COVID-19 Posts on XDA

Brace yourself: Phones and other tech may become harder to get as Shenzhen goes into lockdown

Brace yourself: Phones and other tech may become harder to get as Shenzhen goes into lockdown

March 14, 2022
A fresh wave of lockdown in China's Shenzhen is, once again, threatening to bring the supply chain to a standstill. Major manufacturers, including Foxconn, have been forced to suspend production in the city, which could delay shipments of smartphones and other tech products. According to a recent report from Nikkei Asia, the Shenzen government has halted public...
Intel employees without a COVID-19 vaccine will be put on unpaid leave

Intel employees without a COVID-19 vaccine will be put on unpaid leave

December 22, 2021
Intel has begun warning employees that they have to get a COVID-19 vaccine before January 4th in order to keep working at the company. As reported by The Oregonian, Intel workers who refuse to get vaccinated without getting an exemption will be on unpaid leave starting in April. The measure comes as a result of federal...
Google Assistant will make vaccine bookings easier for Indians

Google Assistant will make vaccine bookings easier for Indians

November 18, 2021
One of the ways we can move forward from the COVID-19 pandemic is through effective mass vaccination. There are a lot of challenges in getting the world vaccinated, and these challenges are compounded when you take into account the sheer accessibility issues involved in this gargantuan exercise. For me in India, booking a vaccine slot...
How to manually add your vaccination certificate to Apple Wallet for easy access

How to manually add your vaccination certificate to Apple Wallet for easy access

September 2, 2021
In the times of COVID19, every little trick that makes navigating the pandemic a tad easier matters a lot. Unlocking our Face ID iPhones through Apple Watch, when masked for example, is a handy addition that Apple has recently added. But now we’ve reached a point where a lot of places, including cinemas and pubs,...
Google Pay can securely store your COVID-19 vaccine info

Google Pay can securely store your COVID-19 vaccine info

June 30, 2021
Google has updated the Passes API to enable a secure way of storing your COVID-19 vaccination card and/or testing status on your Android smartphone, marking yet another way that Google has tried to help authorities combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The Passes API lets third-party developers create boarding passes, loyalty cards, digital tickets, etc. that the user...
Google silently installed Massachusetts’ contact tracing app onto users’ phones

Google silently installed Massachusetts’ contact tracing app onto users’ phones

June 21, 2021
Google appears to have silently installed the Massachusetts COVID-19 contact tracing app onto users' smartphones. The "MassNotify" app was found to have been automatically installed onto users' devices and has no application icon on the home screen or searchable Play Store listing. While some theorized that it was installed automatically on devices that had turned...
Here are the countries using Google and Apple’s COVID-19 Contact Tracing API

Here are the countries using Google and Apple’s COVID-19 Contact Tracing API

February 25, 2021
SARS-CoV-2, also known colloquially as just the coronavirus, has wreaked havoc across the world. Many countries shut down large parts of the economy in order to contain the spread of the virus. As countries reopen their economies, many health experts fear a "second wave", ie. resurgence, of COVID-19. To prevent a second wave, public health...
Google fixes issues with COVID-19 contact tracing apps on Android

Google fixes issues with COVID-19 contact tracing apps on Android

January 13, 2021
Google confirmed on Wednesday it's investigating issues with Android apps that use the Android Exposure Notifications System to track the spread of COVID-19. Apparently, there’s one issue in particular that’s causing apps to take longer to load or conduct exposure checks. “We are aware of an issue affecting Android apps developed using the Android Exposure Notifications...
Google Play Services 20.50.14 prepares to add support for Wearable Exposure Notifications

Google Play Services 20.50.14 prepares to add support for Wearable Exposure Notifications

January 6, 2021
Back in August of last year, we learned that the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) was working on a new BLE specification that would make contact tracing possible on wearables like smartwatches. To develop this new specification, over 130 Bluetooth member companies came together to form the Bluetooth SIG Exposure Notification Working Group (ENWG). At...
How to view a map of COVID-19 cases in Google News on Android

How to view a map of COVID-19 cases in Google News on Android

October 23, 2020
Google has added a new section in Google News that shows you a map of COVID-19 cases worldwide. In this section, you can easily check the total number of cases, recoveries, and deaths, along with helpful graphs illustrating the spread of coronavirus in a location, cases over time, and tests conducted. Additionally, the section lists...
Google, Apple introduce Exposure Notifications Express to boost participation in COVID-19 contact tracing

Google, Apple introduce Exposure Notifications Express to boost participation in COVID-19 contact tracing

September 1, 2020
Exposure Notifications System is a framework developed jointly by Google and Apple that consists of an iOS and Android API and a Bluetooth Low Energy spec with the goal being to empower public health agencies to develop power-efficient and secure COVID-19 contact tracing apps. Introduced a few months back, ENS is designed to allow you...
Bluetooth SIG is working on COVID-19 contact tracing support on wearables

Bluetooth SIG is working on COVID-19 contact tracing support on wearables

August 19, 2020
COVID-19 contact tracing will soon make its way to wearable devices, according to a recent announcement from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The standards body, which is responsible for defining new Bluetooth standards, has announced that they are working on a new BLE specification that will make contact tracing possible on wearables. Currently, Google and...