OnePlus 5 and 5T OxygenOS 5.1.4 update brings, image quality improvements, July Android security patch and more

OnePlus has rolled out OxygenOS 5.1.4 update for the 5 and 5T smartphones that brings several new features including advanced battery optimization in standby, better image quality, group messaging and more . Check out the complete changelog below. System Updated Android security patch to 2018.7 Added sleep standby optimization (Settings -> Battery -> Battery optimization -> Advanced optimization -> Sleep standby optimization) Camera Improved photo clarity Message Added Group Messaging Gallery General bug fixes The update is 1.6GB in size for the phones since it is releasing the full ROM instead of the releasing just the update as usual. It also includes Android security patch for July, 2018. Source

Weekly Roundup: Honor 9N, Xiaomi Mi A2, A2 Lite, Amazfit BIP, Stratos and more

This week Xiaomi introduced the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite Android One smartphones at an event in Spain globally, Honor launched the Honor 9N smartphone in India, Huami launched the Amazfit BIP and Stratos smartwatches in India, Huawei launched the Nova 3 and Nova 3i smartphones in India, and lots more. Xiaomi this week announced Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite smartphones. These are the global variants of the Mi 6X and Redmi 6 Pro, respectively and pack FHD+ displays, dual rear cameras and run Android 8.1 (Oreo). The Mi A2 is powered by Snapdragon 660 with up to 6GB RAM, has 12MP + 20MP dual rear cameras, 20MP front camera and a 3010mAh battery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kus2ynulRnQ&t=1s The Mi A2 Lite is powered by Snapdragon 625 with up to 4GB RAM , has 12MP + 5MP dual rear cameras, dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots and a 4000mAh battery. The Xiaomi Mi A2 will launch in India on August 8th, but the Mi A2 Lite is not expected to come to India. Huawei’s Honor brand launched the Honor 9N, the global version of the  Honor 9i (2018). It has a 5.84-inch FHD+ 19:9 display with a notch, is powered by Kirin 659 SoC with 4GB RAM and runs Android 8.0 (Oreo) with EMUI 8.0, similar to the Huawei P20 Lite, but this has a 13-megapixel ...

YouTube web player update adapts to different aspect ratios

YouTube today has announced it is pushing an update to the YouTube video player on the desktop. The player now automatically adapts to provide the best viewing experience based on the video’s size and your screen size. After Android and iOS, this update is now coming to the desktop.  YouTube notes that that non-wide-screen videos like vertical and square sized-videos would show black bars alongside the video, making the video really small. However, the new update moves away from the needing black bars. This change aligns the video watching experience on the desktop and mobile. What basically this does is that it removes the 16:9 frame around every video, thus allowing them to appear larger and adjust to different window sizes accordingly. The removal of the black bar around on every video has been removed, and it's especially noticeable on vertical videos. The change is now going live to everyone. Source

Samsung said to have scheduled an event on August 1st, could announce Galaxy Tab S4

Samsung is known to be working on the Galaxy Tab S4; flagship tablet in the Tab S-series. Though there is no official launch date of the tablet, Samsung seems to be holding a brief event on August 1st and according to sources, the company might be launching the Tab S4 at the event, and will not be waiting until IFA to unveil the tablet.  We have already seen renders, press images of the Tab S4 revealing what's to come. The tablet also comes in a white version and this model has black bezels on the front and the back is in white. The S Pen bundled is also in white color and is different compared to the one that came with the Tab S3. As for specifications; the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is said to sport a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED  display (2560×1600 pixel resolution) with a 16:10 aspect ratio. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC with 4GB LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of storage. It will run on Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box with Experience U.I. In terms of camera, it has a 13-megapixel rear and 8-megapixel front camera. Connectivity features include a USB 3.1 port, Bluetooth 5, GPS and Wi-Fi ...

Samsung Galaxy Tab A2 XL with 10.5-inch display, Snapdragon 450, Android 8.1 Oreo surfaces

With Samsung prepping for the Note 9 launch, it is all everyone talks these days. However, the company is also working on Tab S4 flagship tablet and  Galaxy Tab A2 XL which is a mid-range tablet. If rumors are to be believed, it is expected to be one of the non-flagship models to get a dedicated Bixby button.  That doesn't end here, thanks to sources and firmware files discovered by SamMobile, we are getting to the specifications of the Tab A2 XL tablet in its full glory. The tablet is said to sport a 10.5-inch (1920×1200 resolution) LCD display pixels and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Octa-Core processor. It is expected to pack 3GB of RAM, along with 32GB of storage. As for the optics, the tablet features an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It is said to pack a massive 7,300 mAh battery and runs on Android 8.1 Oreo. The tablet will come in both Wi-Fi-only and LTE-enabled. The Galaxy Tab A2 XL could be yet another Samsung device without any physical navigation keys and it might not pack an iris scanner or a fingerprint sensor, so it might feature a facial recognition for security. At this moment, we don't have a ...

Twitter reports $711 million revenue, 24% YoY growth in Q2 2018, has 335 million monthly active users

Twitter today announced financial results for its second quarter 2018. The company's Q2 revenue totaled $711 million that is a solid increase of 24% year-over-year. Twitter's Advertising revenue was around $601 million, a growth of 23% YoY. it reported a net income of $100 million in Q2 2018.  Twitter says that the ad engagements increased 81% YoY, however, the Cost per engagement (CPE) decreased by 32% YoY. Data licensing and other revenue totaled $109 million with an increase of 29% YoY. The US revenue came to $367 million, an increase of 10% YoY. On the other hand, the international revenue totaled $344 million, an increase of 44% year-over-year. Moving to GAAP, Twitter's Q2 GAAP expenses totaled $631 million, an increase of 3% YoY. Twitter's Average monthly active users (MAU) were 335 million in Q2, compared to 326 million in the same period of the previous year and compared to 336 million in the previous quarter. The average US MAUs were 68 million in Q2, compared to 68 million in the same period of the previous year. The average international MAUs were 267 million in Q2, compared to 258 million in the same period of the previous year. Average daily active users (DAU) increased 11% YoY, ...

OPPO R17 with 6.3-inch display gets certified, R17 PRO with Snapdragon 710, 3D face unlock surfaces

OPPO R17 with model numbers PBCM00 and PBCT00 has been certified and will be the successor of  R15 series that were introduced earlier this year, skipping the R16. This reveals a 6.3-inch display, which could feature 19:9 aspect ratio OLED display with a notch, dual rear cameras,  156.7x74x7.9mm dimensions and a 3415mAh battery. The OPPO R17 Pro has been teased in a game show in China that is rumored be powered Snapdragon 710 SoC, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage and a 16MP primiarty rear camera. The fingerprint sensor is not seen in image, so bot the R17 and R17 Pro smartphone are expected to come with 3D face unlock instead. Both the R17 and R17 smartphones are expected to be announced sometime in August. We should know more details and complete specifications in the coming weeks. Source 1, 2 | Via

BlackBerry KEY2 Lite with dual rear cameras surfaces in live image, could be announced at IFA 2018 [Update: Will launch as KEY2 LE]

Update - July 28: Now the smartphone has passed through FCC in several variants - BBE100-1 (Single SIM) and BBE100-4 (Dual SIM) for global markets, BBE100-2 (Single SIM) and BBE100-5 (Dual SIM) for the American market and BBE100-3 for China. It also confirms that the smartphone will arrive as BlackBerry KEY2 LE. BlackBerry announced its flagship KEY2 at an event in New York City last month. Now the details about the cheaper KEY2 Lite has surfaced along with a live image, thanks to @evleak. The smartphone is said to come with a similar design and form factor as the KEY2, but this will have a plastic body. *This plastic 'Berry is said to launch late August / early September, perhaps at IFA. — Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 18, 2018 This is code-named Luna, which was rumored earlier and will likely feature a similar 3:2 aspect ratio display along with a 4-row QWERTY physical backlit keyboard. The smartphone is said to come in Red, Blue, and Copper. The image that has surfaced shows a Blue or Black back with red finish on the sides, and probably on the front as well. The BlackBerry KEY2 Lite is expected to be announced sometime in late-August or early September, so there are chances we might expect it at ...

Reliance Jio reports Rs. 612 crore profit in Q1, up 19.9 % QoQ

Reliance Jio today reported Rs. ₹8,109 crore revenue, up 13.8 % QoQ and a net profit of 612 crore, up 19.9% QoQ for its fourth quarterly financial performance for the period that ended 30th June, 2018. Jio’s rival Airtel earlier this week reported 97.3 crore crore net profit for the same quarter. Jio reported Standalone earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 3,147 crore, up 16.8% QoQ, EBITDA margin of 38.8%, and Standalone earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of 1,708 crore, up 14.3% QoQ . Consolidated value of services stood at 9,567 crore, up 13.8% over trailing quarter. It crossed 215.3 million subscribers in the April to June quarter, and has added 28.7 million subscribers during the quarter, compared to 26.5 million in the previous quarter. Average revenue per user (ARPU) during the quarter – ₹134.5 per subscriber per month compared to ₹137.1 in the previous quarter Total wireless data traffic – 642 crore GB Average voice traffic – 44,871 crore minutes per day Video consumption per subscriber per month – 340 crore hours (15.4 hours per user per month) Jio announced its JioGigaFiber services for Homes and Enterprise at the 41st AGM (post IPO) of RIL earlier this month. These services are being offered ...

Amazon ‘Alexa Cast’ can stream music to Alexa speakers

Amazon is introducing a new feature called 'Alexa Cast' which will let users control the songs or media that is playing on Alexa-enabled devices from their phone. However, it only works with Amazon Music app to control music playback at the moment. It might eventually bring the ability to control playback of music, movies, podcasts, and more.  As you would expect, Alexa Cast only works with Alexa-enabled devices like Echo speakers, third-party Alexa products, and some of Amazon’s Fire devices. Once you are done updating, Amazon Music app on iOS and Android will include an icon for Alexa Cast on the Now Playing screen. Once you tap on it, you will get a list of all Alexa-enabled devices that you use and select which one to start playing music on. Interestingly, the app will stay in sync with what’s playing on the speakers, so you can continue the playback on your phone even if you leave home. While the feature is nothing revolutionary, it brings convenience and adds a lot of sense. You can control music playback on an Alexa device by voice, or through a traditional Bluetooth setup. Sahas Malhotra, Director, Amazon Prime Music India said: Alexa Cast is set to make the music streaming experience for Prime members even simpler with its integration ...