The Galaxy S24 series can start a Bluetooth LE Audio broadcast! This lets you broadcast the media you're listening to to nearby devices that support Auracast. This is accessed by going to Settings > Bluetooth > three-dot menu > Broadcast sound using Auracast.

Other Galaxy devices that support BLE Audio might gain this capability when they upgrade to One UI 6.1.

Last month, Google announced that the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF) will be available on "upcoming select Android 14 devices."

Here's a list of devices that support it, according to the Google Play Console:

* ASUS Zenfone 11 (I know, not released yet)
* Google Pixel 6 and later
* Infinix Note 40 series
* Meizu 21
* OnePlus 12
* OPPO Find N2 Flip
* OPPO Find X7
* OPPO Pad 2
* OPPO Reno8 T
* OPPO Reno 11 series
* Realme GT Neo 3 150W
* REDMAGIC 9
* TECNO CAMON 20 Premier 5G
* TECNO SPARK 20 Pro+
* Vivo iQOO 12
* Vivo iQOO Neo9 Pro
* Vivo S18e
* Vivo X100 series
* Vivo X90 series
* Xiaomi 14 series
* ZTE Nubia Z60 Ultra

Basically, many phones with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or a MediaTek chipset running Android 14 with Linux 6.1 have support for AVF. This is because AVF now not only supports KVM but also Qualcomm's Gunyah and MediaTek's GenieZone as the hypervisor.

If you're curious about AVF, check out this blog post by Android Developers.

The OnePlus 12 is OnePlus's first smartphone to support Camera2 and CameraX vendor extensions! These extensions allow third-party apps that rely on the Camera2 or CameraX APIs to utilize certain OEM camera effects that would otherwise only be available in the stock camera app.

In this case, OnePlus has provided Bokeh and Night (Camera2 and CameraX) extensions for the main rear camera and a Night (Camera2 and CameraX) extension for the main front camera.

Snapchat, for example, uses the Camera2 extension for Night mode supplied by Google to implement Night Sight support on Pixels. Samsung has been by far the best at implementing support for vendor extensions, but it's good to finally see other OEMs add support.

Thanks to MartinGuayOTT on Twitter for the screenshots!

On the other hand, the new ROG Phone 8 does not support any Camera2 or CameraX vendor extensions, much like previous phones from ASUS.

I reported back in September (for Patrons/X subscribers only) that Google wanted to require that new devices launching with Android 14 support Bokeh and Night extensions for both the primary front and rear cameras, however, it looks like this was never enforced in the end.

(Thanks to murmelito_ on Threads for the screenshots!)

Google has announced a "Mint" color for the Pixel 8 series (only available from the Google Store with 128GB storage), alongside a new Pixel Feature Drop for January 2024! This Feature Drop is a bit unusual since it isn't accompanied by a new QPR update, but it does bring some interesting features.

For example, the Pixel 8 Pro's Thermometer app is finally getting the ability to measure body temperature! This means the FDA has authorized the Pixel Thermometer to take body temperature readings. Any temperature results you take can be synced to your Fitbit account.

Both Pixel Watch models now support automatic audio switching, which means your Pixel Buds Pro can seamlessly switch from a Pixel Tablet to your paired Pixel phone.

Also, Quick Share (the revamped/rebranded version of Google's Nearby Share) should be rolling out soon, so you can look forward to that.

A more exciting development is the rollout of the Circle to Search feature Google announced at Galaxy Unpacked. Google reiterates that they'll roll this out to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro on January 31, but it's also already available on the Galaxy S24 series. (I shared a method with my Patreon/X subscribers to enable this feature on other Pixel devices right now, but it requires root to spoof the Pixel 8.)

Lastly, Google is starting to more widely roll out the Photomoji and Magic Compose features in the Google Messages app for Pixel users. Photomoji lets you turn any photo into a custom reaction or sticker, while Magic Compose helps you rewrite messages in different styles using generative AI.

Photomoji is available for the Pixel 3a and later, while Magic Compose is only available for the Pixel 6 and later (processing happens on-device in the case of the Pixel 8 Pro).

Google is rolling out the update to the Pixel Thermometer app that enables body temperature scanning on the Pixel 8 Pro, but only if you're in the U.S.

The app checks that the ISO country code using the TelephonyManager.getSimCountryIso() method returns "us", which means your SIM has to be connected to a network in the U.S.

This is because Google has only received approval to use this feature in the U.S. so far, but if you're outside of the U.S., modders have already figured out how to forcefully enable this feature. Using the same method used to enable VoLTE/VoWiFi in unsupported regions, @nullby whipped up a quick app that lets you change the ISO country code read by the app to whatever you want, and it doesn't need root access!

So you just grant the app shell-level privileges using Shizuku so it can call the TelephonyManager APIs and then use the app to set the country code to "us", unlocking the body temperature scanning feature in the Thermometer app. The best part is that this persists even if you reset the country code (as you should) so long as you don't wipe the data of the app or uninstall it.

Update: Here's the app you need. Download version 1.1 from the releases page. Then to set it up:

1) Download and set up Shizuku from Google Play.

2) Open the Carrier Vanity Name app, and in the "ISO Country Code" field (the second field), type "us". (You can ignore the first field.)

3) Click "set".

4) Stop the Thermometer app and clear its data, then open it. The body temperature feature should be available.

5) You can now re-open the CVN app and hit "Reset" to reset the ISO country code.

(Screenshots via @nailsad_eleos.)