VLC 3.3.0 beta for Android adds a new UI with a bottom navigation bar

VLC Media Player is a free and open source media player from VideoLAN. The popular media player is available on numerous platforms, including for Android, Android TV, and Chrome OS. Version 3.3.0 beta has now been released for Android devices, and it brings a redesigned UI with bottom navigation.

Jean-Baptiste Kempf, president of VideoLAN and one of VLC’s lead developers, took to Reddit to announce the release and to seek feedback on the new UI. He explained that the new update brings VLC’s UI closer to Google’s Material Theme guidelines, makes the media player more compatible with gesture navigation in Android, and introduces a lot of UI tricks and animations to make the app feel more native.

He also shared the following screenshots that show off the new UI in VLC for Android:

Screenshots of VLC 3.3.0 beta for Android. Source: VideoLAN

VLC 3.3.0 beta media player UI on Android. Source: VideoLAN

On Twitter, VideoLAN engineer Nicolas Pomepuy shared additional details about the changes introduced in VLC version 3.3.0 beta. First, he says the transition to the bottom navigation bar was done to reduce the number of taps needed to go from one screen to another. Next, the removal of the fully colored toolbar was done to obtain a more modern design, but VideoLAN is keeping VLC’s iconic orange color throughout the UI to retain the brand’s identity. While the team prefers displaying content in cards, they leave it up to users to decide if they want to switch to a standard list view. In addition, users can now create custom groups in case the automatically sorted video collections aren’t enough. The browsing screen has been reworked to place the local and network browsing in the same place, the dark theme has been reworked to be darker than before, and finally, more corners in the UI have been rounded.

You can sign up for the VLC beta program on Google Play here and then download the latest beta release from the Play Store. If you don’t see the update yet, you can skip the wait by sideloading version 3.3.0 beta 1 from APKMirror. The source code for VLC for Android, Android TV, and Chrome OS is available here.

As noted previously, VideoLAN is actively seeking feedback on this latest VLC release. You can file a bug report here or leave a comment on the team’s Reddit post here.

VLC for Android (Free, Google Play) →

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Xiaomi.EU releases MIUI 12 builds for 20+ Xiaomi Mi and Redmi devices

Last week, Xiaomi announced the latest version of its Android-based software for its Mi and Redmi smartphones—MIUI 12. The update adds a plethora of useful features as we noted in our hands-on. Xiaomi has started rolling out MIUI 12 closed beta builds for a handful of devices in China, but now there’s a better way to try the latest software features thanks to the Xiaomi.EU team.

Xiaomi’s MIUI China software releases aren’t intended to be used by global users. MIUI China only has Mandarin and English as languages, lacks Google apps, and comes with a bunch of Chinese services that aren’t of any use outside of the country. The team at Xiaomi.EU takes MIUI China and translates the strings to more languages, adds Google apps, and removes various Chinese services so global users can enjoy bleeding edge MIUI features. In addition, Xiaomi.EU also unlocks a bunch of features that Xiaomi restricts to certain device models or are otherwise hidden in MIUI. Their latest release is based on the Chinese MIUI 12 beta builds and is available on over 2 dozen Mi and Redmi smartphones.

Xiaomi.EU MIUI 12 Changelog

Update to MIUI 12. You have to install this update MANUALLY – updater wouldn’t work.

System

• Dark mode 2.0 (automatically adjust font weight and contrast depending on conditions)
• New layout of most views
• New animations
• Floating windows
• More focus on privacy (virtual ID, permissions control, notifications about using permissions)

Notification bar

• Now you can choose between 2 views (swipe from upper left to open notification bar, from upper right to open Control center – toggles view) or old style (“Use Control center” option disabled)
• Control center with new toggles view

Screen time

• Visual changes, new layout

Camera

• New app version – only on selected devices (on all devices until end of May)

Scanner

• You can generate QR code on the settings
• You can turn on Scanner history

Home screen

• Floating windows

Messaging

• Promotional messages are grouped according to their content now
• New layout of “new message”

Weather

• New layout

Gallery

• More sky filters
• Transitions on video editor

Calendar

• You can search events now
• UI designed for vertical and horizontal views

Health

• New design
• Dark mode support
• Support for Xiaomi Watch as data source

App vault

• You can see percentage of connected Bluetooth devices

The initial list of 28 Xiaomi Mi and Redmi devices that Xiaomi.EU based on MIUI 12 supports includes the following:

• Xiaomi Mi 6
• Xiaomi Mi 6X
• Xiaomi Mi 8
• Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
• Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite
• Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro
• Xiaomi Mi 8 SE
• Xiaomi Mi 9
• Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro 5G
• Xiaomi Mi 9 SE
• Xiaomi Mi 10
• Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
• Xiaomi Mi CC9e
• Xiaomi Mi CC9/Mi 9 Lite
• Xiaomi Mi Max 3
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 3
• Xiaomi Mi Note 3
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10/CC9 Pro
• Xiaomi Redmi K20/Mi 9T
• Xiaomi Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro/Premium Edition
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
• Xiaomi Redmi K30 5G
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 CN/5 Pro (Dual Cam)
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 8

The team dropped support for the Redmi Note 8 Pro due to issues with bricking that can’t be easily recovered from.

Here’s a chart that Xiaomi.EU published showing all the devices that are supported in this release, their Android OS versions, and whether rollback protection is enabled in this release.

You can download Xiaomi.EU’s MIUI 12 release on the team’s SourceForge or AndroidFileHost pages and read the release notes on the team’s official website.

Download Xiaomi.EU based on MIUI 12: SourceForge ||| AndroidFileHost

Read the Release Notes

To install the release, you’ll need to unlock the bootloader, flash TWRP, and then flash the ROM via TWRP.

If you aren’t interested in installing MIUI 12 just yet but you do want to check out the new “Super Live Wallpapers,” then you can download them right here for older Xiaomi devices or here for any other Android device.

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Samsung Galaxy A51 is now available from AT&T and Xfinity Mobile in the U.S.

Back in December, Samsung launched the Galaxy A51, the mid-range successor to the Galaxy A50. Priced at $399, this mid-range smartphone is a strong competitor to the Apple iPhone SE and upcoming Google Pixel 4a. The phone was launched in the U.S. early last month and is already available through multiple carriers and retailers. Now, the Samsung Galaxy A51 can be purchased directly through AT&T and Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile.

Samsung Galaxy A51 Forums

To recap, the Samsung Galaxy A51 features a large 6.5-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display with a centered hole-punch cutout (Samsung calls this an “Infinity-O” display). This hole-punch cutout houses the single 32MP front-facing camera. On the rear, there’s a quad camera setup consisting of a 48MP primary wide-angle camera, a 12MP ultra-wide angle camera, a 5MP dedicated macro camera, and a 5MP depth sensor. Internally, the phone is powered by the Samsung Exynos 9611 processor, a 4000mAh battery, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage (expandable via a microSD card). The phone supports 15W wired charging via the included USB Type-C charger. The Galaxy A51 runs Samsung’s One UI 2.0 software on top of Android 10.

On AT&T and Xfinity Mobile, you can pick up the Samsung Galaxy A51 in Prism Crush Black for a full retail price of $399. You’ll pay $13.34/month for 30 months under AT&T’s Installment Plan with delivery between May 5-7. Xfinity Mobile is offering the phone for $16.66/month for 24 months, but you can bring this down to $12.25/month for 24 months for a total of $100 off if you add a new line and transfer a number. Expected delivery from Xfinity Mobile is May 8th.

You can purchase the A51 today from AT&T, Xfinity Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint. You can also purchase it unlocked from Samsung.com or Best Buy.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy A51 (U.S.): AT&T (New), Xfinity Mobile (New), Verizon, Sprint, Samsung, Best Buy

Here are the full specifications of the device:

Specification	Samsung Galaxy A51 (4G)
Dimensions and Weight	6.24 x 2.90 x 0.31″ 6.07oz
Display	6.5″ FHD+ (1080 x 2400) Super AMOLED; Infinity-O display
SoC	Samsung Exynos 9611 Octa Core processor (Quad 2.3GHz + Quad 1.7 GHz)
RAM and Storage	4GB + 128GB Expandable through dedicated microSD card slot
Battery	4,000 mAh; 15-watt fast charging
USB	USB Type-C
Rear Camera	48MP, f/2.0  primary + 5MP, f/2.2 depth sensor + 5MP, f/2.4 macro + 12MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide
Front Camera	32MP, f/2.2
Security	Under-display fingerprint scanner
Software	Android 10 with One UI 2.0

The Samsung Galaxy A51 has an impressive set of specifications on paper, and because of its $399 price point, it’s widely compared to the new Apple iPhone SE. Although the Pixel 4a hasn’t been released yet, we can expect it go toe-to-toe with the Galaxy A51 based on what we’ve heard from leaks and rumors. There’s also a 5G Galaxy A51 coming later this year, but we don’t know its pricing or availability yet.

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OnePlus 5 and 5T get OxygenOS Open Beta 2 with April 2020 patches

Last week OnePlus finally delivered on a promise they made back in October of 2019: to update both the OnePlus 5 and the OnePlus 5T to Android 10. As such, the first OxygenOS Open Beta based on Android 10 was released for both phones, allowing users to test drive the early software release and provide their feedback ahead of the official rollout.

It may take several rounds of Open Beta releases before we see the final update rolled out, but we’re making steady progress in that direction as the second OxygenOS Open Beta based on Android 10 has just been released for the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T.

OnePlus 5 Forums ||| OnePlus 5T Forums

As expected, Open Beta 2 is mostly a bug-fixing update, and we’re not seeing any major shuffle in terms of new features or UI changes. The update optimizes the split-screen experience, improves general stability, fixes unspecified bugs, and also bumps the Android security patch level to April 2020.

The full changelog for Open Beta 2 is as below:

System

• Optimized split-screen operation experience
• Improved system stability and fixed general bugs
• Updated Android security patch to 2020.04

For some reason, this update will not be rolled out as OTA to Open Beta 1 users — as OnePlus previously mentioned in their blog post. Instead, users will have to install it manually. If you’re running the first Android 10-based Open Beta or the latest Android 9 Pie-based stable release, you should be able to install the new update without losing any user data. But if you’re coming from the last Android 9 Pie-based Open Beta, make sure to backup your data beforehand as flashing the Open Beta build will wipe everything.

To install Open Beta 2, download the update zip for your device from the below links:

Download OxygenOS Open Beta 2 for OnePlus 5

Download OxygenOS Open Beta 2 for OnePlus 5T

After downloading the update package, open a file manager of your choice and move the update zip from the Downloads folder to the root directory of the internal storage. Now navigate to Settings > System > System updates and click on the menu button located in the top right corner. From there, select Local Upgrade and select the update package placed in the root directory to begin the installation process.

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Source: OnePlus

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Samsung shuts down the Game Tuner service

Smartphone manufacturers often include a dedicated “gaming mode” in their custom Android UI, which is an effective measure to satisfy the gaming crowd without maintaining a separate game-centric lineup. From on-the-fly overclocking to presenting a game launcher to the users, these add-ons are really handy to mobile gaming enthusiasts. Samsung’s Game Tuner app is a similar solution for the Galaxy device owners, but the company has now decided to terminate its support.

The app itself was last updated in December 2018 after losing a bunch of useful features like the FPS counter. Although the app is still listed on both the Google Play Store and Galaxy Store, Samsung has already initiated its retirement process by notifying Samsung Community members as well as blocking downloads since April 30th. Existing users are able to continue using it, but they must be on Android Oreo. Those who are on One UI 2.0/2.1 are advised to opt for Game Plugins, which is apparently the spiritual successor to Game Tuner.

The Game Tuner will terminate its service on Thursday, April 30, 2020 with the end of the app download.

Once again, thank you very much for your support through the Game Tuner.

Personalized gaming performance control services offered by Game Tuner can be found on Android 10 as ‘Game Plugins’.
(Not provided on Play store)

Following is the end of the service schedule.

1. Blocking app downloads: April 30, 2020 (Thursday)
※ Existing Game Tuner on your device can be used continuously if the device is kept on Android 8.

If you actively use the features offered by Game Tuner and looking for an alternative, third-party apps like Gaming Mode might be beneficial for you. Besides Game Tuner, Samsung recently dropped support for a couple of other services, namely MirrorLink, Car Mode, and Find My Car. We can’t say for sure, but the serial purging could be an indication of a massive overhaul in the One UI codebase.

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Source: Samsung Community

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NVIDIA introduces DLSS 2.0 for some GeForce NOW games and adds 21 new titles

Game streaming services have really picked up steam in the last year, but NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW service was one of the first on the market. The service started beta testing for Android last year and opened up for everyone in February. Last month, NVIDIA pledged to announce new games for GeForce NOW every week, and today we’re catching up on some recent releases.

Earlier this month, GeForce NOW lost a bunch of games from Warner Bros, XBOX Game Studios, Codemasters, and Klei Entertainment, but it did gain 36 Ubisoft titles. This week, the service has gained another 21 new titles alongside DLSS 2.0 support. This technology utilizes AI and RTX GPUs to enable “the next generation of performance and visuals.” It’s NVIDIA’s improved deep learning neural network that “boosts frame rates while generating beautiful, sharp images for games.”

DLSS 2.0 is supported first by Control. MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries and Deliver Us The Moon will gain support in the future. Here is the complete list of new games that have been added to GeForce NOW this week.

• Moving Out
• SnowRunner (Epic Games Store)
• Amnesia: The Dark Descent
• Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (Uplay)
• Battle Chasers: Nightwar
• Dead Island Definitive Edition
• Drug Dealer Simulator
• Earth 2160
• Fire Pro Wrestling World
• Medieval Engineers
• Might & Magic Heroes VII – Trial by Fire (Uplay)
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
• Saints Row 2
• Sanctum 2
• SpellForce – Platinum Edition
• Steel Division: Normandy 44
• The Council – Episode 1
• THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII
• Trainz: A New Era
• YLands

NVIDIA GeForce NOW (Free, Google Play) →

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AWS Is Among the Biggest Players in IT — Here’s How to Master the Platform

Industry experts estimate that around 90% of businesses now rely on cloud services, and AWS is one of the biggest players in this sector. If you want to build a career in IT, you really need to know how this platform works. The All-Level AWS Cloud Professional Bootcamp provides the perfect introduction, with 32 hours of video instruction covering over 100 different features and tools. You can pick up the bundle now for just $34.99 at the XDA Developers Depot.

Through six separate courses, this bundle shows you how to work with AWS and pass the official Amazon exams. 

The lineup includes the AWS Solutions Architect Associate, a course that works towards a certificate of the same name. People who pass the exam earn $167,366 on average, and this course provides 17 hours of essential prep.

AWS Cloud Essentials is another important course that helps you master the fundamentals of this platform. It has 60,000 positive reviews from over 240,000 students.

The bundle also includes an AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification Guide for Beginners, plus courses on networking, Node.JS apps, and databases. These skills will serve you well in any technical career.

The training is worth $1,200 in total, but you can get lifetime access now for $35.99.

 

The All-Level AWS Cloud Professional Bootcamp – $34.99

See Deal

Prices subject to change

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