Rumor Says Sony Could Launch as Many as 5 New Devices at MWC 2017

We're just a few weeks away from Mobile World Congress 2017 and we already know that a number of smartphone OEMs will be showing off new devices at the event. LG has started to send out press invites to various online publications and it is speculated that they will be announcing the LG G6 on February 26th.

We're also seeing Motorola sending out press invites for the event as well. We haven't heard too much about what Motorola will announce at MWC 2017, but the Moto G5 has been showing up in a number of leaks lately.

We'll likely see other devices shown off in Barcelona this year as now we're hearing a rumor about Sony's plans. If it turns out to be true, Sony has plans to expand their new Xperia X series of devices and we're seeing codenames for 5 different devices being tossed around right now. The codenames we're hearing about right now include Yoshino, BlancBright, Keyaki, Hinoki, and Mineo. The Yoshino device is said to be the successor to the Sony Xperia XZ smartphone.

The rumor claims this device, tentatively called the Xperia XZ2, will sport a 5.5″ 2560p display (4K), the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, 6GB of RAM and a new Sony IMX400 camera sensor. Now, we have heard that MWC 2017 flagships will not be equipped with the Snapdragon 835 SoC. It's believed that Samsung's order for the Snapdragon 835 that will be used in the Galaxy S8 is eating up so much of Qualcomm's inventory that they won't be able to fulfill orders for anyone else this early.

This is why the LG G6 is rumored to be using the Snapdragon 821 SoC, so if Sony wants to use the 835 in a device they'll show off at MWC 2017, we don't expect it to be sold immediately after the launch event. As with all rumors, we should take this information with a grain of salt until we hear something official from Sony themselves.

Story Via: Android Community Source: Sumaho

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Advanced Kernel Tweaks for the OnePlus 3

Are you looking to get the most in terms of battery and performance on your OnePlus 3? Check out XDA Senior Member Asiier's thread on advanced kernel tweaks! What's more, you can use these tweaks across any phone with the interactive governor. Head on over!

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Google Opens Up the Daydream VR Platform to All Developers

Google launched a lab division for employees to work on their Daydream VR platform. The goal was to come up with some experiments and see what worked and what did not work in a VR environment. They've come up with a number of conclusions about the social aspect of VR, ways to prevent trolling and even came up with some ways that people can interact within a VR setting. So far, this has only benefited Google's select partners because they're the only ones who could submit Daydream VR applications and games.

This changed this week though as Google finally started to allow any developer to submit an APK that was meant for their Daydream platform. Before you submit your application or game, Google wants you to read over the Daydream App Quality guidelines on the usability and quality standards. Just like with the certification process of Daydream ready devices, Google wants to make sure the Play Store is offering a great user experience when it comes to this Daydream section of the Play Store.

Before you can publish the application or game to the Play Store though, you will need to head over to the Pricing and Distribution section of the Developer Console and opt-in to Daydream. Opting-in tells Google that you want your application to be found through places like Google Play VR and Daydream Home. Google will then double check to make sure your application or game meets their app quality guidelines before they decide to publish it to the Play Store.

As mentioned, until now we have only seen Daydream applications and games published in the Play Store by developers who had close ties with Google. Now that Google is opening up the floodgates, we should start to see a bunch of new content for their Daydream VR platform. Developers should be sure to check the source link below to make sure you meet all the requirements to publish your applications and games into the Play Store.

Source: Google

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NVIDIA Finally Starts Rolling Out Android Nougat Update To SHIELD TV 2015

NVIDIA launched SHIELD TV (2017) a while back with Android 7.0 Nougat running out-of-the-box. Now, it appears the company is also bringing the Android 7.0 to its SHIELD TV (2015 as well via a new software update. Earlier, we reported that NVIDIA was working on Android 7.0 Nougat update for the SHIELD TV 2015, and now it looks like the update is finally rolling out.

NVIDIA has announced on its site that the older SHIELD TV is now getting a new update which will bump the SHIELD Experience software from 3.3 to 5.0. The update comes with Android 7.0 Nougat as well as tons of new features and enhancements.

For a quick reminder, the update brings in Amazon Video support which will allow users to stream their favorite movies and TV shows in 4K HDR directly on SHIELD TV. The other big change in the update is the new NVIDIA Games App, which replaces the existing SHIELD Hub app.

GeForce Now has also been upgraded with an improved graphics performance, which now lets users stream on-demand PC games from the cloud to SHIELD TV box with performance comparable to a computer running a GTX 1080. On the other hand, GameStream also sees performance improvements in the form of 4K HDR support and low-latency streaming. GameStream will allow users to stream their favorite PC games to SHIELD TV and will also give access to Steam Big Pictures from the Steam app. The update also adds support for Nest Cams. With the Nest app for SHIELD, users will be able to watch the live video streams from their Nest Cams on SHIELD TV.

Apart from the above mentioned changes, the update also packs in Android 7.0 features such as double pressing the home button to access the recent menu, support for picture-in-picture mode (in supported apps,) and revamped settings menu with navigation optimizations.

The update has already begun rolling out. If you're sporting a SHIELD TV 2015, you should be receiving the update in the coming days.

Source: NVIDIA

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First Live Photo of the Galaxy S8 Leaks: Two Models With 5.8″ and 6.2″ Screens to Launch on March 29th

Courtesy of VentureBeat's Evan Blass, also known as @evleaks, we now have our first live photograph of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 as well as some new details on the devices. With its release date now pegged at March 29th, nearly a month after MWC 2017, it will be some time before these leaks can be verified. Nevertheless, they are worth examining in detail.

Most importantly, of course, are earlier reports from insiders alleging that the S8 series would feature displays with nearly an 85% screen to body ratio. Rather than the 5.1 and 5.5 inch displays of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge respectively, the Galaxy S8 series may sport displays of 5.8 and 6.2 inches. For those already beginning to gawk at those figures, it is important to note that the unusual aspect ratio of 18.5:9 means that the Galaxy S8 devices will result in effectively the same dimensions as their S7 siblings.

One possible downside of this fact, though, is that due to the slim bezels it appears the home button/fingerprint scanner was moved to an upper corner of the back of the two devices. If this is indeed how it will appear on the final released devices, it may be rather controversial given the potential consequences it may pose for ease of use. However, given earlier reports of an iris scanner being included, this may explain Samsung's willingness to make such a seemingly odd design choice.

In a rather welcome addition, Samsung is also reported to have upgraded the base storage level of each device to 64GBs. Consumers should also anticipate the return of the S7 series' microSD slot, allowing storage to be expanded by up to 256GBs. As we previously reported, the S8 series may also feature some interesting AI additions ranging from image and text recognition in-camera to high-end AI assistance, courtesy of Samsung's acquisition of the AI platform Viv.

The Galaxy S8 devices are expected to be the first devices to launch with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835. As Mr. Blass puts it, they will likely need the efficiency improvements the S835 is expected to bring, given an alleged decision to include 3,000 and 3500 mAh batteries to power the 5.8 and 6.2 inch devices. As the photos also demonstrate, the devices are expected to include a USB Type-C port and a headphone jack.

Interestingly, Samsung is reported to introduce DeX alongside the S8 series. DeX will allow for the S8 devices to be docked with a display to provide a desktop Android experience with keyboard and mouse support. This initiative has been tried many times in the past with little to show for, so it will be intriguing to see how Samsung markets DeX.

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Source: VentureBeat

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Report: Second Generation Huawei Watch To Feature Cellular Connectivity, May Launch Next Month

Google is expected to launch the Android Wear 2.0 update in early February. While we didn't see any meaningful Android Wear hardware launches last year, the new platform update will hopefully encourage OEMs to come up with a fresh and updated version of their old Android Wear devices in 2017.

A new report from VentureBeat states that Chinese OEM Huawei is also working on a new Android Wear watch. According to the report, Huawei is working on a second generation model of its Huawei Watch – this time with cellular connectivity. The report states the second generation Huawei Watch will be running on Android Wear 2.0 and that it will look "sportier" compared to its predecessor.

Unfortunately, the key hardware specifications of the watch were not detailed, but it's believed that the watch will have a built-in SIM card allowing users to make and receive phone calls as well as use a cellular data connection when outside WiFi network range.

As for when the Huawei Watch 2 will be available for purchase, the source close to the matter told VentureBeat that the company may unveil the watch during Mobile World Congress next month. Huawei originally launched its first Android Wear watch back in 2015, but since then the company hasn't launched a successor to its smartwatch.

Apart from Huawei, LG is also expected to launch two new Android Wear watches, reportedly called the LG Watch Sport and the LG Watch Style. If previous reports are anything to go by, we will likely see two new LG watches being unveiled at Google's platform event on February 9.

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Source: VentureBeat

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franco.Kernel is Updated with Nougat Support for the OnePlus 3T

Now that OnePlus has released the OxygenOS, Nougat-base kernel source code for the OnePlus 3/3T, XDA Recognized Developer franciscofranco has been able to update his custom kernel with support for OxygenOS 4.0

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