LaunchEnr is a Simple, AOSP-Style Launcher with Many Android Oreo Features

Custom launchers are the first thing that comes to mind when people think about Android customization. After all, the home screen can be considered as the main UX element of your phone and can be customized in many different ways, going from a simple icon change to a complete overhaul of every aspect of the launcher. There are many different alternatives including Nova Launcher, Action Launcher, Lawnchair, you name it. However, those looking to keep it simple while getting some additional features also have many options available. One of them being LaunchEnr.

LaunchEnr is developed by XDA Senior Member ivn888, and it's based on AOSP Launcher3, meaning that Pixel Launcher/AOSP Launcher users will feel right at home with LaunchEnr. It also adds lots of useful, essential features. It includes icon pack support, dark and light theme options, per-app icons and labels, app hiding, unread count notification badge features, home screen rotation, and a lot more! It also lightens the stock AOSP code of Launcher3, replacing some deprecated methods and effectively optimizing the app. With the 2.0 update, it also includes all Android 8.0 Oreo standard features, like round/adaptive icon support, notification badges, further code optimizations, and more.

However, you should try it out in order to actually experience the whole LaunchEnr feature set. You can download it on the Play Store, where it's available as a free application with no ads included. The developer also has an official XDA thread, where he delivers official updates and changelogs (as well as including the APK for each and every update). The developer is also active on the forums, picking up bug reports. It's still marked as a beta, so you will probably find some bugs here and there. But we are really excited to see development coming along nicely, and we are looking forward to future LaunchEnr releases coming soon.

LaunchEnr (Free, Google Play) →

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Source: Forums

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Firefox Quantum to Be Released in November, Beta & Developer Edition Available Now

The folks over at Mozilla have been busy lately with a number of different projects under the Firefox umbrella. Earlier today we talked about how an upcoming update to Firefox will be dropping support for Flash and now we have information about the browser engine they've been working on. What was previously known as Project Quantum is now slated for release in version 57 of Firefox and should make its way to the stable branch in the middle of November.

Project Quantum is something Mozilla has been working on for a while and it's something we touched on last month as well. A lot of the work done by web browsers today is thanks to the rendering engine they use and that's what Mozilla has been attempting to improve. With Project Quantum, the goal is to replace some of the components of their Gecko engine with code that has been pulled from the Servo engine. The Servo engine is far from complete, but Mozilla has been working to bring some of its best features to Gecko.

Mozilla feels the transition to Firefox Quantum is such a big leap that you'll instantly feel the difference when loading up your favorite websites. A popular way of measuring the speed of a website is with the Speedometer 2.0 benchmark (that is currently still in development). Using this as a base for comparison, the company says Firefox Quantum is about twice as fast as Firefox was a year ago. They've even released a video of the beta so you can see how it compares to Chrome

We recommend you check out their blog for the technical details of the changes that went into this new update. If you're not interested in that though, you should be aware that this update is scheduled to be released via the stable branch of Firefox on November 14th. However, you can try it in Beta on desktop, Android, and iOS if you'd like, while web developers are encouraged to check out the Developer Edition version here.

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Source: Mozilla Blog

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How to Test the Quality of your Charging Cables

Recently XDA TV got to take a look at the Allmaybe chargers that will change the way you charge your phone. Complete with Quick Charge compatibility, a host of safety features, and an LCD screen displaying useful information, the Allmaybe chargers are the best option for people who want to get serious about how they charge their device.

We used the Allmaybe charger to test the quality of some of the cords we have lying around. It's probably not something you think about very often, but some cords are much worse than others and can take significantly longer to charge your phone. You can plug any cord in and read the amount of power it's transferring to your phone. We even checked to see what would happen when you use a USB extension cord with your cable and you can watch the current going into the phone drop significantly.

The LCD screen on the Allmaybe charger will display the charging level, voltage, and capacity.

There are two USB ports in the Allmaybe charger. Each one is independent of the other. This means that charging two devices wont cause you to loose power in either port. Charge both of your Quick Charge compatible phones at once and save room at your wall outlet.

Knowing the quality of your cables can save you from bringing a bad cable along when you're traveling. You can also use this on wireless headphones, cameras, bluetooth speakers, or anything that takes a charge from a USB cord.

The Allmaybe EU2 has Quick Charge 3.0 with super compatibility.

The Allmaybe EU2-ST has an output power of 24W.

The Allmaybe charger is only $30 on Amazon and is available for Prime 2-day shipping as well. Use the links below to pick one up for yourself.

If you want to learn more about your phone's charging standard, check out our XDA Portal's in-depth article here.

Get the Allmaybe EU2 Get the Allmaybe EU2-ST

We thank Allmaybe for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.

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LG Brings Google Assistant Support to Nearly 90 of Their Appliances

Google may have been late to the embedded virtual assistant market but since they released the Google Assistant SDK we've started to see a number of OEMs start to use it. It's allow for companies to create their own connected speaker while adding more competition and options for customers. It has also enabled some to add connected features to an assortment of smart home devices. This is what we're seeing today with an announcement from LG which brings Google Assistant support to almost 90 of their smart appliance products.

While LG's mobile division has been losing hundreds of millions of dollars year lately, other parts like their appliances and TV division has been able to keep the company in the black. In fact, the company's board was so happy with how well the LG appliance division had been doing, that they appointed the person in charge as the CEO of the entire company. Since then, we've seen the company take a completely new direction with its products.

LG has been working to make their appliances smarter as of late and this addition of Google Assistant allows them to take it to the next level. The company has used its SmartThinQ application to control almost 90 of their appliances so far but this new update will allow them to work hands-free. So it doesn't matter if you're using Google Assistant on your smartphone, or a connected speaker such as Google Home, you can issue simple voice commands to have your appliances work for you.

LG has even announced a new feature for their appliances called Adaptive Learning. The goal here is to monitor how you use your appliances and then attempt to predict what you need before you even initiate something. The company says they'll use this data to do things such as "alert owners to order filter refills for the refrigerator or air purifier and it can troubleshoot lint build-up in the dryer."

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Source: LG Newsroom

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Firefox to Drop Support for Adobe Flash with v56 Update

Many people praised Android for its continued support of Flash when other competitors refused to allow it on their platform. However, recently we've seen a shift to the point where even Adobe says they're ending support for Flash in the next three years. The latest beta of Firefox from Mozilla has been released and it will be the first major release to finally drop support for Flash. The stable version of this update is scheduled to be released before the end of the month.

Android has a whole has slowly been moving away from Flash for years now. Looking all the way back to 2012, Android 4.1 was the first major version to lose official support for the Flash plugin. Since then, it was up to the individual browser to decide if they wanted to support it or not. Chrome has already disabled automatic support for it across all of their platforms and will require the user to enable the permission for individual websites they want to use it on.

Just like Adobe, Google is completely stopping support for Flash in Chrome (including this opt-in method) by the end of 2020. For years, Flash enabled websites to deliver content and features that many didn't even think were possible on a website. As HTML has evolved though, Flash is becoming less and less of a requirement and it's simply too much of a security risk. Many will be sad to see it go while others will be happy they don't have to worry about it anymore.

Firefox is the latest popular web browser to move against or away from Flash and that's happening with version 56. This update is currently in beta, but it is expected to reach the stable branch sometime this month. It's also the first update to require version Android 4.1 or higher, so naturally it makes sense that Mozilla would be dropping support for a feature that isn't officially supported.

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Source: AndroidPolice

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Google Extends Security Patches of the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X by Two Months

We don't know why, but Google has just extended support for the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X  by increasing the security patch lifespan by two months, pushing it back from September 2018 to November 2018. Two weeks ago we reported on the Google Security Update bulletin for September 2017, and actually showed the security patch lifespan for each of Google's devices.

For those somehow unfamiliar with security patches, they are simply Google's response to security vulnerabilities and other, similar problems. Previously, without a platform update there was no way to update the device to protect against key vulnerabilities. The answer to this was the security update system, a set of CVE and bug fixes, compartmentalized enough that carriers and manufacturers can easily apply them to their devices.

Sadly the actual life span of the devices for major updates hasn't changed, not that an extra two months would really matter. Due to the nature of platform updates on Android, it is unlikely an extra two months for major updates would actually be a benefit as they come yearly. It's already highly likely both devices will not receive Android P. This is because their Android version update lifespan came to an end this month, and it's unlikely that we'll see anything new within the next two months.

This coming October, the Nexus 9 and Nexus 6 will receive their last security updates before finally being deemed End of Life. This will leave the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X as the final, sole survivors of the Nexus program. It's interesting that Google has extended their support for two months so far in advance, and it's unlikely to have an actual security based reason behind it. It may be that Google are doing a customer service as a final send off for the devices, but nobody can really say why.

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Source: Google Support

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China Blocks All Access to WhatsApp

In a move strengthening China's grasp on internet consumption and social media, mainland China has now fully blocked WhatsApp and all of its services. This is a large blow to the Facebook re-entrance attempt of the Chinese market, as now there is no Facebook-owned product (with the exception of Colorful Balloons, an application mimicking Facebook moments) operating within the country.

Back in July, China initially blocked all media on WhatsApp except for messaging. This meant you could not send images, make calls or use stories within China, though you could send messages. Now that has changed and has led to the complete shutdown of the application within the country's borders. This is possibly because of the end-to-end encryption which was added to WhatsApp last year. It may also be an attempt to push users towards WeChat (a WhatsApp alternative), which provides user data to the Chinese government. Applications such as WeChat are still increasing in usage, and the blocking of WhatsApp will only push its usage higher. WhatsApp has over 1 billion users, but WeChat has nearly 700 million. It's gaining ground fast. Facebook products are not the only ones blocked in China, with Google's suite of products and other social media from other companies blocked too by the Great Firewall of China.

However, Facebook as a company has tried to enter the Chinese market before, but Facebook was banned in 2009 and Instagram never made it over there. This is a major blow to the company, as the country's 600 million or so smartphone users can be a lucrative market for the tech giant.

It's interesting to note this is not the only ban this year, with Pinterest and Periscope also being blocked. With over three thousand websites blocked, WhatsApp is just another to add to the list and I'm sure we'll see more.

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Source: The New York Times

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