Out of the several apps that Google offers on Android, there’s no single app that’s as versatile as the Google App. The app is one of the main components of Google Mobile Services as it contains Google Search, Google Discover, Google Podcasts, Google Assistant, and Google Lens. Despite the fact that Google has already packed in so much in the app, the company keeps adding new features to the app ever so often. Earlier this year in January, we spotted evidence that suggested that Google was working to add an incognito browser within the app. And now, the company is finally rolling out an in-app browser in the latest beta release of the Google App.
The new in-app web browser in the Google App was recently spotted by the folks over at 9to5Googlein the latest beta release (v11.6.6) of the app. The report claims that the in-app browser is rolling out to some users and we’ve already received it on one of our Pixel 4’s running Android 10. As you can see in the attached video below, the browser automatically opens up as soon as you tap on any news article within the app, instead of redirecting to your default browser app. Much like the incognito browser that we’d seen previously, the new in-app browser allows you to bookmark pages by tapping on the Favorites button next to the address bar, share pages with others, and open the page in your default browser from within the three-dot contextual menu.
In case you don’t wish to use the in-app browser by default, you also get the option to toggle it off from within the settings menu. On top of that, it has its own privacy settings that allow you to clear all your browsing data for the in-app browser. As of now, the new in-app browser is only available for a handful of users on the latest beta release of the Google App, but we expect Google to roll it out to more users in the coming weeks.
Reliance Jio has seen astronomical growth ever since it entered the Indian telecom sector back in September 2016. The company’s success has allowed it to diversify into various other verticals, like home broadband and e-commerce, where it has opted for the same strategy of offering services at a price point that undercuts the competition by a significant margin. Jio’s rise in popularity caught the attention of Facebook and Google, both of whom were eyeing stakes within the Indian company. One of these deals has come to fruition, as Facebook and Reliance have now announced that Facebook has bought a 9.99% stake in Reliance Jio for $5.7 billion, or ₹43,574 crore.
Reliance Industries Limited (“Reliance Industries”), Jio Platforms Limited (“Jio Platforms”) and Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) today announced the signing of binding agreements for an investment of ₹ 43,574 crore by Facebook into Jio Platforms. This investment by Facebook values Jio Platforms at ₹ 4.62 lakh crore pre-money enterprise value ($65.95 billion, assuming a conversion rate of ₹ 70 to a US Dollar). Facebook’s investment will translate into a 9.99% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis.
This binding agreement for investment will make Facebook the largest minority shareholder in Reliance Jio. Prior to this deal, Jio was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), i.e. the entire 100% of shares of Jio were held by RIL. But through this deal, RIL will hold 90.01% of Jio shares, while the remaining 9.99% will be held by Facebook. The deal is a part of RIL’s plan to reduce its net debt to zero by 2021. To note, the amount that Facebook has paid for 10% of shares of Jio is more than what Facebook paid for Oculus ($2 billion) and Instagram ($1 billion), combined.
Why is this deal significant?
This deal between RIL and Facebook is a coming-together of two corporate giants, both of whom command significant market shares in their varied product categories. WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, boasted of over 400 million users in India as of July 2019, and the number has only grown since then for the messaging service, while more than 270 million people use Facebook as a social network in India as of February 2020. Reliance Jio, on the other hand, has 370 million customers and is the largest Indian telecom operator with a 32% market share, as of December 2019.
Facebook’s press release mentions that the focus of the collaboration with Jio will be “creating new ways for people and businesses to operate more effectively in the growing digital economy“. An example provided for this vision is by bringing together JioMart, Jio’s small business initiative, with WhatsApp. Such a product collaboration will enable people to connect with businesses, shop, and hence, make it easy to purchase products in a seamless mobile experience.
There is further potential because of this deal. Facebook had attempted to break into India’s internet market with programs like Free Basics but hit snags on the grounds of net neutrality. With Jio on board, they have an in-road to the vast potential of the Indian market. In the same vein, Jio wishes to challenge the likes of Amazon and Flipkart in e-commerce with JioMart, and partnering with WhatsApp for its messaging platform as well as payment platform will be a tremendous growth driver.
With nearly 3 million apps on the Google Play Store, Android users are spoiled for choices across all major verticals. When it comes to web browsers, users get a myriad of options besides the pre-installed web browser or Google Chrome. Another player in this landscape is the Vivaldi Browser, which was developed by Opera Browser’s co-creator after their exit from the company. Vivaldi originally launched for desktop ecosystems in 2016 with a focus on customization, privacy, and agility. This was followed by a beta release on Android last year, which received a supplemental update in December. Now, the first stable version of Vivaldi Browser is rolling out on the Google Play Store.
Vivaldi Browser abides by the minimal design language adopted by the desktop version. Besides simplified UI including features like the desktop-style tab stack, Speed Dials with grouping support, and an inbuilt dark mode. For a cleaner look, the browser also has options such as “Swipe to Close Tabs,” “Hide Status bar,” and smaller Speed Dials for a better view.
Upholding privacy as one of its core values, Vivaldi has included with an inbuilt ad blocker into the Android browser. It also integrates a tracking blocker mechanism powered by the DuckDuckGo privacy browser’s Tracker Radar tool. Both – the ad and the tracking blockers – are switched off by default but can be switched on by tapping the shield icon along the address bar.
Vivaldi for Android supports syncing history, bookmarks, passwords and other autofill information, and Speed Dial tabs across devices and different platforms with end-to-end encryption. This data is stored in Vivaldi’s own servers in Iceland. The browser also allows you to switch between search engines directly from the address bar.
The browser also comes with an inbuilt notes taker and a snapshot tool for more productivity. Using the latter, you can either capture a snapshot of only the visible area or the entire webpage.
The stable version of Vivaldi Browser for Android will be available starting today i.e. April 22nd on the Google Play Store. You can grab it from the link below if you’re looking for a privacy-focussed and speedy web browsing experience on Android phones, tablets, and Chromebooks.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has infected over 2 million people worldwide and has brought many countries to a complete standstill. The pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on industries globally, with several companies in the technology sector being forced to delay launches indefinitely and cancel all live events, including major tech events like MWC 2020 and Google I/O 2020. Despite constant efforts from industry leaders and governments worldwide to address the situation, it doesn’t seem like the effects of the pandemic are going to wear off anytime soon. In a recent string of tweets from the official IFA Berlin Twitter handle, the event organizers have revealed that the upcoming IFA 2020 event will also be impacted by the pandemic.
#IFA20: Set for an innovative concept designed for unprecedented times.
IFA Berlin is set to go ahead in 2020, but with an innovative new concept, following the decision by the Berlin government to ban all events with more than 5,000 participants until 24 October 2020.
1/6 pic.twitter.com/MLDvamLXzf
The IFA 2020 event in Berlin, which was scheduled from September 4-9, will not be going ahead as planned “following the decision by the Berlin government to ban all events with more than 5,000 participants until 24th October 2020.” In a statement on the matter, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of gfu Consumer and Home Electronics, Hans-Joachin Kamp, explained, “We expected this development given the constantly evolving pandemic and appreciate that we have now a clear regulatory framework that enables us, our partner Messe Berlin, and our exhibitors to make detailed plans for IFA 2020.” The event organizers are currently discussing a range of alternative concepts to take the event forward and will be presenting an updated concept for IFA 2020 in the near future. We will update this post as and when we receive more details from the organizers. As of now, we aren’t sure if the IFA restructuring will have any effect on the planned announcements.
Xiaomi and its sub-brand Redmi have always been preferred for the excellent value their phones offer. But that is not the only reason why the community at XDA-Developers is fond of the brand. The other reason power users and developers have been inclined towards Xiaomi’s smartphones is that the company has allowed users to unlock their phone’s bootloader without invalidating the phone’s warranty. This policy has attracted a lot of users to partake in modifying or replacing the pre-loaded software on their Xiaomi and Redmi devices.
A recent tweet from Redmi India, however, took us by surprise as it stated that unlocking the bootloader on Redmi – and presumably, Xiaomi – phones will now void the phone’s warranty.
Tweet from Redmi India (now deleted)
A few YouTube videos also popped up on the topic, seemingly affirming through other customer support mediums that simply unlocking the bootloader of the device will violate the warranty clause. While the tweet was deleted shortly after we took note, it did sow the seeds of doubt and confusion. Thus, we decided to reach out to Xiaomi India in order to set the record straight on the matter.
Does unlocking the bootloader of your Xiaomi or Redmi phone void your warranty?
As per the official response we have received from Xiaomi India, the mere act of unlocking the bootloader does not void the warranty of your Xiaomi or Redmi phone. However, if you do manage to hard brick your phone once/after you have unlocked the bootloader, then you no longer have a warranty that can be claimed for the phone.
“Unlocking of the bootloader is made available to make sure that MIUI developer ROMs can be tested by users and will be covered under warranty.
Bootloader unlocking does not inherently void your hardware warranty. But a case where the unlocking results in a brick which cannot be fixed via software, the warranty will be void.”
As the statement explicitly says, the warranty remains intact so long as a software fix can work on the bootloader unlocked phone. By extension, if you hard brick your device and it needs a hardware fix to be brought back to life, perhaps in the form of EDL pin-shorting or worse, a motherboard replacement, you will be out of luck and warranty. If any software fixes are needed, Xiaomi India will charge you a nominal amount (currently ₹150 plus taxes) under the general maintenance clause in the official warranty, in order to revert your phone back to the stable ROM available for the phone in that region.
This policy is applicable to Xiaomi phones in India under both the Mi and Redmi sub-brand. Other regions could possibly have variations to this policy. And before you ask, POCO is excluded from the scope of this article and this policy entirely as it operates as an independent unit and has its own separate policy.
After deleting the tweet, Xiaomi also updated their statement with a fresh response:
Hi, we would like to inform you that by just unlocking the bootloader your device warranty will not be void. However, if the device crashes/bricks due to Custom ROM the device will be serviced out of Warranty. We would strongly recommend you to continue use your device with MIUI.
Thus, as per our understanding of the situation, if you have any manufacturing defect in the form of faulty hardware that is otherwise covered under the company’s warranty clauses, you will be allowed to avail warranty regardless of your bootloader status. However, if the non-functional hardware is a result of your own doing (maybe you flashed the wrong file to the wrong partition and hard-bricked your phone), then you are out of luck.
When is your warranty void?
The condition in which you might end up losing your warranty due to an unlocked bootloader is when you set out to further modify the software and end up with a hard bricked phone. A hard brick is a state when the phone cannot boot and it is impossible to flash the stock firmware to restore the phone. This could be the case when you’re stuck on the EDL Mode (Emergency Download Mode) on Xiaomi or Redmi devices with Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets or the Download Mode on Xiaomi or Redmi devices with MediaTek chipsets.
Qualcomm’s EDL Mode, as well as its MediaTek counterpart, is a special boot-mode that can be used to recover or modify a phone by sidestepping the standard bootloader. Accessing this mode isn’t easy for average users as it requires a special cable or short-circuiting JTAG pins on a phone’s logic board. Usually, this process is used as a last resort when standard fixes don’t work and is thus, not advised without the proper know-how. While its utility is to revive a dead phone, there have also been instances of unauthorized resellers installing malware on a phone by going the EDL route, prompting Xiaomi to block users from accessing this mode.
Error message on flashing through Xiaomi’s modified SP Flash Tool
Ever since Xiaomi took the decision to block the EDL mode back in 2018, fixing phones through the EDL mode required an Authorized Mi Account alongside the MSMDownload Tool for Qualcomm Snapdragon devices or SP Flash Tool for MediaTek devices. However, an Authorized Mi account is exclusively available with official Xiaomi service center partners. Thus, users with hard bricked devices have no other option but to take their phones to the service center for repairs. And if they do so, their warranty will be deemed void. We understand the security concern behind needing Authorized Mi Accounts, but our opinion is that Xiaomi could use a better alternative than Authorized Mi Accounts for unbricking its devices.
It is, however, worth noting that this warranty clause has been the company’s stance on hard bricks over unlocked bootloaders since forever. The policy for nulling the warranty should not be mistaken as new, as this has always been the case and the community is largely aware and respectful of the same. Xiaomi also keenly exercises control over bootloader unlocking through the Mi Flash Tool and ties the unlock action and the IMEI to the user’s Mi Account—so they do have a way to determine if the bootloader is unlocked or not, even on a dead phone.
Our advice: Exercise caution
Xiaomi is generous for allowing users to unlock their bootloaders without any impact on the warranty. Many OEMs allow users to unlock their bootloaders, but the mere act of unlocking also voids the warranty from that point forward—so you will be stuck even if you have a genuine factory-origin hardware manufacturing defect. Many others simply do not allow bootloader unlocking at all, so you have zero choices in such a scenario. Bootloader unlocking is often the first step to installing a custom ROM or other system-level mods, so having this choice is important for power users like us. Xiaomi is, thus, one of the better OEMs out there in this regard.
It is also rightful on Xiaomi’s part to not to want to bear the cost of a customer’s misadventures and ill-informed experiments. Bootloader unlocking leaves the phone open to a plethora of security issues, and hence, is advisable for experienced users only. You should only venture forward if you understand what you are doing. If you’re fiddling with your Xiaomi or Redmi devices, or any other device for that matter, please do so only after understanding the risks.
Realme’s first true flagship, the Realme X2 Pro (our review) packs in a Snapdragon 855+ chipset, a high refresh rate 90Hz display, and an impressive quad-camera array. While redefining the benchmark of affordable flagships, the company didn’t forget to publish the kernel source code and the official bootloader unlock utility for the device in an effort to boost the aftermarket development scene. The stable version of Android 10-based Realme UI also landed on various regional variants of the phone across the globe at the beginning of this month. In case you are not satisfied with Realme’s custom skin and want to give vanilla Android a try, here are some custom ROMs that you can flash right now.
XDA Recognized Developer karthick mostwanted is currently maintaining the unofficial build of LineageOS 17.1 for the Realme X2 Pro. The ROM has SELinux in permissive mode and VoLTE activation requires flashing a separate zip, but otherwise, it’s quite stable to be a daily driver while featuring a plethora of device-specific feature control, such as DC dimming and Game mode. Do note that you have to downgrade to ColorOS 6.1 firmware before flashing this ROM.
If you’re looking for an AOSP-based ROM that offers some useful UI/UX customizations on top of stock Android, you can also opt for the unofficial AOSiP 10 ROM by XDA Senior Member 4j17h. From status bar customization to lock screen personalization options, you can tune various aspects of this ROM. Similar to the LineageOS 17.1 build, AOSiP 10 for this particular phone is still not compatible with Realme UI modem and bootloader, thus a downgrade is absolutely necessary before flashing.
A custom recovery like TWRP is the primary prerequisite of flashing all these custom ROMs. Fortunately, the TWRP project has had official support for this device since December 2019. The maintainer, XDA Senior Member mauronofrio, is also offering bleeding edge unofficial builds of TWRP with experimental features in the forum thread linked below.
Update 1 (4/21/2020 @ 6:20 PM EST): An option to toggle Live Captions is now available in the latest Chromium builds. Although the feature does not work yet, it should soon start working with more code commits and eventually make its way to a stable Google Chrome build.
Back at Google I/O last year, the company announced a new tool in Android 10 called Live Caption. As the name suggests, the tool is designed to automatically provide captions for audio that’s playing on your device. It works with videos, podcasts, audio messages, and other supported media, making it a great accessibility tool for the hearing impaired. On top of that, the tool can also be used to help improve the video watching experience in loud environments. Now, according to a commit spotted on the Chromium Gerrit (via ChromeUnboxed), it seems like the Google Chrome team is working to bring the feature to the browser.
The commit in question is for the SODA (Speech On-Device API) service which is crucial to get live captions to work on the browser. The description of the commit reads, “This CL creates a sandboxed service that hosts the Speech On-Device API (SODA). It contains the components required to launch the service from the renderer process, but the implementation of the service itself is stubbed out. The design document for the feature is located at: go/chrome-live-captions.” SODA is a first-party product made by Google’s Speech team that transcribes audio into text. The name of the design doc references “Live Caption,” and several methods and constants in one of the Chromium commits also hint at this.
In one of the comments, a Googler explicitly compares this feature to the one on Android and says, “I think we should use “Live Captions” when using a name for the feature to match what’s done on Android.” However, Google wants SODA to be used for more than just Live Captions, based on a comment from another Googler who states, “Based on our discussion with the ChromeOS team, it sounds like they have other speech recognition scenarios they may want to build in the future. The benefit of naming this SODA is that other features can use this component, though it could be seen as a leaky abstraction.”
Google has currently released no information about the upcoming feature but based on the aforementioned information we can safely assume that it will work much like Android 10’s Live Caption feature once released. As of now though, the feature is still in its early stages of development and it will be quite a while before it makes it to a stable release of Google Chrome.
Update 1: Google Chrome Flag
When this article was first published back in mid-February, we only saw hints that Live Caption functionality would make its way to desktop Chrome. Now, a commit has been merged that brings a Google Chrome flag to the mix. This flag is intended to test the feature in Canary builds by adding an easily controllable toggle in Chrome’s settings. The toggle can be enabled by first enabling the flag at chrome://flags#enable-accessibility-live-captions and then enabling the “Live Captions” toggle in Chrome’s Accessibility settings. The captions UI can then be customized in Windows 10 settings. The captions box can also be moved around on the screen. Currently, the captions box only displays a single static string, so it isn’t currently working. We will monitor this feature and report back when it starts working, though.
