Motorola now commits to at least 2 years of updates for its $1,000 Edge+ smartphone

Motorola made its big splash back into the flagship smartphone market last month with the Motorola Edge+. The device packs just about every high-end feature you could want: massive OLED display, 12GB of RAM, triple rear cameras, a big 5,000mAh battery, Android 10, and even a headphone jack. However, one thing didn’t meet the flagship standards, and Motorola is pledging to fix that.

Motorola Edge+ XDA Forums

Software updates are very important, especially when users are putting down over $1,000 for a phone. No one wants to spend that kind of money on something that won’t be supported for the duration of their ownership. Typically, a flagship phone will come with the promise of at least two Android OS version updates, some even promise 3. Motorola caught flack for saying the Edge+ would only get Android 11 (via Wired).

We will support with software updates as frequently and for as long as we feel it benefits our consumers. While we don’t have an absolute commitment to numbers of upgrades, Edge consumers can expect security updates every other month and an upgrade to Android 11 OS this year.

That statement doesn’t specifically exclude Android 12, but it certainly leaves a lot of room to not deliver updates past Android 11. In a new statement, Motorola is now saying Motorola Edge+ users should get “at least two Android OS upgrades.”

We’re excited to share that all Motorola Edge Plus consumers will enjoy a clean Android 10 experience and are expected to receive at least two Android OS upgrades.

That’s great news for anyone who drops $1K on the Motorola Edge+. It would be nice if companies could commit to these things before there’s an outrage, but sometimes a little push is needed. If the lack of software support was holding you back, this news should be a sigh of relief.

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Source: Android Authority

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Here are the full specifications of the Motorola Moto E7

Motorola made waves last month by returning to the flagship market, but the company’s bread and butter is still the low to mid-range segment. The Moto E series represents the low end of that range and it has done quite well for Motorola. The Moto E6s was revealed recently and now it looks like the Moto E7 is coming soon as well.

The Moto E7 appeared on both the Google Play Console’s Device Catalog and the Android Enterprise Recommended’s device list today. This gives us a look at the device through a small render (above) and reveals some of the specifications. Design-wise, it’s a pretty standard Motorola phone with a waterdrop notch and slim bezels. Here are the specifications from the listings:

• 6.2-inch display at 1520×720 resolution
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB of internal storage
• Android 10
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 632

We’ve also been tracking the Moto E7, codenamed “ginna,” for a few weeks. We can confirm those specifications and add these exclusive details:

• Model names: XT2052-1, XT2052-2, XT2052-2PP, XT2052-5, XT2052-6, XT2052-DL
• Additional 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage model
• 13MP f/2.0 Samsung primary camera + 2MP f/2.2 Omnivision depth sensor
• 5MP f/2.2 front camera
• 3550mAh battery
• Availability: North America, including the US on T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon

We now have a very good idea of what the Moto E7 will offer. Overall, it appears to be a solid device with a large display, capable processor, a good amount of RAM, and dual cameras. The additional model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage may not be available in all regions. This is looking like a pretty solid low-end offering and it should be attractive on the US carriers.

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YouTube Music and Google Podcasts can now import your songs and podcasts from Google Play Music

The transition from Google Play Music to YouTube Music has been a long road. The big push to YouTube Music started almost exactly two years ago. In that time, Google has slowly added more features to bring it up to speed with Play Music, including local uploads. Starting today, Google is making it easier to fully transition to YouTube Music with some new transfer tools.

Google is releasing a transfer tool to bring your music library from Play Music to YouTube Music. It also has a tool for transferring your podcasts from Play Music to Google Podcasts. The transfer process includes all your uploads, purchases, added songs and albums, personal and subscribed playlists, likes and dislikes, curated stations, and taste preferences.

Google has made the transfer process pretty painless. You can either go to the transfer tool webpage or do it from the YouTube Music app. All you have to do is tap the transfer button to get started. For podcast listeners, there’s a separate transfer tool webpage to bring all your subscriptions and episode progress to Google Podcasts. Check out the video below to see a walkthrough of the process.

Users will still have access to both platforms for now. Google still isn’t giving an end date for Play Music support, but it does sound like it’s coming soon. When that decision is made, Google says it will provide “plenty of notice” for users to make the transition.

YouTube Music - Stream Songs & Music Videos (Free, Google Play) →

Google Podcasts: Discover free & trending podcasts (Free, Google Play) →

Google Play Music (Free, Google Play) →

Source: YouTube

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Google Chrome is getting a “Media Feeds” feature so websites can recommend videos to you

Browsers are used for a plethora of things, but a large chunk of Internet usage is media consumption. Google has slowly been adding features to Chrome to make the media streaming experience the best it can be for users. That’s why earlier this year Chrome got a new media control tool to control currently playing audio and video right from the toolbar. Now, Google is looking to further enhance media playback on Chrome with the introduction of a “Media Feeds” feature so websites can make video recommendations.

Google Chrome’s media control tool.

A commit has just been merged on the Chromium Gerrit that adds a feature flag titled “Enables Media Feeds.” The description of the flag reads “Enables the Media Feeds feature which allows us to fetch feeds of media ‘items from websites that support the feature.” So what exactly is this “Media Feed?”

Essentially, the Media Feed is a way for websites that provide video content to create a feed of recommended videos. Think about how streaming sites like Netflix and YouTube always have recommended videos for you to watch next. The Media Feed would be based on whatever the website wants it to be, and it will be displayed in the browser similar to the aforementioned media controls.

Google is providing an API for websites that will allow them to tie into this feature. If a website supports Media Feeds, it can tell the Chrome user it has a feed, recommend relevant content, recommend content to “continue watching,” and recommend content to “play next.” All three of those recommendations have a different use case. Relevant content can get the user started watching something, “continue watching” is for content that the user has already started to watch, and “play next” is for content to watch after a video has ended.

Media Feeds are currently limited to video content, so no music or podcasts. The flag can be enabled at chrome://flags#enable-media-feeds on all Chrome platforms except Android. The feature is currently in the latest Canary builds so it’ll take a while for it to make its way to the latest Stable releases. Even so, it won’t be super useful until websites support it, but this could be a handy media feature in the future.

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Here’s how you can measure blood pressure with your Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 right now

Samsung has yet to enable the long-anticipated ECG support on the Galaxy Watch Active 2, but the company did announce cuff-less blood pressure monitoring and tracking using the wearable a few weeks ago. There is a catch, though, as the whole functionality as well as the companion app (Samsung Health Monitor) has only been approved in South Korea so far. While Samsung is planning to reach the general availability stage within Q3 of this year, XDA Senior Member adfree and several other tinkerers have already found a way to sideload the blood pressure monitoring plugin on your Galaxy Watch Active 2 and install the companion app on your phone (even on non-Samsung models) by disabling the region locking mechanism.

DISCLAIMER: This particular feature on the Galaxy Watch Active 2 is likely not approved by your local authorities just yet. DO NOT try to use the watch as a replacement for approved medical equipment. Attempt at your own risk!

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 runs Tizen OS, thus the sideloading process is a tad bit different from the Android world. Please follow the steps listed below with utmost care to activate the blood pressure measuring feature on your watch:

• Download the modded apps from this post.
• Enable debugging and “Developer Options” on the Galaxy Watch Active 2, then connect the watch with Wi-Fi. Your PC and the watch should be on the same network.
• Download and install the latest version of TizenStudio with IDE.
• Start TizenStudio and you will see a box with “No target” written. Click on the drop-down menu and choose “Launch Remote Device Manager”. Then click on “Scan” and you will find your watch. At this stage, you need to click on the toggle “Connect ON” and accept the connection on the watch.

• Once connected, you are ready to install the TPK file (e.g. the plugin package for the watch) using the Smart Development Bridge (SDB) binary. The sideloading command should be sdb install NAME_OF_THE_TPK.tpk.
  • If you get an SDB server and client mismatch you can ignore it so long as you see install_percent get to 100 the app will show on your watch.
• Install the APK on your phone. As soon as you launch the Blood Pressure app on your watch, it will now prompt you to continue from your phone. From there, they will automatically link and will work correctly.

You can visit the discussion thread for further info. Once again, we remind you not to substitute any approved medical equipment with the Galaxy Watch Active 2. Please exercise your own discretion in using this modification.

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Image source: r/GalaxyWatch (1, 2)

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[Update: Rolling Out] Spotify tests social listening to let you and your friends control music together

Update (5/12/20 @ 10:25 AM ET): Spotify is now rolling out Group Sessions for Premium subscribers.

Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services on the planet right now. They continue to add features to the platform and apps. The Android app recently got a sleep timer and now it appears a new “Social Listening” feature is in the works.

Discovered by app scooper Jane Manchun Wong, Spotify is in the early stages of testing a Social Listening feature. Users can scan a code generated from the app or visit a special link to join a shared queue. People can then add their own songs and control the music from their own devices. The UI seems pretty well-developed already.

If this sounds familiar, it’s certainly not a new concept. There have been a few popular apps that have attempted similar things, but they all lacked the user base and huge library of music that Spotify can offer. Chances are your friends already have Spotify accounts, which makes this a feature people are likely to actually use.

Currently, Social Listening is in the early stages and it can only be used by Spotify employees. Wong was able to get the screenshots from code hidden in the Android app. There’s no guarantee that this feature ever makes it to the big stage, though we really hope it does.

Source: Twitter

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Update: Rolling Out

After first being spotted in testing nearly a year ago, Spotify is finally rolling out Group Sessions. The feature allows you and your friends to listen to music together and have access to a group queue. Everyone can add music, remove music, reorder the list, and control what’s playing.

To create a Group Session, tap the “device connect” button on the music player screen. There’s a new “Start a group session” section with your profile photo and a barcode. Friends can scan the code to join, or you can tap “Scan to join” someone else’s group. The music will play from the speakers of the original device, but it can also be casted to speakers.

This feature is currently only for Spotify Premium subscribers. Free users can still create shared playlists to get a similar experience, but Group Sessions are more for parties and people in the same space.

Source: Spotify

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Samsung Gear S3 and Gear Sport gain Bixby support and some Galaxy Watch Active 2 features

It’s always nice to start the day with a new update on your old gadget. That’s exactly what Samsung Gear S3 and Gear Sport users are waking up to today (myself included). The update finally replaces the ancient S Voice voice assistant with Bixby and adds a few features from the Galaxy Watch Active 2.

S Voice was Samsung’s original voice assistant, but it was quite different than Bixby. S Voice was more task-driven and less conversational. That being said, Bixby can do everything S Voice could do, so users aren’t losing out on any functionality. Bixby offers a much cleaner a feature-rich interface. You can enable the wake-up command and access Bixby by saying “Hi, Bixby” when the display is on.

If you’re not excited about Bixby (understandable), the more exciting additions are Watch Active 2 features. Apps running in the background,such as an activity tracker, are shown as an icon on the watch face. This allows you to quickly jump back into the app. Other updates include a vertical list view for the app drawer, new emoticons for more skin tones, sleep detection has been improved, the Always-on Display is easier to read, and customizing the Quick Toggles is easier as well.

The update for the Gear S3 series is firmware version R76*XXU2FTD4, while the Gear Sport update is firmware version R600XXU1DTD3. Users in the US and South Korea should have the update today and we expect it in more countries soon. Bixby may not be super exciting to everyone, but the other features are nice. We love to see Samsung continue to update old watches.

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Via: Reddit

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