller. The controller must be on the same Wi-Fi network as your phone, which obviously makes it impossible to use on the go. You’re stuck with the on-screen controls or a wired controller. The option is still rolling out to the Android app, so hand tight if you don’t see it yet.

Stadia (Free, Google Play) →

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Source: Stadia

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Developer ports LineageOS 17.1 based on Android 10 to the Raspberry Pi 4 B, 3 B+, and 3 B

Ever since its release in 2012, the Raspberry Pi has become synonymous with single board computers (SBCs). The latest iteration of this credit card-sized computer, the Raspberry Pi 4, comes with up to 8GB of RAM and ARM64 support. The Raspberry Pi Foundation provides Raspberry Pi OS (formerly called Raspbian) as the default operating system, while various IoT focused distributions such as Windows 10 IoT Core are officially supported as well. Now, XDA Senior Member KonstaT has been able to compile a full-fledged build of Android 10 in the form of LineageOS 17.1 for both the Raspberry Pi 4 (B) and the Raspberry Pi 3 (B/B+).

Raspberry Pi XDA Forums

Peter Yoon, better known as peyo-hd in the android-rpi community, and several other contributors originally started the effort to port Android to the Raspberry Pi boards. To ensure stability, KonstaT further took bits and pieces from the Android Things firmware while building LineageOS. On top of that, Eric Anholt‘s open-source Linux graphics driver stack for the Broadcom VideoCore 4 GPU (present in the Raspberry Pi) made the whole porting process less troublesome.

The complete list of working features includes the following:

• Audio (HDMI, 3.5mm jack, USB microphones, bluetooth speakers/headsets, etc)
• Audio DAC (using PCM512x DACs e.g. Hifiberry DAC+)
• Bluetooth
• Camera (using official Pi camera modules & UVC USB webcams with SwiftShader software renderer)
• GPIO
• GPS (using external USB modules e.g. U-Blox 7)
• Ethernet
• Hardware accelerated graphics (V3D/VC4)
• HDMI display
• I2C
• IR remotes (using external GPIO IR modules e.g. TSOP4838)
• RTC (using external GPIO I2C modules e.g. DS3231)
• Serial console (using external GPIO serial console adapters e.g. PL2303)
• SPI
• Touchscreen/multi-touch (using official 7” display with SwiftShader software renderer)
• USB (mouse, keyboard, storage, etc)
• Wi-Fi
• Wi-Fi tethering

Unlike typical Android smartphones, the concept of bootloader unlocking isn’t applicable to the Pi. You need to download the model-specific LineageOS image file, write it to a microSD card (>=8GB), insert the card into the Pi, and just boot it. Due to the fact that you don’t need a custom recovery to flash the ZIP file at the beginning, there is no separate recovery to download, although TWRP comes as the pre-configured recovery environment.

Download LineageOS 17.1 (Android 10) for the Raspberry Pi: Pi 4 B ||| Pi 3 B/B+

LineageOS on the Raspberry Pi 4/3 runs in 32-bit mode, thus you have to opt for ARM variants of Google apps packages. Moreover, the aforementioned builds require HDMI displays that report supported resolutions using Extended Display Identification Data (EDID). In case you have an incompatible display and can’t see the Android boot animation after the bootup screen, then you may need to manually change the value of debug.drm.mode.force property in /system/build.prop.

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