Mishaal's Android News Feed

📱Android 16 Developer Preview 2 is out: Here's everything you need to know Google has released Android 16 DP2, giving apps better control over haptics, letting them know if devices support adaptive refresh rate, and more. Read this article for all the details.

OnePlus has set a date for the global launch of its OnePlus 13 series, and we'll also see a new Sapphire Blue variant of the OnePlus Buds Pro 3. The devices will launch on January 7, 2025 at 10:30 AM EST/4:30 PM CET/9:00 PM IST.

The stable Android 15 update is now rolling out to the Nothing Phone (2) and Phone (2a)! Nothing says the Nothing OS 3.0 update also introduces: - A new native Nothing Gallery app - Shared Widgets that are displayed on the new, more fully customizable lock screen - Enhanced Productivity Widgets like the new Countdown Widget - An AI-powered Smart Drawer - Improved Quick Settings, enhanced pop-up view, visual and performance enhancements, and updated typography. The update is rolling out now to the (2) and (2a) but will come to the (1), (2a) Plus, and CMF Phone 1 in early 2025. For a more detailed look at some of these changes in Nothing OS 3.0, check out my hands-on of the update.

Google is rolling out the Now Playing updates it announced as part of the December '24 Pixel Drop! These updates bring a new Enhance Now Playing toggle that lets Google Search identify songs not recognized by your device and then provide album artwork. It also brings a new default music player setting that lets you choose which app you want to play identified songs on. Image credits: @qtsmolcat

Android 16 will introduce a new Night Mode Indicator API that will let apps know when the device is in a low light environment. This will let social/camera apps know when they should use the Night Mode Camera Extension available on some devices. The API will provide 3 possible values: UNKNOWN The camera is unable to reliably detect the lighting conditions of the current scene to determine if a photo will benefit from a Night Mode Camera Extension capture. OFF The camera has detected lighting conditions that are sufficiently bright. Night Mode Camera Extension is available but may not be able to optimize the camera settings to take a higher quality photo. ON The camera has detected low-light conditions. It is recommended to use Night Mode Camera Extension to optimize the camera settings to take a high-quality photo in the dark. —- Google says there are already over "120 different devices" that support Camera Extensions, representing "over 75 million monthly active users." Instagram, for example, uses the Night Mode Extension on the Pixel 6 and later, the Galaxy Flip6 and Fold6, and more.

🕓Android prepares new options for customizing your lock screen clock Android may soon let you customize the weight, width, roundness, and slant of the lock screen clock. A short demo of these new customization options can be found in this article.

Android 15 QPR2 Beta 2 also introduces the lock screen widget resizing feature I previously spotted! It's a bit unintuitive to do, but you can resize widgets by opening the widget editor and then tapping on a widget. This will show a handle you can drag vertically. An example of this can be seen in the video embedded in the article linked here.

Android 15 QPR2 Beta 2 introduces the redesigned keyboard shortcut menu that I previously told y'all about! The revamped menu has a side navigation rail, making it easier to use on large screen Android devices like tablets. I first spotted this in Android 15 QPR1 Beta 1, but it's finally live in QPR2 Beta 2.

The OnePlus 13 will be launching in the U.S., Canada, and other parts of the world in January 2025! It'll be coming in three different colorways: Midnight Ocean, Black Eclipse, and Arctic Dawn. The Midnight Ocean model will have "micro-fiber vegan leather"…

I'm curious why the Themed Icons feature is still labeled as "Beta" on Pixel. I get why it had the beta label in Android 12 since the list of themeable icons was hardcoded, but in Android 13, there's a proper API and all. The feature's also available to OEMs…

The Bluetooth panel in Android 15 QPR2 Beta 2 now shows the actual icons for saved/connected Fast Pair accessories. Previously, it showed generic icons for them. H/T @nailsad_eleos

🔋Bluetooth settings on Android will soon show your device's battery level using circles Google is working on a minor change to the Bluetooth device details page to make it more polished. A screenshot of the new UI change can be found in this article.