Author: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

Streaming in Canada on Amazon Prime Video, Crave, Disney+ and Netflix [April 24-30]

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

Citadel [Amazon Original]

Amazon Prime Video Canada release date: April 28th, 2023 (first two episodes, new episodes every Friday)
Genre: Spy thriller
Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Two amnesiac former spies and lovers are called back to action to stop sinister forces.

Citadel was created by Josh Applebaum (Alias), Bryan Oh (Zoo) and David Weil (Hunters) and stars Richard Madden (Game of Thrones), Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico), Stanley Tucci (Spotlight) and Lesley Manville (The Crown).

It’s worth noting that with a rumoured budget of $300 million USD (around $408 million CAD), Citadel is believed to be the second most expensive series ever made, behind only Prime’s own The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Citadel is also intended to be a launchpad for an interconnected universe of international shows set in Italy, India, Spain, and Mexico.

Stream Citadel 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

Love & Death

Crave release date: April 27th, 2023 (first two episodes, new episodes every Friday)
Genre: Spy thriller
Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes

HBO’s latest series is based on the true story of an extramarital affair in 1980 that led Texas housewife Candy Montgomery to murder her friend Betty with an axe.

Love & Death was created by David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies) and stars Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision), Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad), Lily Rabe (American Horror Story), Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous) and Krysten Ritter (Marvel’s Jessica Jones).

Stream Love & Death 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.

Disney+

Clock [Star Original]

Disney+ Canada release date: April 30th, 2023
Genre: Psychological thriller
Runtime: 1 hour, 32 minutes

Amid pressure to have children from friends, family and society at large, a woman undergoes a desperate clinical trial to fix her broken biological clock.

Clock was written and directed by Alexis Jacknow (American Horror Story) and stars Dianna Agron (Glee), Jay Ali (Marvel’s Daredevil), Melora Hardin (The Office) and Ottawa’s Saul Rubinek (Warehouse 13).

Stream Clock here.

Peter Pan & Wendy [Disney+ Original]

Disney+ Canada release date: April 28th, 2023
Genre: Fantasy adventure
Runtime: 1 hour, 49 minutes

Wendy goes on an adventure with a mysterious boy named Peter to the magical Neverland, putting them into conflict with the evil pirate Captain Hook.

Based on Disney’s animated Peter Pan film, Peter Pan & Wendy was co-written and directed by David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon) and stars Alexander Molony (The Reluctant Landlord), Ever Anderson (Black Widow), Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) and Fort McMurray, Alberta’s Alyssa Wapanatâhk (Riverdale).

Stream Peter Pan & Wendy here.

A Disney+ subscription costs $11.99/month or $119.99/year.

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

Netflix

John Mulaney: Baby J [Netflix Original]

Netflix Canada release date: April 25th, 2023
Genre: Stand-up comedy
Runtime: 1 hour

Saturday Night Live‘s John Mulaney riffs on quicksand, Motown singers, an elderly man he met in a bathroom and more.

Stream John Mulaney: Baby J here.

Sweet Tooth (Season 2) [Netflix Original]

Netflix Canada release date: April 27th
Genre: Fantasy drama
Runtime: Eight episodes (43 to 58 minutes each)

After his friends are captured and imprisoned by the Last Men, Gus must help them escape.

  1. Based on Essex County, Ontario’s Jeff Lemire’s comic of the same name, Sweet Tooth was created by Jim Mickle (Mulberry Street) and stars Nonso Anozie (Game of Thrones), Vancouver’s Christian Convery (The Descendants) and Adeel Akhtar (Utopia).

Stream Sweet Tooth 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.

What are you planning on watching this week? Let us know in the comments.

For more suggestions, check out last week’s Streaming in Canada column.

Image credit: Amazon

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Mobile Syrup

Telecom news roundup: deals from Chatr, Lucky and Public [Apr. 22-28]

Here’s a recap of some of the leading telecom stories and deals from this week.

Business

Members of federal parliament are raising concerns following Rogers’ hiring of former Liberal minister Navdeep Bains.

New customers looking to purchase Freedom Mobile’s services will face higher pricing mere weeks after Québecor acquired it from Shaw.

Bell rolls out 5G+ in parts of Manitoba, including Headingley, Winnipeg, East St. Paul and St. Andrews.

Both Bell and Telus have added 5G+ access to their respective $85/month plans.

Bell has raised the cost of its 100GB Canada-U.S. plan by $5/month.

Telus has planted 1 million trees in efforts to fight climate change.

Rogers’ Q1 2023 results reveal the company made $3.8 billion in revenue and added 95,000 new postpaid wireless subscribers year over year.

Rogers is partnering with SpaceX to bring satellite cellular services to Canadians.

Telus has added new members to its Indigenous Advisory Council.

Deals

Public Mobile is offering customers $40 in credits if they buy a pre-owned device from the company worth at least $100. The offer is active until May 5th. More details are available here.

Public Mobile is also offering its 15GB 4G data plan for $40/month instead of the regular $60.

Lucky Mobile is offering one month of free services until May 1st. More details are available here.

Chatr is also offering a similar deal, crediting customers with one month of free credit.

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Mobile Syrup

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s approach to hints and exploration is so refreshing

I’ve been quite public about the fact that God of War Ragnarök was my favourite game of 2022. I raved about it extensively in a written review, podcast, end-of-year lists and, even, an emotional personal essay.

But it also suffered from one of my absolute biggest pet peeves in games — characters blatantly spelling out puzzles for you. Spend a few too many seconds figuring out where to throw Kratos’ Leviathan Axe and your companion immediately blurts out the solution. Worse still, there wasn’t even an option to turn this off. A similar — and arguably stranger — issue was present in PlayStation’s other big 2022 exclusive, Horizon Forbidden West, in which protagonist Aloy won’t stop monologuing no matter what you’re doing.

Much to my surprise, then, is the fact that Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has deftly avoided these issues. Released on April 28th, the sequel to 2019’s acclaimed Jedi: Fallen Order sees Cal Kestis face off against a mysterious new threat in the Galactic Empire. By most accounts, it’s an improvement on the original, offering better exploration, more varied loot and expanded combat options. But what I’ve low-key appreciated the most about it in my 10-ish hours so far? The way it takes a step back and lets players do their thing.

From the start, you’re asked if you want to turn hints on, and you can toggle this at any point thereafter. That right there is a huge step up from a lot of the hand-holding we’ve seen in recent AAA games. But as a nice added touch, enabling them still doesn’t mean you’re immediately given clues if the game recognizes you’ve spent a while on a puzzle. Instead, it will still ask you via the D-pad whether you want a hint. It’s a smart way to give you wiggle room for any specific puzzles that might arise to stump you without having to toggle hints repeatedly in the settings.

It’s a simple thing, to be sure, but it feels so refreshing. More often, lately, we have games constantly bombarding you with dialogue that disrupts the flow of your gameplay. In many cases, it’s not even giving you a chance to solve a puzzle yourself, like in Ragnarök. But even something like EA Motive’s Dead Space proves annoying at times by having the rare NPC ally constantly rush you to get a move on when you’re simply trying to read a lengthy document you picked up. It’s a big reason why Elden Ring‘s hands-off approach resonated so strongly last year with people. Players loved exploring The Lands Between without being inundated with hundreds of little icons and markers on a map. Better still, though: Jedi: Survivor gives the player control. Assistive features like hints can prove especially useful for those with disabilities, so I’m happy they’re available for everyone. All that’s needed, though, is to make them fully optional, like in Jedi: Survivor. 

Jedi Survivor Bode

Thankfully, Jedi: Survivor’s only real hand-holding comes in scripted cutscenes.

I’ve also appreciated how Respawn’s more laid-back design philosophy extends to exploration. Graciously, Survivor‘s areas are significantly bigger and denser than those found in its predecessor, yet still feel manageable since they’re decidedly not fully open-world. In other words, they feel purposeful, rather than expansive for the sake of it. More importantly, though, Respawn doesn’t bury all of this under traditional icon-heavy maps or other navigational markers.

While you can use your BD-1 droid like binoculars to set points of interest, the real highlight is simply going off the beaten path to see what new enemies, areas and items you’ll find that way. At no point was I prompted to do so by Cal (who’s mercifully less talkative than, say, Aloy) or even in-game text. Even the sidequests are welcomely vague; often, you’ll be tipped off to something mysterious in a particular area, and you have to work your way there. That sense of discovery is lovely, and I’m so glad the game doesn’t lessen that impact through excessive dialogue.

Of course, I’m not even halfway through the game, so it’s possible things worsen later on. But so far, this gameplay loop of Cal, BD-1 and a rotating cast of NPC allies going through fascinating and exotic Star Wars locales has been an absolute blast, in no small part because the game is letting me take it at my own pace. I’ll have more on Jedi: Survivor in the coming days.

Image credit: EA

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Mobile Syrup

Twitter to begin allowing cannabis companies to advertise freely

Elon Musk thinks 4/20 is funny.

This makes it not much of a surprise to hear that Twitter will begin allowing cannabis companies to advertise freely on the platform, as confirmed in a recent press release.

This guideline change comes after Twitter became the first major platform to allow cannabis advertisements earlier this year. Previously, the company was prohibited from showing weed products in its ads or promoting the sale of any cannabis products. They could, however, link ads to websites selling the products.

The press release goes on to say that companies “may also continue responsibly linking to their owned and operated web pages and e-commerce experiences for CBD, THC, and cannabis-related products and services.” The site also made changes for medical licensees and opened up additional recreational markets.

Twitter may now have a leg up on other sites like Google and Meta that still prohibit ads related to cannabis and cannabis-related products.

Musk is no stranger to cannabis culture, both by indulging himself on Joe Rogan’s podcast (although we’re pretty sure that was a one-time thing) or through multiple jokes throughout his many companies.

The CEO even set 4/20 as the date to remove legacy blue checks for users on Twitter and test the launch of SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy rocket.

It looks like cannabis ads on Twitter may be the greenest Musk sees after the CEO lost billions in his net worth after a hectic 24 hours this month.

Source: Twitter Via: Wion

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung updates its Try Galaxy app with Galaxy S23 in mind

Samsung has rolled out an update to its Try Galaxy web app to better reflect its Galaxy S23 offerings. The update aims to showcase the experience of using the latest flagship Samsung phone, including its One UI 5.1 software.

In a press release, the company lists the latest inclusions:

  • Powerful camera: Users can explore what’s possible with Samsung Galaxy’s most advanced camera system, including truly cinematic Nightography and transformative AI for vivid and clear night shots. They can also test in-app editing tools like Photo Remaster to automatically improve details of images.
  • Leading performance: Users can experience how the Galaxy S23 series is redefining peak performance through a video demonstrating next-level gaming capabilities with optimised mobile platform, battery and display.
  • Connected ecosystem: Users can immerse themselves in the latest world of One UI 5.1 with customisable wallpapers, icons, message interfaces, backgrounds and more, for a mobile experience that matches their own personality and style.

The Try Galaxy experience first launched in 2022, and has been downloaded over two million times, according to Samsung. The experience is available specifically for iPhone users, and can be downloaded using the QR code on trygalaxy.com.

Source: Samsung

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Mobile Syrup

Social audio app Clubhouse layoffs more than 50 percent of its staff

February 8, 2021, Brazil. In this photo illustration the Clubhouse logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen

Clubhouse has made some major changes to staff, with over 50 percent of employees having been laid off. The decision was announced by Clubhouse founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth in an email to employees.

The note to staff read, “We’re scaling back our org by over 50% and saying goodbye to many talented, dedicated teammates in the process.” It’s been reported that impacted members of Clubhouse were sent invitations to a one-on-one meeting with managers from their respective departments.

The company’s decision stems from problems as a result of the pandemic, with the company admitting that it became harder for people to find friends on the app and to fit those conversations into their daily lives.

Founders Davidson and Seth would go on to state that in order for Clubhouse to find its role in the world, the product needs to evolve. Evolution requires what they describe as a “period of change.”

Despite the bad news, the company did provide some resources to those impacted. Firstly, salaries will be paid for the rest of April, plus four months of additional severance for all departing employees. Employees will also continue to receive full healthcare coverage for themselves and their families until the end of August.

The remaining workers who were unaffected by the changes were sent an invite for a brief team meeting, most likely to be debriefed on the company’s new directions.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Clubhouse

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Mobile Syrup

Ex-Apple employee sentenced for defrauding company out of $19 million

Barcelona, Spain – June 7, 2018: Logo of Apple Inc. on a Apple store. Apple is the multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California and sells consumer electronics products.

A former employee of Apple, Dhirendra Prasad, has been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to repay over $19 million USD (about $25.7 million CAD) in restitution after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Prasad worked as a buyer in Apple’s Global Service Supply Chain department between 2011 and 2018, and during that time, he conspired with two vendors to conduct fraud against Apple by taking kickbacks, stealing parts, inflating invoices, and causing Apple to pay for items and services it never received. This resulted in losses amounting to more than $17 million USD ($23 million CAD) for Apple, according to a release by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.

The report also states that Prasad used his insider knowledge of Apple’s fraud detection practices to avoid being caught for several years. Prasad admitted to the charges in November, and two conspiracy charges to commit money laundering were dismissed during sentencing.

In addition to the three-year prison sentence, Prasad had to forfeit over $5,491,713 USD ($7.3 million CAD) worth of assets that already have been seized by the government. In addition to the restitution, Prasad was also ordered to pay $1.9 million USD ($2.5 million CAD) to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for not paying taxes on the proceeds of his fraudulent schemes. After the three-year prison sentence, Prasad would have to serve three years of supervised release.

In August last year, former Apple engineer Xiaolang Zhang admitted to stealing Apple’s Project Titan trade secrets.

Source: United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California Via: iMore

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Mobile Syrup

It’s unclear where PlayStation’s ‘Twisted Metal’ TV show will stream in Canada

Video streaming service Peacock just released the first teaser trailer for the new action-comedy series Twisted Metal based on the hit video game franchise of the same name.

The series is set to feature Anthony Mackie, Toronto’s Will Arnett and Richard Cabral, among others, and all ten episodes will premiere exclusively on Peacock in the U.S. on July 27th. It’s unclear where the TV show will stream in Canada given that Peacock isn’t available here.

MobileSyrup reached out to PlayStation Canada regarding Twisted Metal‘s Canadian streaming home, and we were told that the company has nothing to share right now.

The new teaser trailer can be found below:

The TV series is based on the classic PlayStation car combat video game, where players control over-the-top demolition derby vehicles with the goal of destroying other racers in a ‘Twisted Metal tournament.’ The titles are notorious for their wacky and unhinged characters, such as Sweet Tooth, a clown with a flaming head, metal-armed maniacs and even the grim reaper himself.

Twisted Metal is set to follow John Doe, “a motor-mouthed outsider” that must drive through a post-apocalyptic wasteland to complete his mission and survive the raid of destructive vehicles. It’s based on a story written by showrunner and executive producer Michael Jonathan Smith and will be produced by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

The trailer shows off a bit of what viewers can expect from the upcoming show, teasing the different cars and characters. In a tribute to ’90s nostalgia, the trailer is accompanied by Canadian band Len’s one-hit-wonder “Steal My Sunshine” (remember that one?).

Following the success of other video game adaptations like The Last of Us and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Twisted Metal will be looking to pull in similar results or, at the very least, satisfy fans’ desire for pure motor carnage when it releases.

Image credit: Peacock

Source: Peacock Via: Variety

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God of War Ragnarök for PS4 and PS5 is available for $41 at CDKeys

CDKeys is currently offering God of War Ragnarök 54 percent off.

Regularly available for $89.99, CDKeys currently has PS4 and PS5 digital codes for the title available for $41, first shared by RedFlagDeals user’ TheSlav.’

It’s worth noting that the title’s listing on CDKeys reads that the game can not be activated in Canada, but TheSlav’s RedFlagDeals post stated that to be false, and that the game code is not region locked.

I took the gamble and paid $41 for the game (I’ve been wanting to buy Ragnarök for a while now but didn’t want to shell out $89.99).

It’s safe to say that TheSlav was correct. Upon payment, CDKeys will send you an email with your order information and details on retrieving the game code. You can select to activate the code on the web via https://store.playstation.com/, or directly on your console.

Buy God of War Ragnarök for $41 CAD from CDKeys here.

Learn more about the game here.

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: RedFlagDeals ‘TheSlav’

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Mobile Syrup

Google’s Pixel 7a might launch with new ‘coral’ colourway

The upcoming Google Pixel 7a might release with a “coral” colour option, according to a new render shared by reliable leaker @evleaks.

The hue looks to be something of a mix of both orange and pink, and it’s quite vibrant.

If accurate, this would mark the first time Google releases a Pixel phone with four separate colour options to choose from.  Previous leaks indicate three other colours are coming — white, grey, and light blue.

The leak backs up a previous tweet by @jon_prosser, who also suggests coral is on the way. The option to choose coral will be a Google Store exclusive, according to Prosser.

The news comes not long after the drop of a previous set of leaks, giving us a rundown of potential device specifications.

The Pixel 7a is expected to be announced at Google I/O on May 10th.

Source: @evleaks Via: Android Police