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Xiaomi pulled the Mi A1’s Android 8.1 Oreo update

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Xiaomi released, then pulled, the Android 8.1 Oreo update for the Mi A1. Device owners complained of deleted text messages and tripped SafetyNet. Even though updates for the Xiaomi Mi A1 have been sporadic for months, the company’s first and only Android One smartphone received its Android 8.1 Oreo update. According to XDA Developers , however, the update also introduces a few headaches. For starters, Android 8.1 introduces features like a battery icon for your Bluetooth devices, semi-transparent Quick Settings panel that also goes light or dark based on your wallpaper, refreshed Settings menu, fixed burger emoji , and more. The update also bumps the security patch level to June 5 and improves sound quality. However, the update did not introduce Project Treble . Instead, it brought two nasty bugs that might give you reason to hold off for now. Editor's Pick Android One phones – what are your options? Android One is Google's platform designed to bring afford

What’s the best waterproof phone pouch you can buy?

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It’s summer and that means it’s time to get in the water! If you want to enjoy your time in the water without leaving your phone behind, a waterproof phone pouch is a must-have. Even if you happen to have a phone with waterproofing built-in, a pouch adds a little extra assurance. For those without waterproofing, it’s the difference between a water-damaged phone and a functioning one.  A waterproof phone pouch keeps your phone protected by sealing out all the water in a system that’s not too dissimilar from a Ziplock bag. Yeah, they are not pretty, but they will get the job done better than anything else. What’s even better is that you can actually use your phone while underwater with them. They are transparent, so you can operate the touchscreen through them and even take underwater photos. Want to get your own waterproof phone pouch? There’s several options out there. Let’s start with our top recommended pick, the CaliCase.  CaliCase floating waterproof phone pouch Promoted

3 camera lenses? Psh, Light might be bringing 9 lenses to a new smartphone

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Camera company Light is developing a smartphone that could have up to nine camera lenses. Light created the L16, a DSLR-replacement camera with 16 lenses. Light says its new smartphone could launch this year, but it will likely be very expensive. Remember the Light L16 camera ? In 2015, a company with the very un-Googleable name Light announced a new type of camera that has 16 lenses working simultaneously to create DSLR-quality photos. You may not remember the story, but you probably remember the way the L16 looked: Light In 2015, the L16 seemed pretty crazy. But today, with smartphones like the Huawei P20 Pro (pictured at the top of this article) sporting three lenses working together to create high-quality images, it seems much less insane. Light might have just been ahead of the curve with its product idea, but now that we’re getting more used to the concept of multiple-lensed cameras, the company is working to bring a new smartphone to the world that will sport anyw

5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly

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Welcome to the 250th edition of Android Apps Weekly ! Here are the big topics from the last week: The Walking Dead: Our World is the next game about the popular zombie series. It’s also the next AR game for mobile. You walk around the world fighting zombies and doing all kinds of Walking Dead stuff. The game features co-op challenges, a collecting element, and a real world element similar to Jurassic World Alive or Pokemon Go. The game officially launches on July 12th. It’s available for pre-registration now. MX Player, the iconic video player app, is getting a huge overhaul . It might not be a good one, though. India’s Times Group purchased a majority stake in the app this week. They want to turn it into an streaming service for India. That’s a far cry from the rock solid local video player app that it is today. We have a lot of questions and not a ton of answers yet. For instance, MX Player is popular all around the world for its video playing capabilities. If it transitions int

Get over $4,300 worth of CompTIA Certification training for only $59

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When you’re applying for an IT position , the very first thing the overwhelming majority of hiring staff look for is specialized certifications . They want to know if you’ve put in the effort to study for exams and, more importantly, that you’ve passed . They don’t care if you’re already an IT guru. It doesn’t matter how many networks you’ve set up, how savvy you are on Linux . They want certificates. Certificates are safe. Often it doesn’t come down to what you know; it comes down to how many pieces of paper you’ve collected. 96% of HR managers use IT certifications as screening or hiring criteria during recruitment. If that’s one universal truth, then here’s another. The 90-minute CompTIA exams are known to be pretty damn tough . Most mentors recommend studying extensively in preparation, and in the past this has meant either muscling through a fat textbook or hiring a private tutor. Fortunately the internet has made self-education a lot easier, thanks to a wave of o

Has Huawei unleashed a triple camera trend?

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When the Huawei P20 Pro launched earlier this year with three rear camera sensors , many considered it an anomaly. No one though phones with such a setup would start coming out regularly. However, it appears the early sales success of the P20 Pro , combined with all the media attention Huawei received for the first phone with a triple rear camera setup , might have made other smartphone companies step up their efforts to launch phones with three rear cameras. Read more: Best smartphone cameras In just the past few weeks, we have heard rumors that the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus  could three rear cameras when it launches in early 2019. Another rumor claims LG is working on the V40 for launch later this year. This report claims the phone will not only have a triple rear camera design, but also two front-facing cameras, making it the first phone with five cameras on board . Even Apple may be jumping on the triple camera bandwagon, as a number of rumors claim a future version of the iPh

T-Mobile starts very, very slow rollout of RCS Universal Profile messaging

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T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray announced that the T-Mobile RCS Universal Profile rollout has begun. However, the rollout only is for the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, and doesn’t work with Android Messages. This is a good start, but the vast majority of T-Mobile users won’t be able to take advantage of the update. RCS Universal Profile – the technology that will finally bring text messaging into the modern era for all Android users – isn’t accessible to everyone yet. In fact, it’s barely accessible to anyone. However, T-Mobile committed to being one of the leaders when it comes to bringing RCS to all its customers, and yesterday it made good on that promise…sort of. According to a tweet from T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray, the Universal Profile update is rolling out now to owners of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge only: GSMA Universal Profile 1.0 sw updates have started rolling out, extending @TMobile ’s long history of RCS leadership, bringing up to 100MB transfers and 100-perso