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vendredi 21 février 2020

Vivo APEX 2020 concept phone poster confirms it has a gimbal-like technology for stabilization

Back in January last year, Chinese OEM Vivo showed off the APEX 2019 concept smartphone. The 5G concept phone featured a glass unibody design, pressure-sensitive capacitive buttons, a full-display fingerprint scanner, and no ports. While the concept might not have materialized into a production model, it was definitely quite innovative. Vivo was expected to showcase a follow-up to the concept at this year’s Mobile World Congress trade show. However, the company pulled out of the event due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China. Soon thereafter, MWC 2020 was canceled because of the same reason and companies postponed their launches to later dates. While Vivo hasn’t revealed exactly when it will be showcasing the APEX 2020 concept smartphone, we now have our first look at the unannounced device thanks, in part, to MWC.

An advertisement for the Vivo APEX 2020 concept was recently spotted by Android Police’s David Ruddock in Barcelona. The poster confirms that the APEX 2020 will be the first Android device to feature gimbal-like stabilization technology, something that has previously been leaked in unofficial renders of the device.

Infamous leakster Ben Geskin shared unofficial renders of the APEX 2020 earlier this month, showcasing its bezel-less design, 48MP primary camera with stabilization and a 5-7.5x optical zoom camera. The renders are almost exactly the same as the image of the device on the aforementioned poster. It has the same circular camera module, with a 48MP primary camera and a rectangular cutout with the 5-7.5x zoom lens. The device has APEX and 5G branding bang in the center, just like the leaked renders, however, the poster doesn’t reveal the front of the device. As of now, Vivo has released no official information about the concept smartphone but we expect to learn more in the days leading up to its announcement.

The post Vivo APEX 2020 concept phone poster confirms it has a gimbal-like technology for stabilization appeared first on xda-developers.



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[Update: Front render] Leaked LG V60 promo images show quad rear cameras, 5000mAh battery, and headphone jack

Update 1 (02/21/2020 @ 02:54 AM ET): A new render has surfaced, showing off the front of the LG V60 ThinQ. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on February 8, 2020, is preserved as below.

LG’s mobile business struggled in 2019 due to lagging sales outside of its home market of South Korea, but the company aims to make its mobile business profitable by next year by meeting the growing demand for premium 5G smartphones. To that end, the company was seeking to make a big splash at MWC 2020 with the launch of the LG V60 ThinQ, the successor to the late 2019 LG V50S ThinQ (also known as the LG G8X). Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing the V60 ThinQ at MWC 2020 as LG decided to skip the event due to concerns over the spread of the 2019 novel Coronavirus. Still, since we know the company had planned to launch the V60 at MWC, we expect that LG has already prepared marketing material for the event. Indeed, thanks to Evan Blass (@evleaks), we’re getting an early look at the device through images pulled from a leaked video that was likely intended to be promotional material for MWC 2020.

The two images shared by Evan Blass reveal some of the key features of the device. Despite what the images below show, the actual device won’t have a transparent back—that’s just a way for LG to point to the important features of the device without inserting a bunch of text into the video. From the images, we can see that the LG V60 ThinQ will have four microphones, quad rear cameras, a 5000mAh battery, a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack (which fellow Korean brand Samsung has ditched on its latest Galaxy S20 series), and bottom-firing speakers. We assume the device will have an under-display fingerprint scanner since there isn’t a rear-mounted physical fingerprint scanner and the power button sticks out of the body. On the left side of the device, we can faintly see what I assume are the volume buttons and the dedicated Google Assistant button. If so, this matches the button placement of the LG G8X/V50S ThinQ.

Leaked LG V60 promotional images. Source: Evan Blass (@evleaks)

The device shown in these images looks similar to the alleged “LG G9 ThinQ” that @OnLeaks revealed last month. Those renders show a similar camera setup and bottom component placement. I believe that the “LG G9” that @OnLeaks posted about last month is actually the LG V60 ThinQ. First, @OnLeaks himself wasn’t sure of the branding; he assumed what he was posting was the successor to the LG G8, a reasonable assumption based on the timing. Furthermore, we haven’t seen any evidence that LG is planning to launch the G9 at MWC 2020. Rather, we’ve seen specific evidence that the LG V60 ThinQ, code-named “timelm,” is launching soon with Android 10. Furthermore, David Ruddock of Android Police claims that LG is altering its release schedule; he states the V series will be released alongside Samsung’s Galaxy S series this year while the G series “may be effectively phased out.” Samsung is launching the Galaxy S20 series on February 11th and LG was expected to launch the V60 ThinQ at MWC, so this information seems accurate. However, Ruddock is unsure about the details of LG’s new device series for the fall, so it’s possible that the G series may simply be postponed rather than canceled.

Assuming the LG G9 that @OnLeaks posted about is actually the LG V60, we can see that the V60 will have a U-shaped notched and flat display that measures about 6.7-6.9-inches diagonally. The “Hand ID” module from the G8 isn’t present, which doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t return in a future phone—it just won’t be on this device. Finally, we can assume the device will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 since it’s undoubtedly a flagship smartphone. Even though LG won’t be at MWC 2020 this year, we can expect to see the V60 launch pretty soon. If LG can keep the pricing competitive and launch with the right carrier partners, the V60 could be a successful device for LG’s struggling mobile business.


Update: Front renders of the LG V60 ThinQ show off a familiar design

We now have our first look at the LG V60 ThinQ, and the phone adopts a familiar unassuming look that plays comfortably safe.

LG V60 ThinQ

The render features a wallpaper with black backgrounds, which is commonly employed on marketing materials to mask the actual bezels on the device, and we see the same being achieved here. It is difficult to see how thick the bezels on the phone are, but we guess they should be within tolerable limits. We can spot the speaker grille sitting as a slit on the top of the phone, and AndroidHeadlines states that the LG V60 ThinQ will come with a front camera within a waterdrop notch. We also see the volume rocker as well as a button on the left side, which the report mentions is a dedicated Google Assistant button. The power button rests on the other side which is not visible in this image. The phone appears in a golden colored metallic frame, though we presume there will be more color options.

Source: AndroidHeadlines

The post [Update: Front render] Leaked LG V60 promo images show quad rear cameras, 5000mAh battery, and headphone jack appeared first on xda-developers.



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Google bans nearly 600 apps from the Play Store for disruptive ads, including many from Cheetah Mobile

The Google Play Store hosts a significantly larger number of apps than its iOS counterpart. This is partly due to the fact that Apple’s app submission process is arguably more rigorous than what Google has in place. Because of Google’s lax policies, the Play Store is chock full of sub-par apps. In a bid to clean up the app store, Google keeps removing apps that violate its policies or raise concerns about user policy. Back in April last year, we learned that a number of popular apps on the Play Store were abusing permissions and committing ad fraud. These included apps from publishers like DO Global and Cheetah Mobile. At the time, Google removed the offending apps from the Play Store and banned DO Global. However, the ban doesn’t seem to have had much effect on Cheetah Mobile.

According to a recent report from BuzzFeed News, Google has now removed close to 600 apps from the Play Store and banned their developers for ad fraud and disruptive mobile ads. Among the banned developers is the infamous Cheetah Mobile. Following the previous accusations on Cheetah Mobile, Google had removed one of its offending apps from the Play Store but allowed the developer to continue offering the rest of its app. However, in the latest string of bans, Google has removed all of Cheetah Mobile’s apps from the platform and the apps no longer offer advertising inventory for sale in Google’s ad networks.

In a statement regarding the ban, Google’s senior product manager for ad traffic quality, Per Bjorke, told BuzzFeed News that the removed apps, which have been installed more than 4.5 billion times, targeted English-speaking users and were mainly from developers based in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and India. While Bjorke declined to name specific apps or developers, he did mention that many of the banned apps were utilities or games.

In a blog post on the matter, Google revealed that it has developed new technologies to protect Android users from apps that serve disruptive ads. Most recently, the company deployed an innovative machine-learning based approach to identify apps that show out-of-context ads. This new approach helped the company fish out the 600 apps that have been banned in the latest wave. However, Google hasn’t shared the full list of apps/developers that were banned. It’s also worth noting that the ban on Cheetah Mobile, which is a publicly-traded company in China, has resulted in a 5.9% decline in the value of its shares.


Source: BuzzFeed News, Google Blog, Seeking Alpha

The post Google bans nearly 600 apps from the Play Store for disruptive ads, including many from Cheetah Mobile appeared first on xda-developers.



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[Update: Front render] Leaked LG V60 promo images show quad rear cameras, 5000mAh battery, and headphone jack

Update 1 (02/21/2020 @ 02:54 AM ET): A new render has surfaced, showing off the front of the LG V60 ThinQ. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on February 8, 2020, is preserved as below.

LG’s mobile business struggled in 2019 due to lagging sales outside of its home market of South Korea, but the company aims to make its mobile business profitable by next year by meeting the growing demand for premium 5G smartphones. To that end, the company was seeking to make a big splash at MWC 2020 with the launch of the LG V60 ThinQ, the successor to the late 2019 LG V50S ThinQ (also known as the LG G8X). Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing the V60 ThinQ at MWC 2020 as LG decided to skip the event due to concerns over the spread of the 2019 novel Coronavirus. Still, since we know the company had planned to launch the V60 at MWC, we expect that LG has already prepared marketing material for the event. Indeed, thanks to Evan Blass (@evleaks), we’re getting an early look at the device through images pulled from a leaked video that was likely intended to be promotional material for MWC 2020.

The two images shared by Evan Blass reveal some of the key features of the device. Despite what the images below show, the actual device won’t have a transparent back—that’s just a way for LG to point to the important features of the device without inserting a bunch of text into the video. From the images, we can see that the LG V60 ThinQ will have four microphones, quad rear cameras, a 5000mAh battery, a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack (which fellow Korean brand Samsung has ditched on its latest Galaxy S20 series), and bottom-firing speakers. We assume the device will have an under-display fingerprint scanner since there isn’t a rear-mounted physical fingerprint scanner and the power button sticks out of the body. On the left side of the device, we can faintly see what I assume are the volume buttons and the dedicated Google Assistant button. If so, this matches the button placement of the LG G8X/V50S ThinQ.

Leaked LG V60 promotional images. Source: Evan Blass (@evleaks)

The device shown in these images looks similar to the alleged “LG G9 ThinQ” that @OnLeaks revealed last month. Those renders show a similar camera setup and bottom component placement. I believe that the “LG G9” that @OnLeaks posted about last month is actually the LG V60 ThinQ. First, @OnLeaks himself wasn’t sure of the branding; he assumed what he was posting was the successor to the LG G8, a reasonable assumption based on the timing. Furthermore, we haven’t seen any evidence that LG is planning to launch the G9 at MWC 2020. Rather, we’ve seen specific evidence that the LG V60 ThinQ, code-named “timelm,” is launching soon with Android 10. Furthermore, David Ruddock of Android Police claims that LG is altering its release schedule; he states the V series will be released alongside Samsung’s Galaxy S series this year while the G series “may be effectively phased out.” Samsung is launching the Galaxy S20 series on February 11th and LG was expected to launch the V60 ThinQ at MWC, so this information seems accurate. However, Ruddock is unsure about the details of LG’s new device series for the fall, so it’s possible that the G series may simply be postponed rather than canceled.

Assuming the LG G9 that @OnLeaks posted about is actually the LG V60, we can see that the V60 will have a U-shaped notched and flat display that measures about 6.7-6.9-inches diagonally. The “Hand ID” module from the G8 isn’t present, which doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t return in a future phone—it just won’t be on this device. Finally, we can assume the device will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 since it’s undoubtedly a flagship smartphone. Even though LG won’t be at MWC 2020 this year, we can expect to see the V60 launch pretty soon. If LG can keep the pricing competitive and launch with the right carrier partners, the V60 could be a successful device for LG’s struggling mobile business.


Update: Front renders of the LG V60 ThinQ show off a familiar design

We now have our first look at the LG V60 ThinQ, and the phone adopts a familiar unassuming look that plays comfortably safe.

LG V60 ThinQ

The render features a wallpaper with black backgrounds, which is commonly employed on marketing materials to mask the actual bezels on the device, and we see the same being achieved here. It is difficult to see how thick the bezels on the phone are, but we guess they should be within tolerable limits. We can spot the speaker grille sitting as a slit on the top of the phone, and AndroidHeadlines states that the LG V60 ThinQ will come with a front camera within a waterdrop notch. We also see the volume rocker as well as a button on the left side, which the report mentions is a dedicated Google Assistant button. The power button rests on the other side which is not visible in this image. The phone appears in a golden colored metallic frame, though we presume there will be more color options.

Source: AndroidHeadlines

The post [Update: Front render] Leaked LG V60 promo images show quad rear cameras, 5000mAh battery, and headphone jack appeared first on xda-developers.



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Google bans nearly 600 apps from the Play Store for disruptive ads, including many from Cheetah Mobile

The Google Play Store hosts a significantly larger number of apps than its iOS counterpart. This is partly due to the fact that Apple’s app submission process is arguably more rigorous than what Google has in place. Because of Google’s lax policies, the Play Store is chock full of sub-par apps. In a bid to clean up the app store, Google keeps removing apps that violate its policies or raise concerns about user policy. Back in April last year, we learned that a number of popular apps on the Play Store were abusing permissions and committing ad fraud. These included apps from publishers like DO Global and Cheetah Mobile. At the time, Google removed the offending apps from the Play Store and banned DO Global. However, the ban doesn’t seem to have had much effect on Cheetah Mobile.

According to a recent report from BuzzFeed News, Google has now removed close to 600 apps from the Play Store and banned their developers for ad fraud and disruptive mobile ads. Among the banned developers is the infamous Cheetah Mobile. Following the previous accusations on Cheetah Mobile, Google had removed one of its offending apps from the Play Store but allowed the developer to continue offering the rest of its app. However, in the latest string of bans, Google has removed all of Cheetah Mobile’s apps from the platform and the apps no longer offer advertising inventory for sale in Google’s ad networks.

In a statement regarding the ban, Google’s senior product manager for ad traffic quality, Per Bjorke, told BuzzFeed News that the removed apps, which have been installed more than 4.5 billion times, targeted English-speaking users and were mainly from developers based in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and India. While Bjorke declined to name specific apps or developers, he did mention that many of the banned apps were utilities or games.

In a blog post on the matter, Google revealed that it has developed new technologies to protect Android users from apps that serve disruptive ads. Most recently, the company deployed an innovative machine-learning based approach to identify apps that show out-of-context ads. This new approach helped the company fish out the 600 apps that have been banned in the latest wave. However, Google hasn’t shared the full list of apps/developers that were banned. It’s also worth noting that the ban on Cheetah Mobile, which is a publicly-traded company in China, has resulted in a 5.9% decline in the value of its shares.


Source: BuzzFeed News, Google Blog, Seeking Alpha

The post Google bans nearly 600 apps from the Play Store for disruptive ads, including many from Cheetah Mobile appeared first on xda-developers.



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jeudi 20 février 2020

Download: OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro get OxygenOS Open Beta 9 with January 2020 patches and more

Update 1 (02/21/2020 @ 01:00 AM ET): OnePlus is also rolling out OxygenOS Open Beta 9 to the OnePlus 7. Download links have been added at the bottom. The original article as published on February 13, 2020, is preserved as below.

OnePlus has started rolling out OxygenOS Open Beta 9 for the OnePlus 7 Pro, its 2019 flagship smartphone. The last OxygenOS Open Beta for the phone, Open Beta 8, brought a one-handed mode and December 2019 security patches. This update enhances the one-handed usage for the dialer app and brings the January 2020 security patches. There are also a few other optimizations. For one, the network has been optimized for a better gaming experience. The weather app crashing issue has been fixed, and the Zen Mode 1.5.0 app now supports OnePlus Account login, synchronization of badges and historical data. Finally, the system stability has been improved and general bugs are said to have been fixed.

It’s worth noting that OxygenOS Open Beta 9 for the OnePlus 7 Pro as well as other OxygenOS updates were initially delayed because workers were given extended stays to avoid the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (Covid-19). Workers across China are now heading back to work, with many working from home as the lockdown in Hubei province continues.

The full change-log of the update is noted below:

Changelog

Changelog

  • System
    • Enhanced one-hand usage for dialer app
    • Optimized network for a better gaming experience
    • Updated Android security patch to 2020.01
    • Improved system stability and fixed general bugs
  • Zen Mode V1.5.0
    • Supported OnePlus Account login, synchronization of badges and historical data
  • Weather
    • Fixed the weather app crashing issue

OnePlus 7 Pro users running Open Beta 8 should have started getting the OTA for Open Beta 9. Users still on Android 9 must update to Open Beta 5 first as they can’t directly upgrade to any newer beta versions after Open Beta 5. OxygenOS stable users can change to the Open Beta update track by following OnePlus’ instructions.


Download Links for OxygenOS Open Beta 9

OnePlus 7

OnePlus 7 Pro


Thanks to XDA Senior Member Some_Random_Username for the download links!

The post Download: OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro get OxygenOS Open Beta 9 with January 2020 patches and more appeared first on xda-developers.



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Download: OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro get OxygenOS Open Beta 9 with January 2020 patches and more

Update 1 (02/21/2020 @ 01:00 AM ET): OnePlus is also rolling out OxygenOS Open Beta 9 to the OnePlus 7. Download links have been added at the bottom. The original article as published on February 13, 2020, is preserved as below.

OnePlus has started rolling out OxygenOS Open Beta 9 for the OnePlus 7 Pro, its 2019 flagship smartphone. The last OxygenOS Open Beta for the phone, Open Beta 8, brought a one-handed mode and December 2019 security patches. This update enhances the one-handed usage for the dialer app and brings the January 2020 security patches. There are also a few other optimizations. For one, the network has been optimized for a better gaming experience. The weather app crashing issue has been fixed, and the Zen Mode 1.5.0 app now supports OnePlus Account login, synchronization of badges and historical data. Finally, the system stability has been improved and general bugs are said to have been fixed.

It’s worth noting that OxygenOS Open Beta 9 for the OnePlus 7 Pro as well as other OxygenOS updates were initially delayed because workers were given extended stays to avoid the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (Covid-19). Workers across China are now heading back to work, with many working from home as the lockdown in Hubei province continues.

The full change-log of the update is noted below:

Changelog

Changelog

  • System
    • Enhanced one-hand usage for dialer app
    • Optimized network for a better gaming experience
    • Updated Android security patch to 2020.01
    • Improved system stability and fixed general bugs
  • Zen Mode V1.5.0
    • Supported OnePlus Account login, synchronization of badges and historical data
  • Weather
    • Fixed the weather app crashing issue

OnePlus 7 Pro users running Open Beta 8 should have started getting the OTA for Open Beta 9. Users still on Android 9 must update to Open Beta 5 first as they can’t directly upgrade to any newer beta versions after Open Beta 5. OxygenOS stable users can change to the Open Beta update track by following OnePlus’ instructions.


Download Links for OxygenOS Open Beta 9

OnePlus 7

OnePlus 7 Pro


Thanks to XDA Senior Member Some_Random_Username for the download links!

The post Download: OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro get OxygenOS Open Beta 9 with January 2020 patches and more appeared first on xda-developers.



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