Google’s RCS-based Chat features are rolling out for some in the Samsung Messages app

Samsung and Google have been working together to ensure that their respective messaging apps “work seamlessly with each company’s RCS technology” since 2018. However, the Samsung Messages app currently only supports RCS through carriers and Samsung Galaxy users have to install the Google Messages app on their devices to utilize Google’s RCS-based Chat features. But that’s set to change soon as some users have started receiving support for Google’s RCS-based Chat features in Samsung Messages.

Earlier this year in April, Samsung announced that it was working with Google to bring “support for Google’s Rich Communication Services (RCS) to Galaxy smartphones” via the Samsung Messages app. But at the time, the company hadn’t shared a release timeline for the same. Now, according to a recent post from u/ChunkyLoverMark on Reddit, Samsung is finally rolling out support for Google’s RCS chat features with the latest Samsung Messages update.

As you can see in the attached screenshot, logging into Samsung Messages following the update brings up a new dialog that alerts users of the new functionality and presents them with options to enable the feature or continue using Samsung Messages without chat features.

Once enabled, the input box states, “Enter chat message,” highlighting that the user has started using Google’s RCS chat features. Messages sent using service appear in blue bubbles instead of green ones, and they also have a read receipt next to them. The app also includes a couple of additional Chat settings that let you customize auto-download behavior, enable/disable read receipts, select default messaging type, and more.

It’s worth noting that while Google’s RCS support in Samsung’s stock messaging app still isn’t widely available at the moment, adding support for Google’s chat features in Samsung Messages is expected to increase adoption of the RCS protocol and enhance interoperability between devices using Google Messages and Samsung Messages for RCS messaging.

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Samsung Internet 13.2 adds redirect protection, URL quick access, and better dark mode

After rolling out stable Samsung Internet 13.0 earlier this month, Samsung is now back again with a fresh beta of its popular browser, just in time for the holiday season. The new Samsung Internet 13.2 Beta debuts several nifty features to further improve the overall browsing experience, including the added protection against redirects, OS Settings integration, ARCore upgrade, and more.

One of the major improvements in the Samsung Internet 13.2 is Smart Protect, which warns users when a site tries to persuade users to download malware and shows a warning pop up to help them return safely back to the homepage.

The new beta now also makes it easier to quickly visit URLs stored in your clipboard. When you tap on the address bar, you will see a quick access menu that shows your copied URL, and you can simply click on it to visit that URL — without needing to hit the Go button.

Next up, the Samsung Internet 13.2 lets you quickly search for various in-app settings right from within the main Settings app. You don’t have to open the app and work your way through a myriad of menus to find that specific control or setting. For example, if you want to disable cookies, simply enter the keyword in the Settings search bar, and it will show you a shortcut to jump directly to the Cookies settings.

A recent ARCore update had broken the AR functionality in the Samsung Internet. The Samsung Internet 13.2 has fixed that issue, and AR experiences should now work as intended after updating to this version. Finally, this update also brings several improvements to the Dark mode, including the introduction of the prefers-color-scheme media query and the color-scheme meta-tag CSS property to give web developers control over how their sites look when the user has the dark mode enabled. Similar to Google Chrome, Samsung Internet now also lets users toggle a force dark mode called “Force Dark Behaviour” as an experimental feature under internet://flags.

Samsung Internet Browser Beta (Free, Google Play) →

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Amazon Luna cloud gaming service now available on these Android devices

Amazon is finally expanding its cloud gaming service ‘Luna’ to Android devices. A competitor to similar services from Google, Microsoft, and NVIDIA, Amazon officially launched Luna back in October and had made it available for Fire TV, Windows, Mac, and iOS users. Starting today, owners of certain Google, Samsung, and OnePlus smartphones can get access to the service at an early access cost of $5.99 per month.

The subscription offers you access to unlimited hours of play along with a library of AAA games, at 1080p/60fps with 4K/60fps in the pipeline. It also offers the ability to stream on two devices simultaneously. You can expect games like Resident Evil 7, Control, Panzer Dragoon, A Plague Tale: Innocence, The Surge 2, Yooka-Laylee, The Impossible Lair, Iconoclasts, GRID, ABZU, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, and more.

Hey @TheCodeB00K, as Raghu from Team Luna explains below, you won’t have to wait very long for Android support (or, like, at all). Play Luna with early access now: https://t.co/IU81kXZouU pic.twitter.com/aVDCbQcP64

— Amazon Luna (@amazonluna) December 15, 2020

Luna for Android will be accessible via a web app (similar to iOS) by visiting amazon.com/luna. It is recommended that you use Chrome browser and Android 9 or higher and there will be support for the Luna Controller along with other Bluetooth controllers as well as the Xbox One Controller, and the DualShock 4. Having said that, for some weird reason, the service will only be available on the following Android devices:

• Pixel 4 XL
• Pixel 4a
• Pixel 4a 5G
• Pixel 5
• Samsung Galaxy S10
• Samsung Galaxy S10+
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
• Samsung Galaxy S20
• Samsung Galaxy S20+
• Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
• OnePlus 7
• OnePlus 7 Pro
• OnePlus 8
• OnePlus 8 Pro
• OnePlus Nord
• OnePlus 7T
• OnePlus 7T Pro
• OnePlus 7T Pro

We are not sure as to why Amazon has made the service available to only a handful of Android devices, especially since Luna can run via a web browser. The whole point of cloud gaming is that it doesn’t require one to have high-end hardware and just stream games off the internet. Our guess is that Amazon is currently limiting the number of devices only for early access and more devices should be added to the list in the near future. You can check out the full list of supported devices and browsers over here.

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Among Us officially makes it way to the Nintendo Switch

Winner of the ‘Best Multiplayer Game’ and ‘Best Mobile Game’ at The Game Awards this year, Among Us is now available on the Nintendo Switch. The game will offer cross-platform compatibility, meaning that players on mobile, PC and Switch can play with each other. Announced at the Nintendo Direct Indie World Showcase, Among Us players on the Nintendo Switch will have the option of multiplayer sessions for both online and local.

As per the listing on the Nintendo Store, the game can be purchased for $5 and has a size of 421MB. Among Us was originally launched in 2018 by developer InnerSloth, but has only managed to gain a wider audience this year. Bringing in the Switch expands the horizon for the game to even more players, and the Switch is the perfect platform for a game like this.

During this year’s Game Awards, Among Us developers not only won two awards but also gave us a preview of what players can expect in 2021.

Prep the airlock and join your crewmates in a multiplayer game of teamwork and betrayal!!#AmongUsGame by @InnerslothDevs is available today on #NintendoSwitch! #IndieWorld pic.twitter.com/RTrsLS02tV

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) December 15, 2020

By ‘early next year’ the game will include a brand new map called the ‘The Airship’. This would be the fourth map added to the game and according to the developers, it is expected to be more extensive than the existing ones. The new map will also introduce new tasks and skins, the ability to decide where you start a match, and the addition of ladders and elevators to access certain areas of the ship.

THE AIRSHIP – A new map coming early 2021

Prepare yourselves, crewmates. This upcoming (free!) map will include:
all new tasks
your choice of what room to start in
ladders?!
and more?

But don’t forget about those Impostors lurking around… pic.twitter.com/IU2HJGuyEY

— Among Us (@AmongUsGame) December 11, 2020

Among Us has been one of the most talked-about games this year. While the game had less than 1,000 downloads in August 2018, two years later the game recorded that it was downloaded more than 18,000 times that figure. One of the reasons for the popularity of the online multiplayer social deduction game has been the pandemic as it allowed players to be social at the same time maintaining social distancing. Another reason has been the large number of content creators who have started playing and livestreaming their gameplays on YouTube and Twitch.

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The new Google Pay app now has a dark theme

With the first stable rollout of Android 10 last year, Google finally added a system-wide dark mode toggle to the platform. Following the release, the company started updating its vast portfolio of apps with a new dark theme, and it continues to do so to this day. In the last few months, the company has updated the Google Play Store, the Google App, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, and Google Translate with a new dark theme. Now, Google is releasing a similar update for the Google Pay app.

After releasing the new Google Pay app last month, Google has now updated the app with a dark theme. As you can see in the attached screenshots, the latest update for the app (v.119.1.4) brings a new dark theme that changes all the white UI elements in the app to dark gray, except for the Go India event banner at the top, which will be replaced by an appropriate dark theme banner when the event is over.

The dark theme is controlled by the system-wide dark mode setting, and the app doesn’t include a dedicated dark mode toggle like the one available on the Google Play Store. This means that the Google Pay dark theme is limited to devices running Android 10 and above.

Our Editor-in-Chief, Mishaal Rahman, has also confirmed that a similar theme is also available for Google Pay users in the U.S. But, as you can see in the attached screenshots, the dark theme implementation isn’t exactly the same in both regions.

Since the Google Pay UI for Indian and U.S. users is significantly different, there are some minor differences in the dark theme implementation as well. For instance, the banner image on the U.S. version of the app is predominantly blue, while on the Indian version, it falls in line with the new dark theme.

Google Pay: A safe & helpful way to manage money (Free, Google Play) →

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Thanks to XDA Senior Member anishpratheepan for the tip!

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Samsung may not discontinue the Galaxy Note series after all

We’ve seen several conflicting reports about the future of Samsung’s Galaxy Note series over the last few months. Shortly after Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note 20 series, we first saw reports about Samsung’s plans to bring S Pen support to its next-gen Galaxy S series flagship. This led to rumors about the discontinuation of the Galaxy Note series. A recent report from South Korean publication AjuNews further fueled these rumors and claimed that it had received confirmation from a Samsung official that S Pen support was making its way to the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Shortly after AjuNews published its report, sources familiar with Samsung’s plans told Reuters that the company had no plans to develop a new version of the Galaxy Note for 2021. Additionally, we saw multiple credible reports backing up the report from AjuNews that the Galaxy S21 Ultra would support the S Pen. Samsung’s plans to bring S Pen support to more devices in its lineup was confirmed earlier today, when Dr. TM Roh, Head of Mobile Communications Bussiness at Samsung Electronics, hinted that the company would “add some of [the Galaxy Note’s] most well-loved features to other devices in our lineup.”

However, a recent report from South Korean Yonhap News Agency claims that Samsung may bring S Pen support to more devices, the company might not discontinue the Galaxy Note series after all. The report quotes an unnamed Samsung Electronics official who claims that the company is indeed planning to release Galaxy Note series devices next year. The report further quotes the same official as saying that just because Samsung plans to add Galaxy Note features to other devices in their lineup doesn’t necessarily mean that the Galaxy Note line will be discontinued.

Since Samsung hasn’t officially confirmed or denied any of these reports, we can’t be sure if there’s any truth to them. It’s also quite possible that both sets of reports are correct, and there may indeed be a Galaxy Note lineup next year, but it could be the last one.

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Xiaomi launches Mi QLED TV 4K 55 with HDMI 2.1 and Android 10 in India

Xiaomi has made affordable 4G smartphones accessible for a large portion of the Indian population, especially with its sub-brand Redmi. After settling in as a successful smartphone brand in India, Xiaomi invigorated the local smart TV market. With their value-for-money smart TV, Xiaomi is now established as a major player in the smart TV ecosystem in India and is now shifting their focus from primarily affordable smart TVs. Now, Xiaomi is launching a more premium QLED TV — the Mi QLED TV 4K 55 — that comes with Android 10, HDMI 2.1,  and a lucrative price of ₹54,999.

QLED or quantum dot light-emitting diodes actually employ LCD panels backlit by an LED strip along with one of the edges. As compared to regular LED-backlit LCD displays, QLED displays use an extra layer of quantum dots and that helps in producing richer colors and better contrast. The term was popularized by Samsung but has now been adopted by a host of other brands including TCL and OnePlus. The new Mi 4K QLED TV competes with the OnePlus premium QLED TV we reviewed last year.

As its name gives away, the Mi QLED TV 4K 55 uses a 55-inch panel and it features slim bezels and a high screen-to-body of 96%. The edges of the TV are lined with sand-blasted metal with diamond-cut edges. From the front, the design looks quite similar to that of the Mi TV 5 series but with visible nuances for differentiation.

In terms of picture quality, the Mi QLED TV sports 4K resolution along with support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. Xiaomi claims that the TV’s display covers 100% of the colors in the NTSC color gamut. While the refresh rate is 60Hz, the TV supports “Reality Flow” which is Xiaomi’s marketing term for MEMC, a technology that smoothens out video content shot at 24 or 30 frames per second (fps) by interpolating with artificially generated frames. Unlike the OnePlus TV, the Mi QLED TV lacks local dimming. However, it does feature ALLM (auto low latency mode) and automatically switches to the Game Mode when it detects a console like the Xbox Series S or Sony PS5.

In terms of audio, the TV features 6 speakers, including 4 full-range drivers and 2 tweeters with a total sound output of 30 watts. The company says each of the drivers uses large 1-liter echo chambers for better resonance and louder audio output. The TV also gets support from Dolby Audio for supported content.

In terms of software, the Mi QLED TV runs on Android 10 for Android TV and is among the earliest TVs to get the latest update. In addition, the TV uses the latest version of Xiaomi’s proprietary content discovery platform — PatchWall 3.0 — as an alternative to the stock Android TV launcher.

For I/O, the TV features three HDMI 2.1 ports with eARC support, optical audio out, two USB ports, an Ethernet port, a headphone jack, an antenna port, and RCA ports for legacy multimedia devices. It comes with a Bluetooth remote that features an in-line microphone for voice commands as well as dedicated hotkeys for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Price & Availability

The Mi QLED TV 4K 55 will be available in India for ₹54,999 (~$750).

It will be available at Mi.com, Flipkart, Mi Home, Vijay sales, and other offline retail stores starting December 21st. Consumers buying with an SBI credit card can avail a 10% discount on Flipkart.

Mi QLED TV 4K 55 Specifications

Specification	Mi QLED TV 4K 55
Display	55-inch panel 3840 x 2160 pixels QLED-backlit LCD panel 16:9 aspect ratio Dolby Vision, HDR10+, MEMC
Processor	MediaTek MT9611 Mali G52 MP2 GPU
RAM	2GB
Storage	32GB
Audio	30W output 4 x full-range speakers 2 x tweeters Dolby Audio
I/O & Connectivity	3 x HDMI 2.1 ports 2 x USB Optical Audio Ethernet port 3.5mm jack IR receiver Dual-band Wi-Fi Bluetooth 5.0
Interface	PatchWall 3.0 along with Android TV UI based on Android 10

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