Google Pixel 3 camera bug brings back Nexus 5 nightmares (Update: Fix incoming)

Update, November 21, 2018 (09:48 AM EST): Google issued a statement to 9to5Google about the Pixel 3 camera errors detailed below. Although Google still isn’t accepting replacement requests based on this issue, it did say that “a fix will be rolling out in the coming weeks.”

However, since the Nexus 5 camera error — which was very similar to this Pixel 3 error — essentially never got fixed, Google’s statement on the matter might not be that comforting. Either way, we’ll see what happens in a few weeks when this fix arrives.

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Original Article, November 20, 2018 (09:10 AM EST): Some Google Pixel 3s are suffering from bugs that crash their camera apps. The bugs have been discussed over the past month on Reddit and the Google Product Forums (via 9to5Google). They seem to affect both the default and third-party camera apps.

Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL owners report a “fatal error” message (Google Camera) or a “can’t connect to the camera” message (third-party camera apps) popping up at random when using the camera apps, though there are appears to be no concrete way to simulate the errors.

Restarting the device is said to temporarily solve the issue, but it doesn’t seem to stop the bugs reoccurring. Nor does factory resetting the unit or starting it in safe mode.

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Google releases November security patch (Update: OG Pixels patch is live)

Update, November 19, 2018 (03:25 PM EST): If you own a Google Pixel or Google Pixel XL, you’re probably wondering where your November security patch update is. Although most Google devices — including older Nexus devices …

Google is aware of the problem and is apparently pushing folks towards waiting for a fix via software update rather than pursuing a warranty replacement. There’s no suggestion as to how long this may take, but it has already been a month since the first report, which arrived only four days after Google released the phone in the U.S.

This may bring back memories of the Nexus 5’s (seemingly very similar) “can’t connect to the camera” bug that crashed the camera app on numerous Nexus 5 units. Nexus 5 owners were still reporting this throughout 2017, four years after the phone’s release.

The longevity of the Nexus 5 issue doesn’t bode well for a timely Pixel 3 solution, but we’ll keep you informed on the matter as it develops. For more on the Google Pixel 3 issues we’ve encountered so far, hit the link.

Source: Android Zone

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Google likely bringing Digital Wellbeing to Assistant and Google Home

 

• An APK teardown of the Google app suggests that Google is revamping the settings pages of Google Assistant.
• Within those changes, it looks like Digital Wellbeing features are also coming to Assistant and Google Home products.
• Digital Wellbeing tools already appear in Android 9 Pie (beta), YouTube, and Google Calendar.

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A recent APK teardown of the Google app by XDA Developers suggests that Google is experimenting with a total revamp of the settings pages within the Google Assistant app. This is a welcome change, as the Assistant’s settings pages are kind of messy right now (to say nothing of Google Home’s settings).

Within that settings revamp for Google Assistant, 9to5Google found a new label for some tools within the app: Digital Wellbeing. It appears that Google is bringing Digital Wellbeing tools and settings to Google Assistant, which in turn means that the features are also coming to Google Home hardware.

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PSA: Digital Wellbeing and Do Not Disturb might mute your alarms if you’re not careful

I’m personally a huge fan of Google’s new Digital Wellbeing initiative and Wind Down feature found in Android 9 Pie. But, as I almost found out the hard way, if you don’t have Do Not …

For those of you who don’t know, Digital Wellbeing is the catch-all term Google created to refer to its new initiative to focus on the healthy use of technology. Since we are increasingly becoming more addicted to our day-to-day tech — especially smartphones — Google feels a responsibility to offer tools that will help people disconnect and focus on their non-digital lives.

The main suite of Digital Wellbeing tools is in beta right now within Android 9 Pie. We’ve had some time with it and it’s been a very sobering experience.

According to 9to5Google, the Digital Wellbeing settings within the Google Assistant app don’t actually do anything yet, but we can make some assumptions based on what is shown. If you look below, on the left you’ll see the newly-designed settings page prior to the appearance of Digital Wellbeing, and on the right you’ll see the updated version:

The change from “Family Tools” to Digital Wellbeing is pretty self-explanatory, in that Google is making the feature set cohesive across applications. The two new options under Digital Wellbeing — Filters and Downtime — we assume refer to a way to filter applications, settings, and games from within Google Assistant (most likely to prevent children from accessing them), and a way to program times of the day when Google Assistant is unavailable on Google Home hardware.

This is just speculation at this point, but it’s very likely that’s what these tools do.

Unfortunately, APK teardowns don’t give us any indication on when we can expect to see the changes rollout to users; in fact, sometimes changes found in an APK never make it to release at all. But given Google’s emphasis of the importance of Digital Wellbeing and its distribution to Android 9 Pie, YouTube, and Google Calendar, it wouldn’t be surprising if more and more Google apps see similar features.

NEXT: YouTube’s own “Digital Wellbeing” tools available now for all

Source: Android Zone

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Like it or not, Quick Reply is probably coming to Chrome notifications

• Browser-based Chrome notifications are likely going to receive Quick Reply in the near future.
• The testing phase for Quick Reply Chrome notifications is happening now in the Chromium Gerrit.
• It will be a while before we’re likely to see this new feature, but it’s probably inevitable.

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Back in 2015, Google introduced push notifications for the Chrome web browser, which enables websites to send you messages. Now, it looks like you’ll eventually be able to reply to those notifications directly within the browser.

The new feature isn’t implemented yet, but is instead in a testing phase, according to the Chromium Gerrit as reported by XDA Developers.

Usually, new features show up in the Chromium Gerrit and then get pushed to the Canary build of Chrome. After a successful run in Canary, the features get pushed to the Chrome beta build, and then finally pushed into the stable version of Chrome.

Since the testing phase of this feature is so early in the rollout process, it might be a while until we see Quick Reply functionality within Chrome notifications. It’s also possible that the feature will stall out in the testing or later phases, and never make it into Chrome.

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Here are the best current Chromebook deals

If you want to buy a Chromebook for yourself or someone else, it’s pretty easy to find one on a budget. After all, that’s the whole idea behind Chrome OS devices — they serve as …

However, with push notifications for the web being a popular feature (at least according to how many times a day I’m asked if I want to receive notifications from a website), it’s highly likely that we will eventually see Quick Reply in Chrome.

One of the potential benefits of Quick Reply will be easier online support chats with representatives from various companies. As of right now, if you are in a web-based chat you need to either have your eyes on the window at all times or constantly check the tab for any new messages from your chat partner. With Quick Reply notifications, you could engage in those chats without having to constantly refer back to that tab, which certainly would make life a lot easier.

But, of course, this new feature would also open the floodgates for all kinds of abuse, such as messages from rogue sites that you didn’t mean to approve with one of those “reply STOP to cease transmissions” protocols. Hopefully, Google has some ideas in place for how to curb misuse of this potential Quick Reply feature.

NEXT: Buyer’s guide: What is a Chromebook, what can and can’t it do?

Source: Android Zone

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Verizon quietly launches Visible, its answer to AT&T’s Cricket

• Verizon Visible is an MVNO that gets you unlimited data, talk, and text on the Verizon network for $40 per month.
• However, you can’t sign up for service yet unless someone who currently has service invites you.
• Also, only iPhones are supported on Visible as of now, with Android support “coming soon.”

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Although there hasn’t been much press on the matter, Verizon Wireless launched a new MVNO service this year that gives you unlimited data, talk, and texts for $40 per month on the nation’s largest mobile network. It’s called Visible, and it’s essentially Verizon’s version of Cricket.

If you’re not aware, Cricket is owned by Verizon’s main rival in the U.S. mobile industry, AT&T. Cricket users have prepaid mobile contracts which get them service on the AT&T network. However, Cricket caps its data speeds and prioritizes traffic for AT&T’s postpaid customers.

Verizon’s Visible is essentially the same concept: you pay a lot less money than you would being a postpaid customer with Verizon, but you get access to the same network with slower speeds on a lower tier of traffic priority.

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Here are the best Verizon prepaid plans right now

Verizon Wireless remains in the number one spot for mobile phone subscribers in the US. However, the company has put most of its marketing push towards promoting its post-paid unlimited plan. You would be forgiven …

The novelty of Visible that is not present with Cricket is that you won’t find any brick-and-mortar Visible stores. That’s because Visible is an entirely in-app experience. You sign up for service and monitor your account completely within Visible’s app or website. You can pay your monthly bill with PayPal or Venmo.

Since Cricket has physical stores – which create significant financial overhead – plan pricing at Cricket is higher than Visible. The cheapest unlimited plan on Cricket is $55 per month ($50 if you sign up for autopay) and gets you data speeds up to 3Mbps on the AT&T network. In comparison, the $40 per month you pay Visible gets you speeds up to 5Mbps on the Verizon network.

With Visible, your $40 per month gets you unlimited service, but that service is capped in significant ways.

Both network plans do not have any international service and don’t include premium features like mobile hotspot usage. Your video streaming quality is also always capped at 480p with whichever service you choose.

Overall, Visible seems like an excellent deal for people who want to save money while still having access to the biggest mobile network in the United States.

Editor’s Pick

Best unlimited data plans in the US

Data is a precious commodity these days. The cost of using mobile web services can get high. Even if you have multiple options available, you must be smart about picking the best among the  unlimited data …

However, there is some bad news: right now, the only way you can get Visible service is to be invited by another Visible member, similar to how OnePlus initially sold the OnePlus One. Also, Visible currently only works on the iPhone 6 or newer; no Android support is available yet.

According to the F.A.Q. page on Visible’s website, “Android support is coming soon.”

What do you think? Would you sign up for a $40 per month plan on the Verizon network, even if it got you slow speeds and other limitations? Let us know in the comments!

NEXT: The best prepaid and no-contract plans in the U.S.

Source: Android Zone

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These are the best Xiaomi phones

Xiaomi might not be well known in the West, but it’s popular in many Asian countries. It was the fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer by market share in China last year, according to Counterpoint. It beat Apple by one percentage point.
Xiaomi is doing even better in India, where it overtook Samsung in the last quarter of 2017 to become the top smartphone vendor in the country — although Samsung disagrees.

Best Android phones
Best Samsung phones you can buy right now

Xiaomi’s success is attributed to its smartphones that offer great price/performance ratios. In this post, we take a look at a few of the best Xiaomi phones, keeping you up to speed on high-end, mid-range, and budget devices.
Editor’s note: We will be updating this list regularly as new devices launch.
Best high-end smartphone: Xiaomi Mi Mix 2

When it comes to the best Xiaomi phones, the Mi Mi 2 sits at the top of the pack. The highlight of the Mi Mix 2 is its design. The smartphone is a stunner with its thin bezels, a minimalistic ceramic back, and an 18K gold-plated ring around the camera.
Xiaomi’s flagship also excels in the specs department. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 835 chipset, has 6 GB of RAM, and offers 64, 128, or 256 GB of storage. There’s also a Special Edition of the handset available that comes with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. Additionally, it has a full ceramic body, whereas the standard version has a ceramic back and an aluminum frame.
The 5 MP selfie snapper is located in the chin of the Mi Mix 2.
Other specs and features include a 5.99-inch Full HD+ display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, a single 12 MP primary camera, and a 3,400 mAh battery. The selfie snapper sports a 5 MP sensor and is located in the chin of the device because the top bezel is too thin to house it.
The standard version of the handset launched back in September for RMB 3,299 (6 GB/64 GB), RMB 3,599 (6 GB/128 GB), and RMB 3,999 (6 GB/256 GB), which translates to around $520, $570, and $630. It’s only available in a few countries including China, India, and Spain.

Specs

5.99-inch IPS LCD display with 2,160 x 1,080 resolution, 403 ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
6/8 GB of RAM
64/128/256 GB of on-board storage, not expandable
12 MP rear camera, 5 MP front camera
Non-removable 3,400 mAh battery
Android 7.1 Nougat
151.8 x 75.5 x 7.7 mm, 185 g

Read more

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 review
A second opinion on the Mi MIX 2, Xiaomi’s shot at the flagship segment in India
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2: Great specs, but a few things are missing
Listen to the Mi MIX 2’s designer talk about Xiaomi’s new bezel-less phone

Buy on Flipkart — India
Buy from Xiaomi — Spain

Honorable mentions:
Xiaomi Mi Mix

The Mi Mix has a similar design as its successor but features a thicker bottom bezel that also houses the front-facing camera. It sports a larger 6.4-inch display with a resolution of 2,040 x 1,080 pixels, the Snapdragon 821 chipset, and 4 or 6 GB of RAM. Other specs include a 16 MP primary camera, a large 4,400 mAh battery, and a headphone jack that you won’t find on the Mi Mix 2. The device launched back in October 2016 in China and was also released in a few other markets including Vietnam and South Korea. It isn’t available in the U.S. or Europe, but you can still buy it from Chinese retailers such as GearBest.
Get the Xiaomi Mi Mix for $560

Xiaomi Mi 6

The Xiaomi Mi 6 was announced in April 2017 and sports a 5.15-inch Full HD display, the Snapdragon 835 chipset, and 4 or 6 GB of RAM. It’s equipped with a dual-camera setup featuring a 12 MP wide-angle sensor and a 12 MP telephoto lens that offers 2X lossless zoom. The device has a gorgeous design with a curved glass back and stainless steel frame. It packs a 3,350 mAh battery that should get you through the day without a problem and sports a fingerprint scanner on the front. It doesn’t have a headphone jack, which might be a deal breaker for some. It’s available in China as well as Spain but wasn’t released in the U.S.
Get the Xiaomi Mi 6 for €449

Best mid-range smartphone: Xiaomi Mi Note 3

The Mi Note 3 made its debut in China in September, along with the Mi Mix 2. It has a 5.5-inch Full HD display, is powered by the Snapdragon 660 chipset, and has 6 GB of RAM.
One of its biggest features is the dual-camera setup on the back, which has a 12 MP wide-angle sensor and a 12 MP telephoto lens offering 2x optical zoom. The cameras have a 4-axis optical image stabilization and allow you to capture those bokeh images that are all the rage these days.
The Mi Note 3 also sports a 16 MP sensor with what Xiaomi calls an Adaptable AI Beautify mode. The company claims it offers a “realistic beautify effect” that won’t compromise the quality of the image. You can use it to make your eyes bigger or your chin smaller, remove spots from your skin, and more.
The mid-ranger also packs a 3,500 mAh battery, has an IR blaster on board, and supports facial recognition. The 64 GB variant retails for RMB 2,499 (around $395), while the 128 GB version goes for RMB 2,899 (around $460). Xiaomi is also selling a fancier blue version that’s slightly more expensive at RMB 2,999 (around $475) and only comes with 128 GB of storage.

Specs

5.5-inch IPS LCD display with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 401 ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
6 GB of RAM
64/128 GB of on-board storage, not expandable
Dual 12 MP rear cameras, 16 MP front camera
Non-removable 3,500 mAh battery
Android 7.1 Nougat
152.6 x 74 x 7.6 mm, 163 g

Read more

Xiaomi Mi Note 3 first impressions: AI-powered beautification

Buy from GearBest

Honorable mentions:
Xiaomi Mi Max 2

The Mi Max 2 falls into the phablet category thanks to its large 6.44-inch Full HD display. It also packs a massive 5,300 mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support that can get up to 68 percent in one hour of charging. The device is powered by the Snapdragon 625 chipset, has 4 GB of RAM, and features a 12 MP primary camera. It doesn’t have a so-called bezel-less design like the Mi Mix 2, so it can be hard to use and carry around because of its size. But it is a fantastic option for those who play a lot of games and watch tons of videos. The Mi Max 2 is only available in a few markets including China and India, like most of Xiaomi’s lineup.
Get the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 for Rs. 15,999

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus

The Redmi 5 Plus made its debut in December and sports a 5.99-inch Full HD display with the popular 18:9 aspect ratio. I wouldn’t call it bezel-less, but it does have a higher screen-to-body ratio than its predecessor. The handset is powered by the Snapdragon 625 chipset and comes with either 3 or 4 GB of RAM. It packs a 4,000 mAh battery, is equipped with a 12 MP primary camera, and has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. The Redmi 5 Plus also features a beautiful metal body that’s available in four colors: blue, gold, rose gold, and black. It’s only available in China for now, but will likely make its way to India and a few other Asian countries somewhere down the line. Those in the US and Europe will have to go the import route to get it.
Get the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus for $184

Best budget smartphone: Xiaomi Mi A1

The Mi A1 is Xiaomi’s first Android One smartphone. This means it runs a stock version of Android, without the company’s MIUI skin on top.
Editor’s PickXiaomi needs to adhere to the rules of Android (Update: kernel source code published)

UPDATE 01/30/2018, 9:55 A.M. EST: Today, Xiaomi posted the kernel source code for the Mi A1. It looks like this article, others like it, and most importantly the passionate comments and discussion by the Xiaomi …
Although it’s a budget device, it still packs more than enough power under the hood for the average user. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 625 chipset and comes with 4 GB of RAM. The handset sports a 5.5-inch Full HD display and is also equipped with a dual-camera setup on the back featuring a 12 MP wide-angle sensor and a 12 MP telephoto lens that offers 2x optical zoom.
The Mi A1 comes with a 5 MP selfie snapper, a metal body, and a 3,080 mAh battery that supports fast charging thanks to a recent update. It also offers 64 GB of expandable storage, a fingerprint scanner, and Android Nougat that can be upgraded to Oreo.
The smartphone is already available in many countries including India and Spain. It wasn’t officially released in the U.S., but you can still get it on eBay for $235.

Specs

5.5-inch IPS LCD display with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 403 ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
4 GB of RAM
64 GB of on-board storage, expandable up to 128 GB
Dual 12 MP rear cameras, 5 MP front camera
Non-removable 3,080 mAh battery
Android 7.1.2 Nougat
155.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm, 165 g

Read more

Xiaomi Mi A1 review: the perfect budget phone?
Xiaomi’s Mi A1 Special Edition in Red is coming to India (updated)
The most exciting new Android phone is… an Android One?

Buy on eBay

Honorable mentions:
Xiaomi Redmi 5A

Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi 5A in Nov. 2017 and sold more than a million units in less than a month. The successor to the popular Redmi 4A is equipped with a 5-inch HD display and powered by the Snapdragon 425 chipset. It comes in two variants: one with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage and the other with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. The Redmi 5A also packs a 3,000 mAh battery, sports a 13 MP primary camera, and runs Android 7.1.2 Nougat with Xiaomi’s MIUI skin on top. It’s available in a few markets, including India and Spain.
Get the Xiaomi Redmi 5A for €109

Xiaomi Redmi 5

This is a smaller and less powerful version of the Redmi 5 Plus. The affordable device comes with a 5.7-inch HD+ display, which means it has an aspect ratio of 18:9. You’ll find the Snapdragon 450 chipset under the hood along with 2, 3, or 4 GB of RAM. The handset packs a 3,300 mAh battery, has a 12 MP camera, and sports a metal body. It also features a fingerprint scanner located on the back. Like the Plus model, it’s only available in China for now and comes in blue, gold, rose gold, and black.
Get the Xiaomi Redmi 5 for $135

These are the best Xiaomi phones in our opinion, although there are plenty of other great models available. Have we missed any major ones? Let us know in the comments!
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Source: Trickmost.ml

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