Android 2.3! - Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]

hi friends. i know, i know this discussion is premature, but lets talk about what we want from android 2.3 ....to be a good source of inspiration for those who make it
God bless you to have the best inspiration!

Not a bad idea...
They should root it out of the box

Love. World peace.

since 2.2 had a 400-500% performance boost, 2.3 should have a 4000-5000% boostv

They've got the performance down. I think 2.3 will focus more on the user - ease of use and greater stability to compete with the iPhone. This will be shortly followed (3.0 maybe) with a whole new user interface design. They didn't hire the WebOS designer for nothing...

More than anything, I want the application's interface to look better and more unified. Like on an iOS, no matter how bad the app is, it still looks just as good as anything else. On Android, having a good looking UI is rare.
'Settings' in Froyo looks great, black background, white text, easy to navigate. But then you go to settings in Beautiful Widgets, and the text size is different, check boxes are on the left instead of right, and it's just not unified. They need a stricter standard.

I would love to see pinch-zoom on Email/gmail.
Maybe an option to display google voice SMS in the standard MMS app. A more customizable phone app, as in choosing which screen to default to and have a T9 search option... ( Like Dialer One)
Launcher Pro as standard launcher
Hold down volume to switch tracks on default music player

trillonometry said:
I would love to see pinch-zoom on Email/gmail.
Maybe an option to display google voice SMS in the standard MMS app. A more customizable phone app, as in choosing which screen to default to and have a T9 search option... ( Like Dialer One)
Launcher Pro as standard launcher
Hold down volume to switch tracks on default music player
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I approve of this message.

TREYisRAD said:
More than anything, I want the application's interface to look better and more unified. Like on an iOS, no matter how bad the app is, it still looks just as good as anything else. On Android, having a good looking UI is rare.
'Settings' in Froyo looks great, black background, white text, easy to navigate. But then you go to settings in Beautiful Widgets, and the text size is different, check boxes are on the left instead of right, and it's just not unified. They need a stricter standard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this is a big deal. froyo has most of the basics that people were begging for: voice dialing, apps2sd, latest opengl, etc but they really need to blow everyone away on the UI. The reason why there's so much fragmentation is because of all these custom UI's and the reason why we have those UI's is because there is a perception that Android needs them to look good.
But once you get past the first few screens and into actual apps, there's nothing to hide. There has to be a general system for UI controls for all the apps so that they can look good without much effort.
Also, in many OS's, even the controls are themable and if Google can do that, an OEM could have an Android that looks completely different all the way down but runs all the apps and they would operate the same way.

from what i've heard, there's no 2.3. Gingerbread is a major release.. Android 3.

Here a To-Do list for the android developers :
- add the possibility to hide some apps from the drawer
- add a theme manager to change theme and restore the original one more easily
- enable root automaticaly
- add a feature like "Android Guard" to lock and locate your phone with your google account
- add a backup manager, linked with your Google account which could backup all your apps and data (like Titanium Backup) to switch easily from a ROM to another or to change your android phone.
I've no more idea for the moment but here are some nice features

arctu said:
from what i've heard, there's no 2.3. Gingerbread is a major release.. Android 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2.3 or 3, real flash support, that works well, not just "sort of works well"

Thread moved since it isn't development.

USB TV-Out

I would love the magnifying glass thing the iPhone has when selecting text.

arctu said:
from what i've heard, there's no 2.3. Gingerbread is a major release.. Android 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is what i thought as well...
Brian_Fr said:
Here a To-Do list for the android developers :
- add the possibility to hide some apps from the drawer
- add a theme manager to change theme and restore the original one more easily
- enable root automaticaly
- add a feature like "Android Guard" to lock and locate your phone with your google account
- add a backup manager, linked with your Google account which could backup all your apps and data (like Titanium Backup) to switch easily from a ROM to another or to change your android phone.
I've no more idea for the moment but here are some nice features
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great ideas!!
[IO]ERROR said:
I would love the magnifying glass thing the iPhone has when selecting text.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sense UI has something similar... and its pretty nice (at least on my evo.
As far as suggestions for the next release...
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY AND GOOD... GIVE US A TRUE UNIFIED INBOX FOR ALL ACCOUNTS WITH PUSH ENABLED!!! (or at least the option to have a unified inbox.. this is android after all)

frettfreak said:
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY AND GOOD... GIVE US A TRUE UNIFIED INBOX FOR ALL ACCOUNTS WITH PUSH ENABLED!!! (or at least the option to have a unified inbox.. this is android after all)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The latest update to K-9 (which I prefer over the stock email app) has this. I was quite surprised when I saw it. Though, it does exclude GMail, but I think that's because GMail inaccessible to third-parties right now.

Android wishes
I would like a task manager that links to calender. Schedule the task to when I know when I want to do it, without writing it all out again. Please.
Unified graphics would be a good look.

mr.trader said:
Not a bad idea...
They should root it out of the box
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was randomly thinging of that earlier thtd b good

Better looking widgets / viewports in sdk so apps become better looking/ more user friendly.
Sent from my GT-I5700 using Tapatalk

Related

Is there a better dialer out there?

I have recently moved from a Palm Pre to a G1... so please be nice!
Is there a way to replace the actual dialer on this thing? I hate having to hit menu every time I want to do simple things like turn the speakerphone on and off. Is there an alternative dialer that can be installed to replace the one that my CM 6.0 RC1 ROM came with?
And in similar vein, is there a tool that has can apply various tweaks etc. to the OS? Kind of like Preware for WebOS or Advanced Configuration Tools for WM...
If you are on CM6 RC1 then you can go to Settings>Call Settings and check the Touch UI for a better interface.
Download Dialer One.
I really like aContacts. It's one of my favourite apps so far. Far better than the stock address book and dialer.
Jason_V said:
If you are on CM6 RC1 then you can go to Settings>Call Settings and check the Touch UI for a better interface.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try this before you download new dialers it's head over heels better that stock (oh and select left handed mode for a less annoying hold button)
and nothing like preware all those things are built into adw launcher cyanogen settings and spare parts. themes and stuff are found here on xda
Do you know how to integrate or replace default dialer with aContacts? I removed the standard dialer in my rooted X10 and now when I had a missed call and wanted to view it, it said 'Application can't launch standard dialer. Please contact with developer.
Cheers.
Jenga said:
I really like aContacts. It's one of my favourite apps so far. Far better than the stock address book and dialer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Apps] The Seven+ Project

Roughly three weeks ago I decided to take the user interface library I was working on for Android to the next level in the form of The Seven+ Project. Myself, along with a number of other talented developers, are working on a suite of applications for Android using this user interface. Ultimately we are working to have this suite efficient, fluid, and interconnected. Do continue to check in on these applications as more features get added and bugs get fixed. We are always looking for feedback and bug reports. So check out our applications and our website and let us know what you think!
Unlike past initiatives we are a cooperative organization composed of independent developers, who, when using our using interface retain complete control over their applications. We are also about more than just copying; the PLUS in Seven+ is all about adding more features, customizations, and more.
Also a note to developers: we are looking for skilled developers that have made applications previously and want to adapt them using our user interface. Pretty much any standard application is fair game, so whether you have an email, calendar, set of widgets, or something else, if you want to make an application using our please contact us.
Links to a few of our applications:
- Launcher 7 by Timo Kujala
- Seven+ Calculator by Thomas Barrasso
- WP7Lock by Sami Musallam
- ZPlayer by Temitayo Odesanmi
- StatusBar+ by Thomas Barrasso
- Messaging7 by Omkar Deshmukh
Also follow us on Twitter, Google+, and check out sevenplusandroid.org.
Looks GREAT so far. I'm a fan of WP7-styled apps and I think this is a great project.
Thank you!
Haha ok so I don't know if you have any idea if what's going on but I downloaded the lockscreen to check it out (pretty cool btw) but went back to widgetlocker and everytime I press the home button it comes up with all my home apps and then I select one and I set it as default then when I launch a diff app and press home the ssame thing pops up. Its like the defaults keep getting cleared for some reason. Any idea what's going on?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
In which way are you affiliated with the guys of WP7Android.com ?
@HearthC0re The closest thing to an affiliation is that some of the developers (notably those of ZPlayer and WP7Lock) are now part of our project. We are a collaborative organization of independent developers using a common user interface library that will hopefully make its way into a number of applications.
@dodgersrgood I suggest you send Sami Musallam an email as he is the developer of WP7Lock. His email is [email protected]
@xriderx66 Thanks, glad to hear it!
looks like an interesting project. keep it up
i think that you ought to offer a free version of your UI demo so that you can build some momentum support for your project. I think the windows phone UI is great and I would like to see it thuroughly baked into a rom, not just sitting on top of cm7 or something. Keep up the great work and I would encourage you to keep the community up to date with developments.
Also, there are some grammatical problems with your website.
Good luck!
@SimianJones I am not too sure about a ROM as we have neither a developer who knows where to begin, nor the honest desire. The problem with a ROM is that it would reach so many less people and require that one be built for each and every device. The UI I am building uses the Android SDK and is designed to work well with any application. While a ROM would be nice, it would have to be in the distant future when the UI is more mature, bug free, and when we find an interest in building a ROM.
Phew, that is enough of that. As far as updates, will do. We have/ are working on a better blog, our Twitter, mailing list, and more to keep those interested up-to-date.
I like the launcher but how do you add more homescreen?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I tried out the launcher and I like it. It does pose some problems with larger widgets. The launcher gives size options of one or two tiles. This squeezes 4 by x widgets making them harder, sometimes impossible, to use. For example, I can use BeWeather by using a larger font size in that widget's settings. I cannot use PocketBreeze because it cuts off the top of the widget and makes everything too small to see or tap, even with the large font.
I also noticed Launcher 7 pretty high on my list of app using the battery. I don't recall seeing my launcher high on the list, if at all. This is with a custom AOSP ROM, Gingerbread Deck.
This looks promising.
This looks like a great project. Keep up the good work
@Vertig Thank you!
@scottjb The developer of Launcher 7, Timo Kujala is aware of most of your concerns and working to fix them. With each update he hopes to use less memory and battery. He has also told me that he is working on a way of fixing widget sizing and such, but I am not sure how. Just pay attention to the updates and if possible purchase the donate version which gets updates earlier.
- Tom
tombarr said:
@Vertig Thank you!
@scottjb The developer of Launcher 7, Timo Kujala is aware of most of your concerns and working to fix them. With each update he hopes to use less memory and battery. He has also told me that he is working on a way of fixing widget sizing and such, but I am not sure how. Just pay attention to the updates and if possible purchase the donate version which gets updates earlier.
- Tom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just discovered that you all merged in this sevenplusnadroid project. Really nice to read. I eventually bought Launcher7 Donate 2 days ago so I could have latest update after using Free for a while.
Besides, I have battery drains and reading Launcher7 posts, some say it is, so I guess I found the culprit... but I won't stop using it (I made my own full WP7-style themed ROM including MMS, Notes, WhatsApp, Camera, Phone, Contacts and Calendar, although just themed them of course, so also installed Launcher7 and won't let it go).
Anyway, really waiting for the rest of your WP7 apps!! And you have my help here, although I think you all know much more!
antonio1475 said:
(I made my own full WP7-style themed ROM including MMS, Notes, WhatsApp, Camera, Phone, Contacts and Calendar, although just themed them of course, so also installed Launcher7 and won't let it go).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great idea! with the Boot Manger App thats out. I'm going to do this. Which rom did you use as a base?
Rican Bx Bomba said:
Great idea! with the Boot Manger App thats out. I'm going to do this. Which rom did you use as a base?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most probably, we don't have the same phone, since this isn't a specific phone's thread. Mine is a LG Optimus Black with NOVA ROM → WP7 Style
Just get any ROM you want and spend days and days theming it
I even made a WP7 keyboard (which looks MUCH more real and gorgeous than those "android wp7 keyboards and keyboard themes" that are published. But it's based in a paid app so...
Enviado desde mi LG-P970 usando Tapatalk
tombarr said:
...
@scottjb The developer of Launcher 7, Timo Kujala is aware of most of your concerns and working to fix them. With each update he hopes to use less memory and battery. He has also told me that he is working on a way of fixing widget sizing and such, but I am not sure how. Just pay attention to the updates and if possible purchase the donate version which gets updates earlier.
- Tom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response. I did purchase the donate version and am using Launcher 7 now. I look forward to the development of these apps.
how bout a good wp7 contacts app
Certainly looking for a developer who would want to work on a contacts application, but none is in the works currently.
This looks awesome. Very excited about this project. Played with launcher7 a bit
Thanks to everyone working on this.
Hey, great project.
But I'd like to request something.
Something, that every theme and project to resemble the Windows Phone 7 style.
A decent SMS app.
The only thing I found that resembled the style pretty good is this theme for MIUI:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1174126
which also themes the SMS app.
But, well, you need MIUI for it.
So, please, consider doing a nice SMS app in the style of WP7. We really need it.

5 predictions for Android 5.0 ‘Key Lime Pie’ features

Found this article that talks about Android 5.0 features. I personally think social integration hub and personalized settings won't happen. Android doesn't need a social hub and Google doesn't really care about providing that. Personalized settings for allowing stock android sounds great but I don't know if the hardware manufacturers will allow that to happen.
Profile Management: BB10 has it, Android should offer it too.
Video Calling App: I think we actually need this
Text Message Sync: This would be very helpful, I use SMSBackup+, but native functionality would be nice.
Can`t wait for Google I/O 2013 in May!
Source
what do you guys think? Some of the features in this article are quite useful.
I hope the new OS isn't going to be a let down, I can't think of much there is for Google to implement
Sent from my GT-P3110 using xda app-developers app
I don't think that Google will provide a "built-in social networking application". It just... doesn't fit.
The messaging, on the other hand, is highly possible. Not sure about the personalized settings, although I hope they'll implement that.
My prediction is that they'll break bluetooth worse than they already have. Or they'll break some other basic feature so bad that it becomes as unusable as bluetooth is in 4.2.1. Maybe it will be the sound this time, or wifi. Whatever they break in the new Android, you can rest assured they'll wait at least 3 months to fix it.
People still use bluetooth!? xD
Sent from my GT-P3110 using xda app-developers app
Maybe there'll be some major (or minor) UI changes too? Just like with 2.0, 3.0 & 4.0.
kevin95 said:
Maybe there'll be some major (or minor) UI changes too? Just like with 2.0, 3.0 & 4.0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, there will be
All I want is more butter! Faster, no more background lag (looking at you Google Currents) and more responsiveness
I want them to specially design it for galaxy ace make some better ram management.
Sent from my Ace running 4.2.1 :3
hanni7345 said:
I want them to specially design it for galaxy ace make some better ram management.
Sent from my Ace running 4.2.1 :3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
......
gianptune said:
My prediction is that they'll break bluetooth worse than they already have. Or they'll break some other basic feature so bad that it becomes as unusable as bluetooth is in 4.2.1. Maybe it will be the sound this time, or wifi. Whatever they break in the new Android, you can rest assured they'll wait at least 3 months to fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Bluetooth is fully fuctionalc just because your Bluetooth is Brocken doesn't mean its a software wide problem
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
they need to come up with a new android stock launcher, all the launchers suck
----------------------------------------------
I'm full of great idea's, but don't have the time to create them or learn the coding to create them. If you want to make one of my ideas a reality just message me and I will give you my idea as specific as possible.
ideas:
Spoiler
-launcher/lock screen
-line rider type game where you control the character
-2d fighting game like art of fighting for the SNES
-multiplayer fps where you create your own map with a creative mode (minecraft style)
-roller coaster tycoon style game
-many more!
Just message me which idea you want info on and I'll tell you!
----------------------------------------------
np231 said:
Video Calling App: I think we actually need this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Talk? G+ Hangouts?
What needs to happen:
- Unified messaging: messages, google talk, google+ messenger and it would be great if they also could integrate whatsapp / fb messenger. (but that's not going to happen)
I'd like to see better support for miracast. Also it would be great if they took an update to just do a ton of bug fixing and fine-tooning of various ui aspects and performance. For instance, the emoji keyboard is very inconvenient to use. Full integration into the default keyboard would be a very nice improvement. Also the blue text selecter thingy is very difficult to use, and hasn't recevied an update since froyo or even earlier. Tiny stuff like that can be really irritating when it goes unfixed for a long time. Also if you push the multitasking button while the keyboard is open, then switch back to the app you were just on, android will have a sort of frame stutter.
It's tiny stuff like this that iOS has a lot of time to get right, considering there aren't any real feature upgrades to it. Anybody notice how long it took for people to not give a crap about siri?
So yeah, I'd like to see a more refined os.
Sent from my Nexus10 using a web browser.
-dont have money for new phone just bought tf300t
Sent from my watermelon running jelly bean 4.2.1
androo45 said:
Google Talk? G+ Hangouts?
What needs to happen:
- Unified messaging: messages, google talk, google+ messenger and it would be great if they also could integrate whatsapp / fb messenger. (but that's not going to happen)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, but it would be nice to have one standalone app that would be great at video chatting.
I don't seem them putting all the third party messengers together like whatsapp, but it would make sense if they combined messages and video chatting together.
Pie
np231 said:
I agree, but it would be nice to have one standalone app that would be great at video chatting.
I don't seem them putting all the third party messengers together like whatsapp, but it would make sense if they combined messages and video chatting together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a definate need..
Also I have the pie feature in JellyBomb which I like as well.
Here's my wishlist of Android 5.0 (Key Lime Pie) changes:
1. Change the toggles to work on a single press and settings for a long press
1.1. Add the ability for developers to add toggles to the toggle screen and a setting to select which toggles I see and re-order them.
2. Add multiple widgets to the lockscreen
3. Add ability to disable lockscreen left-right swipes
4. Add ability to remove unused home screens
5. Add phone number entry auto-search
6. Add phone app setting to always start on the dial pad
7. Let me uninstall apps that are not system apps by default without having to root. (Google+, Currents, Google Music,carrier apps, etc.) System apps *should* be just those required to run the base system, not those freely available in the Google Play Store and just pre-loaded.
8. Add setting button to refresh media or handle media auto-refreshing better
9. Add a backup system without having to root
10. More overall configuration options ala CM or AOKP. Even if they're in the hidden Developer Options settings.
Not 5.0, specific, but Google Apps related:
1. Standardize the placement of search buttons in Google apps since they removed the search button
2. Standardize the placement of menu buttons in Google apps since they removed the menu button
3. Add a setting in Android Chrome to display a new tab when it's opened.
4. Add the ability to re-order bookmarks in Android Chrome
Support for bluetooth low energy would be welcome (Bluetooth 4.0 ble)
Nz
Android should give us the option to close processes that we don't need to be open to free RAM, and it should
be a system that allows the device to work in an efficient way with minimal internal storage usage occupied by the pre-installed
applications.

[APP] 4.1.2+ Fellow (Facebook Replacement App)

"Time to Rebel"
With the recent changes Facebook has made to make us use the Facebook Messenger app, ive taken a next step to start building a Java based Chromeview built specifically for Facebook allowing you to message users the way its always been. In a nutshell, Fellow is a WebApp based on Facebook Mobile.
Here it is
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.NxIndustries.myfacebookfree
With the recent update, I focused on Media uploading and Java scripting and for the majority of Kitkat devices, it works but for some, you arnt so lucky...
Facebook Lockscreen
I actually found this activity on accident while developing my Launcher for the HTC M8 and figured i'd make a small app out of it.
Set Facebook Lock is a small application that allows a backdoor to use the Facebook Home's lockscreen without the need of the actual Home application and allows any device to use it bypassing Facebook's device detection. (I do not actually know if it works for all devices but worth a shot)
Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.NxIndustries.FBLocker
Downloads
Apk: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ecf0r3ja1ruik0o/Fellow.apk?dl=0
Working nicely on Nexus 7.. Thanks.
Working on Note 3 Stock ROM and Note 1 with CM11. Thanks!
All i ask in return is a friendly review on google play! =)
Working on another Facebook app to coencide with this, will update thread soon. Time to Rebel
My Facebook app introduced
My Facebook *Free* introduced, ads driven
My Facebook will be recieving an update soon. Focuses on the following
-Java scripting update (Adds media upload support, Facebook mobile web actions enabled , native file upload/download support for media)
-Renamed to "Fellow"
-Materia UI inspired
-Splash added
-Overall enhanced performance (chromeview/webview)
Still unable to upload images.
evansx6 said:
Still unable to upload images.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You kidding? What android version are you on? I was pumped when it was working for me...
Am on Samsung KK NG8. 4.4.2.
Could it be a permissions thing with TW?
Nx Biotic said:
You kidding? What android version are you on? I was pumped when it was working for me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you Post a free Version of your Facebook app?
Black_Eyes said:
Can you Post a free Version of your Facebook app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
done
Awesome app mate, love it so much that bought ad free version...
2 suggestions though:
- Make arrows on top bar smaller and plain should blend better with material ui... It seems a bit off to my eyes.
- Make refresh button movable and excludable (is that even a word?) like Facebook chat heads, because it gets in the way,and going to menu and enabling/disabling it is a bit troublesome, therefore moving it somewhere else as needed seems easier... You could even make it hide like halo from paranoid
Teio said:
Awesome app mate, love it so much that bought ad free version...
2 suggestions though:
- Make arrows on top bar smaller and plain should blend better with material ui... It seems a bit off to my eyes.
- Make refresh button movable and excludable (is that even a word?) like Facebook chat heads, because it gets in the way,and going to menu and enabling/disabling it is a bit troublesome, therefore moving it somewhere else as needed seems easier... You could even make it hide like halo from paranoid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Il take this into consideration! This is what i like to here.
I agree on icons as basically their place holders for now, need to make it more material like. Need to make a material style for kitkat users. Floating Action Button was an experimental thing. I didnt know how people would react to it at first but its one of the things that make this webapp unique.
Nx Biotic said:
Il take this into consideration! This is what i like to here.
I agree on icons as basically their place holders for now, need to make it more material like. Need to make a material style for kitkat users. Floating Action Button was an experimental thing. I didnt know how people would react to it at first but its one of the things that make this webapp unique.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool! I quite like the floating refresh button, if you make it movable, it would be perfect!
Maybe add a full screen option?
That's very good work mate! I also use your launcher
This app is amazing, I'm really hate the official Facebook app and Fellow is perfect for me.
Just a few kilobytes, and a million times better than the official app, great work!
The only thing that bothers me is the loading bar (Image at attachments), If you can place it a little higher it will be awesome.
That was bothering me as well over few days after using it lol. Il surely look into it.
Great, hope you will fix it soon.
I left a review at the Play Store (Free version), look into it
Gonna be working on an update soon and taking everyone's feedback into consideration. I will be adding a more material feel to this as well as transparency options for kitkat+ users.

[Q] Impact of Themes and Google Now

Hello everybody!
I'm interested in buying the Mate 8 but still have a few question I weren't able to find answers to.
I currently own a Nexus 5 and like the clean look of stock Android.
First questions are in regards to themes.
1. Do they still apply when you change the launcher or this somehow linked to the EMUI stock launcher?
2. Can you change the dropdown menu (notifications and quick settings) with these themes, too, in order to make it more like stock Android? Screenshots of the dropdown menu are rarely given.
3. How easy is it to create themes by oneself?
All in all I'd like to have a clean stock look as especially these bubbles around the icons are a pain to my eyes.
I would prefer to NOT have to flash a custom ROM.
The second part of my questions is in regard to Google Now.
1. Do you have the Google Now cards available?
2. Is Google Now on Tap working?
I hope you guys can enlighten me
Thanks in advance! :fingers-crossed:
SCHMANKii said:
Hello everybody!
I'm interested in buying the Mate 8 but still have a few question I weren't able to find answers to.
I currently own a Nexus 5 and like the clean look of stock Android.
First questions are in regards to themes.
1. Do they still apply when you change the launcher or this somehow linked to the EMUI stock launcher?
2. Can you change the dropdown menu (notifications and quick settings) with these themes, too, in order to make it more like stock Android? Screenshots of the dropdown menu are rarely given.
3. How easy is it to create themes by oneself?
All in all I'd like to have a clean stock look as especially these bubbles around the icons are a pain to my eyes.
I would prefer to NOT have to flash a custom ROM.
The second part of my questions is in regard to Google Now.
1. Do you have the Google Now cards available?
2. Is Google Now on Tap working?
I hope you guys can enlighten me
Thanks in advance! :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Do they still apply when you change the launcher or this somehow linked to the EMUI stock launcher?
EMUI themes still apply when you change launchers. You can set your custom icons on the launcher desktop, but the themed icon will still appear in other places like the recent apps screen or in notifications. So you will still see ugly rounded square or circle boarder with your icons outside of your launcher desktop. Fortunately this can be solved by installing custom EMUI theme with stock icons, which you can find here: http://foerster.io/hack-huawei-enable-pure-icons-with-no-borders-backgrounds-etc/
2. Can you change the dropdown menu (notifications and quick settings) with these themes, too, in order to make it more like stock Android? Screenshots of the dropdown menu are rarely given.
Themes can change the dropdown menu to a certain extent, mostly changing the shortcut icons. I've yet to see any theme that can make the dropdown menu look completely stock, I don't think it's possible because they operate differently. To me the EMUI dropdown UI looked decent enough (albeit in a different style) so I don't mind it so much.
3. How easy is it to create themes by oneself?
Don't know, never tried it myself.
1. Do you have the Google Now cards available?
I have the international version of the phone (L29), most google services are pre-installed including google now cards. If you get the Chinese version you'll have to install google services yourself, which I heard is a fairly easy process.
2. Is Google Now on Tap working?
You can turn on the now on tap function in google cards settings, but it doesn't seem to work when I long press the home button.
Please note that I'm still on an early EMUI build (B103) and have not yet received any OTA, I don't know if later updates changes anything.
Overall I did get a fairly decent looking UI running on my mate 8. Some UI elements will remain in EMUI style (most notably recent apps and notification dropdown and settings screen) as you can't change those without a custom ROM or at least some root hack, but I don't mind those too much, in fact I liked some of the EMUI design. The worse part of EMUI 4.0 is the launcher and the forced icon background on 3rd party apps, but like I said earlier these can all be averted with 3rd party launcher and custom theme. If you're a diehard fans for the "stock-look" who won't accept any non-material design element then this may not be good enough for you, but it is good enough for me.
@beachletter
Thank you a million times, Sir!
So did I get this right and you also tried to achieve a more or less stock look?
If so, could you please provide screenshots of your dropdown menu and maybe of your homescreen?
Did you own a Nexus phone before the Mate 8, too?
Regarding the dropdown menu of notifications: if I understand it correctly it's more or less working like a timeline, not like on other phones. This can't be changed, can it? I guess I know the answer as themes are supposed to only change the look and not the way things work, but yeah...
This is what my ui looks like after getting custom launcher and material design icon theme.
Sent from my HUAWEI NXT-L29 using XDA Free mobile app
SCHMANKii said:
@beachletter
Thank you a million times, Sir!
So did I get this right and you also tried to achieve a more or less stock look?
If so, could you please provide screenshots of your dropdown menu and maybe of your homescreen?
Did you own a Nexus phone before the Mate 8, too?
Regarding the dropdown menu of notifications: if I understand it correctly it's more or less working like a timeline, not like on other phones. This can't be changed, can it? I guess I know the answer as themes are supposed to only change the look and not the way things work, but yeah...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like stock icons and stock recent apps screen, but for notification and quick settings drop down I actually liked EMUI's implementation. I used CM and other near-stock rom in my previous phones.
See the post above for screenshots.
Alright, thanks again!
Now I have most of the information I can possibly get to make the right decision. Hopefully I will
Okay, so I've bought a Mate 8 to test things.
While it is really well designed, is nice to hold and snappy as well, I still can't get myself to like the software that much.
I have tried to apply the theme @beachletter provided but it somehow doesn't apply correctly and therefore many icons still have that bubble around it (e.g. Chrome, Play Store). Dialer and Contacts are still the same icons.
Regarding Google Now on Tap: this functionality was added with B152 firmware update which immediately showed up while setting up the device.
Additionally I have to say that the horizontal scrolling in the recent apps menu is even more unintuitive than I've thought it would be.
SCHMANKii said:
Okay, so I've bought a Mate 8 to test things.
While it is really well designed, is nice to hold and snappy as well, I still can't get myself to like the software that much.
I have tried to apply the theme @beachletter provided but it somehow doesn't apply correctly and therefore many icons still have that bubble around it (e.g. Chrome, Play Store). Dialer and Contacts are still the same icons.
Regarding Google Now on Tap: this functionality was added with B152 firmware update which immediately showed up while setting up the device.
Additionally I have to say that the horizontal scrolling in the recent apps menu is even more unintuitive than I've thought it would be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's strange, on my phone the dialer and contacts have separate icons (although I usually don't use contacts because I can quick dial any name in dialer to search my contact list) , and I don't see any icon background/border for chrome or play store.
Maybe you should check out the newest version of the theme here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/rooting-roms/hack-enable-pure-icons-borders-t3315731
and FYI the launcher I use is NOVA Prime
Good to know google now is back in B152. Unfortunately my phone doesn't get any OTA update above B103 yet. But at least there's no camera focusing issue on my phone, even with B103.
beachletter said:
That's strange, on my phone the dialer and contacts have separate icons (although I usually don't use contacts because I can quick dial any name in dialer to search my contact list) , and I don't see any icon background/border for chrome or play store.
Maybe you should check out the newest version of the theme here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/rooting-roms/hack-enable-pure-icons-borders-t3315731
and FYI the launcher I use is NOVA Prime
Good to know google now is back in B152. Unfortunately my phone doesn't get any OTA update above B103 yet. But at least there's no camera focusing issue on my phone, even with B103.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that bad anymore. I installed Nova Prime as well and added icon packs to fit my preferences.
But with the new theme it's working, even in the status bar! Thanks for providing the link!
SCHMANKii said:
It's not that bad anymore. I installed Nova Prime as well and added icon packs to fit my preferences.
But with the new theme it's working, even in the status bar! Thanks for providing the link!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I just switched to this theme which seems to have a more comprehensive set of material design icons:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-7/themes-apps/theme-material-emui-predaturd-p-kulkes-t3265917
You may want to give it a try.

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