Posts From Aamir Siddiqui

Aamir Siddiqui
Aamir Siddiqui

I am a tech journalist with XDA since 2015, while being a qualified business-litigation lawyer with experience in the field. A low-end smartphone purchase in 2011 brought me to the forums, and it's been a journey filled with custom ROMs ever since. When not fully dipped in smartphone news, I love traveling to places just to capture pictures of the sun setting. You can reach out to me at [email protected] or on Twitter (@aamirsidd94).

Google expands Google Home branding, introduces Suggested Routines for smart home developers

Google expands Google Home branding, introduces Suggested Routines for smart home developers

October 21, 2021
The Google Smart Home Summit 2021 is underway, and Google has a few key announcements to make. Google has announced a new Developer Center and two new SDKs, and now it is extending concepts like Suggested Routines to Matter. Expanding Google Home Google is taking the opportunity at this developer summit to expand the idea of Google...
Google introduces new Developer Center and SDKs at Smart Home Developer Summit, clarifies GMS requirement for Matter support

Google introduces new Developer Center and SDKs at Smart Home Developer Summit, clarifies GMS requirement for Matter support

October 21, 2021
Smart homes are the future, and the future is inching closer with every passing day. Earlier this year at Google I/O, Google had announced Matter, a universal standard for smart home devices to encourage interoperability and seamless co-existence between them. Several internet giants like Google, Amazon, Apple, and Samsung have worked together on Matter, and...
Download: MIUI 12 stable update rolling out to several Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices

Download: MIUI 12 stable update rolling out to several Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices

October 21, 2021
MIUI 12 is the newest big release for Xiaomi smartphones, perhaps even bigger than an Android version jump. Features on Xiaomi devices are dictated more by their MIUI versions than the underlying Android version, so a MIUI version upgrade is an exciting event. This article will serve as the central repository of download links for...
Qualcomm’s new ultraBAW RF Filter tech promises to improve your phone’s 5G and Wi-Fi 6E performance

Qualcomm’s new ultraBAW RF Filter tech promises to improve your phone’s 5G and Wi-Fi 6E performance

October 20, 2021
Back in early 2020, Qualcomm had announced its ultraSAW filter technology alongside the launch of the Snapdragon X60 modem. Today, the company is expanding on the available RF Filters with the announcement of the Qualcomm ultraBAW RF filter technology for bands up to 7GHz. Radio Frequency (RF) Filters are a fascinating piece of technology, something that...
The OnePlus Watch Harry Potter Limited Edition brings the magical world to your wrist

The OnePlus Watch Harry Potter Limited Edition brings the magical world to your wrist

October 18, 2021
The OnePlus Watch was released earlier this year, marking it as the company's first attempt at making a smartwatch. In our review of the OnePlus Watch, Mishaal enjoyed the wearable and considered it a decent competitor against the likes of offerings from Xiaomi and Amazfit. OnePlus is now back with another smartwatch, and this time,...
Download: MIUI 12.5 Closed Beta for Xiaomi and Redmi devices [Update: Oct 15 builds]

Download: MIUI 12.5 Closed Beta for Xiaomi and Redmi devices [Update: Oct 15 builds]

October 17, 2021
The latest version of Xiaomi's custom Android skin - MIUI 12.5 - is finally here. The first incremental update over MIUI 12 has been unveiled at the Mi 11 launch event in China. Compared to MIUI 12, the stable version of which was released less than six months ago, MIUI 12.5 brings in a slew...
Apple is appealing its lawsuit win against Epic Games and Fortnite

Apple is appealing its lawsuit win against Epic Games and Fortnite

October 11, 2021
The Apple vs Epic lawsuit needs no introduction at this point. Last month, the lawsuit had reached a dramatic conclusion, with the judge deciding to award a result that wasn't exactly what the two parties wanted. Instead, several key decisions came out in Apple's favor, except for one. Apple even went on record to call...
WhatsApp could be working on a new Community feature [Update]

WhatsApp could be working on a new Community feature [Update]

October 11, 2021
WhatsApp is undoubtedly one of the biggest instant messaging platforms around. Despite being this big in size and popularity, the app is slow to add features. For instance, several popular IM apps offer seamless chat backup and sync across Android and iOS, but WhatsApp only very recently got around to letting iOS users migrate their...
Massive Google Pixel 6 leak confirms everything we’ve been saying for a while

Massive Google Pixel 6 leak confirms everything we’ve been saying for a while

October 9, 2021
The Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro are the next set of flagships from Google. The Pixel line as a whole has prioritized the experience over just hardware, so everyone is indeed excited about Google finally bumping up the hardware in all the right ways. While Google will be officially launching the devices...
Xperia Open Devices adds AOSP build instructions for Android 12

Xperia Open Devices adds AOSP build instructions for Android 12

October 8, 2021
Sony is counted among the better contributors to the Android Open Source Project, with a lot of code contributions through the years. Sony also runs and maintains its own Xperia Open Devices program, making it easy for developers to tinker with AOSP on their recent Sony devices. With Android 12 now being released to the...
Rewind no more: YouTube shutters down Rewind recaps after a decade of nostalgia

Rewind no more: YouTube shutters down Rewind recaps after a decade of nostalgia

October 8, 2021
Love it or hate it, there's no denying that YouTube Rewind was one video that everyone looked forward to, even if it was to hate on it. This annual video series became a year-end tradition for the platform, as it roped in hundreds of popular creators to recount their memorable moments, acts, and trends during...
Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp are finally back online after hours-long outage

Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp are finally back online after hours-long outage

October 4, 2021
Facebook services across America, Europe, and Asia are being disrupted this morning, causing users of Facebook itself, Facebook Messenger, and its sister services Instagram and WhatsApp to throw up error messages when attempting to access any of the sites and services on any OS. The issue could be related to DNS, as none of the...