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Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit Roundup: Snapdragon 845, Spectra 280 ISP, Hexagon 685 DSP, and More The newest flagship in Qualcomm’s system-on-chip (SoC) lineup, the  Snapdragon 845 , was announced on Wednesday at the chipmaker’s Snapdragon Tech Summit in Hawaii. But that wasn’t the conference’s only highlight. Missed this week’s coverage? Don’t fret — we’ve summarized all of Qualcomm’s biggest announcements, including the  Hexagon 685 DSP , the  Adreno 630 , and the Spectra 280 ISP. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Specs Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Chipset 845 (10nm LPP) 835 (10nm LPE) CPU 4x 2.8GHz Kryo 385 (A75 “performance”), 4x 1.8GHz Kryo 385 (A55 “efficiency”) 4x 2.45GHz Kryo 280 (A73 big), 4x 1.9GHz Kryo 280 (A53 LITTLE) GPU Adreno 630 GPU Adreno 540 GPU Memory 4x 1866MHz 32-bit LPDDR4X 4x 1866MHz 32-bit LPDDR4X ISP/Camera Dual 14-bit Spectra 280 ISP __ 32MP Dual 14-bit Spectra ISP 14-...

TWRP now supports the Xiaomi Redmi 5 & 5 Plus and Razer Phone Team Win Recovery Project ( TWRP for short) is the custom recovery software of choice for Android users. Besides providing the ability to backup/restore, flash images, or wipe partitions, the recovery also has a built-in file manager, ADB integration, and more. Getting a working TWRP build on a device is often the first step towards fostering a custom development scene, since it’s risky to mess with your device without having a backup. And now, the custom recovery is finally available on the newly released Razer Phone , Xiaomi Redmi 5 , and Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus . TWRP for the Razer Phone We’ve been following the development of the Razer Phone since its initial release . The Razer Phone is Razer’s first consumer smartphone and the first smartphone sold in western markets with a 120Hz variable refresh rate display. Though Razer’s products are typically marketed towards gamers, the Razer Phone...

Google Adds Brotli Compression to Deliver Faster OTA Android Updates The size of an OTA update isn’t something that most people really think about, since updates generally automatically download in the background over WiFi, but it’s actually a big deal on the server back end. Saving even a few megabytes of data can make a huge difference since the gains are multiplied by potentially hundreds of thousands of users. To that end, Google has been working to bring its Brotli compression algorithm to Android for faster OTA updates. What is the Brotli Compression Algorithm? Brotli is a compression algorithm developed by a few Google employees that significantly improves the compression ratio over other algorithms such as GZIP while also demonstrating an impressive decompression speed. The downside is that compressing files with the Brotli algorithm is rather slow, so it’s generally avoided when compressing dynamic content. Compression Ratio Comparison Decompression Speed...

OxygenOS Open Oreo Beta Now Available for the OnePlus 5T An open Oreo beta for OxygenOS was released Friday for the OnePlus 5T , bringing picture-in-picture (PiP) functionality, Smart Text Selection, system-wide autofill, and the December Android security patch to OnePlus’s flagship smartphone. Though the open beta has been available for a while now for the OnePlus 5 , those who got its newer, 18:9 display-touting sibling had to wait, since the two devices run different firmware despite having the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset. If you want to join in on the Oreo fun, there are some caveats to note. For one, the beta might not be as stable as the standard over-the-air updates, and upgrading to a non-beta update won’t return you to the stable channel — you have to completely wipe your system and data (including pictures, videos, and apps) and flash a full OxygenOS stable ROM in order to revert from the beta. And if you’re coming from a custom ROM, OnePl...

Magisk v15.1 Makes it More Modular, Updates the Module Template and More (Updated) Updated 12/29/2017: We’ve edited the article to reflect the release of  Magisk v15.1, which fixes a bootloop issue in Magisk v15. It was less than a week ago when we talked about the big update that was pushed for Magisk that brought its version up to 14.6 . While that version didn’t really add any new and exciting functionality, it was great for adding polish and optimizing various features. Late last night XDA Recognised Developer  topjohnwu  announced a new version that would bring Magisk up to version 15.1 and an update that makes it more modular, improves methods of hiding Magisk, updating to a new module template and launches a server for Magisk repo submissions. With the Pixel phones utilizing Treble, topjohnwu feels that Android is becoming a more modular platform and they want to utilize those advantages with Magisk. This will be especially true as more devices are launched with ful...

Xiaomi’s Yeelight Speaker Uses Alexa and Looks Like an Amazon Echo Dot Smart speakers with voice assistants are becoming increasingly popular. Amazon leads the market with its Alexa -powered  Echo lineup of speakers, and Google’s close behind with the Google Assistant -powered Google Home , Google  Home Mini,  and Google  Home Max . Xiaomi, on the other hand, doesn’t sell a smart speaker internationally, but that won’t be the case for much longer. In July, Xiaomi took the wraps off the Mi AI smart speaker . Now, its subsidiary Yeelight has launched a spiritual successor, the Yeelight Voice Assistant, that it looks a little like the Amazon Echo Dot — complete with volume buttons on the top and a blue LED ring. Xiaomi’s calling the Yeelight Voice Assistant a “Dual AI” speaker: The Chinese model features Xiaomi’s AI voice assistant, and the global model has Alexa. The speaker packs six microphones, a single 2-watt loudspeaker, and re...

Huawei PSmart Reportedly Packs Kirin 659 and Dual Cameras Huawei’s Enjoy 7S went on sale in China last week, but it might be bound for international shores. Evan Blass, who has a reliable track record when it comes to smartphone rumors, said on Twitter that the handset will launch internationally under the name Huawei PSmart . It’ll join the other devices in Huawei’s growing P series, which tend to be accompanied by low-end variants. The Huawei PSmart, though, will reportedly launch on its own, and in three colors: Black, rose gold, and blue. This will be offered outside of China as the Huawei PSmart. pic.twitter.com/sR2yadWdBV — Evan Blass (@evleaks) December 28, 2017 The phone, which strongly resembles the Honor 7X and the Huawei Mate 10 Lite , is a good mid-range package. For 249 euro (about $299) — the MSRP leaked by online German retailer Otto — you get some pretty nice specs, including a HiSilicon Kirin 659 octa-core system-on-chip, 3GB RAM, 32GB st...

Samsung and LG Confirm That They Haven’t Slowed Down Phones Recently,  Apple admitted to slowing down older iPhones’ processor speeds as the batteries aged , ostensibly to prevent unexpected shutdowns. The fallout wasn’t pretty, and Apple’s throttling practices raised concerns that Android manufacturers were guilty of doing the same thing. On Thursday,  HTC and Motorola said that they haven’t slowed down old phones on account of aging batteries . And on Friday, Samsung and LG confirmed to  Phone Arena via e-mailed statements they haven’t throttled devices, either: “ Never have, never will! We care what our customers think. ” LG “ Product quality has been and will always be Samsung Mobile’s top priority. We ensure extended battery life of Samsung mobile devices through multi-layer safety measures, which include software algorithms that govern the battery charging current and charging duration. We do not reduce CPU performance t...

LastPass Authenticator Update Fixes a Serious Security Vulnerability LastPass is one of the most popular password managers on Android, and for good reason: It’s incredibly secure. But the same couldn’t be said of LastPass Authenticator, its companion application, which made headlines when a security researcher discovered a serious vulnerability in its code. Luckily, it was patched this week. LastPass Authenticator offers 2FA on LastPass accounts and other supported apps . It’s one of the few multi-factor authentication apps that gives users the option of using a fingerprint and/or PIN instead of a passcode, but the system had a serious flaw: Almost any app could access the app’s TOTP (multi-factor) codes. It wasn’t too challenging, either. As detailed in a Medium post by a programmer in early December, an attacker could use a third-party app to open LastPass Authenticator’s settings activity and the settings menu, which exposed the 2FA codes. In a b...

ASUS ZenFone 4 is getting Android Oreo via OTA In early December, we reported that ASUS  was planning to bring Android Oreo  to its newest mid-range smartphone, the ZenFone 4, before the end of the month. On Friday, the company made good on its promise and announced that it’s issued a software update to the ZenFone 4 (ZE554KL). The Android Oreo update (which the carries build number 15.0405.1711.76) is based on ZenUI 4.0, the latest version of ASUS’s custom skin. After updating, ZenFone 4 users can look forward to all the standard Android Oreo features and optimizations, including picture-in-picture mode (PiP), Notification Dots, a built-in password manager, improved Doze mode, faster boot times, and more. Along with all the Oreo goodies, the update also packs a new version of the default application launcher. There’s a swipe-up gesture that pulls up installed applications, new customizable application icons, and a streamlined Settings menu. For the uninitiated, the Z...

ZTE’s Blade V9 Marketing Materials Leak, Show 18:9 Display ZTE first made waves  in the smartphone market the Axon 7 , an affordable premium phone that went head-to-head with the venerable OnePlus 3 . Now, the China-based smartphone maker is gearing up to release a new budget phone, the Blade V9, and its Spanish-language website spilled the beans a little early. The Blade V9 is a budget phone like its predecessors, but with a few features you might associate with high-end devices. It has a 5.7-inch Full HD display with a 18:9 aspect ratio, 2GB/3GB/4GB RAM (depending on the model),  16GB/32GB/64GB of internal storage, and a premium all-glass front and back. ZTE’s upcoming smartphone also has a LED-equipped dual camera setup consisting of a 16MP, f/1.8 autofocus sensor and a 5MP fixed-focus sensor. The Blade V9’s front-facing camera is 13MP, and there’s a fingerprint sensor on the back, plus a hybrid dual SIM slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 3200mAh battery. Bu...

Alphabet’s Tacotron 2 Text-to-Speech Engine Sounds Nearly Indistinguishable From a Human Alphabet’s subsidiary, DeepMind, developed WaveNet , a neural network that powers the Google Assistant ‘s speech synthesis, in October. It’s capable of better and more realistic audio samples than the search giant’s previous text-to-speech system, and what’s more, it generates raw audio — not spliced-together sounds from voice actors. Now, researchers at Alphabet have developed a new version, Tacotron 2, that uses multiple neural networks to produce speech almost indistinguishable from a human. Here’s a sample. The first was generated using Tacotron 2, and the second is a voice actor: https://www.xda-developers.com/files/2017/12/washington_gen.wav https://www.xda-developers.com/files/2017/12/washington_gt.wav Tacotron 2 consists of two deep neural networks. As the research paper published this month describes it, the first translates text into a spect...

Multiple Verizon Google Pixel 2 Owners are Reporting their Bootloaders can be Unlocked The Google Pixel 2/2 XL is my personal favorite smartphone of 2017, despite the fact that the custom development scene is rather sparse. The stock Pixel experience is enough to make many die-hard Android modders decide to forego running a custom ROM or kernel. However, there’s still a sizable group of users on our forums who prefer to unlock their bootloader, install Magisk , and flash various modifications. Those users who still go that route tend to avoid buying their phone from carriers because carrier phones tend to be locked down. This is true of the Google Pixel 2 sold on Verizon Wireless, where the bootloader cannot be unlocked, however multiple users on our forums are reporting tonight that they have successfully unlocked the bootloader of the Verizon Google Pixel 2 . An XDA member by the name of D3RP_  posted a thread on our Pixel 2 forum  seeing if it would be possible to unlock the...

Best Apps of 2017 As the year of 2017 comes to an end, Miles looks back at all of his favorite apps of the year. This video covers some of the best new apps, as well as apps that saw significant growth and support during 2017. Apps mentioned in this video: Today Weather Lawnchair Launcher Substratum Custom Navigation Bar notin XDA Feed tags : android auto, android wear, android device manager, android 1, android phone, android messages, android studio, android tablet, android emulator, android tv, android p, android 17, android tv box, android browser, android keyboard, android apps, android best games, android oreo, android lost, android latest version, android versions, android central, android police, android, android one, android screen recorder.

Best Apps of 2017 As the year of 2017 comes to an end, Miles looks back at all of his favorite apps of the year. This video covers some of the best new apps, as well as apps that saw significant growth and support during 2017. Apps mentioned in this video: Today Weather Lawnchair Launcher Substratum Custom Navigation Bar notin XDA Feed tags : android auto, android wear, android device manager, android 1, android phone, android messages, android studio, android tablet, android emulator, android tv, android p, android 17, android tv box, android browser, android keyboard, android apps, android best games, android oreo, android lost, android latest version, android versions, android central, android police, android, android one, android screen recorder.

LG G6 Android Oreo Update is being Beta Tested in China The LG G6 was announced back in MWC 2017 as LG’s first 18:9 flagship smartphone . Despite using 2016’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 system-on-chip instead of the newer Snapdragon 835 , the G6 still had a premium list of specifications which included 4GBs of RAM coupled with 32/64GB of storage, 5.7-inch WQHD+ (2880×1440) 18:9 Quantum IPS display, dual 13MP standard angle + 13MP wide-angle cameras, and a 3300mAh battery. It was powered by Android 7.0 Nougat, but sadly, LG never gave an update to the Android 7.1 maintenance release for Nougat. Ten months after its announcement, the LG G6 is no longer the company’s current flagship phone as that crown belongs to the LG V30 . The V30 received a stable Android Oreo update in South Korea two days ago, after receiving a beta as part of a “LG OS Preview” program . LG hasn’t currently announced any such program for the G6, but on Thursday, a user upl...

LG G6 Android Oreo Update is being Beta Tested in China The LG G6 was announced back in MWC 2017 as LG’s first 18:9 flagship smartphone . Despite using 2016’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 system-on-chip instead of the newer Snapdragon 835 , the G6 still had a premium list of specifications which included 4GBs of RAM coupled with 32/64GB of storage, 5.7-inch WQHD+ (2880×1440) 18:9 Quantum IPS display, dual 13MP standard angle + 13MP wide-angle cameras, and a 3300mAh battery. It was powered by Android 7.0 Nougat, but sadly, LG never gave an update to the Android 7.1 maintenance release for Nougat. Ten months after its announcement, the LG G6 is no longer the company’s current flagship phone as that crown belongs to the LG V30 . The V30 received a stable Android Oreo update in South Korea two days ago, after receiving a beta as part of a “LG OS Preview” program . LG hasn’t currently announced any such program for the G6, but on Thursday, a user upl...

Nokia 2 Will Get Android 8.1 Oreo, HMD Global Confirms The new Nokia-branded Android smartphones from HMD Global have been warmly received, and the smartphone maker’s committed to supporting them. On Thursday, HMD Global confirmed that the affordable  Nokia 2 will receive an update to Android 8.1 Oreo. The announcement’s courtesy of Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer at HMD Global, who responded to a question on Twitter  about the Nokia 2’s software roadmap. Mr. Sarvikas says the phone will benefit from performance improvements specific to Android Go , a lightweight version of Android optimized for devices with 1GB of RAM. Hi! It will receive Android Oreo . 1GB RAM devices will be supported on 8.1 release where many of the Android Go memory management improvements will be integrated. Nokia 2 performance will only get better over time! — Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) December 28, 2017 The Nokia 2 was launched in late October 2017 , and hit U.S. retailers including Amaz...

Nokia 2 Will Get Android 8.1 Oreo, HMD Global Confirms The new Nokia-branded Android smartphones from HMD Global have been warmly received, and the smartphone maker’s committed to supporting them. On Thursday, HMD Global confirmed that the affordable  Nokia 2 will receive an update to Android 8.1 Oreo. The announcement’s courtesy of Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer at HMD Global, who responded to a question on Twitter  about the Nokia 2’s software roadmap. Mr. Sarvikas says the phone will benefit from performance improvements specific to Android Go , a lightweight version of Android optimized for devices with 1GB of RAM. Hi! It will receive Android Oreo . 1GB RAM devices will be supported on 8.1 release where many of the Android Go memory management improvements will be integrated. Nokia 2 performance will only get better over time! — Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) December 28, 2017 The Nokia 2 was launched in late October 2017 , and hit U.S. retailers including Amaz...

OxygenOS Open Beta 29/20 for the OnePlus 3/3T Adds a “Notes” App On Wednesday, the team at OnePlus started rolling out a new version of OxygenOS for the OnePlus 5T . And today, they announced a new open beta update, OxygenOS 29 and 20, for the OnePlus 3 and the OnePlus 3T respectively. It’s pretty substantial. There’s a new application, Notes, that lets you jot down ideas quickly and easily, and capture those ideas in a shareable picture format. OxygenOS’s copying and editing Quick Clipboard functionality has been enhanced, and the file manager application has a new “large files” category and deletes files a bit faster than before. Those aren’t the update’s only headliners. OxygenOS beta 29 and 20 adds a weather widget, a new memo widget in the OnePlus Shelf panel, an OTG toggle in the Quick Settings panel, and a notification that appears when any third-party application deletes contacts. Finally, it ships with general bug fixes,...

OxygenOS Open Beta 29/20 for the OnePlus 3/3T Adds a “Notes” App On Wednesday, the team at OnePlus started rolling out a new version of OxygenOS for the OnePlus 5T . And today, they announced a new open beta update, OxygenOS 29 and 20, for the OnePlus 3 and the OnePlus 3T respectively. It’s pretty substantial. There’s a new application, Notes, that lets you jot down ideas quickly and easily, and capture those ideas in a shareable picture format. OxygenOS’s copying and editing Quick Clipboard functionality has been enhanced, and the file manager application has a new “large files” category and deletes files a bit faster than before. Those aren’t the update’s only headliners. OxygenOS beta 29 and 20 adds a weather widget, a new memo widget in the OnePlus Shelf panel, an OTG toggle in the Quick Settings panel, and a notification that appears when any third-party application deletes contacts. Finally, it ships with general bug fixes,...