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Feb 6 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
The February 2023 Android Security Bulletin is now live, listing the vulnerabilities addressed in the 2023-02-01 and 2023-02-05 security patch levels. This is expected to be the last month where patches will be backported to Android 10.
An update is rolling out now for Pixel phones bringing the 2023-02-05 security patch level. The build number is TQ1A.230205.*** and the update also addresses some Pixel-specific bugs.
The corresponding AOSP tags have not been published yet, but I'll follow up when they are and also share changelogs.
Android Security Bulletin - February 2023: source.android.com/docs/security/…

Pixel Update Bulletin - February 2023: source.android.com/docs/security/…

Google Pixel Update - February 2023: support.google.com/pixelphone/thr…
As several people have pointed out, there's also a new build available for the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. However, the security patch level is still reported as October 2022.
That doesn't mean it doesn't have any new security patches, though. They could have backported some patches (but not all). We'll find out once the AOSP tags are up for this build.
It looks like the purpose of this surprise Pixel 4 update is to backport the patch for the SIM PUK vulnerability that was addressed in the November 2022 ASB.

You can see the code changes between the android-13.0.0_r7 (TP1A.221005.002) and android-13.0.0_r31 (TP1A.221005.002.B2) tags in this changelog generated by @mikeioannina: mikeng.github.io/aosp.changelog…

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More from @MishaalRahman

Mishaal Rahman Profile picture
Feb 7
Last year, I reported that Google was hiring someone to help OEMs deploy Android features that use Android's Context Hub Runtime Environment. Today, Google announced that the OnePlus 11 uses CHRE to improve the responsiveness of Fast Pair discovery!
Here's Google's blog post on the topic: blog.google/products/andro…
The blog post also says that they're looking to use CHRE to "boost other Android features like Nearby Share, improving responsiveness when it comes to sharing files with friends from your phone."

Notably, The Pixel 7 series ships with a "nearby" nanoapp:
Read 4 tweets
Mishaal Rahman Profile picture
Feb 7
One of the BIGGEST downsides of importing a phone is the fact that there's no guarantee carriers in your country will allow your device to access VoLTE/VoWiFi on their network, even if the phone is technically capable.

Fortunately for Pixel 6 and later, there's a workaround! ImageImage
A Korean developer released an open source app called "Pixel IMS" that enables VoLTE (and with version 1.1.2, VoWiFi) on select Pixel devices in "unsupported" regions. Best part? It DOESN'T REQUIRE ROOT.

github.com/kyujin-cho/pix…
Although the GitHub README mentions LG U+ (a Korean carrier), users on Reddit's /r/GooglePixel subreddit are reporting success on Vodafone Albania, Telcel in Mexico, Chile, Austria, Orange Romania, China Mobile, Hungary, etc.

reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/…
Read 5 tweets
Mishaal Rahman Profile picture
Feb 3
Alright folks, how much of your phone's storage is taken up by the system?

I'll start: It's 22GB of my 256GB Zenfone 9.

I've seen some wild numbers from other phones, so I'd like to see just how varied things are! Image
Thanks for all the responses! Though these results aren't scientific (you'd need to factory reset/check the partition sizes to get an accurate number), it's still wild to see how much space is left for the user on some of these devices.
Samsung devices in particular seem to reserve a ton of space for system apps/files. The reason makes sense: They serve a lot of markets, many kinds of users, have lots of partnerships, and have their own ecosystem of apps.
Read 11 tweets
Mishaal Rahman Profile picture
Feb 2
Using an Android phone as a webcam became really popular during the pandemic, but you've typically had to install a third-party app to do so. You may not have to do this in the future, though, as Google is adding support for turning Android devices into USB webcams!
Android is adding a new "DeviceAsWebcam" service that "turns an android device into a
webcam." Specifically, Android devices that support the standard UVC (USB video class) gadget mode will be able to send video data that hosts can read from /dev/video* nodes.
The system property 'ro.usb.uvc.enabled' will be used to toggle UVC gadget functionality on Android devices. It's only readable by system apps, and specifically the Settings app and USB gadget HAL will read it.
Read 10 tweets
Mishaal Rahman Profile picture
Feb 1
Here's what's new in Android 13 QPR2 Beta 3 (thread)
The new "transient" taskbar is no longer enabled by default like it was in QPR2 Beta 2. You now have to enable the launcher flag "ENABLE_TRANSIENT_TASKBAR" to enable it, just like in QPR2 Beta 1.
There's a new launcher flag called "ENABLE_MULTI_INSTANCE" that "enables creation and filtering of multiple task instances in overview." It's disabled by default... Image
Read 18 tweets
Mishaal Rahman Profile picture
Jan 20
Google recently opened up Android Auto to IoT apps. IoT apps can be built to let you view the current state of devices, offer simple one-touch on/off buttons, and notify users about events. As a result, @Home_Assistant is working on Android Auto support!
Android Auto now allows apps providing IoT functionality as of December 2022: developer.android.com/docs/quality-g…
Here's Home Assistant's blog post for more details: home-assistant.io/blog/2023/01/2…
Read 7 tweets

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