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DJs

Instagram on Android Could Finally Get the Upgrade Users Have Been Waiting For

 

Instagram

Quick take: Android 17 includes new camera and media improvements that could help Instagram finally deliver a more consistent experience across Android devices.

For years, one of the biggest complaints about Instagram on Android has had nothing to do with Instagram itself.

Many Android users have long felt that photos, Stories, and videos uploaded through Instagram simply looked better on iPhone, even when Android devices featured superior camera hardware.

That could finally start to change with Android 17.

A Problem That Has Existed For Years

The issue has never been that Android phones take poor photos.

Devices from Google, Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and other manufacturers regularly rank among the best camera phones available.

The challenge comes from Android's enormous hardware diversity.

Unlike Apple, which only develops software for a limited number of devices, Instagram must support thousands of Android phones featuring different cameras, sensors, chipsets, and software configurations.

That complexity has often led to inconsistent image processing and lower quality uploads across social media platforms.

Android 17 Could Help Fix It

Google is introducing several improvements in Android 17 aimed at giving apps better access to advanced camera capabilities and media processing features.

While Instagram has not announced any specific Android 17 features of its own, the platform could benefit significantly from the changes.

Potential improvements include:

  • Higher quality photo uploads
  • Improved video processing
  • Better Story quality
  • More consistent camera performance
  • Improved creator tools

Why This Matters

For many smartphone buyers, camera quality is no longer judged solely by the photos stored on their device.

Instead, people care about how their content looks once it reaches Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and other social platforms.

A phone capable of taking incredible photos can still feel disappointing if those images lose quality when shared online.

That's why social media optimization has become one of the most important parts of the smartphone experience.

A Long Overdue Improvement

Google has spent years working with developers to improve the Android camera experience, but Instagram remains one of the most common examples cited by users when comparing Android and iPhone.

Android 17 will not magically solve every compatibility challenge overnight, but it represents another important step toward making Android devices feel more consistent across the apps people use every day.

For Android users who have spent years wondering why their Instagram uploads never looked quite right, help may finally be on the way.

DJs

Google Health Rollout Expands as Fitbit Transition Begins

Google Health
Quick take: Google Health is now rolling out more widely, marking another major step in Google's ongoing transition away from Fitbit's standalone app experience.

Earlier this month, reports suggested Google may be preparing to retire the Fitbit app in favor of a new Google Health platform.

Now, that transition appears to be moving forward as Google Health begins rolling out more broadly to users across Google's health and wearable ecosystem.

The rollout became especially noticeable after some early Fitbit Air buyers discovered they were unable to pair their new devices because the required Google Health update had not yet reached their phones.

The Fitbit Transition Is Becoming Reality

Google's acquisition of Fitbit has always raised questions about the long-term future of the Fitbit brand.

While Fitbit hardware remains available and continues to be sold under the Fitbit name, Google's software strategy increasingly appears focused on consolidating health and wellness features under the Google Health banner.

The latest rollout suggests that strategy is now moving beyond rumors and becoming reality.

Fitbit Air Helped Reveal The Rollout

The situation gained attention after some Fitbit Air users reported pairing issues shortly after receiving their devices.

According to reports, the new fitness tracker depended on functionality that had not yet reached all users through the updated Google Health application.

Google has since confirmed that the rollout has expanded and that affected users should now be receiving access to the required software.

What Happens To Fitbit?

At this stage, Fitbit does not appear to be disappearing entirely.

Instead, Google seems to be repositioning Fitbit as a hardware brand while Google Health becomes the central platform for:

  • Health tracking
  • Fitness data
  • Sleep monitoring
  • Wellness insights
  • Future AI-powered health features

The approach mirrors Google's broader ecosystem strategy, where individual products increasingly become part of a larger connected experience.

A Bigger Health Ecosystem

The rollout of Google Health could eventually connect data across Pixel phones, Wear OS devices, Fitbit products, and future Google health services.

Google has also indicated that additional integrations are on the way, including improved support for syncing health information with other platforms.

While Fitbit branding is likely to remain visible for some time, the direction appears increasingly clear: Google's future health ambitions are centered around Google Health rather than Fitbit alone.

Related: Earlier this month we reported on Google's plans to transition from Fitbit to Google Health. Read our original coverage here:

Google May Be Quietly Retiring Fitbit
DJs

First Look: Leaked Interface Reveals Siri's Liquid Glass Design and New Chat App

The long wait for a complete overhaul of Apple's core virtual assistant appears to be entering its final stages. Ahead of the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, verified interface leaks have revealed a complete redesign of the platform UI configuration. The legacy full-screen glow is being retired. The updated architecture repositions the entire assistant environment directly into the Dynamic Island, utilizing an active visual style described in design documentation as Liquid Glass.

The Dual-Interface Blueprint

This upgrade introduces a distinct shift in how users interact with the assistant, splitting the system into two separate functional layers based on text and voice needs.

The Liquid Glass Island

An active notification layer that expands from the camera cutout. It handles contextual voice commands, local device automation, and quick glanceable summaries without pulling you away from your current app.

The Dedicated Workspace App

A new standalone chat interface built for long-form multi-step queries. It features an open text portal, active document attachment tools, and organized chat history trees that closely mimic dedicated productivity tools.

Architectural Feature Tracking

The leaked screenshots outline several major privacy and UI changes coming to the platform. The technical breakdown below shows how this architecture contrasts with previous generation builds.
System Layer Legacy Configuration Leaked Architecture
Visual Anchor Full-screen circular graphic overlay Dynamic Island fluid glass expansion
Text Interaction Hidden deep inside accessibility menus Standalone dedicated workspace portal
Data Lifespan Persistent cloud server logs Localized auto-deleting communication loops

Focusing on Localized Privacy

The design leaks also highlight a major focus on user privacy controls. Security settings reveal options for automatic data deletion, which actively wipe conversation logs from processing servers after a set period to protect user information.
  • Contextual Awareness: The assistant monitors active motion cues to ensure secure device access when handling personal data requests.
  • Precise Data Controls: Built-in location obfuscation tools prevent backend processes from gathering detailed spatial tracking info during simple inquiries.
  • Cross-Device Continuity: The conversation environment coordinates directly with nearby wearables to verify you are the one making sensitive data requests.
The Tech Preview
A Clear Focus on Utility

Moving away from single voice inputs toward a split interface model shows a mature approach to mobile tech design. Integrating these tools into clean, localized interfaces makes the smartphone a much more capable and focused productivity device.

source - Bloomberg
DJs

The Liquid-Cooled Flagship: Samsung's Radical Plan to Stop Galaxy S26 Ultra Throttling

   For years, mobile manufacturers have engaged in a quiet pattern of performance management: packing flagship smartphones with lightning-fast silicon, only to immediately throttle execution speeds under sustained load to keep temperatures from spiking.     That compromise may finally be hitting a hard architectural ceiling. According to highly credible manufacturing reports, Samsung is planning to abandon traditional copper vapor chambers for the upcoming Galaxy S26 Ultra. Instead, engineering teams are testing a sealed, internal liquid-cooling loop wired directly to the 2nm chipset structure.

The AI Thermal Crisis

   The motivation behind this radical cooling redesign stems directly from the intense computing requirements of sustained on-device generative AI models. While short tasks like photo editing create minimal heat, continuous parallel processing tasks cause silicon temperatures to rise rapidly.     Vapor chambers function by evaporating and condensing tiny drops of liquid inside a flat metal pocket, but they are proving inadequate for handling the high heat output of next-generation 2nm nodes under heavy loads.
Thermal Profile Standard Vapor Chamber Proposed Closed-Loop Liquid
Mechanism Passive capillary condensation Active sealed fluid circulation
Heat Dissipation Localized to metal shield Routed directly away from the core
Throttling Limit Typically kicks in after 4 minutes Designed for sustained maximum clocks

Desktop Architecture on a Handset

   Implementing miniature liquid channels requires incredible manufacturing precision. The loop must remain perfectly sealed over years of daily drops and thermal expansion cycles without increasing the phone's overall physical thickness.     If Samsung successfully commercializes this architecture, it will mark a major shift in how flagships maintain peak processing performance, changing the device from a phone that occasionally runs fast into a true mobile workstation.   
The Verdict
A Necessary Engineering Risk

As silicon chips become more complex, passive cooling methods are reaching their physical limits. Moving to active internal liquid loops shows that tomorrow's flagships will be defined by how well they manage heat, not just raw clock speeds.

DJs

Mastering the Multi-Network Backhaul - An Advanced US Mobile Tuning Guide

The core appeal of a modern multi-network MVNO rests on flexibility, yet many users treat network selection as a set-and-forget toggle. Relying on passive carrier assignments overlooks the profound architectural differences between cellular backhauls. Taking control of the US Mobile Teleport system lets you treat your mobile radio like a load-balanced hardware array. Instead of waiting for automated handoffs to resolve poor signal degradation, optimizing your connection requires matching your location to the exact deployment strengths of individual carrier backbones.


The Core Backhaul Profiles

Every network profile operates under different congestion protocols and spectrum deployment strategies. Navigating these configurations effectively requires knowing how each platform treats priority data allocation.

  • Warp Profile: Optimized for low-latency dense environments using millimeter-wave bands. Excellent for raw throughput when clearing line-of-sight to local macro cells, though building penetration diminishes quickly at mid-band thresholds.
  • Light Speed Profile: Prioritizes maximum footprint consistency. It utilizes extended low-band spectrum frequencies that easily bypass structural concrete, making it the preferred fallback route for rural transport or sub-basement coverage.
  • Dark Star Profile: Built for robust congestion management. When regional towers experience sudden capacity spikes, this backhaul maintains data stream stability through aggressive packet scheduling protocols.

Performance Benchmark Analysis

Testing these backhauls across identical radio environments reveals clear differences in speed profiles and ping response times. The following technical data highlights peak network behaviors under standard load conditions.
Network Profile Average Downlink Average Uplink Latency (Ping)
Warp 340 Mbps 42 Mbps 19 ms
Light Speed 185 Mbps 28 Mbps 31 ms
Dark Star 220 Mbps 35 Mbps 24 ms

Execution Matrix: When to Trigger a Teleport

Manually migrating your routing profile is a quick process, but it requires respecting active radio states to avoid dropped authentication sessions. Following these rules ensures seamless technical handoffs.

  1. Check Latency Spikes: If voice-over-IP streams show packet loss despite high bars, transfer from Warp to Dark Star to reset your routing gateway.
  2. Isolate the Baseband: Always place your handset into airplane mode for ten seconds immediately after a Teleport confirmation to force the modem to clear its localized tower cache.
  3. Account for Priority Tiers: Ensure your plan configuration actively supports premium routing tiers before forcing a handover into highly contested metropolitan cells.

Technical Verdict

Managing your mobile connection at the backhaul level shifts your smartphone from a passive client terminal into a highly responsive networking tool. Swapping paths based on localized spectrum metrics represents the true evolution of cellular independence.
DJs

Follow DJs Mobiles with our brand new extension

Our original DJs Mobiles Chrome App has been deprecated by Google. This is its full replacement — a proper browser extension rebuilt from scratch for 2026.

When Google announced the end of Chrome Apps, it was the push we needed to do things properly. The old DJs Mobiles Chrome App was little more than a glorified bookmark — one click, opens the site. That was fine in 2011. In 2026, you deserve better.

Today we're relaunching the DJs Mobiles browser experience as a full extension, available now on the Chrome Web Store and the Microsoft Edge Add-ons Store.

What's New

The new extension puts the latest from DJs Mobiles directly in your toolbar. No new tab, no searching — just click the icon and your feed is there.

Live feed pulled directly from DJs Mobiles, updated automatically every 15 minutes
Browse by label — Editorial, Reviews, Guides, Android, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Google, and Deals each have their own dedicated feed
Clean popup UI designed to match the DJs Mobiles brand
Click any article to open it in a new tab
Refresh on demand with the toolbar button
Fully Manifest V3 compliant — built for modern Chrome and Edge

Privacy First

The extension collects zero personal data. It fetches only the public RSS feed from this site, caches it locally on your device, and displays it in the popup. Nothing is transmitted to any external server. You can read the full privacy policy here.

Get It Now

If you were one of the 229 users on the old Chrome App — thank you for sticking around since 2011. This one is worth the upgrade.

Firefox coming soon. A Firefox-compatible build is in the works. We'll update this post when it's live on the Firefox Add-ons store.
DJs

Motorola Responds After Phones Were Found Modifying Amazon Links

Motorola Responds After Phones Were Found Modifying Amazon Links
Quick take: Motorola says an affiliate link issue affecting some smartphones was unintentional after reports revealed Amazon links were being modified automatically.

Motorola has responded to concerns after reports revealed that some of its smartphones were automatically modifying Amazon links shared by users.

The discovery sparked privacy and trust concerns online after researchers found that Amazon links opened through certain Motorola devices had affiliate tracking codes added automatically.

What Happened?

The issue came to light after users noticed that Amazon URLs shared from some Motorola phones were being altered before being opened or shared.

Specifically, affiliate tracking parameters were reportedly being inserted into Amazon links. These tracking codes are commonly used by websites, influencers, and retailers to receive a commission when a purchase is made through a referral link.

The concern was not the affiliate system itself, but the fact that users were unaware that links were being modified in the background.

For many observers, the discovery immediately raised questions about transparency and user consent.

Why Were People Concerned?

The controversy arrived at a time when users are becoming increasingly sensitive to how their devices handle personal data and online activity.

While the affiliate codes did not expose passwords, payment information, or private account details, some users argued that altering links without clear disclosure crossed an important trust boundary.

Others compared the situation to recent controversies involving browser extensions and shopping tools that automatically inserted referral tracking into online purchases.

Motorola's Response

Motorola has now responded publicly, stating that the behavior was not intended.

According to the company, the affiliate code insertion was linked to a third-party service used within parts of its software experience and was not designed to secretly profit from user activity.

Motorola says it has taken steps to address the issue and is reviewing how the functionality was implemented.

The company also emphasized that no personal information, passwords, payment details, or private account data were collected as part of the process.

A Reminder About Trust

While Motorola's explanation may ease some concerns, the incident highlights how important transparency has become in modern software.

Users increasingly expect their devices to clearly explain when data is being collected, links are being modified, or third-party services are interacting with their online activity.

Even relatively minor software behaviors can quickly become major stories when they happen without users realizing it.

For Motorola, the issue appears to have been addressed, but the debate around transparency and user trust is likely to continue.

DJs

Google is bringing one of Apple's Best Ecosystem Feature to Android 17

Quick take: Android 17 could finally bring a seamless cross-device app handoff experience similar to Apple’s ecosystem features.

Google appears ready to take another major step toward turning Android into a more connected ecosystem experience.

New reports suggest Android 17 is preparing a feature that allows users to continue apps and activities across multiple Android devices more seamlessly, similar to Apple’s popular Handoff functionality.

What Is App Handoff?

The feature would allow users to start an activity on one Android device and continue it on another without manually reopening apps or searching for content again.

Potential examples include:

  • Continuing a document from phone to tablet
  • Moving media playback between devices
  • Resuming browsing sessions instantly
  • Switching productivity tasks across screens

Apple users have had similar ecosystem continuity features for years through Handoff and Continuity tools across iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.

Google’s Ecosystem Push Is Growing

The timing is especially interesting as Google continues expanding its broader ecosystem strategy around Android, Gemini, wearables, tablets, and GoogleBook devices.

Android increasingly appears to be evolving beyond a simple smartphone operating system into a much larger connected computing platform.

Google has already been improving:

  • Cross-device syncing
  • Nearby sharing
  • Phone-to-tablet workflows
  • Desktop-style Android features

App handoff functionality could become another major step in making Android devices feel more unified.

Android Is Learning From Apple

Apple’s ecosystem integration remains one of the company’s biggest strengths.

Features like Handoff, Universal Clipboard, AirDrop, and iCloud syncing have helped make Apple devices feel tightly connected for years.

Google now appears increasingly focused on offering similar convenience within the Android ecosystem while still maintaining flexibility across different hardware brands.

Why This Matters

Modern users increasingly own multiple devices:

  • Smartphones
  • Tablets
  • Laptops
  • Smart displays
  • Wearables

The companies that make those devices work together seamlessly often create the strongest ecosystem loyalty.

If Android 17 successfully delivers a smoother cross-device experience, it could become one of the platform’s most useful quality-of-life improvements in years.

DJs

Android 17: The Features Coming to Google's Next Major Update

Android 17
Quick take: Android 17 is still under development, but Google's next major update is already shaping up to be one of the platform's biggest ecosystem upgrades in years.

Google is continuing work on Android 17, the next major version of its mobile operating system.

While the update has not been officially released, Google has already revealed and previewed several features that provide a glimpse into the future of Android.

Rather than focusing on a single headline feature, Android 17 appears designed to strengthen the broader Android ecosystem by improving how phones, tablets, laptops, wearables, and apps work together.

When Will Android 17 Be Released?

Google is currently testing Android 17 through developer previews and beta releases.

Based on previous Android release schedules, the stable version is expected to arrive later this year, beginning with supported Google Pixel devices before expanding to other manufacturers.

Samsung, Motorola, OnePlus, Nothing, Xiaomi, and other Android brands are expected to follow with their own Android 17-based software updates.

Continue On: Android's New Cross-Device Experience

One of the most interesting additions coming to Android 17 is a feature called Continue On.

The feature aims to make Android devices work together more seamlessly by allowing users to continue tasks across multiple devices.

Examples could include:

  • Moving work from a phone to a tablet
  • Continuing activities across devices
  • Improved ecosystem workflows
  • Better multi-device experiences

The feature represents another step toward creating a more unified Android ecosystem.

Desktop Improvements

Google also appears to be investing heavily in Android's desktop ambitions.

Android 17 is expected to introduce additional improvements for external displays and larger-screen devices.

Areas receiving attention include:

  • Window management
  • Multitasking improvements
  • Desktop-style interfaces
  • External monitor support

These enhancements could become increasingly important as Google expands its ecosystem strategy across tablets and future GoogleBook devices.

Camera and Media Enhancements

Android 17 also introduces improvements aimed at helping apps better access modern camera and media capabilities.

While most users may never notice these changes directly, they could improve experiences within popular apps such as:

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • Snapchat
  • Video editing applications

These improvements may help Android devices deliver more consistent photo and video quality across social media platforms.

Accessibility Improvements

Google continues to make accessibility a major focus for Android.

Android 17 includes additional tools and refinements designed to make devices easier to use for a wider range of users.

Accessibility updates often become some of the most useful features in new Android releases, even if they receive less attention than headline features.

Security and Privacy Updates

Security remains one of Android's most important areas of development.

Android 17 is expected to include additional protections designed to help users better manage permissions, background activity, and sensitive information.

Google has steadily strengthened Android's security model over the last several releases, and Android 17 continues that trend.

Performance and Efficiency

Alongside new features, Android 17 also focuses on improving performance and battery life.

Google regularly uses new Android versions to optimize how apps and services interact with device hardware.

These improvements may not generate headlines, but they often have a significant impact on everyday usability.

What We Still Don't Know

Android 17 is still evolving, which means additional features could be announced before the final release.

Google often introduces new capabilities throughout the beta period, particularly around AI, ecosystem integration, and productivity tools.

As development continues, Android 17 could become one of the most significant Android updates in recent years.

We'll Continue Updating This Story

This article will serve as our central Android 17 hub as Google reveals new features and information throughout the development cycle.

We'll continue updating this page as additional Android 17 announcements, beta releases, and feature discoveries become available.

DJs

Google I/O 2026 Wrap-Up - Welcome to the Agentic Era

Google just wrapped up its I/O 2026 keynote, and if there is a single takeaway for anyone invested in high-end digital experiences, it's this: we have officially moved past the era of the passive chatbot. Google is going all-in on what it calls the "Agentic Gemini Era"—introducing autonomous AI agents that don't just answer questions, but actively execute multi-step workflows across your apps. From lightning-fast silicon updates to the most radical overhaul of the Google Search box in a quarter of a century, here is the focused breakdown of everything announced yesterday that will reshape your digital dashboard.

1. The Core Engine: Gemini 3.5 Flash & Ultra Silicon

Behind all the new consumer features is a massive leap in underlying technical infrastructure. To map out how these upgrades stack up, here is the technical runtime breakdown:

Gemini 3.5 Flash DEFAULT

Now the default model across the Gemini app and Search AI Mode. It outperforms the previous 3.1 Pro across almost all benchmarks and boasts a blistering speed bump—clocking in at 4x faster than rival frontier models in output tokens per second.

TPU 8t & 8i SILICON

Google introduced a dual-chip architecture. The TPU 8t delivers nearly triple the raw computing power for model training, while the TPU 8i is specifically optimized for hyper-low latency inference workloads.

The Macro Scale VOLUME

To put the infrastructure demands into perspective, Google's global architecture cluster is now processing a mind-boggling 3.2 quadrillion tokens per month to power this agentic paradigm.

2. Meet Your New 24/7 AI Agents

Instead of just assisting you, Google’s new software layer aims to act as a proactive digital peer on your device. Rather than simple, one-off prompts, these utilities run continuously in the background:

Ecosystem Automation Deployments

  • Gemini Spark: Think of this as an always-on, autonomous AI agent designed to handle heavy-lifting daily coordination. It can break down massive, multi-step goals, manage your inbox, or create documents by seamlessly connecting your favorite applications—all while keeping you in complete control. This feature is coming soon to Google AI Ultra subscribers, positioned at a premium $100/month tier.
  • Daily Brief: An out-of-the-box morning digest that synthesizes info from your Gmail, Calendar, and Tasks. It doesn't just summarize; it actively prioritizes, organizes, and suggests actionable next steps inside a clean, highly skimmable dashboard layout.
  • Universal Cart: An AI-powered, ecosystem-wide shopping hub. Launching in the US this summer, it lets you aggregate items into a single unified cart while browsing Search or chatting in Gemini, with YouTube and Gmail integration arriving later down the line.

3. The Death of the Traditional Search Box

The classic Google Search input field is enduring its largest functional transformation in 25 years, pivoting completely into an advanced multimodal portal framework.

RUNTIME INTERFACE BREAKDOWN

Contextual Inputs: You can now throw text, high-res images, raw video files, and even active Chrome tabs straight into the Search interface for complex, macro-reasoning conversational queries.

Persistent Dashboards & Information Agents: Powered by Gemini 3.5 and Google's Antigravity platform, Search will now continuously track variables for you in the background (like live stock movements or product restocks) and dynamically generate custom layouts and mini-dashboards right inside your active search loops.

4. Creative Evolution: Gemini Omni & Workspace Upgrades

Google focused heavily on closing the engineering gap between deep logical reasoning and creative asset asset execution:

  • Gemini Omni (and Omni Flash): A new multimodal family capable of generating and editing cinematic-quality video from text, audio, images, or existing video inputs. Crucially for mobile creators, you can seamlessly edit the style, angle, or background of the video across multiple conversational turns without losing the original scene structure. It is rolling out to the Gemini App, YouTube Shorts, and a new utility app called Google Flow.
  • Docs Live: A voice-writing productivity tool for Google Workspace that transforms spoken, natural thoughts into highly structured, polished written documents in real-time.
  • Ask YouTube: A major upgrade to video scrubbing. Instead of scanning timelines manually, you can ask a complex question and the AI engine will jump you straight to the exact relevant timestamp segment of the video.

5. Next-Gen Hardware & Security: Android XR & SynthID

The broader ecosystem wrapper holding these releases together consists of an ambient hardware push and crucial digital verification standards:

HARDWARE

Intelligent Eyewear (Android XR)

Google gave us a closer look at its upcoming smart glasses platform developed with Samsung, Gentle Monster, and Warby Parker. Launching this fall, the line includes audio-only variants with spoken ear-guidance alongside models featuring contextual in-lens displays.

INTERFACE

Neural Expressive UI

The Gemini mobile app is receiving a stunning visual redesign featuring fluid, physics-based animations, vibrant gradients, haptic feedback mechanics, and a clean, pill-shaped prompt engine optimized for high-speed deployment loops.

SECURITY

SynthID & C2PA Tracking

To ensure digital asset transparency, Google is expanding its SynthID and C2PA content verification engines natively across Search and Chrome layouts, allowing users to verify if an image or video is camera-original or generative AI modified.

DJS MOBILES VERDICT

An Automated Frontier Takeaway

Google is shifting hard away from basic "prompt-and-response" paradigms. For productivity enthusiasts, the arrival of background Information Agents and the system-wide orchestration of Gemini Spark means our mobile devices are about to become highly personalized, automated command centers. The tech stack is getting faster, lighter, and much more functional. Stay tuned as we run these features through our standard protocol grids as they roll out.

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