OnePlus has rolled out several software updates to its latest affordable flagship — OnePlus Nord 2 — since its launch last month. The first post-launch update optimized the auto-brightness mode, added an Ultra Resolution mode, improved app performance, and optimized network performance. The subsequent updates focused on tweaking the camera performance and fixing user-reported bugs. Now, the OnePlus Nord 2 is picking up another software update that further fine-tunes the overall software experience.
OxygenOS 11.3.A.10 is rolling out to the OnePlus Nord 2. The latest update includes battery optimizations for PUBG and other titles. If you experienced unusually high battery drain while playing PUBG or other games, you should see some improvements after updating to OxygenOS 11.3.A.10. Elsewhere, the face unlock bug has been fixed, the camera app stability has been further improved, and the security patch level has been bumped to August 2021.
OxygenOS 11.3.A.10 weighs 245MB and brings the following changes:
System
Improve system stability
Optimized PUBG and other mobile games to reduce system power consumption
Fixed the issue that face unlock may fail in some scenes
Updated Android security patch to 2021.08
Camera
Improve app stability
OxygenOS 11.3.A.10 has started seeding to the OnePlus Nord 2 units in India. You can check for the update by heading to Settings > System > System Updates. As with every OxygenOS rollout, the new update is being rolled out in batches, so it’ll take some time before it reaches every unit. If you don’t want to wait, you can download the incremental OTA package from the download section below and install the update manually.
During the launch of the Galaxy S21 series earlier this year, Samsung announced support for the S Pen on the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Samsung also announced it would be launching an S Pen Pro later this year that would bring additional functionality to the S Pen. After not hearing about it in months, Samsung finally launched the S Pen Pro alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 at its Unpacked event. Since the Note line-up has now been officially discontinued, the S Pen Pro can be a great accessory for people who take notes or sketch on their device. If you’re one of them and are planning to pick up the new S Pen Pro, here’s everything you need to know about it.
S Pen Pro: Price
The Samsung S Pen Pro is a universal tool that can be used across multiple devices and comes with some nifty features that make it pricier than the regular S Pen that Samsung offers. The S Pen Pro will be available to purchase for a price of $99. While it’s higher compared to the normal S Pen, you get additional features that can make it worth it depending on your kind of usage and requirements.
Release Date
The S Pen Pro, just like most products announced at the Unpacked event will go on sale starting August 27th. This is several months after Samsung first revealed the S Pen Pro. If you’ve been waiting all this time to pick one up, it’s finally time to do so.
S Pen Pro: Specs and Features
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 has a separate Wacom layer underneath the screen that allows users to use a universal stylus like the S Pen Pro (though there are good reasons why you should stick with Fold-compatible styluses with the Fold). The keyword here for the purposes of the S Pen Pro is a universal stylus.
The S Pen Pro is going to be compatible not only with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 but also with other Samsung devices that have a special digitizer on the display that supports stylus input. This includes the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+, Galaxy Book, and future Galaxy devices as well. The S Pen Pro can operate at two different frequencies which makes it compatible with older as well as newer devices. The conventional S Pen from the Note series operates at a different frequency which is unsupported by newer devices like the Z Fold 3.
The S Pen Pro has a 0.7mm precision tip with 4,096 pressure points. Artists and graphic designers will appreciate this fact since more pressure points mean better precision and control while using the S Pen Pro. The stylus has been designed in a way that it can be used on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 without damaging the screen, as the tip will retract back into the casing of the device if you apply too much pressure.
Unlike the older S Pen that Samsung launched with the Galaxy S21 Ultra or the S Pen Fold Edition, the Pro has Bluetooth connectivity. It connects to your phone and gives you extra controls along with features like on-screen gestures, air gestures, and even the ability to connect to multiple devices at once and switch between them seamlessly. There’s also onboard memory on the stylus which will allow you to copy something on one device and paste it on another device. This is something that will surely improve your workflow. The S Pen Pro charges via a USB-C port, so you can just use the cable that came with the phone/tablet to charge the stylus as well.
Size and Weight
The S Pen we’ve been seeing through the years with the Note series has been relatively small and could easily fit into the body of the phone itself. While the S Pen Fold Edition is similar to that, without the ability to be stored inside the phone, of course, the S Pen Pro is considerably larger. It resembles a typical writing instrument like a pen and is not really meant to be stored along with the phone.
The S Pen Pro weighs in at 14g compared to the 8g on the Fold Edition stylus. Samsung will also sell a case that can house the S Pen Fold Edition but there’s nothing like that for the Pro version since it’s bigger. It can however magnetically attach to some devices.
S Pen Pro: Compatible Devices
The S Pen Pro is compatible with a host of devices from Samsung including some older smartphones, tablets, and notebooks.
List of devices from Samsung that are compatible with the S Pen Pro. Click to expand
Here’s a list of compatible devices:
Galaxy Z Fold 3
Galaxy S21 Ultra
Galaxy Note series
Galaxy Tab S7 FE
Galaxy Tab S7/7+
Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
Galaxy Tab S6
Galaxy Tab S4
Galaxy Tab S3
Galaxy Tab Active Pro
Galaxy Tab Active 3
Galaxy Tab Active 2
Galaxy Tab Active
Galaxy Tab A 8.0 2019 with S Pen
Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2016 with S Pen
Galaxy Tab A 9.7 with S Pen
Galaxy Tab A 8.0 2015 with S Pen
Galaxy Note Pro – 12.2
Galaxy Note 8.0
Galaxy Note 10.1 2012/2014
Galaxy Book Pro 360
Galaxy Book Flex 2
Galaxy Book Flex S Pen
Galaxy Book Flex 5G
Galaxy Book Flex α S Pen
Galaxy Book 10.6
Galaxy Book 12.0
Chromebook Plus V2
Chromebook Pro
Notebook 7 spin
Notebook S51 Pen
Notebook 9 Pen
Notebook 9 Pro
The top portion of the S Pen Pro has a mechanical switch that lets you toggle between two different modes or frequencies. The first mode is the Fold mode where the S Pen Pro switches to a certain frequency that’s required to use it on the Galaxy Z Fold 3. It also makes the tip retractable so it’s softer on the display. The other mode is used for all other devices mentioned above that support the stylus.
If you’re a digital artist or take down a lot of notes, and you own a Galaxy Tab/Book from Samsung that supports the S Pen Pro and you’re also getting the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the S Pen Pro might prove to be beneficial to you. If you’re just going to be getting the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and don’t have any of the other devices, the Pro version might be overkill for you and you should be just fine with a standard Fold version S Pen.
The latest version of Xiaomi’s custom Android skin – MIUI 12.5 – is finally here. The first incremental update over MIUI 12 has been unveiled at the Mi 11 launch event in China. Compared to MIUI 12, the stable version of which was released less than six months ago, MIUI 12.5 brings in a slew of improvements, visual overhauls, and a handful of new features. We have already extracted the new live wallpapers, and now we are presenting the downloading links of the first set of MIUI 12.5 beta firmware packages for a bunch of Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO devices.
It is worth mentioning that these closed beta builds are meant for the Chinese variants, as Xiaomi suspended the rollout of MIUI global beta last year. As a consequence, you have to flash these recovery ROMs using TWRP to bypass the MIUI beta account whitelisting. Do not expect Google Play Services or any pre-installed Google apps in them. Language options are likely limited to English and Chinese only, too.
The beta MIUI 12.5 builds listed below are based on either Android 10 or Android 11, depending on the device. If you are looking for MIUI 12 stable releases, you can find those here.
Download MIUI 12.5 Closed Beta
You can download the latest beta of MIUI 12.5 for your device from the links below. You can also visit our linked forums in case you need further assistance. While all of these download links are directly from Xiaomi, users are advised to proceed at their own risk. We warn you once again, this is not intended for the average consumer and is recommended only for users comfortable with flashing ROMs.
OnePlus is rolling out a new software update to the OnePlus 7, OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlu 7T, and OnePlus 7T Pro. The latest update, OxygenOS 11.0.3.1, finally brings the much-awaited Bitmoji AOD feature to the OnePlus 7 family along with the most recent security patch level.
One of the most notable changes in the new update is Bitmoji AOD, which is already available on the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 8 series. After updating to OxygenOS 11.0.3.1, OnePlus 7 series owners can find the Bitmoji AOD feature under Settings > Customization > Clock on ambient display > Bitmoji. The new update also adds the ability to take a screenshot of Alway-on Display, optimizes NFC stability, and bumps the Android security patch level to August 2021.
Screenshot courtesy: OnePlus forum member Rupankar13
OxygenOS 11.0.3.1 brings the following changes for the OnePlus 7 family:
System
Optimized the stability of NFC feature
Upgraded Android Security Patch to 2021.08
Ambient Display
Newly added the screenshot feature for ambient display
Newly added Bitmoji clock, co-designed with Snapchat, which will liven up the ambient display with your personal Bitmoji avatar. Your avatar will update throughout the day based on your activity and things happening around you ( Path: Settings – Customization – Clock on ambient display – Bitmoji )
OnePlus Store
An intuitive and convenient way to manage your OnePlus account, get easy-to-access support, discover exciting members-only benefits, and shop for OnePlus products. (Please note that it can be uninstalled)
OxygenOS 11.0.3.1 has already started rolling out to the OnePlus 7 series. You can either patiently wait for the automatic OTA rollout to hit your device or go ahead and download the update package corresponding to your model from the links provided below.
MIUI 12 is the newest big release for Xiaomi smartphones, perhaps even bigger than an Android version jump. Features on Xiaomi devices are dictated more by their MIUI versions than the underlying Android version, so a MIUI version upgrade is an exciting event. This article will serve as the central repository of download links for all Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO devices that have received their official MIUI 12 stable updates. We’ll update it regularly with fresh builds!
MIUI 12 brings along a cleaner UI, new animations, changes to navigation gestures, new live wallpapers, and AOD designs, privacy indicators for the microphone, camera, and location usage, improvements to multi-window, and Picture-in-Picture, an in-built sleep tracker, and many morechanges throughoutthe UX!
This article covers devices that have received a stable MIUI 12 update in any region. If you are looking for closed betas, you can follow along our dedicated coverage here:
Generic flashing instructions are available at the bottom of this article. However, we advise users to refer to the device forums for specific flashing instructions for their device, in case there are any variations or special instructions that need to be followed.
Another important point to note: Xiaomi follows only a thin distinction between “beta stable” update and “stable” updates. Beta stable updates are only intended for users enrolled within the Mi Pilot beta testing program, meaning that builds assigned for this group will not install on devices with Mi Accounts that do not have the requisite permission. Once the Mi Pilot beta testers give positive feedback, the same build then gets opened up as a stable release, creating a lot of confusion — for instance, the same builds linked below might first fail to install, but then they will make an appearance through the official OTA. If you get the error message that the update is for closed beta testers only, you can sideload the update through TWRP.
MIUI 12: Download Links
Download links to MIUI 12 stable and beta stable releases are included below. These builds are first sorted with device codenames, and then according to their regions and release. Recovery ROMs and Fastboot ROMs are both included, wherever present.
Note: The MIUI 12 update for this device is unstable and contains bugs. It is not recommended for average users. Please only install it if you are fine with bugs and instability.
Note: The MIUI 12 update for this device is unstable and contains bugs. It is not recommended for average users. Please only install it if you are fine with bugs and instability.
Note that these are generic flashing instructions that should generally be applicable across Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO devices. However, there is a possibility that there is a variation that is unique to your device, so we strongly advise visiting your device forums for device-specific instructions.
