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Huawei Mate 9 gets the EMUI 9 (Android Pie) update in China
The late 2016 Huawei Mate 9 is receiving its last major Android update - the EMUI 9 update based on Android Pie (Android 9.)
If Huawei has proven themselves in one area, it's in providing Android 9 Pie updates for many of their devices. Huawei's heavily customized EMUI 9 may not be your jam, but you have to admit the company has done a great job at bringing it to their current and even last generation of devices. Speaking of older devices getting updates, the Huawei Mate 9 is scheduled to receive an official Android Pie update and we've spotted it rolling out in China.
Android Pie GSI now available for Project Treble-enabled devices
The first Android Pie (Android 9) Project Treble Generic System Image (GSI) built from the Android Open Source Project is now available.
When Google first announced Project Treble with Android 8.0 Oreo, there was some skepticism among the community about how effective Treble would be at bringing faster updates to Android devices. After seeing how Treble can help kickstart the custom development process by making it possible for supported devices to boot an AOSP Generic System Image (GSI), there was little doubt about how beneficial Treble support will be for the Android ecosystem. The announcement of the Android P beta program, which brought Developer Previews to 7 non-Google devices, laid to rest any remaining doubt about Treble's effectiveness. Now that Android 9 Pie is official and its source code is uploaded to AOSP, developers can build GSIs for all Project Treble-enabled devices from source.
Team OpenKirin opens website to support all EMUI 8 Huawei/Honor devices
Team OpenKirin aims to make the pure AOSP experience available for all supported Huawei and Honor devices running EMUI 8.
Huawei and their subsidiary Honor ship their smartphones and tablets with their EMUI software. It's a heavily modified version of the stock Android framework that offers a lot of features not found in AOSP. Some people prefer all of the added features while the stock Android purists would much rather have stock Android running on top of Huawei/Honor hardware. If that describes you, then you may want to check out the work done by the OpenKirin team. They recently released unofficial LineageOS, CarbonROM, and Resurrection Remix builds for all EMUI 8 devices.
How to flash a Generic System Image (GSI) on Project Treble supported devices
So your device supports Project Treble, what does that mean for you? It means you can flash a Generic System Image such as LineageOS or Resurrection Remix! Enjoy AOSP-based custom ROMs! Here's a guide on how to install these ROMs.
If you've only heard of Project Treble in passing but haven't looked into it all that much, then you may have heard that it's supposed to help major Android updates roll out more quickly. At XDA, there's another benefit that we've spoken about at length: the ability to boot an AOSP Generic System Image (GSI) on any supported device. This means that devices that were once running heavily customized Android versions like Samsung Experience on the Samsung Galaxy S9 or EMUI 8 on the Huawei Mate 10 Pro can alternatively run software closer to that of the Google Pixel 2.
Here's a list of Android devices updated with Project Treble support
Project Treble is a major re-architecture of the way Android works. The result is that Android software updates should come faster on devices that support it. Also, it opens up a whole new avenue of custom ROMs. Check out if your device supports it!
Whereas Apple is able to keep most of their devices, even many older ones, up to date with the latest software (which sometimes involve rather controversial features), Android device makers have varying degrees of success keeping their devices up to date. Some device makers like Essential and Google are pretty good at providing security patches, while others can delay updates by months at a time. That's without considering major software updates such as from Android Nougat to Android Oreo, a software release which is installed on only slightly more than 1% of all Android devices. To combat slow Android updates, Google introduced Project Treble.
A Revolution in Custom ROMs: How Project Treble makes Porting Android Oreo a 1 Day Job
An exploration into how Project Treble revolutionizes custom ROMs. It took less than 1 day to port Android Oreo to the Huawei Mate 9.
The XDA forums have been the central gathering of custom ROM development for years. It's thanks to the hard work of developers on our forums that many older Android smartphones are kept alive by custom ROMS sometimes years after devices were abandoned by the device maker. Though most manufacturers release bootloader unlocking methods these days, frequent delays in kernel source releases has stifled custom ROM development on many smartphones. That may soon change, however, thanks to something called "Project Treble" which was announced near the release of Android Oreo. Thanks to Project Treble, the time it takes to port an AOSP ROM onto a device should no longer take weeks or months—instead it should take merely days.
I Booted Stock Android Oreo on the Huawei Mate 9 thanks to Project Treble
Thanks to Project Treble support, we were successfully able to boot a stock, generic, AOSP Android Oreo system image onto the Huawei Mate 9.
Just a week before this year's Google I/O, Google unveiled one of the most fundamental, low-level changes to the Android OS framework: Project Treble. Project Treble modularizes the Android OS framework to separate it from vendor code, allowing OEMs to work on new software updates without having to wait for vendors (like Qualcomm) to update their code. As part of the Vendor Test Suite (VTS), all Treble-enabled devices must be able to boot a raw, generic AOSP build. Project Treble support is required on any device shipping with Android Oreo, so even though there are several devices that meet this criteria, nobody has tested whether or not we really can just boot a ROM compiled straight from source. But finally, I was able to boot a stock, generic AOSP-built Android 8.0 Oreo ROM on the Huawei Mate 9 thanks to Project Treble support.
Exclusive: This is Android Oreo with EMUI 6 on the Huawei Mate 9
We have obtained access to a pre-release firmware build of Android Oreo with EMUI 6 for the Huawei Mate 9. Check out what's new in the upcoming update!
Yesterday's Google event finally brought us the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, the Pixelbook, and the Home Mini/Max but even though the Google fervor is now dying down, there's still much for Android enthusiasts to look forward to in the coming weeks. The mighty Huawei Mate 10 will soon make its debut on October 16th at a press event in Munich, Germany, and it will be the first public look we will have on Huawei's upcoming EMUI 6 based on Android 8.0 Oreo. Ahead of this event, we have obtained access to a pre-release firmware build of Android Oreo/EMUI 6 for the Huawei Mate 9, and there are quite a few interesting changes to note for this upcoming update.
How to Enable System UI Tuner to Modify the Status Bar in EMUI 4+
A tutorial on how to enable the hidden System UI Tuner on EMUI 4+ devices so you can edit the status bar icons or enable the do not disturb toggle.
After years of minimal customization options, Android Marshmallow finally introduced some basic customization features that had existed in custom ROMs for ages through the inclusion of the System UI tuner.
How to Add Third-Party Music Apps to EMUI's Music Lock Screen [Root]
A modification to enable third-party apps to show up on EMUI's beautiful, custom lock screen layout for music applications.
EMUI, like many OEM skins, modifies the stock lock screen to fit its theme and incorporate features that the company believes their users will need quick access to.
How to Clone any Application with EMUI's App Twin Feature [No Root]
EMUI 5 introduced a new feature called App Twin which allows you to clone an app. By default, it is restricted to only 2 apps. Here's how to fix that.
If you've recently purchased a Huawei Mate 9 or you're one of the lucky few to partake in the EMUI 5.0 beta for some Huawei/Honor devices, then you might have heard of the new "App Twin" feature.
Enable "OK Google" Always-on Hotword Detection on Huawei/Honor Phones [No Root]
A tutorial to enable OK Google hotword detection on certain Huawei and Honor phones that utilize the proprietary "Emy" voice service.
Last week, I showed you how to force OK Google hotword detection to work on any device when its screen was off.
How to Change the Font Style on EMUI 5.0 [No Root]
A quick tutorial on how to change the font style on EMUI 5.0 without needing root access. The option seemingly disappeared in EMUI 5.0, but you can fix it!
One of the key features of Huawei's Emotion UI (EMUI) is the ability to install custom themes onto the device.