OnePlus Beta 8 available for OnePlus 5/5T with May security update.

Before the OnePlus 5T, I've owned several Nexus devices, including the Nexus 6 tablet. I picked the OnePlus 5T because it offers an experience that is closed to the Nexus, and I've got to say, I love it. OnePlus has an excellent beta program and regularly offers security updates. All is not well though. They recently decided to propose Android P beta to the OnePlus 6 only and the latter is not even out yet. The launch is tomorrow. But anyway, I'm not going to complain that much as today, OnePlus is pushing Google's security patch for the month of May. And that is awesome.

Besides the security update, here's what is new in the open beta 8:

Launcher:
- Added Toolbox Card in Shelf
- Added hidden Space in app drawer
- Added support for editing dynamic icons (weather, clock, and calendar)

OnePlus Switch
- Optimized user interface for backup & restore
- Optimized logic for time remaining
- General bug fixes and stability improvements.

Messages
- Added Group MMS.

If you own a OnePlus 5/5T, just hit 'Systems updates' in Settings and enjoy. If you're the non-adventurous kind, the update usually reaches the masses after two weeks or so.

OnePlus Switch app update lets you backup data locally and fixes crashing on non-OnePlus phones.

Most phones manufacturers, if not all, offer a way to quickly and easily migrate your current phone data to a new one and OnePlus is one of them with the recently released OnePlus Switch app.

OnePlus Switch app was designed to flawlessly migrate your contacts, text messages, photos from your old phone to a OnePlus phone. Unfortunately, this app was not available when I bought my OnePlus 5T last year, so the migration from my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge was tedious. But that does not mean that the app is useless to me, now that I have a OnePlus device. OnePlus has updated the OnePlus Switch app that adds a local backup feature to it.

Let's dive in to see how the new backup and restore feature works. OnePlus added a new 'Backup and Restore' button at the bottom of the app main screen.

The 'New Backup' will back up the following: Contacts, Call Logs, Messages, Pictures, Audio, Video, System info, and Applications. Users have to make sure they have enough storage left on their device before hitting the 'Backup Now' button. OnePlus Switch quickly did the backup on my phone, but the Applications backup took longer. Duration will vary depending on the number of apps you have installed. I have 162 apps installed and the backup took less than 3 minutes to complete. I did not test the 'Restore' feature, but once you have a backup, it will be listed on the 'Restore' screen and will show the date the backup was done along with the size of the file. Tapping on it will display the list of restorable data, giving you the choice to restore the piece data you want.

Having a backup is important and safe. Backing up the backup is safer. OnePlus Switch saves your backup to the phone's internal storage, meaning you lose it if an unexpected crash strikes or you have to perform a factory reset. So, I strongly recommend saving the backup file somewhere else. I moved mine to my cloud storage. The backup files are stored in the internal storage > Backup folder by default and there’s no way to change that.

So much for the new local backup/restore feature. This update also includes some fixes and improvements:

·       Fixed the issue of crashing on some non-OnePlus phones.

·       Improved the speed of QR code scanning when connecting two devices.

The OnePlus Switch app is not restricted to OnePlus devices only. It works on other Android phones too, albeit not as flawlessly as on the OnePlus. If you're giving it a try on a non-OnePlus device and run into issues, give your feedback on OnePlus forums. OnePlus Switch can be downloaded in Google Play Store.

Privacy-minded AppLock app for Android gets support for Android Oreo 8.0.

I got my brand-new OnePlus 5T yesterday and I love it. It’s super-fast and best of all, it cost less than $500 and comes with the same specs as high-end and very expensive so-called flagships – looking at you Apple and Samsung. Anyway, this is not the point of this blog post. It’s about AppLock, an app for Android that protects your privacy.

We store all kind of stuff on our devices, but we don’t necessarily want to show them to anyone handling our phones or tablets. That’s where AppLock comes in handy. The app lets you hide your photos and videos from prying eyes or lock apps.

I used the app on my former phone, a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. So, I downloaded the app from Google Store to lock some apps. Before you ask, I have my reasons and I do not want to share them with you. This is what privacy is all about and AppLock has been developed just for that. As a side note, my new phone, the OnePlus 5T has AppLock built-in – which is cool.

The standalone version of AppLock has been updated today. The changelog does not say much about the changes. There’s some optimized functions and bug fixes. The fact that the app now supports Android 8.0 Oreo is probably most newsworthy. But again, the changelog does not go into details about it.

If you’re privacy-minded, check-out AppLock in Google PlayStore. It supports protecting your privacy with a password, pattern and even fingerprint. Give it a try. The app contains in-app purchases should you want to unlock advanced features.