Lilbits: Android 12, Pixel 5a 5G, Microsoft Cloud PC, and the controversial Eve V

Google confirmed this month that it has a Pixel 5a coming later this year, although it may only be available in select markets. But the company hasn’t provided any real details about the phone.

Now that the company has released Android 12 Developer Preview 3 though, some folks have been busy digging through the software for new features… and some have been looking for hints about new hardware. They’ve found both, and along with a bunch of tweaks to the look, feel, and performance of the operating system, it looks like Android 12 has code suggesting that a Pixel 5a 5G smartphone is in the works… and that it’ll be powered by the same processor as last year’s Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5.

Hopefully Google has come up with some other features that will help it stand out.

In other recent tech news, new features are coming to Chromebooks, the System76 Oryx Pro Linux laptop is now available with a 4K OLED display, Microsoft’s Cloud PC virtual desktop computer in the cloud service could launch this summer, and Engadget has taken a deep dive into what went wrong with Eve, the startup that managed to deliver one excellent tablet to some customers… but which ran into a series of problems that have left hundreds of customers without a tablet or a refund.

Eve is currently trying to sell new hardware, but it’s hard to get excited about buying from a company with this track record. But if Eve does manage to find buyers for its new devices and turns a profit, it increases the chances that some folks who’ve been waiting for refunds for years might get their money back.

Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.

• All about Eve: The upstart PC brand struggling to pay back jilted customers
  What went wrong with Eve, a company that crowdsourced design of its Eve V tablet to make a pretty great device, then failed to ship it to hundreds of customers and still hasn’t paid refunds. Maybe they’ll come out of future profits, if there ever are any.
• Android 12 Developer Preview 3 [Google]
  Google releases Android 12 Developer Preview 3 with new app launch animations and a more standardized experience for launching apps, a new call notification template for apps that handle phone calls, native support for quad bayer cameras, and faster ML.
• I did a fresh install of Android 12 DP3. Here are some initial findings [@MishaalRahman]
  As usual, one of the best places to find new features in the latest Android developer preview is in a Twitter thread by @MishaalRahman . There are new animations and settings, single-handed UI is enabled by default, the volume panel is bigger and more.
• Google Pixel 5a 5G set to run on same Snapdragon 765 as Pixel 5 [9to5Google]
  Android 12 Developer Preview 3 code contains clues to the processor for the Google Pixel 5a 5G smartphone expected to launch later this year. It seems to have the same Snapdragon 765G chip as last year’s Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5.
• Your Chromebook gets a little more helpful
  New Chromebook features include more actions from the Launcher (get quick weather details, perform math calculations, etc), a new Diagnostics app for troubleshooting issues, support for scanners via WiFi or USB, and Live Captions for audio and video.
• System76 Oyrx Pro [System76]
  The System76 Oyrx Pro Linux laptop with with an Intel Core i7-10870H processor, NVIDIA RTX 30 Series graphics, and Ubuntu or Pop!_OS software is now available with a 4K OLED display.
• Microsoft marches toward launching its ‘Cloud PC’ service, possibly this summer [ZDNet]
  Report: Microsoft may launch its Cloud PC service in June or July. Basically it’s a virtual Windows desktop computer in the cloud that you can access remotely to run Win32 apps across a range of devices (including Windows 10X systems).

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