Xiaomi demos intuitive smart home controls with Ultra-Wide Band technology

One of the features of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra was Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technology. UWB is used for initiating faster device-to-device connections, taking advantage of the precise, indoor positioning features enabled by the technology. After Samsung, now Xiaomi has announced plans for UWB (ultra-wideband) technology adoption, using it to unify smart home products into a seamless experience.

In a video shared on Weibo, a Xiaomi representative demonstrated products ranging from smart displays to fans to bulbs, all of which could be controlled from your phone, just by pointing it at the device. UWB’s main advantage is its ability to offer pinpoint location accuracy, which goes even beyond being in the right home or the right room, but exactly what you’re pointing at by measuring ‘time of flight’ to a device. It’s kind of like a universal remote – but no IR blaster, no Bluetooth. The on-screen controls on the screen even change according to which device you’re pointing at, thanks to its ability to transceive on a wide part of the radio spectrum.

Xiaomi isn’t the first vendor to tout UWB as the next big thing – Samsung has incorporated it into the new Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 2, and Apple is said to have added it to the forthcoming iPhone 12, after debuting in the iPhone 11 – this Xiaomi video is the best live demonstration yet of its capabilities.

At present, UWB is being sold mainly as a more reliable way of sharing between data between devices, but Samsung has already suggested that it will soon be able to unlock a compatible smart door lock, just by approaching it. Xiaomi’s demo also features automatic door locking/unlocking powered by UWB.

If more widespread adoption of the tech happens over the coming years, we can expect to see a wider offering of ‘true’ smart home – without the need to summon a personal assistant like Alexa or dig around for the right app for the right lightbulb – even where there are multiple vendors’ devices in the same environment.

Besides sharing and smart home, the adoption of UWB could bring a smarter generation of fitness trackers that can monitor vital signs accurately using doppler radar. We can always be hopeful for the future.

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Source: Weibo
Story Via: AndroidAuthority

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Download the new OnePlus 8T live wallpapers on any Android device

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen plenty of leaks and teasers about the upcoming OnePlus 8T. While the company has just dropped a few tidbits about the device, leaked renders and a premature retail listing have already revealed almost everything there is to know about the next-gen flagship. On top of that, we’ve also managed to get our hands on the OnePlus 8T’s static wallpapers. Now, just days ahead of the launch event, XDA Recognized Contributor linuxct has managed to extract OnePlus 8T’s live wallpapers from an OxygenOS 11 build.

As you can see in the attached tweets, the new OnePlus 8T live wallpapers follow the same design language as the static wallpapers we shared earlier. There are three live wallpapers in total, including one OxygenOS 11 wallpaper that we shared earlier and two new OnePlus 8T live wallpapers. All the wallpapers offer a rotation effect when you scroll through pages on your homescreen and a cool animation when you unlock your device. Additionally, the wallpapers feature dynamic colors that change based on the time of day.

Now with the new ones, this is Aquamarine Green! pic.twitter.com/AZoSugzWdk

— lispookct (@linuxct) October 10, 2020

The OnePlus 8T live wallpapers have been tested on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium running Android 9.0 Pie at a forced 4K resolution, and they work as intended. The wallpapers should work on all devices running Android 8.0 Oreo or above. However, they may not perform well on all devices as they’re rendered using OpenGL. In case your device offers good OpenGL performance, the wallpapers should look as fluid as they would on a OnePlus 8T.

And now, this is Lunar Silver pic.twitter.com/bVxJeyXAbk

— lispookct (@linuxct) October 10, 2020

If you’re interested in trying the OnePlus 8T live wallpapers on your device, you can grab the APK from the APKMirror link below. To use the wallpapers, you’ll first need to install the APK on your device. Once that’s done, you should be able to select them from your device’s stock wallpaper picker. In case you’re not able to do that, you can download the Google Wallpapers app from the Play Store to apply the wallpapers.

OnePlus 8T Live Wallpaper Port — XDA Forum Thread || Download OnePlus 8T Live Wallpapers

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Everything you need to know about Android’s Project Mainline

One of the biggest changes in Android in recent years that flew under the radar, relatively speaking against its importance, was the introduction of Project Mainline in Android 10. Google mandates the inclusion of specific Mainline modules across Android releases, with Android 11 coming in with a combined compulsory total of 25 Mainline modules. Here is an explanation on what Project Mainline is and what it aims to solve, alongside a list of all of Android’s Project Mainline modules.

What is Project Mainline?

To properly understand Project Mainline, we will have to rewind a bit. If you go back a few years, a lot of the conversation around Android updates centered around the fragmentation problem. Fragmentation was one of the biggest challenges for Google to solve on Android around the Ice Cream Sandwich – Lollipop era. Even though Android as a platform received regular updates across a largely-predictable pattern, these updates used to take a very long time to reach the hands of final consumers, if at all. So while Google was fixing critical bugs and security issues at the platform level, the actual rollout of these changes left a lot to be desired. There were/are a lot of middlemen (SoC vendor, OEMs, carriers, etc.) and a lot of moving parts involved in delivering updates to your phone, and the fragmentation problem did not appear like it would solve itself without requiring some hard-hitting interventions.

One of the major efforts to address this problem came in the form of Project Treble alongside Android 8.0 Oreo, which involved a major rearchitecting of Android, separating the Android OS framework components from the vendor HALs and Linux kernel. Project Treble, in essence, modularized Android by separating the OS framework from the device-specific, lower-level software. This way, device makers (OEMs) need not wait for silicon manufacturers (SoC vendor) to update their vendor implementation code, and OEMs could update the Android OS framework independently. The end result is faster adoption of newer Android releases from the OEM, as they no longer need to wait around for the middleman (SoC vendor) to finish its job first before they can begin doing theirs.

While the Android update situation did not dramatically improve right off the bat with Project Treble, it did largely enable broader OEM participation in Android 10 and Android 11 betas as well as making it easier for OEMs to update more of their devices on a quicker timeline. Plus, the entire concept of the GSI (Generic System Image) has had a major impact on aftermarket development on our forums.

Developer boots Android 11 on 22 older devices with a Project Treble GSI

Project Mainline extends the efforts of Project Treble. While Treble reduced how dependent OEMs were on SoC vendors for every single OS update, Mainline reduces how dependent Google is on OEMs for delivering security updates to key OS components. Project Mainline extends the Treble philosophy to more critical parts of the Android framework, removing OEMs as the dependent middlemen from this equation. The purpose of Project Mainline is for Google to wrest control of framework components and system applications that are critical to security and maintaining development consistency away from OEMs. Project Mainline is rightfully referred to as the biggest change to Android since Project Treble.

For Project Mainline, Google makes use of Mainline modules which are delivered through the Google Play Services framework and the Google Play Store. Each Mainline module is delivered as either an APK file, an APEX file, or as an APK-in-APEX. When a Mainline module is being updated, the user sees a “Google Play System Update” (GPSU) notification on their device. Effectively, to deliver updates to critical components, Google has bypassed the need to wait for an OEM to roll out an update, choosing to do the task itself.

As Google states on the Android website:

Modular system components enable Google and Android partners to distribute updates broadly, quickly, and seamlessly to end-user devices in a non-intrusive manner. For example, the combination of media codec fragmentation and critical bugs can dramatically slow app adoption and user engagement. Frequent updates to media-related modules can reduce codec fragmentation to make media app behavior more consistent across different Android devices and fix critical bugs to build user trust.

Android 10 or higher converts selected system components into modules, some of which use the APEX container format (introduced in Android 10) and some of which use the APK format. The modular architecture enables system components to be updated with critical bug fixes and other improvements as needed, without affecting lower-level vendor implementations or higher-level apps and services.

As Ars Technica mentions:

Project Mainline, AKA “Google Play System Updates,” was introduced in Android 10 as a major effort to make core system components of Android more modular and updatable. Mainline introduced a new “APEX” filetype specifically for system components, with the goal of shipping core Android code through the Play Store as easily as you ship an app update. Previously, Android’s only shippable code block was the APK, a filetype originally designed for third-party apps. This came with all sorts of security restrictions and could only start up late in the boot-up process, so APEX was created with more powerful system components in mind. APEXes can only be created by Google or your device manufacturer, so they can be noticeably more powerful and house critical boot-up components like the app runtime.

Mainline isn’t just a technical solution, it’s also about making more parts of Android centrally distributed by Google, which involves negotiating with device manufacturers and getting them to all agree to ship the same block of code. Mainline modules eventually become mandatory to ship, so Mainline is actually a big collaboration with device manufacturers to make sure a single ecosystem-wide module meets everyone’s needs. Not every Mainline module is an ultra-powerful APEX module—some are just APKs that are now Google-distributed Android code.

Project Mainline — Modules

With Android 10, Google mandated the inclusion of 13 specific Mainline modules. With Android 11, the total number of mandatory modules is 25. Here is the full list, alongside some key details:

Module Name	Package Name	Type	Device Upgraded to or Launched with Android 11	Device Launched with Android 10	Device Upgraded to Android 10
adbd	com.google.android.adbd	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
Android Neural Network API Runtime	com.google.android.neuralnetworks	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
Captive Portal Login	com.google.android.captiveportallogin	APK	Must	Strongly Recommended	Optional
Cell Broadcast	com.google.android.cellbroadcast	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
Conscrypt	com.google.android.conscrypt	APEX	Must	Strongly Recommended	Optional
DNS Resolver	com.google.android.resolv	APEX	Must	Strongly Recommended	Optional
Documents UI	com.google.android.documentsui	APK	Must	Must	Optional
ExtServices – APK	com.google.android.ext.services	APK	Must	Must	Must
ExtServices – APEX	com.google.android.extservices	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
IPsec/IKEv2 Library	com.google.android.ipsec	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
Media Codecs	com.google.android.media.swcodec	APEX	Must	Must	Optional
Media Framework Components	com.google.android.media	APEX	Must	Must	Optional
Media Provider	com.google.android.mediaprovider	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
Module Metadata	com.google.android.modulemetadata	APK	Must	Must	Must
Network Stack Components	com.google.android.networkstack	APK	Must	Strongly Recommended	Optional
Network Stack Permission Configuration	com.google.android.networkstack.permissionconfig	APK	Must	Strongly Recommended	Optional
Permission Controller – APK	com.google.android.permissioncontroller	APK	Must	Must	Must
Permission Controller – APEX	com.google.android.permission	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
SDK Extensions	com.google.android.sdkext	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
Statsd	com.google.android.os.statsd	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
Telemetry Train Version Package	com.google.mainline.telemetry	APK	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
Tethering	com.google.android.tethering	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
Time Zone Data	com.google.android.tzdata	APEX	Must NOT	Must	Optional
Time Zone Data 2	com.google.android.tzdata2	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported
Wi-Fi³	com.google.android.wifi	APEX	Must	Unsupported	Unsupported

To provide some context to the columns above, the column titled “Device Upgraded to or Launched with Android 11” includes details on whether the module must be present (or must not be present, in case of Time Zone data because of the inclusion of its alternative) on all devices that have either been upgraded to Android 11, or are launching with Android 11 out of the box. Similarly, devices launching with Android 10 are required to include a few modules, are strongly recommended to include a few others, and are unsupported by the rest. For devices that are upgraded to Android 10 (as opposed to launched with Android), the list of required modules is shorter.

What does each Mainline module do?

Here’s a brief explanation for each of the Mainline modules:

Adbd

The adbd module manages command-line adb and IDE debugging sessions. Modularizing adbd allows Google to deliver performance improvements and bug fixes quicker. This is crucial as some bugs in the past were related to battery drain, and could cause devices to continue using 100% CPU until the phone dies. So getting these fixes out is crucial for Google as adb is widely used by app developers and OEMs for testing.

Android Neural Networks API Runtime

This is a library that sits between an app and backend drivers. The API in turn is an Android C API for running computationally intensive machine learning operations on mobile devices, and to enable hardware-accelerated inference operations.

CellBroadcast

Cell Broadcast refers to emergency and non-emergency alerts (such as AMBER alerts). This module is concerned with tasks around these alerts, and with other ancillary functions such as SMS decoding and geofencing for wireless emergency alerts.

Conscrypt

The Conscrypt module handles Android’s TLS implementation and other cryptographic functions such as key generators, cipers, and message digests. Shipping this is as a module allows Google to accelerate security improvements, without needing to rely on OTA updates.

DNS Resolver

As the name implies, the DNS resolver resolves DNS, i.e. it converts human-readable URLs into IP addresses. The module contains the code that implements the DNS stub resolver, and shipping this as a module lets Google provide better user protection against DNS interception and configuration update attacks.

Documents UI

Documents UI is the module responsible for controlling access to specific files for components that handle document permissions. As Google states, making storage access and permissions into a module increases privacy and security for end users, while the runtime resource overlay (RRO) feature allows OEMs to theme the experience (referring to the Files app) if they need to. As a module, all Google-Android devices will ship with the same Documents UI experience.

ExtServices

This module includes framework components for core OS functionality such as notification ranking, autofill text-matching strategies, storage cache, package watchdog, and other services.

IPsec/IKEv2 Library

This library module concerns itself with new and existing features around Interworking Wireless LAN (IWLAN) and VPNs, such as negotiating security parameters like keys, algorithms, and tunnel configurations. The idea with modularizing these functions is to promote ecosystem consistency and provide a way to deliver quick fixes for security and interoperability issues.

Media, Media Codecs, Media Provider

These are three bifurcated modules, but they have functions that are reliant on each other. These media modules handle media types and codes, interact with the ExoPlayer, expose transport controls and playback information to the framework, optimize indexed metadata, etc. Remember Stagefright, the exploit that changed Android and brought about the very concept of monthly security updates to the platform? That exploit relied on vulnerabilities within the media playback library. So a modularization of the media components allows Google to react quickly and widely in case security bugs are found in this often targetted component.

Module Metadata

The function of this module is immediately clear from its name, although its purpose isn’t. Module Metadata module contains….metadata about the list of modules on the device. And that’s about it.

Network Stack Components, Network Stack Permission Configuration, Captive Portal Login

The Network Stack Components module provides common IP services, network connectivity monitoring, captive login portal detection. The Permission Configuration module defines the permission that enables other modules to perform network-related tasks. The Captive Portal Login module deals with Captive Portals — web pages that are displayed when connected to certain public Wi-Fi networks, where the user is asked to enter details to gain Internet access.

Permission Controller

This module delivers updatable privacy policies and UI elements around granting and managing permissions. If this sounds familiar to what Package Installer does, that is because it is. Functions like runtime permissions granting, management, and usage tracking were part of the Package Installer app up till Android 9. In Android 10, the Package Installer app is split into sections to enable the permissions logic to be updated. The Permission Controller module is delivered as an APK file, and in Android 11, the module can automatically revoke runtime permissions for apps that haven’t been used for an extended period of time.

SDK Extensions

This module is a little difficult to understand and consequently explain. Every Android release is assigned an SDK level (usually +1 from its predecessor). When an app targets a particular SDK, it is assumed that the developer has taken into account the platform behavioral and API changes that the Android release has brought along.

SDK Extensions module decides the “extension SDK” level of the device and exposes APIs for apps to query the extension SDK level. That’s about all that the official documentation mentions. ArsTechnica, though, mentions that this is likely a secondary API layer that will be shipped through the Play Store.

Statsd, Telemetry Train Version Package

Statsd is responsible for collecting device metrics. The Telemetry Train Version Package, on the other hand, does not contain active code or any functionality of its own. It simply contains a version number for the “Telemetry Train” which Google says is a set of metrics-related modules. Based on the version number, Google Play displays the security patch version to end users and figures out if updates are available for metric-related modules.

Tethering

The Tethering module shares the device’s Internet connection with other connected client devices through Wi-Fi, USB, Bluetooth, or Ethernet. The module includes the tethering components and their dependencies. By using this Tethering module, OEMs can rely on a single, standard reference implementation and bring a consistent experience across devices.

Time Zone Data

The Time Zone Data module updates daylight saving time (DST) and time zones on Android devices, standardizing both the data (which can and does change rather frequently in response to religious, political, and geopolitical reasons) and the update mechanism across the ecosystem. Android 8.1 and Android 9 used an APK-based time zone data update mechanism, and Android 10 replaces it with an APEX-based module update mechanism. Google states that AOSP continues to include the platform code necessary for APK-based updates, so devices upgrading to Android 10 can still receive partner-provided time zone data updates through the APK. However, Google does warn that APK-based updates supersedes an APEX-based update.

Wi-Fi

This is the module for Wi-Fi functionality. End users can now get a consistent Wi-Fi experience across Android devices, as well as fixes to interoperability issues through module updates, app developers can get reduced platform fragmentation, and OEMs can fulfill carrier requirements while also reducing costs for individual customizations.

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Hopefully, this article highlights just how important Project Mainline is to Google’s Android ecosystem.

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Download: OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro receive stable Android 11 with OxygenOS 11 update

OnePlus is gearing up for the launch of the OnePlus 8T on October 14. And while that is something to look forward to, existing OnePlus 8 series owners also have something to rejoice about. After rolling out two Open Betas for OxygenOS 11 based on Android 11, OnePlus is now rolling out stable OxygenOS 11 build based on stable Android 11 to the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro.

OnePlus Android 11 Tracker: Here are all the official OxygenOS 11 beta and stable builds to download and install

How OnePlus designed OxygenOS 11 to make bigger phones easier to use

The highlight of Oxygen OS 11, other than the rebase to Android 11, is the new UI visual design that attempts to make these large screen devices easy to use. Since this is the stable release, we expect this to roll out to all users over the coming week, unless any showstopper bugs are spotted. You can wait for your device to get picked up on the staged rollout, or you can sideload the update using the download links provided below. OnePlus mentions that OxygenOS 11 will also roll out for the OnePlus 7T Pro, OnePlus 7T, OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus 7, OnePlus 6T, OnePlus 6, and OnePlus Nord in the future.

Here is the complete changelog for the full update:

Changelog for OxygenOS 11 stable update for the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro

Key updates:

• System
  • Fresh new UI visual design brings you a more comfortable experience with various optimizations of details.
  • Brand-new weather UI supports dynamic switches between sunrise and sunset. You can have day and night at your hand now.
  • Optimized stability on some third-party applications and improved user experience.

• Game Space
  • Newly added gaming tools box for convenient switches of Fnatic mode. You can now choose three ways of notifications: text-only, heads up and block, just for your immersive gaming experience.
  • Newly added quick reply feature in a small window for Instagram and WhatsApp. (Enable it by swiping down from upper right/left corners of the screen in gaming mode)
  • Newly added mis-touch prevention feature. Enable it, swipe down from the top of the screen, click and the notification bar will pop out.

• Ambient Displsy
  • Added Always-on ambient Display function, custom Schedule/All day option included. (To set: Settings > Display > Ambient Display)
  • Newly added Insight clock style, a joint creation with Parsons School of Design. It will change according to the phone usage data. (To set: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)
  • Newly added 10 new clock styles. (To set: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)

• Dark Mode
  • Added the shortcut key for Dark Mode, pull down the quick setting to enable.
  • Supporting automatically turn on feature & customize time range. (To set: Settings > Display > Dark Mode > Turn on automatically > Automatically enable from sunset to sunrise/Custom time range.)

• Zen Mode
  • Added 5 new themes (ocean, space, grassland, and so on), and more timing options.
  • Included the Group feature in Zen Mode, now you can invite your friends and enable the Zen Mode together.

• Gallery
  • Story function supported, automatically forming weekly videos with photos and video in storage.
  • Loading speed optimized, and the image preview is now faster.

• Others
  • The widget on the desktop might disappear. It can be set as followed: Long press on the desktop -“Widget” – “Settings” – Select the widget.

OnePlus 8 XDA Forums || OnePlus 8 Pro XDA Forums

Buy from Amazon.in: OnePlus 8 || OnePlus 8 Pro

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Download: Stable OxygenOS 11 update based on Android 11

You can download the update and sideload it onto your phone. Download the appropriate package for your phone, go to Settings > System > System Updates, and then click on the top-right icon and select “Local Upgrade” option. From there, select the update package that you have downloaded and proceed.

OnePlus 8

• Global:
  • Full Update

OnePlus 8 Pro

• Global:
  • Full Update
• India:
  • Full Update

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Thanks to XDA Senior Member Some_Random_Username for the download links!

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Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G First Impressions: Function over Form

It’s fair to say that Samsung was caught with its pants down with the COVID-19 pandemic this year. Every device maker’s smartphone sales have been affected by the pandemic, and this is natural—consumer spending is down because of the decrease in purchasing power. However, Samsung has been affected more than Huawei or Xiaomi, for example. The company’s decision to raise the pricing of its flagship Galaxy S20 series this year came at a bad time. The flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra’s $1,399/₹97,999 price tag raised many eyebrows, and even the regular Galaxy S20 and the Galaxy S20+ experienced steep increases in pricing. According to multiple reports, the Galaxy S20 series has sold in significantly lesser amounts than its predecessors. The decline in sales was such that Samsung lost its position as the top global smartphone vendor to Huawei. The Galaxy Note 20 series brought an ultra-expensive Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, and a surprisingly hobbled regular Galaxy Note 20. Samsung needed something more effective in terms of pricing, and to deliver on the need, the company has gone back to basics by launching the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition).

Samsung first used the Fan Edition branding with the Galaxy Note 7 FE, bringing back the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 with a revised edition because of fan demand. Three years later, the company is bringing back the branding for the Galaxy S20 FE. Names don’t necessarily mean much, though; the Galaxy S20 FE could easily be called a Galaxy S20 Lite, and it is actually that in all but name. In some ways, it can be taken as the successor to the Galaxy S10 Lite, which was released earlier this year.

The Galaxy S20 FE is available in different 4G and 5G variants. The 5G variant is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 (not dependent on region), while the 4G variant makes do with Samsung’s own Exynos 990 SoC. Interestingly, the 5G variant comes with only 6GB of RAM, while the 4GB RAM variant comes in 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM variants depending on regional availability. In India, Samsung has chosen to launch only the 4G variant in a single 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant, which is what we have here today for quick first impressions. This 4G, Exynos 990-equipped model is also sold in the UK and other countries in Europe.

Specification	Galaxy S20 FE 5G	Galaxy S20 FE 4G
Dimensions & Weight	74.5 x 159.9 x 8.4 mm 190g	74.5 x 159.9 x 8.4 mm 190g
Display	6.5-inch 20:9 FHD+ (2400×1080) Super AMOLED display Centered hole-punch cutout 120Hz refresh rate Gorilla Glass 3	6.5-inch 20:9 FHD+ (2400×1080) Super AMOLED display Centered hole-punch cutout 120Hz refresh rate Gorilla Glass 3
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865	Samsung Exynos 990
RAM & Storage	6GB + 128GB	8GB + 128GB (Indian variant) 8GB + 256GB
Battery & Charging	4,500 mAh 15W wired charging 15W fast wireless charging Wireless PowerShare support	4,500 mAh 15W wired charging 15W fast wireless charging Wireless PowerShare support
Rear Camera	Primary: 12MP f/1.8 primary camera Secondary: 12MP f/2.2 wide-angle camera Tertiary: 8MP f/2.0 telephoto camera	Primary: 12MP f/1.8 primary camera Secondary: 12MP f/2.2 wide-angle camera Tertiary: 8MP f/2.0 telephoto camera
Front Camera	32MP f/2.0	32MP f/2.0
Other Features	IP68 dust and water resistance USB Type-C Optical under-display fingerprint scanner by Goodix Wi-Fi Bluetooth MST NFC	IP68 dust and water resistance USB Type-C Optical under-display fingerprint scanner by Goodix Wi-Fi Bluetooth MST NFC
Android Version	One UI 2.5 based on Android 10	One UI 2.5 based on Android 10

About this preview: Samsung India sent the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (SM-G780F) to us. I have used the phone for six days now, and this is my first impressions preview. Our full review will be published next week. Samsung had no input on the content of this article.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE – Design

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has an interesting design. From the front, it looks just like the Galaxy S20. In terms of size, it falls in between the compact 6.2-inch regular Galaxy S20 and the mid-sized 6.7-inch Galaxy S20+. It’s quite a bit smaller than the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which has a behemoth 6.9-inch display. The size will be optimal for a large subset of smartphone users, but I was mildly disappointed with Samsung’s choice of a tall 20:9 aspect ratio. For this screen size, I think 19.5:9 would have been better, and 19:9 would have been optimal. As it is, the display width here feels a little cramped for me, coming after months of using 6.7-inch+ phones.

From the front, it was also a bit disappointing to see the bezels, which are noticeably larger than those seen on the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra. Interestingly, they are also larger than Samsung’s own previous affordable flagship phones such as the Galaxy S10 Lite (review), Galaxy Note 10 Lite (review), and even the lower mid-range Galaxy M51. The screen-to-body ratio is 84.8%, which is on the lower side for phones today (the Galaxy S20+ has a 90.5% screen-to-body ratio, for reference.) Another downgrade here is the presence of Gorilla Glass 3 on the front. As I said in my Galaxy M51 review, this is not something that makes sense apart from a cost-cutting reason. For an affordable flagship, the lack of something like Gorilla Glass 6 is a sore omission. On the other hand, the hole punch front camera is small, smaller than the one used in the Galaxy M51, and smaller than OnePlus’ front camera in the OnePlus 8 Pro, for example.

It’s not as if there aren’t any positives here, though. The Galaxy S20 FE uses a flat display, and that is a plus in almost every practical use case. Yes, it doesn’t look as futuristic as a curved display, but in terms of usability, it’s still better than even the mildly curved display on the Galaxy S20 series in terms of accidental touches, glare, and more.

The sides are polished aluminum that looks and feels like glass. The aluminum frame on the sides is noticeably thin as the back and sides are aggressively curved. The back is where we find the real differences from the Galaxy S20 series. The triple camera enclosure is placed at the top left, with the camera lenses being designed like the lenses of the Galaxy Note 20 series and the Galaxy Z Fold 2 (review). The back’s material itself is noteworthy. It’s matte plastic with a soft touch texture that feels surprisingly OK. It feels noticeably plastic, but it’s also noticeably better than the glossy, fingerprint-prone plastic that Samsung uses in the cheaper M-series and A-series phones.

Other reviewers have compared the Galaxy S20 FE’s plastic material to the one seen on the regular Galaxy Note 20. While I can’t condone a plastic back on a phone with a $1,000/₹77,999 price tag, it is significantly more palatable on the Galaxy S20 FE, which has a significantly lower price tag (£599/$699/₹49,999). For the price, I would have preferred a matte glass back as seen on the OnePlus 8 Pro (review), as that feels significantly more premium in the hand. Plastic presents a different set of trade-offs: It’s much more durable than glass, but it doesn’t feel as nice as glass, generally speaking.

The Galaxy S20 FE’s other design features include having the capability to do wireless charging with 15W fast wireless charging, IP68 water resistance, and the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. It does feature a microSD card slot, which is of the hybrid variety (dual-SIMs or a single-SIM + microSD).

The box package of the Galaxy S20 FE is bare-bones. Samsung is bundling only a 15W Adaptive Fast Charger with this phone with a Type-C to Type-A cable, although the cheaper Galaxy M31s and Galaxy M51s both feature a 25W USB Type-C PD 3.0 charger with PPS and PDO. The phone does support 25W fast charging, but you will have to buy a charger separately. At a time when even lower mid-range phones costing ₹14,999 feature 65W ultra-fast charging, I fail to see how Samsung can get a free pass for bundling a 15W charger in an affordable flagship in late 2020. This wouldn’t have been a great move in 2019; in 2020, it only passes off as cutting too many corners. The company also doesn’t bundle any earphones or a case, while the Galaxy S20’s box package contains wired USB Type-C earphones as well as a generic transparent case.

Overall, the design of the Galaxy S20 FE is acceptable. It won’t win any awards for innovation, but at the same time, it features a usable, practical design that won’t need a case so much as a phone with a glass back. It’s still disappointing to see Samsung regress in key areas such as bezels and bundling fast chargers, though.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE – Initial Thoughts

My initial thoughts with the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE have led largely in one direction. For the price tag of ₹49,999/£599/€649, this phone is undoubtedly a very good phone, fit for 2020’s pandemic-stricken smartphone market. As far as Samsung’s affordable flagship phones go, it is excellent. With features such as a 120Hz AMOLED display, a flagship choice of SoCs, a primary camera borrowed from the Galaxy S20 (although with different image processing), and a 4,500mAh battery—ithe Galaxy S20 FE has all the makings of a successful value flagship.

At the same time, however, the phone has to contend with a field of competitors that is quickly getting better. The upcoming OnePlus 8T, the OnePlus 8 Pro, the Xiaomi Mi 10T, Mi 10T Pro, and the Mi 10, and the ASUS ROG Phone 3 (review) are all competitors that have better specifications in a few areas, although they won’t match Samsung’s brand name. In our upcoming review of the Galaxy S20 FE, we will attempt to answer the following questions:

• How good is the display of the Galaxy S20 FE? Does the lack of QHD+ resolution make a noticeable difference? In terms of display quality, is the panel a top-quality display with respect to brightness, contrast, viewing angles, and color accuracy?
• The performance of the Exynos 990 SoC. We have done a deep-dive on the Exynos 990 in our Galaxy S20+ review and examined its gaming performance in the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review. In the eight months since the Galaxy S20’s launch, has the Exynos 990 aged poorly? Can its real-world performance compare favorably with that of Snapdragon 865-powered phones such as the OnePlus 8 Pro?
• The cameras. The primary camera may be lifted from the Galaxy S20, but Samsung has made quite a few image processing changes since the Galaxy S20’s launch, and not all of them have been for the better. How does the 12MP camera with 1.8μm pixels hold itself to that of Quad Bayer cameras such as the 48MP OnePlus 8 Pro? The ultra wide-angle camera has a smaller sensor than the Galaxy S20’s ultra wide-angle camera, while Samsung has moved to a 8MP camera with a true telephoto lens (73mm) to achieve nearly 3x optical zoom instead of having a 64MP secondary wide-angle camera on the regular Galaxy S20 and S20+ that used crop sensor zoom to achieve 3x “hybrid optic zoom”. How does the telephoto camera hold up to that of the Galaxy S20’s? How well does the night mode work in all cameras?
• 120Hz + Exynos 990. It wasn’t a great combination for battery life on the Exynos variant of the Galaxy S20+. Is it the same for the Galaxy S20 FE 4G?
• How well does the phone’s overall value proposition compare to that of its competitors?

To learn the answers to these questions, stay tuned for our full review, which will be published next week. For now, the Galaxy S20 FE 4G has held up promisingly in some respects, while showing predictable weaknesses in other areas.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE Forums

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G

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Google Meet for Android gets a revamped UI design

Google on Friday said it’s updating the UI for Google Meet on Android. The updated UI features conveniences like a Quick Launch Summary and a New Meeting button that will bring up three options:

• Get meeting joining info to share with others.
• Start a Meet call instantly.
• Schedule a new meeting in Google Calendar.

The color scheme is also a friendlier blue color rather than the swampy green that Meet is known for.

Google Meet has become the latest star of Google’s productivity suite, which itself got a bit of a rebranding recently. The video chat app allows companies, educators, and friends and family to connect from anywhere around the world. During this pandemic, it’s become one of the best ways to stay in contact.

The service originally got a sleek redesign when the Meet tab rolled out in Gmail, and the same design was soon brought to the dedicated mobile app for iOS. It’s nice to finally see the same experience making its way to Meet for Android.

The updated UI for Google Meet for Android should be available to all users, including Workspace customers and anyone with a personal Google account.

Google Meet - Secure Video Meetings (Free, Google Play) →

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YouTube to rival Amazon by turning platform into massive shopping network

YouTube is reportedly testing out features that will allow viewers to purchase products directly from videos. The goal, according to a Bloomberg report, is to turn the platform into a major shopping destination to rival Amazon.

Some creators are already testing tools on YouTube that allow them to tag products featured in videos. The data from these videos can then be tracked to see how these products performed. With the tools in place, viewers will be able to click on products that appear in videos and purchase them right there.

In addition to its own tools, Google is reportedly testing ways to integrate Shopify, a turnkey online store provider, into its platform. YouTube apparently tested Shopify integration last year, allowing some creators to list as many as 12 items for sale on a digital carousel below their videos.

It’s unclear how YouTube plans to generate revenue from direct sales, but creators will seemingly get a percentage of any sale that’s made through the new initiative, allowing them to diversify revenue beyond ads. The whole initiative provides the platform as a whole to pivot into a space that one expert told Bloomberg is underutilized by YouTube.

YouTube has apparently thought about turning the platform into a shopping destination for a while, but was unable to execute it in the right way. With the pandemic, however, Bloomberg claims that falling marketing budgets combined with growing e-commerce interest has made the initiative a priority.

YouTube is already a $15 billion-a-year business, so opening it up to e-commerce has the potential to raise that figure to new heights. The platform is already filled with creators who promote products through affiliate links, including from Amazon, and it sounds like pretty soon viewers could purchase products directly from the platform, taking out the middleman (Amazon) altogether.

YouTube (Free, Google Play) →

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