Author: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

Android 14 includes in-development features to convert, transfer eSIMs

Android 14 may pave the way for other smartphone makers to follow Apple in going all-in on eSIM.

For those unfamiliar with eSIM, it’s a smartphone technology that replaces the need for a physical SIM card, meaning no need for a SIM card tray in your phone. Unsurprisingly, there are pros and cons to this — eSIMs enable less waste and some proponents have suggested eSIMs could reduce carrier control over customers by making it easier to switch providers. However, restrictive activation practices and other complications have prevented that from being the case.

For years, most smartphones have offered both eSIM and physical SIM options, but Apple removed the physical SIM on its iPhone 14 line in the U.S., for better and worse. (Here in Canada, the iPhone 14 line still offers a physical SIM card).

However, the first developer preview of Android 14 includes an updated Settings app with new options for eSIM. As spotted by Mishaal Rahman, senior technical editor at Esper, the new settings app contains an option called ‘Convert to eSIM’ (via Android Police). Although not totally clear, it seems this would convert a physical SIM card into an eSIM. The related settings page appears to still be in development and only shows up in search.

Moreover, Rahman says Android 14 DP1 preps an option to transfer eSIMs between different devices. However, these new settings options don’t work on their own and require additional resources. Rahman found the resources in the pre-installed SIM manager app that Pixel phones use for various background SIM card and network-related features. Android Police noted these resources were added as early as the second Android 13 QPR2 beta in January.

On the surface, these improvements sound like they could address some of the pain points of eSIM, but Rahman notes that carriers will need to support activating newly created eSIMs — given how carriers are, I’m sure you can guess how this will go. Similarly, transferring an eSIM from one device to another isn’t part of the eSIM spec, so it’s not clear whether this will be a Pixel-specific feature or if it will work for Android devices in general. The iPhone has a similar issue where it can transfer eSIMs from iPhone to iPhone, but not to or from Android.

You can learn more about Android 14 DP1 here.

Source: Mishaal Rahman Via: Android Police

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Mobile Syrup

New Super Mario Bros. trailer is a plumbing commercial

The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s latest trailer is out now… well, sort of.

A new 31-second-long commercial featuring Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) and Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day) promotes their plumbing business. “Oh we’re the Mario brothers and plumbing’s a game, we’re not like the others who get all the fame. When your sink is in trouble, you could call us on the double, we’re faster than the others, you’ll be hooked on the brothers.”

“Thank you Super Mario Bros., it seems like the only thing you haven’t drained is my bank account,” says a satisfied customer towards the end of the ad. There’s also a mock website, with satisfied, and some unsatisfied customer testimonials, and career opportunities. Additionally, by dialling 929-55-MARIO (929-556-2746), you can reach Super Mario Bros. Plumbing. Once dialed, you’ll hear Luigi himself telling you to text on the same phone number for any plumbing needs. The number is U.S.-based, so don’t call on it if your mobile plan doesn’t support international calling. Or…call on it, if you really need ‘well-qualified’ plumbers to do the job.

Image credit: Illumination

Source: Illumination

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Mobile Syrup

Jagmeet Singh asks Minister Champagne to block Rogers-Shaw merger in weekend letter

Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the federal NDP party, does not want Rogers’ takeover of Shaw to proceed.

According to the Globe and Mail, Singh sent Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne a letter Sunday stating the transaction will lead to pricier wireless bills and job losses for Canadians.

“I urge you to put regular bill-paying families and small businesses first, this time. Act now in the interests of the millions of Canadians that will ultimately be affected by your decision,” Singh wrote in the letter.

Minister Champagne has yet to approve the transfer of Shaw’s wireless licences to Vidéotron, a crucial aspect of the merger. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the broadcast aspects in March. The commission is currently looking into an application from TekSavvy alleging Rogers’ wholesale deal with Vidéotron violated the Telecommunications Act.

The Competition Bureau’s attempts to block the merger saw the Competition Tribunal side with the telecoms. In its analysis, the bureau found the Rogers-Shaw merger will lead to higher cellphone bills.

“That’s despite our telecommunications already being among the most expensive in the world,” Singh wrote.

This isn’t the first time Singh voiced his opinion on the $26-billion merger. Following the Rogers outage in July, Singh shared his opposition. “It’s time to put people over profits – stop the merger,” he tweeted.

Rogers, Shaw, and Québecor have set February 17th as the closing date for Rogers’ takeover of Shaw and Vidéotron’s acquisition of Freedom Mobile.

Image credit: Jagmeet Singh/Twitter 

Via: Globe and Mail 

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Mobile Syrup

Amazon Fire TV Sticks are up to 40 percent off

Now that the big game is over and you’ve secured leftovers, Amazon wants you to continue to sit in front of the TV and stream its content. Thankfully the Fire TV Sticks are available at a massive 40 percent discount today.

Here are the deals:

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though we may earn a commission on purchases made via these links that helps fund the journalism provided free on our website.

Source: Amazon Canada

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Mobile Syrup

Razer Leviathan V2 Pro early impressions

Razer’s latest audio innovation, the Leviathan V2 Pro, was first shown off at CES 2023.

Right off the top, it became a talking point because of its novel beamforming tech with head-tracking AI. The soundbar features a built-in infrared camera on its front that tracks your head while offering features like Spatial Audio Virtual Speakers and Room Fill, both of which normally require a bigger setup with speakers around the room.

The Leviathan V2 Pro, however, is just a soundbar accompanied by a down-firing subwoofer, resulting in a not-so-crowded speaker setup. Both the soundbar and the subwoofer are plug-and-play, making the device easy to connect to your PC. The Leviathan V2 Pro is also compatible with Bluetooth devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and the Nintendo Switch, though I haven’t been able to make it work with my TV.

Together, the soundbar and the subwoofer weigh roughly 7.3kg, making the combo relatively light to move around if needed. The soundbar is roughly 24 inches in length, resulting in it being the perfect size to fit under most PC monitors. The subwoofer, on the other hand, fits easily under your desk, saving ample space on your desk for accessories and other peripherals.

The front of the soundbar sports a black mesh grille that gives the soundbar a premium look, while the rest of the body is coated with a matte-like material that is good at attracting fingerprints. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Razer product without RGB lights. The bottom of the soundbar sports an RGB strip that isn’t all ‘in your face,’ but also provides a nice aesthetic when using the Leviathan V2 Pro in a dark setting.

The top of the soundbar features a volume dial alongside four physical buttons to adjust equalizer presets, audio modes, RGB lights and connections. The same can also be done via the Razer Synapse app on your PC or the Razer Audio app on your phone with higher customizability.

The soundbar itself does not have built-in woofers, and using it independently results in plain flat audio. With the subwoofer, however, it’s a different story. The single bottom-firing subwoofer is capable of producing highly thumping bass, and can fill a decently-sized room with ease. Sad for my neighbours, great for me.

In my brief time using the soundbar, I can confirm that the different audio modes actually do what they’re labelled as. For example, using the Leviathan V2 Pro in the ‘Virtual Headset’ mode actually feels like I’m wearing a headset. I was even able to move my head around in front of the soundbar, and it felt like the audio followed me along. Similarly, the ‘Virtual Speaker’ mode accurately replicates what it feels like to have a 7.1 surround sound system, with audio beaming to you from each side of the room in a stage-like experience. The experience is the same when listening to music and while gaming.

I’m still testing out the Leviathan V2 Pro.

Sometimes the subwoofer’s bass is enough to overpower the vocals, and I’m still trying to find the perfect EQ setting to balance them both. I have also ordered a USB-C to HDMI cable from Amazon to try to make the soundbar work with my TV, as I’m sure it can perform equally well as a home theatre setup and not just be limited to being used with a PC. It’s worth noting, however, that the soundbar can not track you and beam audio directly to your ears if more than one person is sitting in front of it. In such situations, it’s better to use ‘Room Fill’ or the regular ‘Stereo Mode,’ both of which are perfect for multiple listeners in a single room.

Overall, the Leviathan V2 Pro has left a smile on my face. It isn’t overly expensive, coming in at $549.99 in Canada, and delivers features that can be classified as the industry’s first. I’m excited to continue using the Levithan V2 Pro and see how immersive the head-tracking experience can get with minor tweaks.

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Mobile Syrup

Here’s how you can unlock your iPhone with a voice command

Back in 2019 with the release of iOS 13, Apple added voice control to the iPhone, allowing users to speak out commands and interact with their iPhone without needing to touch their device.

With voice commands, you can also unlock your iPhone without having to use Face ID or type in your passcode; great for situations when you’re gaming and can’t devote your attention to the phone, or if your hands are dirty and you don’t want to type in your passcode.

It’s worth noting that having voice commands on all the time will lead to your device’s battery draining quicker than normal, but the difference isn’t significant.

To be able to unlock your iPhone with your voice, you’ll need to set up a custom voice command. Follow the steps below:

  1. Head to Settings and search for “Voice Control”
  2. Tap on “Voice Control” and enable the toggle for it
  3. Tap on “Customize Commands” and “Create New Command…”

The new custom voice command will essentially replicate you physically typing in your passcode, all with a key voice command. Type in the “Speakable Phrase.” This is the word or short sentence that you’ll say to trigger the custom command. You can set this to be whatever you want, including “unlock my iPhone,” “hocus pocus,” “open sesame,” or something as foolish as “poop.” Just make sure that the phrase isn’t something that you’ll go about normally saying during your day.

Since Voice Control needs to be enabled for the feature to work, your iPhone will always be listening for commands. If the command you set is something you’ll normally say throughout the day, your iPhone will be unlocked automatically without you knowing.

  1. Set your custom phrase and tap on ‘Action’
  2. Tap on ‘Run Custom Gesture’
  3. Key in your passcode on the blank ‘New Gesture’ screen. It’s worth noting that you’ll have to key in your passcode without seeing the number pad, essentially guessing where the keys are positioned when you’re normally typing in your passcode. In case you can’t guess where specific keys would be positioned, you can take someone else’s iPhone and see where you’ll need to tap on your phone to type in your passcode. You can also mark the number keys with a highlighter that can be wiped off after setting the custom command.
  4. After you’ve keyed in your passcode, tap on Save, go back by clicking on ‘New Command’ on the top left and then tap Save again.

Lock your phone. Bring up the passcode screen and say the custom keyword, and your iPhone should automatically unlock.

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Mobile Syrup

Streaming in Canada on Amazon Prime Video, Crave, Netflix and Paramount+ [Feb. 6-12]

Every week, MobileSyrup outlines some of the most notable movies and TV shows that recently hit Canadian streaming platforms.

Our ‘Streaming in Canada’ column typically focuses on new content from Amazon Prime Video, Crave and Netflix, but other services like Apple TV+ and Disney+ are mentioned when relevant. Premium video-on-demand (PVOD) platforms are also fair game as movies continue to come to digital early.

Finally, we’ll highlight shows or movies that are made by Canadian companies, involve notable Canadian cast or crew and/or are filmed in Canada.

Amazon Prime Video

Somebody I Used To Know [Amazon Original]

Amazon Prime Video Canada premiere date: February 10th, 2023
Genre: Romantic comedy
Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes

A workaholic returns to her hometown and starts to question her life choices after running in with her ex and his fiancée.

Somebody I Used To Know was co-written and directed by Dave Franco (The Rental) and stars Alison Brie (Community), Jay Ellis (Insecure) and Kiersey Clemons (Dope).

Stream Somebody I Used To Know here.

An Amazon Prime Video subscription is included at no additional cost with an Amazon Prime membership, which is priced at $99/year.

The full list of movies and shows hitting Amazon Prime Video Canada this month can be found here.

Crave

C.B. Strike: Troubled Blood

Amazon Prime Video Canada premiere date: February 6th, 2023 (first episode, new episodes at 9pm ET)
Genre: Crime drama
Runtime: Four episodes (around one hour each)

A war-veteran-turned-P.I. takes on a cold case of a missing mother with his partner while dealing with a devastating family diagnosis.

C.B. Strike: Troubled Blood is based on Robert Galbraith’s crime novels and stars Tom Burke (Mank) and Holliday Granger (The Borgias).

It’s worth noting that Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym of J.K. Rowling, the controversial writer of the Harry Potter series. In recent years, Rowling has been criticized for repeated anti-transgender remarks amid a rise in hate crimes against trans people.

You can stream C.B. Strike: Troubled Blood here.

Downton Abbey: A New Era

Original theatrical release date: May 20th, 2022
Crave premiere date: February 10th, 2023
Genre: Historical drama
Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes

The Crawleys travel to France to uncover the mystery of the dowager countess’s newly inherited villa.

Downton Abbey was directed by Simon Curtis (Woman in Gold) and features many returning cast members from the series, including Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Elizabeth McGovern and Maggie Smith.

Stream Downton Abbey: A New Era here.

A standard Crave subscription is priced at $19.99/month, with Starz costing an additional $5.99/month. A mobile-only subscription is also available for $9.99/month.

The full list of movies and shows hitting Crave this month can be found here.

This week in Crave news: ICYMI — the fifth episode of The Last of Us dropped on Friday instead of Sunday due to the Super Bowl.

Netflix

You (Season 4 — Part 1) [Netflix Original]

Netflix Canada premiere date: February 9th, 2023
Genre: Psychological thriller
Runtime: Five episodes (around one hour each)

Joe starts a new life as a university professor in England and gets caught up in English’s high capital society, leading him to run in with the so-called ‘Eat the Rich Killer.’

Based on Caroline Kepne’s novel series of the same name, You was created by Greg Berlanti (Arrowverse) and Sera Gamble (The Magicians) and stars Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl), Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope), Lukas Gage (The White Lotus), Charlotte Ritchie (Feel Good) and Tilly Keeper (EastEnders).

Stream You here. Note that Season 4’s five-episode second half will premiere on March 9th.

Your Place or Mine [Netflix Original]

Netflix Canada premiere date: February 10th, 2023
Genre: Romantic comedy
Runtime: 1 hour, 49 minutes

Best friends Debbie and Peter find their lives changed after swapping houses for a week.

Your Place or Mine was written and directed by Aline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and stars Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde), Ashton Kutcher (That ’70s Show), Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy) and Tig Notaro (Army of the Dead).

Stream Your Place or Mine here.

A ‘Basic with Ads’ subscription costs $5.99/month, ‘Basic’ Netflix subscription costs $9.99/month, a ‘Standard’ subscription (HD-supported) costs $16.49/month and a ‘Premium’ membership is priced at $20.99/month (4K-supported).

The full list of movies and shows hitting Netflix Canada this month can be found here.

Paramount+

Orphan: First Kill

Original theatrical release date: August 19th, 2022
Netflix Canada premiere date: February 10th, 2023
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes

In this prequel to 2009’s Orphan, Esther escapes from a psychiatric facility and travels to America by impersonating a missing daughter, putting her into conflict with the family’s matriarch.

Orphan: First Kill was directed by William Brent Bell (Separation) and stars Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate About You) and Vancouver’s Rossif Sutherland (Reign).

Stream Orphan: First Kill here.

A Paramount+ subscription costs $8.99/month.

The full list of movies and shows hitting Paramount+ Canada this month can be found here.

Image credit: Netflix

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Mobile Syrup

Will you pay an extra $8 per month for Netflix password sharing?

Netflix is cracking down on password sharing in a big way.

In a February 8th blog post, the streaming giant revealed it now costs $8 per month to add up to two people outside your household to your Netflix account.

These sub-accounts have their own profile, personalized recommendations, logins and passwords.

There are several restrictions, however. You can’t add an account if you’re on Netflix tiers with ads or the Basic tier. If you’re on the Standard Netflix tier, you can add one other person, and if you’re on the Premium tier, which costs $21.99 per month, you can add two additional members.

Do you plan to add an extra $8 per person for extra users on your Netflix account? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @MobileSyrup.

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Mobile Syrup

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 Review: Great buds get better

Alongside the new OnePlus 11, OnePlus also released an update to its top-of-the-line wireless earbuds. The fresh OnePlus Buds Pro 2 feature a new dual speaker driver design that improves on the originals’ sound while keeping what was great about them intact.

I have no complaints after two weeks with the Buds Pro 2. They fit comfortably, sound great, and the always-helpful Zen Mode is just a tap away from helping me focus. As I said last year, this is an incredibly underrated feature, but one that’s so simple and handy in its design that I’m still surprised it hasn’t caught on with more earbud manufacturers.

Sure, this isn’t the point of earbuds, but as we spend more time working with buds, quickly putting on background noise without putting any thought into it is a simple pleasure in a world filled with choice.

Time to rock out

For regular music or video listening, OnePlus has boosted the noise cancellation capabilities in this iteration to block out up to 48dB, while the originals could only handle 40dB. This is a slight improvement on paper but very noticeable in practice. Last year I could clearly hear my fingers clacking on the keyboard with the OnePlus Buds Pro, but now, I’m basically enveloped in silence once ANC turns on, and music starts playing.

This is an even more welcome improvement on planes, trains and other noisy atmospheres like an office. You can turn it down if you wish as well. 

Combining this with the new dual speaker design, the buds sound awesome, and I have only good things to say about the audio reproduction. The stereo separation is welcome too since the buds offer a wider soundstage than most single speaker-equipped earbuds.

I did find myself pushing the volume up a bit higher than with other buds, but the volume was still too loud for me at their maximum level, so they should be more than enough for most people. With the noise cancellation, it’s extremely easy to get lost in the immersive nature of music, and I find myself rocking out with the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 almost immediately once the music starts pumping.

Other notable features

Another feature worth noting is the exceptional battery life. OnePlus rates the buds to last for 39 hours with the included charging case and ANC off. With noise-cancelling turned on, the buds and case combo should last for 25 hours. With ANC, the buds themselves last for six hours. With the feature turned off, they last nine hours.

In my testing, the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 live up to this claim, and I’ve had a hard time running them dry, so I have no complaints in the battery life department. They can also fast charge, giving you roughly three hours of listening off a 10-minute charge in a pinch. They can wirelessly charge as well.

The settings are built into your Bluetooth menu if you use these buds with a OnePlus phone. If not, you’ll need to download the HeyMelody app on iOS or Android.

Earbuds worth owning?

I’d love to give OnePlus Buds Pro 2 my overwhelming approval, but in true OnePlus fashion, the company has raised the price considerably year-over-year, making the new buds Pro 2 models about $70 more expensive than their predecessor. They are cheaper than AirPods Pro (2nd-Gen), but they’re directly in line with Google’s excellent Pixel Buds Pro.

Compared to the Pixel Buds, OnePlus does have Zen Mode, but the other enticing feature, Multipoint Bluetooth, is activated in both earbuds. When it boils down to it, I like the stemmed design of the OnePlus Buds, but others will more than likely find the smaller size of the Pixel Buds Pro more comfortable, which is a large part of what separates these two top-tier buds. Both will make you extremely happy, but finding what fits your ears is more complex.

You can Pre-order the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 for $279 from the OnePlus website, and they release on February 16th.

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Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: CRTC outage and the infamous butt dial [Feb. 4-10]

This week was a busy one for telecom news. As a recap, here’s almost everything that happened in the telecom sector.

Business

Vicky Eatrides took over various responsibilities when she became the chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) a couple of weeks ago, and two federal Ministers have added to the growing list of expectations in a recent letter. One of the issues Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne want Eatrides to tackle is how long it takes the CRTC to share decisions.

An outage caused the CRTC’s website, phone lines, and applications to go down earlier this week. While the outage only lasted a couple of hours, the commission didn’t share the cause behind the blackout.

It’s been more than a year since Tony Staffieri became Rogers’ CEO, taking over a position once held by Joe Natale. The family feud that brought Staffieri to his position is hard to forget, and the way Natale allegedly found out about his ousting through a butt dial is part of that story. But in a recent interview with the Toronto Star, Staffieri denies the infamous butt dial ever happened.

SaskTel is expanding its infiNET service to several communities in Southern Saskatchewan. The company says it will start construction in 2023. Once completed, Bengough, Coronach, Rockglen and Willow Bunch will have access to speeds close to 1Gbps.

Several Canadian carriers, including Vidéotron and SaskTel, waived calling and SMS charges to Turkey and Syria following a deadly earthquake on February 6th.

Telus is funding a pilot program at Quebec-based Alma Hospital that uses VR to decrease patient anxiety and prescription medication use.

TekSavvy has upgraded its Cable 75 Unlimited internet package to Cable 100 Unlimited. The new plan will give customers download speeds up to 100Mbps at no extra cost.

Bell has been charging a Vancouver woman for services under a fraudulent account since 2020. The company didn’t investigate until the woman shared a TikTok of her experience.

In its last quarterly report for 2022, Telus reports it added 1120,000 mobile customers, the same number it reported in Q4 2021. Quarterly profits also decreased, but the company says growth in several areas, including in connected devices, is expected.

The company also announced it donated $125 million to various charities and initiatives in 2022.

Deals

Koodo is ending its $10/month Lunar New Year discount on February 14th. The savings apply to the $55/8GB, $60/10GB and $65/15GB options. More details are available here.