Huawei Nova 4 official with punch-hole display, 48-megapixel camera

Following in the footsteps of its sub-brand, Honor, Huawei has announced the Nova 4, a mid-range version of the Honor View 20. Notably, the Nova 4 features a punch-hole front camera cutout, allowing the display to creep further up the top of the phone without a notch. It does, however, feature a chin below the display, a design trend that is common with the punch-hole style.

Here’s what to expect with the Nova 4:

• 6.4-inch 2310×1080 display
• 2.36GHz octa-core Kirin 970 processor
• 8GB RAM
• 128GB storage
• 25-megapixel front camera
• Triple rear cameras (details below)
• 3750mAh battery
• Android 9.0 Pie + EMUI

The rear camera setup deserves extra attention. Two versions of the Nova 4 will be sold. The high-end version will feature Sony’s 48-megapixel IMX586 CMOS sensor, plus a 16-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The more mid-range variant will feature a 20-megapixel primary sensor paired with the same 16-megapixel wide-angle camera and 2-megapixel depth sensor.

Huawei is offering four color options for the Nova 4, including red, black, blue, and white. In China, the more mid-range Nova 4 will retail for 3,100 CNY ($450 USD) and the higher-end variant will go for 3,400 CNY ($490 USD). Pricing and availability outside of China have not been announced.

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2Cki5mL

Top 5 most popular Android apps from last week: Absolute Drift, Google Fit

Every week we cover new Android apps with Fresh Meat on Wednesday, followed by Android Gaming on Thursday and Top 10 App Updates on Friday. When Monday rolls around, we look back to see which apps were the most appealing to our audience. Read on for the five most popular Android apps from last week. These apps are ones that are most likely new and haven’t appeared in the top five list more than three times.

1. Google Fit

 

 

App info: When it comes to your health, it’s important to move more and sit less. Earn Move Minutes for all of your activity and get motivated to make small, healthier changes throughout your day, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or catching up with a friend over a walk instead of a coffee.

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

2. Bridge – mirror notifications

App info: With Bridge will you not only be able to read them, but do all the same Quick Actions as the original notification, such as Reply, Like, Delete and much more. And with Bridge’s smart two-way sync, dismissing a notification on one device – means dismissing it on all selected devices! 

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

3. Heroes of Flatlandia

 

App info: Want to play an epic turned based strategy? Enter a fantasy world of Heroes of Flatlandia, where you lead your kingdom of noble elves or dreadful undeads as one of several powerful heroes. Raise mighty armies and crash your enemies in detailed tactical battles. 

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

4.  Absolute Drift

 

App info: In Absolute Drift, you will master the art of drifting. Practice your skills in Free-Roam and compete in drift events such as Driftkhana and Mountain Drifting. 

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

5. Knight Life: Medieval Fantasy RPG

 

App info: A Knight’s Life is the thrilling journey of a young knight in medieval times! Build your new town and explore the lands! Slay monsters, loot bandits, ransack dungeons, and complete the King’s quests! Upgrading your weapons and armor makes combat invigorating! 

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

Note:  To ensure that all apps receive a fair chance to make the list, we will retire any app that has made the list for three consecutive weeks and identified with an * after the name.

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2SSraso

Facebook bug exposed unposted photos of 6.8 million users

Facebook is in hot water again. That is, if it’s even left hot water in recent memory. The company has had a myriad of struggles and now, it’s notifying users and developing users that a bug exposed unposted photos of 6.8 million users to third-party apps. These unposted photos came from users who uploaded a photo to Facebook, but didn’t finish posting it. The company saves these photo in draft form for three days.

In addition, photos uploaded to Stories and Marketplace that would normally be kept private were also exposed. The third-party apps that had access to these photos were apps that users had previously granted permission to to access photos, such as apps like Timehop.

The bug did not affect photos sent through Messenger or photos that users had never uploaded to Facebook.

For more details, check out Facebook’s post below.

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2SPRpj8

Hot Deal: Google Home Hub and two Home Minis for $129

Looking to fully connect your home? Google is hoping you are. The company is offering a sick deal that includes a Google Home Hub and two Google Home Minis for just $129. The Google Home Hub regularly retails for $149, meaning that you’re saving $20 on the device, plus getting two Google Home Minis for free. The deal ends at 11:59 p.m. PST this evening, though, so act fast if you want to grab it.

For a quick refresher, the Google Home Hub is Google’s Assistant-powered Smart Display. You can ask it questions, have it play music, control other smart devices, and even watch video content, thanks to its inclusion of a large screen in addition to the speaker. And of course, the Google Home Mini is a fun-sized version of the Google Home that performs all the same functions, but with a smaller footprint and reduced sound quality.

Are you planning to take advantage of this sale?

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2QSKjx6

Google testing simpler UI for Assistant

The Google Assistant UI has long been a bit of a mess. While we’re a fan of the new input methods that Google has added to the Assistant, they’ve only served to clutter the UI even more than it was before. But Google is hoping to make it a little easier to understand the Assistant’s functions with a tweaked UI that moves the Visual Snapshot button to the bottom left corner, the Explore button to the bottom right corner, and places the keyboard input and Google Lens buttons on either side of the voice search button.

This redesign compiles the three search options in one bar, and places the Visual Snapshot and Explore buttons in more obvious and easy-to-reach spots. If you’ve forgotten (and we can’t blame you because they’re not often highlighted), Visual Snapshot provides cards with upcoming information, while Explore displays content that Google thinks may be of interest to you.

This change isn’t revolutionary, but it is helpful. At the moment, it’s only in testing, but we’re hoping it’ll roll out to all users soon.

What do you think about the new redesign?

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2SMWwAP

Samsung’s foldable phone may feature 6,000mAh battery

Samsung has already shown off its first foldable smartphone, the device it plans on launching in the early stages of 2019. Before that happens, though, rumors and leaks are starting to painting us a picture of the device.

That’s where CGS-CIMB Research of Korea comes in. In a new prediction, the group says that they believe Samsung could launch the upcoming foldable phone alongside the oft-rumored Galaxy S10 in February of next year. And if that doesn’t pan out, then the device could be officially unveiled soon after. When it does, it could have a massive battery to power the foldable design.

It sounds like the upcoming device will have two batteries, one on each half of the foldable smartphone/tablet amalgamation. That could see the foldable phone rocking a 6,000mAh battery when all is said and done. Expectations put a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 under the hood, too.

So, what is Samsung going to charge for this foldable phone? Earlier rumors suggested we could see a price tag around $1,700, and indeed this latest prediction states the upcoming device could see a $1,800 price tag attached to it. Basically, the consensus at this point is the most obvious: this is going to be an expensive smartphone.

No matter what it costs, are you already making preparations to be an early adopter for Samsung’s first foldable phone?

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2QSMcKh

Top 10 Android app updates this week: Telegram, Phillips Hue

Welcome back to our weekly Top 10 Android App Updates column, where we take a look at the most frequently upgraded apps for the week. We’ve found that one of the best ways to discover useful apps is to find the ones that are actually being updated by the developers rather than selecting the apps with the most installs. As in the past, we’re going to filter out minor updates for the super-popular apps that have over 10 million installs, but we’ll make exceptions for apps that have had significant updates. We hope you enjoy this weekly feature and that you discover some apps that end up being useful.

Pandora Music - Version 1812.1

What’s new in this version:

• Podcasts on Pandora have arrived:
  • Discover your new favorite podcast or start with one from our curators.
  • Enjoy personalized recommendations based on your listening history.
  • Search and play over 100,000+ podcast episodes, with more being added every day.

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

Moto Camera 2 – Version 7.2.31.13

What’s new in this version:

• AR Stickers for moto z3 and moto z3 play
• Front Camera Portrait for moto g5s plus (and all devices)
• Watermark for all devices
• Spot color for front camera for all devices
• Integrated camera help for all devices

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

Telegram – Version 5.0.0

What’s new in this version:

• Custom languages. Crowdsource a cloud-based language pack for Telegram using our Translations platform – then apply it in real time.
• Instant View 2.0. View web pages instantly with support for more types of content.
• New design for profiles, notifications and sounds, and general settings. Profile pages offer quick access to shared media.
• Crisp previews, increased loading speed and more info in shared content sections.
• Swipe navigation when viewing image documents.

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

Philllips Hue - Version 3.11.0

What’s new in this version:

• Out now, the long awaited option for your lights to return to their previous state when you experience a power loss. Go to “Power-on behavior” settings to configure. Let us know what you think!

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

Files by Google - Version 1.0.224

What’s new in this version:

• Access external USB storage device and move files (USB OTG).
• Ability to view full folder structure on the phone or any connected device.
• Minor bug fixes.

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

Facer Watch Faces - Version 5.0.0

What’s new in this version:

• NEW! Introducing Facer Premium the first watch face subscription for smartwatches
• Added support for Montblanc, Kate Spade, Movado, Armani, Fossil, Skagen, Guess watches
• Added Watchmaker Series section in Featured showcasing real watches for your smartwatch
• Updated Featured to make it easier to browse collections
• Improved watch face preview loading speed
• Fixed WearOS issue where time did not updating when changing timezones
• Misc bug fixes and optimizations

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

Circle: Smart Family - Version 2.1.0

What’s new in this version:

• This release adds an annual subscription option for Circle on NETGEAR users and includes bug fixes related to Wi-Fi pairing and minor UI improvements.

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

The Weather Channel - Version 9.0.0

What’s new in this version:

• New home screen: Weather graphs and instant insights
• Your daily weather snapshot: Personalized weather stories
• Trending conditions (tap the icon in the upper-right part of the home screen)
• New navigation bar (and you can still swipe up for more)

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

Google Fit – Version 2.0.0

 

What’s new in this version:

• Start the New Year with a 30-day activity challenge
• Set the intensity of workouts you manually add, so you score the right number of Heart Points
• See your latest workout on Fit’s home screen
• See your daily stats on Android Home screens with new widgets
• Follow a new guided breathing exercise on your Wear OS watch

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

Google Home - Version 2.8.0

 

What’s new in this version:

• Routines button added
• Icon indicating device when viewing thermostat or camera

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

 

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2SOFi5Q

Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL get big discounts at Woot

Now that the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have been on the market for a bit, we’re seeing some nice deals on Google’s previous generation Pixel phones, and today another great offer has appeared.

The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are now on sale at Woot. Pricing starts at $389.99 for the 64GB Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL, goes up to $429.99 for the 128GB Pixel 2 XL, and tops out at $449.99 for the 128GB Pixel 2. Color options include Just Black or Clearly White for the Pixel 2 and Just Black or Black and White for the Pixel 2 XL.

The phones being sold by Woot are refurbished and come unlocked. The sales page says that they’re “built for Verizon, but unlocked to work with GSM networks.”

While they’re no longer Google’s flagship phones, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are still solid devices that ought to serve most everyone well. They’ve already been updated to Android Pie and gotten Pixel 3 features like Night Sight and Call Screen, and Google says that they’re guaranteed to get Android OS updates and security updates through October 2020.

This deal will only be available today, so if you’re interested, hurry and hit the link below!

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2QSRDIZ

Google Assistant learns two new accents

Being helpful is just one part of the Google Assistant experience. Another part is offering up interesting ways to interact with the digital assistant.

So, how about some new accents? Google has just announced that it has added two new accents for U.S.-based Assistant users. They are “British Racing Green” and “Sydney Harbour Blue”, both of which can be found in Settings and tapping on the Assistant panel. Then go into the Assistant Voice option to select which one you want to hear.

These new accents are only for English speakers in the U.S. for now. Nothing else is changing here, so you’ll still be able to set timers, ask for the news, get reminders, and all of the other standard Assistant features, now relayed back to you with a different accent.

What do you think of the new accents?

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2SPR7ZA

BLU Vivo Go launches with 6-inch screen, Android 9 Pie (Go edition)

BLU today introduced the first Android 9 Pie (Go edition) phone in the U.S.

The BLU Vivo Go is now available from Amazon. The device is sold unlocked and is compatible with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile.

When it comes to sepecs, the BLU Vivo Go features a 6-inch 1440×720 display with slim side bezels, a 5MP front camera with flash, and a dual rear camera setup with 8MP main sensor and a secondary VGA snapper to let you do things like adjust a photo’s depth of field. There’s a 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek 6739 processor inside the Vivo Go along with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, and BLU has included a microSD card slot so that you can add more storage if you need it.

There’s a rear fingerprint reader on BLU’s Vivo Go for added security, and the company says that it’s used a “metallic plating finish” on the phone’s back cover. A 2600mAh battery is powering the Vivo Go, and there’s a dedicated power-saving button on the side of the device.

On the software side, the BLU Vivo Go runs Android 9 Pie (Go edition). This version of Android uses lightweight versions of Google apps to help give you more storage available out of the box and faster boot times. The YouTube Go app can help you conserve mobile data usage, too, by using less data while you’re watching videos.

While it may not have the most high-end specs around, the BLU Vivo Go could be worth considering for folks in the market for an affordable Android device. It’s got a big screen for watching videos and viewing photos, and it’s running the latest version of Android out of the box.

To get a closer look at the BLU Vivo Go, hit the link below.

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2QVQAIl

Google Maps can now help you find Lime scooters

In many cities across the world, Lime scooters can make getting from one place to another a bit faster than walking. Maybe a little bit more fun, too.

Now, in light of the scooter trend becoming a Big Deal, Google Maps will help you find your closest Lime scooter location so you can cover that small distance even faster. Google announced today that it is building a partnership with Lime so that you can use Google Maps to navigate with Lime scooters. The partnership is covering 13 cities across the globe to start.

Google Maps will now show you Lime scooters, e-bikes, and pedal bikes, too. You just go through the navigation steps as normal, then tap on the Transit tab to see your closest options that can help you get to where you need to be a bit faster than walking. If there is a Lime option close to you, Google Maps will show how long it will take to get there, what it will cost, and then your ETA to your destination using the vehicle.

If you have the Lime app already installed on your phone, tapping on the card within Google Maps will open it and let you unlock the vehicle you rent easily enough and show you the exact location of the stable of vehicles. If you don’t have the app installed, you’ll be taken to the Play Store to download it.

Here are the cities supported out of the gate, with more coming soon:

• Auckland, NZ
• Austin, TX
• Baltimore, MD
• Brisbane, AUS
• Dallas, TX
• Indianapolis, IN
• Los Angeles, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Oakland, CA
• San Antonio, TX
• San Jose, CA
• Scottsdale, AZ
• Seattle, WA

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2SOIiPP

Honor India’s authorized service centers can unlock your bootloader

Huawei had previously allowed users to unlock their bootloaders via a tool on the internet, but earlier this year they announced that the program was shutting down and bootloaders would become permanently locked. Unfortunately, this policy also extended to the Honor brand.

However, it seems that there is a workaround for Honor users in India. The Honor India Twitter replied to a customer that authorized service centers will be able to procure bootloader unlock codes for users. You’ll need an invoice for the device with the IMEI on it and some photo ID, but it may be as simple as visiting a service center.

It’s a shame that this is currently limited to India, but at least Honor is allowing someone to get their bootloader unlocked. Locking bootloaders doesn’t affect that many people but it’s a really annoying decision for those who love to tinker with their phones. Maybe the company will somehow extend this to other countries? Unlikely, but we can hope.

Via: XDA-Developers
Sources: Honor India (Twitter), Honor Community

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2QSKiJy

Save $100 by bundling a Google Home Hub with various Nest devices

The holidays are here and once again it is time to save some money by spending some money. Holiday deals are going into effect and the latest is a savings of $100 when you buy the new Google Home Hub along with one of six Nest devices. Here are all the bundles you can get:

• Google Home Hub + Nest Hello – $278
• Google Home Hub + Nest Cam Indoor – $248
• Google Home Hub + Nest Cam Outdoor – $248
• Google Home Hub + Nest Cam IQ – $398
• Google Home Hub + Nest Thermostat – $298
• Google Home Hub + Nest Thermostat E – $218

$100 off ain’t too shabby, especially since the Google Home Hub is still pretty new and barely more expensive than $100. Hit the source links to pick your bundle up either from Nest or the Google Store!

Sources: Nest, Google Store

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2rw3AWO

The latest Android security threat is nothing to worry about

You’ve probably seen people talking about a new threat to Android security. Apparently a rogue Android Trojan will use PayPal to steal $1,000 of your local currency at a time without much input from the user. However, most people have absolutely nothing to worry about.

The app, which is a battery optimization tool, has to be downloaded from a third-party source. It is not available on the Google Play Store. This already severely limits the danger as most people do not download apps outside of the Play Store.

However, Android’s security isn’t limited to having apps on the Play Store scanned. The operating system itself has plenty of safeguards to prevent security threats like this. Android won’t let you install third-party apps without bypassing a warning and enabling third-party sources, so if someone tries to do this, they’re acknowledging that what they are doing is dangerous.

The next level of security is permission control. The app won’t work without a user granting it permission to “Observe your actions.” This isn’t a simple permission either, but rather an accessibility service that must be manually toggled. This isn’t just a yes or no prompt.

If you’ve done all of that, then you’re in trouble. The app will send a notification pretending to be PayPal and claiming urgency and bring you into the official PayPal app. You log in and then it clicks various prompts to send the money to someone’s PayPal account.

Is this an actual Android issue? Absolutely not. A user would have to bypass multiple security barriers, complete with warnings, to get this scam to work. Most people wouldn’t even download an app outside of the Play Store, but those who will are usually not going to be providing said apps accessibility permissions. So if you read this story, don’t worry. There’s nothing for most people to fear. And if you get a call from the IRS asking for hundreds of dollars in gift cards, don’t you do it!

Plus battery optimization apps are criminally useless anyway.

from Android and Me http://bit.ly/2Geot30