MIUI 10 announced with a new Recents menu, AI features, and more

MIUI 9 was announced back in July 2017. The global version of MIUI 9 was launched in November, and since then, Xiaomi has slowly updated most of its smartphones with MIUI 9. MIUI 9 brought performance improvements, while the incremental MIUI 9.5 update also brought notification handling behavior in MIUI in line with stock Android. At an event in China, Xiaomi announced MIUI 10, the successor of MIUI 9, alongside the launch of the Mi 8, Mi 8 Explorer Edition, and the Mi 8 SE.

It should be noted that many details about MIUI 10 aren't currently known yet. An unreleased MIUI 9 build for the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 was actually an early build of MIUI 10. MIUI 9's China and Global ROMs have significant differences in functionality, so it's unclear for now whether all the announced details apply for the global version of MIUI 10 (which has not been launched yet) as well.

MIUI 10 is powered by AI, according to Xiaomi. AI features include AI Portrait and AI Preload. AI Portrait offers a software feature to allow phones to take photos with the bokeh effect without needing dual cameras. Smartphones with MIUI 10 will be able to use algorithms to identify the foreground and blur the background.

AI Preload is said to help reduce load times for apps and UI functions. This is because, according to Xiaomi, MIUI 10 will already pre-load the app based on the user's usage patterns and daily routine. It's worth noting that Huawei also uses AI to improve long-term performance in its smartphones.

MIUI 10 features a UI redesign. The new UI is optimized for smartphones with high screen-to-body ratios and thin bezels, according to the company. Also, MIUI 10 has a brand new Recents app menu. The Recents app menu in MIUI 9 was a sideways scrolling card switcher, while MIUI 10 has a 2×2 app list to enable more apps to be seen at once. The layout maximizes screen space. The Recents menu supports full screen gestures and lets users swipe to delete tasks and long press for more options.

Xiaomi stated that Mi Ecosystem devices will be directly controlled by MIUI 10 without the need for a secondary app. MIUI 10 also has a new car mode that optimizes the layout on the user's device for better navigation while driving. New voice commands are available for answering a call, reply to a text message, and change the route.

Finally, the company detailed that the closed beta MIUI 10 China Developer ROM will start on Friday, June 1, for the Mi 8, Mi Mix 2S, Mi Mix 2, Mi Mix, Mi 6X, Mi 6, Mi 5, Mi Note 2, Redmi S2, and Redmi Note 5 eligible. The public beta will start in late June for the same eligible devices. In late July, the public beta will be available for Mi Note 3, Mi 5X, Mi 5c, Mi 5s, Mi 5s Plus, Mi 4, Mi 4c, Mi 4S, Mi Max 2, Mi Max, Redmi 5, Redmi 5A, Redmi 5 Plus, Redmi 4, Redmi 4A, Redmi 4X, Redmi 3S/ Redmi 3X, Redmi Pro, Redmi Note 5A, Redmi Note 4 Qualcomm/ Redmi Note 4X, Redmi Note 4 (MediaTek), and Redmi Note 3 (Qualcomm).

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Arm announces the Cortex-A76 CPU, the Mali-G76 GPU, and the Mali-V76 VPU

Arm is an important player in the mobile industry. The company's Cortex CPUs are used by all vendors in the Android SoC space, while its Mali GPUs are used by Samsung, HiSilicon, and MediaTek.

For a few years now, Arm has had a tradition of announcing its new mobile products at TechDay. TechDay 2017 brought the Arm Cortex-A75 and the Mali-G72, while 2016's TechDay brought the Cortex-A73 and the Mali-G71. At TechDay 2018, the company has announced three products. The first is the Cortex-A76 CPU. Then we have the Mali-G76 GPU, which is followed by the Mali-V76 VPU (Video Processing Unit).

Let's take a look at these announcements one-by-one:

Arm Cortex-A76 CPU

The background

For the most part, Arm's Cortex CPUs have had a good record in performance and power efficiency. There have been mistakes made along the way such as the power-hungry Cortex-A57 in 2015, which regressed in terms of efficiency (doubly so when coupled with poor implementations of the core such as in the Snapdragon 810). Since then, however, Arm's results have spoken for itself.

The Cortex-A72 in 2016 was a great CPU that was overall faster and more efficient than its main competitors, the Samsung Exynos M1 used in the Exynos 8890 and the original custom Kryo core in the Snapdragon 820. It was not able to compete head-to-head with Apple's A series chips, but in the Android world, it was a huge step forward from the Cortex-A57.

The Cortex-A73 in 2017 brought low single-digit performance improvements, but proved to be significantly more power efficient than the Cortex-A72. In terms of efficiency, it beat Samsung's Exynos M2 CPU (used in the Exynos 8895), while managing to have equivalent performance. SoCs using the Cortex-A73 included the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and the HiSilicion Kirin 970. The two SoCs were acclaimed for providing much improved efficiency. The core has also made its way to mid-range SoCs, including the Snapdragon 660, Snapdragon 636, and the MediaTek Helio P60.

This year, Qualcomm uses the Cortex A75 in the form of its "semi-custom" Kryo 385 Gold cores. HiSilicon has yet to announce a new SoC for 2018, while Samsung kept following the custom core path with the highly ambitious, yet poorly implemented Exynos 9810. Reviews and testing have found the Cortex-A75-based Kryo 385 Gold in the Snapdragon 845 to have achieved a respectable 25-30% performance improvement over its predecessor. The A75 is also used in the newly announced Snapdragon 710.

This brings us to the Cortex-A76 — the likely CPU of choice for late 2018 / 2019 SoCs.

According to Arm, the Cortex-A76 uses a new microarchitecture that enables 35 percent more performance. The company is promoting the Cortex-A76 as a CPU with "laptop-class performance." It's intended for mobile devices such as smartphones as well as Windows on ARM laptops.

The Cortex-A76 is based on Arm's DynamIQ technology, which was announced last year alongside the Cortex-A75. According to the company, it delivers laptop-class performance while maintaining the power efficiency of a smartphone. In terms of numbers, Arm is promising a 35 percent improvement over the Cortex-A75, which is substantial as a year-over-year improvement. This comes alongside a figure of 40 percent improved efficiency over its predecessor.

Arm also mentions that performance will be up by 28 percent in Geekbench. This should mean that the A76 will be able to match the Exynos M3 in this regard, while having significantly better power efficiency. JavaScript performance is improved by 35 percent. The performance improvements have been achieved thanks to the fact that the A76 has 25 percent more integer IPC (Instructions Per Clock) than the Cortex-A73. It also has 90 percent more bandwidth. Floating point (FP) performance is increased by 35 percent.

The Cortex-A76 also delivers 4x compute performance improvements for AI/machine learning, according to Arm. The CPU is projected by Arm to ship in 3GHz configuration on TSMC 7nm products. Technical details about the new CPU can be read here. It's likely that the CPU will ship in commercial products by the end of 2018.

Arm Mali-G76 GPU

The Mali-G76 GPU is the successor to the Mali-G72, which itself was the successor to the Mali-G71.

The G71 was the first Mali GPU based on the new Bifrost architecture, succeeding the Midgard architecture. Mali GPUs are used by the likes of Samsung, HiSilicon, and MediaTek, while Qualcomm uses its own GPU architecture in its Adreno GPUs.

Up until now, Mali GPUs haven't been able to compete head-to-head in terms of sustained performance and power efficiency against their rivals. The Mali-G71 in particular showed poor power efficiency. The Mali-G72 did manage to achieve solid gains in both performance and power efficiency, but this is one area where Qualcomm continues to enjoy a significant lead over the competition in terms of performance-per-watt.

The Mali-G76 will improve Arm's competitive situation. The company is promising 30 percent more efficiency and 30 percent performance density. Maximum performance is higher by 25 percent. Machine learning (ML) improvements are quoted at 2.7x. More technical details about the new GPU can be read here.

Arm Mali-V76 VPU

The Mali-V76 succeeds the Mali-V61, which was released in 2016. A VPU (video processor) is an encoder/decoder, which means that it can encode and decode video. The Mali-V76 supports 8K decode up to 60FPS or four 4K streams at 60FPS. According to Arm, this gives consumers the opportunity to record video while video conferencing, or watch four games in 4K. At Full HD resolution, the video processor supports up to 16 streams of content, creating a 4×4 video wall.

The VPU has 2x decode performance, is 40% smaller than its predecessor, and has a 25 percent encode quality improvement.

Technical details about the Mali-V76 can be read here.

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Asus is working on a Windows 10 on ARM device with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 1000

The Windows 10 on ARM project is pretty interesting in itself. Microsoft is aiming to bring the full Windows 10 desktop experience–which was, since its initial launch, an x86-only OS–to ARM-based SoCs, including support for full, desktop-grade apps and games. It was initially demoed with last year's Snapdragon 835 processor, and while it worked fine for most use cases, it was still not quite perfect, having a whole lot of limitations like a lack of OpenGL support and primarily serving as a proof-of-concept. Asus seems to be ready to take the lead when it becomes more mature and usable for the wider audience, however, and Qualcomm wants to begin setting the ground as well with the alleged Snapdragon 1000.

Since 2013, Qualcomm has featured 4 main SoC lines under the Snapdragon moniker: 2xx, which is for the rock bottom spectrum of the market, 4xx, meant for budget phones, 6xx, meant for midrange devices (and further extended with the new 7xx line) and 8xx, meant for flagships. There's very little information regarding the Snapdragon 1000 at the moment, but it looks like it wouldn't be a successor of the current Snapdragon 845 or an extension of the 8xx line. Rather, it'd fit into an entirely new line focused solely on ARM-based laptops. Maximum power dissipation for the Snapdragon 1000 is allegedly hovering 6.5 watts versus 5 watts for the 845, either suggesting a higher number of cores or a brutal increase in performance–putting it right in the laptop ballgame.

Asus is apparently looking into becoming the first Snapdragon 1000 supplier. Working directly with Qualcomm on a Windows 10 on ARM device codenamed "Primus" and powered by this rumored SoC. It's still very early to have verifiable rumors and leaks regarding this device. We don't know for sure whether it's a laptop, a convertible notebook, or a tablet. We also don't know when will it actually be coming to store shelves, but if it'll serve as the first SD1000 device, then it might come shortly after Qualcomm officially unveils it.

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Source: WinFuture

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Nokia 5.1, Nokia 3.1, and Nokia 2.1 forums are now open

It's been a big week for Nokia as the company launched three new smartphones while also bringing some highly requested features to their current roster of devices. The launch of the Nokia 2.1, Nokia 3.1 and the Nokia 5.1 is what took center stage for the company, though, as they serve as the company's successors to their 2017 smartphone lineup. Naturally, this means the Nokia 2.1 will serve as their 2018 low-end smartphone with its 5.5″ 720p display and Snapdragon 425 SoC. This is followed by the mid-range Nokia 3.1 and its 5.2″ HD+ screen paired with the MediaTek MT6750 SoC. Lastly, we have the Nokia 5.1 which is an upper mid-range smartphone with a 5.5″ FHD+ smartphone rocking the MediaTek Helio P18 chipset.

The Nokia 3.1 will be available sometime in June while the Nokia 2.1 and Nokia 5.1 will be held back a bit for a July launch window. The forums for all three of these new devices are now open and ready for the community.

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Nokia 2.1 XDA Forum Nokia 3.1 XDA Forum Nokia 5.1 XDA Forum

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How to build LineageOS 15.1 on a Windows 10 PC

LineageOS is the most popular custom AOSP-based ROM out there. The latest version, LineageOS 15.1, is based on Android 8.1 Oreo and the official roster has grown significantly since release. The team is always looking for more help whether it's by adding new features or supporting more devices. If you are interested in contributing to the project but don't want to switch your PC's operating system to a GNU/Linux distribution, XDA Senior Member Uldiniad has put together a step by step guide that shows you how to build LineageOS 15.1 on Windows 10.

The process requires that you set up the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) so while you technically can't avoid using Linux, at least this allows you to still keep Windows installed. Just like building on Linux, your machine should have an SSD of at least 256GB in size and at least 16GB of RAM. You'll also need to be on the latest Skip Ahead Insider Preview builds so you can take advantage of all the latest WSL features. If you're looking to upgrade your PC hardware so it'll be capable of building at an adequate speed, check out XDA's PC hardware reviews by Daniel Moran to get a sense of what you should consider.

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How to build LineageOS 15.1 on Windows 10

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The Android Go Alcatel 1X goes on sale in the US next week for $100

Google introduced Android Go as a specially designed version of Android that was to be used by smartphone OEMs on ultra low-end smartphones. This allows Google to continue developing the regular branch of Android for more modern hardware while also offering something special for those emerging markets. So far Android has done well for these emerging markets, but these low-cost Android smartphones can find success in the more developed markets as well. This is why Alcatel is launching the Android Go-powered 1X in the United States next week for less than $100.

We've known that Alcatel has been busy working on a handful of new smartphones for their 2018 lineup. As the year has gone by they have brought more devices to market, but it was all the way back in February of this year when we learned about the specs of the Alcatel 1X. It was then when we learned that the Alcatel 1X was going to be the company's Android Go smartphone and that it would be shipping with a 5.3-inch FWVGA 18:9 display. Inside the Alcatel 1X is sporting the MediaTek MT6739 SoC and its base model will have 1GB of RAM.

Today's announcement shows that Alcatel is going forward with this device and that they will also be selling it in the United States for under $100 at Amazon. It has 16GB of expandable storage, an 8MP rear camera paired with a 5MP front-facing shooter, and is powered by a 2,460mAh capacity battery. Android Go is going to be a big selling point for a lot of people, though, so customers will also be using all of Android Go specific applications that come with the platform. This includes Google Go, Google Maps Go, Gmail Go, Google Assistant Go, and even some optimized applications such as Facebook Lite.

The Alcatel 1X with Android Oreo (Go edition) will work on GSM unlocked networks and will be available for purchase via Amazon next week while also coming to Walmart and Best Buy "in the coming weeks."

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Source: PR Newswire

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Developers can restrict Android Go devices from downloading their apps

Android Oreo (Go Edition), also simply called Android Go, is Google's solution to the growing importance of emerging markets where budget devices reign supreme. Android Go is Android 8.1 Oreo optimized for low-end hardware; it's basically just a set of build configurations and special Go edition applications designed to run on hardware with as little as 512MB of RAM. The (now defunct) ZTE Tempo Go, Alcatel 1X, Nokia 1, and Nokia 2.1 are just some of the budget phones running Android Oreo (Go Edition). For developers looking to get new users, it's important to optimize their apps to run on low-end hardware. But if you have no interest or cannot reasonably optimize your app to run on Go edition devices, then you'll be happy to know that the Google Play Console now lets you add exclusion rules to prevent your apps from being downloaded on them.

Users can still side-load your APK, though. If you simply wish to prevent users on budget hardware from having a poor experience with your app (and thus rating your app poorly), then this is a quick way to prevent that from happening on at least a small subset of budget devices. Still, it's better to optimize your app as much as you can anyway because the majority of Android users are on budget hardware.

If you wish to set up device exclusion rules for Android Oreo (Go Edition) devices then here are the instructions on how to do so, copied below from Google's support page. The instructions also tell you how to exclude users based on passing SafetyNet Attestation APIs (just like Netflix), but we really hope you don't have to resort to that.

Set up device exclusion rules for SafetyNet or Android (Go edition)

1. Sign in to your Play Console.
2. Select an app.
3. On the left menu, select Device catalog.
4. Select the "Excluded devices" tab.
5. Next to "Exclusion rules," select Manage exclusion rules.
6. Next to "SafetyNet Exclusions" or "Android Go Exclusions," select an option:
   • SafetyNet Exclusions
     • Don't exclude devices based on SafetyNet Attestation API: Selected by default.
     • Exclude only devices that don't pass basic integrity: This helps you determine whether the particular device has been tampered with or otherwise modified.
     • Exclude devices that don't pass basic integrity, as well as devices that are uncertified by Google: This helps you determine whether the particular device has been tampered with, otherwise modified, or hasn't been certified by Google.
   • Android Go Exclusions
     • Don't exclude Android Go devices: Selected by default.
     • Exclude Android Go devices: Prevent devices running Android Oreo (Go edition) from installing your app on Google Play.

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Samsung wins case that would have forced them to update older phones

If you ask an Android enthusiast which smartphone you should buy they'll likely suggest one that has a good reputation when it comes to software updates. This mean something in the Google Pixel line or it could be one that has a dedicated developer community behind it. Either way, timely and extended software updates is a feature that many of us look for but it's something that we rarely see these days. A consumer association recently took Samsung to court claiming the company should provide at least 4 years worth of Android updates to their phones, but the court ended up ruling in Samsung's favor in the matter.

Most OEMs will support their flagship devices for two full years after they have been released. Some companies, including Google, have extended this support period by one year, but only when it comes to security updates. Google has been working to make things easier for Android OEMs to support devices they no longer sell, but it ends up being a poor business decision unless they have data that shows the company is losing sales as a result of it. However, we're getting to the point where Android is a highly targeted operating system and this means it has become a major target of malware developers.

It makes sense that a consumer association took Samsung to court in an attempt to force the company to support their devices with Android updates for 4 years after release. Samsung feels their 2-year support cycle is good enough and their update frequency is "reasonable" enough too. The case was brought to court in the Netherlands and the court ended up ruling in Samsung's favor. The court believes the claims made by the association were "inadmissible" since they related to "future acts."

So for instance, if a severe issue was discovered in the future then Samsung may make the decision to update all of their devices on the market. Not only that, but the court says there may be a case where Samsung isn't able to update the software due to the nature of the bug and/or the limitations of the hardware. So it would be unfair to hold Samsung liable for something like that.

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Source: BCC

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Pro Camera mode is now available for the Nokia 8

Before Nokia dove into the Android smartphone market, the company was making devices that used Microsoft's mobile operating system. That platform has since died, but the Nokia Lumia series of smartphones still holds a strong place in a lot of people's hearts. Most Android enthusiasts had little interest in switching over to a Windows-based mobile platform, but it was clear that the Nokia Lumia was able to produce some incredible looking photos. This is why news of the Pro Camera mode making its way to the upcoming Nokia 8 has owners excited.

One of the big selling points for the Nokia Lumia smartphones was the impressive camera quality that came along with it. When looking back to that era, buying a smartphone that also produced impressive photos was actually slim pickings. Over time we've seen many Android OEMs step up to fill the gap as they have learned this is actually a make or break feature for some customers. So when Nokia came back as a new Android smartphone brand it left many wondering how long it would take before they would embrace their smartphone camera heritage.

Take control of every photo. I'm glad to announce that Pro Camera mode is now available for #Nokia8 ! pic.twitter.com/q2sTWh3IvU

— Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) May 31, 2018

As the newly formed company grew we started to see this happen more and more and it's something that we covered just last month with the Lumia's pro camera mode for the Nokia 7. The pro camera mode was one of the most popular features of the camera app from the Lumia phones and we're now seeing it brought to the Android smartphones. Early this morning Juho Sarvikas, the Chief Product Officer at HMD Global, announced that the pro camera mode is finally available for the Nokia 8 and current customers can now start using its features thanks to the new update.

This new camera mode lets you adjust the white balance, manually focus the photo, adjust the ISO of the image, set a manual shutter speed, adjust the exposure of the photo and more.

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Real-time Google Lens with Style Match and Smart Text Selection now rolling out widely

Over the last couple of years, Google Lens has been able to garner a lot of attention from the tech community during the company's annual developer conference. One of the highlights from Google I/O 2018 was the fact that Google Lens will soon start to work in real-time and that it would be receiving a couple of new features. This includes features like Style Match and Smart Text Selection, but we had yet to learn exactly when those features would be rolling out to the community. We're now seeing reports that these new real-time features are rolling out to the community as we speak.

In case you missed it, Google showed off a number of new Google Lens features on stage at Google I/O earlier this year. One of the new features is being called Style Match and it offers a way for you to search for similar products online by simply pointing the smartphone camera at something. This may result in the exact product you're looking at it or it may just show you some similarly designed results that it was able to find. To that end, the Smart Text Selection feature lets you point the camera at some text displayed on any object.

This could be a menu, a street sign, a card, anything. The camera software will then detect that you're looking at some text and let you interact with it as if it was a digital object. This is especially useful as you can then do a Google web search using the text in real-time. We're now seeing a report from Engadget saying these new Google Lens features are making their way to devices right now. As always, Google likes to do a slow, gradual rollout with new features so if you don't have access to it right now then it may only take a bit more time before you do.

Google Lens is being built directly into the native camera applications and will be available from smartphone OEMS including Google, LG, Motorola, Xiaomi, Sony Mobile, Nokia, Transsion, TCL, OnePlus, BQ and ASUS.

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Source: Engadget

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Xiaomi launches the Mi 8, Mi 8 Explorer Edition, and Mi 8 SE in China

At an event in China, Xiaomi has launched the Mi 8, Mi 8 Explorer Edition, and the mid-range Mi 8 SE. The company has also announced MIUI 10, the next version of MIUI. Finally, the Mi Band 3 has been made official.

The highlight of the event was the launch of the Mi 8. This phone has been in the rumors for a while, and we have exclusively reported many of its specifications. The launch of the Mi 8 comes two months after the launch of the Mi Mix 2S in China, which is another Snapdragon 845 flagship.

The Mi 8's first differentiating feature is the 6.21-inch notched AMOLED display. It has an infrared scanner for better face unlocking in low light, and its camera setup is upgraded over that of the Mi Mix 2S. The phone aims to differentiate on price as well, as its starting variant will be available for the equivalent of $420. Its specifications are listed below.

Xiaomi Mi 8 – Specifications at a glance

Xiaomi Mi 8	Specifications
Dimensions and weight	154.9 x 74.8 x 7.6 mm, 175g
Software	MIUI 10 on top of Android 8.1 Oreo
CPU	Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (4x 2.8GHz Kryo 385 Gold + 4x 1.8GHz Kryo 385 Silver cores)
GPU	Adreno 630
RAM and storage	6GB of RAM with 64GB/128GB/256GB of storage; Mi 8 Explorer Edition: 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage
Battery	3400mAh
Display	6.21-inch Full HD+ (2248×1080) AMOLED, 600 nits brightness, supports HDR10, DCI-P3 gamut
Wi-Fi	802.11ac
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0
Ports	USB Type-C port, dual nano SIM slots
Bands	GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz WCDMA: 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz FDD-LTE: Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20 TDD-LTE: Bands 34/38/39/40/41
Rear camera	12MP camera with 1.4μm pixels, f/1.8 aperture, Dual Pixel autofocus, 4-axis OIS 12MP telephoto camera with f/2.4 aperture, 2x optical zoom Video recording up to 4K at 60FPS, Slow motion at 1080p240
Front-facing camera	20MP front-facing camera with 1.8μm pixels, f/1.8 aperture

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The Xiaomi Mi 8 will be available in three variants: 6GB of RAM with 64GB/128GB/256GB of storage. The 64GB storage variant costs CNY 2699 ($420), while the 128GB storage and 256GB storage variants will be available for CNY 2999 ($468) and CNY 3299 ($515) respectively.

The phone will be available from June 5 at offline and online retailers in China. Xiaomi hasn't detailed international availability yet.

Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition

The Mi 8 Explorer Edition has the same internal specifications as the Mi 8. The differences are the presence of an in-display fingerprint sensor, which requires pressure activation in order to save power. Also, the Explorer Edition has an iPhone X-style Face ID competitor, using 3D facial scanning for facial recognition.

Finally, the Mi 8 Explorer Edition has a translucent back, similar to the HTC U11+ and the U12+. It comes in a single 8GB RAM/128GB storage variant, and it will be available for CNY 3799 ($593).

Xiaomi Mi 8 SE – Specifications at a glance

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Special Edition (SE) is a cheaper, lower-end variant of the Mi 8. It's the first smartphone to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chip, which was announced last week. The phone has a smaller 5.88-inch notched display, without using dedicated hardware for face unlock. Its specifications are listed in the table below:

Xiaomi Mi 8 SE	Specifications
Dimensions and weight	147.3 x 73.1 x 7.5 mm, 164g
Software	MIUI 10 on top of Android 8.1 Oreo
CPU	Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 (2x 2.2GHz Kryo 360 Gold + 6x 1.8GHz Kryo 360 Silver cores)
GPU	Adreno 616
RAM and storage	4GB/6GB of RAM with 64GB of storage
Battery	3120mAh
Display	5.88-inch Full HD+ (2244×1080) AMOLED, supports HDR10, DCI-P3 gamut
Wi-Fi	802.11ac
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0
Ports	USB Type-C port, dual nano SIM slots
Bands	GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz WCDMA: 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz FDD-LTE: Bands 1/3/7/8/34 TDD-LTE: Bands 38/39/40/41
Rear camera	12MP camera with 1.4μm pixels, f/1.9 aperture, Dual Pixel autofocus, 5MP camera with 1.0μm pixels, f/2.6 aperture Video recording up to 4K at 30FPS
Front-facing camera	20MP front-facing camera with 2.0um pixels, f/2.0 aperture

The Mi 8 SE will be available in two variants: 4GB/6GB of RAM with 64GB of storage. The 4GB RAM variant costs CNY 1799 ($281), while the 6GB RAM variant costs CNY 1999 ($312).

Xiaomi Mi Band 3

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is the successor to the popular Mi Band 2. It now offers waterproofing up to 50m for continuous connection when the device is underwater. Battery life is rated up to 20 days.

It has a 0.78-inch OLED display, and uses Bluetooth 4.2 to connect to devices. It's powered by a 110mAh battery, and will be available from June 5 for CNY 169 ($26). A variant with NFC costs CNY 199 ($31).

Let us know your thoughts about Xiaomi's new products in the comments below.

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[Update: Live in Canary] Chrome OS prepares to finally show Android files in the Files app

Update 5/30/18: The commit was merged and has gone live in Canary. See below for a screenshot.

Following a slew of Android-related commits to the Chromium Gerrit for Chrome OS, there's another we spotted which is probably the best addition yet. We've seen improvements to parental controls and the addition of Android app shortcut searches. Now we're getting a highly requested feature – Chromebooks with Android app support may soon finally be able to see all Android files on the device within the native Chrome OS Files application.

Chromebooks with support for Android apps have a major limitation right now: You can't see files in Android's /data/media, the storage location that Android applications store files for the user to access. Well, that's not entirely true since you are able to access the Android Downloads folder, but that was about it. If you wanted to access a file stored by an Android app in another directory, you either had to move it to a cloud storage location or move it to the Android Downloads folder. That's set to change.

The commit message.

Now it's going to be much easier to access your Android files on Chrome OS, as you'll be able to see the entirety of your Android external storage. This is useful for a number of reasons, including applications which may download files to their own folders instead of the Downloads folder.

The flag description.

It is an experimental feature that will need to be enabled via a flag titled chrome://flags#show-android-files-in-files-app. The "Android files" option will then be viewable in the left pane of the Chrome OS Files application.

For those wanting to give it a try as soon as it's available, you'll have to wait for the commit to be merged and then switch over to the Canary builds. Canary builds are released every six weeks, but are generally highly unstable and not recommended for daily use. Still, not only will you be able to copy your Android files from anywhere, you'll also get all of the other Android related features we've spotted in recent weeks. That's not including any of the extra improvements that Google may have packed in too. If you switch over to the Canary build, be sure to back up all of your files beforehand and you should be good to go!

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Update: Android Files section is live

As pointed out by /u/InauspiciousPagan on /r/ChromeOS, the Google Pixelbook on Chrome OS Canary now has access to Android files in the Files app once you enable chrome://flags#show-android-files-in-files-app.

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Google Pixel 3/3 XL will be built by Foxconn and are Verizon exclusives in US

For the first and second generation Google Pixel devices, Google has worked with an OEM partner to manufacture the product. The contract manufacturer for both the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL was HTC, whereas the contract manufacturer for the Google Pixel 2 was HTC but for the Google Pixel 2 XL it was LG. This time, however, it appears that Google will be going solo: New reports state that the Google Pixel 3 and the Google Pixel 3 XL will be designed entirely in-house and manufactured by Foxconn, the same manufacturer behind the Apple iPhone and Nokia-branded products.

Documents obtained by WinFuture state that Google has been looking for a company to manufacture their upcoming flagship smartphones. That company, Foxconn, has been on Google's radar before but the report says that FIH Mobile (a subsidiary of Foxconn) has been commissioned to manufacture the next flagship devices. This is a significant shift in direction for Google, as it signals that the company will finally retain total control over the design of the new devices. This comes after the news late last year that Google acquired the HTC engineers involved in the making of the Pixel phones.

A separate report by Bloomberg states that the smaller Google Pixel 3 won't have radical design differences compared to its predecessor, the Google Pixel 2. The Google Pixel 3 XL, on the other hand, is said to have a nearly edge-to-edge screen (read: it has a display notch) but that the bottom chin of the device will be thicker. Within the notch area, the Pixel 3 XL is said to have dual front camera lenses, but it's unclear what the second lens will be used for. By this point, it shouldn't be too surprising to see a Google Pixel phone embrace the notch, especially since Android P has brought better support for it.

Bloomberg states that Verizon Wireless will continue to be the sole carrier of the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL in the United States when the device launches in October. WinFuture states that the new Google Pixel smartphones could be available as early as August or September of this year, though that information comes from "developer circles" and thus may not be accurate.

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Source 1: WinFuture Source 2: Bloomberg

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Moto G6, LG G7 ThinQ, and LG V35 ThinQ will work on Project Fi

Google has announced three new phones will be available on the Project Fi network. The Moto G6, LG G7 ThinQ, and freshly announced LG V35 ThinQ will be coming soon to Project Fi. These devices join the Pixel phones, Nexus devices, and the Moto X4 on Google's MVNO. Project Fi has been praised by consumers, but one thing it has lacked is a variety of phone options. These new devices should help with that problem.

Project Fi

For those unfamiliar with Project Fi, it's a network that actually consists of multiple networks. Fi will intelligently switch to the best network depending on your location. It uses three 4G LTE networks to offer a wide coverage area. Plans start at $20 per month for unlimited talk and text and $10 per GB you've used. There is also a feature called "Bill Protection" which allows you to have unlimited data but you only pay for unlimited if you reach a certain amount of usage in a month.

New Fi Phones

Starting at the low-end, the Moto G6 is an excellent little device. It will be the most affordable Fi device at just $199.

• 5.7-inch display
• Dual 12+5MP cameras
• 8MP front camera
• 32GB of storage, microSD slot
• 3,000 mAh battery, quick charging

The LG G7 was just announced earlier this month. It will cost $749 on Fi.

• 6.1-inch display
• Dual 16MP cameras
• 8MP front camera
• 64GB of storage, microSD slot
• 3,000 mAh battery, wireless charging

The LG V35 is brand new and will cost $899 on Fi, making it the most expensive device offered by Google.

• 6-inch display
• Dual 16MP cameras
• 8MP front camera
• 64GB of storage, microSD slot
• 3,300 mAh battery, wireless charging

The Moto G6 is already available for pre-order from Project Fi. The two LG phones will be available next month.

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Source: Google Blog

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Subby helps you manage your online subscriptions so you never miss a payment

We're becoming a society of subscriptions. Customers pick and choose which services they want from each company and then pay a monthly subscription fee for each of them. The more services you subscribe to the more difficult it can be to know which payments are coming up next and when they're due. This is where the application "Subby" comes into play.  It was created by XDA Member cristidclxvi and it can help you manage all of those online subscriptions so you don't forget about an upcoming due date.

Subby comes with over 300 subscription templates to choose from and the template that a service uses can even be automatically detected. The application supports over 30 currencies and you're even able to set a preferred hour to be notified of your upcoming subscriptions. The majority of the features are available for free, but it does come with some niche features (such as Google Drive backup & restore) that require an in-app purchase to be unlocked.

Subby The Subscription Manager (Free, XDA Labs) →

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The Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 is a chip for dedicated AR & VR headsets

Qualcomm, just like many other technology companies, believes there is a future in augmented reality and virtual reality technology. The two technologies tend to intersect so often that some are combining the two and referring to them both as "XR." We talked about Qualcomm's work in this area recently with the Snapdragon 3100 SoC but it looks as if the company's first dedicated chipset for augmented reality and virtual reality devices will be called the Snapdragon XR1. The chip will be used for dedicated AR and VR headsets and we're told to expect them in the second half of 2018.

The company has been working on the heterogeneous computing technology that will be shipping with the Snapdragon XR1 chipset. For many, it will look like the typical SoC that we currently see in smartphones and wearables on the market today. However, Qualcomm has been working to improve the Snapdragon XR1 in areas that will help our current AR and VR technologies. This includes UltraHD video playback, 6DoF head tracking, 3DoF and 6DoF controllers, Qualcomm's Aqstic voice UI and support for QuadHD+ (2K) displays.

We have barely scratched the surface of what virtual reality and augmented reality is capable of and Qualcomm knows this. The big areas of interest are naturally going to be virtual reality videos and games for a bit, but some feel that it's augmented reality that will actually be the breakthrough technology here. The IDC has been studying this technology for a while and their current estimates put the market at around 186 million standalone devices in consumer's hands by the end of 2023.

As with most new platforms, Qualcomm isn't expecting things to get too crazy right out of the gate. However, the team has been able to score some partnerships with the likes of Meta, Pico, Vuzix, and Vive. They will continue to market their latest flagship SoC (currently the Snapdragon 845) for high-end smartphones, but they feel the XR1 will be well suited for devices like the Oculus Go and other headsets where component cost is an important factor. As of this time, Qualcomm has chosen to not disclose the specs of the SoC, but they've developed the chip to an extent where they can start marketing it to potential partners.

The companying is positioning the XR1 as a chip that will be able to drive headsets up to 4K resolution, which makes a lot of sense considering its video decoder can also handle up to 4Kp60 video. The initial examples of the headset have highlighted the chips 3DoF tracking but it can actually handle 6DoF tracking as well. The vendor will just need to include the additional sensors in their headset and then have the software setup so that it can handle all of that additional data.

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Source: Qualcomm

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The Google Pixel 3 XL may have a notched OLED display from LG

The Pixel 2 XL was almost universally praised when it launched, but it had one issue that everyone seemed to notice. The LG-made OLED was consistently blasted in reviews. As time went on, Google tightened up quality control and the displays seemed to get better. Hopefully, we won't have a repeat of the situation this year as it looks like LG will be making the displays again.

LG is Back

According to Ice Universe, a well-known Weibo leaker, the Pixel 3 XL will have an OLED display with a notch made by LG. This information was first reported by the Digital Daily, a Korean publication with no track record of Google leaks. However, the Weibo posting adds more weight to the report.

People will probably not be happy to hear that LG is providing the displays again, but Google should have the situation under control this time. We'd be surprised if they make the same mistake twice. Last year's debacle should be a good lesson in the importance of quality control.

The Notch is Real

There have been rumors floating around about the Pixel 3 having a notch, but this Weibo posting is the first reliable source we've seen. With the recent trend in smartphones to minimize bezels and the notch features in Android P, this is really no surprise.

The Korean publication mentions how LCD displays with notches cost almost as much as standard OLED panels, while a notched OLED display can be up to 25% more. This is pure speculation, but the notch could end up increasing the price of the Pixel 3 XL. It would be the first device with a notched OLED panel since the iPhone X.

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We have just a few more months until Google's Fall hardware event. With the rumors of a Pixel smartwatch, updated Pixel Buds, and the Pixel 3 devices, it's looking we'll have a lot of new hardware. What are your thoughts on LG displays and notches?

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Source: Digital Daily Source: Weibo

Via: 9t05Google Via: PhoneArena

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The AT&T LG V35 ThinQ is an LG G7 with an OLED screen but no notch

The LG V35 ThinQ has popped up on our radar a few times in the last couple of months. Today, LG has made the device official. The previous reports were all true: it has an OLED display without a display notch and it's exclusive to AT&T. This is the third V Series phone LG has launched in less than a year, and they all look basically the same.

LG G7 vs LG V35

The LG G7 was announced earlier this very month, so naturally, people are going to compare the two devices. The most noticeable differences are found in the display.

• V35 Display: OLED, 6-inch, 18:9, no notch
• G7 Display: LCD, 6.1-inch, 19.5:9, notch

The V35 has 6GB of RAM, while the G7 has 4GB. LG also put a slightly bigger battery in the V35: 3,500 mAh vs 3,000 mAh. One thing that the G7 still has on the V35 is the "Boom Box" speaker.

Pricing

The LG V35 looks like an excellent phone on paper, but one thing will likely hold it back. AT&T is pricing the phone at a whopping $900. So if you're an LG fan on AT&T you don't get the G7, but you get a similar phone for $150 more. That won't be worth it for a lot of people. Pre-orders will kick off on Friday and it will be available in stores on June 8th.

Specs

	LG V35 ThinQ
Display	6-inch, OLED, 18:9, QuadHD+
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Memory	6GB
Storage	64GB/128GB, microSD slot
Camera	Rear: Dual 16MP, Wide Angle (f1.9 / 107 degrees) Standard Angle (f1.6 / 71 degrees) Front: 8MP (f1.9 / 80 degrees)
OS	Android 8.0 Oreo
Battery	3,300 mAh
Size	151.7 x 75.4 x 7.3mm, 157 g
Network	LTE-A 4 Band CA
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 5.0 BLE / NFC / USB Type-C 2.0 (3.1 compatible)
Colors	Black, Gray
Misc	Quick Charge 3.0, Wireless Charging, Fingerprint sensor, IP68, 32-bit HiFi Quad DAC, FM Radio

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Source: LG Newsroom

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Intel’s elusive Ice Lake architecture shows up on a new Chrome OS platform

Intel's latest generation micro-architecture, Cannon Lake, has barely even released and yet its successor, Ice Lake, has appeared on the Chromium Gerrit on a new Chrome OS platform codenamed "Dragonegg." Ice Lake will be a 10nm+ refinement on current Cannon Lake's 10nm process and will ostensibly bring the usual efficiency and power improvements over the current generation.

Intel isn't shy about its involvement in the Chromium Project. They have a number of engineers directly contributing to the Chrome OS operating system. One of the many benefits of Intel and Google's open-source relationship is that development on new chipsets can start long before chips hit mass production. Intel seems to be getting trigger happy with the commits, however, as the latest generation architecture available is Kaby Lake on the Pixelbook.

Intel and other chip vendors are vying to get to ever-smaller process nodes (smaller process nodes mean more efficient chips) but, as Cannon Lake was delayed by two years, it is evident that leaps and bounds per Moore's Law are proving difficult. Generations are now obfuscated by refinements on existing nodes.

Micro-architecture	Core generation	Process node	Release
Skylake	6th	14nm	2015
Kaby Lake	7th	14nm+	2016
Coffee Lake	8th	14nm++	2017
Cannon Lake	8th?	10nm	2018
Ice Lake	9th?	10nm+	2019?

Ice Lake's appearance on the Chromium Gerrit comes amid reports that Intel is struggling to get high yields from the 10nm process node.

Availability notwithstanding, Ice Lake is on the cutting edge of Intel's production line and the latest platform development on Chrome OS. We saw Kaby Lake G (Intel chip with AMD Radeon integrated graphics) make its appearance just last week on the Chromium Gerrit. This yet another reminder that development doesn't stall for production issues.

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Unofficial LineageOS 15.1 now available for the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1

Earlier this month the ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M1 received an unofficial port of TWRP. Shortly after that, it received a modified version known as the Red Wolf Recovery Project. Since then we've watched as a couple of custom ROM options have become available for the device, with an unofficial port of LineageOS 15.1 being a popular option. This port is available to the community thanks to the work from XDA Senior Member Shivam Kumar Jha. You should remember that this is an unofficial port so there are some bugs to be expected.

For instance, there is talk about a multi-touch bug that has been fixed in Oreo by Google and we will need to wait until the June patch before this gets resolved. We're also seeing talk from the community about the charging rate being low while the phone is in use, and some are experiencing the screen not turning off while in a phone call. So far these seem to be isolated issues so your mileage may vary. Check out the XDA forum thread below and download unofficial LineageOS 15.1 for your Zenfone Max Pro M1.

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Check out this unofficial build in our Zenfone Max Pro M1 forum

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Navigation Gestures updated with pill customization and many bug fixes

Android P's new gesture control interface has a lot of fans, but also a ton of critics. Google's take on gesture navigation is just another implementation on a trend first popularized by webOS way back in the day, but more recently brought into the public view thanks to the Apple iPhone X. OnePlus soon followed suit with the OnePlus 5T and the OnePlus 6, and other OEMs like Xiaomi with the Redmi Note 5 Pro and Mi Mix 2S also now have gesture controls. We thought we would jump in and offer our own take on gestures with the Navigation Gestures app—a gesture navigation app that was the first on the Play Store to completely hide the stock navigation bar and replace it with our pill bar. Now, we are ready to release a major update to the app that brings a ton of features and bug fixes that you've all been asking for.

When we first announced this app, we had no idea how much feedback and support we were about to get. We've read over 700 emails, 300 YouTube comments, 700 Reddit comments, 27 pages on our XDA support thread, and hundreds of Play Store reviews in the span of 10 days. The app, for which there are only 2 members working on it, clearly had a lot of work to be done on it based on the feedback we've received, so we got to work addressing the most common bug reports and feature requests that we were sent. After a lot of work, we're happy to announce that the next major update for Navigation Gestures by XDA is now available.

We would like to thank all of our supporters who purchased the premium version of the application. Your support helps us continue development on the app. This first update doesn't add any new features for premium users, but rest assured, we will be focusing our attention on adding new gesture actions for premium users once we're sure the base application is stable! Expect many new actions to come!

Navigation Gestures (Free, Google Play) →

Navigation Gestures Premium Add-On ($0.99, Google Play) →

Navigation Gestures v1.10

The changelog is massive, so I'm going to split up the changes into sections to keep things organized.

Bug Fixes and Behavior Changes

• Added foreground service to hopefully prevent the pill from disappearing randomly. (This adds a persistent notification in your notification area, but you can hide it if you want.)
• Fixed pill disappearing when unlocking the screen with fingerprint scanner.
• Added "Hide in Fullscreen Apps" toggle in Settings —> Behavior (enabled by default). This will make the pill enter "hide" mode and become more transparent in fullscreen apps and games.
  

  Can you spot the pill? To unhide, simply tap or swipe up on the pill!

• Added coloring to the navigation bar on many Samsung devices to hopefully hide the "white line" at the bottom of the screen issue.
• Fixed the delay with the single tap gesture (Note: Double tap gesture must be set to "None" to avoid the delay.)
  

  If you're experiencing delay, disable the Double Tap action in Settings –> Gestures

• Added "Don't Move Pill" option in Settings —> Behavior. This will stop the pill going above the keyboard.

Pill hidden below the keyboard. Note: pill was hidden using the "hide" feature, which is by default a swipe down.

• Tapping or swiping up on the pill when in "hide mode" should no longer trigger an action except unhiding it.
• Reduced the minimum width and height of the pill
• Fix crash on Gestures menu for Lollipop devices
• Fix crash when attempting to start Assistant
• Fix exiting Car Mode causing the app to activate even if it was off beforehand
• Fix reboot causing the app to activate even if it was off beforehand

Feature additions

• Added pill transparency (located in Settings –> Appearance as a part of the pill coloring option)
• Added pill coloring/border coloring (Settings –> Appearance)
  

  Select your color and transparency. Don't like the default options? Enter a custom color!

• Added toggle for pill shadow (Settings –> Appearance)
• Added pill corner radius size (Settings –> Appearance)
• Added animation duration customization (Settings –> Behavior)
• Added horizontal (X) position customization (Settings –> Appearance)
• Added swipe left and hold + swipe right and hold gestures (Settings –> Gestures)
• Split-screen action has been moved to the free build (Settings –> Gestures)

Compatibility options (Settings —> Compatibility)

• "Hide original navbar in landscape" option. If the navigation bar is showing on your device when you turn to landscape mode, this will hopefully prevent that from happening.
• "Tablet mode" option. If you use a tablet and notice parts of the screen get cut off, try this out.

List of Features

For those of you who want to get into this app but are only just now hearing about it, here's a feature list that accounts for the most recent update:

Gestures

• Taps
  • Single tap
  • Double tap
  • Tap and hold (long press)
• Swipes
  • Swipe up and hold
  • Swipe left
  • Swipe left and hold
  • Swipe right
  • Swipe right and hold
  • Swipe up
  • Swipe down

Actions

• Free
  • Home
  • Back
  • Recent apps
  • Toggle split-screen (requires Android Nougat+)
  • Open previous app (requires Android Nougat+)
  • Open Assistant
  • Hide pill
• Premium
  • Pull down the notification shade
  • Pull down quick setting tiles
  • Open power menu
  • Skip to previous media track*
  • Skip to next media track*
  • Play/pause current media track*

Appearance (all free)

• Toggle pill shadow
• Customize pill color
• Customize pill transparency
• Customize pill border color
• Customize pill corner radius
• Customize pill width/height
• Customize pill vertical/horizontal position

Behavior (all free)

• Hide in fullscreen apps
• Don't move pill above keyboard
• Customize swipe and hold time
• Customize vibration duration
• Customize animation duration

Compatibility (all free)

• Hide original navigation bar in landscape
• Tablet mode fixes

FAQs

• Help, I uninstalled the app and I can't access my navigation bar anymore!
  • Please connect to your computer and run the following command: adb shell wm overscan reset
• This app isn't hiding the navigation bar at all on my device!
  • Due to changes made in the Android framework by certain device manufacturers (I'm looking at you, LG and Asus), the method we used to detect the presence of a navigation bar wasn't working on devices like the LG G6 and Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1. In our next release, we will make the navigation bar hiding a separate toggle so users can opt-in to hiding the navigation bar. This will hopefully fix that problem.
• There's a "white line" at the bottom of the screen!
  • This is NOT a bug. This is a side-effect of a change we intentionally made after version 1.0.0 because without it, many Samsung, Motorola, and Xiaomi devices were reporting major bugs (eg. black screen after unlocking which made the phone unusable.) The "white line" is caused by the navigation bar being hidden 99.99% but not 100% (ie. we hiding the navigation bar entirely except for 1 pixel.) So the "white line" is actually just your navigation bar that's colored white. It's noticed mostly by Samsung owners because Samsung aggressively colors the nav bar white. We are coloring in the nav bar to hide this white line.
• This app doesn't work on Android P beta!
  • We are using an API that does not work on Android P unless you use an obscure workaround. We are not sure if this obscure workaround will still work in the final release of Android P. To give us a higher chance of that workaround still working in P, we are choosing not to publicize this workaround. Please bear with us!
• Uninstalling the app doesn't bring back my stock navigation bar!
  • Do not uninstall the app unless you first disable the pill in the app. There is no way for our app to detect when it is being uninstalled, so we can't revert the changes it makes if you uninstall it. Please first disable the pill and then uninstall it like normal.
• Pill doesn't work with screen pinning.
  • We have no way of simulating a long press on the back button without root. A tentative solution we are looking into is detecting when the phone enters a pinned screen state and disabling the pill to bring back the stock nav bar.
• The app hides the dock in Samsung DeX.
  • Apparently, the dock in DeX is seen as a navigation bar. We'll see if we can detect DeX and just disable the app when that happens.
• Can we add a feature where the pill is in its own separate area so it doesn't overlap with certain UI elements?
  • Very likely no, sorry. We are already pushing the screen content down to hide the nav bar. Adding this feature would require us to push the screen content up as well. We can't have it both ways.
• Can we hide the pill when on the launcher?
  • Yes, a future release will allow for hiding the pill when you are on your home screen.
• Can we have the pill open a certain app?
  • Yes, that is planned for a future release.
• Can we have the pill open an app launcher?
  • That is a bit more complicated since we have to consider caching the list, but it's possible. It's not a priority, but we'll consider it!
• Can we lock the screen?
  • There are 4 ways we know of to do this, and none of them are ideal. There isn't a simple "lock screen" API (well, not until Android P) that we can use that doesn't have its own share of problems. Nova Launcher's approach is probably the best solution, though, so we'll likely just do what they do. It's planned, though!
• Can we take a screenshot?
  • Pre-Android P, the only way to do this is with the MediaProjection API (the one that lets you do screen recordings.) It's very performance intensive but possible to do.
• Can we add special root actions?
  • Yes, we planned to have them for this release but had to push them back.

Feedback and Support

Feedback is very important for us. While we are blessed to have access to a large team that owns a wide variety of devices from several different device manufacturers, it's difficult for us to ensure a bug-free experience on every device. If you are having trouble with our app, don't hesitate to email us or post in the official XDA support thread.

We plan on adding additional features in coming releases to give users more options for swipe gestures and actions. We hope to provide an experience that can replace the navigation bar on your device. If you feel that we should add a feature or two to make that happen, then please reach out to us with your ideas!

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