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Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) announced with Quad Rear Cameras
Samsung has just announced the Galaxy A9 (2018), the first Samsung phone (and first mainstream Android phone) with a quad rear camera setup.
It looks like Samsung is preparing a gradual, yet radical switch in their design philosophy, possibly the biggest one since the Samsung Galaxy S6 was announced. And this has been evidenced on both the software and hardware front. The Galaxy A8 Star, announced some months ago, features a design that notably differs from Samsung's usual design language. The dual camera setup was cornered to the left instead of centered, looking more similar to something like an iPhone Xs.
Android Oreo update rolling out for international LG G5 (H850)
Thanks to a tip from an XDA forum member, we have learned the international variant of the LG G5 has just begun receiving its Android Oreo OTA update.
It was an interesting time when LG officially announced the LG G5. The company was happy with the results of the LG G4 but it seemed like they were expecting more from its successor. So they had big plans for their 2016 flagship smartphone and that included modular support. Since then, their mobile division has been losing millions of dollars, but thankfully that hasn't stopped them from working on software. Thanks to a tip from an XDA forum member, we have learned the international variant of the LG G5 with the H850 model number has just begun receiving its Android Oreo OTA update.
Download Pixel Launcher with Assistant on search bar (as seen on Pixel 3)
As seen on the leaked Google Pixel 3 renders, there's a new Google Pixel Launcher version with the Google Assistant icon on the search bar.
Shortly after the release of Android Pie for the Google Pixel series, we discovered that Google was testing a newer version of the Pixel Launcher on an unexpected device: the Android Studio emulator. While the Pixel Launcher found in Android P DP5 and the subsequent Android Pie releases lack a voice search shortcut in the search bar, the Android Studio emulator's launcher had a Google Assistant shortcut on the search bar. Since we first discovered this updated launcher version, press renders for the Google Pixel 3 have shown this same Assistant shortcut on the search bar. Now, you can download the latest Pixel Launcher version with the same Google Assistant shortcut.
Download Google Pixel 3 Live Wallpapers Ported for Android 6.0+
Do you want the Google Pixel 3 Live Wallpapers but you don't have Android Pie? No worries, download a port of the Pixel 3 Live Wallpapers for Android 6.0+!
Earlier today, the official Google Pixel 3 wallpapers leaked online along with the Pixel Wallpapers app containing the new Live Wallpapers. While the high-quality still images of the live wallpapers are nice, what people really want are the new Google Pixel 3 Live Wallpapers. The few users who could install the leaked Live Wallpapers APK discovered that some of the wallpapers appeared on the Always on Display on their Google Pixel 2, but most users can't install it because the APK requires an Android Pie device. Now, XDA Recognized Developer Pranav Pandey has ported the Pixel 3 Live Wallpapers app so it'll work on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and later.
Nokia Camera port brings 3D Personas (Animojis) to any Android 8.0+ device
Port of the Nokia Camera app with new 3D Personas feature (HMD Global's version of Samsung's AR Emoji/Apple's Animoji) is here for any Android 8.0+ devices.
The Nokia 6.1 Plus launched with HMD Global's version of Apple's Animojis or Samsung's AR Emojis. It's called 3D Personas and it works similarly to other 3D emoji features by using the front-facing camera to map your facial expressions onto a 3D model. HMD Global only offers a few 3D Personas to play around with, unlike Samsung's many Disney-themed packs. The one advantage to this version from Nokia is that it has been ported for most ARM64 Android devices running Android Oreo or Android Pie.
Download: Samsung Internet 9.0 brings major redesign to the web browser
Samsung Internet 9.0 will launch with Samsung Experience 10.0 based on Android Pie. We managed to pull the APK so you can download and install it now!
It might not be the juggernaut that is Google Chrome, but Samsung Internet has gained a dedicated following thanks to the extra features that it offers on top of Google's browser. Just recently we reported on the new Samsung Internet 8.2 beta that brought features like parallel downloading for faster file downloads and Do Not Track mode. In the first Samsung Experience 10.0 build based on Android Pie for the Samsung Galaxy S9+ that we found, we were able to get an even newer version of Samsung Internet. Samsung Internet 9.0 brings a major redesign to the browser with the new rounded corner UI found in Samsung Experience 10.
NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV gets SHIELD Experience 7.1 with NVIDIA Share and 120Hz support
The NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV box is getting SHIELD Experience 7.1 based on Android 8.0 Oreo which comes with NVIDIA Share and 120Hz display output support.
The NVIDIA Shield Android TV box is one of the best supported Android devices on the market. Launched in May of 2015, the company has been keeping it up to date with a pretty solid consistency. Android 8.0 Oreo arrived back in June with the SHIELD Experience 7.0 update, swiftly followed by a bugfix update to SHIELD Experience 7.0.1. Now, SHIELD Experience 7.1 is beginning to roll out for NVIDIA SHIELD TV owners in the closed preview program, and it brings NVIDIA Share and 120Hz display output support. You can check out the changelog below.
Android version distribution updated for August with no sign of Android Pie
Google has just updated the Android distribution chart and revealed that Android Oreo is now installed on 14.6% of Android devices. Android Pie is MIA!
It's that time of the month when Google updates the Android version distribution chart. It was last updated at the end of July when we found out that 12.1% of Android phones ran on Android 8.0 Oreo. Unfortunately, the updated statistics aren't that exciting. Since the last update, we now have a new version of Android to track, Android Pie (Android 9), which has not reached enough devices to make a dent in the numbers. Here are the updated percentages:
Does Android's volume dialog take 20 seconds to dismiss? Here's why that happens.
Have you noticed that the volume dialog on your Android takes 20 seconds to disappear, unless you tap on the screen manually? Here's why that happens.
Have you noticed that the volume dialog that appears when you press the volume buttons takes a bit too long to disappear on its own? When you first got your Android phone, the volume dialog would automatically dismiss after a few seconds without your intervention. Then, sometime in the past few days, weeks, or months, it would take a long time to go away unless you tapped on your screen. If you're experiencing this problem and it infuriates you, you're not alone.
Android Oreo's "Turn on WiFi Automatically" feature is available for all in Android Pie
Android Oreo added a "Turn on WiFi Automatically" feature when you area near a high-quality saved network. This feature is available for all in Android Pie.
Google Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P owners will remember the disappointment when getting the official Android 8.0 Oreo update and not getting features like Night Light and automatic Wi-Fi wakeup. The latter feature was introduced with the Android Oreo update for the Google Pixel and Pixel XL. What it does is automatically turns on Wi-Fi to connect to a high-quality saved network. The feature isn't available for all Android Oreo devices as OEMs have to choose to enable it, but it will be available for all devices running Android Pie!
How to check if your Android phone is powerful enough to run Fortnite Mobile
Are you wondering if your Android smartphone or tablet is powerful enough to run Fortnite Mobile? We have the detailed hardware compatibility list to check!
Fortnite, the massively popular free-to-play battle royale game, is coming soon to Android. Epic Games said the game would launch this summer but we now know that the game will likely launch as an exclusive on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. It won't be on the Google Play Store (but possibly on Samsung Galaxy Apps) as the game will be distributed from Epic Games' website. If you're wondering whether your Android smartphone or tablet is powerful enough to run Fortnite Mobile on Android, we have put together a comprehensive list of software and hardware requirements based on a configuration file we obtained from a leaked build of the Android app.
Android Oreo's rollback protection required on phones launching with Android Pie
All devices launching with Android Pie (Android 9) are required to support Verified Boot (Android Verified Boot 2.0), which allows for rollback protection.
Android Pie (Android 9) just went live today for the Google Pixel, Google Pixel 2, and even the Essential Phone. We're learning as much as we can about the release from interviews (the Google Pixel 3 will only have gesture navigation!), the AOSP code drop, and lastly the Compatibility Definition Document (CDD). We posted about a new feature for "heavyweight" apps earlier today, but now we've found that Google has changed their wording on a feature introduced in Android Oreo: rollback protection. The feature is made possible by Android Verified Boot 2.0 (also known simply as Verified Boot), however, OEMs were not required to implement AVB 2.0 in the Oreo release. Now, Google is mandating that all devices launching with Android Pie support Verified Boot, and by extension, rollback protection.
Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro starts getting Android 8.0 Oreo update in China
Samsung is currently rolling out Android Oreo to the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro phablet in China. This device was originally launched back in 2016.
With the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro being released in 2016, many people were hoping the company hadn't forgotten about its Android Oreo update. We can safely say that Samsung is currently rolling out Android 8.0 to this particular model in China.
Ava Lockscreen is a lockscreen replacement for Android 8.0+ with widget & quick reply support
Ava Lockscreen is a lockscreen replacement for Android 8.0+, and it has a number of ffeatures that may entice you to try it out.
There hasn't been a "true" lock screen replacement application for a long time now on Android. This was as a result of changes in Android Oreo, which prevented applications from drawing over systemui. The systemui includes the lock screen, status bar, notification bar, and more. This meant that any custom lock screen attempting to draw over the real lock screen was prevented from doing so. XDA Senior Member Jawomo has a solution in the form of Ava Lockscreen.
Developers: Your new app on the Play Store must target API level 26
Starting August 2018, all new apps submitted to the Play Store must target API level 26. Starting November 2018, updates to existing apps must target API 26
When Google first brought the Android OS to market, the company had a laissez-faire approach to developers. After all, the company needed to entice developers to bring their apps and services to the fledgling platform. However, many of these early decisions were later walked back on as they resulted in a poor user experience—turns out allowing apps to do whatever they wanted resulting in apps doing whatever they wanted. With the newer releases of Android, apps are unable to spam notifications, use background services without explicitly notifying the user, access sensitive permissions without a dialog granting permission, and much more. Yet, Google made it easy for apps to bypass these user-friendly restrictions by allowing apps to continue targeting older SDK versions. Last December, Google announced that all new applications submitted to the Google Play Store must target at least API level 26 (Android 8.0 Oreo). It is finally August, which means that if you are working on a new app and plan on submitting it to the Play Store, it better target Android 8.0 Oreo!
Korean LG V20 starts getting Android 8.0 Oreo update
The Korean models of the LG V20 are receiving the Android 8.0 Oreo update in South Korea. It brings an improved blue light filter and June security patch.
The stable release of Android P isn't too far away, but device makers are continuing to roll out Android Oreo updates to their smartphones. Eleven months have passed since Android Oreo was made official, but the newest Android version is still installed only on 12.1% of Android devices (combining both Android 8.0 and Android 8.1). Yesterday we saw the US unlocked Samsung Galaxy S7 receive the Android Oreo update. Now, the LG V20---another 2016 flagship smartphone---is receiving the Android 8.0 Oreo update in South Korea.
Language Navi translates foreign language apps on-the-fly (Oreo+)
An XDA Junior Member released an application called Language Navi that will translate foreign language words directly in an application and on-the-fly too.
Google has been working on their translation applications and web services for a while now. Google Lens is quite impressive as it allows you to point the camera at a menu, a sign, or anything else with a non-native language and it can translate it for you. But what about applications on your phone that do not support your native language? Sure, if you have two phones then you could use one to scan the other, but that is incredibly inconvenient. So XDA Junior Member tachibanalab has just recently released an application called Language Navi that will translate foreign language words directly in an application and on-the-fly too.
Android Q+ may use the Vulkan Graphics API to render the UI
Skia, Google's open source graphics engine, has a Vulkan Graphics API backend. This backend may be utilized to render the UI in Android Q or later.
The next major version of Android, Android 9, is set to be released next month for multiple devices. Unlike Android Oreo where the main improvements were mostly under-the-hood, Android P offers more user-facing features such as the revamped user interface, navigation gestures, and Digital Wellbeing while also continuing work on Project Treble. But behind-the-scenes, Google has revamped how graphics rendering works on Android. In Android Oreo, Google began testing an OpenGL hardware-accelerated backend to the Skia graphics engine which was completed in Android P. Google isn't stopping there, however, as the company plans on implementing the Vulkan backend of the Skia graphics engine which will land in Android Q or a later release.
Xiaomi Mi Box Android Oreo beta re-opened after users have tons of issues
The Xiaomi Mi Box recently received an update to Android Oreo. The OTA has since been halted and the beta re-opened as users run into tons of problems.
The Xiaomi Mi Box recently received the much-awaited update to Android Oreo, after the device was seemingly abandoned when an Android Nougat update never came. While the update worked, the number of bugs present in the final release was overwhelming. Testers felt that they weren't being heard, and key functionality was left out that meant some Xiaomi Mi Box devices were completely unusable for their initial purpose. Now the founders of xiaomi.eu have taken it up with Xiaomi, and the rollout has been canceled with the Android Oreo beta program being re-opened.
Huawei Mate 10 Lite & Huawei P10 Lite receiving Android Oreo (8.0) update
The Huawei Mate 10 Lite and the Huawei P10 Lite are both receiving the Android Oreo update now. It brings EMUI 8.0 and all of Android's latest features.
The Huawei Mate 10 Lite and the Huawei P10 Lite are both receiving an update to Android 8.0 Oreo, according to a report from HuaweiBlog.de. Both devices will also receive the latest version of EMUI, EMUI 8.0 which comes with its own set of additional features over stock Android, too. We first saw EMUI 8.0 debuted with the Huawei Mate 10 Pro last year. Users on the Mate 10 Lite or the P10 Lite could install the beta update to Android Oreo through the company's own open beta program.