XDA Forum Member Lukx has launched REDLOTUS, which he describes as a Huawei update server to HiSuite (and later, to eRecovery). This program allows you to download an update for your Huawei device in a few simple steps. Give this tool a try, but be warned that it’s not easy to use!
from xda-developers http://ift.tt/2pXNlCo
via IFTTT
XDA famous developer Chainfire took a stab at rooting the Samsung Galaxy S7. His investigation leads to a conclusion that the safest method is fully disabling the /data encryption. Moreover, there are scenarios where a device can be bricked during the process. Learn more from his interesting forum post here.
from xda-developers http://ift.tt/2pszReX
via IFTTT
As is customary with everything Google, if it exists, there must be more than one of it. Jokes aside, Google does seem very much interested in bringing up and maintaining not only Android and Chrome OS as viable and mainstream OS’s, but they’re also looking at bringing up yet another OS in the form of Fuchsia.
Fuchsia was last talked about in August 2016, but the OS was in its rudimentary form and just taking shape. Since then, Google has been hard at work, albeit discreetly, in giving more substance to the fledgling OS.
Fuchsia is the new open source OS from Google, one that does not utilize the Linux Kernel. Instead, Fuchsia uses a Google-developed microkernel called Magenta. The Magenta Kernel follows along an MIT-style license which allows for others to do whatever they want with the code (including modification, distribution and keeping said modifications private) as long as the original license is available somewhere in the derivative.
Magenta is the core platform that powers the Fuchsia OS. Magenta is composed of a microkernel (source in kernel/…) as well as a small set of userspace services, drivers, and libraries (source in system/…) necessary for the system to boot, talk to hardware, load userspace processes and run them, etc. Fuchsia builds a much larger OS on top of this foundation. Magenta targets modern phones and modern personal computers with fast processors, non-trivial amounts of ram with arbitrary peripherals doing open ended computation.
This is a definite change from GPL v2 followed along on Android’s Linux kernel, which placed an obligation on the modifier (usually OEMs) for open sourcing the code changes if they modify and distribute any part of the code. Depending on which side you’re standing on, one can argue the choice of license and the deviation from the Linux kernel is for better or for worse.
Other parts of the OS are licensed separately and often individually under BSD License 2.0, Apache 2.0 and MIT.
Ars Technica notes that the interface and apps on Fuchsia are written using Google’s Flutter SDK, a project capable of producing cross-platform code that can run on Android as well as iOS. Flutter apps are written in Dart, Google’s in-house Web development language which focuses on high-performance apps on mobile. Fuchsia also has a Vulkan-based graphics rendered called Escher, which Ars Technica mentions as seemingly custom-built to run Googles’s shadow-heavy Material Design UX.
As Fuchsia’s interface is written with the cross-platform Flutter SDK, it is possible to run parts of Fuchsia on an Android device. Hotfix.net brought to light how to build Armadillo, basically a demo app to showcase what the SystemUI of Fuchsia would look like. You can download the Fuchsia source code and compile Fuchsia’s SystemUI as an Android apk and install it on your device. In case you don’t want to go down that route, nor wait for someone to compile and distribute it, Hotfix.net was kind enough to include a demo video of the interface:
Since the SystemUI consists of a lot of placeholders for components that are in different stages of development, there isn’t much you can do with the SystemUI as of yet. The homescreen on Fuchsia in its current form consists of a vertically scrolling list, with an information widget in the middle which displays the date, your city and your profile picture. Above this widget is what appears to be Recent Apps and scrolling below this widget will bring up Google Now-like suggestions which are currently just placeholders. Tapping on the widget brings up a re-imagination of Android’s Quick Toggles to an extent.
Armadillo UI also features multi-tasking features with better window management than seen on Android currently. There are a lot of ways you can arrange apps, including having four apps open at once or even resorting to a tabbed interface. The Armadillo UI also features Fuchsia’s keyboard with a new dark theme.
It is abundantly clear that Fuchsia as an OS is still very much in its early stages. One only needs to take a look at Android to realize how much effort goes into making an OS and refining it, which in turn will give you an estimate of how far Fuchsia as a ‘product for the public’ is in the future.
Since Google has also been quiet on the whole OS and its progress, it is further difficult to estimate what future this OS has, if at all it does in the first place. Ars Technica quotes Fuchsia Developer Travis Geiselbrecht as having said:
[Fuchsia] isn’t a toy thing, it’s not a 20% project, it’s not a dumping ground of a dead thing that we don’t care about anymore.
While the developer insists Fuchsia is more than just a temporary fling, Google’s (and Alphabet’s) fickle nature is well known, unfortunately.
Ars Technica speculates that the OS in its current state seems a lot like a new branch of Android, wherein Google is fixing a lot of its early and foundational mistakes and utilizing a lot of its experience that it acquired over the years building the world’s most popular smartphone OS. With Fuchsia, Google can successfully detach itself from the Linux kernel and from Java right from the ground-up — a task that would otherwise be very, very difficult in Android currently.
The future of Fuchsia is exciting. This just might be the next big thing, and you can experience it before it becomes the next big thing. For instructions on how to build Fuchsia’s Armadillo UI to try it out on Android, follow along Hotfix.net‘s brief guide. You can also check out Fuchsia’s source code over at Github or GoogleSource.
What are your thoughts on Fuchsia and its Armadillo UI? What do you think the future holds for Fuchsia, Android and Chrome OS? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Source 1: Hotfix.net Source 2: Ars Technica
from xda-developers http://ift.tt/2qKR32W
via IFTTT
Stop putting off backing up your files. You never know when your hard drive will die and you’ll kiss all of your personal data goodbye. Cloud backup is the way to go when you have multiple devices and want to share files between them. That’s why this deal from the XDA Depot is a perfect solution. The Degoo Premium lifetime subscription is normally valued at $1,200. Right now you can get this service for 95% off. That’s 2TB of cloud storage for only $59.99. No, that’s not an annual fee, that’s a one-time payment for a lifetime subscription.
Get more storage space than Dropbox, OneDrive, & Google Drive combined
Secure Storage & Transfers of More Data Than Any Other Service
Purchases made through XDA Depot benefit XDA. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.
from xda-developers http://ift.tt/2qJVPxU
via IFTTT
If you’re a proud owner of the original Huawei Watch, then we have some good news for you: the Android Wear 2.0 update is now finally rolling out for your device. Android Wear 2.0 is a big step forward for the Wear platform as it brings in many much-needed improvements as well many new exciting features. Wear 2.0 was available for the Huawei Watch in the form of a Developer Preview for a while now, but it’s only now that the device is getting the official stable update.
Many owners of the Huawei Watch are now reporting that they have received the Wear 2.0 update on their devices. At the time being, the update only appears to be rolling out to those running the prior Developer Preview version. But according to several reports from users on Reddit, it looks like you can trigger the update on devices running Wear 1.5. The trick involves repeatedly tapping on the green “system is up to date” screen within the Settings menu to trigger the update – just make sure to enable WiFi and disable Bluetooth before proceeding.
The update is based on Android 7.1.1; April’s security patches are also included in the update, as you can see in the image below.
Meanwhile, the OTA link for the update has also been captured for those want to install it manually. The OTA update link for those running the Developer Preview version is available here and for users on Android Wear 1.5 it can be found here. If you’re updating from the Developer Preview, installing the update will erase all your data so keep that in mind before proceeding.
The Android Wear 2.0 update was supposed to roll-out to all supported hardware soon after its official release, but a bug found in the final software forced Google to postpone the software roll out. But now that the bug has been patched, we can certainly expect to see more and more watches getting the Wear 2.0 update in coming weeks.
The Huawei Watch will join the likes of the first-gen LG Watch Urbane, LG Watch R as well as a handful of other Android Wear watches which have already received this update a while back.
from xda-developers http://ift.tt/2pNhZOg
via IFTTT
Amazon is apparently working on a touchscreen Echo device, which we first learned about thanks to a report from CNET. The rumors are starting to gain some credibility, as we now have a chance to see some alleged renders of the device.
Yesterday, AFTVnews leaked some rather low-quality images of a device they purport to be the touchscreen Amazon Echo. Later on that same day, Evan Blass, a famous leaker from VentureBeat, shared his own high resolution images of the same device. These images clearly show two things – the device will be available in two colors and will also have Alexa integration. Users will be able to issue voice commands to speak to Alexa as usual, but this time can see information on the device’s screen.
Black variant:
@AFTVnews Here, let me help you with that. http://pic.twitter.com/9YokBj4pXQ
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) May 5, 2017
White variant:
@RDR0b11 ..but it comes in white, too! http://pic.twitter.com/FDm7fi75rD
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) May 5, 2017
Alexa is a voice-command service developed by Amazon. It’s a direct competitor to Google Assistant. Users will be able to check the news, a weather forecast, or play music using voice commands. The render suggests that some sort of the messaging application is kept in the top-right corner. It’s safe to assume that the touchscreen will add video playback support to Alexa.
The new Amazon Echo will also sport a camera at the top, so there is a big chance that the device will offer video calls. The camera can also be utilized as a selfie shooter, we presume. We don’t have any details about the hardware components used in the device as of yet.
There is no mention of the release date, but these seemingly accurate renders may suggest that the unveiling is near.
from xda-developers http://ift.tt/2p7zmL2
via IFTTT
Most big players in the mobile world have already unveiled their flagship devices. That includes the Korean giants Samsung and LG. It appears that the Taiwan-based HTC is planning to release the HTC U11 soon, given the handful of teasers the company has posted. But thanks to 91Mobiles, we now have early renders of the device that is set to be globally unveiled on May 16th. These leaks are released in a close collaboration with rather trustworthy serial leaker @OnLeaks.
HTC is not in good financial shape. According to reports, the company has lost $116.7 Million in the Q4 of 2016. The release of a new device seems will hopefully put the company on the right track.
Just like Samsung and LG, HTC has decided to move towards “bezel-less” display. Surprisingly, the flagship will also feature well-rounded edges. Users will have a chance to initiate various actions on the phone by swiping from the edge. This functionality will be referred to as Edge Sense and will be tightly integrated with HTC’s Sense Touch UI. All actions should be very easy to perform using just one hand.
The device will be a bit thicker than current flagships. HTC U11 is expected to be 9.2mm thick at the top and 8mm at the bottom. It will most likely measure 154 x 76 mm. HTC U11 will also have a fingerprint scanner placed underneath the home button. Its aluminum body will ensure a good grip and solid construction. From the renders we can also learn that the device will have an eye-catching glossy red hue. Nevertheless, the device will be distributed in other color variants as well.
The position of the controls is not a big surprise. Both the power switch and volume buttons are placed on the right edge. Apparently, the HTC U11 will miss out the 3.5mm audio interface. Looks like the former Nexus manufacturer is following Apple’s lead. A USB-Type-C socket is placed at the bottom edge, which is how you’ll be listening to music from now on if you purchase this device.
On the rear of the phone will be the embedded 3,000 mAh battery that can be quickly topped up thanks to Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 technology. Finally, the smartphone will be dust and waterproof with an IP57 rating.
Let’s next focus on the hardware specification. The HTC U11 is expected to have a 5.5-inch Super LCD screen. The QHD screen will be covered by Corning Gorilla Glass. HTC decided to use the latest and most powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and the U11 is expected to have 6 GBs of RAM and 128 GBs of internal storage. A cheaper variant (which is also expected) will sport 4 GBs of RAM and 64 GBs of storage. Note that both devices will have a microSD card slot compatible with the cards up to 2TB. Say goodbye to the low disk space.
As expected, HTC will be continuing with its UltraPixel technology for photography. The HTC U11 will sport a 12-megapixel rear shooter with f/1.7 sensor and UltraPixel 3. The front camera is expected to be a 16-megapixel selfie monster.
The device will have two slots for SIM cards as well as 4G VoLTE connectivity. To wrap things up, we have to mention the inclusion of Bluetooth 5.0 (which may compensate the lack of 3.5mm jack support), dual-band WiFi, and NFC. Audiophiles should be pleased by HTC’s BoomSound technology, Hi-Res Audio playback, and USonic active noise cancellation. HTC U11’s operating system will be based on Android 7.1.1 with Sense UI.
Do you think that the HTC U11 will compete with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S8 or LG G6? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
from xda-developers http://ift.tt/2pN6tlT
via IFTTT
