If you have a U.S. or Canadian Samsung phone and want to set a preferred SIM card for calls, texts, and mobile data, Reddit user /u/FragmentedChicken has shared a quick tutorial on how to do so!
(This limitation isn't present in all regions, just NA.)
(This limitation isn't present in all regions, just NA.)
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Samsung's version of Android's Privacy Dashboard lets you see permissions usage from up to 7 days ago, unlike Android's which only lets you see the past 24 hours of permission usage.
Android's Privacy Dashboard is provided through the Permission Controller app, delivered to devices as part of the Permission Mainline module (which is also present on Samsung devices). However, Samsung turned Privacy Dashboard into a standalone app.
Back at I/O 2022, Google said that Android 13 would extend the Privacy Dashboard timeline from 24 hours to 7 days. However, this never ended up rolling out.
The 7-day view in Privacy Dashboard is still there, it's just disabled by default. To enable it, you can run this command:
Android's Privacy Dashboard is provided through the Permission Controller app, delivered to devices as part of the Permission Mainline module (which is also present on Samsung devices). However, Samsung turned Privacy Dashboard into a standalone app.
Back at I/O 2022, Google said that Android 13 would extend the Privacy Dashboard timeline from 24 hours to 7 days. However, this never ended up rolling out.
The 7-day view in Privacy Dashboard is still there, it's just disabled by default. To enable it, you can run this command:
adb shell device_config put privacy privacy_dashboard_7_day_toggle true👍34🤔8🔥5❤2
Android may soon stop users from leaking their 2FA codes on the lock screen.
Google is preparing a feature that will automatically redact notifications with 2FA codes on the lock screen.
Full details exclusively on Patreon.
Google is preparing a feature that will automatically redact notifications with 2FA codes on the lock screen.
Full details exclusively on Patreon.
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Google is preparing to revamp bubbles on large screen devices like the Pixel Tablet!
Android 14 is preparing to add a new "bubble bar" that's pinned to the bottom of the screen.
Full details available to Patrons.
Android 14 is preparing to add a new "bubble bar" that's pinned to the bottom of the screen.
Full details available to Patrons.
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Heads up to any app developers using the Play Integrity API:
"New: Play Integrity API now has two options for requesting verdicts. Standard API requests, new and in beta, are low latency and can be used on demand. Classic API requests take longer and should be made less frequently. You can decide whether your app makes standard requests, classic requests, or both."
Make a standard API request (beta)
H/T @AssembleDebug
"New: Play Integrity API now has two options for requesting verdicts. Standard API requests, new and in beta, are low latency and can be used on demand. Classic API requests take longer and should be made less frequently. You can decide whether your app makes standard requests, classic requests, or both."
Make a standard API request (beta)
H/T @AssembleDebug
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This app turns any Android device into a Chromecast.
When Google released the Pixel Tablet, the first Android tablet with Google Cast built-in, many people asked me if it's possible to bring this functionality to other devices.
Turns out you can (with some caveats!)
The app you need is called, wait for it... CastReceiver, and it's available on Google Play (thanks to @nailsad_eleos for bringing it to my attention!)
I didn't think this app would work at first, as I was actually tinkering with the idea earlier this year but after reading this article on the Google Cast protocol thought it would be impossible without hacking Google Play Services. I ripped the cast receiver APK from an Android TV device and did get my device to appear as a cast target, but I wasn't able to get around the authentication issue described in the above article.
I'm not quite sure how this app works then, but all you need to do is download it and the device that has the app installed will appear as a target in any app that supports Google Cast.
As I mentioned before, though, there are a few caveats:
1) You can't cast DRM-protected content, so neither Netflix nor Amazon Prime Video will work. (This is because you need a valid cast key integrated into the firmware.)
2) Your device needs to be unlocked for casting to start. (This is because it can't launch the browser activity on top of the lock screen.)
Still, though, this could be a useful app if you have an older tablet that you want to repurpose into a smart display (as I've done) or maybe turn an old phone with a 3.5mm jack into a Chromecast Audio.
(The app is free to download so you can test it, but if you want to stream for longer than 5 minutes, you have to unlock the app for $3.99)
When Google released the Pixel Tablet, the first Android tablet with Google Cast built-in, many people asked me if it's possible to bring this functionality to other devices.
Turns out you can (with some caveats!)
The app you need is called, wait for it... CastReceiver, and it's available on Google Play (thanks to @nailsad_eleos for bringing it to my attention!)
I didn't think this app would work at first, as I was actually tinkering with the idea earlier this year but after reading this article on the Google Cast protocol thought it would be impossible without hacking Google Play Services. I ripped the cast receiver APK from an Android TV device and did get my device to appear as a cast target, but I wasn't able to get around the authentication issue described in the above article.
I'm not quite sure how this app works then, but all you need to do is download it and the device that has the app installed will appear as a target in any app that supports Google Cast.
As I mentioned before, though, there are a few caveats:
1) You can't cast DRM-protected content, so neither Netflix nor Amazon Prime Video will work. (This is because you need a valid cast key integrated into the firmware.)
2) Your device needs to be unlocked for casting to start. (This is because it can't launch the browser activity on top of the lock screen.)
Still, though, this could be a useful app if you have an older tablet that you want to repurpose into a smart display (as I've done) or maybe turn an old phone with a 3.5mm jack into a Chromecast Audio.
(The app is free to download so you can test it, but if you want to stream for longer than 5 minutes, you have to unlock the app for $3.99)
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This app lets you change your Bluetooth codec settings without diving into Developer Options.
You probably already know this, but you can change various Bluetooth audio-related settings like the codec, sample rate, and more by going to Settings > System > Developer options.
You shouldn't have to use this menu as your Android device and headphones should negotiate the best settings, but sometimes, they just don't. For example, every time I connect my WH-1000XM3s to the Nothing Phone 2, it defaults to aptX HD even though I enabled LDAC on the headphones through Sony's app. But there's a bug in Nothing OS 2.0 that prevents you from changing the Bluetooth codec in Settings (all the options are blank)!
But thanks to this app, called Bluetooth Codec Changer, I can change the codec to LDAC! The app also has a long list of extra features, available through a one-time in-app purchase (currently $2.99, normally $9.99), such as automatic codec switching, profile saving, widgets to change profiles, and more.
(Thanks to aborne25 for bringing this app to my attention! I should've mentioned this in my other post on Cast Receiver, but neither this thread nor that one were "sponsored" in any way, and I'm not in contact with the developers of either app.)
You probably already know this, but you can change various Bluetooth audio-related settings like the codec, sample rate, and more by going to Settings > System > Developer options.
You shouldn't have to use this menu as your Android device and headphones should negotiate the best settings, but sometimes, they just don't. For example, every time I connect my WH-1000XM3s to the Nothing Phone 2, it defaults to aptX HD even though I enabled LDAC on the headphones through Sony's app. But there's a bug in Nothing OS 2.0 that prevents you from changing the Bluetooth codec in Settings (all the options are blank)!
But thanks to this app, called Bluetooth Codec Changer, I can change the codec to LDAC! The app also has a long list of extra features, available through a one-time in-app purchase (currently $2.99, normally $9.99), such as automatic codec switching, profile saving, widgets to change profiles, and more.
(Thanks to aborne25 for bringing this app to my attention! I should've mentioned this in my other post on Cast Receiver, but neither this thread nor that one were "sponsored" in any way, and I'm not in contact with the developers of either app.)
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Google is preparing big upgrades for Android's taskbar
With the Android 14 QPR1 release (December 2023 Pixel Feature Drop), the taskbar could get some new, very useful features!
Details available exclusively on Patreon.
With the Android 14 QPR1 release (December 2023 Pixel Feature Drop), the taskbar could get some new, very useful features!
Details available exclusively on Patreon.
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TIL that Samsung's Remote Test Lab also offers their Wear OS watches for testing!
Samsung currently only offers 8 Galaxy Watch 6 series devices in the RTL, though, so you may have to wait for one to become available.
For those of you who don't know, Remote Test Lab lets you remotely test your apps on REAL Samsung hardware, including their latest Galaxy Tab S9 series, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and Galaxy Z Fold 5.
This is a pretty useful service as buying all of these devices costs quite a bit of money! Galaxy Watch 6 + Tab S9 + Z Flip 5 + Z Fold 5 = ~$3900.
It would be nice if Samsung updated some of their S23 series devices in RTL with the One UI 6 beta, so developers without an S23 can remotely test their app on Samsung's Android 14 release as soon as possible.
Samsung currently only offers 8 Galaxy Watch 6 series devices in the RTL, though, so you may have to wait for one to become available.
For those of you who don't know, Remote Test Lab lets you remotely test your apps on REAL Samsung hardware, including their latest Galaxy Tab S9 series, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and Galaxy Z Fold 5.
This is a pretty useful service as buying all of these devices costs quite a bit of money! Galaxy Watch 6 + Tab S9 + Z Flip 5 + Z Fold 5 = ~$3900.
It would be nice if Samsung updated some of their S23 series devices in RTL with the One UI 6 beta, so developers without an S23 can remotely test their app on Samsung's Android 14 release as soon as possible.
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Google is working on a new developer option in Android that will swap out your device's Linux kernel with one that uses a 16K page size. Compiling the kernel to use 16K pages could provide a significant performance improvement but also break many apps.
A page is a fixed-length contiguous block of virtual memory. Android currently uses a 4K page size, while iOS and macOS use a 16K page size. Some workloads benefit significantly by using a larger page size, like kernel compilation.
But although ARM64 Linux binaries are compatible with 4K, 16K, and 64K pages by default, many native apps and Android OS components that assume a 4K page size might just break. (These comments by a lead Asahi Linux developer go into a lot more detail about the potential challenges.)
This is why Google is incrementally experimenting with 16K page size support in Android. They've been working on compiling the kernel with a 16K page size and fixing various issues since last October, but late last week, a Googler submitted a series of patches to AOSP (that have not yet been merged) that add a "developer option for booting with 16K pages."
If/when these patches are merged, a new "enable 16K pages" toggle will be added under Settings > System > Developer Options. When you toggle this option, Android will warn you that "some applications may not be compatible with this mode." Android will then call update_engine - the system OTA service - to swap the kernel to a 16K compatible one.
I have no idea if/when this developer option will land, nor whether Google will actually go through with changing to a 16K page size compatible kernel. If they do, it won't be for a while and the transition will be slow given how much might break.
A page is a fixed-length contiguous block of virtual memory. Android currently uses a 4K page size, while iOS and macOS use a 16K page size. Some workloads benefit significantly by using a larger page size, like kernel compilation.
But although ARM64 Linux binaries are compatible with 4K, 16K, and 64K pages by default, many native apps and Android OS components that assume a 4K page size might just break. (These comments by a lead Asahi Linux developer go into a lot more detail about the potential challenges.)
This is why Google is incrementally experimenting with 16K page size support in Android. They've been working on compiling the kernel with a 16K page size and fixing various issues since last October, but late last week, a Googler submitted a series of patches to AOSP (that have not yet been merged) that add a "developer option for booting with 16K pages."
If/when these patches are merged, a new "enable 16K pages" toggle will be added under Settings > System > Developer Options. When you toggle this option, Android will warn you that "some applications may not be compatible with this mode." Android will then call update_engine - the system OTA service - to swap the kernel to a 16K compatible one.
I have no idea if/when this developer option will land, nor whether Google will actually go through with changing to a 16K page size compatible kernel. If they do, it won't be for a while and the transition will be slow given how much might break.
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