Get Android 9.0 Pie on Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 with Arrow OS ROM

Xiaomi embarked its journey into the Indian smartphone market with Mi and Redmi series. Even though Xiaomi was in talks for its VFM smartphones, the major turning for the company's is indeed the Redmi Note series and specifically Redmi Note 3. In this series, Redmi Note 5 is one of the best selling mobiles from the Chinese handset maker. Powered by Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 14nm Mobile Platform, this mid-range device was shipped with Android 7.1.2 (Nougat) with MIUI 9 out of the box, and it recently got MIUI 10 update after Android 8.1 (Oreo) update. However, chances of getting Android Pie update is very bleak as of now. In addition to it, the company didn't mention any time frame for the roll out. Notably, the company will be rolling out MIUI updates regularly. In case you wish to enjoy the latest version of Android on your Redmi Note 5, you can use custom ROM on your device. We tried Android Pie 9.0 based Arrow OS on our unit and here are our impressions, Requirements Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 with an unlocked bootloader – To Unlock the bootloader of your device, apply here. Arrow OS ROM – Download the latest ROM ZIP file from here. ...

LG CineBeam LASER 4K projector with 2500 ANSI lumens announced

LG Electronics has announced the second-generation CineBeam Laser 4K projector HU85L with Ultra Short Throw (UST) technology and will showcase it at CES 2019. It comes with minimal space requirement and a compact design that can project stunningly sharp 4K images on practically any flat surface. The LG CineBeam Laser 4K comes with UST technology which when placed a little more than 2 inches from the wall can project a 90-inch diagonal image. Placed 7 inches away, the projector produces a much larger and still bright 120-inch image. it delivers 2,500 ANSI lumens at 4K UHD resolution. It provides plenty of content options, enabling users to stream movies and shows from their favorite services while USB, Ethernet, and HDMI. It offers enhanced visual accuracy with a 12-point keystone adjustment feature, eliminating the image distortion that often affects other UST projectors. Thanks to ThinQ AI, users can use voice commands to access natural language processing capabilities. The Magic Remote also recognizes gestures and features backlit buttons for easy navigation which turn on automatically when motion is detected. Jang Ik-hwan, head of LG’s IT business division said: The new CineBeam Laser projector marries spectacular 4K viewing experience with the convenience of AI technology.  There is no other ...

Google to end support for Android Beam API, Live Cases seamless setup for Pixel and Nexus series

Google is shutting down support for Android Beam API that uses NFC to initiate a connection between two devices. Since NFC can’t really be used to transfer large files, the two devices then connect over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct to transfer files. However, the API isn't going away overnight, Google is placing the feature behind a new Android platform feature flag called android.sofware.nfc.beam. Meaning, future devices running Android Q, Android Beam support will not be enabled by default. Device makers will have to declare support for android.software.nfc.beam just like they already declare support for NFC. It is unclear if Google would add new requirements to the Android Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) to force future devices launching or updating to Android Q to not declare support for Android Beam. Google is also dropping support for seamlessly setting up Live Cases. Live Cases were a way for people to not only pick a case design of their liking but to also theme their phone with a live wallpaper that matches the case. Google made the service was made fully available with the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, and it first experimented with Skrillex-branded Live Cases for the Nexus 6. Live Cases made a comeback for the first-generation Pixel and Pixel XL with a shortcut ...

Samsung Galaxy A8s with 6.4-inch FHD+ Infinity-O display, Snapdragon 710, 8GB RAM, triple rear cameras announced [Update: Price]

Update - December 21, 2018: Samsung has finally revealed the pricing for the A8s as 2,999 yuan (US$ 434 / Rs. 30,485 approx.) for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage version. It is available for order from today in China and ships from December 31st, however the Elf blue and Aurora black versions will be available only from January 15th. Earlier: Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy A8s (SM-G8870), the company’s latest mid-range smartphone with Infinity-O display. It has a 6.4-inch (6.2-inch when curved) Full HD+ screen with an in-display camera, which it calls Infinity-O display that has a small cut out, which is said to be 6.7mm, compared to 4.5mm that Honor claims in V20. It is powered by Snapdragon 710 with up to 8GB of RAM, runs Android 8.1 (Oreo) and comes with triple rear cameras that includes main 24-megapixel sensor with f/1.7 aperture, 10-megapixel Telephoto lens with f/2.4 aperture for 2x optical zoom, and a 5-megapixel camera to capture depth information for portrait shots. It also has a 24-megapixel front camera with f/2.0 aperture, features a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, comes with a glass back and packs a 3,400mAh battery with support for fast charging. Samsung Galaxy A8s specifications 6.4-inch (2340 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:5:9 2.5D curved ...

Samsung said to be working on Google Camera’s Night Sight-like ‘Bright Night’ mode

Samsung Galaxy S10 flagships are expected to go official in February at the MWC 2019 event. Latest we hear that the company is working on Google Night shot like feature, which may be called “Bright Night.” This feature could debut on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10. Similar to Night Shot, OnePlus has its own “Nightscape,” Xiaomi's “Night Scene,” Honor has “Super Bright Mode,” and Huawei simply calls it “Night Mode.” Most of these camera modes have a common aim and take a similar approach; they take multiple pictures and combine them into one picture that is much brighter, shows more detail than a typical low-light photo, isn’t overexposed, and doesn’t rely on the LED flash. Decompiling the Stock camera APK on the Galaxy Note 9‘s One UI/Android Pie build shows some interesting strings that explicitly describe a feature similar to what other night mode features do. Although this isn't confirmed, it makes sense for the company to debut it on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10. The company obviously will announce a large camera update with its latest flagship phones and this might be Galaxy S10's exclusive feature. Samsung did this with the scene optimizer feature on the Galaxy Note 9 which was eventually added to ...

Apple promotes AI Chief John Giannandrea to senior executive team

Apple has announced that John Giannandrea is named as the company's executive team as senior vice president of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Strategy. Giannandrea who joined Apple in April 2018 oversees the strategy for AI and Machine Learning across all Apple products and services, as well as the development of Core ML and Siri technologies. The team under him focus on advancing and tightly integrating machine learning into Apple products is delivering more personal, intelligent and natural interactions for customers while protecting user privacy. Giannandrea’s team is also helping to enhance the developer experience with tools including Core ML and Create ML, making it easier and faster to integrate machine learning into apps. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO said: John hit the ground running at Apple and we are thrilled to have him as part of our executive team. Machine learning and AI are important to Apple’s future as they are fundamentally changing the way people interact with technology, and already helping our customers live better lives. We’re fortunate to have John, a leader in the AI industry, driving our efforts in this critical area. Source

Moto G7 Plus, G7, G7 Play and G7 Power with a notch surface in new renders

We had already seen several leaks of the upcoming Moto G7 series smartphones in the form of renders and some of the phones have already been certified by the FCC, now renders of the smartphones have surfaced revealing a notch display and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor with signature bat logo. We also see renders of the Moto G7 Play and Moto G7 Power smartphones with a larger notch compared to waterdrop notch on the G7 and the G7 Plus. Both these have a single rear camera, compared to dual rear cameras on the G7 and the G7 Plus. All the phones are expected to run Android 9.0 (Pie) out of the box. Moto G7 Plus rumored specifications 6.24-inch (2340 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19.5:9 aspect display Octa Core Snapdragon 660 14nm Mobile Platform (Quad 2.2GHz Kryo 260 + Quad 1.8GHz Kryo 260 CPUs) with Adreno 512 GPU 4GB RAM with 64GB / 6GB RAM with 128GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD Dual SIM Android 9.0 (Pie) 16MP rear camera with Dual LED flash, f/1.75 aperture, secondary 5MP camera with f/2.2 aperture 12MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture Fingerprint sensor Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz / 5GHz), ...

Facebook said to be developing cryptocurrency for WhatsApp Transfers

Facebook is said to be working on building a cryptocurrency that will let users transfer money on the company-owned WhatsApp messaging app, focusing first on the remittances market in India. It is said to be working on stablecoin which is a type of digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar to minimize volatility. Facebook is far from releasing the coin because it’s still working on the strategy, including a plan for custody assets. We saw Facebook's hand in financial service coming after hiring former PayPal president David Marcus to run its Messenger app in 2014. Marcus in May became the head of the company’s blockchain initiatives, which haven’t been discussed publicly in detail. The company now has about 40 people in its blockchain group. Since these are just rumors and reports, there's no way tell if it will ever become true. Facebook which has over 2.5 billion global users, more than $40 billion in annual revenue, it has experience navigating regulatory issues, may have a better chance of making a stablecoin that sticks. If it ever launches a coin, it will be the first large technology company to launch such a project. The company's spokesman in a statement said: Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to ...

Google details how ‘Top shot’ camera feature on Pixel 3 works

Google with the Pixel 3 series introduced new camera feature dubbed Top Shot that helps you to capture moments precisely. Top Shot saves and analyzes the image frames before and after the shutter press on the device in real-time using computer vision techniques, and recommends several alternative high-quality HDR+ photos. Google says that each image is analyzed for some qualitative features in real-time and entirely on-device to preserve privacy and minimize latency. Each image is also associated with additional signals, such as the optical flow of the image, exposure time, and gyro sensor data to form the input features used to score the frame quality. Once the shutter button is pressed, Top Shot captures up to 90 images from 1.5 seconds before and after the shutter press, selecting up to two alternative shots to save in high resolution. The shutter frame is processed and saved first and the best alternative shots are saved afterward. Google’s Visual Core on Pixel 3 is used to process these top alternative shots as HDR+ images with a very small amount of extra latency, and are embedded into the file of the Motion Photo. Since the Top Shot runs in as a background process, it has very low power consumption. Top Shot uses a hardware-accelerated MobileNet-based single ...

Qualcomm granted preliminary injunction to ban sale and import of Apple iPhones in Germany

Qualcomm has announced that the District Court of Munich found that Apple is infringing Qualcomm’s intellectual property for power savings in smartphones and granted Qualcomm’s request for a permanent injunction, ordering Apple to cease the sale, offer for sale and importation for sale in Germany. The injunction covers all models of iPhones that contain the infringing functionalities and apply to Apple’s European Union entities as well as Apple. The judgment is immediately enforceable once Qualcomm posts bonds covering potential damages incurred by Apple should the company overturn or amended on appeal the judgment. Apple’s request to the court for a stay of the injunction was denied. The court has also determined that Apple is liable for monetary damages in an amount to be determined at a later time. The court also granted Qualcomm’s request for an accounting of the details associated with all sales, including revenues and profits of the accused devices in Germany and recall and destruction of all accused devices from all retailers in Germany. The injunction is effective as soon as Qualcomm posts the required bonds which will be completed within a few days. Soon after the judgment, Apple is pulling older iPhone models from German stores. While the appeal is ...