Discussion: What are you most looking forward to in 2021?

2020 definitely gave us much more than what we wanted. While it can unanimously be called more bitter than sweet, the tech industry saw major advancements. Last week, we asked you about your favorite smartphone features of 2020 and your favorite smartphone of 2020 and received some exceptional responses. But since we are already in 2021, we look forward to the new and exciting changes in the new year. What are you looking forward to in 2021, with smartphones and with consumer technology in general?

One of the strongest forces we’re bound to feel in 2021 is the wider availability of 5G. Most importantly, we may see many affordable smartphones or series getting support for 5G, thanks to mid-range 5G chipsets such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 or MediaTek Dimensity 720. At the same time, we may also witness more ultra-portable mobile computers get 5G connectivity, just like the Samsung Galaxy Book Flex.

Mobile computing, in general, is expected to take leaps forward with the introduction of the purported 32-core successor to the Apple M1 ARM-based silicon. Meanwhile, AMD is expected to prepare the 5nm Zen 4 architecture for early 2022. Intel, which recently announced plans to sell its flash memory unit, might finally be able to focus on more efficient CPUs.

Simultaneously, the competition in the mobile computing business could get tougher as Qualcomm, Huawei, Samsung, and Apple lock horns with 5nm chipsets for smartphones. It would be interesting to see what the purported Exynos 2100 brings to the table.

Coming back to consumer products, we do expect to see a surge of foldable smartphones, especially at lower prices than the existing ones. At the same time, Apple’s decision to remove the charger from the box may have implications for the entire smartphone industry moving towards a single unified solution, like an open fast-charging standard or better, more affordable and more accessible wireless charging.

Or, will smartphone companies push cameras past 108MP in 2021? Will AR (augmented reality) finally mature into a widely used technology? Will the PlayStation 5 be back in stock? Only time will tell us the answers to these questions. But what do you think?

What does technology in 2021, smartphones and beyond, look like to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below. 

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Discussion: Would you pay for a charger separately with each new phone?

Apple is undisputedly the biggest trendsetter in the smartphone industry. Despite ridicule from Android fans and brands, these controversial trends by Apple end up materializing and being adopted by these very brands. The latest in the series is the removal of a charger from the box of the iPhone 12 and future phones. Whether you believe that Apple is helping the environment or just exploring newer ways to collect more money from users, you will have to spend additional money to pay for chargers. While Apple’s major competitors like Samsung and Xiaomi dissed the idea initially, they are now following in its footsteps and have already announced their plans to sell charger-less Galaxy S21 and the Mi 11 series smartphones, respectively. So, should you have to pay extra for a charger that has been included in the box, and would you? Let’s discuss!

Apple was the first brand to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone as early as 2016. When this happened, the entire world chimed in to criticize the company. As the world’s largest smartphone maker, Samsung took personal responsibility and went on for the next three years with a series of commercials mocking the lack of headphone jack on iPhones. This continued until the launch of the Galaxy Note 10 series, which is when Samsung decided to take the plunge too — and secretly remove all of its ads from all official handles. You can still find some of them re-uploaded by users.

Similarly, when Apple announced its plan to remove the charger from the package, Samsung could not hold back from mocking Apple again — only to delete these jabs later. Xiaomi wasn’t also far behind taking digs at Apple. But, Xiaomi has an innovative — and less upsetting — solution to removing chargers from the box. Only for the first sale, the Chinese company is allowing users to choose between two packages — one with a charger and another without it — for the same price.

Naturally, other smartphone manufacturers are expected to follow suit and eventually sell smartphones without chargers in the box. Even as the step is being marketed as being in favor of reducing e-waste, The Verge quoted senior CFRA Research analyst, Angelo Zino, saying, “the bottom line has a lot to do with [this being a financial move].” Mr. Zino says Apple is trying to offset some of the increased expenditure due to 5G modems by removing components such as the charger and the wired EarPods from the box. With 5G being one of the primary reasons that make smartphones with the Snapdragon 865 much more expensive than their predecessors, other Android OEMs will most likely be joining in.

Irrespective of this banter between brands and their efforts to maximize profits, the cost of a new phone increases for the buyer as the cost of a separate charger adds on top of it. And then, some brands have superfast charging capabilities for their smartphones, achievable only through proprietary chargers, and you can expect to be charged a good premium for this fast charging over a standard charger, thereby hurting buyers even more. Although the popularity of Bluetooth made it easy to relinquish our dependence on 3.5mm headphone connectors, the same does not apply to wireless charging, so this move is going to hurt a lot more.

However nasty, the only way to ensure that you utilize the best charging speeds on your new smartphone is by paying extra for a new charger with your smartphone. But, should you have to do it? Will you do it? Specifications being equal, would you prefer a phone with an included charger over one without? Should companies charge differently for the two packages, or let the pricing be equal? Do you think removing the charger from the box is actually healthy for the environment or is all of it just marketing? Let us know in the comments below!

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Unbrick your OnePlus Nord N10 5G with the MSMDownloadTool

It is inevitable for nearly all devices with heavy aftermarket development that the occasional mistake is made, and the user ends up with a piece of hardware that is as useful as a paperweight. As typical hard bricks are nearly impossible to fix without OEM support, a fully functional method to restore a device from such a situation is a pretty big deal. Fortunately, OnePlus smartphones earned a reputation of being almost impossible to brick, thanks to the easy availability of device-specific unbrick packages. The low-level flashing utility (internally known as “MsmDownloadTool”) is quite a better and substantially less time consuming alternative than having to send your device to OnePlus or send it to a repair shop. And now, much like older devices from the company, OnePlus’ official unbrick tool for the OnePlus Nord N10 5G has been popped up in our forums.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G Forums

XDA Senior Member Some_Random_Username has provided a very well laid out guide on how to make use of the flashing tool yourself. Under the hood, the flasher utilizes the Emergency Download Mode (EDL) of the Qualcomm SoC for restoring the stock firmware. You will need to have a PC running Microsoft Windows 7 or newer, as the unbrick package isn’t compatible with Linux and macOS. In case your phone doesn’t show up in the tool, then you’ll need to download and install a compatible Qualcomm driver from Microsoft update server as well.

Download MsmDownloadTool for the OnePlus Nord N10 5G

If your OnePlus Nord N10 5G is already bricked, connecting the device to a USB port on your computer should expose it as “QDLOADER 9008” (or “QHUSB_BULK”, if the driver isn’t properly installed) under Device Manager. To manually trigger EDL mode, hold down both volume up and volume down buttons, and plug the phone into your PC.

Apart from unbricking, the tool might also be used to roll back to a previous version of OxygenOS, which can really come in handy if an update is plagued with critical bugs. However, cross-flashing regional builds is no longer possible via EDL on the OnePlus Nord N10 5G, since the low-level firmware is now tied to the internal device region ID.

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10 new skills to learn in the new year — and cut-price courses to help

If you would like to try new things or earn more in 2021, now is a good time to start picking up valuable skills. Here are some ideas, along with expert training to help you get a head start — now with up to 98% off at the XDA Developers Depot.

Whizlabs Online Certifications: Lifetime Membership

Big data, cloud computing, digital marketing — these skills are hugely in demand right now. You can master them all and much more with Whizlabs, a huge online training library used by the likes of Accenture and Bloomberg.

Get Whizlabs lifetime membership for $129.99 (reg. $4,499), a saving of 97%.  

The Wall Street Survival & Stock Trading Guide Bundle

If you want to grow your wealth, learning how to trade stocks and assets is a smart move. This 13-hour guide helps you master the fundamentals, with eight in-depth courses from full-time day trader and investor, Travi Rose.

Get the Wall Street Survival & Stock Trading Guide Bundle for $29.99 (reg. $1,600), a saving of 98%. 

The 2021 All-In-One AWS, Cisco & CompTIA Super Certification Bundle

From server engineering to cybersecurity, there are many valuable skills to be learned in IT. This huge collection of courses offers 240 hours of training, working toward top certifications — including AWS, CompTIA, Cisco, Google, and more.

Get the 2021 All-In-One AWS, Cisco & CompTIA Super Certification Bundle for $99 (reg. $4,378), a saving of 97%. 

The Ultimate Raspberry Pi & ROS Robotics Developer Super Bundle

Want to learn more about electronics and robotics? Feature 15 courses, this bundle provides a great education. Along the way, you learn how to build and code connected devices using a Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and other boards.

Get the Ultimate Raspberry Pi & ROS Robotics Developer Super Bundle for $49.99 (reg. $2,391), a saving of 97%.

The 2021 Complete Microsoft Azure Certification Prep Bundle

As mentioned above, cloud computing is a huge area of growth right now as companies move their daily operations online. Through 42 hours of content, this bundle helps you master one of the most popular platforms and pass official certification exams.

Get the 2021 Complete Microsoft Azure Certification Prep Bundle for $34.99 (reg. $1,194), a saving of 97%. 

The 2021 Ultimate Digital Marketing Super Bundle

Knowing how to build a brand is a really important skill — whether you want to start your own business or work for someone else. This bundle shows you how, with 22 hours of knowledge on advertising, SEO, branding, email, social media, and more.

Get the 2021 Ultimate Digital Marketing Super Bundle for $34.99 (reg. $2,200), a saving of 98%.  

The Complete Cryptocurrency Professional Trading Bundle

Investing in cryptocurrency is a great way to earn passive income. To make sure you come away with profits, this bundle walks you through the technology and key strategies used by successful traders. It includes 22 hours of content in total.

Get the Complete Cryptocurrency Professional Trading Bundle for $29.99 (reg. $1,194), a saving of 97%.

The Ultimate 2021 Web Developer & Designer Super Bundle

If you want to create your own online startup or become a full-time web developer, this bundle provides 39 hours of essential coaching. Along the way, you discover how to craft amazing websites, apps, and games using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other tools.

Get the Ultimate 2021 Web Developer & Designer Super Bundle for $34.99 (reg. $1,886), a saving of 98%. 

The Productivity & Motivation Master Class Bundle

Sometimes, all we need to reach our goals is a little motivation and focus. This bundle helps you become more productive, with nine hours of instruction on productivity techniques, project management, leadership, and more.

Get the Productivity & Motivation Master Class Bundle for $34.99 (reg. $1,393), a saving of 97%. 

The Ultimate Cybersecurity & IT Career Certification Pathway Training Bundle

By the end of next year, industry experts predict a shortfall of 3.5 million cybersecurity professionals. This bundle helps you take advantage of the gold rush, with 169 hours of content preparing you for top IT exams — including CompTIA Security+ and Cisco CCNA.

Get the Ultimate Cybersecurity & IT Career Certification Pathway Training Bundle for $34.99 (reg. $1,592), a saving of 97%. 

Prices subject to change 

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Sony PlayStation 5 finally launches in India in February 2021, pre-order date announced

Just yesterday, we talked about how Sony managed to neglect the entire market of India when it came to officially launching its newest gaming console, the Sony PlayStation 5 (or PS5, in short). The situation came after months of tight-lipped silence from Sony, with no information being provided for launch or for pre-orders. With the new year coming in, Sony is giving Indian fans a reason to cheer: the PlayStation 5 is finally launching in India.

pic.twitter.com/3U2p5o21Em

— PlayStation India (@PlayStationIN) January 1, 2021

The Sony PlayStation 5 will officially be launched in India on February 2, 2021. Pre-orders for the gaming console will begin from Noon, January 12, 2021. You will be able to pre-order the console (until stock lasts, as Sony mentions explicitly in its announcement) from Amazon, Flipkart, Croma, Reliance Digital, Games The Shop, Shop at Sony Center, Vijay Sales, and select other authorized retail partners.

To recap, here are all the official prices:

• PlayStation 5: ₹49,990
• PlayStation 5 Digital Edition: ₹39,990
• DualSense Wireless Controller: ₹5,990
• DualSense Charging Station: ₹2,590
• HD Camera: ₹5,190
• Pulse 3D Wireless Headset: ₹8,590
• Media Remote: ₹2,590
• Some notable games:
  • Demon’s Soul: ₹4,999
  • Destruction Allstars: ₹4,999
  • Marvel Spiderman Miles Morales: Ultimate Edition: ₹4,999
  • Sackboy, a Big Adventure: ₹3,999
  • Marvel Spiderman: Miles Morales: ₹3,999

While this news is definitely the right way to start off the New Year for Indian fans, we can’t help but think of the practical stock situation. The next-gen consoles and gaming cards, including the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3070, RTX 3080, RTX 3090, and the AMD Radeon RX 6800, RX 6800XT, RX 6900 — have all faced stocking issues throughout the world, with immediate demand far exceeding short term supply. While the situation should definitely improve a few weeks down the line, especially since we are now past the holiday and gifting season, but you should still keep your expectations grounded.

We hope Sony brings in enough stock of the PlayStation 5 to India, and customers have a smooth experience when the console becomes available.

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TWRP 3.5.0 released with support for devices that launched with Android 10

One of the most common reasons that users come to our forums is to flash custom mods, kernels, or ROMs. But none of these aftermarket development efforts are feasible without having the means to install them. That’s where the incredibly popular Team Win Recovery Project, or TWRP for short, comes in. Available on a plethora of Android-powered devices, TWRP has been the go-to custom recovery for anyone looking to modify the software on their device. And now, the project has been bumped to version 3.5.0, bringing many improvements in decryption, bug fixes, and support with devices that launched with Android 10.

The full changelog for the new major version of TWRP can be found below, but for regular users and developers, the most important change will be Android 10 compatibility. Till TWRP 3.4.0, support for dynamic/logical partitions and many other changes introduced in AOSP 10 hadn’t been fully implemented. Most of the limitations are no longer present in TWRP 3.5.0, which means devices that are released with Android 10 out of the box can finally install official TWRP builds when available. XDA Recognized Developer Captain_Throwback worked with XDA Recognized Developer mauronofrio, XDA Senior Member noahajac, and AndroidableDroid to make this possible by rewriting a significant portion of the TWRP codebase from scratch.

Going forward, TWRP maintainers will be presented with two separate branches while porting the custom recovery: Devices that are released with Android 10 will be supported under the android-10 branch, while legacy devices will be built out of the android-9.0 branch. Moreover, two lead TWRP team members, XDA Senior Recognized Developer Dees_Troy and bigbiff, are already working on an Android 11 release, with the Google Pixel 5 bring up slated for the near future.

Here’s the full changelog for the update:

TWRP 3.5.0 Changelog

• Android 9
  • Fix building in android-5.1 trees – CaptainThrowback
  • New QTI Haptics Support – AndroidableDroid
  • New TSPDriver Haptics Support – LameMonster82
  • Selinux restore issues – AndroidableDroid
  • OEM build fixes – Fighter19
  • More file extension support in Gui file selector – Mauronofrio
  • FBE Fixes – CaptainThrowback
  • Ozip Decryption – Mauronofrio
  • Don’t use persist for recovery logs – bigbiff
  • Delay touch startup if necessary – bigbiff
  • Spanish translation Updates – R0rt1z2
  • Fix cache wiping on Slot A only devices – AndroidableDroid
  • Exclude dumpsys directory from backups – DarthJabba9
  • Gerrman translation Updates – 4ndyZ
  • HW Rotation during runtime (does not affect touch panel) – webgeek1234
  • API 24 fixes – AndroidableDroid
  • vold_decrypt error on unmount – CaptainThrowback
  • Multiuser – warn when users are not decrypted – noahajac
  • FDE encryption fixes – CaptainThrowback
  • Crypto state fixes – nebrassy
  • Chinese translation Updates – Whyle
  • Theme updates to match android-10 release: CaptainThrowback
  • Move TWRP App install to Advanced page – Dees_Troy
  • Update Russian Translation – f2065
• Android 10
  • You can see the list of changes at Github

You can download the latest build of the custom recovery for your device from the official website linked below. For now, version 3.5.0 will be built for only Android 9 Pie and Android 10-based devices, so if your device is currently being maintained, then you should see an update in a few hours or days. Be sure to check the XDA forum for your device as the TWRP maintainer for your device may post updates when the build goes live.

Download TWRP for your device

In case you want to download the latest version of TWRP right from your device, you should check out the official TWRP app from Google Play.

Official TWRP App (Free⁺, Google Play) →

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Brighten up your living room with a new Hisense 4K TV, currently on sale at Best Buy

I have a story for you all. TVs are a big-ticket item during Black Friday sales, and of course, I covered a lot of TV sets. I didn’t look for one myself, though, as even if my TV was older, it was still going strong. Wouldn’t you know it, shortly after the big rush, one of my two HDMI connections started acting up, which is a big problem because the Chromecast with Google TV doesn’t play well with an HDMI splitter.

So suddenly, after the holiday season, I’m in the market for a new TV. Thankfully, Best Buy is closing out 2020 with a Smart TV sale! All sorts of different brands and sizes are on sale, but the ones that caught my eye are the Hisense 4k TVs. The most impressive deal of the Hisense bunch is probably the 70-inch H65. It’s a large 4K UHD TV with Android TV with 3 HDMI ports. A 60Hz refresh rate isn’t always ideal for gaming, but I mean… it’s a 70-inch 4k TV for just $530. You can’t really beat it!

Hisense 70-inch H65 4K TV

Looking for a big TV upgrade? The Hisense 70-inch H65 4K TV is on sale for just $530! With Android TV included, you'll have all your entertainment in one place.

$530 at Best Buy

For me, though, 70-inches is a bit too big for my room, which is on the small side. I’m not able to sit too far away from the TV, so a 70-inch Hisense 4K TV model could make me motion sick unintentionally because I’m too close. In that case, the 50-inch H6510G 4K TV would suit me better. This model effectively has the same specs as the 7-inch Hisense 4K TV, with Android TV and 3 HDMI ports, but it’s on sale for $280. That’s an extremely affordable price!

Hisense 50-inch H6510G 4K TV

Looking for a not-so-big TV upgrade? The Hisense 5-inch 4K TV is also on sale! With Android TV included, you'll have all your entertainment in one place.

$280 at Best Buy

These Hisense 4K TVs aren’t the only two TVs that are on sale, though, and Hisense isn’t the only brand on sale either! Check out Best Buy’s Smart TV sale page and see what all is on offer–who knows if this deal will continue in the new year!

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