Google Messages gets RCS support for everyone in Spain

Google has been taking RCS matters into its own hands as of late. After trying to work with OEMs and carriers to get greater support, Google started pushing RCS on its own last year. The Messages app got RCS support in the UK and France last summer and now Spain is joining the fun.

Everyone in Spain who uses Google’s Messages app should now have RCS. Google reached an agreement with carriers Orange, Másmóvil, Telefónica, and Vodafone to make RCS available to everyone in the country. As with the rollout in previous places, users only have to agree to enable “Chat” features when the pop-up appears.

RCS brings typing indicators, larger group chats, larger file transfers, chat over Wi-Fi, and more. It’s basically a much more modern version of SMS. You can tell if both people in a conversation are using RCS by the “Chat message” text in the edit box.

Messages (Free, Google Play) →

Source: Google | Via: Android Police

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HMD Global announces the Nokia 8.3 global 5G phone, Nokia 5.3, and the Nokia 1.3 budget phone

The technology world continues to march on and today HMD Global announced a slew of new phones. The headliner is the Nokia 8.3 5G, the company’s first 5G phone. It also announced the Nokia 5.3 and the budget Nokia 1.3 (also the Nokia 5310 feature phone if you’re into that sort of thing). Let’s take a look at these latest Nokia devices.

Nokia 8.3 5G

HMD Global is a little late to the 5G game, but that’s not a bad thing. The company says waiting has allowed it to support a wide range of 5G bands from the start. It’s calling the Nokia 8.3 5G the “first truly global 5G smartphone,” which means it should eventually support 5G roaming across more countries.

5G aside, the other big thing that HMD is touting is the cameras. The Nokia 8.3 5G has four cameras arranged in a circular array centered on the back. The main shooter is 64MP, while the others are a 12MP wide-angle, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth sensor. There is also a 24MP selfie camera on the front in a hole-punch.

HMD talked a lot about the video capabilities of the cameras, especially the wide-angle camera. It can shoot video in 4K and in 21:9 aspect ratio. The Nokia 8.3 5G can shoot video in log format (similar to shooting RAW photos), which is great for people who like to edit videos after the fact.

The Nokia 8.3 5G has a 6.81-inch FHD+ display and they’ve included an Iris display chip from Pixelworks. The “PureDisplay” has always-on HDR, enhanced picture quality, the ability to adjust brightness for ambient light, and “absolute color accuracy.”

Other specifications include the Snapdragon 765G SoC, 6/8GB of RAM, 64/128GB of storage, and a 4,500mAh battery. It has USB-C for charging, a headphone jack, a fingerprint scanner built into the power button, and NFC. It will ship with Android 10.

Nokia 8.3 5G Specifications

• 6.81-inch (1080 × 2400 pixels) Full HD+ 20:9 LCD screen with 120Hz refresh rate
• Octa Core (1 x 2.4GHz + 1 x 2.2GHz + 6 x 1.8GHz Kryo 475 CPUs) Snapdragon 765G 7nm EUV Mobile Platform with Adreno 620 GPU
• 6GB LPDDR4X RAM with 64GB storage, 8GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB storage, expandable memory with miroSD
• Android 10
• Single / Dual SIM
• 64MP rear camera with Dual LED flash, ZEISS Optics, 12MP ultra-wide angle lens, 2MP macro and 2MP depth sensor
• 24MP front-facing camera
• Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
• 3.5 mm headphone jack, FM radio receiver, OZO audio
• Dimensions: 171.90 x 78.56 x 8.99mm; Weight: 220g
• 5G SA/ NSA / Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, USB Type-C
• 4500mAh battery with 18W fast charging

Nokia 5.3

The Nokia 5.3 is a mid-range device and a follow-up to the Nokia 5.1. HMD has bumped it up from a single camera to a whopping four cameras: 13MP, 5MP wide-angle, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth sensor. That’s a lot of cameras for a phone in this category. There is an 8MP camera on the front in a waterdrop notch.

Some of the other specifications found in the Nokia 5.3 include a 6.55-inch HD+ display, Snapdragon 665 SoC, 3/4/6GB of RAM, 64/128GB of storage, and a 4,000mAh battery. It has USB-C for charging, a headphone jack, rear fingerprint scanner, and NFC. It will ship with Android 10.

Nokia 5.3 Specifications

• 6.55-inch (720 x 1600 pixels) HD+ 20:9 2.5D curved glass display
• Octa Core Snapdragon 665 11nm Mobile Platform (Quad 2GHz Kryo 260 + Quad 1.8GHz Kryo 260 CPUs) with Adreno 610 GPU
• 4GB / 6GB RAM, 64GB storage, expandable memory up to 512GB
• Android 10
• Dual SIM
• 13MP rear camera with f/1.8 aperture, LED flash, 5MP wide-angle camera , 2MP depth sensor and 2MP for macro
• 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture
• Fingerprint sensor
• 3.5 mm audio jack, FM Radio
• Dimensions: 164.3 x 76.6 x 8.5mm; Weight: 185g
• Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
• 4000mAh with 10W charging

Nokia 1.3

Lastly, the company announced the budget-friendly Nokia 1.3. This device has a 5.71-inch display, the Snapdragon 250 SoC, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a removable 3,000mAh battery. As you can tell from the specifications, this is an extremely low-end device. I can’t remember the last time I saw a phone with only 1GB of RAM.

The Nokia 1.3 has a single 8MP camera on the back and a 5MP camera up front. The one interesting thing about this device is the inclusion of Google’s new “Camera Go” app. This means the Nokia 1.3 can take advantage of Google’s photography algorithms and features like Portrait Mode. It applies the depth-of-field effect only using software and suggests ways to clear up space when storage is low.

Other specifications include microUSB for charging, a headphone jack, Google Assistant button, and no NFC. The Nokia 1.3 runs Android 10 Go Edition and HMD Global’s Juho Sarvikas says it will get Android 11 Go and Android 12 Go.

Nokia 1.3 Specifications

• 5.7-inch (1520 x 720 pixels) HD+ 19:9 display
• 1.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 215 Mobile Platform with Adreno 308 GPU
• 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD
• Android 10 (Go Edition)
• Single / Dual SIM
• 8MP rear camera with LED flash
• 5MP front camera
• 3.5mm jack, FM Radio, Google Assistant Button
• Dimensions: 147.3 x 71.2 x 9.35mm; Weight: 155g
• 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, micro USB
• 3000mAh removable battery with 5w charging

Pricing & Availability

The Nokia 8.3 5G is expected to go on sale this summer. It will retail for €599 (~ $650) for 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, or €649 (~ $695) for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It will be available in “Polar Night” blue/green.

The Nokia 5.3 will be available in April. Pricing will start at €189 (~ $205) for the 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage model. The phone will come in three colors: Charcoal, Cyan, and Sand.

Lastly, the Nokia 1.3 is very affordable and will be coming in April. It costs only €95 (~ $103) and is available in Charcoal, Cyan, and Sand colors.

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Huawei tests “AppSearch” to help users download popular apps without using the Google Play Store

Because the U.S. Commerce Department placed Huawei on the Entity List last year, Huawei cannot sign new Mobile Application Distribution Agreements (MADAs) with Google, which prevents Huawei from distributing new mobile devices with Google Mobile Services (GMS). This means that all new Huawei smartphones and tablets, at least ones that aren’t rebranded models of existing, already-certified devices, can’t ship with Google apps on board. This is problematic for Huawei because the vast majority of Android applications are distributed through the Google Play Store, so Huawei has had to beef up the catalog of apps in its own AppGallery app store. However, there are still many popular Android apps that aren’t available on AppGallery, which has forced users to install other app stores like Amazon or Aptoide or download APK files from hosting sites like APKMirror.

In order to make it easier for users to download popular applications without having to download additional app stores or sideload APKs from different websites, Huawei is developing an app called “AppSearch.” The app is currently being tested in Germany, and the APK is publicly accessible on the German website for the Huawei AppGallery. (The website’s name, “zukunftsversprechen,” roughly translates to “promise of the future,” which Huawei has used to market its commitment to its devices following the U.S. trade ban.) The landing page for AppSearch states that the app is intended to help users install their favorite apps on Huawei smartphones equipped with Huawei Mobile Services. Huawei lists Facebook and WhatsApp as examples of applications that can be downloaded by searching in AppSearch, and the description lists the “Mate30 series, P40 series, and Mate Xs” as examples of devices that this app is intended to be used on.

Description of the Huawei AppSearch app translated from German to English using Google Translate.

 

XDA Contributor Max Weinbach sideloaded the application on his Huawei Mate 30 Pro to share the following screenshots. As you can see, AppSearch (in German: “AppSuche”) provides an easy way for users to find popular apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and much more, all in one place. The app lets you sort the list by popularity, alphabetically, or by categories. You can tap on an app to view a description and where it can be downloaded from. Note that AppSearch doesn’t actually provide direct downloads to any applications. In fact, the disclaimer in the app states that “[AppSearch] assists users to find popular Apps by consolidating multiple downloading sources. All the content accessible through [AppSearch] is provided by third parties. The content is the sole responsibility of the entity that makes it available.”

Examining the APK, we find that Huawei has created a massive list of apps that can be shown to the user. The list of “popular” apps depends on the region. The following regions are listed in the app:

• Austria
• Canada
• China
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Latvia
• Netherlands
• Sweden
• United Kingdom
• United States

We find that AppSearch directs users to download apps from the following sources:

• Amazon App Store
• APKMirror
• APKMonk
• APKPure
• Huawei AppGallery
• Official website of the app (if one exists)

Here are the supported categories in AppSearch:

• Auto & Vehicles
• Books & Reference
• Business
• Communication
• Dating
• Education
• Entertainment
• Finance
• Food & Drink
• Health & Fitness
• Lifestyle
• Maps & Navigation
• Music & Audio
• News & Magazines
• Photography
• Productivity
• Shopping
• Social
• Sports
• Tools
• Travel & Local
• Video Players & Editors
• Weather

Lastly, here is an unlisted YouTube video that Huawei embedded on the page for AppSearch. The video shows off the basic features of the application.

---

H/t @Rodent950

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Google Camera Go brings Portrait Mode photography to budget Android Go smartphones

Earlier today, HMD Global announced a trio of new smartphones: the Nokia 8.3, the Nokia 5.3, and Nokia 1.3. While the Nokia 8.3 and Nokia 5.3 run regular Android 10 with a handful of HMD Global’s customizations on top, the Nokia 1.3 runs Android 10 (Go Edition), a special version of Android that’s optimized for budget smartphones with a weaker processor and lower RAM capacity. Although the Nokia 1.3 has the low-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 215 and only a single 8MP rear camera, the Nokia 1.3 can actually take portrait mode shots. That’s because the Nokia 1.3 has the new Google Camera Go app, a stripped-down version of the Pixel’s camera app for Android Go devices.

Google Camera Go on the Nokia 1.3

The typical Android Go device only has a single rear-facing camera, a low-end SoC, and other hardware compromises in order to bring the price down to the sub-$100 mark. Because of these design and hardware choices, Android Go devices are wildly popular in emerging markets around the world; in fact, Google says there are now over 100 million active Android Go devices. However, the camera experience is usually very limited on these budget smartphones because of the low-end SoC and lack of additional cameras. That’s where the Google Camera Go app comes in.

Google is leveraging its machine learning prowess to bring portrait mode photography to the masses with the Camera Go app. The app can apply depth-of-field effects using only software. The app is “deeply integrated” into the OS, meaning it’s “not just photo filtering on top,” according to Arpit Midha, a lead product manager for Android. According to The Verge, Camera Go even tracks device storage to suggest ways to clear up space if the remaining storage space is running low.

Camera Go is currently only available on the newly announced Nokia 1.3, but we can expect it to arrive on future Android Go devices. By enabling portrait mode on Android Go devices with Camera Go, Google is democratizing portrait mode photography.

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Samsung Galaxy S20 kernel code hints at Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 with Snapdragon 865, mysterious Project “Zodiac” device

A few weeks after the announcement of the Galaxy S20 series, Samsung released the kernel source code for the Exynos and Snapdragon S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra. In the Snapdragon Galaxy S20’s kernel source, we found references that we believe refer to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 with the Snapdragon 865 SoC. We also found a reference to a mysterious new device called the “Zodiac” project.

We were able to find files for five different devices and 3 different series in the Galaxy S20 kernel sources. The projects were “Project XYZ,” “Project Canvas,” and “Project Winner2.” Project XYZ is the Galaxy S20 series: The Galaxy S20 is x1, the Galaxy S20+ is y2, and the S20 Ultra is z3. Project Canvas is likely the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series, as hinted at by Ice Universe. We were able to find “c2”, but there will likely be 2 more devices, “c0” and “c1”, but we can not confirm these exist at the moment. Lastly, there is Project Winner2. This is very likely the Galaxy Fold 2 given that the first Galaxy Fold was “Project Winner.” GalaxyClub also reported this code-name last month. There were rumors of the Galaxy Fold 2 having the code name “champ“, but that could be a different foldable device that Samsung is working on.

The fact that Samsung is using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 in the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 should not be surprising. Samsung already uses the Snapdragon 865 in the Galaxy S20 line of phones, and it only makes sense for Samsung to use it in the Galaxy Fold successor since the first model already uses the Snapdragon 855. We were able to confirm the use of these chips since the “kona” code-name refers to the Snapdragon 865. We can see in the code that “winner2” and “canvas” are both based on “kona” AKA the Snapdragon 865.

Several “Kconfig” files detail the Snapdragon 865 devices that Samsung has released or will release. They include “Kconfig.winner2”, “Kconfig.canvas”, and “Kconfig.xyz.” Each of these files stores the project files for a specific device and the regions that are supported. For example, the Galaxy S20 series are stored in the “Kconfig.xyz” file. In the file, we can see that the Snapdragon version of the Galaxy S20 is available in South Korea, the United States, Canada, China, and Japan. For “canvas”, the file only shows the United States, which would mean the Snapdragon Galaxy Note 20 will only be available in the U.S. Keep in mind, though, that this is still very early in development, so we expect this to change. For “winner2”, we only see a config for the European open market.

Meanwhile in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip’s kernel source code, we found a new device called “Project Zodiac” based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855. This device will be available in China as that is the only region that is mentioned. It is likely that “Project Zodiac” is going to be a China-only phone, but we unfortunately don’t have more information on this device at the moment.

 

These leaks give us something to look forward to later this year assuming there aren’t major delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There are a lot of devices poised to launch in the next few months, and I couldn’t be more excited.

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Turn the Samsung Galaxy S20 hole-punch into a battery indicator with Energy Ring

As manufacturers have tried to push the limits of bezel-less design, we’ve seen several “solutions” arise. Notches were the first trend and they’ve stuck around for a while. Another long-standing option is the hole-punch camera cutout. We’ve seen some clever methods for hiding the hole-punch, but Energy Ring is a cool app that puts the hole-punch to use. The app was recently released for the Galaxy S20 series.

For those not familiar with Energy Ring, the idea is to utilize the space around the hole-punch rather than hide it. There are a lot of customizations at your fingertips, such as configuring the width of the ring, the direction of depletion, changing colors based on battery level, and more. There are a few extra features for paid users, but there is enough in store to keep free users satisfied.

Energy Ring was originally made available for the Samsung Galaxy S10 and later came out for the Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy Note 10 series. The developer says there is a very minimal effect on CPU and battery. Note that there is a specific app for each supported device. The app below is for the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S20 Ultra, and the 5G variants.

Energy Ring for the Samsung Galaxy S20 — XDA Thread

Energy Ring for the Samsung Galaxy S20+ — XDA Thread

Energy Ring for the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra — XDA Thread

Energy Ring - S20/5G/Ultra/+ battery indicator! (Free⁺, Google Play) →

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Samsung Galaxy A41 announced with AMOLED display, 48MP camera, and MediaTek Helio P65

The Samsung Galaxy A41 leaked last month and gave us our first look at the successor to the Galaxy A40. Today, the company officially announced the device in Japan. The announcement was pretty low-key as the device isn’t scheduled to be available until June, but let’s take a look at what it has to offer.

It turns out the previously leaked renders weren’t very accurate. The front of the Galaxy A41 looks basically how we expected. It has a 6.1-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display with a centered notch (for the 25MP selfie camera). There’s also an under-display fingerprint scanner this year. The back of the device, however, looks very different from the renders.

Instead of the familiar Galaxy S20-esque rectangular camera assortment, the Galaxy A41 has triple cameras and a flash arranged vertically. Those cameras are 48MP, 8MP wide-angle, and a 5MP depth sensor. The device is powered bu the MediaTek Helio P65 SoC, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. It has a 3,500mAh battery with support for 15W charging.

A nice feature that we don’t normally see in budget devices is IP68 water and dust resistance. There’s no word on ports and we can’t see any from the provided images. The Galaxy A40 had USB-C and a headphone jack, so we assume the Galaxy A41 has the same. The device will come in Blue, Black, and White color options. As mentioned earlier, the device will be available in Japan in June from NTT DOCOMO. No word on pricing or international availability was given at this time.

Specifications		Galaxy A41
Color		Blue / white / black
Battery capacity		3,500mAh
Memory	Built-in ( RAM / ROM )	4GB / 64GB
Display		6.1 inch FHD +, Infinity Display, Super AMOLED
Camera	Rear	48MP(f/2.0) 8MP wide-angle (f/2.2) 5MP Depth sensor (f/2.4)
	Front	25MP ( f/2.2 )
Waterproof / dustproof		IP68

Source: Galaxy Mobile | Via: GSMArena

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