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]

Xiaomi launches the Mi 11 flagship 5G phone with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888

Xiaomi launches the Mi 11 flagship 5G phone with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888

December 28, 2020
The fateful year is drawing to a close. And just when you thought we have seen everything there is to see this year in tech, Xiaomi is here with its "one more thing", and it's their biggest reveal from the dedicated launch event in China today. Meet the new Xiaomi Mi 11, Xiaomi's next flagship...
Huawei’s initial Harmony OS 2.0 beta appears to be based on Android after all

Huawei’s initial Harmony OS 2.0 beta appears to be based on Android after all

December 26, 2020
Harmony OS is Huawei's own first-party operating system, meant to take over the reins as the company's current GMS-less Android software proves to be insufficient to propel the company's smartphone prospects. Huawei recently began its long-shot transition away from the GMS-less Android with the first Harmony OS 2.0 beta for select smartphones and tablets. But...
The OnePlus 8T Concept phone has a color-shifting glass back

The OnePlus 8T Concept phone has a color-shifting glass back

December 21, 2020
Early this year, OnePlus showed off the OnePlus Concept One: a smartphone with a camera that could turn "invisible." Essentially, the phone's electrochromic glass back panel could shift from being transparent to being opaque by changing the current and voltage. Electrochromic glass is not a new concept, but this phone was the first to apply...
Facebook and Apple spar over upcoming App Tracking Transparency feature in iOS 14

Facebook and Apple spar over upcoming App Tracking Transparency feature in iOS 14

December 18, 2020
Back in June 2020, Apple announced that the iOS 14 update to its mobile operating system would bring in a mechanism to allow users to opt-out of in-app ad tracking by refusing to share the IDFA identifier with app developers. This feature, called App Tracking Transparency, drew ire from advertising giants for how it would...
Google focuses on Indic languages with easy language switch in Maps, bilingual Search toggles, and more

Google focuses on Indic languages with easy language switch in Maps, bilingual Search toggles, and more

December 17, 2020
India is the land of a hundred languages, a place where the dialect changes every 100kms. In a tech world dominated by English, these local languages and dialects find themselves unable to provide access to meaningful experiences on the Internet. At the Google L10n virtual event today, Google is making it easier for multilingual users...
Huawei begins its long-shot transition from Android with a Harmony OS beta for select smartphones and tablets

Huawei begins its long-shot transition from Android with a Harmony OS beta for select smartphones and tablets

December 16, 2020
When we talk about mobile operating systems, there are only two major solutions around today: Android and iOS. And Apple's tight control over iOS means that Android is the only true solution for OEMs building their own smartphones. But Android also is very much dependent on Google despite being open-source, thanks to Google's grip with...
[Update: Fixed] It’s not just you: Gmail, YouTube, Play Store and other Google services are having an outage in some regions

[Update: Fixed] It’s not just you: Gmail, YouTube, Play Store and other Google services are having an outage in some regions

December 14, 2020
Some of Google's services have been facing server issues for the past few hours, causing problems for users around the world. Services affected at the moment include Gmail, YouTube, and Play Store primarily, with users in India, SEA, Europe, and parts of the USA complaining that they are unable to sign in to any of...
Samsung Galaxy Buds/Buds+/Live randomly dead? Here’s how to fix them

Samsung Galaxy Buds/Buds+/Live randomly dead? Here’s how to fix them

December 14, 2020
Samsung's Galaxy Buds, Galaxy Buds+, and Galaxy Buds Live are the closest rivals to Apple's AirPods, at least in terms of popularity. While there are a few quirks to each of them, this range of earbuds from Samsung are one of the safest, general recommendations for the average consumer. But sometimes, accidents do happen, and...
OPPO “slide-phone” is a triple-hinge foldable design concept

OPPO “slide-phone” is a triple-hinge foldable design concept

December 14, 2020
Foldables are widely predicted to be the future of smartphones, tasked with sprucing up the glass slabs into designs that have more individuality and character. We've seen a few iterations of final foldable hardware, but everyone does agree that there is still some more work to be done on this end. OPPO has some ideas...
Google announces new dev tools and recaps improvements to Chrome at Chrome Dev Summit 2020

Google announces new dev tools and recaps improvements to Chrome at Chrome Dev Summit 2020

December 9, 2020
Google is hosting the Chrome Dev Summit 2020, detailing the changes coming to the internet browser of choice for the vast majority of users on the planet. Google's vision for Chrome is to make it a secure, powerful, and fast vehicle for accessing the internet. This article brings together some of the bits and pieces...
Manifest V3 changes for browser extensions will go live in Google Chrome 88

Manifest V3 changes for browser extensions will go live in Google Chrome 88

December 9, 2020
One of the bigger changes to internet browsing this year is coming in the form of the much-discussed Manifest V3. A new manifest version allows the browser, Chrome, to restrict certain older APIs from working, changing the way the web and accompanying extensions work, and eventually changing the way the internet is experienced by users...
Samsung Galaxy S21 series will come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, and possibly an upgraded ultrasonic fingerprint sensor

Samsung Galaxy S21 series will come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, and possibly an upgraded ultrasonic fingerprint sensor

December 9, 2020
We're gearing up towards the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, expected to be announced in the middle of January 2021. So far, the devices are shaping up to be pretty exciting, with a refreshed camera bump on the back giving the phones some of their own personality, though you may lose the charger...