APKTool v2.9.0 has been released with Android 14 support, aapt2 as default, tons of fixes for disassembly and a new resource modes flag.

The Pixel 8 is the first phone to capture photos in Ultra HDR, a new format that I think could be the future of mobile photography!

Ultra HDR is something you really need to see to understand, though, so I worked with Dylan Raga to put together a demo that shows it off. The results are STUNNING!

If you're using a Chromium-based browser on a PC running Windows 11/macOS with an HDR display or on a Pixel 7 running Android 14, then you can see these Ultra HDR samples in their full glory by going to the GitHub repo linked in my latest article for Android Police.

On Wednesday, you're going to see a lot of reviews of the Pixel 8 series go up. Unfortunately, since platform support for Ultra HDR is so limited, many of those reviews will be unable to showcase the photos taken from the phone in their full glory.

Most social media sites and CMSes compress images, which will result in the HDR gain map being removed from the Ultra HDR .jpg. Even Windows File Explorer corrupts the metadata when you simply edit the EXIF tags!

Oh, and the photos I took were all from a Pixel 6 Pro using Google Camera 9.1 (pulled from a Pixel 8). This means that yes, certain older Pixels are able to capture in Ultra HDR as well.

Google Camera 9.1 adds a "rich color in photos" toggle that lets you capture images using the Display P3 color format instead of sRGB. This setting is enabled by default on the Pixel 8 series.

Display P3 wide gamut capture is a new capability of Android 14. Devices can capture wide gamut color images in JPEG format without using 10-bit HDR.

(This screenshot was from my Pixel 6 Pro, where the setting was disabled by default.)

Wow: MediaPipe is adding support for on-device image generation.

The new, experimental "Image Generator" task lets Android apps generate images based on a text prompt. It uses a text-to-image model (based on the Stable Diffusion v1.5 architecture) to generate images.

(Sample app)

A new version of Google Photos is rolling out for the Pixel 8, bringing support for Ultra HDR images!

"Ultra HDR" is mentioned in the image description, and when any edits are done that disable it, a small notice on the top right will tell you. (Not all edits get rid of it.)

The new Google Photos version is 6.55.0.571457461. I sideloaded it onto my Pixel 7 Pro.

For more info on Ultra HDR, check out this article.

Here's a demo of the new Magic Editor feature, but on a Pixel 7 Pro 👀

I had to back up this photo before I could use Magic Editor on it, so most of the processing is likely done on the cloud.

Also, you have to agree to Google's generative AI ToS to use this feature.

I got this feature after sideloading the latest version of Google Photos onto my Pixel 7 Pro, and also spoofing some props.

(Ignore the fact that the device frame is a Pixel 8 Pro. I don't have the phone, I just use that frame because it looks good.)

Pixel Camera Services v1.2 adds a CameraX Night Sight Extension on Android 14.

The vendor extension is available for both the rear and front logical cameras, ie. it's available for all physical sensors. I'm not sure exactly which Pixels are getting this update, but it's likely at least all Tensor devices.

Notably, Pixels previously only had a Camera2 vendor extension for Night Sight, which was released as part of the Pixel Feature Drop that brought Night Sight to Snapchat.

Here's the full changelog:

Version 1.2 contains new feature for 3rd party apps
• Support for CameraX Night Sight Extension (Requires Android 14)
• Including various bug fixes and performance improvements

This means that third-party apps that use the CameraX API for in-app camera functionality can utilize the Pixel's Night Sight feature.

That was fast: Adobe Lightroom 9.0.0 is rolling out, bringing support for editing and exporting HDR images on the Pixel 7 series and later running Android 14.

"Potential BIG NEWS for those in the Google Smart Home Ecosystem.

Previously, you could control the volume of a group of Google Home speakers. This was removed due to a patent dispute between Google and Sonos, which holds the patent for this feature. This led to an import ban on some Google Devices.

The long-short:
- Google began selling competing devices with this feature in 2015
- Sonos applied for a patent for this feature in 2019 but connected it to an application from 2006, artificially backdating when it was issued.
- A judge agreed that this shouldn't count, stating: "This was not a case of an inventor leading the industry to something new. This was a case of the industry leading with something new, and only then, an inventor coming out of the woodwork to say that he had come up with the idea first."

The Takeaway:
If Google manages to succeed against Sono's inevitable appeal, this may mean that Google Home devices may regain group volume control."

In Google's blog post responding to this decision, the company said the decision is "good news for our users who will once again be able to seamlessly group and integrate Google smart speakers, and for continued innovation of new features across the industry."

I wonder if Google will be re-enabling these two features (speaker group volume controls while casting & stream expansion) or if they'll wait until Sonos loses on appeal (assuming they do).

Edit: Oh wow, they're rolling out some of these changes immediately. Specifically, the ability to add Nest speakers, displays, and Chromecast devices to multiple speaker groups. Rolling out now in the Home app on Android, coming soon on iOS.

Sources: [1] [2], Via M. Brandon Lee on Twitter (thanks for letting me quote him!), 9to5Google

Android may soon add a Quick Settings tile to change the current SIM used for data.

Currently, you have to go to Settings > Network & Internet > SIMs to switch SIMs.

User Sukumar Patel put in a request for this feature back in December 2022. A Googler just marked the issue as "fixed" and said it'll be available "in a future build."

We'll hopefully see this new Quick Settings tile in an upcoming Android 14 QPR beta.

(By the way, it looks like someone made an app a while back that helps simplify changing your data SIM. The app creates a QS tile that, when tapped, opens SIM settings. I haven't used it myself, but you may find it useful.)