"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
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
Google
Update on Sonos’ misleading patent campaign
An update on Sonos’ misleading patent campaign and our ongoing work to advocate for patent reform.
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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.)
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.)
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The Pixel 8's AI Wallpapers app is now on Google Play, and a new update is rolling out to Pixel 8 users.
The current themes are:
* Imaginary
* Mineral
* X-ray
* Night
* Terrain
* Translucent
* Luminous
* Painting
* Texture
* Bloom
* Soft-focus
* Volcanic
Currently, you can't export the wallpapers you create from this app, but if you have root access, you can grab them from
Here's the Play Store listing for the AI Wallpapers app. Note that this Play Store listing is only visible on compatible devices (or if you navigate to it directly).
For a full video demo of the new AI Wallpapers feature, check out my previous post.
The current themes are:
* Imaginary
* Mineral
* X-ray
* Night
* Terrain
* Translucent
* Luminous
* Painting
* Texture
* Bloom
* Soft-focus
* Volcanic
Currently, you can't export the wallpapers you create from this app, but if you have root access, you can grab them from
/data/user_de/0/com.google.android.apps.aiwallpapers/files.Here's the Play Store listing for the AI Wallpapers app. Note that this Play Store listing is only visible on compatible devices (or if you navigate to it directly).
For a full video demo of the new AI Wallpapers feature, check out my previous post.
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Factory images are now available for the Pixel 8 (shiba) and Pixel 8 Pro (husky).
Images are currently only available for the release build (UD1A.230803.0XX) and not for the Android 14 QPR1 beta.
Rooting the Pixel 8 series is easy: Just extract the init_boot image from the factory image, patch it with Magisk, and then flash the patched init_boot image using fastboot.
Thanks to PlayGloriaMMXIX for the heads up!
Images are currently only available for the release build (UD1A.230803.0XX) and not for the Android 14 QPR1 beta.
Rooting the Pixel 8 series is easy: Just extract the init_boot image from the factory image, patch it with Magisk, and then flash the patched init_boot image using fastboot.
Thanks to PlayGloriaMMXIX for the heads up!
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Smartspacer is a supercharged version of Google's At a Glance widget.
Google's At a Glance widget can already do a lot of things like show you timer and stopwatch info, flashlight reminders, and more, but it has limited support for showing info from other apps. It can show the status from ridesharing apps like Uber, doorbell alerts from Nest, safety check countdowns from Personal Safety, fitness tracking info from Adidas Running and Strava ... but not much else.
Smartspacer, though, has 20 different plugins to pull info from a variety of apps and OS settings, including:
* Aftership
* Amazon
* BBC Weather
* Google Finance
* Google Keep
* Google Maps
* Google Wallet
* Health Connect
* Pokemon Go
* Samsung Health
* Uber
* Yahoo Sports
* YouTube
There are also plugins for showing the battery (of the device, connected devices, and remote devices), notifications, sunrise/sunset info, data usage, and energy monitor.
Oh. And it HAS A PLUGIN FOR TASKER! That means you can basically program Smartspacer to show ANYTHING you want.
Using Smartspacer, you can do things like show your loyalty cards or Keep lists when you're at certain locations. You can also show more advanced flight tracking info, better delivery alerts, and so much more.
Best part: It doesn't require root access and works on both Pixel and non-Pixel devices. On Pixel devices, Smartspacer even keeps all the original At a Glance functionality, so you lose nothing by switching to it.
My friend Kieron Quinn has been working on Smartspacer for nearly a year and a half now and is getting ready to release it. Right now, it's in a preview state and is only available to a handful of testers. If you're interested, then join the Discord group!
(Developers: Kieron says he's making an SDK for launcher integration. Documentation and the SDK for plugin development will also be released soon.)
Google's At a Glance widget can already do a lot of things like show you timer and stopwatch info, flashlight reminders, and more, but it has limited support for showing info from other apps. It can show the status from ridesharing apps like Uber, doorbell alerts from Nest, safety check countdowns from Personal Safety, fitness tracking info from Adidas Running and Strava ... but not much else.
Smartspacer, though, has 20 different plugins to pull info from a variety of apps and OS settings, including:
* Aftership
* Amazon
* BBC Weather
* Google Finance
* Google Keep
* Google Maps
* Google Wallet
* Health Connect
* Pokemon Go
* Samsung Health
* Uber
* Yahoo Sports
* YouTube
There are also plugins for showing the battery (of the device, connected devices, and remote devices), notifications, sunrise/sunset info, data usage, and energy monitor.
Oh. And it HAS A PLUGIN FOR TASKER! That means you can basically program Smartspacer to show ANYTHING you want.
Using Smartspacer, you can do things like show your loyalty cards or Keep lists when you're at certain locations. You can also show more advanced flight tracking info, better delivery alerts, and so much more.
Best part: It doesn't require root access and works on both Pixel and non-Pixel devices. On Pixel devices, Smartspacer even keeps all the original At a Glance functionality, so you lose nothing by switching to it.
My friend Kieron Quinn has been working on Smartspacer for nearly a year and a half now and is getting ready to release it. Right now, it's in a preview state and is only available to a handful of testers. If you're interested, then join the Discord group!
(Developers: Kieron says he's making an SDK for launcher integration. Documentation and the SDK for plugin development will also be released soon.)
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Mishaal's Android News Feed
Smartspacer is a supercharged version of Google's At a Glance widget. Google's At a Glance widget can already do a lot of things like show you timer and stopwatch info, flashlight reminders, and more, but it has limited support for showing info from other…
Okay, originally the Discord group for this app wasn't going to be open, but since there's SO much interest in trying it out, here it is.
(Please don't overwhelm the dev, he's just one dude!)
Also, no I'm not getting paid to promote this app, nor am I getting any money from ad revenue or anything. Kieron just makes insanely cool apps (Pixel Launcher Mods; Ambient Music Mod; Tap, Tap), so I figured y'all would be interested in his new project.
(Please don't overwhelm the dev, he's just one dude!)
Also, no I'm not getting paid to promote this app, nor am I getting any money from ad revenue or anything. Kieron just makes insanely cool apps (Pixel Launcher Mods; Ambient Music Mod; Tap, Tap), so I figured y'all would be interested in his new project.
Discord
Discord - A New Way to Chat with Friends & Communities
Discord is the easiest way to communicate over voice, video, and text. Chat, hang out, and stay close with your friends and communities.
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Mishaal's Android News Feed
Since I'm not gonna have my own Pixel 8 for a while, I might as well put this out there so someone else can test it ASAP: You might be able to enable DisplayPort Alternate Mode (ie. display output over USB-C) if you root the device. That's because it seems…
Here's the code change that added this system property. It seems that USB-C DisplayPort Alternate Mode is currently only enabled on userdebug/eng builds. I'm not sure why it doesn't work when spoofing that property on user builds, though.
Edit: DP was disabled on userdebug/eng builds, too.
Edit: DP was disabled on userdebug/eng builds, too.
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Google's new "Pixel Troubleshooting" app, which helps Pixel users diagnose battery or network issues, is available on the Pixel 8 per Andreas Proschofsky for The Standard.
This app will likely come to other Pixel devices in the Android 14 QPR1 release.
This app will likely come to other Pixel devices in the Android 14 QPR1 release.
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Good news for developers: The Pixel Watch 2's new charging puck with POGO pins supports USB data, so you don't have to deal with wireless ADB debugging!
The Pixel Watch 2 will be a good device to test apps on Wear OS 4.
Thanks to Rob for the tip (and images)!
The Pixel Watch 2 will be a good device to test apps on Wear OS 4.
Thanks to Rob for the tip (and images)!
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While digging through the Pixel 8's device tree the other day, I discovered some features that were scrapped before launch.
These include 8K video recording, 480fps slo-mo videos, and sadly display output. Full details in this Android Authority article.
I'm hoping at least the display output feature can be re-enabled in the future!
These include 8K video recording, 480fps slo-mo videos, and sadly display output. Full details in this Android Authority article.
I'm hoping at least the display output feature can be re-enabled in the future!
Android Authority
Here are three Pixel 8 features that didn't make the cut
The Pixel 8 series adds a lot of new software features, but not every feature Google planned to add made it in. Here are some examples.
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Here are four ways that Android 14 improves on performance and memory efficiency:
1) Freezing cached applications
Android 14 freezes cached apps after a "short period of time", giving them 0 CPU time. During the Android 14 Beta, Google saw cached processes consume "up to 50% less CPU cycles as compared to Android 13 public devices."
2) Optimized broadcasts
To ensure frozen apps stay frozen, Android 14 adjusts how apps receive context-registered broadcasts once they enter a cached state. These broadcasts may be queued, and certain repeating ones (like
3) Faster app launches
Thanks to the previous two optimizations, Google says they were able to "increase long-standing limits on the maximum number of cached applications" in Android 14, leading to a "reduction in cold app starts that scales by the RAM present on the device."
A cold app start is when an app's process is started from scratch. This requires more CPU cycles than warm or hot starts, so reducing them improves power efficiency.
On devices with 8GB RAM, the beta group "saw 20% fewer cold app starts". On devices with 12GB RAM, "it was over 30% fewer".
4) Reduced memory footprint
Google says that ART 14 in Android 14 "includes optimizations that reduce code size by an average of 9.3% without impacting performance." The smaller the files containing the code that ART has to interpret, the better it is for memory and storage.
(Google hasn't shared full details on what's new in ART 14, but I'm hoping they'll do so soon!)
—-
Source
1) Freezing cached applications
Android 14 freezes cached apps after a "short period of time", giving them 0 CPU time. During the Android 14 Beta, Google saw cached processes consume "up to 50% less CPU cycles as compared to Android 13 public devices."
2) Optimized broadcasts
To ensure frozen apps stay frozen, Android 14 adjusts how apps receive context-registered broadcasts once they enter a cached state. These broadcasts may be queued, and certain repeating ones (like
BATTERY_CHANGED) may be merged into one broadcast.3) Faster app launches
Thanks to the previous two optimizations, Google says they were able to "increase long-standing limits on the maximum number of cached applications" in Android 14, leading to a "reduction in cold app starts that scales by the RAM present on the device."
A cold app start is when an app's process is started from scratch. This requires more CPU cycles than warm or hot starts, so reducing them improves power efficiency.
On devices with 8GB RAM, the beta group "saw 20% fewer cold app starts". On devices with 12GB RAM, "it was over 30% fewer".
4) Reduced memory footprint
Google says that ART 14 in Android 14 "includes optimizations that reduce code size by an average of 9.3% without impacting performance." The smaller the files containing the code that ART has to interpret, the better it is for memory and storage.
(Google hasn't shared full details on what's new in ART 14, but I'm hoping they'll do so soon!)
—-
Source
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Android 14 increases the maximum number of cached applications to 1024 (up from 32)!
That's a HUGE increase.
This was made possible thanks to the improvements Android 14 made to freezing cached apps (so they consume 0 CPU time) and to optimizing context-registered broadcasts.
Source
H/T Thai Nguyen on Twitter
That's a HUGE increase.
This was made possible thanks to the improvements Android 14 made to freezing cached apps (so they consume 0 CPU time) and to optimizing context-registered broadcasts.
Source
H/T Thai Nguyen on Twitter
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Here's a quick rundown on where some OEMs are at when it comes to their Android 14 releases:
ASUS: Last week, opened up an Android Preview Program for users of the Zenfone 10 to test Android 14. No details are available about this build, since enrollees have to agree to confidentiality.
OnePlus: Launched OxygenOS 14 Open Beta 1 for the OnePlus 11 last month, now on Open Beta 2 but Beta 3 is dropping soon. Earlier today, OxygenOS 14 Open Beta 1 released for the OnePlus Pad and OnePlus Nord 3 (India only).
Nothing: An open beta for Nothing OS 2.5 based on Android 14 was announced earlier this week. Currently available for the Nothing Phone (2).
Samsung: Formally announced One UI 6.0 based on Android 14 at the Samsung Developers Conference (SDC) last week. The sixth One UI 6.0 beta is currently available for the Galaxy S23 series in select markets. A beta is also available for the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, and Galaxy A34.
Xiaomi: A "Beta Stable" (ie. Release Candidate) build is available for MIUI beta testers with the Xiaomi 12T, Xiaomi 13, and Xiaomi 13 Pro. Kacper Skrzypek says these updates have at least partially been pushed to non-beta users, so it's fair to say the Android 14 update is slowly rolling out now to these devices.
—-
I have received devices from each of these OEMs recently and have been wanting to do more coverage on their respective forks of Android. Waiting for them to release their stable builds of Android 14 so I can dive in!
ASUS: Last week, opened up an Android Preview Program for users of the Zenfone 10 to test Android 14. No details are available about this build, since enrollees have to agree to confidentiality.
OnePlus: Launched OxygenOS 14 Open Beta 1 for the OnePlus 11 last month, now on Open Beta 2 but Beta 3 is dropping soon. Earlier today, OxygenOS 14 Open Beta 1 released for the OnePlus Pad and OnePlus Nord 3 (India only).
Nothing: An open beta for Nothing OS 2.5 based on Android 14 was announced earlier this week. Currently available for the Nothing Phone (2).
Samsung: Formally announced One UI 6.0 based on Android 14 at the Samsung Developers Conference (SDC) last week. The sixth One UI 6.0 beta is currently available for the Galaxy S23 series in select markets. A beta is also available for the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, and Galaxy A34.
Xiaomi: A "Beta Stable" (ie. Release Candidate) build is available for MIUI beta testers with the Xiaomi 12T, Xiaomi 13, and Xiaomi 13 Pro. Kacper Skrzypek says these updates have at least partially been pushed to non-beta users, so it's fair to say the Android 14 update is slowly rolling out now to these devices.
—-
I have received devices from each of these OEMs recently and have been wanting to do more coverage on their respective forks of Android. Waiting for them to release their stable builds of Android 14 so I can dive in!
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You can now build Android Automotive for the Pixel Tablet!
Add Tangorpro_car build support | Add aosp_tangorpro_car to COMMON_LUNCH_CHOICES
(H/T Al Sutton, Francisco Franco)
Obviously there's no benefit for users running Android Automotive on the Pixel Tablet, but it could be useful if you need a portable AAOS test device.
Many Pixel phones can be used to test AAOS, but a tablet is better since its screen more closely matches a typical head unit.
AAOS has been unofficially ported to several Samsung tablets in the past, but it's nice to see Google's latest Android tablet gain official support for this.
Add Tangorpro_car build support | Add aosp_tangorpro_car to COMMON_LUNCH_CHOICES
(H/T Al Sutton, Francisco Franco)
Obviously there's no benefit for users running Android Automotive on the Pixel Tablet, but it could be useful if you need a portable AAOS test device.
Many Pixel phones can be used to test AAOS, but a tablet is better since its screen more closely matches a typical head unit.
AAOS has been unofficially ported to several Samsung tablets in the past, but it's nice to see Google's latest Android tablet gain official support for this.
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