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By Rich Woods
Google's Android Jetpack Compose is now in beta
by Rich Woods
Today, Google announced that its Jetpack Compose framework is now available in beta. Up until now, developers have been able to test it out in alpha via the canary version of Android Studio.
Jetpack Compose is a new toolkit for building out your UI. In fact, there's already plenty of documentation for it. It's something that developers have been testing out for a while, so one of the key things changing in beta is that APIs aren't going to change between now and when it goes into production. It's going to go into production later on this year around the time that Android 12 comes out, so you can get started on it now.
There are a bunch of new features that have been added since the first alpha release, such as coroutines support, accessibility support for Talkback, and a new Animations API. And on the Android Studio end of things, you'll find new tools like Live Literals, Animation Preview, compose support in the Layout Inspector, interactive preview, and Deploy Preview.
Google also said that Jetpack Compose already works with your existing app, so you can start playing around with it whenever you're ready. To get started, you'll need the latest canary build of Android Studio Arctic Fox, which you can download here.
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By Abhay V
Google announces a bunch of new Android features
by Abhay Venkatesh
Google today announced a few new features coming to Android, both via updates to select apps and the OS itself. The features related to security, accessibility, and more, and the rollout is similar to how the company introduced added capabilities to older Android versions late last year.
The first on the list today is the addition of the Password Checkup tool natively to Android, something that first debuted as an extension and then made it to the Chrome browser itself. As the name suggests, the feature helps users keep a tab on the integrity of their saved passwords by notifying them if their credentials have been exposed. This allows users to act on compromised credentials and avoid using passwords that might have been exposed on the web.
Now, the feature integrates with Autofill on Android 9 and newer, notifying users of any potential password exposures and a guide to reset them. Additionally, Autofill can also generate unique passwords and secure that information via biometric authentication, making it a great overall tool for password management.
Next up is a nifty new update to the Messages app that brings the ability to schedule messages to be sent later. Long pressing the send button will now provide an option to set the date and time to deliver the text message. The option to schedule messages has been present for users on Samsung devices via the default Messages app that ships with those devices. Alternatively, users have had to rely on third-party offerings such as Pulse SMS for the feature. The updated Messages app is now rolling out to users on Android 7 and newer.
As for accessibility improvements, the search giant announced a new update to TalkBack, its screen reader for those with impaired vision. The updates include new multi-finger gestures on Pixel and Samsung phones that can be used to perform preset commands like selecting and editing text. There are also new swipe commands for reading through just the headlines or through entire paragraphs. The firm is also adding 25 voice commands to help with actions such as finding particular text on the screen and more. Lastly, there are two new languages for the Braille keyboard.
Google assistant is also receiving some updates that let users interact with it better on the lock screen. The company is adding a new card layout to review Assistant commands right from the lock screen, including alarm and timer options, sending messaging using voice, and more. The firm adds that users can “get things done on [their] phone without needing to be right next to it”.
Another highly awaited feature announced today is the rollout of a dark theme for Maps. While Maps automatically switches to a darker theme when navigating, a proper dark mode has been teased for a while. Users will finally be able to switch to the darker side permanently from the settings, a welcome addition for those that prefer the theming option to conserve battery on AMOLED displays, or just as a matter of preference.
Lastly, the Mountain View company announced new Android Auto features such as “car-inspired backgrounds” and Assistant actions – features that began rolling out earlier this month. For long journeys, the in-car system is also adding voice-activated trivia games. Other new features include a split-screen view of Maps and audio controls – like on Apple CarPlay – on wide screens and a new privacy screen to “control when Android Auto appears on your car display”. These Android Auto features are rolling out to users running Android 6 or newer.
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By News Staff
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By anmol112
Microsoft Remote Desktop app for iOS updates the connection bar and more
by Anmol Mehrotra
Microsoft has released a new update for its Remote Desktop app for iOS users. The new update brings changes to the connection bar as well as adds a new gesture to manage the zoom level. The update also addresses issues related to the connection bar as well as some accessibility bugs.
Here is the full changelog of the update:
Microsoft has been constantly improving the Remote Desktop app. Back in October, Microsoft added shortcuts to access the "Add Workspace" and "Add PC" UI. The company also added the CMD+F shortcut to invoke the Search UI in the Connection Center.
Since then, Microsoft has released a couple of updates that patched several issues including the ones related to the system Display Zoom View setting. If you are encountering any major issues then you can navigate to Help > Report an issue to reach out to Microsoft.
The new update bumps the Microsoft Remote Desktop app to version 10.2.4 and is available for download from the App Store.
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By zikalify
Global smartphone sales fell 5% in 4Q20, says Gartner
by Paul Hill
The analyst firm, Gartner, has released new data which shows that global smartphone sales declined 5.4% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. In the full year of 2020, smartphones declined by a larger 12.5% overall compared to the previous year. The main driver of the decline was Huawei, which has been impeded by various sanctions by the United States.
The reasons for the slowdown in growth are numerous, aside from the economic squeeze felt by consumers as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and Huawei being hit by sanctions, people have also been holding off on new purchases until they can secure themselves a device that is compatible with new 5G networks that are coming online and boast faster download speeds.
Discussing the findings, Anshul Gupta, senior research director at Gartner, said:
The five biggest smartphone brands of 4Q20 were Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Huawei with the following respective market share values: 20.8%, 16.2%, 11.3%, 8.9%, and 8.9%. Compared to the year before, Samsung and Huawei lost market share but Apple, Xiaomi, and Oppo managed to boost their figures. The total smartphone sales in 4Q20 were 384,622,300 units while a year earlier shipments reached 406,638,100.
Gartner's figures somewhat differ from IDC's analysis which it published at the end of January. IDC said that the global smartphone market grew in the fourth quarter and saw a smaller decline across the whole year. One similarity between both sets of data, however, is that Huawei saw a heavy decline in sales.
One of the interesting takeaways with this data is the fact that Apple still managed to increase its sales year-over-year even though its devices receive software updates for much longer than Android devices; unless the increase in sales is due to new customers getting on-board, it could suggest that existing Apple users prefer to keep up with the latest model.
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