Linux on DeX Won’t Be Available on Android 10 as Samsung Scraps the Initiative

Linux on Dex

Desktop mobile convergence was talked a lot a few years with the hope that smartphones would eventually be used as a phone while on the go, and an efficient desktop or laptop replacement at the office or the home. Canonical was heavily involved in making convergence happen with Ubuntu Touch, but over two years ago they eventually had to drop all development efforts focusing on IoT and the Cloud instead. Samsung came up with its own Linux on Galaxy offering in 2017, which officially launched as Linux on Dex beta nearly a year ago, and allowed users, mostly developers, to run a Linux Desktop while their Samsung Android smartphone was connected to a monitor. Linux on Dex is Dead This looked promising, but Android Police reports some beta users received an email from Samsung explaining that the beta program had ended and that Linux on DeX will not be supported […]

Rikomagic R6 Review – Part 1: Android Mini Projector’s Unboxing and First Boot

Rikomagic R6 Android Launcher

Rikomagic R6 is a mini Android projector that looks like a vintage radio, or depending on your point of view a mini vintage television. We’ve already gone through the specifications last time around, but the smart projector is based on a quad-core Rockchip processor coupled with up to 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, while the 720p projector delivers up to 70 ANSI lumens. The company has now sent me a sample for review, so in this first part of the review, I’ll show what’s in the package, and what it looks like after boot, before going through more thorough testing in the second part of the review. Rikomagic R6 Unboxing The package reads “R6 MINI Projector” and “Smart Home Theater”. I received a pink model, but the company also offer other colors. The projector’s lens is protected by a black cover. The projector feels quite heavy and indeed it weights […]

HK1 MAX PLUS TV Box Features Upgraded Rockchip RK3368PRO SoC with USB 3.0, HDR Support

Rockchip RK3368Pro TV Box

Rockchip RK3368 octa-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz was introduced in 2015 mostly in TV boxes running Android 5.1 such as Beelink i68 or Tronsmart Orion R68. Unsurprisingly we don’t read much about new Rockchip RK3368 products four years later. But Rockchip appears to have launched a RK3368 “refresh” with RK3368PRO processor equipped with most of the same features, plus the addition of a USB 3.0 interface, and HDR support. The company also updated software support to Android 9.0 Pie. We don’t actually have much information about the processor as we learned about it via a listing on Aliexpress for HK1 MAX PLUS TV box with the following (preliminary) specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3368PRO Octa-Core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.5 GHz with Imagination PowerVR G6110 GPU System Memory – 4 GB DDR3 Storage – 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB flash; MicroSD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ […]

Khadas VIM3L (Amlogic S905D3) Benchmarks, Settings & System Info

Khadas VIM3L Heatsink

Khadas VIM3L is the first Amlogic S905D3 SBC on the market and is sold as a lower-cost alternative to the company’s VIM3 board with a focus on the HTPC / media player market. Shenzhen Wesion was kind enough to send me a sample for review, and I’ll start by checking out benchmarks and system information in Android 9.0 Pie operating system. I also plan to perform a more detailed review with Android 9.0 and CoreELEC with a focus on media playback. I received the bare board only, and the first thing I did was to install it the heatsink I received for VIM3 and in turn, install it in the acrylic case. The company told me the heatsink is not really necessary “for normal purpose using like watch TV”, but it should be installed for performance tests and heavy workloads. I’d still recommend purchasing the heatsink to make sure it […]

Intrinsyc Unveils Open-Q 845 µSOM and Snapdragon 845 Mini-ITX Development Kit

Open-Q 845 µSOM Development Kit

Intrinsyc introduced the first Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 hardware development platform last year with its Open-Q 845 HDK designed for OEMs and device makers. But the company has now just announced a solution for embedded systems and Internet of Things (IoT) products with Open-Q 845 micro system-on-module (µSOM) powered by the Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor, as well as a complete development kit featuring the module and a Mini-ITX baseboard. Open-Q845 µSOM Specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon SDA845 octa-core processor with 4x Kryo 385 Gold cores @ 2.649GHz + 4x Kryo 385 Silver low-power cores @ 1.766GHz cores, Hexagon  685 DSP, Adreno 630 GPU with OpenGL ES 3.2 + AEP (Android Extension Pack),  DX next, Vulkan 2, OpenCL 2.0 full profile System Memory – 4GB or 6GB dual-channel high-speed LPDDR4X SDRAM at 1866MHz Storage – 32GB or 64GB UFS Flash Storage Connectivity Wi-Fi 5 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5Ghz 2×2 MU-MIMO (WCN3990) with 5 GHz […]

TIL: The Android Camera App Supports QR Code Scanning (in Some Phones)

Android Camera QR Code

QR Code are pretty common, and until today I used a third-party app to scan the codes and get the embedded information such as a webpage. But I’ve just read in LinkedIn that the default camera app can read QR codes. No need to install any third-party app, no need to reach any menu, just point for two or three seconds and it will work as shown in the short video below.  I’m always running out of space on with Xiaomi Mi A2 phone since it only has 32GB flash, and no MicroSD card slot.  So if beside saving some time while scanning QR code, I can get rid of one app that’s always a plus. Except it does not work on my phone. Instead I had to tap on the right of the camera app to switch to Google Lens (or launch Google Lens manually), and the QR […]

Tiny USB WiFi Camera Supports Motion and AI Human Detection

USB WiFi Camera

When I first saw U21 HD camera it reminded me of SOOCOO G1 is action camera with a flexible stick, since the camera also comes with a flexible hose which allows you to orient it as you please. But it’s a different bear, as U21 is a surveillance camera powered over USB and featuring WiFi connectivity. I can’t see any motion detection, so it may have some dose of “AI” since it claims to support motion and human detection so you only get relevant alerts. It is currently sold (pre-orders) on Banggood for $33.65 including shipping with order starting to be processed on October 30th. U21 USB WIFI camera key features and specifications: MCU / WiSoC – No information (yet) Storage – MicroSD card slot up to 128GB for up to one month of recording (8GB = 2 days); Cloud storage via third party (paid) Camera – 14mm lens, HD […]

Rock Pi 4C SBC to Support Dual Display Setups via micro HDMI and mini DP Ports

rock pi 4 model C

Rockchip RK3399 powered Rock Pi 4 SBC was introduced at the end of 2018 and followed nearly exactly Raspberry Pi 3 Model B form factor just with a more powerful processor, GPU, as well as more memory depending on which model you purchase. But in June 2019, the Raspberry Pi foundation launched Raspberry Pi 4 SBC with a much faster processor and many of the same ports as its predecessor except for support for two HDMI displays via micro HDMI ports. Radxa has now followed suit with Rock Pi 4C which offers two modern video outputs, but with a twist as the upcoming SBC combines one micro HDMI port with one mini DP port. Rock Pi 4C was introduced at the XDC 2019 conference where open-source graphics developers meet, and Radxa was a “supporter”. The company explains Rock Pi 4B uses RK3399’s USB type-C controller for the two USB 3.0 […]

Youyeetoo X1 x86 SBC