HTC Sense 7.0 - can we expect any of these?

With HTC Sense 7.0 right around the corner I thought of making some little "wish-list" of a features I would love to see in the refreshed HTC UI. If you don't know yet - HTC Sense is so far the most advanced and by many known as the best custom Android User Interface. Apple has its iOS, Samsung has its plastic and HTC has its Sense UI.

None of the features are revolutionary, some of them are actually quite common or already available via 3rd party mods (like Sense Toolbox). The thing is, it would be great to have them (at least few of them) available out of the box. Lets go through the list!

1. New section in / Settings / Personalize / called "Status bar" with the following features:
1. possibility to remove the clock
2. possibility to add XX % battery indicator, moved from / Settings /  Power / Show battery level
3. possibility to have only XX % battery indicator without the battery icon
4. possibility to have both XX % indicator and a battery icon (current solution). All these features related to the battery level can be sorted this way: / Settings / Personalize / Status bar / Show battery level: show battery icon | show battery level | show both battery icon and level
5. possibility to change between 4G and LTE icons
2. Increase the number of icons inside a folder - for some reason the maximum number of icons inside a folder is 20. With so many games and applications in the Google Play it's really strange limitation. I'm not a gamer, but I have more then 20 games. Shell I have folders like "Games 1", "Games 2", "Games 3" etc?
3. Possibility to create folders in the app drawer when using the Alphabetical mode. So far we can add folders only in the "Custom" view mode. I would like to organize icons inside the app drawer into folders and keep the aliphatic order of the icons outside folders.
4. Possibility to customize the battery saver feature - HTC in the Sense 4+ UI introduced a very useful toggle to turn on/off battery saver. However, it's barely possible to customize it, even in the HTC Sense 6.0. Possibility to change the moment when the power saver mode is turned on, the CPU min/max frequencies, screen dim level etc. would be really great.
5. Move the Flashlight and the Calculator apps from the /data/preload back to the /system/app location. I know - this has barely anything to do with the user interface, however I can't find a proper explanation why HTC decided to let these 2 stock apps be on the /data partition instead a /system partition. It's not a big deal as long as the bootloader is not unlocked. After unlocking the bootloader the content of /data partition is being wiped, so both - pretty useful - apps are gone.
6. Independent Lock Screen short-cuts. I really miss the possibility to use different short-cuts on the Lock Screen and different on the main screen.
7. Easy copy phone number from the contact details page. Let me explain it this way - go to the People app, enter any contact and long press on the phone number. There is no "Copy" on the list. Instead, you need to select "Edit" first and then select the entire number and copy it. Why not making it easier with just "Copy" command on the long press menu?
8. Restore the sliding ("scrolling") wallpaper. Or at least give provide an option in the / Setting / Personalize / Home screen to choose between "static" or "scrolling" wallpaper. I really liked that Android feature!
9. Simple 1x1 alarm clock widget - it would be great to have one, small 1x1 widget that takes you directly to alarm clock settings.

So, what do you thing about these ideas? Do you think that some of them might be already in the HTC Sense 7.0? Or maybe you have something else in mind? Please share your opinion!

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Xposed for Android Lollipop is out!

The day we've been all waiting for since Android Lollipop landed on the HTC flag-ship devices! Xposed (so far Alpha version) for Android 5.0 is finally here!

Installation procedure is a bit more complicated than it used to be with pre-Lollipop Xposed installer. This time you need to install regular .apk file to manage installed modules and also flash a .zip package with a framework inside custom recovery.

Ok, so wait no more! Go to the original thread - [OFFICIAL] Xposed for Lollipop and download proper installation files. Keep in mind it's still in Alpha stage, so rovo89 warned that there is a risk of boot loop, because Xposed hasn't been yet tested on many devices.

Let us know how it works for you!

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HTC One M9 - What do we know so far?

The HTC One M9 launch day is just around the corner. We've heard a lot of rumours already and saw a different renders presenting the concepts of the incoming HTC flag-ship device. The question is - what do we really know so far?

The answer is vague. We know all, and we know nothing. Current HTC One M9 specification looks reliable, but after all we might be surprised by the HTC. So let's take a look at the most "possible" details.

The HTC One M9 model ID (MID) will start with 0PJA. Per example, it's highly possible that the European WWE (401) variant will have 0PJA10000 MID number.

Screen - some said it's going to be 5,5", some 5,2" but in the end it seems that HTC ended up with the same screen size as in the HTC One M8 - 5.0" with Full HD resolution and Super LCD3 technology, which seems to be a way better solution rather than using QHD display, mostly for performance reasons. Technically you have no chance to see the difference between the FHD and QHD displays in a real life. Under the microscope - sure. But in fact the QHD resolution looks better only on paper as a raw numbers. Marketing effect? Yes, sadly.

www.corninggorillaglass.com

Some sources said that the M9 screen is going to be covered with the new Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4 technology. This is a great news, because the 4th generation of the Gorilla Glass brought a couple of improvements:

• Enhanced retained strength after use
• High resistance to scratch and sharp contact damage
• Improved drop performance
• Superior surface quality

SoC - already well known Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (MSM8994) with a CPU running at 4 x 2.0 GHz + 4 x 1.5 GHz. The Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 810 processor is the "ultimate connected computing processor, with 64-bit computing on 8 CPU cores and leading modem capabilities, is designed to enable the most advanced connected mobile user experiences, including streaming 4K Ultra HD video, sharing top-quality digital photos, on-line 3D gaming, and virtually seamless communications, along with outstanding battery life for premium smartphones and tablets". And it's now only what Qualcomm says about the new S810. Some first benchmarks already proved how powerful this SoC is. Also, keep in mind it's equipped with new Adreno 430 GPU and improved Hexagon DSP multithreaded CPU architecture -  V56 DSP (up to 800MHz) vs Hexagon V50 on the HTC One M8.

RAM Memory - we already know that the HTC One M9 is going to have 3GB LPDDR4 (Low Power) RAM memory. It is a significant improvement versus HTC One M8 equipped 2 GB LPDDR3 RAM memory. It's worth to say that Snapdragon allows to use LPDDR4 1600MHz Dual-channel 64-bit (25.6GBps) memory vs. 933 MHz on the LPDDR3 technology.

ROM Memory - two variants: 32GB and 64GB. And of course a possibility to insert a microSD card. Let's hope HTC decided to use eMMC 5.0 SD 3.0 (UHS-I) this time. In the HTC One M8 - My point of (re)view I wrote that Snapdragon 801 added support for eMMC 5.0 (embedded Multi-Media Controller) storage technology but HTC decided to use older, eMMC 4.51 technology in the HTC One M8.

Communication - VoLTE, Carrier Aggregation and LTE Category 6 up to 300 Mbps for download and 50 Mbps for upload. As a comparison let's notice that the HTC One M8 is equipped with LTE modem category 4.

Rear camera - 20.7 MPx with Dual LED Flash.

Front camera - 4 MPx with UltraPixel technology

Operating system - Android 5.0.2 with a brand new HTC Sense 7.0 user interface.

Battery - we had a 2,600 mAh battery on the HTC One M8 and now we have 2840 mAh on the HTC One M9. Not a huge change, but considering the fact that the screen size is the same we might actually notice some improvement. Also, the HTC Sense 7.0 might be more battery friendly than HTC Sense 6.0.

The HTC One M9 will come with a BoomSound of course. Release date? March, the 1st!

Want to chip in?

What about Android Revolution HD for the HTC One M9? Well, I hope to start working on it as soon as possible. For that I need a HTC One M9 software (system dump) and a device itself. I can't sell my HTC One M8 so any contributions towards the upgrade are very much appreciated. If you like my work - just consider to chip in. Also thank you for your great support and letting Android Revolution HD be the most downloaded and desired custom ROM for almost 5 years! With more then 6 millions downloads on the counter I will keep working hard on the stuff you love.

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HTC One M9 "Hima" design concept

Just few minutes ago Phone Designer posted on their Facebook page a new concepts of the incoming HTC high-end device - HTC One M9 "Hima". The authors warned that the concept is based on the current leaks and they can't promise the final product will look exactly the same.

My thoughts? Actually I really hope it will look exactly the same! Pictures are just stunning!

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The clock is ticking... [HTC at MWC 2015]

Since few years every March means a lot of fascination and excitement in the Android world. March is a special month for thousands of Android users, especially those using devices from the ambitious and inventive Taiwan manufacturer - HTC.

HTC is not the biggest company out there, but during past years HTC introduced by far the most innovation in their products and trends in the Android devices design. Empty words? Sycophancy? No.

The HTC One M7 introduced in March 2013 has received numerous awards and accolades, including being named "Best New Mobile Device" by the GSM Association at Mobile World Congress 2013, and was named the best smartphone of 2013 at the same conference in 2014.

One year later, in March 2014 HTC introduced the HTC One M8. Just like its predecessor, the One M8 received most awards in the mobile devices industry, including "Phone of the Year" at the T3 Gadget Awards 2014.

One of the HTC One M9 renders

This year HTC is not going to rest on its laurels. On March 1st, right before the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (March, 2nd) HTC will present the successor of the HTC One M8. Some say it will be called "One M9", some say it will be called "Hima". Honestly? Name doesn't matter to me. All I know is that the design line of the HTC One series will be kept and the incoming high-end HTC smartphone will set new trends for the 2015. The expected device specification looks promising. Also what we can be sure of, the HTC One M9 will be running Android Lollipop out of the box with the refreshed HTC Sense 7.0 user interface. Personally, I can't wait!

Oh, and one more thing.

It won't be made of plastic.

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How To: Find a proper firmware variant for the HTC device

This guide is related to the previously published article - How To: Flash firmware package on the HTC device. The goal of this guide is to expose the problem of a matching firmware version for the particular HTC device. Please read it carefully and in case of any questions leave a proper comment in the comments section at the end of this article.

Every firmware.zip has 2 main attributes: modelid (MID) and cidnum (CID).

• MID contains a codename of your device. For example the "0P6B1000" is the international version of the HTC One M8, while the "0P6B13000" is the T-Mobile U.S. version of the HTC One M8.
• CID is the carrier software codename. For example the "HTC__J15" code represents the unbranded international version of the HTC One M8, while the "T-MOB010" code represents the T-Mobile U.S. software. Different CID numbers are usually used for mobile operators to include different regional settings, languages or to include some extra software (Wi-Fi Calling, Visual Voice Mail etc.).

Both MID and CID can be found in the android-info.txt inside each firmware.zip. This is how android-info.txt looks like (as an example I used firmware.zip from the international version of the HTC One M8):

Once you know the version of the firmware you have, you need to check if your device can be safely flashed with that particular firmware.zip. To check that:

1. Download this mini-sdk package and extract it to c:\mini-sdk
2. Connect your device to the PC
3. Boot your device in fastboot mode (vol down + power ===> fastboot)
4. Open a command prompt on the PC (cmd.exe), type and confirm each command with ENTER:
5. cd /d c:\mini-sdk
6. fastboot getvar all

This is an example output from the international version of the HTC One M8:

What you are looking for is the "modelid" and "cidnum".

• If your device is S-ON then both modelid and cidnum must match.
• If your device is S-OFF then modelid is critical to match, but cidnum can be changed either by changing CID of your device or by editing android-info.txt.
• Edited firmware.zip can't be flashed on the S-ON device.
• If your device is S-ON then you can't downgrade your current firmware version.

If both CID and MID numbers match you can safely flash the firmware.zip package - How To: Flash firmware package on the HTC device.

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How To: Flash firmware package on the HTC device

Flashing so called "firmware" is as popular these days as flashing "custom ROM". For HTC old-boys it's nothing complicated, but some fresh Android users might find it difficult to understand the differences between "firmware" and a "custom ROM". As a result they might be afraid to upgrade OS on their device or even accidentally hard/soft brick it. Before continuing please read this article: How To: Find the proper firmware variant on the HTC device.

First of all let’s make some definitions clear. Both "Firmware" and "ROM" has their own dictionary definitions, but in this guide we need to use the same context of these words as you can find on popular articles and forums.

Your device is equipped with eMMC memory (embedded MultiMediaCard) - a place where every kind of data is stored. This eMMC memory in Android OS is called mmcblk0. But for a various reasons this memory space has to be divided into several smaller parts (f.g. not every kind of data can be stored on the same type of a filesystem). As a result, the eMMC memory is separated into different partitions (RAW, EXT3, EXT4) - smaller or bigger. To indicate the correct partition, each of them has it's own number - p1, p2, p3, p(...) etc. The whole partition name indicates also the eMMC number it's located in - mmcblk0p1, mmcblk0p2, mmcblk0p3, mmcblk0p(...) etc.

To see a lit of all the partitions on your device just type cat /proc/emmc in the adb.exe command shell.

Doing that you can also see the original name of each partition. The list you can see above is what we call "firmware", and what "custom ROM" is made of is usually just "boot" and "system" partitions. In other words - custom ROM represents "system", "boot" (sometimes "userdata" too) and everything else you can see on the list is a "firmware".

Important: Every signed and official firmware.zip can be flashed on a particular device only. Information about the device and its variant can be found inside android-info.txt in the firmware.zip package.

Question: Where firmware comes from? There are 2 ways: official and non-official. Usually firmware package comes together with the OTA (.zip) update. Inside the OTA package you can find firmware.zip archive (always signed). The non-official way is based on decrypting and extracting content of the RUU (.exe)

Question: Is everything from the list above always included in the official firmware.zip? No. HTC updates only these components (partitions) where there were changes in the code, usually related to the Android OS update or security changes in the bootloader (hboot). That means firmware.zip might have "adsp", "boot", "radio" inside and weigh 10 MB or it might contain a lot more and weight even 50 MB.

Signed (official) firmware packages can be flashed on both S-ON and S-OFF device. Once modified (unsigned) firmware.zip can't be flashed on the S-ON device. If your device is S-ON then you have to re-lock the bootloader. As long as your device is S-ON you also can't downgrade the firmware version.

Important: Make sure you have a correct MID (Model ID) and CID (Carrier ID). To check that use fastboot getvar all command. Everything you do, including following this guide, you do at your own risk!

Flashing Process

1. Download this mini-sdk package and extract it to c:\mini-sdk
2. Copy firmware (.zip) package to c:\mini-sdk and rename it to "firmware.zip"
3. Connect your device to the PC
4. Boot your device in fastboot mode (vol down + power ===> fastboot)
5. Open a command prompt on the PC (cmd.exe), type and confirm each command with ENTER:
6. cd /d c:\mini-sdk
7. fastboot getvar all (open android-info.txt inside firmware.zip and check if MID and CID matches)
8. <optionally> fastboot oem lock (if your device is not yet re-locked)
9. fastboot oem rebootRUU
10. fastboot flash zip firmware.zip and wait for the process to be completed. Sometimes flashing firmware once doesn't work, so flash firmware.zip again using the same command.
11. fastboot reboot

In case of further questions I prepared a little Q&A part:

• What is firmware.zip?

Firmware.zip is a part of Over The Air (OTA) update from the HTC. It contains important parts of the firmware like radio, bootloader, recovery, kernel etc.

• Why it's important to flash firmware.zip and when should I flash it?

It is recommended to have the latest firmware on your device for the best modem performance and overall system stability. Sometimes it's necessary to have the latest bootloader too, because otherwise your device might not work well with the new system update.

• Why it's important to flash it before flashing custom ROM?

Because firmware.zip contains boot.img (ramdisk and kernel) that will replace custom boot.img from any custom ROM you already have. That's why you have to flash firmware.zip first, because otherwise boot.img will be overwritten with the stock one. If you already flashed firmware.zip after flashing custom ROM, just flash this particular custom ROM again.

• Does firmware.zip contain recovery?

Yes, it does contain recovery image, that's why after flashing firmware.zip you will have to flash custom recovery again to be able to flash custom ROM afterwards.

• Can I flash any firmware.zip on my device?

Not if your device is S-ON. To be able to flash firmware.zip on the S-ON device, your MID number (example: PN0710000) and CID number (example: HTC__001) must match the firmware.zip version you are about to flash.

• If my MID or CID doesn't match, can I brick my device if I try to flash firmware.zip anyway?

As long as your device is S-ON flashing firmware.zip with non matching MID or CID will result in error and nothing will be flashed, so there is no risk of brick.

• Do I need to have locked, unlocked or relocked bootloader to be able to flash firmware.zip?

Your bootloader needs to be relocked.

• If I can't flash newest firmware.zip because of wrong modeid (MID) or cidnum (CID) does it mean I can't use custom ROM based on the latest HTC update?

In most cases you should be able to use any custom ROM as long as hboot update is not mandatory.

• What if there is no firmware.zip for my MID/CID?

Try to find latest OTA update for your original stock ROM and extract it. Firmware.zip should be inside.

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