XDA

samedi 1 août 2020

AMX XP60 PD Charger Review – The only charging brick you need in your bag

By now, most of us have accumulated a fair few gadgets and accessories that need charging at least once every few days. If you share a living space with other people, then you have also likely run into the same problems that I have—there just aren’t enough charging sockets at home for everyone. What follows is either a carefully orchestrated charging plan for your many devices or an investment into a few multi-pin plugs and adapters. A more compact solution is a multi-port charging brick, and the AMX XP60 PD charger did just the trick, well enough for me to write a review on it.

About this review: AMX sent me the XP60 PD charger back in March 2020 for a quick review on my personal Twitter. I separately purchased their USB-C to USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 cable for personal use. This review is after more than four months of regular use of the charger and cable. AMX did not have any inputs on this review.

Back in March 2020 when I spotted AMX’s XP60 PD charger, I realized that it would solve some of my charging woes. My computer desk has very limited space and access to only a single charging socket in the vicinity. So I was usually juggling between chargers and cables in an attempt to keep multiple smartphones, accessories, and my laptop (Dell XPS 13 2in1 2019 – 7390) charged through the days and weeks. The situation was further complicated when you take into account the fact that my primary smartphone at the time, the OnePlus 7 Pro, worked best with a proprietary charger, while other smartphones would work better with other chargers. Some accessories, like my Logitech MX Master 2S, require a micro USB cable, while others like the Amazfit GTR 47mm smartwatch and the Mi Band 4 require their own proprietary cables. At any point in time, I need to charge my laptop, my smartphone(s), my earbuds (either the Sony WF-1000XM3 or the Galaxy Buds+), and possibly a smartwatch (though these last longer and hence are charged infrequently). I was also on the lookout for a solution that I could carry around in my bag and thus cut down on the need to carry multiple charging bricks for my phone and laptop. Airports and coffee shops aren’t very generous with charging sockets (though by fate, neither are frequented by me anymore), so a multi-pin charging brick was what I really needed to sort out this mess.

The AMX XP60 PD perfectly delivered on my needs, at least from a functional perspective.

AMX XP60 PD: Design

The design on the charging brick could use improvement—the charging brick is best described as “chunky”, but that is to be expected at least where the ports are placed. The charger comes with one USB Type-C port and three USB Type-A ports, so you have a fair bit of versatility on what devices you can charge simultaneously.

AMX XP60 PD USB PD PPS 3.0 45W 62W charger

The charger does not come with any included cable, so you can either use any of your existing cables or purchase them separately. There is an LED present above the USB Type-C port, and it glows blue when the charger is receiving current.

The Xiaomi Mi 18W Fast Charging Adapter (affiliate link) is dwarfed in comparison, while the chunky OnePlus Warp Charge 30 charger comes close in bulkiness.

The real flaw in the design is near the charging pin. Because of its long blocky design, the charger ends up blocking nearby buttons, especially if you use a 3-pin (type-D) charging socket that is widely used in India. AMX perhaps recognized this design flaw later, so their packaging included an extension pin that alleviates some of this obstruction. But in the same breath, it also causes the charger to droop down because of its 150g weight. The charging pin itself isn’t too robust, either. Hopefully, the charger design can be improved for future products.

If you have a 2-pin charging socket placed vertically, then you should be able to use the charger without needing an extension pin, unless you have any other blocking elements nearby.

AMX XP60 PD: Charging

Where the AMX XP60 PD excels at is charging a lot of things at once. The lone USB-C port is capable of 45W output (5V/3A; 9V/3A; 12V/3A; 15V/3A; 20V/2.25A) and is USB Power Delivery PPS 3.0 compatible. Because of this, it supports 45W Super Fast Charging on the latest Samsung Galaxy flagships. This is also perfect for charging my laptop through the USB-C port and the output specifications on the charger match the stock AC Adapter that came with my laptop. I’ve since relegated the stock adapter back to the box and only used the AMX XP60 PD as it leaves me room to charge other devices as well.

There are three USB Type-A ports, capable of a maximum of 12W (5V/2.4A) output on each port. Sadly, these aren’t Qualcomm Quick Charge certified. The charger also has a maximum output cap of 62W (contrary to the number in the marketing name), so you cannot exceed this ceiling on this product. So if you have all the ports occupied on the charger, the maximum theoretical power you can draw out is 45W from the USB-C port and 17W combined from the three USB-A ports. At first sight, this may feel inadequate, and it will be if you need to fast charge all your devices all the time. But if you have slower charging accessories around, this should not be as much of an issue. For my smartphone, I alternate between using USB PD through the Type-C port when I need a quick boost or let it charge slower over a few hours.

Thermal performance on the charger has been satisfactory too. The charger gets warm to the touch when you max it out for an hour or so, but it does not get unreasonably hot, remaining well within acceptable levels of performance. The charger also claims to be BIS certified.

Pricing and Availability

The AMX XP60 PD charger was available in India for ₹1,599 (~$22) back in March 2020 on the AMX website, but currently, the product is out of stock. The website mentions that the charger will be back in stock in mid-August, though the listed price is ₹1,699 (~$23), likely to account for recent currency fluctuations and tax changes.

The AMX XP60 PD charger in my usage thus has the AMX USB-C to USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 cable on the first port, usually connected to my laptop and sometimes to my new smartphone, the OnePlus 8 Pro. Two of the three USB-A ports are connected with USB-C cables for slowly charging my primary smartphone and audio accessories. The last port usually is free most of the time, but I have the flexibility to connect a micro USB cable for charging my mouse or the proprietary cable for my watches. When regular traveling does resume, this will be the only charging brick I will take along in my bag.

Overall, I’m happy with this charger, while still recognizing that it isn’t perfect. Unlike other parts of the world, finding a safe, high-output, multi-port charger with USB PD in India is a bit of a challenge by itself, and so there aren’t as many solutions available in this space. I would recommend this for people who want multi-port chargers with USB PD in India. As long as you know what to expect out of the charger, you should be happy with the price. If you are looking for something more compact and portable, or something even more powerful, you should keep your eye out on GaN chargers (though they will take some more time to arrive in India and are expected to be more expensive initially).

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AMX XP60 PD Charger Review – The only charging brick you need in your bag

The AMX XP60 PD perfectly delivered on my needs, at least from a functional perspective.

AMX XP60 PD: Design

The Xiaomi Mi 18W Fast Charging Adapter (affiliate link) is dwarfed in comparison, while the chunky OnePlus Warp Charge 30 charger comes close in bulkiness.

If you have a 2-pin charging socket placed vertically, then you should be able to use the charger without needing an extension pin, unless you have any other blocking elements nearby.

AMX XP60 PD: Charging

Pricing and Availability

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vendredi 31 juillet 2020

Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition Review: The Hottest New Thin and Light Notebook – Literally

Xiaomi, traditionally known for its smartphone, first entered the laptop segment in China all the way back in 2016. Ever since then, I’ve seen countless posts from Xiaomi fans in India either asking the company to launch its laptop lineup in the country or asking their peers if it’s safe to import the laptops from China. Earlier this year in June, Xiaomi finally gave in to all the fan requests and launched the Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition in India.

The Mi Notebook 14 lineup consists of two models — the entry-level Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 and the slightly more premium Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition. I recently had a chance to experience the top-of-the-line Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition and, having used two exceptional Xiaomi notebooks in the past, I instantly jumped on the opportunity. I’ve been using the Intel Core i7-10510U variant of the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition as my daily driver for the last month, and here are my thoughts on the hot new thin-and-light notebook.

Note: Xiaomi India sent us a Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition for the purpose of this review. However, the company did not have any input on the content of this review. This review is written after over a month of use.

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition: Specifications

Xiaomi offers the Mi Notebook Horizon Edition in two SKUs. There’s the Intel Core i5-10210U powered base variant and the Intel Core i7-10510U powered top-end variant. As mentioned earlier, I’ve been using the Intel Core i7 variant, and here are its complete specifications:

Specification	Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition
Dimensions & Weight	321.3mm x 206.8mm 1.35kg
Display	14-inch FHD (1920×1080) Matte-finish 16:9 250nits
Processor	Intel Core i7-10510U @1.8GHz
GPU	NVIDIA MX350 (2GB GDDR5)
RAM & Storage	8GB DDR4 @2666MHz 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD
Battery & Charging	46Wh 65W fast charging
I/O	2x USB 3.1 Type-A 1x USB 2.0 Type-A 1x USB Type-C 1x HDMI 1.4b 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11ac 2×2 Bluetooth 5.0
OS	Windows 10 Home Edition
Other Features	Microsoft Office 365, 30-day trial Mi Smart Share Mi Blaze Unlock

Design and Build Quality

Now that we’ve got the specifications out of the way, let’s take a look at one of the most striking features of the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition — its design. The notebook features a minimal MacBook Pro-like design with a magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis and no visible branding on the outside. It features a healthy selection of I/O ports on either side, a large air intake grille at the bottom, and an exhaust grille on the left edge. The laptop measures just 17.15mm thick and weighs just 1.35kg, making it extremely portable.

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

The Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition features a large center-mounted hinge that, combined with the excellent weight distribution, lets you easily open the notebook with just a single finger. Once you have the notebook open, you’re greeted with an impressive 14-inch display with just 3mm bezels on three sides and a 91% screen-to-body ratio, a compact keyboard with no number pad, and a substantially sized trackpad right underneath it. The minimal branding theme continues on the inside, with the notebook just featuring the Mi logo smack dab in the middle of the bottom bezel and Intel Core i7 branding on the right edge of the palm rest.

For a thin-and-light notebook, the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition offers a decent port selection. The notebook features two USB 3.1 Type-A ports, a USB 2.0 Type-A port, a USB Type-C port, an HDMI 1.4b port, and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack. Sadly though, the notebook doesn’t include an SD card reader. The USB Type-C port on the notebook can be used for data transfer and charging, however, Xiaomi doesn’t include a Type-C charger in the box. Instead, the notebook utilizes a barrel-style charger with a 65W adapter. This is particularly disappointing because Xiaomi does make a 65W USB PD fast charger for laptops and could’ve included one in the box.

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

The lack of a built-in webcam is another major disappointment, especially when so many of us have shifted to work-from-home, but Xiaomi does at least include an external webcam in the box that can get the job done in an emergency. However, if you’re someone who cares about not looking like a pixelated mess, then the included webcam will be disappointing.

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

Regardless, the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition doesn’t fail to impress on the design front. When compared to other thin-and-light notebooks in this price range, Xiaomi’s notebook offers a cleaner and more minimal design, better build quality, a healthy I/O selection, and a great display with slim bezels. Xiaomi hasn’t gone over the top with its branding, and that’s another thing I appreciate about this notebook.

Display

The Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition, unlike the regular Mi Notebook 14, features a 14-inch FHD matte display with 3mm bezels on the top and sides and a 91% screen-to-body ratio. Thanks to the slim bezels, Xiaomi has managed to fit the 14-inch display in a chassis that’s the same size as a 13.3-inch notebook. This not only makes the notebook a lot more portable but also gives it a premium appeal. The display has a matte finish to avoid any unnecessary screen glare and improve outdoor visibility, and it has a peak brightness of 250 nits which makes it fairly usable in direct sunlight.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

On the downside, the matte finish means that the display doesn’t look as vibrant as its glossy counterparts, and those of you who are planning to use the notebook for any kind of photo or video work won’t find it as appealing as some of the other options out there. Furthermore, the display doesn’t offer the best color accuracy, and there’s a noticeable color shift while you’re looking at it from an angle, making it a poor choice for any kind of content creation. However, the display is more than satisfactory for content consumption and you shouldn’t face any issues with it in day-to-day use.

Keyboard & Trackpad

I’ve been using the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition as my work laptop for the last few weeks, and in that time, I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with the keyboard and trackpad. The notebook features a compact chiclet-style keyboard with 1.3mm key travel and no number pad. Coming from a full-sized mechanical keyboard, typing on the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition felt surprisingly inoffensive. The key travel was decent, the feedback was satisfactory, and the key spacing was good enough for me to get used to typing on the Mi Notebook in just a couple of hours. Similarly, the trackpad was also quite usable, even though it doesn’t include support for Windows Precision drivers. Tracking was responsive, multi-touch gestures worked just fine, and the click action offered good feedback.

However, there are some major downsides to the input devices on the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition which might be deal-breakers for some of you. Since the keyboard is quite compact and I have fairly large hands, I wasn’t able to achieve my usual typing speed on the notebook. With my wrists resting on the palm rest, I faced issues reaching the bottom two rows on the keyboard and, even though I tried for a week, I had to switch back to my keyboard for the remainder of my testing. The keys also felt a bit cheap and the stabilization on the large keys, especially the spacebar, was a bit concerning. On top of that, the lack of backlighting was a deal-breaker for me. Palm rejection on the trackpad was also poor and resulted in the cursor moving almost every time I hit a key near the spacebar.

Do note that since most of the aforementioned issues have a direct correlation with the size of my hands, most users shouldn’t face these problems in day-to-day use.

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

Audio

The Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition packs in two 2W bottom-firing speaker units that sound unimpressive. Tinny would be the best word to describe the audio profile as there’s absolutely no bass whatsoever. On top of that, the speaker placement results in a muffled sound if you don’t place the laptop on a flat surface.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

The speakers also don’t get loud enough at max volume, and you’ll have to use a Bluetooth speaker or headphones if you plan to use the notebook as your primary content consumption device. Xiaomi has included DTS audio processing on the notebook for better audio performance but, in my experience, finetuning the audio from the DTS app barely made a difference. Audio performance from the 3.5mm headphone jack was satisfactory, though.

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition: Performance

Now, coming to the meat of the matter, the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition’s performance. As mentioned earlier, my review unit is powered by an Intel Core i7-10510U processor, coupled with an NVIDIA MX350 GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of M.2 NVMe storage. The notebook performed admirably for my daily use case, which mostly comprises of browsing the web, watching videos, a lot of typing, and a bit of photo editing. Thanks to the NVMe drive, the notebook booted up almost instantly, and everything from opening apps to transferring files felt snappy. If you have a similar use case, then the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition is a great notebook.

However, if you’re planning to do anything more intensive, then you should probably consider other options. This is due to the fact that the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition suffers from some major thermal issues (more on that later) and, as a result, it throttles under load. To give you an idea of how the notebook performs under load, I ran a couple of synthetic benchmarks and tried playing a few eSports titles on the notebook, and here’s what I observed.

Synthetic benchmarks

The Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition doesn’t fare well in synthetic benchmarks when compared with other similarly spec’d notebooks. In Geekbench 5, the notebook manages a paltry 946 in the single-core score and 2,994 in the multi-core score. In comparison, the ASUS VivoBook S14, which packs the same processor, manages to eek out a single-core score of 1,296 and a multi-core score of 3,808. In PCMark 10, Xiaomi’s notebook managed a combined score of 4,302, which is comparable to other Intel Core i7-10510U powered notebooks.

In Cinebench R20, the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition managed 875 points, which is significantly lower than the average of 1,468 delivered by the same processor. In 3DMark, the notebook delivered a combined score of 13,350 in the Night Raid benchmark and 11,148 in the Sky Diver benchmark. Since the NVIDIA MX350 is relatively new to the Indian market, I wasn’t able to compare the score with other notebooks featuring the same GPU.

Gaming

Despite Xiaomi’s claims regarding the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition’s gaming performance, I wouldn’t recommend the device to even the most casual of gamers. Based on Xiaomi’s claims during the launch event, I planned on trying a ton of eSports and AAA titles on the notebook. However, after trying out only two eSports titles on the notebook, namely League of Legends and Counter Strike: Global Offensive, I can safely conclude that this notebook is not meant for gaming.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

While the notebook managed to deliver promising framerates (around the 100fps mark at 720p) when I first fired up each game, the fps dropped significantly just 15 minutes into the game. The fps drop was a direct result of the laptop thermal throttling, as the notebook got incredibly hot within 15 minutes of getting into a match. The keyboard deck reached an uncomfortable 60 degrees around the center and top left corner, while the CPU temperature crossed 90 degrees. As a result, I had to conclude my gaming test as I didn’t want to damage something internally by continuing the tests for a prolonged duration.

Thermal performance

The Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition has a simple thermal solution that is decent for day-to-day productivity tasks. With my daily use case, the notebook stayed cool and the fan stayed silent for the most part. However, as mentioned earlier, the thermal solution isn’t as effective for anything more intensive. While using Photoshop, the fan ramped up immediately and the base felt warm to the touch within a few minutes. I noticed no thermal throttling while working on a single image in Photoshop, but as soon as I opened multiple files each with a couple of layers, the notebook started stuttering.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition: Battery Life

Powering the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition is a 46Wh battery which includes fast charging support that can charge up the laptop from 0-50% in just 30 minutes. While Xiaomi claims up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge, in my testing I found the laptop consistently lasted around 7 hours on the battery saver power setting and the screen set at 50% brightness. Even though the notebook’s battery life doesn’t match up to Xiaomi’s claims, 7 hours on a single charge is pretty great for a Windows notebook in this price range. The battery life drops to about 5 hours on the best performance power setting and the brightness set to 100%. All the measurements were taken while using the notebook primarily for web browsing, writing articles, and some light photo editing. Of course, the battery won’t last as long in case you do anything more performance-intensive.

Should you buy the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition?

The Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition is a well-designed notebook that offers decent performance for basic productivity tasks and content consumption. Thanks to its exceptional battery life and compact form factor, the notebook can also prove to be a great travel companion. But if you’re planning on doing anything even remotely performance-intensive, then the notebook isn’t for you. Along with that, there are a few other issues that you might want to consider before going ahead with the purchase.

The Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition features soldered RAM, so you can’t upgrade past the included 8GB capacity, and Xiaomi doesn’t offer a 16GB variant yet. The keyboard isn’t backlit and might feel a bit cramped for some users. Its audio performance is mediocre, it doesn’t include an SD card reader, and there’s no built-in webcam.

For a starting price of ₹54,999 for the Intel Core i5-10210U and SATA SSD variant, the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Editions isn’t the best option out there. Xiaomi’s design-first approach does make the notebook a lot more appealing on paper than it actually is and, for those of you who care more about performance than design or aesthetics, the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition is not a great choice.

Buy the Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition: Amazon ||| Mi.com

This article contains affiliate links, which will net XDA a small commission if you purchase a product from clicking a link.

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Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition Review: The Hottest New Thin and Light Notebook – Literally

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition: Specifications

Specification	Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition
Dimensions & Weight	321.3mm x 206.8mm 1.35kg
Display	14-inch FHD (1920×1080) Matte-finish 16:9 250nits
Processor	Intel Core i7-10510U @1.8GHz
GPU	NVIDIA MX350 (2GB GDDR5)
RAM & Storage	8GB DDR4 @2666MHz 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD
Battery & Charging	46Wh 65W fast charging
I/O	2x USB 3.1 Type-A 1x USB 2.0 Type-A 1x USB Type-C 1x HDMI 1.4b 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11ac 2×2 Bluetooth 5.0
OS	Windows 10 Home Edition
Other Features	Microsoft Office 365, 30-day trial Mi Smart Share Mi Blaze Unlock

Design and Build Quality

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

Display

Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

Keyboard & Trackpad

Do note that since most of the aforementioned issues have a direct correlation with the size of my hands, most users shouldn’t face these problems in day-to-day use.

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

Audio

Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition: Performance

Synthetic benchmarks

Gaming

Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

Thermal performance

Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition: Battery Life

Should you buy the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition?

Buy the Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition: Amazon ||| Mi.com

This article contains affiliate links, which will net XDA a small commission if you purchase a product from clicking a link.

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Huawei to Revolutionize Commerce with New Live E-commerce Platform

As the world changes, people are changing the way they shop. New solutions are needed to present new and effective ways for consumers to interact with online stores. This is where Huawei’s Live E-commerce service comes in. The new e-commerce solution is designed to help merchants boost their traffic while lowering costs. Live streaming brings new opportunities driven by e-commerce transformation. Online retailers will be able to easily implement this solution, which is based on Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) to enhance live commerce capabilities.

Live E-commerce to be Officially Announce on Huawei Developer Day

To announce the launch of Live E-commerce, Huawei will be using their Huawei Developer Day #HDD event which is streamed online. This event will have the primary focus of showing online retailers, businesses, and developers how they can use HMS to profit off of the constantly-evolving online retail landscape. This event will demonstrate how Huawei is making live commerce easier, faster, and more immersive than ever. The key to this is the combination of the HMS compatibility kits. These allow developers to create a single e-commerce solution. The combination of Live E-commerce and HMS gives Huawei the technological advantage over other platforms in this field. Online retailers will now be able to produce a truly intelligent live commerce experience. HMS Core kits provide e-commerce platforms with easier control, more efficient operation, and more immersive scenario-based live stream experience.

Huawei Developer Day

The Huawei Developer Webinar | Connect LIVEs with E-commerce
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE EVENT LIVE

August 6th, 2020

The HDD event is totally free for developers to attend. It is hosted online in the form of livestreams that features speakers from partnering companies like LiveMe, Kumu and others. Developers that attend the event will have the opportunity to learn about the different ways that Huawei can help them increase their traffic. Using the powerful tools designed for online platforms, you’ll learn how to create a richer and more advanced live streaming experience. Huawei’s innovative technology enhances e-commerce capabilities, assisting vendors, and developers to realize business gains.

“With more consumers and vendors converting to live commerce streaming to sell and buy products, e-commerce is continuing its rapid growth and represent an increasingly large section of the global retail industry. A key priority for Huawei is supporting the expanding number of developers around the world in this field, which is why our next HDD is dedicated entirely to e-commerce and online retailers. HDD is an invaluable opportunity for developers and retailers of all sizes and sectors to get a head start on competitors and learn how our new and enhanced HMS-based solution can greatly enhance their live commerce capabilities.”

Peter Gauden - Head of WEU EcoSystem Marketing at Huawei Consumer Business Group

The HDD event will be very beneficial to anyone looking to learn about the increasingly interactive market of online retail. The livestreamed event will be one hour long and will feature interaction from the audience, in the form of live comments. This event is part of Huawei’s commitment to creating a better experience for developers, which includes an all-scenario smart ecosystem.

All of this is part of the support and resources that Huawei dedicates to developers that use HMS and host their apps on the AppGallery. Huawei’s fully open Chip-Device-Cloud capabilities enable the best app experience while promoting innovation. If you are a developer and want to learn how to succeed in this market, make sure you tune-in to the Huawei Developers Day event on August 6th, 2020.

This post is sponsored and written in part by HUAWEI. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.

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YouTube to axe community contributions for closed captions and subtitles

Google on Friday announced YouTube’s Community Contributions feature, which allows viewers to add closed captioning and subtitles to videos, will be discontinued on September 28, 2020. The company cites two reasons behind the discontinuation of the feature: It’s not being widely used and is a regular source of spam and abuse.

According to Google, community contributions were featured in “less than 0.001% of channels” in the past month, covering than 0.2% of watch time. Creators are, for the most part, relying on alternative captioning tools for their videos.

As The Verge points out, deaf and hard-of-hearing creators will be most affected by the feature’s removal. Several “VTubers”, or Virtual YouTubers, will also be affected, as well as content creators with significant foreign language audiences. Some content creators have already voiced their concerns, pleading with Google to create a better community contributions system rather than axing it entirely.

It’s a fine line to walk for Google. Captions and subtitles are crucial for accessibility—not just to reach deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, but to reach viewers who speak different languages. While the community contributions feature is being canceled, captions and subtitles will still be available in YouTube videos. Creators can continue to manually add captions, while YouTube has technology that automatically adds captions to every video. The automatically generated captions are generally not as accurate as user-contributed captions, but they can be improved over time as Google continues to train its speech recognition and language translation technologies.

Even though Google said YouTube’s Community Contributions feature is rarely used, the company acknowledged the difficulty this decision might cause for some creators. As a consolation, Google said it would cover the cost of a 6-month subscription to Amara.org, a service that captions, subtitles, and translates videos.

If you currently have contributions saved as drafts, they’ll be available to publish until September 28. All contributions that have already been published will remain, and creators can manage them as they see fit.

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Google and Pure Digital almost partnered for Flip Video camera

Back before Google acquired (and then sold) Motorola, and back before Google had developed its first Pixel-branded smartphone, the search giant nearly released a Flip Video camera in partnership with Pure Digital at the dawn of the YouTube era.

According to internal emails obtained by the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust sub-committee (via The Verge), Google Video product manager Peter Chane attempted to convince colleagues to partner with Pure Digital, the owner of Flip Video, for a consumer video camera.

In a 2006 email, Chane highlights the popularity of Pure Digital and argues how important personal video cameras would be for a community-driven site such as Google Video. The emails laid out Chane’s argument and his urgency to get a deal done before Yahoo and YouTube did something similar. At the time, YouTube was still a competitor to Google Video.

We already know that Google never made a deal to release a Google-branded Flip Video camera, but there were conversations about the possibility. What ultimately happened was, at the suggestion of Google Video director Jennifer Feikin, Google opted to pursue an acquisition of YouTube instead, and the rest is history.

“I think perhaps a better route to take would be quickly figure out the strategy of how to work with both types of content in the ideal ways, and then to acquire YouTube,” Feikin said in an email.

Feikin said she admired YouTube’s UI and active community. By acquiring YouTube, Google could then use its considerable resources to scale the service and bring it to a wider audience. Some colleagues were apparently skeptical about acquiring YouTube, but Google ultimately made a deal all the way back in 2006.

Today, Google is one of the most popular websites on the internet, while Pure Digital and its Flip Video cameras are no more, thanks in part to the rise of smartphones. In hindsight, it was good business sense from Google, but it still would have been interesting to see a Google-branded Flip Video camera.

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