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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Google has published the Android Security Bulletin (ASB) for January 2024, detailing the vulnerabilities addressed in the 2024-01-0X security patch level (SPL). Patches are available for Android versions 11-14. This is the first ASB of 2024 🎉
This month, there aren't any vulnerabilities in AOSP components with a severity rating of "critical". There's one vulnerability in the Media Codecs Mainline module that will be addressed in the January 2024 Google Play System Update, which will also bring an update to the Android Runtime (ART) module that addresses the GC-related crash some apps with native code are having.
Speaking of the January 2024 GPSU, it should also bring the new userfaultfd-based GC algorithm to Android 13 devices. This new GC algorithm went live for Android 14 devices in November 2023 and is expected to roll out to Android 12 devices in February 2024.
This month, there aren't any vulnerabilities in AOSP components with a severity rating of "critical". There's one vulnerability in the Media Codecs Mainline module that will be addressed in the January 2024 Google Play System Update, which will also bring an update to the Android Runtime (ART) module that addresses the GC-related crash some apps with native code are having.
Speaking of the January 2024 GPSU, it should also bring the new userfaultfd-based GC algorithm to Android 13 devices. This new GC algorithm went live for Android 14 devices in November 2023 and is expected to roll out to Android 12 devices in February 2024.
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Android 14 made streaming apps to your Windows PC slightly more annoying
If you use Link to Windows on an Android smartphone that supports streaming apps, you may have noticed that, after the Android 14 update, you have to tap "start now" every single time you want to mirror your screen or an app. In previous releases, you only had to do this generally once per boot. This means that you now have to reach over to your phone every time you want to launch a new app.
You don't have to do this if you're using Chrome OS's app streaming feature on Android 14, so what gives? Turns out that Android 14 changed the way that the MediaProjection API behaves. MediaProjection is the API that apps use to record the screen. To avoid having to ask the user for permission to capture the screen every time, many screen recorder apps and apps like Link to Windows would reuse the same intent returned by the API. Doing this now in Android 14 throws a SecurityException.
This is an intentional change by Google to force apps to ask the user to give consent before each capture session, but it definitely makes app streaming through Link to Windows more annoying until Microsoft finds a workaround. App streaming to Chromebooks isn't affected because Cross-Device Services uses the new privileged Companion App Streaming APIs in Android 13 rather than MediaProjection.
If you use Link to Windows on an Android smartphone that supports streaming apps, you may have noticed that, after the Android 14 update, you have to tap "start now" every single time you want to mirror your screen or an app. In previous releases, you only had to do this generally once per boot. This means that you now have to reach over to your phone every time you want to launch a new app.
You don't have to do this if you're using Chrome OS's app streaming feature on Android 14, so what gives? Turns out that Android 14 changed the way that the MediaProjection API behaves. MediaProjection is the API that apps use to record the screen. To avoid having to ask the user for permission to capture the screen every time, many screen recorder apps and apps like Link to Windows would reuse the same intent returned by the API. Doing this now in Android 14 throws a SecurityException.
This is an intentional change by Google to force apps to ask the user to give consent before each capture session, but it definitely makes app streaming through Link to Windows more annoying until Microsoft finds a workaround. App streaming to Chromebooks isn't affected because Cross-Device Services uses the new privileged Companion App Streaming APIs in Android 13 rather than MediaProjection.
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How to mirror your Samsung device's screen to Google Cast-enabled devices via Smart View
Smart View is Samsung's screen mirroring service available on Galaxy devices running One UI. By default, it only supports mirroring your device's screen to TVs/displays that support Miracast. Many Android TV/Nest devices only support Google Cast, not Miracast, so in order to mirror your screen to them, you'd need to use the Google Home app.
However, Smart View is preparing to add support for Google Cast, so you can use Samsung's built-in service to mirror your screen to both Miracast and Google Cast-enabled devices. Here's how to enable the feature right now!
First, check what version of Smart View is installed on your device. Go to Settings > Connected devices > Smart View and tap the three-dot menu then "Settings" followed by "About Smart View". On version 8.2.20.19, you can use the method discovered in July 2023 to access the hidden "SmartView developer option" page to enable the "Google Cast" toggle.
If you're on a newer version of the Smart View app (like 8.2.22.24), the old method won't work. However, it's still possible to access the hidden developer option page! Here are two ways to do it:
1) Download the SystemUI Tuner app, go through its setup process, tap the "System" dropdown on the leftdown then select "Lock Screen". Tap on "Lock Screen Shortcuts", then pick either the Left or Right shortcut. Look for "Smart View" in the app list and then pick the option that says
(Credits go to Redditor Proshis_Saha_Swopna for the SystemUI Tuner method, H/T to LordServerReset on Twitter for bringing it to my attention.)
2) Run this single ADB command:
Then launch the lock screen shortcut like in #1.
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Smart View is Samsung's screen mirroring service available on Galaxy devices running One UI. By default, it only supports mirroring your device's screen to TVs/displays that support Miracast. Many Android TV/Nest devices only support Google Cast, not Miracast, so in order to mirror your screen to them, you'd need to use the Google Home app.
However, Smart View is preparing to add support for Google Cast, so you can use Samsung's built-in service to mirror your screen to both Miracast and Google Cast-enabled devices. Here's how to enable the feature right now!
First, check what version of Smart View is installed on your device. Go to Settings > Connected devices > Smart View and tap the three-dot menu then "Settings" followed by "About Smart View". On version 8.2.20.19, you can use the method discovered in July 2023 to access the hidden "SmartView developer option" page to enable the "Google Cast" toggle.
If you're on a newer version of the Smart View app (like 8.2.22.24), the old method won't work. However, it's still possible to access the hidden developer option page! Here are two ways to do it:
1) Download the SystemUI Tuner app, go through its setup process, tap the "System" dropdown on the leftdown then select "Lock Screen". Tap on "Lock Screen Shortcuts", then pick either the Left or Right shortcut. Look for "Smart View" in the app list and then pick the option that says
DeveloperOptionActivity. Now go to the lock screen, and on the lock screen, open the shortcut you just set. It should launch the SmartView developer option page!(Credits go to Redditor Proshis_Saha_Swopna for the SystemUI Tuner method, H/T to LordServerReset on Twitter for bringing it to my attention.)
2) Run this single ADB command:
adb shell "settings put system lock_application_shortcut '1;com.samsung.android.smartmirroring/.settings.DeveloperOptionActivity;1;null;'"Then launch the lock screen shortcut like in #1.
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Mishaal's Android News Feed
How to mirror your Samsung device's screen to Google Cast-enabled devices via Smart View Smart View is Samsung's screen mirroring service available on Galaxy devices running One UI. By default, it only supports mirroring your device's screen to TVs/displays…
It's actually quite funny how this works. The SmartView app's developer option activity is unexported, which means you can't launch it using a normal activity launcher or through ADB shell unless you have root access. However, the system user is able to launch unexported activities, so by manually changing the lock screen shortcut to the developer option activity, we can make the SystemUI (which runs as the system user) launch it for us. Good thing that the lock screen shortcuts on One UI devices can still be changed by modifying a Settings table value.
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How to use your Samsung phone as a secondary monitor for your Windows PC
One UI has a feature called Second Screen that lets you mirror/extend your Windows PC's screen onto your Samsung device. However, this feature is officially only available on the Galaxy Tab S7, Tab S8, and Tab S9 series.
Fortunately, the feature is still there on Samsung phones and foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but you need to access its hidden settings page in order to use it. Here's how.
1) Download the SystemUI Tuner app from Google Play, go through its setup process, tap the "System" dropdown on the leftdown then select "Lock Screen". Tap on "Lock Screen Shortcuts", then pick either the Left or Right shortcut. Look for "Smart View" in the app list and then pick the option that says
OR
2) Run the following ADB command:
After you do #1 or #2, go to the lock screen and open the shortcut you just set. It should launch the Second Screen settings page! The reason this works is because, although the Second Screen activity is unexported, the lock screen is part of SystemUI which runs as the system user which can launch unexported activities.
Now while you're on this page, hit Windows + K on your PC to bring up the Cast menu. You should see your device appear here. Pick it, and wait for it to connect. Once it connects, open up the Cast menu again and check the "allow mouse, keyboard, touch, and pen input from this device" if you want to be able to send inputs from your phone. That's it!
Kudos to FragmentedChicken for the tip! Let me know if you find other useful activities you can launch with this lock screen shortcut method.
One UI has a feature called Second Screen that lets you mirror/extend your Windows PC's screen onto your Samsung device. However, this feature is officially only available on the Galaxy Tab S7, Tab S8, and Tab S9 series.
Fortunately, the feature is still there on Samsung phones and foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but you need to access its hidden settings page in order to use it. Here's how.
1) Download the SystemUI Tuner app from Google Play, go through its setup process, tap the "System" dropdown on the leftdown then select "Lock Screen". Tap on "Lock Screen Shortcuts", then pick either the Left or Right shortcut. Look for "Smart View" in the app list and then pick the option that says
SecondScreenActivity. OR
2) Run the following ADB command:
adb shell "settings put system lock_application_shortcut '1;com.samsung.android.smartmirroring/com.samsung.android.smartmirroring.player.SecondScreenActivity;1;null;'"After you do #1 or #2, go to the lock screen and open the shortcut you just set. It should launch the Second Screen settings page! The reason this works is because, although the Second Screen activity is unexported, the lock screen is part of SystemUI which runs as the system user which can launch unexported activities.
Now while you're on this page, hit Windows + K on your PC to bring up the Cast menu. You should see your device appear here. Pick it, and wait for it to connect. Once it connects, open up the Cast menu again and check the "allow mouse, keyboard, touch, and pen input from this device" if you want to be able to send inputs from your phone. That's it!
Kudos to FragmentedChicken for the tip! Let me know if you find other useful activities you can launch with this lock screen shortcut method.
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Mishaal's Android News Feed
Android 14 made streaming apps to your Windows PC slightly more annoying If you use Link to Windows on an Android smartphone that supports streaming apps, you may have noticed that, after the Android 14 update, you have to tap "start now" every single time…
A fix has been found for this problem!
If you want stream apps from your Samsung device running Android 14 to your Windows PC without having to constantly regrant Link to Windows permission to record the screen, you just need to do a few simple steps.
1) Download the "App Ops - Permission Manager" app from Google Play.
2) Go through its setup process, which involves downloading a secondary app called Shizuku that acts as a helper to enable the App Ops app to access certain normally inaccessible APIs (in this case,
3) Find "Link to Windows" in the list and scroll down until you see "Project media". Change it from "Ignore" to "Allow".
4) That's it! You should no longer see a MediaProjection consent dialog when you try to stream an app from your phone.
Under the hood, what you're doing is changing the
(Sidenote: I tried changing the appop using the shell interface, but it didn't persist after a reboot. Changing the appop via the App Op app did. I don't know why, but it may be because the app is using the API directly instead of through this CLI.)
Thanks to Abdelrahman5T on Twitter for the tip! My complaints have led to oddly productive results today, lol.
If you want stream apps from your Samsung device running Android 14 to your Windows PC without having to constantly regrant Link to Windows permission to record the screen, you just need to do a few simple steps.
1) Download the "App Ops - Permission Manager" app from Google Play.
2) Go through its setup process, which involves downloading a secondary app called Shizuku that acts as a helper to enable the App Ops app to access certain normally inaccessible APIs (in this case,
AppOpsManager) using the shell UID.3) Find "Link to Windows" in the list and scroll down until you see "Project media". Change it from "Ignore" to "Allow".
4) That's it! You should no longer see a MediaProjection consent dialog when you try to stream an app from your phone.
Under the hood, what you're doing is changing the
OP_PROJECT_MEDIA appop from "ignore" to "allow".(Sidenote: I tried changing the appop using the shell interface, but it didn't persist after a reboot. Changing the appop via the App Op app did. I don't know why, but it may be because the app is using the API directly instead of through this CLI.)
Thanks to Abdelrahman5T on Twitter for the tip! My complaints have led to oddly productive results today, lol.
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Here's what Android's new 3D robot looks like on the splash screen.
Google updated Android's branding back in September 2023, but the new branding has yet to show up on any devices. That will change soon, though.
For more details on when this new branding will start to appear on devices, check out this post (exclusive to subscribers).
Google updated Android's branding back in September 2023, but the new branding has yet to show up on any devices. That will change soon, though.
For more details on when this new branding will start to appear on devices, check out this post (exclusive to subscribers).
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Mishaal's Android News Feed
After 1.5 years, Android's Photo Picker is finally preparing to get Google Photos integration! This will let the Photo Picker select photos and videos stored in the cloud. You can learn more details and see screenshots of this feature from this article on…
Want to know how to enable Google Photos integration in Android's Photo Picker right now?
I actually shared the method I used last month, though only with my subscribers. Here's a link if you're interested!
I actually shared the method I used last month, though only with my subscribers. Here's a link if you're interested!
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Google's Assistant with Bard could launch any day now, but OpenAI isn't going to sit idly by. The latest version of the ChatGPT app hints that you'll be able to set it as Android's default assistant, making it much easier to launch.
Full details here.
Full details here.
Android Authority
ChatGPT could soon replace Google Assistant on your Android phone
Soon you won't need to open the ChatGPT app to talk to the chatbot on Android, as you'll be able to set it as the default assistant.
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Google is prepping a new "voice activation" feature for Android 15 that could let you launch select apps hands-free using a voice command. Your voice data will be secured by Android's "protected adaptive sensing".
Full details here.
Full details here.
Android Authority
Android 15's voice activation feature could let you launch ChatGPT hands-free
Android 15 is preparing a "voice activation" feature, and if we're right about how it works, it could let you launch more apps hands-free.
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The Pixel 8 has a tiny quality-of-life feature you probably didn't know about: A screen protector detector service that knows when you put on or take off a screen protector, so you won't forget to turn on/turn off screen protector mode!
Full details here.
Full details here.
Android Police
Your Pixel 8 can detect when it has a screen protector on
The Pixel 8 can detect when a screen protector is put on or taken off, so you know when to turn on/off screen protector mode
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I changed one of my Pixel's lock screen shortcuts to launch ChatGPT's Voice Mode, because why not?
The caveat: Android 14 on Pixel doesn't let you set a lock screen shortcut to launch an app of your choice. Plus, you can't launch the ChatGPT app into Voice Mode without root access.
There's a silly workaround for both issues, though. Hijack the QR code scanner shortcut to launch a different activity! And since the lock screen is part of SystemUI, which runs as the system user, you can launch any activity - even if it's unexported. (I wouldn't be surprised if this gets patched.)
Step 1: Change one of your lock screen shortcuts to the QR scanner.
Step 2: Run this ADB command:
Replace the value of the
Step 3: Run this ADB command so GMS doesn't revert the change in step 2:
Yes, this means you'll need to use something else to scan a QR code. Fortunately, Google Lens can also scan QR codes, and it has a dedicated button on the Pixel Launcher's search bar.
---
Alternatively, you can enable the "note-taking" role, set the Tasker app as the default "note-taking" app, and then add the Notes lock screen shortcut. This would let you launch any Tasker task through a lock screen shortcut, though you'd then need root to launch some unexported activities like the one for ChatGPT's Voice Mode.
The caveat: Android 14 on Pixel doesn't let you set a lock screen shortcut to launch an app of your choice. Plus, you can't launch the ChatGPT app into Voice Mode without root access.
There's a silly workaround for both issues, though. Hijack the QR code scanner shortcut to launch a different activity! And since the lock screen is part of SystemUI, which runs as the system user, you can launch any activity - even if it's unexported. (I wouldn't be surprised if this gets patched.)
Step 1: Change one of your lock screen shortcuts to the QR scanner.
Step 2: Run this ADB command:
adb shell "device_config put systemui default_qr_code_scanner 'com.openai.chatgpt/com.openai.voice.VoiceModeActivity'"Replace the value of the
default_qr_code_scanner flag with another component if you want to launch something else.Step 3: Run this ADB command so GMS doesn't revert the change in step 2:
adb shell device_config set_sync_disabled_for_tests persistentYes, this means you'll need to use something else to scan a QR code. Fortunately, Google Lens can also scan QR codes, and it has a dedicated button on the Pixel Launcher's search bar.
---
Alternatively, you can enable the "note-taking" role, set the Tasker app as the default "note-taking" app, and then add the Notes lock screen shortcut. This would let you launch any Tasker task through a lock screen shortcut, though you'd then need root to launch some unexported activities like the one for ChatGPT's Voice Mode.
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Mishaal's Android News Feed
I changed one of my Pixel's lock screen shortcuts to launch ChatGPT's Voice Mode, because why not? The caveat: Android 14 on Pixel doesn't let you set a lock screen shortcut to launch an app of your choice. Plus, you can't launch the ChatGPT app into Voice…
And yes, you can also do this on Samsung phones, as shown above.
Either use the SystemUI Tuner app to change the lock screen shortcut, or run an ADB command like so:
This sets the left shortcut to ChatGPT's Voice Mode and the right shortcut to the Second Screen page.
Either use the SystemUI Tuner app to change the lock screen shortcut, or run an ADB command like so:
adb shell "settings put system lock_application_shortcut '1;com.openai.chatgpt/com.openai.voice.VoiceModeActivity;1;com.samsung.android.smartmirroring/com.samsung.android.smartmirroring.player.SecondScreenActivity'"This sets the left shortcut to ChatGPT's Voice Mode and the right shortcut to the Second Screen page.
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