Increasing Graphics Performance while Reducing Complexity with HUAWEI CG Kit

The area of computer graphics (CG) research is extensive. Not only is it about exploring new ways to generate and present images through computation and algorithms, but there is also the study of principles behind how these images can be viewed consecutively to portray a sense of motion. At Huawei, their vision is to bring in more cutting-edge CG technologies to the industry.

Having acquired a good amount of technological know-how, coupled with complete hardware expertise, Huawei wants to share their knowledge with the world. In the CG field especially, they want developers to benefit from years of graphics rendering technology by providing improved solutions to enhance app performance.

At the start, Huawei invested a large amount of effort to engage with developers. Through countless interviews, their development team was able to take a deep dive into the trends, pain points, requirements, and industry. Coupled with the industry insights Huawei garnered from the work they’ve done; we gained many precious insights.

In engaging with gaming developers, for example, it was understood that their focus is to make games more fun and expressive. But with the lack of hardware understanding, it is a challenge to perform in-depth graphics optimization. This is especially so when they are faced with business challenges and pressures to trade-off. As a result, they often face a couple of issues – gaps in the implementation of 3D graphics on various platforms, poor high-end image quality rendering, and high power consumption.

In June 2020, Huawei launched the CG Kit as part of their HMS Core 5.0 capabilities. Given the in-depth insights into the CG industry, they were able to develop the CG Rendering Framework that provides better 3D rendering capabilities on Huawei devices. It also supports secondary development, with increased graphics performance while reducing difficulty and complexity, which therefore helps significantly increase image quality, power consumption, and overall development efficiency.

With the CG Kit, developers can now focus on app innovation. We also have team members seconded to our key gaming partners’ offices to conduct joint research and development. By working even closer together, there can be a better understanding of the needs of the industry and their development process to drive further integration between Huawei and developers from a tools and workflow perspective.

At the same time, Huawei not only wants to provide developers with cutting-edge technologies such as super-resolution and animations, but Huawei also wants to grant them a platform with access to the latest graphic innovations in the industry. That way, developers only have to focus on developing content with greater imagination and value.

In the future, CG Kit aims to provide more plug-in capabilities, especially to increase the efficiency of graphic processing. Huawei also aims to drive further development in CG, where CG Kit then becomes a bridge for developers to exchange ideas and experience; to learn from each other. Only then, will we have a more vibrant and diversified ecosystem development community.

We thank HUAWEI for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.

 

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The new Google TV interface will replace Android TV’s UI in the future

At the Made by Google 2020 event yesterday, Google unveiled the new Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, the new Nest Audio, and the new Google Chromecast. The new Chromecast comes with Google TV as one of its highlighting feature. Google TV is not just a simple rebrand to Android TV though, but its not exactly a new version of Android TV too, either. And now, Google has confirmed that the Google TV interface will replace Android TV’s UI in the future.

What is Android TV?

To understand what Google TV is, we do need to back up a little (but not too much since there is actually a Google TV that existed in 2010-2014 too). Android TV was introduced in 2014 as the successor to the Google TV platform from yesteryears, and it was Google’s way of taking back control of the TV platform. Android TV is a special version of Android that is specifically designed for TVs and large screen interfaces. Android TV is not open-sourced, but OEM partners that utilize Android TV on their TVs can “skin” the home screen app for their devices. This is where we see custom UX solutions like Xiaomi’s PatchWall and OnePlus’s OxygenPlay interfaces, focusing largely on content discovery and content aggregation across various different services. But OEMs can also choose to ship Android TV in its default interface, much like what Sony does for its TVs.

Android TV plus Google TV

The new Google Chromecast brings along the new Google TV. This new Google TV is not a rebranding of Android TV as an OS. Instead, it is a custom UX solution that focuses on content discovery and content aggregation that is built on top of Android TV — it is Google’s answer to PatchWall and OxygenPlay.

While PatchWall and OxygenPlay are exclusive to devices from their respective OEMs, Google TV is not meant to be exclusive to Google (excluding 2020). The company will be making Google TV available to other manufacturers that want it as an option on top of Android TV, like Sony, starting in 2021. Beyond the two year point, however, all new Android TV devices have to use the Google TV skin.

Google TV brings along a new Live tab for TV service-type integrations, deeper Assistant integration, and some other changes. Google will also be bringing some Google TV UI features directly to Android TV, so all Android TV devices will have those features.

In a nutshell, Android TV and Android TV + Google TV will co-exist as solutions available to TV companies for the next two years. Google has also promised to update “eligible” devices to the Google TV experience, but details on that have not been shared yet. It also remains to be seen how Google TV’s existence impacts OEM UX solutions, as shipping two content aggregator services on a single device will likely create unneeded duplication. Would you really need two services telling you to watch the same movie?

Google TV app for Android smartphones

In addition to these changes, Google is also rebranding the Google Play Movies & TV app into the Google TV app. The idea behind this rebranding is to bring these content aggregation features to devices beyond TVs, such as your smartphone. Google Play Movies & TV already did this content aggregation, so the name change brings it in line with the Google TV branding and purpose. The rebranding is rolling out as an update over the Google Play Movies & TV app to users in the USA.

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Source: Google, AndroidPolice

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Telegram adds search filters, anonymous admins, and channel comments

Telegram v7.1.1 is now rolling out on the Google Play Store, and it brings a couple of exciting new features to the popular messenger. As per the official announcement post, the latest update for Telegram includes Search Filters, a Remain Anonymous toggle for group admins, Channel Comments support, and some cool new animation effects. Here’s a quick rundown of everything new in the latest Telegram update:

Search Filters

If you’re a frequent Telegram user, you’d know that searching for media, links, files, etc. on the messenger could prove to be a bit of a challenge. To address this, Telegram v7.1.1 brings new Search Filters to the app. As you can see in the attached GIF, the new Search Filters will let you easily find shared media, links, files, chats, music, and more based on a couple of different criteria.

You can use this new feature to search for files by type, time period, or source. For instance, if you want to search for a particular file type, the updated Search feature has new tabs like Media, Links Files, etc. that you can easily access. If you want to search for items shared on a specific date, you can enter the date in the search bar and all the items shared on that date will pop up in the results. And finally, if you wish to look up files shared by a particular person, group, channel, or bot, you can search for it using the search bar.

Furthermore, these new Search Filters can be combined. This means that you’ll be able to look for something as specific as “messages with a link, sent in March 2016, containing the word “boat”.”

Anonymous Group Admins

The privacy-focused nature of Telegram has made it a valuable tool for protestors around the world. The messenger is often used as the primary means of communication for organizing protests for democracy and freedom, and Telegram is now adding another layer of protection for people who organize such protests.

With version 7.1.1, Telegram is adding a new Remain Anonymous setting to Admin rights for groups. Using this setting, group admins will be able to post messages to the group anonymously, as their messages in the chat will be signed with the group name.

Channel Comments

Telegram’s latest update also brings a new comment button for posts on channels with discussion groups. Tapping on the button will let you comment on any post in the channel, and all the comments on a post will show up within a thread of their own. The comments will also show up in the discussion group within channels.

In case you’re not a member of a channel’s discussion group, you will receive a notification every time someone replies to one of your comments via a new chat called Replies. If you’re interested in testing out this new feature, you can visit this channel.

New Telegram Animations

The update also includes a host of new animations for the Telegram app on Android. These include animations for expanding or hiding the keyboard, switching between day and night themes, and pop-ups for deleting messages, changing notifications, saving media, etc. You can check out these animations in the GIF attached below.

Along with the new features mentioned above, the update also brings the ability to let users take a closer look at anyone’s profile picture in a group chat by pressing and holding on the picture. In case you’re using multiple accounts on the platform, Telegram now also lets you preview the chat lists of your other accounts using the same gesture in the accounts switcher.

Furthermore, the update introduces a host of new animated emoji (see above). To share these animated emoji with friends, you can simply send a message with a single emoji. You can download the latest Telegram update from the Google Play Store link below. Alternatively, you can download the latest APK from APKMirror and sideload it on your device.

Telegram (Free, Google Play) →

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Here are all the new Google Camera features on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G

After months of leaks and speculation, the new Google Pixel 5 and the new Google Pixel 4a 5G are here. Both of these represent the latest and greatest hardware that Google can present this year. While the hardware may not be the greatest, Google’s strength has always been in software, and more specifically, camera software. Both the new Pixels come with Google Camera alongside new features. Here are all the new Google Camera features on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G.

Google Pixel 5 Forums ||| Google Pixel 4a 5G Forums

Ultrawide Lens

While not a “Google Camera” feature per se, it is a new change to Google’s camera setup. Gone is the telephoto camera from the Google Pixel 4 series, and in its stead comes a new ultrawide lens. You still get zooming features like Super Res Zoom, but all of it is now handled through software.

While Google could have packed in three cameras, especially at a time when other flagships go as high as five rear cameras, this current situation is a liveable compromise.

Cinematic Pan in Google Camera

The Google Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 come with Cinematic Pan. This gives users shake-free panning on videos, making their videos appear more professional. Google says the ultra-smooth panning is inspired by the equipment that Hollywood directors use. In effect, the panning stabilizes the video and slows it down to give it a cinematic look. This feature is currently available for the new Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, and Google has not mentioned whether the feature will make its way to older devices. (Pssst, Google Camera mods).

Locked and Active Stabilization

Google’s support page for the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G also mentions two other stabilization modes: Locked, and Active, in addition to the Standard Stabilization and the new Cinematic Pan. Standard stabilization is for countering light hand vibrations, Active stabilization is for countering heavy movement, and Locked stabilization is for capturing faraway still shots.

Night Sight in Portrait Mode

Night Sight has been one of Google’s earliest and most impactful camera features, essentially using machine learning and other software wizardry to capture detailed shots even in low light. The feature received several extensions, such as astrophotography, letting users even capture stars using their phone camera. Similarly, Portrait Mode allowed Google to capture images with a bokeh effect without needing a dedicated depth camera in the earlier generations of Pixels. Night Sight in Portrait Mode is a natural culmination of these two features.

Essentially, with Night Sight in Portrait Mode, you get the ability to capture blurred backgrounds even in extremely low light. In both, default and Portrait mode, Night Sight turns on automatically when you take a photo in low-light conditions.

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This is all for the announced new features in the Google Camera on the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5. There are a few more features in Google Photos too, for the new phones. We’ll keep you updated with other features that we spot. Stay tuned!

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Google Pay 2.118 confirms the old app will be replaced by the Flutter one

Last week, the Google Pay team announced that the Google Pay for India app (formerly called “Tez”) is getting a major design rewrite with Flutter, Google’s open-source UI development kit. Google currently maintains two versions of the Pay app: one for global users and one for Indians. In the blog post, Google said they were “looking forward to launching Google Pay on Flutter to everyone across the world on iOS and Android.” Some took that to mean that the existing app for global users will be rebuilt with Flutter, while others took it to mean that the old app will be killed off. Tonight, Google Pay version 2.118 rolled out on the Play Store, and it confirms that the latter will happen.

T

The new Google Pay app built with Flutter.

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.

Strings within the APK state that there will be a “deprecation prompt” that will inform users to download the new version of the app.

<string name="deprecation_prompt_get_gp3">Get the new GPay</string>
<string name="deprecation_prompt_install_gp3">Download the new Google Pay</string>
<string name="deprecation_prompt_open_gp3">Open the new GPay</string>
<string name="deprecation_prompt_switch_to_gp3">Use the latest Google Pay</string>

There’s also a new Activity with more details on the app migration. The screen tells users that they’ll “still find [their] favorite features, plus track spending, get helpful insights, earn unique rewards, and more!” If you tap the “Get the new GPay” button at the bottom, the Play Store listing for the former Google Pay for India app will be launched. Currently, the new app is still regionally restricted, so I am unable to directly download it from the Play Store onto my own device.

Old:

Google Pay: Pay with your phone and send cash (Free, Google Play) →

New:

Google Pay - a simple and secure payment app (To be announced, Google Play) →

Once Google starts prompting users to migrate to the new Google Pay app built with Flutter, we’ll let you all know.

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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Unofficial LineageOS 17.1 brings Android 10 to NVIDIA SHIELD TVs

Towards the end of last month, NVIDIA rolled out SHIELD Software Experience 8.2 with several improvements for its SHIELD TV lineup of devices. The update introduced enhancements for the AI upscaler feature on the 2019 SHIELD TVs and new customization options for the SHIELD remote’s menu button, along with improved IR and CEC volume control support. But while the update brings a couple of new features to NVIDIA’s Android TV boxes, it’s still based on the older Android 9 Pie release. Thankfully, XDA Recognized Developer Steel01 has now released an unofficial build of LineageOS 17.1 based on Android 10 for the NVIDIA SHIELD TV lineup, if you’re hoping to try a newer OS version.

NVIDIA SHIELD TV Forums

The unofficial LineageOS 17.1 build for NVIDIA Shield TVs allows users to run a heavily customizable, near-stock Android 10 experience on their Android TV boxes. If you’re interested in trying out the build on your NVIDIA SHIELD TV, you can download the installation package from the forum thread linked below. However, before you go ahead and flash the build, do note that it’s a very early release and you may experience several issues while using it on your device.

Steel01 notes that in its current form, the LineageOS 17.1 build has all the issues that affect the existing LineageOS 16 build for the devices, including gamma problems that result in washed-out colors and a bug that disables audio if the device goes to sleep with the screensaver turned on. While the developer has shared an easy workaround for the second issue, there’s currently no fix for the gamma problems affecting the build. On top of that, the build doesn’t come with Google apps pre-installed, so you’ll have to flash the OpenGApps TVMini package separately in order to get access to Google apps on your NVIDIA SHIELD TV. The build is compatible with all versions of NVIDIA’s SHIELD TVs.

Download Unofficial LineageOS 17.1 for the NVIDIA SHIELD TVs

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Get Started in Software Engineering With 41 Hours of Training for $39

Every time you open an app or talk to your smart speaker, you benefit from the work of a software engineer. These highly skilled individuals are always in demand, and they get to work on some fascinating projects. The Super Software Engineer Bundle helps you break into this lucrative career, with 41 hours of beginner-friendly training for just $39 at the XDA Developers Depot. 

For anyone who enjoys problem-solving, software engineering is a brilliant career path. Based in computer science, this role is all about coming up with creative coding solutions. It also happens to be extremely well paid — the median salary is $110,000 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Featuring seven courses, this bundle is the perfect starting point for aspiring engineers. Through 41 hours of hands-on tutorials, you learn how to craft unique software for various purposes. Along the way, you get started with several popular languages and frameworks.

The training helps you code for the Internet of Things, create automations for robots, explore artificial intelligence, and dabble in data science with Python. You also get hours of lessons on Java, Angular, MongoDB, and more.

You should come away with the skills and portfolio to find work, plus certificates of completion. The bundle also includes lifetime access, so you can revise at any time.

This training is worth $2,500 in total, but you can get all seven courses today for just $39.

 

The Super Software Engineer Bundle – $39

See Deal

Prices subject to change

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