Google is back in the AR/VR game!

Android XR just got announced, and it’s a special version of Android built from the ground-up for VR headsets and AR smart glasses.

Read this article to find EVERYTHING you need to know about Android XR.

BREAKING: Xiaomi Flagships have Stage 5 Terminal Cancer and can die anytime

In the launch video (around 2:04:00) I would summarise what Lei Jun said:

During writing HyperOS their engineers made a "discovery" that the UFS storage chips have 10GB+ storage reserved for "性能的优化" (Performance optimizations, so likely refers to UFS cache?)
They apparently optimised this to use much less space and so freeing up 8/16GB on their 256/512GB storage models, giving them "264/528GB" of actual usable storage.

It looks good on paper as Xiaomi fanbois will fap to anything Xiaomi advertised, but let's have a look at BTS.

1. Volatile Data Loss Risk: The reserved space in UFS (Turbo Write region) isn’t meant for permanent storage. If repurposed for user data, it’s significantly more volatile, increasing the risk of random data loss during power failures or crashes.

2. Long-term Durability: Repurposing this space for user data could lead to increased write amplification and faster wear on the storage, making your device die randomly even just after warranty expires, eventually making customers buy a new Xiaomi device & Xiaomi thereby making money.

3. Performance Trade-offs: UFS 4.0 relies on this reserved space for write acceleration. Reducing it could lead to slower write speeds, especially for large or sustained workloads when you game or use AI models.

The GPT Backup exists in Over-Provisioning Space.
The GPT (GUID Partition Table) has two backups: one at the beginning of the block device and another at the end. "If" Xiaomi's approach to reducing the reserved over-provisioning space affects the area where the GPT backup resides, it could lead to the loss of Partition Information as if the GPT backup stored in the over-provisioning space is compromised or overwritten, critical partition mapping can be lost, rendering the storage unreadable or corrupt, thus making the device instable and even loss of data in worst-case scenarios.

Wait, it's not over yet.
Xiaomi’s implementation of ZRAM means both your apps and the system are writing into the same limited SLC cache. Here’s why this is a catastrophic design flaw:

1. Overloading the SLC Cache: Turbo Write relies on this SLC cache for fast writes. With ZRAM and user data writing into it, the cache could be perpetually full, leading to severe write amplification and performance degradation.

2. System Instability: ZRAM adds constant write pressure on the already reduced cache. When combined with high disk activity from apps or downloads, it could lead to slowdowns, freezes, or even storage failures.

Special Thanks to developers @xLOCKnLOADx @Lunarixus, Dyneteve and @theVakhovskeIsTaken for revealing the side-effects of this "discovery" by Xiaomi.

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Update on the UFS Extension Situation in Xiaomi Flagships

After having more discussions & getting more insights especially from developers like @arter97, it turns out that it's not that bad and our assumptions was a bit wrong. There's nothing to worry about the UFS "unless" the storage nears full, here's why.

Our assumption over ZRAM and the performance being affected under high-loads leading to system instability is not true because under high-loads, TW will help with system performance. ZRAM also performs writeback only when idle, thus there will be no impact on write caused by ZRAM either under the load.

Now for the GPT backup existing in the Over-provisioned space , this space would be at the end of the UFS, meaning that everything at the beginning should be fine. Depending on where Xiaomi really put things, if the GPT backup and bootloader are on the SLC then it'll still boot even when the rest of the cells are dead.

However, one thing which still stands true is that the Xiaomi flagship device lifespan would be decreased and the storage efficiency would be affected. But that will only happen when the device storage nears full

Also, on weibo, Xiaomi have explained about this UFS extension and they have called it as "Ultraspace". This is turned on by default and the engineers achieved this by forcibly reducing the Over-provision space (OP in short)

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Poco x7 series renders

The Poco x7 series will debut in January, 2025 in India with HyperOS 2.0. The Poco X7 will be rebranded Redmi Note 14 Pro and Poco X7 Neo will also debut alongside x7 and x7 Pro.

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MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Chipset Details
Source: DCS

MediaTek is cooking Dimensity 8400 with all the 8 cores being Cortex-X725 although frequencies will be different to avoid cooking the phone.

CPU:
• 1x Cortex-A725 @ 3.25GHz
• 3x Cortex-A725 @ 3.0GHz
• 4x  Cortex-A725 @ 2.1GHz
Manufactured by TSMC on its 4nm process.

GPU: 7-core Immortalis G-720
Clocked at 1.3GHz

The MediaTek Dimensity 8400 is expected to be even more powerful than Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 8s Gen 3. It will be announced on 23rd December globally and Redmi Turbo 4 will be the first phone to be powered by the same which will debut globally as a rebranded Poco X7 Pro.

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Samsung caught the Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on video leaker

Samsung has apparently caught the person who leaked Galaxy S25 Ultra real-life images before the official launch. He was not a Samsung employee but apparently works for a carrier network partner since the Galaxy S25 series is in the partner testing stage now.

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Which Smartphone Maker Outsources the most ?

Many smartphone manufacturers outsource the design of at least some phones to other companies, and Counterpoint has revealed how many of these phones are shipped by each brand in the first half of 2024.

Apple didn’t rely on outsourced designs at all, while with Samsung, 22% of its shipped phones were designed by ODMs (original device manufacturers), representing a drop from 28% in 2022.

Four out of every 10 OPPO and HONOR phones shipped in this period were ODM devices.

90% of Motorola smartphone shipments in H1 2024 were outsourced smartphone designs. Almost 8 out of every 10 phones shipped by Xiaomi were outsourced designs.

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Google is switching to MediaTek Modem for the Pixel 10 Series
Source

Google Tensor G5 will be a really interesting watch. That's because:
1. Manufactured by TSMC
2. Not based on Samsung Exynos
3. Flagship MediaTek T900 Modem
4. IMG PowerVR GPU
5. It's Google (iykyk)

Now, for the modem part, Google considered a lot of options including using the flagship Qualcomm X75 modem. Apple is also expected to ditch Qualcomm modem next year starting with the iPhone SE 4

Finally, though, for one reason or another, Google decided to go with MediaTek’s (not yet released) T900 modem instead of using Qualcomm's. Xiaomi is also rumoured to use MediaTek's modem for its in-house SoC (basically the MediaTek T90 modem) scheduled to release next year which is manufactured by TSMC on its 3nm node.

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iPhones' Genmoji is more wild than Gboard's emoji kitchen 💀💀💀

https://vxtwitter.com/immasiddx/status/1868302495786869236

So basically I attended a Zoom meeting held by realme india ft. Bazul Sir (Product Manager of realme India) for unboxing of realme 14x and QnA

But some people literally ended up doing spams and screening Gay porn on Zoom meeting

ROFL, the reaction was unexpected...😂😂😂

Literally the whole meeting was a joke,disaster and catastrophic 😂😂

#Realme #Realmeme #FuckRealme

Channel :- @fuckrealme
Group :- @fuckrealmeme
Join :- @TechHub_Updates

Next level progres bar and loading bar in Play Store. They also fixed the d**k shaped split style Install button, it doesn't look like that now. ☠️

Google Material 3.1

@GappsLeaks

People still play this game 💀

https://fixvx.com/utsavtechie/status/1869972606323175680

Here's a TL;DR

The Serbian government exploited Qualcomm zero-days to unlock and infect Android devices with a new spyware named 'NoviSpy,' and used it to spy on activists, journalists, and protestors.

The spyware was discovered by Amnesty International's Security Lab on a journalist's phone after police returned it. Google's TAG (Threat Analysis Group) received kernel panic logs generated by exploits & worked backwards to identify SIX Vulnerabilities in Qualcomm's (DSP driver) adsprpc driver, used in millions of Android devices.

While Google is unsure about which vulnerabilities are leveraged by NoviSpy, the evidence suggests that the spyware employs an exploit chain to bypass Android security mechanisms and install itself persistently at the kernel level.

Qualcomm has not released a patch for CVE-2024-49848, despite Google having reported the issue to them 145 days back.

Google also noted that Qualcomm delayed patching CVE-2024-49848 and CVE-2024-21455 over the industry-standard period of 90 days.

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https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-android-novispy-spyware-linked-to-qualcomm-zero-day-bugs/

Qualcomm wins licensing fight with Arm over chip designs
Article, Comments

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RIP x86S, Intel terminates the initiative to debloat x86 instruction set
Tom's Hardware

Intel originally announced its intentions to de-bloat the x86 instruction set by developing a simplified 64-bit mode-only x86S version, publishing a draft specification in May 2023, and then updating it to a 1.2 revision in June of this year. But now, Intel is no longer working on the x86S specification, thus putting an end to the quest.

The decision comes after Intel announced the formation of the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group, which brings together Intel, AMD, Google, and numerous other industry stalwarts to define the future of the x86 instruction set.

Intel also has other future-looking x86 initiatives underway, such as its Flexible Return and Event Delivery (FRED) and the new AVX10 spec. Intel has confirmed that those initiatives are still underway.

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