The state of apps on tablets and foldables on Android has left users with a lot to be desired. That said, with Android 12L and the upcoming Android 14, these app experiences are becoming easier to optimize. In fact, it wouldn’t be to farfetched to say that they’ve been one of – if not the main – focus of Google’s Android. One of the pioneering heroes of these experiences has been Samsung with their Galaxy Z series.
Samsung has been actively app optimization globally hand in hand with Google. It’s no different in Malaysia. Over the past few years, they have been actively collaborating with partners from various industries to create new and optimized app experiences when it comes to foldables – in particular for the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold smartphones.
Samsung and their pioneering cohort of partners showcased their apps and experiences for the first time this week. These partners include one of Malaysia’s banks, Ambank, global convenience store chain, FamilyMart, Malaysian telecommunications company, Maxis, Malaysian payment platform, Pay4U and Malaysian Coffee chain, ZUS Coffee. These partners have been developing and optimizing their app experiences in partnership with Samsung and Google.
Each of these apps take advantage of the unique form factors of the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold as well as the additional display real estate on the latter. Each experience advances the customer and user experience of the apps allowing these partners to deliver more meaningful for users and catered uniquely to the Malaysian public. These new, optimized apps are rolling out to the Google Play and Samsung Galaxy Stores.
It’s worth noting that these apps are just the beginning of Samsung’s efforts in Malaysia. The company has already begun working with new partners such as Malaysian cinema chains, Golden Screen Cinemas and TGV Cinemas; Gigi Coffee and Zapp. These partners are expecting to roll their optimized apps in the second half of 2023. They are open to working with even more partners. In the words of Luke Au, Head of Product Marketing, Mobile experience at Samsung Malaysia, “We are passionate about making mobile innovation relevant to consumers… We invite local organisations to be part of this industry collaboration and deliver better experiences to their customers.”
In addition, the company also announced an upcoming hackathon catered for students of local universities and institutions of higher learning to develop new, unique experiences for foldable devices. Stay tuned to techENT as we will share more details on the hackathon as they become available.
Sony’s Xperia flagships is always something we look forward to. Since its rebirth, the Xperia 1 brand is a household name for those who wants a unique flagship that is completely different from the ones you see in the regular stores. If you noticed, the Xperia 1 smartphone has never really been sold via the network carriers. They are sold almost exclusively by retail partners and Sony flagship stores. That is only one reason why the Xperia 1 series smartphones are so unique.
Another thing that really sets the Xperia 1 series devices is also its design. It is a very distinctive and classic design; one that has not changed over its 5 generation of flagship smartphone. Yes, it is in its 5th generation now, hence the ‘V’ in its name. The design is not only classic though, but also functional, timeless, and rather unique for a market that focuses so much on curved and rounded edges. While it might look like an uncomfortable piece of slab in your hands, it is surprisingly one of the most intuitive shapes you might find in the industry. It also feels industrial, we admit.
As industrial as it feels, the device does come packing a lot of power. It is not built for the masses though; you can feel it when you first pick up the device. The device is made for those who are in the know, who wants function over form, who wants their smartphone to be a complete extension of themselves and their lifestyle. It is made for content creators and professionals. The new one, the mark V, might just be another game changer.
Same Old Shell, But Better Internals
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
The Xperia 1V, as we might have expected, shares mostly the same look as the older Xperia 1 devices. It is a rectangular slab with hard edges all around. The design, as we mentioned as well, is timeless, classic. But for Sony, looks is rather secondary; it is function over form and that is where the Sony Xperia 1V might appeal to you, it does to us anyway.
We do have to start with the boring stuff though. It comes with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen2 platform, the most powerful mobile integrated chip you can find on an Android smartphone today. Of course, it goes without saying that the Sony Xperia 1V also comes with 5G thanks to the platform. Alongside the powerful System on a Chip (SoC) is 12GB RAM for better multitasking experience. You get up to 512GB of storage too, for all the photos and videos you are going to be taking with the Xperia 1V. If that is not enough, the Xperia 1V also comes with a dedicated MicroSD expansion slot, a pleasant welcome for modern flagships.
Out the front though is an Xperia special. This is still one of the only flagship smartphones in the industry to pack a 4K resolution display. Measuring in at 6.5-inch, you get an OLED panel that refreshes at 120Hz for that extra smooth feel on your interface and games. Entertainment is in Sony’s blood, so they also outfitted the Xperia 1V with some low-noise speakers for the best-in-class audio performance. They even have a “Game Enhancer” mode that is supposed to improve gaming performance on the device itself and even allow players to stream their games on YouTube without additional hardware.
The Exmor T for Mobile – The Game Changer
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
This device is made for the content creators though. It packs a brand-new innovation from the camera division. It packs Sony’s latest Exmor T sensor for mobile. While it is not quite a 1-inch sensor, the newly developed sensor for mobile platforms is clever. It is a stacked CMOS image sensor with 2-layer Transistor Pixel. What that means for users is that the newly developed sensor is supposed to offer better low-light performance than ever before. It is also a much faster sensor offering higher levels of detail than older mobile camera sensor technologies. They also claim that the new sensor offers photos with less noise and dynamic range closer to what you can get out of a full-frame system. On top of the Exmor T for mobile 48-Megapixels sensor is a 24mm Zeiss lens with T* coating for less distortion and better clarity. There is also a 16mm 12-Megapixel ultra-wide shooter and another telephoto lens with 12-Megapixel sensor behind it. The unique thing about the telephoto lens though is that it offers an optical zoom between 85-125mm (3.5x-5.2x).
One big thing about the Xperia 1V is also the improvement of the S-Cinetone colour gamut. The S-Cinetone colour gamut can be considered a cinematographer favourite when it comes to shooting contents. With the Xperia 1V, S-Cinetone for mobile has been improved to offer better skin tones and offer more cinematic footages even before a comprehensive colour grading work. Since the new sensor offers better colour and detail performance, you also get enhanced saturation over the older smartphone. Of course, the low-light performance of the sensors helps with S-Cinetone too.
Thanks to Real-time tracking and Eye AF functions, the Sony Xperia 1V is a powerful tool for video and photo work when you really have nothing else to work with. If you are too lazy to post process your photos or videos, the smartphone also offers colour presets in Creative Look mode. When you need it to, the Sony Xperia 1V can capture photos at up 30 frames per second while tracking moving objects rather accurately. For vloggers reviewing products, there is a Product Showcase setting that forces the camera to focus more on the product on hand over the reviewer’s face. There is also a new voice priority mic within the camera that ensures that the creator’s voice is clearly heard in every situation.
Battery – Still As Big, But Better and Longer-Lasting
Source: Sony
Of course, for the Xperia 1V to be an extension of yourself, you need it to work an entire day and probably even more. The 5,000mAh battery within the classic body ensures that you have at least 20 hours of battery life even when you play videos at 4K the entire time. It also supports fast-charging technology so you can fully charge your device in just about an hour. With some new technologies and know-how, Sony has managed to improve the battery lifespan of the battery, which means that battery life anxiety might not be a thing for the Xperia 1V for years to come.
Price and Availability
The Sony Xperia 1V is not known for its colour options. It comes in three colour options still – Black, Khaki Green, and Platinum Silver. While some markets are getting the device in June, Sony Malaysia has confirmed that Malaysia will get the Sony Xperia 1V treatment on the 3rd of July 2023 onward. Sony Malaysia has also confirmed that the Sony Xperia 1V will be priced at MYR 6,399 onward. More on the Sony Xperia 1V can be found on their website.
The idea of an official Google Tablet has always been on the table for years. To be fair, the idea of a Google Tablet did not exist in the early days of Android, not until Apple introduced their iPad to the world. There was not too much sense for an Android tablet made by Google though. Like the iPad in its early days, it will be nothing more than a glorified Android that is blown up to fit the size of a tablet, which is what Google did not want.
That has not stopped Google from introducing an entire interface dedicated to tablet devices at one point. When it did not make sense at the time, they integrated the entire Android ecosystem again and allowed tablets to take advantage of Android’s versatility and built-in functions that were specific to tablet type devices. Now that Google has sort of perfected that, they now see sense in introducing the highly anticipated Google Pixel Tablet, the new benchmark in Android tablets.
Source: google
There was nothing technically new with the Google Pixel Tablet, nor is it that innovative. Inside, you find a Google Tensor G2 powerhouse like the one you find on the Google Pixel 7a, Pixel 7, and Pixel 7 Pro. Of course, it also packs a Titan M2 processor to keep the device encrypted and secure. The integrated powerhouse comes with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM for speedy and smooth multitasking. You can choose between 128GB or 256GB for your storage options.
Out the front is an expansive 10.9-inch LCD display that offers 2,560 by 1,600 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio. You can get up to 500 nits in brightness, which might not sound all that bright, but it is not designed for outdoor use mostly. The display also supports USI 2.0 stylus pens like its ChromeOS cousins, allowing the tablet to be used with USI certified stylus pens. Since they made the tablet mostly for entertainment, the LCD panel offers up to 24-bit in colour depth.
Of course, it is not just made for play, but for work too. You get an 8-Megapixel sensor that shoots out of the back with 1080p recording. No 4K recording here, you do not need 4K video capabilities on a tablet at most times. The front-facing camera is also a similar 8-Megapixel shooter with 1080p video recording and calling capabilities. That also means that you get very similar video calling performance out of both cameras, which is a good thing.
Source: Google
Source: google
Source: Google
Source: Google
Source: Google
Source: GooSource: Googlegle
Source: Google
On its own, the device packs four speakers for the most immersive sounds for your movies and even your music. Out-of-the-box though is a speaker dock that you can dock your Pixel Tablet to for even bigger sounds. It is not quite a wireless speaker though; it connects to the Pixel Tablet via pogo pins. When connected, the tablet’s 27Wh battery is also charged via the Pogo Pins. When docked also, the tablet suddenly becomes your Google Home hub, no need for a Google Nest system anymore. Of course, to liven up your living space, you can even use it as a live photo frame with your Gallery app .
Price and Availability
The Google Pixel Tablet is now available for pre-order in the United States (U.S.) and select regions and will see shelves by 20th of June 2023. It will come in three colour options – Porcelain, Hazel, and Rose and will be priced at US$ 499 (MYR 2,226*) onward. Unfortunately, the device will not make it into Malaysia at any official capacity. More on the Google Pixel Tablet can be found on their website. *Approximately based on the exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.46 as of 11/05/2023 on xe.com
Google I/O 2023 did not just introduce a brand-new Android to us. It introduced the budget powerhouse that will be running Android 14 for us. Google I/O 2023 brought the new Google Pixel 7a to us.
To be fair, not much has changed from the Google Pixel 7 from last year. It still packs Google’s in-house developed Tensor G2 platform with eight cores within the processor unit. You get 8GB of RAM out of it and up to 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage for ultra-fast data access and interface feel. Alongside Titan M2 chip integrated into the Tensor platform, you can even be sure that your device is more secure than ever.
You get a slightly smaller screen at 6.1-inch instead of 6.3-inch. It still displays at Full HD+ resolution and up to 90Hz in refresh rate. While it is nothing close to what ASUS had offered with their flagship ROG Phone 7, the display is a respectable one. It is also protected with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3, not their latest, but still strong enough to take on the daily bumps and scrapes. But it is not just the screen that is durable. Google says that the Pixel 7a is built to be the most durable A-series smartphone they have so far. The entire aluminium housing of the device is also 100% recycled, to comply with Google’s commitment to sustainability.
Source: Google
It packs everything that made the Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro a delight to use, thanks to Android in part. It features the clever Pixel Call Assist that just makes phone calls to service providers much more bearable. With Direct My Call, the device gets you to the right departments quicker without too much fuss, Call Screen lets you screen through calls before you pick it up, Hold for Me holds your calls for you when you are in a waiting line so that you do not have to, the device even tells you how long you have to wait until you get an answer or representative talking to you via Wait Times. Of course, the clever interface enhances your calls with anyone with Clear Calling that enhances your voice and reduces background noise. Thanks to the power of Tensor G2 and Android, Live Translate, Recorder Speaker Labels, Assistant Voice Typing, and Voice Messaging Transcription on the messaging app is better than ever too on the Google Pixel 7a.
Where the Pixel 7a differs from the Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro is the cameras it packs. The Google Pixel 7a comes with a 64-Megapixel main shooter that is also supported by a 13-Megapixel ultrawide camera on the side. It does not have a third camera like the Pixel 7 Pro. The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro also only comes with a 50-Megapixel main camera, which is technically less powerful than that of the Pixel 7a. Compared to the Google Pixel 6a though, the 64-Megapixel sensor is 72% larger than before for up to 44% more light capture. There is also a 13-Megapixel front-facing camera that is now capable of recording videos at up to 4K resolutions. Thanks to the Tensor G2 processor, the main camera can now shoot in Long Exposure mode that can really enhance photos with moving objects or subjects. You can even take photos at 8x zoom with Super Res zoom function.
Price and Availability
The Pixel 7a is now available in the United States for US$ 499 (MYR 2,226*) onward. You can choose between four attractive colours – Coral, Sea, Charcoal, and Snow. The Google Pixel 7a will be available in other select markets on a later date. Unfortunately, Malaysia will not be getting the Google Pixel 7a in an official capacity at this time. More about the Google Pixel 7a can be found on their website.
*Approximately based the exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.46 as of 11/05/2023 on xe.com
Sharing files between devices is not as simple as it sounds. Sure, Apple figured it out and introduced their own version of wireless file sharing system called AirDrop for years now. The feature allows you to share files between multiple iPhones, MacBooks, iPads, or even Mac Desktops without the devices ever touching each other or tethering to one another.
Android and Windows did not have that. This is where the problem of fragmentation of Android and Windows devices comes into play. Every device is built to a different standard and specification so that file sharing between devices becomes a problem. You can technically share files between Android devices quickly without the devices ever touching each other. The function is called nearby share, and it works, to a certain degree. Each manufacturer also tries to come up with their own solution for their own devices that other manufacturers cannot take advantage of. For Windows devices, it is more of a problem because there is almost no such thing as wireless file sharing other than via Bluetooth.
It seems that Google, not Microsoft to no surprise at all, is going to solve that problem for Android users at least. They call it Nearby Share for Windows, which was technically introduced as a beta app for Windows devices about a month ago. Then again, it was only available in select regions and was more of a test tool. The tool is now in beta and is available for all Windows devices across the globe (with some exceptions).
If you wish to, you can download the tool from Google themselves to try it out. It only works with Android devices and 64-bit version of Windows 10 and newer. If you are running Windows out of an ARM based device, you are out of luck. You also need to own an Android device running Marshmallow (Android 6.0) with Nearby Share capabilities. It will be utilizing your Bluetooth and WiFi capabilities on both your Android and Windows devices to make the transfer handshake and transaction happen, so you want to make sure to turn on both when you are making a transfer.
Unlike HUAWEI’s implementation of file sharing between devices, you do not need an NFC tag on your PC or smartphone. The only thing you need to do is to tap ‘nearby share’ on your smartphone, select your accompanying or intended Windows PC, approve the data transfer request on your PC, and wait for the files to transfer at near instant speeds, as fast as your WiFi can go. The transfer goes both ways, so it will be the same process for data transfers from your Windows PC to your Android device.
The Nearby Share for Windows app, as you might have noticed when you hop into their website, is still in beta and will be in that state for a while, we guess. That means that you might need to expect a few bugs and glitches with the software or function. It is not going to be the perfect solution just yet is what we are saying. Of course, Google is looking to make the app better constantly, so that is also what we are expecting in the future. You can find out more about Google’s Nearby Share for Windows app on their website.
Google I/O 2023 is just around the corner, and we are all quite excited. Apart from the new Pixel 7 series, we are expecting Google to announce a new foldable smartphone. We are also expecting that to be priced like a Samsung foldable, which is not necessarily a good thing. Still, we can look forward to a new Android, a foldable or convertible friendly one at least. They say that it might not look completely different this time round over the 13th generation of Android introduced in the same event last year. Every iteration of Android comes with a slew of its own improvements though, be it in the interface improvements, responsiveness, and even function.
There is a problem that has plagued Google’s mobile ecosystem for a while now though. It has to do with the multitasking capabilities of the interface. While manufacturers like Samsung have been championing multitasking on their devices for a long time, the vanilla Android is quite bad at it, as it seems. One of those problems is that apps tend to shut down when you leave it in the background. That is the opposite of what you want to happen when you are championing your device for multitasking purposes.
Their blog announcement points out a consistency problem of background apps working behind the scenes of your Android smartphone. They say that the Android ecosystem is flawed when it comes to multitasking. They pointed out that foreground services and background work are restricted on different devices by manufacturers. That means that different apps tend to behave differently across devices when they are put on the backburner. That is why you have passive apps that hardly work on your Android devices until you launch them again.
The next step for Google, according to their blog post anyway, is to introduce APIs and standards to ensure their partners adhere to a consistent set of guidelines for app functions on their devices. Samsung, one of the champions in mobile multitasking, is announced to be their first partner to take the step. The new APIs that is to be introduced by Google is not a way to police their partners, rather a set of guidelines to ensure that apps behave consistently on the foreground and background across devices, creating a more consistent Android experience for all users. Allowing for better and more consistent background works on Android also allows app developers to create apps that work better with other apps at the same time, offering better user experiences across the board. Of course, the guidelines will help offer apps that work as intended by the developers.
Google has also stated that all these improvements on foreground and background apps will be introduced in Android 14. The improvements include more user control even on foreground apps and services, smoother large uploads and downloads of user-initiated data transfer jobs via JobScheduler, and a new Google Play policy for appropriate use of foreground services. There are no mentions on whether the first patch of Android 14 will get these treatments or not. We can only tell when they announce Android 14 in the coming Google I/O or when they start shipping their latest Google Pixel out to customers.
Last year, iOS users got their first dibs in unlocking their cars; well, their BMWs with their smartphone. They call this a Digital Key Plus and it was made exclusively for the iPhone. With ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, a sort of secure wireless communication technology that was introduced in the iPhone not too long before. They also introduced the same technology in Samsung’s Galaxy device and a few Android devices a few years ago onward. To be fair, the technology was introduced specifically for modern cars that now offers keyless entry technology. The technology was meant to be worked into a digital key that you can use to unlock and drive your car even without the original key from the manufacturers for the specific cars. So far though the only manufacturer that has been progressive enough to introduce digital keys for smartphones is BMW, for iPhone users.
That will not be the case anymore though, at least in terms of only iPhone users getting BMW’s love. BMW have updated their cars to bring digital keys to Samsung and a few Google Pixel devices running Android 13 and supporting UWB connection. Samsung devices from the Galaxy S21 Ultra onward with UWB support can now unlock BMW cars. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, Z Fold 3, Note 20 also can now support UWB digital keys. Select Google Pixel smartphone like the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro can unlock BMW cars with UWB digital keys too.
There is another caveat too with the new UWB digital key function. The function will only work with BMW vehicles produced November 2022 onward with older vehicles to be added in the future via a software update.
BMW says that the function can be easily activated via the My BMW app, available on the Google Play Store. Once activated, your smartphone becomes your Digital Key Plus. That also means that you can leave your physical keys in the drawer and drive your car as if it had a key in it just if you carry your smartphones with the My BMW app with you. It does not just unlock your car and allow you to drive it wherever you want to go, you can also program the BMW to lock itself as you walk away from your BMW. That way you can walk away from your car without worrying about locking your cars.
For now, BMW has not opened the function to any other Android devices. As more Android smartphones feature UWB function on the smartphones, we are suspecting that BMW will also start offering more Digital Key Plus support to other devices. BMW will not be the only manufacturer that jumps on the Digital Key bandwagon too as more smartphones support UWB.
Google just updated their policy just last week to ensure that users have more control over their own data on apps and account on their selected apps. This week, they are updating the app itself to add a little bit more automation on the app. While it may sound a little counter-intuitive especially with the whole initiative in giving users more control over their own smartphone and data, it is a good update for users.
Smartphones in the modern world allow you to have thousands of apps in your smartphone. In fact, you would install thousands of apps on your smartphone. All these takes up precious storage on your smartphone and when you find a new app you could use, you run out of storage space before you know it. To install the new app, you must clear up your storage by deleting things on your smartphone, uninstall apps. Thing is, you might want to keep those apps still because they could come in handy. You want to ensure that your app data is still in your smartphone in case you want to start running the app again. There is a way, thanks to Google’s latest update to Google Play.
You can now opt-in for Google Play’s new ‘auto-archive’ function. According to Google’s developer blog update, the function will help the user free up space on their smartphones without the need to manually uninstall apps from their smartphone. Google Play cleverly partially remove an app that you have not used for a long time on your smartphone to give way for newer and more functional apps. It is not really completely uninstalled though; the app’s data is still stored within the smartphone and you can re-download the app when you want to use it again as long as the app is still available on Google Play Store.
Of course, the function is not only an opt-in for the user, but also for developers. Their apps would have to have the function built into their app. They would also have to be using App Bundle to publish their apps on Google Play Store. Once their app enables the auto-archive function, the apps will be less likely to turn up on uninstall suggestions when users want to clear their smartphone’s storage.
Source: Google Blog
For users to opt-in, a prompt will trigger when a user tries to install an app on their smartphone with full storage. The prompt will appear and ask if the user would like to enable auto-archive. Once the user enables auto-archive, Google Play will cleverly do its thing to archive apps you hardly use or have not been using for a long time to free up some storage space for the new app. No, you do not have to do much, just make sure your Google Play Store is up to date to get the function.
Android apps in general have been notorious for lacking support for larger screens and newer foldable devices. The situation has changed slightly with Android 12L and 13 which brought native support and optimizations to the OS. However, there has been little done to bring apps up to date. What’s worse, Google itself has slacked when it comes to its own Google apps.
However, that’s beginning to change with optimizations making it to apps like Google Docs since last year. The latest app to get it? Google Keep. The notetaking app will now allow users to have a two pane view on larger displays and tablets. This layout will have the notes grid on one side while the actual contents of the notes will appear on the other. This is done by running two instances of the app at the same time in tandem with Android’s native split screen multitasking. The new feature is comes a year after Google Docs got the same feature.
The new feature comes after Google introduced the single note widget for Android. This widget allows users to pin a single note to the home screen of their Android devices. Items like to-do lists become fully interactive widgets allowing users to check and add more items. It can also jump into the full app with a single tap of the enlarge button.
Together with the new feature for Google Keep, Google also introduced full mouse support for Google Sheets and Google Slides on Android. In addition, Workspace users will also be able to move folders from My Drive into Shared Folders as well.
Samsung has been at the forefront of Android smartphones for quite sometime now. Samsung has also led the charge in getting iPhone users over to the Android boat. The employed many tactics for this. They poked fun at Apple in their own ads, they offer incentives for Apple users choosing to opt into Android, they made data transfer from an iPhone to Galaxy smartphone much simpler and hassle free than before, and they encourage iPhone users to try the Galaxy devices as much as they can. In their latest effort, iPhone users get to use the Samsung Galaxy S23 for free, on their iPhone that is.
They cheekily call it the Galaxy app. Yes, it is an app that will run the Galaxy S23 interface on your iPhone. It is not available on the Apple App Store, so you have to download it via web. It is also not a proper app that overlays your iPhone with Android 13 based One UI 5.1 interface. It is a web app, a web page that lets you test run the Galaxy S23 on the web.
But it is not just some web app that lets you scroll through the home page, the app tray, and nothing else. It allows you to try the camera interface too, through your iPhone cameras and experience things like Nightography and Night Mode. You can even try apps like Photo Remaster on the web app, allowing you to edit whatever photos you take on the app. All this is to show how powerful a Samsung Galaxy S23 camera system is. You can even try gaming on the Galaxy S23 to see how smooth it can be, although you are not technically playing a game.
Of course, you can customise your Galaxy S23 experience all on the web app. You can change the wallpaper, background, themes, icons, and even more that is available on One UI 5.1. The app is also designed specifically for iPhone, so it will not do anything if you try going on your web browser on your PC to test it out. If you are on an Android device, there will also be an attached warning for the web app. In that case, if you are on an iPhone, you can test out the web app and try out the Samsung Galaxy S23 yourself via their web app.
