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jeudi 31 mars 2022

Apple is working on its own payment processing technology and a “Pay Later” feature

Apple has slowly been trying to dominate more and more fields, as its range of products and services further expands. For example, the company has been replacing Intel processors with its own M1 chips on the Mac lineup — a step closer towards independence. A new report now states that Apple is working on its own payment processing infrastructure. That’s to potentially rely less on relevant partners down the road. The report also mentions that the Cupertino tech giant could be developing a “Buy Now, Pay Later” feature for Apple Pay users. It will reportedly allow eligible users to borrow money from the company and pay them back through installments.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has shared some of Apple’s internal plans in the financial department. The company is seemingly aiming to bring several payment-related tasks in-house — allowing it to rely less on current partners. These tasks could include payment processing, risk assessment for lending, fraud analysis, credit checks and additional customer-service functions such as the handling of disputes.

If these plans come to fruition, eligible users might be able to borrow money from Apple and pay them back through one of the two installment plans. The first — Apple Pay in 4 — will reportedly aim at short-term, interest-free, four-installment plans. The second — Apple Pay Monthly Installments — could be for long-term installment plans with added interest.

Apple’s payment-related plans will likely focus on additional financial services — such as the rumored hardware subscription model — rather than existing ones. For the time being, it’s unlikely for the company to completely drop its partnerships. Instead, it could be aiming at bringing more of its payment services to a wider range of regions. We only hope that this project helps bring Apple Card and Apple Pay to even more countries.

Would you use a Buy Now, Pay Later feature offered by Apple? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section below.


Source: Bloomberg

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Listen, Unwind, or Explore with OPPO’s O Relax

Finding the right ambient sound app is a tedious process, as most of these types of apps are littered with low-quality sounds, ads, and bad UIs. Those of us that rely on nature sound loops, white noise, or ASMR tend to find ourselves with a collection of different apps to serve these purposes. OPPO users get access to an exclusive app called O Relax, which is the last ambient sound app that you’ll ever need. Packed with high-quality audio and customizable experiences, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in a calming experience that can help you relax.

It’s important to take a few minutes each day to destress and block out the chaos of life. Your phone can now be your private meditation space with O Relax, which is included for free in ColorOS 12.1. The OPPO Find X5 Pro, along with most other OPPO devices gives you access to this amazing sanctuary app.

OPPO Find X5 Pro


Listen

The listen mode gives you access to a massive selection of different audio files, which you can add to your scene and fine-tune the volume levels. Start from presets that include ambient sounds, music, colored noise, or special collaboration projects with different themes.

O Relax Summer Seashore

The ambient sounds are a great way to create your own audio environment to help you fall asleep, relax, or meditate. If you want to drown out noise pollution from LEDs, appliances, or any sort of electronic device, try the different colored noises. The pink noise is perfect for canceling out the hum of LED noise, which is often annoying to people with sensitive ears.

When you create your own ambient paradise, you can use sounds from nature, life, cities, ASMR, and more. As you discover new sounds, they are downloaded and stored locally for playback without an internet connection. You can use this feature to queue up some custom sounds before getting on a plane, and then drown out the noise of the flight with some nice headphones.


Unwind

The unwind section is a few games that are designed to relieve stress. A simple bubble popper uses audio and visuals to create a satisfying experience. As you pop the bubbles, the powerful haptic feedback from the OPPO Find X5 Pro delivers instant gratification.

O Relax Unwind Game

The deep breathing exercise is a great way to achieve full relaxation. This game uses haptic feedback and audio cues, so you can follow along without even looking at your phone. Try laying on your back and setting the phone on your chest, as you feel the vibrations match up with your breathing. Explore the other fun little games to find calming and satisfying ways to fully unwind.


Explore

Immerse yourself in an audible world inspired by specific locations in different cities. Travel through places like Beijing, Shenzhen, Bangkok, Tokyo, and Reykjavik. Each city has a distinctly different sound, which can be adjusted between quiet and lively. A map will show you exactly where you are experiencing these sounds from, with a description of the area.

O Relax Explore

When you’re tired of cities on Earth, explore an alien planet in a 360 video. Tap on parts of the environment to see custom visuals and information about the alien world. The haptic feedback is synced with the video, which results in a very interesting connection to the environment.


The OPPO Find X5 Pro has an amazing built-in speaker that can fill your room with your calming sounds all night long. Because of the high-quality audio files used to make the O Relax sounds, everything sounds even better when paired with some nice speakers. Feel the bass of a thunderstorm, or immerse yourself in the city street ambiance as audio plays through whatever speaker setup you prefer. The addition of Dolby Atmos panoramic audio makes this experience better than ever,

Get access to O Relax on OPPO phones like the new Find X5 Pro. Learn more about this phone on our XDA forums below.

OPPO Find X5 Pro Forums
We thank OPPO 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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Apple won’t release an under-display Touch ID iPhone anytime soon, even though your sibling can unlock your Face ID iPhone

Apple’s iPhones are great smartphones, and they have been so for a fair few years now. No matter which side of the Android vs iOS debate you stand on, it’s hard not to recognize the iPhone as a piece of tech that everyone in the industry tries to compete against. Anything that Apple does with the iPhone, the smartphone industry mocks for the first year and then shamelessly copies the next year. On the flip side, Apple is very slow to jump on new tech, and Android OEMs usually have features years before the Cupertino-based giant decides to adopt them. One such situation is under-display fingerprint sensors, a tech that Android OEMs have adopted since 2018. If you were waiting for Apple to adopt an in-display fingerprint sensor, you’ll have to wait a few more years, even though Touch ID has plenty of its own issues.

Under-Display Touch ID delayed on iPhone

According to noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, iPhones releasing in 2023 and 2024 will not be adopting under-display Touch ID. Kuo had previously predicted that 2023 could be the year when Apple makes the jump to under-display tech on the iPhone. But this prediction is now being revised, indicating we will have to pass over 3 more generations of iPhones before we have a chance of seeing Touch ID back on them in the form of an under-display solution.

Note that the prediction doesn’t explicitly mention that the iPhone in 2026 will adopt an under-display Touch ID. For one, that is too far out in the future to accurately predict at this stage. And Apple has presented nothing either to indicate that they are interested in bringing back Touch ID at all. This is where the problem arises.

PSA: Face ID on iPhones can evolve to be unlocked by your sibling

When Apple made the jump from Touch ID to Face ID with the iPhone X, a lot was claimed about its superiority. Compared to face unlock as it was present on Android smartphones, Face ID was and remains so much more secure — Android phones simply matched an optical likeness, while Apple does a far more precise 3D scan. The 3D facial scan is very accurate, and Apple claims there is only a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of another random person being able to unlock your iPhone with their face. Compared to the 1 in 50,000 error rate for Touch ID, Face ID does appear to be a far more secure solution.

These claims do come with fine print though, and ones that I feel are not publicized enough. While yes, you can’t trick Face ID by holding up a simple photo, you can beat it with a face that looks very similar to yours. As Apple itself notes in its documentation (emphasis added):

The probability that a random person in the population could look at your iPhone or iPad Pro and unlock it using Face ID is less than 1 in 1,000,000 with a single enrolled appearance whether or not you’re wearing a mask. As an additional protection, Face ID allows only five unsuccessful match attempts before a passcode is required. The statistical probability is higher — and further increased if using Face ID with a mask — for twins and siblings that look like you, and among children under the age of 13, because their distinct facial features may not have fully developed. If you’re concerned about this, we recommend using a passcode to authenticate. You can also use Face ID without enabling Face ID with a mask.

Apple does not quantify this statistical probability. And there’s no way to know if they also account for the fact that these strangers (twins and siblings) are far more likely to be in physical proximity to your iPhone than a random person with a similar fingerprint.

So when I found out that my brother can open my iPhone 13 Pro with just a casual look, I was really (and rightfully) shocked.

My brother is 6 years younger than me, but we do look fairly similar — as siblings often do. We aren’t twins though, and the age difference between us, as well as our personal preferences on hair and facial hair ensures that we definitely don’t look like photocopies of each other at any point. I was under the impression that this would be enough to keep my iPhone locked to me. However, all that my brother needs to do to unlock my iPhone is just look at it. Since we live in the same house (meaning he has plenty of opportunities to physically access my iPhone), the net effect is that my iPhone can be very easily and frequently unlocked by someone who is not me — and that is just insane.

Before you jump angrily to the comments, let me clarify some things. One, my iPhone has only one appearance enrolled in it, and that is mine. There are no alternative appearances enrolled, neither of myself, nor of my brother. I did set up Face ID unlock with Mask, but my brother can unlock my phone with this option disabled too. I do have Apple Watch unlock set up as well, but my brother can again unlock my phone with this option disabled too. No, he does not have my passcode, and he doesn’t even really need it. [I would have presented video proof of this whole charade, but my sibling is not comfortable being recorded for use on the Internet, and so you have to take my word on this sibling-unlocking happening.]

Face ID on iPhone

The only explanation I have been able to find is that this is rather intentional in a way. As mentioned in Apple’s documentation, it is possible to train Face ID to work on faces that bear a close resemblance.

Face ID automatically adapts to changes in your appearance, such as wearing cosmetic makeup or growing facial hair. If there is a more significant change in your appearance, like shaving a full beard, Face ID confirms your identity by using your passcode before it updates your face data.

And further:

This data will be refined and updated as you use Face ID to improve your experience, including when you successfully authenticate. Face ID will also update this data when it detects a close match but a passcode is subsequently entered to unlock the device.

Essentially, if my sibling or any other close resemblance attempts a Face ID unlock unsuccessfully and then I enter the password to open the phone, Face ID will take this as a learning opportunity to update my appearance in its database, merging my stored appearance with this newer appearance. Every unsuccessful Face ID + successful password unlock will train the AI behind Face Unlock to perform better in the future. The caveat then is that this makes it entirely possible that eventually, your iPhone can be opened by your sibling, especially if they have frequent access to your phone, even if such unlock or training is not intentional. So don’t be surprised if one day your sibling can suddenly open your iPhone with their face.

Touch ID > Face ID

Within the context of what I have laid down, I’ve been forced to disable Face ID on my iPhone. I trust my brother to not indulge in my personal data, but I am still extremely uncomfortable with the very idea that he has unlimited access to every single piece of information on my iPhone, including my banking and investment apps.

In a world with Touch ID iPhones, I would have had to worry about a small probability of bumping into a person who has a fingerprint similar enough to mine, who has access to my iPhone and wants to get inside of it. In a world with AI-based Face ID iPhones, there’s an even smaller probability that I come across a stranger who bears my facial resemblance. But what do I do about the sibling who can already unlock my Face ID iPhone?

In my current reality, I wish I could go back to a Touch ID iPhone. There’s no way to disable Face ID from learning and evolving appearances. So even if I do reset my stored appearance, it is only a matter of days and weeks before it matches the two faces again. Apple’s eloquent solution here is to ask users to just disable Face ID completely, and that is what I have done for now. Since I was already used to not being able to easily unlock my iPhone over the past two years because I had a mask on (Apple took its sweet time to roll out Face mask-based unlocking), the inconvenience is rather familiar. A part of me still hoped that a future iPhone flagship could bring back Touch ID. But looks like I will have to wait for a while now.

Until then, I’ll be using my banking apps on my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and my other Android devices.

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These are the Best iPhone SE 3 Cases to buy in 2022

Apple recently gave its budget-friendly iPhone, the iPhone SE, a minor refresh. The latest model in the SE lineup features the same dated design as its predecessor, but it packs a couple of significant improvements on the inside. The iPhone SE 3 packs Apple’s flagship A15 Bionic chip, which is a huge step up from the A13 on the older model. In addition, it comes with a couple of connectivity improvements, including 5G and Wi-Fi 6 support.

For a starting price of $429, the new iPhone SE 3 is a decent pick for those who want a compact iPhone that offers great performance at an affordable price. So, if you’ve been planning to get one for yourself, make sure you order a case and screen protector as well. That’s because the iPhone SE 3 features glass on both the front and back, which is susceptible to scratches and dings in day-to-day use. A durable case and screen protector will go a long way in keeping your iPhone looking new for a long time. If you’re not sure which one to order, here are our top picks for the best iPhone SE 3 cases you can get right now.

Navigate this article:

Official Cases

Since the iPhone SE 3 is identical to its predecessor on the outside, it perfectly fits in all the cases designed for the older model. Apple offers two official cases for the iPhone SE 3, with both featuring a minimal look and precise cutouts for all the buttons and ports.

    iPhone SE Leather Case

    Premium leather finish

    The iPhone SE Leather Case has a minimal design and offers a premium leather finish, precise cutouts, and an embossed Apple logo on the back. It’s available in three colors – Product Red, Black, and Midnight Blue.
    iPhone SE Silicone Case

    Durable silicone case

    The iPhone SE Silicone case features the same design as the leather case with precise cutouts, a smooth finish, and a printed Apple logo on the back. It’s available in four colors – Product Red, Chalk Pink, Abyss Blue, and Midnight.

Although Apple doesn’t offer any other first-party cases for the iPhone SE 3, there are plenty of third-party options available on Amazon. Check out the sections below for some great third-party alternatives.

Clear Cases

Clear cases are great picks for those who want to show off the original color of their smartphone without compromising on protection. Since the iPhone SE 3 is available in a couple of cool colors, you can consider getting one of these clear cases for it.

    Spigen Ultra Hybrid

    Anti-yellowing back

    The Spigen Ultra Hybrid clear case for the iPhone SE 3 features an anti-yellowing polycarbonate back.
    ESR Air Armor

    Military-grade drop protection

    The ESR Air Armor clear case for the iPhone SE 3 features a unique design with air pockets in the corners for military-grade drop protection.
    Spigen Liquid Crystal

    Slim clear case

    Looking for a slim case that's also clear? The Spigen Liquid Crystal case offers the best of both worlds.
    ESR Clear Silicone

    Cheap clear case

    Save a few bucks and get this basic clear silicone case from ESR for your new iPhone SE 3.

Thin Cases

The following options are for those who don’t like to use a case on their smartphone because of the added bulk. These thin cases provide basic scratch protection without making the phone uncomfortable to hold.

    TORRAS Slim Fit

    Super slim

    This slim fit case for the iPhone SE 3 features a raised bezel around the camera and display to protect them from scratches.
    Spigen Liquid Air Armor

    Comfortable grip

    Spigen's Liquid Air Armor case for the iPhone SE 3 has a slim profile and a textured back for a comfortable grip.
    Torras Shockproof slim fit

    Extra drop protection

    This variant of Torras' slim fit case has a silicone bumper for extra drop protection.

Rugged Cases

Do you tend to drop your phone more often than you’d like? You should probably invest in a rugged case for your iPhone SE 3. The following options provide enough drop protection to keep your phone looking as good as new even after several drops.

    Temdan rugged case

    Minimal design

    If you're not fond of rugged cases that have a rugged design, this case from Temdan could be a great pick for you.
    Driverbox rugged case

    Minimal alternative

    This iPhone SE 3 rugged case from Driverbox also features a minimal design with a plain back and plenty of protection.
    Sportlink waterproof rugged case

    Waterproof

    This rugged iPhone SE 3 case from Sportlink is IP68 certified, meaning that it will protect your phone from water damage.
    Otterbox Commuter

    Premium rugged case

    The Otterbox Commuter series case for the iPhone SE 3 is the most premium rugged case you can buy for your new phone.
    Supcase Unicorn Beetle

    Built-in screen protector

    The Supcase Unicorn Beetle case for the iPhone SE 3 is a great rugged case that comes with a built-in screen protector.

    Promoted

    Spigen Tough Armor

    MIL-STD 810G protection

    The Spigen Tough Armor case for the iPhone SE 3 offers MIL-STD 810G protection and a built-in kickstand.

Kickstand Cases

Do you often use your iPhone to watch movies or TV shows? You should get one of these kickstand cases for your iPhone SE 3 for a more comfortable viewing experience.

    Poetic Revolution

    Dual-layer design

    This rugged iPhone SE 3 case from Poetic has a dual-layer design for maximum protection, along with a built-in kickstand and screen protector.
    VEGO Kickstand Case

    Magnetic kickstand

    This rugged case for the iPhone SE 3 features a dual purpose kickstand that you can use to prop up your phone or mount it magnetically in your car.
    Silicone kickstand case

    Minimal design

    This silicone kickstand case for the iPhone SE 3 features a minimal design and it's available in nine cool colors.
    ESR kickstand case

    Clear kickstand case

    The ESR kickstand case for the iPhone SE 3 features a clear back plate that doesn't cover up your phone's gorgeous color.

Wallet Cases

For those who want a case that doubles up as a wallet to hold a few cards and spare cash, check out the following wallet cases for the iPhone SE 3.

    Vakoo wallet case

    RFID blocking

    This folio-style wallet case has room for two cards and some spare cash, along with an RFID blocking layer.
    Belemay wallet case

    Genuine leather

    This premium wallet case for the iPhone SE 3 is made of genuine leather and has enough room to hold three cards and some cash.
    Shieldon Wallet case

    Dual purpose

    The Shieldon wallet case features a dual purpose design that lets you use the folio cover as a kickstand.
    Smartish wallet case

    Unique design

    This cool-looking wallet case from Smartish features a unique design with a built-in pocket for three cards on the back.

Stylish Cases

This category is for those who want to add a dash of style or color to their smartphones with a stylish case. Check out the following options to jazz up your new iPhone SE 3.

    Caseology Parralax

    Stylish and rugged

    This cool-looking iPhone SE 3 case from Caseology features a geometric print at the back that gives it a unique appeal.
    i-Blason Cosmo

    Unique look

    Give your new iPhone SE 3 a unique look with this dual-layer protective case from iBlason.

    Promoted

    DTTO Silicone case

    Minimal

    Match your phone with your outfit with the DTTO Silicone case which is available in 24 color options.
    Tendlin Leather case

    Leather finish

    Tendlin's hybrid leather and TPU case offers an ample amount of protection and a premium finish.

Leather cases

Do you want your iPhone SE 3 to look more stylish and luxurious, while protecting it against potential accidents? Leather cases are the answer. They shield the affordable phone in addition to providing it with a more premium look.

    TORRO Genuine Leather Case with Card Slots

    360º Protection

    This 360º leather case offers a kickstand mode and card pockets. It's a mix that provides protection, extra functionality, and style. It's perfect for those who watch a lot of videos on their iPhones.
    SUPCASE Unicorn Beetle Royal Series

    Rugged

    This rugged case has a built-in screen protector and a leather back. It's ideal for rough environments.

    Promoted

    Bocasal Genuine Leather Wallet Case

    Kickstand

    Available in four colors to pick from, this case includes a strap, has pockets for cash and cards, and offers a kickstand mode. It's the ultimate 360º leather case.

That rounds up our list of the best iPhone SE 3 cases that you can get right now. Pick the one that’s best suited for your requirements, whether it’s all-around protection, storage, or a unique look. If you still haven’t ordered the device yet, you can click on the link below to order the iPhone SE 3 right now!

    iPhone SE 3 (2022)
    Although Apple claims that the new iPhone SE 3 features the most durable glass on a smartphone, you should probably get a case for it anyway.

Which one of these iPhone SE 3 cases fulfills your requirements? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post These are the Best iPhone SE 3 Cases to buy in 2022 appeared first on xda-developers.



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Motorola reportedly planning to launch four new Edge smartphones in 2022

Motorola returned to the flagship sphere with the Moto Edge and Edge Plus last year. The company followed up with the Motorola Edge 30 (Moto Edge Plus 2022) last month, which offers even more impressive specifications. It appears the Lenovo-owned brand is planning to launch even more smartphones under the Edge brand in 2022.

According to Evan Blass (via 91Mobiles), Motorola is working on four new smartphones under the Edge brand. The first is the Moto Edge 30 Ultra, code named Frontier. Thanks to previous leaks, we already know quite a lot about the phone, including its design and hardware. The phone Moto Edge 30 Ultra is expected to be the most powerful model in the Edge 30 lineup, featuring a 6.67-inch FHD+ POLED display, an unannounced flagship Snapdragon chipset (the SM8475), a 200MP primary shooter, and a 4,500mAh battery with 125W fast wired charging support. The report notes that the Moto Edge 30 Ultra isn’t expected to arrive until Q3 2022.

A image showing the back panel, front and the bottom of the Motorola Frontier

Moto Edge 30 Ultra (Frontier)

 

Next up in the line is a device codenamed Dubai, which will launch as the vanilla Moto Edge 30. It’ll slot below the Moto Edge 30 and could launch as soon as next month. In terms of hardware, the Moto Edge 30 is rumored to pack a 6.55-inch OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, 6GB/8GB RAM and 128GB/256GB storage, a 50MP primary shooter, and a 4,020mAh battery.

Moto Edge 30 (Dubai)

Moto Edge 30 (Dubai)

Dubai will be joined by a device codenamed Dubai+ in the third quarter. Its marketing name is unknown at this point, but we’re told it’ll be powered by an unspecified MediaTek chipset (MT6879) and feature a similar display and camera setup as the Moto Edge 30. It’ll pack a 5,000mAh battery and support stylus input similar to the Edge 30 Pro.

Finally, the Miami is expected to be a mid-range smartphone and could launch as the Moto Edge 30 Lite. The phone will reportedly feature a 6.28-inch OLED 120Hz display, a Snapdragon 695 chipset, 64MP primary and 13MP ultra-wide shooters, a 32MP selfie camera, and a 4,020mAh battery.

The latest reports suggest that Motorola is doing extremely well in the US. The company registered a 131% year-over-year growth in 2021, which helped it secure third place in the US smartphone market behind Samsung and Apple.


Source: 91Mobiles

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WhatsApp’s new voice messaging features will soon roll out to everyone

WhatsApp added the ability to send voice notes all the way back in 2013. Since its introduction, the feature hasn’t seen any major changes in terms of design or functionality. But that’s finally changing as the instant messaging app has announced some new enhancements for voice notes.

In a blog post on Wednesday, WhatsApp announced several new features that aim to improve the voice messaging experience. These features have been in the works for months now. They first made their way to the beta version on mobile and desktop and are now finally rolling out to everyone on the stable version of WhatsApp.

The most notable among the new features is the ability to play voice notes in the background. Up until now, if you left the chat while a voice message was playing, the playback would stop. Now when you start playing a voice message, you can move to a different conversation, close the app, or do other things without interrupting the playback.

Another useful addition is the ability to preview your voice message before sending them. When you record a voice message, you’ll have an option to listen to it before you hit the send button. In addition, you can also pause the voice recording and resume it when you’re ready. Finally, you can listen to voice messages at 1.5x or 2x speeds and pause and pick up a message where you left off, so you don’t have to listen to it from the start.

Here are all the new features and improvements coming to WhatsApp voice messages:

  • Out of Chat Playback: Listen to a voice message outside of the chat so you can multitask or read and respond to other messages.
  • Pause/Resume Recording: When recording a voice message, you can now pause the recording and resume when ready, in case you’re interrupted or need to gather your thoughts.
  • Waveform Visualization: Shows a visual representation of the sound on the voice message to help follow the recording.
  • Draft Preview: Listen to your voice messages before sending them.
  • Remember Playback: If you pause when listening to a voice message, you can pick up where you left off when you return to the chat.
  • Fast Playback on Forwarded Messages: Play voice messages at 1.5x or 2x speeds to listen to messages faster on both regular and forwarded messages.

New voice messages features will be rolling out to WhatsApp users in the coming weeks.

WhatsApp Messenger (Free, Google Play) →


Source: WhatsApp Blog

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Gboard’s new magic wand button is here to step up your emoji game

Gboard is one of the best Android keyboard apps around. It has everything you ever want in a keyboard: accurate text correction and word prediction capabilities, a plethora of themes, voice typing, multilingual typing support, etc. In addition to these core features, the app also has some nifty tricks up its sleeve to make your typing a bit more fun and dynamic. These include Emoji Kitchen and text-based stickers. And now Google is rolling out a new magic wand button that will take your emoji game to the next level.

Google is rolling out a new magic wand button in the latest Gboard beta release. The button appears in the right corner in the top row, and when pressed, it automatically inserts relevant emoji in your message. So, for example, if you type “Good Morning” and tap on the magic wand button, you’ll see several emoji added to your message, including the rising over a mountain, the sun, a face throwing a kiss, and a couple of other emoji. Tapping the button a second time will insert one emoji between each word.

"Hi" text with emoji at the end in Gboard Gboard app with Miss you text and hugging emoji around it Gboard app with Good Morning text and emoji "Hi" message with hand emoji displayed in Gboard

The selection of suggested emoji is not consistent across apps. On WhatsApp, typing “Good Morning” and pressing the magic button only added just two emoji: the rising sun over a mountain and the sun peaking up on the horizon. Meanwhile, on Instagram, the feature added up to six emoji (mentioned above).

The magic wand button is indeed a clever feature, and it can save you the effort of going through the emoji picker and finding the right emoji to insert in your message. In our brief testing, we found that the magic wand button doesn’t show up in every app; it seems to only appear in instant messaging apps, which makes sense.

The magic wand button is rolling out with the latest beta release of Gboard. The feature isn’t yet available on the stable version of the app. If you want to give it a try, you can sign up for the beta program here. Alternatively, you can also grab the latest beta APK from APKMirror.

Gboard - the Google Keyboard (Free, Google Play) →

Have you received the magic wand feature in Gboard? Let us know in the comments below. 


Via: Android Police

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mercredi 30 mars 2022

Google Play Protect is flagging certain versions of Vanced Manager

Google recently cracked down on Vanced, one of the most popular YouTube app alternatives for Android, and sent its developers a cease and desist order. As a result, the developers took Vanced offline, forcing users to look for other YouTube Vanced alternatives. But that doesn’t seem to be the end of the Vanced saga.

Since current versions of Vanced continue to work, some users still have the app installed on their devices. Along with the main Vanced app, users also have the companion Vanced Manager app on their phones. Recent reports on Reddit and Twitter reveal that Google Play Protect has now started flagging the Vanced Manager app as “harmful,” prompting users to uninstall it. This has raised questions about the legitimacy of the Play Protect warning, as the service previously did not flag the Vanced Manager app.

Vanced Manager Play Protect warning notification

Credit: u/tedd235

Although Google hasn’t offered an official statement on why Play Protect is suddenly targeting the Vanced Manager app, Esper‘s Mishaal Rahman speculates that it could be due to the fact that Vanced Manager can use root access to install apps.

As you can see in the attached screenshot, the Uninstall prompt specifies that Vanced Manager “tries to bypass Android’s security protections.” This warning message corresponds to the ‘Elevated privilege abuse’ and ‘Rooting’ categories defined in Google’s official Play Protect warning strings for malware and mobile unwanted software (MUwS) documentation.

Vanced Manager Play Protect warning screenshot

Credit: Mishaal Rahman

But that doesn’t explain why Play Protect only targets certain versions of the Vanced Manager app. Testing indicates that the Play Protect warning only pops up for Vanced Manager v2.6.0, which is an older release. Users who have the latest version (v2.6.2) installed on their devices do not get the same warning. Vanced’s developers have also commented that they do not know why only one version of the app is affected, and we’re left scratching our heads too.

It’s worth mentioning that while you can’t download Vanced Manager from its official website any longer, you can still get it from trusted sources like APKMirror and then install other Vanced apps from within. In addition, Play Protect doesn’t seem to flag Vanced Manager v2.6.0 for all users. I installed the APK on two of my devices and while I got the warning on my Pixel 4a, I did not get one on my Galaxy S22 Ultra even after scanning manually.


Source: Reddit [1], [2]

The post Google Play Protect is flagging certain versions of Vanced Manager appeared first on xda-developers.



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