We got our first official look at the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro at Google I/O, and now we’re getting even more due to an early prototype of the Pixel 7 appearing on eBay.
Today, an eBay auction appeared for someone selling what appears to be a Pixel 7 prototype. The listing was pulled down shortly after this item was published, about 1:30 p.m. ET.
The gadget is seen in its black “Obsidian” version, which includes a glossy glass back and the new metal camera bar that Google previously demonstrated. The device also includes a logo that is similar to previous Google prototypes but has been modified.
Because Google has previously shown the Pixel 7’s design, this eBay auction doesn’t reveal much new information, though it does confirm that the Pixel 7 will ditch the matte black frame of the Pixel 6 in favor of a textured metal frame. The mmWave antenna window, which was previously seen in CAD leaks, is also visible.
We can also see the Pixel 7 Pro in the mirror, with its unique camera bar snapping shots of this phone, which is a little amusing.
The listing went on to say that the phone already had Android 13 installed and that “pixel apps were in the development stage.
The only other thing we know from this leak is that the Pixel 7 will have 128GB of storage, as expected.
YouTube Music upgraded its Home feed for tablets at the start of this year, promising additional UI improvements, particularly for playlists. On Android, YouTube Music now has a more user-friendly settings structure.
Instead of the fullscreen page available on phones, visiting the Account menu on Android tablets (and Chromebooks) initiates a pop-up (keeping navigation context).
Settings now has a two-column UI, which is common among first-party Android apps like Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, and others. The real controls are on the right, while the available options are listed on the left.
This is a much better approach as settings for YouTube Music have been unwieldy for some time now as more things were added. We’re not encountering it on Android phones today, but YouTube Music offers a similar list approach on iPhone and iPad, though with different groupings. It could also be coming to smaller Android screens as a result.
This is a much better method, as YouTube Music settings have been unmanageable for a long time as more features have been added. We haven’t seen it on Android phones yet, but YouTube Music on iPhone and iPad has a similar list structure, though with different groups. As a result, it’s possible that it’ll be available on smaller Android screens as well.
Only one name comes to mind when it comes to privacy-friendly search engines: DuckDuckGo. As narrow as it is, the company has managed to spin its success in other directions, including a privacy-focused browser for Android and iOS that is reportedly devoid of trackers. According to a new revelation, DuckDuckGo’s cooperation with Microsoft may have lost the company its position as a “no tracking” provider.
As detailed by Bleeping Computer, privacy researcher Zach Edward recently discovered that, while DuckDuckGo’s browser stopped sites like Facebook and Google from using trackers to scrape user data, Microsoft’s websites — including LinkedIn and Bing — bypassed this blockade entirely. It goes against the search engine’s biggest selling point, and more specifically, undermines the entire reason the DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser exists.
To his credit, CEO and founder Gabriel Weinberg quickly admitted that the browser does, in fact, allow Microsoft to evade its tracking filters within the browser, and that this is done on purpose. According to Weinberg, it all comes down to the two firms’ search syndication agreement, which allows DuckDuckGo to use Bing results in its search results. It’s the most important component of a collection of over 400 sources, which includes Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha. Weinberg further highlighted that this agreement only applies to the browser and not the search engine.
Still, it’s difficult to justify when the app’s main selling point — literally the first line of its Play Store listing — is to disable trackers on the user’s behalf. Following Edward’s discovery on Twitter two days ago, Weinberg stated that the company was working with Microsoft to remove this specific stipulation from the contract, as well as offering a clarification update to the Play Store and App Store listings. The CEO also issued a statement to Bleeping Computer, emphasizing that, while its browser isn’t flawless, it is still significantly more private than the competitors, with faster load speeds. As Weinberg points out, DuckDuckGo’s browser has never guaranteed complete anonymity. Hopefully, this is an opportunity for the organization to improve.
May 19, 2022: OnePlus has released a new system update for the OnePlus 9 series (via XDA Developers). It has version C.60 and is over 1.5GB in size.
The most recent OTA update improves multitasking and adds some connection and gaming features. The May security patch, however, is still unavailable for the phones. The complete changelog is available below.
Convenience & efficiency
You can now open up to 3 apps in floating windows at the same time in Split-screen mode and switch between Floating window and Split screen modes
You can now use the Clock app in Quick Return
Connectivity
You can now open up to 3 phone windows on your PC
Games
Adds the HyperBoost end-to-end frame rate stabilizer
Heterogenous graphics: Reduces gaming loads and power consumption (only for some games)
As always, this OTA will be incremental. It will reach a small percentage of users initially. A broader rollout should start in a few days.
To check if an update is available, head to Settings > System > System updates on your device.
Previous OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro updates
April 18, 2022: OnePlus rolled out a new system update for the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro. The update carried Oxygen OS 12 version C.48 and went out to the flagships in India, North America, and Europe. There were no new features added with the update. However, it brought the April 2022 security patch to the phones. The changelog also mentioned system stability improvements.
March 21, 2022: OnePlus pushed out the stable Oxygen OS 12 update to the OnePlus 9R. The update was rolled out to users who were previously running the open beta version of the software. The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro also got the incremental OxygenOS 12 update C.47 in North America and Europe. It optimized the stability of communication, fixed issues causing the operator’s name to be displayed incorrectly, improved system stability and camera fluency, and brought the March 2022 security patch.
March 10, 2022: OnePlus pushed out the Oxygen OS 12 C.46 update to the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro. The company noted that the build will not release in North America due to specific country-related limitations. The firmware brought a bunch of improvements. However, the major change was the addition of the February security patch.
January 21, 2022: OnePlus rolled out update LE2125_11.C.44_1440_202201182114 (or 115) to the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro in January. This update brought plenty of fixes for performance, display issues, cameras, and more. It also included the January 2022 security patch.
December 30, 2021: The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro received Oxygen OS 12 C.40, which initially rolled out to global and Indian variants. The update fixed a few issues that the second Oxygen OS 12 release missed.
December 6, 2021: After a months-long beta program, the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro started getting a stable version of Oxygen OS 12, based on Android 12. However, due to intensely negative feedback to the update’s many bugs, OnePlus pulled it. The update restarted a week later.
November 25, 2021: Oxygen OS 11.2.10.10 rolled out to the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. The update brought the November security patch and a few bug fixes but no significant changes.
September 17, 2021: OnePlus is rolling out a new Oxygen OS update (11.2.9.9) to the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro. The update adds the September 2021 security patch and also brings the brand new Hasselblad XPan camera mode. There is also a slew of camera-related tweaks and other miscellaneous bug fixes.
July 29, 2021: OnePlus is rolling out Oxygen OS 11.2.4.4 to the OnePlus 9R. The update adds the July security patch to the phone and also brings the Bitmoji AOD feature that lets users place an avatar on their always-on display screen which changes based on activity and other factors. Fixes for “known issues” are bundled in the update alongside the updated GMS package.
July 19, 2021: OnePlus rolled out Oxygen OS 11.2.8.8 to the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. It added one big feature for Ambient Display users — Bitmoji AOD. This lets users place an avatar on their always-on display screen which changes based on activity and other factors. The update also Fixed some “known issues” and added the July 2021 Android security patch.
June 6, 2021: The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro gained Oxygen OS 11.2.7.7 which brought power consumption improvements, and camera tweaks, including an HDR option for video recording on the OnePlus 9 Pro.
In Huawei’s app store, an interesting problem has been discovered. A glitch in the Huawei AppGallery allows users to free download paid Android apps.
According to the source’s information, this exploit allows users to “get a genuine APK download link for premium programs.” This might, of course, be used to pirate apps.
According to the source, Huawei has been informed of the flaw. The firm recognized the issue but did not specify when it would be resolved. However, we believe that will happen very soon.
If you’re a developer, you should consider protecting your apps. It is recommended that developers use DRM, such as the AppGallery’s DRM Service, to safeguard their apps.
Huawei’s AppGallery has been doing exceptionally well. Since the US embargo went into place, the corporation has put a lot of money into it. It now has a large number of apps, albeit it is still nothing near the Google Play Store.
Still, the sheer number of good apps in the AppGallery these days may surprise you. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in the AppGallery, Huawei also allows you to install programs from APK repositories.
It’s also worth mentioning that AppGallery isn’t exclusive to Huawei phones. It is not available on the Google Play Store, but it may be sideloaded into your smartphone. Why would you want to do something like that? If you require Huawei’s own apps, you may get them here.
The Health and AI Life apps are required if you’re using the company’s watches or earphones. The AppGallery has the most recent versions of those programs. Of course, that is only one example.
Qualcomm’s annual 5G Summit is taking place in San Diego this year, and the company has a few major announcements to make about its technology for future 5G products. These developments coincide with the widespread use of 5G connectivity and smartphones in many regions of the world.
Smart Transmit 3.0 is maybe the most notable reveal. Qualcomm’s 5G speed and coverage optimization technology has reached its third generation. The significant change in this version is that Smart Transmit now includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for the first time, allowing you to optimize your phone’s whole radio stack. Smart Transmit 3.0, according to Qualcomm, supports Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, and Wi-Fi 7.
We asked Qualcomm about specific performance and efficiency gains for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when using Smart Transmit 3.0, but the company didn’t divulge any figures. It’s also worth noting that future Wi-Fi and Bluetooth versions will likely offer a bigger improvement, but even a small improvement to current standards would be welcomed.
You can expect to find this tech in the previously revealed Snapdragon X70 5G modem, which is due to arrive in phones by “late 2022,” according to Qualcomm.
Standalone mmWave for X70
Qualcomm also stated at the 5G Summit that the X70 modem will handle independent mmWave connections, showcasing a connection. The feat was accomplished with a test device powered by the forthcoming modem.
The majority of 5G networks are non-standalone, which means they still rely on 4G technology for some functions. Separate 5G uses only 5G radio and backend technology, resulting in more flexible networks and services. This announcement also demonstrates that 5G backend technology can work in locations where there is no sub-6GHz connection.
It’s worth noting that Qualcomm previously announced a standalone mmWave 5G data connection milestone in July 2021. The firm told us that the previous milestone was related to 200MHz support, which is a requirement for the Chinese market.
What to expect from the Snapdragon X70 modem?
The X70 is the first 5G modem featuring an AI processor, and Qualcomm has unveiled a few more advantages of this silicon ahead of its launch.
In particular, the company claims that mmWave coverage will be increased by 20% in “dense metropolitan situations.” Mobility-based sub-6GHz 5G at the edge of coverage might see a throughput jump of up to 73 percent, while pedestrians at the edge of coverage could see a 28 percent rise. However, it’s likely that consumers will only realize these increases under perfect circumstances.
Qualcomm previously noted it uses this AI suite for 5G channel optimization, smart network selection, mmWave beam management, and antenna tuning. This should theoretically result in performance and efficiency gains, but we’ll wait for the first X70-toting devices to see if this is indeed the case.
Sharp is not a well-known smartphone manufacturer, but it is known in its home market of Japan for releasing phones with huge camera sensors and bizarre display technology. Sharp has introduced the Sharp Aquos R7, a follow-up to last year’s Aquos R6 with its excellent 1-inch rear camera, with several noticeable changes that set it apart from the greatest Android phones like the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Google Pixel 6 Pro.
The Aquos R7 has a 6.6-inch IGZO OLED panel with a variable refresh rate of 1-240Hz and an FHD+ (2730 x 1260) resolution (via GSMArena). It has a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus, and the phone has an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor embedded in the display.
The phone has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 5,000mAh battery on the inside. All of this is contained within an IP68-certified body that is dust and water resistant. On the connectivity front, the R7 has Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, USB-C, 5G, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The Aquos line continues to be highlighted by its rear camera. The sensor size stays the same at 1-inch, but the resolution has been increased to 47.2MP from 20MP on the Aquos R6. It features a 19mm equivalent focal length and an f/1.9 aperture. The new Leica-branded camera, according to Sharp, can capture up to 1.8x more light than the previous 1-inch sensor.
Real-time face, body, and eye detection, Octa PD autofocus, 8K video recording, and 4x lossless digital zoom are among the camera’s other prominent features. A 1.9MP portrait camera is the sole other camera on the back. A 12.6MP selfie camera is housed in the display’s central punch-hole.
The phone includes Android 12 out of the box with Sharp’s custom UI on top of it. The device will be available in black and silver colors in Japan from July on Docomo and Softbank. Sadly, like previous Aquos phones, the R7 is unlikely to make its way outside its home market, so you likely won’t be able to get your hands on one.
Google and the community have been playing a cat and mouse game for a long time over evading SafetyNet. The community enjoys tinkering with the software on their phones, which usually starts with bootloader unlocking. However, this trips SafetyNet, causing a number of popular apps to cease working on the phone, some of which are justifiably so because they rely on a tamper-proof environment for execution.
SafetyNet is aimed at app creators, but they can choose whether or not to use it. However, as an ordinary end user, you have two options: give up on Android’s modding potential and pass the SafetyNet compatibility tests, or risk being blacklisted by software publishers. This guide should let you pass SafetyNet even if you’ve rooted or installed a custom ROM on your smartphone.
What is SafetyNet?
Android is built to run without granting the end user any privileged access to the underlying subsystems. If a person with administrative (a.k.a. “superuser”) capabilities on an Android device has similar access to administrative (a.k.a. “root”) permissions on a Linux machine, they can virtually change or replace Android system applications and settings. From the standpoint of an app developer, this means that the device on which their program is operating may be compromised. Some form of abuse detection mechanism should be in place to check the device’s software and hardware surroundings and reassure app developers that everything is fine. This is when SafetyNet enters the picture.
While modding is an important component of the Android ecosystem, security standards sometimes necessitate a high level of rigor in the operating system. The Google Play Services include a set of abuse-detection APIs called SafetyNet. Third-party applications can use the SafetyNet Attestation API to see if the device’s software environment has been tampered with in any way. The API compares the current state of the target Android device and verifies the integrity of the environment against a known’safe’ value on the server-side by checking for things like bootloader unlock status, signs of superuser binaries, and more.
SafetyNet tripping and its consequences
SafetyNet tripping is caused by a series of events that differ from the factory setup of an Android device. Even if you simply unlock your phone’s bootloader and leave the factory-installed OS alone, the SafetyNet check may fail due to a “CTS profile mismatch” (where CTS stands for the Compatibility Test Suite) issue. You’ll almost certainly wind up with a SafetyNet failed status if you root your Android device or replace the base firmware with a custom ROM. As a result, you won’t be able to utilize apps or games on the device that use SafetyNet validation. This is particularly true for banking and other financial apps like Google Pay, which rely solely on the SafetyNet Attestation result and will not accept anything else.
When it comes to games, developers use SafetyNet for assessing the device’s integrity so that they can prevent rogue players from cheating or modifying in-game variables for unfair advantages. Last but not least, you can also come across examples where publishers are simply misusing Google’s tamper detection mechanism for no practical reason, which is why power users want to evade the detection routines.
In a nutshell, the modding community will have to choose between having access to root/custom ROMs/kernels/etc. or their preferred apps and games. This might sound like the end of aftermarket development on Android, but there is hope.
Pass SafetyNet attestation
There is no true universal solution to avoid the inspections because Google modifies the backbone of the SafetyNet Attestation API on a regular basis. Because the limits are based on a variety of criteria, you may be able to get around SafetyNet in a modified environment by faking the most important characteristics on legacy devices, but the same approach may not work on later phones. Because of the ever-changing nature of the anti-abuse API, the aftermarket development community has come up with a number of approaches for passing the SafetyNet tests. However, keep in mind that a general implementation isn’t viable. This is a cat-and-mouse game; one day you’ll be ahead, the next day you won’t.
Google is depending on the security of the phone’s Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) or dedicated hardware security module (HSM) for tamper detection as it moves toward a hardware attestation method. Finding a serious security flaw in a device’s isolated secure environment and exploiting it to spoof SafetyNet’s client-side response isn’t a viable strategy, but there are alternative options.
1. Restoring the original firmware and relocking the bootloader
This is perhaps the simplest way to pass SafetyNet, but it has its own merits and demerits. All you need to do is find the correct firmware for your Android device, flash it, and finally re-lock the bootloader. Of course, you’ll lose most of the bells and whistles of Android modding, but it actually makes sense when you need to use your device in a managed environment with strict security policies or you’re trying to sell your device.
2. Using Magisk
If you own a legacy Android smartphone, Magisk is your best bet to pass SafetyNet without much hassle. Even though the current Canary channel of Magisk doesn’t feature MagiskHide anymore, you can still stick to last stable release (v23.0) and utilize MagiskHide to hide root status from apps. Furthermore, you can install Magisk modules like MagiskHide Props Config to change the device fingerprint in order to pass SafetyNet.
Talking about the Canary channel, the new “DenyList” feature of Magisk is an interesting development, which allows users to assign a list of processes where Magisk denies further modifications and reverts all changes it had done. With an appropriate configuration, it can also be used to pass SafetyNet in some scenarios.
Lastly, there’s Shamiko — a work-in-progress module written on top of Zygisk (Magisk in the zygote process). It reads the list of apps to hide from Magisk’s denylist to hide Magisk root, Zygisk itself, and Zygisk modules to circumvent SafetyNet. However, Shamiko can only work after disabling the DenyList feature.
3. Using Universal SafetyNet Fix
Bypassing Google’s hardware-backed SafetyNet attestation technique is a tad bit difficult, but it’s not entirely impossible. The Universal SafetyNet Fix project by XDA Senior Member kdrag0n cleverly accomplishes this feat by forcing the basic attestation over the hardware-backed checks.
Notably, Universal SafetyNet Fix has a dependency on Magisk when it comes to passing the basic attestation part. The developer offers two different builds of the fix: The Zygisk variant for Magisk Canary and the Riru variant for stable Magisk.
In case you don’t want to rely on Magisk to pass SafetyNet attestation, you can try out an experimental add-on named ih8sn. After applying, it can spoof a plethora of prop values in order to circumvent SafetyNet checks like the MagiskHide Props Config module, but there’s no dependency on Magisk in the first place.
The ih8sn tool is maintained by several LineageOS developers, but the LineageOS project doesn’t officially endorse it yet. To know more, take a look at its codebase by following the link below.
After applying one of the aforementioned SafetyNet passing methods, you may wish to verify the result. The Magisk app comes with an option to initiate the SafetyNet checking routine right from its main menu, which is really handy. You can also opt for an open source app named YASNAC (short for Yet Another SafetyNet Attestation Checker) to check the status and (optionally) examine the JSON response.
That’s how you can use your phone to pass SafetyNet. With a little effort and care, you can restore Android’s true modding capability without having to worry about SafetyNet Attestation failures. We’ll be adding more SafetyNet passing ways to this guide in the future, so check back!
The start of the year is usually slow, but we’ve had some good sales today, including some fantastic standouts. The first is Old Man’s Journey, a beautiful adventure game with a touching plot. The next game is Hexologic, which is similar to Sudoku but uses hexagons instead of squares. Last but not least, there’s ELOH, a soothing puzzle game with a captivating rhythm mechanic. As usual, I’ve bolded all of the fascinating titles to make it simpler for you to find them. Here are the finest temporarily free and on-sale apps and games for the end of the week, without further ado.
WhatsApp is the most popular messaging software in the world, offering a variety of services in addition to regular text chats. However, you can’t quickly start a chat with numbers that aren’t recorded in your contacts list.
Fortunately, frequent leaker WABetaInfo has dug through Android beta software version 2.22.8.11 and discovered that the firm is working on a remedy. Taping on an unsaved phone number in a chat bubble now opens an in-app menu that lets you chat with the person if they’re on WhatsApp.
You may also call them or store their number to your contact list using the in-app options. We’ve confirmed that the menu is visible in the beta version we’re using. Take a look at the image below.
This is a significant departure from previous conduct. Currently, touching an unsaved number in a chat thread opens the dialer app on your Android phone instead.
However, this approach isn’t ideal because it requires someone to either send you the number or for you to send the unsaved number to another contact. So, ideally, additional work will be done in this area to improve message delivery to unsaved contacts.
There are several workarounds, however, such as using WhatsApp’s short links system. You can take a look at the various solutions for chatting with an unsaved number at the link.
