Earlier this month, Xiaomi declared the MI 11. They did it just after the launch of Snapdragon 888 chipset. It made their intentions of making the first smartphone with Qualcomm’s latest flagship processor clear. As of 28rth December 2020, Asian tech giant Xiaomi has launched the MI 11 in China.
Loads of features
MI 11 is not only the first smartphone to flaunt the most powerful Android processor, it is also the first 2021 flagship. From what appears, Xiaomi has gone all-in with this one. With an aim to be the best, MI 11 is loaded with features like 6.81″ 2K AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. With a maximum brightness of 1500 nits, the screen shines bright in direct sunlight. On top of that, gamers will love the 480Hz touch-sampling rate.
Best-in-class Camera and Storage
A 108MP primary camera is capable of recording stunning 8K videos. Additionally, the camera application supports some creative video formations, which would be very helpful for bloggers or photographers. The LPDDR5 RAM, couple with UFS 3.1 provides for an excellent read and write speeds. While we did post an early article about MI 11launch, read the official report here.
Image Courtesy: Mi Blog
The device supports fast wireless charging
Looking at some unboxing videos out there on the internet, the device appears very elegant when held in hand. The slim 8.06mm chassis houses a 4,600mAh battery. The Xiaomi MI 11 charges from 0 to 100% in about 45 minutes, thanks to the 55W wired TurboCharge technology. It also supports 50W wireless charging. Surprising enough, Xiaomi would not supply in-box chargers with their latest flagship. Xiaomi has launched the MI 11 in China, before any other company, which might turn into their advantage.
Image Courtesy: Mi Blog
The rear camera design is a bit odd
However, I am a little concerned about the looks of the rear camera module. While in the front, MI 11 sports a punch-hole display, they have tried a new design on the rear panel. It is slightly unpleasant to my eye, as the camera bump catches too much attention. Other than that, the MI 11 is definitely the best bang for the buck device so far. If we convert the launch price, the base variant costs around 45,000 INR. Although, based on previous trends, the device might be priced around 57,000 INR when it launches in India. While Indian reviewers will import the smartphone, we might see an official launch soon.
The Google ‘At A Glance’ Widget would inform users about severe weather conditions and other weather alerts. The Google App on Pixel Launcher always receives the latest and the best from Google. Whenever there is a weather alert available, Google Glance Widget would take up two lines to display the same. The first line would display the warning message, the second would display the name of the organization that has issues the warning.
Image Courtesy: 9to5Google
While this might be an to the utility, some users still prefer viewing the conventional date and time at a glance. The warnings remain until the organization who issues them withdraws the alert. It is not a part of regular notifications from Google App. Other than the weather alerts, calendar events and work profile can also be added as a part of ‘At a Glance’ feature. You can customize the information you want your device to display in the preferences menu. Google has always had the upper hand when it comes to first-party widgets. Although, there are a couple of other widgets that you might like.
This addition has been done sometime in the previous month, as it was a report from 9to5googlethat made people aware of it. Google ‘At A Glance’ to display weather alerts in many pixel devices. With or without the weather notifications, the widget itself is a part of the Google App. However, it is still unknown whether this new feature is available on other devices that provide stock Android experience. If not, this might be a Pixel only feature. An interesting thing to note here is that this add-on was not covered in detail in the recent Google changelogs.
WhatsApp would stop providing its services to old iPhones and Android phones from 2021. WhatsApp would support devices running on iOS 9 and above and Android 4.0.3 and above. Those with older versions would have to upgrade to a supported (recent) version of these mobile operating systems.
Image Courtesy: Gsmarena
Why does this happen?
The devices that run on older iOS or Android operating systems do not support modern features. They include end-to-end encryption and other security updates. These dates devices also do not support some latest WhatsApp features. Deep down, it is also a drive to compel people to switch to better and latest devices.
Some feature phones such as JioPhone and JioPhone 2, which run on KaiOS 2.5.1 would continue to run WhatsApp. Recently, the messaging platform also introduced its payment feature. Users would be able to send money directly to another WhatsApp user, through a partnership with several Indian banks and National Payments Corporation of India.
Image Courtesy: CNET
Which devices would stop running WhatsApp?
As far as iOS is concerned, iPhone 4s and its successors are safe. Some Android devices that would not be able to run WhatsApp are Samsung Galaxy S2, HTC Desires and others launched in or around 2012. If you wish to check the Android version in your smartphone, head over to settings. Go to the “About Phone” section. There, you would see a heading called “Android Version”.
Consider this, the more dated your device is, the lesser are the chances of receiving an OS update for it. So for some devices, there might not be an Android 4.0.3 or iOS 9 update altogether. Hence, many users might have to get a new device in order to access WhatsApp. For instance, the last update that iPhone 4 got was iOS 7.
Day by day, new technologies are coming up. We have witnessed the journey from a multi-tap keypad to a high-tech capacitive touchscreen in just a matter of years. Now, it seems that we are going to see a new next-gen tech powering our wearables in the coming years. Recently, Apple has been awarded a patent dubbed “Detecting Through-Body Inputs At A Wearable Audio Device” that explains different ways a user can provide inputs to the earbuds. The Cupertino-based tech giant is reportedly working on some new and cool ways to control media functions for wireless earphones.
According to a recent report from Patently Apple, the US Patent and Trademark Office has officially granted Apple a patent relating to new methods for controlling AirPods Pro. It explains that the new “through body” sensor system would allow a user to touch their face in a way that would provide input to the AirPods Pro. We expect this next-gen control system in upcoming AirPods TWS earbuds, but there’s no surety to it.
Apple Next-gen AirPods Through-Body Controls
Image courtesy: Patently Apple
As per the patent, Apple is working on bringing new and innovative ways to control media functions for wireless earphones by using various body movements. These include body movements such as touching your face or facial gestures such as clicking your teeth or tongue. It means that there will possibly be no touch-sensitive areas or physical control buttons on the earbuds.
Equipped with this tech, users will be able to change tracks, control volume, play/pause music, or do more with just a few pre-defined body gestures. For example, by just clicking your teeth, you might be able to change a track, play, or pause it in your AirPods. Though the concerned department has already granted the patent for this new tech, but seeing this a reality does not sound easy.
Image courtesy: Patently Apple
Note that this is just a beginning, and there would be many challenges in implementing this. What if the wearables equipped with this tech take inputs when you’re not actually giving them? Say you’re talking with your friend or ‘just’ click your teeth or tongue for some usual gesture and your wireless earphones take it as an input. But, Apple is working on it, and when implemented fully, it’ll revolutionalize the course of modern wearables.
Back in 2017, with Fast Pair’s launch, pairing a Bluetooth device has become as easy as just bringing your Bluetooth accessory near your headset. It reduces the manual work and lets users pair headphones with just a tap. Since its launch, the process started with a standard notification that’d include a thumbnail of the Bluetooth accessory. But now, it looks like Android is trying to copy iOS when it comes to ‘Fast Pairing of Bluetooth devices on Android smartphones. Google has recently updated Fast Pair UI that now looks quite similar to the one on iOS.
Earlier, the pairing process popped a notification at the top of your screen that required a simple tap to initiate the pairing and then provide a confirmation. However, now, Google has quietly updated the setup experience that now features a tall sheet sliding up from the bottom. According to a report from 9to5Google, the name of the accessory appears centered above its bigger picture. Below the picture of the Bluetooth accessory, there appears a “Connect” button, that once paired, displays an option to continue “Setup” or “Close.”
Updated Fast Pair UI on Android
Image courtesy: 9to5Google
According to 9to5Google, Google quietly introduced Android’s new Fast Pair interface in November (or earlier). Said to take after iOS and AirPods, the new UI imitates iPhone’s Bluetooth pairing interface as it now also pops up a tall sheet sliding from the bottom. Notably, a user is less likely to miss or swipe away a bottom sheet as compared to the notification at the top. Here’s how the UI will work and appear on your Android handset.
Image courtesy: 9to5Google
The improved Fast Pair UI for Android appears when you start setting up a new Fast Pair accessory with your phone for the first time. When you tap the “Connect” button, it pairs your Bluetoothaccessory with your smartphone. However, Android still uses a compact notification to show the battery status of each item. On the other hand, iOS brings up the entire sheet to show battery percentage.
The report also notes that a smaller alert is leveraged for re-pairing accessories too, especially on phones and tablets with a signed-in Google Account.
What do you see the first thing on your Xiaomi device when you power it up for the first time? There’s a Xiaomi logo or it could be your device’s name i.e. Redmi K20 Pro followed by a ‘Powered by Android’ branding at the bottom. That’s the splash screen or in other words, boot logo. It is then followed by a boot animation which by its name, is an animation.
Most people get bored seeing the same splash screen over and over again since there’s no way to change it via jumping into the settings on your device. But hey, it can be changed and that is why the Android operating system is one of the first choices when it comes to customizations and free will to personalize it. There are plenty of ways to change splash screen for Xiaomi smartphones but most of them require unlocking the bootloader and/or rooting the phone.
Disclaimer: Most of these methods require arooted Xiaomi 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, we don’t take responsibility if your phone bricks or turns into the next Dragon Capsule to Mars so proceed at your own risk.
How To Create Splash Screen (Boot Logo)
There are practically tens of ways to create splash screen for your Xiaomi smartphone. This is one of the methods available.
Things to keep in mind is that you would need an image with a resolution equivalent to the smartphone you are using. In this case, a Redmi 5 would require an image of 720×1440, a Redmi 4 Pro or Prime would need 1080×1920 pixels resolution, and so on. Depending upon which smartphone you use, a boot logo has a specific size. A Redmi Note 3 has a boot image with a size of 75KB, Xiaomi Mi A1 has a buffer of 100KB and it could go in megabytes in size in some devices. Here’s how you can do it.
Step #1: First, you need to download the Splash Maker available. One of the most commonly referred splash makers is available on XDA Developer so click here. You will find the tools here – 1, 2, 3, 4 [Don’t worry about the name of the smartphones models, look for compatible resolution]. If this tool doesn’t work, you can use this toolfor newer firmware as well.
Step #2: You need to create your boot logo.
Step #3: Rename the new file as “logo.png” or “logo.jpg” according to the name that the boot logo on your phone is saved as originally. Some devices may have stored it as ‘Splash.img’ or ‘splash.png’ where .img or .png is an extension and can vary.
Step #4: Now, replace the existing one with newly created custom splash screen. You will find a ‘pics’ folder in the tool you downloaded in Step #1. Copy-paste it there and proceed.
Step #5: Back up a bit and run the “CREATE_LOGO.bat” and your splash image will be created. From now on, you can use Method #3 listed below to get your splash screen changed on your device.
Additional Information About Creating a Custom Splash Screen
You need to find if the aforementioned tool will produce a boot logo compatible with your phone’s screen. A Redmi Note 5 Pro would require a boot logo of 1080×1920 or lower and the same applies for all other Xiaomi devices.
To check if the downloaded tool is compatible according to your phone screen’s resolution, download the tool and extract it.
Open the primary folder probably named after any of the devices mentioned above and navigate to ‘bin’.
Next up, click on ‘Technical Details’ and you should find the ‘Resolution of all BMP Images’ and it must be according to your phone’s resolution.
Things to remember is that the file should be the same size as your existing one to avoid the system from rejecting the modified file.
Use fewer colors to decrease the size of the file.
Use tools like compressPNG.com or others to reduce the size in kilobytes or megabytes.
You can use the cropping tools in case your image is bigger than the resolution required.
Note: In case something goes down, take a backup of all the data as well as the boot logo. Doing a factory reset can help fix most of the issues. In any case, you are solely responsible if your phone breaks down or bricks after following any of these methods.
How to change Splash Screen (Boot Logo) for Xiaomi Smartphones
Here are some of the methods that you would find worth trying to change splash screen or boot logo on your Xiaomi devices.
Method #4: Flashing Splash Screen Using Terminal Emulator
For this particular method, you don’t need a PC but a rooted Xiaomi device to proceed. Here, the Terminal Emulator allows you to flash the newly created splash image using the Splash Maker tool.
Step #1: First up, you need to download the Terminal Emulator on your device assuming that it is rooted already.
Step #2: Install the app and run it.
Step #3: Move the new splash screen to the phone’s internal memory before proceeding.
Step #3: Use these commands to actually flash the splash screen or boot logo on your Xiaomi device.
That’s pretty much all that we have when it comes to guide on how to change splash screen on Xiaomi smartphones. You can employ any of the four methods listed above although it is your responsibility in case the phone turns into a giant blob of molten lava or simply bricks.
OPPO, one of the most popular smartphone brands, is reportedly working on a new smartphone dubbed OPPO X Tom Ford Edition. This handset is said to arrive with a rollable display, and now its renders have leaked online. The renders show that the phone will have a pull-up display panel that rolls in and out like a scroll. It seems like the company is working on multiple concept smartphones with rollable displays. Earlier, OPPO has introduced its Oppo X 2021 concept phone last month, which extended out from the side.
LetsGoDigital, the website that leaked the images of the OPPO X Tom Ford slider smartphone concept, said that it obtained these renders from company documentation. When the slider is not rolled up, the smartphone is a small, squarish device that could fit easily into the pocket. The screen extends from the top edge, when rolled up, and increases the display area by about 80 percent.
OPPO X Tom Ford Edition Concept
Image courtesy: LetsGoDigital
As mentioned earlier, the renders reveal the one can pull out the screen from the top. The screen has rounded edges, and the phone carries two golden pull tabs on the sides. These make rolling of the screen easy, said the report. At the back, there is a triple camera setup with the sensors aligned horizontally in the top center of the module. The space around the camera setup features a wood grain structure, while the rest of the back has a soft leather finish. Below the sensors, renders reveal engraved words “Oppo X Tom Ford – Design for concept Shakira.”
It’s strange to see that there’s no indication of the front sensor in the renders. This hints that the phone could carry an under-display selfie camera sensor. Or perhaps, the extended portion of the phone, when you roll out the phone, houses a second screen that may be used for selfies. On the right edge, there is a SIM tray integrated into the metallic frame.
So far, this is the only information we have about the Oppo X Tom Ford Edition smartphone, and we don’t know when the company will launch this. Also, this phone is currently a concept, and we can only speculate on its mechanics as of now.
Last month we learned Google is adding shopping cards to Chrome’s new tab page. Now, a new experimental flag has been reportedly spotted in the Chromium code showing the tech giant is working on a feature called “Chrome Cart.”
According to a report from ChromeStory, a new flag called “NTP Chrome Cart Module” has appeared in the Chromium code that suggests a new mysterious feature coming for Chrome. The new piece of code allegedly contains a tag “that groups all Chrome Cart related code changes” with links to the cart pages of most e-commerce websites. Here’s what the new flag tells about the upcoming feature.
Code Shows Support for Amazon, eBay, Best Buy, and More
Image courtesy: ChromeStory
One of the most significant change in the Chrome Cart related code, ChromeStory says, is the change requests for specific shopping websites. It seems like Google wants to help users shop better by storing their cart items from different shopping websites. However, it’s not clear whether Chrome Cart will have deep integration with these shopping websites or not.
Looking at the code shows a tag that contains URLs for cart pages of various shopping websites. These include Walmart, Amazon, HM.com, eBay, Etsy.com, Best Buy, and Home Depot. Though, it’s not yet clear what exactly the Chrome Cart will do. However, the report speculates that it would curate items from various shopping websites that you use — similar to Chrome Kaleidoscope. Maybe Chrome would integrate products from your carts and give you a better price from a different store for your products in the cart, who knows.
Since there is no official detail on this alleged feature, we can’t tell you much about it. However, we should hear more about it in the coming time.
Uninstalling bloatware is one of the most discussed and talked terms in an Android smartphone. Having an Android smartphone brings a lot of customizations and personalization to a user’s hand.
The open-source based platform, Android, grants the developers an ideal stage to try and test various new features and functions.
All of these things are enjoyed by almost every Android user, but there is one thing that no user likes on their phone, that is bloatware.
I do understand that some of these pre-installed apps might be handy and useful but that is something for you to decide not the brand, so today, I’ll be demonstrating how to manage the bloatware apps and services on your Samsung Galaxy S20 without any rooting methods and how you can uninstall as well as install them according to your needs.
Without waiting further, let’s get started!
What is Bloatware
Okay, so what exactly is bloatware, might be the question many of you must be thinking. The reason why this question arises is that each one of us has a different way of using our smartphone and there might be chances the brands and models are also different.
There are chances that the apps that are bloatware for me might be useful for you and vice versa. To explain what exactly bloatware means, we need to go back to when we had just unboxed our current smartphone for the first time and completed the setup.
After completing the setup, you would see that some apps are pre-installed even without opening the play store like Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft apps, Dropbox, WeChat, and many more. Apart from these, brands also include apps like calendar, mail, and music, which not many people use.
Shortly, the apps that come installed in default are called bloatware. Out of all of those pre-installed apps, most of them cannot be uninstalled, hence, they get on updating every time and keep on taking your device’s storage.
Now moving on to the practical part, here, I will be walking you through the tutorial on how to uninstall and install these bloatware apps on your Samsung Galaxy S20. Note that these are the apps that I came across in the community deemed bloatware, so if you have any other specific app that you want to be uninstalled, let us know in the comments and, we shall try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Bloatware Uninstallation & Installation Steps
Prerequisites
As we are dealing with a method that does not require rooting, so, before proceeding further, make sure that your Samsung Galaxy S20 has the following things listed below completed.
Download and install the Android SDK Platform tool provided by Google on your PC. It is required to recognize your Android device and perform the ADB commands.
Developer Mode should be enabled on your Android smartphone.
Download the APK Analyzer application from the Google Play Store. This application will help to search for the package names of all the installed applications on your smartphone.
Uninstallation Steps
Follow the steps mentioned below carefully to uninstall bloatware from your Samsung Galaxy S20.
Open the APK Analyzer application.
Search for the package names of the applications you want to remove. Write all of the names of the apps you want to uninstall.
Connect your smartphone to the PC through a USB cable.
Now on your PC, open any of the applications: Command Prompt | Windows PowerShell | Terminal. In my case, I am using the command prompt, but you can use any of your choice mentioned above.
Type the following command “adb shell” and then press the enter key once finished typing.
Now type the following command “pm uninstall – user 0 [package name]” and press enter once finished typing. Here, the package name in [package name] has to be replaced by the name of the app package name that you want to uninstall from your smartphone.
A success message will show up. If not, then check whether you performed all the steps correctly and try again.
Once the message pops up, continue with the same procedure for other apps you want to uninstall from your phone.
You can now disconnect your phone.
Installation Steps
To get the deleted bloatware apps back, write the command listed below that will be replaced in step 6 of the uninstallation process.
The command used to install the uninstalled apps is: “cmd package install-existing [package name]”, here, the package name in [package name] has to be replaced by the name of the app package name which you want to install back on your smartphone.
Conclusion – A Clean, Bloatware Free Experience
After following all the procedures and steps explained above carefully, you should now be able to experience your phone without any bloatware or pre-installed software that you were not able to uninstall earlier. If you wish to have those default applications provided by Samsung, then you can refer to the installation part of the article above and carefully proceed with the steps.
Do remember, whenever you are attempting any such operations on your Android smartphone, do read, research, and understand the whole procedure and terms, so that you don’t encounter any issues during the process which might lead to warranty void, device failure, etc.
Lastly, dropdown your views, comments, or any feedback for further assistance, and we shall see you in
YouTube, being the most popular video-sharing platform, constantly keeps experimenting and bringing new features. After the recent addition of YouTube Shorts, the company redesigned the video watching experience on Android and iOS. In October, YouTube moved the “autoplay” toggle into the video player on both Android and iOS apps. Now, YouTube on the web is also following this revamp and moving the autoplay toggle into the player.
At the moment, the autoplay toggle resides in the right sidebar of the web version of YouTube. It’s currently a part of the “Up next” section that previews the upcoming videos. The redesign now brings it directly into the player toolbar and appears left to the Caption button. It’s quite similar to the Android YouTube app version of autoplay.
Autoplay for YouTube on The Web Features
Image courtesy: 9to5Google
The new, inside-the-video-player autoplay toggle now would lie in the same toolbar where the play/pause, settings, and closed captions controls lie. When a user is not hovering over it, the toggle will disappear — just like the other controls — resulting in a cleaner interface. Also, it matches the YouTube color scheme, while the earlier blue-colored toggle resulted in a color mismatch.
On the right sidebar, there is a carousel to tune the suggested video feeds with different interest tabs. With the help of these tabs, YouTube brings the ability to fine-tune video recommendations on the web too. The “All” tab is selected by default, but one can choose different tabs depending upon their interest.
The new autoplay toggle for YouTube on the web is widely rolling out for most users. However, it is not yet fully available for everyone. If you’ve received it on your account, you’ll see a blue “Looking for autoplay?” prompt pointing to the new location.
