technology news: mars 2017

vendredi 10 mars 2017

TWRP v3.1.0 is now Rolling out with Support for ADB Backup, A/B OTA Zips, and More

About two weeks ago, we were informed that the next version of TWRP would bring support for backing up files directly to your PC through a feature known as ADB backup. We were told that this version of TWRP would be labeled version 3.1.0 and would roll out sometime soon. That time is now. Version 3.1.0 is rolling out with the aforementioned ADB Backup feature along with a couple of noteworthy fixes.

In particular, the update brings support for flashing alpha/beta OTA update zips through the recovery. Currently, this would only be useful for users on the Google Pixel or Pixel XL, but as more devices begin shipping with Android 7.1 and the A/B partition scheme, more users can take advantage of this feature. Owners of certain HTC phones, though, can now rejoice as the update brings better support for decrypting the data partition on some phones.

Another major fix to note is that TWRP will no longer wipe the data of certain applications that are set up for the Direct Boot feature, a bug which some users noticed when attempting to backup and restore their favorite messaging apps only to find that all of their messages were missing. Without going into too much detail, the gist of this problem is that applications set up for the Direct Boot feature make use of Device Encrypted (DE) storage rather than Credential Encrypted (CE) storage. Android 7.0 began adding certain extended attributes (xattr) to the data folders of apps stored under DE storage, but backups made via TWRP were not saving these xattrs prior to this update. Hence when a user attempts to restore the data folders from backups missing these xattrs, Android would instead delete the entire data folder.

Finally, one other change we would like to point out is that TWRP will now ask you to install the official app before rebooting. This request, which can be disabled permanently if declined, is a way for users to keep TWRP up to date on their device and to support the awesome team behind the recovery. If you haven't already, check out their app on the Play Store!

There are some other changes that we didn't mention, but you can look through a summary of the (massive) change-log for this update below.

TWRP v3.1.0 Change-log

vold decrypt on a few select HTC devices, TWRP will now attempt to use the system partition's vold and vdc binaries and libraries to decrypt the data partition (nkk71 and CaptainThrowback)
adb backup to stream a backup directly to or from your PC, see documentation here: http://ift.tt/2mRragc (bigbiff)
tweak MTP startup routines (mdmower)
support new Android 7.x xattrs for backup and restore to fix loss of data after a restore (Dees_Troy)
support POSIX file capabilities backup and restore to fix VoLTE on HTC devices and possibly other issues (Dees_Troy)
better indicate to users that internal storage is not backed up (Dees_Troy)
improve automatic determination of TW_THEME (mdmower)
minimal getcap and setcap support (_that)
try mounting both ext4 and f2fs during decrypt (jcadduono and Dees_Troy)
shut off backlight with power key (mdmower)
timeout during FDE decrypt (Dees_Troy and nkk71)
support for FBE decrypt and backing up and restoring FBE policies (Dees_Troy)
boot slot support (Dees_Troy)
TWRP app install prompt during reboot (Dees_Troy)
support for AB OTA zips (Dees_Troy)
support new Android 7.x log command (Dees_Troy)
update recovery sources to AOSP 7.1 (Dees_Troy)
numerous bugfixes and improvements by too many people to mention

Otherwise, you can track the progress of the TWRP build for your device here or see if the latest build is already available for your device here. Enjoy the update, and be sure to contribute to the project in whatever way you can, as TWRP is entirely a community-run, volunteer effort by a handful of awesome developers.

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Unnamed Motorola Phone Sports the Snapdragon 835, Demos Sprint’s Gigabit LTE

Due to some production limitations of the Snapdragon 835 this early in the year, a lot of the smartphones showcased at MWC 2017 were using Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 SoC. Many were upset at the news that LG's main flagship of the year would be using an SoC from last year. They were essentially forced into doing this because they wanted to start mass production before the Snapdragon 835 could be made available to them. However, this hasn't stopped other OEMs like Sony and Motorola from showing off new devices that will use Qualcomm's latest chip.

At MWC we saw Sony show off the Xperia XZ Premium and now we're learning about a mysterious Motorola smartphone that will also be using Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 SoC. This device was first shown at an event in New Orleans where Sprint wanted to show the company's gigabit LTE capabilities. This is in part possible thanks to the technology Sprint uses and Motorola's engineering team. Motorola's CVP of Global Product Development Shakil Barkat was at the event to talk about the unnamed device and its capabilities.

Mr. Barkat said this Motorola device will be the first to include three-carrier aggregation as well as 256-QAM capabilities with four MIMO antennas included. This isn't an easy feat to pack inside of a smartphone but Sprint's 2.5 GHz spectrum actually made it easier since their technology allows for smaller antennas. So this, combined with some unique antenna technology that Motorola has been developing for "several years," enabled them to reach these types of speeds with a smartphone right now.

In tests with various prototypes, Sprint has been able to reach average downlink speeds of between 700 and 900 Mbps. It also seems that gigabit smartphones will be an emerging feature this year as a Qualcomm representative confirmed at least four, but up to seven, smartphones will be debuting in the United States this year with gigabit capabilities. If you have limited data on your plan, you better be careful!

Source: Wireless Week

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Google Announces Cloud Functions for Firebase

Google Cloud Next 2017 is happening this week, and we've seen the company announce a number of new features and services for Google Cloud users at the event. There's been some unique announcements, such as introducing a new API to apply machine learning identification to videos, along with a huge update for current Firebase customers. Google's Cloud Functions for Firebase goes against the tradition of using mostly client code in an application, and expands it to the cloud so some functions can be easier.

Keeping most of the code on the client side of things does make it quicker and less expensive (generally) to ship an application to the end user. This functionality is limited though, and can sometimes still require you to have your own server for various tasks. So along with what Firebase has already been offering to keep things local, now you also have the choice to add some cloud functionality by utilizing Google Cloud and its massive server farms.

Cloud Functions for Firebase will be included in all of Firebase's pricing plans, and free tier users will still be able to experiment with it to see if it's a good fit for their needs. Google didn't go into detail about everything you can do with Cloud Functions for Firebase, but they did give a few examples. So, with Firebase Analytics, you could send a coupon code via a notification to a user once they have just completed a purchase. Or you could request your end user to fill out a survey once they have updated their application.

With Firebase Authentication, you could send a welcome email to new users, and even clean up data from your Realtime Database that's associated with a user once they delete their account. Speaking of Realtime Database, you can send a notification using FCM when data is written to the database and moderate or remove abusive language that was just written to the database as well. There are a ton of different things you can do and Google even came up with a video to explain it even further.

Source: The Firebase Blog

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HTC U Ultra Unboxing and Hands on

We have a video unboxing of the HTC U Ultra for you today. Check it out to see our first impressions of this interesting new phone from HTC.

HTC U Ultra on right and LG V20 on Left

HTC U Ultra at navbar setup screen

Back of HTC U Ultra with white finish

HTC U Ultra at Android setup menu

We got this phone used at a great deal on Swappa. Swappa is still the best place to buy and sell used phones online. If you're someone who likes to switch phones often then you're definitely going to benefit from having an account on swappa. Even newcomers can get a strong start by importing their buyer/seller feedback from Ebay.

Buy and Sell on Swappa

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The Best Android Development Courses

Here are some of the best courses that we've found related to Android development on XDA Depot. If you're looking into getting started with building apps, check out these resources. Most of them are heavily discounted right now.

Projects in Android

As Android extends into wearables, cameras, and many other devices, now is the perfect time to learn how to develop for Android and cash in on this growth phase. In this course, you'll gain the skills you need to begin a lucrative career in Android development by building 10 apps with varying functions.

$18 ~~$49.00~~ 63% off

Get this course!

Android Game Development Using Unity: Earn Passive Income!

New to the programming scene, or want to build mobile games without losing yourself in a sea of code? Then Unity 3D (along with this course) is your best friend. You'll specifically learn to develop 2D games for Android, mastering everything from utilizing Unity in conjunction with the Android SDK, to even monetizing your app to generate passive income.

$21 ~~$69.00~~ 69% off

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Step-By-Step Android 7 Nougat Development Course

Android app developers are always in high demand, and that demand is only going to grow as Android is installed on even more devices. The time to learn how to develop for Android is now. This frequently updating course will make learning Android 7 development fun, and incredibly useful.

$29 ~~$195.00~~ 85% off

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Learn Android Studio in 2 Hours

Android Studio is the go-to IDE for streamlining Android programming. Developed by Google, Android Studio consists of a whole host of tools that make building, maintaining, and debugging code much, much easier. Along with tips and tricks for developing apps faster with Android Studio, this course will cover basic Android programming concepts so even beginners can get onboard with one of the most lucrative opportunities in software development.

$19 ~~$45.00~~ 57% off

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The Advanced Guide to Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence Bundle

In this course, intended to expand upon your knowledge of neural networks and deep learning, you'll harness these concepts for computer vision using convolutional neural networks. Going in-depth on the concept of convolution, you'll discover its wide range of applications, from generating image effects to modeling artificial organs.

$42 ~~$489~~ 91% off

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Android App Development: Create a Streaming Spotify Clone

The best way to learn how to develop mobile apps is by actually doing it, and this course will give you a crash course in Android development by showing you how to build a fully functional music streaming app that resembles Spotify. Using Java in Android Studio, you'll learn all the skills you need to start developing for Android.

$18 ~~$49.00~~ 63% off

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Android Apps Reskinning for Fun and Profit

Ever wanted to create a mobile game, but didn't know where to start? This course will show you step-by-step how to legally edit existing code in order to make a game your own, with zero coding experience. This is known as "reskinning" and is the perfect way to bring your best app ideas to life without spending loads of cash on hiring developers and designers. Some of the most profitable games are modified versions of existing games – so sit back, relax, and learn to reskin existing apps from the comfort of your couch.

$19 ~~$90.00~~ 78% off

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Developers that buy digital goods through the XDA Depot are helping support the XDA-developers website and keep the community alive.

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Native Add-ons for Gmail are Coming, Limited to G Suite Only at First

Google really is focusing on the enterprise customers this week. With the recent Cloud Functions for Firebase announcements and then the new focus of Hangouts too, corporate customers of Google services have a lot to be happy about right now.

Another one of these big announcements has to do with native add-ons finally coming to Gmail users later this year. We don't know exactly when, but we're simply told that we'll be able to install them via the "G Suite Marketplace later this year."

This will differ from some other Gmail add-ons that you and I may have used in the past. Services like Boomerang and Rapportive were done via a Chrome extension but these new add-ons will be completely native and will work across Gmail's web ports, Android and even iOS. Google will let G Suite developers submit new Gmail add-ons for approval and once approved they can then be used by your company's employees through the G Suite Marketplace.

To help showcase the benefit of Gmail add-ons, though, Google is working closely with a few companies to get some initial ones available on launch day. Google specifically mentions three different add-ons that should be made available first. Intuit QuickBooks will let QuickBooks small business customers generate and send invoices. An add-on for ProsperWorks will let you check the contact info of people on email threads against the information stored in their CRM. And the Salesforce Add-on allows Gmail users to look up existing contacts, add new ones, as well as associated email threads.

Google hasn't made any announcements as far as when or if Gmail add-ons will be made available to regular consumers like you and me, who are using the regular Gmail. However, they seem to be implying it with their wording. Outlets like The Verge had said it would be enterprise-only but then edited their piece later to say it "may not strictly be limited to enterprise users." For now though, developers can go here to sign up for the Developer Preview right now.

Source: G Suite Developers Blog

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jeudi 9 mars 2017

Google Pushes Hangouts in a more Corporate Direction with Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat

If you ask anyone to sum up Google's messaging strategy, then you'll probably draw a blank stare. We've tried to come up with an answer ourselves, and have found that quite difficult. What started off with one app trying to provide a convenient messaging platform evolved into several different apps trying to compete for different (but often overlapping) sets of users, but then failing to deliver some key functionality that hinders their adoption.

Amidst all of the messaging struggles, Hangouts is the one app that has seen the least amount of attention from Google in recent times. But today, Google has surprised us all by announcing a new purpose for the Hangouts platform in the form of Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet.

Hangouts is now getting an overhaul that turns the service into a more powerful Slack-competitor. The newfound corporate and enterprise direction focuses on building communication tools that help teams connect over video and chat in a more organized and collaborative fashion.

Hangouts Chat

Hangouts Chat is an "intelligent" communication app that takes direct messaging in Hangouts and evolves it in a fashion that will better suit teams. The new Hangouts Chat application will still allow for one-one-one chats, but it will also have dedicated virtual rooms that can be created for each project along with threaded conversations to allow for teams to follow the progress of a project more easily. It will also work natively on web, Android, and iOS to cover all platform needs.

Hangouts Chat is also banking on integration with other Google services to entice corporate users. The deep integration with Google Docs and Sheets means that not only can one preview content directly inside Chat, but one can also assign document permissions automatically based on the team that created them. The Search functionality inside Hangouts Chat will let users filter by rooms, people, file types, and even links inside chat rooms, dating all the way back to the start of the project.

Hangouts Chat also supports enterprise tools in the form of simple scripting tools using Google App Script from bots to other third party integrations. One such example of a bot created by Google itself is '@meet', which employs natural language processing and machine learning to look at everybody's schedule in a group chat and automatically suggest a meeting time and then schedule it directly in Google Calendar for everyone. Google has listed some companies that it is teaming with to build the platform including Asana, Box, Prosperworks, and Zendesk. Expect some more integration opportunities in the future.

As told to the The Verge, some of the business features would be limited to G Suite customers. For other regular users coming in from Gmail, Hangouts Chat will follow a freemium model, although The Verge did not state which features would cost money.

Hangouts Meet

The new update is also extending over to video chat functionality in Hangouts. With the new Hangouts Meet, Google is focusing on simplifying video chat and making it lighter on resources.

Video calls now can now be started with a simple shared link. Guests who have not been specifically invited but given access through the shared link can "knock" and ask to join the conversation. The light-weight application allows for up to 30 participants. Users on Chrome and Firefox also do not need to download any additional plugins to access Meet. Enterprise customers will also get a dial-in number to allow them to stay connected despite potential WiFi and data connection issues. Of course, as Meet also integrates with G Suite, information on meetings is pulled directly from Calendar.

Hangouts Meet is generally available today and will gradually roll out to all G Suite customers over the next few weeks. You can also download the Android app now from the Google Play Store. Hangouts Chat is available only for G Suite customers in the Early Adopter Program.

What are your thoughts on Google's new Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet? Do you like the new purpose and direction given to Hangouts? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Google Blog Source: The Verge

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Termux – The Ultimate Linux Terminal Emulator for Android [XDA Spotlight]

Have you ever wanted a complete Linux terminal environment on your Android phone? Not just a terminal emulator with basic commands, but a comprehensive Linux command-line environment with all the utilities and packages you've grown accustomed to? If so, then Termux is the answer.

Termux is a powerful terminal emulation software, which is similar to the popular Terminal Emulator app, but it also includes an extensive Linux Package Collection. Termux's package management system is much like Debians Advanced Package Tool (APT) in that you can search, install, and uninstall with the command apt. Termux installs just a few basic packages out of the box, to reduce APK size on the Play Store, but allows you to install any extra packages that you desire. While there are several alternatives to Termux on the Google Play Store, none of them offer nearly as many packages as Termux.

Left to Right: Apt, FFmpeg, Vim

Termux – The Linux Terminal Emulator for Android

Termux packages are built using Ubuntu 16.10, so this means that developers can compile any existing software from their machine and then add it to the package manager for anyone to download. It is a very simple and elegant solution to what otherwise could be a complex and difficult problem. One amazing side affect of this is that once the software is compiled, you have full fledged versions of the software rather than half-baked, ported versions of desktop Linux packages.

For example, I use the command line on my Mac as I prefer to have my hands on the keyboard 90% of the time. I therefore use keyboard shortcuts and terminal applications to get most of my work done. I prefer to use Vim as it's an amazing text editor and has plugins for nearly everything including Microsoft .NET! I have various plugins that I use daily and I've tried some of these with Vim installed in Termux – with great success. Everything I tried works exactly as I expected. One of my favorite plugins is CtrlP, a powerful file finder, which worked beautifully in Vim on Termux.

Termux gives you a bash terminal by default, but if you are like me and prefer Zsh for its advanced features, FISH shell is also available. Multiple different shell types is certainly welcome.

Anyone that has used a terminal emulator application on Android knows the pain when you need to enter special keys to control the terminal such as CTRL or ESC. These keys aren't displayed on the standard touch keyboards used on android devices (save for Hacker Keyboard). Termux developer Fredrik Fornwall, though, has a very novel solution to this. He has bound CTRL to the Volume DOWN key and other special keys like ESC to the Volume UP key. Therefore, by pressing Volume Up + the touch keyboard 'L' you can input the terminal command CTRL + 'L' which clears the terminal window. The ESC key is sent by pressing volume UP + 'E' key for example. You can view all the keys available in Termux on the developer's website.

I also use SSH in Termux to connect to my personal VPS servers. Although there exist other Android applications such as JuiceSSH and ConnectBot, having a proper SSH connection via OpenSSH in a proper terminal environment is better in my opinion. Termux enables you to create multiple sessions so I can have my server connections on one session and my local environment on another session.

If you like to develop in the terminal, Termux has you covered there as well. I installed python on my phone with Termux's package manager and was writing python code exactly the same as I would on my remote server.
What something slightly heavier, such as developing with NodeJS? Termux has support for NodeJS as well, and it goes even further by supporting popular stacks such as Express. I was able to install a full NodeJS/Express/Bootstrap environment and host a simple website on my device.

I was also able to install and use Ruby as well, however I did run into problems when I was initially installing Rails. Fortunately, I was able to get Rails running on my device with the help of the Termux Google+ community which is very active and a great source of help if you get stuck. To put it bluntly I am extremely impressed with Termux and its package management system. It provides an amazing package list that is constantly growing; I haven't missed any packages that I use daily so far. I did however notice that the popular SCREEN terminal multiplexer was not available but the alternative (and in my opinion better) TMUX is available.

The device that I tested all of this on is not a flagship phone, either. I am using my Xiaomi Mi Max with 4GBs of RAM and a Snapdragon 650 SoC, along with an Apple Bluetooth keyboard. The main reason I am using this phone is because the Xiaomi Mi Max has a 6.44″ screen, giving me a decent real estate to work with. With the setup shown above I can comfortably do some serious work on the go.

The most amazing thing about Termux is that it is completely free – there are no in-app purchases or advertisements. Although, you can purchase some of the add-ons which have a small fee, to support the developer and improve upon the already-impressive functionality of Termux. The addons so far include:

Termux:Task – Integrating Termux with Tasker
Termux:API – Allows Termux to integrate with existing Android APIs (such as reading your SMS messages in the terminal)
Termux:Widget – Execute Termux scripts from the home screen
Termux:Styling – Customize the appearance of Termux
Termux:Float – Allows a floating Termux window

Termux is now a permanent installation on all of my Android devices; it allows me to have a fully functional terminal and development environment on my local device. I spend a lot of time developing on remote servers, but sometimes you are in a situation where you cannot connect to a server. Recently, I took a trip to New Zealand which involved an 11 hour flight there and back. If I had Termux installed at that time, my flights could have become a 22 hour-in-total coding session.

Download Termux on the Play Store
List of Available Termux Packages (Or Build Your Own)
Check out the Termux Google+ Community

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How to Enable System UI Tuner to Modify the Status Bar in EMUI 4+

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.

This feature is included in all Android 6.0+ Google devices, and in order to access it you need to pull down the status bar and long-press on the gear icon until it spins, after which the System UI Tuner menu will appear in Settings.

Inside the Android Marshmallow System UI tuner, users are able to modify the quick settings tiles, edit the status bar, or start demo mode. With Android Nougat, the quick settings tile editor was moved to the notification dropdown and demo mode was moved to Developer Options. Furthermore, Nougat's UI Tuner also introduced Do not disturb options, a toggle to enable split-screen swipe-up gesture, and power notification settings.

While these are certainly some useful features, some OEMs don't feel the same way. OEMs such as HTC, Samsung, and Huawei remove access to this feature because some of the available features conflict with what's available in their software. However, that doesn't mean there isn't any use for System UI Tuner in non-Google devices, especially for non-rooted devices.

Fortunately, at least for Huawei/Honor devices, you can enable System UI Tuner without needing root access. This is because EMUI only removes the normal way to access the UI Tuner, but the activity is still there. That means we can directly launch the activity to start UI Tuner, even though the normal trick where you have to hold the quick settings gear icon no longer works.

Although this method is tested on Huawei/Honor devices running EMUI, it is possible it may work on other devices where System UI Tuner is hidden. You'll have to try it out for yourself to verify.

Enable System UI Tuner in EMUI

As mentioned before, we will be directly launching an activity to start the UI Tuner (com.android.systemui/.DemoMode). Although there are a large number of ways you can launch an activity, I have written this guide to use a very simple method. All you have to do is download Activity Launcher from the Google Play Store.

Open up Activity Launcher and change the view mode to see "All activities." Next, scroll all the way down to System UI. Tap on it to expand the list and see all available System UI activities. Look for the demo mode activity. Tap on that and it should open up the hidden System UI Tuner.

Alternatively, you can enable/access most of these settings through ADB commands. In order to use ADB, you'll need to download and extract the ADB binary onto a folder on your computer. Next, install Hisuite onto your machine so it can grab the necessary drivers for your phone. Then, enable USB Debugging in Developer Options (if you haven't enabled it, go to Settings –> About phone and tap on Build number 7 times). Open up a command prompt in the directory where you saved the ADB binary (right-click in the folder and select "open command prompt here") and type "adb devices" without quotes. Your phone will ask you to grant your computer ADB access, hit yes and your phone's serial number should show up in the command prompt when you re-type "adb devices."

Now that you've got ADB set-up, here are the commands you'll need:

Enable Demo Mode:

  adb shell settings put global sysui_demo_allowed 1

Disable Icons from Status Bar:

  adb shell settings put secure icon_blacklist "comma-separated-string-of-icons-to-remove"

Show Do Not Disturb Toggle in Volume Slider

  adb shell settings put secure sysui_show_full_zen 1

No matter which method you use to control the UI Tuner, you can now play around with any of its available options. I've gone through the options myself already, and in my experience (at least with the Android 7.0 Nougat version of System UI Tuner), the only real use here is to disable certain status bar icons or enable the do not disturb toggle in the volume slider.

Most of the other functions do not work at all. You can't enable the toggle to show seconds in the status bar clock or enable the split-screen gesture. Furthermore, the battery icon can't be modified nor can you enable the power notification settings, however, EMUI offers these functions natively so that's not too big of a deal.

To conclude, it's easy to see why OEMs such as Huawei disable the System UI Tuner in their software. Given the plethora of customization options available, it doesn't make much sense to provide access to a settings menu that conflicts with their stock offerings.

However, there are still some features you can take advantage of. For me, I liked being able to hide the Bluetooth, Work, Do not Disturb, and other icons from the status bar to make for a more clean UI experience. You may like the quick option to enable do not disturb from the volume slider. Whatever your reason is for wanting to access the System UI Tuner, I hope this tutorial has helped you do that.

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The LG G6 Has Awkward, Jaggy Display Corners… Here’s the Fix

LG's newest engineering miracle revolves around the LG G6's display, as the company ditched the modular functionality it introduced with the LG G5. This tall display has QHD levels of pixel density on a 2:1 ratio, flanked by thin bezels.

Moreover, LG implemented rounded corners to make the device even more attractive to the eye. Something that reviews aren't as quick to point out, and that unzoomed photographs don't really show, is that these corners aren't quite pixel-perfect.

Note: This "defect" (if you could call it that) was found on pre-production units in South Korea and at Mobile World Congress, as well as in our review unit. Consumer-ready versions might show different levels of jaggedness and a different transition from side to corner. However, we have no reason to believe that's the case with the information we have thus far.

To be more specific, the transition from the straight side of the display to the rounded curve of the corner is very jarring, making for a not-quite-smooth transition that ends up taking away from the novelty of the form factor. Moreover, if you look very closely at arc of the corners (which is admittedly hard without good vision or a close-focus camera, but we invite you to zoom on the picture to the side), the curve's pixel placement doesn't seem as smooth as you originally think. It's not a huge issue, mind you — one can certainly enjoy the phone without even noticing such detail. But as once you see it, you will keep seeing it — this is the fate I've accidentally instilled in fellow editors that I pointed out the issue to.

It's not a cause for concern, and there might be variations among units, but so far our editors have seen this pattern in all of the G6 devices we've checked out. That being said, there is a slightly-surprising yet not wholly-unexpected fix to this, and it involves a popular app category that has surged with the advent of screens with rounded corners.

You've probably heard of the app Cornerfly by XDA Senior Member flyperinc on a reddit post or listicle by now, but if you haven't, the concept is simple: Cornerfly introduces black overlays on top of your display's corners to emulate the feature, although the functionality only truly lends itself to devices with either good contrast ratios or AMOLED screens, and black fronts. And they must be truly black, too, as the app doesn't fare quite well on the "Quite Black" Pixel for example. The result can be very a e s t h e t i c on devices like the OnePlus 3T (with black front). But even if your device already has curved corners, it can benefit from such an app, as the LG G6 demonstrates. Indeed, an app like Cornerfly can soften up the rough corners LG's manufacturing process couldn't address, and with LG's quality display, the app compliments the screen much better than it does with rectangular displays.

As you can see in the example above, the transition from the rectangular sides to the rounded corner is made much smoother and less "boxy", though not on the default curvature radius that comes with Cornerfly's free app. If you want to smoothen it the way shown above, you need to tune up the curvature slider to 18 or so, which sadly requires a $0.99 purchase from the Play Store; alternatively, you can use a different free application to achieve the same result. The fact that LG's newest display has such amazing black levels and contrast makes this little trick even more effective, and while I haven't tried it on a white LG G6, I know that there is a black border around the display which should mask what's actually happening as well as my black unit does. Because of the fact that the display is already curved, there's isn't much of the overlay showing up anyway, so at most you will see very few "black" pixels light up if you look for them in a dark room.

I think this shows the strength of software and how many of the features OEMs invest so much time and resources into can be replicated through software (though not universally, and sometimes not as effectively). An example in a similar vein that comes to mind is how EIS implementations like Google's can put many OIS-ready smartphone cameras to shame. Ultimately, we love apps and services that make our devices able to experience what the newest flagships are offering, even if the solution isn't perfect. In rare cases like this, the imitation itself can be used to perfect the newest flagship itself.

What do you think of rounded corners on smartphone displays? Tell us in the comments!

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PSA: Play Services Update Broke Titanium Backup & Substratum. Here’s a Fix.

Recently, a lot of users of certain popular root applications such as Titanium Backup and Substratum began experiencing some rather odd issues.

Suddenly, Titanium Backup would become stuck at 0% when trying to restore applications, and Substratum users noticed that themes were failing to apply. Some users believed that the issue was related to USB debugging being enabled, but disabling that feature didn't help either.

All rooted users of these app-restoration apps across a wide spectrum of devices began having these issues at around the same time, so it was clear that the problem wasn't with the apps themselves. Substratum team members George G and XDA Recognized Developer Nicholas Chum surmised that these force closes were likely related to a recent Google Play Services update. Following that train of thought, they've discovered what appears to at least be a temporary fix to this problem.

The fix is pretty simple and straight-forward. All you need to do is navigate to the "Verify Apps" section located in Settings-> Google-> Security. Once you reach the "Verify Apps" section, disable the feature. Then head over to Developer Options and un-check the "Verify Apps over USB" option. That's it. After successful completion of both of the steps above, you should have Substratum and Titanium Backup working flawlessly on your device once again.

As Google is apparently beefing up the security of their 'Verify Apps' feature on the server-side, downgrading the Google Play Services application will not work. But now that we have a fix for our rooted users, this should be a satisfactory compromise for those users. Just be extra cautious about what applications you are installing, because to enable this fix you are intentionally disabling Google's security feature.

As far as developers interested in Substratum are concerned, in a G+ post Nicholas Chum stated that developers might want to take a look at this commit to know how the issue was meant to be fixed. If, however, the OMS7 rootless commits have already been merged, the commit linked above can be ignored.

Did this fix work for you? Let us know in the comments below!

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How to Install Dual Boot Patcher on the ZTE Axon 7

XDA Senior Member `SBR` has a guide to walk you through the process of installing Dual Boot Patcher onto the Axon 7. There are some known issues though, like encryption and boot UI not being supported, as well as possible issues with PINs and passwords in one of the ROMs, so be sure to check the OP.

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Gboard Update Brings Emoji and GIF Suggestions, Improved Voice Typing, Google Translate Access, and Improved RTL Features

Gboard, formerly known as Google Keyboard, has been the primary go-to keyboard for many users since the integration of Google Search features.

And now the latest update to Gboard brings a whole new set of features. Version 6.1 brings emoji and GIF suggestions right in the suggestion strip on top of the keyboard, making it easier to convert your text into more expressive icons or a GIF.

The new update also brings improved voice typing with an updated interface that makes it easier to switch back to regular texting. For themes, you also get new scenes to choose as backdrops along with a promise of more new themes to arrive in the future.

There's also a new Translate functionality built right into the keyboard as well, and it's accessible through the quick feature menu. This will allow you to translate words and phrases right as you type!

Finally, additional support for right-to-left languages has been added in, namely allowing for search functionality for web, GIF, and emoji. Users who are accustomed to RTL languages can now expect Gboard to support their language with features that are up to par with conventionally supported languages.

To download the latest Gboard app, head on over to the Play Store. Alternatively, you can download the update from our very own XDA Labs on your Android smartphone.

Have you tried out the latest Gboard update? How was your experience? Do you like the new features? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Google Blog

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UMIDIGI Z PRO Presale Starts with Official Unboxing

UMIDIGI Z Pro is the first flagship released under the UMIDIGI brand name (previously UMi), shown for the first time at MWC a few days ago. The phone carries the same powerful specs of the UMi Z, featuring the Helio X27. It also adds a brand new dual-camera lens setup that looks pretty cool from what we've seen. The company also shared a brand new unboxing video. Check it out.

The Dual-Lens Camera Setup

This device shows that the SONY 13mpx dual-camera lens technology is not just a gimmick, but actually has some really interesting features like:

The "3D Capture" mode, to literally move the picture after it has been taken and view it from a different perspective
The "Live Photo" Mode, the first Android device packed with iPhone's "Live Photo", which also makes a short video of what happens a few seconds before and after the shoot
The "Pure Black and White" shooting, which doesn't produce just a de-colored picture, but uses a dedicated B&W sensor to make a real Black and White photo
The "Re-Focusing" capability, which lets you adjust the focus after the picture has been taken

If that's not enough, Mediatek's new ISP paired with a quad-LED flash and dual camera pixel-binning technology on both lenses, doubles image brightness in low-light conditions.

The selfie camera, with a Samsung 13MP sensor and a soft light LED, guarantees good quality selfies even in difficult situations.

Pre-sale Starts, Just 4,999 Units Available Worldwide at $249.99

Pre-sale starts on March 9th and will end on March 27th. During this time, it's possible to get the UMIDIGI Z Pro with a 50$ discount, at a great price of $249.99.

If you are not interested in all the new camera features, you can get the UMi Z with an even lower price tag of $229.99.

Both phones, cameras aside, share the very same hardware: Flagship deca-core CPU Mediatek Helio X27 2.6GHz, 3780mAh battery in 8.2mm slim full metal unibody, 4GB RAM and 32GB ROM with up to 256GB TF card extend memory, SHARP 5.5 full-HD Display, touch ID 2.1, quick charge, dual sim and a SAMSUNG 13Mpx front camera with soft light LED.

Availability is limited because the first production run will be small, so don't miss the chance to get one of these great phones.

Shop at one of these stores to get your own Z Pro:

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Control your Keyboard Cursor with your Volume Keys with Volume Key Cursor Control

Users of custom ROMs are probably familiar with controlling their keyboard cursor using their volume keys. Now, XDA Senior Member mrYoussef135 has brought that functionality to any Android 4.3+ device with his app Volume Key Cursor Control. All you have to do is enable an Accessibility Service, and then you can move your cursor by tapping your hardware volume keys!

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FrancoKernel for the OnePlus X running OxygenOS

Famed kernel developer and XDA Recognized Developer franciscofranco has published his first build of FrancoKernel for the OnePlus X. This kernel is compatible with OxygenOS-based ROMs. The kernel features a lot of tunables that you can modify, but by default the stock settings should provide a decent improvement of battery life without sacrificing performance.

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Not For You: BB Merah Putih Launches the Dual-SIM BlackBerry Aurora in Indonesia

In case you didn't know, Indonesia is one of BlackBerry's most important markets, having a shocking amount of BlackBerry smartphones and BBM users. It is also one of those markets that TCL does not have licensing rights over (the other being India, where Optiemus Infracom Ltd holds the rights). The license for making, marketing and selling BlackBerry-branded smartphones in Indonesia belongs to BB Merah Putih.

BB Merah Putih has launched the BlackBerry Aurora in Indonesia in order to appeal to the Indonesian market. This is not only the first BlackBerry device to be made in Indonesia, it is also the first BlackBerry device to come with dual-SIM functionality.

The BlackBerry Aurora comes with a 5.5-inch HD display, which is a surprising choice considering the plentiful availability of FHD displays in that dimension. Inside, the phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 with a quad-core cluster of Cortex-A53 clocked in at 1.4GHz. The phone does come with 4GB of RAM, as well as 32GB of internal storage and options to expand further via a microSD card. There's also a 3,000 mAh battery on the device. The camera setup consists of a 13MP rear camera with 1080p video recording, as well as a 8MP front camera.

Being a BlackBerry, the Aurora comes with Android 7.0 Nougat. Users can also access the Hub productivity suite as well as the BlackBerry DTEK privacy app. BlackBerry will also be offering regular in-market security updates to this device, and they have been doing a very good job with their other devices so far.

The BlackBerry Aurora will be available for pre-order for IDR 3,499,000 (~$260) and is likely to remain an Indonesia-exclusive product. And that might not even be such a bad thing after all.

What are your thoughts on the BlackBerry Aurora? Would you consider this device for purchase if this was available in your country? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: BlackBerry Blog

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Guide: How to Build a Magisk ROM for the ZTE Axon 7

XDA Senior Member chas123 is part of a team that maintains a Magisk ROM for the ZTE Axon 7, and thought others might be interested in learning how it's done. They're sure to point out that it may or may not work with LOS-based ROMs.

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EFIDroid Bootloader Being Ported to the LG G4

XDA Senior Member J0SH1X recently released an extremely earky port of EFIDroid for the LG G4. Currently, it doesn't do more than booting Android, but do keep your eyes on its development!

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mercredi 8 mars 2017

How to Add Third-Party Music Apps to EMUI’s Music Lock Screen [Root]

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.

One of the features that EMUI's lock screen offers is the ability to display the currently playing music track with beautiful, full screen album art and large track control buttons, as shown in the feature image. However, this feature is restricted to only a handful of predefined applications chosen by Huawei/Honor. This list* includes:

* There may be other applications that work with EMUI's music lockscreen. This list is pulled straight from Huawei's application white-list, which I will describe in further detail below.

What happens if you don't use one of the approved applications in EMUI, such as Phonograph or Encore? What if you want to display beautiful art and have large track control buttons for some podcast apps like Podcast Addict? In those cases, when you start a track or podcast, your lock screen will look like this:

Larger screen Huawei/Honor devices may find this annoying to deal with, since the buttons are so small relative to the entire screen. It makes it difficult to control your music, and it's a fairly ugly way to display your music too. Fortunately, there's a way to whitelist your app of choice so music tracks will display on the lock screen like the stock music player.

Add Third-Party Music Apps to EMUI's Music Lock Screen

There's a System setting that contains the list of packages EMUI uses to determine which apps get the special music lock screen treatment. If you send the following ADB command, then you can see the list of packages for yourself:

  adb shell settings get system white_music_for_keyguard

Unfortunately, modifying this list via an ADB command does nothing. However, when I began researching how to solve this problem, I came across a solution on our very own XDA forums.

This trick was originally discovered by XDA Senior Member superior8888 on the Huawei Mate 8 forum, but this should work on the majority of Huawei and Honor devices that have this feature. This method does require you to have root access, unfortunately, as you will need to modify a system preference file to add your favorite music app to the list of whitelisted packages.

Download a root file browser from the Play Store (any app will do). If you have knowledge of using the command line, you can also follow along by using Terminal Emulator. In any case, depending on your device model, you'll have to edit hw_defaults.xml which is located in different directories depending on your device's locale. This is because Huawei/Honor uses different EMUI configuration files depending on your device's locale.

For international models, the file you need to edit is located in:

  /system/emui/oversea/xml/

For Chinese models, the file you need to edit is located in:

  /system/emui/china/xml/

Once you've opened this file, you will need to either edit or add a certain line in order to whitelist your app. There is a string that you will edit/add, called white_music_for_keyguard, which contains a semi-colon separated list of package names. Thus, you will need to know the package name for the application you want to whitelist.

There are multiple ways to find the package name for your app. You can download App Inspector from the Play Store and find the package name by selecting your app and looking at the name of the data directory. Or you can look at the URL of the Play Store listing to find the package name, as such:

http://ift.tt/OQdlpncom.fastbootmobile.encore.app

Note that the bolded part of the URL is the package name. Once you've got the list of packages you want, we can now modify hw_defaults.xml.

First, for the international models:

Before Edit

    <resources>  <string settings.secure.default_input_method="http://ift.tt/2nfzlz5"/>  <!-- AR0002K5QJ begin -->  <integer settings.secure.fingerprint_gallery_slide="0"/>  <!-- AR0002K5QJ end -->  <string white_languages="en_US,ar_EG,de_DE,bs_BA,es_ES,uk_UA,fr_FR,pt_PT,ru_RU,zh_CN,zh_TW,zh_HK,es_US,cs_CZ,da_DK,el_GR,hu_HU,pt_BR,it_IT,ja_JP,lt_LT,lv_LV,bg_BG,nb_NO,pl_PL,ro_RO,et_EE,sk_SK,sr_Latn,sv_SE,tr_TR,th_TH,fi_FI,in_ID,mk_MK,sl_SI,ms_MY,vi_VN,hr_HR,nl_NL,ca_ES,hi_IN,ko_KR,en_GB,iw_IL,my_ZG,my_MM,eu_ES,gl_ES,ka_GE,az_AZ,uz_UZ,km_KH,si_LK,ur_PK,kk_KZ,lo_LA,be_BY,bn_BD,ne_NP,tl_PH,jv_Latn"/>  <!-- AR0003UGK3 zhoufan/wx335113 20160224 begin -->  <string white_music_for_keyguard="deezer.android.app;com.maxmpz.audioplayer;com.qobuz.music;com.soundcloud.android;com.spotify.music"/>  <!-- AR0003UGK3 zhoufan/wx335113 20160224 end -->  <!-- DTS2016022503341 linneng/wx296161 20160304 begin -->  <string hw_invert_txtclr_packages="google*;facebook*"/>  <!-- DTS2016022503341 linneng/wx296161 20160304 end -->  <!-- AR0003NTNK begin -->  <integer hw_displayafterfirstring="0"/>  <!-- AR0003NTNK end -->  </resources>

After Edit

    <resources>  <string settings.secure.default_input_method="http://ift.tt/2nfzlz5"/>  <!-- AR0002K5QJ begin -->  <integer settings.secure.fingerprint_gallery_slide="0"/>  <!-- AR0002K5QJ end -->  <string white_languages="en_US,ar_EG,de_DE,bs_BA,es_ES,uk_UA,fr_FR,pt_PT,ru_RU,zh_CN,zh_TW,zh_HK,es_US,cs_CZ,da_DK,el_GR,hu_HU,pt_BR,it_IT,ja_JP,lt_LT,lv_LV,bg_BG,nb_NO,pl_PL,ro_RO,et_EE,sk_SK,sr_Latn,sv_SE,tr_TR,th_TH,fi_FI,in_ID,mk_MK,sl_SI,ms_MY,vi_VN,hr_HR,nl_NL,ca_ES,hi_IN,ko_KR,en_GB,iw_IL,my_ZG,my_MM,eu_ES,gl_ES,ka_GE,az_AZ,uz_UZ,km_KH,si_LK,ur_PK,kk_KZ,lo_LA,be_BY,bn_BD,ne_NP,tl_PH,jv_Latn"/>  <!-- AR0003UGK3 zhoufan/wx335113 20160224 begin -->  <string white_music_for_keyguard="deezer.android.app;com.maxmpz.audioplayer;com.qobuz.music;com.soundcloud.android;com.spotify.music;YOUR.MUSIC.PACKAGE.HERE"/>  <!-- AR0003UGK3 zhoufan/wx335113 20160224 end -->  <!-- DTS2016022503341 linneng/wx296161 20160304 begin -->  <string hw_invert_txtclr_packages="google*;facebook*"/>  <!-- DTS2016022503341 linneng/wx296161 20160304 end -->  <!-- AR0003NTNK begin -->  <integer hw_displayafterfirstring="0"/>  <!-- AR0003NTNK end -->  </resources>

For the Chinese models:

Before Edit

  <resources>  <string default_input_method="com.baidu.input_huawei/.ImeService"/>  <string custom_certify_picture="/system/emui/china/media/certify_infor.png"/>  <string white_languages="en_US,ar_EG,de_DE,bs_BA,es_ES,uk_UA,fr_FR,pt_PT,ru_RU,zh_CN,zh_TW,zh_HK,es_US,cs_CZ,da_DK,el_GR,hu_HU,pt_BR,it_IT,ja_JP,lt_LT,lv_LV,bg_BG,nb_NO,pl_PL,ro_RO,et_EE,sk_SK,sr_Latn,sv_SE,tr_TR,th_TH,fi_FI,in_ID,mk_MK,sl_SI,ms_MY,vi_VN,hr_HR,nl_NL,ca_ES,hi_IN,ko_KR,en_GB,iw_IL,eu_ES,gl_ES,bo_CN,ka_GE,az_AZ,uz_UZ,km_KH,si_LK,ur_PK,kk_KZ,lo_LA,be_BY,bn_BD,ne_NP,tl_PH,jv_Latn"/>  <string hw_theme_support_hwid="true"/>  <string hw_theme_support_pay="true"/>  <integer is_show_google="0"/>  </resources>

After Edit

    <resources>  <string default_input_method="com.baidu.input_huawei/.ImeService"/>  <string custom_certify_picture="/system/emui/china/media/certify_infor.png"/>  <string white_languages="en_US,ar_EG,de_DE,bs_BA,es_ES,uk_UA,fr_FR,pt_PT,ru_RU,zh_CN,zh_TW,zh_HK,es_US,cs_CZ,da_DK,el_GR,hu_HU,pt_BR,it_IT,ja_JP,lt_LT,lv_LV,bg_BG,nb_NO,pl_PL,ro_RO,et_EE,sk_SK,sr_Latn,sv_SE,tr_TR,th_TH,fi_FI,in_ID,mk_MK,sl_SI,ms_MY,vi_VN,hr_HR,nl_NL,ca_ES,hi_IN,ko_KR,en_GB,iw_IL,eu_ES,gl_ES,bo_CN,ka_GE,az_AZ,uz_UZ,km_KH,si_LK,ur_PK,kk_KZ,lo_LA,be_BY,bn_BD,ne_NP,tl_PH,jv_Latn"/>  <string hw_theme_support_hwid="true"/>  <string hw_theme_support_pay="true"/>  <string white_music_for_keyguard="YOUR.LIST.OF.PACKAGES.SEPARATED.BY.SEMI.COLON.HERE"/>  <integer is_show_google="0"/>  </resources>

Once you've made this edit, reboot your device. You should hopefully see full screen album art with large track control buttons on the lock screen now. However, I can't guarantee this tweak will work with every multimedia application out there, but I believe it will work with most apps out there.

Give this trick a shot and let us know if it works for your Honor/Huawei device!

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MWC 2017: How the Snapdragon 835’s Absence Stole the Show

Qualcomm has made a name for itself in the smartphone industry: being the most reputable Android SoC provider for years now, Qualcomm has a sort of hold on the mobile device market few outside of Apple can lay claim to.

It is no wonder either. Qualcomm chips are powering mobile devices at almost every price range, wearables of all sorts and tablets just to name a few — and they are usually stable, fast, efficient chips, and certainly some of the few that work just as well on CDMA networks as GSM, thanks in large part to their patent portfolio. Qualcomm also has a fairly predictable release cycle; Q1 brings the newest series of chip while Q3/Q4 usually sees the unveiling of a slightly-beefed-up model. This year though, new Qualcomm processors were noticeably absent from the very MWC week where we are usually introduced to a number of flagships flaunting the new silicon, and as a whole it left MWC feeling vaguely empty. Sure, we got to see the new Huawei P10 and LG G6, but the only Snapdragon 835 device on display was the 2017 Sony Xperia phone,which by their own admission is not shipping for months. Rumors have the Samsung Galaxy S8, the first 835 device to ship, going through delays pushing its release back to almost May, well later than the February/March launches we have been accustomed to.

Of course, not everyone can afford a top tier flagship device, so does it even matter that we aren't seeing a flagship Qualcomm device until mid-Q2? Based on Android version market share it is obvious that much of the market does not even run phones powered by the latest and greatest chipset. However, the innovation and technological advancements made possible by these higher-cost chips trickles down through the product line to benefit lower cost mid-range and bargain bin processors — traditionally in the long term, but recently, those changes have been making it "downstream" really fast. Take for instance the Snapdragon 625 processor. The 625 is by all intents and purposes a solid mid-range processor. However, we are seeing this year old processor launching in the brand new flagship from Blackberry and from all hands-on accounts, it runs extremely well. The 625 is also renowned for powering the much admired Moto Z Play providing acceptable performance while delivering exceptional battery life.

A few years ago, a mid-range processor would simply not have been able to power a premium smartphone experience. Nowadays, Qualcomm's mid-rangers like the 625 and 626 offer respectable performance and battery life for cheap, in part because they are built differently than the Kyro chipsets and feature ARM cores in a big.LITTLE setup. They also come built in the newer and smaller process sizes, featuring good core setups, and they now offer support for dual cameras, 4K recording, QuickCharge, excellent modems for fast internet speeds, and more.

Blackberry isn't the only OEM shipping flagship devices with older processors, as LG's latest flagship and HTC's U Ultra each run the Snapdragon 821, the same processor that launched with the now 7 month old Google Pixel and later in the OnePlus 3T… but also a derivative of the Snapdragon 820 that these companies launched on multiple other phones last year. While spec hungry users may immediately discredit the choice of older processors in these phones, the fact is that they still deliver top tier performance and should not be discredited simply due to it not sporting the greater number, core count or benchmark score, especially when this new generation's year-on-year gains are some of the lowest. In fact it should be noted that in many respects the software matters more than the hardware alone when dealing with still fairly new chips.

If the early Geekbench 4 numbers from the Galaxy S8 are valid or legitimate (a rather big if, we reckon) , they show it edging out the OnePlus 3T by single digits in single-core performance, within a similar margin featured by the lowest and highest of Snapdragon 820/821 scores Multi-Core shows a different side of the coin due to fact that the 835 is an octa-core compared to the quad-core 821. This does align with Qualcomm's statements regarding the performance increase of the 835, which at a mere 25% for CPU performance, is one of the lowest year-on-year gains we've seen from the company.

However, there are some trade-offs. While the Snapdragon 821 supports BT4.1 the new 835 supports the newest standard for Bluetooth 5.0. Likewise the 835 runs the newest LTE modems capable of running faster on the networks running the newest technology, and the 10nm process size eanbles the chip to run more efficiently while delivering greater performance, even if it is just a little compared to previous years. There are many improvements surrounding the chipset's features and peripherals – QuickCharge, DSP, ISP, VR and machine-learning optimizations, and so on — but even today, most of these (excluding Quick Charge) aren't features consumers actively evaluate when considering a new purchase

Tiny chip, small delay, big consequences

Qualcomm faces a larger problem as well. It comes as little surprise to us who have been following these devices for years that Qualcomm seems to be slowing down in terms of raw performance. Lately, mainstream Qualcomm processors have been falling behind competitors like Samsung's Exynos and Huawei's Kirin processors on the CPU side, not only because of the tremendous gains of newer ARM cores but also given Samsung began employing its custom M1 architecture. It's also likely that the Mali-G71 MP-20 coming with the next Exynos chipset will finally dethrone the Adreno line, if reported performance increase percentages hold up. While Qualcomm holds an advantage in terms of the total SoC package with innovations in AR & VR, camera ISP, multi-microphone processing and more, its competitors are outperforming it in other, more forward-facing areas — at least for the benchmark geeks and other value-minded or strictly numbers-based consumers. Qualcomm also has to deal with its anti-competitive lawsuit placed upon it from Apple which could stand to completely undermine its (sometimes anti-competitive) efforts to dominate markets where CDMA is prevalent due to their experience and expansive patents. Finally, while Qualcomm offers an excellent mainstream product to sell to OEMs en masse, some large names in the industry are increasingly opting for trying their luck at developing at least some custom chipsets, including Xiaomi and very likely even Google in the near future.

Despite Qualcomm's latest and greatest offerings being absent from the show, they still cast their shadow over the week with the Samsung's Galaxy S8 event announcement drawing more attention than LG's hardware launch and even Blackberry's 625 powered KEYOne, which actually received multiple awards during the week. However, Huawei strangely drew a lot of attention to its newest P10 device that has bloggers from all over the world tripping over themselves for coverage – even primarily US-based writers, a market the P10 will not officially come to (though bloggers did get copious amounts of review units). Samsung even used the event week to announce its newest series 9 chip, a processor we may see in certain Galaxy S8 models and almost certainly Note 8 models. Apple, Samsung, Huawei and now Xiaomi are all producing their own silicon and are all some of the largest OEM's in the world. Qualcomm is a major player in the market oftentimes leading the mainstream charge towards new innovations and technologies. What they do, the rest of the market typically follows; but if this MWC shows us anything it's that even if they aren't the star of the show, the show will go on and competition is good for everyone.

Were you hoping to learn more about upcoming Snapdragon 835 devices? Let us know in the comments!

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Official LineageOS 14.1 Build Now Available for the Galaxy S6

Thanks to XDA Members xCopyrightPvP, UltraGamerHD, RakuDEV, corewell, J0SH1X, pkp1612, The Sickness, the rest of nexus7420 Team, and the LineageOS Team, we now have an official build of LineageOS 14.1 for the Galaxy S6. Current bugs include the torch & the camera (only in some apps).

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Xperia XZ Mod Disables Speaker Protection, Increases Speaker Volume, and More

XDA Senior Member dontbelive recently released an audio mod that increases headphone/speaker volumes, adds more bass to headphones, disables the speaker protection and some other "build.prop changes." It currently works on the Xperia XZ, but support should be coming to the Z5 & other XZ devices.

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Mod Fixes Some AOSP/LOS Camera Issues for the Xiaomi Mi 5

Xiaomi's Mi 5 camera has had some issues when using camera apps in AOSP/LineageOS based ROMs. XDA Senior Member Tech_Savvy has a mod that fixes things such as video recording, upside down bug, EIS not working in the Google Camera, and it enables the Camera2 API.

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OnePlus 3T ROM Summary & Comparison

The Oneplus 3/3T forums are overflowing with great ROMs from some of the best developers to land on XDA. Uunfortunately, it is all too easy to forget that other ROMs exist when you find one that you love. Here I will cover some of the best OnePlus 3T ROMs, each offering a different experience.

OxygenOS

As far as OEM skins go, OxygenOS is one on the most pleasant to use. While it may not come with many of the features enthusiasts come to rely on, OOS does come with a lightweight, vanilla-style UI coupled with a built in Dark theme allowing you to make the most of your AMOLED display. OOS also comes with an option to alter the color of accents within the system, but only to one of the 8 predetermined colors. Featuring a built-in app locker, screen-off gestures, and hardware key customization many users may not need a different ROM, though extensive customization and other traditional features provided by custom ROMs are not available here. You can now find the Open Beta 3 thread with the 7.1.1 update here.

Visit the Stock ROM/Firmware/Modem thread

FreedomOS

FreedomOS is an OxygenOS-based ROM, and the magic here happens during installation via Aroma Installer; for readers who have not used Aroma before, it is an installation wizard that kicks in while your recovery flashes the ROM, from this menu you can choose to install or remove many features and mods. These options include the ability to install individual Open GApps, choose which system apps and other mods such as Viper4Android you would like, and more. The installer even offers the option to install Magisk, which allows you to bypass SafetyNet (Magisk Hide setting). The Wizard is easy to navigate and fully setting up your device with all your favorite mods should only take a few minutes. Freedom OS allows you to truly squeeze the most out of OxygenOS, whether you prefer an entirely debloated ROM or a device with as many preinstalled apps and added functionality as you could possibly want from the start.

Visit the Freedom OS thread

Lineage OS 14.1

A great choice for new and experienced enthusiasts alike, Lineage OS launched just a few months ago as a fork of the now-deceased CyanogenMod. Continuing work that started in 2009, the ROM continues to offer the latest updates, great customization options and a vast and experienced community unmatched by most. Many of the ROMs throughout the forums use Lineage as a base and it's easy to see why with such a honed experience. Lineage offers some great tools for protecting your privacy, the included Privacy Guard allows for easily managing which apps can access your personal data, while the protected apps feature lets you hide apps from your app drawer and protect them with a password. It's also clean, smooth, and often battery-friendly too, with broad compatibility with all sorts of mods.

Visit the Lineage OS 14.1 thread

Omni ROM

OmniROM was born as a result of Steve Kondik's attempts to commercialize CyanogenMod: some of the developers who did not agree with this new direction came together to start their own project. Years and many updates later, the ROM offers a rich and full experience utilizing some of the code from Lineage OS with the addition of "OmniGears", a selection of settings that add some useful functionality to the device such as cropped screenshots and a customization recent apps menu that can be swiped onto the screen from a predetermined edge of the display, echoing older custom ROM traditions. Fast, clean, and straightforward.

Visit the Omni 7 thread

Resurrection Remix

Resurrection Remix takes the best parts of many of the most popular ROMs from the forums such as Lineage OS and OmniRom, and then offers them alongside other own tweaks within this one tidy package. From the settings screen, you can dive straight into these options via the configurations menu where you will be greeted by popular options such as the SlimRom and OmniRom recent apps menu and a huge variety of GUI options including Navbar Pulse, quick settings customization, and lock screen options to name but a few. With support for OTAs this ROM offers an excellent all round experience, especially for those who love exploring new features and tweaking as much as possible.

Visit the Resurrection Remix thread

Slim7

SlimRoms offers a lightweight and debloated experience for those of us who like to control everything that's on our devices from the start. When combined with 3rd party mods and apps, it is easy to build this ROM into the exact experience you want with nothing extra taking up space, allowing your to craft a very personalized and narrowly-tailored user experience with just a little effort. The most prominent feature included in this ROM is the alternate recent apps menu, which when enabled (by default) displays a more compact but fully customizable alternative to the full-screen affair we are used to. SlimRoms see frequent updates with beta builds of Nougat available as well as stable builds of Marshmallow.

Visit the Slim7 thread

AOSP Extended

AOSPE offers a vanilla UI but with plenty of customization built in, including Substratum, Lineage OS' Privacy guard, and partial screenshots. For users who want the AOSP experience, with monthly updates this is a great choice. Many ROMs offer a lot of extra options that we often simply do not need, and this ROM offers a happy medium for users who want something more advanced than Slim7 but not quite as feature-packed as some of the other ROMs in this list.

Visit the AOSP Extended thread Acknowledgements:
Makers_mark's ADB Screenshot tool for Recovery & Aroma – This great tool allows you to take screenshots while in recovery and allowed me to grab the screenshots in "Freedom OS".
LloydSmallwood's Unbrick Tool for the OnePlus 3T – As well as being the fastest way to unbrick your OnePlus 3T, this tool is also useful for quickly returning your device completely to stock.
mgbotoe's OnePlus 3T Resource Thread – A great starting place for finding the best ROMs, Kernels, Guides, Mods and miscellaneous threads for the 3T. Thanks Madina!

Which ROM do you run? Leave a comment below and tell us why!

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