XDA Friday 7/1/16

 

In this video we recap some of the most interesting Android related stories that we saw this week. It’s been an exciting week for Google as we learn the name for the next Android update, as well as the specs for the new HTC Nexus phone. Google Maps received a massive update to their satellite images which vastly improves the quality with trillions of new pixels. Motorola gives us a killer deal on their Moto G4, but this deal is for Amazon Prime member only.

Check out the links below to learn more about these top stories.

Android N Officially Named Android Nougat

Specifications Emerge of the Second HTC-built Nexus “Marlin”

Keeping Earth up to date and looking great

Amazon Discounts the Moto G4 for Amazon Prime Members… by Including Bloatware and Ads

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for a recap of the news every week. Thanks for watching and have a great weekend everybody!

 

from xda-developers http://ift.tt/296e6Za
via IFTTT

Google+ prepares to add Link Previews in Comments and the ability to show Low Quality Comments

Besides our very own forums, Google+ has long been a great place for Android users to congregate in communities around their favorite ROMs or apps. Many of our readers likely only use the website because for the longest time it was required to sign up for application beta testing.

For some time, you were even required to use an account there just to comment on YouTube (though last year Google reversed that change after much backlash). Google hasn’t yet given up on its social media website yet, and since the website is supposed to be used for far more than just users of Google products, it appears that Google may soon roll out additional features including the ability to view link previews in comments as well as the ability to show/hide low quality comments in order to improve everyone’s user experience while using the app. We’re seeing evidence for these features in the latest Google+ update version 8.2, by the way.

Disclaimer: The evidence we dig up from the APK files of an app are not definitive. Google may choose to pull these features without any indication in a future release.

---

Link Previews in Comments

Currently, Google+ doesn’t provide many formatting options for commenting on a post. In fact, the few formatting options that are available aren’t really publicized at all. Even on the desktop version of the website the comment box is pretty much void of any options.

It appears that Google will finally be bringing at least one new feature to the comment box; a feature that has already existed for quite some time whenever you create a new post: the ability to add a properly formatted link with a link preview.

<string name="create_comment_add_link_button">ADD</string>
<string name="create_comment_add_link_hint">http://ift.tt/1MzlHiF;
<string name="create_comment_add_link_title">Add a link</string>
<string name="create_comment_invalid_link">"The URL provided isn't valid"</string>
<string name="create_comment_preview_error">No preview available, but you can share a comment instead.</string>

As someone who frequents several Google+ groups for Tasker creations, it’s about time. Google+ comments can become a mess if you share a lot of different links.

---

 

Low Quality Comment Toggle

Finally, if you’re a masochist Google+ will soon allow you to unhide comments that have been removed by its spam filter. Currently, users are able to choose between 5 different reasons when they report a comment. If enough people report a comment and Google+ decides the comment violates its content rules, then the comment will be hidden from the public feed of comments. Unfortunately, such a system can be abused so Google+ will soon allow us to toggle between showing/hiding comments that it has deemed to be “low quality.”

<string name="menu_show_low_quality_comments">Show low quality comments</string>

We know that this menu option will appear under the dropdown menu whenever you open the menu in any post, according to these next few strings.

<item android:id="@id/show_low_quality_comments" android:title="@string/menu_show_low_quality_comments" support:showAsAction="never" />
<item android:id="@id/hide_low_quality_comments" android:title="@string/menu_hide_low_quality_comments" support:showAsAction="never" />

 

Current Options Underneath Every Post

showAsAction being set to “never” means that the menu option will only be shown in the overflow menu list, and the fact that no icon is identified in these strings indicates that it will merely show up as another text button in the menu.

---

That’s all we’ve found in the latest Google+ update. Do you still use Google+ regularly? Let us know your thoughts below!

 

from xda-developers http://ift.tt/29akVw7
via IFTTT

New YouTube Update finally brings Promised Support for Mobile Live-Streaming, but it isn’t yet Active

A little over a week ago, the YouTube creator blog announced that content creators who have enabled the ability to live stream on their accounts would soon be able to run a stream straight from their mobile device. Initially, Google announced that only 5 of their YouTube partners would be able to use the feature. But now it appears that the promised support for livestreaming will indeed be rolling out soon to more users, if the latest YouTube 11.25.55 APK is any indication.

Source: YouTube Creator Blog

---

We’ll Do it Live! … Finally!

Our source for the imminent roll-out are strings within the latest YouTube APK indicating support for the feature.

<string name="gallery_go_live_button_description">Go live button</string>
<string name="gallery_go_live_button_text">Go live</string>

…

<string name=”live_upcoming_datetime”>Live on %1$s</string>

While these strings would not constitute concrete evidence when tearing down other Google apps, we already know that Google will soon be offering this feature due to their official announcement. We can’t give an exact date on when the feature will actually be rolled out to all users, though, as the switch seems to be on the server-side. We could not find the actual button to begin a live stream anywhere within the latest YouTube APK on any of our test devices. Nevertheless, we do know what the button will look like when it does start showing up for all users, as indicated in the gallery_fragment.xml file inside the APK’s asset layout.

 

<com.google.android.libraries.youtube.common.ui.YouTubeTextView android:textSize="@dimen/gallery_camera_buttons_font_size" android:textColor="@color/gallery_camera_buttons_font_color" android:gravity="center" android:layout_gravity="center" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="@string/gallery_go_live_button_text" android:drawableTop="@drawable/ic_broadcast" android:contentDescription="@null" android:textAllCaps="true" res-auto:robotoFont="medium" xmlns:res-auto="http://ift.tt/GEGVYd" />

---

Miscellaneous Features Found in the Teardown

Disclaimer: The evidence we dig up from the APK files of an app are not definitive. Google may choose to pull these features without any indication in a future release.

Besides the principle “go live” feature that we all knew was eventually coming to Youtube, there are a few additional features that may be coming in the near future according to some additional strings we found within the latest YouTube update. First up, we’re seeing some evidence that YouTube will allow you to retry saving offline videos that failed to save the first time you attempted to offload the content. This will likely be useful mostly to users who like to save large amounts of content for when they travel, only to see that something went wrong when they tried to save certain videos or playlists.

<string name="offline_retry_failed_videos_dialog_message">Retry saving all failed videos in this list?</string>
<string name="offline_retry_failed_videos_menu_item">Retry saving failed videos</string>

Current Options Shown within the Offline Videos List

Finally, we’re seeing evidence that YouTube will soon provide additional playback options for videos. Currently, the only options available to users are Previous/Next, Play/Pause, and Close.

Soon, we may be seeing the ability to Stop and Retry playback of a video. More playback options are always welcome to satisfy everyone’s use cases, although the current offerings are more than enough for the majority of people.

<string name="playback_control_retry">Retry</string>
<string name="playback_control_stop">Stop</string>

---

That’s all we’ve found within the latest YouTube app update. Let us know your thoughts below!

from xda-developers http://ift.tt/29em2LP
via IFTTT

Wi-Fi Alliance Announces “Wave 2” Features for 802.11ac

The Wi-Fi Alliance has just announced some additional features that will be coming to 802.11ac devices in the near future. The new features include MU-MIMO, which will let the router multitask by sending data to multiple devices at once. The channel bandwidth is increasing from 80MHz to 160MHz, an increase from 3 spatial streams to 4, and additional channels for the 5GHz band.

from xda-developers http://ift.tt/29aKlZO
via IFTTT

Verizon is Rumored to Announce a Huge Promotion Today

There’s a rumor going from a Verizon Wireless employee that claims their manager is talking a big, secret promotion that is to be announced today. Then, a fellow Redditor replied with what looks like legit marketing material for it. If true, Verizon will be announcing rollover data, unlimited 3G data (on select plans), free roaming in Canada/Mexico, and free calls to Canada/Mexico (on select plans).

from xda-developers http://ift.tt/299WyhX
via IFTTT

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides get Notifications for Comments

Previously, if you received a comment on your Google Doc, Google Sheet or Google Slides project, then Google would simply send you an email to inform you about it. There’s a new update rolling out to these apps now though that will give you the option to receive notifications (on desktop and mobile) for comments instead.

from xda-developers http://ift.tt/29jcmBE
via IFTTT

MIUI 8 Beta Coming on July 11th, Stable on August 16th

Xiaomi customers have been wanting to get their hands on MIUI 8 ever since the company started hyping it up. This week, we learned exactly when we can start to get our hands on the upcoming software update. Xiaomi will start rolling out the public beta ROM on July 11th, while those who opt for the stable build will need to wait until August 16th.

from xda-developers http://ift.tt/29bYNQT
via IFTTT