Exclusive: Here’s our real-world first look at Realme’s MagDart charging

Apple launched a new MagSafe wireless charger with the launch of the iPhone 12 series last year. The charger made it easy for users to align the charging coil in their phones with the one in the charger, as it magnetically attached to the back of the phone in the correct location. While many Android phones support Qi wireless charging and some work with Apple’s MagSafe charger, we’re yet to see an Android OEM come out with a similar solution. However, that’s set to change soon as Realme is working on a magnetic wireless charger called “MagDart.”

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a couple of reports about Realme’s upcoming MagDart wireless charger. The company has secured a trademark for “MagDart” from the EUIPO, and we’ve seen renders of two magnetic wireless chargers with Realme branding. In addition, we’ve learned that the Realme Flash could be the first phone to support the upcoming MagDart chargers. Ahead of the launch, we’ve obtained a charging test video of the upcoming MagDart charger that also showcases the Realme Flash phone.

As you can see in the attached video, Realme’s MagDart charger takes around 3 minutes to charge the Realme Flash from 18-26%. Based on this figure, we speculate that the charger will likely take less than an hour to charge the phone from 0-100% (depending on the battery size).

A separate image showing the charging conditions further reveals that the battery current is 4.4A and the voltage is around 4V. Since the phone likely has a dual-cell battery, this means that the charger delivers about 35W power to the phone. The charger’s actual output voltage is 10V, with 2V being lost to the internal wired connection to each cell. This means that the charger itself outputs 50W of power. That’s quite impressive for such a small wireless charger.

At the moment, we have no further details about the Realme Flash or the MagDart Chargers. We expect to learn more at Realme’s Mag for Future launch event tomorrow.

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Google Translate is testing a much-needed redesign that could launch on the Pixel 6

Google Translate is one of the most useful Google apps, allowing you to seamlessly translate text, bilingual conversations, webpages, and more between so many languages. Although the app has continued to gain new tricks such as letting you transcribe real-time speech, it hasn’t seen a major UI refresh in a long while. But that might be changing soon as Google appears to be working on a big redesign for the Android app.

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 the developers in a future build.

Google Translate 6.21 rolled out over the weekend, and it contains a new Activity titled “NewTranslateActivity” that, when launched, brings up an entirely new UI for the app. It’s still a work in progress at this point as when launching the activity directly, lots of things aren’t functional, including the “camera” button, “more” button, star button in the top left, and the account button in the top right. But this nonetheless gives us a sneak peek at the new design that Google is working on regardless.

As you can see in the screenshots below, the new UI puts a clear emphasis on one-handed usability, with the camera, mic, and language switcher buttons all now appearing at the bottom for easier access. The new UI also gets rid of the hamburger menu that currently gives access to Phrasebook, Saved transcripts, Offline translation, and Settings. It appears these options would reside under the “More” tab located in the bottom left corner.

Interestingly, the Manifest entry for this new Activity suggests this redesign is tied to the Pixel 6 series, Google’s upcoming smartphone lineup rumored to launch in October. The label for the Activity refers to a string named “app_name_p21”, where “p21” likely refers to the 2021 Pixel phones. The actual value for the “app_name_p21” string is “P21 Translate”, so it seems this new design may launch on the Pixel 6 running Android 12. The Manifest entry also suggests this design is the “Material You” redesign for the Translate app, with the style labeled as “Translate_MaterialNext” — Material Next is the internal code-name for Material You.

The new UI being exclusive to Pixel phones wouldn’t all be that surprising, as we have seen Google done that on multiple occasions. In any case, the new UI hasn’t rolled out to any existing Pixel phone. We’ll continue to dig into the APK for more info and let you know if we find anything worth sharing.

Google Translate (Free, Google Play) →

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Study: Dark Mode can extend your phone’s battery life, but there’s a catch

Enabling dark mode on your phone can increase your phone’s battery life, which is something we’ve heard for a while. According to researchers from Purdue University, though, the battery life increase isn’t as great as you may have thought. Plus, a pure black background doesn’t yield many benefits over the dark gray background found in most apps when dark mode is enabled. The study found that enabling dark mode doesn’t give you any major efficiency gains unless you’re looking at it from specific scenarios. The most fruitful battery life gains were found when switching from light mode at full brightness to dark mode.

In the Purdue study (via Android Authority), researchers looked at dark mode power usage from six different applications. Calculator, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google News, Google Phone, and YouTube were all tested on a Pixel 2, Moto Z3, Pixel 4, and a Pixel 5 — all phones with OLED screens, of course. The researchers tested the power draw when running each of these apps in dark mode for 60 seconds. The researchers said they built a set of tools to accurately measure power draw in pixels.

“When the industry rushed to adopt dark mode, it didn’t have the tools yet to accurately measure power draw by the pixels,” said Charlie Hu, Purdue’s Michael and Katherine Birck Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “But now we’re able to give developers the tools they need to give users more energy-efficient apps.”

At around 30%-50% brightness, the researchers found that switching from light mode to dark mode only saved between 3% and 9% power on average. However, switching the other way around at 100% brightness can save as much as an average of 47% battery power.

“Tests done in the past to compare the effects of light mode with dark mode on battery life have treated the phone as a black box, lumping in OLED display with the phone’s other gazillion components. Our tool can accurately isolate the portion of battery drain by the OLED display,” said Pranab Dash, a Purdue Ph.D. student who worked with Hu on the study.

There were other interesting findings too, including that using the Google News app in light mode at 20% brightness on the Pixel 5 draws the same amount of power as when the phone is at 50% brightness in dark mode. Therefore, if the bright display bothers you, then you can increase the brightness when using it without using much more power overall.

The study also mentions that Android’s battery consumption details do not take dark mode into account, so the team developed a tool called “Android Battery+” which does. The researchers want to open source their display profiling tool and also add the Android Battery+ feature into AOSP.

Featured image credits: Purdue University photo/John Underwood

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Here are the games coming to Amazon Luna+ in August 2021

Amazon has announced which games are coming to its Luna+ streaming platform in August. Luna is Amazon’s attempt to compete in the growing cloud gaming market that’s currently being cornered by Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming, Google’s Stadia, and NVIDIA’s GeForce Now. The difference between it and other services is that it offers games on different “channels” that users can subscribe to separately, rather than everything being covered under a single subscription price.

Amazon Luna+ is the channel on the Luna streaming platform that Amazon personally curates. Users can subscribe to it for $5.99 a month. It’s one of only two channels available at the moment, the other being the beta Ubisoft+ channel that costs $14.99 a month. Luna+ games can be played on PC, Mac, Fire TV devices, and iOS and Android via web apps.

Amazon has announced which games will be coming to Luna+ in August:

• Hokko Life: This community life sim game is set to launch on the platform sometime in August. Set in the village of Hokko, the player must help build the village up while partaking in farming, fishing, and other things that Animal Crossing and Story of Seasons fans will recognize.
• Open Country: This open-world hunting game casts the player as The Ranger, a survivalist attempting to escape urban life. Hunt on behalf of your mentor Gary in a remote hunting lodge or rough it on your own. It’s also coming to Luna+ at some unspecified time in August.
• Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead: This spin-off of the original Bridge Constructor is coming to Luna+ on August 5. It’s basically exactly what the title suggests: a bridge-building physics simulator, but with the added twist that you’re attempting to fend off a horde of zombies during construction.

As stated last month, Amazon Luna is still in beta, so if you want to play these games and are not already part of Luna, then you can request access on the service’s landing page.

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This Week in Gaming: Activision Blizzard employees’ walk-out, Annapurna’s showcase, and even more game delays

It’s been a relatively quiet week for gaming news, at least in terms of big game reveals or delays. Instead, we’ve been watching the industry’s biggest scandal unfold, as well as a new stream from Annapurna. In better news, there have been several good game launches this week to keep gamers busy.

Activision Blizzard scandal grows as employees speak out

The lawsuit alleges years of harassment, favoritism, and pay disparity https://t.co/Hysz2h7K3N

— Vulture (@vulture) July 29, 2021

Following last week’s lawsuit from California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing — in which Activision Blizzard was alleged to have a “frat boy” culture behind the scenes that resulted in many of its employees facing harassment, sexism, and unfair pay — employees of the major game publisher have come forward with their own stories of working for Blizzard, and they are no more pretty than the allegations in the original lawsuit.

Activision’s initial response to the lawsuit was defensive, calling it “distorted” and claiming the company’s culture was nothing like what the lawsuit described. Employees have since staged a walk-out in protest over the company’s policies, demanding change. Activision has since hired WilmerHale, a firm with a reputation for union-busting, to review its policies. Stay tuned as the situation unfolds.

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S are doing well in sales

This might come as a surprise for those of you who are having trouble finding a next-gen console to buy, but they’re selling by the millions. Within a year of having launched, the PlayStation 5 has already sold 10 million consoles. Microsoft has not released sales figures for the Xbox Series X/S (which isn’t new; they stopped releasing figures shortly after the Xbox One launched) but estimates put the number of consoles sold at around 6-7 million units. Both consoles remain sold out almost everywhere.

If you look at the two consoles as being locked in battle, as the two companies have been since time immemorial, then it looks like the PS5 is winning. However, I wouldn’t count the Series consoles out yet. At the moment, we’ve yet to see the effects of the Bethesda purchase, as exclusive games have not yet been released. But it’s probably more constructive to frame this as a win for the gaming industry as a whole, rather than a competition. By the way, the last reported numbers on Nintendo’s Switch put the number of hardware units sold at 84 million.

Yet more games are delayed… but not all for the same reason

If there’s been one thing that’s a consistent feature about 2020/2021 gaming news, it’s game delays. We’ve gotten many of them this week, some more disappointing than others. Kena: Bridge of Spirits, the upcoming Pixaresque adventure game from Ember Lab, was only delayed a month, from August 23 to September 21. Crimson Desert, the open-world fantasy title from the creators of Black Desert, has been delayed to an unspecified date. In many of these cases, the developers cite the continuing pandemic as part of the issue, as they wish to safeguard their employees’ health.

That’s far from the only reason, however. Splitgate, the breakout indie hit that looks like Halo meets Portal, was delayed to late August due to the current servers not being able to handle the game’s popularity. Other deep cuts include Stray, which was delayed to 2022, and SkateBird, which is being pushed to September. Horizon Forbidden West has not been confirmed to be delayed beyond a doubt, but it’s a rumor that’s looking more and more true as time goes on.

Annapurna holds a perfectly acceptable showcase

Let’s end this week on a positive note: The game publisher Annapurna Interactive, which is best known for titles like What Remains of Edith Finch and The Outer Wilds, held a showcase livestream where it showed off its upcoming games. Several of them are games we’ve seen before, such as Stray, and it was good to finally get more information about them. It was a very nice event, especially considering how turbulent the week has been overall.

Other than the aforementioned Stray, several of the games shown at the showcase are scheduled to be out this year (though, given the number of delays — see above — I wouldn’t necessarily count on all of them making it before the year turns). These include Solar Ash, Neon White, The Artful Escape, and the expansion to The Outer Wilds. Other games that don’t have a definite release date include Storyteller, Skin Deep, and A Memoir Blue.

August’s Free Games Via Subscription Services

For this part of the weekly update, we’ll mention the games that have been added to subscription and streaming gaming services. This usually happens en masse at the beginning of the month. Here are the ones announced this week.

Xbox Games with Gold:

• Darksiders III
• Lost Planet 3
• Garou: Mark of the Wolves
• Yooka-Laylee

PlayStation Plus Free Titles:

• Hunter’s Arena: Legends (PS4, PS5)
• Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville (PS4)
• Tennis World Tour 2 (PS4)

Games released this week:

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

A prequel to the Phoenix Wrightseries, Chronicles follows a Japanese law student who gets entangled in Victorian England's biggest mysteries.

Available on Nintendo Switch

NEO: The World Ends With You

The sequel to the classic The World Ends With You, this RPG takes the series 3D and stars a new cast of characters who must survive the Reaper's Game.

Available on PlayStation 4

Available on Nintendo Switch

Samurai Warriors 5

The latest entry in the Samurai Warriorsseries reboots the fighting game franchise for a new generation.

Available on Xbox One

Available on PlayStation 4

• Tribes of Midgard: PS4/PS5, PC (via Steam)
• The Ascent: Xbox Series X/S, PC (via Steam)

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This week in Chrome OS: GIF Maker coming to Chromebooks

Another week in the books. It was a fairly slow news week for Chrome OS, especially compared to the onslaught last week. There were a couple key hardware announcements, including Samsung’s release of more info on the Galaxy Chromebook Go LTE. We now know that Google is working on a custom GIF maker for Chrome OS. Not something I’m sure anyone asked for, but more features are always nice in any form.

If you like cookies, there was a bit of news this week on Google slowing the roll out of FLoC for tracking user groups online. This isn’t the sexiest news out there, but it’s pretty important if you care about online privacy.

Enough of the appetizers, let’s run down the top stories one-by-one.

GIF maker coming to Chrome OS camera app

The camera app on Chrome OS isn’t exactly a bastion for innovation or new features. Of all the stock apps, the camera probably gets the least attention from Google. If that makes you sad, the good news is that the camera app is getting a new fancy GIF maker in a future Chrome OS release.

Originally spotted by a tipster and published by Android Police, this Chromium Gerrit commit makes it pretty clear that GIFs are coming to Chrome OS very soon. We’re not entirely sure how this feature will work just yet, as the details are pretty limited. However, if you’re on the Canary channel you can keep an eye out for it in a future update.

Obviously, GIFs aren’t the most important feature for getting work done, but there’s nothing wrong with the occasional silly meme. Bringing features likes this to Chrome OS helps Google further attract a wider user base for Chromebooks.

FLoC gets pushed back (sorry, or you’re welcome?)

Google’s Federated Learning of Cohorts – or FLoC – is a transition the company is making to move away from third-party cookies. The idea is that FLoC groups individuals together based on different interest groups for advertising as opposed to targeting them specifically. While this probably sounds pretty good on a personal level, keep in mind that this gives Google an unfair advantage over other publishers.

When FLoC was first introduced, plenty of groups spoke out about the change and it appears Google is reconsidering the timeline and implementation of FLoC as a whole. You can view the updated timeline at privacysandbox.com/timeline. Basically, this means Google isn’t going to roll out their new approach to cookies until late next year. It also appears they may revise the way FLoC works from the ground up to minimize some of the initial criticism.

Galaxy Chromebook Go LTE getting surprise feature

We’ve talked a little bit about the Galaxy Chromebook Go already. It’s a fairly attractive Chromebook targeted at education users, priced at $299 for the WiFi model. In addition, we knew an LTE-enabled variant of this device was coming at some point. This week Samsung posted a video teaser for the LTE version, with a little surprise hidden in there.

If you look at the original specs sheet for the Galaxy Chromebook Go, it does not feature a touch screen. Most everyone then presumed the LTE model would also be a clamshell-only Chromebook. It appears that is not the case, as Samsung’s promotional video for the LTE Chromebook Go shows off children tapping away on the screen. This seems like evidence of a touchscreen on the LTE variant, as I highly doubt Samsung would make such a large advertising gaffe.

We still don’t know the price for the Chromebook Go LTE, but you can expect it will be significantly higher than the WiFi model. I’d guess somewhere around $420-$479.

Multiple media app instances coming to Chrome OS

Perhaps the most exciting and simultaneously boring upcoming feature unearthed this week: Your Chromebook will soon allow you to run multiple media app instances. If this sounds kinda basic, it really is. Linux, Windows, and macOS have had this capability forever. Currently, on Chrome OS the local media app only magically appears when you open something. That also means you can’t have multiple images together side-by-side for comparison or other research purposes.

This is really one of the silliest things about Chrome OS in my opinion, but Google likely doesn’t want the local app to supersede their precious Photos app in users’ minds. Luckily, the Canary channel recently received the option to run multiple media instances with the media viewer. This should trickle down to the other channels eventually, which is a good thing for all Chromebook owners.

Google should really rethink their strategy with media on Chrome OS as a whole. They could easily invoke the Photos PWA each time a photo opens on a Chromebook. This could accommodate multiple media instances and make things a whole lot less confusing. Plus, Google gets to promote one of their favorite cash-cow apps even more. It’s a win-win for everyone!

ASUS CX9 review coming next week!

The last bit of news this week is just a little bit of hype for a big review coming next week. I’ve now had the i7 model of the ASUS Chromebook CX9 for exactly one week, as I’m writing this article. This weekend I’m going to get to work on what should be a fairly long review. I have a lot to say about this Chromebook. If you’ve been on the fence about purchasing this device, make sure to look out for my review next week.

And that’s it for me this week. I expect to see more exciting Chromebook releases in the next month or so, especially with back to school season in full swing. I’m also planning plenty of coverage around utilizing Chromebooks for technical degrees and engineering as colleges get back in session this fall.

As an applied mathematician and professor, making a Chromebook do everything I need for research has always been one of my favorite hobbies. If you’re interested in pushing the limits of your Chromebook, look out for some cool stuff here at XDA. See ya next week!

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Some of the Best Icon Packs on Android to Customize your Home Screen: Minma, Rondo, Rugos, and more!

The biggest advantage of using an Android phone is the ability to customize it. From changing elements on your home screen like the launcher, wallpaper, widgets, etc. to Substratum theming on some devices, Android gives you the freedom to change the way the software on your phone looks. One such thing is the ability to change icons. Most Android launchers have support for third-party icon packs which you can use to completely change the look of your home screen.

There are many options when it comes to icon packs on the Play Store. Since it isn’t very practical for you to try them all, we’ve shortlisted ten of the best ones that would make your Android home screen setup a lot cooler. Note that these icon packs are supported on most launchers except for a few stock launchers that come pre-installed on your phone.

If you’re looking for a good launcher with additional features to use these icon packs with, you can check out our list of the best Android launchers. If you’re planning to get a new phone that you want to customize, you can also take a look at the best Android phones to buy.

Minma

Minma is a beautiful, modern-looking icon pack. If you’re a fan of minimalistic looks with a dash of color, you’re really going to like the way Minma redesigns your icons. There’s a dark, grayish background to the icons which looks good especially when matched with dark wallpapers.

The main part of the icon is designed using lines and strokes that are minimal and colorful. The colors are bright, almost neon-like and they stand out which makes it easy for you to identify the icons even without a label. The icons add a good level of contrast when used with a black background, especially on OLED displays.

Minma Icon Pack (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Whicons

Whicons has been one of the top recommendations for icon packs for quite a while now and for good reason. The name comes from joining together the two words – white and icons – and that’s exactly how the icons look with this pack. The icons are pure white which gives a simple, yet elegant look to your home screen. You can use any dark-colored wallpaper with this icon pack and your home screen will look attractive.

The icons don’t have a definite shape or background so if you’re a fan of symmetry, this might put you off a bit. Match it with a minimalistic white widget, and you’re good to go.

Whicons - White Icon Pack (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Delta

Delta is the exact opposite of Whicons. Instead of a plain, white look, Delta makes your home screen colorful with its flat-style icons. The icons themselves give out a slightly retro vibe and the color scheme is also subtle. If you don’t like a lot of vibrance, you’ll appreciate the sober colors used for the icons.

To put it simply, the icons in this pack look like a bag of assorted candy of different flavors. The icons do not have a background so the shapes vary based on the app.

Delta - Icon Pack (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Crayon

The name itself is self-explanatory. Crayon makes your home screen look like you gave it a fresh coat of paint, except with crayons. The icons have a pastel look to them which is unique. Some may find the icons to be slightly childish but that’s the whole point of this icon pack. It makes your icons look more fun and colorful.

It adds a slightly animated look, almost like what you would expect to see in some cartoon shows. If you want a break from the typical flat and material style icons, you can give this a try.

Crayon Icon Pack ($0.99⁺, Google Play) →

Rugos

Rugos is quite similar to Crayon in the sense it makes your home screen look more fun and colorful than serious, like some of the other icons. However, the difference is that Rugos has a persistent background for all icons which brings about some consistency and symmetry. If you have OCD with icon sizes and shapes, you’ll surely appreciate the uniform squircle look you get with this pack.

Icons appear as though they are tiny bits of crumpled paper which gives a slightly cartoony look. Pair it up with colorful wallpapers and you’ll have a nice funky look.

Rugos - Freemium Icon Pack (Free⁺, Google Play) →

LineX

While there are multiple different variants of the LineX icon pack, we’ve chosen the most basic one with colorful icons. The idea is to have outlines of the app icons in vibrant, neon colors without any background, almost giving them a glow effect. If you’re not a fan of neon colors, the developer also has different variants of the icon pack in different colors like red and black, green and white, lime and white, etc. If used with dark wallpapers on an OLED display, this icon pack gives out a neon signboard outside a bar vibe.

LineX Icon Pack ($0.99⁺, Google Play) →

Charcoal

You’ve probably got an idea of what this icon pack is all about just by reading the name. The Charcoal effect however, is mainly applicable to the circular background that surrounds every icon. Just like Whicons, the main icon itself is white which gives a minimal look. However, unlike Whicon, Charcoal adds a circular perimeter around every icon for symmetry.

If you want white icons but prefer a clean, uniform look across your home screen as well as the app drawer, this is a good option. If you want the exact reverse, i.e. a white background with dark icons, you can check out Ash from the same developer.

Charcoal - A Flatcon Icon Pack (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Basit

Basit is for all of you who want the utmost minimalism on the home screen. If you’re someone who doesn’t like having icon labels on your home screen or app screen, this icon pack would look great. The basic idea of this icon pack is to highlight just the outline of an app icon or logo to make it look minimal and tidy.

The outline is done using colorful lines and curves that match the color scheme of the app itself. It’s almost like a stencil of the app icon. Use it with plain white or other bright wallpapers for the best look.

BASIT- Free Icon Pack (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Rondo

This is like a universal fit that most people are going to like. Rondo doesn’t modify the icons to a large extent. Instead, it opts for a simple, flat look with symmetry being the priority. All icons have a circular background with the app icon at the center in a flat, material-style look.

The extra element that adds the finishing touches to the icons is the shadows for the main icon itself which extends to the boundary of the circle. The background color differs from app to app but the color of the icon remains white.

Rondo – Flat Style Icon Pack (Free⁺, Google Play) →

The Grid

If you want a modern, Cyberpunk style home screen with glowing icons, The Grid will help you achieve that. The icons have a distinct teal glow to them which looks cool and futuristic. If you fill up your home screen with icons and add a few matching widgets with numbers and information, your phone will begin to look like it’s straight out of a sci-fi movie.

The icons have a 3D look to them. In fact, the icons resemble the good ol’ Cyanogenmod colors, something the OG XDA visitors especially from the forums will appreciate.

The Grid - Icon Pack (Free, Google Play) →

These were some of the best icon packs for Android you can use to change the look of your home screen. From minimalistic icons to ones that replicate neon signs, there’s something for most people. If you like a simple look, you can opt for Minma or Whicons. If you want to make your home screen look like it’s on steroids, you can try LineX or even Crayon if you want a playful look.

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Which icon pack do you use on your phone? If you think we should include it in this list, let us know in the comments below.

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