What do you think about Facebook’s new ‘Meta’ name?

Last week, Facebook revealed that it was rebranding itself as ‘Meta.’ The new name is a reference to the “Metaverse,” a term loosely defined as interconnected virtual reality experiences, which Facebook Meta is now investing plenty of time and money into. Now that the dust has settled, what do you think about the new company name?

The news arrived during Facebook’s “Connect” livestream, where the company talked about its efforts in augmented reality and virtual reality. Jason Koebler summed up the event nicely in a Vice article as, “a delusional fever dream cribbed most obviously from dystopian science fiction and misleading or outright fabricated virtual reality product pitches from the last decade.” The event was also subject to a few recurring jokes on social media, especially regarding the bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce that Zuckerberg had on a shelf.

why does he have sweet baby rays bbq on the decorative shelf pic.twitter.com/qyytoSjv0z

— conar (@subtoconnorpls) October 28, 2021

tfw you have sweet baby rays (or maybe you are out. honestly i cant tell) pic.twitter.com/jMIDxtnm67

— Incognito Finito (@incognitofinito) October 29, 2021

Jokes aside, it’s difficult to see the rebranding as anything but a distraction from the dumpster fire (lovingly pictured above) that is Facebook’s problems. The company has been heavily criticized for its lack of enforcement against high-profile users, tax avoidance (like nearly every other tech company), privacy policy changes in WhatsApp, allowing hate speech, and much more. The United States Federal Trade Commission is also attempting to reverse Facebook/Meta’s acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp, but that seems unlikely to succeed.

Importantly, the name change only applies to Facebook as a company. Facebook as a social network will continue to have the same name, as will Instagram, WhatsApp, and other services. However, the company is rebranding its Oculus virtual reality division to Meta — the Oculus Quest headset is now the Meta Quest.

So, what do you think about the new name? Do you think it might help Facebook push back against criticism? Do you think it’s a good move as Facebook pivots to AR and VR content? Head on down to the comment section and talk it out.

The post What do you think about Facebook’s new ‘Meta’ name? appeared first on xda-developers.

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Honor 50 Review: Google Services were sorely missed

The Honor 50 is a pretty big milestone for Honor, as it is the company’s first smartphone with Google Play Services in a long, long time. After officially splitting away from Huawei late last year, Honor launched the Honor V40 series in China, which was then followed up by another China-only launch event in June where the company unveiled three new devices — the Honor 50, Honor 50 Pro, and Honor 50SE. The company has now launched both the Honor 50 and the Honor 50SE in western markets, and the big news is that both devices now come with Google Play Services preinstalled.

The Honor 50 has a full western release and can be purchased in Germany, France, Finland, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. You’ll also be able to import this one to other European countries through the likes of Amazon, and it has a somewhat-high starting price of €529.

About this review: I received the Honor 50 for review from Honor. Honor did not have any input into the contents of this article.

Honor 50: Specifications. Click to expand.

Specification	Honor 50
Dimensions & Weight	159.96 x 73.76 x 7.78mm 175g
Display	6.57-inch FHD+ OLED 2340 x 1080p 100% DCI-P3 coverage 120Hz refresh rate 300Hz touch sampling rate
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Adreno 642L GPU
RAM & Storage	6GB RAM + 128GB storage 8GB + 256GB
Battery & Charging	4,300mAh 66W fast charging
Rear Camera(s)	Primary: 108MP f/1.9 Ultra-wide: 8MP f/2.2 Macro: 2MP f/2.4 Depth: 2MP f/2.4
Front Camera(s)	32MP f/2.2
Port(s)	USB Type-C
Connectivity	5G NR 4G LTE Dual-band Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Bluetooth 5.2
Software	Magic UI 4.2 based on Android 11 with GMS
Colors	Midnight Black Emerald Green

The bold design of the Honor 50

The Honor 50 packs a 6.57-inch Full HD OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s pretty severely curved on either side, much more so than other phones that I’ve used. It sits nicely in the hand and the palm rejection has been good, so I don’t have too many complaints about that. The front-facing camera is a rather large blotch on the display, though, and I wish it was smaller.

The back of the phone features a unique pairing of camera modules, comprised of two circles. The top module has a single 108MP camera, whereas the bottom module has a 2MP depth sensor, a 2MP macro sensor, and an 8MP ultra-wide camera. There’s also an LED flash too. The right-hand side has a power button with a volume rocker that sits above it.

The Honor 50 has a mono speaker, with the single-fire speaker sitting at the bottom of the phone. It’s quite loud but sounds average, and I’m disappointed that the earpiece doesn’t double up as a second speaker. There’s also a single USB-C port, a SIM tray, and no headphone jack. There’s also an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is easy to reach with my thumb when I pick up the phone.

Overall, I'm a fan of the Honor 50's design and it's an extremely comfortable phone to use for long periods of time.

Overall, I’m a fan of the Honor 50’s design, and the curved edges combined with how light the phone is, makes it an extremely comfortable phone to use for long periods of time. Mind you, I’d typically prefer a flat display over a curved one, but the Honor 50 looks really good. The biggest issue I had with the phone’s display was that the always-on display just sometimes doesn’t turn on, and I can’t figure out why. I’ve enabled it and it sometimes works. But sometimes when the phone is sitting on my desk facing upwards, the always-on display fails to enable. Hopefully, Honor fixes this with a software update.

Camera

The Honor 50 features a 108MP main camera, and it also features an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. The 108MP camera uses a 9-in-1 pixel binning technique to create 12MP photographs, and it’s by far the only camera worth talking about on this phone. It’s capable of decent photographs from the main sensor, though it falls behind experiences offered by other manufacturers at this price point, especially when the other cameras on the phone range from passable to borderline useless.

Magic UI 4.2 — complete with Google Play Services!

The headline feature of the Honor 50 is its inclusion of Google Services, something that we haven’t seen in a long time on an Honor smartphone. We’ve seen Honor smartphones preloaded with Huawei Mobile Services, and we’ve obviously seen Huawei devices that run HarmonyOS and EMUI that look more or less exactly like Magic UI.

Personally, while Huawei Mobile Services have improved leaps and bounds over their initial iterations, nothing beats Google Play Services for me. I use innumerable Google services in my day-to-day life, and it’s a blessing to finally be able to use them on an Honor smartphone without needing to jump through hoops or look for alternatives. I don’t have to think about using a Google service, or any of my favorite apps — they just work now as they do on the hundreds and thousands of other phones out there. I would like to reserve further judgment on the company until we see a proper flagship, but the Honor 20 Pro was one of my favorite phones at the time of its release.

The problem with Huawei Mobile Services wasn’t just that it wasn’t Google, it’s that there were still some teething issues that couldn’t really be solved. Any apps that used the Google Maps API couldn’t actually show the map, as it needed that integration. Installing apps that were not on the AppGallery was also often a cumbersome process, even if tools like Petal Search helped a little bit. Overall, it was difficult to hand an Honor phone to just anyone, as it definitely wasn’t what many consumers would be familiar with from an Android smartphone.

However, with all of that said, Honor can make and has made fantastic smartphones, but the Honor 50 with Google Play Services is more or less just another budget offering. Honor smartphones typically have great battery life, Magic UI has a lot of great features, and the camera has always been very impressive. I’m a little bit disappointed by the Honor 50’s camera as I expected more from the company, especially at this price range.

I'm excited to see how Magic UI develops its own identity in the years to come

All in all, this is the first big return of Honor without Huawei’s support in the west, so I’m willing to wait and see what happens. I’m certainly optimistic about what it can do, and given that Magic UI was based on EMUI, I’m excited to see how it develops its own identity in the years to come.

Performance, Audio, and Battery

The Snapdragon 778G is similar to the Snapdragon 780G, though has a slightly weaker GPU and ISP. However, it boasts a faster CPU, better modem with support for mmWave 5G, and support for faster memory in the form of LPDDR5. Just like other Snapdragon 7 series chipsets, the goal with the Snapdragon 778G is to deliver some of the premium features from the top-tier Snapdragon 8 series portfolio in a more affordable package.

In terms of gaming, the chip comes with the Adreno 642L GPU, and it supports select Snapdragon Elite Gaming features such as Variable Rate Shading (VRS) that helps game developers offer higher visual fidelity while reducing the GPU workload, and Qualcomm Game Quick Touch, which offers up to 30% faster touch response rate in games.

For any normal smartphone user, this chipset is perfectly capable

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G is an interesting chip, as it serves as a stop-gap between the upper mid-range and flagship chipsets. Everything basic that you’d use a smartphone for feels fluid and fast, and there’s nothing really more that I’d want from a chipset. You won’t be able to push your smartphone to its absolute limits through the likes of Wii and GameCube emulation, but for any normal smartphone user, this chipset is perfectly capable.

From all of our benchmarking, the Honor 50 is as good as the Snapdragon 778G allows it to be. All of these results are decent for this caliber of chip, and the storage speed is also quick enough that loading times in apps and games shouldn’t ever be a problem. The CPU throttling test is somewhat poor, as its lowest points are quite low. Even still, those are are levels of throttling you will really only face after a few minutes of pushing the CPU to its limits, be it either through gaming, or other means.

When it comes to audio, however, I’m disappointed. There’s a single bottom-firing speaker when we’ve seen smartphones at this price range (and much further below) launched with dual speakers. It’s not something I usually care about, but I know a lot of people do, and it’s something that I’m used to in smartphones at all price ranges at this point in 2021. On the bright side, the speaker does get quite loud, but the audio quality itself is just average. These are “smartphone speakers”, with every ounce of the stigma that that phrase carries.

At the very least, when it comes to battery life, Honor has nailed it yet again. The Snapdragon 778G is not a power-hungry chip like we see on the flagship end, and Magic UI’s software optimizations mean that this phone just sips battery throughout the day. Even better, the 66W charging brick that’s in the box (crazy, right?) can help to pick up the slack if you find yourself needing some juice in a pinch.

Conclusion: Honor’s big western comeback is a step in the right direction

If this were any other smartphone from any other company, there wouldn’t be a whole lot to write home about. €529 is a lot of money for what this phone offers when the likes of Xiaomi and even OPPO offer a whole lot better for lower prices. However, there are a few key advantages that Honor smartphones have inherited from their past owner, and those are what will make the company really shine. Camera prowess for one, and battery life being the second.

Honor 50

The Honor 50 is a major return to western markets for the company, though it's not quite got the Honor flair just yet.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

See at Honor

However, my initial stance still remains; this is a hard phone to recommend to just about anyone. It’s good in its own right, but there are phones like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro that offer nearly as good specs for significantly less. The POCO F3 is another such phone, or even the OnePlus Nord 2. Whatever you value most in a smartphone, there seems to be something nearly as good as the Honor 50 in that department for significantly less money.

I like the Honor 50, and I’m really happy that Honor can again make use of Google’s Play Services. I’ve always been a huge fan of the company’s flagships, and I’m excited to see what’s to come. This is a step in the right direction, and there’s nothing I could see wrong with this phone as a mid-range smartphone — it’s just that there are phones as good for less. Nevertheless, I’m excited to see what comes next, and I’m really looking forward to testing out and reviewing Honor smartphones in the west again.

The post Honor 50 Review: Google Services were sorely missed appeared first on xda-developers.

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Honor 50 Review: Google Services were sorely missed

The Honor 50 is a pretty big milestone for Honor, as it is the company’s first smartphone with Google Play Services in a long, long time. After officially splitting away from Huawei late last year, Honor launched the Honor V40 series in China, which was then followed up by another China-only launch event in June where the company unveiled three new devices — the Honor 50, Honor 50 Pro, and Honor 50SE. The company has now launched both the Honor 50 and the Honor 50SE in western markets, and the big news is that both devices now come with Google Play Services preinstalled.

The Honor 50 has a full western release and can be purchased in Germany, France, Finland, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. You’ll also be able to import this one to other European countries through the likes of Amazon, and it has a somewhat-high starting price of €529.

About this review: I received the Honor 50 for review from Honor. Honor did not have any input into the contents of this article.

Honor 50: Specifications. Click to expand.

Specification	Honor 50
Dimensions & Weight	159.96 x 73.76 x 7.78mm 175g
Display	6.57-inch FHD+ OLED 2340 x 1080p 100% DCI-P3 coverage 120Hz refresh rate 300Hz touch sampling rate
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Adreno 642L GPU
RAM & Storage	6GB RAM + 128GB storage 8GB + 256GB
Battery & Charging	4,300mAh 66W fast charging
Rear Camera(s)	Primary: 108MP f/1.9 Ultra-wide: 8MP f/2.2 Macro: 2MP f/2.4 Depth: 2MP f/2.4
Front Camera(s)	32MP f/2.2
Port(s)	USB Type-C
Connectivity	5G NR 4G LTE Dual-band Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Bluetooth 5.2
Software	Magic UI 4.2 based on Android 11 with GMS
Colors	Midnight Black Emerald Green

The bold design of the Honor 50

The Honor 50 packs a 6.57-inch Full HD OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s pretty severely curved on either side, much more so than other phones that I’ve used. It sits nicely in the hand and the palm rejection has been good, so I don’t have too many complaints about that. The front-facing camera is a rather large blotch on the display, though, and I wish it was smaller.

The back of the phone features a unique pairing of camera modules, comprised of two circles. The top module has a single 108MP camera, whereas the bottom module has a 2MP depth sensor, a 2MP macro sensor, and an 8MP ultra-wide camera. There’s also an LED flash too. The right-hand side has a power button with a volume rocker that sits above it.

The Honor 50 has a mono speaker, with the single-fire speaker sitting at the bottom of the phone. It’s quite loud but sounds average, and I’m disappointed that the earpiece doesn’t double up as a second speaker. There’s also a single USB-C port, a SIM tray, and no headphone jack. There’s also an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is easy to reach with my thumb when I pick up the phone.

Overall, I'm a fan of the Honor 50's design and it's an extremely comfortable phone to use for long periods of time.

Overall, I’m a fan of the Honor 50’s design, and the curved edges combined with how light the phone is, makes it an extremely comfortable phone to use for long periods of time. Mind you, I’d typically prefer a flat display over a curved one, but the Honor 50 looks really good. The biggest issue I had with the phone’s display was that the always-on display just sometimes doesn’t turn on, and I can’t figure out why. I’ve enabled it and it sometimes works. But sometimes when the phone is sitting on my desk facing upwards, the always-on display fails to enable. Hopefully, Honor fixes this with a software update.

Camera

The Honor 50 features a 108MP main camera, and it also features an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. The 108MP camera uses a 9-in-1 pixel binning technique to create 12MP photographs, and it’s by far the only camera worth talking about on this phone. It’s capable of decent photographs from the main sensor, though it falls behind experiences offered by other manufacturers at this price point, especially when the other cameras on the phone range from passable to borderline useless.

Magic UI 4.2 — complete with Google Play Services!

The headline feature of the Honor 50 is its inclusion of Google Services, something that we haven’t seen in a long time on an Honor smartphone. We’ve seen Honor smartphones preloaded with Huawei Mobile Services, and we’ve obviously seen Huawei devices that run HarmonyOS and EMUI that look more or less exactly like Magic UI.

Personally, while Huawei Mobile Services have improved leaps and bounds over their initial iterations, nothing beats Google Play Services for me. I use innumerable Google services in my day-to-day life, and it’s a blessing to finally be able to use them on an Honor smartphone without needing to jump through hoops or look for alternatives. I don’t have to think about using a Google service, or any of my favorite apps — they just work now as they do on the hundreds and thousands of other phones out there. I would like to reserve further judgment on the company until we see a proper flagship, but the Honor 20 Pro was one of my favorite phones at the time of its release.

The problem with Huawei Mobile Services wasn’t just that it wasn’t Google, it’s that there were still some teething issues that couldn’t really be solved. Any apps that used the Google Maps API couldn’t actually show the map, as it needed that integration. Installing apps that were not on the AppGallery was also often a cumbersome process, even if tools like Petal Search helped a little bit. Overall, it was difficult to hand an Honor phone to just anyone, as it definitely wasn’t what many consumers would be familiar with from an Android smartphone.

However, with all of that said, Honor can make and has made fantastic smartphones, but the Honor 50 with Google Play Services is more or less just another budget offering. Honor smartphones typically have great battery life, Magic UI has a lot of great features, and the camera has always been very impressive. I’m a little bit disappointed by the Honor 50’s camera as I expected more from the company, especially at this price range.

I'm excited to see how Magic UI develops its own identity in the years to come

All in all, this is the first big return of Honor without Huawei’s support in the west, so I’m willing to wait and see what happens. I’m certainly optimistic about what it can do, and given that Magic UI was based on EMUI, I’m excited to see how it develops its own identity in the years to come.

Performance, Audio, and Battery

The Snapdragon 778G is similar to the Snapdragon 780G, though has a slightly weaker GPU and ISP. However, it boasts a faster CPU, better modem with support for mmWave 5G, and support for faster memory in the form of LPDDR5. Just like other Snapdragon 7 series chipsets, the goal with the Snapdragon 778G is to deliver some of the premium features from the top-tier Snapdragon 8 series portfolio in a more affordable package.

In terms of gaming, the chip comes with the Adreno 642L GPU, and it supports select Snapdragon Elite Gaming features such as Variable Rate Shading (VRS) that helps game developers offer higher visual fidelity while reducing the GPU workload, and Qualcomm Game Quick Touch, which offers up to 30% faster touch response rate in games.

For any normal smartphone user, this chipset is perfectly capable

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G is an interesting chip, as it serves as a stop-gap between the upper mid-range and flagship chipsets. Everything basic that you’d use a smartphone for feels fluid and fast, and there’s nothing really more that I’d want from a chipset. You won’t be able to push your smartphone to its absolute limits through the likes of Wii and GameCube emulation, but for any normal smartphone user, this chipset is perfectly capable.

From all of our benchmarking, the Honor 50 is as good as the Snapdragon 778G allows it to be. All of these results are decent for this caliber of chip, and the storage speed is also quick enough that loading times in apps and games shouldn’t ever be a problem. The CPU throttling test is somewhat poor, as its lowest points are quite low. Even still, those are are levels of throttling you will really only face after a few minutes of pushing the CPU to its limits, be it either through gaming, or other means.

When it comes to audio, however, I’m disappointed. There’s a single bottom-firing speaker when we’ve seen smartphones at this price range (and much further below) launched with dual speakers. It’s not something I usually care about, but I know a lot of people do, and it’s something that I’m used to in smartphones at all price ranges at this point in 2021. On the bright side, the speaker does get quite loud, but the audio quality itself is just average. These are “smartphone speakers”, with every ounce of the stigma that that phrase carries.

At the very least, when it comes to battery life, Honor has nailed it yet again. The Snapdragon 778G is not a power-hungry chip like we see on the flagship end, and Magic UI’s software optimizations mean that this phone just sips battery throughout the day. Even better, the 66W charging brick that’s in the box (crazy, right?) can help to pick up the slack if you find yourself needing some juice in a pinch.

Conclusion: Honor’s big western comeback is a step in the right direction

If this were any other smartphone from any other company, there wouldn’t be a whole lot to write home about. €529 is a lot of money for what this phone offers when the likes of Xiaomi and even OPPO offer a whole lot better for lower prices. However, there are a few key advantages that Honor smartphones have inherited from their past owner, and those are what will make the company really shine. Camera prowess for one, and battery life being the second.

Honor 50

The Honor 50 is a major return to western markets for the company, though it's not quite got the Honor flair just yet.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

See at Honor

However, my initial stance still remains; this is a hard phone to recommend to just about anyone. It’s good in its own right, but there are phones like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro that offer nearly as good specs for significantly less. The POCO F3 is another such phone, or even the OnePlus Nord 2. Whatever you value most in a smartphone, there seems to be something nearly as good as the Honor 50 in that department for significantly less money.

I like the Honor 50, and I’m really happy that Honor can again make use of Google’s Play Services. I’ve always been a huge fan of the company’s flagships, and I’m excited to see what’s to come. This is a step in the right direction, and there’s nothing I could see wrong with this phone as a mid-range smartphone — it’s just that there are phones as good for less. Nevertheless, I’m excited to see what comes next, and I’m really looking forward to testing out and reviewing Honor smartphones in the west again.

The post Honor 50 Review: Google Services were sorely missed appeared first on xda-developers.

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This week in Tech: Android 12L, new mid-range Qualcomm chips, Facebook rebranding, and more

After last week’s frenzy, this week in tech was a little relaxed. Even then, we saw a few significant announcements, like Google announcing Android 12L, Qualcomm releasing four new mid-range chips, and Facebook changing its name. If you missed any of our coverage, here’s a brief recap of all the noteworthy developments in the tech world this week.

Android 12L announced

At the Android Dev Summit this week, Google officially announced Android 12L — a feature drop purpose-built for large screen devices. We had previously seen Android 12L in the wild, but at the time, we referred to it as Android 12.1. However, Google has now confirmed that the feature drop will be called Android 12L, but the company is yet to reveal what the ‘L’ stands for.

Android 12L brings a host of new features to enhance the Android experience on large-screen devices like foldables, tablets, and Chromebooks. It packs several UI refinements that improve how the operating system utilizes the extra screen real estate, a new taskbar to give users quick access to apps, split-screen mode improvements, and letterboxing improvements.

Google has already rolled out the first Android 12L developer preview. The company plans to release three beta updates over the next few months and a stable build before the end of Q1 2022. While the update is purpose-built for large-screen devices, it will also roll out to Google’s Pixel lineup.

New developer tools

With Android 12L, Google aims to improve the Android experience on large-screen devices as a whole. So it has also released various tools to help developers build responsive apps that work well on foldables, tablets, and Chromebooks. The company has added reference devices to Android Studio, a Layout validation tool, and a resizable emulator.

Google has also introduced new WindowManager APIs to help developers build responsive UIs for their apps that adjust to any screen size. The WindowManager library includes Activity embedding, Window Size Classes, and a common API surface for window features like folds and hinges.

Qualcomm 7, 6, & 4 series chips

Qualcomm announced four new mid-range chips this week — the Snapdragon 778G Plus 5G, Snapdragon 695 5G, Snapdragon 680 4G, and Snapdragon 480 Plus 5G. The Snapdragon 778G Plus 5G is a small step above the Snapdragon 778G with faster CPU and GPU performance. The Snapdragon 695 5G succeeds the Snapdragon 690 from last year and features mmWave 5G support, 30% faster graphics rendering, and 15% improved CPU performance.

The Snapdragon 680 is a new mid-range chipset for 4G smartphones. It’s based on Qualcomm’s Kryo 265 CPU cores and features the Adreno 610 GPU. Lastly, the Snapdragon 480 Plus 5G is a slightly improved version of the Snapdragon 480 from earlier this year, featuring better CPU and GPU performance than the previous model.

Facebook is now Meta

During its Connect event this week, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the company’s new branding. “We are at the beginning of the next chapter for the internet and it’s the next chapter for our company too…To reflect who we are and the future we hope to build, I’m proud to share that our company is now Meta,” Zuckerberg said in a blog post.

In addition to Facebook’s new name, we also learned that the social media giant is working on a smartwatch to rival the Apple Watch. Check out the leaked render in our previous coverage.

Other stories you shouldn’t miss

Along with these announcements, we share the following stories that you shouldn’t miss:

• JioPhone Next to launch with Google and Jio’s collaborative effort — Pragati OS
• JioPhone Next pricing officially revealed ahead of launch
• New Motorola-branded smartwatch with a circular display spotted on FCC
• Google blocked ad competition and skirted privacy regulations, court filings reveal
• Experience Material You theming on older phones with Lawnchair 12
• Apple has released macOS 12 Monterey to the public, here’s how to update
• Sony’s latest smartphone features a massive 1.0-inch sensor and variable aperture
• This is what the Surface Neo would have looked like in real life
• Google explains the reasoning behind Android 12’s Internet Quick Settings tile
• T-Mobile will soon let you pickup, trade-in, and return devices at stores even if you bought online
• Google Camera 8.4.167 starts rolling out through the Play Store
• Microsoft is reportedly working on a low-cost laptop with a new Windows 11 version
• You can now transfer WhatsApp chats from iPhone to Pixels and Android 12 devices
• WhatsApp may soon ask users to verify their identity to make payments
• WSATools makes it easier to sideload Android apps on Windows 11
• Google really wants to fix Android’s emoji problem
• The new Redmi Note 11 lineup is here with up to 120W fast charging and improved cameras
• The Redmi Note 11 Pro will likely come to India as the Xiaomi 11i
• Get Pixel 6’s Magic Eraser on older Pixels with Google Photos 5.64
• PSA: Trying out Windows Subsystem for Android? Install an Android launcher to make your life easier

XDA’s thoughts on the latest hardware and software

In addition, we published editorials, reviews, first impressions, and comparisons for several new devices and software this week. You can check those out by following the links below:

• Google Pixel 6 Pro Review: Fantastic everyday phone with an undeniable Exynos inspiration
• MacBook Pro 16 (2021) Review: Apple finally does justice to Pros with the M1 Max
• Realme 4K Smart Google TV Stick Review: Enough to douse Amazon’s Fire?
• Lenovo Smart Clock 2 Review: Lovely design, Questionable utility

The post This week in Tech: Android 12L, new mid-range Qualcomm chips, Facebook rebranding, and more appeared first on xda-developers.

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This week in Tech: Android 12L, new mid-range Qualcomm chips, Facebook rebranding, and more

After last week’s frenzy, this week in tech was a little relaxed. Even then, we saw a few significant announcements, like Google announcing Android 12L, Qualcomm releasing four new mid-range chips, and Facebook changing its name. If you missed any of our coverage, here’s a brief recap of all the noteworthy developments in the tech world this week.

Android 12L announced

At the Android Dev Summit this week, Google officially announced Android 12L — a feature drop purpose-built for large screen devices. We had previously seen Android 12L in the wild, but at the time, we referred to it as Android 12.1. However, Google has now confirmed that the feature drop will be called Android 12L, but the company is yet to reveal what the ‘L’ stands for.

Android 12L brings a host of new features to enhance the Android experience on large-screen devices like foldables, tablets, and Chromebooks. It packs several UI refinements that improve how the operating system utilizes the extra screen real estate, a new taskbar to give users quick access to apps, split-screen mode improvements, and letterboxing improvements.

Google has already rolled out the first Android 12L developer preview. The company plans to release three beta updates over the next few months and a stable build before the end of Q1 2022. While the update is purpose-built for large-screen devices, it will also roll out to Google’s Pixel lineup.

New developer tools

With Android 12L, Google aims to improve the Android experience on large-screen devices as a whole. So it has also released various tools to help developers build responsive apps that work well on foldables, tablets, and Chromebooks. The company has added reference devices to Android Studio, a Layout validation tool, and a resizable emulator.

Google has also introduced new WindowManager APIs to help developers build responsive UIs for their apps that adjust to any screen size. The WindowManager library includes Activity embedding, Window Size Classes, and a common API surface for window features like folds and hinges.

Qualcomm 7, 6, & 4 series chips

Qualcomm announced four new mid-range chips this week — the Snapdragon 778G Plus 5G, Snapdragon 695 5G, Snapdragon 680 4G, and Snapdragon 480 Plus 5G. The Snapdragon 778G Plus 5G is a small step above the Snapdragon 778G with faster CPU and GPU performance. The Snapdragon 695 5G succeeds the Snapdragon 690 from last year and features mmWave 5G support, 30% faster graphics rendering, and 15% improved CPU performance.

The Snapdragon 680 is a new mid-range chipset for 4G smartphones. It’s based on Qualcomm’s Kryo 265 CPU cores and features the Adreno 610 GPU. Lastly, the Snapdragon 480 Plus 5G is a slightly improved version of the Snapdragon 480 from earlier this year, featuring better CPU and GPU performance than the previous model.

Facebook is now Meta

During its Connect event this week, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the company’s new branding. “We are at the beginning of the next chapter for the internet and it’s the next chapter for our company too…To reflect who we are and the future we hope to build, I’m proud to share that our company is now Meta,” Zuckerberg said in a blog post.

In addition to Facebook’s new name, we also learned that the social media giant is working on a smartwatch to rival the Apple Watch. Check out the leaked render in our previous coverage.

Other stories you shouldn’t miss

Along with these announcements, we share the following stories that you shouldn’t miss:

• JioPhone Next to launch with Google and Jio’s collaborative effort — Pragati OS
• JioPhone Next pricing officially revealed ahead of launch
• New Motorola-branded smartwatch with a circular display spotted on FCC
• Google blocked ad competition and skirted privacy regulations, court filings reveal
• Experience Material You theming on older phones with Lawnchair 12
• Apple has released macOS 12 Monterey to the public, here’s how to update
• Sony’s latest smartphone features a massive 1.0-inch sensor and variable aperture
• This is what the Surface Neo would have looked like in real life
• Google explains the reasoning behind Android 12’s Internet Quick Settings tile
• T-Mobile will soon let you pickup, trade-in, and return devices at stores even if you bought online
• Google Camera 8.4.167 starts rolling out through the Play Store
• Microsoft is reportedly working on a low-cost laptop with a new Windows 11 version
• You can now transfer WhatsApp chats from iPhone to Pixels and Android 12 devices
• WhatsApp may soon ask users to verify their identity to make payments
• WSATools makes it easier to sideload Android apps on Windows 11
• Google really wants to fix Android’s emoji problem
• The new Redmi Note 11 lineup is here with up to 120W fast charging and improved cameras
• The Redmi Note 11 Pro will likely come to India as the Xiaomi 11i
• Get Pixel 6’s Magic Eraser on older Pixels with Google Photos 5.64
• PSA: Trying out Windows Subsystem for Android? Install an Android launcher to make your life easier

XDA’s thoughts on the latest hardware and software

In addition, we published editorials, reviews, first impressions, and comparisons for several new devices and software this week. You can check those out by following the links below:

• Google Pixel 6 Pro Review: Fantastic everyday phone with an undeniable Exynos inspiration
• MacBook Pro 16 (2021) Review: Apple finally does justice to Pros with the M1 Max
• Realme 4K Smart Google TV Stick Review: Enough to douse Amazon’s Fire?
• Lenovo Smart Clock 2 Review: Lovely design, Questionable utility

The post This week in Tech: Android 12L, new mid-range Qualcomm chips, Facebook rebranding, and more appeared first on xda-developers.

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These are the Best Android TVs to buy in Fall 2021: Sony A80J, Hisense U8G, and others!

The smartphone market may be dominated by just two operating systems — Android and iOS — but it’s not the same case with the television market. As TVs have become smart, a number of smart TV platforms have emerged. Still, Android TV, which is Google’s smart TV operating system, has managed to make a place for itself. It’s offered in televisions made by companies like Sony, Hisense, Philips, TCL, and Skyworth in the US. If you’re planning to buy an Android TV for your home, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve scoured through the marketplace to choose the best Android TV’s you can buy today.

As Android TV is just a platform, when you’re looking for the best Android TV, you essentially want the best TV that comes with the Android TV platform. So while picking a great Android TV, all the same things apply that you would consider if Android TV wasn’t your preferred smart TV platform. So, similar to our best TV guide, which you should explore for some great TVs overall irrespective of platform, this guide is also divided into sections like the best OLED TV, the best LCD TV, and the best budget TV but with all the options more closely associated with the Android TV platform.

If you want the best picture quality and the best overall visual experience, pick OLED. But if you don’t necessarily want to pay a premium for OLED and can settle for still great but not the best picture quality, LCD will do just fine. For those of you who are a little tight on the budget, we’ve also picked the best affordable Android TV model that’ll provide a good experience without breaking the bank.

Navigate this guide:

• Best OLED Android TV: Sony A80J
  • Also Great: Sony A8H
  • Also Great: Sony A90J
• Best LCD Android TV: Hisense U8G
  • Also Great: TCL R646
  • Also Great: Sony X90J
• Best Budget Android TV: Hisense U6G
  • Also Great: Hisense H8G
  • Also Great: TCL 4 Series (S434)

Best OLED Android TV: Sony A80J

The Sony A80J is your best bet for a Google TV-powered 4K OLED TV. Part of Sony’s 2021 lineup, the A80J sits below the A90J, but it is far better value for money than the A90J. Thanks to the OLED panel, the television can display perfect blacks and is ideal for watching movies and TV shows in a dark room. In addition, its wide-viewing angles are great for having a watch party.

The television supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision for viewing HDR content, and you also get Netflix Calibrated Mode and IMAX Enhanced. If you’re into gaming, you’ll be happy to know there are two HDMI 2.1 ports on the television for 4K@120Hz gaming and support for features like low inputs and near-instant response time. The Sony A80J is also supposed to get VRR via a future firmware update. It comes in 55 inch, 65 inch, and 77 inch screen sizes.

Sony A80J

The Sony A80J is an excellent OLED TV that comes with the Google TV platform. It features a modern design that looks great.

View at Amazon

Also Great: Sony A8H

Sony A8H’s OLED panel offers great picture quality, something for which Sony has been known for years. The company has also added a feature called Pixel Contrast Booster that further enhances the color and contrast of the picture. The Sony TV comes with Acoustic Surface Audio to make sure you hear the sound from where the action is happening on the screen. It also supports Dolby Atmos and Vision HDR technologies.

The Sony A8H looks striking with its one-slate design and narrow aluminum bezels. It runs on Android TV 9 and is set to get the new Google TV experience through a future software update. Sony sells the A8H in two screen sizes — 55 inch and 65 inch.

Sony A8H

The Sony A8H is a 2020 4K OLED Android TV. It's among the best Android TVs you can buy today.

View at Amazon

Also Great: Sony A90J

The Sony A90J is very similar to our pick for the best Android TV — A80J — but slightly more feature-rich. For example, it packs a new heatsink technology that allows it to get brighter in HDR. But the significantly higher price tag of the A90J is hard to justify. Pricing aside, the television offers excellent picture quality with true blacks and great viewing angles.

In addition, the A90J comes with the new Google TV experience out of the box. Support for Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision HDR, and Netflix Calibrated Mode is also present, so are the features like Acoustic Surface Audio+ and XR HDR Remaster. Sony A90J Bravia XR Master comes in 55 inch, 65 inch, and 83 inch screen sizes.

Sony A90J Bravia XR Master

Sony’s A90J is a great 4K OLED TV. If you can swallow its relatively higher price tag, it’ll end up giving you an even better experience than the A80J.

View at Amazon

Best LCD Android TV: Hisense U8G

The Hisense U8G is an impressive Android TV if you don’t want to pay the premium for OLED. It comes with Quantum Dot tech and up to 132 local dimming zones for an excellent contrast ratio. The TV also supports up to 1,500 nits peak brightness, so you’ll be able to watch content without issues even in rooms with a lot of lighting. The Hisense TV is also amazing to play video games as it supports HDMI 2.1 and provides low input lag, great response time, and variable refresh rate. Like most LCD TVs, it does falter on the viewing angles front.

The Hisense U8G packs support for Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision HDR, HDR10, and HDR10+. Unfortunately, it seems Hisense doesn’t plan to upgrade the TV with the Google TV experience anytime soon. The TV is offered in 55 inch and 65 inch screen sizes.

Hisense U8G

The Hisense U8G is a great 4K TV and our pick for the best LCD Android TV on the market.

View at Amazon

Also Great: TCL R646

TCL made a big jump in the Android TV space with its new 5 series and 6 series Google TV models. Although the company has been selling Android TVs for a while now, they were limited to the budget segment. But with the 6 series Google TVs, TCL has brought Android TV to its premium televisions.

The TCL R646 is a 4K QLED television that uses Mini-LED backlighting, giving you vibrant colors and high brightness. The TV also employs full-array local dimming with up to 240 zones to offer an excellent contrast ratio. In addition, there’s support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HDR10, allowing you to enjoy the HDR content.

The R646 is also a fantastic television for gaming, thanks to the presence of next-generation gaming features. You get a 120Hz panel, two HDMI 2.1 ports supporting 4K@120fps gaming, and variable refresh rate (VRR) support. You can purchase the TCL R646 in 55 inch, 65 inch, and 75 inch sizes.

TCL R646

TCL R646 is an excellent Google TV model that's almost as good as our pick for the Best LCD Android TV. It has a wide color gamut and provides deep black levels.

View at Best Buy

Also Great: Sony X90J

The Sony X90J, which made an appearance in our best TV picks, is an excellent TV that uses the Android TV platform. It offers Sony’s trademark great picture quality. The X90J also comes with a high contrast ratio with deep black levels, thanks to the local dimming feature. There are around 24 local dimming zones on the TV. It also comes with HDMI 2.1 support, a 120Hz refresh rate, low input lag, and faster response time for a great gaming experience.

Additionally, you’ll get support for Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos, HDR10, and Netflix Calibrated Mode. Moreover, the  TV includes the Google TV experience, so you’ll have the latest Android TV experience. The Sony X90J is sold in 50 inch, 55 inch, 65 inch, and 75 inch screen sizes.

Sony X90J

The Sony X90J is a great LCD TV for watching content as well as gaming. It comes with features like Dolby Vision, IMAX Enhanced, and Acoustic Multi-Audio.

View at Amazon

Best Budget Android TV: Hisense U6G

We recommended the Hisense U6G as our pick for the best budget TV, and the presence of the Android TV platform makes it the best affordable 4K Android TV as well. Part of Hisense’s 2021 lineup, the U6G is an LCD TV that uses Quantum Dot technology for vibrant colors. It’s excellent for watching movies and TV shows because of its superb contrast ratio and reflection handling. It also gets super bright with 600 nits peak brightness.

In addition, the company has packed full-array local dimming in the TV, but the relatively low number of zones limits the feature’s usefulness. Other key features of the TV include HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and FilmMaker Mode.

Unlike the more expensive TVs on this list, U6G doesn’t include next-generation gaming features, like HDMI 2.1 and VRR, but you’ll get low input lag and an excellent response time. In addition, you can buy it in 50 inch, 55 inch, 65 inch, and 75 inch sizes.

Hisense U6G

The Hisense U6G is the budget 4K TV with Android you can buy right now. It has everything you might need, except for next-gen gaming features.

View at Amazon

Also Great: Hisense H8G

The Hisense H8G is also a good for a budget Android TV. It includes a number of features that are rare in the budget segment, like local dimming (up to 90 zones) and Quantum Dot tech for a great contrast ratio. The TV also supports Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision HDR, and HDR10. Additionally, the Hisense TV comes with up to 700 nits of peak brightness.

With the Hisense H8G, you’ll also get good response time and low input lag during casual gaming. Hisense sells the H8G in 50 inch, 55 inch, 65 inch, and 75 inch screen sizes.

Hisense H8G

The Hisense H8G is a great option for a budget Android TV. It ticks all the right boxes at its pricing.

View at Amazon

Also great: TCL 4 Series (S434)

TCL uses the Roku OS for its premium TVs but its 4 series (S434) TV still includes the Android TV platform. The TCL 4 Series is the most affordable TV among all our picks and even cheaper than the Hisense H8G. If you’re looking to buy an inexpensive 4K Android TV, this is a good option. The TCL TV doesn’t have local dimming but still manages to provide an amazing contrast ratio thanks to its VA (vertical alignment) panel. It’s also decent for casual gaming with its low input and decent response time.

The TCL 4 Series (S434) supports Dolby Digital Plus audio and HDR10. It’s sold in 43 inch, 50 inch, 55 inch, 65 inch, and 75 inch screen sizes.

TCL 4 Series (S434)

The TCL 4 Series S434 is your best bet for an inexpensive but decent 4K HDR Android TV.

View at Best Buy

These are the best Android TV models with OLED and LCD screens. While TVs with built-in Android TV are an easy way to experience the platform, you can also buy an Android TV box or streaming stick to get the experience in a ‘dumb’ or smart TV with another operating system. If you really want to use the Android TV platform but are looking for even more choice, get a great TV with any platform, and pick a media player from our best Android TV box list.

What are you planning to buy? Do you think we missed out on any good Android TV models available in the USA? Let us know in the comments section.

The post These are the Best Android TVs to buy in Fall 2021: Sony A80J, Hisense U8G, and others! appeared first on xda-developers.

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