Tag: Smartphone

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Android 12 custom ROM can bring new life into your old Google Pixel 2 XL

Google’s Pixel 2 XL can now use Android 12 thanks to a custom ROM that includes new features such as ‘Material You,’ the redesigned Quick Settings panel and more updates.

Google officially ended its support of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL in December 2020. For 11 or so odd months, those devices no longer received updates or security patches. However, if you’re a little technically inclined, you can now dust off the Pixel 2 XL and give Android 12 a whirl.

ProtonAOSP offers Pixel 2 XL users a way to try Android 12 on their hardware. Rather than installing a GSI build of the software, ProtonAOSP provides a more streamlined and accessible method.

To install the ProtonAOSP Android 12 ROM, users will be required to unlock the bootloader on the device. Following that, the bundled flash-all script will be required to have been used in order to install the ROM correctly. If the installation fails, allocating more storage may solve the issue.

Due to the ProtonAOSP Android 12 ROM not being officially supported by Google, bugs and performance issues can be expected. On the more serious side, users can run into issues with functional Wi-Fi service on their device or Premissive SELinux permission. Other issues are likely to exist. However, none have been reported as of the time of writing.

For users who enjoy holding on to their devices but don’t want to feel left behind when it comes to software, this Android 12 ROM should speak to Pixel 2 XL owners. It may be slightly obtuse to get working. Though, it’s a solution that wasn’t exactly expected following Google’s decision to stop supporting the Pixel 2 family.

As of now, ProtonAOSP’s ROM is only available for the Pixel 2 XL. However, a build for the standard Google Pixel 2 is said to be in the works. No release window has been given for that, however.

Source: AndroidPolice

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Mobile Syrup

Motorola’s new G Pure mid-range phone headed to Canada in the ‘coming months’

Motorola announced a new mid-tier smartphone called the ‘Moto G Pure’ set to be available in the U.S. starting October 14th and Canada “in the coming months.”

While disappointing to see Canadians once again get short-changed, I’m not sure too many people will be upset about a mid-range phone’s delayed arrival.

As for specs, the G Pure looks like a decent all-around option. It sports a 6.5-inch ‘Max Vision’ LCD HD+ display (1600 x 720 pixel resolution) with a 20:9 aspect ratio powered by a MediaTek Helio G25 processor with 3GB of RAM. The G Pure runs Android 11 out of the box and has 32GB of internal storage (expandable with up to a 512GB microSD card).

The phone has a 4,000mAh battery and supports 10W rapid charging. Around back is a dual-camera system with a 13-megapixel main shooter boasting phase detection autofocus (PDAF) accompanied by a two-megapixel depth sensor. The G Pure also has a five-megapixel selfie camera.

Moreover, the G Pure offers fingerprint and face unlock options, and comes in ‘Deep Indigo.’

Motorola said the phone will retail for $159.99 in the U.S. but did not confirm Canadian pricing. $159.99 USD is about $200 CAD — barring any significant price hikes, the G Pure should be relatively affordable when it comes to Canada.

You can learn more about the G Pure on Motorola’s website.

Image credit: Motorola

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Study finds algorithm can use smartphone sensor data to detect cannabis use

Researchers from Rutgers University in New Jersey say they can use smartphone data and machine learning to detect cannabis intoxication.

The project started as a proof-of-concept way to passively detect cannabis use rather than rely on existing testing measures like blood, urine or saliva tests. The researchers published their findings in the Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal (via CTV News).

The study involved an experiment with 57 young adults who reported using cannabis at least twice a week. Researchers asked participants to complete three surveys a day over 30 days. The survey asked about how high participants felt at a given time, when they had last used cannabis and the quantity consumed. Participants reported a total of 451 episodes of cannabis use.

Additionally, researchers asked participants to download a smartphone app that analyzed GPS data, phone logs, accelerometer data and other smartphone sensor data and usage statistics.

The researchers found that when looking at the time of day, a machine learning algorithm could detect an episode of cannabis use with 60 percent accuracy. With just the smartphone data, the algorithm had an accuracy of 67 percent.

But with both time-of-day data and sensor data combined, the algorithm accurately predicted cannabis use with 90 percent accuracy.

The researchers said that GPS and accelerometer sensor data were the most important in detecting cannabis use — the study found that participants didn’t travel as far while high, while the accelerometer could be used to measure body movements.

While certainly interesting results, there could be potential concerns with applying the algorithm in real-world scenarios. For example, bias in the algorithm (unintentional or otherwise) could skew results. Another problem could be the accuracy — 90 percent is impressive, but if you fall in the 10 percent where the algorithm gets it wrong, that could cause problems.

The researchers say that this is the first study to examine how smartphone sensors could help detect cannabis intoxication. However, some of the researchers were involved in a similar 2018 study that investigated if smartphone data could be used to detect heavy drinking episodes.

Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence Via: CTV News