Earlier this month, OneLab, a division created within OnePlus to develop new features for OxygenOS, announced its first cross-platform app called Clipt. The app is a clipboard tool that works across devices with different operating systems. Now, it has announced its second app – a wallpaper app called WellPaper that has a pretty cool feature.

The idea behind WellPaper is to bring your app usage habits to your homescreen rather than buried behind multiple settings menu. As the app description says, it is a digital wellbeing tool but it does its job in a cool way.

WellPaper uses dynamic wallpapers to show your app usage habits. This means that the wallpaper changes based on your usage habits. Apps are categorized into six groups which are then presented in three dynamic wallpapers:

• Composition –  uses shifting tiles (inspired by Piet Mondrian’s Composition II & III)
• Glow – uses glow rings (inspired by the neon lights of punk titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Blade Runner)
• Radial – a blend of the different categories that appears like a palette of colors

OnePlus didn’t say if more dynamic wallpapers will be added in the future but that is what we expect. Nevertheless, these three are pretty cool.

If you are wondering about power consumption, the team has taken that into consideration. According to them, the wallpapers are redrawn when the phone is unlocked and then it becomes mostly static. They also incorporated a delay in case the user is locking/unlocking the device multiple times. It is believed that these tunings should make it closer to a static wallpaper than standard live wallpaper.

WellPaper is available for all Android devices and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.

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Google has added a new feature in the Digital Wellbeing app to help users pay greater attention to their environment while outside and operating their phones. The Heads Up feature has now rolled out among some selected devices and users who had already registered for the Beta program on the app. The new feature can help safeguard the user from potential hazards that may not be noticed because you are engrossed with your phone.

The new Heads Up feature needs location services to be enabled for it to operate, and the user also has to activate the feature on the app manually. The app will notify the user with words like Be careful, Watch out, Stay alert, and a few other cautions in potentially dangerous situations.

The Heads Up mode rollout has reportedly commenced and it would first be launched for users registered for the Beta program and on Pixel 4a and Pixel 5 devices. Users who may not be able to activate the Heads Up feature can go to the app setting, clear the Digital Wellbeing app’s cache, force the app to stop, and then restart. This may resolve the issue upon reopening the app, as you would manually activate the Heads Up mode. When the new feature becomes available on a broader array of Android devices, it will certainly add another layer of safety for users who may be nestled in a game or other activities in their smartphones, oblivious of the dangers that may be lurking around. Safety concerns will be well served for the vigilant user while the reckless may remain oblivious to his environment’s risks.

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(source)

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Google, the search engine giant, has launched three new and experimental apps to encourage one to use their smartphones less. These new apps are a part of the company’s Digital Wellbeing initiative and one of these offers a unique solution which basically involves you putting your handset in an envelope.

The new apps were launched on 21st January 2020 and are made to help people use their smartphones less often. However, the envelope from Google does let users make calls. Unfortunately, the envelope currently only supports Google’s Pixel 3A, for now at least. So for those interested, a Pixel 3A is the only way for one to experience it at the moment.

The app is called Envelope and can be downloaded from Google’s Play Store app. This app will have a PDF attached to it that is supposed to be printed out by the user. Then, cut out the template and build it according to the instructions provided. Once completed, users can put their Pixel 3A devices inside it and are only able to user the number keys for dialing, speed dials and even flashes the numbers on the same to tell the time.

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The Envelope follows a design philosophy from Google that allows smartphone users to disconnect. The effort behind it is to silence digital distractions to allow for more focus in a given environment. Google has open sourced the Envelope app on GitHub so interested users do have the option to tinker with how it works, apart from just calling or being able to use the camera.

Furthermore, the way the envelope is built is also significant in this process. Once sealed, users will have to tear open the seal to access their smartphone. Thus, if one does tear open the seal, they will have to make another one from scratch as it is not designed for sealing and reopening, encouraging longer use in this manner.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi’s XiaoAi adds a pnuemonia coronavirus shortcut card for live info on the epidemic

(Via)

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The Realme C2 was supposed to get a Pro version but it was canceled. Now, Realme is rolling out an update to the phone that brings new features as well as a security patch.

The update is rolling out gradually and has the version number RMX1941EX_11.A.17. Realme says it is a staged roll-out, with few random users getting it today and more over the next couple of days. This is to ensure there are no critical bugs.

The changelog for the update says the security patch has been updated to that os September 2019. It also brings the Digital WellBeing app and more customizations when you setup hotspot such as speed limit, data consumption and more for connected devices. Below is the full changelog:

Security

• Android security patch: September 2019.

System

• Added the manual lock feature by long-press the power button.
• Manual limit the network speed of hotspot connected device.
• Display the data consumed by connected devices.
• Customizable data consumed reminder.

Setting

• Added Google Digital Wellbeing.

Launcher

• Optimized lock screen clock widget design.
• Added date and weather widget.
• Optimized Smart Assistant interface.

Notification Center and Status Bar

• Redesigned the notification center style.
• Swipe left or right to remove the message prompt after receiving the message.

You can check for the update by going to the update section under Phone Settings. If it isn’t available, then you should wait for the notification to arrive over the next few days.

UP NEXT: Huawei, OPPO, OnePlus and Realme to soon rollout unified push notifications

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Xiaomi Mi 9 has received a brand new beta update, MIUI 10.9.4.17, which adds a few features on the new device. The highlighted feature is Wi-Fi Probe box protection, which basically protects your smartphone’s Mac addresses from hackers scanning public Wi-Fis.

Apparently, Wi-Fi probe boxes are a big thing in China, where hackers are said to get hold of smartphone user’s information such as Mac addresses via special boxes. These boxes look for smartphones that scan for public Wi-Fi networks and in the process steal their Mac addresses. This year at China’s CCTV 315 Gala, this method of stealing user information was brought into the spotlight.

Xiaomi isn’t the first smartphone to particular address this issue. Huawei revealed last month that its phones running on EMUI 8 and above are already protected. The new update protects the phone by using random Mac addresses when connecting to Wi-Fi networks. Android Pie already has this feature inbuilt, but it’s disabled as default. So, these Chinese companies seem to be keen on activating it on their own skins.

Apart from this, the beta update adds an option to snooze reminders.

• RELATED: Xiaomi Mi 8/Mi 8SE/Mi Mix 3 receives always-on color display feature with MIUI 10 9.4.2 Beta update

According to XDA, the Wi-Fi Probe Protection feature will be available on betas builds running on Android 8.1 Oreo as well as Android 9 Pie. There’s also digital wellbeing like feature being added to MIUI 10 beta build 9.4.15. This special section in the UI will show you the amount of time spent on each app, the number of times you unlock the phone, and number of notifications from each app, on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

(via1, via2)

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A new update has started rolling out to the Essential PH-1. Unlike previous updates that have mostly just been security patches, this new one brings a new feature – support for Digital Wellbeing.

Digital Wellbeing was exclusive to the Pixels and Android One phones for a while but it has now started arriving on other Android devices.

The Essential PH-1 is the latest phone to get the new feature which lets you track the time spent on each app, the number of notifications you get per day and the number of times you unlock your device.

Digital Wellbeing also lets you set timers for your apps. When the timer ends, the app is paused for the rest of the day. There is also a “Wind Down” mode which when activated turns the screen to grayscale, so you can fall asleep easily.

The update also brings March 2019′ security patch to the 2017 device. It is less than 100MB in size and is already rolling out globally.

READ MORE: Essential wants to expand, puts up listings for 21 positions

Now that Digital Wellbeing is out of the way, we hope the next update brings support for ARCore.

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Digital Wellbeing was launched during Google I/O 2018 as a new set of features aimed to reduce our addiction to smartphones. This was done in order to preserve our mental and physical health from the adverse effects of continuous smartphone usage. Thanks to this new app available on Android Pie, users can get reminders when they spend too much time on their phones and much more. The phone is able to detect all the stats about the users’ usage thanks to artificial intelligence. Nokia 7 Plus is one of the few devices which received the Beta version of Android Pie, but until two days ago, Digital Wellbeing was hidden and an APK was necessary to try its exciting features.

Now, a new update (Google Play Store) just rolled out by Google is available on the Nokia 7 Plus, and it opens Digital Wellbeing access to everyone running the Beta version of Android Pie. You can currently install the new features by using this link or by updating the Play Store on your device. Among the most important features that Digital Wellbeing is bringing on the Nokia 7 Plus there is a dashboard which includes info about how and how much the user uses his phone.

• Read More: Nokia 7 Plus gets Android Pie Beta update instead of stable release

The info includes the time spent using every single app, the number of unlocks and even the amount of notifications received on the handset. A feature called App Timers is able to limit the time we can spend on single apps (the user can personally choose the time limit, obviously). There is also an advanced Do Not Disturb mode which prevents the phone to vibrate, ring or light up when the phone receives a new notification. With Digital Wellbeing, the phone is able to enable Do Not Disturb mode at chosen time frames. For more information about all the features brought by Digital Wellbeing, check the Play Store page we linked above.

(via)

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