Samsung’s One UI 2.5 update will enable Google’s gesture navigation in third-party launchers

After facing perpetual criticism for its sluggish TouchWiz UI, Samsung made the long-overdue update to its user interface in late 2018 with One UI. Samsung’s One UI based on Android 9 Pie was designed to ease single-handed usage. But, one of the key features to support one-hand usage was omitted by Samsung and that was support for navigation gestures. To be fair, Samsung did not fully ignore gestures but instead used a very puerile version in which users had to swipe upwards from the bottom of the display instead of tapping on the navigation buttons to engage them. One UI v2.0 is now rolling out to several devices and in it, Samsung has added support for Android 10’s navigation gestures but without third-party launchers support. Fortunately for users, the support is expected to come in the next few months with One UI 2.5.

As per a product manager for Samsung’s HomeScreen, gesture navigation on Samsung devices will start supporting third-party launchers like Nova Launcher, Lawnchair, etc. with the One UI 2.5 update. One UI 2.1 based on Android 10 is already rolling out to certain devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S10, Note 10, Galaxy S9 and Note 9 series. We can expect One UI 2.5 to be also based on Android 10 and introduced with the Galaxy Note 20 series, which should launch in August 2020 – unless the product’s development is slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is a bit of guessing, but I know there will be more than one Note20. Let's call it Note20 1 and Note20 2.

I think the Note20 2 will have the Snapdragon 865 while the Note20 1 might be a different chip.

— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) March 14, 2020

Google mandates every smartphone manufacturer to include gesture navigation support on every device that runs on Android 10. It has also laid down specifications regarding the dimensions of active trigger zones for gestures on the phones’ screens in Android 10’s Compatibility Definition Document (CDD), an agreement that every Android licensee must acknowledge and agree to. In Samsung’s implementation of the navigation gestures, you can fine-tune the back gesture’s sensitivity as well as enable or disable the gesture over a virtual keyboard.

The lack of third-party launcher support for Google’s navigation gestures was an issue with every Android 10 device, including the Google Pixel lineup prior to the Pixel 4’s launch. Do note that while we expect One UI 2.5 will arrive with the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series, we do not have the exact launch schedule for Note 20 or other devices yet.

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Source: Samsung Community

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Redmi K30 Pro to come with single pop-up camera, Game Turbo 3.0 with voice changer

Xiaomi has launched the mid-range Redmi K30 series in China with a 120Hz high refresh rate LCD, Snapdragon 765G, and a 64MP Sony IMX 686 primary camera. But defying their own tradition from the Redmi K20 series, there was no “Pro” variant to be found. There was evidence that another Redmi device was incoming with a Snapdragon 865 SoC, but nothing was officially confirmed by Redmi or Xiaomi at that stage. Redmi did eventually confirm that the Redmi K30 Pro 5G is coming with the newest Qualcomm flagship SoC, and has since went on to reveal several key features of the upcoming smartphone, including a March 24th launch date. Now, Redmi has confirmed a few other key specifications, such as the single pop-up camera, 64MP main rear camera, Game Turbo 3.0, improved vibration motor, and a purple color variant.

In previous renders, one can spot the cut-out on the top edge of the smartphone for the pop-up camera, but there was still a very tiny possibility that it could have been something else entirely, even though the front of the phone was also clean and had no cameras. Still, this new promotional image directly and very clearly confirms that the Redmi K30 Pro will come with a single front popup camera, with LEDs on the side much like the Redmi K20 series did.

What we also can read clearly is the “64MP” branding on the camera, which means that the primary rear camera will be a 64MP shooter. There are three other cameras too, and we hope to learn more about them very soon.

Redmi also states that the vibration motor on the device has been improved and optimized for 153 MIUI scenarios. The display is also certified by TÜV Rheinland. There’s also Game Turbo 3.0 that has a few new nifty features such as night vision and voice changer. Lastly, Redmi also showed off the purple color variant of the Redmi K30 Pro.

We hope to learn more about the phone as the teasers flow in. Perhaps even something about the Zoom Edition, maybe?

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Google is working on letting you resize picture-in-picture windows in Android 11

Android 8.0 Oreo introduced picture-in-picture mode to Android smartphones. This feature allows you to watch videos in a small, floating window while you’re using other applications. It’s also useful for navigation so you can respond to messages or look something up on the Internet without missing what’s next on your route. As smartphones have become larger and larger, especially with the introduction of foldable devices, picture-in-picture windows have remained the same size. In Android 11, though, Google may be introducing a way for users to resize picture-in-picture windows.

Picture-in-picture (PIP) mode in Android 11. I opened a YouTube video and then performed the home gesture (a tap of the home button also works) to open the video in a PIP window.

OEMs can set the default edge insets (how far from the screen edge the PIP window first appears), the default screen width and height percentages, the default aspect ratio, the default gravity (the corner of the display where the PIP window starts), and the snap behavior (where the PIP window moves after the user lets go). However, most OEMs don’t touch the default values in AOSP, and they usually don’t modify or extend the functionality of PIP windows. Since AOSP doesn’t provide a way for users to resize PIP windows, OEMs don’t, either. That could change with the introduction of a new class called PipResizeGestureHandler in the SystemUI of Android 11 Developer Preview 2.

This new class is responsible for checking for gesture events within a touch region around the left, right, top, or bottom edge of the picture-in-picture window. The user will be able to drag the PIP window to resize it, though the aspect ratio of the window won’t be changed. At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a limit on how large the PIP window can become through resizing. Resizing a PIP window in this way seems similar to resizing freeform multi-windows, with the exception of the aspect ratio not being enforced for freeform windows.

The PipResizeGestureHandler class is part of com.android.systemui rather than com.google.android.systemui, so this change to picture-in-picture mode functionality should be reflected in AOSP Android 11 as well as Android 11 on the Google Pixel. Since the class is under com.android.systemui.pip.phone and not com.android.systemui.pip.tv, this feature is most likely intended for phones and not Android TV. However, I wasn’t able to activate this new feature on my Pixel 3a XL, so I can’t confirm if it’s working yet. I’ll be exploring the code more in this and subsequent preview releases to see if I can get it working, though.

Android 11 News on XDA

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Android 11’s revamped screen recorder may soon support recording internal audio

The first few Android 10 Developer Previews had a barebones screen recorder in SystemUI, but the feature was inaccessible to users at release. With the first Android 11 Developer Preview, however, the screen recorder became accessible from a Quick Settings tile. Now in Android 11 Developer Preview 2, the screen recorder has a revamped UI that informs the user about the possibility of recording sensitive info and lets the user choose if they want to record audio from the microphone and/or show taps on the screen. However, there’s currently no way to record the audio that’s playing back on the device, but that could change in a future preview release.

Left to right: Screen Record Quick Setting tile, Screen Record dropdown options, new Screen Record countdown, and new Screen Record status bar indicator.

New strings have been added to SystemUI in Android 11 pertaining to the Screen Record function. These strings suggest you’ll be able to record “sound from your device, like music, calls, and ringtones.”

<string name="screenrecord_device_audio_and_mic_label">Device audio and microphone</string>
<string name="screenrecord_device_audio_description">Sound from your device, like music, calls, and ringtones</string>
<string name="screenrecord_device_audio_label">Device audio</string>

This text is currently not visible in the Screen Record feature, and there is no indication of the ability to record internal device audio in any of the three classes responsible for screen recording in Android 11: RecordingController, RecordingService, and ScreenRecordDialog. Android 10 made it possible for applications to record the audio from other applications with the AudioPlaybackCapture API. In fact, there are already third-party applications on the Google Play Store that take advantage of this API to let you capture the video and audio from your device. I tested the revamped Screen Recorder feature in Android 11 DP2 just to be sure it didn’t support recording internal audio, and it sadly still only supports recording audio from the microphone. To test for yourself, try starting a screen recording and then open a video in Google Photos while talking aloud—if you can hear yourself talking over the video in the screen recording, then it’s most likely recording audio from just the microphone. I, of course, compared this result against the third-party app I mentioned that uses the API.

Assuming Google does allow you to record internal device audio in a future Android 11 preview, I’m not so sure it’ll actually be that useful. While apps that target Android 10 default to allowing their audio to be captured by apps using the AudioPlaybackCapture API, apps that target Android 9 Pie have to opt-in by enabling the allowAudioPlaybackCapture flag in their Manifest file. Audio can also only be captured if it’s declared as type media, game, or unknown. System applications, such as SystemUI, are also able to record audio from apps even if their audio capture policy is set to ALLOW_CAPTURE_BY_SYSTEM, but they aren’t also allowed to save the audio if this is the case.

Since Screen Record is contained as part of “com.android.systemui” and not “com.google.android.systemui,” that means this feature is likely going to become part of AOSP. Thus, devices from other smartphone makers should be able to enjoy this feature once they upgrade to Android 11, unless of course the OEM already has a comparable or better screen recorder. A lot of OEM screen recorders let you change the resolution, bitrate, and frame rate of the recording, so Google’s is still pretty barebones even if they add the ability to record the internal device audio.

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Android 11 DP2 hints at supporting multi-device media output and switching audio to/from wired headsets

With the release of the Galaxy S8, Samsung introduced the Dual Audio feature to allow users to stream Bluetooth audio to two connected Bluetooth devices. Every flagship Galaxy S, Galaxy Note, and Galaxy Tab device has supported Dual Audio since the Galaxy S8, but the ability to stream audio to multiple Bluetooth devices is missing on the vast majority of Android devices out there, with the exception of a handful of phones from Motorola, HMD Global, and TCL that use Tempow’s technology. A common misconception is that this feature is enabled by Bluetooth 5.0, but many Android devices these days support Bluetooth 5.0 and can’t stream media to multiple devices. Android 9 Pie added support for connecting to up to 5 Bluetooth devices at the same time, and now it seems that Android 11 may add support for choosing multiple devices to stream media to. What’s more, it seems that Google is also adding the ability to change the media output to or from the currently connected wired audio device.

In Android 11, you can currently switch media output between 2 or more connected Bluetooth devices, but you can’t choose multiple devices to stream to simultaneously.

While looking at SettingsGoogle in the latest preview build, we spotted new strings beginning with the title “media_output_group” that seemingly suggest you’ll be able to select multiple audio devices to output to. One string mentions “casting,” which you may initially associate with the Google Cast protocol, but we don’t believe this feature is related to Google Cast. That’s because the existing “media_output” strings pertain to the ability to change the media output from one connected Bluetooth device to another; this feature is already accessible in the volume panel UI provided by a Slice or through Settings > Sound, as shown in the screenshot above. Second, Google Cast is controlled by Google Play Services and not by SettingsGoogle, which is the application that I found these strings in. Third, “cast” can also generically refer to streaming audio to connected Bluetooth devices, especially to Bluetooth speakers.

<string name="media_output_group">Group</string>
<string name="media_output_group_panel_multiple_devices_summary">%1$d devices selected</string>
<string name="media_output_group_panel_single_device_summary">1 device selected</string>
<string name="media_output_group_panel_title">Add outputs</string>
<string name="media_output_panel_stop_casting_button">Stop casting</string>

We also spotted a new string titled “media_transfer_wired_device_name” that suggests you’ll be able to select a currently connected wired headset (either via the USB Type-C port or 3.5mm headphone jack) to output media to. It’s unclear if the addition of this new transfer target will allow users to play audio through the device’s speakers while a wired headset is connected, as some OEMs let you do, or if this feature will simply let you swap media output to or from a wired headset while also connected to a Bluetooth audio device.

<string name="media_transfer_wired_device_name">Wired audio device</string>

We tested both features on our Pixel devices running Android 11 Developer Preview 2 to see if they were working. The multi-device media output did not work on a Pixel 4 XL, while the wired headset media transfer did not work on a Pixel 3a XL with a Type-C headset and a 3.5mm headset with and without a connected Bluetooth device. Besides the new strings, we didn’t find the corresponding code for either feature in the decompiled Settings app, so these features seem to be unfinished. We don’t know if it’s possible for the multi-device media output feature to be supported on any existing Pixel devices or if it’ll require changes to the Bluetooth stack and/or hardware that may show up in a future Pixel device. We also don’t know if these features are intended solely for Pixels even though the strings are in SettingsGoogle; we’ll likely find out if it’s a generic Android 11 feature when Google publishes the source code in a few months.

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Google temporarily pauses Chrome and Chrome OS updates to prioritize security

It’s no surprise anymore that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is having a huge impact on nearly everything. In the technology space alone, we’ve seen major events get canceled, product launches pushed back, and the effects of changing working conditions. The next thing being affected by adjusted work schedules is Chrome and Chrome OS updates.

Due to adjusted work schedules, we’re pausing upcoming Chrome & Chrome OS releases. Our goal is to ensure they continue to be stable, secure, & reliable for anyone who depends on them. We’ll prioritize updates related to security, which will be included in Chrome 80. Stay tuned.

— Chrome Developers (@ChromiumDev) March 18, 2020

Chrome Developers shared the news on Twitter. Due to adjusted work schedules, they are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases. Google wants to make sure the releases remain stable, secure, and reliable. They plan on prioritizing updates related to security, which will be coming to Chrome 80.

While this may be disappointing to those who look forward to new features, it’s really for the best. There are a lot of people who work on Chrome who are adjusting to new working conditions. Pausing the releases will give everyone more time to react to issues and make fixes. A lot of people are relying on browsers to work from home right now, making the stability of Chrome and Chrome OS even more important. No timeline was given for the resuming of releases.

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Android 11 DP2 reveals Google is adding call recording support for dialer apps

The ability to record a phone call is vital for many users who conduct business over a voice call. It can also be really useful for anyone involved in legal, insurance, or medical matters. However, it isn’t easy for most users to record phone calls on Android. While some OEMs provide call recording functionality in their dialer applications, not every OEM makes this feature available. Third-party applications used to be able to record phone calls using roundabout methods, but Android 9 Pie made it completely impossible for third-party apps to record phone calls, at least without root access. Last year, Google said they were considering adding a call recording API in a future Android version, and it looks like that may finally be happening in Android 11.

Earlier today, Google released Android 11 Developer Preview 2. While digging into the new framework changes, we spotted a new permission called “ACCESS_CALL_AUDIO” with the protection level “appop” or “signature.” The “appop” permission, interestingly, can actually be granted to non-system applications, unlike the “signature” permission which requires the app to be signed by the OEM. Digging deeper, we spotted new strings that describe this permission in a bit more detail. According to one string, this permission can only be granted to the default dialer application, and it allows for the app to “record or play audio in telephony calls.”

<permission android.label="@string/permlab_accessCallAudio" android:description="@string/permdesc_accessCallAudio" android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_CALL_AUDIO" android:protectionLevel="appop|signature"/>
<string name="permdesc_accessCallAudio">Allows this app, when assigned as default dialer application, to record or play audio in telephony calls.</string>
<string name="permlab_accessCallAudio">Record or play audio in telephony calls</string>

We’re excited to see the possible introduction of call recording support for third-party dialer applications in Android 11. Google is finally adding call recording support for Pixel devices in the Google Phone app, but most devices can’t use the Pixel’s dialer app. With this change, users on devices that don’t have call recording support in the stock dialer app will be able to download a different dialer app from the Google Play Store to record their phone calls.

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