[Update: Delayed] Google will launch the Android 11 Beta on June 3rd, releases Developer Preview 4 today

Update 1 (05/30/2020 @ 01:07 AM ET): Google has announced that the launch and event scheduled for June 3, 2020, has been postponed. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on May 6, 2020, is preserved below.

Google announced the first Android 11 Developer Preview back in February. The first Developer Preview was released earlier than we expected because Google wanted to give developers more time to adapt to their apps to the new APIs and platform behaviors. Since DP 1, two more Developer Preview builds have been rolled out to the Pixel 2 onward. If it weren’t for the COVID-19 pandemic, Google would have released the first Android 11 Beta at Google I/O event, which was scheduled for May 12th-14th. This delay has impacted the Android 11 release timeline, and the tech giant has now announced that they are pushing back the release of the first Android 11 Beta. The first beta will now be revealed at an online event on June 3rd, 2020. To make up for the new gap between DP3 and Beta 1, Google is releasing Android 11 Developer Preview 4.

Google has aptly titled next month’s online event “#Android 11: The Beta Launch Show.” During this event, Google will release Android 11 Beta 1 which will contain the final SDK and NDK APIs. Google will also open up Play Store submissions for apps targeting the new Android version. Citing this change in plan, Google has also released an updated timeline for the release schedule.

Older Beta timeline

Updated Beta timeline

While Google had initially charted its plan to release only three Android 11 Developer Previews, it is releasing the Developer Preview 4 to fill up the gap caused by the delay in the release of Beta 1. Starting today, the DP4 builds for the Google Pixel 2/2 XL, Pixel 3/3 XL, Pixel 3a/3a XL, and Pixel 4/4 XL will be available for download. You can flash these builds manually to try out the upcoming Android version or wait for an OTA if you’re already enrolled in the Beta program.

Since Android 11 Beta 1 has been pushed back by about a month, Beta 2 will now be released in July instead of June. As with the previous schedule, Beta 2 will be the “Platform Stability” release. Google introduced this milestone with Android 11 to signify the finalization of internal and external APIs, app-facing behaviors, and non-SDK graylisting. According to official communication from Google, Android 11 Beta 3 will be released in August 2020, and this will be the “Release candidate” build. The Final Release is still expected to be available in Q3, which means it shouldn’t be pushed back to October or months after that.

While the exact date for Beta 2 onwards was not released, Flame Group – a company that consults with OEMs and ODMs to help them receive GMS certifications for devices – mentioned in a blog post that the “Final Release Candidate,” which is most likely Beta 2, will be released on July 6th. While Beta 3 is intended to be the Release candidate build, it appears that Flame Group is referring to Beta 2 when it talks about the “Final Release candidate.” Furthermore, the blog post states that Google will publish the Android 11 source code to the AOSP git repository on September 8th, 2020. Our source corroborates the information laid out in this blog post, as it is apparently information that Google shared with its partner OEMs.

Android 11 News on XDA

Android 11: The Beta Launch Show to substitute Google I/O 2020?

At the Android 11: The Beta Launch Show, Google will also be hosting a series of online talks and webinars for topics that were initially supposed to be covered at Google I/O 2020. The talks ranging “from Jetpack Compose to Android Studio and Google Play” will be held following the post-show Q&A session after the announcement launch. You can register yourself to get notified of the event on this page.

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Update: Google postpones Android 11 Beta Launch Show

Google has announced that the Android 11 Beta Launch Show has been postponed.

We are excited to tell you more about Android 11, but now is not the time to celebrate. We are postponing the June 3rd event and beta release. We’ll be back with more on Android 11, soon.

— Android Developers (@AndroidDev) May 30, 2020

The next date has not been announced yet.

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Samsung Access program quietly launches for the Galaxy S20 with Premium Care and Microsoft 365 included

A few years ago, Apple launched its iPhone Upgrade Program. Apple’s program offered a great deal where every year you could pay a low monthly fee to have the option to upgrade your iPhone while continuing those monthly payments. Carriers and other device makers emulated this idea but started to add their own offers to improve upon it. Samsung, of course, was one of the companies that emulated that idea with the Samsung Upgrade Program. Now, Samsung has quietly launched a new program called “Samsung Access” that provides even more benefits at a lower cost.

Samsung Access, which we spotted earlier today on Samsung.com, is a bit different than the previous Samsung Upgrade Program in terms of benefits. Both Samsung Access and the previous Samsung Upgrade Program have you finance a new phone through monthly payments and later allow you to trade in the phone for the value that’s left. For example, if you had the Samsung Galaxy S10 for a year and paid $30 a month for 12 months ($360 total), you would have owed $540 left on the balance on the device. If you wanted to upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy S20 after it launched, you would send back the Galaxy S10 to Samsung so they could void the $540 and allow you to start a new contract for a new monthly fee for the new device.

Samsung Access works the same way for upgrading. If you wanted to keep the device instead of upgrading, you are able to pay off the full balance or just not upgrade and continue your financing which takes 36 months or 3 years.

If you are like me and like to upgrade a lot, that’s also a possibility with Samsung Access. You are able to upgrade your phone for no fee every 9 months. If you wanted to upgrade earlier in the cycle, say for example from the latest Galaxy Note to Galaxy S series or vice versa, you can do so if you pay a $100 fee. In the long run, you would likely save money using this service instead of buying and trading in phones every time a new one launches.

Samsung Access – Other Benefits

What makes Samsung Access better than the Samsung Upgrade Program are the other parts that are included in the monthly subscription. Samsung Access includes both Microsoft 365, which itself includes 1TB of OneDrive storage, and Samsung Premium Care. Microsoft 365 gives you full access to the Microsoft Office suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Skype, and Teams. The 1TB of OneDrive storage, which is included in a Microsoft 365 subscription, is especially useful on Samsung phones. You are able to link your Samsung and Microsoft accounts to use the 1TB of storage for photo backups in the Samsung Gallery app or Samsung Cloud storage for backups. The other benefit, Premium Care, is Samsung’s insurance program. If you break your phone, you are able to get it replaced or repaired for a $99 deductible up to three times in a 12 month period.

Samsung Access is available for the Samsung Galaxy S20 series only. When financing the Galaxy S20 series, it costs $37 a month for the Galaxy S20, $42 a month for the Galaxy S20+, and $48 a month for the Galaxy S20 Ultra. In my view, this is actually a great deal. If you were to sign up for Samsung Financing, Premium Care, and Microsoft 365 separately, it would cost you an extra $9 per month. That might not seem like much, but over the 36 months of the contract, you would save $324. That’s ignoring the money you can save from the upgrade program. If you want to cancel, you are also able to return the phone for free after 3 months. If you want to cancel before those 3 months, though, you will owe a $100 fee.

These programs are actually really good for those early adopters who love to upgrade (like me). It makes upgrading easy and painless along with not having to worry about accidental damage since it’s covered under Premium Care. All around, this is a pretty great upgrade deal. For a visual overview of what’s offered in Samsung Access, check out the video below that Samsung uploaded to their YouTube channel today. Otherwise, hit up the Samsung Access page and read the FAQs to get all the nitty-gritty details.

Samsung Access for Mobile ||| Samsung Access FAQs

Oh, and Samsung Access is also available for Samsung TVs, in case you’re interested.

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Realme 5 and Realme 5s start getting Android 10 with Realme UI

Launched back in August 2019, the Realme 5 was one of the first phones from the Chinese brand to feature the mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chip. The affordable quad-camera phone comes with a 12MP primary camera and runs ColorOS 6 on top of Android 9 Pie. Within a few months, Realme refreshed the device with a 48MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright GM1 sensor and launched it as the Realme 5s. According to the update roadmap shared by Realme India’s CEO Madhav Sheth, the phone duo is scheduled to receive a taste of Android 10-based Realme UI in May. The company has kept their promise as it has now rolled out the stable Realme UI update with Android 10 to the Realme 5 and the Realme 5s.

Realme 5 XDA Forums

Earlier this month, Realme started an initiative called “Realme UI Early Access” for the owners of the Realme 5/5s, which served as a pilot open beta testing before the actual rollout. The current stable Android 10 build is tagged as RMX1925EX_11_C.39, and it brings in several new features such as Focus Mode, optimized three-finger screenshot, and a revamped camera UI. It is worth mentioning that the Realme 5 and the 5s share a common firmware due to their internal similarities.

Thanks to Realme Community user mmmllL for the screenshot!

The combined changelog for the Realme UI 1.0 update for the Realme 5/5s is as follows:

Realme UI 1.0 (Android 10) update changelog for the Realme 5/5s

• Visuals
  • Updated UI to realme UI
  • Brand new Real Design makes visuals more attractive and operation more efficient.
• Smart Sidebar
  • Optimized user interface and improved one-handed operation.
  • Optimized Smart Sidebar: Replaced File Console with File Manager; removed OSIE Visual Effect and No Notification Alerts.
  • Drag an app out of Smart Sidebar to open it in Split-screen Mode.
  • Added two new features: “Assistive Ball Opacity” and “Hide Assistive Ball on Fullscreen App”.
  • Optimized the Floating Window feature for more apps.
  • Added Bubbles: A bubble is displayed when you open an app in a floating window from the Smart Sidebar. Tap the bubble to collapse or open the app.
• Screenshot
  • Optimized 3-Finger Screenshot Gesture: Use 3 fingers to touch and hold the screen, and swipe to take a screenshot of the selected part of the screen (partial screen capture). Use 3 fingers to touch and hold the screen, and swipe your fingers outwards to capture a long screenshot.
  • Added screenshot settings: You can adjust the position of the screenshot preview floating window and set the screenshot sound.
  • Optimized screenshot preview floating window: After taking a screenshot, drag it up and release to share it, or drag it down and release to take a long screenshot.
• Navigation Gestures 3.0
  • Optimized gestures: All gestures are supported in landscape mode.
• System
  • Added Focus Mode: Minimizes outside distractions when you are learning or working.
  • Added whole new charging animation.
  • Optimized the Quick Settings user interface for easier one-handed operation.
  • Added pause feature for screen recording.
  • Added a floating window and settings for screen recording.
  • New sounds added for file deletion, calculator key touches, and compass pointer.
  • Optimized system built-in ringtones.
  • Added TalkBack floating prompts for Accessibility.
  • New management feature for recent tasks: You can view memory of recent tasks and locked apps.
• Games
  • Optimized visual interaction for Game Space.
  • Optimized loading animation for Game Space.
• Homescreen
  • Added new live wallpapers.
  • Added artistic wallpapers.
  • Added option to open Global Search or the notification panel when swiping down on homescreen.
  • Added option to customize the size, shape, and style of app icons on homescreen.
  • Optimized the graphic design of password unlock to facilitate one-handed operation.
  • Support for animated wallpapers on the lockscreen.
  • Added a Simple Mode for homescreen, featuring larger fonts, icons and a clearer layout.
• Security
  • Random MAC address Generator: When your phone is connected to Wi-Fi network system generates a random MAC address to avoid targeted ads and protect your privacy.
• Tools
  • In Quick Settings or Smart Sidebar, you can open Calculator in a floating window.
  • Added the trim feature in Recordings.
  • Added the Weather (dynamic) ringtone, which automatically adapts to the current weather.
  • Added weather-adaptive animations in Weather.
• Camera
  • Optimized the Camera UI for better user experience.
  • Optimized the Timer UI and sound.
• Photos
  • Optimized the Album UI for a clearer structure and photo thumbnails.
  • Added Album Recommendations that recognize more than 80 different scenes.
• Communications
  • realme Share now supports sharing files with OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi devices.
  • Optimized the Contacts UI for a more efficient experience.
• Network
  • Added Airtel and Jio VoWiFi feature
• Settings
  • Search Settings now supports fuzzy match and contains a search history.

Users interested in downloading this update should expect an over-the-air update to arrive on their phones soon. If it’s not available for your device yet, then you can enroll yourself in the “Application Channel” (Realme 5, Realme 5s) to bypass the standard staggered rollout scheme. We will update this article as soon as we get the manual download links.

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Source: Realme (1, 2)

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The Samsung Galaxy A71s 5G UW may launch on Verizon with support for the carrier’s Ultrawide Band network

Flagship smartphones have become really expensive this year, with many at or beyond the $1,000 mark. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 is apparently a really expensive chip because it doesn’t come with a modem and also 5G is just really complex. Fortunately, there’s the cheaper (but less powerful) Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 which includes an integrated 5G modem. We earlier found evidence that the U.S.-bound Galaxy A71 5G will feature this chipset when it lands on Verizon. There was some doubt about whether the Verizon model will support the carrier’s Ultrawide Band network when it launches, but now, we’ve spotted evidence that the device will indeed support Verizon’s mmWave network.

In some regulatory documents that were recently published, we spotted the marketing name of the device corresponding to model name SM-A716V. SM-A716V, if you’ll recall, is the model name we spotted last week on the Bluetooth SIG that appeared alongside the product name “Galaxy-A71-5g US VERIZON.” Today’s regulatory filing indicates this device may actually be marketed on Verizon as the Samsung Galaxy A71s 5G UW.

This name is important for a few reasons. First, it tells us that Verizon may carry the phone under the “Galaxy A71s 5G” branding which has yet to be announced. However, we expect the phone overall to be very similar to the other U.S. Galaxy A71 5G models. The “UW” part of the name tells us the phone will support connecting to Verizon’s Ultrawide Band network which operates in mmWave frequencies. Verizon has appended the “UW” branding to the name of several 5G devices they carry such as the OnePlus 8 5G UW, Galaxy S20 5G UW, LG V60 5G ThinQ UW, and more.

As we reported last week, the United States version of the Samsung Galaxy A71 5G should use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 chipset. The 765, 765G, and 768G are the only chipsets from Qualcomm with integrated 5G modems. That modem is the Snapdragon X52, and like the Snapdragon X55 modem paired with Snapdragon 865 devices, the X52 supports both mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G networks. While we’ve seen other Snapdragon 765-powered devices with support for sub-6GHz 5G, the Galaxy A71s 5G UW would be the first Snapdragon 765 device to support mmWave 5G. It would also be the first mid-range smartphone to support Verizon’s 5G network if you exclude the Moto Z3 and Moto Z4 which required a $350 Moto Mod.

While Verizon’s mmWave network has proven to be very fast, the coverage isn’t great. You would need an uninterrupted direct line of sight with the broadcast antenna. Verizon has claimed to be launching a low-band 5G network later this year but the carrier hasn’t given any specific locations yet. The Galaxy A71s 5G UW should support the current mmWave network and the upcoming low-band network when it launches.

Keep in mind that although the information in this article comes from an official regulatory filing from Samsung, there’s a possibility that there’s an error in the filing. We will have to wait for the official launch from Verizon for more information about the phone and network compatibility.

Featured image: Samsung Galaxy A71 in pink

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OnePlus 8 series camera updates will bring color filters to portrait mode, improved white balance, and more

The OnePlus 8 has been in the news recently for its camera, but not in the way you might expect. People discovered that the OnePlus 8 Pro’s camera could use the Photochrom filter to see through certain things, including thin clothing. OnePlus made the decision to disable the feature and rework it. But that’s just one part of the OnePlus 8 series’ camera capability, and the company is continuing to work on it.

OnePlus 8 XDA Forums || OnePlus 8 Pro XDA Forums

Last week, the folks at OnePlus had an online Open Ears Forum about the OnePlus 8’s camera technology. During the meeting, some new features for the OnePlus 8 series were floated to users for feedback. Those features haven’t been revealed yet, but the company has shared some actions they will be taking based on feedback:

• Continue improving white balance consistency across all lenses
• Reduce the haloing seen on some HDR portrait shots
• Improve UX for AE lock
• Add more color filters and bring them to portrait mode
• Show visual cue when tripod mode is triggered
• Keep optimizing post-processing strategy

These things seem like pretty basic camera functions, but they’re also things that generally can always use improvement in smartphone cameras. White balance consistency across lenses is especially important in the day and age of multi-camera devices. The visual cue for tripod mode is also a welcomed addition as there’s no way to manually enable it.

We have no idea when these changes will come to the OnePlus 8 series. We’ll keep an eye out for these changes in a future OxygenOS update.

Thanks for XDA Senior Member Some_Random_Username for the tip!

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Source: OnePlus

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Samsung Galaxy Book S announced with Intel Lakefield chipset and LTE

Last summer, Samsung launched the Galaxy Book S, its first laptop powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx processor. Samsung is back with the Galaxy Book S, only this time it’s powered by the Intel Lakefield chipset. This is essentially the same laptop as before, but now it has the shiny “Intel Inside” sticker. The Galaxy Book S is also the first laptop to use Intel’s Lakefield generation.

Lakefield is the first “hybrid” CPU from Intel. That means it combines the company’s Atom and Core CPU cores into a single unit. This is something we commonly see in ARM chips on smartphones, which offers high-performance and low-power cores to maximize efficiency. There’s a lot more going on, but the gist is this should help the new Galaxy Book S compete with the Snapdragon model in terms of battery life.

Samsung doesn’t give a ton of details about the CPU, other than “Intel Core processor with Intel Hybrid Technology.” The other big detail is LTE connectivity, which is also something the ARM model has. Other specifications include Intel UHD Graphics, 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM, and 256GB or 512GB of eUFS storage. There is also a microSD card slot for up to 1TB of extra storage.

The Galaxy Book S has a 13.3-inch FHD LCD display with touchscreen capabilities. There are 2 USB-C ports, a headphone jack, fingerprint scanner, quad stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, and a 1MP camera. The battery is 42Wh and it has WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. Samsung ships the device with Windows 10 Home or Pro.

We don’t know how much the Intel Galaxy Book S will cost or when it will launch, but it will be available in Mercury Gray and Earthy Gold colors.

	Galaxy Book S
OS	Windows 10 Home / Pro
Display	13.3″ FHD TFT LCD Display with Touch Screen Panel
Dimension	305.2 x 203.2 x 6.2 ~ 11.8 mm
Weight	950g
CPU	Intel Core processor with Intel Hybrid Technology
Graphic	Intel UHD Graphics
Memory	8GB RAM (LPDDR4x)
Storage	256/512GB eUFS, MicroSD slot (up to 1TB)
Camera	1MP
Battery	42Wh (typical)
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) 802.11 ax 2×2, LTE (Cat 16), Bluetooth v 5.0
Ports	2 USB-C, 1 Headphone out/Mic-in Combo, MicroSD Multi-media Card Reader
Sensors	Fingerprint Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor (Keyboard Backlit on/off), Hall Sensor
Authentication	Windows Hello sign in with fingerprint
Audio	Quad Stereo Speakers: Sound by AKG Immersive sound with Dolby Atmos technology

Source: Samsung | Via: SamMobile

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Samsung’s Exynos 850 is an 8nm chip for budget Android smartphones

Samsung has been designing its own Exynos chipsets for several years now. The Korean smartphone maker normally uses both Qualcomm Snapdragon and Exynos processors for their flagship and upper mid-range devices, but they usually use their own in-house Exynos chips for their budget smartphones. Samsung has recently (and quietly) published a product page for a new entry in their Exynos lineup of processors: the Exynos 850.

This Exynos 850 processor can already be found in the recently-announced Samsung Galaxy A21s, a smartphone on the lower-end of Samsung’s Galaxy A lineup. Thus, we already expected this processor to be geared towards decidedly-budget smartphones. According to the specifications listed on the product page, the Exynos 850 has an octa-core CPU comprised of two clusters of ARM Cortex-A55 cores which are clocked at up to 2.0GHz. The SoC also features ARM’s Mali-G52 GPU. It also supports LPDDR4X RAM, eMMC 5.1 storage, Cat.7 LTE, Full HD+ (1080p) display panels, and more. The chipset is fabricated using Samsung’s fairly modern 8nm LPP process.

For imaging, the Exynos 850 apparently supports up to 1080p60 video recording, 21.7MP image processing from a single camera or 16MP + 5MP from dual cameras (presumably with ZSL), and encoding in HEVC/h.265.

As we said before, the Galaxy A21s is the first smartphone to sport this processor, and we know it has a 48MP quad rear camera setup, an HD+ Infinity-O panel, up to 6GB of RAM, and up to 64GB of storage, so we already knew those are things this processor supports. It is possible that we’ll see this SoC on other Samsung budget Android smartphones soon. Budget smartphones are improving at a surprising rate, and we can thank the incredible competition in markets like India and China for that.

h/t @kuma_sleepy

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