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Personal Routines suddenly vanished from Google Home app for some

Google is in the process of revamping its Home app for controlling smart home devices. However, as with any major change like this, there are sure to be some issues — currently, one major flaw plaguing users of both the regular Google Home app and the preview version of the refreshed app is an inability to launch Personal Routines.

For those not familiar with Google Home’s Routines, they allow users to create custom automations for their smart home. Routines come in two flavours — Household and Personal. The former applies to, well, your household and can include things like scheduled or automatic actions that take place based on the time of day or if certain events happen, like if someone turns on the TV. Personal Routines, on the other hand, are voice-based and occur with certain commands, like Routines that run when you say “good night.”

Reports across Google’s support forums and Twitter, as well as from Android Police and 9to5Google, say Personal Routines have outright disappeared for some Google Home users. This apparently happens after users try to trigger a routine with their voice. Household Routines remain available, however.

Along with disappearing Personal Routines, some users reported that the ability to add new Personal Routines is broken. Per a Twitter report, trying to add a Personal Routine results in a 404 error.

Google does seem to be aware of the issue and is looking for a fix, according to a community specialist in the company’s support forum. Anyone who encounters the issue should send feedback from the app with the keyword “GHT3 Missing Routines.”

To send feedback, either say “Send feedback,” to a Google Assistant speaker or open the Google Home app, tap your profile icon in the top-right corner, and tap ‘Feedback.’

Source: Google support, Twitter, (2) Via: 9to5Google, Android Police

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Mobile Syrup

Apple’s rumoured VR headset might be delayed

Apple’s long-rumoured AR/VR headset could be delayed until the second half of 2023 due to “software-related issues,” according to a new report from reliable tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Just last week, reports surfaced about the headset’s new platform called ‘xrOS,’ but it appears the operating system is suffering from issues. Kuo says that mass shipments of the headset’s parts will start in the first half of 2023, but that the actual complete device won’t be ready to ship until the second half of the year.

However, Apple could still announce its AR/VR headset at a March/February event, with the release coming later in the year. Apple has adopted a similar strategy with new device categories in the past, including the now-dead HomePod.

In the past, Kuo has said that Apple plans to reveal the headset in January, followed by a release in the second quarter of 2023. It’s unclear if this timeline has changed.

Apple’s mixed reality headset has been in development for years and is rumoured to cost $3,000 USD (roughly $3,736 CAD), putting it higher than Meta’s high-end Quest Pro VR headset, which costs $2,299 in Canada.

The headset is rumoured to feature a high-quality design focused on comfort, dual 4K displays and iris scanning technology.

Source: @mingchikuo Via: MacRumors

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Mobile Syrup

5G could contribute $120 billion to Canada’s GDP growth by 2036: report

5G smart mobile telephone radio network antenna base station on the telecommunication mast radiating signal

5G’s performance upgrades over 4G will lead to economic growth and improved quality of life in Canada, a review from Deetken Insight found.

Commissioned by Telus, the review found 5G will grow gross domestic product (GDP) by 16 percent ($120 billion) by 2036.

5G fixed wireless access (FWA) will also increase the productive capacity of rural communities by allowing operators to deliver high-speed broadband intent in places fibre can’t get to. “5G FWA eliminates the need for costly deployment of deep-fiber fixed access infrastructure while also offering peak rates that few fixed technologies can match,” the review states.

However, Canada needs to take several steps to realize the full benefits of 5G. Spectrum allocations for mid and high-band frequencies are between one and five years behind compared to Germany, Japan, Italy, Australia, and South Korea. Deployment has been limited to low-band networks as these are cheaper to deploy on a non-standalone basis.

The public sector, mobile network operators and various industry stakeholders can take steps to speed up the deployment of 5G, including releasing spectrum quickly and developing an infrastructure strategy that helps with deployment. It’s a must-need for a country expected to see its 5G subscriber count grow by 4 million over the next 12-15 months.

“An ambitious yet coordinated approach to the rollout of 5G is critical to ensuring the benefits are achieved while also ensuring Canada’s 5G networks and the applications that run on them are reliable and resilient,” the review states.

The approach needs to touch on several factors, the review states, including:

  • timely access to relevant spectrum
  • network infrastructure through government investments that support coverage, bandwidth and latency
  • having connected devices and software updates available
  • defining and implementing a “performance management framework” to track 5G performance and contributions

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Deetken Insight

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Mobile Syrup

TekSavvy will give you a $10/month discount when you refer a friend

Teksavvy has launched a new holiday offer that saves you and a friend/family member $120 off your bill over 12 months.

The internet provider says that the program allows TekSavvy customers to sign up a friend for internet service in order to save both parties $10 off their monthly bill for 12 months.

Teksavvy’s offer runs from December 1st to January 31st and is valid for all customers that “meet the eligibility requirements.” Further, the deal is also valid for current Teksavvy customers.

It’s unclear what plans qualify for this deal or how to enroll in it, but MobileSyrup has reached out to TekSavvy for more details.

TekSavvy primarily offers internet services in the southern Ontario area.

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft to raise price of Xbox Series X/S games in 2023 ahead of Starfield

The cost of Xbox Series X/S games is officially set to increase next year.

In a statement to IGN, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the price of first-party games for its current-gen consoles will increase from $60 to $70 USD (roughly $95 CAD) in 2023.

Canadian pricing wasn’t confirmed, but other current-gen titles cost $90 CAD, so it’s likely that Xbox will follow suit. We’ve reached out to Xbox for confirmation and will update this response once a response has been received.

“This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles,” the representative told IGN, noting that all of these games will also be on Xbox Game Pass on day one.

2023 is set to be a big year for Xbox, with heavy hitters like Bethesda’s Starfield and Redfall set for the first half of the year. The next Forza Motorsport is also slated for 2023. There are many other undated, long-gestating Xbox first-party titles, such as Obsidian’s Avowed, Rare’s Everwild and Ninja Theory’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.

That said, Xbox Game Pass has been offering day one access to all Xbox first-party games since 2018, giving consumers an alternative from paying full price to purchase titles. Xbox Game Pass costs $11.99/month on Xbox and PC or $16.99/month for Game Pass Ultimate, which includes the service for both platforms as well as Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Cloud Gaming and EA Play.

Xbox raising game prices brings the company in line with several other publishers. Sony has been charging $90 CAD for PS5 titles, while third-parties like 2K and EA have been charging the same amount for most of their big games. Ubisoft also confirmed in September that its upcoming AAA games will cost $70 USD. As it stands, Nintendo continues to sell Switch games for $60 USD/$80 CAD.

The Xbox games price increase comes shortly after Xbox chief Phil Spencer confirmed that consoles themselves won’t see a price increase until at least after this holiday season. It also remains to be seen when Game Pass itself may see a price hike, especially if the big games it includes, such as Starfield, are set to cost more.

Source: IGN

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Mobile Syrup

OnePlus 11 alleged renders show off new camera bump

The OnePlus 11 has appeared in a new leaked render showing off a look at two different colour variants of the rumoured device.

The leak, which comes from @OnLeaks in collaboration with Gadget Gang, shows off the handset in matte black (Volcanic Black) and a pastel green (Forest Emerald) shade. There’s also a massive camera bump that features the Hasselblad logo, which has shifted from the left side of the camera bump to the middle and now reads horizontally. Further, the camera design is circular with three lenses and an LED flash.

OnePlus is also using glossy material for the camera bump, which seamlessly blends into the side of the device.

Further, OnLeaks and Gadgetmatch leaked the handset’s specs. According to the leak, the phone will sport a 6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, up to 16GB of RAM, a triple camera setup with 50-megapixel, 48-megapixel and 32-megapixel shooters, 16-megapixel selfie camera and a 5,000mAh battery. Feature-wise the device is expected to feature a 48-megapixel camera alongside an ultrawide lens, and the 32-megapixel camera will offer 2x zoom alongside some AI enhancements.

The OnePlus 11 is expected to launch sometime in Q1 of 2023.

Image credit: OnLeaks x GadgetGang

Source: Gadget Gang,@OnLeaks

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Mobile Syrup

Pixel Drop offers new features for Pixel phones, Watch and Buds

Every few months, we get a new Pixel feature drop for Google’s Pixel phones, watches and earbuds. This latest release includes new software features and expands existing functionality to additional regions and languages.

First off, VPN by Google One Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro users will now be able to use the app at no cost. Clear Calling makes it easier to hear the other person on a phone call by reducing background noise and enhancing the sound of the caller’s voice. This feature is only available on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.

The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro’s Pixel Recorder app can now keep track of multiple participants in a meeting while transcribing.

Spatial Audio is coming to the Pixel Buds Pro in January. There’s a new Safety Center with a unified hub for reviewing security and privacy settings. Further, there are new Pixel Wallpapers to celebrate the International Day of People with Disabilities.

Pixel Watch users can now gain deeper sleep insights through Fitbit Premium’s Sleep Profile feature, although it’s worth noting this feature has been available since November 22nd. Sleep Profile can also provide monthly sleep animal longitudinal analysis of your sleep to find ways to improve over time. 

Additionally, Pixel Watch users will be able to access new tiles, including ‘Weather’ and ‘Contacts.’ Although Google says it’s adding a Weather tile, MobileSyrup’s news editor Jon Lamont has had a weather tile on his Pixel Watch from day one (there’s even a picture of it in his review).

In addition to everything above, Pixel features like Cough and Snore detection, and Live Chat Translate, will be expanding to new regions and languages.

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Mobile Syrup

You could soon be invited to preview and critique upcoming Netflix originals

Netflix is planning to expand its existing ‘Preview Club’ program that lets subscribers see and provide feedback on upcoming content, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Currently, there are about 2,000 Preview Club members, but WSJ reports that Netflix is looking to bring “tens of thousands” more people into the fold. It’s unclear exactly who might be chosen or when they might be added, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye out for if you’re a Netflix subscriber.

Ostensibly, Preview Club is Netflix’s take on Hollywood “test screenings,” and the streamer has made changes to content based on the feedback it’s received from the program. For example, WSJ reports that subscribers said last year’s Don’t Look Up, Netflix’s controversial Oscar-nominated satire about climate change, was too self-serious. As a result, the creative team injected more humour into the film.

Variety first reported on the existence of Preview Club in May, at which time the program was said to have been in operation for about a year. The outlet also noted that it was only open to U.S. subscribers at the time, so it’s unclear whether this supposed planned expansion would bring in people from other countries like Canada.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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Mobile Syrup

Nothing in talks with carriers to launch a ‘future product’ in the U.S.

Nothing co-founder and CEO Carl Pei confirmed in an interview with CNBC that the company is in early talks with U.S. carriers to launch a “future product” in the U.S., but it won’t be a sequel to the Nothing Phone (1).

The U.K.-based company launched its first smartphone back in July, but it wasn’t available in the U.S. or Canada. Ahead of the launch, Nothing said it wanted to focus on the U.K. and Europe, where it had strong carrier partnerships. It also suggested that the Phone (1) wouldn’t work well on North American networks and planned to launch a U.S. smartphone in the future.

Pei reiterated those reasons to CNBC, saying, “The reason why we didn’t launch in the U.S. is because you need a lot of additional technical support, to support all the carriers and their unique customizations that they need to make on top of Android.”

“Now we are in discussions with some carriers in the U.S. to potentially launch a future product there,” Pei said. Although Pei doesn’t specify whether it’s a smartphone, that’s likely what the “future product” is, especially if Nothing is in discussions with carriers.

While that may have some people excited about a potential ‘Phone (2),’ Pei took to Twitter on December 5th to quell any hype about a sequel to the Phone (1):

“Phone (2) isn’t launching anytime soon. We’re focused on doing a few things well, and won’t churn out dozens of products a year like many others. Phone (1) is our main focus. We’re cooking something really great in terms of software, Android 13 and beyond.”

Aside from Pei’s subtle shot at his former company, OnePlus, the tweet suggests the phone Nothing launches in the U.S. will be something else, although it’s not clear what. Whatever the product ends up being, hopefully it comes to Canada as well as the U.S. and Canadians get a little something from Nothing.

Header image credit: Nothing

Source: CNBC, Carl Pei (Twitter) Via: Android Police

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Mobile Syrup

Google shutting down Duplex on the Web starting December 2022

Google will shut down its Duplex on the Web service. Duplex on the Web was an offshoot of Google’s call-automating technology, Duplex, intended to help people progress through common online forms — for example, ordering food or booking theatre tickets.

Per a note added to the Duplex on the Web support page, Google has “deprecated” the service and it will no longer be supported as of December 2022. “Any automation features enabled by Duplex on the Web will no longer be supported after this date,” reads the notice.

A Google spokesperson offered some additional detail to TechCrunch in a statement:

“As we continue to improve the Duplex experience, we’re responding to the feedback we’ve heard from users and developers about how to make it even better. By the end of this year, we’ll turn down Duplex on the Web and fully focus on making AI advancements to the Duplex voice technology that helps people most every day.”

The spokesperson also said that Google notified Duplex on the Web partners to help prepare for the shutdown.

Google first introduced Duplex on the Web at its 2019 I/O developer conference. Initially, the service could handle a few narrow use cases, like booking movie tickets. However, Google expanded Duplex on the Web over time, adding features like helping users automatically change passwords that were exposed in a data breach, assistance with checking out from online retailers, flight check-ins, and automatically finding discounts.

The core promise of Duplex on the Web was that people would be able to issue a command to Google Assistant, and Duplex would go ahead and do it. For example, someone could say, “book me a car from Hertz,” and Duplex would pull up the relevant webpage and fill in the user’s details like name, car preferences, tip dates, and payment information.

It’s not entirely clear why Google chose to shutter Duplex on the Web. TechCrunch suggests it could have been too difficult to maintain since it relies on a special user agent crawling websites for several hours each day to ‘train’ Duplex against them. That process could be easily tripped up if a site chose to block the crawler. Likely, Google’s cuts to the Assistant side of the business likely had a factor too. For example, a report from The Information said Google plans to reduce investments in Assistant for devices not made by Google as it pivots to a focus on hardware.

Regardless of the reason, it’s a bummer to see Google shutter Duplex on the Web. It was a really neat idea, and it’s a shame we won’t see more come from it.

Source: Duplex on the Web support Via: TechCrunch