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mercredi 10 juin 2020

Samsung updates the Galaxy Note 9 with One UI 2.1 and June 2020 patches

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 debuted in 2018 with Samsung Experience 9.5 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. The device received its second major Android OS update (probably the last one as well) in the form of One UI 2.0 on top of Android 10 a few months ago. The arrival of One UI 2.1 to the Galaxy Note 9 was confirmed by a Korean Samsung community moderator later on. And now, the company is finally rolling out the One UI 2.1 update to the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 via stable channel.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Forums

The One UI 2.1 OTA for the Galaxy Note 9 is currently rolling out to users in Germany. The firmware version is N960FXXU5ETF5, which is intended for the international variant powered by the Exynos 9810 SoC. The Android security patch level (SPL) has been bumped to June 2020 in this build. Apart from the new security patches, the changelog itself is pretty generic, but we hope the update bundles a handful of features that made their debut with the Galaxy S20 series.

samsung_galaxy_note_9_one_ui_2.1_ota

Thanks to XDA Senior Member jaylence for the screenshot!

Interestingly, the bootloader version isn’t incremented in this update. Thus experienced users have the freedom to perform a manual downgrade to any One UI 2.0-based firmware with bootloader version 5 after installing the OTA, but we would still advise caution before doing so.

It’s worth noting that the aforementioned build is not at all compatible with the Snapdragon-powered Galaxy Note 9 variants available in the USA, so stay away from cross-flashing. In case you haven’t received the update on your device yet, you can download it using a community-made tool named Frija which grabs the firmware directly from Samsung’s Firmware Update Server.

samsung_galaxy_note_9_one_ui_2.1_frija

As mentioned earlier, the update is currently only available to users in Germany, but it should roll out in more European countries as well as other regions in the coming days. We expect Samsung to roll out a similar update for the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ in the near future.

The post Samsung updates the Galaxy Note 9 with One UI 2.1 and June 2020 patches appeared first on xda-developers.



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Gboard 9.5.3 reveals that the custom emoji “Minis” feature is on the chopping block

When it comes to its own suite of apps on Android, Google does a great job of adding new features, optimizations, and improvements. However, the company often also deprecates many such features from its apps without providing any explanation. For instance, we recently discovered that the company plans to kill off Google Chrome’s bottom tab “Duet” experiment, which has been in development for well over two years. And now, according to a new string of code spotted in Gboard version 9.5.3, the company is preparing to axe the custom emoji “Minis” feature from the keyboard app.

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by the developers in a future build.

Google recently started rolling out version 9.5.3 beta of the Gboard app, which introduced support for next word prediction and spelling correction to handwriting keyboards for faster typing. While the update didn’t include any other user-facing changes, we spotted a new string which suggests that the custom emoji feature Minis will “go away soon.”

<string name="deprecate_minis_banner_title">Note: Minis will go away soon</string>

As of now, it isn’t clear when Google plans on deprecating the Minis feature. However, since Google has already added this new string to the app, we believe that the feature might be removed in the next stable Gboard update. Currently, we have no idea if Google will let users keep their custom stickers and emoji or if they will be removed from the keyboard app along with the feature.

For the unaware, the Minis feature has been available on Gboard for about two years now, and it allows you to create personalized stickers using machine learning algorithms. The feature initially allowed users to create two sticker packs with their selfies, but later added a third Emoji option that lets users create a personalized emoji version of their face.


Thanks to PNF Software for providing us a license to use JEB Decompiler, a professional-grade reverse engineering tool for Android applications.

The post Gboard 9.5.3 reveals that the custom emoji “Minis” feature is on the chopping block appeared first on xda-developers.



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EMUI 10.1.0.131 update on the Huawei P40 adds Petal Search to help you find apps and a picture-in-picture frame to help you zoom past 15X

Huawei’s flagship P40 series launched with the company’s latest custom Android skin — EMUI 10.1 — earlier this year in March. Shortly after the launch, Huawei rolled out EMUI 10.1.0.121 to the devices, which brought some camera improvements, a new Huawei Assistant top-level setting, and the Android security patches for April 2020. The new Huawei Assistant setting led us to believe that the company would soon roll out its Celia voice assistant to the devices. As expected, the voice assistant was enabled on the P40 series just a few days after the update started rolling out. Now, the company is pushing another major update for the Huawei P40 series, which adds a few more useful features into the mix.

EMUI 10.1.0.131 Petal Search EMUI 10.1.0.131 Petal Search EMUI 10.1.0.131 Petal Search

Huawei has started rolling out EMUI 10.1.0.131 to the Huawei P40 series which adds a new Petal Search app to help you find apps that aren’t yet available in the Huawei AppGallery. The app searches through various online app sources like APKPure, Aptoide, APKMonk, and others, which is quite handy given that the devices don’t ship with the Google Play Store. The app comes with a home screen widget that you can use to look up apps quickly, and it also supports checking for updates to apps that you have installed on your device.

The Petal Search app is divided into three tabs — For You, Search, and Me. The For You tab features the search bar at the top, along with trending news posts sourced from Microsoft News. The Search tab lists down some of the most popular local and essential apps that you can download. In case you don’t find the app you’re looking for in the lists, you can easily search for any app using the search bar at the top. The tab also stores your search history which is displayed right underneath the search bar. Searching for any app lists down all the apps related to that keyword and, if you still don’t find the right app, you get the option to look it up using Bing. And finally, the Me tab houses the Search history, an Incognito mode, Downloads, and Settings.

Along with the new Petal Search app, the latest EMUI 10.1 update adds a Picture-in-Picture (PiP) preview frame in the viewfinder on the stock camera app. As you can see in the attached video, the PiP frame pops up when the zoom level is set to 15x or higher, making it easier for you to focus on objects while zoomed in. Furthermore, the update includes enhancements for the Huawei Golden Snap feature which is expected to improve the quality and colors of photos taken in certain conditions for more natural and authentic effects. Here’s the complete changelog for EMUI 10.1.0.131:

  • Camera
    • Adds a Picture-in-Picture preview frame in the viewfinder when the zoom level is set to 15x or higher to help you focus.
    • Enhances the Huawei Golden Snap feature. Improves the quality and colors of photos taken in certain situations for more natural and authentic effects.
  • System
    • Adds Petal Search to the widgets on the home screen for easier app searches.

The post EMUI 10.1.0.131 update on the Huawei P40 adds Petal Search to help you find apps and a picture-in-picture frame to help you zoom past 15X appeared first on xda-developers.



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mardi 9 juin 2020

EMUI 10.1.0.131 update on the Huawei P40 adds Petal Search to help you find apps and a picture-in-picture frame to help you zoom past 15X

Huawei’s flagship P40 series launched with the company’s latest custom Android skin — EMUI 10.1 — earlier this year in March. Shortly after the launch, Huawei rolled out EMUI 10.1.0.121 to the devices, which brought some camera improvements, a new Huawei Assistant top-level setting, and the Android security patches for April 2020. The new Huawei Assistant setting led us to believe that the company would soon roll out its Celia voice assistant to the devices. As expected, the voice assistant was enabled on the P40 series just a few days after the update started rolling out. Now, the company is pushing another major update for the Huawei P40 series, which adds a few more useful features into the mix.

EMUI 10.1.0.131 Petal Search EMUI 10.1.0.131 Petal Search EMUI 10.1.0.131 Petal Search

Huawei has started rolling out EMUI 10.1.0.131 to the Huawei P40 series which adds a new Petal Search app to help you find apps that aren’t yet available in the Huawei AppGallery. The app searches through various online app sources like APKPure, Aptoide, APKMonk, and others, which is quite handy given that the devices don’t ship with the Google Play Store. The app comes with a home screen widget that you can use to look up apps quickly, and it also supports checking for updates to apps that you have installed on your device.

The Petal Search app is divided into three tabs — For You, Search, and Me. The For You tab features the search bar at the top, along with trending news posts sourced from Microsoft News. The Search tab lists down some of the most popular local and essential apps that you can download. In case you don’t find the app you’re looking for in the lists, you can easily search for any app using the search bar at the top. The tab also stores your search history which is displayed right underneath the search bar. Searching for any app lists down all the apps related to that keyword and, if you still don’t find the right app, you get the option to look it up using Bing. And finally, the Me tab houses the Search history, an Incognito mode, Downloads, and Settings.

Along with the new Petal Search app, the latest EMUI 10.1 update adds a Picture-in-Picture (PiP) preview frame in the viewfinder on the stock camera app. As you can see in the attached video, the PiP frame pops up when the zoom level is set to 15x or higher, making it easier for you to focus on objects while zoomed in. Furthermore, the update includes enhancements for the Huawei Golden Snap feature which is expected to improve the quality and colors of photos taken in certain conditions for more natural and authentic effects. Here’s the complete changelog for EMUI 10.1.0.131:

  • Camera
    • Adds a Picture-in-Picture preview frame in the viewfinder when the zoom level is set to 15x or higher to help you focus.
    • Enhances the Huawei Golden Snap feature. Improves the quality and colors of photos taken in certain situations for more natural and authentic effects.
  • System
    • Adds Petal Search to the widgets on the home screen for easier app searches.

The post EMUI 10.1.0.131 update on the Huawei P40 adds Petal Search to help you find apps and a picture-in-picture frame to help you zoom past 15X appeared first on xda-developers.



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Razer Kishi Review – An Android Gaming Controller that’s perfect for Cloud Gaming and Emulation

Gaming on a smartphone is usually not as satisfying as it is on a console, and a large part of that is because of touch controls. Tapping and dragging on-screen buttons is far slower and less convenient than pressing physical buttons and moving analog thumbsticks, which is why the gameplay experiences of many mobile games are heavily simplified. But cloud gaming services have significantly matured and Android smartphones are powerful enough to emulate many older consoles, so there’s a place for a dedicated controller designed for Android phones. Enter the Razer Kishi.

First unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, the Razer Kishi is an extending game controller (also known as a “telescopic” gaming controller) that is designed to be “universal” in that it’s not limited to a particular smartphone model. Razer is making two models of its Kishi Universal Gaming Controller: One that’s designed to connect to Android smartphones with a USB Type-C port and another that’s designed to connect to Apple iPhone devices with a Lightning port. Razer sent me the Kishi for Android model for review on May 18th, 2020 ahead of the product’s launch today. I’ve been using the controller with my Google Pixel 4, and I’ve found the Razer Kishi to be a perfect companion for playing games through cloud gaming services and emulators.

Razer Kishi extending telescopic game controller for Android

Pros Cons
  • Solid and durable build
  • Lightweight
  • Button presses and joystick movement feel great
  • Controller extends and collapses quite easily, yet keeps the phone secure without damaging it
  • Virtually no input latency
  • No need to charge
  • Can charge your phone while gaming thanks to the passthrough USB-C port
  • Finally, a “universal” telescopic gaming controller from a reputable company!
  • Does not fit some larger Android phones
  • No button remapping in the Android app
  • More expensive than other telescopic gaming controllers on the market
  • Obscured charging/headphone jack port means you may have to deal with audio latency from Bluetooth audio

Razer Kishi Specifications

Product Requirements:

Technical Specifications:

  • Two clickable analog thumbsticks
  • One 8-way D-pad
  • Four face buttons
  • Two triggers (L2/R2)
  • Two bumpers (L1/R1)
  • Three function buttons
  • One status indicator light (charging)
  • Dimensions: Height: 37mm, Width: 134mm, Depth: 94mm
  • Weight: 265g
  • Connectivity: USB Type-C
  • Smartphone Charging: pass-through via USB Type C port

Look & Feel

The Razer Kishi isn’t going to wow you with its build quality, but that’s because it’s not designed to visually impress. The controller is made of plastic and is very lightweight, making it perfect for extended gaming sessions on your phone. It’s also sturdy when in it’s in its locked position so you don’t have to worry about it coming apart in your bag. The black color finish blends into the left and right borders of your phone’s screen when you’re playing a game at an aspect ratio below native.

Razer Kishi extending telescopic game controller for Android Razer Kishi extending telescopic game controller for Android Razer Kishi extending telescopic game controller for Android

The Kishi feels smooth to touch and the buttons provide nice tactile feedback when pressed. This is a solidly built gaming controller that should feel familiar in the hands of anyone who has used the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con Charging Grip. The L/R shoulder buttons are also large and easy to press—a lot of other Android gaming controllers I’ve found have crappy shoulder buttons. Similarly, the joysticks are well-built and feel like they’ll last a good while, and the joystick caps are smooth and provide nice feedback when pushed down. Again, this is another part that I feel Razer got right that is sadly done poorly on many other Android gaming controllers. The A/B/X/Y buttons also feel solid, though the 8-way D-pad, home button, and start/select buttons could have been made more pronounced in my opinion.

My Razer Kishi unit does not have any joystick dead zones or drifting. I tested the sensitivity of the joystick using the Gamepad Tester app. (Note: I didn’t bother drawing in the entire area in the circles for the X and Y axes.)

Flip the Kishi around on its back and you’ll see the clip that holds the controller together. Pull outward on both inserts to release the clip. You can then extend both sides of the controller until your phone can connect to the USB Type-C port on the right side and fit snugly in between both sides. The top and bottom sides of your phone will be touching a smooth, rubbery part of the controller so you don’t have to worry about scratches. Likewise, the rear of your phone, including the camera bump, won’t come into contact with the clip that connects both sides of the controller as the clip will be suspended behind your phone when you’ve locked the phone in place.

Razer Kishi extending telescopic game controller for Android Razer Kishi extending telescopic game controller for Android Razer Kishi extending telescopic game controller for Android

Once the phone is connected to the Razer Kishi, it’s secured quite nicely to the controller. You can deliberately flex both ends of the Kishi back and forth a bit depending on how thin your phone is, but you shouldn’t experience any wobbling when actually playing a game. Since the Kishi obscures the top and bottom parts of your phone, you won’t be able to connect any wired audio accessories, so you’ll have to use a Bluetooth audio accessory if you don’t want to hear audio from your phone’s speakers. You should aim to use a Bluetooth audio accessory with low audio latency like Razer’s own Hammerhead True Wireless earbuds.

In addition, since most phones only have a single charging port on the bottom that’s used up by the Kishi, Razer added a USB Type-C port on the bottom of the right half of the controller for passthrough charging. Finally, there’s an LED indicator light on the right half of the controller that turns blue for a few seconds when you first connect your phone. The Kishi doesn’t require charging since it’s powered purely by your phone, so this LED is just a status indicator to let you know your phone is connected.

On the rear of the Razer Kishi, there’s a sticker that tells you the controller was made in partnership with Gamevice, an American peripherals company that specializes in gaming products. Gamevice has made their own fair share of gaming controllers before, so it’s nice to see them partner with Razer on a high-quality, universal telescopic gaming controller like the Kishi. My only major issue with the design of the Razer Kishi is the fact that it doesn’t fit larger Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra or OPPO Find X2 Pro—even my Huawei P40 Pro was just on the cusp of barely fitting. Razer is marketing the Kishi as a “universal” gaming controller, so it’s strange that many premium Android smartphones are excluded because of the controller’s size constraints. Compare the dimensions listed in the specifications section above with the dimensions of your Android device to be sure your device will fit in the Kishi.

Gaming Experience

If you do have an Android smartphone that fits in the Razer Kishi, then I think you won’t be disappointed by the gaming experience. On my Google Pixel 4, I played GRID on Google Stadia, Dark Souls: Remastered on NVIDIA GeForce NOW, Valkyria Chronicles streaming from my PC using Steam Link, and Resident Evil 4 and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess through Dolphin Emulator. These are all console-quality games that I tested, some of which were ported to the PC (Dark Souls: Remastered and Valkyria Chronicles), and it felt like I was playing them all natively on my phone. Much of the credit for that experience goes to Google and NVIDIA for creating stellar cloud gaming services, but the lack of input latency from the Razer Kishi meant that my button presses were reflected almost immediately in every game that I played.

Razer Kishi extending telescopic game controller for Android Razer Kishi extending telescopic game controller for Android Razer Kishi extending telescopic game controller for Android Razer Kishi extending telescopic game controller for Android

Unfortunately, not every game on Steam/PC is optimized for controller input, so you’ll have to do a bit of remapping in Steam Link/GeForce NOW until you find a setup that works for you. (Many PC games work with Xbox and PS4 controllers these days, so this is not as big of a problem as it used to be.) Stadia games seem to be controller-ready, though I’m not a big user of the service so I can’t speak broadly here. Emulators like Dolphin Emulator essentially require mapping your controller inputs to GameCube/Wii controllers if you want a good experience, and fortunately, that’s quite easy to do in the app.

Where the Razer Kishi ironically won’t be of much use are in some popular Android games like Call of Duty: Mobile and PUBG Mobile. Developers of games like these often don’t enable controller support because they want users to play on an even footing—the average player with a controller will destroy the average player using touch controls. There are ways to bypass this restriction: Buy a gaming smartphone with faux-shoulder buttons like the ASUS ROG Phone II and its ultrasonic AirTriggers, buy a controller like the Flydigi Stinger that attaches to your phone and literally taps on the screen for you, or use an app like DroidMote (+ Touch Profile Creator) to map button presses from your controller to touches on the screen. In any case, don’t buy the Razer Kishi expecting to get an upper-hand in most battle royale games.

I say “most” battle royale games because Razer explicitly lists Epic Games’ Fortnite as a compatible title. My Pixel 4 is rooted so sadly I can’t test Fortnite out, but here’s a short list of games and cloud gaming services that Razer recommends users try out:

  • Android Games:
    • Epic Games: Fortnite
    • Netmarble: The King of Fighters ALLSTAR
    • Super Bit Machine: Armajet
    • Feral Interactive: GRID Autosport
    • Pearly Abyss: Black Desert Mobile
  • Cloud Gaming Services:
    • Steam Link
    • Rainway
    • Google Stadia
    • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
    • Microsoft xCloud

Of course, you’re free to download any Android game or console emulator from the Google Play Store to use the Razer Kishi with, including the new Citra for Android release. The Kishi sends standard key events for each of its buttons, so the controller should work just fine in most games that listen for these key events.

Razer Kishi App

Although not required, you can download the Razer Kishi Android app if you’re in need of a game launcher. The app also has a “Discovery” tab that highlights games from multiple genres that are optimized for controller input. Finally, you can also check for updates to the Kishi’s firmware in the app’s settings. The review unit that I received in mid-May has not received any firmware updates yet, and I’m not even sure what a firmware update would even bring.

Razer Kishi Android app Razer Kishi Android app

One feature that I’m disappointed isn’t there is the ability to remap buttons. It’s a little disappointing that button mapping is left up to the game developer and isn’t something that we can control ourselves.

Razer Kishi (Free, Google Play) →

Razer Kishi Pricing and Availability

I’ve personally been waiting to get my hands on a universal Android gaming controller for some time now. I’ve scoured the XDA forums and Reddit’s /r/AndroidGaming subreddit for recommendations, and I’ve come across controllers of various types (telescopic, mounted, detachable, and claw) from brands like Betop, Saitake, Framonics, Flydigi, iPEGA, and others. Some of the controllers from these brands have earned good reviews from Android gamers, but I’ve also heard mixed feedback about the quality of some models and also their customer support.

Several reputable smartphone makers like ASUS, Nubia, Black Shark, and even Razer have made gaming controllers before, but they were typically only made for a few smartphone models or even required special cases. Although the Razer Kishi sadly doesn’t fit some of my devices, I’m stoked that a big gaming brand like Razer has finally made a gaming controller that isn’t exclusive to their own devices. I hope that the Kishi does well enough for Razer to consider releasing a model that fits larger Android smartphones because sadly, a lot of the best Android smartphones on the market just won’t fit in the Razer Kishi.

The Razer Kishi designed for Android devices is available today through multiple retailers in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The controller retails for $79.99 USD/€89.99/$129.99 CAD.

Buy the Razer Kishi for Android: Best Buy, Amazon, Razer.com

The controller designed for Apple iPhone devices will be available later this summer.

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Google Meet’s background noise cancellation feature is pretty amazing

Google Meet, formerly known as “Hangouts Meet,” has primarily been the company’s video conferencing platform for G Suite. Recently, however, Google opened it up to everyone as video calling has become much more common due to the pandemic. Back in April, Google announced a noise cancellation feature for Meet, and today we’re getting our first look (or listen) at the remarkable results.

G Suite’s director of product management, Serge Lachapelle, demonstrated Google Meet’s noise cancellation in a demo video. Lachapelle used a few common examples of noises that might be annoying during a video call, such as wrapper crinkling, pen clicking, and glass clinking. When the noise cancellation is enabled, the noises are removed, but his voice is still clear.

Lachapelle explains in the video that the feature is possible with machine learning. His voice is sent securely to a machine learning process in Google Cloud and it attempts to remove any noises that don’t match his voice. The quality of his voice is slightly degraded when this is happening, especially when there is a lot of noise to remove (the wrapper crinkling), but he’s still very understandable. It’s pretty amazing.

Google has apparently been working on this feature for over a year and it has been using its own meetings and YouTube clips of people talking to train the AI model. Lachapelle is clear that Google will not use external meetings to train it, though. The new feature will be on by default, but it can be easily toggled from the menu in a meeting. It’s rolling out to Google Meet for select G Suite customers now and it should roll out to more accounts over time. The feature will be available on the web first, but will eventually come to Android and iOS too.


Source: VentureBeat

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Google Meet’s background noise cancellation feature is pretty amazing

Google Meet, formerly known as “Hangouts Meet,” has primarily been the company’s video conferencing platform for G Suite. Recently, however, Google opened it up to everyone as video calling has become much more common due to the pandemic. Back in April, Google announced a noise cancellation feature for Meet, and today we’re getting our first look (or listen) at the remarkable results.

G Suite’s director of product management, Serge Lachapelle, demonstrated Google Meet’s noise cancellation in a demo video. Lachapelle used a few common examples of noises that might be annoying during a video call, such as wrapper crinkling, pen clicking, and glass clinking. When the noise cancellation is enabled, the noises are removed, but his voice is still clear.

Lachapelle explains in the video that the feature is possible with machine learning. His voice is sent securely to a machine learning process in Google Cloud and it attempts to remove any noises that don’t match his voice. The quality of his voice is slightly degraded when this is happening, especially when there is a lot of noise to remove (the wrapper crinkling), but he’s still very understandable. It’s pretty amazing.

Google has apparently been working on this feature for over a year and it has been using its own meetings and YouTube clips of people talking to train the AI model. Lachapelle is clear that Google will not use external meetings to train it, though. The new feature will be on by default, but it can be easily toggled from the menu in a meeting. It’s rolling out to Google Meet for select G Suite customers now and it should roll out to more accounts over time. The feature will be available on the web first, but will eventually come to Android and iOS too.


Source: VentureBeat

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