BardTech

The post OnePlus 6 gets OxygenOS Open Beta 1 based on Android Pie appeared first on BardTech . Android Pie has been here a while now , and while some device makers got an update out the door straight away , others have taken their time to roll out the update, even if they were a part of Google’s beta program . One company to take their time is OnePlus, though now we’re finally getting the first release of the OnePlus 6 ‘s Open Beta program based on Android 9. Android 9 Pie is here, and you can download and flash it on your OnePlus 6 right now. OxygenOS Open Beta 1 for the OnePlus 6 released OnePlus has been working on incorporating all of OxygenOS’s features into Android Pie’s Developer Previews to varying degrees of success . It really did work quite well all things considered, so we can only expect even better things from the first Open Beta for the OnePlus 6. You can check out the whole changelog below. Update system to Android 9.0 Pie Brand new UI for Android P Ne...

The post TWRP adds decryption support for Google Pixel & Pixel 2 on Android Pie appeared first on BardTech . TWRP is the most popular custom recovery thanks to the huge number of devices it supports and the features it offers like full backups and restores, touch support, slot selection, and more. TWRP has been the go-to recovery for those interested in modding their smartphones. Whether you qualify as a newbie in the flashing scene or as an experienced flashaholic, you’ve almost certainly used TWRP at some point. The custom recovery isn’t perfect on every device, however, as Android updates may bring changes to the kernel, ramdisk, encryption algorithms, etc. that require TWRP to adapt. For instance, data decryption wasn’t working on the Google Pixel or Google Pixel 2 running on Android Pie. If you have a Google Pixel device, you likely have a PIN or password on your device to secure your phone. If you wanted to make a backup or flash a file stored on your internal storage,...

The post Chrome Remote Desktop update adds notch support in Android Pie and resize-to-fit appeared first on BardTech . While Android smartphones and tablets have replaced desktop and laptop PCs for many functions, there are still many areas where it’s preferable to use a PC with a desktop OS. If you’re outside with only your smartphone or tablet and you need to urgently access your PC, you can use a remote desktop solution like Microsoft Remote Desktop, TeamViewer, or Google’s Chrome Remote Desktop. Google’s solution requires you to have Google Chrome with the Chrome Remote Desktop extension installed on your PC while on the Android side, you need to install the Android app to access your PC. The Android app was last updated back in September 2017 with support Android 8.0 Oreo, but an upcoming update will bring support for devices with display cutouts (ie. notches) in Android Pie as well as a resize-to-fit option. Although the updated Android app hasn’t rolled out on the Googl...

The post Android version distribution updated for August with no sign of Android Pie appeared first on BardTech . It’s that time of the month when Google updates the Android version distribution chart. It was last updated at the end of July  when we found out that 12.1% of Android phones ran on Android 8.0 Oreo. Unfortunately, the updated statistics aren’t that exciting. Since the last update, we now have a new version of Android to track, Android Pie (Android 9), which has not reached enough devices to make a dent in the numbers. Here are the updated percentages: Android Version July 2018 August 2018 Android 2.3 Gingerbread 0.2% 0.3% Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich 0.3% 0.3% Android 4.1 Jelly Bean 1.2% 1.2% Android 4.2 Jelly Bean 1.9% 1.8% Android 4.3 Jelly Bean 0.5% 0.5% Android 4.4 KitKat 9.1% 8.6% Android 5.0 Lollipop 4.2% 3.8% Android 5.1 Lollipop 16.2% 15.4% Android 6.0 Marshmallow 23.5% 22.7% Android 7.0 ...

The post Sony Xperia XZ3 has an OLED panel and launches with Android 9 Pie appeared first on BardTech . Sony Mobile might not be the juggernaut in the industry that Samsung, Apple, and Huawei are, but the company still manages to produce top-tier Android flagships with excellent displays and cameras . Plus, their commitment to open source and AOSP is truly commendable. Unfortunately, we wish we could say the same about their support, pricing, or release strategy . It hasn’t been too long since Sony Mobile launched the Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium, but that doesn’t mean we can’t move on to the next flagship smartphone. Indeed, at IFA in Berlin, Sony unveiled the Sony Xperia XZ3. The Sony Xperia XZ3 has been the subject of many leaks over the past few months. For a while, we thought it would have dual rear cameras , but that turned out to be false . The 3D CAD renders of the device showed that it would have a glass back and single front and rear-facing cameras. In typical...

The post Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S Android Pie beta with September security patch now available appeared first on BardTech . Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S was one of the few devices that got the beta version of Android Pie alongside the Google Pixel devices. After the official release of Android 9, Xiaomi started closed alpha testing of the Android Pie builds. They were testing the system in China, and @xiaomiui Telegram channel was able to leak some photos along with the actual build. Being an alpha version, of course, it was unstable and full of bugs. Now, thanks to a tip from @Tadi777 on our Telegram group, we have the link to the latest beta version of Android Pie for Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S. There are two versions available, one for the Global ROM and another for the Chinese ROM. Keep in mind that both of them are MIUI Recovery ROMs. So, you don’t really have to wipe anything from the device before installing. You can flash them via a custom recovery like TWRP . Looking at the build.prop of the bu...

The post Android TV in 2019: Industry trends moving forward appeared first on BardTech . Android TV boxes have a lot of potential, but thanks to the mishandling by device manufacturers they may soon be outclassed by competitors. However, Google isn’t giving up just yet. In a panel consisting of leading experts from Google and Think Analytics hosted by Accedo at Broadcast Asia, we got to have a closer look at trends and recent developments affecting Android TV as a platform. Android TV going into 2019 Reduced costs and time to market Android TV has matured in a lot of ways over the years, and as a platform, it beats out traditional set-top boxes with the ability to be a whole lot more personal. It can integrate with many different services, and the addition of features such as voice search allows for greater opportunities down the line. As it stands, the price for an OEM to launch an Android TV box is down 60% over what it used to be a little over a year ago thanks to w...

The post YouTube gets Digital Wellbeing tools, shows time spent watching videos appeared first on BardTech . Google announced Digital Wellbeing tools at Google I/O 2018. Today, they decided to add some of these tools to the YouTube application. I discovered the “Time watched” category when I was doing my daily routine of checking if the dark mode is available for me (it’s unfortunately not). The category can be found under your account, which is located at the top right corner. After taping on Time watched, YouTube didn’t hesitate to show me how productive my weekend was. You can see how much time you spent on watching videos today, yesterday, or last week. It can also calculate the daily average. Fortunately, you can also let YouTube remind you to take a break in your desired frequency. Scheduled digest has also moved to the same page. It still can be found under the Notifications category in Settings, but it’s still nice to see all Digital Wellbeing tools together. If you do...

The post Android Pie-based HydrogenOS Beta 2 for the OnePlus 6 brings September security patches appeared first on BardTech . HydrogenOS is a Chinese ROM by OnePlus that runs on almost all of their devices. The main difference between HydrogenOS and OxygenOS is that HydrogenOS doesn’t come with Google services, such as the Play Store and others. But, it has a history of receiving updates earlier than OxygenOS. Just now, it received Android Pie-based 2nd beta for OnePlus 6 , which brings September security patches. User harshitguliani posted on OnePlus forums about the update . He attached the screenshot where we can see the full changelog of the build. As you can see, the update contains a bunch of bug fixes, along with the September security patches. The first beta version was already more stable than the Android P Developer Preview builds, so the second beta should be better as it’s more optimized. It also contains OnePlus’ proprietary features and tweaks. If you’re alre...

The post 9 Reasons Why the Essential Phone Is My Favorite Phone Yet appeared first on BardTech . I’ve used quite a few Android phones over the years, and I can say for sure that the Essential Phone is, hands down, my favorite. Here are some qualities unique to the Essential Phone that make it a phenomenal device. 1. This Is Essential’s Only Phone Samsung, LG, and HTC each put out buckets of phones a year. Developers have to prepare and test software for each device. This takes time and effort, which is part of the reason so many Android phones receive few, if any, updates . The Essential Phone is the only phone that Essential has released. This means the company can focus its attention on one product. While other companies may not care all that much how consumers feel about a specific model, the end user experience on the Essential Phone is one of the company’s main priorities. 2. A Fast and Long Support Cycle We’re proud to bring Android 9 Pie to Essential Phone the same da...

The post Android Pie adds controller mapping for the Xbox One S wireless controller appeared first on BardTech . If you look at the categories in the Play Store and the iOS App Store, you’ll notice one thing: the games category is far and away the most popular for both platforms. This is true for a number of reasons, but each of them had to mature in ways no one had thought of when the first iPhone and the first Android smartphone were released. One of the big drawbacks to next level gaming on Android dealt with lack of controller support, but now Android 9 Pie has finally added controller mapping support for the Xbox One S’s wireless controller. A couple of years ago, Microsoft released the Xbox One controller that actually included Bluetooth instead of some proprietary wireless technology. This made a lot of mobile Android gamers happy because this was their answer to leaving the wired cable adaptation. Personally, I had been using one of the Nyko plastic clips that let you s...

The post Xiaomi Redmi 5A and Xiaomi Mi 6 get unofficial Android 9 Pie ports appeared first on BardTech . The new official ports of Android 9 Pie just keep rolling in and so far we don’t see any end in sight. Today, we wanted to highlight a couple of ports for the Xiaomi family with a port of CarbonROM for the Xiaomi Redmi 5A and a port of Nitrogen OS for the Xiaomi Mi 6 . Xiaomi Redmi 5A Android Pie Port So first let’s discuss the Xiaomi 5A, a low-end device that was released in November of last year that can now run the latest version of Android’s software. As these are unofficial, and this one being labeled a CarbonBeta, some things work and some things do not. We would like to thank XDA Senior Member  sunnyraj84348 , XDA Recognized Developer  riteshsaxena , XDA Member  tr , and XDA Recognized Developer  erfanoabdi for the work they put into making this port of CarbonROM for Android 9 Pie for the Redmi 5A. What’s working : Boots RIL (Calls...

The post Nokia 7 Plus will get stable Android Pie next month appeared first on BardTech . HMD Global is trying to keep their promise of releasing Android Pie to all of their phones . The mid-range Nokia 7 Plus , which comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 system-on-chip, 4 GB of RAM, and fairly large 3,800 mAh battery, was part of the Android P beta program . It recently received Android Pie Beta 4 on the 9th of August . Today, HMD Global’s Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas confirmed that the Nokia 7 Plus will get a stable release of Android Pie next month. According to Android Central , Mr. Sarvikas told reporters this at a media event in New Delhi. Most likely, other Nokia-branded smartphones will start receiving Android 9 Pie sometime after the Nokia 7 Plus. Knowing HMD Global, we may see a release or two until the end of the year. The flagship Nokia 8 and Nokia 8 Sirocco  will probably be among the first devices to be updated. While we’re happy to see HMD Global supp...