Developer Options and USB Debugging is one of the most discussed terms in an Android Smartphone. These options give the developers access to flash custom ROMs, troubleshoot their devices, remove bloatware, change various other settings and functions, etc. Today, I’ll be showing you how to enable both the settings on any Android smartphone with some simple steps, which, of course, does not void your device’s warranty and all.
Note that these settings are meant for development purposes only, so don’t go doing all these things unless you are a developer or know what you are doing with your device, for it might lead to some improper functioning of your phone if any step goes wrong.
Well, let’s get started.
The Steps To Enable Developer Options & USB Debugging Mode
Enabling Developer Options
Open the Settings application.
Once open, search for Build number in the Setting’s search panel.
Keep tapping the Build number until you see the pop-up message, “You are now X steps away from being a developer.”
A prompt will show up for security confirmation asking you to enter your lock screen password. Enter it and wait.
Once done, a “You are now a developer!” message will pop-up.
Go back to the home page of the Settings where on scrolling down, you can find the Developer Options now visible. Another way is that simply search Developer Options on the search panel of the Settings search panel as you did for the Build number.
Enabling USB Debugging Mode
Open the Settings application.
Go to the Developer Options or search for it in the Setting’s search panel.
Enable the Developer Options toggle.
Now, scroll down to the Debugging section and enable the USB Debugging toggle.
A prompt will show up, confirming the action. Press OK and wait.
That enables USB Debugging on your smartphone and, it’s ready for various operations.
Conclusion
Now you can perform various types of actions on your Android smartphone which, previously required the Developer Options and USB Debugging to be enabled. After finishing the work, always remember to switch off or disable these options for security reasons.
Lastly, dropdown your views, comments, or any feedback for further assistance, and we shall see you in the next one.
OnePlus Watch is in the talks for quite some time, however, there was no word on the wearable’s launch date. Now, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has revealed on Twitter that the most-awaited OnePlus wearable will launch in early 2021. He said that the company is working on the OnePlus Watch, and it’ll arrive early next year.
Many of you said you wanted a watch, and as you might have heard over the weekend—we're making one, to be released early next year. Wishes do come true.? https://t.co/H1Fqv9srXj
Earlier, the smartwatch was expected to release alongside the OnePlus 8T back in October, but it didn’t happen that time. In late October, some reports claimed that the company postponed the launch of its smartwatch indefinitely. But now, Lau has revealed the timeline of its imminent launch. Although there’s still no mention of any particular launch date, the OnePlus Watch may likely make its way alongside the OnePlus 9 series.
OnePlus Watch Design, Features
Image courtesy: Android Headlines
We’re hearing about the OnePlus Watch for some time, and there are ample reports that talk about its design. Earlier sketches of the smartwatch have suggested that it will have a circular dial. In October, OnePlus also teased a circular design of the OnePlus smartwatch. In a recent interview, Tau said that the company is working closely with Google to improve WearOS. However, it isn’t clear whether the OnePlus smartwatch will run WearOS or not.
Back in September, a OnePlus smartwatch reportedly received BIS certification, which hints the OnePlus Watch could launch in India as well. While Lau didn’t reveal the exact launch date, we believe it may come alongside the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro models.
This year, Telegram received 10+ updates bringing new features to the messaging service, including the new search filters, anonymous admins for groups, and more. Now, it has launched a new group voice chats feature — somewhat similar to Discord rooms — through its 12th update. With this, users can participate in ongoing, always-on, group voice chats on Telegram and can join/leave anytime they want. The good thing is that when you’ve joined a group voice chat, you can simultaneously do other things such as send texts or multimedia on the app.
According to the official Telegram blog post, the Voice Chats in Telegram groups are not group calls, but they can achieve similar goals. The new Telegram update will now allow any group to become a voice chat room. Note that this feature earlier appeared in a recent beta update too, but, Telegram has now officially rolled it out for the stable version.
Telegram Group Voice Chats Features
The new voice chats for Telegram groups will allow thousands of group members to participate in an always-on voice chat. This feature is now a part of existing text chats and will run parallel to the ongoing text/multimedia-based communication. It is just that users will be able to speak live with their friends and family through a persistent group voice call. Also, it provides a user the flexibility to join or leave the group voice chat anytime he/she wishes to. This is like you join a group of your friends for a quick chat at the back of your classroom and come back when you want.
A group with an active voice chat will show a special bar at the top with a Join button, which you can tap to participate in the voice chat with just a tap. Besides the Join button, this bar shows profile pictures of current participants in the voice chat and displays who is speaking at the moment. Android users with the Telegram app will have a system-wide floating widget that shows who’s currently talking and display microphone controls — even when the app is running in the background. It also provides a menu that allows group voice chat members to invite more people.
New Animations and SD Card Support
Apart from the group voice chats feature, Telegram has also updated the animated stickers for its Android app. Additionally, iOS users can now enable Siri to read new messages aloud in the headphones. Further, the update brings a new and more powerful image editor. As per Telegram, the stickers now come with unlimited resolution but with a size less than 50kB. This makes the animated stickers now load faster than ever. Also, users on the Android app can now move their app data to an external SD card if they want to free up their space.
According to the company, Voice Chats are available for all Telegram platforms — Android, iOS, and the Web — and can accommodate a few thousand participants. To start a voice chat, group admins can tap the menu icon and select Start Voice Chat.
Many of you probably don’t know, but ProtonMail is a well known and one of the most secure email services built to provide privacy and security. In simple words, it is an end-to-end encrypted email service that encrypts the entire email content from the sender to the recipient via ProtonMail servers. This offers a huge advantage to users who care about their privacy online. Just around this time last year, the ProtonMail team released an encrypted calendar app called Proton Calendar but made it accessible only via the web. But this service is now available as an app for Android and is already released in Beta on Google Playstore.
The highlight of this calendar service is that it offers the same end-to-end encryption as ProtonMail and ProtonDrive. On top of that, the Proton Calendar also allows users to migrate all their existing calendar events and critical information from other calendar services. Further, it allows users to manage up to 10 calendars. On the other hand, the Android app syncs data with the regular web app.
Proton Calendar App for Android and Features
Proton Calendar, as expected, offers all the usual features that other calendar services provide. This calendar app allows you to create, edit, and delete events, and as said before, allows you to manage up-to 10 calendars. However, the most important feature is the end-to-end encryption — which encrypts all details such as the event title, description, location, and participants. What this means is that no one else except you can see your calendar events. Moreover, the app syncs all changes made within the app with the web version of Proton Calendar and vice versa.
Apart from this, the service offers support for dark mode and allows users to add emojis. These make it easier for them to see what’s on the schedule at a glance. The company says that it is working on bringing more features to the app. These include the ability to add participants to an event, respond to invitations, and import events. Note that the app is currently available to only the ProtonMail or ProtonVPN subscribers with a premium plan.
The Proton Calendar app, currently available in beta, you can download and install it from GooglePlay Store. The iOS app, on the other hand, will come later as Proton says it is working on it already announce its availability in 2021.
OnePlus has just announced its first-ever update for the OnePlus Nord N10 5G. The company has started pushing the incremental rollout of OxygenOS 10.5.8 for OnePlus Nord N10 with several improvements plus the latest December 2020 security patch. Though this update doesn’t deliver any new feature, but, it does come with several improvements to system stability, connection stability, power consumption, and the camera.
Confirmed over the official OnePlus Forum, the latest OTA update will be available for everyone with the OnePlus Nord N10 5G. Apart from the December 2020 security patch, and as said before, the update comes with some power consumption and network tweaks, plus improvements to the device’s camera. Let’s see what all the OxygenOS 10.5.8 for Nord N10 5G brings.
OxygenOS 10.5.8 Update for OnePlus Nord N10 5G
The latest OxygenOS 10.5.8 update for the N10 5G brings several improvements to the system. These include an optimized power consumption of the system, improved system stability, updated GMS package to September 2020, and the updated Android security patch to December 2020.
Through this update, the smartphone brand has also made improvements to the camera to enhance the shooting experience. Further, some unknown issues with the mobile network have also been fixed. The changelog specifically mentions that the update brings improved connection stability with the mobile networks.
The OxygenOS 10.5.8 update should come to all users through the OxygenOS Updater starting December 21. While it’s great to see an update for the Nord N10 5G, but there’s no sign whether the OnePlus Nord N100 will receive any.
It seems like the period of sending SMS’s or MMS with the stock messaging apps on our cellphones is witnessing a complete revolution. The traditional way of sending SMS’s to phone inboxes have considerably altered with third-party apps such as Chomp SMS and more. In fact, most of our conversations these days take place on such messaging apps for our Android devices, unlike before. And surely this evolution has grown much larger over the years, thus offering us more additional facilities.
Nowadays, as we rely mostly on these applications for our conversations, it is obvious to look for the best messaging apps for our devices. This article lists some of the most reliable messaging apps for Android that are sure to provide you the best of your experiences.
10 Best Messaging Apps for Android
1. Google Messages
Image Courtesy: Google Play Store
Price: Free
OS: Android
Popularity: 1,000,000,000+ downloads
Google message is an official messaging app from Google. The app looks simple and has a user-friendly interface. It comes with the readability of texting, along with the richness of chat. You can text your families and friends from anywhere and even set up group chats to keep in touch with your loved ones. Google messages bring some of the most outstanding features, hence allowing you to send SMS and MMS. You can further send and receive texts over Wi-Fi and mobile network using RCS. Besides, Messages also supports easy sharing of images, videos and even enables you to send voice notes. You can send rich emojis to fill excitement to your texts and make payments via Google Pay as well.
If you are looking for an application, especially for group chats, BAND is the most recommended one on this list. The developers have crafted the app, focusing on providing the best group chatting service. Fortunately, it offers an intuitive platform for group discussion. Whether it is a sports group, workgroup, school group, or just a hangout group, the members can freely go with their conversation without any interruption. It helps you stay socially active and connected to others. BAND even allows organizing your groups into different channels or message anyone individually.
Surely, the name WhatsApp doesn’t need any sort of additional introduction. It is the most widely used messaging app throughout the world. WhatsApp offers all its brilliant services completely free of cost. The first positive point for this application is it’s the excessively easy and sleek interface. It allows you to effortlessly chat with anyone on your contact list, having a WhatsApp account with the same number. You can exchange texts, emojis, GIF’s, videos, images, audio clips, and voice messages. Apart from a simple text application, it further comes with the ability to make audio and video calls over the internet. WhatsApp also includes two-factor authentication, which ensures your utter protection. So, all your private conversations remain private with WhatsApp.
Probably the one and only best platform for gamers to meet new people from all over the world and get to know each other well. Discord is a messaging app with cross-platform support across various smartphones and desktops. It allows you to create your own server and invite your group to keep in touch and have fun over text, voice, and video calls. The voice chat feature of Discord is extremely good and comes with support for GIF and a few other fun stuff. Although Discord services are free in every way, yet certain features need to be unlocked via its Nitro subscription. The platform was specially built to form gaming communities. However, people use it for various purposes, mainly for its outstanding capabilities.
Chomp is a simple and lightweight Android messaging app. The best part about it is Chomp only takes less than 10MB of memory of your device and yet provides its delicious service with no issues. The app comes with tons of astonishing features, thereby fulfilling all your requirements from a messaging app. It supports passcode lock, scheduled SMS sender, stop while sending messages, robust privacy settings, blocklisting, signatures, SMS blocker, text snippets, and more. Chomp messenger not only stops there, but it is also an ultra-customizable application. It offers unlimited customizing options enabling you to effortlessly change the notification LED colors, change the ringtone, vibrate patterns, text size and color, background layout, and so on.
Messenger app from Facebook is another popular messaging app after WhatsApp, which has a huge user base. It is basically an all-in-one communication app that includes text messaging service, Voice call, and video calling service. You can further create a group video call with up 4 people max. Facebook Messenger comes with all the basic features such as support for emojis, GIFs, images, and videos. The Chat Head feature is one of my favorite that lets you easily access it whenever someone writes to you or send any message. Besides, it also features a dark theme that reduces the strain on your eyes, especially during the night. The newer update has also introduced a Vanish Mode, which lets you send messages that last for only a certain moment and then automatically vanish.
Next, we have the Handcent Next SMS, an Android messaging app. It has undergone quite a few transitions over the past few years. And now, with the latest update, the app seems to have a stabilized environment in terms of its interface, performance, and features, of course. It comes with unlimited message customization to meet the accuracy of your preferences. Apart from individual messaging, you can also create groups and start a fruitful conversation with your friends and family. Handcent also offers free cloud backup, a strong guard, and support for Android wear the device. Besides, you can enrich your messages by using hundreds of cool emojis, stickers, and GIFs. Moreover, the messaging app also lets you exchange MMS and full-size multimedia with MMS Plus.
Concerned about your privacy? Well, Telegram must be your ultimate solution. This messenger is specifically built, keeping in mind the complete privacy protection of the users. Telegram is a simple, reliable, and powerful messaging app that comes with support for file sharing, emoji, stickers, GIF, and group chat. It supports up to 200,000 members per group. Hence proper usage of mentions and hashtags are a must while replying to the group. Unlike other messaging apps, Telegram allows you to share large videos and various types of documents, be it Docs, ZIP, MP3, or any other. Besides, it also features a powerful photo and video editor and many more stellar features that make it one of its kind.
Price: Free/ Business account at $6.67 – $12.50 per user
OS: Android
Popularity: 10,000,000+ downloads
Slack is a productive messaging app ideal for business purposes. It almost like a more refined version of Discord that has a sleek and gentle look along with a professional feel. It allows you to effortlessly communicate with your teams or groups and organize your conversations as per any particular topic, project, or so. You can also create groups, establish video calls, share documents, and collaborate with the right person at the right time. Slack also supports a few third-party apps such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Asana, Twitter, etc. Above all; Slack offers most of its services for free just like Discord; however, in case you have a much larger team and have the need for certain advanced functionalities, you can opt for its subscription plan which is optional.
Skype is a very popular name when it comes to the most reliable video calling applications. However, it also includes the ability to send and receive text messages, make voice calls, and even make normal calls to anyone from your contact list. Skype features a very user-friendly interface, and the quality of video calls is exceptional. Besides, it also supports the sharing of various types of files and documents. You can also use several emojis, Giphy’s to make your conversation look interesting. It provides all its services for no cost. However, the free version supports ads, which is, after all, not that much of a big deal.
Unlike the regular messaging apps on our cellphones, the third-party apps come with certain much higher specifications. And for Android devices, these were the top 10 messaging apps picks as per their usability, performance, features, and of course, from the pricing point of view. Do let us know if we missed out on something special.
Motorola is one of those OEMs who rarely provide OS upgrades for their phones and, this what their users hate the most. But now, the company has shed some light on this topic, giving hope for its customers to hold on. Through a recent blog post, Motorola has announced that it’ll soon roll out the Android 11 upgrade for several of its devices. It also shared a list of 23 smartphones that will receive the latest Android OS upgrade — the Android 11 — starting in the coming months.
Motorola generally provides only two upgrades over the life of a flagship device. For other devices, they’ll just receive one and the only upgrade over their entire life. So this progress from the company gives some hope for Moto users, especially the existing 2020 users. Well, better late than never, the smartphone brand is finally planning to send out the Android update to a long list of its devices. Here’s the complete list of these devices.
List of Motorola Devices to Receive Android 11
Motorola has said that it’ll start pushing the Android 11 upgrade for the following devices in the coming month, presumably as early as this month. However, practically, the Android 11 upgrade for Motorola devices will run through the entire 2021. The smartphones include:
Note that for a majority of these phones, this will be their only operating system update. The only exceptions are the company’s foldable Razr 5G and the Edge+, which the company has publicly committed to provide further support.
As expected, this update will bring the typical features of Android 11, including Chat Bubbles, notification improvements, data control, and more. Also, long-pressing the power button will allow users to manage their connected devices.
Are you thinking of buying a new car but don’t want to visit the dealer just yet? Or you want to check out most 2020 car models in detail without leaving your home. Whatever be the reason, you can now experience several cars in 3D with their interactive 3D models — right in the Google Search. Google has now upgraded its AR tech and is bringing 3D models of new cars for its AR viewers, similar to the tech that brought 3D animals.
Google announced this feature during its “Search On” event back in October to bring 3D animals into Search. But now, it seems like the feature is rolling out widely for more things, right now a variety of vehicles. Google’s VP of Engineering, Rajan Patel, took to Twitter to announce that the AR-search feature now supports more than 250 car models and they’re working on adding more. Be it a Volvo or Porsche, you can now see all of them in detail with a 3D model, either on a generic/stylized background or in real-life using AR via your camera.
3D Car Models in Google Search: How To Use
Widely rolled out for most Android users, the feature allows Android smartphone users to check out the 3D interactive models of several cars when searched for the supported vehicles. According to Patel, this feature currently supports more than 250 car models and will add more in the near future. When a user searches for cars like the 2020 Audi R8 or Chevrolet Corvette from the Google app on Android, he’ll see an “Explore” section with a “View in 3D” button on the Knowledge Panel. Clicking over it will trigger an AR-capable and highly detailed model of that vehicle — both exterior and interior.
While viewing the 3D cinematic view, you can set different backgrounds and even use AR to see the car in your real life. You can place the supported car in your own space using AR, just in case, you want to show off a ride without actually having one. It is worth noting that this is the company’s first cloud streamed 3D content in Search, mentioned Patel in the tweet. Note that this feature is not yet available for iOS users, although Google VP states that the tech giant is working on bringing this experience on the Google app for iOS, as well.
When you power on your Asus smartphone, you are greeted with an Asus logo followed by animation. The logo screen is also called a splash screen or boot logo and it is certainly one of the most frequent things you’ll see. Although most people wouldn’t even think twice, a boot logo or splash screen is a pretty blend. You might get bored seeing the same thing over and over again. Luckily, the Android operating system offers a lot of functionalities, features, and more than iOS won’t offer ever. It also offers ways you can change things or aspects or looks and in this case, the splash screen.
There are tonnes of methods that you can deploy to change a splash screen on your Asus smartphone. Note that some methods might be successful while some may not. All the methods below require root permission as you cannot alter the boot logo or splash screen with a non-rooted device.
Disclaimer: All these methods require a rooted Asus 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. In any case, we don’t take any responsibility of any ill-effect or negative outcome on your device born out of any of these methods as user discretion is required.
In case if you didn’t create a splash screen or boot logo beforehand, here’s how you can do it and flash it on Asus smartphones as seen in these step-by-step instructions.
Part 1: Creating a Splash Screen
Step #1: First up, you’ll need a splash maker. Here’s a link to download a splash makerfor Asus ZenFone Selfie that you can download, extract and install. Note that this could work on other Asus devices but if not, try tool 1 or try Hotpot.
Step #2: Once you have extracted the said tool, go to the “Pics” folder. Here, you will find the code like this –
Step #3: You need to find “ASUS_logo_HD.png” or “ASUS_logo_FHD.png” or a similar name with the keyword ‘logo‘. It is the boot logo that your phone uses to show during boot up. You need to create a new boot logo and copy-paste this newly created image and remove the original one.
Step #4: Launch “CREATE_LOGO.bat” from the extracted files to create your desired logo named as ‘splash.img‘ without the quotation mark. This will actually encode the newly created boot logo and the system will recognize the same when finally flashed.
Step #5: You’ll find the final output image in the “Output” folder after you have created it.
Note: You can either use the Part 2 mentioned below or get around with Method #3. Both should work just fine.
Part 2: Flashing a Splash Screen
Now this particular method works a lot like Method #3 but instead of getting a computer involved and doing all the work there, you need a phone here. Download the Terminal Emulator on your Asus smartphone and install it. Assuming that you have already created a splash image that you want to flash over the existing one, here’s the code to use. You need to transfer the splash screen or boot logo that you want to set up on boot to the device’s internal storage.
Here, we are assuming that you have created the file with the name splash.img and already transferred it to the internal memory. Using the code mentioned above in the terminal emulator, you are flashing the said splash file from the internal storage.
Again, we take no responsibility for any ill-effects these methods could cause on your device including crashing the software, bricking the phone, and so on. User discretion is needed so proceed at your own risk.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 series has been in leaks for quite some time, and we now know almost all the essential details of the upcoming S21 lineup. Earlier this month, a Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra leak revealed photos of these handsets along with their camera specifications. However, we didn’t know much about the pricing of upcoming S21 models, but they too are no longer a mystery now.
According to a report from 91Mobiles, tipster Ishan Agarwal outed the European prices for all the devices from the Samsung Galaxy S21 lineup. Notably, and as expected, they’re not very different from those of the Galaxy S20 family. Here’s what each S21 model will cost in Europe.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Series Leaked Prices
Image courtesy: 9to5Google
As per the leak, the 128GB variant of the standard Samsung Galaxy S21 will cost €849 (roughly $1,031, ₹76,500). The similar 128GB Galaxy S21 Plus is said to cost €1,049 (roughly $1,275, ₹94,500). On the other hand, the top model of the S21 family — the Galaxy S21 Ultra — with 128GB storage may cost €1,399 (roughly $1,700, ₹1,25,785).
If the prices appeared in this leak are correct, then the Galaxy S21 and S21+ are about €50 cheaper than their predecessors. However, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra seems to be much more expensive as compared to its predecessor, the S20 Ultra. However, these prices may vary slightly in different parts of Europe, depending on the local taxes and other factors.
Since these figures reflect only the leaked prices of the upcoming smartphones, the real price of the S21 family may be different. We will get to see them when the series launches in Europe, hopefully soon.
