WhatsApp tests redesigned Storage Usage section in latest beta release

Facebook-owned popular messaging app WhatsApp has been testing a host of new features over the last couple of months. Previous beta releases of the app have shed light on some of these features, including multi-device access, search by date, better storage usage tools, expiring messages, a “Mute Always” option for chats, and more. Recently, we talked about another upcoming feature, called “Expiring Media”, which would allow users to send self-destructing images, videos, and GIFs on the platform. While most of these features are yet to make their way to the stable channel, WhatsApp has now started testing a redesigned Storage Usage section in the latest beta release.

As per a recent report from WABetaInfo, WhatsApp has started rolling out v2.20.201.9 of the app on the beta channel. The update introduces a redesigned UI for the Storage Usage section of the app, which builds upon the changes that were spotted in a previous release. As you can see in the attached screenshot, the new UI features a bar at the top to show current storage usage.

Right beneath the bar, there’s a ‘Suggested clean up’ section that shows forwarded files and large files that can be removed to save some space. And underneath that, the section shows a list of all the chats that are occupying the most storage space on your device. This section also has a search button that you can use to quickly search for chats that you wish to delete.

The redesigned Storage Usage section in WhatsApp is a significant improvement over the current design, which just shows a list of all your chats along with the storage space occupied by each chat. As mentioned earlier, the new Storage Usage UI is rolling out with WhatsApp v2.20.201.9 on the beta channel. However, it isn’t available for all users at the moment. This leads us to believe that the redesigned UI isn’t quite ready for primetime and it might be a while before WhatsApp rolls it out to the stable channel.

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Source: WABetaInfo

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Paranoid Android Quartz 5 adds support for the Xiaomi Mi A3 and Mi 6X, adds DC Dimming and other features

Over the last couple of months, the Paranoid Android team has released a couple of Android 10-based builds of the popular custom ROM. With each new build, the team has added new features to the custom ROM and extended support to more devices. With the Quartz 4 release last month, the team added support for nine new devices and introduced features like a system-wide App Locker, internal audio screen record support, and more. Now, the team has released the fifth and final Android 10-based build with support for more devices and a couple of new features.

As per a recent post on the team’s blog, Paranoid Android Quartz 5 is now rolling out for all supported devices, and it includes the following improvements and features:

• September security patchset
• App Locker version 1.1: more customization options
• DC Dimming
• Lockscreen SmartSpace
• Ringer Mode Gestures: replicates the feature set offered by the alert slider on OnePlus devices
• New FOD icon and animation
• Permissions Hub

Along with the features mentioned above, the Paranoid Android Quartz 5 release also includes a few device-specific changes that can be found in the second post of their respective XDA threads. Furthermore, the latest build brings support for two more devices — Xiaomi Mi 6X and Xiaomi Mi A3. The OTA update for the latest Paranoid Android Quartz build should start rolling out to devices running Quartz 4 in the coming days.

Download Paranoid Android Quartz 5

If you’re interested in trying out Paranoid Android Quartz 5 on your device, you can head over to your device’s XDA forums thread from the links below. Follow the instructions given in the post to install the build on your device.

• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2 (XDA Forums)
• ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 (XDA Forums)
• Essential Phone (XDA Forums)
• OnePlus 7 Pro (XDA Forums)
• OnePlus 6 (XDA Forums) and 6T (XDA Forums)
• OnePlus 3 and 3T (XDA Forums: 3, 3T)
• OnePlus 5 and 5T (XDA Forums: 5, 5T)
• OnePlus 7T Pro (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Redmi 5 (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Mi 8 (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro/Redmi K20 Pro (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 8/8T (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Redmi 3S (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Redmi 4A (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and Note 5 Pro (XDA Forums: Note 5, Note 5 Pro)
• Xiaomi Mi A2 (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro (XDA Forums)
• Pocophone F1 (XDA Forums)
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Mi 9 (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Mi 9T / Redmi K20 (XDA Forums)
• Redmi 5 (XDA Forums)
• Redmi 7/Y3 (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Mi A3 (XDA Forums)
• Xiaomi Mi 6X (XDA Forums)

Note: All the aforementioned builds have Google apps included, so you don’t need to flash a separate ZIP file to get the Google Play Store after installing the ROM. However, if you’re a Galaxy Note 3 user, you will have to flash a separate Gapps package to get Google apps on your device.

As mentioned earlier, Paranoid Android Quartz 5 is the final Android 10-based build of the custom ROM. The team is stopping feature and platform development for the Quartz build to shift focus to the Android 11-based release, which will be called Paranoid Android Ruby. We expect to see the first Paranoid Android Ruby Alpha builds for select devices in the next few months.

It’s also worth noting that the Paranoid Android team had been working to release the Quartz build to a few more devices, including the OnePlus One, Sony Xperia XZ2, XZ2 Dual, Xperia XZ2 Compact, XZ2 Compact Dual, Xperia XZ3, XZ3 Dual, Google Nexus 6P, OnePlus 7, and the OnePlus 7T. But since the team has now halted platform development for the Quartz build, these devices may not receive support anytime soon.

If you’re interested in helping the Paranoid Android team with development, you can reach out to herna@paranoidandroid.co. To stay up-to-date about the custom ROM and new releases, you should consider following the team on Twitter.

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Xiaomi Mi Box 3 finally receives its stable Android Pie update

Xiaomi rolled out the long-overdue Android 9 Pie beta update for the Mi Box 3 earlier this year in August. The update, which measured in at just 620MB, brought Android Pie to the Android TV box and introduced support for the Mi Remote app. Now, Xiaomi is finally releasing a stable version of the update to the Mi Box 3, which brings Android TV 9.0 and support for the Mi Remote app to the stable channel.

The Mi Box 3 (codename once) stable Android Pie update measures in at 650MB and it includes the Android security patches for July 2020. With the update, Xiaomi has added a couple of new features to the Android TV box, including a new settings layout, a new power menu that can be accessed by pressing and holding the power button, a less intrusive volume interface, preinstalled Amazon Prime Video app, a Mi Box recommends section in the app drawer, a shortcut for the Google Play Store, and more.

As per a Reddit thread on the matter, the update has started rolling out to Mi Box 3 users worldwide and it should be available on your device. In case you haven’t received the update notification yet, you can manually download the update package from the link below. Do note that the Android Pie build (build number 2604) for the Mi Box 3 is the same as the build for the Mi Box S (codename oneday) that was released earlier this year in April. Therefore, it also includes all of the bug fixes that were previously released for the Mi Box S.

The Mi Box 3 packs in a quad-core Amlogic SoC, Mali 450 GPU, and 2GB of RAM. It supports 4K video playback at 60fps and Dolby Digital Plus audio.

Download Android 9 Pie for the Mi Box 3

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Thanks to XDA Recognized Developer yshalsager for the tip and download link!

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Samsung teases a new Good Lock module called Keys Cafe to customize the Samsung Keyboard app

Samsung’s Good Lock suite of customization tools recently received two exciting new modules — Pentastic and Wonderland. In case you missed our coverage of these modules, the new Pentastic module lets you theme the S Pen experience on your Samsung device and the Wonderland module lets you create live wallpapers from any still image of your choice. Now, Samsung is teasing yet another Good Lock module, called Keys Cafe, that will let you personalize the Samsung Keyboard app.

As per a recent press release from the company, the upcoming Keys Cafe module will let you customize the Samsung Keyboard app as per your preference. It will include support for keyboard height and width adjustment, key layout repositioning options, a wide range of themes to customize the look of the keyboard app, and dynamic effects that will bring your keyboard to life.

Additionally, the Keys Cafe module will come with a gamification feature that aims to help you minimize typos by turning typing into a game. The feature will give you a score and ranking based on your performance, which is expected to help you improve your typing accuracy over time. The Keys Cafe module will be available on Samsung devices running One UI 2.1 and above starting next month. In order to use the module, you’ll also need to update the Samsung Keyboard app to version 5.1.05.

Along with the upcoming Key Cafe module, Samsung has announced an update for the Home Up module. The update will introduce a new Share Manager feature that will let you hide specific share commands from the sharing window, manage your Direct Share contacts, and select the apps you want to see in the sharing window. The new Share Manager feature will soon be available on devices running One UI 2.5 and above.

Furthermore, Samsung is pushing an update for the MultiStar module with a new I ♡ Galaxy Tablet feature. The feature includes a Wireless Keyboard Share option that lets you connect your tablet’s physical keyboard with your Galaxy smartphone for a better typing experience. It also lets you quickly switch between the two devices at the tap of a button. This update has already started rolling out to Galaxy tablet users and it’s supported on tablets running One UI 2.5.

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Source: Samsung Newsroom

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Vivo beats Google to launching the first phone with Android 11

In a little over 12 hours from now, Google will announce the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 at its Launch Night In event. Thanks to numerous leaks, we pretty much know everything there is to know about the two phones, including the fact that they’ll both launch with the latest version of Android, Android 11, out of the box. An update to Android 11 was released for existing Pixel devices on September 8th, and we’ve seen numerous OEMs release beta updates for their own devices. But so far, no one has launched a new smartphone with the latest version out of the box. We all thought that Google would be the first one to do so, but Chinese smartphone brand Vivo has beaten them to the punch with the launch of the new Vivo V20.

In a press release, Vivo says its new V20 series “will run on the recently-launched Android 11 operating system,” which sure sounds like the 3 devices will run on the latest OS version. However, the press release also mentions that the company “has a plan to equip V20 series with Android 11 in succession” depending “on market conditions.” That’s rather vague, and left us to wonder if the Vivo V20 SE, V20, and V20 Pro really will run Android 11. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen companies mention the latest OS version as a marketing tactic—HMD Global says its new Nokia 2.4 and Nokia 3.4 are “Android 11-ready,” which just means they’ll receive the actual Android 11 update whenever the company is ready to roll it out. Interestingly, the product pages for the Vivo V20 SE and V20 Pro state the two devices are running Funtouch OS 11 based on Android 10, while the product page for the Vivo V20 says it’s running Funtouch OS 11 based on Android 11.

Thankfully, it’s easy for us to confirm that the regular Vivo V20 is, in fact, running the latest Android version. The phone has already reached the hands of Indonesian YouTubers like GadgetIn, who published an unboxing of the new phone. In the video, he goes through the settings menu and shows that the device is running Android Version 11 and has the new Easter egg.

Vivo V20 running Funtouch OS 11 based on Android 11. Source: GadgetIn.

His video also confirms that the device’s model name is “V2025.” I cross-referenced that with the Google Play Console’s Device Catalog and confirmed that the device’s SDK level is indeed listed as “30” for Android 11. In fact, the Vivo V20 is the only device on the catalog to have its SDK version listed as “30” and nothing else, confirming it’s the first phone to launch with the latest Android version. All the other phones on the catalog that support SDK level 30 either upgraded to Android 11 (like the current crop of Pixel phones and the ADT-3) or are currently in beta (like the OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, and Xiaomi phones that are listed).

As for why this matters, well, there are two reasons. First, the fact that an OEM managed to beat Google to launching a phone with Android 11 is impressive considering how slow most OEMs usually are at releasing major OS updates. Second, the “shipping API level” of a phone is actually quite important to note, because it factors into how many OS updates the manufacturer is expected to deliver. When most OEMs promise “2 years” of OS upgrades, they really mean “2 letter upgrades” or “2 generations of updates.”Thus, a phone launching with Android 10 can expect to get an update to Android 11 and Android 12, while a phone launching with Android 11 can expect to get an update to Android 12 and Android 13. We’re not sure how long Vivo plans on supporting the new Vivo V20, but it’s definitely promising that the phone has launched with the latest OS version.

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Google Messages app tests categorizing your conversations to reduce text message clutter

Google is testing a long-awaited feature in its popular Messages app. The feature, which our tipster Hani Mohamed Bioud first discovered, adds categories at the top of the app, allowing users to better organize their messages.

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by the developers in a future build.

From what we can tell, the categories that are being tested in the Google Messages app include: All, Personal, Transactions, OTP, Offers, and More. There are other apps like Microsoft’s SMS Organizer that can do this already, but it’s nice to see this feature integrated into Google’s Messages app.

While we were able to manually surface the categories at the top, we weren’t able to get it working completely. Conversations weren’t moved to any of the categories automatically, and we are unable to manually move a conversation into one of the tabs. When the feature is functional, we expect Messages to automatically categorize conversations, much like Gmail does for email.

The hope is to seemingly provide users with a more organized experience, thus making it easier to carry on conversations. Having a filter for one-time passwords (OTP) is particularly nice, because those can clutter up a messaging app quick. Speaking of which, we recently spotted evidence in the Messages app that Google will allow users to automatically delete OTPs after 24 hours.

From what we can tell, it doesn’t look like the categories are available to users just yet, either via an update or a server-side flag, and it’s unclear when it’ll be available to test out by a wider audience. But since we were able to surface its UI, it’s possible the rollout is just around the corner. Once it goes live to everyone, we’ll be sure to let you know, along with any changes we find.

Messages (Free, Google Play) →

Thanks to PNF Software for providing us a license to use JEB Decompiler, a professional-grade reverse engineering tool for Android applications.

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Google Phone app testing Caller ID announcement and auto-deleting Call Screen transcripts

Google is testing new features in its Google Phone app, the default dialer app on Pixel phones which recently became available for everyone. The new features that are in development include Caller ID announcements and auto-deleting Call Screen transcripts. While the features sound pretty self-explanatory, they’re still worthy of discussion. If anything, it’s always nice to hear about new features designed to improve the quality of life of users.

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by the developers in a future build.

When enabled, Caller ID announcement will announce the name or phone number of whoever is calling. Meanwhile, the new Call Screen option will allow the Phone app to automatically delete Call Screen transcripts and audio recordings after 30 days.

We were able to manually surface these two features in the Google Phone app, but the features are not available to users just yet, either via an update or a server-side flag. It’s unclear when they’ll be available to test out by a wider audience, but it’s possible they’ll go live alongside the launch of the Pixel 4a 5G and the Pixel 5 tomorrow.

These features aren’t monumental additions to the Google Phone app, but they are welcome tweaks nonetheless. When the features do officially become available, they’ll join a host of other new features that have been recently added to the Google Phone app, which is now available to non-Pixel devices. The Google Phone app is capable of detecting spam and fraud calls, recording calls (depending on the region), and even supports a convenient “Flip to Silence” feature. On Pixel phones, the app also supports the Call Screen feature to screen robocallers and other unknown callers.

Phone by Google - Caller ID & Spam Protection (Free, Google Play) →

Thanks to PNF Software for providing us a license to use JEB Decompiler, a professional-grade reverse engineering tool for Android applications.

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