If you are someone who plays action video games, a grappling hook comes in real handy. In my experience, it helps in climbing buildings, hooking the enemy, or even picking up a nearby object. It is one of the most common tools in superhero movies as well. You must have seen Tom Cruiseusing it in the Mission Impossible titles, or the most common example – Batman. As it turns out, a South African tech enthusiast has made and tested a working grappling gun. Hooked yet?
JT, who previously worked as an intern with the famous YouTube channel Hacksmith Industries, has made a real-life grappling hook. Firstly, it a single unit that attaches to his arm via straps. The gun shoots hooks through a CO2 blaster. Secondly, it has a 10,000W motor, that can easily lift his body weight, and actually ascend in height, and drop him back to the ground. In a video made by JT on his YouTube channel Built IRL, he rightly differentiates his attempt with others in the past.
We are talking about a fully functioning grappling gun that can take a person’s weight. That is exciting in itself. Also, in the video, we get to know some real-life problems in making a grappling gun, which obviously did not trouble batman.
Image Courtesy: Built IRL
While using the grappling hook, the hand controlling the device is the hand on which JT’s boy weight rests. Using a harness to equally distribute the weight throughout his body is a smart solution. Additionally, hooking up to anything is not as easy as it is in games or movies. From what it appears, the CO2 tank needs to be replaced after every shot.
Even after all these downsides, it is amazing how JT has manages such functionality in a rather compact looking device. To add to the hype he created from his invention, he is also working on a real-life web shooter, which works on similar mechanics.
Which brand comes into your mind when you think about fitness bands or smartwatches? You might think of Fitbit or Xiaomi. Both of them manufacture good quality fitness trackers and have a stronghold in the market. Also, over the past couple of years, the demand for fitness trackers have significantly increased. Hence, more companies are diversifying their product portfolio; entering into the smartwatch manufacturing business. The latest entry to this list would be OnePlus!
From making budget flagships to expanding over audio products, OnePlus knows how to deliver value to their customers. Previously, OnePlus confirmed about launching a smartwatch in early 2021. According to a report, OnePlus is about to launch an affordable fitness band soon, in late January or early February. It makes sense that the fitness tracker will arrive before the OnePlus 9 series.
OnePlus Fitness Band could have these features
The OnePlus Fitness Band would compete straight with the Mi Band 5, an excellent fitness tracker in its price point. The expected specification would also mirror the competition, including an AMOLED display, multi-day battery life and water resistance. Although there is no official word on the features. In my observation, the band would definitely have a heart rate sensor, decent battery life and some OnePlus exclusive functionality. Samsung Galaxy Fit 2could see price drops, to avoid sales dip due to the OnePlus Band.
If OnePlus provides a blood-oxygen monitor, it would immediately place itself ahead of the competition. With some previous products, OnePlus first launched locally and then targeted the international market. The global availability of this fitness tracker might be delayed.
Over the past years, OnePlus has grown as a brand. They recently shook of the ‘Flagship Killer’ tag from their shoulders. Making a re-entry in the budget smartphone market with Nord and the recent N10 speaks a lot. It is clear that they are striving to dominate the smartphone industry, specifically in the Indian market.
This is not the first time when Geekbench has leaked the specifications of a smartphone before its launch. From budget smartphones to flagships, nobody can escape the test on Geekbench. The latest smartphone spoiled is the Redmi Note 9T, also known as Redmi Note 9 5G in China. However, since there is no official confirmation, you might refer to is as the alleged Redmi Note 9T spec leak by Geekbench. Earlier this year, Redmi Note 9 Prowas also spotted on Geekbench before its launch.
Redmi Note 9T would be powered by ARM6853T chipset, which is the geeky name for Dimensity 800U SoC. As it has been the case with Redmi phones lately, this one is also expected to be a rebrand of its Chinese variant. The device is listed as M200722G. The same model number was listed on the Malaysian Certification Siteand NBTC. However, the model spotted on GeekBench could be a prototype, and might launch with some changes.
Image Courtesy: NDTV Gadgets 360
A budget phone that it is, Redmi Note 9T would come with 4GB RAM. It seems unlikely that a higher RAM model would be launched in India. Like other Redmi budget phones, we might see an LCD panel, with a punch-hole display. The rear camera module could be inspired by their upcoming smartphone – MI Note 10i. More details would be unveiled at the event on 5th January.
In my opinion, Xiaomi’s product portfolio has become slightly confusing, especially after Redmi and Poco became independent brands. More than often, it looks like both these child brands are launching the same phones, with the same specifications, with just a slight change in price. Nevertheless, they are good at offering value smartphones, and that is what made the company successful.
Watching movies is one of the most favourite past time for a lot of people. With the global COVID-19 pandemic and ramification of social distancing in our lives, the fan base of binge-watching online movies has considerably increased. Going to the theatre with friends and family is not just risky but has also lost its touch with the enforcement of social distancing. It leaves us with the movie streaming sites as our only entertainment and fun source without the headache of time and efforts of downloading films. Just bear with a few ads here and there because, let’s face it, we are not paying them a penny! Here is a list of free movie streaming sites with no sign-up required.
One can find hundreds of websites for watching movies online, but many of them require an Email address and sign-up details to access the film. Many Movie streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc., demand a subscription cost for the services while quite a few are not safe to use. Thus, getting your hands on a secure and free movie streaming site from the never-ending tricky list can be very complicated and time-taking. And this calls for a handpicked list of tried and tested free movie streaming sites available over the Internet that need no sign-up details and steer clear of scammers.
Following are the 20 best free movie streaming sites with no sign-up or money requirement:
1. 123Movies
123Movies is one of the biggest film websites on the Internet. One can find movies and TV Series in various video formats like 1080p, 720p, 4K, etc., for free. The ads are little to no. One can even find new movies released on the leading streaming sites here, soon after release. The home page of this movie site is very simple and user-friendly where one can simply type the movie, series, or genre as per wish without baffling content appearing on the screen. One setback with 123Movies is that it does not host TV shows and movies on its server so the content available on it is from other streaming sites and if any movie or show is not on the leading site, you cannot find it on this site either.
TubiTV is also one of the best websites to watch free movies online without downloading them. The services are available free of cost. In TubiTV, the content appears under different headings or categories like most popular, weekly watchlist, family movies, documentaries, etc. One can stream over 15000 films and TV shows on TubiTV of multiple genres like Family, Action, Entertainment, etc. There is no need to sign up for watching movies, but you can register yourself if you want Tubi TV bonuses and playlists.
However, one has to keep in check that the Adblock is disabled on the device while streaming movies on TubiTV. As the movies can be streamed free of cost, the only source of earning for the site is from advertisements so it does not work with AdBlock enabled on the devices.
One can find more than 7,000 movies, TV Shows, and videos to watch on the platform of Veoh. This free movie streaming site with no sign-up streams a vast catalog of classic films along with user-uploaded content to the audience for free. The built-in search feature makes it very efficient and easy to search for movies and shows on the site. The Veoh site is well-structured and offers a great variety of retro videos, movies, and enjoyable user-uploaded content. There are videos, music, movies, groups, and channels that the users can pick from.
However, if you want to upload your content and videos to the site, you need to make an account on the website. It is safe and no details or payment-related information are asked. Also, one can even stream the shows and movies with a VPN on Veoh.
It is a free movie streaming website with no sign-up that one can access for free to watch or download TV shows and movies online. Apart from that, Movies123 also promotes various short films and music films. Also, one can watch local TV shows and other content on the Movies123 platform, making the available content even richer. The content is well categorized for more comfortable navigation into multiple genres and is available in HD quality. The user can use a VPN if the website displays access issues and easily stream the content without worrying about what type of shows or movies should he or she watch.
A lot of ads indeed start appearing the moment one steps into this website. But, the streaming of movies goes uninterrupted and the hassle of the ad remains at bay while streaming. Moreover, one can stream movies in HD quality on the platform and even download the same in HD. Information about every movie and its trailer are also at disposal for helping users in going for the right pick.
M4Ufree is a free movie streaming site with no sign-up required. One can visit this platform to watch videos, movies, documentaries, anime, and various other content without having to give any details about oneself. The best thing about this free movie streaming site is that there are no pop-up ads to disrupt the movies. Also, there is no need to sign up or register too. The interface of the website is very clean and navigation is also easy. The categories at disposal are Genre, year of release, language, sort by, and sort. One can pick any genre as per mood from drama, action, comedy, humour, horror, and others. Users can directly explore the latest releases by hitting buttons like new movies or new TV series on the bottom of the website. The “Most Watch” category helps one find the trending content instantly.
It is also a free movie streaming platform with thousands of movies and series to choose from without the need of registering oneself. YesMovies provide high-quality content on the site. With YesMovies, users get access to uninterrupted movie streaming that can be navigated as per genre, launch year, etc. A very peculiar feature of YesMovies is the Top IMDb category, which provides IMDb ratings of the movies and makes it very efficient to pick a new movie that would be worth the time of the user.
The users can also go for a VPN to get access and enjoy the movies anonymously without spending any money. The advertisements appear now and then, which can set the mood off a little, but there are no ads during the movie streaming.
It is a free platform that helps one watch online movies and TV shows online for free. Solar Movie shows a few advertisements in the middle of searching for a movie. Hence, one has to pay attention while clicking anywhere as it can redirect you to other pages very quickly with the ads. However, this free movie streaming site with no sign-up requirement allows users to watch content without making any payment or account. Not just Hollywood, one can even find Bollywood movies on the Solar Movie platform. One can choose from around 10,000+ videos, movies, and shows using PC, mobile or other devices.
It is also one of the most popular online free movie streaming sites. The platform consists of a massive variety of shows, movies, series, feature films, etc., and it keeps suggesting various movies on the screen under random video picks, recent full movies, recent short films, recent animations, and other categories. Users need not sign up or spend even a single penny to watch the movies.
This website too, has embed movies from other leading streaming sites so users cannot find the shows and movies that are not available in the public domain streaming websites. However, the brighter side is that the database of this site is updated daily so users never run short of new content to watch and not miss out on anything that users on other websites or streaming sites could be enjoying.
Soap2Day is a free movie streaming site with no sign-up and no-hassle policy. One can enjoy a plethora of sitcoms, movies, and TV shows for free. It brings entertainment to your fingertips with the latest releases. The website keeps updating the database with new releases and provides details about the content to make searching even more efficient. The structure and layout of Soap2Day is also very user-friendly. One can let loose and enjoy the array of choices and genres that this platform offers. With the “Soap2Day Popular Movies” list, one can quickly get an idea about the trending and popular content to try. One can even find animated cartoons and shows for kids on the platform too.
A trendy and free online platform for streaming movies, Vumoo brings a vast number of films and programs with detailed insights about the runtime, movie ratings, etc., for the users. One can directly enter the name of the movies or series to search on the simple and sober search page, or check out the Home page, TV shows, or movies section for the same. The content present on this platform is all available to be streamed in HD or even download in HD.
This Free Movie Streaming Sites with No Sign-up chivvy does not obstruct the experience of fun by flooding the screen with advertisements. One setback is that there are not many filters for the genre section, otherwise Vumoo offers quality content and easy accessibility for a remarkable experience.
It is also one of the best online movie streaming platforms that bring various movies and TV shows free of cost. Users can easily discover, watch and even download various movies and videos from this platform for free. One can find the popular shows and movies under the Trending category, Top Movies, and Top TV shows of CMoviesHD. One can find a varied range of genres to pick from and explore the very easy interface of the CMoviesHD website. It also eliminates the hassle of sign-up.
As the name suggests, all the content present on the platform is HD so quality can never be an issue with this streaming site. Be it a guilty pleasure TV show or experiencing the thrill of horror movies, CMoviesHD ensures interruption-free bingeing to the users.
MovieStars, as the name suggests, is a free online streaming platform with no sign-up requirement that brings the stars of the big screen to our devices. It ensures hassle-free bingeing for the users by providing many movies and shows belonging to varying genres. The platform provides a variety of content that is produced all around the world. The best part about this platform is its “Trending Today” category that handpicks the movies and shows trending on the particular day one visits the platform to get the latest and most popular content in the front.
One can explore the wide variety of content categorically with the options like a year, country, genre, tv shows, movies, and trending, present at the top. Be it a French movie or a Dutch documentary, you can rely on MovieStars to get your hands on the content. The platform has a very simply designed layout and is quite easy-to-use.
This online movie streaming site lets the users dive into the sea of genres. One can check the ratings of the movies while picking one or look as per the initial alphabet or numbers too. This platform narrows down the list of movies with subtitles under the category of “Movies with subtitles” for the ease of users. Not just that, the content can be looked up as per actors, top picks, directors, countries, genres, and many other categories for narrowing down to the right pick. LosMovies allows bingeing free of cost without the need to sign-up. The experience is so smooth that all the user has to do after reaching this website is hit play and enjoy the movie.
This free online streaming platform with no sign-up platform brings plain old sitcoms and movies to our devices free of cost, without the sign-up hassle. One can feast on diverse picks of movies, programs, and documentaries on LookMovie. One can even enjoy all the new releases and the latest collection from the comfort of one’s home for free. There are multiple categories in which the never-ending content is divided like genres, latest, filter, etc. Also, for the ease of users, the movies and TV shows are under different heads. The rating category and Top IMDb makes it easier to find new movies worth spending time and the Trending tab brings the popular shows and movies for users.
This platform ensures unlimited streaming without any ads, pop-ups, or trouble of registering and signing up. Afdah brings an enormous collection of shows and movies divided into genres for users. It is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and even android. The platform has been designed in a user-friendly layout. One can browse the content by year, language, country, and other categories. With genres ranging from action, adventure, biography, and crime, to family, fantasy, history, musical, and many others, the choices are endless. Afdah offers assured entertainment with the most-recent category which has the latest releases for the users. For ease, users can see the most recent featured movies, most recent HD movies, most recently updated old movies, and other categories, directly on the home page of the site.
FlixTor is a free online streaming platform with no sign-upthat ensures zero interruptions from ads, pop-ups and ensures no hassles. It provides a wide variety of TV series and movies for users. The content can be viewed as per genres and handy filters like most downloaded or most watched. It also provides a section dedicated to Top IMDb as per the ratings. The latest TV series, latest movies, and recommended content appears right in front of the users as soon as one opens FlixTor. One can watch movies for free, navigate as per country, IMDb ratings, or genres ranging from thrill and horror to humor, comedy, and others.
It provides one-click away hassle-free streaming for free. Movie4u provides content that is divided into various genres like Action, Adventure, documentary, crime, and others. The release years and most viewed categories are also present at the disposal of users. It also provides a wide range of Anime for users who like animated movies and shows. Apart from that, one can also search for content in an alphabetical order. It also keeps the users updated about the trending movies and shows, their ratings, the top IMDb rated content, and featured movies so that the trending content is not missed out. The user can pick from a plethora of web shows, tv shows, sitcoms, and documentaries without needing to sign-up.
YouTube is also another top-rated platform that provides many films for free. One only needs to bear with the advertisements on YouTube while enjoying movies online under the “Free To Watch” tab. This platform is the most widely available and easiest way of getting access to movies. The main problem with YouTube is that users cannot get new films and latest releases on the platform and even if they do, the quality is very poor. Many times the content can also be taken down by the channel that has uploaded it without any prior information. However, for old and classic movie streaming, YouTube is just the right platform. One can even provide or read feedbacks left in the comments section of every movie to get an idea of what they are getting into before spending a good three hours or so on the movie.
Popcorn Time is also a free online streaming platform with no sign-up that offers various shows, movies, and content with no restrictions. As the name suggests, the users can sit down with a bucket of popcorns and leave the rest to the platform. Popcornflix ensures the best version available of any show, viral videos, and a movie out there for providing quality content. New arrivals, most popular, the popcorn time originals, staff picks, date night, and other categories present on the home page itself are very handy for the users.
Picking the right content is very easy and the content present on this platform is comparatively more appropriate for kids who like watching movies. The only hurdle one can get in the way is the absence of subtitles on the screen. The best part about this platform is that it is a treasure for stand-up comedy fans because it offers hand-picked content under a category dedicated to stand-ups alone.
ClassicCinemaOnline is a free movie streaming website that provides users with classic content. This means that you can find many movies on this platform, as old as the time of the 60s and 70s. There is also a category dedicated to the old classic movies with no dialogues named “Silents”. Every single movie present on the platform comes with a golden IMDb button that takes users straight to the IMDb ratings and other details about the content.
The search feature, Movie Billboards, genres, and subgenres help in easy browsing. The layout is also set to the feel of a classic movie theatre with the red curtain. There are multiple options at disposal for users watching movies on ClassicCinemaOnline like cast media with Air-Play/Chromecast, related videos, share, more formats from the Internet Archive and others.
Image Courtesy: Classic Cinema Online
These were the 20 best free movie streaming sites with no sign-up required that can take your entertainment to the next level. Some free websites are not available in certain regions, and one can use a VPN to access them. There are indeed some features that paid websites and subscription plans provide, but the free streaming sites don’t. Still, the mentioned sites will surely give you the best quality and safest experience possible online for free. All of these websites are tried and tested to provide you with uninterrupted bingeing in excellent picture quality.
As we’re about to enter not just a new year but a new decade in less than 24 hours, we have the best deals for you to grab on the new year’s eve. Today, we are bringing you the best deals from Amazon for Galaxy devices and Chromebooks. These include Amazon’s ‘huge’ price cut on the Samsung Galaxy A71 5G and Galaxy TWS Buds. Lenovo Chromebook Duet, on the other hand, starts as low as $249 on Best Buy. Here’s what the new deals have in stock for you and why you should grab them.
Samsung Galaxy A71 5G is $155 Off
Image courtesy: Amazon
Samsung’s Galaxy A71 5G normally comes with a price tag of $600, but today, Amazon is offering the unlocked Galaxy A71 5G at a whopping discount rate. The smartphone is currently available for just $445 on Amazon with a discount of a flat $155. This is an all-time low for the A71 5G.
Amazon is giving the unlocked Samsung Galaxy A71 5G with 128GB of onboard storage for $444.95. On top of that, there will be free shipping in the US and free returns on the phone. The handset features a 6.67-inch Super AMOLED+ Infinity Display and a quad-camera setup with a 64MP primary sensor. Despite entering at such an affordable price tag, the Galaxy A71 128GB manages to deliver flagship features, especially with today’s price cut.
Samsung’s Galaxy Buds True Wireless Earbuds are available on Amazon at just $79 (delivery included) with a drop of over $50. Grabbing this deal will save you 39% here, and this is the second-best price for Galaxy Buds to date. These truly wireless earbuds, flaunting the technology of Samsung, can run up to 6 hours of playback. It brings a wireless charging case that increases the play-back time even more by up to seven more hours. Today’s Amazon deal lists the Galaxy Buds at $79 with free delivery and free returns.
Google has recently rolled out a utility feature for Android users. The already convenient Android Smart Text Selection has worked like a charm. For instance, Android pastes a phone number on your dialer whenever you copy one. Additionally, it also allows you to search the internet with a specific word. Surprisingly, it now has the ability to do unit conversions.
If you select a unit of measurement, Google would stick-select the number and unit, offering you a button for conversion. It actually asks the Google App on your smartphone to make a Google search with the selected metric to convert it. Think it as an automatic Google search for conversion. In use, it works with all units that Google is aware of, including distance, time and even currency. Before this, Google has launched multiple add ons to increase the usability of Android devices. A new Text Preview was also tested recently by Google.
Android Smart Text Selection would be useful for people who have to deal with different metrics on a daily basis. Instead of manually typing the units, copying them on the Google App, just tap and hold and click on convert. It would not only save time but also rescues people with a short memory. However, nobody knows when this feature was actually added to Smart Text Selection. Android Policerecently tested out this feature, click here to read the report.
Last month, Samsung rolled out the Android 11-based One UI 3.0 beta update on Galaxy S20 devices. After months of testing, the company officially announced its launch earlier this month and revealed which devices would receive One UI 3.0. Now, after weeks of waiting, Samsung has finally started pushing the One UI 3.0 update for select Galaxy phones globally. We previously had talked about how the new OS upgrade takes the user experience of Galaxy phones to a new level. But, as some smartphones have received One UI 3.0 now, we have hands-on with these new features.
Based on Android 11, the One UI brings almost all features of the latest Android OS, but Samsung’s Android skin adds some new features and design tweaks. For those of you who are already on the One UI 2.5, you’re unfortunately not going to feel any major difference. Although the One UI 3.0 brings some very new things, the look and feel of the OS remains similar. But if you’re eagerly waiting to receive and try out the latest One UI 3.0, here we have rounded up all that you should expect.
Samsung One UI 3.0 New Features
Since all the new Android 11 features are included in the Samsung software upgrade, we won’t be covering those here. Here we list all the new features which are exclusive to One UI that the latest Samsung’s custom skin brings.
Revamped Notifications
Image courtesy: Sam Mobile
In Android 11, one of the biggest areas where Google has focused on is notifications. The latest version of the stock Android OS arrives with major changes and tweaks to notifications shade and how Android notifications work on phones. Following Google’s footsteps, Samsung has also stressed a lot on the notification shade in One UI 3.0. By adding a new light grey color and a new fade-in notification, the South Korean smartphone brand has updated the entire look of the notification shade. It is now more organized, smooth, and classy in its looks.
Though the One UI 3.0 reflects the most notable changes that are instituted by Android 11, the Samsung skin has removed some things to reduce the clutter. Like the power button has now disappeared from the upper right corner. Also, the update has moved the music player out of the notification area and inserted it into the Quick Tiles section. Further, notifications are organized under different headings depending on their importance. Long-pressing of any notification works as usual.
New Alerts and Android 11 Bubble Support
Image courtesy: Android Authority
With a major change to notification alerts, Samsung has reduced the size of the alert pop-up. Earlier, in Android 10, the notification appeared as a large alert in the top quarter of the screen with shortcuts to app features such as reply, delete, ignore, mark as read, etc. One UI 3.0 makes the alert much smaller and simpler by removing all those shortcuts from the pop-up. Now, when a notification alert pops up on your screen, tapping it opens up the conversation within the app itself.
The smaller alert now makes it less obtrusive when users are working on their smartphones. However, if you ignore the notification alert, it moves to the notification shade and displays all those shortcuts and interactions. The good thing is that One UI 3.0 provides you the option to bring back the ‘bigger’ notifications by heading to notification settings, in case you don’t like this change.
Additionally, the update brings the support for chat bubbles, which, of course, is a feature of Android 11. Samsung phones will also now support chat bubbles, and users can choose which apps will see a bubble alert. Alternatively, if you don’t want them, you can turn them off by heading to Settings > Notifications > Advanced Settings > Floating Notifications.
Larger Volume Controls With Key Info
Image courtesy: Sam Mobile
Samsung’s One UI 3.0 has received a revamped volume control slider, bigger in size, with added information within the slider. For example, you can now see which device you are currently controlling the volume of. Further, if you tap the three-dot expansion icon at the top of the volume slider, there appears a full volume panel, which looks a lot different from the previous one. It takes up a larger portion of your phone screen and allows you to alter various volumes of your phone. Like, you can control volume for notifications, media, ringer, alarms, etc. From there, you can also quickly toggle on or off Google’s Live Caption
Tweaks to Always-on Display and Lock Screen
According to the official changelog of One UI 3.0, the company has improved the always-on display widgets. Samsung offers various customization options, including design, colors, and even animated GIFs. It also allows users to adjust which alerts appear on their AOD. Though there are no visible changes to AOD widgets, and it’s unclear what those improvements are, we believe they’re now more power efficient or so.
Image courtesy: Sam Mobile
Apart from this, Samsung has also improved the lock screen widgets. Users can now keep track of things on their lock screen. For example, you can add the new Digital Wellbeing widget that will allow you to keep tabs on your phone usage — without having to unlock your phone. Additionally, the dynamic lock screen option has also been updated with more categories. This feature changes the look of your lock screen with wallpapers based on certain categories, automatically. Now there are more categories that you can choose your lock screen wallpapers from.
Fast Access to Widgets
Image courtesy: Android Authority
Android widgets have finally been revamped, at least by Samsung, with One UI 3.0. You can now directly see an app’s widgets by long-pressing an application within the app drawer or home screen. A widgets button appears when you long-press an app and tapping on it pops up a menu that allows you to scroll through the widgets. Just select the one you like and instantly add it to your home screen, simple. Note that this does not work for Widgets on the always-on display or lock screen that we earlier talked about.
Samsung Free: New Aggregator in One UI 3.0
The -1 home screen panel now does not come with Google Discover or Bixby Home or Samsung Daily, or any other systems that Samsung previously placed there. Now, Samsung has debuted a new system called Samsung Free for the left panel of the main home screen. Like the others, it is also an aggregator that brings you an easily scrollable feed with news and other related information.
Image courtesy: Android Authority
Though it’s similar to Bixby Home and Samsung Daily, it mostly focuses on news only and a few app suggestions from Galaxy Store. It’s good to see that you can turn Samsung Free off if you don’t like it. To do so, long-press any blank space on your home screen and turn off the Samsung Free toggle by swiping left.
As said before, Samsung One UI 3.0 brings most of the new features of Android 11, but there are some things that Samsung has not included. One such thing is the omission of smart controls with the power menu. In stock Android 11, holding down the power button reveals a whole new, full-screen interface with ‘smart’ controls. From there, you can quickly turn on or off your smart lights, select your credit card to make payments, etc. The usual power buttons that allow you to power off or restart your phone also lie there.
Image courtesy: Android Authority
However, Samsung didn’t add this new Android 11 feature in its update but carries the one from the One UI 2.5 without any changes. Also, you will find that One UI 3.0 has replaced the native Android screen recorder with its Samsung Capture. The update has already started rolling out for select Galaxy devices, and you should get to see it in the coming days.
Pixel devices are known for their image processing capabilities. With the launch of Google Pixel 5, Google released its new and updated camera application. It included a slightly new interface and a couple of new features – the Google Cam 8.0. Whether on a Pixel device or on any other Android device, photographs clicked using the Google Cam are probably the best. Thanks to Google’s excellent computational photography. Well guess what, XDA Developers recently launched the latest Google Camera 8.1 mod. For all the users who click pictures mainly through their smartphone, the Google Camera 8.1 mod is a blessing. Even on a non-Pixel device, the application provides top-notch image processing, getting the best out of your shots.
Google recently announced that it would discontinue the unlimited storage option for Pixel users. With that came the ‘Storage Saver’ feature. It essentially compresses the photo and video, subsequently causing a little downgrade in the quality. In the same way, Google Camera 8.1 mod would also be able to use this feature.
Image Courtesy: The Custom Droid
Here is a list of tweaks in the latest Google Cam
Colour Transform to fix colour intensity and saturation
Option to disable tracking focus
Additional button to turn the auto white balance on/off
Option to disable motion photos
Option to chose from Google Pixel 2, Pixel 3, IMX686 and IMX586 photo signature
An EIS fix through the addition of OPModes
Option to disable auto night mode
Google keeps adding new modesto its application. The latest Google Camera 8.1 mod would work with most Android devices. However, some Samsung and OnePlus would not be supported. Finally, downloading and running this mod on your smartphone would instantly improve the quality of the picture, colour accuracy, dynamic range and contrast. Basically, it would use all the brains behind Pixel cameras for beautiful results. Download the latest mod here.
A splash screen or boot logo is the first thing you’d see when you turn on your smartphone. Usually, it is either the OEM’s logo followed by Android’s branding or it could be your model name. The Android operating system is fairly customizable and lets you change pretty much everything that requires special tools and permissions. One of the most sought after customization is to the splash screen as you can change it.
Android smartphones which also count Vivo phones allow changing the splash screen or boot logo via root. There are a plethora of methods you can deploy to change it to your name or any image you want. There are a number of things you have to keep in mind but pretty much you can do it in a few minutes or so depending upon which method you follow.
Just to make your efforts easier, we have curated a list of methods on how to change splash screen (boot logo) for Vivo smartphones that you can use. Of course, almost all of these methods require root access and that’s why we have a disclaimer too.
Disclaimer: All these methods require a rooted Vivo device that grants the user access to the various Android subsystems for greater control allowing users to perform functions that otherwise wouldn’t be possible with a non-rooted Android operating system. Also, you are solely responsible for whatever ill-effects these methods may incur as we have tested it on a few models but not all. Some of the methods may work very well but some won’t so user discretion is advisable.
How To Create a Splash Screen (Boot Logo)
As usual, there are plenty of methods to create a splash screen or a boot logo and this is one of them.
Things you would be needing is to check what resolution your phone screen has. For example, the Vivo V20 has a resolution of 1080×2400 pixels while Vivo Y20 has a resolution of 720×100 pixels. Adding a boot logo larger than the resolution your phone supports will automatically cause the system to reject it. Using an image with the same resolution or slightly lower is recommended.
Next up, each smartphone has a buffer to store the boot logo or splash screen. It could be around 100KB or more or less depending upon the model. You will find the information on the logo’s dimensions when you remove or rename the stock logo file in the methods posted below.
Step #1: The Folks at XDA Developer created a Splash Maker that will allow you to create splash screens. Please ignore the folder’s name accredited to a specific model as you can use it on all Android devices. Or use this tool.
Step #2: Now, you need to create your own boot logo keeping the size and resolution among other specifics in mind.
Step #3: Assuming that you already extracted the tool on your computer, open it and add the newly created boot logo as “logo.png” or “logo.bin” or “logo.jpg” based on what nomenclature your phone uses. Some of the devices might have a boot logo stored as “splash.img” or “splash.png”.
Step #4: Go to the “pics” sub-folder in the tool you just extracted and find the aforementioned image. You need to replace the old file with a new file keeping the same name.
Step #5: Finally, tap on “CREATE_LOGO.bat” and it will launch a pop-up, and bingo, you have just created a new splash screen.
Note that using the method above, you created a new splash screen but flashing is still required. You can use Method #3 listed below to flash it on your device.
Changing Splash Screen (Boot Logo)
Here are all the methods you can employ to change splash screen (boot logo) for Vivo smartphones.
Method #1: Using the Root File Explorer Method
This is a fairly easy method to abide by although you would need root access to complete it. Here’s how you can do it.
Method #2: Using Recovery Flash Method
Click hereto use this method on your Vivo smartphone to change the splash screen.
Method #3: Using the ADB Method
You can click here to read about how to use the ADB method to flash splash screens on your Vivo smartphone.
How To Change Splash Screen (Boot Logo) For MediaTek Devices
Many Vivo smartphones have MediaTek processors and they have slightly different methods compared to Snapdragon. Note that some of the aforementioned methods are interchangeable so you have to see which one works for you.
Step #1: Firstly, tap here to download “LogoBuilder_v1.6”, and extract it using any of the zip extractors you have.
Image via Sites.Google.Com
Step #2: Open the folder and find “logo.bin” where this file is the splash screen. MediaTek devices store splash screen images as “logo.bin”.
Step #3: Rename the stock logo.bin file via the (/dev/logo) as it will allow users to get a new file for the system to recognize.
Step #4: Launch LogoBuilder.exe.
Step #5: Click on “Create New Project”.
Step #6: Next up, select the logo.bin file you just extracted from your MediaTek Vivo device.
Step #7: Create a new folder to store all the files. Name it anything like splash.bin or boot.bin or update.zip (if it is zipped) as there’s no constraint on its nomenclature.
Step #8: Select the newly created folder and tap on “OK”.
You’ll see a progress bar running and once it is done, you will see a tonne of images in the newly created folder.
Step #9: Open the new folder and you’ll see a bunch of new images.
Step #10: Check out img1.png & img39.png where the former is the boot logo that the system uses when booting up.
The tool enables you to create a new splash screen although you can also use a different tool to create it.
The things you are required to remember is that the new boot logo must have the same dimensions as the img1.png file.
This includes the size of the file, resolution, and other specifics.
Step #11: Next up, you need to delete both img1.png and img39.png from your MediaTek devices.
Step #12: This is where you add the new boot logo to this folder. Name it as “img1.png” so that the system recognizes it as a boot logo.
Step #13: Ensure that you have a copy of the stock image for use as you might need to later on.
Step #14: Finally, click on the “Make” button on the LogoBuilder tool and it is done.
Step #15: Once you have created a new logo.bin file with a new boot logo in it, you just have to flash it. Here are the various ways you can do it.
Using Smartphone Flash Tool
Here, you can use the Smartphone Flash Tool that allows users to flash a new boot logo with a simple drag and drop interface.Click here to download it.
You also need MTK Drivers in case the computer fails to recognize your device. It is better to keep the drivers updated then to find out it is flawed later on. Click here to download it.
Using TWRP Recovery or others
Another possible way to flash it on your device is to transfer the new logo.bin to the internal storage. Read how to do it here.
Using ADB Tools
This is another alternativeto flash and change splash screen on your Vivo smartphone using the ADB method on MediaTek devices.
You need to use a terminal emulator or using ADB tools assuming that you already have root access to your device.
Type in the command given below and this should work –
That’s the end of this guide on how to change splash screen for Vivo smartphones. Most of the methods mentioned above may work while some may not, so user discretion is advisable.
The China Compulsory Certificationrecently listed a smartphone with 30W fast charging. According to experts, it might be the Oppo Reno 5 Lite 5g. The upcoming smartphone is supposed to be a sidekick for the Reno 5 series. Oppo has already launched Reno 5 5G, Reno 5 Pro and Reno 5 Pro 5G in China. While all these phones focus on the budget-flagship segment, Reno 5 Lite might be a budget-oriented phone.
Here are the details
Reports also mention the model number of the smartphone listed on 3C website to be PELM00. The China-based certification enterprise also says that the device will be bundled with a 30W VOOC 4.0 charger. MyFixGuidealso claims this smartphone to be the Reno 5 Lite 5G. Seems like after OnePlus coming up with NORD, other companies are also focussing on making a ‘Lite’ version of their flagship lineup.
The popular website GSMArena reports that Oppo is planning to diversify the Reno 5 series over different price points. From a budget smartphone to a flagship, user get all options. However, it should be kept in mind that this is just a speculation, and there is no official word from Oppo, for Reno 5 Lite 5g.
Image Courtesy: Firstpost
Other smartphones in the Reno 5 series
The Reno 5 Pro 5G is powered by the new Dimensity 1000+, an octa-core chipset, which runs on a 7nm architecture. With a quad-camera setup and a 90Hz display, the device is definitely an all-in-one package for its price (3,999 CNY). In terms of looks, the Reno series is probably one of the most beautiful smartphone lineups out there. The Reno series earned its name for the exceptional camera performance. Check out this post for further information on other Reno 5 devices.
