Android’s Nearby Share file-sharing feature may support Chrome OS, Windows, macOS, and Linux thanks to Google Chrome

Apple’s ecosystem is very cohesive and one of the best examples of that is AirDrop. The feature makes it super simple to share files across Apple devices without needing anyone to install a third-party app. On the Android side, things are a lot messier. While OnePlus, Realme, Black Shark, Meizu, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi have joined together on a file transfer alliance, other OEMs like Sony, LG, and Motorola don’t have their own built-in solutions. And then there’s Samsung and Huawei with their own file-sharing solutions. Fortunately, we know that Google is working on its own file-sharing service that will likely work on most Android smartphones with Google apps. There’s now evidence that Google’s solution will also support sharing files to PCs running Chrome OS, Windows, macOS, or Linux as well.

Nearby Share has been in development for a while now. It was originally called “Fast Share” when it was discovered nearly one year ago. Fast Share was eventually renamed to Nearby Sharing as development continued and then just to “Nearby Share” more recently. The feature will be available through Google Play Services, meaning it will be nearly ubiquitous among Android devices. Recent commits in the Chromium Gerrit reveal that it will also likely work on PCs with Google Chrome installed, which includes Chromebooks.

Back in April, ChromeUnboxed spotted a commit that was merged to the Chromium Gerrit that added a flag with a description reading “enables Nearby Sharing functionality. Android already has a native implementation.” The flag, therefore, was intended to enable Nearby Share on non-Android platforms with the Chrome browser. Then, a commit merged last week revealed that settings for “Nearby Share” will be integrated into Chrome OS settings. That setting can be seen in the tweet below from ChromeStory‘s Dinsan Francis.

Nearby Sharing shows up in #chromebook settings pic.twitter.com/Z2V5UrgPT4

— Dinsan (@_dinsan) June 19, 2020

Another recent commit submitted to Chromium Gerrit hasn’t been merged yet, but it also reveals the Nearby Share feature won’t be limited to Chrome OS on the desktop. It should be available on Windows, macOS, and Linux in Google Chrome browser settings. The web UI for the feature will be found at chrome://nearby, according to this commit.

Here are screenshots of the feature as of the latest Google Play Services version.

Phone: Pixel 3a XL
OS: Android 11 Beta 1 pic.twitter.com/5jCgevIsIR

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) June 15, 2020

Going back to the Android implementation of Nearby Share, XDA’s Mishaal Rahman recently shared screenshots of how the feature currently looks in its latest iteration. The UI has been slightly refined since we first showed off the feature earlier this year. The icon for the feature looks similar to the one that recently started to appear in Chrome OS settings.

All of this is a lot to say that Google’s AirDrop competitor will fortunately not be limited to just sharing between Android phones. It sounds like it will work between any Android device (with Google Play Services) and PCs with the Google Chrome desktop browser regardless of the platform. That’s a very big deal as those options cover the vast majority of Internet users. Although we aren’t certain how users of non-Chromium-based PC browsers can join in, we’re still excited to see Nearby Share finally make its debut. We’re tired of Google constantly teasing us about the feature.

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Samsung Galaxy A51 5G, Galaxy A71 5G, and ZTE Axon 11 5G/4G forums are open

Phone launches typically slow down in the summer months, but there have still been plenty of new phones as of late. Samsung, unsurprisingly, has announced a couple of new devices and ZTE has joined in as well. We’ve opened up forums for the Galaxy A51 5G, Galaxy A71 5G, and both variants of the ZTE Axon 11 (4G & 5G).

The Samsung Galaxy A51 5G was announced for the US market back in April, and it’s simply a 5G version of the existing device. The basic details include a 6.5-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED, a quad camera setup consisting of a 48MP primary camera, the Samsung Exynos 9611 processor, a 4000mAh battery, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage.

Samsung Galaxy A51 5G XDA Forums

It’s a similar story with the Samsung Galaxy A71 5G, which launched in the US this week, and is a 5G version of the existing device. It features a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC, quad rear cameras, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 4,500mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy A71 5G XDA Forums

ZTE, on the other hand, launched both 4G and 5G versions of the ZTE Axon 11 at the same time. However, the two devices are not the same. The 5G model has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC, while the 4G model has the MediaTek Helio P70. They both have 6.47-inch AMOLED displays, quad cameras, and 4,000mAh batteries.

ZTE Axon 11 5G XDA Forums ||| ZTE Axon 11 4G XDA Forums

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Source: Here are the specifications of the Motorola Edge Lite 5G phone coming to Verizon

Back in April, Motorola made a return to the premium smartphone space with the Edge and Edge+, a pair of 5G-enabled smartphones. While the Edge+ is already available on Verizon in the U.S., the regular Edge is not yet available in the U.S. (It’s available in Europe, though.) With the Motorola Edge clearing FCC certification this week, we’re expecting an imminent launch in the U.S. Now, there’s evidence that the phone may be joined by a new “Motorola Edge Lite” 5G smartphone.

Since early May, we’ve been tracking information on a new Motorola 5G smartphone code-named “Nairobi.” Although we’ve known most of the specifications of the phone, we haven’t been able to confirm its marketing name. Today, the FCC published certification filings for a new 5G Motorola phone with the model name “XT2075-3.” The certification filing confirms the smartphone will support 5G NR (on band 41, which is a sub-6GHz band spanning frequencies of 2506-2680MHz) and will have a ~4,800mAh battery capacity (via NashvilleChatter).

According to noted leaker Ishan Agarwal (via PriceBaba), this smartphone will be called the “Motorola Edge Lite.” A Motorola 5G smartphone with model name “XT2075-3” was also spotted in a European retail listing for €398.45 (via @stufflistings), which is considerably lower than the €699 price of the Motorola Edge. While we can’t confirm the pricing, we can confirm that Motorola is indeed working on a new upper mid-range 5G smartphone with specifications that warrant the “Motorola Edge Lite” name.

The Motorola Edge.

The Motorola Edge Lite – A New Mid-Range 5G Smartphone

Although Motorola recently confirmed they will bring to market a smartphone powered by the new 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 690, we don’t believe the Motorola Edge Lite will be the device in question. Instead, we believe the device will be powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 chipset (part name: “sm7250”, code-name: “lito”) that’s found in the Motorola Edge. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 765/765G can be found in a number of smartphones from brands like LG, OPPO, Samsung, Nubia, Realme, and others, sometimes in lieu of the more powerful (and more expensive) Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. The Snapdragon 765 is still a very powerful chipset that’s fabricated on Samsung’s 7nm EUV process. It features an octa-core CPU with 1 x ARM Cortex-A76 core clocked at 2.3GHz, 1 x ARM Cortex-A76 core clocked at 2.2GHz, and 6 ARM Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.8GHz, as well as Qualcomm’s Adreno 620 GPU, Hexagon 696 DSP, Spectra 355 ISP, and the Wi-Fi 6-ready FastConnect 6200. More importantly, the chipset features an integrated Snapdragon X52 modem for 5G NR connectivity, and the new Motorola Edge Lite has already been certified in the U.S. to operate on band 41.

With the Snapdragon 765, the Motorola Edge Lite will be a decidedly upper mid-range smartphone. Like the standard Edge, the Moto Edge Lite will feature 4 or 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64 or 128GB of UFS 2.1 internal storage.  For the standard Motorola Edge, only the 4GB RAM model will be available in the U.S., so we could see a similar market differentiation for the Moto Edge Lite. The Moto Edge Lite is rated for supporting up to 20W wired charging but will likely ship with Motorola’s 18W TurboPower charger. The phone will also support NFC on all models but will only have dual SIM in some regions (which likely doesn’t include the U.S.) For security, the Motorola Edge Lite will have an optical under-display fingerprint scanner. It will run Android 10 out-of-the-box with Motorola’s software customizations on top.

While the Motorola Edge Lite and the Edge share the same basic hardware specifications, there are some differences in the other components. The Edge Lite, for example, will have a 6.70-inch display at 2520×1080 resolution (for an aspect ratio of 21:9) and a 90Hz refresh rate, however, unlike the Edge and Edge+, the Edge Lite likely won’t have a curved “waterfall” display and will also have a dual hole-punch display cutout (located at the top left of the display). This dual hole-punch cutout will house the two front-facing cameras consisting of an 8MP main sensor and 2MP depth sensor. On the rear, the Motorola Edge Lite is expected to have a quad rear camera setup consisting of a 48MP Samsung S5KGM1 main sensor, a 16MP sensor, an 8MP sensor (the same one on the front), and a 5MP sensor.

The Motorola Edge Lite will be available in two models: XT2075-1 for Verizon and XT2075-3 for international markets including Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Japan. The international model will have a dedicated Google Assistant key but the Verizon model may not. I am not sure if the Verizon model will have mmWave antennas to support the carrier’s 5G Ultrawide Band network. I’ve heard that there are 4 colors in the works—Prussian, Surfing Blue, Azury, and Soft White—but I don’t know if these are the final marketing names. I also don’t know if any of these colors will be exclusive to certain regions or carriers.

That’s about all I know so far of the Motorola Edge Lite. As always, take every rumor and leak with a grain of salt. I myself am not 100% certain of these specifications because it’s possible my information is outdated. That being said, our track record on Motorola leaks speaks for itself. Assuming Motorola prices this right, they could have a killer phone to undercut the Samsung Galaxy A71 5G and Google Pixel 5 in the U.S. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the economy this year, so it’s no surprise that consumers aren’t lining up to spend nearly $1,000 on a new smartphone.

Motorola Edge Lite Specifications Summary

Models	XT2075-1, XT2075-3
Regions	Verizon (U.S.), Japan, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East
Display	6.70″ 2520×1080 (21:9 aspect ratio), 90Hz refresh rate display, HDR, dual hole-punch cutout
CPU + GPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 with Adreno 620
RAM	4/6GB LPDDR4X
Storage	64/128GB UFS 2.1
Rear Camera(s)	48MP S5KGM1 + 16MP + 8MP + 5MP
Front Camera(s)	8MP Samsung S5K4H7 + 2MP
Security	Under-display fingerprint scanner
Battery	~4800mAh, 18W TurboPower charging
Connectivity	NFC, Dual SIM (some models), 5G NR, 4G LTE
Software	Android 10 with Motorola’s software customizations
Colors	Prussian, Surfing Blue, Azury, Soft White
Ports	USB Type-C, Google Assistant key for XT2075-3

Featured image: the Motorola Edge

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Microsoft Launcher Preview adds app drawer folders, double-tap to lock screen

Microsoft Launcher is a sleeper pick for the best Android launcher. It was originally called “Arrow Launcher” all the way back in 2015, and Microsoft has made several major redesigns since then. Recently, we’ve seen the launcher prepare for the Surface Duo phone, and the latest preview adds even more goodies.

The latest update to Microsoft Launcher Preview adds a few features that will make it easier to organize your home screen and app drawer. Users can now create folders in the app drawer, add a 3rd row to the dock, and double-tap to lock the screen. There are some other improvements and fixes as well.

Folders in the app drawer work pretty much how you’d expect in Microsoft Launcher. Simply long-press on an app in the drawer and tap “Select” from the menu. You can then select all the other apps you want in the folder and tap the folder icon at the top of the screen when done. The folder will be placed at the top of the drawer and you can tap it to rename it.

The 3rd row in the dock can be enabled in the “Dock” section of the launcher settings. Tap “Bottom row of dock” and select “3.” Now you can simply drag an app to the 3rd row. For double-tap to lock the screen, go to “Gestures” in the settings and find “Double-tap.” You can select “Screen lock” or a number of other actions. You will need to give the launcher accessibility and device admin permissions to use this feature.

Microsoft Launcher has also improved the app search feature and fixed bugs and crashes. If you’d like to see the latest features before they hit stable, check out Microsoft Launcher Preview below.

Microsoft Launcher Preview (Free, Google Play) →

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Via: Windows Central

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Google Shopping tests a Google Lens shortcut and prepares for AR item previews and dark mode

Google Play Services for AR (formerly known as ARCore) is the company’s platform for augmented reality experiences. There are a lot of fun things you can do with AR, but one of the most practical uses is seeing objects in your physical space. Google Shopping is preparing such a feature along with a dark mode and Google Lens shortcut.

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by Google in a future build.

In Google Shopping v52 for Android, we spotted new two assets that suggest support for previewing items in an AR view. The first asset is named “quantum_ic_view_in_ar_new_white” and it depicts a 3D cube inside a Google Lens-like box. The second asset is named “view_in_3d_background.”

The basic idea is you can view products, such as furniture, in your physical space before purchasing. This gives users a better idea of the scale of an object. When we discovered the AR Shopping features last year, they were part of the Playground app for Google Pixel phones. Since the newly found assets are from the Google Shopping app, the feature would available to more people.

Next up is evidence that the Google Shopping app will be getting a dark mode. The app was recently given a colors.xlm file in values-night. The recourses defined in “values-night” are used when Android’s system-wide dark mode is enabled. The color resource folder also includes files for the primary text color for dark mode and light mode.

Lastly, we activated a hidden setting that puts a Google Lens shortcut in the Google Shopping search bar. As you would expect, tapping this opens the “Search” mode in Google Lens. This may have been present in the app for a while, but it’s still not live.

As mentioned, the AR-related assets seem to be new in Google Shopping v52, but the dark mode files and Google Lens icon have been around prior. Hopefully we will see these things go live soon.

Google Shopping: Discover, compare prices & buy (Free, Google Play) →

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Become a Python Programmer With 91 Hours of Training for Under $40

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Crayta will be the first game with Stadia’s “State Share” multiplayer feature

Google announced Stadia with a long list of exciting features, but many of those features were not present at launch. “State Share” is one of them and it will finally be coming next month with a game called Crayta. State Share makes it easy to join your friend’s multiplayer games.

Like State Share, Crayta was announced for Stadia a while ago. Announced back in April, Crayta is one of Google’s “First on Stadia” exclusives. That means it won’t be available on any other platform for a while. The game is finally launching on July 1st and it’s bringing State Share along with it. In terms of actual gameplay, it’s a collaborative game that allows people to come together and build worlds.

Stadia is a cloud-based game streaming service, which makes it possible to simply share a link to allow friends to join a game. The game’s Publishing Director, Chris Swan, explains how they are using State Share (which is in beta) along with their own Share Codes feature. Players can request a link at any time and there are a number of cool things they can do with it.

• A player who has made a game can share a link on social media. This link launches Stadia and takes them directly into a session of that game on Crayta.
• Someone making a game over a number of sessions just wants to launch directly into create mode each time they launch Crayta, so they create a link to save as a Chrome bookmark.
• A streamer is having fun creating a game and wants to get more people involved. They generate and share a temporary link that takes people directly into their edit session. When the streamer finishes the link expires.
• A YouTuber wants their viewers to come and join in their play session, so they generate and share a link in chat. People clicking on the link will be taken to the exact session that the streamer is in (note: if the server is full they will be taken to a new instance of the same game).

These different examples are using different types of links, which can be seen in the chart below. Crayta will know automatically know which type of link to create so the player doesn’t have to do anything special.

As mentioned, Crayta is coming to Stadia on July 1st with State Share Beta. The game will be free for Stadia Pro subscribers and it costs $40 for everyone else.

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Source: Medium, Crayta | Via: Android Police

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