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HMD Global will continue to support its first-gen Nokia phones for another year
HMD Global is extending its promise of providing security patches to first-gen Nokia phones from two years, to a quarterly release in the third year.
Back in February 2017, HMD Global announced the re-entry of the Nokia brand with the international launch of the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 smartphones. This was followed up by the Nokia 8 in August 2017 and the Nokia 2 in October 2017. HMD Global executives mentioned in an interview that OEM skins on top of Android aren't the way it should be and that the customers deserve to have the latest security patches from Google as soon as they are made available. Nokia phones were also promised to receive two major updates and two years of regular security updates. By and large, HMD Global has delivered on the promise, providing timely patches and Android version upgrades across the Nokia device lineup. Now, the company is announcing its intention to surpass this promise, by providing an additional year of security patches.
[Update: Stable Update Available] Internal Android Pie beta for the Nokia 5 leaks online
The Android Pie beta for the Nokia 5 has leaked in our forums. The original poster even shared a hands-on video with the build.
It seems like almost every day we're writing about a Nokia phone getting Android Pie. The latest device to get the goods is the Nokia 5, but this is not an official release. An early internal Android Pie beta build for the Nokia 5 has leaked in our forums. The original poster even shared a hands-on video with the build.
Download the best Google Camera port for your Android device
The Google Camera Port Hub is a centralized location where you can go to find a working port for your device. Currently, the hub has over 40 devices listed.
One of the best developments in the Android community in recent years has been Google Camera ports. The Google Pixel's picture-taking ability is spectacular, even though the camera hardware may be better on other devices. A lot of the Google Pixel's photo magic comes from the Google Camera app. Features like HDR+ and portrait mode make the camera really shine. A vibrant community of developers and users has sprung up to bring these features to as many devices as possible.
Get the latest Nokia stock apps on any Nokia-branded phone
Are you not able to get the latest Nokia stock applications on your Nokia-branded smartphone? Check out this post, it just might help you.
Do you have a Nokia phone that doesn't have all of the standard stock apps? In China, Nokia phones have an entirely different set of stock applications complete with a different UI as well. They almost aren't the same phones at all. However, XDA Junior Member Akilesh T of LoveNokia has put up all of the company's stock applications for download, so you can get the latest stock applications on your smartphone. This includes the calendar, contacts, dialer, file manager, gallery, messaging, music, and note applications. If you're interested, you can check out the link down below which has a download folder on MEGA. This folder contains all of the APK files of the stock applications you can install on your device. Check it out on our forums below, along with the screenshots!
Nokia Camera with Pro Camera mode ported to Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 6, and more
XDA Senior Member hikari_calyx has released a port of the Nokia camera with Nokia Pro Camera mode to other Nokia smartphones including the Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 6 and others.
Earlier this year we learned that HMD Global was bringing the well-known Nokia Pro Camera mode to the Nokia Camera application for their Zeiss optics branded Android smartphones. This was first announced for the Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco and has since been released for the Nokia 7 and the Nokia 8. The company is working to optimize the Nokia Camera application for their other Nokia devices as well, but the Pro Camera mode may not arrive on their other Nokia-branded devices. If you would rather not wait, XDA Senior Member hikari_calyx has released a port of the Nokia Camera app with Nokia Pro Camera mode for other Nokia-branded smartphones including the Nokia 1, Nokia 2 (2017 and 2018), Nokia 3 (2017 and 2018), Nokia 5, and Nokia 6.
Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 Android 8.1 Oreo stable update rolling out in select markets
The Nokia 5 and the Nokia 6 are starting to receive the stable Android 8.1 Oreo update in some markets. The update brings March 2018 security patches, a revamped power menu, and more.
The Nokia brand made a comeback in smartphones last year as HMD Global acquired the rights. The company released the Nokia 6, Nokia 5, and the Nokia 3 as its first ever Android smartphones. The phones were followed by the flagship Nokia 8 and the low-end Nokia 2. At Mobile World Congress this year, HMD Global released its new device portfolio which includes the Nokia 6 (2018), the Nokia 7 Plus, the flagship Nokia 8 Sirocco, and its first Android Go phone in the form of the entry-level Nokia 1.
Exploit Targets Qualcomm's EDL Mode, Affects Some Xiaomi, OnePlus, Nokia and other Devices
Qualcomm devices have an EDL mode, which as it turns out seems to be exploitable if you have the right tools released by the OEMs.
Devices with Qualcomm chipsets have a Primary Bootloader (PBL) which typically boots the Android system, but also houses an alternative boot mode known as EDL mode. EDL mode is Qualcomm's Emergency Download Mode and allows an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to force flash software on a device. This cannot be modified (read-only mode) and has full control over the device's storage. Many OEMs including OnePlus and Xiaomi have released tools (known as programmers) which utilize EDL mode and a protocol known as Firehose to unbrick a device, while other tools from companies such as Nokia have leaked. Firehose can utilize a number of commands to flash devices, along with the ability to examine the data within a device's memory. Security researchers Roee Hay (@roeehay) and Noam Hadad from Aleph Research have discovered critical device vulnerabilities using this mode, which effectively grants an attacker full device access.