Category Archives: Android

OPPO A96 with 256GB Launches in Malaysia for MYR 1,299! Hands-On the OPPO A96

April 18, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The entry-level smartphone market, in Malaysia at least, is a rather crowded space. The offerings can also be compared directly to mid-range smartphones, which just complicates things when you are looking for a new smartphone at under MYR 2,500 range. There is still a distinction though. In the mid-range segment, you want the best bang-for-buck you can get in terms of high-level performance, and innovations. In the entry-level segment, you want the best bang-for-buck and reliability; something that just works.

While there are plenty of players in the entry-level segment at below MYR 1,500, we can safely say not many can do better than OPPO and their A-series smartphones. Do not get it confused with Samsung’s A-series though, Samsung’s offerings are in the premium mid-range segment. When you take up OPPO’s A-series smartphones, you start to wonder what the extra money do for you in the mid-range segment.

OPPO A96 Unboxing and Hands On || techENT

Take this latest OPPO A96 for example. On paper at least, it is comparable to any mid-range devices you can pit it up against. It might as well be a mid-range device on paper.

Big Memory

It packs 8GB of RAM and 256GB in storage. With OPPO’s clever memory technology, the 8GB RAM can be expanded to up to 13GB temporarily for when you need the extra horsepower. This should mean much better multitasking experience comparable to even flagships of today. The only limiting factor should be its System on a Chip (SoC) that is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 platform. It does not pack 5G too, unlike most mid-range devices today.

Flagship Level Display

The SoC is the only thing that puts it squarely in the entry-level segment though. The main display is still a Full HD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate with up to 96% NTSC or 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. At 6.59-inch, it is not what you want to call a small display too.

Powerful Camera

In terms of camera, the front-facing camera lodged in a punch hole on the display packs 16-Megapixel, rather powerful for an entry-level device. Out the back is a high-resolution 50-Megapixel shooter that works together with a 2-Megapixel depth sensor to produce beautiful portraits with those essential ‘bokeh’. Sure, it does not come with additional lenses to get telephoto or ultra-wide photos, but a high-resolution camera is the one that is being used often.

Premium Glass Backing

The OPPO A96’s back plate is also a glass panel, not plastic like most entry-level devices at its price range. It has a unique texture and design that OPPO calls the Glow Design made with diamond-cut glass panel placed in a vacuum to bring out the crystal patterns you see on the Pearl Pink colour option. The unique texture produced by the process is also resistant to fingerprint stains, which is a bonus to keep your device looking fresh and pretty.

Beefy Battery

To top all of that is an all-day battery sandwiched by two glass panels. It is 5,000 mAh battery that should last you at least an entire day with heavy usage. Use it sparingly and you might get two or even three days of charge with it. When it runs out, 33W charging speeds should bring it to a full charge within an hour for you to get going the entire day again. The device is also clever enough protect its own battery shelf-life by limiting its charge speeds when you charge it overnight to keep the battery optimised for you.

Price and Availability

As mentioned, the OPPO A96 will be available in two colour options – Starry Black and Pearl Pink. The device will be available for pre-order today onward all the way to the 22^nd of April 2022. It will set you back MYR 1,299 and you can get your hands on one from OPPO’s authorised retailers and official showrooms when it is available. More on the OPPO A96 on their website.

Android, Mobile, News

vivo Joins the Fold-able Scene with vivo X Fold and vivo X Note in China

April 12, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

When Samsung and HUAWEI captured the world with their folding smartphones a few years back, they opened an entire can of worms. Samsung stuck to their original design with multiple displays on offer and they made it stick with their second and third iteration of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold as they call it today. Their form factor also became the de facto foldable smartphone layout; just look at the OPPO Find N.

OPPO and HUAWEI are not the only smartphone manufacturers that wants a piece of the foldable smartphone pie with Samsung’s designs. Companies like OnePlus and even Google themselves have expressed interests in building their own version of a smartphone with one folding display and another solid display out front. Now vivo has beaten them both and introduced their own vivo X Fold.

vivo, to be fair, did not just launch the X Fold in China. They also launched their largest smartphone to date – the vivo X Note. In this case, before we talk about the foldable, we do have to at least talk about the vivo X Note.

vivo X Note

It is vivo’s most powerful candybar smartphone to date. It packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 for everything that Android 12 needs on the device. For photography, it packs vivo’s own developed V1 chip. That V1 chip powers a 50-Megapixel main camera that is flanked by an 8-Megapixel 5x telephoto camera, a 12-Megapixel 2x telephoto camera, and another 48-Megapixel ultrawide camera. Of course, the new vivo X Note is capable of recording videos at 8K. For selfies, you get a 16-Megapixel front-facing camera sitting in a punch hole in the display.

Speaking of display, it is an expansive 7-inch display that boasts 2K 1440p. It is an LTPO AMOLED display capable of up to 120Hz in refresh rate and down to 1Hz if need be. The brilliant display also offers HDR10+ in colour and contrast which also means watching Netflix or Prime Video on it should be a rather enjoyable experience.

For memory and storage, you get up to 12GB in RAM and 512GB in built-in UFS 3.1 flash module. Right beneath the display is also a large under-disply optical fingerprint sensor for faster and better fingerprint sensor coverage. To keep all of that running an entire day and more is a 5,000mAh battery that is also capable of 80W charging speeds. They say that the vivo X Note can fully charge (from 0%) within 32 minuttes.

vivo X Fold

The star of the show is vivo’s first foldable device, the vivo X Fold. While you may expect the vivo foldable device to have more in common to its cousin over from OPPO, the X Fold has more in common with Samsung’s Foldable. It is a larger device that the Samsung though.

For starters, the secondary outer display measures 6.53-inch compared to Samsung’s 6.2-inch. Unfold the device and an 8.03-inch display greets you. The outside display is an excellent AMOLED display that boasts Full HD+ resolutions at 21:9 aspect ratio. It is also a speedy display at 120Hz.

The larger main display boasts even more pixels than the outer display, which is quite expected. You get 1,916 by 2,160 pixels from the 8-inch flexible AMOLED panel. It boasts HDR10+ in colour contrast for the best display experience you can get for smartphones currently. It is also an LTPO display, which means that it goes down to 1Hz refresh to extend your battery life.

It shares some similarities with the vivo X Note too. It packs a 50-Megapixel main camera flanked by the same 5x telephoto, 2x telephoto, and high-resolution ultrawide cameras. There is only one front-facing camera though, unlike some of the foldables that we have seen. The 16-Megapixel front-facing camera sits in a punch-hole on the outer display.

The device is powered by the best that the industry has to offer currently, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 system on a chip (SoC). Supporting the powerful SoC is up to 12GB in RAM. You also get up to 512GB of storage for good measure.

Instead of a side mounted fingerprint sensor though, vivo has employed the use of their large under-display optical fingerprint sensor. They have also installed not one, but two fingerprint sensors (one outside, one inside) for maximum convenience for users. vivo also produced their own unique hinge for the folding display that is supposed to minimise the crease of the folding display with a rising aluminium plate supporting the flexing part of the display. It could also help in durability and reliability of the folding display too.

To keep everything happy and running an entire day or more is a 4,600mAh battery pack within its body. It does not charge at 80W like the X Note though. Still 66W charging speeds should bring it from 0% to a full charge in about 37 minutes, which is still rather impressive.

All these things do make it a little heftier than the even the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. It weighs just over 300g. To be specific, it weighs 311g, 40g heavier than the Samsung. Considering all that it packs though, that is not too big of a weight increase.

Price and Availability

For now, the vivo X Note and X Fold will only be available in China. There are no mentions when vivo will bring the device out of China. Then again, there are no confirmations on whether vivo will be selling the device outside of China. Remember the OPPO Find N? While that was showcased in Malaysia, the device never made it to Malaysia officially.

The vivo X Note will come in three storage and RAM offerings. It starts at 8GB + 256GB configuration at CN¥ 5,999 (MYR 3,990*) and tops out at CN¥ 6,999 (MYR 4,650*) for a 12GB + 512GB configuration.

The vivo X Fold will also be offering in a variety of storage options. It starts from 12GB + 256GB option at CN¥ 8,999 (MYR 5,960*) and tops out at 12GB + 512GB configuration at CN¥ 9,999 (MYR 6,620*).

* Approximation by Vivo Malaysia

Android, Mobile, News

Soon, Every App on Google Play Store Will Be New Updated Apps

April 7, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Updating your apps is a hassle, so is finding the right app to do specific things you want for your Android or iOS machines. We live in an age where there is an app for everything, and it all started with the iPhone and then later expanded by Google’s Android ecosystem. To think that we almost do not get ecosystem with open-sourced apps is an odd one today.

Android’s foray into the app ecosystem game marks the start of a war between iOS and Android. The war of the app store, we call it. Who had better app support, who had better apps, and who had the biggest app store? We have reached a breaking point, however.

The world today, while still revolves around apps, cares more about the quality of contents each app delivers than how many apps you have on your smartphone. I, for one, want as little apps as possible on my smartphone but enough apps to perform everything I need from my smartphone. We do not need a million apps to do a million things. We want 10 apps that does 1,000 things well, and that is a problem for the app stores with millions upon millions of apps.

While choices are good, Google deems that not all choices may be suitable for users. Of course, apps need to comply to Google’s security guidelines that changes with every new iteration of Android. That also means that apps that are on the Play Store should be updated to match the new security standards set by Google.

The problem is, while that is something that should be, it is not how it is in the current app stores. There are millions of apps in the ecosystem that has gone silent for years. These apps do not get updated and yet they still sit in the App Store. Granted, there are plenty of apps like these that are still being used by users. Developers of the app could have either given up on the project or have closed shop for a while. They still pose security risks for Android though.

In that case, Google is taking a step up in preventing users from downloading or coming across apps that have not been updated for longer than at least one generation of Android. That also means that if the apps on Google Play Store have not been updated for Android 11 currently, they app will be taken down from the Play Store, even if the ratings for the apps are high. When we say take down, they are not completely removed from the app store, more like downranked. If the app has not been updated for more than two generations, Play Store will not allow the app to be installed on your device at all.

This system is completely dependent on the update cycle and age of your smartphone or tablet as well though. For example, if your device is still on Android 9, you will still be able to see apps that have been updated for Android 9, even if the said app has not been updated for Android 11 or Android 12. Once you update your device to Android 11 or 12 though, you may not see the app on the Play Store. However, if you already have the said app on your device, it will note affect your experience with the app at all. It will only affect new users to the said app.

The changes that are teased by Google is just that for now, a tease. It is expected that changes on the Play Store will start taking place on the 1^st of November 2022 onward. It does give some time for developers who has not updated their apps for a year or two to prepare and update their apps before the implementation date. While it may seem odd that Google may be phasing out some of the higher rated apps just because they are old, it is also a good security measure for Android users with better compliance. It could also help new apps shine and get into the spotlight a little bit.

Android, Mobile, News

There is the OPPO Reno7, and Then There is The Reno7 Z 5G – Now Available for MYR 1,699

March 30, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

OPPO’s Reno7 series of devices are not what you call old. They arrived in the country as soon as February 2022. That is about a month ago. Prices started at MYR 1,999, which is not technically unreasonable too. But what if you could get your Reno7 at a lower price, that question spawns the Reno7 Z 5G. Before you ask; yes, 5G is a part of the naming scheme of plenty of devices today. You also might be forgiven for thinking that this is a new device from OPPO though.

First of all, while there are similar design cues between the Reno7 and Reno7 Z, they offer slightly differing body work. The design differences are more apparent if you put it next to the Reno7 Pro. There are no smooth tappers here. They are all sharp lines and angles. Including its cameras, it is very reminiscent of a certain Cupertino device too, except the Dual Orbit Lights that highlights the two large camera lenses sort of gives it away.

Under the flush body though is a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G System on a Chip (SoC). True to the 5G naming moniker, the device is 5G ready. 5G is yet to be available in Malaysia though, sadly. Still, the mid-range chip is a powerful enough chip for you to work with, comparable to a high-end smartphone that costs at least twice as much, until you push it with games and heavier applications that is.

The chip is paired with an 8GB RAM and up to 128GB of storage. Not only can you have many tabs open on your Google Chrome for Mobile app, but you can also store many apps too. But you want ample storage not just for apps in this case. Oh, did we mention that you can expand its storage to up to 1TB (MicroSD) too?

You want the ample storage to house all your photos from the 64-Megapixel main camera out the back. That is one of the big lenses out the back. The other large lens houses a 2-Megapixel for Macro shots. There is also a small 2-Megapixel depth sensor that is also mirrored by a single LED flash module.

Out the front is a large 6.4-inch AMOLED display that also houses a 16-Megapixel camera. The AMOLED display offers up to Full HD+ in resolution. No 90Hz refresh rate here, just a plain ol’ 60Hz. It is a cheaper smartphone after all.

All of these is kept working the entire day and more by a 4,500mAh built in battery. When it runs out, you can charge it quickly too with 33W SUPERVOOC. But OPPO’s ColorOS 12 is kind on its battery life, which also means you should not worry all that much.

The OPPO Reno7 Z will be available in OPPO Official and Brand Store, authorised retail partners, and Shopee 2^nd of April 2022 onward. It will be available on Lazada a little later on the 9^th of April 2022. You can pre-order your OPPO Reno7 Z today onward all the way to the 1^st of April 2022 via OPPO’s Official and Brand Stores, Official Online Store, and Shopee. The first 100 customer to order the device on Shopee (until 10^th of April 2022) are entitled to free gifts worth up to MYR 129. You are also entitled to 10 tickets to a lucky draw with chances to walk away with gifts worth up to MYR 2,526 when prizes are drawn on the 8^th of April 2022. If you do purchase your devices on the 2^nd of April 2022, you are entitled to free gifts worth up to MYR 233. More information on the OPPO Reno7 Z 5G can be found on their website.

Android, Mobile, News

The HONOR X series Returns with Three New Entries

March 29, 2022 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

HONOR is expanding its offerings once again. The company has been coming out with all the punches this year. This time, after flexing its flagship prowess with the HONOR 50 and the HONOR Magic V, HONOR is looking to the more affordable offerings they were once renown for. They are introducing three new entries into their X series with a little bit of a rename.

HONOR X9 & X9 5G Leads the new X Trio

The new HONOR X series is spearheaded by the Snapdragon 695 touting HONOR X9 5G. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. When it comes to the display it comes with a 6.81-inch FullView Display with a 120Hz refresh rate and an FHD+ resolution. The X9 5G comes with a triple camera setup with a 48-megapixel main sensor complemented by a 2-megapixel macro and 2-megapixel depth sensor. Upfront, there is a 16-megapixel sensor for selfies.

In the case of the HONOR X9, it’s important to mention the 5G moniker as the HONOR X9 also comes without 5G connectivity. The regular X9 comes with the Snapdragon 680 instead. That said, it comes with a more robust quad camera setup. The main sensor is a 64-megapixel main sensor complemented by an 8-megapixel wide sensor, 2-megapixel sensing macro sensor and 2-megapixel sensing depth sensor. The display on the X9 also has a lower refresh rate of 90Hz. Other than these, the HONOR X9 and X9 5G share the same design and specs including a 4,800mAh battery with 66W fast charging with HONOR SuperCharge and USB Type C.

The design of the HONOR X9 series hearkens back to the HUAWEI P40 with the circular accent emblazoned at the back. It also contains the multiple camera sensors and flash that the smartphone comes with. The face of the phone is covered with the HONOR FullView Display with a punch hole for the selfie camera.

HONOR X8 – Putting the Middle in Mid-range

The HONOR X series will also contain the HONOR X8 which touts the same Snapdragon 680 that powers the X9. In all ways, it’s the hybrid of the X9 and X9 5G. It comes with a slightly smaller 6.7-inch FullView display with a 90Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution. Aside from this, it also comes with a smaller 4,000mAh battery with support for 22.5W HONOR SuperCharge via USB-C connection.

All of these specs aside, the HONOR X8 comes with the nearly same camera setup as the HONOR X9. However, it comes with a smaller 5-megapixel wide sensor. That said, it also has a different design language which is more angular than the fluid X9. It also departs from the circular accent in favour of a square module containing all its sensors.

HONOR X7 – Bringing even more affordability

Rounding up the HONOR X series is the HONOR X7. The HONOR X7 comes with the same Snapdragon 680 as its siblings with the same amount of internal storage but a lower 4GB of RAM. It comes with a larger 6.74-inch HONOR FullView Display with an HD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. On the camera front, it comes with the same setup as the X8 albeit having a smaller 8-megapixel selfie camera. It comes with a larger 5,000mAh battery with support for 22.5W HONOR SuperCharge via USB-C.

The HONOR X7 comes with the familiar design we’ve seen in the HONOR 50 before. However, it comes with a waterdrop display design where the selfie camera is. It’s also not curved like the HONOR 50.

Pricing and Availability

HONOR’s X series will be available starting on 7th April 2022. All members of the HONOR X Series will be launching with EMUI 4 powered by Android 11.

The HONOR X9, X9 5G and X8 will be available in Titanium Silver, Ocean Blue and Midnight Black. It will be available for MYR1,299, MYR1,099 and MYR899 respectively.

The HONOR X7 will be available for MYR699 in Titanium Silver and Ocean Blue.

Android, Mobile, News

Realme GT 2 Pro Makes Its Malaysian Debut

March 24, 2022 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Realme has made a name for itself by offering affordable smartphones. However, the company has been uncompromising when it comes to features and value in its offerings with smartphones like the recently released Realme 9 series. That said, Realme is breaking from its MO and exploring a true flagship in their Realme GT 2 Pro. Teased earlier this year at MWC, the smartphone is Realme’s first foray into the flagship market and it’s finally making its Malaysian debut.

The Realme GT 2 Pro sports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor which promises top of the line performance. The new 4nm process also brings with it better power efficiency. The phone pairs this with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. However, unlike Realme phones of the past, the GT 2 Pro does away with microSD card support.

It comes with a 6.7-inch, AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and support for HDR10+. The display maxes out at 1,400 nits peak brightness. The 2K resolution (1440×3216 pixels) of the panel gives it a 509ppi density. It also comes with Bluetooth 5.2 and WiFi 6 support as well as 5G connectivity.

On the back, the Realme GT 2 Pro is coming with a triple camera setup with a dual 50-megapixel primary sensor with a large 150° field of view. Complementing this dual sensor setup is a 3-megapixel microscope sensor with 40x magnification. On the front is a 32-megapixel selfie camera. The main camera setup supports 8K video shooting. The main sensor comes with phase detection autofocus and optical image stabilization.

realme GT 2 Pro White 03 — Source: Realme

Realme is touting all-day battery life on the GT 2 Pro thanks to its large 5,000mAh battery which supports 65W fast charging. It also comes with an under-display fingerprint sensor.

Pricing & Availability

The GT 2 Pro will be available in Malaysia starting on 25th March 2022 for MYR2,999. It will be available only in the 12GB RAM version with 256GB storage in either black or white.

However, if you’re looking for a great deal, the phone will be offered at MYR2,599 during flash sales on the Realme Malaysia Official store on Shopee from 25th to 26th March 2022 and from 30th to 31st March 2022. Units bought during these periods will come with a free set of Realme Buds 2 NEO.

The first sale at Realme authorized stores will be happening from 26th March 2022 until 27th March 2022. During this period, the GT 2 Pro will be sold at full retail price. However, purchases will be entitled to a free Realme Watch 2 Pro and an extended warranty.

Android, iOS, Lifestyle, News

Shazam Yourself to a Concert Near You

March 24, 2022 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Remember that app you use to find out what’s playing on the radio or at the cafe? Yeah – that one! Shazam! No, no, not the superhero, the app! It’s about to get a little more interesting for the music discovery app.

Well, if you forgot about Shazam, here’s a little refresher. The Shazam app first debuted in 2002. It was first launched as an app that could help users discover music by simply clicking on the Shazam button. The app has since gained a whole load of new features including identifying TV programs and ads. Yep, you can stumble upon a new episode of an unknown show and use Shazam to find out where you can stream it.

The app is bringing a new dimension to music discovery by including a new feature that will allow you to not only discover new music but also find out when and where the artist is performing near you. All you have to do is Shazam a song on the app or website and you’ll immediately get concert information and ticket pricing. The same information is also available on the Shazam Artist page.

The new feature leverages concert information from Bandsintown, an established event recommendation and artist discovery platform. The platform has access to information from over 560,000 artists, labels and booking agents which gives it one of the most complete databases of concerts available worldwide. This feature is now rolling out to Shazam’s over 225 million active users across the world. Artists can also make their concert information available through Bandsintown For Artists.

Android, Mobile, News

Samsung’s New Galaxy A Series Available in Malaysia

March 24, 2022 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Samsung only just announced their new Galaxy A series slightly over a week ago. The company is now bringing its new midrange heroes to Malaysia as they go on pre-order. The pre-orders started for the Galaxy A53 on 21st March 2022 and are set to conclude on 25th March 2022. The Galaxy A33 and A73, however, are still on pre-order until 13th April 2022. Each pre-order of the Galaxy A33 5G will come with a free Galaxy Fit2 worth MYR179 while the A53 5G and the A73 5G will come with a set of Galaxy Buds Live.

The new Samsung Galaxy A series continues Samsung’s ethos of bringing flagship features to the midrange. This year, the company is bringing some of the most sought after software features including Single Take for the camera. With Single Take, you’ll be able to take multiple versions of the same scene – from GIF to video to portraiture with a single click of the camera shutter. In addition, features like Continue App and Link to Windows bring a new level of productivity to the Galaxy A33, Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A73.

You can get the full rundown of the three hero devices in our coverage of the launch. We’ve got all the details you need to know in one article! That said, the pre-orders are happening both in-store and online on the Samsung e-store. Everything’s summarised below!

Model	Pre-order dates	RRP	Colour	Exclusive Gifts
Galaxy A33 5G	In-store & E-store: 21 March 2022 – 13 April 2022	RM1,499	Awesome Black, Awesome White, Awesome Peach, Awesome Blue	1x Galaxy Fit2, worth RM179
Galaxy A53 5G	In-store & E-store: 21 March 2022 – 25 March 2022	RM1,849	Awesome Black, Awesome White, Awesome Peach, Awesome Blue	1 x Galaxy Buds Live, worth RM549
Galaxy A73 5G	In-store: 21 March 2022 – 13 April 2022 E-store: 30 March 2022 – 13 April 2022	RM2,099	Awesome Gray, Awesome White, Awesome Mint	1 x Galaxy Buds Live, worth RM549

Android, Mobile, News

[PSA] Android Users, if You Have This App; Delete it Immediately!

March 23, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Malicious apps on smartphones are nothing new today. With rapid adoption of smartphones across the globe, malwares are not really an ‘if’ anymore, it is more of a when. Google and Apple, the two largest ecosystem holders in the world, have done everything they can to prevent malwares from hitting their devices, but once in a while some things slip through.

Very recently, Bleeping Computer has reported that researchers have found a malware on the Google Play Store. For the record, this is not the first time this has happened. These are not Android-only incidents too, before you start bashing Google for their lack of concern over our safety and privacy. This time round though, it is an Android isolated incident.

The app in question is called ‘Craftsart Cartoon Photo Tools’. It is, in effect, malware disguised as a form of photo editing tool. As an app, it sounds quite fun. It allows you to upload an image and convert it into a cartoon artwork rendering of some sorts for you to upload to your social media for the fun of it. What comes with the app is not so fun.

Pradeo, a security firm, discovered that the app comes with a Trojan malware called ‘FaceStealer’. It is what it sounds like, an identity theft malware. But it is not just any identity that it wants, it wants your Facebook ID and password. When you open the app for the first time, the Trojan fires up and opens a Facebook login screen for you to enter your Facebook credentials before you can use the account, which sounds completely normal. You can read more about what the trojan does via Bleeping Computer or Pradeo’s blog.

According to the research in Pradeo, the developers have injected a small piece of malicious code within the app. It is small enough to slip past Google play Store’s security filters, but enough also to work. To ensure that it stays in the Google Play Store, the app has also been automatically repackaged so that it behaves like a regular legitimate app.

This goes without saying, if you have the app installed in your Android smartphone, delete it immediately. There are no mentions if there is an iPhone equivalent on this. You can assume that currently it is only affecting Android devices, since ‘FaceStealer’ is made specifically for Android devices. The ‘Craftsart Cartoon Photo Tools’ has since been taken down from Google Play Store, but not without over 100,000 downloads first.

Android, Mobile

Early Android 13 Developer Previews are Already Showing New Features

March 18, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Not all of us got Android 12 yet but it seems like Google is eager to get more features into Android and excited about their next major development path – Android 13. Android 13 is inevitable; we know that it is going to come as well toward the end of this year 2022 at Google I/O 2022 edition. What we don’t know is what Android 13 will bring to the table. For that, we need to scour around and look at the Developer Preview for Android 13. So far there has only been two iterations of Android 13 Developer Preview, but we are already seeing some interesting things emerging.

DP1: Universal Search, now with Google Photos

Pixel Launcher search photos old — Source: 9to5 Google

Pixel Launcher search photos 1 — Source: 9to5 Google

For the Google Pixel, Android 12 brought a universal search bar. The universal search bar not only acts as a search button for apps. It allows users to search through pretty much everything in their smartphone via a search bar in their app drawer. There is the Google Search bar widget, yes, but Android 12 allows the app drawer search bar to act as the Google Search bar too. There is still a lot to explore with the search bar.

In Android 13 Developer Preview, it seems like Google is integrating Google Photos with the search bar. That means that you can use the search bar to not only instantly pull things from Google Photos, but also potentially get the full search algorithm functionality from Google Photos in the search bar itself. You could be looking for a contact, for example, and Google Photo’s facial and object recognition kicks into high gear to find you the most relevant photos to your search.

With that kind of implementation on Google Photos, we will not be surprised as well if Google decides to integrate apps like Gmail and Calendar to the list of integrations with the search bar. It would be nice if we just need to tap into the search bar to search for things in our emails or calendar without even opening the apps. But we digress, all we can do is wait for Android 13 to see light of day.

DP2: Notifications, now an Option

One feature that Android lacked (but was rumoured to feature soon), and iOS has for a while now is opt in notifications. What is that? IOS allows you to choose which applications sends you notifications. It is one way to ensure that your notification bar is not loaded with notifications that you hardly care about.

It seems that we are going to see a form of that for Android 13. Via the preview, it also seems like you can prioritise notifications. Which also means that only certain notifications go through and load up your notification screen in differing modes. It is a small tweak, but a welcome one.

DP2: Better Media Player Visuals

Screenshot 20220317 133726 — Source: The Verge

On the visual part, Android 13 seems to feature a redesigned media player layout on the notification screen. Having media controls on the notification screen is nothing new for Android. Having nicer visuals is. If you fire up Spotify, the media player control in the notification screen shows part of the artwork. The control panel seems to be a little larger in the preview too, allowing more controls over the app itself other than the Previous, Play/Pause, and Next buttons.

And Even More

These are just some of the highlighted changes that we can expect in Android 13 though. The Developer Preview has shown much more changes that we can sort of expect in the next iteration of Android. To know more about Google’s planned update for Android 13 or even to experience the Developer Preview yourself, you can visit their website.

Big Memory

Flagship Level Display

Powerful Camera

Premium Glass Backing

Beefy Battery

Price and Availability

vivo X Note

vivo X Fold

Price and Availability

HONOR X9 & X9 5G Leads the new X Trio

HONOR X8 – Putting the Middle in Mid-range

HONOR X7 – Bringing even more affordability

Pricing and Availability

Pricing & Availability

DP1: Universal Search, now with Google Photos

DP2: Notifications, now an Option

DP2: Better Media Player Visuals

And Even More

Tech Your Way