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Subway Canada app offering discounts on footlongs, rice bowls in January and February

To ring in the New Year, the official Subway Canada app is offering savings on footlongs and Rice Bowls between January and February.

Using the code ‘2OFF,’ you can get $2 off any footlong, while ‘BOWLCOMBO’ will net you $3 off any rice bowls or wrap combos. Only one can coupon can be used per app/online order.

Both promotions run until February 26th.

While footlongs have always been a staple of the sandwich company, the rice bowls are a new product that launched in October. To promote them, Subway Canada teamed up with Scottie Barnes, the Toronto Raptors player who was voted NBA Rookie of the Year.

The Subway Canada app can be downloaded on iOS and Android.

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Mobile Syrup

SanDisk discounts select SD Cards by 32 percent today

The tech deals just don’t stop coming. Today, Sandisk has your back and wants you to have more storage options.

Below are some of the company’s deals on SD Cards:

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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Samsung S23 Galaxy Unpacked is scheduled for February 1

Samsung is holding an in-person event for its 2023 Unpacked event in San Francisco on February 1st. The event will be at 10am PT (1pm ET), and the company will show off its highly anticipated S23 series.

Here is what Samsung’s press site says about the event. “A new era of Galaxy innovation is coming. Our innovations are designed to enable incredible possibilities for people today and beyond. The new Galaxy S series will be the epitome of how we define the ultimate premium experience. We’re raising the bar and setting new standards for what’s considered epic.”

The S23 series has been highly leaked over the past couple of months.

Here are some of the specs for the rumoured S23 Ultra, the main flagship of the event.

The phone will sport a QHD+ 3088 x 1440-pixel resolution, 8GB/12GB of RAM, 256GB/512GB/1TB of storage, four rear cameras with 200-megapixel primary, 12-megapixel ultrawide, 10-megapixel 3x telephoto and a 10-megapixel telephoto with 10x optical zoom.

Further, Samsung’s flagship will feature Bluetooth, USB-C, a gyrosensor, a proximity sensor, a light sensor, an under-display fingerprint reader, face recognition and a 4,855mAh battery, which will be marketed as a 5,000mAh battery. The handset should also come in ‘Phantom Black,’ ‘Cotton Flower,’ ‘Misty Lilac,’ and Botanic Green, which seems to be the colour the company is highlighting this year.

Finally, the phone should host a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.

The other handsets will lack the higher quality display, four cameras, it’s primary shooter will not have a 200-megapixel sensor, they will come in smaller sizes, and won’t have such a large battery.  However, you can still expect a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor for us Canadian users.

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Apple announces MLS Season Pass Canadian pricing

Apple has confirmed Canadian pricing for its MLS Season Pass ahead of the February 25th start of the 2023 season.

Launching on February 1st in the Apple TV app, the Apple MLS Season Pass marks the beginning of a 10-year partnership between Apple and MLS. Fans can subscribe to MLS Season Pass for $19.99 CAD/month of $129/season. Apple TV+ subscribers get a discount — $16.99/month or $99/season. Family Sharing will allow up to six people to share a subscription.

Additionally, MLS has unveiled this season’s lineup of broadcasters:

  • Marcelo Balboa (match analyst)
  • Max Bretos (play-by-play)
  • Steve Cangialosi (play-by-play)
  • Tony Cherchi (studio host)
  • Kyndra de St. Aubin (match analyst)
  • Maurice Edu (match analyst)
  • Sacha Kljestan (studio analyst)
  • Sebastien Le Toux (match analyst)
  • Lori Lindsey (match analyst)
  • Frederic Lord (play-by-play)
  • Liam McHugh (studio host)
  • Pablo Ramírez (play-by-play)
  • Jillian Sakovitss (studio host)
  • Danielle Slaton (match analyst)
  • Taylor Twellman (match analyst)
  • Diego Valeri (studio analyst)
  • Bradley Wright-Phillips (studio analyst)
  • Jake Zivin (play-by-play)

Canadians will also have the option to select their home team’s radio for broadcast audio on the Apple TV App.

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Mobile Syrup

ChatGPT writes better Mint Mobile ad than Ryan Reynolds

Whenever Ryan Reynolds promotes something, you can expect a good dose of his signature lovably, quirky and self-deprecating humour. It’s what makes him one of the most beloved Canadians around.

Now, we’re seeing that his charm is so big that it even extends to AI.

In the latest ad for his Mint Mobile carrier, Reynolds turned to ChatGPT, OpenAI’s popular generative AI chatbot that’s gone viral for its ability to respond to questions, write lengthy passages and more.

“I said, ‘write a commercial for Mint Mobile in the voice of Ryan Reynolds,’” said Reynolds in a video. “Use a joke, a curse word, and let people know that Mint’s holiday promo is still going, even after the big wireless companies have ended theirs.”

The result, in Reynolds’ own words, is “mildly terrifying but… compelling” in how authentically ChatGPT captures his brand of humour.

We won’t spoil the video, but suffice it to say, as evidenced in the header image, that it met all of Reynolds’ requirements while still sounding like him.

“I’m starting to think that Ryan is a robot. The script that the AI made sounds eerily like Ryan Reynolds,” reads one YouTube comment.

“It’s so good I’m confused if Ryan actually wrote it or the AI did,” said another.

Over the past couple of months, ChatGPT has exploded in popularity for its human-like chat capabilities. It’s proven so efficient, in fact, that the New York City Department of Education has actually banned it out of concerns over the “negative impacts on student learning” and “safety and accuracy of content.”

Nonetheless, interest in ChatGPT remains high — so much so that Microsoft reportedly plans to invest $10 billion USD (about $13.4 billion CAD) into the platform and could incorporate it into products like Office.

In the meantime, Reynolds is still trying to bring Mint Mobile and its low-cost plans to Canada, with his most recent update being a December retweet of a “holiday wishlist” asking for the carrier to come here.

Source: Ryan Reynolds

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Samsung Galaxy Fold 4, Flip 4 to get December patch on January 17

Samsung’s foldable lineup is set to get its December security patch in a week.

According to the Telus update scheduler, as well as Koodo’s, the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 5G, Flip 3, Fold 3, Fold 4, and Flip 4 won’t get the update until January 17th.

Alongside the foldables, the A51 and the XCover 6 will also get their Android 13 update (which was linked to the November security patch for the other devices).

The Rogers update scheduler indicates that these devices won’t get their update until January 24th, one week later.

It’s strange because the software update life-cycle doesn’t show the S21 or S22 series yet, which means they won’t get their January update this month. Things can change, but S21 and S22 series users will likely have to wait longer than usual.

This is potentially because of the S23 series that’s rumoured to launch on February 1st. This device would come with its January security patch at launch and, possibly, the February patch.

Source: Telus Update Schedule, Rogers Update Schedule 

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Microsoft planning foldable display instead of dual-screen for Duo 3: report

Microsoft’s plans for the Surface Duo 3 reportedly include ditching the dual-screen design in favour of a foldable display and cover display design similar to other foldables, like the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

The details come from Windows Central, which cites sources “familiar with the company’s plans.” Moreover, the change came after Microsoft finalized a dual-screen Duo 3 design intended to ship at the end of 2023 — that design reportedly was scrapped and the Surface team is focusing on the new “true” foldable design.

Other details reported by Windows Central include that the Surface Duo 3 would sport a 180-degree hinge. Microsoft is also working on a larger software effort intended to help differentiate the Duo from other Android foldables. The software effort is reportedly called ‘Perfect Together’ and hopes to offer a similar level of integration between the Surface Duo and Windows PCs as you’d get with an iPhone and a Mac.

Moreover, Microsoft is reportedly interested in expanding it line of Android-powered smartphones and is looking at different form factors beyond foldables. Windows Central notes that nothing is set in stone, but apparently Microsoft has prototyped several traditional slab smartphone designs.

This news comes after Microsoft said that Surface Duo was still “important” to the Surface family amid questions about the Duo 2 going out of stock in several regions.

Source: Windows Central

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Apple’s 2024 iPhone 16 Pro to feature under-display Face ID tech: report

Apple’s iPhone 16 series doesn’t come out until Q3 2024, but we’re already hearing leaks and rumours about the eventual flagship.

According to a new report from Korean publication The Elec, via MacRumors, Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro will likely feature under-display Face ID tech “to provide more usable display area.”

Apple intends to move the components required for Face ID authentication directly under the iPhone’s display in 2024. When not in use, the TrueDepth camera for Face ID will be invisible, allowing for a seamless look for the display.

The report notes that the hole in the display for the front-facing camera will remain visible on the iPhone 16 Pro, but the overall display area and sense of immersion will be increased and improved. The report also states that the Dynamic Island cutout on the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro will be identical to the one seen on the iPhone 14 Pro. Further, unlike this year’s iPhone lineup, all four iPhone 15 series models will feature the Dynamic Island.

Once Apple has implemented under-display Face ID technology, it will move on to adopting an under-panel camera (UPC), which will eliminate the need for display cutouts for cameras on all iPhones.

The Elec’s report corroborates information shared by supply chain analyst Ross Young, who outlined last year that he expects the iPhone 16 Pro to come with under-display Face ID, while even the standard models of the iPhone 17 in 2025 would also reportedly feature under-display Face ID.

By 2026, Apple supposedly intends to incorporate an under-display Face ID panel, alongside an under-display selfie camera, which would mean that the the iPhone 18 Pro models would a display that is completely usable and devoid of any cutouts.

Source: The Elec Via: MacRumors

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OnePlus 7 and 7T get their last security patch

OnePlus 7 and 7T users are now out of luck as the phones are getting their last update.

The OnePlus 7, 7 Pro and 7T launched in 2019 and are now getting their end-of-life update. The update is still based on Android 12 and Oxygen 12 and comes with the December 2022 security patch, which is a bit late.

It also comes with minor fixes but zero new features.

Now, the OnePlus 7 series won’t get any updates, not even security patches, which means it’s time to ditch the phone if you own one.

A phone that doesn’t get security patches anymore isn’t exactly safe for users as they are the easiest to hack.

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Mobile Syrup

Beware of ChatGPT imposters on Play Store and App Store

OpenAI’s ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot tool that answer questions in human-like language and can discuss a wide range of topics using data from the internet, has taken the world by storm. So much so, that the New York City Department of Education has implemented a ChatGPT ban on its devices and network, citing “negative impacts on student learning” and “concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content” provided by the chatbot.

If you still haven’t tried the chatbot out, it’s worth noting that it’s absolutely free to use. Nefarious actors have swarmed both the App Store and the Play Store with unaffiliated applications using icons and names similar to that of ChatGPT.

One such application, titled ‘ChatGPT Chat GPT AI With GPT-3’ (now delete), managed to reach the top free apps in the App Store’s ‘productivity’ category, as reported by Gizmodo.

The app was ranked the fifth most popular download before it was removed from the App Store. The app was free to download, though it started charging users $7.99 per week after offering three free days of usage. What’s funny is that the app charges $49.99 per month, which is absurdly higher than what a user would have to pay if they subscribed for four consecutive weeks ($31.96).

While it was live, the application appeared to have an interface that would relay user queries to the actual ChatGPT and reply with answers generated by the chatbot. Unlike the actual ChatGPT, though, the fake app was reported to reply with answers completely irrelevant to the submitted query, making it a completely unreliable paid tool.

The imposter app also went live on the Google Play Store, but it, too, was removed after it surpassed 100,000 downloads.

It’s worth noting that OpenAI is building a ChatGPT-powered iOS application with an iMessage-like user interface, as reported by venture capitalist and podcaster, Jason Calacanis, who reportedly has been given access to the beta version of the app. Until the official app goes live, the only official way to use ChatGPT is by visiting the official website provided on OpenAI’s website.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Gizmodo