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[Update 2: New Roadmap] HMD Global reveals Android 10 update roadmap for its Nokia smartphones, teases cheap 5G phone for 2020
HMD Global plans to update over 15 Nokia devices to Android 10, starting this year. They are also planning an affordable 5G device.
The latest version of Android, formerly known as Android Q, will be called Android 10 as part of Google's newest efforts to give Android a fresher look. That's it, no fluff, no dessert name---just Android 10. And while this may make sense from a business perspective, it is still not sitting well with Android enthusiasts. Nonetheless, Google made the announcement in anticipation of the OS' stable release, which should now come sooner than later, and with it, some companies have started detailing their plans for rolling out the new OS to Android users. One of these companies is HMD Global, which has outlined their Android 10 update roadmap for their Nokia device lineup.
[Update: EMUI 10 Beta for Honor 8X] Honor 8X and Honor 10 will get EMUI 10 based on Android Q according to Honor India
EMUI 10 update based on Android Q is likely to be under consideration for the Honor 8X and the Honor 10, as per the company's Indian Twitter handle.
The last two months since the executive order by the U.S. government have been full of suspense and dilemma for users who own or wish to buy Android devices made by Huawei and Honor. While Huawei has reportedly been working on a homegrown alternative to Android, the development of EMUI 10 based on Android Q appears to be going on with full swing too. Back in June, we saw the first preview of Android Q running on the Huawei P30 Pro and even saw Huawei's optimism about rolling out Android Q update, in spite of the hurdles by the U.S. government, for at least 15 Huawei devices. For Honor, however, there has been no such assurances yet except for the Honor 20/20 Pro. But as per the company's Twitter handle, Android Q is already under consideration for the Honor 8X and the Honor 10.
[Update 2: References Removed] Android Q may let you switch cards from Google Pay in the power menu
A new, hidden feature in Android Q beta 4 may allow you to quickly change credit cards in Google Pay right from the power menu.
Apps like Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay have grown more popular around the world as carrying a wallet full of different credit cards, loyalty cards, passes, and tickets can be annoying. I've personally used Google Pay extensively during a recent trip to London where it was more convenient to pay for the London Underground using my phone than it was to buy an Oyster Card or individual tickets. It's quite easy to pay with your phone as all you need to do is unlock the device then hold it against the NFC terminal. However, if you want to change what card you'll pay with, then you need to open the app and select a different card. A new feature in Android Q may speed up that process.
[Update 3: Now in Stable] Android Q will add Google Chrome integration into Digital Wellbeing
Android Q will bring Google Chrome integration into Digital Wellbeing. Users will be able to limit their time on specific websites.
Every now and then, tech companies come up with new ideas and trends that everyone can get behind. 2018 was the year of not just notches, but also the "digital wellbeing." Major players like Google and Apple decided that it is crucial for users to be able to control and monitor their smartphone usage. The latest versions of Android and iOS now let you limit specific app usage, make your phone less attractive to use, restrict some services, and more. Apparently, Google is making the feature even more useful in Android Q.
[Update: Beta Sign-ups] EMUI 10 beta based on Android Q will start rolling out for the Huawei P30 series on September 8th
At the 2019 Huawei Developer Conference, Huawei announced that EMUI 10 beta based on Android Q will roll out for the Huawei P30 series on September 8th.
China’s largest technology company, Huawei, is holding its annual Developer Conference this week in the city of Dongguan. At the event, Huawei officially announced the latest version of its Android-based software called EMUI. EMUI 10.0 is based on Android 10 Q, which itself is still in beta phase. Nonetheless, Huawei is prepared to show the world what the Android Q update for its Huawei and Honor-branded smartphones will look like.
Android 10 source code comment confirms the Google Pixel 4 will have a 90Hz display
A comment we found in the Android 10 source code reveals that the Google Pixel 4 (2019 Google Pixel) will indeed have a 90Hz high refresh rate display.
IFA 2019 is underway, so we're seeing a plethora of smartphone device makers unveil their latest offerings. So far, none of the new smartphones that have been announced have a high refresh rate display. Just this year alone, we've seen the Nubia Red Magic 3, ROG Phone II, and OnePlus 7 Pro come out with 90Hz or higher refresh rates. I crowned the OnePlus 7 Pro the best smartphone in the first half of 2019, in large part due to its 90Hz display. The upcoming Google Pixel 4 smartphones are also rumored to have 90Hz displays, which we can now confirm thanks to a comment left by a Googler in the Android 10 source code.
Android 10 adds support for installing custom boot animations via APEX modules
Android 10 adds support for installing custom boot animations delivered through an APEX module. This opens up boot animation theming for OEMs.
The latest version of Google's Android operating system is Android 10, released just yesterday for Pixel smartphones. With the official release, we can see the new boot animation that shows off Android's new, dessert-less branding (see the featured image above). The boot animation is one of the most popular things to customize in the XDA community, but doing so requires root access since the boot animation resides in the read-only system, product, or oem partitions. That could change in the future, however. According to a commit we spotted in AOSP, Google has added support for installing custom boot animations through APEX modules.
Android 10 warns you when your phone's USB port is contaminated or overheating
Android 10 has added a warning that tells you when your USB port is contaminated by debris or water, or the port is overheating.
Yesterday, Google released the stable Android 10 update for all four generations of its Pixel smartphones. Shortly after, Essential released the stable update for the Essential Phone, OnePlus released a beta for the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro, and Xiaomi released a "stable beta" for the Redmi K20 Pro. More importantly for us, however, is the fact that Google began uploading the Android 10 source code to AOSP, kicking off custom ROM development for the new Android OS. While digging through AOSP and Google's public pages for the new Android release, we spotted two new features: USB port contamination and overheating detection.
[Update: Clock Plugins] Google is working on lock screen clock customization in Android Q
An in-development feature of Android Q on the Google Pixel lets you change the lock screen clock to a text clock, bubble clock, or stretch clock.
The first Android Q beta release was made public 2 days ago. If you have a Google Pixel smartphone, you can download the beta right now. The biggest new features in Q are the system-wide dark mode (which has inexplicably been hidden from users), the privacy and permissions revamp (though the leaked permission overview interface was also hidden), and the desktop mode. We've been digging into the release using our trusted APKTool and JEB Decompiler to find all the hidden features like new gestures and Active Edge remapping that might arrive in the final Q release. Another feature that we found is lock screen clock customization.
[Update: Removed from Release] Pixel Launcher in unreleased Android Q beta adds a swipe to pull down notifications gesture
The latest Pixel Launcher in an unreleased Android Q beta lets you swipe down anywhere on the home screen to pull down the notifications panel.
In Android Q, the new gesture navigations will only work with pre-installed system launchers like Google's Pixel Launcher. For those of you who are fans of third-party launchers like Nova Launcher, Lawnchair, Action Launcher, or Hyperion, you may be disappointed to hear that Android's awesome new gesture controls won't work with your favorite launcher. Google's stock launcher is well-designed, but it lacks a lot of the features that power users are accustomed to. We've now learned that one such feature, the ability to swipe down anywhere to pull down the notification panel, will be added to the stock Pixel Launcher in a future Android Q beta.
OnePlus 7/7 Pro get Android 10 with OxygenOS Open Beta 1
The first Open Beta builds of Android 10-based OxygenOS for OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro are now available. Read more for installation instructions.
Google released the stable version of Android 10 just a few hours ago for Pixel devices. Essential, as is tradition, followed a couple of minutes later by releasing an update on the Essential Phone. More surprisingly, Xiaomi rolled out Android 10 for Redmi K20 Pro in China and India. It is the third manufacturer to have Android 10 rolled out already on the day of its official release. Now, OnePlus has announced the release of the first Open Beta of Android 10-based OxygenOS for the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro.
Stable Android 10 is now available for the Google Pixel and the Essential Phone
After 6 beta releases, Google apparently thinks Android Q is ready for primetime. Android 10 Q is available now for Pixel devices.
After six beta updates, Google is finally ready to release stable Android 10 (Queen Cake? Quince Tart? Who knows!). This has been one of the most interesting Android beta periods since Google started the program. The gesture navigation system has been the main focus and Google apparently thinks it's ready for primetime. Android 10 is available now for Pixel devices.
OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro receive another Android Q beta ahead of stable Android 10 release
OnePlus has released Android Q Beta 5 for the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro, based on Google's Android 10 Beta 6, just ahead of official Android 10 release.
Android 10, and unfortunately not Android 10 Queen Cake, is scheduled for launch tomorrow for supported Pixel devices. The rest of the Android world would then need to hope that their OEM cares enough to provide a quick update. A lot of OEMs have been participating in Android Q Beta programs though, so you aren't out of all options if you just want to have a taste of the latest Android version. Right over the weekend, OnePlus has released another Android Q Beta for the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro.
[Update: September 3rd Launch] Android 10 will not get a dessert name, Google reveals new branding
Android Q will simply be called "Android 10" and Google has rolled out a new look for the Android brand to go along with it.
Today is truly the end of an era. Google announced that Android Q will not get a dessert nickname. A tradition that has been going on for a decade has come to a close. Android Q will simply be called "Android 10" and Google has rolled out a new look for the Android brand to go along with it.
[Update 2: Redmi K20 Pro in India] Xiaomi is recruiting beta testers for the Mi 9's Android Q-based MIUI update
Xiaomi has begun recruiting beta testers for the Xiaomi Mi 9's upcoming Android Q-based MIUI update. Read on to know more about this recruitment!
Android Q has been available for developers since a few months now, giving them a chance to try out Google's newest update to Android before it rolls out for the general public. These Beta releases gives them an opportunity to explore newly introduced APIs and test their apps against the changes, ensuring that everything works for the end user when the new update finally goes public. In a similar fashion, OEMs are also provided access to the newest version of Android to allow them to begin work on rebasing their custom UX's onto the platform update. For instance, OnePlus's recent accidental notification push occured when the OxygenOS team was working on Android Q, and we have even had our first look at Huawei's EMUI 10 based on Android Q thanks to a pre-release build. Now, Xiaomi has begun recruiting beta testers for trying out MIUI based on Android Q on the Xiaomi Mi 9.
[Update: ZenFone 5Z Too] ASUS recruits Android Q beta testers for the ZenFone 6
ASUS is recruiting beta testers to try out Android Q on the ASUS ZenFone 6. The beta program will be running until November 24th.
The ASUS ZenFone 6 has been one of the surprise devices in 2019. We don't usually get excited for ASUS phones, but the ZenFone 6 came out of nowhere and impressed us. ASUS has been doing a good job at software support as well with two updates this month already. Now, the company is recruiting beta testers for Android Q.
Another look at Android Q with MIUI: System-wide dark mode, Finally! [VIDEO]
Android Q with MIUI is coming along nicely, and system-wide dark mode is finally here! Check out this video overview of its current state.
Android Q looks to be arriving very soon, especially as Google just dropped the Android Q-specific security patches yesterday. As a result, companies are ramping up development to have everything ready to go as soon as possible. OEMs like Essential will likely have their update out very soon, but others with more software modifications like Xiaomi, Huawei, and OnePlus may take a little bit longer. Xiaomi's efforts are seemingly going well so far though as the latest version of MIUI based on Android Q is very near completion. I made a video for XDA TV going over its current state, which you can check out below. There's some cool features, one particularly weird feature, and a couple of bugs as well.
[Update: Appearing for some] Unreleased Android Q beta hints at upcoming Pixel customization with styles, clocks, and more
A pre-release version of Android Q beta 6 has hints that Google will introduce a new "Styles" menu for Pixel customization.
Google released the first Android Q beta back in March followed by the second beta in early April. When the second beta was released, we spotted a stub APK for a new Google app called "Pixel Themes." The stub was mostly empty except for assets that showed off a few theme previews code-named "Anthony," "Johanna," and "Reiko." Android Q already offers basic customization through a limited selection of accent colors, icon shapes, and fonts in Developer Options, but the existence of "Pixel Themes" suggested that Google was preparing to offer better Pixel customization in a future release. In an unreleased beta build of Android Q, we've spotted more hints that Google will add limited Pixel theming support.
Huawei announces when the Mate 20, Honor 20, and Honor View 20 will start getting EMUI 10 (Android Q)
Huawei has announced the rollout schedule for EMUI 10 Beta based on Android Q for Huawei 20 series, Honor 20 series and more devices. Read on to know more!
Huawei has been hard at work on its own homebrewed Harmony OS, but the company strongly insists that Harmony OS is the company's Plan B. This new OS will be used if and only if using Android on Huawei and Honor devices becomes impossible. Huawei is still committed to Android, and the next EMUI 10 update will also be based on Android Q, the next version of Google's operating system. At the Huawei Developer Conference, Huawei confirmed that EMUI 10 beta will be coming to the Huawei P30 and the Huawei P30 Pro on September 8, 2019. Now, reports suggest that Huawei has also shared a timeline for EMUI 10 beta release for its other devices.
Google Play Services 19.0.56 beta hints at smart Bluetooth battery estimates for Fast Pair devices
The latest Google Play Services beta indicates that Google is working on providing smarter battery estimates for Bluetooth Fast Pair devices. Read on!
The 3.5mm headphone jack is definitively on its way out, and we are going to witness many more attempts from accessory makers towards Bluetooth audio devices. Back in 2017, Google had announced Fast Pair as a way to enable quick Bluetooth pairing with compatible devices, making the process easier and convenient for the then-upcoming Pixel Buds for the Google Pixel 2. At Google I/O 2019, Google announced that it is working on showing battery notifications on the phone for the battery cases of truly wireless earphones, starting with Android Q. Now, the latest beta version of Google Play Services indicates that Google is expanding these battery notifications to be smarter for Fast Pair devices.