How one user ‘hacked’ the OnePlus 2 invite system
Part of the strategy that keeps OnePlus different to its rivals is in the supply of its handsets; while other companies let you buy one as easily as possible, OnePlus claims to keep its inventory in check by using an invite system.
OnePlus in video:
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Its first handset, the OnePlus One, debuted the invite system and a fair amount of issues including poorly conceived marketing campaigns and a lack of supply resulted in several tweaks to invites for the OnePlus 2. The company said they had 30 to 50 times the amount of inventory at the launch of OnePlus One available for its successor but despite this, there’s still some confusion over the invite system as there’s several ways to get an invite to buy the handset.
While some users can gain invites having been one of the early backers of the OnePlus One, many have had to sign up to OnePlus’ registration list, which currently sits at over 1.5 million registrations. A user found that despite signing up and being number 9,000 on the list, he was pushed back down to 70,000 after other users climbed above him by through referrals.
What did he do? As Jake Cooper says, he took it to OnePlus:
You wanna dance OnePlus? Let’s dance.
To simplify what appears to be a long process, Cooper used Python to run a series of scripts that fooled the invite system into thinking he was referring users. As a result, he jumped from position 334,633 (out of 1,639,895) to 1,694 (out of 1,590,221). Jake hasn’t shared the exact script and has told OnePlus about the vulnerability but if you’re handy with scripts and want to know more, you can read Cooper’s in-depth explanation at the source link below.
Xiaomi to launch MIUI 7 alongside a new product on August 13th
A post up on the MIUI forum has declared that the next iteration of Xiaomi’s popular MIUI software will be arriving in less than two weeks’ time, along with a new product. Perhaps looking to steal some of Samsung’s thunder, Xiaomi will also be holding its launch event on August 13th.
Last time Xiaomi announced a new version of its OS was alongside its Mi 4 smartphone, so there is a strong possibility that the company may unveil its new flagship Mi5 smartphone at the event as well. Alleged specifications for a Xiaomi Mi 5 and Mi 5 Plus leaked online early last month.
Rumored specifications include a QHD display, Snapdragon 810 SoC, a 16 megapixel rear camera, 13 megapixel front camera and a 3,000mAh battery, at a price point of just CNY 2,399 (~$386).
If true, the Mi 5 would join the likes of the OnePlus 2 and Moto X Style as a very attractive alternative to the major flagship smartphones from Samsung, Sony and HTC. The larger Mi 5 Plus is rumored to sport a Snapdragon 820 processor, so this device would likely launch at a later date.
Xiaomi is also expected to launch a successor to its Mi Band fitness tracker at some point this year, which may also show up at the launch event.
See also: Alleged Xiaomi Mi 5 and Mi 5 Plus specs leak
Xiaomi’s existing MIUI 6 OS is based on Android 5.0, so MIUI 7 will quite possibly be built from the latest Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Other than that, we’re not really sure what to expect from Xiaomi’s new software.
What are you hoping for from Xiaomi on August 13th?
Samsung reminds us to “Note the Date” ahead of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 announcement
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It’s no secret that Samsung is holding an Unpacked event on August 13th, and we’re pretty sure of the line-up that they’ll be announcing at that event: the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Gear A smartwatch. As part of their marketing campaign, however, Samsung has reiterated that the August 13th event will serve as the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 announcement event with a post on their Samsung Tomorrow blog, telling us to “Note the Date” – 5 generations on and still milking that line.
As our previous leaks would suggest, the curved silhoutte depicted in the teaser is actually the back of the Galaxy Note 5, and we can clearly see the indent at the bottom of the device, signifying the location of the S-Pen. Samsung also confirms that the event will start at 11:00am EDT on August 13th, and that they will be streaming the event on their Samsung Mobile YouTube account.
Are you excited for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 announcement? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Samsung Tomorrow via Phone Arena
The post Samsung reminds us to “Note the Date” ahead of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 announcement appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Check out the Nexus 5 2015, as imagined by Jermaine Smit
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Earlier today, we got a great look at what was allegedly a TPU case for the LG Nexus 5 2015 – looking at the inside of the case, we think we have a pretty good idea of what the device is going to look like. However, thanks to the artistic talents of Jermaine Smit, we don’t have to imagine anymore because he’s made renders of what the Nexus 5 2015 is going to look like based on today’s leak. Check out the images below:
Probably the only thing wrong about the renders is the positioning of the flash LED, which according to the case leak can’t be there. The only other answer is a ring flash a la the Nexus 6 or it will be housed somewhere near the fingerprint scanner – the rectangular area next to the camera. Of course, all of this is pure conjecture – we don’t even know if the Nexus 5 2015 will actually have dual cameras, despite the fact that this seems the most logical. Whatever the truth is, these renders are likely going to be our best bet for what the Nexus 5 2015 is actually going to look like.
What do you think about Jermaine Smit’s renders of the Nexus 5 2015? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Concept Phones
The post Check out the Nexus 5 2015, as imagined by Jermaine Smit appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Grab this ZeroLemon ToughJuice Battery Pack to keep your devices charged on the go
We’ve all been there. Out and about and your phone ups and dies on you. Well today, there are a load of options out there that will make sure that you keep your device up and running while you’re still up and running. Today’s deal not only ensures that your phone will stay powered on, but you can include your tablets with this as well.
Today’s Deal of the Day is the ZeroLemon ToughJuice 30000 mAh battery pack. This bad boy packs enough juice to charge even the biggest batteries, multiple times before it dies. Take the Nexus 6, for example. The Nexus 6 has a 3220 mAh battery, so the ZeroLemon ToughJuice would be able to recharge the Nexus 6, from 0 to 100%, almost 10 times.
Of course, there’s a bit more included with the ToughJuice. This portable charger has 4 USB outputs, along with two 2.4A ports to actually charge those tablets up if you need to add some juice. So with the ToughJuice, you should never have any issues keeping you devices charged up. Of course, you have to remember to charge the ToughJuice once it’s empty, but that’s something else entirely.
Normally priced at $100, you can get grab the ZeroLemon ToughJuice battery pack for only $59.99. At a savings of 40%, this is a great deal to provide an excellent way to keep your devices charged no matter where you are. If you’re interested in this deal, head over to our Deals page and pick one of these up today!
You can find this, and many other great tech bargains through our Deals Page. Backed by Stack Commerce, there are daily promos, giveaways, freebies, and much more!
The post Grab this ZeroLemon ToughJuice Battery Pack to keep your devices charged on the go appeared first on AndroidGuys.
HTC spams One M8 and M9 owners through push notifications
Users on Reddit are reporting that HTC, one of the biggest Android OEMs in the world, is spamming them with notifications for the newest Fantastic Four movie. The rub comes from a push notification that has shown up in the notification tray for a new theme that users can download. The theme is directly tied to the new Fantastic Four reboot and even though it’s a theme, its a pretty blatant advertisement with the release date easily seen in two places, even in the thumbnail.
Owners of the One smartphone are obviously not too happy about this. Reddit user impersonaljesus, who first reported the issue, posted in the comments that “I paid for my phone and deserve an ad-free experience. HTC has officially lost me as a customer.” Many others chimed in with similar feelings of displeasure with some going as far as rooting their phone and installing a custom ROM to avoid the possibility of this happening in the future.
The ad appears to come from “HTC Sense Home” which is the launcher included on HTC’s phones. Even though people are using third party launchers like Nova Launcher the ad will still show up. Like most applications in Android you can go into your app settings and turn off notifications from this app but you may miss out on other, actually important, notifications about your phone in the future.
Recently HTC has been struggling financially. The HTC One M9 has not done well, as many users see the improvements made in the phone, not worthy of an upgrade. These advertisements are obviously a way to raise cash but you have to wonder if it’s going to cost HTC in the long run by losing customers.
Source: Reddit
The post HTC spams One M8 and M9 owners through push notifications appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Xiaomi will unveil MIUI 7 on Thursday, August 13
Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi took to its official forums earlier today to tease the release of its upcoming operating software, MIUI 7. The firmware is scheduled to be announced at a launch event in Beijing in just nine days time.
Considering MIUI 6 was heavily-based on Android 5.0, it’s more than feasible that MIUI 7 will be a reskinned version of Android 5.1.1. Obviously, it will look completely different, but its core functions should remain the same.
Unfortunately, that’s all the information we have, for now, but we’re excited to see what Xiaomi has come up with for MIUI 7, so be sure to check back as we’ll be bringing you coverage of the event next Thursday, August 13.
Source: Xiaomi
Come comment on this article: Xiaomi will unveil MIUI 7 on Thursday, August 13
Chrome Beta for Android updated with support for Custom Tabs
Google has just started rolling out an update via the Play Store for its official Chrome Beta application. In terms of added functionality, this upgrade brings support for Custom Tabs, improved media playback controls, a revamped Bookmarks interface, and a multitude of bug fixes and stability improvements.
Hit the break for the full changelog.
- Chrome Custom Tabs
- Updated media playback controls
- Updated Bookmarks interface
- Better logging for feedback reports
- Barrels of bug fixes and performance improvements.
To install the update on your smartphone, simply open up the Play Store, toggle the hamburger menu by swiping in from the left-hand side of the screen, select ‘My Apps’ and click on ‘Chrome Beta’. Now you’re going to want to hit the update button.
If you’d prefer to start the upgrade process instantly without having to use the Play Store, you can scan the QR code below to initiate the installation procedure.
Come comment on this article: Chrome Beta for Android updated with support for Custom Tabs
Android version stats: Lollipop now on 18.1% of active devices
Google usually updates the information in its developers’ dashboards every month, but it skipped the July release for some reason. That’s why the changes between the previous update (June 1) and the current one (August 3) are quite significant.
Starting with the latest Android version available, Lollipop (Android 5.0 + Android 5.1) is now at 18.1 percent, an impressive 6 percentage points increase compared to the June update. That can be explained by the proliferation of Lollipop running devices, both at the high- and the low-end. Indeed, while in past years, it was pretty common to see new devices launching with outdated Android versions, that’s far less common these days, as even the cheapest phones can keep up with the demands of Lollipop.
KitKat, however, remains the dominant Android version, with 39.3 percent, a fraction more than last month’s 39.2%. The combined share of Jelly Bean dropped, from 34.7 percent in June, to 33.6 right now. Meanwhile, the shabby Gingerbread and Froyo continue their prolonged descent into oblivion, now scoring 4.6 percent and 0.3 percent respectively. It’s safe to assume that we will be saying goodbye to Froyo in the coming months, as Google stops counting versions that have less than 0.1 percent of the market.
These stats include active Android devices, which Google defines as phones that have checked into Google’s Play Store app. As such, it doesn’t include non-Google Android devices, including the hundreds of millions of smartphones used in China.
As the second part of the year is traditionally a time of growth in the smartphone business, we expect Lollipop’s share to pick up over the coming months. Android M has been promised for Q3 2015 (by the end of September), but it’s likely that M-running devices won’t be captured in Google’s dashboard until December.
Samsung begins teasing its upcoming Galaxy Note 5
With less than two weeks to go until the company’s Unpacked event on August 13th, Samsung has begun building up a little hype for its next generation of supersized smartphones.
Samsung has posted up another teaser image (above), showing off the dual edge display design which first featured with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. The larger version of this design is expected to be called the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. We can also spot what is presumably a place for a slightly protruding stylus attachment.
Along with the image, Samsung has listed seven reasons why bigger is bigger, which reels off a few of the benefits available to larger smartphones. Samsung lists a clear display to lining up pictures and editing videos, more space for reading e-books and messaging, S-Pen for taking memos, watching movies, and playing games, as the major advantages. Perhaps Samsung also has some new software in the works to improve these features further.
As before, Samsung is positioning its Note sized smartphones as bridging devices between regular phones and small productivity PCs.
Other unofficial rumors suggest a familiar 5.66-inch 2560×1440 display, Samsung’s own Exynos 7420 SoC, 4GB of RAM and a 16 megapixel rear camera inside the Galaxy Note 5. However, the phone apparently won’t feature a microSD card slot for the first time in the series, which may be disappointing news to a number of potential customers.
Samsung is also expected to unveil a circular Gear A smartwatch this month. The launch event will be live streamed via YouTube at this link. Unpacked kicks off at 11:00 EDT in New York on August 13th.
Read More: Samsung Galaxy Note 5 rumor roundup (updated 7/23)
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