OnePlus 3T Launched | OnePlus 3T Price in India | OnePlus 3T launch in India | OnePlus 3T Features | OnePlus 3T specs

 

OnePlus has launched the OnePlus 3T smartphone, which is an upgrade over the OnePlus 3 flagship. OnePlus has changed the processor in the new phone and it now comes with the Snapdragon 821 processor and a bigger battery and front camera. The OnePlus 3T starts at $439 in the US, which is around Rs 29,000. The new phone is not listed on the India store yet, and it looks like this will take some time to come to India. However, OnePlus is also trying to reassure users who bought the earlier version of the phone, and says that they consider “OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T to be two versions of the same phone.”

In the announcement, OnePlus says software updates will follow the same schedule for both phones, and is promising Android Nougat update on OnePlus 3, 3T later in the year. The blogpost also says OnePlus 3T has “key improvements that couldn’t be pushed out through software update releases,” including the new Snapdragon 821 processor.

OnePlus 3T also comes in a 128GB storage version and two colour options called ‘bold Gunmetal’ and ‘soft gold.’ However only the Gunmetal option has 128GB version. OnePlus says the 64GB Soft Gold edition of the OnePlus 3T will be available shortly after launch, while the Gunmetal version goes on sale on November 22 in the US and November 28 in the EU.

So what are the specifications of the OnePlus 3T? It comes with the same 5.5 inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) display with 401 ppi pixel density. It has a Corning Gorilla Glass 4 on top and OnePlus 3T continues with the AMOLED display. It also comes with a night mode. Dimensions of the OnePlus 3T are 152.7 x 74.7 x 7.35 mm and it weighs 158 g,which is exactly the same as the OnePlus 3 phone.

The processor is Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 which is quad-core one and the GPU is Adreno 530. Like the earlier phone, this one too comes with 6GB LPDDR RAM and not 8GB as was being rumoured. Storage options include 64GB or 128GB with UFS 2.0.  The rear camera on the OnePlus 3T remains the same at 16MP with the Sony IMX 298 Sensor and 1.12 µm pixel size. There’s OIS, PDAF, 4K video resolution as well Slow Motion (720p at 120fps). The camera also supports RAW Image and has a Sapphire crystal lens cover.


The front camera has been bumped up in the OnePlus 3T and is now a 16MP one with the Samsung 3P8SP Sensor and 1.0 µm pixel size. It supports EIS, Auto-focus, PDAF, has an aperture of f/2.0 and will shoot 1080p video at 30fps.

Battery in the OnePlus 3T is 3,400 mAh (non-removable), more than the 3000 mAh on the OnePlus 3. It also comes with Dash Charge support, which promises a day’s worth of battery life in just 30 minutes of charge. It has a USB 2.0 Type-C charging port, Dual-nano SIM slot and 3.5 mm headphone jack as well. This is a 4G LTE (Cat 6) smartphone with support for Bands 1/2/4/5/8 in North America version. Other connectivity options are Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC and GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou

Sensors on the list of the OnePlus 3T are Fingerprint sensor, Hall sensor, Accelerometor, Gyroscope, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor and Electronic Compass. OnePlus 3T has the same bottom-facing speakers as the earlier phone and comes with dual-microphone with noise cancellation. Both phones currently run OxygenOS with Android M.

Read more ...

Samsung To Launch Galaxy S7 In The Second Half Of 2015

For the first time in its history, Samsung might release a second (or the third) Galaxy S flagship in the same calendar year. The smartphone, known as the Galaxy S7, will supposedly be launched earlier than scheduled to rival the range of iPhones that will break cover later this year.

The company's Galaxy Note lineup hasn't seen the same amount of love that the Galaxy S flagships have, so this move makes sense from Samsung's standpoint. However, since it's just a rumor for the time being, we suggest you take it with a grain of salt until there's evidence to prove otherwise.

It is not known if this will replace the Galaxy Note series or launch alongside, but we won't be surprised either way. With an announcement scheduled for sometime in September, the company will apparently look for a late 2015 launch of the Galaxy S7.

Launching too many flagships in a calendar year is something that Sony has received significant flak for, so we don't think Samsung will be exempt from that if this rumor materializes.

The Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge have reportedly matched the company's sales estimates, so it's possible that Samsung will replace the lineup with the new Galaxy S7 series. All of this seems far fetched at the moment, so we'll wait until more details emerge on the same.

Would you like to see a third or fourth Galaxy S flagship in 2015?

Read more ...

LG G4 Sets Guinness World Record For Most Selfies Taken With A Phone

In Mexico City, LG gathered around hundreds of people to take selfies with the LG G4 smartphone, in a bid to enter the Guinness Book of World records for the most selfies taken with a single smartphone. The previous record was 531 selfies, set in the US.

LG however, managed to top that by taking 746 selfies, thus beating the record by a substantial margin. And the only reason they had to stop was because they ran out of people and not because the phone was out of battery, which is comforting news for prospective owners of the smartphone.

"With one selfie taken approximately every 10 seconds, the LG G4 used for the record attempt managed to go the distance without needing a recharge or a battery swap," said Daniel Aguilar, who coordinated the event for LG Electronics Mexico.

The record was set on the 13th of June near the Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City. The event was supervised by a Guinness World Records representative, so setting the record was the plan all along.

The LG G4 is one of the best high end Android flagships available in the market and the company has done a very good job of creating ample buzz for the smartphone as it gradually makes its way to global markets.

http://www.lgnewsroom.com/2015/06/lg-earns-guinness-world-record-for-worlds-longest-selfie-relay-chain/

Read more ...

Micromax Canvas Selfie Lens Is Here To Appeal To Selfie Lovers

Micromax seems to be on a roll these days. After launching its flagship phone, the company today announced Canvas Selfie Lens smartphone with a clip on 0.4 X wide angle lens that enables users to click selfies, images and videos in the wide-angle mode.

Micromax already offers a device called Canvas Selfie, which is meant for selfie lovers and this one is an add on to that portfolio.

To assist people to have better selfies the phone also comes with Face beauty mode (which we have seen in some of the other Micromax devices as well) that helps them touchup their pictures before uploading them on the social networking sites.

Coming over to the specifications, Canvas Selfie Lens comes with 5-inch HD IPS display. It also offers Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Sporting an 8MP AF rear camera with Largan lens, Sony Sensors & LED flash, and there is a 5MP FF front camera with Largan lens and OV sensors. It comes with a 1.3GHz Quad-Core Processor along with 1GB of DDR3 RAM. It has 8GB of internal memory which can be expanded by up to 32GB via microSD card.

Micromax Canvas Selfie Lens runs on Android Lollipop 5.0. It comes with 2,800 mAh battery, which the company claims gives 9 hours of talktime and a standby time of 374 hours.

Available in White + Champagne and Moondust Gray colour, the device is priced affordably at Rs 8,299and can be purchased through online and offline stores. As a bundle offer, Vodafone users will get 500MB 3G data free for 2 months with this phone.

Read more ...

Google Gears Up To Bring NYC's New Public Wi-Fi Hotspots To Your City

Last year, New York City introduced LinkNYC, its innovative plan to turn the city's ailing payphone infrastructure into a network of 10,000 gigabit Wi-Fi hotspots. Google just bought the key players behind the plan, and hopes to scale the model to more cities.

OK, brace yourself, you're about to hear a lot of company names, but I promise I will explain everything so that it makes sense. Google recently launched an urban technology incubator called Sidewalk Labs.That company bought two companies behind the LinkNYC plan, Titan and Control Group. Those two companies will now be united into one company, called Intersection. To recap, Sidewalk Labs (Google) just acquired Intersection (Control Group and Titan), which is behind the New York Wi-Fi hotspots. Got it?

The LinkNYC project will continue exactly as planned: There are supposed to be 500 hotspots installed by the end of this year, and 4000 by the end of 2016. The grand total will be up to 10,000 total hotspots in the five boroughs. Outwardly, neither Sidewalk Labs nor Intersection has stated their intentions to start any new projects together, but the goal is to try to scale the LinkNYC model to other cities. That could mean a number of things. Most obviously it could mean Wi-Fi hotspot networks in more cities.

In a lot of ways LinkNYC in particular dovetails nicely with Google's ambitions. It's primarily an advertising business, and we all know that's how Google makes it's money by selling ads. It also works nicely as a complement to infrastructure projects like Google Fiber and more recently, Goolg'e Project Fi wireless carrier. Of course, once again, you should always be concerned about Google's pervasive creep into every aspect of our communications infrastructure. This is also a data-mining company.

More than than just Wi-Fi hotspots, though, you might see these companies' technology in more and more public spaces. You'll recall Control Group's last project, the impressive NYC digital subway kiosks. Prior to becoming Intersection, Control Group also deployed iPads in the redesigned Delta terminal at LaGuardia Airport, making it the sole tolerable location in that transportation hellhole.

Sometimes Google's plans are so big that it's hard to imagine how an immediate acquisition might pan out in the long run. In particular, I'm interested to see what happens to the Control Group side of the business. That company's ambitious projects have always been impressive, and you have to respect its capability for getting things done with byzantine bureaucracies like New York's MTA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Still, for all the promise, neither the kiosks in the subways nor the iPads at LaGuardia have panned out to be as transformative as the pitch. The former, in particular, is so far most effective as a giant digital billboard. (That doesn't mean they won't get better over time; the project is still new.)

Either way, for now, you should be more sure than ever that Google is far more than an internet company. Google's coming soon to a city near you.

Read more ...

IOS 9 Will Delete Apps To Make Room For Updates

When iOS 8 was unleashed on the general public, the size of the update - 4.6 GB - caused many users' iPhones to cower in fear and shame. In an attempt to avoid a repeat of the problem, iOS 9 will free up space by deleting third-party apps before downloading (and then reinstalling afterwards).

The feature - if deleting a bunch of your apps can be considered a feature! - was discovered by a user on the MacRumors forum, who was alerted to the auto-delete functionality when trying to update to the latest version of the iOS 9 beta. According to the pop-up they received, all deleted apps would be redownloaded immediately after the update - although, it's not made clear what happens to your data contained within those apps, something Apple should clarify pronto.

Apple is clearly trying to avoid a repeat of the iOS 8 update debacle, where a combination of early bugs and the 6GB of free space needed meant that users were slow to download the new software. iOS 9 should already be much better: the update only requires 1.3GB of free space, so just delete a couple hundred of those selfies (or let Apple do that for you) and you should be home free.

Read more ...

Android Wear 5.1.1 Lollipop Update Plagued With Battery Drain Issues, 5.1.2 Update Inbound

Google has been pushing out Android Wear 5.1.1 Lollipop update to all of available smartwatches lately including but not limited to Moto 360 and LG Watch Urbane. The thing is, a lot of people are experiencing some really bad battery drain and we don’t know when an update will be pushed out to fix it.

There was a thread started in the Android Wear Help Forum back on June 12th about this issue. It slowly started to pick up steam as the days went by and it has finally been passed around the Android community. Now that everyone knows about the battery drain issue, it leaves us to wonder when Google will be able to push out a bug fix update for it. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to what exactly is causing the excessive battery drain with Android Wear 5.1.1 Lollipop update. The thread lists reports from users with the Moto 360, Sony SmartWatch 3, ASUS ZenWatch, the LG Watch Urbane and the LG G Watch R, so it seems to be affecting every Android Wear device out there that has been updated to Android Wear 5.1.1 Lollipop.

Thankfully it just took three days to get a response from Google about the battery drain issue. Ernest from Google replied to this thread on June 15th and tells us that the company is aware of the issue present in Android Wear 5.1.1 Lollipop update. Ernest continues and tells us that they are working on a fix and then thanks us for our patience. This is the typical response that we expect to see from Google about something like this. Some will think this is a canned response and even if it is, does that make it bad? We have proof that Google has acknowledged the issue and that they are working to fix it right now.

Android Wear 5.1.2 Lollipop Update Possible To Fix 5.1.1 Problems?

There’s no telling when Google will be able to push out a bug fix update. It could require a firmware update(Android Wear 5.1.2 Lollipop?) or they might be able to fix it with an Android Wear or Google Play Services app update. Either way, we will be right here to report on any additional information about this story as it develops.

Source: Google Product Forums

Read more ...

Cortana For Android To Challenge Google Now With OFFICIAL Android App

Cortana for Android has finally gotten an official release date. Microsoft has just confirmed that they plan on bringing their famous virtual Assistant to Google’s platform in July this year.

This year turned out to be really good for voice assistant software. We’ve got SoundHound’s Hound assistant, as well as Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana, which is now coming to iOS and Android. It’s a big move for Microsoft to consider other operating systems. Now, according to the tech company itself, Cortana for Android will in the Google Play Store next month. We don’t have any additional information, but the process itself will probably be longer. This is because an Android port would likely have its own set of bugs and more limited functionality, given that Microsoft had to rewrite it from scratch. Still, it’s likely that we’ll be seeing a full Cortana with as few bugs as possible, and we can’t wait to see how it holds up against its competition. This is one of the first voice assistants to work on more or less every mobile platform.

Cortana And Google Now To Compete For Your Attention In July

Functionality-wise, we expect it to work just like Google Now and Siri. Cortana has a personality, and it delivers very accurate search results so it’s going to make a powerful competitor for Google Now. One interesting feature that we’d like to see is cross-platform reminder support, for instance if Cortana runs on both your Android device as well as your Xbox, could it set reminders on your console? This would make it stand out from all other voice assistants, and it’s just one of the things that it could do right. Microsoft has yet to give out any specific details except the release details.

How do you feel about this voice assistant? Will you use it over its alternatives once it arrives on Android? Let us know by leaving a comment.

Source: Microsoft

 

Read more ...

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 And Note 5 Edge: Spec Features That Samsung Is Going To Boast At IFA

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and the Note 5 Edge are rumoured to be launching just a few months from now. These two devices could be launched during the IFA show that is scheduled to be held in the first week of September this year. Samsung has always launched its Galaxy Note series of flagships at the IFA show and this year is not going to be any different. That said, we could see a little twist in the tale this year.

According to rumours, Samsung is planning to launch two Galaxy Note devices this year as well. However, they are both going to sport top end specs unlike last year. The Galaxy Note 5 is going to be accompanied by another Galaxy Note, which could be called the Galaxy Note 5 Edge. Following in the footsteps of the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge duo, the Galaxy Note 5 is going to be the normal Note flagship whereas the Note 5 Edge is going to be the one with the curved display.

As usual, the rumour mills are abuzz with chatter about what is going to be present in the upcoming Galaxy Note flagships. While Samsung has been strictly silent about it (as it should be), this has not stopped the internet from speculating. A lot of talk has been going on about Samsung’s plans to upgrade the processor and the display at the very least. While we don’t know anything for sure yet, here’s what the rumour mill is talking about the two upcoming Note devices.

 Improved Processor

Samsung’s current flagship Exynos processor is more or less obliterating the competition when it comes to spec wise performance as well as overall performance. The Exynos 7420 octa core processor used in the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge is outperforming the octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor by leaps and bounds in every aspect – from raw performance, to throttling, thermal management and benchmarks. Samsung’s efforts in this area have finally paid off after a struggle of two years.

While that is impressive, Samsung is being rumoured to be working upon an improved version of the Exynos 7420 processor already. The Korean giant is working on Exynos 7420 X or the Exynos 7422 processor, featuring improvements in the clock speed, throttling and heat management. While the Galaxy S6 is performing well enough in the real world, Samsung’s aims to use a higher resolution display in the Galaxy Note 5 and the Note 5 Edge mean the company has to improve it even further.

Ultra High Resolution 4K display

 

Last year we saw Samsung go the 2K Quad HD resolution route with the Galaxy Note 4. As has been the tradition where Samsung’s Note series is the first among the Note and the Galaxy S flagships to receive big specs jumps, the Note 5 and the Note 5 Edge will be the right devices to have Ultra HD 4K resolution screens. It makes enough sense right now, but it could also be a bit too early to speculate much on this front.

Next gen LPDDR4 RAM

Samsung has taken the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge to debut the next generation of flash storage, dubbed UFS 2.0. However, this time it is the turn of the Note series to receive a bit upgrade on the memory front. As per rumours, Samsung has started the mass production of a next gen 20nm LPDDR4 RAM module. At 4 GB RAM, this new DDR4 RAM will be 50% faster than DDR3 modules and will consume 40% less power.

USB Type C support
 

  

Among the latest features in the upcoming version of Android is the USB Type C support. Google announced that it has finally implement support for reversible USB Type C cables so you can stop worrying about the orientation of your microUSB cables. Reports suggest that upcoming smartphones in the second half of 2015 will come with USB Type C ports. This also means that the Note 5 and the Note 5 Edge will come with the Android M 6.0 update or at least, will be updated soon after.

Read more ...

Lollipop Update Android 5.0.X/5.1 Roundup: Verizon S6, S6 Edge, T-Mobile Xperia Z3, US Cellular Galaxy Tab S, Sony Xperia Z3/Z2/Z1

With over a billion Android devices shipped in 2014 alone, there are a lot of Android 5.0 and 5.1 Lollipop updates getting pushed out to these phones and tablets. We’re going to give you a summary of all the latest OTA updates that have been reported on lately.

Sony Xperia Android 5.1 Lollipop Update

We would say the biggest news, in regards to Android updates, comes from Sony and their announcement of Android 5.1 Lollipop updates for a plethora of their devices. Some regions are still getting Android 5.0 updates pushed to their Sony smartphones and tablets but the Japanese conglomerate has already announced their Xperia Android 5.1 Lollipop update plans. The updates are said to start in July and continue on from there. There’s no telling how long these roll outs will take but we are betting on at least 2-3 months.

From the announcement post, we are expecting to see Sony releasing Android 5.1 Lollipop update for the Xperia Z3 series, the Xperia Z2 series, the Xperia Z1 series and the Xperia Z series. The company also plans to push out this 5.1 Lollipop update to the Xperia M2, Xperia M2 Aqua, Xperia T2 Ultra and the Xperia C3 as well. We don’t know which devices will see the first updates but we are speculating that they will be pushed out to the Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z2 series first. We’ll be right here reporting on the OTA updates each and every time we see reports from them.

US Cellular Galaxy Tab S Android 5.0.2 Lollipop Update

US Cellular Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 Android 5.0.2 Lollipop updateUS Cellular might not be the biggest wireless carrier in the United States but they certainly do a decent job of keeping up with the big boys. Last week we saw the company announce and start to roll out Android 5.0.2 Lollipop for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5. The update will continue to roll out to customers over the next few months so keep your eye on the software update page if you have one of these tablets.

Verizon Wireless Galaxy S6 And S6 Edge Android 5.0.2 Lollipop Update

We saw a trio of Android updates released to Verizon customers last week and two were very welcomed updates too. Verizon Wireless customers with a Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge were treated with an update that does more than just fix a few bugs too. The biggest change in this update looks to be the addition of a drawing mode for the built-in photo editor application that comes with all Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge devices. There were some improvements made to the dialer, voice calls and a change to how the emergency call button is displayed.

Read more ...

Android M 6.0 Update: Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, Note 4, Note Edge, Tab A And More

Android M 6.0 update isn’t scheduled to go out  to users until later this year, however, it seems like that the update has already been confirmed to be released eventually to a bunch of Samsung Galaxy devices.

Google is planning on getting Android M 6.0 update released to the public sometime within Q3 of 2015. As with all software development schedules, this could be delayed or pushed back at any time but as of right now, these are the plans. It took Samsung around 1 month after 5.0 was released before they pushed out their first Lollipop update to the Galaxy S5. We then saw this Lollipop update pushed out to other devices like the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 shortly afterwards before finally making its way to the Galaxy Note 4. I was expecting to see this list rather small, like 3 or 4 devices like we saw with 5.0 Lollipop but YouMobile says there will be more.

Samsung Galaxy Android M 6.0 Update Roadmap

At this time, YouMobile believes that Samsung will release their first Android M 6.0 update to the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Duos, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 4 Duos, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Alpha and the Galaxy Tab A. All of these eight devices are also said to receive Lollipop update before the end of this year. This gives Samsung around three months after the release of Android M for them to meet this schedule. I’m not saying that Samsung can’t do it, but they do need to kick things into overdrive if they want to meet this schedule. It’d definitely going to be a hectic time for those software teams this holiday season

Do we have any readers who own the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Duos, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 4 Duos, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Note Alpha or the Galaxy Tab A? Do you think Samsung will release an update to Android M 6.0 for your device before the end of this year? Let us know your thoughts about this report in the comments section below.

Source: YouMobile

Read more ...

LG G4 vs Samsung Galaxy S6 Gaming Speed Test With GTA: San Andreas

Samsung Galaxy S6 and LG G4 are some of the most powerful phones of 2015. Both the phones now prove their mettle against each other in gaming test by running the most famous GTA: San Andreas.

If you’re an avid Android gamer then you’ve probably played Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on your phone already. It’s a great game but it takes a lot of resources to run it properly. It’s a very commonly used game in comparison videos because it’s a good indicator of a phone’s GPU quality. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and LG G4 have both been in close competition lately due to their similar tech specs, so this video will help us tell if they’re as good as each other when it comes to gaming performance too. Adrianisen starts out by showing the settings, which are pretty much maxed out on both devices.

As we watch the video, it starts to become more obvious that the LG G4 is the winner in this case. It seems that the flagship device has a somewhat smoother performance than the Samsung Galaxy S6. It’s pretty impressive that LG managed to make a flagship that can compete with Samsung’s so well, but on the other hand, we also expected some better results from the Samsung Galaxy S6.

Samsung Galaxy S6 vs LG G4 Gaming Test Results

There are many things to consider in a GPU test. For instance, the LG G4 could heat much faster while delivering better performance, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. In any case, the performance gap between the two devices isn’t too huge. The LG G4 seems to run the game more smoothly, but not by far. Samsung’s flagship can still run the game very efficiently, but more testing is required. Then again, the game could be poorly optimized, but still, the results are pretty conclusive.

Read more ...

[APK Teardown] Camera v2.5 Is Preparing A New "Smart Burst" Feature That Automatically Picks The Best Photos It Has Taken

Google's Camera app isn't exactly feature-rich, at least not when it is compared to alternatives offered by OEMs and many independent developers. Of course, that may be one of the reasons it is fairly popular – the interface remains simple and the features that did make it in, like Photospheres, are pretty cool. After looking through the latest update, it looks like Google is working toward another major feature addition called Smart Burst, and it might just become the best way to take photos of your friends.

Smart Burst

When we think of a traditional burst mode, it would usually be described as holding down a shutter button while a camera takes as many pictures as it can in rapid succession. The end result is usually a massive heap of photos with very minor differences that a photographer (or lowly-paid assistant) will sort through for the next few hours (or days) for the very best. Based on some evidence from the latest Camera update, it looks like there's a new feature that will do most of the heavy lifting. To begin with, it is called "Smart Burst."Just from the strings above, it's safe to say Smart Burst will not be turned on magically without at least one more app update. There is also a separate launcher icon and interface, which suggests Smart Burst was broken out of the primary camera app so it wouldn't interfere with development.

sb_ic_launcher

Interface

There's not much in the way of an interface, but the same could really be said for the entire Camera app. There are three layouts:

• sb_activity_capture: This shows a screen filled with a view from the camera, and it's covered by a capture button and a TextView that shows debug information.
• sb_activity_eval: This screen shows a title (currently, "Postprocess Eval App"), a progress bar named "video_progress" and a surface view named "video_view."
• sb_activity_result_picker: This is just a large StackView control. (StackView examples:Developer docs, StackOverflow)

From these layouts, the most interesting detail is the use of "video" in some names. It's possible Google is treating the capture process as a video recording instead of rapid-fire still shots. In the past, this would have resulted in some very below-average results because of limitations in the data pipeline required videos to capture mediocre quality frames; but thanks to considerably more advanced hardware and the capabilities that were opened up with the Camera 2 API, it's realistic to record video without sacrificing a pixel of quality.

Processing

Regardless of the method to capture images, the real magic comes in the post processing stage. The app examines each frame using a series of algorithms to extract and measure different details, sorts everything into groups based on similarity, and then scores photos based on an assortment of criteria.

Starting with the list of filters and converters that are used to extract details from photos:

• Grayscale
• HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value)
• Histograms
• Entropy
• Image Saliency
• Sobel Filter
• Inter-frame Homography
• Unsharp Mask

After basic processing is finished, images are further examined using facial recognition software originally developed by a company named PittPatt, which was acquired by Google in 2011. This is used to find the faces in a photo and determine some specific details about each one. With this step out of the way, each photo is finally scored for quality. These are the criteria I could find:

• Number of faces
• Face illumination
• Face Framing
• Expressions (particularly smiling)
• Inter-frame motion (streaking)
• Sharpness
• Left Eye Open
• Right Eye Open

I'm not sure where it occurs in the process, but the images are also compared using a pHash. Similar in concept to regular hashing functions that create significantly different values as a result of small differences in files, pHash attempts to construct values that are "close" to each other for images that are very similar. This is likely used to group frames for comparison purposes, or may even play a part in automatically eliminating frames that are too similar to others but but have lower scores.

In the end, users will be presented with a short list of the highest scoring images (think back to the sb_activity_result_picker layout with the StackView). There will probably be an actions to delete, share, or maybe even dig into images that weren't initially included. Since the interface is obviously still in development, we can probably expect this part to change in the future.

Wrap-Up

Google is obviously late to the game in terms of burst mode, but this is an effort to produce something better than just another rapid-fire camera mode. Of course, this isn't the first evolved variation on burst mode, either. We've seen similar features on HTC's camera with Zoe enabled, Samsung's camera in "Shot & more" mode, and a few others. Ultimately, what matters is that this Smart Burst actually delivers great results, and we won't know that until it's ready to roll out to users.

As I suggested before, this isn't something we'll see turned on with a server-side switch. There are still some things missing and a few details that require some polish, but it looks like most of the important pieces have been added. It's likely that the biggest hold-up is related to fine tuning the scoring algorithms.

Given that we're around 3 months from the release of the next Nexus phone, I wouldn't overlook the possibility that Google will hold this back to present it as a headlining feature. If 2015 brings a truly exceptional camera to the Nexus lineage, this Smart Burst feature would be a spectacular way to show it off. Let the anxious waiting begin...

Read more ...

Upcoming SHIELD Android TV Update Will Add MPEG-2 Codec Support For HDHomeRun Compatibility

More codecs are always better, especially if you're talking about a device that's (arguably) primarily for watching video. Android TV will get MPEG-2 support when the Android M build comes out - in fact you can check it out right now if you have a Nexus Player - but apparently NVIDIA doesn't want to wait. According to this forum post, an update to the new SHIELD Android TV will enable MPEG-2 codec support within a month.

Why MPEG-2 in particular? Apparently NVIDIA wants to add support for the popular HDHomeRun series of network-connected digital TV turners, which outputs directly in MPEG-2. This will allow the SHIELD to display over-the-air television via the Live Channels app. There are ways to get this working at the moment, but they require transcoding and are less than elegant. Once everything's in place, the SHIELD TV (and later any Android TV, with the M update) will make for a killer cord-cutting device when paired with a tuner.

The HDHomeRun Connect, an Ethernet-connected digital TV tuner.

NVIDIA recommends using Ethernet for HD playback - the SHIELD TV includes an Ethernet jack for direct connections to a router, something that isn't standard for Android TV or set-top boxes in general. Hopefully it will be at least serviceable over high-speed Wi-Fi - I surely can't be the only one who doesn't want to run cables across my living room.

Read more ...

Huawei Watch Reportedly Delayed Until Late Q3 Or Early Q4

A new report claims that Huawei has pushed back the release of the Huawei Watch until September or October. Of course, there was never an official launch date for the watch, but that's much later than everyone was expecting. The reason cited in the report for the delay is "incompatibility issues with Android Wear." That could mean any number of things.

Assuming that Huawei is planning to sell the watch in China, it would need to make major changes to the OS. Google's services are more essential to the functionality of Android Wear than they are on standard Android. Those services are not available in China—at least not right now. Maybe Huawei knows something we don't. It may also be good old-fashioned manufacturing woes that are leading to a delay.

The Huawei Watch made a splash at Mobile World Congress as the most watch-like of the existing Android Wear devices. It's round and doesn't seem exceptional bulky. If the China problem is indeed the reason for the delay, perhaps the watch will still come out sooner in other markets. Huawei isn't saying.

Read more ...

The Romans Are Cornered In Total War: Attila - The Last Roman Campaign Pack

The Creative Assembly has announced The Last Roman Campaign Pack, the largest expansion yet for this year’s Total War: Attila. The downloadable content adds a massive new campaign map to play, as well as adding five new playable factions, including the Roman Expedition, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Franks and Visigoths.

Total War: Attila - The Last Roman is set in AD533, and the Western Roman Empire has been wiped off the map. There is but one hope - the Roman Empire of the East, who are now tasked to reinvade the West and reclaim the land from the barbaric hordes that have swept across Europe.

The new and updated campaign map featuring in The Last Roman is a localised version of Western Europe, with a total of 35 provinces spread across 100 regions. All of the new factions come with a host of new units, technologies and buildings, while the Roman Expedition even has an entirely new building tree with more advanced technology.

Total War: Attila - The Last Roman Campaign Pack is out on June 25th for PC. And GD’ers still plugging away at Total War: Attila?

Read more ...

Latest Battlefleet Gothic: Armada Screenshots Show The Sheer Scale Of These 7km Battle

Space in and of itself is a pretty dull place. Oh, sure, it can look nice for a short while, but ultimately it’s 99.99999% total nothingness. A void swamped in eons of boredom. Add 7 kilometre spaceships with enough weaponry to take down a meandering planetoid, however, and all of sudden, space is the place.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, adapted from the Games Workshop tabletop game of the same name, knows fully well that bigger is better. In these latest screenshots for Battlefleet Gothic: Armada we see just how epic in scale these behemoths are, including the 1km Idolator, the fleet’s ‘smallest’ ship, all the way up to the suitably monikered ‘The Planet Killer.’ That one does exactly what it says on its 7500-metre long tin.

Tindalos Interactive's strategy game, if you haven't guessed, is all about massive great ships knocking lumps out of each other. Real-time damage allows players to punch holes through hulls, sheer entire cannons off, or even send a fleet of smaller ships to board enemy launching bays and wreak havoc inside.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is certainly looking pretty tasty in the screenshots, which is as a result of being developed in Epic's Unreal Engine 4, which seems a pretty versatile beast by now.

 There's no release date for Battlefleet Gothic Armada just yet, but we'll keep you posted as soon as we hear any more details.

Read more ...

Volume Launching On August 18th For PC And PlayStation

Mike Bithell has announced Volume, his follow-up to indie darling Thomas Was Alone, will be coming out on August 18th for PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. Volume is a stealth-based action game heavily inspired by the original Metal Gear Solid, with the player utilising noise-based distractions to sneak past patrolling guards and auto-turrets.

Gollum voice actor Andy Serkis even gets in on the action for Volume, voicing the arch-villain of the tale, Guy Gisborne. A brand new trailer has also been revealed, to help while away the hours for stealth fans until August 18th hits.

Bithell’s last game, Thomas Was Alone, proved a captivating experience, breathing life into faceless oblongs with a neat platforming adventure. Here’s hoping Volume can capture that very same charm when it arrives this August.

Read more ...

FORTNITE GAMEPLAY TRAILER

Epic Games just released a gameplay trailer for their upcoming free-to-play game, Fortnite and will be the first game to use the new Unreal Engine 4.

Described as a mix between Minecraft and Left 4 Dead, the game will see players co-operate with each other to scavenge and build huge fortresses during the day time and during the night defend the fort against endless zombie hordes. The trailer showed all sorts of wacky and fun fortress designs with a variety of traps and defences, along with players using even wackier weaponry to decimate the oncoming hordes.

The game will be released for the PC sometime around 2015 though a definite launch window or date hasn’t been revealed yet.

Read more ...

E3 2015 Predictions - Nintendo Press Conference

Nintendo might not be packing out a conference hall at E3 this time around, but it is still hosting its own special Nintendo E3 2015 Direct. Like an E3 press conference but stripped of all the sales babble, awkward guest appearanes and dancers, instead condensed down to less than an hour of solid game announcements.

At least, we hope it has a solid set of game announcements planned. When Nintendo head Satoru Iwata revealed to investors the next-generation Nintendo NX console was in the works last month, he basically signed the Wii U’s death certificate. We know there’s something else around the corner, but let’s hope Nintendo allows the console to bow out with more of the same great games it’s had up until now.

Nintendo’s infamously great at keeping leaks locked down, so we’ve got zero clue what’s going to crop up other than the previously unannounced titles, which are few and far between.

Starfox Wii U

Nintendo had a Starfox prototype at E3 last year, but we haven’t seen anything since. The last dedicated Starfox game was 1997’s Starfox 64, or Lylat Wars to PAL players, and a couple of dodgy Nintendo DS spin-offs, so this one’s been a long time coming. The problem is, time’s moved on, and I don’t think a modern audience is going to appreciate a brief on-rails shooter that promotes replayability rather than length. This is either going to be a budget download-only title, or Nintendo really needs to think outside the box for what Starfox delivers. My money’s on a combination of scrolling-shooter gameplay with FTL-style ship management on the gamepad.

Xenoblade Chronicles X

A Xenoblade X release date seems forthcoming. Nintendo’s been talking this one up since before the Wii U even came out, and initial import reviews suggest it may not be all that. Hopefully they don’t make a big song and dance of it, we already know plenty as is.

Splatoon, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros

Nintendo’s gone from a no-DLC-whatsoever policy to diving headfirst into an olympic swimming pool of $20 Amiibos. Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart 8 have already had a suite of downloadable content release for them, expect more. A few new Smash Bros characters are likely, possibly from the community vote Nintendo has been having, and another set of eight tracks for Mario Kart. It’s early days for the phenomenal Splatoon, but here’s hoping additional maps, weapons, and modes keeping rolling out - we just hope the community doesn’t become fragmented once paid content arrives.

Metroid U

The ironic thing with the Metroid series is that, despite typically stellar reviews, they really don’t sell all that well. The last figures we had suggested the series had sold a total of 17.5 million copies worldwide, across 12 games, 7 of which had 90+ Metacritic ratings. Metroid doesn’t sell consoles, but it’s got to the stage now where Nintendo no doubt knows nothing is going to sell its Wii U. With that in mind, it makes sense to please the Nintendo hardcore, who will lap up a new Metroid on the Wii U, and probably sell as many copies as Metroid Prime 3 did on the 100 million + selling Wii.

F-Zero U

If I could grab Nintendo and rattle its skull I surely would. This is a game fans have been crying out for, for years now, and a new F-Zero would go down a storm with the Nintendo faithful. The sublime F-Zero GX was made in conjunction with Sega, but that doesn’t seem too likely a partnership right now, what with Sega’s insistence on going to mobile. Nintendo’s tried to scratch that F-Zero itch with the 200cc mode added to Mario Kart 8, but nothing quite beats the full of its nippy futuristic racing series.

Long Shot

The 3DS is over four years old now. It’s about time we heard of a new handheld from Nintendo, which typically has a good year wait reveal to launch, providing perfect timing for a 2016 arrival. Nintendo has claimed the Nintendo NX won’t be at E3, and neither will The Legend of Zelda Wii U, but, if Nintendo isn’t pursuing the daft combined handheld and home console idea, we could see something about a new handheld from the big N.

Read more ...