Both XDA Developers and 9to5Google have spotted another upcoming feature in Android Q: more secure native facial recognition. Think Apple's Face ID rather than Android's existing Trusted Face system. Other OEMs like Xiaomi and Huawei have already shoehorned in their own facial recognition solutions, but now Google is bringing the feature to the (literal) source. Details are sparse, and most of what we know right now comes courtesy of new error messages discovered by XDA, which indicate Android Q will likely have support for actual, dedicated facial recognition sensors, rather than the current front-facing camera-based solutions. Like other existing biometric authentication methods, the new facial recognition will fall back onto a PIN, password, or pattern for backup, and 9to5Google noticed that it interfaces with the same biometric dialog rolled out in Android 9 Pie. As a result (and as you may expect), this new system will be able to be used for purchases, as well. This could … [Read more...] about Google is adding support for Face ID-like hardware to Android Q
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[Update: Downloads are up] OnePlus 5 and 5T get Android 9 Pie in their stockings this year with OxygenOS 9.0.0 release
Update 1: 2019/01/26 12:56pm PST OnePlus has iterated through three different bug hotfixes, it seems, landing on 9.0.3 for the OnePlus 5 and 5T before factory image downloads were posted to the company's site. The Normally the very end of the year brings us a lull in smartphone news — holiday shopping's over and the deals are drying up, but we've still got another week or so before CES really starts making waves. But leave it to OnePlus to sneak in some Christmas Day excitement, as the company starts distribution of OxygenOS 9.0.0 OTA updates for the OnePlus 5 and 5T. It was just a matter of time before we saw this release land, following the availability of the Pie-bestowing Open Beta 20 and 22 updates a couple weeks back. Now with any last-minute bugs hopefully identified and stomped out comes the release of the public OTA, bringing Android 9 Pie and OxygenOS 9.0.0 to the OnePlus 2017 lineup. The changelog is largely the same as we saw with those Open … [Read more...] about [Update: Downloads are up] OnePlus 5 and 5T get Android 9 Pie in their stockings this year with OxygenOS 9.0.0 release
Android Q may have font, icon, and accent color customization options
Take this with the proverbial grain of salt, given the pre-release nature of the software being examined, but the folks at XDA Developers have discovered what appear to be extra customization options hidden in the leaked Android Q build they've been tearing through. Although the settings aren't user-facing, a few new so-called "overlay" packages were found in the image which allow for changing between a handful of pre-installed fonts, icon shapes, and accent colors. Left: Rounded rectangle icons. Center: Rubik font. Right: Purple accent. Images all via XDA Developers. In all, XDA found two pre-installed fonts, four icon shapes, and three accent colors in the Android Q images it examined. Further, Android Q itself has started categorizing overlays into those three groups, which should make managing logic for theming a bit easier. However, there isn't any configurable, user-facing option setting for switching between them, these new options had to be individually enabled via … [Read more...] about Android Q may have font, icon, and accent color customization options
We asked, you told us: Most of you are running Android Pie
It should come as no surprise that Android updates are fragmented. With smartphone manufacturers taking months to build skins around new firmware and implement new features, a whole new version of Android could be released before some handsets ever get upgraded. The last time Google published new distribution numbers in late October, Android Pie wasn’t even on the list. This meant that almost half a year after the firmware was made public, less than o.1 percent of all Android handsets had seen the latest version of Android.So as Google hasn’t given us any official number in several months, we decided to ask you what version of Android you’re running. Here is what you had to say. What version of Android are you running? Results Now before you go running to the comment section to shout that these number can’t be real, let’s take a step back and examine the data. Understand that these are the results of a small subsection of the Android community. As you … [Read more...] about We asked, you told us: Most of you are running Android Pie
Android Q teardown hints at native screen recording, an emergency shortcut, more
By the time Google gets around to releasing the Android Q Developer Preview, there likely won’t be many surprises. Thanks to a teardown of Android Q’s System UI by 9to5Google, we have a better idea of what new features the search giant might add to its mobile operating system later this year. For some years now, Android has had a built-in screen recording feature, but it had to be initiated using an ADB command from a computer. Looking at several code strings, Android Q might introduce a system-level screen recording option similar to what’s available on iOS and offered by using third-party apps.As it is implemented right now, the first time that the feature is used, Android will request access to the necessary permissions for recording the screen and saving video files. While in use, there will be an ongoing notification, controls to start, end, and share the recording, and an option to record an accompanying voiceover. 9to5Google also … [Read more...] about Android Q teardown hints at native screen recording, an emergency shortcut, more