Latest OxygenOS Open Betas Bring Android 7.1.1 to the OnePlus 3 & 3T

OnePlus has been releasing updates for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T quite often since their release, but if you want to get a taste of their latest offerings before the global OTA roll-out, then you can participate in the OxygenOS Open Beta program for your device. Now, OnePlus has announced that their latest Open Beta update built on Android 7.1.1 for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T is rolling out.

In their patch notes, OnePlus mentions that the OxygenOS-specific improvements are mostly focused on the stock Gallery application. There's a new photo editor with watermarking and photo straightening options, highlighting of newly added photos, location display while in grid view, grouping media by time, and adding the ability to hide folders or individual media. But the most exciting enhancements come from the fact that this build is based off of Android 7.1.1.

While Android 7.1 is not considered a major upgrade to the OS, it still brings some much needed enhancements to the platform such as improved touch latency, keyboard GIF insertion, and app shortcuts in the launcher. In my opinion, the improved touch latency alone is worth getting excited over, as many users who have upgraded to unofficial Android 7.1 builds on our forums note just how much the touch latency has been reduced.

Users should begin to receive an OTA update to this latest Open Beta if they are already participating in the Open Beta program, otherwise you can flash this update via ADB sideload. Do note that when you switch to receiving Open Beta OTAs, you will no longer receive any official OTA updates. But that's a price you'll have to pay if you want to live on the bleeding edge of official OxygenOS software. Though, users on our forums who have unlocked their bootloader have probably been living on the bleeding edge for quite a bit longer.

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OxygenOS Open Beta 12 for the OnePlus 3 OxygenOS Open Beta 3 for the OnePlus 3T

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Beta Testing for EMUI 5.0/Android Nougat Begins for the Honor 6X

On its official Twitter account, Honor U.S.A has announced that Android Nougat with EMUI 5.0 is in the beta testing phase for the Honor 6X.

Honor has been systematically adding more devices to its beta update program as per their Nougat roll-out schedule, and with the Honor 6X now joining that list, it will only be a short while until an official build is released for all users. For now, though, those of you who don't want to wait can sign-up for the beta program by e-mailing your IMEI to huaweifut@huawei.com.

Of course, keep in mind that since this is a beta release, there may be bugs you will have to deal with. It's unlikely that the software Honor is putting out is not daily-driver ready, but Honor expects that you treat this like a proper beta test and that you frequently report back to their software team with any bugs that you find. Having been in a prior beta test myself, this is no joke, as how responsive you are with your feedback determines whether or not they select you for future beta programs. Nevertheless, it's definitely a worthwhile experience as you get to test the latest and greatest software release before everyone else with your device.

Wanna be the first to test out EMUI 5.0 on your #Honor6X? Sign up to be a beta tester now. Email your IMEI to huaweifut@huawei.com now. http://pic.twitter.com/dbquir7yey

— Honor USA (@Honor_USA) February 28, 2017

The Honor 6X is already quite a capable device in its own right, but an update to Android 7.0 Nougat with all of the enhancements that will bring will surely elevate the user experience even further. EMUI 5.0 brings with it a plethora of changes, many notably to the notification handling and memory management to make those aspects less painful. Those of you who are running a device with EMUI 4.X know what I'm talking about.

If you have an Honor 6X, sign up for the beta program today, and let us know if you are selected!

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Start Building Apps with the Ultimate Nougat Development Bundle [90% Off]

If you're new to mobile development and want to get started on the right track, then The Ultimate Android N Development Bundle will show you how to build apps for Nougat regardless of your experience level. The courses included in this bundle are valued at $415. When you purchase this through the XDA Depot, you'll receive 90% off and only pay $39.

The five courses in this bundle contain 234 lessons with awesome content. You'll start with Master beginner course 1 and 2, then intermediate course 1 and 2, and finish off with one advanced course.

You will learn all about the Android SDK and how to run and test apps on virtual machines. Learning Java is the first step needed to start created apps, which you will go through in the first two beginner courses.

This bundle, being the price that it is now, makes it a great time to finally dive in and start learning how to create Android apps!

Android 7: Master App Development – Beginner 2

Android 7: Master App Development – Intermediate 1

Developers that buy digital goods through the XDA Depot are helping support the XDA-developers website and keep the community alive.

Get this course!

 

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Samsung Announces its Plan to expand its RCS Messaging Service

There's been a lot of talk about RCS lately as more carriers are starting to adapt the universal profile that was recently announced by the GSMA. We've seen carriers like T-Mobile and Sprint begin to support it, and there was even a demo shown recently that showed AT&T was working on it as well. Then there are other mobile carriers (Verizon Wireless) who have not announced any support for the universal profile at all. This could change in the future but right now there are some who wish to stay away from RCS.

Then we have companies like Google and Samsung, who are helping these carriers  add support for RCS as quickly as possible. Google has been doing this for a while, but now it's been announced that Samsung has a plan to do this as well. Back in November of last year, Samsung acquired a company named NewNet for their RCS technology. At the time, we knew they purchased the company because of the work they were doing on RCS, but we didn't know their full plans.

Yesterday, Samsung made their plans officially known and it looks like it could help a number of mobile carriers who adopt it. While it is different on a technical level to other RCS clouds, it is using the same RCS Universal Profile. Samsung will just have to work with Google to get them working together. This isn't a matter of if they will work together, it's just a matter of when. Samsung says their new RCS hub will "support and simplify the interconnectivity among other RCS-enabled operators, Samsung and third-party RCS clouds."

Samsung is wanting to help mobile carriers deploy this technology and they're willing to help offset the cost of it too. A mobile carrier who chooses Samsung's RCS cloud will be able to avoid the costly and time-consuming efforts of building their own network infrastructure.

Source: Samsung Newsroom

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Huawei Reveals Details of EMUI 5.1 Update

A full week ago we saw Huawei start to tease EMUI 5.1 on their Weibo account. They didn't give many details of the update other than telling us it would be launched with the Huawei P10 and the Huawei P10 Plus. At the time, they didn't even officially call it EMUI 5.1 since they were teasing it with red cloth that was covering the 1 in 5.1. It was clear what Huawei was going for in that teaser, but there still wasn't anything official released at that time.

Now though, the Huawei P10 and it's larger counterpart are both official and you can find our coverage of the MWC 2017 launch right here. Just like they teased, EMUI 5.1 is debuting on both of these devices and since then we've learned about some new changes that are going into the company's new OEM skin. We can see there are two big changes that directly impact performance, there's a new feature that adds new functionality, and then there are some changes happening to some of the applications.

So first off, we have a new feature in EMUI 5.1 that Huawei is calling Ultra Memory. This is a newly developed algorithm that will focus on recycling the RAM it feels should be used right now. Much like what Android already does, it learns application habits and should keep your most used applications in memory more often than not. Then there's a new feature called Ultra Response which is said to allow for faster touch response thanks to a new driver.  There's even a way to use the hardware Home key as a multifunctional tool. So you can tap for Back, hold for Home, or swipe for Tasks.

Not only should the new driver improve touch latency, but it also adds support for predictive finger tracking. Highlights is what Huawei is calling their a new feature in their Gallery application. This feature will index your photos and sort them by places and people. Huawei says they've made some improvements to the Calendar application and have added some new sharing options. Last up, we have learned the default wallpaper of EMUI will match the phone's color SKU.

Via: GSM Arena Source: Weibo

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Raspberry Pi Zero W Announced with Wireless LAN and Bluetooth for $10

The Raspberry Pi Zero was first launched back in November of 2015, almost two and a half years ago. It was meant to be an entry-level Raspberry Pi as it was only priced at $5. This was used in a bunch of various projects from mini arcade cabinets to electric skateboards. However, there was a demand for these to have wireless connectivity so many used the official wireless dongle. This caused many to add a USB hub though, so they could connect other peripherals like keyboards, a mouse, and even network adapters.

In some cases these USB hubs could cost more than the Raspberry Pi Zero itself, so there was obvious demand for that type of functionality to be baked into the device. Enter the Raspberry Pi Zero W that was just announced this week. This product comes with both wireless LAN as well as Bluetooth connectivity and it only increases the price of the original Raspberry Pi Zero by $5. Sure, that's double what the original costs, but it could save you money in the long run if wireless connectivity is a concern for your project.

The Raspberry Pi Zero W is actually using the same Cypress CYW43438 wireless chip that we saw in the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. This means the device provides 802.11n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity for your project. For those interested in the rest of the specs, the Raspberry Pi Zero W comes with a 1GHz single-core CPU, 512MB of RAM, and the new wireless connectivity. It also has a mini-HDMI and micro USB OTG ports, a HAT-compatible 40-pin header, CSI camera connector, and both composite video and reset headers.

They've also announced an official case for the Raspberry Pi Zero W thanks to a partnership with Kinneir Dufort and T-Zero. It has the same design language as the official case for the Raspberry Pi 3, so it has three interchangable lids with a blank one, one with an aperture to let you access the GPIOs, and one with an aperture and mounting point for a camera.

Source: Raspberry Pi

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Google Takes on Cable with YouTube TV

 You have now one more way to watch your favortie content: Google has launched its own online TV subscription service. In an official blog post yesterday, Google announced YouTube TV. This service will join the already popular streaming TV services such as Sling TV and AT&T-owned DirectTV Now.

YouTube TV will include over 40 networks with over three-dozen channels in the base package, including live broadcast of TV shows and sports events as well as originals from YouTube Red for the cost of $35 a month (base package). Some of the most notable channels include ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN, though other major networks such as CNN, TBS, TNT, and HBO are missing from the base list, at least for the time being.

Google says every subscription comes with six accounts, so each of your family members can have their own personalized account. Additionally, each account gets unique content recommendations based on their taste and access to unlimited cloud DVR to record their favorite shows.

So how YouTube TV is better than other similar services out there? Well, the main advantage here, of course, is the cost. For instance, AT&T's DirectTV Now costs $70 a month, which is double the price of YouTube TV. Granted, DirectTV Now offers 120 channels compared to YouTube's just 40 channels, though not everyone actually wants that much channels, and YouTube TV already covers many of the popular ones, including sports channels. With YouTube TV you will be able to add additional channels to the basic package in a pick-and-choose fashion, and you can also unsubscribe from the service at any time.

It also comes with an unlimited cloud-based DVR service, which means all your favorite shows and live sports events that you record will be stored in the cloud, rather than on your device, so you don't have to worry about deleting older recording. Google says each of the recordings will be stored in the cloud up to nine months before it gets permanently deleted, and you can access these recordings from multiple locations.

As with the case with every Google services, YouTube TV will be available virtually everywhere: on mobile, tablet, computer as well as on your TV (via Chromecast), though the service is intended to be mobile-first. It's worth noting that it will be served via a standalone app, rather than as a feature addition to the already-established YouTube video service.

As for when the service will go live, Google says YouTube TV will be available in the US in coming months. It's unclear as of now whether the service will be expanded to other regions later on or it's US-only.

Source: Official YouTube Blog

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