Frowning Poo and 66 Other New Emojis Proposed for Potential Release in 2018’s Unicode 11

While the new emojis of Unicode 10 have yet to launch, Unicode President Mark Davis this week revealed a collection of new emojis have been added as “draft candidates” for potential release in Unicode 11 in 2018 (via Emojipedia). The news came out of the quarterly Unicode Technical Committee meeting, and up next the Unicode Consortium will decide on the list of final candidates at its Q4 2017 meeting in October, followed by naming the new characters at a meeting in Q1 2018.

Emoji images via Emojipedia and Unicode.org
The 67 new characters proposed for inclusion in Unicode 11 include smiling face with three hearts, smiling face with party hat, blue face with icicles, grinning face with OK as eyes, and an inversion of the well-known poo emoji called “frowning pile of poo.”

There’s also kangaroo, cupcake, llama, bagel, broom, skateboard, softball, smiling face with cape, and serious face with eye mask and cape. Since Unicode 11 is still so far from release, the list of its included characters and their designs are subject to change.

📝 🌱 Recommendations from the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee for 2018 #UTC152 https://t.co/NQmEZzmkqt pic.twitter.com/I86zmDbWjn

— Jeremy Burge 🐥 (@jeremyburge) August 4, 2017

Closer to release is Unicode 10, which Apple highlighted last month during World Emoji Day by looking at a few of the emojis coming to iOS, macOS, and watchOS later in 2017. New emojis include Woman with Headscarf, Bearded Person, Breastfeeding, Sandwich, Coconut, T-Rex, Zebra, Zombie, Elf, Star-Struck, Exploding Head, and more.

Apple didn’t specify a date for the launch of the Unicode 10 characters, but they should appear around the public debut of iOS 11 or soon after. It traditionally takes Apple a few months to include support for new emoji. Last year, the Unicode Consortium released Unicode 9 in June 2016, and then Apple debuted those characters in iOS 10.2 in October 2016.

For a full list of the 67 new emoji candidates in Unicode 11, visit Emojipedia.

Tags: emoji, Unicode Consortium, Unicode 11
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How did the HBO hack happen? A cybersecurity expert has 2 theories

This Monday, we learned hackers had got ahold of 1.5 terabytes of data from HBO, and have since leaked unaired episodes of Ballers, Room 104, and Game of Thrones. HBO says it has been looking into the hack since it was discovered, but few conclusive details are known. So, Digital Trends decided to ask a cybersecurity expert how the HBO hack could have happened.

Roderick Jones is the founder of cybersecurity and privacy firm Rubica, and has been involved in cybersecurity for more than 15 years. Before he was helping Ashton Kutcher keep his data secure, he was a member of Scotland Yard’s Special Branch focusing on international counterterrorism. The cyberattacks he dealt with during his time on Special Branch are classified, but Jones does say he was involved with protecting a prominent British cabinet member.

Roderick Jones

In terms of cybersecurity in the entertainment industry, Jones said “the entertainment industry is probably five or six years behind where it needs to be.” He claims a movie studio had no cybersecurity before he helped following the massive Sony Picture hack in 2014. The damage these hacks can cause are no joke, yet the entertainment industry’s security is laughable.

Jones says hackers are usually in a system for months and believes the HBO situation may have followed the same pattern. Here is how the biggest hack in HBO history probably happened.

H-B-Old

Jones’s primary theory is the entire hack could have been possible because HBO is using old tech to house its content. “The Wannacry attack, the ransomware that kind of shut down the health service in Britain, that was targeted at an old Windows system,” Jones said. “That has created a vulnerability for HBO. I would say that’s probably a certainty, because that’s where the weaknesses are.”

“The entertainment industry is probably five or six years behind where it needs to be.”

Windows has been a gateway for hackers to enter the entertainment industry’s computer systems, as of late. The malware used in the infamous 2014 hack of Sony Pictures targeted and manipulated Windows management tools.

Netflix lost 10 episodes from Orange Is The New Black‘s fifth season this year because the episodes were on servers running Windows 7. Larson Studios, the post-production company that Orange Is The New Black episodes were hacked from, claims the hackers were not even looking for Orange Is The New Black, just computers running Windows.

After the first four episodes of Game of Thrones’ fifth season leaked before the season premiere in 2015, HBO announced it would have critics stream advance episodes online, instead of the company sending DVDs. Stopping opportunistic TV critics is one thing, but preventing sophisticated hackers from entering your system is more complicated for entertainment companies.

“People think you can just flick a switch and say ‘oh, I’ll have cybersecurity.’ It just doesn’t work like that, because the machines they have running all of this content are going to be legacy systems. You just can’t do it overnight,” said Jones.

This is when things could get personal.

If it wasn’t Windows, it was this

Jones’s secondary theory is the hackers probably targeted individual employees. Even if HBO keeps all of its files and internal documents behind heavily encrypted security, it probably does not extend that level of security for each individual employee.

“The damage these hacks can cause are no joke, and yet the entertainment industry’s security is laughable.”

“If you’re a senior executive at one of these companies you probably have some security when you’re sitting in the office at the company. But, not when you go home,” Jones asserted. “The hackers understand, ‘I’ll just wait for you to go home. Or I’ll wait until you get a cup of coffee from around the corner of the movie studio.’”

This method of attack could be the culprit, as Variety reported hackers appear to have accessed an HBO senior executive’s personal information. Some of the information stolen may have given the hackers access to the executive’s work email, according to reports.

It is that very access Jones said could do HBO exponentially worse damage than leaked Game of Thrones episodes. “The financial damage is not through leaked episodes of Games of Thrones. It’s through details, emails between staff, all of the mechanics of the business.”

Trouble ahead

Verizon acquired Yahoo earlier this year for $350 million less than originally reported following Yahoo disclosing 32 million email accounts were hacked. AT&T agreed to acquire HBO parent company Time Warner for $85.4 billion in October 2016. With a Department of Justice investigation slowing the deal’s finalization, this hack could lead to AT&T lowering its offer or even potentially walking away from the deal.

Sony had 200 gigabytes of data stolen in 2014, and thousands of incriminating emails were released, including racially insensitive messages from Amy Pascal. Pascal resigned as head of Sony Pictures shortly after the emails became public. This time, hackers have obtained nearly six times as much data from HBO and are preparing to leak information every week. If history repeats itself, HBO may never be the same again.

Windows 10 Eye Control will let users control their PCs with their eyes

Why it matters to you

It won’t be too long before you can control your Windows 10 PC with only your eyes — extending accessibility to those who can’t use a traditional mouse and keyboard.

Microsoft has invested significantly in making Windows 10 a solid operating system for people with accessibility needs. A number of tools are built into the OS to make a PC easier to use when a user can’t hear or see what’s going on, and the Windows 10 upgrade is free for users who need these accessibility features. Now, Microsoft is baking in support for Windows 10 Eye Control for users who can’t use a standard keyboard and mouse, and we took a look at how well it works.

Beta support for eye control was introduced to Windows Insiders via preview build 16257. For now, support is limited to just one specific piece of eye tracking hardware, the Tobii Eye Tracker 4C, but that will change in the near future as support for more hardware options is added. For example, support is coming soon for the Tobii Dynavox PCEye Mini, PCEyePlus, EyeMobile Plus, and i-Series.

A number of key capabilities will be supported by Windows 10 Eye Control. These capabilities are focused on accessing applications, entering information, and communicating, and they add on to the eye tracking features that Tobii already brings to Windows 10.

Eye Control Launchpad

The basic Windows 10 Eye Control user interface (UI) element is the launchpad, which allows users to simply look at icons to access the mouse, keyboard, and text-to-speech features as well as to move the launchpad to the top or bottom of the display. Interacting with the Eye Control UI is simple but requires some practice: just look at the screen and focus, or “dwell” as Microsoft calls it, on a button or other element until it engages. The system provides feedback throughout that lets you know what you’re doing.

The Eye Control mouse

Selecting the Eye Control mouse from the launchpad lets a user place the mouse cursor at a specific point on the screen and then make fine adjustments to its location. Then, users can emulate mouse actions including left-click, double left-click, and right-click, as well as cancel a particular mouse session.

Eye Control keyboard

Next up is the Eye Control keyboard, which lets a user enter information just by dwelling on individual keys. Letters, numbers, symbols, and function keys are all accessible, although for now, support is limited to the EN-US keyboard layout.

Eye Control shape-writing

The same shape-writing that’s supported via touch and mouse is also supported in Windows 10 Eye Control. A user can simply dwell on the first and last characters of a word and glancing at different letters to generate words. The system provides a hint of the predicted word, along with alternative predictions that can be selected if the initial hint was incorrect.

Eye Control text-to-speech

Finally, a user can use the text-to-speech feature to type words using either the standard keyboard or shape-writing, and the system will speak the resulting words and sentences aloud. In addition, phrases are available that can be immediately spoken aloud, and the displayed choices can be customized. The text-to-speech feature uses the default voices, which can be adjusted in Settings > Time & Language > Speech > Text-to-speech.

Setting up Windows 10 Eye Control

Getting eye tracking to work in build 16257 is fairly straightforward. First, install the Tobii Eye Tracker 4C using Tobii Core eye tracking hot fix release 2.10.11.6458. Follow all of the usual Tobii instructions to make sure your eye tracker is located properly. Then, calibrate the hardware and create a profile — the installation routine will do automatically run you through the process.

Next, go to Settings > Update & Security and hit the “Check for updates” button. You should receive a new Tobii Eye Tracker HIDClass Driver, and it should automatically install.

Once that’s completed, simply go to Settings > Ease of Access > Other Options and toggle the switch under “Eye control (beta)” to On. You’ll see the Eye Control launchpad show up on your display.

Great in concept, but frustratingly buggy

In our experience, the Eye Control software is in an incredibly buggy state. We could indeed move the cursor around the screen, open the keyboard and select individual keys, and use the text-to-speech functionality. Mouse control was unusable, however, meaning that we couldn’t place our cursor in an input text box or actually select items on the display. If you’re a Windows Insider with a Tobii Eye Tracker 4C, then it’s certainly worth turning Eye Control on to get a sense of how things will work.

Ultimately, we got enough working that we could see the promise of Windows 10’s Eye Control once the bugs are worked out. The Tobii Eye Tracker 4C is a great device (especially for gaming) and, once calibrated, really does let you attain surprising precision just by looking at your screen. Once that precision is matched with stable software in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, then the benefits will be profound for users who can’t use a traditional keyboard and mouse to control their PCs.

Boost Mobile Buyer’s Guide: Everything you need to know!

See what Boost Mobile has to offer!

Boost Mobile is an alternative carrier, or Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), that’s owned under the same corporate umbrella as Sprint. So it’s no surprise that Boost Mobile offers support for phones that operate on Sprint’s CDMA and LTE-based nationwide network.

Boost Mobile offers no-contract plans for individuals on 30-day refills that start at $35 as well as unlimited data plans and family plans. Service plans and phones are available at the Boost Mobile website, and it’s also possible to bring your own device as long as it’s on the company’s very minimal list of approved devices. Boost focuses mainly on selling budget devices but you can still pick out the outstanding Samsung Galaxy S8.

Phone selection aside, Boost Mobile does offer attractive plans and nationwide service, so read on and find a plan that works for you!

• Best plans
• Best phones
• How to cancel Straight Talk

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Best Individual Plans

Boost Mobile offers prepaid 30-day plans for individuals. There are no contract commitments required and you pay in advance for a month’s worth of service. It offers really competitive wireless plans that include unlimited talk, text, and 3G data for as low as $35 for 30 days of service.

The $35 plan includes 3GB of high-speed data (limited time offer, normally 2GB) at 4G LTE speeds if your phone is compatible. If you need a bit more data, you can get the $50 plan that includes unlimited high-speed data. Just like the talk and text, data is always unlimited but you’ll notice a distinct speed drop down to 3G until you refill your account if you go over your monthly allotment. You’re able to renew your service online from Boost Mobile. You also have the option to save a few bucks and sign up for the auto-refill option, which you can opt out of at any time with no cancellation fees incurred.

Boost offers a $35 30-day plan that includes unlimited nationwide talk, text, and data with 3GB of high-speed data.

Boost Mobile is rather generous with its high-speed data rates, and since it operates on Sprint’s existing infrastructure and equipment it’s able to pass along great savings while still offering outstanding coverage from coast to coast.

Boost also offers add-ons for international calling. Starting at $5 per month, plans for calls and texts to Mexico and Canada can be added to any plans, and per-minute bundles for most other countries start at $3.

Boost also offers several extras for all customers. Unlimited Music Streaming offers the ability to stream music for free without it counting towards your data limit. This is available through services like iHeartRatio, Spotify, Pandora, Napster, 8Tracks and Slacker. BoostTV offers 24/7 access to premium live and on-demand video content, and packages start at $10 per month. Additional LTE data can be purchased at $5 per 1GB.

Boost’s unlimited plan streams video at 480p by default. A $20 add-on offers unlimited HD video streaming. The $50 unlimited plan also includes unlimited calls and texts to & from Mexico, and up to 8GB of data roaming in Mexico (this is a limited time offer).

Here’s what it looks like in summary:

• $35: Unlimited nationwide calling / text, 3GB of LTE data (limited time only, normally 2GB)
• $50: Unlimited nationwide calling / text / LTE data (after 23GB you data may be slowed depending on network conditions), unlimited calling / text to and from Mexico, 8GB of data roaming in Mexico

Learn more

Best Phones

Boost Mobile offers a wide selection of low-budget Android phones alongside the usual Apple devices, but you can still get the latest and greatest from Samsung, the Galaxy S8 and S8+. Phones are available to be purchased outright at Boost’s web site. Of course, you can also stop in at your local Boost Mobile store or kiosk and see what’s available in-store.

Best Boost Mobile Phones

Beyond the Galaxy S8, you will also find older models such as the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S6, along with a slew of budget phone options for Android. You also have the option to Bring Your Own Device. To start, you’ll want to head to the Boost Mobile website and confirm whether your phone is compatible (the list is very limited), then it’s simply a matter of ordering a monthly plan.

Learn more

Making sure your phone is compatible

Boost is a Sprint property. If you decide to buy your phone directly from Boost mobile, you’ll have no compatibility issues, but if you decide to use your existing unlocked phone, things are very limited.

That’s because Sprint-branded phones are ineligible and the BYOD list for unlocked phones is as follows:

• iPhone 7
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone SE
• iPhone 6s
• iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone 6
• iPhone 6 Plus
• iPhone 5s
• iPhone 5c
• Samsung Galaxy S7 Special Edition
• Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Special Edition
• Moto G4
• Moto G4 Plus
• Moto G5 Plus

Not all unlocked models will be compatible. You can check your phone at the Boost Mobile site.

Start here to check your phone’s compatibility

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How to cancel Straight Talk

Since Boost Mobile exclusively offers prepaid plans with no contracts to sign, you’re free to stop using Boost by simply not refilling your account by the end of your current term.

There is also a 7-day guarantee for phones purchased through Boost Mobile.

Finding another MVNO

If you’re not happy with Boost Mobile for one reason or another, there are plenty of alternative carriers to choose from.

Learn more

Alternative carriers (MVNOS)

• What is an alternative mobile carrier?
• What are the advantages of going with an alternative carrier?
• How to make sure your phone works on a prepaid alternative carrier
• 8 Important Considerations When Switching To An MVNO
• These are the cheapest data plans you can buy in the U.S.
• Mint SIM vs. Cricket Wireless: Which is better for you?

The Morning After: Friday August 4th, 2017

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Friday has arrived. We’ll close out this week with the Moto Z2 Force review and a look at how GTA V is still making money four years after it came out.

Anyone know a lawyer?FBI arrests UK security researcher who stopped WannaCry outbreak

Marcus Hutchins, aka @MalwareTechBlog on Twitter, became known worldwide earlier this year when his quick action during the WannaCry outbreak prevented an untold number of computers from being damaged. This week the UK-based security researcher was in Las Vegas to be around the Def Con event, but then news broke that law enforcement had detained the young hacker. Eventually, the Department of Justice revealed that the FBI has him in custody for allegedly having a hand in creating and distributing the Kronos trojan. For more analysis of the charges against him, check out this report by the Washington Post.

Interesting.Chevy Bolt outlasts Tesla’s Model S in ‘Consumer Reports’ range test

While the Bolt is rated for 238 miles of driving by the EPA, the car exceeded that in the Consumer Reports test, squeezing out 12 more miles for a total of 250. That means the Bolt officially beats Tesla’s Model S, at least in this particular test. When CR tested the Model S 75D, it got 235 miles, compared to the EPA estimate of 259.

Don’t use these.Millions of previously-pwned passwords are now downloadable for free

In a bid to help internet companies improve their security, Have I Been Pwned operator Troy Hunt has released a database containing hashes for 306 million passwords that have previously appeared in leaks. Suggesting better alternatives for people using these passwords could help keep their accounts secure and makes it easier to follow guidelines established by the NIST.

An extra buck every month.LastPass Premium now costs twice as much

LastPass is one of the more popular password managers, and yesterday the company announced its prices are going up. While it’s introducing a $48 family plan to help keep your household (of up to six people) covered for less, individual subscriptions are doubling in price to $24 per year. Meanwhile, its unlimited sharing and emergency-access features are no longer available in its free option. Still, at $2 per month, it’s cheaper than competitors like Dashlane and 1Password, and for security’s sake, a password manager can be worth the money to wrangle your ever-growing list of unique passwords. Just something to keep in mind.

A lesson in compromise.Moto Z2 Force review: one step forward, another step back

Motorola tried to blend the best bits of the old Z and Z Force into a single body but made some compromises that mean the Z2 Force won’t work for everyone. The phone is both sleek and powerful, but it also has unremarkable battery life and a lackluster camera. If you love Moto’s Mods then this is the way to go, but there may be better options available.

Cheaper than the Surface StudioDell’s massive Canvas display for artists is available for $1,800

This 27-inch touchscreen display is perfect for design and art projects — if you can afford it.

But wait, there’s more…

• ‘GTA Online’ just keeps raking in cash for Take-Two
• Uber Freight schedules loads for truck drivers in six more states
• GoPro bets its near future on the Hero6 and Fusion cameras
• Facebook is still terrible at managing hate speech
• iOS 11 camera features may include scene recognition

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t subscribe.

Amazon adds Alexa voice control to Prime Photos for Fire TV

You don’t have to dig for old pictures anymore if you’re looking at them using Fire TV. Amazon’s Prime Photos app now supports Alexa, which means you can bark voice commands at the app instead. To fire up the app on a television, tell your Fire TV Stick “Show my photos.” That’s only one of the things it can do, though. It can also show files your specify, such as images you added last year (“Show my photos from last year”) or ones compiled in an album (“Show my birthday album”).

You can also tell the stick to play a slideshow or to show you your family’s shared images in your Family Vault. If you just want to see images featuring a specific person, like your child, significant other, mom, dad or anybody you regularly snap pictures of, just say “Show me pictures of [their name].” Prime Photos on mobile has facial recognition capabilities that group images based on who’s in them. So long as you label the person in those photos, the voice command will work. As the app’s name implies, though, these commands are only available if you’re a Prime member and only if you’ve already added files to your account through a phone or a computer.

Source: Amazon

A Boeing Dreamliner pilot just drew a giant outline of a plane in skies over the U.S.

Why it matters to you

Whatever shape the test flights make on flight trackers, it’s good to know Boeing is testing those engines.

While the vast majority of airplane flights go from A to B in pretty much a straight line, a recent one by Boeing did anything but.

The pilot of the Boeing 787 aircraft spent a whole 18 hours drawing an outline of the plane — better known as the Dreamliner — that covered more than 20 states from Michigan in the north to Texas in the south. Let’s clear be clear about this — he wasn’t in the cockpit with a huge piece of paper and a pack of crayons; he was flying the plane in the shape of a plane. 

The image could be seen gradually forming on online flight tracker services like Flightradar24 and FlightAware.

Rather than a costly publicity stunt aimed at highlighting the ability of the Dreamliner to fly for almost a day without needing to refuel, the exercise was in fact a necessary endurance test for a Rolls-Royce aircraft engine that’s currently undergoing certification.

Boeing’s aircraft took off from Seattle on Wednesday afternoon, flying around 2,000 miles to northern Michigan to begin its aerial artwork, starting at the plane’s wing tip.

“Rather than fly in random patterns, the test team got creative, flying a route that outlined a 787-8 in the skies over 22 states,” Boeing said at the end of its mammoth journey. “The nose of the Dreamliner is pointing at the Puget Sound region, home to Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The wings stretch from northern Michigan near the Canadian border to southern Texas. The tail touches Huntsville, Alabama.”

Time FLIES when you’re having fun ✈️#avgeek [Total flight time: 18 hrs, 1 min] https://t.co/151oNsMFOY pic.twitter.com/ThNWC5IM5k

— Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) August 3, 2017

Flightradar24 appeared to have had advance notice of the special flight, telling plane watchers shortly after the aircraft took off to “keep an eye on this one.”

At the end of the trip, the online flight tracker tweeted that “you might as well have a bit of fun” if you have to go on such a long test flight.

But not everyone was impressed by the artistic efforts of Boeing’s pilots, with one person asking the company if it was “fun wasting fuel and pouring tons of CO2 in the atmosphere.” Boeing responded by saying the flight had been a necessary exercise in order to test the engine.

It’s not the first time the plane manufacturer has taken a somewhat circuitous route to put its kit through its paces. Earlier this year it flew a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft over Washington state and nearby Montana, writing out “MAX” in the process.

‘Heroic’ ransomware blocker charged with creating bank malware

Why it matters to you

A court will ultimately decide whether or not he is guilty, but after his widely praised act back in May, Hutchins’ arrest will surprise many.

In a bizarre turn of events, a British cyber-security researcher who just a few months ago was hailed a hero for preventing the spread of highly damaging ransomware has been charged in the U.S. for offenses connected to a separate malware case.

Marcus Hutchins was arrested on Wednesday shortly before boarding a U.K.-bound flight from Las Vegas.

He’d been in the city for the annual Def Con conference where hackers, security experts, and researchers meet up to discuss cyber-security issues.

The 23-year-old Brit has been accused of crimes related to the Kronos malware that infected PCs via malicious email attachments and allowed hackers to steal people’s login credentials for online banking.

The allegations, which cover the period between July 2014 and July 2015, include that he helped to create and distribute Kronos in places such as hacker forums on the dark web.

The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed in a statement that Hutchins “was arrested in the United States on 2 August, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada, after a grand jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin returned a six-count indictment against Hutchins for his role in creating and distributing the Kronos banking Trojan.”

Hutchins’ mother told the Press Association that she was “frantically calling America” in a bid to contact her son, adding that it was extremely unlikely her son had broken the law because he put so much work into preventing computer-related crime.

WannaCry hero

Indeed, Hutchins was hailed a hero by cyber-security experts around the world less than three months ago after he single-handedly ended the global spread of damaging ransomware known as WannaCry.

The ransomware first came to light on May 12, blocking access to computer systems belonging to major businesses and organizations around the world, among them the U.K.’s National Health Service and Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica.

As WannaCry began to spread across the globe over the following days, Hutchins, working from his bedroom in south-west England, found a way to prevent the ransomware from causing further damage after examining its code. You can read his detailed account of the episode on his blog.

According to the Guardian, the Brit has been working remotely for LA-based Kryptos Logic, a cyber-security company that offered him a job in 2016 after being impressed by his tech blog.

But Hutchins now finds himself in custody, accused by the U.S. authorities of cybercrimes linked to a separate matter.  A court hearing is expected to take place on Friday aimed at organizing his legal representation.

OnePlus withdraws OxygenOS 4.5.7 update following gaming-related issues

OnePlus is now working on rolling out OxygenOS 4.5.8 ‘ASAP.’

OnePlus rolled out the OxygenOS 4.5.7 update to the OnePlus 5 earlier this week, introducing electronic image stabilization (EIS) when shooting 4K video along with a slew of bug fixes.

Following the update, several users on Reddit and OnePlus’ own forums started noticing a lot of stutter during gaming. OnePlus acknowledged the issue, and has withdrawn the 4.5.7 update.

The company is working on a fix, which will be rolled out with OxygenOS 4.5.8. From the OnePlus forums:

We are withdrawing 4.5.7 due to a gaming stutter issue reported from some forum users. Therefore, we will push out 4.5.8 instead to resolve this issue ASAP.

The OnePlus 5 witnessed its share of issues in recent weeks, but OnePlus has taken a proactive stance in addressing the problems with the handset.

If you’ve made the switch to OxygenOS 4.5.7 and are noticing issues while gaming, the 4.5.8 hotfix update should be available imminently.

OnePlus 5

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• Camera comparison: OnePlus 5 vs. Galaxy S8
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• Join the discussion in the forums

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Lenovo ditches Vibe Pure UI, will ship stock Android on all future phones

Lenovo is sticking to stock Android, starting with the K8 Note.

Motorola’s focus on an uncluttered software experience allowed its phones to stand out, and its parent company Lenovo is following suit. The company has confirmed that it is abandoning its Vibe Pure UI skin in favor of stock Android, with the upcoming K8 Note the first phone to ship with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box.

According to Anuj Sharma, Lenovo India’s head of marketing for the mobile unit, the move was motivated by customer feedback. Speaking to Gadgets 360, Sharma said:

What we have done in last 11 months is we looked at what we had in terms of software perspective. We have been close to the consumers and we saw what they were asking for. There was a certain trend and we have now decided to cut the Vibe Pure UI off from our phones. So you will now get the stock Android which consumers have been asking for.

There’s no more Vibe UI going forward and we are moving to complete stock Android for all our future Lenovo phones. This is a huge transition for our business perspective.

Lenovo will still add a few enhancements to take advantage of Dolby Atmos and TheaterMax, two technologies it has pushed in recent times. Aside from that, however, its devices will run a clean version of Android without any customizations.

Sharma talked about the difficulties involved in getting rid of its custom skin, and mentioned that going with stock Android will lead to faster updates:

It was a lengthy process to get done. As Lenovo had to align all markets where it sold Android devices. The cultural differences that came in where for example in China Android isn’t a very popular choice when you compare it to custom skins. But this was something for which Lenovo pushed really hard. For the Indian market, the preference was with stock Android experience.

The stock Android will also mean that it will be more efficiently updated to next Android OS. It also makes it easier to support for extended period of time.

It’s certainly a welcome move from Lenovo, one that makes its budget devices that much more enticing. The K8 Note will be making its debut in India on August 19, so stay tuned for more.