According to several members on our Galaxy Note 5 forums, the Nougat update is starting to see an initial roll out to users residing in Vietnam. A member has posted screenshots and the build.prop of the update, and is promising to upload the system dump soon. Check out the thread for more live updates!
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Earlier in the week, we brought to you a news update on the current status of Xposed for Nougat. Long story short, Xposed for Nougat is still in the works, and the project will take a while due to the behind-the-scenes changes that Nougat introduced.
So while that situation unfolds at its own pace, there are some of us who are willing to forego being on the latest version of Android, just so that we can continue using the Xposed framework and its accompanying modules. It was surprising to see a fair bit of recurrence of users who would rather be on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and have Xposed functionality than update to Android 7.0/7.1 Nougat and be without it.
While one can only guess on every individual's reasoning behind not jumping to the latest Android version, here are the reasons for which I prefer Android 6.0 Marshmallow along with Xposed over Android Nougat.
My current daily driver and primary phone is the OnePlus 3. The reason why I chose the OnePlus 3 over the alternatives was the presence of top-of-the-line specs and the relative ease of software modifications compared to the other flagship options at that time (based on my past experience with the OnePlus One, my previous daily driver). As a long time XDA Member, the latter was a key area and decisive factor for choosing a personal device to purchase.
The popularity of the subforums for the OnePlus 3/3T speak for themselves, making the duo a top choice for anyone looking for a developer-friendly device with an active dev community in 2017. This means that one can choose from a wide variety of custom ROMs, kernels and other tweaks — modifications that other devices with locked bootloaders would largely be bereft of, and that even competing flagships with an unlockable bootloader yet less development don't always get to savor.
But my setup is rather simple and not indicative of all the choices available with this phone.
After running CyanogenMod (or one of its variants) for close to 5 years before getting the OnePlus 3, I actually found that I did not want to go back to a more AOSP ROM. My initial impressions with OxygenOS kept me from getting back into the familiar CM 13 experience. In my attempt to try out the Community Builds of OxygenOS, I ended up opting for a custom ROM (FreedomOS) based on the Community Builds of OxygenOS, mainly for the convenience of an Aroma installation and the Substratum Theme Engine.
My Xposed setup is traditional since I don't need a systemless installation. My modules of choice are:
The Xposed modules that I use are chosen to address particular annoyances in my current Android experience.
This Xposed module is a crucial part of my experience. The App Settings module has not been updated lately, but an unofficial version that has been shared works as well with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The module allows a wide range of per-app configurations, including setting separate DPIs and font scales, enabling/disabling fullscreen, keeping screen on and keeping the app fixed in memory.
The "Show when locked" functionality works well with apps like the calculator and camera, especially if I am on a photo walk or a clicking spree. This lets me turn the screen off/lock the device with the app active to save some battery while still retaining very quick access when I turn the screen on, without needing to enter a PIN or opt for a fingerprint unlock. It works out well coupled with Double-Tap-to-Wake.
There are a lot more useful features, like keeping the screen on in games like Clash of Clans, keeping apps in memory like the launcher or an IM app, preventing apps like Tinder from appearing in the Recents Menu and overriding orientation settings for certain apps like video players.
My usage for these functions fluctuate depending on whether I do have these apps installed, but having the freedom to control how my phone behaves in certain apps is certainly one of the main reasons I stay with Xposed.
This Xposed module is a relic of 2014, back when I used a donated HTC Desire S. Boot times increased substantially as the number of apps started increasing, and this module greatly helped by cutting down the number of apps that were initiated on startup.
On the OnePlus 3, this module works better when I start hoarding apps and games — installing them for testing or just because, and never getting around to uninstalling them. The app hoarding continues till I start running out of space on my 64GB OnePlus 3 or when I switch ROMs. Untill such situations arrive, BootManager helps keep the rare boot times snappy and allows my phone to come back to a working state much quicker, plus all that crap doesn't run until I call it.
Another Xposed module which I carry forward from when I was using a low/mid end device. Greenify, as you would know, hibernates apps and stops them from restarting themselves. It was a working alternative to cancerous Task Killer apps, when my phone had limited resources to work with.
The habit of greenifying new apps continues on with the OnePlus 3, helping me manage my app-hoarding tendencies while still letting my phone be as efficient as it can be.
Greenify by itself does not need the Xposed framework to work, but having Xposed helps by letting apps retain GCM push functionality and letting notifications exist past app hibernation.
Heads Up Notifications, introduced in Android 5.0 Lollipop, have settled well with many users. But for me, the default Heads Up implementation is nothing but pure annoyance. The sheer number of notifications received on my device during a day compounds my qualms with Heads Up notifications.
Having the top part of my display getting briefly covered once every few minutes while I try to read an e-book, or watch a video, or play a game, or do any of the other things that phones are used for, is downright annoying to me. I actually prefer the previous Ticker implementation which was far less intrusive.
The HeadsOff Xposed module fixes this "annoyance" to a large extent. One can specify apps can no longer send heads-up notifications as well as create a whitelist for notifications that match certain rules and let them go through. My setup is simple as I just block off Heads Up notifications completely, from all apps across all apps.
The rest of my Xposed modules of choice are fairly straightforward:
The OP3 Slider mod modifies the Alert Slider functionality of the OnePlus 3. The default states of Normal-Priority-DND are switched with Loud-Vibrate-Mute, which works inline with my expectations out of my phone.
The Ringer and Notification Volume Unlink module separates the volume binding on the two streams that were merged together since Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This lets me set Notification Volumes to low sounds and helps me deal with Notification Spam, while still letting Calls go through at higher volume.
This module displays a progress bar on top of the status bar. This helps track download progress without needing to pull down the notification shade.
This module allows the official YouTube app to continue working in the background.
My use case consisted of loading up YouTube playlists for songs and utilizing the official app as a Music Player. It also helps when you often switch apps while watching videos, and do not want your video to stop playing.
Google does allow an "official" way for background playback, but that's through YouTube Red. Google took a free feature from a popular app and made it a highlight of their paid service. What's worse, YouTube Red is not available everywhere, so there might be no "official" way to enjoy such functionality depending on where you live.
Back when Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich was released, there was a very tangible level of excitement in the Android community. The OS had adopted Holo Dark as its color palette of choice across apps and system, and there were many improvements under the hood that promised great results. A similar excitement came with the switch to Android 5.0 Lollipop, where Material design was given center stage and improvements focused around making Android a mature OS.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow fixed a great deal of what was broken by Lollipop and gave Android the stability worthy of a modern day OS. But the additions made by the successive updates are simply of little interest or excitement to certain people who already enjoy such features through custom ROMs and OEM skins.
New Android Nougat additions like Notification Toggles, Night Mode and Multi-window Support already exist to an extent on OxygenOS Community Builds on Android 6.0. Other features like the Redesigned Settings Menu, Smart Storage and App Launcher Shortcuts are not worth losing sleep over.
There are features like Notification Bundling, Doze on the Go, App Switcher and ART Compiler changes which are indeed worthy additions. But one needs to decide whether the combined value of these is enough to ignore the disadvantages of an Xposed-less installation. Different users have different priorities, and for me personally, I would rather retain all of the Xposed functionality than go with the newest features.
The introduction of the Xposed framework and modules has filled in gaps that were left unfilled by ROMs. Stock Android is just about catching up and incorporating several features from Custom ROMs, so will take some time for it to give us the power to choose and modify functionality like Xposed.
What do you prefer, the latest Android update or an Xposed-supported Android version? Which Xposed modules form an inseparable part of your Android experience? Let us know in the comments below!
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Samsung is gearing up for a rather busy 2017. The inevitable launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8 is enough reason to keep Android enthusiasts excited, but Samsung seems to have more in store for their fans.
A new report from Mashable mentions that Samsung is working to bring Samsung Pay to India soon. For those not in the know, India has undergone demonetization of a very large part of its currency creating a short term liquidity crunch in the country. This was the perfect situation for the launch of a digital wallet platform, as can be demonstrated by PayTM and their meteoric growth post-demonetization.
The short term liquidity woes in the country have been relieved in urban areas, so Samsung might have missed the prime time. Nonetheless, India does not play host to other global digital wallet solutions like Apple Pay or Android Pay, which still works in Samsung's favor.
Samsung Pay is tipped to be launching in the first half of 2017. Samsung has partnered with American Express (Amex) for the initial launch while collaboration efforts are underway for Visa and MasterCard as well. Samsung Pay is limited to higher-end devices in the Galaxy lineup, though, which could be a limiting factor in its success. However, Samsung does have MST technology to rely on, which is one of the most commonly found payment terminal technology in urban India.
The next bit of news actually comes directly from Samsung. Samsung has officially announced Samsung Pay Mini for Android in South Korea, with the service launching in the country within Q1 2017.
Samsung Pay Mini will work with any Android device as long as it has an HD or higher resolution display and Android 5.0 Lollipop or higher, both of which are easily met requirements.
The difference between Samsung Pay and Samsung Pay Mini is in offline payments. Samsung Pay Mini is restricted to payment for online services, while necessary Samsung hardware in the form of a supported Galaxy device is needed for regular Samsung Pay and offline service payments.
Samsung Pay Mini will be undergoing a pre-trial test on February 6th in South Korea. The service will eventually roll out to other regions, but there is no time frame mentioned for its release.
What are your thoughts on Samsung Pay launch in India, and the concept of Samsung Pay Mini as a watered-down payment solution? Let us know in the comments below!
Source 1: Mashable Source 2: Samsung Korean Newsroom
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Back during Google I/O 2016, Google introduced the "Save to Android Pay API" which would allow companies to digitize their loyalty programs, gift cards, or other offers.
Companies were now able to add special links to text messages, e-mails, their website, or their Android app that would quickly save a new card to Android Pay in a single tap. These would typically show up as a "Save to Android Pay" button and made use of deep linking to the Android Pay app. Now it appears that with Android Pay v1.14, linked offers will receive a few enhancements within the Android Pay application.
Currently within Android Pay, your cards are all displayed in a large card carousel. Your loyalty cards are indicated as such in the card name, but as for any loyalty cards you add via the "Save to Android Pay" button, it can be a hassle sifting through any cards you have.
Via: AndroidCentral
Fortunately, it looks like Google will be making some enhancements to make it easier to view all of your linked offers.
Android Pay v1.14 Teardown <string name="add_linked_offer_image">Plus symbol button for saving a loyalty card linked offer</string> <string name="linked_offer_image">Card linked offer image preview</string> <string name="linked_offers_list_title">%1$s Offers</string> <string name="saved_linked_offers_count">%1$s Saved offers</string> <string name="saved_linked_offers_value">%1$s in savings</string> <string name="saved_offers_shopping_tag_image">Shopping tag icon image on saved loyalty card linked offers</string> <string name="view_all_linked_offers">View all</string> <string name="view_saved_offers_chevron_image">Right arrow button image to proceed to viewing saved loyalty card linked offers</string> From the strings pulled above from the latest Android Pay APK, we can see that Linked Offers may soon be viewed in their own separate list. In addition, there may be a new indication as to how much money you are saving by having access to all of these offers. This isn't a major change by any means, but it is certainly a nice addition if you frequently use Android Pay to save loyalty cards.
We can see further evidence for this change in the AndroidManifest.xml file, which adds a new activity filter to quickly open up Android Pay to a new list activity showing all of your Linked Offers.
<activity android:name="com.google.commerce.tapandpay.android.valuable.verticals.loyaltycard.LinkedOffersListActivity" android:theme="@style/Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar"/> Within the APK's layout files, we can see this new list being implemented from the addition of three new aptly named XML files: linked_offer_list_item.xml, linked_offers_list.xml, and linked_offer_preview.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <LinearLayout android:orientation="vertical" android:id="@id/LinkedOfferListItem" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:layout_margin="@dimen/narrow_spacing" xmlns:android="http://ift.tt/nIICcg" xmlns:app="http://ift.tt/GEGVYd" xmlns:custom="http://ift.tt/GEGVYd"> <android.support.percent.PercentRelativeLayout android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_marginBottom="@dimen/narrow_spacing"> <ImageView android:id="@id/OfferImage" android:src="@drawable/ico_ap" android:scaleType="fitCenter" android:contentDescription="@string/linked_offer_image" custom:layout_widthPercent="100.0%" custom:layout_aspectRatio="175.0%" /> </android.support.percent.PercentRelativeLayout> <TextView android:textSize="@dimen/card_title_text_size" android:textColor="@color/quantum_black_text" android:ellipsize="end" android:id="@id/LinkedOfferTitle" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:maxLines="2" android:textAlignment="viewStart" /> <TextView android:textSize="@dimen/card_subtitle_text_size" android:textColor="@color/quantum_black_secondary_text" android:ellipsize="end" android:id="@id/LinkedOfferSubtitle" android:visibility="gone" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:maxLines="2" android:textAlignment="viewStart" /> <TextView android:textSize="@dimen/card_title_text_size" android:textColor="@color/quantum_black_text" android:id="@id/AddLinkedOffersButton" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="@string/add_clipped_offer" android:paddingStart="@dimen/medium_spacing" android:paddingEnd="@dimen/medium_spacing" /> </LinearLayout> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <LinearLayout android:orientation="vertical" android:id="@id/LinkedOffersListActivity" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" xmlns:android="http://ift.tt/nIICcg" xmlns:app="http://ift.tt/GEGVYd" xmlns:custom="http://ift.tt/GEGVYd"> <android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar android:id="@id/Toolbar" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="?actionBarSize" custom:popupTheme="@style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light" custom:theme="@style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar" /> <android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView android:orientation="vertical" android:id="@id/LinkedOffersList" android:scrollbars="none" android:clipToPadding="true" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" custom:layoutManager="android.support.v7.widget.GridLayoutManager" custom:spanCount="2" /> </LinearLayout> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <LinearLayout android:orientation="vertical" android:id="@id/LinkedOfferListItem" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:layout_margin="@dimen/narrow_spacing" xmlns:android="http://ift.tt/nIICcg" xmlns:app="http://ift.tt/GEGVYd" xmlns:custom="http://ift.tt/GEGVYd"> <android.support.percent.PercentRelativeLayout android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_marginBottom="@dimen/narrow_spacing"> <ImageView android:id="@id/OfferImage" android:src="@drawable/ico_ap" android:scaleType="fitCenter" android:contentDescription="@string/linked_offer_image" custom:layout_widthPercent="100.0%" custom:layout_aspectRatio="200.0%" /> </android.support.percent.PercentRelativeLayout> <LinearLayout android:gravity="center_vertical" android:orientation="horizontal" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent"> <LinearLayout android:gravity="center_vertical" android:orientation="vertical" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:layout_weight="1.0"> <TextView android:textSize="@dimen/card_title_text_size" android:textColor="@color/quantum_black_text" android:ellipsize="end" android:id="@id/LinkedOfferTitle" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="@dimen/card_title_height" android:maxLines="2" android:textAlignment="viewStart" /> <TextView android:textSize="@dimen/card_subtitle_text_size" android:textColor="@color/quantum_black_secondary_text" android:ellipsize="end" android:id="@id/LinkedOfferSubtitle" android:visibility="gone" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:maxLines="2" android:textAlignment="viewStart" /> </LinearLayout> <ImageView android:id="@id/AddLinkedOffersButton" android:layout_width="24.0dip" android:layout_height="24.0dip" android:src="@drawable/quantum_ic_add_circle_outline_googblue_24" android:scaleType="fitXY" android:layout_weight="0.0" android:contentDescription="@string/add_linked_offer_image" /> </LinearLayout> </LinearLayout> 
We haven't found anything else in the latest Android Pay APK file that seems interesting, but we'll keep a lookout for any future Google App updates to let you know if something new or exciting is on the horizon.
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Android Nougat-based custom ROMs have become commonplace for many devices in the months since its first public release for Nexus devices.
Due to the myriad of changes that are made in each new version of Android, it takes some time for development teams to refactor their existing work into the new version of Android.
So while some devices quickly receive functional versions of Nougat, it might take a few weeks or even months for their favorite feature from back in the Marshmallow days to make its way into a Nougat build. One such feature that has been missing in Nougat builds for many months is the CyanogenMod Theme Engine.
Users have been waiting for months for CMTE to make its debut with Nougat, but the response from its developers has been minimal. Something seemed off, as CMTE was usually given high priority by the development team. Little did we know that the very project itself, CyanogenMod, would eventually cease to exist.
Fortunately, Substratum, a theme engine based on Sony's Overlay Manager Service (OMS), lead by XDA Recognized Developers Nicholas Chum and Sykopompos, was already making waves as an increasingly popular alternative to CMTE. At first even I, like many addicted to the CyanogenMod Theme Engine, was skeptical of Substratum and its theming capabilities, but as soon as I used it I realized it felt completely different than what all the critics and reviews said.
With talented themers already showing off their work in the Substratum scene, themes like Domination, Mono/Art, Compound, Spectrum, and Swift Black impressed me a lot. What is even more interesting about substratum is that it's still in development and themers like Per Lycke (Swift Dark & Swift Black) and moelle (Deep Darkness) are already making the switch over to Substratum.
Today, I wanted to interview the people responsible for Substratum to get their perspective on theming and its current state. Without further ado, let's get started with the interview.
"Well I'm sykopompos and after getting the feel of the community and learning how to handle large projects with layers I partnered up with Nick to implement what we learned from layers and to make a much more powerful easier system called substratum."
"I'm nicholaschum and I started off as a themer to create Dark Material for CM12 to CM13. As I transitioned over from theming to development, I realized I found my true calling at development and wrote my first application, dashboard, to hotswap colors of a theme on the fly. A few months later, I started talking about the app with sykopompos – he wanted to create a successor of his previous theme manager implementation Layers.
The project is still in active development today with a strong and dedicated team that wants to create what we truly wanted from the very beginning – a community based theming solution that will work on the many Android versions to come."
"There was never an idea to use CMTE (from my prospective) since Lollipop since we wanted to do our own way to theme and wasn't trying to compete or replace CMTE. Sure there is tons of preconceptions making a new theme system and everyone wants to compare it to other ones. CMTE expanded out from T-Mobile theme engine and stayed for the most part staying with their feature set and the way it worked. We worked for a way with no preconceptions and just did what we wanted and how we wanted with different goals."
"Ever since I wrote dashboard, I always wanted to "hack" the system to test it's full potential. We always wanted to have CMTE there as our opposing force but did not expect them to hit a roadblock after Cyngn kicked CyanogenMod off their payroll.
We wanted to create something new and fresh, that would work on many Android versions including previews and betas. By utilizing a hybrid system that bridges the RRO and OMS system, we are able to create themes that are compatible with both. What we created was something I always wanted, a theme engine that incorporates the multiple configurations of a true multi-state theme (for example, Reverie with red or pink accents, changeable without installing a whole new theme).
This brings into the equation of Arcus, a brilliant multi theme installation app written by Dicken Christian, that allowed CMTE themers to include multiple configurations in one APK – but required compiling the entire theme from the original theme's raw folder. With Substratum, multiple configurations are stored within the assets folder of each overlay, and hotswappable within seconds by the user. Substratum also incorporates multi configurations for bootanimations, fonts and system sounds, of which CMTE limited us from doing."
"Substratum is still under heavy development and themers sometimes have to do some heavy changes during the course of development so investing in a heavy in development system costs a large amount of time. But when it comes to theme developers we don't get to set the prices, we have no involvement when it comes to any of that, we just create the system that it works on."
"As a theme engine progresses, a lot of the themers begin adapting. Most of our themers are adapting for the latest and greatest of Android versions. When Android O preview comes out, they also have the capability of adapting their themes to that version immediately.
Paid themes nowadays are pretty much a small gratuity to pay for the themer's dedication to theming. There are more and more free themes available in the Play Store as time goes by, usually themers test the waters of theming against the Android resource lookup system (without self referencing) and it gets quite complex and time consuming, but with a benefit that things are not hacked together with dangerous possibilities that layouts would be tampered with to look like something else, where banking apps could completely steal your data and such."
"The ROMs that want it will go to it and go about doing their thing, some ROMs might do split builds and offer a option to have their ROM with what theme system a user chooses. Some might drop their CMTE or Substratum themes, they might focus on one theme or another. We don't know what they will do."
"Regarding the themers, as Substratum themes use the proper Android referencing system, their Substratum themes will immediately work on LOSTE, minus Substratum's own features like type1-3's and multiple boot animations/fonts set up. Themers would think of just tossing their theme over to LOSTE, and update their Substratum themes. As we work directly with themers, we do not worry about CMTE/LOSTE as they have their own game going on. As we listen to what our themers want, we add those features and it overall gets more interesting."
"Originally, Substratum was meant to be a prototype name. Layers and Substratum are two closely related words, as they meant layered material on top of each other (overlays on top of target projects). The name was never planned to be used as the final name, but Layers OMS sounded like we were building upon the past – when we wanted to start something completely new."
"I like to think since Substratum means a underlaying layer and we were taking layers into deeper parts of the system."
"It doesn't really run in the background other than the occasional small checks for theme installs. When people think background, they would think masquerade (as I heard from someone, they believed because it doesn't have a UI and it runs in the background, it drains battery – which is false). Masquerade is a broadcast receiver which is only used when Substratum tells it to use it."
"Piracy is unstoppable, we don't ever plan to "stop it" but we will do our best to keep our themers satisfied by making piracy a bit more complicated "to do." Overall, piracy is an inevitable realization, whether they are actually pirating because they are unable to purchase a theme, or they want to do it for fun. The whole antipiracy regarding it is interesting to implement.
We have open sourced every single part of Substratum, and our "blobs" for substrate is easily reverse engineerable. Honestly, all I care about is improve the Android ecosystem where piracy is no longer the main issue for people. People constantly ask me why I would approach a person in attempt to get them to switch over to a non-pirate life, then they will say he's only one person, where the rest of the Android ecosystem pirates too. While that is true, I believe that if people slowly move over and actually pay for their apps, they would convince others to do it too.
The quality of apps on the Play Store for free apps decreased amongst the years of the Android Market/Google Play. As paid apps usually consist of many hours of work…maybe even tens of thousands of hours! As I said before, piracy is unstoppable. The only thing we can do is workaround the most easy ways to pirate themes, such as refunding a theme after purchasing it. As long as themers are protected in this case, we are satisfied. I'd also like to add that we have no plans to make it unethical. We will do as much as Google allows us to do. With SOME sliver of antipiracy is better than none."
"The one thing I do want to point out is that people are getting a bit confused on OMS, OMS was designed by Sony and is largely modified on how it functions by us to make it work better or more inline with how we want it to work while Sony has the goal of actively pursuing getting it into AOSP and staying within Google's stricter guidelines. Our OMS in this case is based on Sony's and if Google decided to add OMS it would not function like ours so there will always be a feature and function shift between Sony's and ours.
I'd like to add to that, Nick started the work on it because he was frustrated that CMTE did nothing to hinder piracy at all. We know we can't beat piracy but we try to do as much as we can to make it as much of a pain in the ass and obvious that someone pirated when they try to ask for support. It makes it a lot easier on the themer instead of wasting time trying to help someone that didn't even purchase their theme and is using a cracked theme to spend that time troubleshooting and offering support for someone that isn't supporting them. People always forget about the support cost of a app or theme and how much time is spent providing support in the cost of those apps."
"RRO is actually RRO2 and the second version that Google adopted. What most people don't know is that there was another RRO2 originally years ago that was more like what you see in CMTE and most likely the base of it while OMS is a updated much superior version of that original design. OMS actually works on the back of several things that Google added like multi window and day/night to provide the ability of resources to be changed during runtime."
"To put it simply, RRO is a 5 year old system of which is the basis of TmoTE/CMTE/LOSTE, as well as most of the OEM's theme engines such as Samsung and LG. RRO is merged in upstream AOSP and originally does not support dynamic on-the-fly theming (reboot required). OMS is an addition to RRO where on-the-fly theming is allowed, both systems by Sony."
"I would say it was intended but getting Google to even start down that road required them to have the basis of it first before they could move to dynamic."
"I always thought of overlays intending to be something not theming. Such as changing resources for what Sony wanted it to be – like maybe booleans and such.
Because if it was all about theming, they would do more commits regarding drawables and refreshing."
"Yes I agree, I don't think they ever had the intent to use it as a theme system until they saw others using it as one. My intention wasn't even originally for theming either and there is a lot of potential in the system beyond theming. True, you don't see Sony doing those types of changes it is mostly Google doing them for other things they work on that benefit us theming."
"We try to keep it as easy as possible but also try to avoid squashed commit to make it easier for someone to read what each commit adds and how to follow it."
"All you have to do is merge our OMS7-N branch commits from our gerrit. If you need a guide, we have one written by The Flash here."
"As far as rootless, we actively try to separate OMS add ins and what subs needs as much as possible for ease of future portability for the system and try to keep how everything works as transparent as possible."
"With the project, we have incorporated many features that CMTE/LOSTE does not have, all in one app – buildable by AOSP. Including a built in showcase, a search system, advanced manager, priorities and dynamic profiles based on the time of day.
Upcoming would be rootless, then icon packs. As icon packs are fully supported on our test devices, we have experienced many small bugs that would raise a TON of bug reports, so to avoid this, icon pack studio is only available to themers and testers at the current time – until the system is revamped."
"Chummy development team, my small team created for a few themers that includes Fahad, Khizar, myself and Aditya, will be looking to working on porting our theme over to Substratum soon. There will not be any ETAs about Dark Material/Blacked Out!/akZent/blakZent, but I might personally revive my clear theme I teased many months ago."
"I would like to thank all of the contributors to the project, from our development team to the hundreds of translators on CrowdIn, everyone put their hearts into this project and we are very grateful!"
"I'd like to thank all the developers, users and themers that have supported and worked with us over the years!"
If you've made it this far, thank you for reading this interview! We hope you have enjoyed reading about the team behind Substratum. Consider showing your support for the project and its themers by purchasing the donation versions of some of your favorite themes. Developers can contribute by submitting code to the team's Gerrit page. XDA will return in the future with more interviews in this vein, so stay tuned!
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Sony has released a financial report for the last quarter of 2016, and things are still look downhill for its mobile division. Shipments and sales have fallen, and so have operating profits for this division.
The Q4 2016 report showcase that Sony managed to ship only 5.1 Million Xperia smartphones in this three month period ending December 2016. This is a reduction of around 33% when compared to results from the previous year.
Sales decreased 35.3% to 248.6 Billion Yen (2,143 Million USD) which is a significant decrease. This has been attributed to a reduction in smartphone unit sales in Europe as well as the result of downsizing in unprofitable regions from the previous fiscal year.
Furthermore, operating income decreased 2.9 Billion Yen year-on-year to 21.2 Billion Yen (183 Million USD). Sony admits that cost reductions from restructuring initiatives and positive impacts of foreign exchange rate fluctuations could not offset the impact of declining sales. Sony does remain on track of achieving an operating profit for the year despite the decline, though.
In line with the reduction in sales, Sony has lowered its full year forecast from 17 Million units to 15 Million units shipped. This is the fourth cut to full year shipment forecasts in this fiscal year, as forecasts from Latin America and the Middle East have been revised – bringing a downward impact.
It will be interesting to see how Sony manages to compete against the new set of competitors this year, in light of the downsizing efforts and product lineup consolidation in several markets. Can the mobile division rise up after all?
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