Author: Mobile Syrup

Apple pads out Fitness+ with new Time to Run classes

Post author By Mobile Syrup
Post date 7 January 2022

The war for the best at-home fitness program is still going strong, and in an effort to revamp its platform for 2022, Apple is launching a host of new features for runners.

This new workout program, ‘Time to Run,’ functions similarly to last year’s ‘Time to Walk.’ This means you need to have an Apple Watch, an Apple Fitness+ subscription and Bluetooth earbuds to take advantage of the functionality.

The fundamental difference between Time to Walk and Time to Run is that the new running classes are led by Apple Fitness+ trainers instead of notable people and celebrities telling stories. Time to Run also has a doubles-down on music to help keep the runner’s focus and intensity. Apple says that the musical themes are based on the city where your trainer is running in. For example, Apple’s press release mentions that the run taking place on Miami Beach uses Latin-inspired music.

Much like the Time to Walk episodes, the leaders of the Time to Run classes will also share photos of notable sites along their route. Apple says you can even save these photos to your camera roll if you want to go back and look at them later.

Time to Run is launching with three running classes, including Brooklyn, Miami, and London, with a new episode dropping every week. If you’re using a wheelchair, Time to Run also becomes Time to Push, which is a welcome accessibility move on Apple’s part.

Other Apple Fitness+ announcements

Alongside Time to Run, Apple is launching the third season of Time to Walk with key guests like comedian Hasan Minhaj, Law and Order superstar Chris Meloni and more.

Finally, in the Fitness section of the app, users will notice more workout classes based on music from popular artists like Ed Sheeran and more challenges like a new 30-day core workout challenge.

Tags apple, fitness, Time to Run, Time to Walk

Mobile Syrup

France fines Google, Facebook over confusing cookie accept/reject menus

Post author By Mobile Syrup
Post date 7 January 2022

If you spend much time online, there’s a good chance you’ve visited a website that presented you with a convoluted, confusing menu about cookies. These menus have largely replaced the old banners that appeared at the top of sites that let users know the site used cookies, with the only option being “I accept.”

Most of these confusing menus include an option to reject cookies, which is an improvement over the old banners. However, the new cookie menus also bury those options under a myriad of settings while prominently displaying the ‘Accept’ button. It’s an all-too-common practice meant to drive people to click accept rather than spending their valuable time trying to find an option to reject cookies.

Well, France has fined Google and Facebook for doing just that.

The country’s data protection watchdog CNIL fined Google €150 million (about $215.8 million CAD) and Facebook €60 million (about $86.3 million CAD). Yes, that’s not nearly enough considering the insane amount of money these companies make, but hey, it’s a start.

CNIL says both companies hid options to reject cookies

With Google, CNIL notes that the company’s websites (including YouTube) let users accept all cookies with a single click. However, to reject cookies, users must click through several different menu items. As such, CNIL felt that it discouraged users from refusing cookies since it was significantly easier to accept them.

Facebook, on the other hand, set up a menu that required users to click a button labelled ‘Accept cookies’ before they could refuse cookies. CNIL said that the label “necessarily generates confusion” and may cause users to think it’s not possible to reject cookies. Moreover, Facebook hid that button behind several clicks while the site prominently displays the ‘Accept cookies’ button.

As The Verge explains, EU law says that when citizens hand over data online, they must do so freely and with a full understanding of the choice they’re making. CNIL believes Google and Facebook are effectively tricking users with the confusing cookie menus, thus breaking the law.

Both companies have three months to fix the cookie menus — failure to do so will risk additional fines of €100,000 (about $143,862 CAD) per day.

Fines will hopefully lead to clear, concise cookie menus

Another interesting tidbit is that CNIL acted under the authority of the EU’s older ePrivacy Directive rather than the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). TechCrunch has a much more detailed explanation of why CNIL went this route. The short version is that GDPR enforcement is funnelled through the data watchdog in Ireland, which also happens to be where many U.S. tech firms locate their European headquarters. The Irish watchdog tends to be slow when it comes to dealing with issues like this (as The Verge points out, perhaps because of a friendly regulatory environment designed to attract U.S. tech firms in the first place). You can read more about that here.

Obviously, fines in France won’t do much to benefit other places — for example, Canada. Still, it’s important to pay attention to these events since they can influence regulatory moves in other places. The CNIL fines may lead to better cookie menus for people who live in France and could pave the way for regulatory agencies in other countries to take similar action.

Ultimately, making it easier for people to reject cookies on websites is not the be-all and end-all of data privacy regulation. There is a lot more that can (and should) be done, but I’ll take the little victories along the way.

On another note, I am well aware that MobileSyrup does not currently give visitors a choice when it comes to cookies.

Source: CNIL, (2), (3) Via: The Verge

Tags CNIL, cookies, Facebook, France, Google, menu, tracking cookies

Mobile Syrup

Apple CEO earned 1,447 times more than average Apple employees in 2021

Post author By Mobile Syrup
Post date 7 January 2022

Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc., speaks during the launch event for the iPad 6 at Lane Technical College Prep High School in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., March 27, 2018.

Apple CEO Tim Cook earned $98.7 million USD (roughly $125 million CAD) last year, according to a proxy statement filed by the company.

Cook’s salary stayed consistent at $3 million ($3.8 million CAD) but saw the addition of $82.3 million (roughly $104 million CAD) in stocks, and $13 million ($16.4 million CAD) in other compensation, including incentives. This is almost seven times his 2020 pay and eight-and-a-half times his 2019 pay.

MacRumors reports this number doesn’t include the $750 million in shares Cook took on as part of a ten-year package when he became CEO.

The increase in pay is reflective of Apple’s general success over the last year. When stock markets opened for the first time this year, Apple became the most valuable company in the world when it was (momentarily) valued at $3 trillion USD.

But this success wasn’t reflected throughout the company. As The Verge reports, Apple employees were vocal about a number of issues last year, including transparency on pay equity. Employees also launched a website to share statements on alleged mistreatment they faced at the company.

The statement further goes on to say the median compensation for employees in 2021 was $68,254 (roughly $86,000 CAD). This includes base salary, bonuses, and commissions. The compensation ratio between Cook and employees is 1,447 to 1.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Apple Via: MacRumors, The Verge

Tags apple, pay equity, Tim Cook

Mobile Syrup

Twitter testing video reaction feature with select iOS users

Post author By Mobile Syrup
Post date 7 January 2022

Twitter is testing a new way for users to share their thoughts on the app.

The social media company announced it’s testing a “quote tweet with reaction feature” with some iOS users.

This allows users to retweet with a video reaction rather than text. Users simply have to tap the retweet icon to reveal the new feature. A photo or video can be added and will appear behind the tweet when published.

The company is taking cues from TikTok and Instagram, as both apps have similar tools for recording reactions. This seems to be the new norm now, as TikTok also recently announced it was testing a new repost feature, which shares similarities to Twitter’s retweet feature.

it's wild how you're basically turning the ios app specifically into a completely separate thing

— eevee (@eevee) January 6, 2022

The announcement came through a series of tweets on the company’s support account, leading some to question why this was only available on iOS. One user felt the iOS app was being changed to “a completely separate thing.”

It’s not clear if testing will open to Android users.

Source: Twitter Via: iPhone in Canada

Tags ios, réaction, tiktok, Twitter

Mobile Syrup

Spotify is putting podcast ads in the app itself with new clickable cards

Post author By Mobile Syrup
Post date 7 January 2022

If you were hunting for another reason not to use Spotify for podcasts, the streaming platform may have just delivered one on a silver platter. The company is adding new ‘call-to-action’ cards that are effectively visual advertisements linked to the audio ads you’d typically hear while listening to a podcast.

Spotify announced the new cards on Thursday via a blog post and confirmed to Gizmodo that the cards would be available across the desktop, mobile and tablet apps. For now, the ads won’t appear in web browsers, and to start the cards will only show up on Spotify Original and Exclusive podcasts in the U.S.

As for how these ads work, well, it’s pretty straightforward. When an ad starts playing in a podcast on Spotify, a small card pops up in the app with the brand name, some information and a clickable button that takes users to the advertiser’s website. These ads will show up for both free and paid users.

Further, Spotify will resurface the call-to-action cards for users who listen to an ad with the app closed or their phone screen off. For example, if you listen to a podcast while doing the dishes, you might see the call-to-action card next time you open Spotify and look at that show’s page.

To be clear, I’m not against advertising. It pays the bills for a lot of content creators and podcasts have relied on ads for monetization for some time. But so far, most podcasts advertise by reading ad copy (or playing pre-recorded audio) to listeners. Ads are contained to the show and usually to a specific ad segment at the beginning, middle and/or end.

My concern with Spotify’s approach is that it pulls the ads out of the show, which could open the floodgates for some of the scummier advertising practices that have run rampant on the web — for example, tracking and ad targeting. Additionally, the call-to-action cards add extra clutter to Spotify’s already less-than-stellar podcast interface. Oh, and serving the ads to paid Spotify subscribers is also frustrating since people pay to not have ads.

That said, there are some benefits to Spotify’s approach to ads. As the company points out in its blog post, most podcasts rely on special URLs or promo codes for ads — Spotify’s call-to-action cards remove the need for listeners to remember these codes since they can just click the card instead. And for advertisers, Gizmodo notes that Spotify found when testing call-to-action cards that they doubled site visits compared to non-clickable podcast ads.

Images credit: Spotify

Source: Spotify Via: Gizmodo

Tags ad, call-to-action, card, podcast, Spotify

Mobile Syrup

Nike accuses Lululemon’s smart workout Mirror of patent infringement

Post author By Mobile Syrup
Post date 7 January 2022

Nike is taking Lululemon to court over the later company’s Mirror home workout platform.

Nike says that in 1983, it invented and filed a patent for a device capable of determining a runner’s speed, distance travelled, the time elapsed and calories lost. It’s using this particular patent and other patents, plus the company’s existing mobile apps, as grounds for infringement, according to CNBC.

Since the Lululemon Mirror is, well, a mirror, it doesn’t track running-related stats, which has been Nike’s niche in the fitness space for years. My guess is that perhaps the sports giant is considering getting into the ‘smart-mirror-home-workout-space,’ so it’s trying to stop Lululemon before it takes over the likely small market.

In the CNBC report, Lululemon said “The patents in question are overly broad and invalid. We are confident in our position and look forward to defending it in court.”

I’ve been hands-on with the Mirror (stay tuned for my impressions), and it feels more akin to replicating the home workout programs companies like Peleton and Echelon offer, but with a mirror instead of a stationary bike or a treadmill. Since Nike doesn’t really operate in this space, this lawsuit seems misplaced in a sense.

Lululemon also bought Mirror in 2020, so if Nike wanted to, it could have purchased the startup itself.

Source: CNBC

Tags fitness, lululemon, Nike

Mobile Syrup

BlackBerry and University of Waterloo launch research program addressing global water issues

Post author By Mobile Syrup
Post date 7 January 2022

The University of Waterloo’s Water Institute and BlackBerry have recently entered a partnership to address water-related challenges across the world.

The Water Institute is a program focusing on the economics of water, its research, and global challenges.

The partnership has led to the launch of the Water Innovation Challenge. The goal is for professors and students part of the program to propose projects outlining how BlackBerry’s existing technology can be advanced while tackling challenges related to water, such as the cybersecurity of water systems.

The challenge will specifically be referencing the sustainable development goals outlined by the United Nations. The goals include clean water and sanitation for all and the conservation of oceans.

“The Water Institute at the University of Waterloo is thrilled to be partnering with BlackBerry to catalyze technological innovation to advance progress against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” Roy Brouwer, the program’s executive director, said in a statement. “The Water Innovation Challenge will connect our researchers to BlackBerry technologies in new ways to address the most urgent global challenges of today.”

Applications can be submitted between January 10 and February 24. The program’s website provides additional resources, such as information sessions, for interested applicants.

Image credit: United Nations

Source: BlackBerry

Tags blackberry, united nations, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, water, Water Institute, Waterloo

Mobile Syrup

OnePlus shares specs for 2nd-gen Hasselblad camera system in OnePlus 10 Pro

Post author By Mobile Syrup
Post date 7 January 2022

With the Chinese launch date for the OnePlus 10 Pro fast approaching, the manufacturer has shared all of the camera specs for the upcoming flagship.

I’m most excited that all three of the new cameras on the phone’s back will support 10-bit colour. OnePlus also claims that the smartphone’s shooters display 25 percent more colour than the OnePlus 9 Pro.

On top of that, OnePlus says it’s building in a movie mode this year, giving mobile videographers control over ISO, shutter speed and other settings while filming. The company is also adding a LOG format to the camera to be slightly more easily colour matched to different cameras and more colour processing headroom when you’re editing.

As much as I praised the 14mm flatness of the OnePlus 9 Pro, as I predicted, the company is moving back to a more fisheye wide-angle lens this year. The ultra-wide-angle has a 150-degree field of view with a fisheye effect, but you can crop it into 110-degrees to get a flatter image that’s more like the OnePlus 9 Pro.

Unlike last year when OnePlus was hyping up all of its cameras by talking about their full-frame lens equivalents, that feature seems to have been ditched.

Much like Apple’s ProRaw file type, OnePlus will be using a new system called RAW+ that allows users to snap RAW images that still have computational photography advancements tucked within them. This is nice to have since computational photography is great for quickly snapping photos. If David Imel’s latest video is any indication, it’s the way to shoot on mobile phones until manufacturers start developing software for larger camera sensors.

OnePlus also says it can shoot 12-bit RAW images with this camera even though the sensors only support 10-bit. I’ve reached out to OnePlus for more information regarding how this will work.

I’ll also note that most of the demo images presented are in 4,080 x 3,060 pixels, making them much more square than the average smartphone photo. I don’t necessarily mind this since I’ll most likely crop most of my pictures in post anyway, but this makes me think that OnePlus might not be adding the XPan mode that I loved so much from the OnePlus 9 Pro.

OnePlus has been slowly revealing info about the OnePlus 10 Pro info leading up to the phone’s Chinese release on January 11th. If you want to learn more about the device’s specs, you can read that story here or look at more renders of the device here.

Image credit: OnePlus

Tags Android, OnePlus, OnePlus 10 Pro

Mobile Syrup

Changes coming to Google Nest Speaker Group controls, device set-up following Sonos ruling

Post author By Mobile Syrup
Post date 7 January 2022

Following the United States’ Internactional Trade Commission’s (ITC) ruling in favour of Sonos over Google, the Mountain View, California-based tech giant has detailed several changes to how its Nest/Home Speaker Groups and setup process.

Google says that “a small set of users” will need to use the “Device Utility app” to setup devices and install updates. Below is the full statement from the tech giant.

“A small set of users will need to use the ‘Device Utility app’ (DUA) to complete product installation and updates. You may receive a prompt to download and run DUA, and it will ensure that your device is connected to Wi-Fi and receives the most updated software version.”

Further, users will need to adjust the volume of each speaker individually instead of using a group volume controller. It’s also no longer possible to adjust the volume of a Speaker Group from your smartphones physical buttons. However, you can still do this with a single Google smart speaker.

When it comes to third-party Assistant-enabled speakers, Google says that functionality should remain identical other than the volume rocker being disabled.

Given this is a feature I use quite frequently with my Google Home smart speaker setup when listening to music throughout my entire house, this is definitely dissapointing from a user perspective. Devices effected by this change include Pixel smartphones, the Nest Hub, Nest Mini, older Google Home devices, the Chromecast and more.

Below is a full statement from Google regarding third-party devices:

“Most Speaker Groups should continue functioning as expected unless you have a speaker group containing other brands of Cast-based devices, like JBL or Lenovo, they need to be on 1.52.272222 or higher Cast firmware version. Check out this article on how to find your device’s firmware version or contact your device maker.”

In a statement sent to several publications, Google says that though it doesn’t agree with Google’s decision, it “appreciates that the International Trade Commission has approved our modified designs” and that the company doesn’t expect the ruling to impact its ability to import or sell its products.

With this in mind, it’s unlikely that the ruling will have a future affect on Google’s ability to continue to sell or import its devices around the world. The tech giant has 60 days to implement these changes according to the ITC.

You can find Google’s full blog post about the changes coming to its speakers, here.

Source: Google Via: The New York Times

Tags Google, Nest hub, Sonos

Mobile Syrup

December round-up: network expansions around Canada

Post author By Mobile Syrup
Post date 7 January 2022

5G cellular repeaters on the pole

Telecom providers make infrastructure announcements every month, promising to improve wireless and broadband services across the country.

To help you keep track of these announcements, and check for possible improvements in your community, here’s an outline of all infrastructure announcements made in December 2021.