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The Razer Phone Theme Store is finally shutting down later this month
The Razer Phone Theme Store is shutting down, finally closing the door on Razer's smartphone project that started nearly five years ago.
If you own a Razer Phone or Razer Phone 2, this month will be your last chance to get custom themes from the Razer Theme Store. The theme store will shut down towards the end of the month, finally closing the book on Razer's smartphone experiment.
phh's custom Android 10 GSI adds better support for the Razer Phone and new "My Device" settings
The custom AOSP GSI by XDA Recognized Developer phhusson for use on Project Treble-enabled devices now features a dedicated "My device" settings. Read on!
Google first announced Project Treble with Android 8.0 Oreo in an effort to bring faster updates to Android devices and minimize the long-standing issue of fragmentation. XDA's developer community quickly discovered another interesting benefit with this modularization approach: the ability to boot an AOSP Generic System Image (GSI) on any supported device with an unlockable bootloader. After making history by successfully booting AOSP GSI on the Huawei Mate 9, XDA Recognized Developer phhusson has become a lead mentor in the field of community-made custom GSIs. The developer has now updated his vanilla Android 10 based Project Treble GSI AKA Quack Phh-Treble with a new option that greatly simplifies the setup process of various device-specific Treble app presets.
Razer Cortex update adds a new "Analyzer" feature with an FPS counter and other gaming options
The latest update for the Razer Cortex app brings a new Analyzer feature with an FPS counter and other cool gaming options.
Gaming hardware manufacturer Razer made its debut in the smartphone world back in 2017. The company is responsible for kickstarting the "gaming smartphone" trend with the original Razer Phone, which featured a Snapdragon 835 SoC, a 120Hz QHD LCD panel, a 4,000mAh battery, and a near-stock Android build. Razer followed that up with the Razer Phone 2 (review) which featured some minor design changes, hardware upgrades, and a few additional software features to improve gaming performance. This included the Razer Cortex game launcher, which was designed to help you play every game in its most optimal settings. Soon after the launch, Razer partnered with Chinese conglomerate Tencent to enhance the gaming performance on Razer's smartphones even further. As part of the deal, the company worked with Tencent to optimize games like PUBG Mobile to work well with Razer Cortex. Now, Razer is rolling out an update for the app bringing even more new features into the mix.
[Update 2: Rolling out again] Razer affirms its plans to upgrade the Razer Phone to Android Pie
Razer confirms it still plans on updating its first Razer Phone with Android Pie. This comes after complaints the phone hasn't received an update in months.
With the OnePlus 7 Pro, Nubia Red Magic 3, and ASUS ROG Phone II dominating the headlines for their high refresh rate displays, it's looking like 2019 will be a great year for fans of HFR. We can thank Razer for kickstarting this new mobile trend in western markets. Razer's first smartphone, the 2017 Razer Phone, sports a 120Hz QHD LCD panel, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, a 4,000mAh battery, and a near-stock Android build. The phone originally shipped with Android 7.1 Nougat, but it eventually got an update to Android 8.1 Oreo. Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan tweeted that the Android Pie update for the phone will be released sometime this year, but that was before we learned about Razer's declining smartphone business. Amidst worries that the phone may never receive another update (its last update was for the July 2018 security patches), a member of Razer's Marketing Team has affirmed the brand's plans to upgrade the original Razer Phone to Android 9 Pie.
ASUS ZenFone 6, Razer Phone, and Samsung Galaxy A3/A5/S5 Neo are now supported by LineageOS 16
LineageOS 16 has added the ASUS ZenFone 6, Razer Phone, 2016 Samsung Galaxy A3 and Samsung Galaxy A5, and the Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo to its build roster.
LineageOS has solidified itself as the most popular custom ROM in the Android community after it rose from the ashes of CyanogenMod. The custom ROM is now on version 16 based on Android 9 Pie, though with Android 10 Q just around the corner, we're probably going to see a lot of work on the next version in the coming weeks and months. Recently, the LineageOS 16 build roster expanded to include the ASUS ZenFone 6, Razer Phone, 2016 Samsung Galaxy A3, 2016 Samsung Galaxy A5, and the Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo.
Unofficial LineageOS 16 now available for the Razer Phone and Razer Forge TV
Looking to run Android Pie on your Razer Phone and Razer Forge TV? Well now you can with this unofficial LineageOS 16, now available on both devices.
If you buy a premium Android device from a reputable brand, you can generally expect to receive at least 2 major OS upgrades. Sometimes, you'll be lucky to even receive one major OS upgrade, but that only happens when things go terribly wrong for the product or brand. The short-lived Razer Forge TV launched and died in 2015 with Android 5.0 Lollipop-based Android TV, while the Razer Phone launched in late 2017 with Android 7.1 Nougat and received an update to Android 8.1 Oreo. Any hope for an update on the Forge TV is long gone, while there's still some hope that the first-generation Razer Phone will get Android Pie. However, thanks to custom ROM developers on our forums, you can now enjoy Android Pie on both devices through unofficial LineageOS 16 builds.
Tencent will optimize its Android games like PUBG Mobile for the Razer Phone and Razer Cortex
Tencent and Razer have announced a collaboration wherein the two companies will work together to ensure Tencent's software is optimized on Razer's hardware.
Chinese conglomerate Tencent and American hardware OEM Razer have announced a collaboration wherein the two companies will work together to enhance the gaming experience for their mutual customers. Tencent is known for some key mobile gaming titles such as PUBG Mobile and Arena of Valor/Honour of Kings, while Razer is known for its gaming-oriented hardware as well as its gaming smartphones, the Razer Phone and Razer Phone 2.
The Razer Phone 3 may not have been cancelled, claims new report
Recent news made many think that Razer was completely shifting focus from mobile. According to a new report, the Razer Phone 3 is still in the works.
Razer is one of the newest players in the smartphone industry. The company has been known for making gaming devices, gadgets, and accessories for various platforms. They even have some laptops, but it's only been two years since they decided to step into the competitive Android mobile market. Thankfully, both of their devices, the Razer Phone and Razer Phone 2, have been positively received by the community. The phones even introduced some game-changing features like the first 120Hz variable refresh rate display on a mobile device sold outside of Japan and an RGB-controlled logo on the glass back, as well as bringing back old trends like big batteries and dual stereo speakers. Surprisingly, last month Droid-Life shared an anonymous tip alleging that Razer had decided to cancel the Razer Phone 3.
Google Camera port brings HDR+ and Night Sight to the Razer Phone
We recently showed you how much better the Razer Phone 2 was with the Google Camera and now there's a port for the original Razer Phone.
Not all smartphone OEMs have the resources or the talent to bring out the best in their cameras. Most smartphones these days are using the same camera modules as other devices, so the differences in photo quality boil down to the post-processing that the smartphone OEM can add in. There was a time when poor photo quality was more forgivable, but this has changed drastically over the last few years. However, some OEMs still can't dedicate that much time and employee resources into their cameras. The Razer Phone is one such device with an average camera.
Google Camera mod enables the use of the secondary lens on the Razer Phone/2, Moto X4, and possibly others
The latest version of the Google Camera mod allows you to use the telephoto lens on the Razer Phone/2, Moto X4 and possibly other smartphones too.
The Google Camera mod is probably one of the best feats of custom development in Android in recent years. On a lot of phones, it doesn't even require root, yet it allows you to have the Google Pixel's camera processing on your smartphone, complete with some of Google's best features, like Night Sight. There are a few downsides, but none that would really be considered deal breakers. One such downside is that, because the Google Pixel smartphones don't have a second sensor, it makes sense that the Google Camera port can't make use of a second camera lens on supported smartphones like the Razer Phone 2 or the Motorola Moto X4. Thanks to the hard work of Ukrainian developer B-S-G and another developer by the name of Alexander Deev, that's set to change.
Razer Phone 2 kernel source code and factory images now available
The Razer Phone 2 is one of the most popular gaming phones around, and you can now download factory images and the kernel source code for it.
The Razer Phone 2 launched back in October along with a few cool Razer-branded accessories. It's a gaming phone primarily and it features a 120Hz display and the latest and greatest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip. Thanks to its sheer power, it can be fun for developers who may want to toy with it, and Razer as a company has been rather open to development. The Razer Phone 2 can be bootloader unlocked, but if you're not careful, you can render it unbootable. Thankfully, Razer has released not only factory images so that you can recover your device if you mess anything up, but they've released the kernel source code as well so developers can start making custom recoveries, kernels, and ROMs for the Razer Phone 2.
ARCore 1.5 hints at support for OnePlus 6T, Huawei Mate 20, and more
ARCore 1.5 is rolling out and it hints at support for OnePlus 6T, Huawei Mate 20, and other new devices. Many released devices may gain support too.
Before the release of Google ARCore, there was the short-lived Google Tango project. Tango required the use of dedicated hardware for spatial recognition, and thus you needed a new phone like the Asus ZenFone AR if you wanted to experience augmented reality. Tango obviously never took off, but the ARCore augmented reality platform has quietly become supported on millions of devices around the world. ARCore 1.5 started to roll out today on the Google Play Store and was uploaded to APKMirror, and it reveals that several upcoming devices like the OnePlus 6T and Huawei Mate 20 will support ARCore. The new version also reveals that several existing devices have now gained support for Google's augmented reality platform.