Google Chrome for Android adds Secure DNS for safer, more private browsing

With the release of Chrome 83 earlier this year in May, Google introduced a new Secure DNS feature to the desktop version of the browser. The feature made use of DNS-over-HTTPS to encrypt a step known as ‘DNS (Domain Name System) lookup’ to ensure a safer and more private browsing experience for users. Now, the company has started rolling out Google Chrome 85, which brings the feature to Android devices.

According to a recent blog post from Google, Chrome 85 brings support for Secure DNS in Chrome for Android and it shares the same design principles as the desktop variant. With the feature, Chrome will automatically switch to DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) if your current DNS provider supports the feature. The automatic mode will ensure that Chrome can fall back to the regular DNS service offered by the user’s current provider (including DNS-over-TLS if configured) to ensure that users don’t face any disruptions, while periodically retrying to secure the DNS communication.

In case the default behavior isn’t suitable for users, Google Chrome will also give users a manual configuration option that will let them use a specific provider without a fallback. Additionally, users will get the ability to completely disable the feature from the browser settings.

The blog post further adds that Chrome will disable Secure DNS automatically “if it detects a managed environment via the presence of one or more enterprise policies.” Google has also added DNS-over-HTTPS enterprise policies “to allow for a managed configuration of Secure DNS and encourage IT administrators to look into deploying DNS-over-HTTPS for their users.” As with the desktop version, Secure DNS for Chrome on Android will roll out to users over a period of time to ensure stability and performance. The gradual rollout will also “help DoH providers scale their services accordingly.”

It’s also worth noting that since Google received some pushback from ISPs because of the DNS-over-HTTPs protocol last year, the company has added that it will “remain open to feedback and collaboration with interested parties such as mobile operators and other ISPs, DNS service providers, and Online Child Safety advocates to make further progress in securing DNS.”

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Source: Chromium blog

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Realme 7 and Realme 7 Pro with up to 65W SuperDart Charge launched in India

Realme has tasted varying degrees of success in the smartphone markets of China, India, Southeast Asia, and even Europe. The brand entered the market just about 2 years ago with the Realme 1. Since then, the company has gone on to launch several phones in quick succession across several markets. The Realme 6 and Realme 6 Pro were launched just back in March 2020, and half a year later, we have their successors. Meet the new Realme 7 and Realme 7 Pro, two smartphones that share very few similarities other than their name family.

Realme 7: Specifications

Specification	Realme 7
Dimensions & Weight	162.3 x 75.4 x 9.4 mm 197g
Display	6.5″ FHD+ IPS LCD 90Hz refresh rate 120Hz touch sampling rate Gorilla Glass 3 Punch-hole camera
SoC	MediaTek Helio G95 2x Cortex-A76 @ 2.05GHz 6x Cortex-A55 @ 2GHz ARM Mali-G76 MC4 GPU
RAM & Storage	6GB LPDDR4x + 64GB UFS 2.1 8GB + 128GB Dedicated microSD card slot
Battery & Charging	5000 mAh battery Supports 30W Dart Charge Supports 15W USB Power Delivery 30W charger included in the box
Fingerprint sensor	Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
Rear Camera	Primary: 64MP Sony IMX682, 1/1.73″ sensor, f/1.8 Secondary: 8MP, ultra-wide-angle, f/2.3, 119° FoV Tertiary: 2MP, monochrome depth sensor, f/2.4 Quarternary: 2MP, macro, f/2.4 Video: 4K @ 30fps 1080p @30fps, 60fps
Front Camera	16MP, f/2.0
Other Features	Wi-Fi 2.4/5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 5.0
Android Version	Realme UI based on Android 10

The biggest change on the Realme 7 as against the Realme 6 is the upgrade in the SoC, along with a bigger battery, and the swap in for the Sony IMX682 sensor.

The Realme 7 is the first smartphone with the new MediaTek Helio G95 SoC. The specifications for the SoC indicate that it is very similar to the Helio G90T, but the predecessor is a pretty decent SoC, so no real complaints here. Realme did bump up the base RAM, though the RAM tech, and storage variants and tech remain the same across the half-yearly upgrade.

The other change is the battery. We now get a 5000 mAh battery as opposed to the 4300 mAh battery on the Realme 6. The predecessor also supported 30W fast charging through the proprietary charger, and so does this one, promising a full charge in 65 minutes.

Pricing and Availability

The Realme 7 will be available in two colors: Mist White and Mist Blue.

The phone will cost ₹14,999 for the 6GB + 64GB variant and ₹16,999 for the 8GB + 128GB variant. Sales begin from September 10 on Flipkart.com and Realme.com.

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Realme 7 Pro: Specifications

Specification	Realme 7 Pro
Dimensions & Weight	160.9 x 74.3 x 8.7 mm 182g
Display	6.4″ FHD+ Super AMOLED display 180Hz touch sampling rate Punch-hole camera
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G SoC 2 x Cortex-A76 @ 2.3GHz 6 x Cortex-A55 @ 1.8GHz Adreno 618 GPU
RAM & Storage	6GB LPDDR4x + 128GB UFS 2.1 8GB + 256GB Dedicated microSD card slot
Battery & Charging	4500 mAh battery Supports 65W SuperDart Charge Supports 18W USB Power Delivery 65W charger included in the box
Fingerprint sensor	In-Display fingerprint sensor
Rear Camera	Primary: 64MP Sony IMX682, 1/1.73″ sensor, f/1.8 Secondary: 8MP, ultra-wide-angle, f/2.3, 119° FoV Tertiary: 2MP, monochrome depth sensor, f/2.4 Quarternary: 2MP, macro, f/2.4 Video: 4K @ 30fps 1080p @30fps, 60fps 1080p @ 120fps 720p @ 240fps
Front Camera	32MP, f/2.5
Other Features	Wi-Fi 2.4/5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 5.0
Android Version	Realme UI based on Android 10

A lot has changed on the Realme 7 Pro, as compared to the Realme 6 Pro. First and foremost, you now get a Super AMOLED, though Realme has curiously shrunk down the size of the display. The refresh rate for the new display is indeed 60Hz — which is a step down from 90Hz refresh rate on the Realme 6 Pro’s LCD display.

The SoC, RAM, and storage tech remains the same as the Realme 6 Pro, though we no longer have a 64GB storage option and get to see a 256GB option. Much like the Realme 7, the 7 Pro also swaps in the Sony IMX682 sensor for its main camera. The front camera also sees an upgrade to a 32MP shooter this time.

By far the biggest change on the Realme 7 Pro is that the phone now comes with 65W SuperDart charge, which makes it the cheapest phone in the market to feature such high-speed charging technology that we have predominantly seen on flagships. The battery is only marginally bigger at 4,300 mAh, but it now takes just under 35 minutes for a full charge and just 12 minutes for a 50% charge. We had the opportunity to use the phone, so we’ll put Realme’s claims to the test in our upcoming review.

Pricing and Availability

The Realme 7 Pro will be available in two colors: Mirror White and Mirror Blue.

The phone will cost ₹19,999 for the 6GB + 128GB variant and ₹21,999 for the 8GB + 256GB variant. Sales begin from September 14 on Flipkart.com and Realme.com.

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Qualcomm is bringing 5G to budget smartphones with new Snapdragon 4-series chips

5G connectivity is finally seeing mainstream adoption in 2020 as more and more smartphones and mobile SoCs add support for the next generation of telecommunications technology. The push for 5G has been very widespread in recent months, although some key markets may not have consumer 5G ready until next year. Nonetheless, that hasn’t stopped chip makers from pushing the envelope forward with bringing 5G down to lower tiers. Now, Qualcomm has announced its plans to bring 5G to even wider segments of users, promising new Snapdragon 4-series chips with 5G support in early 2021.

Today’s announcement from Qualcomm is bereft of a fair few details. While we can expect the modem to be integrated like on Qualcomm’s current 7 and 6-series 5G chips, we don’t know the supported bands, the theoretical download and upload speeds, the sub-6GHz bandwidth, and whether or not the modem will support mmWave 5G and/or standalone (SA) 5G. There are also other specs and features to be aware of, such as whether or not the chipset supports Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), 5G dual SIM dual standby (DSDS), and Qualcomm’s proprietary 5G PowerSave, Smart Transmit, Wideband Envelope Tracking, and Signal Boost adaptive antenna tuning technologies. Whatever they do announce, though, heralds hope for a wider proliferation of 5G. Qualcomm’s promise of 5G connectivity support on its upcoming Snapdragon 4-series chips will bring 5G support to budget and lower mid-range smartphones across the globe.

“Qualcomm continues to pave the way for 5G commercialization at scale, and the expansion of 5G into our Snapdragon 4-series is expected to address regions that currently have approximately 3.5 billion smartphone users combined. The Snapdragon 4-series 5G Mobile Platform is designed to exceed expectations for the mass-market segment by bringing an assortment of predominately high- and mid-tier features to a broader audience. It will deliver on the promise of making 5G accessible to all smartphone users.”

Cristiano Amon, President, Qualcomm Incorporated

Qualcomm’s current 5G-capable chipsets include the Snapdragon 855, 855 Plus, 865, 865 Plus, 765, 765G, 768G, and 690, with the 765, 765G, 768G, and 690 featuring integrated 5G modems. As is made apparent, there is a lack of 5G-capable chipsets on the lower end of Qualcomm’s chip portfolio. Qualcomm mentions that the expansion of 5G support to the Snapdragon 4-series will address regions where budget smartphones dominate, which includes approximately 3.5 billion users across the world. Not everyone may be ready to jump aboard right when new phones with the SoC arrive, but this would certainly shape the forthcoming months and years of smartphone evolution.

Smartphones with the 5G Snapdragon 4-series are expected to arrive from OPPO, Motorola, and Xiaomi, but we suspect many other OEMs to also jump on board sooner or later. The first batch of smartphones with the 5G Snapdragon 4-series is expected to arrive in Q1 2021.

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Qualcomm’s Adaptive ANC aims to make noise cancellation better on TWS earbuds regardless of fit

Noise Cancellation on truly wireless earbuds is fast gaining steam, thanks to several key launches like the Apple Airpods Pro, the Sony WF-1000XM3, and the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live. But part of the active noise cancellation (ANC) game on these earbuds relies on noise isolation too, i.e. forming a tight enough seal in the ear. The Galaxy Buds Live fails to achieve good noise isolation, which is why its ANC hasn’t garnered as many rave reviews as the Sony WF-1000XM3’s have. Qualcomm wants to solve some of these issues, which is why they are now launching a new audio technology called the Qualcomm Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation, aimed at OEMs wanting to deliver a superior noise cancellation performance on their TWS earbuds without relying as heavily on the fit of the earbuds.

For most of the current-generation ANC earbuds available in the market, the effectiveness of noise cancellation depends heavily on forming a tight earbud seal in a user’s ear. Qualcomm’s Adaptive ANC solves this issue as it’s designed to deliver a consistent sound quality and noise cancellation performance regardless of the fit or seal created by the earbuds. Adaptive ANC will dynamically adapt its performance as per the tightness of the earbuds’ seal and the level of leak through.

“It can sometimes be difficult for OEMs to deliver consistent ANC performance because earbuds will not always have the same fit or be placed in the ear in the same way, and both how and where a consumer uses these devices can vary greatly. We have designed our Adaptive ANC to help customers deliver consistent performance levels and great sound for the largest possible number of consumers.””

James Chapman, Vice President and General Manager, Voice, Music, & Wearables, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc

Another claimed benefit of Adaptive ANC is that it will seamlessly work across all modes. In other words, it’ll continue to provide noise cancellation as you switch from taking a call, to listening to music, to using a voice assistant without any interruption. Adaptive ANC can also offer automatic adjustments based on your surroundings, so it can increase the ANC strength when you’re in noisier environments or dial it down a notch when it detects quieter surroundings.

OEMs can use the Qualcomm Reference Design solution to quickly integrate the Adaptive ANC solution into their product. For those who want more differentiation, Qualcomm also provides an API to let OEMs further customize the solution to their liking and offer a unique experience. On top of that, OEMs will also have the choice to pick between different form factors, including fully occluded, semi-occluded, and non-occluded earbuds.

Adaptive ANC is available right now on as an add-on solution on Qualcomm’s QCC514x Bluetooth Audio SoC.

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Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 for “Always On, Always Connected” 5G PCs

In 2018, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8cx compute platform, the company’s highest-end chipset aimed not at smartphones or tablets but rather laptops. The Snapdragon 8cx was actually Qualcomm’s third attempt at designing a chip for consumer PCs, following the Snapdragon 835 and Snapdragon 850. In conjunction with Microsoft, Qualcomm has been working to create a new class of ultraportable laptops called the “Always On, Always Connected” PC; these “ACPCs”, powered by either the 835, 850, or 8cx compute platforms, are extremely thin and light, generally fanless, support cellular connectivity, and feature all-day battery life—hence “Always On, Always Connected.” Today, Qualcomm unveiled the second-generation of its Snapdragon 8cx compute platform for next-gen ACPCs.

The new chip is called the “Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G compute platform,” which is certainly a mouthful. Qualcomm is labeling this product as “Gen 2” since it’s a minor update over the original platform and doesn’t feature any changes to the architecture. That means it still features an octa-core CPU in a 4+4 cluster configuration, with 4 ARM Cortex-A76 cores joined by 4 ARM Cortex-A55 cores. The GPU is Qualcomm’s Adreno 680 “Extreme”, which is still the company’s most powerful GPU to date. Other components and features include the Qualcomm 685 DSP and Qualcomm’s 4th generation AI Engine for 9 TOPS performance; the Qualcomm Spectra 390 ISP with support for 4K HDR playback or video capture at 30fps, a single 32MP camera with Zero Shutter Lag (ZSL), or dual 16MP cameras with ZSL; up to 4K on-device display resolution; dual 4K60 external monitor support; Qualcomm Aqstic echo-cancellation and noise suppression support; Hi-Fi audio with virtual surround sound support; full hypervisor and Windows 10 Enterprise support, and more.

What’s actually new in the second-generation Snapdragon 8cx? Well, the platform now supports Qualcomm’s FastConnect 6800 mobile connectivity subsystem, which brings in support for Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.1. Of course, the platform also still supports cellular connectivity with its integrated Snapdragon X24 modem which supports 4G LTE, but it can also optionally support 5G NR (both sub-6GHz or mmWave) if it’s paired with the discrete Snapdragon X55 modem-RF system.

Other than that, there’s not much else that seems to be new. The chip is still fabricated on a 7nm FinFET process. Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 in a fanless 7W TDP design offers total system performance and productivity performance per watt that’s 18% and 39% greater respectively than a comparable 10th-gen Intel Core i5 15W TDP design.

The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G compute platform is sampling now to customers and is expected to appear in commercial devices in late 2020. We’ve already seen laptops with the first-gen chip from Microsoft, Samsung, and Lenovo, but soon Acer will launch its first-ever Windows on Snapdragon PC powered by the new chip. So far, we haven’t seen any PC makers apart from Microsoft make use of Qualcomm’s AI Engine (Microsoft uses it to accelerate the Eye Contact feature in the Surface Pro X), but if the Snapdragon 8cx becomes more popular, then that could change.

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Microsoft is revamping Windows 10’s touch keyboard with better voice typing, GIFs, and emojis

In an attempt to improve the input experience for Windows 10 users with touch screen devices, Microsoft is rolling out a significant update for Windows Insiders in the dev channel. The latest Windows Insider update brings improvements to the platform’s touch keyboard, a new voice typing experience, an enhanced emoji picker, and much more. Here’s everything new in the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20206:

Improved touch keyboard design

Microsoft is rolling out a new touch keyboard design for some Windows Insiders in the latest update. The improved design offers a fresh aesthetic and brings a bunch of small tweaks, including updated key sizes and layouts for better typing comfort and accuracy.

The new design also includes refinements like new keypress animations and sounds, optimization for Child keys for quicker entry, a new button to undock the keyboard, improvements for all entries in the settings menu, emoji, and GIF search support, and a new voice typing button. The touch keyboard can now also be invoked on any PC from the touch keyboard button on the taskbar. However, users may need to enable the button from the settings first.

The keyboard update also includes a new feature that will allow users to control cursor movement using the spacebar. Users will now be able to control the cursor position by placing their finger on the spacebar and sliding it in any direction to move the cursor.

New Windows Voice Typing

The update brings a new and improved version of Windows dictation called Windows voice typing, which will allow users to type effortlessly with just their voice. The enhanced Voice Typing experience includes a modern design optimized for touch keyboards, auto-punctuation support, and an updated back end for a more reliable voice typing experience.

Users will be able to start voice typing by using the Win+H keyboard shortcut or by tapping on the new microphone button on the touch keyboard. Microsoft has also shared a list of supported voice commands (see image below) that you can use to try out the new Voice Typing experience.

Voice Typing in the latest Insider Preview build is available in 14 languages/locales, and the feature will automatically select the language based on the language you’re using on your keyboard. While all the features mentioned above are available for all supported languages/locales, auto-punctuation is not available for Japanese in the current release. Much like the updated keyboard, Voice Typing is rolling out to a small subset of Windows Insiders in the dev channel at first and will be rolled out to everyone in the dev channel gradually.

Updated Emoji Picker

The Emoji Picker in Windows 10 is also getting a refresh in the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview, which brings support for more languages, kaomoji, and symbols. The Emoji Picker has received an updated design that is more aligned with Microsoft’s Fluid Design principles, improvements to the Emoji search feature in supported languages with an inline search box, and animated GIF support.

With the latest Insider build, users will be able to quickly input GIFs by using the Win+[.] and Win+[;] keyboard shortcuts. The new GIF support has quite a few animated GIFs on offer (powered by Tenor), and Microsoft plans to expand the library based on current trends and hashtags in the future. It’s worth noting that in order to insert a GIF while typing, the selected text field will need to support GIF input.

Additionally, Microsoft is also bringing input and clipboard history into a single experience, and users will now be able to access the clipboard category after pressing Win+[.] or Win+[;]. Users will still be able to access the clipboard history using the Win+V shortcut. The updated emoji picker is also rolling out to a small number of Insiders with the latest update and should reach more users in the following days.

Along with the features mentioned above, the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview build includes a bunch of other changes and improvements for the software that can be found in the blog post linked below. The build has a couple of known issues that you may also want to check out before updating your device.

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Source: Windows Insider Blog

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LineageOS 17.1 adds support for the Google Pixel 3a, Google Pixel 4, Moto G7 Power/Play, and Huawei P20 Lite/P Smart

The team behind the popular LineageOS custom ROM has been adding LineageOS 17.1 support for new devices ever since the latest version of the ROM made its debut earlier this year in April. Over the last couple of months, the team has added support for devices like the ASUS ROG Phone II, Google Pixel 3 series, Samsung Galaxy A7 2016, Xiaomi Mi A1, Samsung Galaxy J7 2015, OnePlus One, Sony Xperia XZ2, and many more. Since our previous coverage, the team has added support for eight more devices.

The following devices have now received official support for LineageOS 17.1 based on Android 10: Google Pixel 3a, Google Pixel 3a XL, Google Pixel 4, Google Pixel 4 XL, Moto G7 Power, Moto G7 Play, Huawei P20 Lite, and Huawei P Smart. If you’re interested in trying the custom ROM on any of these devices, you can now download the recovery flashable package by clicking on “Get the builds here” on their respective Wiki pages (linked below).

Device and XDA Forum link	Device codename and Wiki Link	Maintainers
Google Pixel 3a	sargo	cdesai npjohnson
Google Pixel 3a XL	bonito	cdesai npjohnson
Google Pixel 4	flame	cdesai npjohnson
Google Pixel 4 XL	coral	cdesai npjohnson
Moto G7 Power	ocean	SyberHexen erfanoabdi Npjohnson
Moto G7 Play	channel	SyberHexen deadman96385 erfanoabdi Npjohnson
Huawei P20 Lite	anne	DarkJoker360
Huawei P Smart	figo	haky86 DarkJoker360

Before you go ahead and flash LineageOS 17.1 on your device, be sure to read the installation instructions and other linked documentation, including the guides and special boot modes, on the respective Wiki pages. Also, make sure you take a backup of your data before you start the installation, or you may lose it during the process.

Along with the devices mentioned above, the LineageOS team has also added LineageOS 16.0 (based on Android 9 Pie) support for the Google Pixel 2 and Google Pixel 2 XL. While the devices are set to receive official LineageOS 17.1 support in the coming weeks, the team has decided to release LineageOS 16 support for the Pixel 2 series so that users have a chance to experience the Android 9 Pie version of the ROM on their devices before they move on to the Android 10 build.

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