Forums for the Xiaomi Mi 10T series, Vivo V20 series, Realme 7i, Samsung Galaxy F41, and Galaxy A42 5G are open

If someone is using an Android phone somewhere in the world and they want to mod it, the XDA forums has a home for them. That’s why we open up forums for new and upcoming smartphones so new users and potential buyers can find all relevant information specific to their device in one place. Today, we are opening forums for a bunch of interesting smartphones from four different OEMs, including Xiaomi (the Mi 10T series), Vivo (the Vivo V20 series), Realme (the Realme 7i), and Samsung (the Galaxy F41 and the Galaxy A42 5G).

Xiaomi Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro

The Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro are among the three new devices Xiaomi announced yesterday at its event. We already got our hands-on of the Mi 10T Pro, which gave us a detailed look at the overall design. The full specifications of the device duo include a 6.67-inch LCD display, 144Hz screen refresh rate, Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, up to 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage, a 108MP primary camera (64MP on the non-Pro variant), and a 5,000 mAh battery with 33W fast charging support.

Thanks to their internal similarities, the Mi 10T (code-name “apollo”) and the Mi 10T Pro (code-name “apollopro”) share a common firmware. This is the reason why we have created a unified section instead of two separate forums.

Xiaomi Mi 10T / 10T Pro XDA Forums

Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite

Alongside the flagship-grade Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro smartphones, Xiaomi also offers a more affordable variant of the lineup called the Mi 10T Lite. The Snapdragon 750G-powered mid-range device features a 64MP main camera, 120Hz display, and support for 33W wired fast charging. The phone runs MIUI 12 on top of Android 10 out of the box.

Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite XDA Forums

Vivo V20 series

Vivo’s V20 lineup debuted last week in Thailand. The family includes three phones: Vivo V20, Vivo V20 SE and Vivo V20 Pro. The midrangers recently caught our attention, as the OEM actually managed to beat Google to launching a phone (Vivo V20 to be precise) with Android 11 on board.

Vivo V20 XDA Forums ||| Vivo V20 SE XDA Forums ||| Vivo V20 Pro XDA Forums

Realme 7i

Besides the Realme 7 and the Realme 7 Pro, the company recently added a new member to the lineup, dubbed Realme 7i. The device flaunts a 6.5-inch LCD with a 90Hz screen refresh rate, the Snapdragon 662 SoC, a quad camera setup comprised of a 64MP primary, an 8MP ultra-wide, a 2MP monochrome, and a 2MP depth sensor, and a 5,000 mAh battery.

Realme 7i XDA Forums

Samsung Galaxy F41

The Samsung Galaxy F41 is an upcoming smartphone from the Korean smartphone maker and will be the first model under the Galaxy F series. Although Samsung hasn’t shared any information about the device yet, the Galaxy F41 is expected to pack in an FHD+ display with a waterdrop notch, the Exynos 9611 chipset, and up to 6GB of RAM. The phone is set to launch officially on October 8th.

Samsung Galaxy F41 XDA Forums

Samsung Galaxy A42 5G

The Samsung Galaxy A42 is the company’s new affordable 5G-enabled smartphone in the Galaxy A series. The device packs in a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display and a quad-camera setup on the back, although we still don’t have any official information regarding the underlying silicon that powers the phone.

Samsung Galaxy A42 5G XDA Forums

The post Forums for the Xiaomi Mi 10T series, Vivo V20 series, Realme 7i, Samsung Galaxy F41, and Galaxy A42 5G are open appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/3l53Eqh
via IFTTT

Flutter 1.22 releases to stable with better Android 11 and iOS 14 support

For those not in-the-know, Flutter is a cross-platform application framework made by Google. Based on Google’s Dart language, it allows developers to share a single codebase among apps for iOS, Android, web, Windows, macOS, and even Linux. Today marks the release of Flutter 1.22, with a whole bunch of new features. In this post, we’re going to be talking about two of them: support for Android’s display cutouts, and support for iOS 14’s App Clips.

With bezelless designs becoming more and more popular, notches and hole-punches are becoming more and more common. While we’re getting close to proper under-display cameras, we’re not there yet. To help developers deal with these different types of display cutouts, Flutter now fully supports Android’s DisplayCutout API. If you use Flutter, you won’t need to worry about something in your app being covered by a notch.

And this support also extends to things like curved or waterfall displays. So if you’ve been having trouble dealing with curved displays, Flutter has your back.

iOS 14 introduced a new feature called App Clips. If you know what Android Instant Apps are, App Clips are essentially the same idea. App Clips allow the user to quickly “install” and open a small part of your app, making it easier to do things like offer online menus or lightweight rental services. Flutter 1.22 includes support for developing App Clips on iOS. That means you can continue to have a unified codebase, while still supporting iOS’ new features.

Of course, Flutter 1.22 introduced quite a bit more than these two features. There’s also better support for localization (including hot-reloading), along with some new UI elements and plugins. If you’re interested in the rest of these changes, check out Google’s blog post.

The post Flutter 1.22 releases to stable with better Android 11 and iOS 14 support appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/2SfrL9n
via IFTTT

Win a Google Pixel 4a [Open to all Countries]

The Google Pixel 4a is one of the newest Pixel phones from Google in 2020. This 5.81″ phone has an OLED display at a 1080x2340p resolution. The Qualcomm SDM730 Snapdragon 730G chipset is paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There’s a 13MP back camera and an 8MP selfie camera for taking amazing photos with HDR+. Everything is powered by the 3140mAh battery with 18w fast charging.

This is your chance to win the new Google Pixel 4a for yourself. When you get this phone, you’ll be one of the first to experience the Android 11 update! Use the form below to enter this giveaway.

Win a Pixel 4a (open to all countries!)

 

We thank HUAWEI for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.

The post Win a Google Pixel 4a [Open to all Countries] appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/2EPo6fj
via IFTTT

Microsoft refreshes the Surface Pro X with the Microsoft SQ2 processor based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2

Early last month we learned that Microsoft was working on a refresh for last year’s Surface Pro X. At the time, sources familiar with the matter had revealed that the Surface Pro X refresh would feature the same design, but it will be offered in a new ‘Platinum’ color variant with new Type Cover color options. We’d also learned that the device would feature Microsoft’s new SQ2 processor. Now, the company has finally lifted the covers off the new Surface Pro X and it’s exactly what we expected.

Microsoft has essentially upgraded the top-end SKUs of last year’s Surface Pro X with its new SQ2 processor and introduced a new Platinum color option for the device. The base variants of the Surface Pro X will still feature the older SQ1 processor and they’ll be sold alongside the new Surface Pro X. As expected, Microsoft’s new SQ2 processor was designed in collaboration with Qualcomm and it’s based on the company’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 platform.

Microsoft claims that its new SQ2 chip is the fastest processor in its class, which is capable of offering better performance while using less battery. To further improve the Surface Pro X’s performance, Microsoft has also made some enhancements to Windows on ARM. These include updates and optimizations to the Visual Studio Code for Windows on ARM, which is expected to boost overall performance and increase battery life (up to 15 hours) across all Surface Pro X configurations (including the ones powered by Microsoft’s SQ1 chip).

Along with the new Surface Pro X and the Surface Laptop Go, Microsoft unveiled three new colors for the Signature Keyboard — Platinum, Ice Blue, and Poppy Red — at the event.

The company also unveiled the new Designer Compact Keyboard, a wireless Number Pad, a 4K Wireless Display Adapter, a Bluetooth Ergonomic Mouse, and a new Sandstone color variant for the Microsoft Modern Mobile Mouse.

Pricing & Availability

The updated Microsoft Surface Pro X with the company’s new SQ2 processor is already up for pre-order on the Microsoft Store in select regions. The device is priced starting at $1,499.99, and it will be available across other retailers starting from October 13th.

The new Microsoft Designer Compact Keyboard is priced at $69.99, the new wireless Number Pad is priced at $24.99, the 4K Wireless Display Adapter is priced at $69.99, and the new Bluetooth Ergonomic Mouse is priced at $49.99. As of now, the company hasn’t released the availability information for these accessories.

The post Microsoft refreshes the Surface Pro X with the Microsoft SQ2 processor based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/30phYBZ
via IFTTT

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go costs $549 and features Intel’s 10th-gen i5 processor

Almost exactly a year after hosting its big Surface event, where the company unveiled the Surface Duo, Surface Pro 7, and Surface Laptop 3, Microsoft today announced a couple of new products for its Surface lineup. One of the most noteworthy products announced today is the new Surface Laptop Go — the company’s most affordable laptop so far. Powered by Intel’s 10th generation Core i5 processor, the Surface Laptop Go is expected to take the thin-and-light notebook market by storm, especially due to its affordable price tag.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go features a clean, minimal design akin to other notebooks in Microsoft’s Surface lineup. And despite its affordable price tag, it offers a sleek and durable metal finish that gives it a premium feel. The laptop packs in a 12.4-inch PixelSense touchscreen with narrow bezels, an aspect ratio of 3:2, and a resolution of 1536 x 1024 pixels.

It features a full-size keyboard that offers 1.3mm of key travel for a comfortable typing experience, along with a large precision trackpad right underneath.

Much like other products in the Surface Laptop lineup, the Surface Laptop Go also comes with a fingerprint scanner built into the power butter for Windows Hello biometric authentication. The fingerprint scanner will also support one-touch sign-in for other Microsoft services like OneDrive Personal Vault. Sadly though, the base model doesn’t include the fingerprint power button.

On the inside, the Surface Laptop Go packs in Intel‘s 10th-generation Core i5 1035G1 processor, up to 16GB of RAM (16GB limited to commercial SKUs), and up to 256GB of storage. While the base variant of the Surface Laptop Go only includes 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage, Microsoft claims that all configurations of the laptop will feel snappy and fast. The laptop is rated for up to 13 hours of battery life on a single charge with fast charging support to help users quickly top up the battery to 80% in just one hour. However, the company hasn’t shared the exact capacity of the battery included in the laptop yet.

In terms of I/O, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go offers a USB Type-A port, a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack, and the Surface connector for charging. Other features include a 720p webcam, Studio Mics, Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Audio tuning, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.0. The laptop will be available in three color variants — Ice Blue, Sandstone, and Platinum.

Surface Laptop Go Pricing & Availability

The Surface Laptop Go starts at just $549 for the base 4GB/64GB variant. Microsoft is yet to reveal pricing information for other SKUs in the lineup. We’ll update this post with more information on pricing and specifications as soon as it’s released. The Surface Laptop Go will be available for pre-order on the Microsoft Store in the US today and it’s expected to reach other retail outlets by October 13th.

The post The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go costs $549 and features Intel’s 10th-gen i5 processor appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/3cRdysD
via IFTTT

Hold For Me on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G lets Google Assistant wait on the line for you

Have you ever called up a customer care number, dialled in the several access codes as prompted and navigated through cumbersome voice menus, only to hit a wall of prolonged wait times? I have, far too many times, much to my annoyance at the wasted time and the maddening repetitive music. And apparently, Google has too, as Google Assistant’s latest Hold For Me feature solves a problem for me that I never knew I needed a solution for.

The idea with Hold for Me is simple — you call up a business’ toll free number and get put on hold. You can either choose to stay on hold, and wait and stay attentive for when you finally connect to a person on the other end, or you can let Google Assistant do the waiting for you. The latest Google Phone app on the new Google Pixel 5 and Google Pixel 4a 5G allows you to do this. So when you call a toll-free number and a business puts you on hold, Google Assistant waits on the line for you. Google Assistant will notify you with sound, vibration, and a screen prompt once a human is back on the line and ready to talk to you.

Hold for Me is powered by Google’s Duplex technology. This allows the feature to recognize hold music (which can vary wildly across businesses) and also understand the difference between a recorded message and an actual human representative on the line. When the call is being held by Google Assistant, it is muted on the user’s end and instead, real-time captions are displayed on the screen to let the user know what is happening on the call. Once a representative comes on the line, Google Assistant sends a notification to the user, and even goes ahead and asks the representative to hold for a moment to let the user return back to the call.

Hold for Me is an optional feature that can be enabled in the settings, so you can leave it out entirely if this is not something that entices you. You can further activate it on a per-call basis for toll-free numbers. Google assures that in order to respect user privacy, the audio is processed entirely on the device, and the feature does not even need a Wi-Fi or data connection to work. Audio also stops being processed when you return to the call.

Hold for Me is the latest in a series of feature updates that make phone calls better. Call Screen from Google helped users avoid spam calls, while Verified Calls lets them know beforehand why a business is calling them so that they can decide whether they want to accept the call. Google says that just in the USA alone, people spent over 10 million hours on hold in just the last week. That is a lot of cumulative waiting. With a feature like Hold for Me, users can rightfully spend more time doing other tasks and less time pointlessly listening to hold music.

There’s currently no information on if and when this feature will be made available to devices other than the Google Pixel 5 and Google Pixel 4a 5G. To the best of our knowledge, the feature is also currently limited to the USA.

The post Hold For Me on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G lets Google Assistant wait on the line for you appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/3487lo8
via IFTTT

Increasing Graphics Performance while Reducing Complexity with HUAWEI CG Kit

The area of computer graphics (CG) research is extensive. Not only is it about exploring new ways to generate and present images through computation and algorithms, but there is also the study of principles behind how these images can be viewed consecutively to portray a sense of motion. At Huawei, their vision is to bring in more cutting-edge CG technologies to the industry.

Having acquired a good amount of technological know-how, coupled with complete hardware expertise, Huawei wants to share their knowledge with the world. In the CG field especially, they want developers to benefit from years of graphics rendering technology by providing improved solutions to enhance app performance.

At the start, Huawei invested a large amount of effort to engage with developers. Through countless interviews, their development team was able to take a deep dive into the trends, pain points, requirements, and industry. Coupled with the industry insights Huawei garnered from the work they’ve done; we gained many precious insights.

In engaging with gaming developers, for example, it was understood that their focus is to make games more fun and expressive. But with the lack of hardware understanding, it is a challenge to perform in-depth graphics optimization. This is especially so when they are faced with business challenges and pressures to trade-off. As a result, they often face a couple of issues – gaps in the implementation of 3D graphics on various platforms, poor high-end image quality rendering, and high power consumption.

In June 2020, Huawei launched the CG Kit as part of their HMS Core 5.0 capabilities. Given the in-depth insights into the CG industry, they were able to develop the CG Rendering Framework that provides better 3D rendering capabilities on Huawei devices. It also supports secondary development, with increased graphics performance while reducing difficulty and complexity, which therefore helps significantly increase image quality, power consumption, and overall development efficiency.

With the CG Kit, developers can now focus on app innovation. We also have team members seconded to our key gaming partners’ offices to conduct joint research and development. By working even closer together, there can be a better understanding of the needs of the industry and their development process to drive further integration between Huawei and developers from a tools and workflow perspective.

At the same time, Huawei not only wants to provide developers with cutting-edge technologies such as super-resolution and animations, but Huawei also wants to grant them a platform with access to the latest graphic innovations in the industry. That way, developers only have to focus on developing content with greater imagination and value.

In the future, CG Kit aims to provide more plug-in capabilities, especially to increase the efficiency of graphic processing. Huawei also aims to drive further development in CG, where CG Kit then becomes a bridge for developers to exchange ideas and experience; to learn from each other. Only then, will we have a more vibrant and diversified ecosystem development community.

We thank HUAWEI for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.

 

The post Increasing Graphics Performance while Reducing Complexity with HUAWEI CG Kit appeared first on xda-developers.

from xda-developers https://ift.tt/349lp0Q
via IFTTT