Mishaal's Android News Feed
FLAPPY BIRD FLAPS ON! Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 does not have any CPU cores that support AArch32 (32-bit Arm apps). Despite this, the Xiaomi 14 series is able to run 32-bit Arm apps like Flappy Bird, as shown above by @MlgmXyysd. How is this possible?…
It seems OnePlus has also adopted the 32-bit to 64-bit Arm binary translator called "Tango", enabling you to run 32-bit Arm apps like Flappy Bird on the OnePlus 12.
The OnePlus 12 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which does not have any CPU cores that can execute 32-bit Arm code. The phone's initial build used a massive allowlist to determine which 32-bits could be run using Tango, but it seems that restriction was removed in a post-launch OTA update.
I wonder if global builds of the OnePlus 12 will have this feature. Google Play phased out the distribution of 32-bit apps a few years ago compared to Chinese app stores which only more recently phased them out. I guess we'll find out when the OnePlus 12 launches on January 23!
(Thanks to @MlgmXyysd and @OneNormalUsername for the tip!)
The OnePlus 12 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which does not have any CPU cores that can execute 32-bit Arm code. The phone's initial build used a massive allowlist to determine which 32-bits could be run using Tango, but it seems that restriction was removed in a post-launch OTA update.
I wonder if global builds of the OnePlus 12 will have this feature. Google Play phased out the distribution of 32-bit apps a few years ago compared to Chinese app stores which only more recently phased them out. I guess we'll find out when the OnePlus 12 launches on January 23!
(Thanks to @MlgmXyysd and @OneNormalUsername for the tip!)
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In case you're wondering, there won't be a December 2023 Google Play System Update. The next GPSU version will be January 2024, which will, among other things, hopefully bring an update to the Android Runtime module that fixes a GC-related crash some apps with native code are having.
So you can stop hitting the "check for update" button if your device already has the November 2023 GPSU.
(H/T @OneNormalUsername)
So you can stop hitting the "check for update" button if your device already has the November 2023 GPSU.
(H/T @OneNormalUsername)
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Health Connect in Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2 has added an "app priority" option.
"If more than one app adds activity data, Health Connect prioritizes the app highest in this list. Drag apps to reorder them."
Also, Health Connect now defines a new runtime permission (
"If more than one app adds activity data, Health Connect prioritizes the app highest in this list. Drag apps to reorder them."
Also, Health Connect now defines a new runtime permission (
android.permission.health.READ_HEALTH_DATA_IN_BACKGROUND) that, once held, might let apps read health data while they're in the background.👍49
Mobvoi has finally rolled out the Wear OS 3 update they promised for the TicWatch Pro 3! The OS version is Wear OS 3.5 (RMRB.231020.007) based on Android 11 with the October 2023 patches.
The update factory resets the watch, but it was really easy to set it up again thanks to Fast Pair. Sadly, the smartwatch doesn't have Google Assistant support anymore. I've already moved onto the Pixel Watch 2, but at least the new update means you can use some previously unavailable apps like Google Home.
The update factory resets the watch, but it was really easy to set it up again thanks to Fast Pair. Sadly, the smartwatch doesn't have Google Assistant support anymore. I've already moved onto the Pixel Watch 2, but at least the new update means you can use some previously unavailable apps like Google Home.
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Here's how Google will simplify sideloading in Android.
As part of a proposed class action lawsuit settlement, Google said it will revise the default sideloading flow in Android. Here's exactly what they're changing:
1) The pop-up with the text "For your security, your phone currently isn't allowed to install unknown apps from this source. You can change this in Settings" and the "Install unknown apps" screen that lets you enable sideloading from the specified source will be combined into a single screen. That means you won't have to visit Settings to enable sideloading from a specified source anymore.
2) The text in this combined screen will read as follows: "Your phone currently isn't configured to install apps from this source. Granting this source permission to install apps could place your phone and data at risk."
Google will have to maintain this revised default sideloading flow for a period of five years after it's implemented, and they cannot "introduce additional material complexity or burden into the Revised Default Sideloading Flow solely because an app was sideloaded, as opposed to being downloaded from Google Play."
Source: 6.10 Sideloading from the Settlement Agreement and Release document
As part of a proposed class action lawsuit settlement, Google said it will revise the default sideloading flow in Android. Here's exactly what they're changing:
1) The pop-up with the text "For your security, your phone currently isn't allowed to install unknown apps from this source. You can change this in Settings" and the "Install unknown apps" screen that lets you enable sideloading from the specified source will be combined into a single screen. That means you won't have to visit Settings to enable sideloading from a specified source anymore.
2) The text in this combined screen will read as follows: "Your phone currently isn't configured to install apps from this source. Granting this source permission to install apps could place your phone and data at risk."
Google will have to maintain this revised default sideloading flow for a period of five years after it's implemented, and they cannot "introduce additional material complexity or burden into the Revised Default Sideloading Flow solely because an app was sideloaded, as opposed to being downloaded from Google Play."
Source: 6.10 Sideloading from the Settlement Agreement and Release document
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Big news! Google has announced the details of its settlement with the more than 30 U.S. states that filed a class action lawsuit over Google Play.
Google says it will:
1) Be "further simplifying the sideloading process and updating the language that informs users about these potential risks of downloading apps directly from the web for the first time." More details here.
2) Allow app and game developers to "implement an alternative billing option alongside Google Play's billing system for their U.S. users who can then choose which option to use when making in-app purchases."
3) Allow developers to "show different pricing options within the app when a user makes a digital purchase."
4) Pay $630 million into a settlement fund that will be distributed according to a Court-approved plan. $70 million will go to a fund that will be used by the states.
There's a bunch of other changes that Google agreed to as part of the settlement. The Verge's Sean Hollister has an excellent summary you can read here.
Google says it will:
1) Be "further simplifying the sideloading process and updating the language that informs users about these potential risks of downloading apps directly from the web for the first time." More details here.
2) Allow app and game developers to "implement an alternative billing option alongside Google Play's billing system for their U.S. users who can then choose which option to use when making in-app purchases."
3) Allow developers to "show different pricing options within the app when a user makes a digital purchase."
4) Pay $630 million into a settlement fund that will be distributed according to a Court-approved plan. $70 million will go to a fund that will be used by the states.
There's a bunch of other changes that Google agreed to as part of the settlement. The Verge's Sean Hollister has an excellent summary you can read here.
The Verge
Google to pay $700 million and make tiny app store changes to settle with 50 states
This won’t be nearly enough for Epic Games.
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Mishaal's Android News Feed
Following the Bluetooth, WiFi, and UWB stacks, Google will next turn Android's NFC stack into a modular system component, ie. a Project Mainline module! It's too early for this to happen in Android 14, but the NFC stack could become a Mainline module as early…
Earlier this year, I said that Google planned to make the NFC stack an updatable Project Mainline module in a future Android release.
Well, it's been a few months, and that indeed seems to be coming true. Work to turn the NFC stack into a Mainline module is still ongoing, but there's now a placeholder APEX module in AOSP as well as code changes to move all NFC-related classes to a new framework-nfc.jar file that will be updated via the APEX file.
Next year's Android 15 release could be the earliest we'll see the new NFC Mainline module.
Well, it's been a few months, and that indeed seems to be coming true. Work to turn the NFC stack into a Mainline module is still ongoing, but there's now a placeholder APEX module in AOSP as well as code changes to move all NFC-related classes to a new framework-nfc.jar file that will be updated via the APEX file.
Next year's Android 15 release could be the earliest we'll see the new NFC Mainline module.
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When Google's Find My Device Network actually launches, one feature I'm hoping will be ready is powered-off finder, which will let devices continue sending Bluetooth beacons after Android is shut down. This will make it possible to locate devices when they're powered off or out of battery*.
UI support for this feature was added in Android 14 QPR1, while Google Play Services has also been preparing for this feature over the last few months. And earlier this month, code for the Bluetooth Finder HAL was merged to AOSP.
This HAL has the "API to enable the powered-off finder feature, which allows the Bluetooth controller to send beacons after the device is powered off." Google Play Services will use this API to send precomputed "Finder Network" keys to the device's Bluetooth chip so that it can continue broadcasting to other nearby devices on the FMDN.
I don't know when this feature will be ready, let alone when the FMDN will launch. As I said earlier this month, Google is waiting on Apple to implement unwanted tracker detection into iOS before rolling out the FMDN on Android. And Apple won't implement unwanted tracker detection into iOS until the specification they're working on with Google is finalized. Google said this spec should be finalized by the end of this year.
*Yes, I realize you still need some battery to power to the Bluetooth chip. Obviously I'm referring to when there's not enough battery to boot up Android, or some power is simply reserved for this purpose.
UI support for this feature was added in Android 14 QPR1, while Google Play Services has also been preparing for this feature over the last few months. And earlier this month, code for the Bluetooth Finder HAL was merged to AOSP.
This HAL has the "API to enable the powered-off finder feature, which allows the Bluetooth controller to send beacons after the device is powered off." Google Play Services will use this API to send precomputed "Finder Network" keys to the device's Bluetooth chip so that it can continue broadcasting to other nearby devices on the FMDN.
I don't know when this feature will be ready, let alone when the FMDN will launch. As I said earlier this month, Google is waiting on Apple to implement unwanted tracker detection into iOS before rolling out the FMDN on Android. And Apple won't implement unwanted tracker detection into iOS until the specification they're working on with Google is finalized. Google said this spec should be finalized by the end of this year.
*Yes, I realize you still need some battery to power to the Bluetooth chip. Obviously I'm referring to when there's not enough battery to boot up Android, or some power is simply reserved for this purpose.
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Developers Sergio Prado and Chris Simmonds did a talk recently about what's new in AOSP 14 (the open source release of Android 14), and to accompany the talk, Sergio shared some interesting statistics about the source code size, build time, and more.
It's wild to see how much AOSP has grown since Android 8 Oreo's release in 2017. AOSP 14's source code size is 165GB compared to AOSP 8's 87GB. The build output size has gone up to 150GB with AOSP 14 versus 87GB with AOSP 8.
Obviously build times can be optimized with better hardware, but we're well past the point where building on your own hardware makes sense. (I've built AOSP 13 locally with an 11th gen i7 + 32GB RAM + 1TB NVMe Windows PC via WSL a few times, and it's painful.) For those of you who build AOSP, what kind of hardware (local or cloud) do you currently use? How long does it take to compile a fresh build?
Some other interesting tidbits:
1) Memory usage in AOSP 13 was 1.8GB versus 3.6GB (!) in AOSP 14. That's a huge increase. The minimum RAM requirement for devices to run Android 13 Go Edition was 2GB, but there's no word yet on if that will be bumped for Android 14 Go Edition.
2) The default ro filesystem is now EROFS in AOSP 14. I reported earlier that Google has been wanting to shift the default ro filesystem to this, but they hit a snag with last year's Pixel 7 release when they discovered an app launch time regression. The default rw filesystem is now F2FS, but that's less interesting to me since Google has already been using that in its own Pixel hardware.
It's wild to see how much AOSP has grown since Android 8 Oreo's release in 2017. AOSP 14's source code size is 165GB compared to AOSP 8's 87GB. The build output size has gone up to 150GB with AOSP 14 versus 87GB with AOSP 8.
Obviously build times can be optimized with better hardware, but we're well past the point where building on your own hardware makes sense. (I've built AOSP 13 locally with an 11th gen i7 + 32GB RAM + 1TB NVMe Windows PC via WSL a few times, and it's painful.) For those of you who build AOSP, what kind of hardware (local or cloud) do you currently use? How long does it take to compile a fresh build?
Some other interesting tidbits:
1) Memory usage in AOSP 13 was 1.8GB versus 3.6GB (!) in AOSP 14. That's a huge increase. The minimum RAM requirement for devices to run Android 13 Go Edition was 2GB, but there's no word yet on if that will be bumped for Android 14 Go Edition.
2) The default ro filesystem is now EROFS in AOSP 14. I reported earlier that Google has been wanting to shift the default ro filesystem to this, but they hit a snag with last year's Pixel 7 release when they discovered an app launch time regression. The default rw filesystem is now F2FS, but that's less interesting to me since Google has already been using that in its own Pixel hardware.
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Mishaal's Android News Feed
This article made me curious about the status of the unwanted tracker detection specification, and it appears that work is indeed ongoing. The latest message in the mailing list comes from an Apple employee dated Nov. 30, and ends with "I think we're close…
Version 01 of the "Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers" specification has just been uploaded to the IETF! This is the unwanted tracker specification that Google and Apple are jointly developing.
Google already rolled out unwanted tracker alerts in Android earlier this year, but it's based on a custom implementation. Apple is allegedly waiting for this specification to be finalized before rolling out unwanted tracker alerts in iOS. Google says that they're waiting on Apple to do that before they roll out the Find My Device Network on Android.
So the closer this specification comes to being finalized, the closer we are to the launch of Android's Find My Device Network!
(H/T BjoernDroege on Twitter)
Google already rolled out unwanted tracker alerts in Android earlier this year, but it's based on a custom implementation. Apple is allegedly waiting for this specification to be finalized before rolling out unwanted tracker alerts in iOS. Google says that they're waiting on Apple to do that before they roll out the Find My Device Network on Android.
So the closer this specification comes to being finalized, the closer we are to the launch of Android's Find My Device Network!
(H/T BjoernDroege on Twitter)
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Finally! Android is preparing to show you an estimate of your battery's remaining charge capacity, so you'll know when to replace it.
You can see a screenshot of the Pixel's new "battery health" page and read more details about this feature in my latest article for Android Authority.
Bonus details in the article: Android may soon know whether you've replaced your battery or not by checking its serial number.
(Thanks to @nailsad_eleos for the tip!)
You can see a screenshot of the Pixel's new "battery health" page and read more details about this feature in my latest article for Android Authority.
Bonus details in the article: Android may soon know whether you've replaced your battery or not by checking its serial number.
(Thanks to @nailsad_eleos for the tip!)
Android Authority
Android may soon tell you when it's time to replace your phone's battery
Android is preparing to give you an estimate of the remaining capacity of your phone's battery, making it easier to know when to replace it.
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Interesting: It looks like Google might be rebranding Nearby Share to Quick Share. Quick Share is notably the name of Samsung's file sharing service on Galaxy devices. Are these two services going to be merged?
More details in my article for Android Authority, via Kamila Wojciechowska.
More details in my article for Android Authority, via Kamila Wojciechowska.
Android Authority
Google and Samsung might be merging Nearby Share and Quick Share
Google's Nearby Share service could be rebranded as Quick Share, which is the same name as Samsung's file sharing service.
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Google wants to deprecate Android Protected Confirmation due to low adoption from OEMs.
Android Protected Confirmation is a security feature introduced in Android 9 that "leverages a hardware protected user interface (Trusted UI) to perform critical transactions completely outside the main mobile operating system." Through an API, apps can invoke APC to allow the user to confirm the transaction by double pressing the power button when the Trusted UI is shown.
When APC was first introduced, Google showcased how several partners planned to leverage this feature, such for person-to-person money transfers, user authentication, and medical device control. In an April 2023 blog post, Google even said that APC was "gaining ecosystem attention as an industry-leading method for confirming critical user actions via hardware" and that work on a pilot project to establish Protected Confirmation as a "common application programmable interface standard" was ongoing.
However, last month, two patches were uploaded by Googlers to AOSP that deprecate the HAL for APC. The reason they gave is that "Pixel is the only OEM that supported Trusted UI and we want to remove the APC/TUI. It has low adoption." The patches haven't been submitted yet until "product discussions" are concluded, but the fact that only Pixel has adopted APC after all these years doesn't bode well for the future of this feature.
Android Protected Confirmation is a security feature introduced in Android 9 that "leverages a hardware protected user interface (Trusted UI) to perform critical transactions completely outside the main mobile operating system." Through an API, apps can invoke APC to allow the user to confirm the transaction by double pressing the power button when the Trusted UI is shown.
When APC was first introduced, Google showcased how several partners planned to leverage this feature, such for person-to-person money transfers, user authentication, and medical device control. In an April 2023 blog post, Google even said that APC was "gaining ecosystem attention as an industry-leading method for confirming critical user actions via hardware" and that work on a pilot project to establish Protected Confirmation as a "common application programmable interface standard" was ongoing.
However, last month, two patches were uploaded by Googlers to AOSP that deprecate the HAL for APC. The reason they gave is that "Pixel is the only OEM that supported Trusted UI and we want to remove the APC/TUI. It has low adoption." The patches haven't been submitted yet until "product discussions" are concluded, but the fact that only Pixel has adopted APC after all these years doesn't bode well for the future of this feature.
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