Developer brings mainline Linux Kernel support to the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua with unofficial Android 11 custom ROM

In the past few weeks, we’ve made a lot of posts about official Android 11 updates and Android 11-based custom ROMs. There is even a special custom Generic System Image (GSI) build through which anyone can get the taste of Android 11 on their Project Treble compatible devices. However, a similar achievement has yet to be made in the domain of generic kernel development. If every hardware component of a particular Android smartphone can be upstreamed to the mainline Linux kernel, the device should be able to boot any regular GNU/Linux distribution with no additional changes, which also makes it a lot easier to keep up with newer AOSP versions. Now, veteran kernel developer Pavel Dubrova, AKA XDA Member Cubbins has showed off a Sony Xperia M4 Aqua actually running the mainline Linux kernel under an AOSP 11.0 custom ROM.

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua XDA Forums

Like all Android devices, 2015’s Sony Xperia M4 Aqua runs on a modified Linux kernel. Google usually takes a mainline Linux kernel release and then modifies it to support the latest Android release at that time – they call this the “Android Common Kernel”. Chipset makers (in this case, Qualcomm) then take the Android Common Kernel and modify it further to make an SoC-specific kernel. OEMs/ODMs (like Sony) then take the SoC-specific kernel and make further changes to support their hardware or extra vendor components – we call this a device-specific kernel.

Because the Linux kernel is distributed under the GNU GPL v2 license, all entities that distribute forks of the kernel (which includes Linux kernel blobs shipping on commercial devices) are required to provide the source code for their kernel upon request. Sony did release the kernel source code for the Xperia M4 Aqua (code-name “tulip”) based on Linux Kernel 3.10, but considering the fact that the phone is too old to support Project Treble, the official source tree is just not enough to port modern versions of Android (or any Linux distribution) to this device.

Pavel, who has also contributed to the postmarketOS project, has created a custom device tree from scratch for the Xperia M4 Aqua to enable mainline Linux Kernel support (note that “mainline” here and Google’s own “Project Mainline” are not related). The developer has also uploaded a ready-to-flash AOSP 11.0 build for this phone, which ships with the precompiled Linux Kernel 5.9 RC7.

As of now, many hardware-specific features are lacking in the ROM, but that is alright as we are still in the early days and these features will be fixed on the source side over time. We hope the official support for nearly all critical hardware components in the Linux kernel will pave the way for future versions of Android, and other Linux kernel-based operating systems, to be ported to the Xperia M4 Aqua and similar other devices. If you want to learn more, check out the XDA thread linked below.

Android 11 with Mainline Linux Kernel for the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua — XDA Thread

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7 Great Deals on Apps This Week Incl. Rosetta Stone

Want to spend your time at home more productively? Whether you are trying to learn a new language, get in shape, or simply protect your privacy, these apps can help. Right now, you can save hundreds on lifetime subscriptions at the XDA Developers Depot.

The Social Distancing Lifetime Subscription Bundle Ft. Rosetta Stone

This bundle gives you lifetime access to Rosetta Stone, winner of PC Mag Best Language-Learning Software five years in a row. You can also enjoy lifetime access to hundreds of non-fiction book summaries with 12min, and lifetime online protection from KeepSolid VPN Unlimited. Worth $844 in total, the bundle is now only $199.

LingvaNex Translator: Lifetime Subscription

Previously Product of the Week on Product Hunt, this app provides flawless translations between 112 languages. LingvaNex works on desktop and mobile devices, with support for text, voice, images, websites, and documents. Order now for $79.99 to get a lifetime subscription, worth $399.

BetterMe Home Workout & Diet: Lifetime Subscription

Want to get fitter or lose weight? BetterMe creates a workout and diet plan especially for you, including specific exercises and meal plans. The app also tracks your hydration levels and counts your steps. Normally $1,200, lifetime subscriptions are now only $39.99.

QLango Language Games: Lifetime Subscription

Another great tool for language learners, QLango helps you hone your skills through loads of fun games. Rated at 4.4 stars on Android, the app covers a long list of languages and has five different learning modes. Right now, lifetime subscriptions are 50% off at $44.99.

Yogaia Interactive Yoga Classes: Lifetime Subscription

If you can’t go to your regular yoga and fitness classes, you will love Yogaia. Available on desktop and mobile devices, this platform gives you access to over 1000 live and on-demand classes from top instructors. Worth $399, lifetime access is now only $299 for a limited time.

ZapReader Speed-Reading: Lifetime Subscription

Want to learn speed reading? ZapReader gives you access to exercises developed by world-leading speed reading experts. You can also upload your own content and use the built-in reader to practice your new skills. Usually priced at $499, lifetime access is currently just $39.99.

Busuu Language Learning Premium Plus: Lifetime Subscription

Named Google Play Store Editors’ Choice, this language learning app uses machine learning to help you start speaking faster. You get over 1,000 lessons created by expert linguists, with instant feedback from native speakers and the chance to earn official McGraw-Hill Education certificates. Worth $450, lifetime Premium Plus subscriptions are now $159.99.

Prices subject to change 

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How OPPO‘s ColorOS 11 Pushes the Trend of Android Customization

OPPO has a strong selection of Android devices in 2020, and with them, OPPO has always had a big focus on software. Android 11 is the latest big release for Google’s mobile operating system. To take full advantage of Android 11, OPPO released ColorOS 11 as one of the most significant updates for ColorOS to date. On September 14th, the ColorOS 11 event took place as a virtual launch. This event gave us a look at all of the new features that would be coming to many OPPO devices. There were many different types of feature updates, but the most interesting aspect was the new customization features.

When I hear about OEM customization on Android, I think about bloated theme engines that slow down my phone without offering much of anything else. This seems to be what ColorOS 11 is trying to avoid. Instead of having a heavily themed interface, they seem to be aiming for a more stock Android look, while implementing effective personalization features.

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Trends in OEM Android Software

I ran a poll on the @xdadevelopers twitter account, asking our users what they value in OEM software. Some of the biggest trends from OS software this year have been security, privacy, and customization. All of these features are important, but XDA users ended up valuing personalization more.

XDA Twitter Poll

However, you might notice that the most popular feature was a stock Android experience. So an ideal solution is to make an OS that is closer to stock Android while having some personalization features to make it your own. So how is this done? I’ll share some examples of ColorOS 11 running on an OPPO Find X2 Pro.

The homescreen of this phone will look very familiar to you because it closely resembles what you’d find on a stock Android device. The material design rules from Google are implemented throughout this software. Everything behaves and performs the way you’d expect it to, from a stock Google phone. There are no bloated elements here. Transitions are simples, icons are stock, the settings menu has the traditional layout, and the notification shade isn’t bogged down with OEM features.

All of these features are ready to be customized to your liking. You can tweak the icons, generate your own wallpapers, make ringtones, and more. There’s no need to download icon packs or heavy themes to achieve this look. You can now use the adaptive personalization features to do this. Some of the best new customization features include:

• Always on Display
• Home screen icon style
• Fingerprint icon animation
• Accent color
• Font & display size
• Notification drawer icon shape
• Edge lighting
• Dark mode
• Wallpaper creation

Now users can have their stock Android experience while being able to enjoy some great customization features. This seems to be the best way forward as OEMs are trying to implement more of what users want to see in their next OS update.

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The Future of Personalization on Android

Here at XDA, there has always been a large community around Android themes and custom ROMs. However, this has always required a level of technical knowledge that doesn’t reach the general consumer. It’s also a lot of effort that goes into customizing your phone in this way. This is why we are seeing the trend of users valuing personalization features more, as the above poll shows.

Many phone manufacturers are headed in the same direction with these types of features. Implementing them in the right way is key, to avoid becoming clutter, rather than a feature.

Read about all of the new ColorOS 11 Features is our article here:
ColorOS 11 Review – OPPO adds lots of customization over Android 11

We thank OPPO 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.

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Motorola Razr 5G with Snapdragon 765G launched in India for ₹1,24,999 (~$1700)

After launching the Motorola Razr 5G internationally early last month, the company has now brought the device to the Indian market. The second foldable device from Motorola is powered by Qualcomm’s mid-range Snapdragon 765G SoC, and it comes with some minor improvements over its predecessor.

Motorola Razr 5G: Specifications

Specification	Motorola Razr 5G
Dimensions and Weight	Unfolded: 72.6 x 169.2 x 7.9 mm Folded: 72.6 x 91.7 x 16 mm Gorilla Glass protection on the back with a matte finish Water repellant design 192g
Display	Main: 6.2-inch pOLED (2142×876), 21:9 External: 2.7-inch gOLED (800×600), 4:3
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G: 1x Kryo 475 (ARM Cortex-A76-based) Prime core @ 2.4GHz 1x Kryo 475 (ARM Cortex-A76-based) Performance core @ 2.2GHz 6x (ARM Cortex-A55-based) Efficiency cores @ 1.8GHz 7nm EUV process Adreno 620 GPU
RAM and Storage	8GB RAM 256GB flash storage
Battery & Charging	2,800 mAh battery 15W fast charger (inside the box)
Rear Camera	Rear: 48MP Quad Pixel f/1.7, 1.6μm OIS Laser autofocus (ToF) 4K@30fps video recording Front: 20MP Quad Pixel, f/2.2, 1.6μm
Connectivity	5G NR Sub-6GHz, 4G LTE (China/Japan/EMEA/ANZ SKU): 5G: sub-6GHz band n1/n3/n5/n7/n28/n41/n41 HPUE/n77/n78/n78 HPUE/n79/n79 4G: LTE band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/26/28/34/38/39/40/41/42/46/66/71 (NA/LATAM/CAN SKU): 5G: sub-6GHz band n2/n5/n25/n41/n41 HPUE/n66/n71/n78 4G: LTE band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/30/38/39/40/41/41 HPUE/46/48/66/ Bluetooth 5.0 NFC Type-C port (USB 3.1) WiFi 802.11.b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz) GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo
Other Features	Single bottom-firing speaker 4 microphones Dual SIM (1 Nano SIM + 1 eSIM)
Software	Android 10 with My UX 2 guaranteed major OS upgrades Bi-monthly security updates for 2 years

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Along with the 5G-enabled Snapdragon 765G chip, the new Motorola Razr 5G comes with small changes to the overall build and design. These include the relocation of the fingerprint scanner from the front to the Motorola logo on the back, a glass back with a matte finish and Gorilla Glass protection, a new stainless steel hinge, and a tapered chin made with 7000 Series Aluminum Alloy. The company also addresses durability concerns on the second-gen foldable and it’s now rated for up to 200,000 flips in its lifetime.

The primary and external displays on the new Motorola Razr 5G remain unchanged. It still has the same 6.2-inch 2142×876 plastic OLED main display and 2.7-inch 800×600 Quick View glass OLED display. However, Motorola has updated the camera on the device with a new 48MP primary sensor. The camera module features OIS along with a ToF sensor for advanced laser autofocus. The front camera has also been updated from 5MP to 20MP. Additionally, the device comes with Moto Camera 3.0 — the company’s latest camera app that has a new UI and a couple of unique features.

The Razr 5G has also received a RAM and storage bump, with the new model featuring 8GB of RAM and 256GB of flash storage. The device also packs in a larger 2,800mAh battery, which supports 15W fast charging with the included charging brick. The device runs a near-stock version of Android 10 with a couple of Motorola’s software customizations on top.

Pricing & Availability

The new Motorola Razr 5G is priced at ₹1,24,999 (~$1,700) in India and it’s already up for pre-order on Flipkart. The device comes in Black and Gold color variants, and it’s scheduled to go on sale starting from October 12th. The device will also be available in offline retail outlets.

Launch offers for the Motorola Razr 5G include an instant discount worth ₹10,000 for HDFC card users, double data benefits for Jio users with the ₹4,999 annual plan, and an additional one year of unlimited services from Jio at no extra cost. If you’re interested in purchasing the device, you can pre-order it now from the Flipkart link below. It’s also worth noting that Motorola has reduced the price of the first-gen Motorola Razr in the country and it’s now available on Reliance Digital for ₹94,999 (~$1,298).

Pre-order the Motorola Razr 5G from Flipkart

 

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NewPipe 0.20.0 brings a new unified video player and much more to the open source YouTube client

NewPipe is an open-source YouTube client for Android, serving itself as an alternative for users who either dislike the official app or do not have Google Play Services installed on their device. In a nutshell, NewPipe parses the YouTube website to extract data and play videos, without restrictions and ads. A few days ago, NewPipe was testing a new Unified Player UI in its test builds, and now, the app has been updated in the stable branch with the new Unified Player UI and other changes.

Unified Player in NewPipe

The highlight feature of NewPipe v0.20.0 is its Unified Player. Prior to this stable release and recent test releases, NewPipe actually had three different players bundled in its code: the main player, the pop-up player, and the background player — each with their own code and separate playing queues. So whenever you switched between these three players, the older instance of the player would be closed and a new instance and playing queue would be created, usually resulting in you losing your progress in the video. The Unified Player fixes this by merging all the players on one common service. So now when you switch between players, the service remains running and the stream data is preserved.

Video details page

The new NewPipe release brings in a redesign to the video details page from what it was earlier, bringing it closer to the experience on the default YouTube app.

Video orientation

Previously, the main video players would always play videos in full-screen, but would not present an optimized experience if the player’s orientation did not match the orientation of the video. The orientation switch is now being replaced with a full-screen button, which detects if the video is in landscape or portrait and ensures correct orientation when the user enters full-screen.

Minimized Player

Videos in the video details page can be swiped down to open in a minimized player at the bottom, letting you pause, play or close from that location. This will be helpful if you intend to browse through other videos while your video keeps playing. The blog post also states that this feature can be used to build a watch-playlist on the fly, so read on there for more details.

Changes to NewPipe’s Notification

This NewPipe release comes with the MediaStyle notification (available since Android Lollipop) instead of the older RemoteView API. This swap allows the app to deliver a new customizable notification for playback, letting you change up to three buttons that are visible in the compact notification. For Android 8 and above, the notification adapts to the color of the cover art. For Android 10 and above, the notification will also feature a seekbar.

Other improvements

NewPipe also features several improvements, which we have summarized as below:

• The app window is now resize-friendly.
• Unsupported URLs are now handled better.
• Livestream links are no longer shared with a timestamp.
• Header layout has been improved.
• Offline search is now handled better.
• Pop-up size and position can now persist.
• Main player now minimizes to background audio by default for seamless app switching experience.
• Main player videos now default to 720p 60fps and pop-up videos now default to 480p, instead of the previous 360p.
• “Autoplay” toggle is now renamed to “auto-queue” to better describe its functionality.
• More translation improvements.

NewPipe 0.20.0 Changelog

You can find the complete changelog here:

• New
  • New application workflow #2907, #4061, #4080, #4130, #4134, #4154, #4155 #4223, #4246, #4272, #4288, #4347, #4353, #4360, #4362 (thanks to @avently and all others involved)
  • Unified all three players into one for seamless switching between them – for example, now if you tap on background play while the video is playing in the main or popup player, the stream will start exactly where you left off, not from the beginning. This is true when you go from any of the 3 players to each other.
  • Play video directly in video details screen
  • Option to auto-play video upon opening video details screen (on by default)
  • Swipe down on video to minimize it and continue browsing uninterrupted (in landscape mode, you can swipe down on the title to do the same)
  • Full screen button smartly detects if video is portrait or landscape and behaves accordingly
  • Swipe up on full screen button in landscape mode to scroll down the video details
  • Now you get a neat looking progress bar below the thumbnail in the video details screen if you play it in the background or popup player.
  • Minimize players to background by default when switching app
  • The main player/minimized player retains your browsing history until you close it
  • Use MediaStyle notifications for all players #3178, #4340
  • Customizable notification actions
  • Reduce excessive notification updating
  • Fixed metadata (song title, artist and album art) sometimes not being set correctly
  • Fixed notification priority and Bluetooth related bugs
  • Allow basic resizing when using NewPipe in windowed mode / as desktop application #3948
  • New localizations: Bengali, Berber, Neapolitan, Portuguese and Sardinian
• Improved
  • Show dialog with open options in case of an unsupported URL toast #3826
  • Improve share dialog #4259
  • Improve playlist header layout: align with info items and use always two lines for playlist title when needed #3944
  • Improve search suggestion experience when remote ones can’t be fetched #4029
  • Increased default video quality to 720p60 (in-app player) and 480p (pop-up player) #4275
  • Reduce redundancy in “Remember popup size and position” setting #4050
  • Remove timestamp from URL when sharing a live stream #4115
  • Use SubtitlesStream#getUrl instead of getURL #4120
  • Remember last selected media type for downloads. #4038
  • Disabled commenter image view on LoadThumbnail set to false #4350
  • Change “Autoplay” to “Autoqueue” to reduce ambiguity #4252
• Fixed
  • Fixed color of correct / suggested search term #3984
  • Fixed ACRA bug reports not containing stack trace #3982
  • Fixed crash when opening video in local playlist tab on KitKat #3892
  • Fixed auto-queue with no next videos #4349
  • Fixed display name of Kayble language (Taqbaylit) #4066
  • Fixed license pop-up hiding when orientation changes #4127
  • Fixed crash when a file is deleted then redownloaded #3794
  • Fixed incorrect use of plurals in Russian #4365
• Development
  • Add Checkstyle rule to error when a local variable that could be final isn’t final #4138
  • Allow numbers and uppercase letters in app package id #4326
  • Add requirement for contributors to discuss contributions before opening PRs #4126
  • Deprecations and cleanup #3909

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Download NewPipe

If you already have NewPipe installed, the app should prompt you to update when you open it up. If you do not have an older build installed, you can grab the latest release from F-Droid or from GitHub.

Have you used NewPipe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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YouTube Music is rolling out personal playlist playback through Google Assistant on mobile and casting without Premium membership

Google has officially killed off Google Play Music and, over the last few months, the company has been adding new features to YouTube Music to bring it at par with the outgoing service. Most recently, the company introduced support for recommended music playback via Google Assistant to the app, along with the ability to allow external devices to start playback and a ‘Recent Activity’ section. Now, according to recent posts on Reddit, Google has added support for two more Google Play Music features to the app.

The first Google Play Music to make it to YouTube Music with the recent update is the ability to cast uploaded music without a premium membership. Previously, the service required users to purchase a premium subscription to cast uploaded music to external devices. However, according to a recent post from u/prauschkolb, the app now lets you cast uploaded music without a premium membership.

Along with the ability to cast uploaded music without a YouTube Premium subscription, YouTube Music now also lets users play personal playlists via the Google Assistant. According to a Reddit post by u/M00N_Water, the feature will allow you to play your saved YouTube Music playlists by asking the Google Assistant to “play (playlist name) on YouTube Music”. The feature works for all saved playlists and even with the ‘Your Likes’ playlist. However, in order to play the liked music playlist, you’ll need to ask the Assistant to “Play my liked songs”.

As per the comments on the respective threads, both the features are now live worldwide and should be available on your device. I tested the features on YouTube Music 3.86.51 and the Google Assistant commands worked as intended. However, I didn’t find the option to cast uploaded music to an external device. Interestingly, I was able to play uploaded music in the background without a premium account, which is another significant addition.

YouTube Music - Stream Songs & Music Videos (Free, Google Play) →

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Source: Reddit (1,2)

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Flipkart to launch six Nokia Smart TVs with integrated Onkyo soundbar in India tomorrow

Nokia is a nostalgic brand with enough brand value that allows it to license its name to others. While HMD Global handles smartphones under the Nokia brand, Flipkart handles smart TVs in India under the Nokia Smart TV branding. Nokia made its entry into the smart TV segment in India back in December 2019, and we expect to see more TVs launched tomorrow. We now have information relating to the six new TVs that Flipkart is launching tomorrow under the Nokia Smart TV brand.

Nokia already has three 4K TVs in its portfolio: 43CAUHDN, 55CAUHDN, and 65CAUHDN. Teasers on its official website indicate a launch scheduled for tomorrow, October 6, for a new range of smart TVs, although no other specifics have been shared.

According to our internal sources, the company is planning to expand this lineup with as many as six TVs:

• UHD: 43″, 50″, 55″, 65″
• FHD: 43″
• HD: 32″

The UHD/4K lineup is expected to come with a 3840 x 2160 resolution with HDR 10 support. Flipkart/Nokia will be calling the display technology as “MaxBrite Display” with micro-dimming and Pronto Focal AI Engine, as well as a 5000:1 contrast ratio. The maximum brightness would be 350 nits on the 43″ model, 380 nits on the 50″, 420 nits on the 55″, and 450 nits on the 65″ model. The TVs will come with an integrated Onkyo soundbar, featuring 30W speakers and 18W tweeters.

The FHD and HD lineup is expected to be a bit more humble. The maximum resolution on the 43″ FHD model would be 1920 x 1080, while that on the HD model would be 1366 x 768. Much like the 4K lineup, these two TVs will also come with a “MaxBrite Display” with micro-dimming and Pronto Focal AI Engine, although the contrast ratio is at 3000:1 and the maximum brightness would be at 325 nits on both. These TVs will also come with an integrated Onkyo soundbar, featuring 24W speakers and 15W tweeters.

We do not have information on the pricing or availability. Other reports mention an expected starting price of ₹21,999 for the base model, although we would advise just waiting for the launch tomorrow for a clearer picture. We also expect the TVs to run on Android TV.

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