Author: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

Sony’s PSVR 2 delayed to 2023, says analyst

Despite revealing an official launch date for the PlayStation VR 2 (PSVR 2,) Sony may have delayed the launch of the headset to 2023.

Sony has been slowly pulling back the curtain on its follow-up to the PSVR headset. Aptly dubbed the PSVR 2, the new headset brings 4K HDR support, enhanced features and wraps it in a new design. Though, unfortunately, it appears players may be waiting a bit longer to get their hands on PSVR 2.

Industry analyst Ross Young reports that Vvirtual reality (VR) display shipments are rising by 50 percent in 2022. In total, shipments are to increase to 15 million in the year. However, Young also states that both Sony and Apple are experiencing delays with their respective VR devices. He concludes that the adjusted target is now 2023.

It’s worth noting that Sony has not officially disclosed a release window for the PSVR2. The company recently unveiled the official design of both the headset and its PSVR 2 Sense controllers. Amongst the technical improvements, Sony says that the headset will deliver true 4K visuals with support of up to 120FPS. The display consists of two 2000 x 2040 pixel resolution OLED panels. It will also support eye-tracking and inside-out tracking thanks to four fixed cameras on the headset.

Haptics will also play a large role in the PSVR 2. The headset itself has a single built-in motor to feed subtle vibrations for further immersion. The Sense controllers also support haptics as well as the now-standard DualSense features such as adaptive triggers.

Sony has also revealed the first big tentpole title for PSVR 2. Horizon: Call of the Mountain is exclusive to PSVR 2 and is in development by Guerrilla and Firesprite Games.

Leading up to this month, it seemed more and more likely that Sony may have been slowly building towards a full-scale reveal with pricing and release info. During GDC, Sony showed off PSVR 2 to developers, allowing hands-on time with the device. However, it now seems as though that goalpost may have been moved.

Given that PlayStation 5 consoles are still difficult to come by thanks to supply chain issues, there’s no reason to rush the launch of PSVR 2. If Sony aims to launch PSV R2 in 2023, it’ll enable more people to purchase a PlayStation 5 prior to that point.

Image credit: Sony

Source: Ross Young Via: GamesRadar

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Mobile Syrup

Certain Affinity to play greater role in Halo Infinite’s ongoing development

Certain Affinity, a video game studio with offices in Austin and Toronto, has revealed that it’s “deepening” its relationship with 343 Industries and Halo Infinite.

Windows Central previously reported that the studio is working on a new Infinite mode codenamed “Tanaka.”

This latest announcement from 343 Industries is likely tied to the still unknown Halo Infinite game mode. Certain Affinity is also reportedly supporting the development of the new Perfect Dark and is working on an original Monster Hunter-like game called Suerete, according to Windows Central.

Tanaka is believed to be a battle royale-like mode for Halo Infinite that involves a shrinking arena and beat-em-all gameplay.

Halo Infinite’s multiplayer is available for free on Xbox consoles and PC. Season 2 Lone Wolves of Halo infinite launches on May 3rd. The much-needed update to the beleaguered game features two new maps, new game modes and tweaks to weapons (RIP to the Mangler).

I’ve spent countless hours playing Halo Infinite over the last few months, but even I’ve dropped off playing the game consistently lately. There just isn’t enough new content hitting the title, but hopefully, whatever Certain Affinity is working on injects some much-needed life into the Infinite.

Image credit: 343 Industries 

Source: @CertainAffinity 

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Mobile Syrup

Tesla to launch cheaper Model Y with bigger battery

A refresh of Tesla’s Model Y will soon be available to purchase.

The EV maker is reportedly on the brink of selling a Model Y with a larger battery capacity. This will likely pique the interest of many who are eyeing a new electric vehicle from the company.

Tesla’s new Modely Y utilizes 4,680 batter cells and offers 449km of range. The Standard Range AWD variant can achieve a 0-60MPH time. According to sources from Electrek, Tesla aims to begin selling the new model for $59,990 USD (roughly $75,663 CAD).

Currently, the Model Y Standard Range AWD is only available to employees. However, shipments to regular customers should begin in the weeks ahead, according to the report.

On top of providing bigger batteries, the new Model Y comes with a few upgrades. It’s reported that the Model Y Standard Range AWD features a magnetic centre armrest and a shelf to store items.

The news of this follows a week after Tesla delivered its very first in-Texas Model Y vehicles. 20 Model Ys were delivered to employees at its Cyber Rodeo event, marking the opening of the Texas Gigafactory. The opening of the factory will undoubtedly assist Tesla in hitting its goals of building 1.5 million vehicles this year.

When compared to current Tesla models, the 4680 battery cells are twice are large. However, they provide five times the capacity. Its acceleration clocks in at five seconds. Though, it’s merely .2 seconds slower than the Model Y Long Range AWD. The Long Range can also travel 531km. Given that it is $3,000 USD (roughly $3,791 CAD) less than the Long Range AWD, these concessions may be easier to swallow.

The new Tesla Model Y contains a structural battery pack. In theory, it may reduce weight and complexity. In turn, this should improve the efficiency and duration of the battery.

Tesla has yet to publicly confirm shipment details, specifically when the Modely Ys will be available in Canada. Official Canadian pricing will also follow with a public announcement made by the company.

Image credit: Tesla

Source: Electrek Via: Engadget

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Mobile Syrup

Citytv launches two streaming products, including Prime Video channel

Rogers-owned network Citytv has announced two new streaming products focused on general entertainment and news.

The first, Citytv+, is a new ‘channel’ exclusively for Amazon’s Prime Video service that includes live and on-demand streaming of content from Citytv, FX, and FXX. This includes Young Rock, The Bachelorette, Law & Order, Chicago Med/Fire/P.D., The Americans and Sons of Anarchy, as well as the recently premiered Canada’s Got Talent and Atlanta.

Citytv+ costs $4.99/month with a free 30-day trial.

Citytv’s second streaming product is CityNews 24/7, a free stream for Prime members. This platform will offer news, entertainment and sports stories from the CityNews team, as well as weather, traffic and more. CityNews 24/7 will also include live coverage of Breakfast Television and CityNews local newscasts.

You can sign up for Citytv+ here. An FAQ for the service is also available here.

Image credit: NBC

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Mobile Syrup

Vidéotron files appeal on part of copyright decision involving hotel TV transmitters

Source: Shutterstock https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/montreal-canada-november-5-2018-videotron-1244631847

Vidéotron has filed an appeal on a piracy case in which it received a partial judgment, saying the ruling left out a third company.

It was ruled back in February that Technologies Konek Inc. and Coopérative de câblodistribution Hill Valley violated the rules by working together to distribute TVA and TVA Sports channels to hotels without obtaining the right to do so.

Justice Sébastien Grammond ruled Vidéotron was only “partially successful” because Hill Valley has been considered a retransmitter since February 3rd, 2021, under section 31 of the Copyright Act, allowing it to show TVA stations.

Vidéotron’s original filing, made in March 2021, named the two companies, along with a third, Libéo Inc.

The February ruling stated Libéo was not responsible for copyright violations in the case.

In a recent filing dated March 23rd, Vidéotron argues the court should partially reverse the decision, and Libéo should be held responsible as it played a role in retransmitting TVA and TVA Sports stations.

Vidéotron argues, in part, that Libéo provided the servers that retransmitted the channels, and the judge made errors in relying on exemptions Vidéotron says don’t apply.

A second phase of the February ruling will take place. It’s not clear how this appeal would impact that phase.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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Mobile Syrup

Google Pixel 6a now expected to launch in Canada

It looks like Google’s Pixel 6a is coming to Canada.

Canada’s Radio Equipment List approved the upcoming mid-range phone on April 11th, indicating that it’s likely set to release here.  The approved model has the hardware version identification number GX7AS.

MySmartPrice spotted a trio of listings via the U.S.’ Federal Trade Commission (FCC) earlier this morning. The FCC listing confirmed that the ‘GX7AS’ model supports 5G bands n38 and n41. This leak also indicates that Google is also working on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro and the Pixel 7a.

Last year’s Pixel 5a didn’t come to Canada, so it’s nice to see that Google is bringing its mid-range smartphone to the North this year.

The Pixel 6a is rumoured to feature with 128GB of storage and come in white, green and black colour variants. Additionally, leaks indicate the phone sports a 6.2-inch OLED display, centred hole-punch selfie camera, two 12-megapixel sensors, a Pixel 6-like visor and a 5,000mAh battery.

We’re likely to hear more about the Pixel 6a on May 11th during the Google I/O keynote presentation.

Source: Canada Radio Equipment List, MySmartPrice

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Mobile Syrup

Nintendo acquires new land and plans to break ground on an R&D office in Japan

Nintendo is aiming to break ground on a brand new R&D office in Kyoto, Japan. As a part of a new expansion initiative, the company has announced a $39.8 million USD (about $50 million CAD) land deal.

The prospects of Nintendo opening up a new office may sound like an exciting bid at a new studio. However, as revealed by the company, the office will serve as an R&D facility. The office will be located next to the current Nintendo office in Kyoto.

“Along with the R&D investments and capital investments, Nintendo believes acquiring and utilizing this land will carry an important role on reinforcing its R&D,” a Nintendo representative writes.

Nintendo hopes that the 107,946-square-foot facility with 12 floors will be completed by 2027. The site formerly belonged to a Foundation Support Factory and Disaster Prevention Center. Nintendo has eloquently dubbed the office “Corporate Headquarters Development Center, Building No. 2.”

The development and construction of the R&D office will take the same amount of time it’s been since the company first revealed Metroid Prime 4. Though, thankfully for Nintendo, players won’t have exceedingly high expectations for the facility.

While Microsoft and Sony have both been veering toward acquiring studios for software, Nintendo’s land deal suggests it’s prioritizing the development of hardware and gaming technology. An R&D department located next to its Kyoto headquarters and an existing R&D department strengthens the Nintendo campus. Don’t expect this facility to develop the next Switch; it’ll take a while for operations to begin. However, it can’t be understated how valuable having close proximity to R&D will be for Nintendo.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is looking at solidifying its $69 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. Regulators and shareholders must still sign off on the deal before Call of Duty, Diablo, and Overwatch are under the Xbox umbrella. Sony has also been acquiring studios such as Bungie and even Canadian studio Haven.

Image credit: Nintendo

Via: Kotaku

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Mobile Syrup

FIFA’s new free-to-use platform gives you access to every FIFA World Cup game ever recorded

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announced that it is launching a new digital platform that soccer fans can access around the globe for free.

The new platform, which aims to provide everything soccer, is being called FIFA+ and will give fans access to live games, soccer news, more than 2,000 hours of archival content including documentaries, docuseries and talk shows, and more as part of FIFA+ Originals.

“FIFA+ represents the next step in our vision to make football truly global and inclusive, and it underpins FIFA’s core mission of expanding and developing football globally,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino in a press statement. “This project represents a cultural shift in the way different types of football fans want to connect with and explore the global game and has been a fundamental part of my Vision 2020-2023. It will accelerate the democratisation of football and we are delighted to share it with fans.”

There also seems to be no subscription option for the platform, so users will likely have to put up with ads in exchange for a free-to-use digital platform.

According to the federation, by the end of 2022, the FIFA+ app will be the go-to hub to stream over 40,000 live games per year from over 100 member associations across all six confederations, including 11,000 women’s matches. As of launch, 1,400 matches will be live-streamed on FIFA+ monthly, with the number set to go up as time passes.

Additionally, the platform will also be host to every FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup game ever recorded, totalling over 2,000 hours of archival games, all available on one platform for free. “The FIFA+ Archive will launch with more than 2,500 videos dating back to the 1950s, with many more to come throughout the year,” reads FIFA’s news release about the platform.

A growing list of FIFA Originals will also continue to hit the platform over the year, with some documentaries and docuseries, including Ronaldinho: The Happiest Man in the World, Dani Crazy Dream, Icons and Golden Boot, already available to stream on the platform.

FIFA+ is available on the web, Android and iOS for free. Upon launch, the platform has soccer content available in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, with support for six additional languages coming in June.

Image credit: FIFA

Source: FIFA

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Mobile Syrup

Two new features make iMovie more attractive for video storytelling beginners

One of Apple’s Creativity and Productivity apps that is well developed and polished, and yet only finds itself being used by professionals is iMovie, which comes built-in with your iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Now, Apple is trying to make iMovie a tad bit simpler with the introduction of two new intuitive features that it first talked about during its March 8th ‘Peek Performance event’ ( 20:08 in the video below).

iMovie, which first came out in 1999 as a Mac OS 8 application is getting a significant new update on iPadOS and iOS with the introduction of Magic Movie and Storyboards. iMovie 3 is what Apple is calling the ‘most significant’ update to the app yet.

Magic Movie

Apple’s main aim with the update is to make iMovie less daunting for non-professional users, and to help aspiring video creators, students, and others experiment with video creation.

Out of the two new features, Magic Movie is easier for new users to use. It allows iPhone and iPad users who shoot a lot of photos and videos to get a polished end product without having to put in much of their own editing or creative expertise.

To use Magic Movie, users simply load up iMovie, and navigate to the new feature. You then select several photos or videos from your iPhone/iPad gallery and iMovie will analyze the clips and edit them into a video for you with fitting transitions and music.

You can then choose to customize the end product by rearranging, adding and removing clips, or by selecting a soundtrack that you think works better with the theme of your video.

 

Storyboards

The other feature landing on iMovie for iPadOS and iOS is Storyboards, which is one step more advanced than Magic Movie but is still targeted at those learning about or just starting out their video creation journey.

The feature is similar to DJI’s ShotGuides, and helps aspiring video creators learn how to frame shots, edit and improve their overall video storytelling skills.

To use Storyboards, head the iMovie app on iOS or iPadOS and navigate to the new feature. You then get to chose a storyboard template from 20 presets video types, including cooking tutorials, Q&As, product reviews, news reports, and more. Accordingly, the app will show you a recommended shot list along with tips on how to shoot that clip to make the overall video project more interesting.

Like Magic Movie, Storyboards also offer you full customization, wherein you can add, reordered, and deleted shots from a storyboard. The app will then automatically add a soundtrack that it thinks works with the video, which you can customize to fit the length of your project, with added tools to trim, split, adjust clip speed, and clip volume.

Both the new features are landing on iMovie today, April 12th for users running iPadOS 15.2 and above or iOS 15.2 and above. To access Storyboards and Magic Movie, make sure you update to the latest version of iMovie.

Image credit: Apple

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Mobile Syrup

Apple CEO Tim Cook reiterates why iOS app sideloading would be bad

During his keynote speech at the IAPP Global Privacy Summit in Washington D.C., Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized the tech giant’s focus on privacy and reiterated the company’s stance on the prospect of iOS app sideloading.

“We at Apple are proud to stand alongside all those who are working to advance privacy rights around the world. As a company, we are profoundly inspired by what technology can make possible, but we know too that technology is neither inherently good nor inherently bad. It is what we make of it. It is a mirror that reflects the ambitions of the people who use it, the people who build it, and the people who regulate it,” said Cook.

He also outlined more recent additions to iOS like App Tracking Transparency and emphasized that proposed regulations in certain regions could compromise the security of the iPhone.

“Here in Washington and elsewhere, policymakers are taking steps in the name of competition that would force Apple to let apps onto iPhone that circumvent the App Store through a process called sideloading,” said Cook.

Apple’s CEO said that sideloading would allow “data-hungry companies” to circumvent the tech giant’s privacy rules in order to track users. For example, in the U.S., the Open Markets Act could require Apple to allow sideloading on its iOS and iPadOS devices.

The act was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month and will enter debate in congress shortly. In the European Union, the Digital Marks Act could force Apple to allow sideloading, though the legislation has not been finalized.

While Cook’s speech is a move to protect Apple’s financial interests in the App Store, there’s a lot of truth to his Global Privacy Summit keynote talk.

Cook’s portion of the IAPP Summit 2022 keynote starts at 14:05 (seen above).

Apple’s dominance over the iPhone’s and iPad’s app ecosystem, thanks to its strict grip on the App Store isn’t always great for developers given the roughly 30 percent cut of revenue they’re forced to hand over.

That said, as far as the end-user is concerned, there’s a strong argument that this level of control offers a better user experience in some situations.

It ensures that, for the most part, all apps available to iPhone/iPad users are legitimate, meet a certain standard and mitigate the risk of hackers and scammers.