LightBlog

lundi 7 février 2022

OPPO Find X5 5G and Find X5 Lite fully detailed in a massive leak

Last week, a massive leak revealed pretty much everything about the OPPO Find X5 Pro, including its renders and full specifications. Now a fresh leak has fully detailed the other two models in the Find X5 series: the Find X5 5G and Find X5 Lite.

WinFuture has published high-quality renders, and complete specifications of the regular OPPO Find X5 5G and Find X5 Lite. Starting with the regular model, it retains the overall design of the Find X5 Pro, packing a curved, hole-punch display on the front and a squircle camera module on the back, as shown in the images below.

OPPO Find X5 5G from the side OPPO Find X5 5G in white Front and back of the OPPO Find X5 5G in black color

The phone reportedly features a 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The display offers 10-bit color depth and HDR and is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus. Unlike the Pro model, which is said to pack the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, the regular model will be opting for the last year’s Snapdragon 888 chipset, paired with 8GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 flash storage. As far as cameras are concerned, the Find X5 5G is said to come equipped with a 50MP primary shooter, a 50MP ultra-wide camera, and a 13MP telephoto lens. The phone’s 4,800mAh battery supports fast charging via an 80W charger and wireless charging support is also reportedly on board.

Meanwhile, the OPPO Find X5 Lite will be the most affordable option in the lineup. In terms of the design, it looks identical to the upcoming OnePlus Nord CE 2.

OPPO Find X5 Lite in blue color OPPO Find X5 Lite side view Front of the OPPO Find X5 Lite

 

According to WinFuture, the Find X5 Lite will feature a 6.43-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC, up to 8GB RAM and 256GB flash storage, 64MP + 8MP + 2MP triple cameras, and a 4,500mAh battery with 65W fast charging support. Unlike the Pro and regular model, the Find X5 Lite retains the 3.5mm audio jack. Finally, we’re told the phone will run ColorOS 12.1 based on Android 12 out-of-the-box.

OPPO hasn’t officially confirmed an official launch date for the Find X5 series, but we expect to hear from the company soon.

The post OPPO Find X5 5G and Find X5 Lite fully detailed in a massive leak appeared first on xda-developers.



from xda-developers https://ift.tt/lTPOyjK
via IFTTT

NVIDIA’s deal to buy Arm has reportedly collapsed

While NVIDIA announced plans to acquire U.K.-based chip designer Arm from SoftBank all the way back in September 2020, the company has run into several regulatory hurdles since then. Major companies including the likes of Qualcomm, Microsoft, and Google raised concerns about NVIDIA’s acquisition of the company, claiming that the deal would harm competition in the industry by giving NVIDIA complete control of Arm’s chip designs. As a result, regulators from the EU, U.S., U.K., and China opened antitrust investigations into the acquisition. Now, according to an exclusive report from ArsTechnica, the deal has been called off.

The report by ArsTechnica comes according to three people with direct knowledge of the transaction, as NVIDIA opted to abandon its pursuit of the company at a board meeting on Monday. The collapse of the $66 billion deal sees what would have been the largest-ever acquisition in the chip sector to an end, and opens up the future of Arm to go to another bidder. One of the people with knowledge of the situation told ArsTechnica that SoftBank intends to unload Arm through an initial public offering before the end of this year. SoftBank will also receive a break-up fee of $1.25 billion.

The cash-and-stock transaction was worth approximately $38.5 billion when it was announced in September 2020. However, the value rose as NVIDIA’s share prices rose, reaching a peak of $87 billion last November. Not only has the collapse of the deal seriously hurt SoftBank’s projected finances, but it has also hurt the current management at Arm. CEO Simon Segars will be replaced by Rene Haas, current head of the company’s intellectual property unit.

It is unclear what the future of Arm may be, but British politicians allegedly feel that Arm is a national asset to be protected, and should be listed on the domestic market. The report details that SoftBank would prefer to list Arm in New York. NVIDIA’s offering to the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that it would maintain Arm’s current neutral licensing model did not seem too convincing.

Between the multiple regulatory investigations that had been undertaken into the acquisition of Arm, it was expected that time would be tight if it were to even be completed. NVIDIA said in September of 2020 that the acquisition was scheduled to be completed within 18 months. However, Jensen Huang, NVIDIA CEO, admitted in August 2021 that it was taking a little bit longer than expected. SoftBank agreed with NVIDIA at the time that the acquisition should be completed by the end of 2022.

It is unclear what the future of Arm may be, but it doesn’t seem that its future involves NVIDIA.

The post NVIDIA’s deal to buy Arm has reportedly collapsed appeared first on xda-developers.



from xda-developers https://ift.tt/ptc2wHD
via IFTTT

Get the yeedi Robot Vacuum Discount Now

Here is a new robot vacuum with the latest sensors and intelligent features. Take advantage of the huge Amazon sale today as the perfect opportunity. The yeedi vac can be managed through the powerful companion app to set no-go zones, map out your home, schedule cleanings, and more.

Get the Latest Robot Vacuum Technology

Nothing beats coming home to clean carpets and fresh vacuum lines. The yeedi vacuum and mop robot is designed specifically for effective automated carpet cleaning. Using a carpet detection sensor, the robot can know the amount of suction needed for different carpet surfaces. When the robotic cleaner senses thicker carpets, it will boost the suction power to make sure you get the deepest clean possible. The total suction power that this vacuum can achieve is 3,000Pa, which is industry-leading.

Even though this robot vac comes with such a low price tag, you’ll still have the latest SLAM technology included. It uses a combination of sensors to map out your home like a GPS. Your robot will remember all of your rooms and surfaces. Once the robot has created a detailed map of your home, you can make adjustments to room boundaries and no-go zones.

Read our full overview of the yeedi vac robot vacuum

Amazon Deal of the Day

The yeedi vac will be featured as an Amazon Deal of the Day, where you can save $92 on the base setup. This discount presents a fantastic opportunity to get started with an automated vacuum system, and even add on additional features like the mop or docking station.

List Price: $299.99 Deal price: $207.99 Deal date: 02/07/2022

Use code YEEDIVAC12 on Amazon for an extra $20

When you get the yeedi vac, it will come with a 1-year worry-free warranty. If any quality issues occur within the warranty period yeedi will replace it for free.

We thank yeedi 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.

The post Get the yeedi Robot Vacuum Discount Now appeared first on xda-developers.



from xda-developers https://ift.tt/tjeIJ1P
via IFTTT

Google Duo preps Breakout rooms and the ability to broadcast and record meetings

It’s been a while since the Google Duo app received a new feature, with Google giving most of its focus and attention to Meet as of late. But that dry spell may soon come to an end. In our recent teardown of the Google Duo app, we have learned about an upcoming feature called Breakout rooms.

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by the developers in a future build.

Google Duo recently picked up an update to version 159.0.425779378, and within the APK, we have uncovered some new strings related to the Breakout rooms feature. Breakout rooms refer to the ability to divide people into small groups. It’s is a very handy feature when hosting large meetings. For example, teachers can use Breakout rooms in online classes to divide students into small groups for collaboration on projects, group discussions, etc. Most video conferencing services, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, offer Breakout rooms. And it appears the Google Duo app will be the next to receive this functionality.

The following strings suggest Google Duo will allow hosts to create breakout rooms.

<string name="breakout_ended_dialog_title">Breakout room has ended</string>
<string name="breakouts_active">Breakout rooms are in session</string>
<string name="breakouts_in_session_banner_text">Breakout rooms are in session</string>

Participants will see an onscreen dialogue when “Breakout rooms are in session” and when “Breakout room has ended.”

Meanwhile, we have also uncovered some new strings which suggest that Google Duo may add the ability to live stream and record a video meeting.

<string name="broadcast_active">This meeting is being streamed</string>
<string name="broadcast_active_prejoin_text">This meeting is being streamed</string>
<string name="broadcast_and_recording_active">This meeting is being streamed and recorded</string>
<string name="broadcast_and_recording_active_prejoin_text">This meeting is being streamed and recorded</string>
<string name="broadcast_initializing_content_description">Live stream will start soon</string>
<string name="broadcast_initiated">This meeting is being streamed</string>
<string name="broadcast_initiated_by_participant">{PARTICIPANT_NAME} has started streaming</string>
<string name="broadcast_live_content_description">This meeting is being streamed</string>
<string name="broadcast_live_indicator_text">LIVE</string>
<string name="broadcast_stopped">Streaming has stopped</string>

Google Duo will show a persistent message that “This meeting is being streamed and recorded.” It will also display the name of the participant who initiated the streaming.

Breakout rooms and the ability to live stream and record meetings are still in development and haven’t been rolled out to Google Duo users yet. We’ll keep an eye out and let you know if we learn anything new about these features.

Google Duo (Free, Google Play) →

The post Google Duo preps Breakout rooms and the ability to broadcast and record meetings appeared first on xda-developers.



from xda-developers https://ift.tt/uRV96tg
via IFTTT

dimanche 6 février 2022

Google launches a free “Workspace Essentials Starter” plan

After deciding to end support for free legacy G Suite accounts last month, Google has now launched a new plan in Google Workspace called Essentials Starter edition. It’s a free plan that lets businesses use all Google productivity apps except Gmail.

The Workspace Essentials Starter plan (via 9to5Google) is primarily aimed at businesses that already have their email systems in place, but don’t have access to modern communication and collaboration tools. The plan gives access to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Chat, and Meet. Storage is capped at 15GB while each Google Meet call has a limit of 60 minutes.

The new Google Workspace Essentials Starter Edition is a no-cost solution for business users looking to enhance teamwork and unlock innovation with secure-by-design collaboration, wrote Kelly Waldher, VP of Marketing at Google Workspace in a blog post.

To sign for a Workspace Essential Starter account, you must already have a work email. Google says no credit card is required for signing up and there’s “no limited trial period.”

There’s no need for a new email address, file conversions, new plug-ins, or desktop software. All of the tools in Essentials Starter will work quickly and easily within your existing environment.

With the launch of the Workspace Essentials Starter plan, Google is closing new signs up for the old Essentials plan that was introduced in May 202o. It offered 100GB per account storage, bigger video meetings, and more for $8 per user a month. Existing users can continue to use it but you can’t sign up for it now.

Workspace Essentials Starter allows a team of up to 25 users so it’s best suited for smaller organizations only. However, Google’s support page notes that an unlimited number of teams in an organization can sign up for the plan.

Google says the new plan is “rolling out over a multiple-week period and might not be available in some regions until mid-February, 2022.”

The post Google launches a free “Workspace Essentials Starter” plan appeared first on xda-developers.



from xda-developers https://ift.tt/h4FB8KT
via IFTTT

Chrome 99 beta tests a new shortcut for downloads, adds handwriting API, and more

Google has just released Chrome 99 on the beta channel, which brings several new improvements and enhancements, including new download workflow, handwriting recognition API, changes to how ad blockers work, and more.

Accessing your ongoing downloads or downloaded files on Chrome desktop is a bit of a hassle. This is because the downloads tab is hidden in the overflow menu. But with Chrome 99 beta, Google is testing (via Android Police) a simple shortcut for downloads in the toolbar in the top right corner. This shortcut was first spotted in Chrome 99 Canary in December. It’s quite similar to what we have in Microsoft Edge. The download icon turns blue — and may even have a ring in the future — when you’re downloading something and turns back to gray once the item has been downloaded. Note that the downloads shortcut isn’t live by default, so we’re not too sure if it will be ready in time for the upcoming stable release.

Chrome browser toolbar showing the downloads button

Next up, Chrome 99 beta adds support for a handwriting recognition API. Google has been experimenting with this API since Chrome 91, and it’s now live in the latest beta release. The API will make it easier for developers to build note-taking and drawing apps that seamlessly work across different platforms without having to use third-party integrations.

An API for web applications to make use of advanced handwriting recognition services (e.g. those on operating systems) to recognize text from handwriting drawings (inks) in real time. In this context, handwriting drawing means the temporal and positional information used to describe a human handwriting process.

In addition, Chrome 99 beta also introduces changes related to ad blockers. Starting with Chrome 99, Google no longer allows new ad blocker extensions to use Manifest V2. New ad blockers now must use Manifest V3, which many believe will make ad blockers less effective and hurt innovations. Existing extensions will be able to use Manifest V2 until next year, however.

Finally, web apps can now specify a different theme color and background color for dark mode using the color_scheme_dark field and force browsers to programmatically open a date picker.

Chrome 99 beta is now out on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, with the stable release to follow suit soon.

Chrome Beta (Free, Google Play) →

The post Chrome 99 beta tests a new shortcut for downloads, adds handwriting API, and more appeared first on xda-developers.



from xda-developers https://ift.tt/9znuifN
via IFTTT

Motorola MA1 Review: Wireless Android Auto for the rest of us

Android Auto initially required a USB connection from your phone, but some newer head units and cars support a wireless connection. There are still plenty of cars and entertainment systems without wireless Auto, though, which has led to various attempts to create adapters. AAWireless was one of the earliest examples, but we’ve never had a wireless adapter produced by a major company and available through normal retail channels — until now. The Motorola MA1 is here to save the day, but even though the name might imply otherwise, it’s not actually produced by Motorola — not the Lenovo-owned Motorola Mobility that makes phones, nor the Motorola Solutions that produces communications equipment. The dongle is sold by SGW Global, which already has a license to use the Motorola name on various home phones and audio devices.

Regardless of who actually produces it, does the Motorola MA1 actually work as advertised? In short, yes — but keep reading for a longer version of “yes.”

    Motorola MA1
    The Motorola MA1 functions as advertised, but maybe wait for a sale.

      Features:

      Pros:

      Cons:

Motorola MA1 Pricing and Availability

  • The Motorola MA1 is priced at $89.95, but availability is limited right now.

The Motorola MA1 adapter is sold at Amazon, Target, Motorolasound.com, and select other retailers worldwide. However, demand is currently outstripping supply, at least as of when this review was written. Amazon stopped taking orders soon after pre-orders went live, and the product page on the Motorola Sound website still only allows you to register for email notifications.

Motorola MA1 Specifications

Dimensions & Weight
  • Puck: 55 x 55 x 10 mm
  • USB cable length: 80 mm
  • 31 g
Connectivity
  • WiFi 802.11 a/n/ac 5GHz
  • Bluetooth 5.0
Port USB Type-A (2.5W)
Price $89.95

About this review: I purchased the Motorola MA1 for personal use. SGW Global, nor other license holders of the Motorola brand, had any input into the contents of this review.


Design: A glossy plastic squircle

The Motorola MA1 resembles the original Google Chromecast, with all the electronics housed in a small squircle (square circle), and a short cable with a USB Type-A connector on the other end. The puck measures roughly 55 mm in width and height, making it about the same size as the cases for most wireless earbuds. There’s also a small light on the front, which acts as an indicator light, and a button on the right side for resetting the wireless connection.

There’s not much to say about something with this simple of a design, but I do have one major complaint: the USB cable. The USB ports on most cars are usually tucked under the center console, so it makes sense that the MA1 would have a short cable, but it’s not ideal in all situations.

MA1 adapter USB cable plugged in

The USB connector in my car is at the very bottom of the center console (level with my gear shift), surrounded by a short tray. The adapter and cable is longer than the tray, so I either have to twist the cable and stick the MA1 in the higher tray, or let the cable bend and leave the MA1 pointing upwards. The adapter should just have a standard USB Type-C port (or microUSB, I don’t care) and let me use any cable. The fixed cable will also be a problem if the USB connector on the end of the cable ever breaks. However, the MA1 did work with all the USB extension cables I can find around my home, so that might be one option for moving the adapter to a better position in your car.

Another potential issue is the exterior finish: the top of the Motorola MA1 is glossy black plastic. That almost ensures the MA1 will look permanently dusty in most cars — I wish the regular black plastic on the bottom of the unit covered the entire adapter.

On the bright side, there is a gel pad included in the included user guide, which you can use to attach the MA1 to anywhere within reach of the USB port. Just about any double-sided tape will probably work too — the MA1 only weighs 31 grams.

Gel attachment


Software: Works as expected

This adapter only adds wireless connectivity abilities to cars and head units that already supported wired Android Auto. This does not add Android Auto to a car that doesn’t have it already. Essentially, this adapter tells your phone it’s a car with wireless Android Auto, but to your car it appears as if the phone is connected with a cable.

The second catch is that you need a phone that supports wireless Android Auto. Thankfully, as long as your phone was made sometime in the past 2-3 years, you’re probably fine. Wireless Android Auto works on any phone with Android 11 or higher, or any Google or Samsung phone with Android 10. According to data released by Google in November, about 24.2% of all actively-used Android devices are running Android 11, and 26.5% of devices are running Android 10 (of which any Google/Samsung phones will work with Auto).

Motorola MA1 setup Motorola MA1 setup Motorola MA1 setup

Once you plug in the adapter, you should see a device called “AndroidAuto” with some numbers and letters at the end in your available Bluetooth devices. Once you successfully pair with the MA1 (this took two tries for me), the Android Auto service on your phone should kick in, and your car will display the usual Auto interface. There’s no extra applications or setup needed. Once the setup is done, your phone will connect automatically once the USB port is powered.

I was only able to test the Motorola MA1 with one car (my 2020 Hyundai Kona), but I did have a handful of phones on-hand — including a Galaxy S21, Unihertz Titan Pocket, Galaxy S21 FE, and OnePlus 9 Pro. With all those phones, Auto works exactly like the usual wired connection with no discernible difference in latency, image quality, or audio quality when playing music and podcasts. I have noticed video compression a handful of times, but only for a few seconds.

Android Auto home page

The only software problem I noticed was with switching devices. You have to hold the reset button to pair the adapter with a different phone, but even after the other phone was connected, I still usually had to unplug the adapter and plug it back in for Auto to complete the setup process. I’m the only one that uses my car, so this isn’t a significant issue for me, but it could potentially make this more annoying than wired Auto in shared vehicles.


Who should buy the Motorola MA1?

The Motorola MA1 does what it sets out to do: it adds wireless Android Auto to any car with wired Android Auto. The initial price of $89.95 is definitely expensive for something that likely costs a few bucks at most to manufacture, but the MA1 more or less has a monopoly on this functionality. All the other options are smaller-scale projects in various stages of development — AAWireless is still working through its backlog of orders, Carsifi hasn’t shipped anything yet, and so on. Of course, the Motorola MA1 also isn’t staying in stock for more than a few days at a time.

Who should buy the Motorola MA1?

  • People who want to save themselves the hassle of a wired connection every time they get into their car, provided they
    • Have a car with wired Android Auto, but not wireless Auto, and
    • Have a phone that supports wireless Android Auto

Who should not buy the Motorola MA1?

  • People who frequently share their car and would need to constantly re-pair the adapter
  • Anyone who thinks $90 is too much money for wireless functionality
  • Those who do not already have wired Android Auto in their car, as that is a prerequisite to enable wireless functionality

I hope the wild demand for the Motorola MA1 will encourage other manufacturers to release their own versions, especially if they can offer removable cables or lower prices. It’s strange that Google itself has never created an adapter to serve this purpose, especially since it has worked with companies like JBL and Anker in the past to create audio adapters for cars with Google Assistant. Google could even take this concept a step further by building a dongle with a full installation of Android Automotive. For now, though, I’m content with this overpriced adapter.

The post Motorola MA1 Review: Wireless Android Auto for the rest of us appeared first on xda-developers.



from xda-developers https://ift.tt/3JrtgYn
via IFTTT