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Android 11's auto-reset permissions feature is rolling out to devices running Android 6.0 and above
Android 11's auto-reset permissions feature is rolling out to devices running Android 6.0 and above through Google Play Protect.
Google introduced a new auto-reset permissions feature with Android 11 to automatically revoke sensitive runtime permissions from apps that have not been in use for a few months. In September last year, the company announced that it would bring the feature to devices running older versions of Android starting December 2021. However, Google pushed the initial rollout back by a month in December and promised to bring the feature to devices running Android 6.0 and above by the end of Q1 2022. As promised, Google has started rolling it out to devices running Android 6.0 and above through Google Play Protect.
Android 11's auto-reset permissions feature is coming to older OS versions
Google is bringing Android 11’s auto-reset permissions feature to all devices running Android 6.0 through Android 10. Here's what this means.
With Android 11, Google introduced auto-revoking permissions that barred unused apps from accessing sensitive permissions granted by the user. While this privacy feature currently remains exclusive to Android 11 and above devices, it will soon be trickling down to older versions of Android — all the way back to Android 6.0.
Nearly 4-year-old Samsung Galaxy S6 gets January 2019 security update
Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge have received the Google security update from January 2019, even four years after its launch.
Samsung is gearing up to launch the Galaxy S10 series later this month. But amidst this pre-launch bustle and rampage in form of leaks, the company has not forgotten its older devices. The four-year-old Samsung Galaxy S6 is still being updated and it sure feels like an exception among the usual crowd of Android devices.
Download MIUI 10 Global Stable for the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
An official update to MIUI 10 Global Stable is now rolling out to the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus. Download it and install it to your device now!
The Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus was a relatively powerful device when it was released in 2016 thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chip, up to 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage, a sizable 3,800mAh battery, and a dual rear camera setup. The Mi 5s Plus launched with Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box before receiving an official update to Android 7.0 Nougat with MIUI 9. Now, the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus is receiving an update to the company's latest MIUI 10 Global Stable software.
Fairphone 2 is the first and only Snapdragon 801 phone to get Android Nougat
The Fairphone 2 just received Android Nougat, which wouldn't be exciting, except for the fact it's the only Snapdragon 801 device to do so.
Android Nougat is not the headline-grabbing OS it used to be. We've moved on to Android Oreo and Android Pie, but some devices are still lagging behind. The Fairphone 2 just received Android Nougat, which wouldn't be exciting, except for the fact it's the only Snapdragon 801 device to do so.
Amazon's new Fire HD 8 tablets have hands-free Alexa and ship with Fire OS 6 (Android Nougat)
The latest generation of the Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet was announced today with minor updates. The tablet is shipping with Fire OS 6 and Alexa.
Amazon's Fire tablets are some of the most popular Android tablets in the world. While the OS looks nothing like what you'd find on an Android phone, it is indeed Android. The latest generation of the Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet was announced today with minor updates. The tablet is shipping with Fire OS 6, which is based on Android Nougat, and was originally launched on the Fire TV.
Blob emojis are back as sticker packs in Gboard & Android Messages
Google is now bringing back the fan-favorite blob emoji (a.k.a. blobmoji) as a sticker pack in Gboard and Android Messages.
One of the biggest casualties with the Android Oreo update was Google's infamous blob emoji (a.k.a. "blobmoji"). The update introduced a redesigned emoji pack with more traditional round faces. Many of the fan-favorite critters were updated as well. Some people were happy to see the blobs get the ax, but a lot of Android users are still upset. Google is now bringing them back as a sticker pack in Gboard and Android Messages.
The History of Printing on Android and how the Mopria Alliance made it better
Printing documents from Android devices hasn't always been a cakewalk, but it has come a long way. That's thanks in large part to the Mopria Alliance, which worked with Google to implement core printing technologies in Android 8.0 Oreo.
Prior to the debut of Android 8.0 Oreo's Default Print Service, printing documents on Android was easier said than done. Google's mobile operating system didn't gain native printer support until Android 4.4 KitKat, and with the exception of third-party solutions from the likes of Samsung, setting up a printer required vendor-specific plugins and drivers. But thanks to the Mopria Alliance, a consortium of smartphone and printer manufacturers, Android's compatibility with printers has improved by leaps and bounds. Android Oreo supports an astounding 97 percent of the printers on the market—over 100 million—plus features such as duplex printing, Wi-Fi Direct printing, orientation, and paper size adjustment.
Android P will finally restrict apps from monitoring your network activity
Android has long allowed apps the ability to monitor network activity on the device. This could be exploited by attackers for malicious purposes. Thanks to a recent change, this will no longer be allowed.
A years-old privacy flaw will finally be coming to an end on Android. It's an issue you've probably never heard of, but one that you should absolutely be concerned about. Currently, apps on Android can gain full access to the network activity on your device—even without asking for any sensitive permissions. These apps can't detect the content of your network calls, but they can sniff any outgoing or incoming connection via TCP/UDP to determine if you are connecting to a certain server. For instance, an app can detect when another app on your device connects to a financial institution's server. Don't believe me? Just download one of the many netstat apps on the Play Store and see for yourself.
The Chuwi Hi9 is an 8.4" Android 7.0 Tablet With a MediaTek MT8173
Chuwi is a little known Chinese brand that offers cheap Android tablets with decent, mid-range specifications. The Chuwi Hi9 is their latest offering.
Chuwi is a little known Chinese brand that has been trying to stand out in the crowded market of low price Android tablets. The company, which was founded around 2004, first started making MP3 and MP4 player devices as well as other multimedia devices. It was only after striking a partnership with Chinese silicon manufacturer MediaTek that they entered the Android market with full force. Since 2015, they've been aiming at reaching the global market beyond their native China. But it's not easy to get into the U.S. market (just ask LeEco), yet Chuwi is still pushing forward with their recently announced Chuwi Hi9 tablet.
Android 7.0 Nougat Now Rolling Out to the Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo
2 years after the Galaxy S5 Neo was released to the market, Samsung is finally rolling out an Android 7.0 Nougat update to the Canadian model!
As the saying goes: it's better late than never. Roughly 2 years after Samsung launched their Galaxy S5 Neo, a year after Google released the Android 7.0 source code, and a week after Google released the Android 8.0 source, Samsung is now rolling out the Android 7.0 update to the Galaxy S5 Neo. The update was rolled out to the Canadian version (SM-G903W), with the European model expected to follow. The rollout comes around a month after the update was officially confirmed on the media.
ASUS ZenFone 3 Max Receives Official Update to Android 7.0 Nougat
ASUS has announced they are starting to roll out the new Android 7.0 Nougat update to ASUS ZenFone 3 Max devices this week.
We haven't specifically talked about the ZenFone 3 Max very much here on the XDA portal, but ASUS has been able to garner a passionate following for a number of their devices. The Max variant of the ZenFone 3 from ASUS was released one year ago and launched with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. It's a mid-range device with a 720p display and a MediaTek SoC, but also has a 3GB of RAM variant and both versions come with a big 4,130mAh capacity battery.
How Substratum Brought Fluid & Simple Customization to a Complex TouchWiz
Sungstratum from team [projekt.] brings all the theme goodies of RRO-OMS to Samsung Nougat devices through Substratum! Read on to know more!
Android theming has come a long way, from hacky edits to Substratum and now, Sungstratum. Years back, the word "theme" in Android discussions was frequently superseded by the word "chooser', a nod to the T-Mobile Theme Chooser found in CyanogenMod that laid the foundations that made Android a themer's paradise. The ability to modify the appearance of the OS granted users another dimension of customization, allowing them to make changes that make their devices a lot more personalized.
HTC 10 and HTC One A9 Android 7.0 Nougat Kernel Source Code Released
The Android 7.0 Nougat kernel source code for the HTC 10 and HTC One A9 have finally been released, paving the way for AOSP-based custom ROMs.
HTC just announced that they have published the Android 7.0 kernel source code for the HTC 10 and the HTC One A9. These newly published sets of kernel source code will go a long way towards helping with the development of Android 7.0, AOSP-based custom ROMs for these devices.
How to enable Quick Reply from the Lockscreen on Samsung Galaxy Devices running Nougat
A tutorial on how to enable the quick reply from the lockscreen feature on Samsung Galaxy devices running on Android Nougat.
Android Nougat was a huge update for fans of the stock Android experience. Besides official multi-window support and a whole host of other changes, the update also brought a new quick reply feature to allow you to reply to messages from the notification shade without opening the app in question.
LG To Update G4 and V10 to Android 7.0 Nougat After All
LG had earlier decided not to update the G4 and V10 to Nougat. But after strong consumer disappointment, LG has decided to go ahead with a Nougat update.
Another year, another flagship iteration. With every such step, a product that was once the top of its game gives way to a newer generation. Consumers who purchased the previous flagship now have to live with their product not being first priority anymore.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge Exynos Android 7.0 Nougat Kernel Source Code Released
With Nougat 7.0 coming out of beta for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, Samsung has publicly released the kernel source code. Download it here.
Last night Samsung publicly released the kernel source code of their Nougat update for the Exynos based Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge devices, on par with their Android 7.0 rollout.
Flashtool for Sony Updated to v0.9.23.0 with Support for Nougat FTF
Flashtool for Sony devices has been updated with support for flashing Nougat based FTF files, and more such features! Head on over to know more!
Users who have owned Sony devices and done any sort of software tinkering with them would have obviously heard of XDA Recognized Developer Androxyde's Flashtool. For the uninitiated, Flashtool offers Sony device owners the freedom to move around on stock packages for both upgrades and downgrades, and was once used as a means of flashing modified "custom" ROMs as well (before recoveries gained their popularity).
HTC has been very vocal about which devices they plan on updating to Android 7.0 Nougat. Starting all the way back in May of this year, HTC announced their official roadmap for Android 7.0 Nougat (called Android N at the time). We were told they had plans to update the HTC One M9, HTC One A9, and the HTC 10 with Google's latest version of Android. The one device left off in this list was the HTC One M8, which didn't have any plans to get officially updated at that time.
Sony publishes instructions on how to build Android 7.1 AOSP for Xperia Devices
Sony has published detailed instructions on how to build Android 7.1 AOSP for various Xperia devices. The build is marked 'experimental' for now, though.
Sony is one of the few OEMs that remains a firm believer in AOSP. Most companies do not bother providing necessary firmware binaries to allow developers to port AOSP onto the device. But while some OEMs actually do provide binaries for developers to make AOSP builds, like we saw with the OnePlus 3, Sony takes it a step further and ensures that AOSP functions properly on all of their devices. Although Sony's Open Device program does not extend to every device it releases, the work that they put out makes the lives of custom ROM developers far, far easier and the community could not be more appreciative for it.