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mardi 2 novembre 2021

New Samsung Internet beta brings a bottom address bar, tab groups and more

Samsung Internet is one of the best Android browsers out there. It’s fast, secure, has a built-in ad blocker, offers numerous customization and more importantly, keeps getting better with new improvements. The last Samsung Browser update brought enhanced search experience, protection against transparent pixels, page support, and more. Samsung has just released a new beta for the browser, which brings several new enhancements and refinements.

The most notable visual change (via Android Police) in Samsung Internet 16.0.2 beta is Focus Mode, which brings the URL bar to the bottom of the screen, so it’s easier to reach with one hand. It’s an optional mode that can be enabled from within the browser settings.

Default address bar Vs bottmo address bar in Samsung Internet

The latest beta also adds support for tab groups to make it easier to keep a set of related tabs together. You can easily rename, edit, or delete your tab groups. This is similar to what Apple’s Safari browser offers on iOS 15.

Another important change is support for HTTPS upgrades, which is launching as a Labs feature. It’s quite similar to Chrome’s HTTPS-First mode. When enabled, it will automatically try to upgrade all web pages to HTTPS.

HTTPS upgrades setting in Samsung Internet

Finally, Samsung Internet 16.0.2 beta also lays the foundation for adding better support for foldable phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 3. This version introduces Device Posture API, which promises to enable new user experiences on foldables. The API is currently hidden behind a flag and can be enabled by visiting https://internet:flags. Samsung says it plans to fully implement the API in the upcoming stable release. To learn more about the Device Posture API, check out this documentation.

Samsung Internet 16.0.2 beta is rolling out on the Google Play Store and Galaxy Store. You can also grab it from APKMirror. The stable release will arrive in the coming weeks and will likely have many, if not all, features introduced in the latest beta update.

Samsung Internet Browser Beta (Free, Google Play) →

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Razer introduces new Pro mouse and keyboard for productivity

Razer has unveiled a pair of new products in its Pro line, the Pro Type Ultra keyboard and the Pro Click Mini mouse. Unlike Razer’s most popular accessories, these aren’t meant for gaming, they’re more so geared towards productivity, and they build on the existing Pro Type and Pro Click.

A big new feature Razer is touting with the new pair of devices is that they come with Razer Productivity Dongle. This dongle uses the company’s HyperSpeed technology for wireless accessories, and it allows you to connect the Razer Pro Type Ultra and Pro Click Mini to the same dongle, so you only use up one USB port on your PC.

The Razer Pro Type Ultra is a more advanced version of the original Pro Type, and it includes Razer’s Yellow switches, which the company describes as “linear and silent”. The original Pro Type used Orange switches, which were “tactile and silent”. Another change with the Pro Type Ultra is that it includes a wrist rest, keeping your hands more comfortable during long work sessions and preventing hand straining.

Razer Pro Type Ultra

The Razer Pro Type Ultra also touts much better battery life than its predecessor. Razer says it can last up to 214 hours when connected via Bluetooth, or 207 hours when connected via Razer’s HyperSpeed wireless technology. That’s a big jump from the maximum 84 hours promised by the original Razer Pro Type. And just like before, you can also use it with a wired USB Type-C connection while it charges.

Otherwise, not much has changed from the original Razer Pro Type. It’s a full-size keyboard including a number pad and it uses a plain white backlight to make the keys more visible while retaining a professional look. The ABS keycaps have a soft-touch finish for additional comfort, and the switches are rated for 80 million presses.

The Razer Pro Type Ultra is available for $159.99 from Razer directly as well as other retailers. You can buy it below.

    Razer Pro Type Ultra
    A premium productivity keyboard with silent switches and a soft wrist rest.

Meanwhile, the Razer Pro Click Mini is a more compact version of the original Razer Pro Click, and it makes a few changes. For starters, of course, it’s smaller in just about every dimension, so it’s easier to take with you anywhere. However, it’s not all positives. The mouse no longer uses a rechargeable battery, and instead requires one or two AA batteries to work. You can use just one AA battery if you want a lighter mouse (88 grams) or add a second one to give you more battery life (up to 725 hours) while making it heavier (111 grams).

Razer Pro Click

The Razer Pro Click Mini also comes with 12,000 DPI maximum sensitivity (versus 16,000 on the original), which also means lower speed and acceleration. The switches on the mouse are rated for 15 million clicks (versus 50 million on the regular Pro Click), but on the bright side, Razer says these are silent, so you don’t have to attract everyone’s attention if you’re using it in public. The Razer Pro Click Mini has a total of 7 programmable buttons via Razer Synapse, which is one less button than the Pro Click had, but you get 5 onboard memory profiles, while the original Pro Click only had one.

It comes with a tilt-capable scroll wheel, and it also allows you to change between tactile click scrolling and a free spin mode, though it doesn’t change automatically. There’s a switch at the bottom that lets you change between modes as needed.

Based on Razer’s marketing, the Razer Pro Click Mini the only one that supports the Razer Productivity Dongle to connect both the keyboard and mouse, so that’s an advantage for the smaller model. The Razer Pro Click Mini mouse is available today for $79.99, which is $20 less than the standard size.

    Razer Pro Click Mini
    The Razer Pro Click Mini is a compact productivity mouse with silent switches and a sleek design.

Finally, Razer also announced the Pro Glide XXL mouse pad today. This is a mouse pad meant to cover your entire desk, giving you all the space you could need to mouse your mouse around comfortably and with reliable tracking. It uses the same color(less) scheme as the other two peripherals, so it complements them fairly well. The Razer Pro Glide XXL costs $29.99 and you can buy it below.

    Razer Pro Glide XXL
    The Razer Pro Glide XXL is a very large mousepad that's suitable for professional settings and matches Razer's productivity suite perfectly.

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WhatsApp might remove time limit for deleting messages

WhatsApp is one of the most popular communication services ever, with billions of people using it across the world at any given time. WhatsApp is generally an improvement over SMS messaging in most areas, but it still has some limits — especially with deleting your own messages. There’s currently a time limit on how long you have after sending a message to delete it, but according to a new report, that might be going away soon.

WhatsApp didn’t support deleting messages for everyone in a conversation until 2018, when a timer was added that gave people 4,096 seconds (68 minutes and 16 seconds) to delete a message after it was sent. WABetaInfo has now found evidence in the latest WhatsApp Beta update that the time limit might be removed. There doesn’t appear to be any additional limits or issues, at least for the moment — you’ll be able to delete any message you sent at any point in history.

WhatsApp screenshot showing a "delete for everyone" button on a message from September

Credit: WABetaInfo

It’s not clear when the new functionality could arrive, and it’s also possible WhatsApp might give up on it. The change isn’t even live in the beta releases yet, so assuming WhatsApp continues development, it probably won’t roll out to everyone for several weeks or months.

Meta (remember, Facebook changed its name) has been hard at work on WhatApp over the past few months. Limited iPhone-to-Android chat transfers arrived a few days ago, testing started for cashback for UPI payments in India, and end-to-end encrypted backups was released in October. The service is also working on a redesigned Picture-in-Picture mode and the ability to pause voice recordings.

WhatsApp Messenger (Free, Google Play) →

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Google releases fingerprint sensor calibration tool for Pixel 6, but use it with care

Last month, Google officially lifted the covers off of the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Google’s latest phones feature a refreshing design, upgraded camera hardware, Google’s in-house Tensor SoC, the latest version of Android, and much more. However, the Google Pixel 6’s fingerprint sensor has been marred in controversy. Not only have there been issues with its speed but many are also worried that a screen replacement means that the fingerprint sensor will no longer work. However, Google has since added a fingerprint sensor calibration repair option to its Pixel Update and Repair tool.

Google Pixel 6 Pro Review: Fantastic everyday phone with an undeniable Exynos inspiration

The Google Pixel Update and Repair Tool does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s used for fixing your Pixel smartphone and will be especially useful if you start messing with custom ROMs or other modifications to your phone. Recently, one feature that has been added and wasn’t available previously is the ability to “install fingerprint calibration software.” Google explains its purpose as the following:

“Install the under-display fingerprint scanner calibration software. This is required if your display is replaced. The software supports Pixel 6, 6 Pro.”

Previously, buyers were worried that Google had imposed a limitation on screen replacements that required it to be serviced by an official outlet, not unlike what Apple has done previously with Touch ID. While that may still be the case, a YouTuber who replaced the screen of their Pixel 6 Pro has alluded to the fact that it might work. They say that you need to run the fingerprint sensor calibration tool after replacing the display, and then you’ll need to factory reset your phone after.

To be clear, there’s no guarantee that this will actually work, but it’s worth keeping an eye on in case you want to make any screen replacements yourself. It’s also not recommended to use this on your daily driver without a backup, as if it requires a factory reset, it may mean that you can’t use your fingerprint sensor after running it until you reset your phone. Let us know in the comments if you do end up using it!

Thanks to Jeske Niklas for the tip!

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Android 12’s new background app limitations could be a major headache for power users

Android 12 has introduced a lot of changes, though not all of them are really user-facing. Features like the massive Material You redesign are obviously shoved in your face and hard to miss, but something like Digital Car Key support might be easier to miss. However, one change that might even be entirely undocumented will wreak havoc on apps like Termux, and that’s the introduction of a pretty aggressive background process killer.

For context, Termux is a Linux terminal emulator that you can get on Android, and Termux’s package management system is much like Debian’s Advanced Package Tool (APT) in that you can search, install, and uninstall with the command apt. Termux installs just a few basic packages out of the box, to reduce APK size on the Play Store, but allows you to install any extra packages that you desire. People will often make use of Termux to turn older smartphones into mini servers, or use it to run other programs that are typically not aimed at smartphones. A common usage is even natively setting up youtube-dl, as you can execute Python scripts using Termux on your smartphone.

In Android 12, though, it was discovered that a mechanism to monitor forked child processes started by apps and kills them if they consume too much CPU if the app is in the background (via Mishaal Rahman) was introduced. It also limits the number of child processes that parent processes can spawn to 32, which greatly limits the number of operations an app can complete in the background. This 32 child process limit is actually across the entire system, not just per app, meaning that other apps with child processes will contribute to that limit as well. I tested on the Google Pixel 6 Pro, and I can confirm that the PhantomProcessKiller exists and can potentially wreak havoc on Termux.

Android 12’s Phantom Process Killer kills background processes

Android 12 introduced a couple of restrictions on background processes; the first is that child processes of apps consuming too much CPU in the background will be killed if the parent process is also in the background. The second restriction introduced is a limit on the number of child processes that can be active at any given time. From the commit history, it would appear that Google was trying to clamp down on rogue background processes.

“Apps could use Runtime.exec() to spawn child process and framework will have no idea about its lifecycle. Now track those processes whenever we find them – currently during the cpu stats sampling they could be spotted. If it’s consuming too much CPU while its parent app process are also in the background, kill it. By default we allow up to 32 such processes; the process with the worst oom adj score of their parents will be killed if there are too many of them.”

Of course, Android smartphones are already notorious for background app killing. Pretty much all major OEMs engage in it in some way, shape, or form, and companies like OnePlus, Samsung, and Xiaomi are considered amongst the worst. While AOSP has some background app restrictions, it’s typical of manufacturers to build their own restrictions on top of AOSP. However, these are pretty strict limitations for power users and encourage behaviors that power users have been vocally against for a long time. Maybe it will increase battery life in the long run, but there’s seemingly no way of disabling it either.

Triggering the Android 12 Phantom Process Killer

As the commit says, 32 such processes are allowed, and I verified this on my Google Pixel 6 Pro with the following command.

adb shell "/system/bin/dumpsys activity settings"

In the output of this command, there’s a constant called “max_phantom_processes” with a value of 32. In this context, a “phantom process” is judged by the Android system to be a child process running in the background. If you have an Android 12 device, you can use Termux to spawn more than 32 child processes by creating a bash script somewhere on your storage containing the following code and executing it (credits to agnostic-apollo on GitHub, a developer involved with Termux):

for i in $(seq 40); do
sha256sum /dev/zero &
done

To execute it, in Termux navigate to the folder you saved the script in and type the following:

sh filename.sh

If your phone starts to feel laggy, then that means it’s working. The above code spawns 40 sha256sum operations in the background (denoted by the ampersand) taking the /dev/zero file as an input. sha256sum will give the SHA-256 hash of whatever file is given as an input. The reason /dev/zero is used is that it’s an infinite-length file that contains null values for as long as it’s read, meaning that the sha256sum operation will never reach the end of the file, serving as a good stress test to ensure continuous background operations.

After a few seconds to a minute, you may get the following to appear:

Termux Android 12 bash killed

“signal 9” is a signal sent to the process forcing it to shut down, and this signal is sent by the Linux scheduler. The reason the message appears is that the bash terminal is technically a child process of Termux too, and Android 12 ends up killing the bash terminal in the above demonstration. In the logcat output, you can see see the following:

11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {623260a 7362:7284:nightwatch.txt/u0a227}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {bf3d88c 24220:24040:nightwatch.txt/u0a237}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {b160bd5 27316:27269:bash/u0a340}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {bbc1fea 27371:27269:sha256sum/u0a340}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {9cf12db 27372:27269:sha256sum/u0a340}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {54bf178 27373:27269:sha256sum/u0a340}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {fb89051 27374:27269:sha256sum/u0a340}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {d3450b6 27375:27269:sha256sum/u0a340}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {2a201b7 27376:27269:sha256sum/u0a340}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {60aad24 27377:27269:sha256sum/u0a340}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {124e08d 27378:27269:sha256sum/u0a340}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.507  1444  1762 I ActivityManager: Killing PhantomProcessRecord {32cc242 27379:27269:sha256sum/u0a340}: Trimming phantom processes
11-02 13:01:52.511  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {b160bd5 27316:27269:bash/u0a340} died
11-02 13:01:52.511  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {9cf12db 27372:27269:sha256sum/u0a340} died
11-02 13:01:52.511  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {414579a 27434:27269:top/u0a340} died
11-02 13:01:52.511  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {32cc242 27379:27269:sha256sum/u0a340} died
11-02 13:01:52.511  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {bbc1fea 27371:27269:sha256sum/u0a340} died
11-02 13:01:52.511  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {bf3d88c 24220:24040:nightwatch.txt/u0a237} died
11-02 13:01:52.512  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {60aad24 27377:27269:sha256sum/u0a340} died
11-02 13:01:52.516  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {623260a 7362:7284:nightwatch.txt/u0a227} died
11-02 13:01:52.516  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {124e08d 27378:27269:sha256sum/u0a340} died
11-02 13:01:52.517  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {fb89051 27374:27269:sha256sum/u0a340} died
11-02 13:01:52.519  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {54bf178 27373:27269:sha256sum/u0a340} died
11-02 13:01:52.532  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {2a201b7 27376:27269:sha256sum/u0a340} died
11-02 13:01:52.545  1444  1764 I ActivityManager: Process PhantomProcessRecord {d3450b6 27375:27269:sha256sum/u0a340} died

The important line is the one that mentions that the “bash” process was trimmed and then died, and that’s why Termux stops working. While I’m unsure what “nightwatch.txt” is, a cursory Google search appears to suggest that it’s related to Facebook and Facebook Messenger, two apps that I do have installed. I tested this with adaptive battery off and made sure that there were no battery optimizations being applied to Termux, either.

After you’re finished testing, it’s likely some of the sha256sum operations will continue in the background still (and pressing enter will force close Termux), so re-open Termux and type the following:

killall sha256sum

While such a limitation makes sense for some apps, apps that power users might be more inclined to use (such as Termux) will suffer. This may also have an effect on other apps that power users use too, such as Tasker. It’s a limitation that doesn’t seem possible to overcome just yet and introduces even more limitations on background apps on top of all of the other proprietary restrictions that manufacturers impose. In the ongoing GitHub issue thread, the following is mentioned by agnostic-apollo regarding a logcat that was emailed to them:

“All the 32 tracked logcat PhantomProcessRecord belong to com.wsandroid.suite and termux’s bash was one of the processes that got killed. So as mentioned above, the 32 process limit is for all apps combined”

Amusingly, I ran the same tests on a Xiaomi 11T Pro running Android 11 and confirmed that the behavior doesn’t exist on that particular device in that configuration, even though Xiaomi devices are notorious for background app limitations. This is, oddly, one of the strictest background application management policies introduced on any Android smartphone, as there’s no way around it. Even on Xiaomi devices and OnePlus devices, it’s possible to disable most of it, and for some people, disabling all the battery optimizations on those devices is enough for them to be happy. The phantom process killer, in contrast, can’t even be disabled.

If you rely on Termux for a lot of on-device operations that are intensive with many background processes, it might be worth holding off upgrading for now until there’s more information. If you’re not a power user, then this likely isn’t something that you really need to worry about.

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Download the My HUAWEI App for your Chance to Win One of Ten Prizes

Don’t miss this huge HUAWEI giveaway for your chance to pick up some awesome prizes. By using the form below, you can get the new My HUAWEI app which gives you access to the HUAWEI Carnival event. There are plenty of fun activities that can lead to even more prizes, inside the app.

When you get started with the activities below, you can have the chance to win the following prizes:

  • 3x- HUAWEI Nova 9
  • 3x- HUAWEI Watch 3
  • 3x- Matebook X Pro 2021

Win 10 Huawei Prizes!

Complete each task to earn more points, which will increase your chance of winning a prize. If you’re picked as a winner, in order to redeem the prize, you must write a review of the My Huawei app in App Gallery and send us a screenshot of your review. Good luck!

 

We thank HUAWEI 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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Microsoft Edge for Linux is now generally available

It’s been over a year since the first preview of Microsoft’s Edge browser on Linux, and now it’s generally available. If you were looking forward to a stable version of Edge on the open source OS, it’s finally here.

Indeed, it was actually back in early 2019 that the Redmond firm started teasing it, and it officially announced Edge for Linux that fall. But even so, it was almost a full year before there was even a preview, and then another six months before it came to the Beta channel.

That’s not all though, because if you’re on the Dev channel on Linux, there’s a special surprise. If you go to play the built-in Surf game by going to edge://surf, and use the famous Konami cheat code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A), there’s an Easter egg in the game. Sadly, Windows and macOS users won’t see it. You’ll need to be on Edge 97.

The other Microsoft Edge announcement at Ignite was a new IE Mode improvement. If you’re unfamiliar with IE Mode, the idea is to offer a way for businesses to transition to Edge from Internet Explorer before the browser is retired in June. What IE Mode does is it basically puts Internet Explorer in an Edge browser tab. Of course, all of this good stuff has been done, and Internet Explorer is no longer accessible in Windows.

There’s a new Cloud Site List Management experience, which is meant to make it easier to list which sites should open in an IE Mode tab. You’ll no longer have to host the list in an on-premises location, which should simplify the experience for businesses.

But all of the heavy lifting around IE Mode is already done. It’s just a matter of making it easy for businesses and their IT departments to use it.

As for Edge on Linux, it’s available in DEB format for Debian and Ubuntu, and it’s available in RPM format for Fedora and openSUSE. You can download it here. The feature set is mostly the same as it is on other platforms, including Microsoft account syncing and such. However, it doesn’t include Windows-specific features like IE Mode.

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