MediaTek Dimensity 1000 is the first smartphone SoC to support AV1 hardware decoding

Paying attention to a codec while listening to your favorite track or watching a movie on one of the many streaming services out there might not be your cup of tea, unless you discover how a specific codec can indirectly help you save a considerable amount of data while binge-watching Netflix. Yes, we are talking about the royalty-free AV1 codec that is now being used by Google as well in order to improve the quality of the video calls in Google Duo.

Android 10 also supports the AV1 codec since beta 1, while Google Chrome comes with a dedicated AV1 decoder since the Chrome 70 update back in October 2018. The hardware-accelerated decoding scene, however, remains quite unoccupied, as none of the current-generation Snapdragon, Exynos, Kirin SoCs are capable of decoding AV1. The situation is improving, though, as the recently announced MediaTek Dimensity 1000 claims to be the first smartphone SoC to feature a built-in AV1 hardware video decoder, capable of handling AV1 video streams up to 4K resolution at 60fps.

A 7nm high-end SoC with an integrated 5G modem, the Dimensity 1000 aims to bring MediaTek back to the flagship SoC market. The AV1 decoder module of the chipset should play a vital role to minimize the CPU usage and consecutively lowering the power drain on phones like the Chinese variant of OPPO Reno3 and the upcoming OnePlus Z during media consumption, compared to other flagships. According to Mediatek, the Dimensity 1000 platform is soon going to be able to stream AV1 encoded YouTube videos.

Dr. Yenchi Lee, Assistant General Manager of MediaTek’s Wireless Business Unit, commented the following in this regard:

“Industry reports state that the video streaming market is likely to expand at a CAGR of 19.6% and touch $124.57 billion by 2025, and it is one of the principle drivers of 5G services. MediaTek is leading the way in enabling effective video streaming with AV1.”

One could always play back AV1 streams using software decoding, but the process is quite resource-intensive and could lead to higher battery drain on devices with other SoCs without a hardware decoder. MediaTek’s Dimensity 1000 not only outshines its competitors in this domain but the integrated 5G modem in a single chip also gives it an edge over the Snapdragon 865 and the Exynos 990. According to Matt Frost, Director of Product Management of Google Chrome, the inclusion of an AV1 decoder in the Dimensity 1000 should greatly influence the way to develop next-generation codecs. We are certainly interested to see how other chip-makers start incorporating a hardware AV1 decoder in their future products over the coming months.

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OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro go on sale in the U.S. through OnePlus.com, Amazon, T-Mobile, and Verizon

The OnePlus 8 Series was announced earlier this month as the company’s most ambitious smartphones yet. Notably, they include many high-end display features, the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, 5G support, and overall fewer compromises than previous generation OnePlus phones. While you can technically use international OnePlus 8 (review) and OnePlus 8 Pro (review) units in the U.S., the two smartphones haven’t officially been released in the U.S. yet. That changes today as the devices are on sale now from OnePlus.com, Amazon, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

Take note of some carrier peculiarities before you go online to buy a device. T-Mobile and Verizon will only carry the OnePlus 8 and not the 8 Pro. The models they will be selling have 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The Interstellar Glow color is exclusive to T-Mobile while the Polar Silver color is exclusive to Verizon (this exclusivity only applies to the U.S. market). Verizon’s OnePlus 8 has mmWave antennas to support Verizon’s Ultra Wideband 5G network, while other versions of the OnePlus 8 do not support mmWave 5G. Interestingly, the T-Mobile and Verizon versions of the OnePlus 8 will have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, whereas the unlocked model purchased through OnePlus.com or Amazon does not have an IP rating. That doesn’t necessarily mean the unlocked model is less resistant to dust and water, but that the carrier models have simply gone through the certification tests necessary to attain the IP rating.

OnePlus 8 Forums ||| OnePlus 8 Pro Forums

As mentioned previously, while the unlocked OnePlus 8 does work in the United States, there is one big reason why you might want to buy the Verizon model if you’re on Big Red’s network. It’s normally possible to use an unlocked OnePlus phone on Verizon as an LTE-only device by calling up the company and asking for CDMA-less provisioning. However, the unlocked OnePlus 8 Series devices do not fully support Verizon yet, which means you won’t get calls or texts on them, though 4G LTE mobile data will still work. OnePlus told Android Police that this issue will be fixed by June, so if you need calls, texts, and 5G mmWave on Verizon, you’ll want to purchase the device through the carrier.

T-Mobile is offering a number of deals for potential OnePlus 8 buyers. New and existing customers can get up to half off the OnePlus 8 5G with 24 monthly bill credits when they activate a new line of service or trade-in an eligible device. If you don’t want to do a trade-in or add a new line, you can get the OnePlus 8 5G for $29.17/month ($0 down, FRP: $699.99) for 24 months on T-Mobile’s no-interest Equipment Installment Plan.

Here’s a quick rundown of T-Mobile’s trade-in offers:

For $350 off:

• Apple iPhone: X or XR
• Samsung: Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10 5G, Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Note 10, or Galaxy Note 10+
• NOT eligible: Galaxy Note 10+ 5G
• Google: Pixel 4 or Pixel 4 XL
• OnePlus: 7T, 7 Pro, or 7
• NOT eligible: OnePlus 7T Pro 5G

For $200 off:

• Apple iPhone: 7, 7 Plus, 8, or 8 Plus (any variant)
• Samsung: Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+
• Google: Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3A XL, or Pixel 3A
• OnePlus: 6 or 6T

Both OnePlus 8 devices are also available from the company’s website and Amazon. Check out the chart below to see how the pricing breaks down for the different colors and storage options.

OnePlus.com & Amazon Pricing

OnePlus 8 Pro – OnePlus.com

Color	RAM+Storage	Price
Glacial Green	8+128	$899
Glacial Green	12+256	$999
Onyx Black	8+128	$899
Onyx Black	12+256	$999
Ultramarine Blue	12+256	$999

OnePlus 8 Pro – Amazon

Color	RAM+Storage	Price
Glacial Green	8+128	$899
Ultramarine Blue	12+256	$999
Onyx Black	12+256	$999

OnePlus 8 – OnePlus.com

Color	RAM+Storage	Price
Glacial Green	8+128	$699
Interstellar Glow	12+256	$799

OnePlus 8 – Amazon

Color	RAM+Storage	Price
Glacial Green	8+128	$699
Interstellar Glow	12+256	$799

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Samsung Galaxy Buds+ may be coming in a new Deep Blue color

The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are the second generation of truly wireless earbuds from Samsung. Launched beside the Galaxy S20 series earlier this year, the Galaxy Buds+ are available in four solid colors – Cloud Blue, Cosmic Black, white, and red. In addition, a special variant is also included in the limited edition Samsung Galaxy Z Flip bundle designed by the American fashion designer, Thom Browne. Based on some of the media we’ve spotted, Samsung might now release the Galaxy Buds+ in a dark, cobalt-like blue shade.

We discovered animations linked to the purported “Deep Blue” variant of the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ in version 1.7.47-22 of the SmartThings app. This is substantial evidence that Samsung is probably working on the sixth color variant.

Since these animations are from the 3D video renders from the Samsung SmartThings app, the actual color may differ. The mention of “Deep Blue” in the app does, however, endorse the tentative shade. Design-wise, there are absolutely no changes as compared to the previously launched variants.

As for the launch of these new Galaxy Buds+, we don’t have much information but alongside the Galaxy Note 20 series would definitely make sense. That’s purely based on supposition and we will only be able to confirm for sure after learning more about their launch date.

Meanwhile, to rehash your sense of the Galaxy Buds+, these truly wireless earbuds from Samsung cost $149.99 and the company endorses an 11-hour battery life for each earbud – 11 extra hours with the carrying case. The Buds+ also support fast charging within the case and just about 3 minutes of charging can give you an hour of playback.

Samsung also upgraded the driver configuration on the earbuds and the Galaxy Buds+ feature two drivers – one tweeter and one sub-woofer. Additionally, the buds also support three mics as compared to two on the previous generation of Galaxy Buds.

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Waze is finally testing lane guidance for navigation

Google-owned navigation app Waze has improved leaps and bounds over the last few years. The app has received some major updates since its launch, with Google adding highly-requested features like Google Assistant support, a dedicated motorcycle mode, support for 7 new music streaming services, and more. However, despite constant requests from the community, Google has still not added one key feature to the app so far — lane guidance. For the unaware, lane guidance shows graphical representations of lane signs, like freeway exits, to help users decide which lane they should take to reach their destination. The feature is commonly found on dedicated navigation units and, despite several requests from Waze users, Google still hasn’t added the feature to the app.

In a recent post on Reddit, a Waze map editor revealed a possible reason behind Google’s decision to skip adding lane navigation to the app. The editor wrote, “When editing, we do our best to match the text on the big screen signs for exit naming. The idea is that the voice callout will read exactly what you need to be looking for. Additional visuals are just another distraction to take your eyes off of the road.” While the reason does seem valid, another Redditor on the same post later chimed in that the feature was currently in development but revealed no information regarding its release. Now, according to a recent post from Israeli publication Geektime, Google has finally started testing lane guidance on Waze in the region.

The report reveals that lane guidance in Waze will work much like the navigation feature in Google Maps and will give you a heads up to change lanes while traveling on a multi-lane road. A description of all the lanes will appear on the navigation screen, with your particular lane highlighted on the map. The lane markings will appear about 500 meters before the next turn on city roads and about a kilometer before the next turn on highways. However, at the moment Waze doesn’t plan to add lane guidance for roundabouts. The feature will be released on the Waze beta channel in Israel in the coming days and should roll out to more users after the initial testing phase. As of now, we have no information from Waze regarding an international release.

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Source: Geektime

Thanks to Idan Ben Tovim for the tip!

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MIUI 12’s beautiful Super Earth and Mars live wallpapers have been ported to other devices

Xiaomi officially announced MIUI 12 just a couple of days ago at the Mi 10 Youth Edition launch event in China. As expected, Xiaomi’s latest Android skin included several new features, including a new interface, a host of different animations, privacy and health features, and more. Much like previous iterations of MIUI, Xiaomi also packed in a number of cool new wallpapers in the latest release. We recently shared all the new static and live wallpapers included in the MIUI 12 firmware for the Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro. However, the previously released live wallpaper APKs were only supported on Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO devices. Now, XDA Recognized Contributor linuxct has successfully managed to port the Super Earth and Super Mars live wallpapers to other devices.

Ported MIUI 12 Live Wallpapers

The Super Earth and Super Mars live wallpapers from MIUI 12 are now available for most Android devices running Android 8.1 Oreo and above. If you’re interested in trying out the live wallpapers, you can download the APKs from the link below and install them on your device. Then, you can pick the live wallpapers from the stock wallpaper picker on your device. In case the live wallpapers don’t show up in the stock wallpaper picker, you’ll need to install the Google Wallpaper app from the Play Store to apply the wallpapers. As of now, we can confirm that the stock wallpaper picker on ColorOS 7.1 doesn’t recognize the live wallpaper but your mileage may vary.

Xiaomi’s new Super Earth and Super Mars live wallpapers from MIUI 12 look great! Here’s a GIF of a ported version on my OPPO Find X2 Pro. Yes, we’ll be sharing this soon https://t.co/LZupgsATNR

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) April 28, 2020

While the ported MIUI 12 live wallpapers should work with most devices, there are a few limitations while using the modified APKs. According to linuxct, showing the small planet in the Always-on Display won’t be possible due to limitations with signatures — the APK must be signed with the same platform key as the ROM. However, the animations are still being performed, transitioning from a small preview of the planet into a close up when you first turn on the screen and then to the fully zoomed-in view when you unlock it. To achieve this, linuxct has included custom code in the APKs that tell the wallpaper to go into AOD as soon as the screen is turned off, then transition to the lockscreen state as soon as the screen is turned on, and finally transition to desktop mode when the device is unlocked.

Download MIUI 12’s Super Earth and Mars Live Wallpapers

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The Honor 30 series is coming to Russia next month with a localized voice assistant and the Kirin 985R

The Honor 30 series made its debut in China, starting off with the Honor 30S, and then following it up with the Honor 30, Honor 30 Pro and Honor 30 Pro+. The focus of the Honor 30 series is superior and versatile camera performance while maintaining the rest of the smartphone package to a standard. All four of these devices are currently available in China only, and there has been no word on their availability outside of the region. Now, we have learned that three of these four devices will be making their way to Russia, making it the first overseas market for the launch of the Honor 30 series.

Our findings come from a Russian source that wishes to remain anonymous. Russia is one of Honor’s most prioritized markets outside of China. The brand occupied a quarter of the market share in Q4 2019 in the region, according to IDC. So it does make sense that the brand would be eyeing a release in the country.

According to our source, Honor will also be working on localizing the devices heavily for the Russian market. This is likely to include a localized voice assistant with support for the Russian language. The devices are also expected to launch with a “localized” version of the HiSilicon Kirin 985, possibly called as the “Kirin 985R”. It isn’t immediately clear what differences will exist between the standard Kirin 985 and the localized “Kirin 985R”. To note, only the Honor 30 in China launched with the Kirin 985, while the elder siblings Honor 30 Pro and Pro+ opted for the Kirin 990 — however, we do not know if all three of the devices will get the localized Kirin or whether it will be available only on the regular non-Pro variant.

Our source also mentions that the launch event for the Honor 30 series in Russia will take place near the end of May 2020. The devices that launch will also feature Huawei Mobile Services, HMS, which is Huawei’s alternative to Google Mobile Services.

We do not know when the phones will go on sale, or which three of the phones in the series will be launched (other than the regular variant). We also do not know the exact hardware specifications of the phones that will be made available — whether they will feature any other changes or localization or not. Information regarding sale and availability of the phone in other overseas markets like Europe are also unknown at this stage.

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CarbonROM releases its Android 10 custom ROM for 13 Google, Xiaomi, and OnePlus devices

In a blogpost, the CarbonROM team has announced the release of first official Android 10 based builds for Xiaomi, OnePlus, Essential and Nexus devices. The new CarbonROM revision 8.0 is codenamed PAX, after the Latin word for peace. This new release not only bumps up the Android version officially, but it also brings along the latest security patches from the month of April 2020.

CarbonROM 8.0 builds are now live for 13 devices including the OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus 6 / 6T, POCO X2, Redmi Note 7, and more.

The full list devices that have received the official build of Android 10-based CarbonROM are as following.

• Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 and 4 Plus (clover)
• OnePlus 6 (enchilada)
• OnePlus 6T (fajita)
• OnePlus 7 Pro (guacamole)
• Xiaomi Mi A2 (jasmine_sprout)
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (lavender)
• Google Nexus 4 (mako)
• Essential Phone (mats)
• Xiaomi Redmi 7 (onclite)
• Xiaomi Redmi K30/POCO X2 (phoenix)
• Google Nexus 6 (shame)
• Xiaomi Mi 6X (Wayne)
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 (whyred)

In case you couldn’t find your device on the list, don’t worry; the team says they are working to bring the CarbonROM 8.0 to many more devices which will be released soon once they have found a proper recovery solution for these devices.

As for what’s new, the new release is bringing back custom fonts from previous versions which can be applied system-wide. And if you need more options you can always create your own at fonts.carbonrom.org and download the generated resource APK.

Custom battery styles have been ported over from Android 9 release and they have been rewritten in Kotlin to match the code-style of Android 10. Moreover, users will be greeted with a new setup wizard screen when setting up their phones for the first time.

The updates will be delivered in a weekly manner and will arrive every Wednesday. Head over to the linked page below to download the latest build of CarbonROM for your device.

Download CarbonROM 8.0 for your device

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Source: CarbonROM Blog

Thanks to XDA Senior Member abhijiths362  for providing the screenshots!

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