Android SVP apologizes after Google Play erroneously removed Podcast Addict for showing COVID-19 content

In a bid to curb the spread of misinformation during these trying times, several tech giants banded together earlier this year to provide users with actual, verified facts about the COVID-19 situation and take down any misleading information from their respective platforms. Google, being Google, automated this process and the results have been quite undesirable for some app developers. According to a recent tweet from the developer of popular podcast app Podcast Addict, Google has erroneously suspended the app from the Play Store for hosting podcasts that talk about COVID-19.

Google has just suspended Podcast Addict again. This time for having Podcasts about Covid 19… Are you for real Google. Can you please check your own Google Podcast App, your search engine,Youtube, … first

— Podcast Addict (@PodcastAddict) May 16, 2020

In a notification regarding the suspension, Google cites Section 8.3 of its Developer Distribution Agreement which was recently updated to make it more difficult for malicious apps to take advantage of the increasing number of searches about the ongoing pandemic. The updated policy requires developers to prove that their app is either endorsed by a government to publish content related to COVID-19 or take down all references to the pandemic from the app. While updating the policy to limit the spread of fake news is great on Google’s part, removing an app for hosting third-party content related to COVID-19 is a bit of an oversight. Because if this is intended behavior, then Google should also remove its own apps, like YouTube and Google News, for hosting third-party COVID-19 content.

Since we’ve now established that this isn’t intended behavior, it’s safe to assume that Google’s automated review process just spotted mentions of coronavirus in the Podcast Addict app and delivered a false positive, leading to its suspension. And much like the recent Pushbullet and Join Chrome extension fiasco, Google’s communication with the developer regarding the issue was less than ideal.

Then this happened via DM… (Sorry for the vertical screenshots) pic.twitter.com/r3CHv4tMoN

— Podcast Addict (@PodcastAddict) May 18, 2020

When the developer took to Twitter to highlight the issue, Android’s AVP Hiroshi Lockheimer apologized to the developer for the false flag and said that the app shouldn’t have been pulled from the Play Store.

Apologies to Podcast Addict fans today. We are still sorting out kinks in our process as we combat Covid misinformation, but this app should not have been removed. Carry on with your podcasts, folks!

— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) May 19, 2020

The Podcast Addict developer then confirmed that his appeal had been accepted and Google required them to “fix the issue” and submit the app for review once again.

Good news, Google accepted my appeal.!
Now if I understand correctly I need to fix the issue and submit the app again

So basically I added an extra space at the end of the app listing and pressed on ReSubmit. We’ll see what happens now pic.twitter.com/FKomXQ2jI6

— Podcast Addict (@PodcastAddict) May 19, 2020

In their latest tweet, the developer revealed that the app has been resubmitted for review without any changes and it seems to be up on the Play Store once again. In case you wish to download the app, you can do so by following the Play Store link below.

Podcast Addict (Free⁺, Google Play) →

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Samsung announces the 50MP ISOCELL GN1 image sensor with Dual Pixel autofocus

Over the last couple of years, high megapixel sensors in smartphone cameras have become the norm. Huawei led the way with 40MP sensors. Then Sony launched the 48MP IMX586 Quad Bayer sensor in 2018. The sensor ended up being used by a huge variety of popular mid-range, flagship, and budget smartphones in 2019. The relentless march forward continued with the announcements of the first 64MP sensors in the form of the ISOCELL GW1 and the Sony IMX686 respectively. However, Samsung wasn’t content with that. The company broke new ground when it announced the 108MP ISOCELL Bright HMX last year, which ended up making its way to the Xiaomi Mi Note 10. The slightly upgraded ISOCELL HM1 featured in the company’s halo flagship, the Galaxy S20 Ultra. In the smartphone camera industry, primary camera sensors are now sourced from Sony or Samsung, and they have become the two dominant players in the market. Now, Samsung has announced another high megapixel sensor for smartphones in the form of the 50MP ISOCELL GN1. Interestingly, it has Dual Pixel autofocus. Let’s delve into the background of this news announcement.

While it may seem that high megapixel sensors are a win-win situation due to pixel binning, it’s not so simple as that. For one thing, a 48MP or 64MP or 108MP sensor doesn’t have 48MP/64MP/108MP of chromatic resolution. The Quad Bayer and Nona Bayer (Galaxy S20 Ultra) filter of such sensors means that in reality, a 48MP Quad Bayer sensor has only 12MP chromatic resolution. These sensors can produce high-resolution Quad Bayer output, but the results are usually less than optimal as they are not meant to be used that way. Instead, device makers still continue to ship their phones with pixel binned 12MP/16MP/27MP modes by default. The other major issue with these sensors is that up until now, these high megapixel sensors haven’t supported Dual Pixel PDAF. With the exception of the LG V60 ThinQ, all phones with such high megapixel sensors have relied on traditional phase detection autofocus (PDAF).

Dual Pixel PDAF, an autofocus technology that is popularly used in DSLRs and mirrorless cameras was first introduced in smartphone cameras with the Samsung Galaxy S7. It means that the image sensor uses 100% of pixels in the sensor for autofocus, significantly improving the speed and accuracy of the focusing system. The Galaxy S20 Ultra, with its 108MP high-resolution sensor, is actually the first Samsung flagship to lack the Dual Pixel PDAF system since the Galaxy S7, and it shows. At launch, reviewers pointed out various autofocus issues with speed and accuracy on the Galaxy S20 Ultra (review), which hampered the user experience. Samsung subsequently rolled out an update to fix such issues, but feedback still remains fixed on whether they have been completely fixed. Moreover, because of the hardware characteristics of PDAF vs. Dual Pixel PDAF, the S20 Ultra’s 108MP sensor will never be able to focus as fast or as accurately as the traditional 12MP primary sensor of the standard Galaxy S20 and the Galaxy S20+ (review). It’s clear that high megapixel sensors need to incorporate Dual Pixel autofocus to prevent any such issues in future phones, and the 50MP ISOCELL GN1 does just that.

Samsung 50MP ISOCELL GN1 image sensor

The 50MP ISOCELL GN1 is a large 1/1.3″ sensor with comparatively big 1.2μm pixels. The size of the sensor is actually slightly bigger than the 108MP ISOCELL HM1 used in the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which has an optical format of 1/1.33″. Samsung notes that the GN1 is the company’s first image sensor to offer both Dual Pixel and Tetracell technologies. The bigger pixel size is said to bring image sensor performance to a “new level” with a combination of elevated light sensitivity for better low-light photos and DSLR-level autofocus speeds. The Dual Pixel technology creates 100-million phase-detecting photodiodes for fast auto-focusing and light information that can be translated up to 100 megapixels, according to the company.

A balance needs to be made between detailed high-resolution photos and bigger pixels for better photos in low light situations. The ISOCELL GN1 strikes a relatively pragmatic balance between the two, just like the Sony IMX689 found in the OPPO Find X2 Pro (first impressions) and the OnePlus 8 Pro (review). According to Samsung, it thus fulfills multiple needs at once.

The GN1 has 100 million PDAF agents. Samsung’s Dual Pixel technology places two photodiodes side-by-side within a single pixel that can receive light from different angles for phase detection. With all of the sensor’s active pixels working as autofocus agents, the GN1 can detect and focus onto an object from every corner instantly, even in low light. During still image capture, a single-pixel output is created by merging the outputs from the two photodiodes within the pixel. The company also provides a software algorithm that takes light information from each photodiode to produce image resolutions comparable to 100MP (this seems to be an example of super-resolution).

The ISOCELL GN1 naturally also features Samsung’s Tetracell technology, which is nothing but the company’s name for 4-in-1 pixel binning (the Galaxy S20 Ultra, on the other hand, uses 9-in-1 pixel binning, i.e, nona binning). Samsung describes it as a pixel merging technique that improves the pixels’ capacity to capture and process more light. It doubles the “effective pixel size” to 2.4μm and quadruples the light sensitivity to take bright 12.5MP photos. The improved light sensitivity is because of the 1.2μm pixel size, which is higher than the standard 0.8μm pixel size of other high-resolution image sensors. The IMX689, on the other hand, features a slightly smaller 1.12μm pixel size, while the OmniVision OV48C has the same 1.2μm pixel size, but it hasn’t made its way to any phone camera yet. Even in extremely low light, the GN1 can supposedly deliver bright and sharp results.

The sensor also comes with Smart-ISO to intelligently select the optimal ISO. In addition, it features real-time HDR enabling it to capture the scene in multiple simultaneous exposures, as well as gyro-based EIS to take sharp photos and videos in motion. The GN1 supports video recording at up to 8K resolution at 30fps. Notably, this is higher than the capabilities of the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s 108MP sensor, which supports 8K at only 24fps.

Samsung says that the ISOCELL GN1 started mass production this month. However, according to notable leaker Ice Universe, this sensor won’t be making its way to the upcoming Galaxy Note 20+. The Galaxy Note 20+ will instead feature the same 108MP HM1 sensor that is found in the Galaxy S20 Ultra, but it will add a new sensor to completely solve the focusing problem. This should, in theory, prevent autofocus woes. The 50MP sensor won’t be making its way to the Galaxy Fold 2 either. It can be expected to find its way in a premium Samsung phone eventually, though.

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Source: Samsung

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Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile adds 5G data plans that connect to Verizon’s Ultrawide Band network

The conversation around 5G in the US has typically included only the major carriers. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are all making big pushes into 5G in various ways. The smaller carriers are now missing out, though. Xfinity Mobile now has access to Verizon’s 5G Ultrawide Band network.

For those that don’t know, Xfinity Mobile is an MVNO owned by Comcast that operates on Verizon’s network. The carrier is now adding new plans that take advantage of Verizon’s 5G network as well. The new plans offer data “by the gig” or unlimited. Plans start at 1GB of data for $15 per month and go up to 3GB of data for $30 and 10GB of data for $60. Unlimited data costs $45 per line.

The “by the gig” plans can be shared among multiple people. That’s why the 10GB plan costs more than the “unlimited” plan, which is billed per line. Going over your limit will cost $15 per GB. Plans can be changed anytime through the month, so you really should never go over the limit. Current customers can switch to 5G plans at any time, assuming they live in one of the 34 cities with Verizon 5G coverage. Keep in mind that Ultrawide Band 5G requires you to be in precise locations to use it.

Of course, you’ll need a compatible device to access Verizon’s 5G Ultrawide Band network. Xfinity Mobile offers the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus 5G or Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G. One last requirement is you need to use Comcast for your home internet service to use Xfinity Mobile. While Xfinity Mobile might not be everyone’s favorite carrier, it is nice to see 5G support rolling out to more than just the Big 3.

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Source: CNET

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OnePlus Protection Plans for accidental damages are now available in 27 European countries

As flagship smartphones continue to creep up in price, protecting them becomes even more important. If you’ve used a smartphone for an extended period of time, there’s a good chance it’s shown some signs of abuse. Protection plans are a good way to get some peace of mind and have your back covered if something should happen. OnePlus is now launching Protection Plans in 27 European countries.

OnePlus launched Protection Plans back in April and they are already available in the US. There are a number of different Protection Plans and different price points that you can buy. The most comprehensive plan, OnePlus Care, covers your device against damages by all accidental drop, crash, breakage, or liquid for 2 years. Other plans include an Extended Warranty Plan, Screen Protection Plan, and Accidental Damage Plan.

All of these plans will not be available to all countries, and they are only available for the OnePlus 8 series. “Phase 1” rolled out to the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, and Ireland on April 30th. If you live in one of those countries you can’t add a plan to a device you already own.

“Phase 2” of the rollout will include the Czech Republic, Malta, Hungary, Belgium, Cyprus, Lithuania, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, and Luxembourg. If your country is in Phase 2, you can add a Protection Plan to your existing purchase until May 25th. Be sure to check out the plans that are available in your country.

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Source: OnePlus

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Google survey hints the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5 will cost $349 and $699

It’s no mystery that the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5 are on the horizon. The Pixel 4a has been spotted numerous times, most recently being a performance review against older Google Pixel phones. The Pixel 5 is farther off, and therefore it hasn’t leaked much yet, but there are clues out there. Google itself, however, may have just given us some clues on the prices of these upcoming devices.

Reddit user Pop-Quiz_Kid posted the screenshot below from the Google Opinion Rewards app. The survey asks the user which of the two Google Pixel smartphones they would prefer: a $349 “Google Pixel Phone” or a $699 “Premium Google Pixel Phone. Each option has a few details listed as well, including a 3.5mm headphone jack for the cheaper model and “best in class camera” for the premium model.

This is an interesting question for several reasons. First and foremost, the $349 price lines up with rumors from last week about the Pixel 4a pricing. The details listed for that device also line up with what we expect from an “a” series Pixel. $699 would be drastically cheaper than previous generations of the main Pixel line, but there have been rumblings of the Pixel 5 not being a “flagship” device.

Pixel 4a XDA Forums

Google has been known to “leak” information in the Opinions Rewards app. Last year, the company asked users about an app store subscription service around the same time Google Play Pass was rumored. Recent news revealed just how poorly the Pixel series, including the Pixel 3a, have fared, so it’s not surprising that Google is trying to gauge interest.

What device would you prefer in Google’s question?

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Source: Reddit

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Dozens of old ZTE phones with Qualcomm processors can now be bootloader unlocked

The regular boot sequence of a typical Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset-powered Android device is initiated with the Primary Bootloader (PBL), although there exists an alternative boot mode called Emergency Download Mode (EDL). The latter is strictly intended for OEM servicing and can be used to ‘unbrick’ a device with appropriate software binaries via a protocol named ‘Firehose’. Interestingly, EDL is often utilized by tinkerers to get low-level partition access, which can further be exploited to achieve bootloader unlock on some devices. Based on this principle as well as the previous research work done by the Aleph Security team, XDA Senior Member alexenferman has now discovered a generic method to unlock the bootloader of a bunch of ZTE phones without any data loss.

ZTE apparently uses the ‘devinfo’ partition to store crucial bootloader state parameters, including the lock/unlock status. As the Firehose protocol has a provision of reading the contents of individual partitions, one can dump the ‘devinfo’ partition from a bootloader-locked device, change the offset where the unlocking parameters are stored, and write the modified image back to the device to unlock the bootloader. Unlike Xiaomi and some other OEMs, ZTE doesn’t even put a safeguard before the EDL mode against such ‘attacks’, thus you can easily trigger the device to boot to emergency download mode via a simple ADB command. The only catch is that the method won’t work on ZTE phones that launched with Android 8.0 Oreo or newer, and it also won’t work on flagship devices like the Axon 9 Pro, Axon 10 Pro, Axon M, etc.

Dumping the ‘devinfo’ partition using QFIL

According to XDA Recognized Developer deadman96385, this method works with the following devices:

Devices with MSM8909 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 210) SoC

• ZTE Avid 4 (Z855) (code-name: calbee)
• ZTE Maven 2 (Z831) (code-name: chapel)
• ZTE Maven 3 (Z835) (code-name: draco)
• ZTE Majesty Pro Plus (Z899VL) (code-name: elden)
• Unknown ZTE (code-name: forbes)
• ZTE ZMAX One (Z719DL) (code-name: gemi)
• ZTE Tempo X (N9137) (code-name: grayjoylite)
• ZTE Grand X View 2 (K81) (code-name: helen)
• ZTE Overture 3 (Z851) (code-name: jeff)
• ZTE Fanfare 3 (Z852) (code-name: kelly)
• ZTE ZFive G LTE (Z557BL) (code-name: lewis)
• ZTE ZFive C (Z558VL) (code-name: loft)
• Unknown ZTE (code-name: refuge)
• ZTE N818S (code-name: sapphire/sapphire4G)
• ZTE Blade Vantage (Z839) (code-name: sweet)

Devices with MSM8952 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 617) SoC

• Android  5.1.1
  • ZTE Grand X Max 2 (Z988) (code-name: jerry)
  • ZTE Imperial Max (Z963U) (code-name: lily)
  • ZTE Max Duo LTE (Z963VL) (code-name: nancy)
  • ZTE Axon Max (C2016) (code-name: orchid)
  • ZTE Max Duo LTE (Z962BL) (code-name: tom)
• Android 6.0.1
  • ZTE ZPAD (K90U) (code-name: gevjon)
  • ZTE AT&T Trek 2 (K88) (code-name: jasmine)
  • ZTE Grand X Max 2 (Z988) (code-name: jerry)
  • ZTE Axon Max (C2016) (code-name: orchid)
  • ZTE ZMAX Pro (Z981) (code-name: urd)
• Android 7.1.1
  • ZTE AT&T Trek 2 (K88) (code-name: jasmine)
  • ZTE Axon 7 Mini (B2017G) (code-name: tulip)

Devices with MSM8920/MSM8937/MSM8940/MSM8953 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 427/430/435/625) SoCs

• ZTE Blade Force/ZTE Warp 8 (N9517) (code-name: warp8)
• ZTE Grand X4 (Z956/Z957) (code-name: finacier)
• ZTE Blade Spark (Z971) (code-name: peony)
• ZTE Blade X (Z965) (code-name: proline)
• ZTE Max XL/ZTE Bolton (N9560) (code-name: bolton)
• ZTE Blade Z Max (Z982) (code-name: crocus)
• Unknown ZTE (code-name: flame)
• ZTE Blade X Max (Z983) (code-name: stollen)
• ZTE Blade Max View (Z610DL) (code-name: violet)
• ZTE Max Blue LTE (Z986DL) (code-name: florist)
• ZTE AT&T Primtime (K92) (code-name: primerose)

Additionally, the ZTE Avid 4, ZTE Tempo X, ZTE Imperial Max, and ZTE Grand X View 2 should also be compatible with this procedure. Interested users should take a look at deadman96385‘s unofficial ZTE Firehose repo and pick the right set of programmers before fiddling with their devices. The step-by-step bootloader unlocking process can be found in the thread linked below.

Bootloader Unlocking on Qualcomm ZTE Devices — XDA Discussion Thread

 

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Walmart launches new Onn tablets with Android 10 and USB-C

Last year at this time, Walmart launched a duo of affordable Android tablets under the “Onn” brand. Last month, we saw the company was planning to launch two new tablets soon. That time has come as Walmart quietly launched the Onn 10.1 Tablet Pro and Onn 8 Tablet Pro starting at only $99.

The Onn series is undoubtedly Walmart’s attempt to compete with Amazon’s affordable Fire tablets. Amazon actually just upgraded its 8-inch series with USB-C and wireless charging. Walmart is similarly upgrading its tablets with USB-C and specification upgrades across the board.

First, the Onn 8 Tablet Pro has an 8-inch HD LCD display, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. That’s an upgrade from last year’s 1024×600 display and only 16GB of storage. It has a 2.0 GHz processor, 10 hours of battery life, 5MP cameras on front and back, and USB-C for charging. The Onn 10.1 Tablet Pro has a 10.1-inch HD LCD display and 3GB of RAM, but the other upgrades are the same as the 8-inch model.

Walmart Onn tablets XDA Forums

Like the previous Onn tablets, these new devices feature a pretty clean version of Android. They’re launching with Android 10 and not much tinkering from Walmart other than a handful of pre-installed apps. The screenshots show a Walmart icon in the navigation bar, but this presumably could be removed if you use gesture navigation.

The Onn 8 Tablet Pro costs $99 and is currently in very low stock. The larger Onn 10.1 Tablet Pro costs $129 and is also in very limited stock. If you’re looking for an alternative to the Amazon Fire tablets and their very un-Android-like interface, these Walmart tablets seem to be a great choice.

Buy the Onn 10.1 Tablet Pro || Buy the Onn 8 Tablet Pro

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Via: 9to5Google

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