It’s almost April, which means we’re expecting to learn more about the next OnePlus smartphones soon. There doesn’t seem to be much left to learn about, though, since both the OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro have been the subject of multiple leaks. We expect both smartphones will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, generous amounts of RAM, high refresh rate displays, and other bleeding-edge features. After getting renders of the 8 Pro in green and the 8 in Black, we now have many more renders of the OnePlus 8 in all its expected colors. We also now know what the color variants will be called.
The OnePlus 8 in Interstellar Glow, Glacial Green, and Onyx Black.
These renders, courtesy of Roland Quandt from WinFuture, show that the new OnePlus 8 has some design similarities to last year’s OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 7T Pro. There’s a prominent, vertically-aligned triple rear camera setup and a curved display at the front. OnePlus’ new design language is also prominent, showing the new logos on the back and the new “Never Settle” lettering on the display wallpaper. There is a couple of key design changes in the OnePlus 8, though, including the fact that the motorized front-facing camera is no longer here. Instead, we have a left-aligned hole-punch camera similar to the one in the Xiaomi Mi 10 and other devices. The display cutout is not that large as we’ve seen in some devices from last year, but some people may not be fans of this design.
The other big change is in the colors. Whereas the OnePlus 7 came in Blue, Red, and Black, the OnePlus 8 comes in more interesting color options, including one called “Interstellar Glow,” a gradient that starts in a dull purple on top and ends in bright orange on the bottom. There is also “Glacial Green” which is basically a very bright turquoise as well, and the classic black which will be called “Onyx Black” this time around. We were made aware of these names thanks to Ishan Agarwal on Twitter, who recently revealed the full specifications of both the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro. We previously saw a render of the OnePlus 8 Pro in Glacial Green, but we don’t know exactly what other colors will be available. OnePlus teased a prototype OnePlus 7T with a marbled back cover, so we’re hoping that this design finish shows up on the new 8 series.
For now, though, this is all we have on the two devices, and it sure looks exciting. The devices are expected to be announced in mid-April, albeit with the current COVID-19 pandemic, we may see either the announcement date or the phone’s release date face a slight setback. There’s also a rumored “Lite” model in the series, which XDA’s own Max Weinbach reports will be called the OnePlus Z. The alleged OnePlus Z may launch a few months later, and it’s expected to feature the MediaTek Dimensity 1000L rather than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865.
COVID-19 has affected the world in more ways than one. Within the narrow scope of the smartphone and related tech industry, the pandemic has caused widespread supply chain disruptions as well as led to cancellations to major events such as MWC 2020 and Google I/O 2020. Further, the health advisories issued because of the pandemic have led to a heavy load on the internet infrastructure, as more people are turning towards the Internet to beat the boredom that comes along with staying indoors for a long period of time. Consequently, streaming services had decided to lower their quality proactively to ensure that the infrastructure does not collapse. Within this context, YouTube had mentioned that it would set 480p as the default quality for its videos while giving users a choice to switch to higher resolutions. Now, we are learning that YouTube for Android has restricted its maximum video quality to 480p in some parts of India.
We noticed that YouTube for Android had begun limiting the maximum video quality for playback to 480p for some of us in India. This restriction came into play even on videos that were uploaded in resolutions as high as 4K and which were previously playable in these qualities.
These restrictions appear to be rolling out regionally, with most reports centering in Mumbai and Delhi, while cities like Bangalore and areas of Gujarat, so far appear to be free of these restrictions (though these may very well get the same restrictions in the coming hours and days). The restrictions are in place irrespective of your internet connection and its quality, so it does not matter whether you are on mobile data (4G LTE) or on Wi-Fi. The ceiling is apparently in place for YouTube Premium users too.
Meanwhile, videos on YouTube on desktop appear to be unaffected, even starting off on a decently high 1080p by default on the same network.
YouTube on Desktop appears to be unaffected
YouTube has not yet communicated anything on these new restrictions. A maximum ceiling of 480p Standard Definition appears to be rather harsh, and 720p would have been a much more pleasant middle-ground. While we understand that the step taken is likely in the interest of the general public and to alleviate the avoidable load on the internet infrastructure, we do feel that 480p is just too low to be considered a feasible maximum for pleasant user experience. Since YouTube did communicate this change to creators or viewers, viewers are blaming creators for uploading videos in Standard Definition. Note, YouTube had communicated only an intention to change the default quality to 480p with an option to jump higher, but this unannounced change removes all higher qualities entirely.
We hope YouTube becomes more proactive in its communication, and that it considers raising the hard limit to at least 720p.
There’s a long-running joke on the Internet that you can tell if someone’s using an Android phone by the bad quality of their selfies. While the memes are definitely exaggerating quite a bit, there’s, unfortunately, a bit of truth behind them. Android phones have usually been ahead of iPhones in terms of camera performance, at least on paper. OEMs like LG and Samsung tend to use cameras with more pixels and larger apertures than competing iPhones. Specs aren’t everything, though. Part of why Apple can compete in the camera game is because of iOS’ software. All OEMs, from Apple to ZTE, use some software magic to make photos and videos look better. The companies use algorithms to reduce noise, tweak color saturation and contrast, and even brighten up dark scenes, all to make the end results more pleasing. This is, historically, where Android OEMs have fallen short of Apple.
Software Developments
More recently, though, things have begun to change. The biggest example of this change is probably Google and the Pixel lineup. In terms of hardware, the Pixel cameras really can’t compare to other flagships. Software is where Google makes up the difference, though. With features like Portrait Mode, Night Sight, HDR+, and Super Res Zoom, the Pixels have earned a reputation for having some of the best smartphone cameras on the market.
Other Android OEMs are following Google’s lead. Samsung, OPPO, Xiaomi, Vivo, OnePlus, etc, have all introduced their own versions of the Pixel’s more popular camera features, and they even have some unique features of their own. With buzzwords like “AI” and “machine learning,” Android OEMs are trying to convince you that their software is the software you want to enhance your photos and videos. We’ve gotten to a point where Android phones can genuinely compete against iPhones in all aspects of camera performance.
The Problem
Unfortunately, there’s still one major exception: third-party apps. Your super-duper 50-camera flagship might take amazing photos with the built-in camera app, but switch to Instagram, Snapchat, or even a third-party camera app, and it’s basically a guarantee that what you capture won’t look nearly as good. As if that weren’t enough, you also lose out on all the cool camera features and modes. This is because, unlike iOS, Android doesn’t really have a unified camera framework. Sure, the basic features are there. A third-party app can still take photos and videos, and use the flash. But what happens if your phone has a secondary sensor for wide-angle or telephoto? It’s possible that developers will be able to access that second sensor, but the method they use will have to be specific to your device.
Say you have an LG V40 (I know, I know, just imagine you do). The V40 has three sensors: standard, telephoto, and ultrawide. The built-in camera app has no problem switching between all these different sensors. But forget about using the ultrawide sensor on Instagram. Now, Instagram could take a look at how LG’s camera app uses the different sensors and develop a way for users to take wide-angle or zoom shots. But that would probably only work on the LG V40. Even though the Galaxy S10 has the same three sensor modes (standard, telephoto, and ultrawide), the Instagram team would have to develop another method for Samsung.
Now add Huawei, Vivo, OnePlus, Xiaomi, OPPO, Nokia, ZTE, HTC, and whatever other brand you can possibly think of to the mix. As you can imagine, trying to develop a method for accessing just the potential extra sensors for each phone from each brand would get incredibly tedious. And then you have to maintain compatibility with all current and new phones.
These limitations apply to camera features as well. Things like Portrait Mode, Night Sight, and HDR+ either need specific per-device methods to use, or are completely inaccessible to third-party apps.
Obviously, for an app like Instagram, this isn’t too big a deal. It’s not their focus, and you could always use your phone’s camera app to take the shot first. But what about dedicated camera apps?
The Effects
Open the Google Play Store and search for “camera.” You’re going to find hundreds of results. Even with the improvements in first-party camera software, third-party camera apps are still very popular. Some aim to provide more technical features like manual exposure and focus (features that your phone’s camera app may not have). Others aim to provide a consistent UX across your devices.
Especially for the latter reason, Android’s camera fragmentation can make it incredibly difficult to develop and maintain a widely-compatible camera app. If you’re looking to provide extra features, how are you going to include all the potential features of all the potential first-party apps? If you’re looking for a consistent experience, how can you realistically guarantee that accessing the wide-angle sensor on every device that has it will work?
The answer is: you can’t. You can try to support as many features on as many devices as possible, but in the end, it’s going to be a lot of work for relatively little reward. It isn’t hard to imagine that at least a few developers have simply given up on making a fully-featured camera app for Android. In fact, several have.
The Casualties
Go do a search for camera apps on the Play Store. You’ll notice a few things. One, there are a lot of options. Two, most of them do pretty similar things (apply filters after-the-fact and such). Three, the more advanced options probably aren’t updated that frequently. You may even find results on Google that are no longer on the store.
Recently, we’ve gotten a pretty major example of someone calling it quits. Moment decided to cease development on its Pro Camera app for Android.
The problem is that a lot of these features simply don’t work on a lot of devices. Looking at Moment’s feature compatibility list is like looking at a picture of a dance floor. Even within the same product line, feature support is incredibly fragmented. After two years of development, Moment no longer has the capacity to continue development on its app.
Green = supported by Moment Pro Camera. Yellow = supported by device but not my Moment Pro Camera. Red = not supported by device. Image source: Moment. Retrieved via: 9to5Google.
The Solution?
It’s been nearly 12 years since Android was first released, but we may finally have a solution to the camera fragmentation.
This solution comes straight from Google, although it isn’t built directly into Android. Instead, it’s a Jetpack support library. If you’re familiar with developing Android apps, you’ve probably run into the AppCompat and AndroidX support library suites. These libraries from Google aim to make it easier for developers to maintain backwards compatibility with older Android versions, while still being able to introduce new features and styles.
A newer addition to Jetpack (sort of), is the CameraX library. Similar to other Jetpack libraries, CameraX’s goal is to make camera development easier. In its most basic form, CameraX wraps Android’s Camera2, an API that allows apps to probe the camera features on a device, provided the OEM exposes those camera features to the API. Users can check what camera features are exposed to the Camera2 API using the Camera2 API Probe application and then compare that to the features available in the stock camera application.
The benefit of using CameraX as a wrapper for the Camera2 API is that, internally, it resolves any device-specific compatibility issues that may arise. This alone will be useful for camera app developers since it can reduce boilerplate code and time spent researching camera problems. That’s not all that CameraX can do, though.
While that first part is mostly only interesting to developers, there’s another part that applies to both developers and end users: Vendor Extensions. This is Google’s answer to the camera feature fragmentation on Android. Device manufacturers can opt to ship extension libraries with their phones that allow CameraX (and developers and users) to leverage native camera features. For example, say you really like Samsung’s Portrait Mode effect, but you don’t like the camera app itself. If Samsung decides to implement a CameraX Portrait Mode extension in its phones, any third-party app using CameraX will be able to use Samsung’s Portrait Mode. Obviously, this isn’t just confined to that one feature. Manufacturers can theoretically open up any of their camera features to apps using CameraX.
Unfortunately, there is a caveat, which I mentioned earlier: this isn’t a requirement for manufacturers. Google says they’ll support Extensions on all new and upcoming Pixel devices, starting with the Pixel 4. OPPO says they’ve opened up their Beauty and HDR modes. Other OEMs could choose to make only their Night Modes available to CameraX, or they could choose to not implement any extensions at all. It’s completely up to the manufacturer which device supports which CameraX extensions (if any). Google used to maintain a list of devices that support Vendor Extensions and what camera features they opened up, but they have not updated the list for the past several months. We reached out to Google a few weeks ago asking them if they could provide an updated list, but the company has not yet responded with a list. For what it’s worth, a recent Google blog post states that devices from Samsung, LG, OPPO, Xiaomi, and Motorola (on Android 10) provide some extension functions, but the blog post does not specify exactly which devices are supported or what functions they provide.
If enough manufacturers do decide to implement extensions, Android’s third-party camera scene will be a whole lot brighter. Developers won’t have to waste time reimplementing a camera feature for every device they possibly can since CameraX’s framework will take care of it. There will be less feature fragmentation since similar features across devices will be accessible through a common interface. And there are many more possibilities.
Of course, this all depends on Google’s ability to convince manufacturers to implement CameraX Vendor Extension libraries going forward. Unless CameraX is widely implemented, it will just add to the current fragmentation. Personally, though, I’m hopeful. Google can be very convincing when it wants to be, and it seems like a lot of work is going into CameraX. It’s exciting to see a possible solution to Android’s camera issues on the horizon, and I look forward to seeing how CameraX will improve and expand over time.
What do you think about CameraX? Will Google succeed in making a unified camera experience for Android?
Being able to watch TV shows and movies from Netflix at the highest possible quality on mobile depends heavily on what kind of device you have. It’s not enough to have a device that has an HD or HDR display. To support playing Netflix video content in HD, your phone needs to be certified for the Widevine DRM’s L1 certification level and must also pass Netflix’s own internal testing, meaning that Netflix needs to manually whitelist devices. These DRM certification requirements and testing are also expected for supporting HDR video playback, but with the obvious additional requirement of having an HDR-capable display. One certification doesn’t guarantee the other, though, and once a device is certified to playback video in HD and/or HDR, Netflix updates its list of supported devices.
There are lots of Android devices that support HD playback on Netflix, but even fewer support HDR video playback. Luckily for owners of the latest OnePlus and OPPO flagships, though, HDR videos can be viewed on Netflix as the company has just added 4 new OnePlus and OPPO phones to their list of supported devices. Here are the models that have been added:
OnePlus 7T
OnePlus 7T Pro
OPPO Find X2 (PDEM10, PEDT10, CPH2023)
OPPO Find X2 Pro (PDEM30, CPH2025)
This means that these devices can now stream Netflix content in HDR as well as in HD. Keep in mind that in order to be able to stream Netflix content in HDR, you’ll need to sign up for the more expensive plan that also supports Ultra HD (4K) streaming. These OnePlus and OPPO devices join the list of devices from Google, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Samsung smartphones among many others.
We’re glad to see Netflix introduce these phones to their HDR whitelist, and we hope many other flagship phones will follow suit, given how HDR displays are becoming increasingly common among the smartphone ecosystem. Even cheap devices like the Redmi Note lineup and the POCO X2 have started to come out with HDR-capable panels.
Realme’s number series, which started off with the launch of the Realme 1 back in 2018, has been known to offer some great budget devices. But with the Realme C series now targeting the same price segment, Realme has upgraded the number series to offer mid-range specifications at an affordable price. Following the launch of the Realme C3 (review) in India earlier this year, Realme unveiled the Realme 6 and Realme 6 Pro in the market. The latest devices in the number series packs in some impressive hardware, like high refresh rate FHD+ displays and 64MP primary cameras, which were previously limited to higher-end devices.
The updated specifications, coupled with the affordable price tag, make the new Realme 6 series a compelling buy in the mid-range smartphone segment. The devices directly compete with Xiaomi’s recently launch Redmi Note 9 Pro series and the POCO X2, with the latter distastefully targeting the Realme 6 Pro on social media. So, if you’re in the market for a new mid-range Android smartphone and find yourself overwhelmed by the variety of different claims made by both Xiaomi and Realme on various platforms, then you’ve come to the right place. In this review, we’ll be taking a close look at the Realme 6 Pro to find out if it’s actually worth buying and how it stacks up against the competition.
Note: For the purpose of this review, I received an 8GB/128GB variant of the Realme 6 Pro from Realme India. I’ve been using the device as my daily driver for just over two weeks and here are my thoughts.
Realme 6 Pro Specifications
Specification
Realme 6 Pro
Dimensions and Weight
163.8 x 75.8 x 8.9 mm
202g
Display
6.6″ FHD+ (2400 x 1080) LCD;
Dual hole-punch display
90Hz refresh rate
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
SoC
Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G
8nm process
2 x Kryo 465 based on Arm’s Cortex-A76 @ 2.3GHz
6x Kryo 465 based on Arm’s Cortex-A55 @ 1.8GHz
Adreno 618
RAM and Storage
6GB/8GB LPDDR4x dual-channel
64GB/128GB UFS 2.1
Dedicated microSD card slot for up to 512GB cards
Battery & Charging
4,300 mAh battery
30W VOOC Flash Charge 4.0
Respective 5V/6A fast charger included within the box
Realme has been making some bold choices when it comes to smartphone design in recent times. The Realme C3 from earlier this year had a Sunrise Design on the back with a grippy anti-fingerprint surface that gave it a very unique look. With the Realme 6 series, the company has taken things up a notch and the devices feature a lightning inspired design with a glossy finish that changes depending on the angle at which you look at the device. The Realme 6 Pro unit that I’ve been using has the Lightning Blue finish that looks quite eye-catching. The Lightning Orange variant, which I haven’t seen in person, also looks rather stunning in pictures. However, the Lightning finish on the back might not be everyone’s cup of tea and for that reason alone, some might prefer the cleaner, more minimal look of the POCO X2 or the Redmi Note 9 Pro.
Moving on, the back panel is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 5 and while it may feel plastic-y, you can rest assured that it won’t scratch up as easily as other plastic-backed phones. Unlike the POCO X2 and the Redmi Note 9 Pro, the Realme 6 Pro goes for a more traditional, vertically aligned quad-camera module on the back with a dual-tone LED flash right next to it, along with the AI Quad Camera branding. The Realme logo, which is vertically aligned with the camera module, rests right underneath it and it’s less of an eyesore than the one found on the company’s flagship Realme X2 Pro (review).
Over on the front, we have the 6.6-inch 90Hz display with a dual hole-punch cutout for the selfie cameras. The earpiece rests within the minimal top bezel and it’s protected by a perforated metal grate. Speaking of bezels, Realme has done a decent job of keeping the bezels slim on the Realme 6 Pro, at least on the top and sides. However, the bottom bezel is still quite chunky, but that’s a compromise we’re willing to make for a smartphone in this price range.
In terms of ports, the Realme 6 Pro features a USB Type-C port for charging and data syncing on the bottom edge, which is flanked by a 3.5mm headphone jack on one side and a single downward-firing speaker on the other. The primary microphone rests between the headphone jack and the Type-C port.
The device’s power button, which has a capacitive fingerprint scanner built-in, rests in a recess on the right edge. The recess makes the power button easy to locate when you’re not looking, and while I’m a fan of side-mounted fingerprint scanners, I don’t particularly like the placement of the one on this device as it leads to continuous accidental touches while I’m holding it.
This was a major annoyance as the device would often not unlock using the fingerprint scanner due to several incorrect inputs and I had to use the pin to unlock the device. The volume rocker can be found on the opposite edge, along with the triple-slot SIM card tray right above it.
Realme 6 Pro Display
The 6.6-inch hole-punch display on the Realme 6 Pro has a resolution of 1080×2400 pixels, with a 90.6% screen-to-body ratio and an aspect ratio of 20:9. While the Redmi Note 9 Pro also features a similar display, albeit with a hole-punch cutout in the center, what sets the Realme 6 Pro apart is the higher 90Hz high refresh rate support. In this regard, the POCO X2 takes things up a notch and offers a 120Hz high refresh rate display, which is one major reason why some would pick it over the 6 Pro.
Display brightness is another area where the Realme 6 Pro’s display trumps the Redmi Note 9 Pro. While the Redmi Note 9 Pro boasts a peak brightness of 450nits, the Realme 6 Pro offers users a peak brightness of 480nits. While the display brightness is still a bit lower than POCO X2’s advertised 500nits, users won’t face any visibility issues in direct sunlight.
While the high refresh rate support is great for users who are looking to purchase the device for gaming, those of you who are more interested in content consumption might be left a bit disappointed. The display doesn’t come with any HDR certification, like the one on the POCO X2, and while Realme claims that the device supports Widevine L1 certification, it currently doesn’t support Full HD playback on OTT apps like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. In my testing, I also found that the DRM Info app displayed Widevine L3 support, instead of the claimed Widevine L1, which is rather disappointing. Even though Realme has already rolled out an update with a fix, the issue persists even after installing the update.
In conclusion, the display on the Realme 6 Pro is quite satisfactory for a device in this price range and it easily one-ups the one on the Redmi Note 9 Pro, especially because of the high refresh rate support. However, the lack of Widevine L1 support means that it won’t offer the best experience while watching videos on apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Powering the Realme 6 Pro is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G SoC, which you’ll also find on the recently released Redmi Note 9 Pro series. The Snapdragon 720G mobile platform was introduced just a few months ago and the Realme 6 Pro was the first device to make use of the new chipset. The Snapdragon 720G comes with a few minor improvements over last year’s Snapdragon 730/730G, including a higher clock speed for the performance cores. The chipset supports dual-frequency GNSS including India’s NavIC and Bluetooth 5.1 with aptX Adaptive.
In terms of performance, the Snapdragon 720G is at par with the Snapdragon 730/730G with some minor benefits in certain cases. I tested the Realme 6 Pro using the usual set of synthetic benchmarking applications in order to get an initial idea of the device’s performance. I also compared the results with the Redmi Note 9 Pro and the POCO X2, and here are my observations.
Geekbench 5
Since AnTuTu has now been removed from the Google Play Store, we’ll be kicking things off with Geekbench 5. In the cross-platform CPU benchmark, the Realme 6 Pro delivers a score of 565 in the single-core test and 1749 in the multi-core test. In comparison, the Redmi Note 9 Pro delivers slightly better results with 570 in the single-core test and 1780 in the multi-core test. The POCO X2, despite POCO’s several claims on social media, lags slightly behind with a single-core score of 550 and a multi-core score of 1742.
In the PCMark Work 2.0 benchmark, which simulates day-to-day tasks like editing documents, photos, videos, etc., the Realme 6 Pro takes a significant lead in most cases. The device delivers a score of 10437 overall, with the Redmi Note 9 Pro lagging far behind at 8314 and the POCO X2 falling in between the two at 9802. In the Web Browsing 2.0 test, once again, the Realme 6 Pro takes the lead with a score of 10211, followed by the POCO X2 at 9621 and the Redmi Note 9 Pro at 6984. The trend continues in the Writing 2.0 and Photo Editing 2.0 tests with the Realme 6 Pro taking the lead with 11103 and 22792, respectively. The device falls behind the POCO X2 in the Video Editing and Data Manipulation tests however, delivering a score of 6576 and 7289 respectively. In all cases, the Redmi Note 9 Pro lags far behind, however, it’s worth noting that the results showcased were taken using a 6GB RAM variant of the Redmi Note 9 Pro and 8GB RAM variants of the Realme 6 Pro and POCO X2, which is probably the main reason behind the Note 9 Pro’s comparatively poor performance.
Moving on to a more GPU-centric benchmark, the Realme 6 Pro manages to deliver a score of 2527 in 3DMark’s Sling Shot Extreme OpenGL ES 3.1 test and 2334 in the Vulkan test. Due to the fact that it uses the same Adreno 618 GPU as the Redmi Note 9 Pro, the scores delivered by the two devices are almost the same. While the POCO X2 also utilizes the same GPU, we weren’t able to run the benchmark on the device and therefore, it was dropped from the comparison.
In order to check the Realme 6 Pro’s thermal performance, I used the CPU Throttling Test app. The app repeatedly runs multiple threads (20 in our test) written in C language over a period of time (15 minutes in this case) to check if the CPU performance is throttled to prevent overheating. While the device doesn’t feel warm to the touch under intense load, we noticed minor throttling (5%) when running the test at 50 percent battery. In comparison, the throttling is more pronounced when the battery is low or when the device is charging.
Finally, to test the storage performance I ran the Androbench storage benchmark on all three devices. Since all three phones in the comparison come with UFS 2.1 NAND storage, there’s only a minor difference in their performance. As you can see in the graph above, the Realme 6 Pro managed to post Sequential Read speeds of 504.32 MB/s, Sequential Write speeds of 196.64 MB/s, and Random Read speeds of 128.98 MB/s, which were quite comparable to the competition. However, due to some reason the device lagged far behind in the Random Write test, posting speeds of just 14.81 MB/s, in comparison to Redmi Note 9 Pro’s 117.34 MB/s and POCO X2’s 130.82 MB/s.
Based on the aforementioned results, it’s safe to say that the Realme 6 Pro is among the best performing devices in this price segment. I didn’t notice any jitters or lags in daily usage and the gaming performance was also satisfactory. In games like PUBG, the Realme 6 Pro supports the “Ultra” frame rate (40fps), but it doesn’t include support for the HDR setting. COD Mobile runs at the “Max” frame rate (60fps) at High graphics settings and “Very High” frame rate at “Very High” graphics. In both of these titles, I noticed no frame drops of any sort, even during long gaming sessions. In less demanding titles like Alto’s Odyssey and Breakneck, the 6 Pro barely breaks a sweat and if you’re a fan of similar arcade-style titles, you won’t face any issues with the device.
Realme 6 Pro Battery Life
The Realme 6 Pro packs in a respectable 4,300mAh battery with support for 30W VOOC Flash Charge 4.0. While the battery is definitely smaller than the ones found on the Redmi Note 9 Pro and POCO X2, the device easily lasted me well over a full day of use on a single charge. I consistently got a screen-on-time of over 5.5 hours with the 90Hz display option turned on and well over 6 hours with the option turned off with my daily usage. I was always left with close to 40 percent battery at the end of the day, which lasted me another half day as there was minimal battery drain overnight. At times when I pushed the device by binge-watching videos or playing several games of PUBG, the device was left with around 20 percent battery towards the end of the day. When it comes to charging, the included 30W charger works quite well and takes just about an hour to charge up from 10 percent to 100 percent. However, the device does become slightly warm to the touch when it’s charging.
Realme 6 Pro Cameras
The Realme 6 Pro packs in a quad-camera setup with a 64MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 primary sensor, coupled with a 12MP telephoto camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera with a 119º field of view, and a 2MP macro camera. On the front, the device has a 16MP Sony IMX 471 sensor, coupled with an 8MP ultra-wide camera with a 105º field of view.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic precautions, I wasn’t able to test the Realme 6 Pro’s cameras to their full potential which is why I’ll be skipping the detailed camera review. However, I was able to capture a few images before the lockdown and I do have to say that the night mode performance was quite spectacular. Here are a few images I clicked with the various cameras on the Realme 6 Pro.
Primary 64MP camera
Telephoto camera
Wide-angle
Night mode
Selfies
Night mode selfie
Conclusion
Based on all the information shared above, the Realme 6 Pro is a compelling buy for anyone looking for an affordable Android device with a high-refresh-rate display and good performance. The Lightning-inspired design may be quite polarizing, but it’s bound to attract the attention of onlookers. In terms of specifications, Realme is offering a well-rounded package that should address all your needs. The Realme 6 Pro is undoubtedly a massive upgrade over the Realme 5 Pro from last year, thanks to the high refresh rate display, the Snapdragon 720G and 30W fast charging support. On top of that, the recent improvements to Realme’s operating system make it a better buy than similar MIUI powered devices, but that boils down to personal preference.
If you’re in the market for an affordable Android smartphone and want the best bang for your buck, then the Realme 6 Pro offers a better package overall when compared to the Redmi Note 9 Pro (review). However, in case you’d much rather go for an even better display and a great camera, you can’t go wrong with the POCO X2 (review) which packs in an impressive 120Hz display and Sony’s flagship 64MP IMX686 primary sensor.
A good app ecosystem is one of the most important pillars of the success of an operating system. Both Google and Apple recognize the value of having good applications on their platforms, and so both companies try to balance the needs of their users and their app developers. Users keep pushing for changes in the OSes, and while most people generally appreciate new features, these changes are not always fun for app developers as they can alter a lot of the core functionality and behavior. For developers who are constantly working to keep their apps relevant, dealing with these changes adds to their growing worklist. Even if these changes do not directly affect their applications, developers still need to make sure that their apps will work on the new OS update. Google has done many changes over the years to make this process easier for Android app developers, and now, a new feature in Android 11, called DSU Loader, will make it even easier for app developers to test their apps on new Android versions.
Project Treble, introduced in Android 8.0, is a major re-architecting of the Android OS. The goal of Project Treble was to split the Android OS into two big chunks: the framework and the vendor implementation (“vendor” here refers to the maker of any proprietary hardware component found within a device, usually referring to the silicon). The Android OS framework is the operating system itself, including all the system apps, the UI and its components, and the APIs that are shared across Android devices. The vendor implementation contains the vendor HALs (Hardware Abstraction Layers) and the Linux kernel and Linux kernel modules.
Since OEMs ship smartphones with many different hardware components from many different vendors, they have to do a lot of work just to get the hardware up and running on a single Android OS release. Then with each new Android OS update, they have to do even more work to make sure that their hardware works with the new version. But with Project Treble standardizing the ABI (Application Binary Interface) between the Android OS framework and HALs for a particular Android version, Android OEMs can start testing updates to their devices without needing to wait for silicon manufacturers and other component makers to update their side of the code. This change noticeably sped up the way Android updates are handled.
That’s the gist of what Project Treble has done for Android updates, but what’s more important for app developers here is that Treble has enabled the use of Generic System Images (GSIs) for compatibility testing.
The Emergence of GSIs
In order for OEMs to test if they’ve properly implemented Project Treble, Google mandates that the OEM should be able to boot a clean build of Android from AOSP on the device. This clean build of Android is called the Generic System Image, or GSI. If the GSI boots and most basic hardware functions properly, then the OEM knows that their device meets Project Treble’s requirements. The initial purpose of the GSIs was thus for testing Treble compatibility, but as we’ve seen with the development community here at XDA-Developers, they can be used for other purposes. We saw how GSIs could essentially allow devices with heavy Android UXs to enjoy the latest version of Android with working features within days of a new release. But Google envisions another purpose behind the GSI: giving app developers the ability to test their apps on a new Android version on a physical device that they already own.
With Android 10, Google released its own GSI builds for developers. Google cemented the idea that app developers should use a GSI to boot a clean build of Android on their own hardware, making it easier to test their application’s behavior against stock Android. This method thus added on to the existing options of testing app compatibility on stock Android without OEM behavior changes, the others being using a Pixel smartphone, using the official Android Emulator within Android Studio, or deploying app builds to a device instance on the cloud.
Despite all the convenience that GSIs brought along, their installation was still a cumbersome process. App developers may not be comfortable with manually flashing a system image on an Android device as this is something typically only hobbyists or Android OS developers will be familiar with. Installing a GSI required flashing a system image over fastboot, which requires disabling Android Verified Boot and unlocking the bootloader. Bootloader unlocking, in turn, requires a complete user data wipe. And as we all know, there isn’t exactly a single process or guide for unlocking the bootloader of every Android device out there, so there is no consistency to be found. For instance, Samsung devices do not have fastboot while Xiaomi devices make you jump through a few hoops to unlock the bootloader. It’s a convenient mess that has the potential of being untangled into something simpler.
This is where Dynamic System Updates come in.
Dynamic System Updates simply installing GSIs
Google realized that the current method of installing GSIs was not a perfect solution, so they started working on a better solution. In Android 10, Google began testing Dynamic System Updates, or DSU. DSU is a new way to temporarily install a GSI without needing to use fastboot commands to flash a system image, overwriting the original installation. With DSU, you can boot into a GSI, test your app, and then conveniently reboot back into your original installation which has remained untouched.
The reason that DSU can install a GSI without touching the original installation is that it creates new system and data partition images that are temporarily stored in /data/gsi. These images are then mounted during boot rather than the original system and data partitions. Because the phone needs additional storage space for these new, temporary images, your phone must have “logical partitions” on board, which are dynamically resizable partitions. Logical partitions are a new userspace partitioning system for Android, which is mandatory for devices launching with Android 10. If your device launched with Android 10, then it should support installing GSIs through DSU.
In Android 10, all you need to do to install a GSI via DSU is to change a system property and then launch the DynamicSystemUpdatesInstallationService by sending an intent with the path to the GSI as an intent extra.
Got Android 11 temporarily installed on the Pixel 3 XL without wiping the Android 10 install thanks to Dynamic System Updates (DSU). Unfortunately, it requires an unlocked bootloader to boot. pic.twitter.com/6TfUFD3ut9
While this process may seem unfamiliar, it is by far easier and less intrusive when compared to using fastboot commands and dealing with the hassle of everything, including the original installation, being wiped. You do require some knowledge of ADB and intents to make use of DSU, but this shouldn’t be a problem for most app developers out there. Still, there’s no reason the process couldn’t be made even simpler. Plus, there’s the fact that installing a GSI through DSU still requires you to unlock the bootloader, wiping all user data in the process. To that end, Google has implemented changes to improve both aspects of GSI installation. In Android 11, they’ve eliminated the need to use the command line at all to install a GSI. Separately, they’ve also made it possible to install a GSI without unlocking the bootloader.
DSU Loader in Android 11
DSU Loader is a new tool present in Android 11’s Developer Options that allows you to download and install the latest GSI from Google without needing to input any fastboot or ADB commands. Simply tap the DSU Loader option within Settings and a dialog box will appear with a list of supported GSIs straight from Google. These supported GSIs will be based on your current OS and architecture, so you can only install GSIs that are newer than your OS version and that match your SoC architecture. Simply choose the GSI that you want to install and it will be downloaded from Google’s servers and installed in the background automatically.
DSU Loader on Android 11
With DSU Loader, developers never have to touch the command line to install a GSI. At least, that’s the dream, because there’s still one issue left to solve.
The way forward
Currently, to install a GSI via DSU Loader, you need an unlocked bootloader. While this may defeat the purpose of the whole ordeal, it is not supposed to be this way, and we’re told that it will get fixed. Google has planned for users to be able to boot Google-signed GSIs through DSU without needing to unlock the bootloader. In fact, Google mandates that all Android 10 launch devices include the Android Verified Boot public keys of Google-signed Android 10, Android 11, and Android 12 GSIs. Including the AVB public keys in the device’s ramdisk will ensure that AVB will not reject the GSI that you are trying to boot. This is why the current method involves unlocking the bootloader – by flashing an empty vbmeta image to the vbmeta partition, you disable AVB so that it will not reject the GSI you are about to flash. Disabling AVB is a major security risk, though, as it means that any modified system/boot/product/vendor partition can be loaded onto the device, which is why Google wants to do away with that requirement.
Android 10 GSI Launch Requirements
So when can you expect to boot a GSI through DSU without having to unlock the bootloader or use any command-line tools? Hopefully soon, as Google mentioned to us that they had a few kinks to iron out with the initial Android 11 Developer Previews before they can get this all working properly. Moving forward, one can expect to install future Developer Preview GSIs via DSU without needing to unlock the bootloader. Perhaps when Android 12 Developer Previews are made available, you’ll even be able to boot it entirely by using DSU Loader in Android 11’s Developer Options. For app developers, this means there will be yet another way for you to test your applications on physical hardware running a new Android version.
XDA Recognised Developer Paget96 has developed an app that helps you monitor your network speed in real-time. Monitor your current upload and download speeds right from your status bar. This is an important feature that many Android phones just skip over. You should know your phone’s data usage, as some apps can upload or download massive amounts of data in the background. This app helps you monitor all these activities easily.
Besides seeing your network traffic in real-time, you can monitor previous days to see how your usage changes over time. Net Speed Indicator creates different categories for data stats, Wi-Fi stats, and Wired stats. All of this data can be viewed by the day, or by the month.
Net Speed Indicator with status bar monitor
Keep an eye on specific apps with the app usage page. This will display all of your apps and how much data they are using. You’ll be able to see your Wi-Fi usage separate from your mobile data usage. Customize the app to your liking in the settings menu, where you can change your theme and the way the app behaves.
It’s a fantastic network monitoring app from developer Paget96 and it is free to download and the Google Play store.
