Mishaal's Android News Feed

The Linux Terminal app is finally working in Android 15 QPR2 Beta 2! As I first reported, this is an all-in-one app that downloads, configures, runs, and interfaces with an instance of Debian running a virtual machine. It uses the Android Virtualization Framework APIs that Google introduced in Android 13 but updated in Android 15. Right now, there's not much you can do with this since hardware acceleration support and support for running graphical environments is missing, but both of these things are being worked on.

✉️Android 16 may automatically organize your notifications with Gmail-style categories Google is working on a new “bundled notifications” feature that groups together notifications that are similar. More details can be found in this article.

🕶️Here's a first look at the UI of Android XR We have screenshots that show off the Quick Settings, home screen, and other parts of Android XR. You can see them in this article.

Microsoft is starting to warn users about changes in Android 15 that affect certain notifications when mirrored to Phone Link. As I previously reported, Android 15 automatically redacts certain sensitive notifications (like those with OTP codes in them) from being sent to "untrusted" notification listeners. These notifications will instead say "sensitive content hidden." Microsoft should be able to overcome this on devices where Phone Link is preinstalled and where the Companion Device Role for Computer is requested, as apps holding the Computer Role are granted the RECEIVE_SENSITIVE_NOTIFICATIONS permission that bypasses this redaction. So far, I think the Phone Link service only requests this role on Samsung devices running One UI 6.1.1 and later.

Just noticed this "What's new" banner in Google Settings on Android. Tapping this opens the highlight reel of new features in the latest Android Feature Drop. Previously, you'd only get a push notification leading you to the highlight reel.

Developers: Google has just announced the Android XR SDK! The company is inviting Android developers to build or port their apps & games to the new OS. The SDK is based on familiar libraries like Material Design 3, Compose, & more. It also supports WebXR, OpenXR, & Unity. Plus, you can migrate from Snapdragon Spaces to Android XR.

Why is Google making Android XR? Google’s no stranger to XR but its previous efforts were before gen AI. Android XR fully capitalizes on Gemini, making things like Project Astra less awkward to use. Read this article to see Google's full justification for Android XR

What can you do on Android XR? Google shared a couple of demo videos showing the things you can do with Android XR on a VR headset or AR smart glasses. On VR headsets, you can see your photos in an immersive virtual screen, watching 360° YouTube videos, browsing the web in multiple virtual windows, playing VR games, and more. On AR smart glasses, you can listen and respond to group messages with voice, get turn-by-turn navigations, get real-time translations, look things up, and more, all without pulling out your phone or turning your eyes away. VR headsets running Android XR are launching first next year, though AR smart glasses running the platform won’t be too far off.

Android XR's success hinges on the quantity & quality of its apps & games Today, Google shared info on how devs can make apps for the OS, what partners have signed on, & how studios can port games. Here’s all the details on Android XR's app situation.

This is our first look at Samsung’s VR headset running Android XR Samsung has shared the first image of its new VR headset code-named “Project Moohan,” and it’ll be powered by the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2! Here’s what you need to know about it.

Google is back in the AR/VR game! Android XR just got announced, and it’s a special version of Android built from the ground-up for VR headsets and AR smart glasses. Read this article to find EVERYTHING you need to know about Android XR.

My Xiaomi 14T Pro recently received the HyperOS 2.0 (Android 15) update. If you've received the HyperOS update on your own device, let me know what you think of it! If you're waiting on the update & you're curious what's in it, here's the full breakdown.