However, that could soon change — at least as far as its sensors are concerned — if a new report from often-reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is accurate. According to Kuo, the Apple Watch Series 8 could feature a built-in body temperature sensor if it’s able to “meet Apple’s high requirements before mass production.”
(1/3) Apple canceled body temperature measurement for Apple Watch 7 because the algorithm failed to qualify before entering EVT stage last year. I believe Apple Watch 8 in 2H22 could take body temperature if the algorithm can meet Apple's high requirements before mass production.
Kuo says that the Series 7 was supposed to feature a body temperature sensor but “failed to qualify before entering [the] EVT stage last year.” According to Kuo, body temperature measurement is difficult to add to a wearable because “skin temperature quickly varies depending on outside environments.”
Kuo’s report backs up reports sourced from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, stating that Apple’s next-gen Apple Watch will feature a body temperature sensor.
Beyond the above leak, not much is known about the Apple Watch Series 8 or watchOS 8. Apple’s next-gen Apple Watch is expected to release this coming fall, likely during a September or October hardware event.
Square Enix is selling its Montreal-based studios, including Crystal Dynamics, Edios-Montreal and Square Enix Montreal, to Sweden’s Embracer group for $300 million (roughly $386 million CAD).
The deal is expected to close between July and September and affects 1,100 employees across the three studios. This acquisition means that the Embracer group now owns an extensive catalogue of video game series, including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain, Thief and “more than 50 back catalogue games.”
“We are thrilled to welcome these studios into the Embracer Group. We recognize the fantastic IP, world-class creative talent, and track record of excellence that have been demonstrated time and again over the past decades. It has been a great pleasure meeting the leadership teams and discussing future plans for how they can realize their ambitions and become a great part of Embracer,” said Lars Wingefors, the co-founder and group CEO of Embracer Group, in a recent press release.
Edios Montreal most recently released Guardians of the Galaxy and has also worked on recent entries in the Deus Ex series. On the other hand, Square Enix Montreal has developed several critically acclaimed mobile titles, including Hitman Go, Lara Croft Go, and Deus Ex Go. Finally, Crystal Dynamics is best known for the Tomb Raider series.
Embracer owns Gearbox Software, THQ Nordic, Koch Media, Deeper Silver and more. When the company’s acquisition of Square Enix closes, it will have more than 14,000 employees, 10,000 developers and 124 internal studios.
Square Enix says that selling off these studios will allow the company to establish “a more efficient allocation of resources,” adding that it plans to launch “new businesses by moving forward with investments in fields including blockchain, AI, and the cloud.”
The ongoing Twitter acquisition by Elon Musk has left many worried.
Musk’s adamancy about transforming the platform into a hub that supports free speech is a noble idea in theory, but comes with unforeseen consequences, with sudden follower fluctuations, the spread of misinformation and rampant abuse being a few main concerns.
Since the news about Musk’s acquisition came out, popular left-wing figures have experienced a relentless drop in followers, whereas those with right-wing ties are enjoying follower growth. For example, former President Barack Obama, the most followed user on Twitter, has lost more than 300,000 followers in recent days, whereas Jair Bolsonaro, a popular right-wing figure, gained about 100,000 followers. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis saw his Twitter follow increase by roughly 100,000 as well.
According to Twitter, the growth and shrinkage of followers are entirely organic and are owed to people leaving or joining the platform in abundance.
Ah he got twitter. I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet. Just really *any* excuse to show pics of Barold. I fear this free speech bid is going to help this hell platform reach its final form of totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny. Best of luck. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/fBDOuEYI3e
If you think its time for you to pull out of the platform, here are a few simple steps you can follow:
You can deactivate your Twitter account regardless of the device you’re using it on. This means that, unlike Instagram, you can deactivate your Twitter account either from the Android or iOS mobile app or on the web. The steps for all three devices are the same, though the example below has been illustrated on the web version of Twitter.
Click on ‘More’ on the left-aligned dashboard and head to ‘Settings and privacy.’
Navigate to ‘Your account’ and then ‘Deactivate your account.’
Read the parting message and click on ‘Deactivate’
You’ll then be asked to enter your password one last time and your account will be deactivated. Follow the screenshots below for visual reference.
It’s worth noting that deactivating your account doesn’t mean that it is entirely deleted. Your account will live in Twitter’s database for the next 30 days, within which you can reactivate your account simply by signing in as you normally would.
If you’re absolutely sure that you want to leave Twitter in the past, don’t attempt to login in during the 30-day window and your account will be permanently deleted.
As the case every month, several shows and movies are leaving Netflix Canada, Crave and Prime in May.
It’s worth noting that the streaming services may only be removing certain shows and movies for a specific amount of time.
Series like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Gossip Girl and movies like Mean Girls have all left Netflix and then returned to the service months or years later. If you’re more interested in what’s coming to Crave,Prime Video, and Netflix, check out our respective ‘what’s coming to’ posts.
Below are all the shows and movies leaving Netflix, Prime Video and Crave in May.
Netflix
Clueless (May 1st)
Colony: Seasons 1-3 (May 1st)
iZombie: Seasons 1-5 (May 2nd)
StarUp: Seasons 1-3 (May 3rd)
Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (May 14th)
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (May 31st)
Full House: Seasons 1-8
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie
Prime Video
You Don’t Mess with The Zohan (May 1st)
As Good As It Gets (May 1st)
2012 (May 1st)
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (May 1st)
Despicable Me (May 1st)
Despicable Me 2 (May 1st)
Minions (May 1st)
My Best Friend’s Wedding (May 1st)
The Craft (May 1st)
Lego Marvel Superheroes: Maximum Overload (May 1st)
Hancock (May 1st)
The Smurfs 2 (May 1st)
Lego Jurassic World The Secret Exhibit Part 1 (May 1st)
Lego Jurassic World The Secret Exhibit Part 2 (May 1st)
Carl Pei’s startup Nothing has released a minimal Android phone launcher to get the hype train rolling again. It’s very simplistic looking and light on features, but it’s still a pretty slick launcher.
Its Google Play Store page says that it’s only compatible with Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 6 devices, plus Samsung’s Galaxy S21 and S22 series phones. During my testing, I was able to get the home screen replacement running on an Android 10 Pro right from the Play Store.
Other phones were a bit more of a hassle since I needed to find an APK (Android app file) to download, but the process was still pretty seamless. That being said, the BlackBerry KeyOne refused to run it. That hurt, obviously.
But surprisingly, the Nothing Launcher works pretty well on the Essential Phone.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that regardless of which route you take to download the launcher, both still use beta builds of the software.
How to install the Nothing Launcher normally
Supported phones
Pixel 6
Pixel 6 Pro
Pixel 5
Samsung Galaxy S21
Samsung Galaxy S21+
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S22
Samsung Galaxy S22+
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
OnePlus 10 Pro (kind of)
To start using the launcher on these phones, simply download it from the Play Store, open up your phone’s settings page, and navigate to the ‘Apps’ section. In that menu, select ‘Default apps,’ then an option that should either be named ‘Launcher’ or ‘Home app’ depending on your phone. Inside this final menu is where you enable the Nothing Launcher.
This is relatively standard practice for enabling third-party launchers. Still, other options like Niagara Launcher and Nova Launcher make this process easier for users by ensuring their launcher starts as an app that users can open to initiate the process.
Lots of Android phones from the past three years but not the BlackBerry Key One. 🙁
Installing the launcher this way is pretty much the same as stated above, but there are a few extra steps. First, you need to find an APK online. I’ve been using this option from APK Mirror.
Once you download it, you can try to open it from your notifications panel. If you’ve downloaded apps from your web browser before, the app will download normally, and you’ll be asked to install it. If this is your first time, a menu should pop up asking you if you want to allow installs from places outside of the Play Store. Choose ‘yes,’ and then you should be brought to a settings menu where you can toggle on that option.
Once you’ve installed the app, you need to open up your phone’s settings page and navigate to the ‘Apps’ section. In that menu, select ‘Default apps,’ then an option that should either be named ‘Launcher’ or ‘Home app’ depending on your phone. Inside this final menu is where you enable the Nothing Launcher.
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+ will be mentioned when relevant. Premium video on demand (PVOD) platforms are also fair game as movies continue to come to digital early amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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
Undone (Season 2) [Amazon Original]
After Alma discovers that Becca is a time traveler like her, the sisters use their powers to solve why their mother suffers from depression.
Undone was created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Kate Purdy (BoJack Horseman) and stars Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel), Angelique Cabral (Life in Pieces), Constance Marie (George Lopez) and Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul).
Amazon Prime Video premiere date: April 29th, 2022 Genre: Animated comedy-drama Runtime: Eight episodes (23 to 26 minutes each)
The full list of movies and shows that hit Prime Video in April can be found here. A roundup of May’s new content is available here.
Apple TV+
Shining Girls [Apple Original]
A woman discovers that a recent murder is linked to a traumatic incident from her past, leading her to team with a journalist to travel through time and solve the case.
Based on Lauren Beukes’ 2013 novel of the same name, Shining Girls was created by Silka Luisa (Strange Angel) and stars Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale), Wagner Moura (Narcos), Jamie Bell (Rocketman) and Phillipa Soo (Hamilton).
Apple TV+ Canada premiere date: April 29th, 2022 (first three episodes, new episode every Friday) Genre: Sci-fi thriller Runtime: Eight episodes (around one hour each)
An aspiring home shopping channel host lies about her cancer returning to keep her job.
Inspired by Vanessa Bayer’s (Saturday Night Live) experience with leukemia, I Love That For You was created by Bayer and Jeremy Beiler (Saturday NightLive) and stars Bayer, Molly Shannon (The White Lotus), Jenifer Lewis (Black-ish) and Matt Rogers (Las Culturistas).
Crave premiere date: April 29th, 2022 (first episode, new episode every Friday) Genre: Comedy Runtime: Eight episodes (around half an hour each)
The Survivor is based on the true story of Harry Haft, a man who boxed fellow inmates of Auschwitz to survive.
The film was directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man) and stars Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), Vicky Krieps (A Most Wanted Man), Billy Magnussen (Made For Love) and Peter Sarsgaard (Dopesick).
Crave premiere date: April 27th, 2022 Genre: Biographical drama Runtime: 2 hours, 9 minutes
Based on Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton’s book of the same name, We Own This City explores the corruption of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force.
The series was created by George Pelecanos and David Simon (The Wire) and stars Jon Bernthal (The Punisher), Wunmi Mosaku (Loki), Jamie Hector (The Wire) and Josh Charles (The Good Wife).
Crave premiere date: April 25th, 2022 (first episode, new episode every Monday) Genre: Crime drama Runtime: Six episodes (around one hour each)
Montreal’s Jay Baruchel (This is the End) speaks with top scientists, activists, and experts to examine various ways the world could come to an end, including an asteroid Armageddon, volcanic cataclysm and alien invasion.
Crave premiere date: April 30th, 2022 (all episodes) Genre: Docuseries Runtime: Six episodes (around half an hour each)
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 that hit Crave in April can be found here. A roundup of May’s new content is available here.
Disney+
Sketchbook [Disney+ Original]
Each episode of this docuseries focuses on a single artist creating an iconic Walt Disney Animation Studios character, including Mark Henn (The Lion King‘s Simba), Eric Goldberg (Aladdin‘s Genie) and Hyun-Min Lee (Frozen‘s Olaf).
Disney+ Canada premiere date: April 27th, 2022 (all episodes) Genre: Docuseries Runtime: Six episodes (22 to 23 minutes each)
The full list of movies and shows that hit Disney+ Canada in April can be found here. A roundup of May’s new content is available here.
Netflix
Bubble [Netflix Original]
In a post-apocalyptic Tokyo overrun by bubbles and gravitational abnormalities, a young man has a fateful meeting with a mysterious girl.
Bubble was directed by Tetsurō Araki (Attack on Titans) and features the voices of Jun Shison (D-BOYS), Riria (Ressha Sentai ToQger) and Mamoru Miyano (Kingdom Hearts series).
Netflix Canada premiere date: April 28th, 2022 Genre: Anime drama Runtime: 1 hour, 41 minutes
In the final batch of episodes of Grace and Frankie, Grace, Frankie, Robert and Sol all drive each other crazy at the beach house.
Grace and Frankie was created by Marta Kauffman (Friends) and Howard J. Morris (Home Improvement) and stars Jane Fonda (Coming Home), Lily Tomlin (The Magic School Bus), Sam Waterston (Law & Order) and Martin Sheen (The West Wing).
Netflix Canada premiere date: April 29th, 2022 Genre: Comedy Runtime: 12 episodes (27 to 34 minutes each)
In the final batch of Ozark episodes, find out what happens with the Byrde family.
Ozark was created by Bill Debuque and Mark Williams (The Accountant) and stars Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Laura Linney (The Savages), Sofia Hublitz (MasterChef Junior) and Julia Garner (Inventing Anna).
Netflix Canada premiere date: April 29th, 2022 Genre: Drama Runtime: Seven episodes (54 to 72 minutes each)
Hoping to become a true samurai, a teenage rabbit teams up with other warriors to protect their city from monsters, ninjas and aliens.
Based on Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo comics, Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles was created by Doug and Candie Landale (The Weekenders and The Adventures of Puss in Boots, respectively) and features the voices of Darren Barnett (Never Have I Ever), Aleks Le (Demon Slayers: Kimetsu no Yaiba), Mallory Low (DC Super Hero Girls) and Toronto’s own Eric Bauza (Looney Tunes).
Netflix Canada premiere date: April 28th, 2022 Genre: Animated action-comedy Runtime: 10 episodes (22 to 26 minutes each)
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has touched on his outlook on the global chip shortage heavily affecting the tech and semiconductor industry. Gelsinger now expects the shortage to last until 2024
During an interview with CNBC’s TechCheck, Gelsinger states that due to the constrained availability of critical manufacturing tools, the chip shortage could last well beyond this year. The ability to meet ongoing demand proves to be an ongoing obstacle.
“That’s part of the reason that we believe the overall semiconductor shortage will now drift into 2024, from our earlier estimates in 2023, just because the shortages have now hit equipment and some of those factory ramps will be more challenged,” Gelsinger said in the interview.
The global chip shortage first began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chip manufacturing factories continue to face numerous disruptions and closures. Demand continues to rise as the need for semiconductors for consumer tech products is never-ending.
Gelsinger is still relatively new to Intel’s CEO role. He took over in February 2021 and invests heavily in diversifying chip manufacturing around the globe. Intel invests significantly in establishing semiconductor facilities in the U.S and Europe. Though, Asia is home to most factories.
“We’ve really invested in those equipment relationships, but that will be tempering the build-out of capacity for us and everybody else, but we believe we’re positioned better than the rest of the industry,” Gelsinger said.
The shortage of chips heavily affects the ability to readily purchase Intel chips and Apple products like the Mac. Sony also continues to struggle with demand for its PlayStation 5 as well. If Gelsinger’s analysis is correct, these trends could continue to escalate into 2024 at the very least.
Apple has released a brief teaser for an upcoming Star Wars-focused Behind the Mac: Skywalker Sound film. This project is made in collaboration with LucasFilm and debuts on Star Wars Day next week.
A one-minute-long teaser of the Behind the Mac film showcases the Skywalker Sound division at LucasFilm.
This team is in charge of the generation and creation of sounds within the iconic franchise. The teaser questions whether one could identify the movie and scene of the said movie based on sounds. We hear quick snippets of Darth Vader and lightsabers. The film showcases the artists and the various ways they produce the sounds and audio.
Behind the Mac: Skywalker Sound pulls the curtain back and shows how the division uses Apple’s Mac products and other tools to create the audio for various Star Wars projects.
The Skywalker Sound division was founded in 1975 and plays an integral role in the Star Wars franchise. Additionally, the division has worked on other high-profile projects including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and various Marvel films.
Behind the Mac: Skywalker Sound releases in full on May 4th. This day is also recognized as Star Wars Day and referred to as May the Fourth, drawing back to the franchise.
Apple has ordered a second season of Pachinko for Apple TV+. The Season 2 order comes as the season finale of its first season. Pachinko hails from creator Soo Hugh who also serves as writer and executive producer. The series is based on the best-selling novel of the same name, written by Min Jin Lee.
“Words cannot express my joy in being able to continue telling the extraordinary story of this indomitable family,” Hugh expresses in a statement. “I’m grateful to the amazing team at Apple and Media Res studio for believing and supporting this show and to our passionate fans who have cheered us on. It’s an honour to be able to continue working with this amazing cast and crew.”
Apple’s Pachinko focuses on a Korean immigrant family across four generations. It begins in the early 1900s and follows the family as they leave their homeland. The story is told from the perspective of Sunja. As the series looks at different time vertices of the family, Sunja is played by three actors. Yuh-Jung Youn stars as an older Sunja. Minha Kim plays teenage Sunja, while Yuna takes on the role of young Sunja. The series also stars Lee Minho, Jin Ha, Anna Sawai, Eunchae Jung, and Inji Jeong.
According to Apple, Season 2 of Pachinko will continue its story focused on “war and peace, love and loss, triumph and reckoning. The new season will continue the riveting story that spans generations and is told across three languages – Korean, Japanese and English.”
Pachinko began on Apple TV+ with a three-episode premiere on March 25th, 2022. The series continued on a week-to-week basis, concluding on April 28, 2022.
When PlayStation unveiled its long-rumoured PlayStation Plus expansion, gamers quickly started wondering how their existing subscriptions would convert to the new one.
During this time, PlayStation remained quiet as it seemingly allowed people to buy PS Plus and Now memberships to stack them. Then, suddenly, the company disabled the ability to redeem codes for prepaid cards.
Now, it’s published an FAQ page for the new PS Plus — which merges the existing PS Plus with PS Now, plus adds retro games and free trials — to explain how membership conversion works.
Part of this needlessly overcomplicated process boils down to the fact that PlayStation has broken down PS Plus into three tiers, and each of which has its own “conversion rate,” for lack of a better term. This further illustrates how inelegant the new PS Plus structure is; while it’s meant to streamline PlayStation’s services offering by combining Plus and Now, it just carves up everything in a different way.
Xbox Game Pass, by contrast, has two simple tiers — an $11.99/month base subscription for console and PC, and a $16.99/month ‘Ultimate’ that includes console, PC, streaming, Xbox Live Gold and more. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s Switch Online has simple monthly and annual options for both its base membership (required for online play) and the optional Expansion Pack for bonus games and add-on content. Why is this all so much more complicated on PlayStation?
It’s even stranger, too, when you consider that we don’t yet know the single most important thing about the new PS Plus: the catalogue. So far, the only games that have been confirmed are Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal. Six games, out of “up to 400” for Essential and those, plus “up to 340 additional” titles, for Premium. That’s to say nothing of how the game trials might work — we don’t know for sure yet.
Even more frustrating is the fact that these are all modern games. What’s arguably most enticing about the new PS Plus is its promised retro catalogue, which will cover the PS1, PS2 and PSP generations. Some rumours have suggested a few titles we’ll get, including Syphon Filter and Tekken 2, but PlayStation hasn’t said anything official itself. Frankly, I’m not interested in even considering any of these conversion methods for PS Plus until we actually know what we’re getting for our money.
This is speaking to a larger trend this generation with PlayStation making things needlessly convoluted.
When the PS5 launched, PlayStation didn’t offer a way for your console to recognize which version of cross-gen games it should run. On Xbox, such a feature exists in the form of “Smart Delivery,” which automatically gives you the best version of these games on the new-gen hardware. The lack of such a feature even led to an issue in which players had to factory reset their consoles for a time. And for a while, we didn’t even know how many games would be PS5-only, despite PlayStation boss Jim Ryan once arrogantly stating “we believe in generations.”
Then there’s how the company has handled PS5 upgrades for its PS4 games. In September 2021, the company said the cross-gen title Horizon Forbidden West wouldn’t have a free upgrade path from PS4 to PS5, despite originally promising one, only to pivot and offer one after all. However, the company still ended up charging $10 more for the physical PS5 version of the game, even though you could technically buy the PS4 version then upgrade to avoid the fee. And while it’s likely the individual companies’ policies and not PlayStation’s, we’ve seen a few cases (Mortal Shell and, for a time, Final Fantasy VII Remake) where PlayStation Plus only netted you the PS4 versions of games, not their PS5 counterparts, which led to further head-scratching.
That doesn’t even touch on how storage expansion works on PS5, which requires opening up the PS5 and figuring out which compatible SSD to install. Once again, this process was far simpler on Xbox — simply insert an official third-party Seagate stick and you’re good to go. That’s not to say Xbox’s method is flawless, though, as they’re limited by lack of storage size options.
I say all of this not out of some fanboyism — I love all three platforms in their own ways. If anything, I’ve always gravitated more towards PlayStation, as my first console was the PS1. But I’m getting increasingly tired of how tedious a lot of the company’s business practices are getting, with PS Plus now especially.
Unlike many others I’ve seen, I don’t even take issue with the new PS Plus not including day-one first-party games, as I understand Microsoft can afford to do that in a way Sony cannot. But it’s really not asking too much to ask for things to be a bit simpler with the service. Hopefully, that’ll happen — if not before the new PS Plus’ June 13th launch, then shortly after.
