Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Vivo working on a Play Store alternative for Android - 9to5Google

In the midst of its struggles with a ban from the US government, Huawei has been working on alternatives to the Play Store. Now, a report from Reuters is shedding light on plans from Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo to create a Play Store competitor of sorts.

As it stands today, the Google Play Store can’t be used in China along with other Google applications and services. This has left Android devices sold in China without the Play Store, using APKs and other methods of distribution such as proprietary app stores to allow users to install applications.

Reuters reports that four Android giants in China – Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo – are preparing a competitor for the Google Play Store. However, this wouldn’t take the form of a single store, but would rather be a developer platform that strengthens the respective app stores of all four brands.

Apparently, this new platform would allow Android developers to upload their apps once and have them published in all four app stores. The Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA) will apparently launch in March – though could be delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak – and would also support music, movies, and games.

Once launched, this platform would apparently cover 9 different countries including China, India, Indonesia, and Russia. Nicole Peng, the VP of Mobility at Canalys, said the following regarding this new platform:

By forming this alliance each company will be looking to leverage the others’ advantages in different regions, with Xiaomi’s strong user base in India, Vivo and Oppo in Southeast Asia, and Huawei in Europe. Secondly, it’s to start to build some more negotiation power against Google.

The execution is difficult as its hard to say which company is pulling more weight and investing more in it. We haven’t seen the alliance model work well in the past.

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2020-02-06 16:02:00Z
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Galaxy Z Flip Joker & Harley Quinn edition already available for pre-order - SamMobile

We’re just days away from Samsung’s February 11 Unpacked event in San Francisco where the company will unveil the Galaxy S20 lineup and the Galaxy Z Flip. There’s a lot of excitement for its new foldable smartphone and there have been significant leaks recently which have given us a pretty good look at the device.

Since clearly secrecy is not a priority for the Galaxy Z Flip, we’re now seeing a lot more of the device. This Galaxy Z Flip Joker & Harley Quinn edition, though, isn’t something that we’ll be seeing at Unpacked.

Caviar shows off the Galaxy Z Flip Joker & Harley Quinn edition

That’s because this isn’t some promotional tie-up between Samsung and DC Comics. The Galaxy Z Flip Joker & Harley Quinn edition is a third-party creation. It’s made by Caviar, a Russian boutique firm known for its ostentatious treatment of mobile devices. One such example is its $58,000 Galaxy Note 9 Fine Gold Edition which had a back panel that contained an actual one kilogram of pure gold.

Leveraging the Galaxy Z Flip’s clamshell form factor, Caviar has adorned it with a gold-plated back with colorful images of both the Joker and Harley Quinn. There’s embossed engraving all around in the form of card suits. Caviar will only be selling 54 units of this $5,210 Galaxy Z Flip, a nod to the number of playing cards in a conventional joker deck. It’s accepting pre-orders already through its website.

Caviar has rather smartly listed their limited edition device just a day before Birds of Prey (new Harley Quinn movie) opens in cinemas across the globe, apparently, it doesn’t really matter to the company that the underlying device itself has still not been officially announced by Samsung.

Raise your hand if you want to buy this personification of having more money than you know what to do with. No one? Okay.

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2020-02-06 16:29:37Z
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New Apple TV 4K hardware appears closer to launching based on tvOS 13.4 beta code - 9to5Mac

Yesterday Apple released the first developer betas as part of its next round of software releases: iOS 13.4, iPadOS 13.4, macOS 10.15.4, tvOS 13.4, and watchOS 6.2. We’ve already discovered some new things hidden in the system, such as the new CarKey API, and now 9to5Mac has found references to a new Apple TV model in the tvOS 13.4 beta code.

The codes reveal a new Apple TV with the codename “T1125”, while the current Apple TV 4K is named “J105a” and the HD model is “J42d”. The letter “T” at the beginning suggests that it’s an internal model, probably a prototype that hasn’t been completely finished yet.

We don’t know what exactly are the new features of this Apple TV, but the internal files of tvOS 13.4 suggest that the hardware is based on the arm64e architecture, the same used in both A12 and A13 Bionic chips — the current generation runs with the A10 Fusion chip. The maximum resolution supported will remain 4K with HDR support.

A new Apple TV with a more powerful chip should considerably improve the performance to run Apple Arcade games, for example.

Over the past year, there have been some rumors about the next-generation Apple TV, which mentioned the possibility of the device to have the A12 Bionic chip and HDMI 2.1 input. Perhaps we’re now closer to that, as Apple usually holds a spring event every year.

Are you excited about the possibility of a new Apple TV? What do you expect for the next generation? Let us know in the comments below.

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2020-02-06 15:51:00Z
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China’s smartphone giants reportedly unite to challenge Google’s Play Store - The Verge

Huawei, Xiaomi, and BBK’s Oppo and Vivo are working together on a platform that will allow developers outside of China to upload their apps to all of the respective app stores simultaneously, Reuters reports. The manufacturers have joined together under the Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA) in what appears to be an attempt to challenge the international dominance of Google’s Play Store.

Since the Google Play Store is banned in China, Android users have grown accustomed to downloading apps from a variety of different app stores, many of which are maintained by manufacturers like Huawei and Oppo. But outside of China, the Google Play Store reigns supreme, providing a convenient single location where developers can upload their software. This near-monopoly means that third-party app stores have struggled with developer support internationally, and it’s this advantage that could be challenged by the GDSA’s platform.

GDSA’s prototype website notes that its services are planned for nine countries and regions, including India, Indonesia, Russia, and Malaysia. Reuters notes that the companies are strong in different regions, such as Xiaomi in India or Huawei in Europe. But together, they control over 40 percent of worldwide smartphone shipments as of the fourth quarter of last year. The new platform would make it easier for developers to upload their apps to every store at once while ensuring some degree of parity across app stores.

The Play Store’s international dominance is a much more acute problem for Huawei, which lost its license to offer Google’s apps and services last year, including the Google Play Store. This was such a problem that Huawei decided against officially releasing its last flagship, the Mate 30, internationally. The company has also announced it’s working on its own operating system called Harmony OS, and it says it’s investing $1 billion to fund the development, user growth, and marketing of Huawei Mobile Services, its alternative to Google’s services.

The Play Store provides a significant revenue stream for Google, which takes a 30 percent cut of any sales made through the store. In total, it’s thought to have made the company around $8.8 billion worldwide last year, according to one analyst quoted by Reuters. China’s phone makers want a slice of that pie as handset sales slow globally.

Reuters reports that a March launch was planned for the new platform, but this may have been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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2020-02-06 14:18:19Z
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The iconic Motorola Razr phone is back, this time with a screen that folds in half - CNBC

Motorola Razr with folding display

Motorola

Verizon on Thursday officially launched the Moto Razr. It's a new twist on the popular Motorola Razr V3 that first launched in 2004 and quickly became one of the most popular flip phones of the early 2000s.

The latest version has a foldable screen, similar to the one introduced in Samsung's Galaxy Fold last year, but maintains the popular clam-shell design of the original.

Motorola Razr with folding display

Motorola

The phone is expensive compared with other devices without folding displays. It has a midrange Qualcomm processor instead of a more powerful one, runs a year-old version of Android and has a smaller battery than most phones.

Despite the underwhelming hardware, it costs $1,499.99. And it's still unclear how well it will hold up. The first phone with a folding display, the Galaxy Fold, broke when it first launched. It has since been fixed.

Motorola Razr with folding display

Motorola

If you like the design, you should know Samsung is expected to announce a new folding phone as early as Tuesday, during an event in San Francisco. It should have a similar design to the Moto Razr, but may be more powerful.

You may also have a hard time finding the new Razr if you didn't preorder it. Verizon said it will be sold at flagship stores and that stock is limited. The carrier's website says new orders can be expected to ship by March 3.

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2020-02-06 13:17:00Z
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Google Maps is getting a big new update on iPhone and Android — here's what's new - CNBC

The new Google Maps home screen.

Google

Google Maps has announced a a big new redesign for the app on Android and iPhone that will begin rolling out now. In March, it'll receive a couple of new features, too.

Google demonstrated some of the features during a briefing with CNBC ahead of the launch, which coincides with the service's 15th birthday.

The redesign makes the app easier to use and doesn't require as much digging to find some options. It focuses on five icons on the bottom of the screen, three of which are new.

In addition to the Commute and Explore buttons, which were already in the app, you'll soon see buttons labeled "Saved," Contribute" and "Updates."

As a quick refresher: Commute shows you how long it'll take to get to work based on your transportation preference. Explore shows you restaurants, upcoming events, and featured lists from other Google Maps users.

The new main screen has five options at the bottom, three of which are new.

Google

Here's what the new buttons do:

• Saved shows you the restaurants, bars, landmarks and other places you've bookmarked to see. It's useful if you're visiting a city and want to make a list of places to visit when you get there. You can just tapped Saved when you land to see everything in one spot, including different lists for different places.
• Contribute makes it faster to add reviews or post photos of the places you've been. If you post pictures of a meal at a restaurant, for example, other people will see those pictures when they visit and it might help them know what to order.
• Updates is a quick way to see what's popular around you based on recommendations from "local experts" or news outlets like The Infatuation, Google said. So, if you land in Lisbon, for example, you'll see trending restaurants, recommendations on places to see and more, all based on information shared by other Google Maps users.

In March, Google Maps will get a couple of additional new features that expand on what's already available.

For instance, you can already see how crowded a subway car or bus might be before you get on it.

New options inside public transit show temperature, accessibility and more.

Google

Soon, you'll also be able to see the temperature, whether or not there are accessibility options like dedicated seating areas or a "women's section" in places where transit systems have that (Google said this is an option in India and Japan), and whether or not there's security like guards or security cameras. In Japan, you'll see how many cars are available on a train, too. Some of this data, like temperature, is provided by people who are already on the train or bus you're about to ride.

A new augmented reality feature shows you how far away something is.

Google

Finally, Google is expanding its "Live View" augmented reality feature, which overlays digital guides, like big arrows showing you where to walk, on top of the real world when you view it through your phone. Soon, instead of just big arrows showing you where to go, there will be a more simple red dot showing you where and how far away a destination is.

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2020-02-06 11:01:00Z
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Google Maps gets a new icon and more tabs to celebrate 15th anniversary - The Verge

Google Maps is turning 15 years old, and to celebrate, Google is rolling out a new icon for the service along with a slightly redesigned app and a couple of new features.

The biggest change here might be the icon itself — gone is the classic map intersection icon in favor of a new Google-hued pin on a white background, which more closely matches Google’s other application branding.

The Google Maps app itself is also getting a slight change, with two added tabs at the bottom: the update adds “contribute” and “updates” tabs, and replaces the “for you” tab with a more focused “saved” tab.

The motivation behind the redesign is rooted in the more recent functionality that Google has added to Maps, like the increased focus on user-submitted content and the ability to follow other users. With the new tabs, more of those features are put front and center for users instead of having them buried deep in a side menu.

Google is also announcing a couple new features to Maps, although they won’t arrive until sometime in March. The first is increased crowdsourced information for public transit. Before, Google Maps could only tell you whether a train or bus was expected to be crowded, but the new update allows users to submit other details like temperature, wheelchair accessibility, or whether there’s a women-only carriage or onboard security.

The other update is coming to Google’s augmented-reality Live View feature, which is getting a more lightweight mode that will simply show the location of your destination without launching into the full-fledged 3D turn-by-turn navigation mode that’s currently available.

The new icon and tab interface will roll out today on both iOS and Android devices; the new transit information and Live View mode will arrive in a future update sometime next month.

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2020-02-06 11:00:00Z
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