Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will now receive security updates quarterly instead of monthly

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ were launched back in March 2017 as the premier flagships from Samsung. At the time of their launch, these were some of the best devices you could buy in the market, with excellent performance across the board. But time is a cruel mistress, and what were once amazing flagships, are now older devices in an ever-expanding portfolio. Samsung’s usual update policy promises regular monthly security updates for flagships for three years since their launch, and quarterly updates after that point. Sadly, for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, these devices have now reached the threshold, and hence, will be moved to a quarterly release schedule.

Samsung Galaxy S8 XDA Forums

Current models for Quarterly Security Updates

Samsung is known to release two major Android OS updates for its flagships, in addition to the monthly security update releases for three years. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, launched with Android 7.0 Nougat, received Android Pie last year alongside OneUI. There’s no further indication that any other major software jumps are planned for the device, and that is fair enough. Owing to their age, the devices will now receive a single firmware update every three months which will bundle all the security patches from the preceding months.

Current models for Monthly Security Updates

Samsung has been very good when it comes to security patches, for its flagships at least, including the older ones. Newer flagships like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, Samsung Galaxy S20, and Galaxy Note 10 have received their monthly update even before Google released the bulletin to the public and rolled out updates to Pixels, and this has happened for a few months now. Devices as old as the Samsung Galaxy S6 have also received security patches four years after their launch. The Galaxy S7 also received promised security updates for four years. So we can definitely acknowledge the work Samsung has been doing on this end. Meanwhile, if you do really want the latest Android update on your Galaxy S8, may we suggest some custom ROMs for this?

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Source: Samsung Mobile Security
Story Via: Galaxyclub.nl

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Xiaomi Mi 10 5G to now launch in India on May 8th

Xiaomi has been at the forefront of the smartphone revolution in India. The affordable offerings under the Redmi branding have helped Xiaomi establish a strong base in India and surpass established players like Samsung to become the leading phone brand in the country. While Xiaomi announced Mi-series flagships such as the Mi 5 and the Mi MIX 2 in the past, the company has primarily focussed on Redmi because it is oriented with the demands of this price-sensitive market. But after testing the waters with its flagship killer – Redmi K20 Pro (review) last year, Xiaomi will reintroduce the Mi-branded flagship lineup in India. While the original plan was to launch the Xiaomi Mi 10 5G in India at the end of March, it was delayed by the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19.

Instantly after the Indian government announced relaxations in the lockdown, Xiaomi has jumped back into action. In a fresh statement issued by the company, it has revealed a fresh date for the launch of the Mi 10 5G, one that isn’t too far from now. The Mi 10 flagship will be launched in India on May 8th, 2020, Mi India announced in a tweet. As expected, the event will be hosted and broadcast virtually, ensuring compliance with the restriction due to the yet-to-be-contained pandemic.

This is gonna evoke a lot of excitement.
This is gonna #EvokeYourImagination.

Mi fans, #Mi10 is launching on MAY 8th.

Yes, just 4⃣ days to go for the #108MP phone and more…

RT if you have been waiting for the launch date. pic.twitter.com/sFSfrpqIhB

— Mi India (@XiaomiIndia) May 4, 2020

Xiaomi’s Mi 10 will be the most expensive phone to be sold by the company in India. Moreover, the phone will not be manufactured in India initially; the import duties along with the 50% hike in Goods & Services Tax (GST) will pile on top of the direct CNY-INR conversion, pushing the price past the ₹45,000-mark easily. This is also the reason why Xiaomi will not be launching the Mi 10 Pro 5G in India just yet.

Among the changes for the Indian variant of the Mi 10, the phone will feature Google apps such as Messages, Dialer, Contacts instead of Xiaomi’s own apps while the MIUI skin comes without any ads. With the Mi 10, Xiaomi will be testing the Indian industry for the response for phones that are not aligned with the brand’s typical strategy for the country.

Do you think Xiaomi will be able to survive against the competition from OnePlus, Samsung, and even Apple? Let us know in the comments below.

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Microsoft Surface Pro X, Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3 now available in India

Back in October 2020, Microsoft refreshed its Surface hardware with three new devices in the form of the Surface Pro X, the Surface Pro 7, and the Surface Laptop 3. While all three Surface devices were only available in the U.S, the UK‌, and some European markets at the time being, the products have now finally arrived in India. The Surface Pro 7 made an appearance in an Amazon.in listing earlier this year, seemingly available for purchase. Microsoft has now made the official announcement, and for all three of these products.

Surface Pro 7

The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is the update to Microsoft’s main 2-in-1 product line. It features a 12.3-inch display, 10th gen Intel processors, up to 16GB of RAM, and USB Type-C ports, and weighs just 775g. It also has the optional keyboard cover and Surface Pen.

In India, the Surface Pro 7 will be available in 2 colors: Black and Platinum. The Signature Type Cover, the Surface Arc Mouse, and Surface Slim Pen are also available in the country.

Surface Pro X

The Surface Pro X is essentially the ARM version of the Surface Pro 7. It has a 13-inch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio, weighs just 774g, has USB Type-C, fast charging, and LTE support. It’s powered by a custom variant of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx processor and is capable of dual 4K video output via USB Type-C.

In India, the Surface Pro X will be available in Matte Black color variant only.

Surface Laptop 3

The Surface Laptop comes in both 13.5″ and 15″ sizes in India. The 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3 is powered by the 10th gen Intel Ice Lake processor, whereas the 15-inch model has two AMD Ryzen “Surface Edition” chips. The laptop features USB Type-C and USB Type-A ports, and dual far-field Studio Mics. There’s also a removable hard drive on board.

The Surface Laptop 3 will be available in India in Matte Black and Platinum color options for the 13.5″ model, and in Matte Black for the 15″ model. The 13.5″ model weighs just 1,288g and 1,265g for its Matte Black and Platinum colour variants respectively, while the 15″ weighs only 1,542g.

Pricing and Availability in India

The Microsoft Surface Pro X, Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3 are generally available via authorised retail and online partners such as Reliance Digital, Vijay Sales, Amazon, and Flipkart.

Sr. No.	Device Model and Configuration	Price and Purchase Link
1.	Surface Pro X – 8GB/128GB LTE	₹98,999
2.	Surface Pro 7 – i3/4/128	₹72,999
	Surface Pro 7 – i5/8/128	₹88,999
	Surface Pro 7 – i5 /8/256	₹116,999
	Surface Pro 7 – i7/16/256	₹141,999
3.	Surface Laptop 3 – 13.5″	₹98,999
	Surface Laptop 3 – 15″	₹116,999

Keep in mind that while the devices are now officially available, local regulations may pose a roadblock in your purchase. India currently is divided into color-coded zones in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and hence, actual product availability at your local level may differ.

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DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 will allow 16K video output over USB 4 Type-C ports

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) recently released version 2.0 of the DisplayPort Alternate Mode (Alt Mode) standard which enables up to 16K video output over USB 4 Type-C ports. As a report from AnandTech explains, the new standard remaps USB Type-C‘s high-speed data pins to unlock more bandwidth for videos, resulting in a maximum raw bandwidth of up to 80Gbps. This is accomplished by reconfiguring a 4 lane USB 4 connection into a 2 or 4 lane DisplayPort connection and driving DisplayPort signals over high-speed lanes which would otherwise be carrying USB 4 signals.

In a statement regarding the new standard, Craig Wiley, senior director of marketing at Parade Technologies, VESA board member, and DisplayPort Alt Mode sub-group leader, was quoted saying, “VESA’s updated DisplayPort Alt Mode spec includes a number of under-the-hood developments — including updates to interface discovery and configuration as well as power management — to ensure seamless integration with the USB 4 specification…This major undertaking, which was several years in the making, could only be made possible through the combined efforts of VESA and the USB-IF. Through our latest collaboration with the USB-IF, VESA is now taking care of everything related to high-performance displays over USB-C, whether through a native DisplayPort or USB-C connector, or through tunneling of DisplayPort over the native USB 4 interface.”

For the unaware, USB 4 relies on a 2-up/2-down configuration to form a bidirectional connection. Since video signals don’t need to go both ways, DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 can take over all four lanes. In essence, this means that a DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 connection will be as capable as a regular DisplayPort 2.0 connection as far as connectivity and bandwidth are concerned.

Additionally, the new standard doesn’t require users to have a USB 4 controller on either end of the cable, which means that you’ll be able to use your existing monitors with DisplayPort hardware without upgrading to a USB 4 supported monitor. For a more detailed explanation of all that the new standard entails, you can check out AnandTech’s coverage from the link below.

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Via: AnandTech, The Verge

Source: VESA

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Image and Video Date Fixer restores the proper dates to your media files

If you’re someone who regularly transfers images between multiple devices, you probably would have ended up with a disordered gallery at some point or another due to incorrect timestamps. We all have been there and we know how frustrating it is. One of the reasons why this happens is because the file modification dates of images may have been overwritten by the date when the images were copied to your phone. If you are looking for a quick and easy fix to correctly timestamp your media, we have a solution for you.

XDA Recognized Developer j to the 4n has made an app that lets you restore the correct timestamp to your images and video files in just a few clicks. Aptly named Image and Video Date Fixer, the app reads the EXIF metadata entries of images and videos to identify the original timestamp and sets it as the modification date.

In case the image is stripped off of EXIF metadata — which is usually the case with images shared on instant messaging apps like WhatsApp — the app can still fix the wrong timestamp by parsing the filename. Most phones and cameras save the date and time info within the filenames of images and videos — this is usually in the format of yyyy-MM-dd_HH:mm:ss. The app can extract this info from filenames to create an EXIF attribute with the correct date.

Image and Video Date Fixer — XDA Thread

The Image and Video Date Fixer is available on Google Play Store for free. In the free version, you can process up to 20 files in a single batch. You can pay a small fee, however, to remove this restriction via an in-app purchase. The developer is also giving away 50 premium keys at the XDA Thread, so check that out.

Image and Video Date Fixer (Free⁺, Google Play) →

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OPPO details ColorOS 7 and Android 10 rollout plan for Europe and other regions

A couple of months after Google rolled out the first stable build of Android 10, OPPO announced ColorOS 7 — its newest software release based on the latest iteration of Android. In our review of ColorOS 7, we found OPPO’s latest software release to be a major improvement over ColorOS 6, with a new minimalist UI, full support for Android’s notification features, better dark mode implementation, and more. Shortly after the announcement, we reported that OPPO had started recruiting ColorOS 7 beta testers for a couple of its devices, including the OPPO F11 and the OPPO F11 Pro. The recruitment carried on until earlier this year, with more devices like the OPPO Find X, R17, and R17 Pro being added to the list. Since then, OPPO has rolled out a stable version of the software to a handful of devices, including the OPPO Reno2/z, F11/F11 Pro, A9, and R17. The company has even rolled out ColorOS 7.1 on its Find X2 series with a few additional improvements. However, a number of OPPO devices are yet to receive the stable ColorOS 7 update.

Good news for our users in Europe: #ColorOS7 + #Android10 Official Version Plan is here. Find the system update information below!
A brand new experience awaits. Thank you for your patience and support!
How to apply Setting>Software Update
For details: https://t.co/Vs3Rl9zWEK pic.twitter.com/3OZGVZiKHQ

— ColorOS (@colorosglobal) May 4, 2020

In a bid to give users an idea about when their devices should receive the ColorOS 7 update, OPPO has now announced a rollout schedule for Europe and other regions. The schedule was recently shared via the ColorOS 7 official Twitter handle and it reveals that the company will soon be rolling out the update in several regions over the coming months. Here’s a rundown of all the devices that are set to receive the update, along with the release timeline for each device:

• OPPO Reno 10x Zoom
  • Ongoing: Russia, Kazakhstan
  • June: Italy, Spain, Turkey, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Poland, Australia
• OPPO Reno
  • Ongoing: Kazakhstan
  • May: Russia
  • June: Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Poland
• OPPO Reno 5G
  • June: Australia, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom
• OPPO R17
  • Ongoing: Australia
• OPPO RX17 Pro/R17 Pro
  • Ongoing: Kazakhstan
  • May: Itlay, Russia
  • June: France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Poland, Turkey
• OPPO Find X Series
  • Ongoing: Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland
  • June: the United Kingdom, New Zealand
• OPPO A5 2020, A9 2020
  • July: New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, Romania, Italy, Belgium (A5 2020), Portugal (A9 2020)
• OPPO Reno2
  • Ongoing: Switzerland, Spain, Ukraine
  • May: Kazakhstan, Russia
  • June: the Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Poland, Turkey
  • July: Italy, France, the United Kingdom
• OPPO Reno Z
  • Ongoing: Russia, Kazakhstan
  • June: Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, the Netherlands, Turkey
• OPPO Reno2 Z
  • Ongoing: Russia
  • June: Germany, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland
  • July: Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Switzerland
• OPPO F9, F9 Pro
  • May: Russia, Kazakhstan
• OPPO F7, F7 128G
  • June: Russia, Kazakhstan
• OPPO R15
  • July: Australia, New Zealand
• OPPO R15 Pro
  • July: Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland
• OPPO A91
  • August: Italy, Spain, the Netherland, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Poland, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Turkey

A post regarding the matter on OPPO’s ColorOS community forums adds that the ColorOS 7 update will be released in batches and users will have to check the Software Update setting on their device in the given time period to receive the update.

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[Update: Hands-on images] LG Velvet specifications confirmed ahead of next month’s launch

Update 1 (05/04/2020 @ 03:04 AM EST): Hands-on images of the LG Velvet have surfaced, showing off its design. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on April 28, 2020, is preserved below.

Last month, we learned that LG might bid farewell to the flagship LG G series and could introduce a mid-range smartphone under a new branding. LG later confirmed its plan to replace the G series with a new brand and gave us our first look at the LG Velvet, the first phone in the Velvet lineup. This was followed by a teaser video that showcased the phone in its entirety and gave us a closer look at the design language. LG isn’t stopping here as it has now gone ahead and confirmed some of the key specifications of the LG Velvet.

According to LG Korea, the LG Velvet will feature a 6.8-inch curved display with a 20.5:9 aspect ratio and centered U-shaped notch. It’s unclear whether it will be an LCD or AMOLED and we also don’t know if it will support a high refresh rate. As rumored and later confirmed by LG in the teaser, the phone will indeed be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 756 SoC.

Coming to the camera, the triple camera setup is comprised of a 48MP primary camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, and 5MP depth sensor. The LG Velvet will also support LG Dual Screen attachment – just like the LG V60 ThinQ – as well as LG Stylus Pen – both of which will be available as optional accessories.

Much like the G series, the LG Velvet will continue to put a strong emphasis on audio, and as such, it will pack stereo speakers along with “Artificial Intelligent Sound” which automatically analyzes and tunes the audio based on the content being played. Other audio features of the LG Velvet include: “Voice Out Focus” that lets users filter out the background noises when shooting a video and ASMR recording which maximizes the sensitivity of two microphones.

Lastly, the LG Velvet will feature a 4,300 mAh battery and will support 10W wireless charging — as confirmed by a listing on the Wireless Power Consortium.

The LG Velvet is set to be unveiled on May 7th in South Korea and will go on sale starting May 15th on 3 Korean carriers. We don’t know when LG plans to bring the phone to other markets but we expect to learn more about this in the coming weeks.

Source: LG Korea

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Update: LG Velvet makes an appearance in hands-on images

LG themselves went ahead to make the LG Velvet and its design official, so there isn’t much left to see. But still, the newly emerged hands-on images align with the renders, showing off the now-familiar face of LG’s upcoming smartphone.

Source: Naver

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