XDA Unlock

mardi 2 janvier 2018

CAD Renders Show off the Sony Xperia L2, Xperia XA2 and Xperia XA2 Ultra

Sony's product portfolio includes multiple smartphones across mid-range and flagship price brackets. Last year, the company launched several mid-range phones, including the Xperia L1, the Xperia XA1 and the Xperia XA1 Ultra. Rumors abound suggest the successors to these devices may launch soon, and on Tuesday, @OnLeaks published CAD renders of the Sony Xperia L2, the Xperia XA2 and the Xperia XA2 Ultra in collaboration with Compare Raja and Tiger Mobiles.

Source: Compare Raja and Tiger Mobiles

The renders show that the Xperia L2 will have a 5.5-inch display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, and measure 149.9 x 78.4 x 9.9mm. (The screen resolution hasn't been revealed yet, but it's safe to say it'll be at least HD, or 1280 x 720.) The handset may have an octa-core Snapdragon 630 system-on-chip paired with 4GB of RAM, and it'll reportedly ship with Android Nougat on board.

In terms of aesthetics, the Xperia L2 will feature Sony's traditional design with respect to the front, but the fingerprint sensor is said to be on back instead of on the side, which is a first for a Sony smartphone. It'll have a single rear camera, and it could be made official at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show.

Source: Compare Raja and Tiger Mobiles

Moving onto the rumored Xperia XA lineup, it's worth noting that the first XA phone was released in 2016, with the Xperia XA1 following suit in 2017. The Xperia XA2 Ultra will be the successor to the Xperia XA1 Ultra, and it'll reportedly retain the 6-inch display size with a 16:9 aspect ratio instead of moving to an 18:9 (2:1) aspect ratio.

The Xperia XA2 Ultra is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 630. It's said to have 4GB of RAM paired with 64GB of internal storage, and a microSD card slot seems likely. But the really interesting thing about the Xperia XA2 is that it'll have dual front cameras, if the CAD renders are any indication. (The resolution of the front and rear cameras is currently unknown.)

The Xperia XA2, on the other hand, will be a much smaller device — it's expected to have a 5-inch display, with dimensions of (141.6 x 70.4 x 9.6mm). It's also expected to pack the same chipset as the Xperia XA2 Ultra, but the details about the RAM and storage aren't known yet.

Right now, there isn't any information regarding the pricing and release dates of the Xperia XA2 models. However, the report mentions that the launch could be as soon as February. We expect to learn more about Sony's 2018 smartphone lineup at CES 2018.

Via 1: Compare Raja Via 2: Tiger Mobiles

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Android Security Bulletin for January 2018 is Live, OTA and Factory Images Now Available

Just like clockwork, Google releases a new Android Security Bulletin at the beginning of every month, and the January bulletin went live on Tuesday. With it, the search giant published a rundown of exploits that were fixed in this month's patch and where they originated in the system. All of the vulnerabilities were of the critical or high-security variety, and so this security update is of utmost importance. Luckily, it's already available in factory images for the Google Pixel and the Nexus 5X/Nexus 6P.

Most of the fixes pertain to Android's media framework. The worst exploit patched in the January Android Security Bulletin let remote attackers make specially crafted files that'd allow remote code execution on your smartphone — if you weren't careful, a malicious file downloaded from the internet could've given full control of your phone to a hacker. The patches for other device components involved fully privileged code execution, and the Android runtime and Android system.

The January Security Bulletin also ships with small functional improvements involving over-the-air update performance after fresh installs, and a tweak in Android's keystore key upgrade behavior.

If you're on the 2018-01-05 security patch level, you'll benefit from more fixes, including HTC, LG, MediaTek, Nvidia, Qualcomm and kernel components and additional media framework fixes.

If you have a Pixel device or a Nexus 6P/Nexus 5X, there's even better news: The update is already live (and includes the 2018-01-05 patch level), and you can download and flash the system image yourself. These devices also have their own Security Bulletin, which addresses vulnerabilities not affecting devices other than those in the Pixel and Nexus line.

You can check out the Android Security Bulletin below, along with the links to download the factory image.

Source: Android Security Bulletin
Source 2: Pixel/Nexus Security Bulletin
Source 3: Pixel/Nexus Factory Images

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Samsung Will Highlight 3 New C-Lab Projects at CES 2018

We've talked about Samsung's C-Lab (Creative Lab), which offers Samsung employees a chance to experiment with side projects that could turn into full-blown startup companies, a few times in the past. And today, Samsung announced that it'll be showcasing three projects from seven startups that have been spun off from C-Lab at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The first of the three new C-Lab experiments is something called S-Ray (Sound-Ray), a portable directional speaker. The idea was to engineer a smaller, lighter, and more portable sound system that could be easily transported from place to place — ideal for folks who like to listen to music in public but dislike using earbuds or earphones.

Next is GoBreath, a health device for people who suffer from postoperative pulmonary complications after general anesthesia. They sometimes have difficulty recovering, so a doctor employed at the Samsung Medical Center in South Korea came up with a solution. The GoBreath consists of a portable device and mobile app which then teaches patients basic breathing techniques such as inspiration, coughing or deep breathing, and it's helped his patients recover faster than normal.

The last of the new C-Lab projects that will be shown off at CES 2018 is a pair of smart visual aid glasses called Relúmĭno, which are intended to help people with vision challenges see images more clearly when they're reading a book or viewing an object. The C-Lab team demoed a Relúmĭno app at Mobile World Congress in 2017, and has since engineered a pair of smart visual aid eyeglasses that work in conjunction with a smartphone. They use the phone's processors and battery, eliminating the need for a bulky battery pack and keeping the Relúmĭno glasses light and comfortable to wear.

"Since launching five years ago, our C-Lab program has gained exciting momentum across Samsung, helping foster an innovation culture, and providing avenue for our creative, talented employees to pursue innovative new projects," Jaiil Lee, Vice President and Head of the Creativity and Innovation Center at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement. "We will continuously introduce innovative projects through our C-Lab program."

Source: Samsung Newsroom

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Nokia 5 Camera App Reveals 4 Unreleased Nokia Phones

One of 2017's greatest developments was the comeback of Nokia in the form a licensing agreement with holding company HMD Global. The company's new Android-touting smartphones had solid spec sheets, durable and premium designs, close-to-stock Android firmware, and reasonable price tags. HMD Global established itself as a solid, affordable alternative to Android juggernauts such as Samsung or HTC, and it has even bigger plans for 2018. Along with a refresh of last year's Nokia phones, it's preparing to launch all-new handsets in almost every price bracket.

Thanks to a crafty developer at MySmartPrice who decompiled the Nokia 5's camera app, we have a better idea of what Nokia and HMD Global have in store. The application's directory points to the existence of four unreleased smartphones: The Nokia 9, the 7 Plus, the Nokia 4, and the Nokia 1.

Source: MySmartPrice

The camera app does not, however, give insight into any of the smartphones' specifications — only their names. Of all the names leaked, we're most familiar with the Nokia 9, the Snapdragon 835-powered phone which will reportedly take the place of the Nokia 8 as the Finland-based company's top-of-the-line flagship.

The Nokia 1 was recently rumored to ship with Android Go, a lightweight version of Android 8.1 optimized for low-end phones.

There haven't been rumblings about the Nokia 4 or the Nokia 7 Plus yet. The Nokia 4 would presumably fill the gap between the Snapdragon 430-powered Nokia 5 and the MediaTek-powered Nokia 3, and possibly retain a 400-series Qualcomm Snapdragon system-on-chip but swap out components like the camera, RAM, and storage. We're inclined to believe the Nokia 7 Plus, though, is a slightly beefed-up version of Nokia's mid-range devices, the Nokia 7.

CES 2018 is right around the corner, and it's very likely that we'll learn more about these four Nokia phones in the coming days.

Via: Pocket-lint Source: MySmartPrice

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WhatsApp No Longer Supports BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, and Windows Phone 8

Back in February 2017, the Facebook folks behind WhatsApp gave a glimpse into their plans for future development. They included dropping support for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, the Nokia S40, the Nokia Symbian S60, Android 2.1 and Android 2.2, Windows Phone 7, and the iPhone 3GS/iOS 6 by the end of 2016, but recently, the list was amended with new EoL (end of life) dates for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, and Windows Phone 8 operating systems.

The WhatsApp team announced in a support FAQ this week that it'd discontinued development for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, and Windows Phone 8 on December 31, 2017. It's no longer possible to create new accounts or re-verify accounts on smartphones running those operating systems, though the app's core messaging features will continue to work for the time being.

WhatsApp also clarified that the S40 will be supported until December 31 2017, and that Android devices running 2.3.7 Gingerbread will be get updates until February 1 2020.

The messaging app made headlines last year when it announced it was dropping support for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, the S40, the S60, Android 2.1 and Android 2.2, Windows Phone 7, and the iPhone 3GS/iOS 6. But in a statement on its support page, the WhatsApp team said that older devices don't support the technologies new versions of the app require.

"These platforms don't offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future," the team wrote. "If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer OS version, or to a newer Android running OS 4.0+, iPhone running iOS 7+, or Windows Phone 8.1+ so that you can continue using WhatsApp."

If your phone's no longer supported, WhatsApp suggests verifying your account on a newer device.

Source: WhatsApp

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Report: Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 to Launch in Q2 2018 with Dual Cameras

The international variant of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 launched in January 2017, and it went on to become India' best-selling smartphone of 2017. It's no surprising, then, that expectations are riding high on its successor, the Redmi Note 5.

Since late last year, rumors of the Redmi Note 5 have been flying around the internet. In October, a Xiaomi device with an 18:9 display was certified by TENAA, and in November, leaked photos of an 18:9 Xiaomi device appeared on social media. Most recently, in December, Xiaomi released the Redmi 5 and the Redmi 5 Plus in China with 18:9 (2:1) displays. The phones haven't launched internationally yet, but this week, a MIUI moderator said that the Redmi 5 Plus would take the place of the rumored Redmi Note 5 in some markets.

However, that seems increasingly unlikely. A new rumor from China suggests that Xiaomi is set to announce the Redmi Note 5 this year. It's reportedly being tested internally for a release in Q2 2018, but faces delays because of supply issues with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 632 system-on-chip.

According to the rumor, the Snapdragon 632 is a step down from the Snapdragon 636 chipset that was announced in October. It's said to have a slightly lower clock speed and a slower GPU, but retain Qualcomm's Spectra 160 ISP (image signal processor), which offers more robust support for dual-camera configurations compared to the Snapdragon 625's image processor.

As far as the Redmi Note 5's other specs are concerned, it'll have a 5.99-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio (matching the display size of the Redmi 5 Plus) and small display bezels. It might feature a higher screen-to-body ratio than even the Redmi 5 Plus, though that's not yet clear. Under the hood, it'll pack 4GB of RAM and two storage configurations, 32GB and 64GB, plus dual rear cameras with two 12MP sensors (the secondary camera's specs remain a mystery).

With regard to pricing, the Redmi Note 5 may retail for a bit more than its predecessor — reportedly at CNY 1599 (about $246). But it's best to take it with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Source: MyDrivers (in Chinese)Via: MySmartPrice

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JVCKenwood to Showcase Automotive and Media Products at CES 2018

The 2018 Consumer Electronics Show is a little less than a week away, and companies are already talking about the products they'll be showing off in Las Vegas. One of those companies is JVCKenwood, which announced this week that it'll take the wraps off new automotive and media products.

The company has a number of product unveilings planned for CES 2018, but only highlighted "major exhibits" in its press release. On the automotive side of things, those include a new high-end AV multimedia receivers with a 720p displays and support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a new lineup of disc-free JVC-branded receivers (also with CarPlay and Android Auto). Last but not least, JVCKenwood says that on the show floor, it'll exhibit a 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross outfitted with a display audio system that has Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a touch pad controller.

The company's got more in store for CES 2018 than in-car entertainment systems. JVCKenwood will launch all-new AV multimedia receivers compatible with DSD (Direct Stream Digital) files, and show a sound room demo that'll let attendees sample its full high-resolution systems. It'll also showcase 4K video cameras, including new 4K professional camera recorders and 4K commercial cameras that protect against water, dust, shocks, and freezing temperatures. And it'll show off new Bluetooth-enabled wireless headphones.

We'll be covering the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show live from the convention floor, so check back for continuing coverage.

Source: JVC Kenwood

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