Huawei announces release schedule of EMUI 11 in PH

Huawei, the world’s leading technology company, announces the rollout of its new EMUI platform, EMUI 11, to an initial 14 flagship Huawei smartphones in the Philippines.

Launched last year during the Global Launch Event, EMUI 11 promised to bring a notable range of new software features, improvements to privacy and security, as well as a smoother and more intuitive user experience to help Huawei devices stay faster. EMUI 11 is expected to make the Filipinos’ user experience on devices not just seamless, but fun and convenient as well.

Devices included in the update are as follows:

  • December 15, 2020 – Huawei P40 Series, HUAWEI Mate 30 Series
  • January 20, 2021 – Huawei Mate XS
  • January 27, 2021 – Huawei nova 7 SE
  • February 28, 2021 – Huawei P30 Series
  • March 3, 2021 – Huawei nova 5T
  • March 21, 2021 – Huawei Mate 20 Series

The initial rollout from the first phase included the flagship devices Huawei P40, Huawei P40 Pro, HuaweiP40 Pro+, Huawei Mate 30, Huawei Mate 30 Pro, and Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G and received the update last December 2020. Meanwhile, all other remaining devices will receive the update by March 2021. The update will be pushed by Huawei Over-the-Air (HOTA).

What’s new in EMUI 11?

Standout design and smoother performance

From a design perspective, EMUI 11 offers a new-generation Always-On Display (AOD) experience with the addition of a new modern art style. Comprising mainly red, yellow, and blue colors, the new AOD uses seemingly simple lines to depict a sense of inimitable elegance that seizes the attention of the beholder. The color palette can also be customized. Instead of primary colors, users are free to personalize their AODs by choosing from an expansive spectrum of colors.

Alternatively, users can use the color extraction technology built into the feature by taking a photo of their clothes, purse, shoes, or other accessories to generate a bespoke set of custom colors.

The support for the feature varies depending on the device model.

Integrating visually engaging imagery with intuitive interactions requires not only an aptitude for artist expressions but also extensive research into how people process information – also known as human factors research. EMUI 11 introduces Long-take Animations.

Inspired by its namesake technique in the field of cinematography, these animations leverage the shared content or areas between two interfaces to produce a smooth transition from one to another. This ensures focus continuity, allowing users to keep their eyes on the most important and active parts of the screen, all the while enhancing visual smoothness and providing a substantial boost to visual recognition efficiency.

Existing users should be no stranger to EMUI’s Smart Multi-Window, Edge Panel, Floating Window, and Multi-tasking features. EMUI 11 introduces an improved Smart Multi-Window experience.

The new operating system allows users to open multiple Floating Windows at once. These windows can be minimized to the new Quick Ball, which can be expanded to show all collapsed windows quickly with a single tap. Furthermore, in response to user feedback, EMUI 11 adds support for adjustable windows – re-sizing is as easy and effortless as dragging a corner of the window.

Productivity-boosting multi-Screen collaboration gets an update

Huawei’s distributed technology on EMUI 11 brings new improvements to smartphone-notebook and tablet-notebook Multi-Screen Collaboration. At the time of launch, users could have two concurrent active smartphone apps running on a PC (future updates will bring that to up to three).

With the update, users can easily compare prices between two online retailers, respond to text messages while catching up on a TV show, or enjoy complete control with stock quotes showing on one window and a trading platform on another.

Personal data stays personal, always

In today’s information-driven world, Huawei remains committed to safeguarding user privacy with innovation. At present, EMUI 10.1 already supports Password Safe and more user-centric privacy features.

Augmented with the CC EAL5+-certified TEE OS microkernel, EMUI offers comprehensive security protection for users. EMUI 11 builds upon the strong foundation with the introduction of Encrypted Memo, which secures personal memos behind a password or biometric check.

Sensitive data on captured photos, such as location, time, and model of the device used to create the image, can easily be purged from the media, preventing malicious actors from using the data for fraudulent purposes.

EMUI 11 improves the all-scenario experience

From the new UX design delivering beautiful visual and interactive experiences to powerful new enhancements to the Multi-Screen Collaboration and Smart Multi-Window offering a multi-tasking efficiency boost, EMUI 11 is shaping up to be a massive improvement over its predecessor.

Since the launch of EMUI 10, Huawei has greatly accelerated the pace of the update roll-out. And with EMUI 11, Huawei reaches another milestone with a beta program ready at the time of the OS announcement, a testament to Huawei’s commitment to the existing Huawei device user base.

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Hacks review: A sharp comedy about making comedy

11/24/2021

If you’re looking for something fresh, unique, and satisfyingly clever to watch, then Hacks is a series you’ll eat right up.

It’s hard to pull off a show about showbiz to begin with but doing one about making comedy is an even harder act to do.

However, with the winner combo that is the brilliant Jean Smart and her booming young stand-up comic co-star Hannah Einbinder, not only do they pull it off, but they also knock it out of the park.

The premise is simple: Smart plays Deborah Vance, a veteran comic with a successful long-running show in Las Vegas who recently is told to give up her weekend slots so that venue owner, Marty, played by Christopher McDonald (Into Thin Air, Happy Gilmore), can book a new singing group to attract a younger demographic.

While Vance acknowledges her show regulars are people “who come up from Florida”, she is livid by having to give up her weekend shows to make way for a lip-synching singing group.

Meanwhile, Einbinder plays young Ava who has recently been canceled by a now very woke LA due to an insensitive tweet and is having difficulty booking writing gigs despite previously having lucrative enough prospects to be able to afford to purchase a townhouse for herself.

Hollywood has now turned its back on her just as the city has and has found herself ostracized from the industry with no one wanting to work with her.

Serendipitously handled by the same agent, Ava is sent to Vance in Las Vegas to work for her as a writer in hopes of freshening up her act to keep her weekend show slots.

Thus, the equally skeptical working relationship begins.

More importantly, the show also tackles the great generational divide between Smart and Einbinder’s characters. Coming from the tail end of the disillusioned Gen X myself, where we are taught that soldiering on in a job you don’t enjoy is just a part of life you need to live with, it’s easy to find Ava’s idealistic take on unemployment very annoying.

She will likely be judged by the viewer initially as an entitled slacker who does not really know what hard work means.

Ava is someone who likes to complain about everything and somehow manages to logically justify it to be a violation of her rights and does a lot of this throughout the show.

That is why it is also equally enjoyable to watch Vance not give any importance to these complaints and oftentimes make her do grunt work fit for a personal assistant than a hired writer who is employed to better your comedy.

As much as it is satisfying to see the entitled Ava disgruntled by donkey tasks, this dynamic does not last as the two eventually find a way to work together through circumstances that present itself when forced to work together.

This is where the show tackles the real essence of the generational divide and where both Smart and Ava open up their characters quite beautifully.

You are immediately drawn by the many layers of Deborah Vance’s character, toughened by years and years of shit-eating she had to do as a pioneering woman in the world of comedy.

Just as we are drawn to it, so is Ava, and her resentment easily turns into admiration as she first realizes that Vance was probably a major player in kicking down the door that opened opportunities for women of her generation today.

But the show also reveals, albeit very subtly, that Ava does have a unique point of view as a writer and is not as entitled as she makes out to be. Rather, she is a smart female in her twenties who has real talent, empowered without hesitations to stand up for what she thinks is rightfully hers for the taking.

As the two characters learn from each other and try to make each other better, it is not hard to root for them.

The show makes you hope that the two can sort out their issues and work together because you almost positively know for sure that when they do, it will be magic. We have yet to find out.

In the meantime, you will find Hacks truly engaging and surprisingly addicting as you find yourself caring deeply about its characters.

It’s not a surprise that the show has bagged a few Emmys just in its first season. It is brilliantly written and the two women who carry the lead roles are astounding in it.

You can catch Hacks on HBO, which has been airing since October 11, 2021.

REVIEWS