New Features in Android P Beta Version

     
 Android "P" is the upcoming ninth major version of the Android operating system. Android P is a big upgrade from 8.0 Oreo. First announced by Google on March 7, 2018 with release of the first developer preview. The second preview, considered beta quality, was released on May 8, 2018. And third preview, called Beta 2, was released on June 6, 2018. Let's check out the features included so far. 

Navigation Gestures

For the first time Google's heavily relying on gestures for navigating the UI, and in their current form, they work as follows: 

• Tap the Home button/pill to go home 
• Swipe up to access the recent apps page 
• Swipe up twice or do a long swipe for the app drawer 
• The Back button only appears in certain apps/menus when it's needed. 

Colorful UI
Between the new gestures and updated animation it's getting colorful icons in Settings, circular Quick Settings icons, and rounded corners.

App Actions and AI Predictions 
Google is using machine learning to try to predict what users want all over Android. Within the new horizontal multitasking page, Android P will try to guess which app you want next. The new App actions feature goes one stage further, attempting to predict the task you are trying to perform, showing a shortcut to take you straight to the section of a particular app that deals with it.

Adaptive Brightness and Battery
Adaptive Battery learns an individual’s usage patterns and directs the power to only the apps you need at the time you need them for more predictable day-to-day battery life.

Automatic brightness adjustment using an ambient light sensor has been built into Android for years. Now Google is integrating AI into the feature so that it will actually learn from your manual adjustments to automatically tailor screen brightness to levels better suited to the individual user.

Smart Replies on Notifications 
With Android P, you will no longer have to think or write anything back to the dozens of silly messages you get – just tap a button and be done with it.

Notch support and Time on Left
Displays with so-called “notches” are quickly becoming common, with several smartphones available with the cutouts at the top housing front-facing cameras, sensors and speakers. Android P will introduce full support for notches optimising how content, notifications and status icons are shown around them.
One of the smallest but most noticeable changes is the shifting of the clock to the left from the right. The left used to show the mobile network signal quality and notifications from apps. But now the time is in the left corner and the signal meter has been moved to the right side.

Enhanced Privacy
Google is revamping the way Android handles background apps to better protect user privacy. Apps given permission for location, the microphone, camera and network status will no longer be able to access them when idle in the background. Avoiding rogue apps from spying and to prolong battery life and performance.  
Other Features
In addition to the big changes found in Android P, there are a ton of smaller elements also scattered throughout the update. Some noticeable features include:

• Built-in screenshot editor 
• Zoom pop-up when highlighting text 
• Changing the volume now defaults to your media volume 
• Volume controls appear on the right of your screen instead of the top 
• Do Not Disturb is more customizable and easier to understand
• A ton of new emojis exactly 157 of them.

New Android 8.0 Oreo™

 

Features:

• Get started on your favorite tasks more quickly with 2x the boot speed when powering up boot time as measured on Google Pixel. Android Oreo helps minimize background activity in the apps you use least, it's the super power you can't even see.
• With your permission, Autofill remembers your logins to get you into your favorite apps at supersonic speed.
• Allows you to see two apps at once, it's like having super strength and laser vision.
• Press the notification dots to quickly see what's new, and easily clear them by swiping away.
• Teleport directly into new apps right from your browser, no installation needed.
• Shares the feel with a fully redesigned emoji set, including over 60 new emoji.

 

Other Features:

 Accessibility button

Allows you to quickly access from the navigation bar accessibility features, like magnification, and functionality within accessibility services, like Select to Speak.

Accessibility volume

Accessibility services can optimize the audio experience for users with disabilities.

Adaptive icons

Developers can now provide a full-bleed square shaped icon and OEMs will mask the icon to ensure intra-device consistency.

Ambient screen

Highlights the incoming notification with larger font, highlighted app name and immediate access to actions.

Background execution limits

More control over how apps run in the background for better overall system performance.

Background location limits

Limits the frequency of location updates in the background for better overall system health.

Deep color

Enables applications to render richer visual content with more vibrant colors and subtler gradients. Supports full color management which allows applications to render images in the format and quality they were intended.

Downloadable fonts

Applications no longer need to bundle custom fonts, which helps reduce their size.

List of Phones geting Android 8.0 

• Google : Google Pixel 2, Google Pixel 2 XL, Google Pixel, Google Pixel XL, Google Nexus 5X, Google Nexus 6P
• Moto : Moto Z, Moto Z-Droid, Moto Z Play, Moto Z Play Droid, Moto Z Force Droid ( Verizon exclusive in the USA), Moto Z2 (2017), Moto Z2 Play (2017), Moto G5, Moto G5 Plus, Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus, Moto G4 Play
• Samsung : Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro, Samsung Galaxy A7 2017
• Samsung Galaxy A5 2017, Samsung Galaxy A3 2017
• LG : LG V30, LG G6, LG V20
• Huawei : Huawei Mate 9, Huawei P10, Huawei P10 Plus, Huawei Nova, Honor 6X, Honor 8, Honor 5C
• Blackberry: Blackberry KEYone, Blackberry Aurora, Blackberry DTEK50, Blackberry DTEK60
• Nokia: Nokia 6, Nokia 5, Nokia 3, Nokia 8
• HTC: HTC U11, HTC U Ultra, HTC U Play, HTC 10
• OnePlus: OnePlus 5, OnePlus 3, OnePlus 3T
• Xiaomi: Xiaomi Mi5s Plus, Xiaomi Mi 5, Xiaomi Mi 5C, Xiaomi Mi 4, Xiaomi Mi 4C, Xiaomi Mi 4S, Redmi Note 4, Redmi Note 3, Redmi 4, Redmi 4 Prime, Xiaomi Mi Mix, Xiaomi Mi Max
• Lenovo: Lenovo ZUK Z2, Lenovo ZUK Z1, Lenovo Vibe P1, Lenovo Vibe K5/K5 Plus, Lenovo Vibe X3, Lenovo K4 Note, Lenovo K6 Power

 

 

Nokia 6 - First Android Phone for Nokia in 2017

Nokia 6 smartphone launched in January 2017 by HMD Global. the Nokia 6 is a China-exclusive smartphone that will be available only via JD.com at 1699 CNY (roughly Rs. 16,750).

The phone comes with a 5.50-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels at a PPI of 403 pixels per inch. The Nokia 6 is powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor processor and it comes with 4GB of RAM. The phone packs 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the

Nokia 6 packs a 16-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 8-megapixel front shooter for selfies. The Nokia 6 runs Android 7.0 and is powered by a 3000mAh non removable battery. It measures 154.00 x 75.80 x 7.85 (height x width x thickness) .

 The Nokia 6 is a dual SIM (GSM + CDMA and GSM + CDMA) smartphone that accepts . Connectivity options include GPS, Bluetooth, 3G and 4G. Sensors on the phone include Compass Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor and Gyroscope.

Nokia will return with Nokia D1C powered by Android 7.0 in 2017

Finnish company HMD recently confirmed that it will bring a new generation of Nokia mobile phones to consumers, with the first smartphone products set to be launched in the first half of 2017. 

Nokia phones are known for their durability and almost brick-like hardness. Before touch-screen technology and the smartphones, Nokia phones were basic, sturdy, and were made to provide an avenue of communication like they said "connecting people". Banking on its name and brand recognition Nokia is set to make a grand return in the mobile industry to compete with other high-end Android brands in the market.

Nokia is planning to launch two high-end smartphones Nokia D1C which will come with premium metallic design and the famous Nokia feel.The two smartphones are said to be powered by a Snapdragon 430 processor or 835 processor and will run on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat which is the latest operating system by Android. The Nokia D1C phone will also have a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera. This produces some great shots at an affordable cost. The bigger phone version of the phone is rumored to have a 16MP rear camera.

One will come with 5 inch display size with 2GB RAM costs around $150 and the other with a 5.5 inch display 3GB RAM cost around $200-250. While Nokia is neither confirming nor denying these specs. We will have to wait for the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February 2017.

5 YouTube Tricks you should know!

Everyone knows YouTube as a free video sharing website that makes it easy to watch online videos. where you can create and upload your own videos to share with others. Do you know there are few hacks that can be used to download video,audio or even create a GIF from YouTube page. No! then lets go through few.

1. Shortcut for pausing a YouTube Video

This is not much of importance as if you don't know to pause a playing video. But pressing 'K' in your keyboard will pause the video regardless of where you clicked last on the page.

2. Search YouTube without going to YouTube

If you have Google Chrome browser then just type YouTube.com into your address bar, then hit tab, and search YouTube directly from your address bar. Instead of searching for videos on YouTube page get search directly on address bar.

3. Download YouTube videos 

You can download any YouTube video just by typing "ss" before the "youtube" part of a video's URL link in your address bar. Here's an example, its not Justin Bieber music video, it is ours  :

Original – www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob1Nv9eU9vY
Download - www.ssyoutube.com/watch?v=ob1Nv9eU9vY

 Not only can you choose from different file types but also any resolution up to the original quality. Just remember downloading copyrighted content from the internet is illegal.

4. Download audio from YouTube videos 

You can download audio from any YouTube video too. Just put "listento" before the "youtube" part of a video's URL link in your address bar. Here's an example, again its not some popular artists music video, it is ours  :

Original - www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dAsERccyrE
Download - www.listentoyoutube.com/watch?v=4dAsERccyrE

You can even choose from different file types. Just remember downloading copyrighted content from the internet is illegal.

5. Convert YouTube videos to GIFs 

Want to convert any YouTube video into a GIF? Just add “gif” before “youtube” in the URL link in your address bar. Here’s an example:

Original video - www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob1Nv9eU9vY
GIF download - www.gifyoutube.com/watch?v=ob1Nv9eU9vY

Oh you can download this GIFs by the way its not copyrighted.

Source: Internet Geeks like us!

Now Mac users can have Microsoft Visual Studio

Microsoft has introduced Visual Studio for Mac at the Connect() conference on November 16, as it’s aiming to empower Apple customers with the same coding tools as their Windows colleagues.

Visual Studio for Mac is a developer environment optimized for building mobile and cloud apps with Xamarin and .NET. It is a one-stop shop for .NET development on the Mac, including Android, iOS, and .NET Core technologies. Sporting a native user interface, Visual Studio for Mac integrates all of the tools you need to create, debug, test, and publish mobile and server applications without compromise, including state of the art APIs and UI designers for Android and iOS.

Both C# and F# are supported out of the box and our project templates provide developers with a skeleton that embodies the best practices to share code across mobile front ends and your backend. Our new Connected Application template gives you both your Android and iOS front ends, as well as its complementary .NET Core-powered backend.

Source: MSDN

Mobile and tablet internet usage exceeds desktop for first time worldwide - StatCounter

They say it’s one of the saddest moments in a person’s life when their child can beat them at a game for the first time, and the desktop computer just had its own electronic version of that distressing experience. October 2016 was the month smartphones and tablet web browsing finally took the lead: 51.3% to 48.7%.

“This should be a wake up call especially for small businesses, sole traders and professionals to make sure that their websites are mobile friendly. Many older websites are not,” commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter.

“Mobile compatibility is increasingly important not just because of growing traffic but because Google favours mobile friendly websites for its mobile search results.” He pointed out that Google recently launched a tool where businesses can test their website mobile performance.

StatCounter’s core business is to provide companies, agencies, bloggers, self-employed and charities with data to measure activity on their website, blog or forum. Key features include a free option, ease of use, independence and ability to view individual visitors in real time.