App Volume Control lets you control the individual volume levels of Android apps [Root]

If you’ve ever tried to play audio from several Android apps simultaneously on your smartphone, you’ve probably realized that it sucks to do this. It would be nice to casually enjoy an Android game while your favorite music from Spotify is blasting in the background. On the other hand, it would also be nice if you could mostly focus on the gameplay in a game like Call of Duty: Mobile without having your music completely overtaking the game audio. The problem with Android is that the OS only offers a few audio streams that you can control the volume of, one of which is the media stream. This media stream is where games and most music apps have to output their audio, so in most cases you’re stuck controlling the volume of both games and music simultaneously. Fortunately, there’s a new mod for rooted phones called “App Volume Control” that seeks to solve this.

Android offers the concept of “audio focus“, a set of APIs that can cooperatively be utilized by third-party apps so that only one app can hold the focus at a time. Apps can choose whether or not their audio should halt or “duck” whenever another app takes over the audio focus. Because Google left it up to developers to decide how to handle things when the audio focus is lost, there’s a lot of inconsistency in how apps behave when another app takes over audio focus.

XDA Junior Member Alcatraz323 came up with an interesting open-source mod that not only allows you to force concurrent audio to be played by multiple apps (in case one app chooses to halt its music when another app takes over the audio focus) but also has the ability to control volumes on a per-app basis. The developer released a companion app called “App Volume Control” on the Google Play Store, and they also released a Magisk Module called “Audio HeadQuarter” to set up the mod. The Magisk Module consists of low-level libraries while the Android app allows you to customize volume behavior on a per-app basis. Users can create and tune app-specific audio presets through the companion app after a successful installation of the module. Users can also enable the app’s floating window to easily tune the volumes outside of the app.

 

According to the developer, close-to-stock software or AOSP-derived custom ROMs like LineageOS are the most compatible with this mod. Heavy OEM skins such as Xiaomi’s MIUI or Huawei’s EMUI might have issues getting the mod to work. We installed this mod on our rooted Google Pixel 4 running Android 10 to verify it works. We were able to get it to recognize when Spotify is playing, which allowed us to control the loudness of the music from Spotify while we were playing Call of Duty: Mobile. The app was unable to recognize music playback from Google Play Music, though. The app warns that it may not recognize direct audio output sessions that aren’t sent through the AudioMixer API, which this mod hooks into. Thus, yourmileage may vary.

The source code of the app and module are hosted on GitHub. You can download the Audio HeadQuarter module using the search function in Magisk Manager, or you can grab it directly from the GitHub release page of the repository. The developer recommends not to use Canary builds of Magisk and suggests installing the mod on top of Magisk 20.2 or later. While you can install the companion app (linked below) from the Google Play Store, the app alone can’t do anything without the underlying binaries.

Audio HeadQuarter: XDA Discussion Thread ||| GitHub Repo

Note: The module’s default installation option is to set SELinux to permissive, which is highly insecure and not recommended to do. The developer notes that a newer version of the module, which hasn’t been published on GitHub yet, may work with SELinux set to enforcing. 

App Volume Control(Magisk)(Requires Root) (Free, Google Play) →

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Google tests voice confirmation for some purchases made through Google Assistant

Google Assistant has been getting a lot of useful features as of late. Just a few days ago on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the company released an app called Action Blocks that lets you setup easy-to-access Assistant shortcuts alongside other accessibility-based features in a few Google apps. The company is now testing a voice confirmation feature for some purchases made through Google Assistant. The feature toggle is already available for a small percentage of users, including me.

The toggle is available under Google app > More > Settings > Google Assistant > You > Payments. Here you can set up your payment method, if you haven’t already, and allow Assistant to handle your purchases. The instructions are now also available on the Google Assistant Help page. Once you’re done, you’re greeted with a screen that includes your default payment option, your billing address, and confirmation options. Confirmation with password, finger, or face is nothing new, but we’ve definitely never seen a voice confirmation before. According to AndroidPolice, Google confirmed that not all purchases will prompt voice recognition. Currently, it’s limited to only in-app purchases and restaurant orders and not for Google Shopping.

Google has also confirmed that the voice confirmation feature is still in testing and it’s intended for Assistant-enabled smart speakers and displays. I could see how these types of gadgets could benefit from such a feature, as most of them don’t have a fingerprint scanner or any type of face recognition technology. In other cases though, I’d trust the above-mentioned methods more, considering the fact that almost all my friends can unlock my Pixel with their voice. That’s just my two cents. It’s also good that not all purchases can be confirmed via voice, as they have a maximum price limit.

We have no idea when this feature will see the light of day for all users, though. Google may mention it at the June 3rd online event of the Android 11 beta launch.

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Unlock full Dolby Atmos equalizer settings on the OnePlus 8, OnePlus 7T, and OnePlus 7 series

Smartphone manufacturers nowadays tend to offer some kind of digital audio optimization to enhance the performance of the speakers built into their devices. OnePlus, for example, collaborated with Dirac Research till the release of the OnePlus 6T, but switched to Dolby Atmos audio tuning since the OnePlus 7 series. Most of these technologies and solutions are deeply baked inside the firmware, thus modifying the existing presets usually requires root access. However, XDA Senior Member Rayekk has now discovered a simple trick (that doesn’t require root access) to replace the barebones Dolby Atmos Settings on the OnePlus 7 Pro with a more feature-filled equalizer. We have tested the method on the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro without any issue, and this trick should also be possible with the regular OnePlus 7 as well as the OnePlus 7T series of phones.

OnePlus 7 Forums ||| OnePlus 7 Pro Forums

OnePlus 7T Forums ||| OnePlus 7T Pro Forums

OnePlus 8 Forums ||| OnePlus 8 Pro Forums

Veteran OxygenOS users should be aware that OnePlus only offers three “scenario-based enhancements” – namely “Dynamic”, “Movie”, and “Music” – as the Dolby Atmos equalizer presets in these phones. The built-in presets come from the com.oneplus.sound.tuner package, which is itself a system-app. All you need to do is uninstall the package for the current user and then install a compatible controller app to unlock the full potential of your phone. The steps are listed below:

1. Set up ADB shell access by following this guide.
2. Turn on USB debugging on your OnePlus phone and connect it to your PC.
3. Execute the following ADB command:

   adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.oneplus.sound.tuner
   

4. This will uninstall the stock presets from the primary user profile. Now you can download the Dolby Atmos Equalizer extracted from the Razer Phone‘s Android firmware using this link.

Unlike typical third-party audio mods, the new equalizer seamlessly integrates with the OxygenOS firmware. While you can also restore the old presets using this ADB command:

adb shell cmd package install-existing com.oneplus.sound.tuner

…You should remove other Dolby Atmos apps beforehand to avoid potential conflicts.

Dolby Atmos unlocking on OnePlus phones running OxygenOS — XDA Discussion Thread

Featured image credits: Dolby

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Sony Xperia 1 II Hands-on: A fine-tuned upgrade over the Xperia 1 [Video]

Earlier this year in February, Sony unveiled its flagship smartphone for 2020 — the Xperia 1 II. The device went on sale in Japan earlier this month and Sony expanded its availability to the US earlier today. Much like its predecessor, the Xperia 1 II packs in top-of-the-line specifications, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, a 21:9 6.5″ 4K HDR display, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. XDA TV‘s TK Bay had a chance to take a look at the device before launch and here are his first impressions of Sony’s latest flagship.

Sony Xperia 1 II XDA Forums

In his Xperia 1 II hands-on video, TK goes through the phone’s hardware specifications, with emphasis on its audio, video, camera, and gaming capabilities. A large portion of the video is dedicated to the Xperia 1 II’s display and Sony’s software offering that will help users make the most out of the professional-grade screen.

TK also focuses on the Xperia 1 II’s new Camera Pro updated Cinema Pro apps, that have been designed to offer a Sony Alpha-like experience on the smartphone. The apps offer granular adjustments for everything from the ISO to the shutter speed for each individual camera module on the back of the device and it even lets you customize the UI as per your needs.

Even though Sony’s mobile division isn’t doing great, the company has done a fantastic job with its latest flagship and has included some noteworthy improvements over last year’s Xperia 1. Do check out TK’s video above to learn more about the Xperia 1 II’s capabilities.

Specifications	Sony Xperia 1 II
Dimensions & Weight	165.1 x 71.1 x 7.6 mm 181.4 g
Display	6.5-inch 4K OLED 3840×1644 pixels, 643 PPI 21:9 aspect ratio 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut, D65 white point Motion Blur Reduction (90Hz “equivalent”) HDR BT.2020 (Rec.2020) Gorilla Glass 6
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865: 1x Kryo 585 Prime core (2.84GHz) 3x Kryo 585 Performance cores (2.4GHz) 4x Kryo 585 Efficiency cores (1.8GHz) Adreno 650 GPU
RAM & Storage	8GB/256GB microSD card slot (uses shared SIM 2 slot)
Battery	4,000mAh 18W USB-C PD fast charging Qi wireless charging
Fingerprint Sensor	Side-mounted fingerprint
Rear Cameras	12MP primary sensor, Sony IMX555 – 1/1.7″, 1.8-micron, f/1.7, 24mm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 12MP ultra-wide angle sensor, 1/2.55″, 1.4-micron, f/2.2, 16mm, Dual Pixel PDAF 12MP telephoto sensor, 1/3.4″, 1.0-micron, f/2.4, 70mm, 3x optical zoom, OIS Zeiss optics Up to 20fps AF/AE burst shooting Up to 60 times per second continuous AF/AE evaluation Video recording: 4K HDR at 60, 30, 25, 24fps OIS, EIS, Optical SteadyShot (hybrid EIS and OIS), SteadyShot with Intelligent Active Mode (5-axis stabilization) Slow motion up to 120fps
Front Camera	8MP, f/2.0, 1/4″, 1.12-micron, 24mm
Audio	3.5mm headphone jack, Hi-Res 24-bit/192kHz audio True front stereo speakers
Network Bands	5G: Sub-6GHz Bands N1, N3, N28, N77, N78; no mmWave support 4G: LTE Cat19/Cat13: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66) / LTE 6CA / 2CA 3G UMTS HSPA+ (Bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19) 2G GSM GPRS/EDGE (Bands 850, 900, 1800, 1900)
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.1 A-GNSS (GPS + GLONASS) USB 3.1 Type-C port, DisplayPort support for video output, USB-C to HDMI
Android Version	Android 10

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Sony Xperia 1 II U.S. pre-orders start June 1st at a pricey $1200 with free WF-1000XM3 earbuds

In February Sony took the wraps off the Xperia 1 II (pronounced “mark two”), its latest flagship for 2020. The phone went on sale earlier this month in its home country Japan and now the company is expanding its availability to the US. 

Sony Xperia 1 II XDA Forums

The Sony Xperia 1 II will be up for pre-order from June 1st for a price of $1,200, a steep increase of $200 over the last year’s Xperia 1. The pre-orders will start shipping out on July 26. Those who pre-order by June 28 will be eligible for a free pair of Sony WF-1000XM3 noise-canceling True Wireless earbuds. The phone will be sold unlocked from Sony’s authorized retailers and will be compatible with Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Cricket, and MetroPCS networks.

In the US, Xperia 1 II will miss out on 5G support and will only be offered in the 4G variant. Both the Europe and Japanese variants have the 5G support onboard so it’s unclear why the company is not offering the same level of connectivity on the US model.

Sony says it plans to launch a new 5G capable phone called Xperia Pro with support for both mmWave and Sub-6GHz 5G bands. The phone will retain the display and camera setup of the Xperia 1 II and will feature “Sony’s unique 4-way antenna technology and low-permittivity materials” for improved signal reception and data Speeds on mmWave networks. Details about other specifications as well as release date and availability of the Xperia Pro are unknown, as of now.

Specifications	Sony Xperia 1 II
Dimensions & Weight	165.1 x 71.1 x 7.6 mm 181.4 g
Display	6.5-inch 4K OLED 3840×1644 pixels, 643 PPI 21:9 aspect ratio 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut, D65 white point Motion Blur Reduction (90Hz “equivalent”) HDR BT.2020 (Rec.2020) Gorilla Glass 6
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865: 1x Kryo 585 Prime core (2.84GHz) 3x Kryo 585 Performance cores (2.4GHz) 4x Kryo 585 Efficiency cores (1.8GHz) Adreno 650 GPU
RAM & Storage	8GB/256GB microSD card slot (uses shared SIM 2 slot)
Battery	4,000mAh 18W USB-C PD fast charging Qi wireless charging
Fingerprint Sensor	Side-mounted fingerprint
Rear Cameras	12MP primary sensor, Sony IMX555 – 1/1.7″, 1.8-micron, f/1.7, 24mm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 12MP ultra-wide angle sensor, 1/2.55″, 1.4-micron, f/2.2, 16mm, Dual Pixel PDAF 12MP telephoto sensor, 1/3.4″, 1.0-micron, f/2.4, 70mm, 3x optical zoom, OIS Zeiss optics Up to 20fps AF/AE burst shooting Up to 60 times per second continuous AF/AE evaluation Video recording: 4K HDR at 60, 30, 25, 24fps OIS, EIS, Optical SteadyShot (hybrid EIS and OIS), SteadyShot with Intelligent Active Mode (5-axis stabilization) Slow motion up to 120fps
Front Camera	8MP, f/2.0, 1/4″, 1.12-micron, 24mm
Audio	3.5mm headphone jack, Hi-Res 24-bit/192kHz audio True front stereo speakers
Network Bands	5G: Sub-6GHz Bands N1, N3, N28, N77, N78; no mmWave support 4G: LTE Cat19/Cat13: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66) / LTE 6CA / 2CA 3G UMTS HSPA+ (Bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19) 2G GSM GPRS/EDGE (Bands 850, 900, 1800, 1900)
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.1 A-GNSS (GPS + GLONASS) USB 3.1 Type-C port, DisplayPort support for video output, USB-C to HDMI
Android Version	Android 10

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Source: PR Newswire

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Unlock a Lifetime of Rosetta Stone, VPN Coverage & More for Only $199 This Memorial Day

In the past few weeks, many of us have turned to Tiger King to pass away the hours. But there are only so many exotic pets and claims of murder that anyone can take. The Social Distancing Lifetime Subscription Bundle helps you spend your time more productively, with access to Rosetta Stone language learning, the 12min microbook library, and KeepSolid VPN Unlimited. The bundle is currently on sale for $199 this Memorial Day at the XDA Developers Depot.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/BWcfMQv7Wac

What exactly do you get for that price? First up is Rosetta Stone. Described by the Wall Street Journal as “the next best thing to living in a country,” this top-tier software lets you study 24 different languages. Along with interactive lessons, it provides feedback on your accent using world-class speech recognition technology.

Next up, we have 12min Premium. Available on iOS and Android, this app “condenses important ideas and interesting topics from top nonfiction books,” in the words of HuffPost. You can enjoy either text or audio versions, and download titles for offline reading.

The final part of this bundle is KeepSolid VPN Unlimited. Used by over 10 million people, this VPN lets you bypass local restrictions and protect your privacy. It works on all major platforms, and you have over 400 servers to choose from.

Want to get started? You can get lifetime access to all three of these apps for only $199 today with The Social Distancing Lifetime Subscription Bundle Ft. Rosetta Stone.

 

The Social Distancing Lifetime Subscription Bundle Ft. Rosetta Stone – $199

See Deal

Prices subject to change 

More from the XDA Developers Depot

• Work-from-home accessories to keep you productive
• DIY projects to keep you entertained indoors
• New skills you can learn without leaving home

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A new Motorola Razr foldable smartphone is coming this year, and here’s what we know already

Motorola captured the attention of the tech world late last year when it rebooted its iconic Razr flip phone as a foldable smartphone. Motorola banked on nostalgia for the Razr to drive interest in its new foldable, and it definitely worked. However, the Motorola Razr had rather lackluster hardware and was quickly overshadowed by the more powerful Galaxy Z Flip from Samsung. However, Motorola revealed back in December that they were working on a 5G version of the Razr, and recently a representative for Lenovo, the Chinese company that owns Motorola, revealed a possible launch date. To add to this, we can now share a lot of the hardware specifications for the upcoming Motorola Razr revamp.

The Motorola Razr was the first vertically foldable smartphone to hit the market when it went on sale in the U.S. on February 6th. It featured a main 6.20-inch pOLED foldable display made of plastic and a secondary 2.69-inch gOLED glass display on the outside. Besides the ingenuity of the foldable display and hinge mechanism, the Razr was a rather unimpressive mid-range smartphone, packing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a 16MP rear camera, a 5MP front camera, Android 9 Pie, and a 2,510mAh battery. The Galaxy Z Flip, on the other hand, had an arguably better display in terms of look and feel, a better processor, more RAM, more storage, a larger battery, newer software, faster charging, and better cameras.

Motorola Razr (Gen 1) Specifications

Specification	Motorola Razr (Gen. 1)
Dimensions	Unfolded: 72 mm x 172 mm x 6.6 mm Folded: 72 mm x 94 mm x 14 mm
Weight	205g
Display	Main “Flex View”: 6.20-inch pOLED 2142×876 (21:9) Closed “Quick View”: 2.69-inch gOLED 800×600 (4:3)
Camera	Outer: 16MP (Sony IMX517) f/1.7, 1.22μm with EIS, Night Vision support Internal: 5MP f/2.0, 1.12μm
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 710
RAM	6GB
Storage	128GB
Battery capacity	2510mAh with 15W TurboPower charging
Connectivity	eSIM, NFC, CDMA, LTE bands 2/3/4/5/7/13/20/28/66, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, GPS/GLONASS, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Security	Capacitive fingerprint scanner
IP Rating	None, splash-proof nano-coating
Audio	Speaker at the bottom, no 3.5mm headphone jack, 4 microphones
Software	Android 9 Pie (upgradeable to Android 10)
Ports & Buttons	USB 3.0 Type-C port at the bottom, fingerprint scanner in the bottom bezel, power and volume buttons on the right side

Motorola Razr (Gen. 1) Forums

The new Motorola Razr, when it launches, should bridge the gap between it and the Galaxy Z Flip in terms of specifications. During the China Industrial Design Exhibition held in Wuhan, China in December, a Lenovo staff member reportedly told attendees at the exhibition that the company plans to launch a 5G version in China in 2020. A few days ago, Lenovo’s South Africa general manager Thibault Dousson told the Reframed Tech podcast (via AndroidAuthority) that there is “a new iteration [of the Razr] coming up. There’s one in September I think.” Later, Mr. Doussan reiterates that there’s a “generation two” foldable in the works.

A September launch (or even just an announcement) would be a quick turnaround from the original Motorola Razr release. The first Razr launched in February, only 8 months prior to September. The original was, however, announced 3 months before it went on sale, so it’s possible we could see a September announcement and a launch closer to the end of the year. Whatever the case may be, the second generation Motorola Razr should pack hardware that’s much more in line with our idea of an upper mid-range smartphone in 2020.

Motorola Razr (Gen. 2) – What we think we know so far

According to our source, the 5G-enabled, second-generation Motorola Razr has the code-name “smith” and model name “XT2071-4.” The foldable is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, and a 2,845mAh battery. The rear camera is also getting an upgrade to Samsung’s 48MP ISOCELL Bright GM1 sensor while the front camera is getting upgraded to a 20MP shooter. The device will run Android 10 out-of-the-box, presumably with Motorola’s many improvements to the Quick View display. The dimensions of the main “Flex View” and closed “Quick View” displays themselves, as far as we know, haven’t changed from the first-generation model, though we hope that Motorola will introduce enhancements like a layer of Ultra Thin Glass.

The second-generation model is being developed for China and North America, though we don’t know if it will also go on sale in other markets like India, Europe, or Latin America. As confirmed by Motorola’s parent company Lenovo, the second-generation Razr will support 5G connectivity, made possible with the inclusion of the Snapdragon 765 with its Snapdragon X52 modem. The device will likely only support sub-6GHz 5G networks as I’m not sure if Motorola will be able to pack mmWave antennas into the body to support mmWave 5G networks like Verizon’s Ultrawide Band network.

The first-generation Motorola Razr foldable smartphone. Image credits: Tushar Mehta/XDA-Developers

As with any leak, things can change before launch. Our leaks of the first-generation Motorola Razr device turned out to be accurate, though notably the battery capacity that we first revealed back in March of 2019 was changed to the lower capacity unit ended up in retail units. We anticipated that change ahead of launch and will, of course, keep an eye out for any such changes in the second-generation Razr.

Featured image credits: Tushar Mehta/XDA-Developers

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