latest
Yeah, XDA made a phone and it's only available for 6 weeks!
We here at XDA have collaborated with F(x)tec to bring you our first smartphone. Meet the Pro1-X, a phone that can run LineageOS or Ubuntu.
There have been many rumors and running jokes over the years that XDA would, and probably should, make a phone. Our history with alternative platforms such as LineageOS (and CyanogenMod that came before it) has meant that XDA has been at the forefront of helping develop viable alternatives to the primary platforms available on smartphones.
Developers port Windows 10 on ARM to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and other Snapdragon 835-powered phones
A homebrew UEFI firmware enables the Snapdragon 835-powered Samsung Galaxy S8 to boot the ARM version of Windows 10. Read on to know more!
Developer-friendly OEMs like OnePlus and Sony are known for publishing kernel sources as well as device trees; the latter serves as a mechanism to describe the hardware to the Linux-based kernel of Android on ARM platform as soon as the primary bootloader boots. Operating systems like Microsoft Windows, however, utilize the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) for the same task, while the low level hardware initialization is handled by the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) nowadays. Interestingly, it is possible to port UEFI and ACPI support to existing ARM devices with ample hacking, thus you can technically boot Windows 10 on devices like the Raspberry Pi.
QualPwn Overview: New vulnerability may affect more than the Snapdragon 835 and 845
If you own a device with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 845, or any device with a Snapdragon chip, you may be vulnerable to the QualPwn exploit.
Over the years, we've seen a number of scary Linux-based exploits make the spotlight. We've seen Stagefright, RAMpage, and Cloak and Dagger, just to name a few. When both OnePlus and Xiaomi decided to release their security updates early, some predicted that there was a major exploit getting patched with this month's security patches. Those people were right: Researchers at the Tencent Blade Team discovered a critical vulnerability that is confirmed to affect all devices with either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. Dubbed, "QualPwn," the attack allows for remote exploitation of affected devices, and the fact that it affects devices with two popular chipsets resulted in it quickly making the rounds on the Internet. However, this attack potentially affects many more chipsets, so your device could be vulnerable too.
LG made prototypes of the G6 with the Snapdragon 835. Here's one of them.
LG was expecting to be using the Snapdragon 835 in the LG G6. This is evidenced by the fact that they actually made prototypes with the 835 processor.
Released back in March of 2017, the LG G6 was decently received by the smartphone community. It was a solid device that cost a fair amount less than other flagships of its generation such as the Samsung Galaxy S8. Beyond that, however, it didn't receive much attention. That is, it didn't receive much attention after launch. Before launch, however, was a different story.
Nubia Red Magic gaming phone with RGB LED strip, GameBoost button, and Snapdragon 835 launches in India
Nubia has launched the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835-powered Nubia Red Magic gaming phone in India for ₹29,999. The phone has a dedicated GameBoost button.
The gaming phone niche rose to prominence in the Android smartphone market in 2017. The Razer Phone was the first phone to draw attention to itself as a phone for gamers, and it was followed by the Razer Phone 2 this year. Other companies such as Asus, Xiaomi, and Nubia have since entered the gaming phone niche by launching the ROG Phone, Black Shark series, and the Red Magic series respectively. The first modern Android "gaming phone" to arrive in India was the Asus ROG Phone. The Indian launch took place in November at an exceedingly high price of ₹69,990 ($1,002). Now, Nubia, a subsidiary of ZTE, has launched the first-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 835-powered Nubia Red Magic phone in India at a substantially cheaper price (₹29,999).
Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 Review: The Best Android Tablet Left
Samsung's latest tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, was reviewed by our friends at PocketNow. They say it's the best Android tablet left.
Android tablets are not the hot, trendy gadgets that they used to be. For a brief time, every Android OEM was cranking out tablets left and right. Nowadays, it's mainly just Samsung sticking to the form factor. Their latest tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, was reviewed by our friends at PocketNow. They say it's the best Android tablet left.
Testing Fortnite Mobile on Android's performance: Can your device handle Fortnite?
Fortnite Mobile on Android is here for devices with the Snapdragon 820/821, 835, 845, & Kirin 970. We tested the game's performance!
Just as Epic Games promised would happen, the free-to-play battle royale game 'Fortnite' finally became available last week. For the first 3 days of its release, the game was limited the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Tab S3, and Galaxy Tab S4. We expected a much longer exclusivity period, possibly limited to just the Note 9 and Galaxy Tab S4, but it turns out the exclusive content is just a free skin and 15,000 V-Bucks (the in-game currency.) Now that the game is officially available for non-Samsung devices, we decided to do some quick gameplay tests on as many supported devices as we could and capture the performance data thanks to help from our friends at GameBench. We tested several devices with most of the supported chipsets—that being the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, Snapdragon 835, Snapdragon 845, Kirin 970, and Exynos 8895—just to get a feel for how well Fortnite Mobile on Android performs on most current Android smartphones.
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.
Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 632, 439 and 429 Mobile Platforms
Today, Qualcomm has announced the latest generation of chipsets in both brackets, with the new Snapdragon 632, Snapdragon 439, and Snapdragon 429.
For a few years now, we’ve seen affordable phones become competitive options that are able to satisfy the needs of more and more customers. As OEMs shifted their focus towards emergent markets, cost became a premier concern and mid-range components were put into the spotlight. Qualcomm’s 600 series best exemplifies this shift in enthusiast minds, as its chips found their way into over 1,350 designs according to Qualcomm. While the Snapdragon 400 chips have been a Qualcomm best seller, with projects like Android Go finally taking off, the lower-end Snapdragon 400 line also becomes increasingly more relevant to both the masses and enthusiasts. Today, Qualcomm has announced the latest generation of chipsets in both brackets, with the new Snapdragon 632, Snapdragon 439 and Snapdragon 429 system-on-chips.
Xiaomi Announces the new Mi Mix 2, Mi Note 3 and Mi Notebook Pro
Ahead of Apple's launch event, Xiaomi has gone on ahead to unveil the new bezelless Mi MIX 2, the new Mi Note 3 and the new Mi Notebook Pro. Read on!
At an event in Beijing, Xiaomi has unveiled the successor to the Mi MIX, one of the most interesting phones of 2016. The new Mi MIX 2 improves upon the bezelless trend that its predecessor pushed back into the mainstream, at a time when every other major OEM is also busy shaving off the extra bezels. Xiaomi also took the stage to announce the new Mi Note 3 and the Mi Notebook Pro.
Google Camera HDR+ Port Updated with Zero Shutter Lag, More Xiaomi Device Support, and Major Bug Fixes
Google Camera port with HDR+ for Snapdragon 820, 821, and 835 devices updated with Zero Shutter Lag, more Xiaomi device compatibility, and bug fixes.
As we reported earlier this month, Google Camera was ported with working HDR+ to any devices that used a Snapdragon 820/821 or 835 chip (with the exception of the ZTE Axon 7, according to reports from other users). It has also been reported to work on certain Snapdragon 4XX or 6XX devices such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, though this requires the devices to have the Camera2 API enabled. Since the initial, rather buggy release, the Google Camera port has received updates to fix major bugs, bring more Xiaomi devices on board, and has also introduced Zero Shutter Lag for automatic HDR+ mode.
Google Camera with HDR+ Ported to Snapdragon 820/821 and 835 Devices
Google Camera with HDR+ has been ported to any device with the Snapdragon 820, 821, or 835. Works with LG G6, OnePlus 5, Samsung Galaxy S8, and more!
Despite the lavish praise the Google Nexus line received thanks to its openness to development, the smartphones have received much criticism for their camera prowess. That changed (though some would argue it hasn't) with the release of the Google Pixel and Pixel XL, however, as Google took a more consumer directed approach to their smartphones and the results showed in the camera department with the smartphones receiving top tier scores from DxOMark. Part of Google's more recent success with picture quality has been thanks to their amazing HDR+ technology that is exclusive to their smartphones. For the average user, HDR+ presents an incredibly easy way to produce stunning photographs without the need to learn manual photography or edit RAW images. And now, you can take advantage of Google Camera's HDR+ thanks to a modified version of the APK ported to work on any device with the Hexagon 680 ISP (found on the Snapdragon 820, 821, and 835 SoCs).
Microsoft, Qualcomm and Intel: The Windows 10 ARM Dustup
During Computex Microsoft and Qualcomm referred to x86 emulation in Windows 10 ARM, prompting response from Intel. We reach out to them and investigate.
In December 2016 Qualcomm and Microsoft released news that they were going to do something many in mobile didn't expect: Another attempt to get Windows to run on an ARM processor. But the similarities between this new attempt and previous ones marred by the Windows RT release were quickly put to bed.
Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ Finally Launched -- Specifications, Pricing and Availability
Samsung has finally lifted the wraps off the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. Read on to know more about Samsung's best smartphone ever!
At long last we are seeing the leak season for the Galaxy comes to an end as Samsung officially launched the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.
Snapdragon 835 Hands On and Qualcomm Visit Part 1: Benchmarks, Performance & Power Savings
XDA goes in-depth with benchmarks on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 as well as how the company has made power saving gains in part 1 of this series.
Last week, we were invited to Qualcomm’s Headquarters in San Diego, California, to get a first look and hands on with the Snapdragon 835 in the flesh.