Twitter’s crackdown on third-party clients continues as key features will disappear in June

When Twitter was a shiny new social network it had a great relationship with developers. 3rd-party Twitter apps were some of the most popular apps when Android was a new platform. Names like Swift and Twidroyd were at the top of the charts. As the social network has grown and become more mainstream, they have made life difficult for developers. A new change could drastically change 3rd-party apps as we know them.

We’ve already seen Twitter put limits on what developers can do. Token limits have taken down some phenomenal apps simply because they were too popular. Flamingo by Sam Ruston is the latest app to suffer this fate. A new change could have an even bigger impact and a group of developers for popular apps are trying to spread the word about it.

Flamingo

The developers behind Tweetbot, Twitterrific, Talon, and Tweetings have put up a website called “Apps of a Feather.” The site warns users about how Twitter will be removing “streaming services.” 3rd-party apps will not get push notifications and timelines won’t refresh automatically. A new Account Activity API is in beta testing, but Twitter has not given access to 3rd-party developers. Even with access, apps would be limited to the standard 35 Twitter accounts. Not enough for even a mildly popular app.

Twitter continues to spit in the face of hard-working developers that have helped grow the platform over the years. Many of us Android users would not be on the social network if it wasn’t for much better alternatives to the official app. The devs are asking that people tweet their concerns to @TwitterDev and use the hashtag #BreakingMyTwitter.

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Source: Apps of a Feather

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The Sony Xperia XZ Premium has a hidden 120Hz screen mode like the Razer Phone

Well, here’s something interesting. The Sony Xperia XZ Premium is a 2017 flagship that is most notable for its 4K HDR display, but there’s another hidden trick up its sleeve: Its display panel actually supports a high frame rate 120Hz mode like the Razer Phone. Rumors of this hidden screen mode have been floating around the Internet since around the time of the device’s launch, but because it requires a modification to the kernel to enable, not many users have been able to actually test it. Recently, however, we’ve been hearing that many users have started to test this hidden screen mode…and the results are pretty inconsistent, unfortunately.

For context, the Xperia XZ Premium display panel supports 3 screen modes: 1080p@60fps, 2160p@60fps, and lastly the disabled 1080p@120fps mode. This disabled high frame rate mode can be enabled by reverting this commit to the display panel configuration in the kernel source code.

Thanks to the Sony Open Device Program which supports the Xperia XZ Premium for its latest Android Oreo release (and even on Linux kernel version 4.4!), it’s fairly easy for developers to build a functional AOSP ROM for the device. (Unfortunately, there’s the lingering issue with the DRM keys being wiped when unlocking the bootloader, resulting in shoddy camera performance.) Using the latest sources, XDA Member uditrawat compiled Android 8.1 Oreo for the XZ Premium with support for the 120Hz screen mode.

According to various members of our forums who tested the build, the results are inconsistent. Some say that it works, while others say it’s nothing but a placebo. Personally, I think if it worked, it would be very easy to notice. Perhaps AOSP doesn’t support high frame rate displays natively and instead requires additional patches to the framework. One tester who flashed a Generic System Image build of LineageOS 15.1 for the Razer Phone reported that the phone ran at 90Hz (the default refresh rate specified in that phone’s kernel), so I’m not too sure of the reason why it doesn’t work for the Sony Xperia XZ Premium.

Regardless, it’s quite an interesting development to watch. There must have been a good reason why the Sony Xperia XZ Premium doesn’t allow for the 120Hz refresh rate out of the box. I don’t think it has to do with performance as the device uses the same system-on-chip as the Razer Phone (the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835), so I’m leaning towards Android compatibility or perhaps display panel inconsistency. Hopefully, developers are able to work out the kinks here to get the Sony Xperia XZ Premium stable at 120Hz, or hopefully, Android P will officially add support for high frame rate displays. Given Sony’s track record with submitting upstream changes to AOSP, I would think that if the company truly wanted the XZ Premium to support the high frame rate mode, we would be seeing support for it in AOSP already.

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LG G7 ThinQ leaked photos show off display notch and AI button

The LG G7 rumor mill has been a story of twists and turns. The phone was reportedly scrapped in January and started completely from scratch. More recent rumors have claimed a May/June launch, ThinQ branding, and a display notch. Some new leaked photos have seemingly confirmed a couple of those previous reports.

TechRadar got their hands on some photos and screenshots of the LG G7. As you can see in the first photo, the boot screen shows the “LG G7 ThinQ” branding. This has been expected ever since the LG V30S ThinQ was announced. LG also added the ThingQ branding to the original LG V30 with the Oreo update. The device is inside an unremovable case to hide the design, but we can still spot a few clues.

The plastic case has 3 cutouts on the sides for buttons. This is interesting because LG phones have typically only included volume buttons on the side with the power button on the back. That still leaves a third cutout, which most likely points to the previously rumored AI button. We hope LG will allow users to remap this button.

The next big thing we can confirm is the display notch. LG has put the clock on the left to make room for this controversial feature. The display size is said to be 6.1-inches. Other specs include the Snapdragon 845 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. The model number for this device is LG-G710TM, which actually does not line up with previous device model numbers. We expect to learn more about this device next month.

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Source: TechRadar

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Join Us Live from Paris for the Modern Combat Versus Gaming Final with Honor

Today is an exciting day for those who have competed in the Modern Combat Versus International Series. After several rounds of elimination, players now meet in Paris to play for the €10,000 and four Honor View 10 phones to be split among the four players of the team.

TK from XDA TV will be at the event streaming live as the action happens.

 

To get a competitive edge in Android gaming, check out the Honor View 10 which is designed with gamers in mind. The Honor View 10 is one of the best gaming phones and is available now on Amazon (India only) and the Honor Store.

Honor View 10 Forums

We thank Honor for sponsoring this post. 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.

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Snapdragon Samsung Galaxy S9 devices can also run LineageOS 15.1

For years, Samsung has sold their Galaxy flagship devices in two major variants: one variant with their in-house Exynos system-on-chip and another with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon system-on-chip. The former is sold internationally, while the Snapdragon model is sold in select markets—usually in Hong Kong/China and the United States. Unfortunately, the model sold in the U.S. is usually impossible to bootloader-unlock, so the only way to get a Snapdragon Galaxy flagship with an unlockable bootloader is by importing one from China. This year, however, it appears that the Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 is being sold in Latin America, too, which is great news as we now have confirmation that AOSP-based custom ROMs such as LineageOS 15.1 can run on them.

When the latest Samsung Galaxy flagship pair was made official, we feared that only a handful of users would be able to grab the model with an unlockable bootloader. That’s a shame because there’s a lot to love about the hardware, though Samsung Experience might not be everyone’s cup of tea. On the other hand, the Exynos 9810 model is able to run AOSP-based ROMs such as this generic build of LineageOS 15.1 as the international Galaxy S9/S9+ models have unlockable bootloaders. This is, of course, thanks to Project Treble compatibility, which allows for devices to support flashing Generic System Images (GSIs) of Android.

Credits: XDA Member desudecchi

If you have either the SM-G9600 or SM-G9650, which I believe are the Snapdragon Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ models with unlockable bootloaders, then you can install AOSP ROMs from our Treble-Enabled Device Development forum. There’s no official TWRP build you can use, but XDA Senior Member travis82 has put together an unofficial build that you can install on your device to make backups and flash the GSI. XDA Member desudecchi confirmed this on their own device, whose screenshots I embedded above showing off LineageOS 15.1 on the Galaxy S9/S9+.

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Google wants your help training their image recognition algorithms

Google is all about algorithms and machine learning these days. Android users see this technology first-hand with features like Google Assistant and smart replies. They are constantly working to improve the image recognition algorithms. One shortcoming of the company’s AI systems is the lack of data for emerging markets like India. Google is hoping they can get more human input to fix this.

Currently, the company’s AI systems work pretty well in parts of the world like the U.S. Anurag Batra, product manager at Google, says “We have a very sparse training data set from parts of the world that are not the United States and Western Europe.” Batra is in charge of a project that aims to improve this situation. His team has built an app that asks people to perform easy tasks while simultaneously checking the accuracy of the company’s image recognition and translation algorithms.

The company is promoting the Crowdsource app in India and other parts of Asia, but anyone can download it. Batra says “Things like what does a sewing machine look like in your world or what does a pair of slippers look like in your world can really help us.” Users verify labels and help transcribe handwriting. Some of the tasks show where the company’s image recognition systems need more work. Images of nuns were labeled as “brides,” for example.

Unlike the Google Opinion Rewards app, there are no monetary rewards for user input. People will receive points, badges, and certificates. Users who collect enough will be invited to join groups with other top contributors. If you’re interested in joining Google’s crowdsourcing efforts, download the app below.

Crowdsource (Free, Google Play) →

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Source: WIRED

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Google is testing a long-press back button gesture to show history in Google Chrome for Android

As Google continues to attempt to improve it’s UX in Google Chrome, they’ve been trying in other ways to improve their browser too. According to the Chromium Gerrit, an addition is in the works that will allow you to long-press your device’s back button to view your recent navigational history. The feature will be enabled via a Chrome flag and will only be available on mobile devices.

The flag description simply states that the feature is comprised of a “long press [of] the back button to display navigation history.” We’re unsure how exactly the navigation history will be displayed on-screen, but it could be possible to see the new Chrome Duplex being used to display it. Either way, it’s an attempt by Google to improve their browser and provide even more ways for users to view potentially important information easily. Currently, it’s not difficult to view your navigational history anyways, but there’s nothing wrong with making it even easier.

The feature is reminiscent of Google Chrome on Desktop’s ability to view your navigation history by right-clicking the back arrow in the top left. The style this menu follows could also suggest the style in which we will see our navigational history. As a result, it may not be through the use of the new Google Duplex, but through a menu which comes from the top right or top left of the screen.

This isn’t the only change we’ve spotted recently, with another commit suggesting that soon we may see link dragging and dropping via a gesture. If the testing goes successfully, we will likely see this feature make in the Canary version of Google Chrome in the next month or two. You’ll be able to download it via the Google Play Store and give it a try. If you’re interested in any other new features of Google Chrome, you can download the Canary version below.

Chrome Canary (Unstable) (Free, Google Play) →

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Source: Chromium Review

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