Author: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

Here are the free games hitting Xbox Games with Gold in April 2022

Xbox has announced the four games that will be offered at no additional cost to Xbox Live Gold subscribers in April.

  • Another Sight (regularly $38.99 CAD) — Available April 1st to 30th (Xbox One)
  • Hue (regularly $14.99) — Available April 16th to May 15th (Xbox One)
  • Outpost Kaloki X (regularly $9.99) — Available April 1st to 15th (Xbox 360)
  • MX vs ATV Alive ($19.99) — Available April 16th to 30th (Xbox 360)

It’s important to note that Xbox 360 titles offered through Games with Gold can be played on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The Series X/S can also play all of the Xbox One and Xbox 360 games that are made available through the program.

In Canada, an Xbox Live Gold subscription costs $11.99 for one month or $29.99/three months.

Additionally, Xbox Live Gold is included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is priced at $16.99/month and also offers Game Pass and PC Game Pass, Cloud Gaming (mobile streaming) and EA Play.

Source: Xbox

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Mobile Syrup

Latest Google Nest Hub update brings quick settings, app drawer, and bootloop

Google is rolling out an update to the Nest Hub with a new user interface, but it looks like it also includes a nasty surprise for some: a bootloop.

As spotted by 9to5Google, several users woke up to their Nest Hubs showing a white loading screen with four spinning dots in Google colours. The devices continue showing this screen and don’t boot up as normal.

Thankfully, the solution seems fair straightforward — some users said the device booted fine after unplugging it and plugging it back in.

Those who received the update sans bootloop (and those who fixed the bootloop by unplugging their device) will be greeted with a new, more Pixel-like interface on the Nest Hub.

Nest Hub quick settings panel | Image credit: u/nitroburr

First, the update adjusts the swipe-down gesture — it now opens a quick settings panel instead of the ‘Home control’ panel. The quick settings panel shows the day and date as well as status icons and controls for brightness, volume, toggling sleep sensing, do not disturb, setting an alarm, and a settings button. The panel also shows control tiles for nearby smart devices and a ‘View rooms’ button.

Nest Hub app drawer | Image credit: u/nitroburr

Next, users can swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open an “app drawer.” The drawer replaces the old app row that appeared on swiping up, which has a “see all” button to view all apps.

Overall, it looks like a nice little update, but I’m interested to see how it works in practice. I don’t see the changes yet on my Nest Hub Max, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for it.

Source: Reddit, (2) Via: 9to5Google

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Mobile Syrup

Nintendo delays The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 to 2023

Confirming what many have assumed for months, the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been delayed.

Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma says the still-untitled Breath of the Wild sequel won’t release until spring 2023. The game was previously scheduled to release in 2022, but wasn’t given a specific date.

Nintendo first announced Breath of the Wild 2 in June 2019 with a brief trailer. The Japanese gaming giant also released a new trailer for the title at E3 2021, but beyond that, has been relatively quiet about the next entry in the Zelda series.

“For those of you who have been looking forward to a release this year, we apologize,” said Aonuma. “As previously announced, the adventure in this sequel will take place not just on the ground as in the previous game, but also in the skies above. However, the expanded world goes beyond that, and there will be an even wider variety of features you can enjoy, including new encounters and gameplay elements. In order to make this game’s experience something special, the entire development team is continuing to work diligently on this game, so please wait a while longer.”

Alongside the delay announcement, a brief new clip of the anticipated game was also shown, revealing Link unsheathing a very different-looking Master Sword.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild released back in 2017 for the Switch and the Wii U. Though the game didn’t necessarily reinvent the open-world genre, it marked a significant change in direction for the typically streamlined Zelda series and remains one of my favourite games ever.

Image credit: Nintendo 

Source: Nintendo (YouTube)

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Mobile Syrup

The OnePlus 10 Pro supports 80W charging globally, but not in North America

The OnePlus 10 Pro — which is currently only available in China — will soon release in Canada. The device was released in China earlier in January and is finally dropping globally on March 31st.

The OnePlus 10 Pro is detailed in a OnePlus community post that outlines its several top-of-the-line features. One discrepancy, however, between the device’s global vs. North American release, is that the OnePlus 10 Pro doesn’t support 80W SuperVOOC charging.

The community post explains that North Americans will only be able to get their hands on a version of the OnePlus 10 Pro that supports 65W SuperVOOC charging. In contrast, Europe and India will get an 80W model, allowing the device to charge the OnePlus 10 Pro from 1 percent to 100 percent in about 32 minutes.

According to the company, “80W SUPERVOOC does not currently support 110 or 120-volt AC power,” the typical standard for power outlets in Canada and the United States. However, this small change shouldn’t make much of a difference. OnePlus says 65W “remains the fastest standard for charging in North America” and can juice up the OnePlus 10 Pro from 1 percent to a hundred percent in 34 minutes, so it should hardly make a difference. 34 minutes is still less than what many other flagship smartphones take to charge.

Other than that fact, we already know nearly everything about the OnePus 10 Pro. Other features include Hasselblad cameras along with a large 6.7-inch adaptive 120Hz display and an improved cooling system.

Learn more about the device at OnePlus’ community post.

The OnePlus 10 Pro releases in Canada on Thursday, March 31st. We aren’t sure how much the device will cost yet, though considering its release pricing in Canada, we can expect it to fall somewhere between the $930 to $1,500 price range.

For reference, last year’s OnePlus 9 lineup started at $999 for the OnePlus 9 8GB + 128GB and went all the way up to $1,499 for the OnePlus 9 Pro 12GB RAM + 256GB storage model.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: OnePlus

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Mobile Syrup

YouTube says Bill C-11 could impact the earnings of Canadian creators

YouTube says Bill C-11 could cause Canadian creators to lose foreign revenue if the government forces the promotion of Canadian content.

The Canadian Press reports a briefing from the company that says the legislation, also known as the Online Streaming Act, will downgrade the popularity of Canadian content around the world, cutting into the earnings of creators.

The Online Streaming Act will also subject streaming platforms to the same rules as Canadian broadcasters under the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said the bill would not cover all videos posted on streaming platforms. The focus is on commercial social media content.

“If you and I decide to sing a song together and to post it well, even if it’s beautiful, it’s not going to be regulated,” Rodriguez said at the Canadian Media Producers Association’s Prime Time conference last month.

The Canadian Press reports YouTube is still concerned the CRTC will have the authority to regulate user-generated content.

“Clearer definitions and more precise language are needed to ensure the bill doesn’t unintentionally scope in digital creators and negatively impact the thousands of Canadian creators on YouTube and the millions of Canadians who use YouTube every day,” Jeanette Patell, head of government affairs and public policy at YouTube Canada, told the publication.

Bill C-11 is in its second reading.

Source: The Canadian Press 

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Mobile Syrup

Bell expands fibre internet to Pickering, Ontario

Bell has expanded its pure fibre internet to the City of Pickering, Ontario.

The expansion will bring high-speed internet services to 21,000 homes and businesses in urban and rural parts of the city.

It will provide 100 percent fibre connections with download speeds up to 1.5Gbps. Bell will complete the expansion by 2025.

“At a time when fast and reliable internet connections are more important than ever, we’re proud to bring our pure fibre connections and world-leading internet and TV services to more households and businesses in Pickering as part of our long-standing objective to connect Canadians in communities throughout Ontario and across our footprint,” Bruce Furlong, senior vice president of network at Bell, said.

Bell made similar announcements for network expansions in Georgina, Ontario and the communities of Memramcook and St. Martins in New Brunswick.

Source: Bell

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Mobile Syrup

Sony unveils new PlayStation Plus subscription coming in June

Following rumours that Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) would roll out a new PlayStation game subscription, the company has done just that.

Announced via a tweet and blog post on March 29th, the new subscription will be a combination of Sony’s existing PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now services. It will still be called PlayStation Plus, but will have three price tiers with different benefits.

The new PlayStation Plus subscription will launch in Asia in June, followed by North America, Europe, and the rest of the world. The company plans to have most PlayStation Network regions live with the new Plus subscription by the end of the first half of 2022. Moreover, SIE will no longer offer PlayStation Now as a standalone service after the launch.

PlayStation Plus Essential

The first tier of the new subscription, ‘PlayStation Plus Essential,’ is effectively the same as the current PlayStation Plus subscription. That means it includes online multiplayer access, two monthly downloadable games, discounts, and cloud storage for saved games.

The pricing for Plus Essential will be the same as the current PlayStation Plus plan, at $9.99 USD monthly / $24.99 USD quarterly / $59.99 USD yearly.

Sony only shared pricing for U.S., Europe, U.K., and Japan in its blog post, but the current PlayStation Plus costs $11.99 monthly / $29.99 quarterly / $69.99 yearly in Canada. Plus Essential should cost the same.

MobileSyrup has reached out to Sony about Canadian pricing and will update this story accordingly.

PlayStation Plus Extra

The next tier is ‘PlayStation Plus Extra.’ It provides the same benefits of Plus Essential along with a catalogue of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games that PlayStation owners can download and play. Sony says the 400 titles include “blockbuster hits” from the PlayStation Studios catalogue and from third-party partners. However, it’s not clear if subscribers will get day-one access to new titles from Sony.

U.S pricing for Plus Extra is $14.99 monthly / $39.99 quarterly / $99.99 yearly.

PlayStation Plus Premium

The third and final tier is ‘PlayStation Plus Premium.’ It includes everything in the previous two tiers along with up to 340 more games with PS3 titles available via cloud streaming and a catalogue of “beloved classic games” from the original PlayStation, PS2, and PSP available both through streaming and download options.

Plus Premium will also offer cloud streaming access for original PlayStation, PS2, PSP, and PS4 titles offered in the Extra and Premium tiers where PlayStation Now is currently available. Customers can stream games using either PS4 or PS5 consoles or on PC. For markets that don’t have cloud streaming, Sony will instead offer PlayStation Plus Deluxe at a lower price with similar features, but no cloud streaming.

Finally, Plus Premium will include time-limited game trials so customers can try select games before buying them.

U.S. pricing for Plus Premium is $17.99 monthly / $49.99 quarterly / $119.99 yearly.

Other details

Sony said that there are “more details to come” about specific titles available on the new Plus service. Moreover, the company mentioned in a blog post that it plans to include titles like Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man and Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal at launch.

When the new Plus launches, Sony will automatically transition PlayStation Now subscribers to the new Plus Premium tier with no increase to their current subscription fees at launch.

You can learn more about the new PlayStation Plus here.

Source: Sony

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Mobile Syrup

Ontario government launches high-speed internet pilot project in Municipality of Brighton

The Government of Ontario has partnered with Hydro One to launch a pilot program to expand high-speed internet in Brighton.

Hydro One will use its existing infrastructure to fast-track high-speed internet developments in the municipality, saving money and time. Once completed, it will connect 1,450 homes and businesses.

If the project is successful, it could lead to similar initiatives in other rural communities.

“By leveraging existing infrastructure and removing barriers to high-speed internet expansion, more Ontarians will be able to access better and faster internet services sooner,” Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure, said in a statement.

The project is part of the government’s plan to reach 100 percent access to connectivity by 2025.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Government of Ontario

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Mobile Syrup

Here’s what’s new on BritBox this April 2022

BBC Studios and ITV have revealed what content is coming to BritBox, their British programming-focused streaming service, in April.

BritBox, which costs $8.99/month (or $89.99 per year), offers access to series like Doctor Who, Emmerdale and Five by Five. In April, the service will add content like Macbeth (2018), Easter from Kings (2022) and BBC Presents: Stand Up for Live Comedy.

Check out everything coming to the streaming platform next month below:

April 1st

  • BBC Presents: Stand Up for Live Comedy
  • Live at the Apollo: Seasons 13-15
  • Live from the BBC: Seasons 1-3
  • The Stand Up Sketch Show: Seasons 1-3
  • Craig Ferguson: I’m Here to Help
  • Eddie Izzard: Definite Article
  • Eddie Izzard: Glorious
  • Gina Yashere: Skinny B*tch
  • John Bishop: Live: Supersonic – At the Royal Albert Hall
  • Russell Brand: Messiah Complex
  • Steve Coogan’s Stand Up Down Under (2013)

April 8th

  • Macbeth (2018)

April 12

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?

April 16th

  • Easter from Kings 2022

April 22nd

Antiques Roadshow: Season 41

April 26th

  • Doctor Foster
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Mobile Syrup

B.C government announces funding to improve cellular service along Highway 3

Rogers is serving as the provider on a project that will improve cellular coverage along Highway 3 in B.C.

The project will add 11 cell towers to expand coverage by 92 kilometres between Hope and Keremeos. The B.C. government says the project will improve traveller safety as they continue to strengthen highway infrastructure following recent flooding.

Cellular coverage on the highway is “intermittent,” with gaps between Hope and Manning Park and Princeton and Keremeos being the most challenging.

“Cellular coverage along key transport routes like Highway 3 is important for both commercial and recreational travellers, as it will enable people to stay connected and to access road safety updates and important emergency services while on the road,” Lisa Beare, Minister of Citizens’ Services, said.

The project comes with a $9.7 million price tag. The Government of B.C. is investing up to $3.1 million, and Rogers will fund the remaining balance.

Rogers will complete the project in the fall of 2024.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Government of B.C.