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mercredi 4 avril 2018

Amidst data scandal, Facebook will voluntarily enforce EU’s new privacy rules “everywhere”

At XDA, we usually avoid delving into political topics due to the controversy that comes with it. Sometimes, however, it’s impossible to avoid politics in technology. Huawei’s Mate 10 Pro was effectively blocked by the U.S. Government over concerns that the Chinese company would influence the build-up of 5G technology in the U.S., something that the U.S. Government fears will lead to Chinese Government encroachment on critical U.S. infrastructure. This is just one recent example of the intersection of politics and technology, but another scandal involving the world’s leading social media platform is raising interesting implications for the entire technology industry.

Facebook is under worldwide scrutiny over user data obtained by Cambridge Analytica, a U.K. based political consulting firm. Amidst the company’s scandal, CEO Mark Zuckerberg affirmed the company’s commitment to addressing the privacy concerns raised by the fiasco with Cambridge Analytica. In particular, Mr. Zuckerberg said that Facebook would voluntarily implement the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws not only in the EU but in all areas where Facebook operates.

“We’re going to make all the same controls and settings available everywhere, not just in Europe,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, during a call with reporters.

The GDPR, set to take effect next month, is a set of regulations implemented by the EU to protect user data privacy.

For consumers, the GDPR:

Affirms the right of consumers to receive clear and understandable information about what data is being collected on them and why.
Affirms the right to request access to any data collected on them.
Affirms the right to request that one provider transfer all data collected to another provider.
Requires that companies offer ways for consumers to be “forgotten,” ie. delete all personal data that the company has collected.
Requires companies to obtain the express consent of consumers before collecting any data, but most importantly it mandates that companies cannot bundle consent requests in lengthy, complex documents that consumers never read.
Requires companies to immediately disclose data that is stolen or lost in a data breach.

Adapting to these requirements has been a challenge for many companies that have collected data on largely unwitting consumers for years. The EU is a market that can’t be avoided, and so many technology companies have begrudgingly changed their practices to abide by EU consumer protection laws.

Outside of the EU, however, tech companies continue their same data collection practices. In countries where consumer protection laws aren’t as stringent, there’s little to no incentive to implement better, user-focused data protection features. Only amidst a major scandal is choosing to voluntarily implement the EU requirements worldwide.

This is certainly a step in the right direction for Facebook. We hope that this is the start of an industry-wide change where all consumers are better protected from unwanted data collection. It’s a shame that one of the biggest players in the field is changing their practices only after a scandal that is rocking the company to their core, but this wouldn’t be the first time that a scandal triggered a cascade of events leading to better data privacy.

Via: ArsTechnica

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Get the CloudFlare DNS on Android with this Magisk Module

Earlier this week, Cloudflare launched its own DNS service. They promised greater privacy and even faster internet speed if users switch over from their ISP’s default. If you have Magisk there’s a new module that will let you easily take advantage of the Cloudflare DNS. XDA Senior Member Rom has released CloudFlareDNS4Magisk.

The module is pretty simple. It forwards all data through CloudFlare’s servers. All you need is an Android device and Magisk version 15 or higher. Check out the forum thread below for the Magisk Module ZIP file. It may make your WiFi a little faster in the process.

Energy Bar is a pulsating battery bar that accentuates the curves of the Samsung Galaxy S9, S8, and Note 8

Energy Bar is a handy app that allows you to put the battery meter at the top of your screen. The app is full of customization options to help you get it looking exactly how you want. You can adjust the thickness, change the colors, and even make it pulsate. Energy Bar has been available for over a year already, but the developer has released a new special edition for Samsung Galaxy phones.

energy bar samsung galaxy

This special edition is for the Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S8, and Note 8. Since these phones have rounded corners, the regular Energy Bar app gets cut off at the edges. The special version allows the battery meter to curve around the corners. It really accentuates the rounded look of the Infinity Display. The usual bevy of customization options is still available.

Energy Bar - Curved Edition for Galaxy S8/S9/+ (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Confirmed: Samsung Will Start Selling Custom Phone Cases From Its Theme Store

Earlier today, SamMobile reported on a tip they received that Samsung would begin selling custom phone cases through their theme store. We now have direct evidence that this initiative is in the works via a teardown of the Samsung Theme store APK as well as screenshots of the pages from Samsung.

Within the latest Samsung Theme Store APK from the Samsung Galaxy S9, we searched for strings matching ‘case’ to see if we could confirm SamMobile‘s report. The strings we found clearly show that Samsung will allow you to create a custom phone case which will have a custom and unique theme with it. To apply the theme, you put the case on the phone, and then presumably via an NFC tag inserted in the case, the theme store will allow you to apply your custom theme.

Here are the strings that we found:

Samsung Themes Custom Phone Case Strings

    <string name="DREAM_OTS_BUTTON_CREATE_CUSTOM_PHONE_CASE_30">Create custom phone case</string>
    <string name="DREAM_OTS_BUTTON_CUSTOM_PHONE_CASE_20">Custom phone case</string>
    <string name="DREAM_OTS_BUTTON_CREATE_CUSTOM_PHONE_CASE_30">Create custom phone case</string>
    <string name="DREAM_OTS_BUTTON_CUSTOM_PHONE_CASE_20">Custom phone case</string>
    <string name="DREAM_OTS_HEADER_ABOUT_CUSTOM_PHONE_CASES">About custom phone cases</string>
    <string name="DREAM_OTS_HEADER_PREVIEW_OF_PHONE_CASE">Preview of phone case</string>
    <string name="DREAM_OTS_SBODY_COULDNT_ACCESS_THE_SERVICE_TO_CHANGE_YOUR_PHONE_CASE_THEME_DETACH_AND_REATTACH_YOUR_PHONE_CASE">"Couldn't access the service. To change your phone case theme, detach and reattach your phone case."</string>
    <string name="DREAM_OTS_SBODY_YOU_CAN_DOWNLOAD_AND_APPLY_UNIQUE_THEMES_THAT_MATCH_YOUR_PHONE_CASE">You can download and apply unique themes that match your phone case.</string>
    <string name="DREAM_OTS_SBODY_SAMSUNG_THEMES_MAY_NOT_WORK_PROPERLY_WHILE_DATA_SAVER_IS_TURNED_ON_OR_IF_BACKGROUND_DATA_USAGE_IS_RESTRICTED_ON_YOUR_PHONE_MSG">Samsung Themes may not work properly while Data saver is turned on or if background data usage is restricted on your phone. Turn off Data saver or any data-saving apps, then detach and reattach your phone case.</string>
    <string name="DREAM_OTS_SBODY_YOU_CAN_DOWNLOAD_AND_APPLY_UNIQUE_THEMES_THAT_MATCH_YOUR_PHONE_CASE">You can download and apply unique themes that match your phone case.</string>
    <string name="DREAM_OTS_TMBODY_PHONE_CASES_BY_PS">Phone cases by %s</string>
    <string name="DREAM_OTS_TMBODY_PHONE_CASE_THEMES_NOTIFICATIONS">Phone case themes notifications</string>

In addition, it seems like Samsung will also have a marketplace for custom cases. Samsung will likely open this marketplace to theme developers to have a custom case with a matching theme. There will also be an option to create a custom phone case which will most likely be manufactured and shipped from Samsung. This will also have a unique theme specific to your custom case. This theme will be available when you put the case on your phone and it will let you download and apply it to the Samsung Theme app.

If we find out more information about this upcoming marketplace, we’ll let you guys know.

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HMD Global launches the Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus, and Nokia 6 (2018) in India

HMD Global announced its new device portfolio at Mobile World Congress in February. At an event on Wednesday, the company launched the Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 6 (2018) and the Nokia 1 Android Go phone in India. In addition to the new phones, it also launched an online store for all Nokia devices and accessories in the country.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco is the company’s new flagship and the most expensive phone in the company’s portfolio. The Nokia 7 Plus is an upper mid-range phone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 system-on-chip, while the Nokia 6 (2018) replaces the first-generation Nokia 6. The Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus, and the new Nokia 6 are part of the Android One platform, with guaranteed monthly security updates. Let’s take a look at all of the devices.

Nokia 8 Sirocco

The Nokia 8 Sirocco has a steel frame and a curved glass finish. HMD Global states that the steel frame is dual diamond-polished and it’s 2.5 times stronger than series 6000 aluminium. It’s paired with 3D Gorilla Glass 5. The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 system-on-chip, paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. That means it won’t be able to compete head-to-head with phones that feature the newer Snapdragon 845 SoC.

The phone has a curved edge-to-edge 5.5-inch QHD (2560×1440) 16:9 pOLED display with small bezels. It has a 12MP primary rear camera with 1.4 micron pixels, f/1.75 aperture, ZEISS lens with dual-tone flash. The secondary camera is a 13MP sensor with a telephoto lens for 2x optical zoom. It has 1.0 micron pixels, a f/2.6 aperture, and a ZEISS lens. The front-facing camera has a 5MP sensor with 1.4 micron pixels, f/2.0 aperture and a ZEISS lens. The phone comes with the Pro Camera app that has a built-in manual mode.

The phone has a single speaker, 3 high-performance integrated mics, and the usual connectivity options including Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.0. Unfortunately, it does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack. The fingerprint sensor is placed on the back of the device. It’s powered by a 3260mAh battery that has support for Qualcomm Quick Charging 4 as well as Qi wireless charging. Its dimensions are 140.93 x 72.97 x 7.5mm. It also has an IP67 rating for water resistance.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco will be available in a black color. It costs Rs. 49,999 ($767) in India. Consumers can pre-book the phone starting April 20th from Nokia phones shop, Flipkart, and select retail outlets like Sangeetha, Poorvika, Big C, Croma, and Reliance, while the on-shelf date is stated to be April 30th. Airtel customers will be able to get an additional 120GB data benefit. Prepaid consumers will get 20GB additional data on each of the first 6 recharges of Rs 199 or Rs 349, while postpaid consumers can avail additional 20GB per month on the Rs 399 or Rs 499 plan for 6 months. Airtel consumers will also get an extended free subscription to the Airtel TV app until December 31, 2018. ICICI bank will offer a 5% cashback until May 31, 2018.

Customers can also get 25% instant discount on domestic hotels at MakeMyTrip. Finally, the phone will have no cost EMI option on credit cards.

Nokia 7 Plus

The Nokia 7 Plus is made from a single block of 6000 series aluminum with copper edges. Its ceramic feel coating hides antenna lines and is said to bring a “unique tactile feel”. The fingerprint sensor is placed on the back of the device.

The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 system-on-chip (which has eight Kryo 260 cores and the Adreno 512 GPU). Incidentally, it’s the first phone to launch in India with the chip. It has 4GB of RAM paired with 64GB of storage, along with a microSD card slot that supports up to 256GB expandable storage.

The Nokia 7 Plus has a 6-inch Full HD+ (2160×1080) IPS LCD with an 18:9 aspect ratio. This means that it has more screen area than the flagship Nokia 8 Sirocco. The display is rated for 500 nits of brightness. It’s laminated and polarised and comes with Gorilla Glass (although the version number of Gorilla Glass was not specified).

The phone has a 12MP primary camera with 1.4 micron pixels, f/1.75 aperture, ZEISS lens, and dual-tone flash. The secondary camera has a 13MP sensor with 1.0 micron pixels and a telephoto lens for 2x optical zoom. It has a f/2.6 aperture. The front-facing camera has a 16MP sensor with 1.0 micron pixels and a f/2.0 aperture.

The device has a single speaker with “smart amplifier,” spatial audio capture with three mics, and the usual connectivity options including Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, and the USB Type-C port. It does have a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Nokia 7 Plus is powered by a 3800mAh battery with USB-C fast charging, which is bigger than the 3260mAh battery of the Nokia 8 Sirocco. Its dimensions are 158.38 x 75.64 x 7.99mm (9.55mm with camera bump).

The phone will be available in Black/Copper and White/Copper colors. It costs Rs. 25,999 ($400) in India. Consumers can pre-book the device starting April 20th from Nokia phones shop, Amazon.in, and select retail outlets like Sangeetha, Poorvika, Big C, Croma, and Reliance, with the on-shelf date being Apri 30th. Airtel consumers will get a cashback offer of Rs 2000, meaning that the phone’s effective price will be Rs. 23,999. Airtel consumers will also get an extended free subscription to Airtel TV app until December 31, 2018.

In addition, ICICI bank is offering a 5% cashback until May 31, and consumers can get 25% instant discount on domestic hotels at MakeMy Trip. Finally, the phone will be available at zero cost EMI on credit cards.

Nokia 6

We have termed the new Nokia 6 as the Nokia 6 (2018). It’s the successor to the first-generation Nokia 6, which had a Snapdragon 430 SoC and a 5.5-inch Full HD display.

The Nokia 6 is made from a single block of 6000 series aluminum, and it’s combined with an 11-hour two-tone anodizing and polishing process. The fingerprint sensor has been moved to the back, resulting in on-screen navigation buttons.

The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC (which has eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores and the Adreno 508 GPU). This is a substantial improvement from the Snapdragon 430 used in the Nokia 6 (HMD Global states that the phone is over 60% faster than its predecessor), but the newer Snapdragon 636 (used in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro) is also substantially better than the Snapdragon 630. The SoC is paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, or 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. There is also a microSD card slot that supports 128GB expandable storage.

The phone has a 5.5-inch Full HD (1920×1080) 16:9 IPS display with sculpted 2.5D glass. It has Gorilla Glass. The display is laminated and is rated for 450 nits brightness and a 1500:1 contrast ratio.

The Nokia 6 (2018) has a 16MP rear camera with 1.0 micron pixels, PDAF, f/2.0 aperture, dual-tone flash, and ZEISS optics. The front camera has an 8MP sensor with 1.12 micron pixels, f/2.0 aperture, and an 84-degree field-of-view.

The phone has a single speaker with “smart amplifier” and spatial audio capture with two mics. It has the usual connectivity options including Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C (USB 2.0) port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It’s powered by a 3000mAh battery with USB-C fast charging. Its dimensions are 148.8 x 75.8 x 8.15mm (8.6mm with camera bump). It runs stock Android Oreo.

The Nokia 6 (2018) will be available in Black/Copper and White/Copper colors. It will be sold for Rs. 16,999 ($261). Consumers can buy the phone starting April 6 from Nokia phones shop and leading mobile stores across the country including outlets like Sangeetha, Poorvika, Big C, Croma, and Reliance. Airtel consumers will get Rs. 2000 cashback, owning the phone at an effective price of Rs. 14,999. They also get an extended free subscription to Airtel TV app until December 31, 2018. Consumers will get 25% instant discount on domestic hotels at MakeMyTrip, and ICICI bank is offering a 5% cashback until May 31st. Finally, the phone will be available at zero cost EMI.

Nokia 1

The Nokia 1 is an entry-level device with specifications to match. It was launched in India late last month. It’s powered by the aging MediaTek MT6737M chip, and it has only 8GB of storage paired with 1GB of RAM. The display is a 4.5-inch 854×480 IPS LCD.

There’s a 5MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera. The phone is powered by a 2150mAh battery. It runs stock Android 8.0 Oreo (Go edition). It costs Rs. 5499 ($85), which is quite expensive for its specifications. This is because the Xiaom Redmi 5A has much better specifications and is available for only Rs. 500 more.

At the launch of the new Android One-powered devices, Ajey Mehta (Vice President India, HMD Global) said: “2017 has been an instrumental year for us – we set up our business operations in the country and launched a portfolio of devices that received an overwhelming response from the consumers. Today, we are taking the next significant step forward with the launch of three new Nokia Android smartphones. In 2018, we will continue to strengthen our presence in the country. I am delighted to announce the launch of our exclusive online Nokia phones shop for selling Nokia devices and accessories. We will further our commitment to India by deepening our presence in offline as well as online channels.”

Our view: At first sight, the Nokia 8 Sirocco looks to be a very expensive phone. Phones featuring the Snapdragon 835 such as the OnePlus 5T are available for Rs. 33,000, while HMD Global’s own Nokia 8 can be found for even less than that. Against upcoming Snapdragon 845 phones, the Nokia 8 Sirocco looks to be tough sell.

On the other hand, the Nokia 7 Plus has a better value proposition on paper. It competes with devices such as the Vivo V9, Oppo F7, and others. The Snapdragon 660 chip will give it an edge in terms of performance.

Moving on, the Nokia 6 (2018) simply looks overpriced compared to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro. There’s not much to say here, as the Redmi Note 5 Pro offers a much better price-to-performance ratio. However, the Nokia 6 (2018) is an Android One device, and being powered by stock Android Oreo is a plus.

Finally, it’s good to see HMD Global promising regular updates with guaranteed monthly security updates. We applaud the company in this regard, and hope that it can keep up its pace and reliability of software updates.

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Huawei opens up their own app store with the Huawei P20

Huawei is a giant in the smartphone world. They are in the same conversation as Samsung and Apple in terms of sales and market share. One thing Apple and Samsung have that Huawei doesn’t is a proprietary app store. Apple, of course, has the App Store and Samsung has the Galaxy Apps store. Huawei is launching their own app store called AppGallery and it will be on the Huawei P20.

AppGallery will be available to all existing Huawei smartphones, but the Huawei P20 and P20 Pro will be the first to have it pre-installed. The app store is primarily geared towards the Asian markets with apps like Amap and WeChat. Common apps like Facebook and YouTube will also be available. The store is organized into five tabs: Featured, Category, Top, Manager, and Me. Users can rate and leave reviews in the store as well.

If you own a Huawei device, you can download ApGallery right now. Make sure you have 3rd-party app downloads enabled and visit this page on your phone. The app store will automatically start downloading. The app store should be a great addition to Huawei devices, especially those in the Asian market. Users in some areas of the world don’t have access to nearly as many apps on the Play Store. The AppGallery can help to fill that gap.

Source: Instagram Via: GSMArena

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How to Fix the Multi-Touch Bug on the Google Pixel 2/2 XL running Android 8.1 Oreo

Do you own the Google Pixel 2 or Google Pixel 2 XL? Are you trying to win some chicken dinners in PUBG Mobile? If so, you may be at a disadvantage. No, I’m not talking about the rampant use of keyboard and mouse users in-game, but rather a bug that may be causing some frustrating touchscreen issues. For the past few months since the release of Android 8.1 Oreo, many users have reported erratic multi-touch behavior. The issue is widespread judging by the number of reports on the Google Issue Tracker page, but there’s still no official fix available for it. If you’re looking for a way to fix it, there’s an unofficial method that involves flashing a Magisk Module that we would like to share with you today.

Before we dive in, let’s be absolutely clear about what issue we’re talking about in the first place. In short, what happens is that when two fingers are placed on the screen, the phone might have erratic touch events generated between the two fingers. This is very noticeable in FPS games but can also be replicated elsewhere such as in Google Photos according to our tipster. Here are two videos which should help you visualize what we’re talking about:

A fix is in the works by Google, but it isn’t yet available. According to two recent commits to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) gerrit, the fix involves resampling for multiple pointers. Rather than wait for the fix to roll out with the next update, XDA Senior Member Freak07 compiled the updated libraries (specifically, libinput and libinputflinger) against the latest April security patch builds for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL so you can install the fix right now. Since you will be replacing system files, you will need to have a rooted device.

Fix Multi-Touch Bug on the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL running Android 8.1 Oreo

Unlock the bootloader of your device and install Magisk.
Download the Magisk Module from here.
Install the Magisk Module using Magisk Manager.
Reboot your phone.

Your erratic multi-touch screen issues should now be fixed! Let us know in the comments if this fix worked for you. This fix also supposedly works on other Android 8.1 Oreo devices such as the Google Pixel, Google Pixel XL, and OnePlus devices such as the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T however it has not been tested on them. The fix currently causes a bootloop on Pixel devices running the Android P Developer Preview, so we caution against flashing it right now if you’re running that build.

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