iOS 15 builds in better customer support for in-app purchases

At the annual Surface event, Microsoft has announced the new Surface Duo 2 with new features and an improved experience. Like the original device, the Surface Duo 2 features two 5.8-inch, 1344 x 1892 OLED screens that are connected by a hinge, giving user an 8.3-inch display with 90Hz refresh rate. Microsoft has also added a slight curve at the edge giving users an option to quickly glance the missed notifications, time and more. Both the displays on the Surface Duo 2 are covered with Corning glass for better protection.

The device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC which adds 5G support to the device. Apart from that, the device also features Qi wireless charging and NFC. One of the biggest areas of improvement is the camera. While the first-generation Duo featured a single camera, the new Surface Duo 2 features a triple-camera setup that includes a 16MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera, a 12MP f/1.7 wide camera with OIS and a 12MP f/2.4 telephoto camera that also supports OIS.

Like other Surface devices, Surface Duo 2 will have support for Surface Slim S Pens. Microsoft has also added an option to stick the S Pen to the side of the device for easy storage when the pen is not in use. Microsoft has also made other optimizations including better dual screen app support and more. These changes are aimed at improving the productivity, which is still Microsoft's main focus.

However, the Redmond giant also talked about the gaming performance on the Duo 2. Microsoft claims that there are over 150 games that are optimized for the Surface Duo 2 including Asphalt Legends 9, Modern Combat 5, and Dungeon Hunter 5. The Surface Duo 2 will be shipping with Android 11 out-of-the-box.

Microsoft has not disclosed the actual battery life, but the company claims that the Surface Duo 2 can last a day on a single charge. The Surface Duo 2 is priced at $1499.99 and is available for pre-order selected markets starting today.

Microsoft announces Surface Duo 2 with better cameras, 5G and more

iOS 15.1’s first beta suggests we could see SharePlay soon

New leakster Snoopy has posted a spec sheet for the Surface Go 3 LTE version

Earlier leaked have confirmed 3 versions of the tablet with different processors including the Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y and the Intel Core i3-10100Y, with different amounts of RAM and Storage.

The device is around the same size, but with a massive 13 hrs battery life, and support for WIFI 6. The design is identical.

The new spec sheets confirm detail such as that the Core i3 version will have 10 hours battery life, and that a model with LTE will be available.

In Thailand, the tablet starts at an equivalent of 380 euros, while the versions with 128 GB of storage listed for 520 and 575 euros respectively.

The devices are expected to appear at Microsoft’s upcoming Surface event on the 22nd of September, and according to Snoopy will hit shelves on the 5th of October.

Newly leaked Surface Go 3 specs confirm LTE version

VLC Media Player 3.4 is already available for Android. Existing users may have to wait a bit before it is pushed to their devices via Google Play. New users can go ahead and install the latest version from Google Play right away.

VLC Media Player 3.4 for Android

Users who install VLC Media Player 3.4 for the first time may decline the file permission request that the media player has when it is run for the first time. While that is not useful for the majority of users, as it will prevent the media player from playing any locally stored media, it may please users who just want to watch media streams.

The first experience workflow has been redesigned as well. It is cleaner now and includes more tips and guidance. Tips include using basic controls, such as double-tapping to pause, sliding on the right or left side up and down to increase/decrease the volume or brightness, or double-tapping in the left and right upper corners to go back or forward ten seconds.

VLC 3.4 for Android introduces a bookmarking system. Bookmarks are set in any media by selecting the three-dots menu and then the Bookmarks option. A tap on the plus icon adds a new bookmark at the current location. Bookmarks can be loaded then at any time to start playback from the previously saved position. The new feature is useful for audiobooks but also any other media that is lengthy or contains bookmark-worthy content.

The audio player that is integrated has a new design. According to VideoLAN, it puts content front and center. The redesign goes hand in hand with a new video list design that improves readability significantly.

Android Auto users benefit from a completely reworked navigation. VideoLAN believes that it makes things easier for users, as media is quicker to browse and to play in the new design. Other Android Auto specific improvements include abilities to search a media, play streams or playlists, display more media info, and performance improvements.

VLC Media Player 3.4 for Android is now available

Here's how the Gmail Android app works currently. You tap on the search bar, and type the keyword and the app displays the relevant results. It also highlights the words that you searched for. It's not bad per se, as it gets the job done. However, if you compare it with its web mail equivalent, yes it is too basic.

That is precisely what Google is aiming to change, by bringing the search filters from the web UI to the mobile app. When you perform a search inside the app, you will see a set of new options below the search bar. The screenshot shows 4 options: Sender, recipient, date, and attachment. If the web mail interface is anything to go by, the search filters in the mobile app should also have an unread mail button, and hopefully an advanced search option.

Image courtesy: Google

The announcement says that these search filters are rich drop-down lists, meaning once you tap them you will be able to access more options. E.g. You can enter the contact's name or email address, specify the timeframe to search in to filter the results. The app will also display a list of suggested senders, and offer a way to find mails from multiple senders.

So you can tap on an option to specify the sender, recipient, date, or the attachment button (to check if the mail has one), and the Gmail Android app will narrow down the results to find a match based on the criteria that you set.

Thankfully, this feature isn't exclusive to Business users or premium customers, all Gmail users will get the additional filters. Now, as to when the filters will be available, Google says it has already begun rolling out the feature to users, and that it will be available for all users by the end of October. The article on the Google's Workspaces blog indicates that the app will not have a setting to toggle the search filters, or customize them.

On a side note, Google has rolled out the Material You design for the Gmail app. It adds a Meet tab at the bottom of the app's interface, if you are not a fan of it, you may disable the bottom bar. To do so, access the Gmail app's menu and tap on the Settings button. Select the account settings that you would like to manage. Scroll down till you see the Meet section, and toggle the box next to "Show the Meet tab for video calling". The app's interface will flash briefly as it refreshes, and gets rid of the tab bar.

 

Gmail Android app gets improved search filters

Google has announced that their notifications will now work with focus mode, with important notifications coming though, but most other notifications being suppressed.

For example, if you’re navigating somewhere with Google Maps, the app will still let you know when you need to make a turn or if there are changes to your route — like road closures or unexpected traffic. Focus mode won’t silence these helpful, timely reminders.

Similarly, the Google Home app will let you know if there’s an unfamiliar face at your door. And if you set a reminder in Google Tasks that’s linked to a specific time, like “take the cupcakes out of the oven at 11:45,” Tasks will still notify you.

But notifications that aren’t as urgent or don’t require immediate action will go right to the Notifications Center, where you can check them whenever is most convenient for you.

The improvements will start rolling out in the coming weeks across Gmail, Meet, Tasks, Maps, Home and many other Google apps.

Bigger widgets for iPad

In the coming weeks, Google Photos and YouTube Music will roll out extra large versions of their popular widgets so you can easily access some of your best Memories and favorite music on your iPad Home Screen.

Easier access to Google on iOS

Starting today, if you search for your favourite song in Spotlight, you can start playing it directly in YouTube Music.

Of course, to access these new features you need to be running iOS 15, which should be rolling out to your handset today.

Google announce app updates to better support iOS 15

Apple will keep updating iOS 14, which means fewer downsides to waiting.

PSA: You don’t have to upgrade to iOS 15

You can find the full list of new features coming in iOS 15 from the list below.

Improved FaceTime:

FaceTime helps customers easily connect with those who matter most and with iOS 15, conversations with friends and family feel even more natural. With spatial audio, voices in a FaceTime call sound as if they are coming from where the person is positioned on the screen,1 and new microphone modes separate the user’s voice from background noise. Inspired by the stunning portrait photos taken on iPhone, Portrait mode is now available for FaceTime and designed specifically for video calls, so users can blur their background and put themselves in focus. While using Group FaceTime, a new grid view enables participants to see more faces at the same time.

Users can now share experiences with SharePlay while connecting with friends on FaceTime, including listening to songs together with Apple Music, watching a TV show or movie from Apple TV+ and other streaming services in sync, or sharing their screen to view apps together. SharePlay works across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and with shared playback controls, anyone in a SharePlay session can play, pause, or jump ahead. SharePlay even extends to Apple TV, so users can watch shows or movies on a big screen. Disney+, ESPN+, HBO Max, Hulu, MasterClass, Paramount+, Pluto TV, TikTok, Twitch, and many others are integrating SharePlay into their apps — creating entirely new ways to connect.

FaceTime calls also extend beyond Apple devices with the ability to create a link from iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and share it through Messages, Calendar, Mail, or third-party apps, so anyone can join a FaceTime call from their web browser on Android and Windows devices.3 FaceTime calls on the web remain end-to-end encrypted, so privacy is not compromised.

Tools to Find Focus:

iOS 15 delivers powerful tools that help users focus and reduce distraction. Focus is a new feature that filters notifications and apps based on what a user wants to focus on. Customers can set their device to help them be in the moment by creating a custom Focus or selecting a suggested Focus, which uses on-device intelligence to suggest which people and apps are allowed to notify them. Focus suggestions are based on users’ context, like during their work hours or while they’re winding down for bed, and when Focus is set on one Apple device, it automatically applies to their other Apple devices. Users can create Home Screen pages with apps and widgets that apply to moments of focus to only display relevant apps and reduce temptation. When a user’s Focus is blocking incoming notifications, their status is automatically displayed to others in Messages, reflecting that a user is not currently reachable.

New Notifications experience:

Notifications have been redesigned, adding contact photos for people and larger icons for apps that make them even easier to identify. To help reduce distraction, a new notification summary collects non-time-critical notifications for delivery at a more opportune time, such as in the morning and evening. Using on-device intelligence, notifications are arranged by priority, with the most relevant notifications rising to the top, and based on a user’s interactions with apps. Urgent messages will be delivered immediately, so important communications will not end up in the summary, and it’s easy to temporarily mute any app or messaging thread for the next hour or for the day.

Live Text, Spotlight search and more:

Live Text uses on-device intelligence to recognize text in a photo and allow users to take action. For example, users can search for and locate the picture of a handwritten family recipe, or capture a phone number from a storefront with the option to place a call. With the power of the Apple Neural Engine, the Camera app can also quickly recognize and copy text in the moment, such as the Wi-Fi password displayed at a local coffee shop. With Visual Look Up, users can learn more about popular art and landmarks around the world, plants and flowers found in nature, breeds of pets, and even find books.

Spotlight now uses intelligence to search photos by location, people, scenes, or objects, and using Live Text, Spotlight can find text and handwriting in photos. Spotlight now offers web image search and all-new rich results for actors, musicians, TV shows, and movies. Enhanced results for contacts show recent conversations, shared photos, and even their location if shared through Find My.

Photos includes the biggest update ever to Memories, with a fresh new look, an interactive interface, and integration with Apple Music, which uses on-device intelligence to personalize song suggestions that bring memories to life.

Redesigned Safari:

Safari gets a new design that makes controls easier to reach with one hand and puts content front and center. The new tab bar is compact and lightweight, and floats at the bottom of the screen, so users can easily swipe between tabs. Tab Groups allow users to save tabs and easily access them at any time across iPhone, iPad, or Mac. New features, such as the customizable start page and web extensions on iOS, make Safari even more personal and powerful.

Improved Apple Maps:

Apple is committed to building the world’s best map, and iOS 15 takes Maps even further with brand new ways to navigate and explore. Users will experience significantly enhanced details in cities for neighborhoods, commercial districts, elevation, and buildings, new road colors and labels, custom-designed landmarks, and a new night-time mode with a moonlit glow. This is a whole new way of looking at the world through Maps.

When navigating using iPhone or CarPlay, Maps features a three-dimensional city-driving experience with new road details that help users better see and understand important details like turn lanes, medians, bike lanes, and pedestrian crosswalks.4 Transit riders can find nearby stations more easily and pin favorite lines. Maps automatically follows along with a selected transit route, notifying users when it’s nearly time to disembark, and riders can even keep track on Apple Watch. With iOS 15, users can simply hold up iPhone, and Maps generates a highly accurate position to deliver detailed walking directions in augmented reality.

Apple Wallet:

Apple Wallet adds support for additional types of keys, making it possible to access everyday places with just a tap. Last summer, Apple introduced digital car keys, and BMW was the first car company to add its keys, allowing users to tap to unlock. This year, digital car keys get even better with support for Ultra Wideband technology, so users can securely unlock and start their supported vehicle without removing their iPhone from a pocket or bag.5 iPhone can also be used to unlock a user’s home, office, or even a hotel room — all through keys stored in Wallet.

Later this year, customers in participating states in the US will be able to add their driver’s license or state IDs to Wallet. The Transportation Security Administration is working to enable airport security checkpoints as the first place customers can use their digital Identity Card in Wallet. Identity Cards in Wallet are encrypted and safely stored in the Secure Element, the same hardware technology that makes Apple Pay private and secure.

New privacy features:

iOS 15 introduces even more privacy controls to help protect user information. With on-device speech recognition, audio of Siri requests is now processed entirely on iPhone by default, and performance improves significantly. Mail Privacy Protection stops senders from learning whether an email has been opened, and hides IP addresses so senders can’t learn a user’s location or use it to build a profile on them. App Privacy Report offers an overview of how apps use the access that has been granted to location, photos, camera, microphone, and contacts in the last seven days, and which other domains are contacted.

Updated Weather and Notes apps:

Weather includes more graphical displays of weather data, full-screen maps, and dynamic layouts that change based on conditions. Beautifully redesigned animated backgrounds more accurately reflect the sun’s position and precipitation, and notifications highlight when rain or snow starts and stops.

Notes adds user-created tags that make it easy to quickly categorize notes, and mentions allow members of shared notes to notify one another of important updates. An all-new Activity view shows the recent history of a shared note.

Additional Features:

Source: Apple

Apple iOS 15 now available for download for iPhone 6s and later devices

Apple also pushed out new versions of iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

Apple releases iOS 15 with Focus mode and more

Rumors say Google will combine Samsung-style foldables with an iPad-style app dock.

Google’s foldable phone plans include two devices, Android 12.1 release

The FCC has however spoiled their surprise somewhat, revealing the Surface Duo 2 is a significantly updated device that finally matches the standard of other modern-day flagships.

The listing confirms that the handset will feature 5G, WIFI 6, UWB, NFC and “wireless power transfer”, all technologies missing from the current version of the device.

The WC, who spotted the listing, notes that the Wireless Transfer may however not be wireless charging, but may have to do with charging a Surface Pen wirelessly.

An earlier leaked Geekbench listing shows the Microsoft Surface Duo 2 will be powered by Snapdragon 888 chipset coupled with 8GB of RAM, though it doesn’t mean the Duo 2 won’t have a higher RAM variant. It’ll also pack a Adreno 660 GPU for graphics performance and is powered by Android 11.

Earlier leaked photos have also shown the device will have 3 rear cameras and a front-facing camera.

The full FCC listing can be seen here.

via the WC

Surface Duo 2 FCC listing confirms 5G, WIFI 6, UWB, NFC and “wireless power transfer”

Microsoft is now pushing the September 2021 update to the Surface Duo smartphone, taking the build number 2021.817.35(North America), 2021.817.37 (Europe). The update adds no new features, as you’d expect from a monthly security update.

The update weighs in at 76.18 MB and contains the September 2021 Android security update. You can read the official changelog below.

Changelog

It’s worth noting that the Surface Duo is yet to get the Android 11 update. What’s even worse is that Microsoft didn’t share anything about the availability of Android 11 for the Surface Duo smartphone.

Meanwhile, Surface Duo users can wait for the update to be pushed out to them, or they can download it by Checking for Updates in the System Update section of the Settings app.

Surface Duo starts getting September 2021 update

Google Play Services update will soon strip unused apps of their permissions.

Android 6 and up will start stripping unused apps’ permissions

Google blazes its own trail for its first SoC design.

Google's best image of the Pixel 6 Pro.

First image of article image gallery. Please visit the source link to see all images.

What in the world is going on?

Google is building the Pixel 6, and with it, the company is dumping Qualcomm and introducing its first in-house main SoC (with help from Samsung): the "Google Tensor SoC," aka "Whitechapel." Other than some talk about Google's special AI sauce, there's hasn't been much info about the core parts of Tensor like, say, the CPU. A reasonable expectation for a company building its first SoC is that it won't be too ambitious—we would expect Google to play within the guardrails set up by ARM, and after shipping a modest, cookie-cutter SoC, the company would learn from its first design and iterate. But a new report from XDA Developers' Mishaal Rahman claims that even with its first design, Google isn't afraid to blaze its own trail in SoC design.

Recall how ARM SoCs generally come with three tiers of CPU cores: a big CPU for bursty processing tasks like app-launching, medium cores for sustained performance, and small cores for background duty and low-power processing. Rahman says he has a source with a real-life Pixel 6 Pro and offers the following CPU specs: two 2.8GHz Cortex-X1 cores, two 2.25GHz Cortex-A76 cores, and four 1.8GHz Cortex-A55 cores.

If that information is true, Google's lineup of CPU cores will be unlike anything else on the market. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 and Samsung's Exynos 2200 both have one Cortex X1, three Cortex A78s, and four Cortex A55s. You aren't supposed to have two X1 cores. These are the big cores that can do some serious processing, and cramming two of them into a smartphone could lead to incredible performance. Or it could lead to extreme overheating. You're also not supposed to use A76 cores, which are from last year. Every other company's "medium" cores are the newer, faster A78 cores.

Compared to the typical design, Google swapped out one of the medium cores for a second big X1 core and then turned down the remaining medium cores by switching to cores from last year. Maybe downgrading the remaining medium cores is an attempt to balance the heat output? At launch, ARM said a 5 nm Cortex A78 had 20 percent better-sustained performance in the same thermal envelope as a 7 nm Cortex A76. But since Google is using 5 nm A76s, the A76 cores should be putting out less heat than the A78.

Frankenchip

So what exactly is the goal here? Is Google trying to seize the Android benchmark crown with this dual X1 Frankenchip? It would be a shame to spend all these engineering resources on a custom solution and turn in a medium-performance benchmark when chips with medium-performance benchmarks are readily available, out of the box, from several vendors. There's a lot of effort being spent here that will hopefully pay off somehow.

The Android community's collective head-scratching Tensor journey started with this surprise entry in the Geekbench 5 database, which lists a "Google Pixel 6 Pro" with that unprecedented 2 x 2 x 4 core layout. Geekbench info reads from an easy-to-fake file, but this entry didn't seem like a fake since it was already completely unbelievable on its own. Rahman says, "The build fingerprint, kernel version string, CPU frequencies, CPU clusters, GPU info, and more match the values from our source’s Pixel 6 Pro." So it is very likely that this entry shows a legit Geekbench run.

And for a flagship smartphone, this Geekbench 5 score is terrible. A Snapdragon 888 scores somewhere in the range of 3300-3500, while Google's Pixel 6 is scoring lower than a Pixel 4. We would guess that this is due to lots of optimization and configuration work that still needs to be done and that it would be wrong to draw any conclusions from the score.

We're starting to get a clearer picture of what's in the Google Tensor SoC, even if the real-world performance is still a wild card. Samsung's Exynos unit is helping design the chip, and the other core components are very Samsung-y. The GPU is reportedly the same as the Exynos Galaxy S21, an off-the-shelf ARM Mali G78. The modem is also from Samsung (an Exynos 5123), which will mark the first time in a while that an Exynos modem has come to US shores. Google is hyping up the AI-centric parts of the chip design and promises that the chip will power onboard voice transcriptions.

Because it has access to someone with a Pixel 6 Pro, XDA was also able to corroborate plenty of the other specs that have been floating around. The Samsung-made 50MP "GN1" image sensor for the main camera represents the Pixel line's first image-sensor upgrade in several years. That rectangular camera part is a 4x optical telephoto lens powered by a Sony 48 MP IMX586, while the wide-angle camera continues Google's love affair with Sony image sensors from 2016—it's a 12 MP IMX386.

Other reported specs promise a computing powerhouse with a huge 5000 mAh battery, 12GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and Wi-Fi 6E. After taking a year off with the Pixel 5, Google seems to be returning to the flagship race.

Google is certainly hyping the Google Tensor SoC in its advertising. In Japan (which is apparently Google's new second-favorite country), the company is celebrating its first-ever in-house SoC by selling "Google Original Chips" on the Google Store—these are literally bags of edible potato chips, styled after each color of the Pixel 6. They all come in a "Googley Salty Flavor" and even have a big stripe across them to match the camera block. The video ad for the chips—in which a woman charges a bag of Pixel potato chips with a USB-C plug—is really something.

We still have no idea when this phone is actually coming out. Android 12 is rumored for October 4—so a release would presumably be sometime after that.

Listing image by Google

Shocking Pixel 6 rumor lists Google SoC with two ARM X1 CPU cores

(To view the article's image gallery, please visit the above link)

The mystery of Google’s upcoming SoC gets stranger

 

Google’s rumored Pixel 6 Tensor processor sounds extremely weird

Previously it was only available to WhatsApp Testflight users on iOS, which is an extremely limited and mostly closed group of users.

If you have version 2.21.180.14 of the app, you may be offered the prompt to link devices.

You can link up to 4 devices, including a macOS/Windows computer, a WhatsApp Web session, or a Portal, but only one, your main device can be a phone.

Once linked, you can send messages without your phone needing to be connected to the Internet.

The feature may be rolling out gradually to users, so be sure to update your app regularly.

via XDA-Dev

WhatsApp multi-device support now available on iOS

The tech giant unveiled the final version of iOS 15 on stage during the launch of its newest devices, including the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPad 9th gen and iPad Mini 6th gen.

IOS 15 adds a slew of new features including SharePlay, which allows you to FaceTime with your friends while watching shows and movies, listening to music. It's sort of like Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party), in that you can watch movies in sync with your group. The new feature also supports screen-sharing.

Toggle Focus mode to work on a particular task, without being distracted by notifications. Speaking of notifications, iOS 15 improves alerts by adding contact photos and app icons on the lock screen. The improvements added to Safari in iOS 15 are quite good too, the browser's tab bar has been moved to the bottom, which makes switching between tabs easier.

The Tab Groups feature allows you to save your tabs in groups, and also syncs across devices. iOS 15 also brings support for Safari extensions. Don't get your hopes up for using uBlock Origin on iOS 15, Safari does not allow web extensions to access blocking requests.

App Privacy Report helps you analyze how apps are accessing your permissions, and how they connect to third-party servers, i.e. to track you. The Mail app's privacy protection hides your IP address, and also prevents senders from knowing if you've opened the message.

IPadOS 15 improves multi-tasking with a new menu, that lets you switch to full screen mode, slide over and Split View (side-by-side) modes. The layout is customizable, so you may choose which apps you want to work with.

Jump between open windows by tapping the shelf, which is like the Windows Taskbar or Task View. While we're on the topic of switching apps, you can use Split View in the App Switcher screen too.

If you like Widgets, you're in for a treat. iPadOS 15 lets you place widgets on your home screen, and there are plenty to choose from. The operating system introduces a new gesture, where you swipe up from the corner, to bring up the Quick Note panel, that you can use to jot down notes, it also supports the Apple Pencil.

If you're wondering whether your iPhone or iPad will get the latest OS update, we've got you covered.

List of iPhones eligible for the iOS 15 Update

• iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone X, XR, XS, XS Max
• iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone SE 1st and 2nd gen
• iPod Touch 7th gen
•  

List of iPads that will get iPadOS 15

• iPad Air 2
• iPad Air (3rd and 4th gen)
• iPad (5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th gen)
• iPad Mini 4
• iPad Mini (5th and 6th gen)
• iPad Pro (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th gen)
•  

In case you missed it, Apple rolled out an emergency update for iOS and MacOS devices yesterday, to fix an exploit related to the Pegasus spyware.

References and Image Credits: Apple 1, 2

Apple has been really impressive when it comes to OS updates. OS Fragmentation has always been a thorn in Google's side, thanks to the difference in hardware in Android devices. But Android OEMs are playing catch up, a few have promised to deliver 3 major OS upgrades, but even that's limited to flagship devices.

iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 to release on September 20th; here are the list of devices that will get the update

Xiaomi today announced Pad 5, a new Android 11 tablet with premium features and an affordable price tag. The Xiaomi Pad 5 comes with an 11-inch WQHD+ LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 500 nits brightness, and support for HDR 10 and Dolby Vision. For a  great audio experience, Xiaomi has included quad speakers and Dolby Atmos support.

Xiaomi Pad 5 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 processor, up to 8GB RAM, and 8720mAh battery with support for fast charging. The Pad 5 also comes with a 13MP rear camera with flash and an 8MP selfie camera. Despite packing all these technologies, the Pad 5 is just 6.85mm thick and weighs just 515 grams.

You can buy Xiaomi Pad 5 in Cosmic Gray and Pearl White colors.

Pricing:

• 6GB RAM/128GB – €349
• 8GB RAM/128GB – €399

Source: Xiaomi

Xiaomi announces Pad 5 Android tablet with premium features and an affordable price tag

Google's document for device manufacturers lists a launch day and support timelines.

Android 12 is reportedly due out on October 4

Users of the Pixel 3, 4a and 5 reported that despite setting alarms, the app appears to be forgetting them, with the alarms not showing as “upcoming” and not going off as scheduled. For some reason, they still show up as “missed” afterwards, however.

At the time we reported that Google was aware of the issue and is working on a fix.

Now Google support on Reddit has announced the fix is available, though it would require an update to both the Google Clock app and Spotify.

Google earlier confirmed the Spotify integration was causing the missed alarms.

The latest version of the Google Clock app is version 6.41 and it can be found in the Google Play Store here.

via XDA-Dev

Google release fix for unreliable Google Clock app

Apple’s app store policies have caused controversy and consternation many times over the years, but few periods have been as active and strange as the last two weeks. For the first time, we are seeing Apple being forced to react directly to lawsuits and regulators with substantial policy changes.

The biggest example has of course just happened today: a ruling from judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Epic v. Apple case. Apple must now allow apps to link out to other purchasing options in addition to in-app purchases. But that follows two court case settlements and a new law in South Korea that also have implications for how Apple treats developers. The pace of change is increasing and instead of leading, Apple is reacting.

Apple will surely appeal the Epic ruling, but even if it ultimately loses, there’s a good chance that it won’t be enough to appease the legislators and lawyers who are circling Apple’s store as the main way to rein in Apple’s power. And there’s an even better chance that the developers who must try to navigate all those rules will also continue to feel like Apple is spending more effort protecting its profits than empowering developers.

Here, then, is a very brief history of the major policy changes and statements Apple has made about the App Store over the years. The impetus for these different changes (or, as Apple tends to call them, “clarifications”) has varied, but the trend has remained the same. Apple has worked hard to keep the fundamental, central model of a 30 percent cut intact while softening it around the edges to appease various constituencies.

But just take a look at the timing and cadence of these changes. After a development period from 2007 to 2011 when Apple fills out the features, there’s a large gap when Apple made few notable policy changes. Then, a major shift in 2016 to address some growing discontent among developers. And then, starting in the summer of 2019, there is an ever-increasing cadence of controversies and policy tweaks to address them.

As time goes on, policy changes are coming faster and the hairs Apple is splitting are getting thinner. My instinct is to say that enough is enough: Apple should just make a couple of sweeping changes and get it all done at once.

Clearly, Apple doesn’t agree.

Instead, the company is in a defensive crouch, stepping back only when forced and as little as possible. That might be a good strategy to make sure every regulator feels like it got its pound of flesh and thus minimize the change Apple will have to make, as Steven Sinofsky speculated, but it’s a terrible strategy for making developers — and customers — feel good about the App Store.

June 11th, 2007
At WWDC, Steve Jobs says that Apple won’t have the ability for developers to install “native” apps, but instead will need to use web apps. It was the infamous “sweet solution.”

Oct. 17th, 2007
Apple changes its mind as it becomes clear that the demand is there (and as the home brew app movement gains momentum). It announces it will release an SDK for the iPhone.

July 10th, 2008
The Apple App Store for the iPhone launches with 500 apps and a 30 percent cut of all sales going to Apple.

August 7th, 2008
In an interview with Nick Wingfield, Steve Jobs says of the App Store that “we don’t expect this to be a big profit generator.”

June 8th, 2009
Apple announces that developers will be able to add in-app purchases using Apple’s payment processing (and 30 percent cut). It limits in-app purchases to paid apps, however.

Oct. 15th, 2009
Apple changes its mind and allows in-app purchases to be extended to free apps. It drives a huge shift in business models for many games.

Feb. 1st, 2011
Apple begins rejecting apps that don’t use its in-app purchasing system. It rejects Sony’s e-reader app. Apps are not allowed to link out to purchase or subscription pages within their apps, even if the user completes the purchase in a separate browser window.

Feb. 15th, 2011
In a big new push to bring news and magazines into Apple’s ecosystem, it launches subscriptions on the App Store for publishers. Fees are still 30 percent, and Apple makes it easy to unsubscribe — and hard for publishers to gather data about their readers.

July 28th, 2011
As we learned in discovery for the recent Epic v. Apple case, an Apple executive suggests cutting App Store commission in an internal email on this date. As we all know, that didn’t happen.

Jan. 15th, 2014
Apple settles a case with the FTC over in-app purchases and offers consumers $32 million in refunds. It’s a response to a raft of apps using tricky tactics to get in-app purchases. Over time, more parental controls, restraints on those purchases, and oversight on apps are added.

Nov. 9th, 2014
Apple changes the button naming on the App Store from “free” to “get,” to better reflect that some games have in-app purchases.

June 16th, 2016

In a massive and consequential change to the app economy, Apple introduces a much-expanded model for subscriptions for apps. It was big enough that our article on the event dubbed it App Store 2.0. The changes included dropping Apple’s fee to 15 percent after the first year of subscription revenue. This is also when Apple introduced the concept of the “reader app”, a controversial category that allowed users to access subscription content purchased elsewhere (like Netflix or Kindle) but disallowed linking out to those purchase options. Finally, Apple announced it would begin introducing ads in App Store search.

The change was so big that at that year’s WWDC, Apple commissioned a graphic novel where the art told one story but all the text was literally the App Store rules. In one section, we see the story of a son getting a haircut for his father’s funeral while the captions list the “acceptable” business models in the App Store.

Nov. 1st, 2016
A 2020 House subcommittee investigation revealed that in 2016, Amazon has a secret deal with Apple that grants it lower fees than were available to other developers. Earlier in 2020, Apple had attempted to claim the deal was an “established program for premium subscription video entertainment providers.” Even if it was “established,” it certainly wasn’t widely known.

June 5th, 2018
During its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple quietly updates its guidelines to allow for so-called remote mirroring apps like Steam Link. It didn’t allow for full game services on the App Store, but carved out the ability to mirror a PC on an iPhone or iPad.

April 28th, 2019
A controversy grows over Apple’s crackdown on developers who use enterprise tools for managing iPhones to offer parental controls to consumers. Eventually, Apple needed to publicly explain why it was banning those apps. The move was viewed as anti-competitive because Apple had its own parental controls. Apple countered that those enterprise tools could be misused by hackers in a consumer context.

May 29th, 2019
Apple publishes a new webpage (since changed) titled App Store Principles and Practices. It was essentially a marketing page designed to explain Apple’s rules for the App Store and why it believed those guidelines protected consumers.

June 4th, 2019
In another quiet update during WWDC, Apple updates its guidelines to allow enterprise tools to be used for parental controls, allowing them to use mobile device manager and VPN APIs.

July 12th, 2019
Apple begins restoring banned parental control apps to the App Store following the controversy earlier in the year.

April 1st, 2020
This is the date we officially learned about the so-called “established” program for video streaming providers to bypass the 30 percent fee for individual video rentals and purchases.

June 22nd, 2020
In what turned out to be a big controversy for the App Store, an email app called Hey is banned because it did not offer a way to sign up for the $99 / year service inside the app itself. At issue was that “reader” app category — only those types of apps were allowed to use that business model and Apple said email didn’t count. On this date, Hey made a minor change to its app to skirt Apple’s requirement that apps provide functionality without an outside subscription and so Apple approves the Hey email app.

August 6th, 2020
In a new battle, streaming games platforms like Stadia and Microsoft’s xCloud are officially banned from the App Store. Apple’s ruling requires every game on the services to be submitted individually — a nonstarter for those services. Ultimately both would eventually return as browser-based apps after Apple quietly added the necessary Safari support for them to work.

August 13th, 2020
Apple kicks Fortnite off the App Store following Epic’s gambit to add its own in-app purchases to the game. It would kick off a huge battle — both in the court of public opinion and in actual court. The Epic v. Apple case would turn out to be a major event in the App Store saga, revealing all sorts of internal emails and ultimately leading to consequential rulings.

Nov. 18th, 2020
In an attempt to hang on to its 30 percent cut but still grant smaller developers some concessions, Apple introduces the “App Store Small Business Program.” Developers who make less than $1 million per year were allowed to apply to join the program and have their cut reduced to 15 percent.

Sept. 11th, 2020
Apple makes it official that streaming game services are allowed in the App Store, but only if each game inside the services are submitted individually. It is still not enough for Stadia and xCloud.

June 23rd, 2021
In a new 16-page report, Apple lays out its arguments against allowing sideloading iPhone apps in a report titled “Building a Trusted Ecosystem for Millions of Apps,” claiming the practice would make its phones less secure and trustworthy for users.

August 26th, 2021
Apple announces another new program offering a lower rate to a subset of developers. Under the new program, news publishers that participated in Apple News to a sufficient degree qualify for a 15 percent cut on their other apps instead of 30.

August 26th, 2021
Apple settles a class action lawsuit with developers. In the proposed settlement, the company “clarifies” that developers are allowed to email their users directly with information about how they could subscribe to services outside the App Store. It’s unclear if this is actually a change and even if it is, it’s a tiny one.

August 31st, 2021
A new law in South Korea requires both Google and Apple to allow for third-party payment systems on apps in their respective app stores. It’s too soon to see how the companies will react and what the law’s effect both inside and outside South Korea will be.

Sept. 1st, 2021
In another lawsuit settlement, Apple concedes to let apps like Netflix, Spotify, and Kindle have a single link out to their payment services inside their apps. It’s a tiny crack in the so-called “anti-steering” rules, but it’s limited to a single link and limited to the so-called “reader apps” category that Apple itself has defined.

Sept. 10th, 2021
Apple rules that it won’t allow Fortnite to return to the App Store in South Korea, despite the new law there.

Sept. 10th, 2020
In a huge ruling in the Epic v. Apple, the judge says that Apple is “permanently restrained and enjoined from prohibiting developers from including in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to In-App Purchasing and communicating with customers through points of contact obtained voluntarily from customers through account registration within the app.” It is also established that Apple does not have an illegal monopoly.

Appeals from both Epic and Apple are expected.

The Apple App Store: a brief history of major policy changes

Google has released the final beta build of Android 12 adding a couple of changes to the overall design of the OS. A new lock screen shortcut, a new clock widget, and a redesigned calculator app, a new widget called “Paint Chip” are some of the headline features of the Android 12 Beta 5 update.

 

As pointed out by 9to5Google, the Clock app now respects the Material You colors — it’s now responsive to your wallpaper’s color. The Clock app also has a revamped timer, and it looks beautiful. The final beta update extends the availability of the Material You design to the Calculator app as well. The buttons in the Calculator app are now circled, and that makes it a lot like the iOS Calculator app.

Apart from extending the availability of the Material You design to some of its stock apps, Google has also added changes to other areas of the OS. For example, the final beta build adds a universal search bar within the app drawer of the Pixel launcher, enabling users to search for items like system settings, apps, contacts, and pretty much everything that’s in your phone. Also, the final beta update has added some changes to the lock screen. The updated lock screen now has all your smart home shortcuts and Google Wallet shortcut.

Talking about the Paint Chip widget, it can only be unlocked after dialing the clock in Android 12’s Easter egg to midnight(via XDA). It shows you the color palette, which is generated by monet, of your wallpaper. Tapping on each item will show you the exact color value and framework entry.

The latest beta update also includes other minor changes, you can learn about them in this post published by XDA-Developers. Meanwhile, Google will release the stable Android 12 update in a few weeks, but if you cannot wait to try out the latest version of Android, you can install the beta update on your supported Pixel smartphone. You can follow The Verge‘s guide on how to install the beta update.

Android 12’s last beta build released: new animation and Material You makeover

Google’s latest Instagram post may have revealed Pixel 6 launch date

Last month, Google officially announced that Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro would be the company’s flagship smartphones for this year. The company also gave us a glimpse of how the smartphone will look like, confirming the previously leaked renders. And now that we’re only a few away from the official release date of the Pixel 6 series, the company has released its first Pixel 6 advertisement, showing the smartphone in people’s hands.

 

The advertisement shows the Google Pixel 6 smartphone from every angle, giving us a detailed look at what the smartphone looks like in different colors. However, what we saw in the advertisement is already known to us, thanks to the previous leaks. What is really catchy in the ad is the tagline, which says, “For all you are.” The teaser starts by asking “What if smartphones weren’t just smart.” It’s accompanied by another question: “What if your phone saw you for who you are.” Then the teaser then goes on to show people holding the Pixel 6 smartphone. The end part of the ad reveals a tiny clip of the new Tensor chip and that the Pixel 6 series is “Coming Fall 2021.”

 

GOOGLE PIXEL 6 RUMORED SPECS

According to previous rumors, the Google Pixel 6 Pro measures roughly 163.9 x 75.8 x 8.9 millimeters (11.5 millimeters thickness if you take the camera bump into account). The smartphone features a 6.67-inch curved AMOLED display, in the top middle of which a single punch-hole cutout resides. It’s currently not known whether or not the display will have support for a high refresh rate.

Talking about the camera, the Pixel 6 Pro rocks a triple camera setup, a primary wide-angle camera, a periscope telephoto camera, and an unknown camera, which are accompanied by an LED flash. The camera module also includes a couple of sensors, about which we have no information as of yet. Other features include dual stereo speakers, wireless charging.

Rumor has it that Google will use its own processor called Whitechapel for its Pixel 6 devices. If true, this will be the first time Google will use its own chipset in a Pixel smartphone.

via 9to5google

Google releases its first Pixel 6 advertisement