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vendredi 29 mai 2020

Back cover shows off what the cancelled Pixel 4a XL could have been

The Pixel 4a has been on our radar since late last year. At first, we were operating under the assumption that there would be a Pixel 4a XL. After all, every Pixel generation has included two sizes, including the Pixel 3a series. Eventually, it became clear that Google would not be launching an XL model this time around. However, that doesn’t mean they weren’t working on one.

It’s perhaps no surprise that Google started the development of the Pixel 4a series with the intention of releasing an XL model. There was a leak last month of a Pixel 4a XL replacement back cover on eBay. The part doesn’t have the typical Google “G” logo, however, indicating it’s actually from a prototype device. Now, new images of the Pixel 4a XL back panel have surfaced.

There’s nothing super notable about these images. The back cover includes the camera Pixel 4-like camera module we’ve seen on the smaller Pixel 4a. One clear difference is the number of cameras. It looks like the XL model may have actually sported dual rear cameras, compared to the single camera on the smaller model. The white cover also has an orange power button, which is typical for the Google Pixel line.

It’s interesting to think about a larger Pixel 4a XL with dual rear cameras at a slightly higher price point. Google could have positioned the 4a as the super-budget option and the 4a XL as a slightly more premium mid-range device. In the end, though, Google decided to ride with just one model.

Pixel 4a XDA Forums

As for the Pixel 4a that we will be getting, the launch has reportedly been delayed until July. The rumored specifications are below.

Rumored Pixel 4a Specifications

  • Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 730
  • GPU: Adreno 618
  • RAM: 6GB
  • Internal storage: 64GB(?), 128GB UFS 2.1
  • Display: Single hole-punch 5.81-inch display, 2,340 x 1,080 resolution, 443 dpi, 60Hz refresh rate
  • Rear camera: 12.2 MP Sony IMX363, f/1.73 aperture, 1.4µm pixels, OIS, EIS, LED flash, 4K video recording, Autofocus
  • Front camera: 8.0 MP Sony IMX355, f/2.0 aperture, 1.14µm pixels, EIS, Fixed focus
  • Connectivity: 4G, Dual SIM, GPS, WiFi 5, Bluetooth, GLONASS
  • Ports: USB Type-C, 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Security: Rear fingerprint sensor
  • Battery: 3,080 mAh
  • Software: Android 10

Source: 9to5Google

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[Update: Partnership Concluded] OnePlus removed from McLaren’s partners page, hinting there won’t be another McLaren Edition

Update 1 (05/29/2020 @ 09:40 AM ET): McLaren has clarified that the partnership with OnePlus has been concluded as per schedule. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on May 20, 2020, is preserved below.

OnePlus has been doing special editions of its phones for a few years now. The OnePlus 5T was available in the Star Wars: The Last Jedi Edition and the OnePlus 6 was available in a Marvel Avengers Edition. Both of these phones were available in limited quantities and in select regions only. The company expanded the scope of these special editions with the launch of the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition. This variant not only came with a new and distinct CMF (color-material-finish), but it also bumped up the RAM to 10GB and the charging technology to Warp Charge 30. The McLaren Edition made a return with the OnePlus 7T Pro, once again bumping up the RAM and opting for the signature CMF. However, this run appears to have come to an end, as recent developments indicate that there may not be another McLaren edition in the works.

A keen-eyed Redditor noticed that OnePlus was no longer listed as a Formula 1 partner for McLaren for the 2020 F1 season. We checked through Wayback machine (internet archive) and can spot that OnePlus continued to remain listed until March 29, 2020, at least. So, it is safe to presume that the company was delisted as a partner within the last month or so.

OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition

What does this mean? This means that there is unlikely to be another McLaren Edition phone coming from OnePlus. The next McLaren iteration was expected to be on the presumed OnePlus 8T, but we can rule this out from happening based on how things stand right now.

OnePlus CMF Concepts

That’s not to say that there won’t be a special edition for the OnePlus 8T series, at all. OnePlus could always collaborate with a new partner and market a different CMF with different features as a special edition. Some have taken this news to also mean that there won’t be a “T” version at all this year — we do not have any evidence of this statement being true or false, either way.

We’ve reached out to OnePlus for comment on this delisting. We’ll update our article when we get more information.


Update: McLaren confirms that its partnership with OnePlus has concluded

While OnePlus has not responded with any comment, McLaren has responded to AndroidAuthority with a statement:

Our partnership with OnePlus, which came to its scheduled conclusion recently, has been a highly successful collaboration between two iconic and innovative brands. Since the start of this partnership in 2018, OnePlus has been a supportive, valued partner and we wish them well and hope to see them in the future.

This means that OnePlus and McLaren had a fixed duration contract for the collaboration, and that contract has been honored and completed. This means that we are unlikely to see another McLaren smartphone in H2 2020, unless the companies renew their partnership. Keep in mind that OnePlus could collaborate with another partner too, for the presumed T-release of 2020.

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Huawei partners with Dailymotion to show video content in Huawei Video

Improvise, adapt, and overcome seems to be the motto for Huawei since the company was placed on an Entity List by the U.S. Commerce Department last year. The company has developed its own alternatives to Google Mobile Services and the Play Store, re-released older devices with Google Mobile Services, and has even partnered with third-party service provides to offer features that previously relied on popular Google apps. Now, in a bid to offer a YouTube-like experience on its devices, Huawei has partnered with Dailymotion to show video content in the Huawei Video app.

To do so, Huawei has integrated Dailymotion’s video player in the Huawei Video app which will allow users to search for and play Dailymotion videos from within the app. In a statement regarding the partnership, Dailymotion’s Chief Content Officer, Stéphane Godin, was quoted saying, “Thanks to all our premium partners, Dailymotion is able to distribute a large amount of videos and playlists to third-party publishers. We are proud to collaborate with Huawei to make all of our content catalog reach new premium audiences.”

Dailymotion’s technology package will bring a white-label video player, the platform’s large volume of local and international video content via Dailymotion’s API, and a monetization solution for the content on the Huawei Video app. While Dailymotion may not be nearly as popular as YouTube when it comes to user-generated content, the platform still has a decent amount of content from prominent media groups like Le Monde, l’Equipe, BeIN SPORTS, JPI Media, Marie Claire, NBA G League, Media Prima, One India and more.

Speaking of the partnership, Huawei’s Vice President of Mobile Services, Jervis Su, said, “We’re pleased to offer our Huawei Video service so that people across the globe can easily explore thousands of videos and movies available from our partners, including Dailymotion, anywhere and anytime. We are committed to bringing more choice to consumers. We also hope it will bring some joy to all of their lives at this time.”


Source: Dailymotion

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The Sony Xperia 1 II has a neat gaming feature that lets you charge and play without degrading the battery

Smartphone gaming has evolved to become a proper use case for smartphones, to the point that we have gaming smartphones that specifically target this audience. While smartphone gaming is definitely fun and you can easily pour in hours into it, it does have drawbacks for your phone’s battery. Games require a lot of processing power to run, and an intensive gaming session can quickly chew through your battery life. And if you are someone who likes to game while you charge your phone, your phone may have to contend with a lot of poorly dissipated heat originating from both, the running of the game, and the charging of the battery. All of this heat is not good for your phone’s battery health and the overall longevity of your glass-sandwich smartphone. Sony may have worked out a good solution for this scenario, as the Sony Xperia 1 II comes with a nifty new feature that lets the phone use power directly from the charger without charging the battery.

Sony Xperia 1 II XDA Forums

The Sony Xperia 1 II comes with a decent 4,000 mAh battery that supports USB PD fast-charging up to 18W. It also comes with a feature called “H.S. Power Control”, where the H.S. stands for “Heat Suppression”. This feature is part of the “Game Enhancer” on the Xperia 1 II, and it can be enabled on a per-app basis.

When H.S. Power Control is enabled, you can use the Xperia 1 II running on power derived directly from the phone charger. Essentially, you can use the charger to keep the phone powered and the game running, without actually charging the battery. This is particularly useful when playing intensive games for longer periods, as such gaming sessions generate a lot of heat and use up a lot of battery. The heat is not good for your battery health in the long term, generally speaking, and the quicker discharge cycle also takes a toll on the overall battery health. With this feature enabled, you can presumably play for extended periods without worrying about the charging mechanism affecting your battery health. For gamers, this is a game changer, especially if they plan on keeping their phone around for a while.

H.S. Power Control is already available on the Sony Xperia 1 II. It is unknown if the feature will make its way to other Sony devices. The Xperia 1 II is coming to the USA for a price tag of $1,200.

Sony Xperia 1 II — Specifications and Hands-On

Specification Table

Specifications Sony Xperia 1 II
Dimensions & Weight
  • 165.1 x 71.1 x 7.6 mm
  • 181.4 g
Display
  • 6.5-inch 4K OLED
  • 3840×1644 pixels, 643 PPI
  • 21:9 aspect ratio
  • 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut, D65 white point
  • Motion Blur Reduction (90Hz “equivalent”)
  • HDR BT.2020 (Rec.2020)
  • Gorilla Glass 6
SoC
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 865:
    • 1x Kryo 585 Prime core (2.84GHz)
      3x Kryo 585 Performance cores (2.4GHz)
      4x Kryo 585 Efficiency cores (1.8GHz)
  • Adreno 650 GPU
RAM & Storage
  • 8GB/256GB
  • microSD card slot (uses shared SIM 2 slot)
Battery
  • 4,000mAh
  • 18W USB-C PD fast charging
  • Qi wireless charging
Fingerprint Sensor Side-mounted fingerprint
Rear Cameras
  • 12MP primary sensor, Sony IMX555 – 1/1.7″, 1.8-micron, f/1.7, 24mm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS
  • 12MP ultra-wide angle sensor, 1/2.55″, 1.4-micron, f/2.2, 16mm, Dual Pixel PDAF
  • 12MP telephoto sensor, 1/3.4″, 1.0-micron, f/2.4, 70mm, 3x optical zoom, OIS
  • Zeiss optics
  • Up to 20fps AF/AE burst shooting
  • Up to 60 times per second continuous AF/AE evaluation
  • Video recording:
    • 4K HDR at 60, 30, 25, 24fps
    • OIS, EIS, Optical SteadyShot (hybrid EIS and OIS), SteadyShot with Intelligent Active Mode (5-axis stabilization)
    • Slow motion up to 120fps
Front Camera
  • 8MP, f/2.0, 1/4″, 1.12-micron, 24mm
Audio
  • 3.5mm headphone jack, Hi-Res 24-bit/192kHz audio
  • True front stereo speakers
Network Bands
  • 5G: Sub-6GHz Bands N1, N3, N28, N77, N78;
    no mmWave support
  • 4G: LTE Cat19/Cat13: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66) / LTE 6CA / 2CA
  • 3G
    UMTS HSPA+ (Bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19)
  • 2G
    GSM GPRS/EDGE (Bands 850, 900, 1800, 1900)
Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi 6
  • Bluetooth 5.1
  • A-GNSS (GPS + GLONASS)
  • USB 3.1 Type-C port, DisplayPort support for video output, USB-C to HDMI
Android Version Android 10

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HUAWEI HMS Core Forum Recap [May]

HUAWEI Developers is a platform ecosystem that integrates various services and resources for developers to develop and promote their apps, which is committed to serving the vast number of mobile terminal developers. Relying on the advantages of terminal channels, global platform services, and industry chain resources, it aims at openness and innovation in development, testing, and promotion, monetization and other aspects, to help developers create a terminal-based all-scenario innovation experience in an all-round way and reach consumers through smart terminals so as to build an open and win-win innovation ecosystem.

You can access the XDA Huawei Developers forum here. Interact with other HMS developers, find guides, and follow tutorials for beginners or more advanced developers.

Best guides from May 2020:

HMS offers many kits to help developers build high-quality apps. Because of the availability of these kits, you can build your app quickly and at a very low cost.

Development Kits

It doesn’t stop at development. After you’ve built your app, these kits will help you grow your app userbase. Receive detailed analytics that will help you understand how people use your app.

Growth Kits

Make money off of your hard work. Use these kits to monetize your apps by implementing ads, in-app purchases, and digital wallets.

Monetization Kits

Visit the XDA Huawei Developers forum to become a part of the Huawei Developer community.

XDA Huawei Developers forum
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 and Google collaborate on bringing Windows Spellcheck to Chromium-based browsers

Microsoft introduced the original Edge browser as part of Windows 10 back in 2015. The browser was the spiritual successor to the infamous Internet Explorer and aimed to offer an improved, lightweight internet browsing solution for Windows users. However, despite the improvements, Microsoft Edge wasn’t as successful as the company had hoped, and because of this, the company released a new Chromium-based version of Edge last year. Unlike Microsoft’s previous browser efforts, the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge was quite well received and it has gotten even better in the last few months. Now, with its latest release, the company is introducing a new spellcheck experience to the browser powered by Windows Spellcheck.

Windows spellcheck Microsoft Edge (2) Windows spellcheck Microsoft Edge

For the unaware, the spell checking feature on most Chromium-based browsers today makes use of open-source proofing tools. This approach has some significant disadvantages when compared to the Windows Spellcheck feature, as it doesn’t include support for multiple languages/dialects, doesn’t share a dictionary with your system, and doesn’t offer support for URLs, acronyms, and email addresses. With Microsoft Edge 83, the company is bringing the Windows Spellcheck feature to devices running Windows 8.1 and above, which enables all of the aforementioned features in the browser.

For most users, the feature will be enabled by default as soon as they update Microsoft Edge to the latest release and it will automatically select your preferred language settings from Windows. You will also be able to manually configure languages by navigating to the edge://settings/languages page. In case you don’t see a language you wish to spellcheck, you’ll be able to install additional languages from within Windows Settings by navigating to the Language option in the Time & Language settings. In case you don’t have the necessary language pack installed or if one isn’t available, Edge will automatically fall back to the previous spellcheck experience powered by Hunspell.

The new spellcheck feature in Microsoft Edge was developed in collaboration with Google, which means that it will also be available on other Chromium-based browsers, including Google Chrome. However, unlike Edge, you may need to enable a flag in Chrome to get it. To do so, you can head over to chrome://flags/ and search for “Use the Windows OS spell checker”, enable the flag, and then restart Chrome.


Source: Windows blogs

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OxygenOS 10.5.9 disables the OnePlus 8 Pro’s color filter camera, even on the global variant

The OnePlus 8 Pro comes with a quad rear camera setup, with the 64MP Sony IMX686 taking much of the attention. But in recent days, the primary sensor falls behind the 5MP Color Filter camera in terms of media coverage in the last few days. While OnePlus advertised it for camera filters that can be applied to the final shot using the new “Photochrome mode” on the OnePlus 8 Pro, the sensor is actually capable of seeing through some plastic objects as well as very thin clothing.

OnePlus 8 Pro XDA Forums || Pre-book the OnePlus 8 Pro on Amazon.in

Due to the rising controversy, OnePlus quickly published an official apology via a Weibo post, and announced that they would temporarily disable the color filter camera. The company later clarified that the removal would take place only on HydrogenOS, which is OnePlus’s Android skin for devices in China and shouldn’t affect the global variant of the OnePlus 8 Pro running OxygenOS.

Interestingly, OnePlus has now started rolling a new stable update for the OnePlus 8 Pro across the globe, and guess what? It does remove the Photochrome filter! The changelog of this build (10.5.9.IN11AA) suggests that the company is going to re-introduce this camera mode sometime in the month of June after making necessary adjustments, albeit a proper timeline is not known at this moment and will be announced later.

oneplus_8_pro_global_oxygenos_10.5.9_ota

Thanks to XDA Member Dezzmond99 for the screenshot!

The Indian variant of this device also picks up a new OTA with a similar version number (10.5.9.IN11DA), but the changelog is completely different. It’s basically the same as the previous stable build (10.5.8.IN11DA) that brought in the April 2020 security patches to the OnePlus 8 Pro. It could be possible that OnePlus has removed Photochrome filter on the Indian model as well, and just forgot to write a new changelog, but we haven’t tested that yet. There is no new OTA for the European variant so far.


OxygenOS 10.5.9 Download Links

The updates for all the regional variants are rolling out in batches, but you can skip the queue and download the appropriate build for your model from the following index. Manual sideloading is easy – all you need to do is point the “Local upgrade” option in the system updater to the ZIP you downloaded.

OnePlus 8 Pro


Thanks to XDA Senior Member Some_Random_Username for providing the download links!

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