Author: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

Apple’s iPhone 14 rumoured to feature hole-punch camera and under display Face ID

Despite the fact that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro are several months away from release, we’re already starting to see viable rumours surrounding Apple’s next flagship smartphone.

Corroborating reports from other reliable leakers and analysts, leaker DylanDKT recently tweeted that Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro smartphones will feature a hole-punch front-facing camera and Face ID.

However, the Face ID sensor will be placed under the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max’s screen, with DylanDKT stating that the “functionality of these sensors have not been negatively affected by this change.”

Unlike the front-facing camera hole-punch featured in Samsung’s S series smartphones, the iPhone 14’s cutout will reportedly be “pill shaped” and not circular. Further, the standard iPhone 14 will still feature a notch. It remains unclear if Apple plans to still release a 5.1-inch mini version of the iPhone in 2022.

For the record, I’ve never reported on a DylanDKT leak before. However, 9to5Mac and several other notable Apple publications claim that they’re a reliable source of leaks. For example, 9to5Mac says that DylanDKT was a key source of 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro leaks prior to the laptop’s release.

Apple’s iPhone 14 series likely won’t be revealed until this coming September.

Source: DylanDKT Via: 9to5Mac

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Mobile Syrup

The Last of Us PlayStation 5 remake might drop later this year: report

The long-rumoured The Last of Us PlayStation 5 remake is reportedly near completion, and according to Twitter tipster Tom Henderson, we might get our hands on it as soon as the second half of 2022.

News of The Last of Us getting a current-gen remake first surfaced in April 2021 via a Bloomberg report, which stated that the remake would add The Last of Us Part II‘s updated gameplay mechanics to the original game on top of improved visuals.

According to Bloomberg, it all began when Michael Mumbauer took over the direction of Sony’s internal Visual Arts Service Group in 2007. He later formed a new development unit within Sony with the idea of expanding upon some of Sony’s best-selling franchises to gain more creative control. The team began working on a remake of The Last of Us but never got full acknowledgment or support from Sony.

Under Mumbauer’s leadership, the studio didn’t receive the funding it needed to succeed in today’s highly competitive video game industry; furthermore, it never even got its own name. Rather, Sony’s Naughty Dog studio was given ownership of the remake. To rub salt into the wound, Mumbauer’s group was demoted and asked to play second fiddle and help Naughty Dog complete The Last of Us Part II.

According to Henderson, Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II multiplayer suite and “Director’s Cut” are also almost ready, and could launch later this year.

This is shaping up to be a big year for The Last of Us franchise, with multiple reported title releases and the long-awaited big-budget television show based on the game, which commenced production in Calgary, Alberta last July.

Image credit: PlayStation

Source: @_Tom_Henderson_

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Mobile Syrup

GM’s recently revealed first-edition Chevrolet Silverado EV is already sold out

GM finally revealed its anticipated Chevrolet Silverado electric vehicle at CES 2022.

The vehicle already seems to be a hit given the 2024 Silverado EV RST (First Edition) is entirely sold out. The electric truck, which has an estimated price of $119,948, isn’t slated to hit the market until Fall 2023.

According to Engadget, U.S. GM CEO Mary Barra said all the vehicles were purchased within 12 minutes of the Silverado EV going on sale. It’s currently unclear how many RST models were available to pre-order, but clearly, the love for the Silverado EV is strong.

The Chevrolet Silverado EV RST is an electric vehicle that’s estimated to be capable of travelling 640km on a full charge. The truck also offers four-wheel steering and is capable of towing up to 10,000lbs.

The regular model won’t hit the market until spring 2024 and starts at $52,448. If you’re still interested and don’t mind waiting, you can join the waitlist for that vehicle.

You can check out more news from CES 2022 here.

Via: Engadget

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Mobile Syrup

You won’t be able to watch the 2022 Golden Globes in Canada (or elsewhere)

Every year, we do a “how to watch the Golden Globes” story.

While the majority of our regular smartphone-focused readers likely aren’t interested, a lot of general internet users absolutely are. However, we’re here now to say that the 2022 Golden Globes, set for Sunday, January 9th at 9pm ET, will not actually be aired publicly at all.

“This year’s event is going to be a private event and will not be livestreamed,” the show’s organizer, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), said in a statement on social media.

Instead, the group says it will provide “real-time updates on winners” from the 90-minute show on its website and social media channels, like Twitter and Facebook.

Historically, the event has aired on NBC in the U.S. and Bell’s CTV networks in Canada. That said, NBC confirmed last May that it would not broadcast the Globes due to ongoing issues surrounding the HFPA, which include accusations of corruption and a complete lack of Black members. Studios, actors and other representations jointly condemned the organization and called for reform. The HFPA, for its part, says it’s “committed” to change but that it needs time to enact it.

According to Deadline, these controversies are one reason for the switch to a private event, although an NBC source claimed the company wasn’t preventing the HFPA from doing its own livestream. As well, Deadline notes that this year’s event, in general, has been significantly pared down due to COVID. That means no red carpet, media or celebrities in attendance, so there won’t actually be any presenters or nominees. Given all of that, there wouldn’t have been much for people to watch even if there was a livestream.

As for the nominees, Kenneth Branagh’s Irish comedy-drama Belfast and Jane Campion’s Western drama The Power of the Dog lead the pack with five nods each. In particular, both are up for Best Picture Drama, alongside Sian Heder’s CODA, Quebec-born Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and Reinaldo Marcus Green’s King Richard.

The full list of nominees can be found here.

Image credit: Warner Bros.

Source: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association

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Mobile Syrup

E3 2022 physical event cancelled amid COVID concerns, but digital show unconfirmed

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has confirmed that it will not go forward with a physical Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) event this June.

In a press statement, the gaming industry lobbying group attributed the cancellation to “the ongoing health risks surrounding COVID-19 and its potential impact on the safety of exhibitors and attendees.”

However, as IGN reporter Rebekah Valentine notes, the organization wouldn’t actually commit to a digital alternative, which it did last year amid the pandemic. Instead, the ESA simply said it’s “excited about the future of E3 and look forward to announcing more details soon,” When pressed by IGN for clarification, the ESA said it could not confirm at this time whether a digital alternative will even be held this year.

Notably, Valentine says she’s heard from multiple sources that this year’s physical E3 was cancelled possibly as early as last fall. Given that June is still five months away, it appears that the ESA may now be using the ongoing Omicron variant as a public-facing reason for cancelling the show.

It’s important to note that E3 has been struggling for a few years now, even before COVID. In 2019 when the last Los Angeles-based physical E3 was held, there was debate over whether the show was relevant anymore.

Historically, E3 has been a trade show for media and industry to learn more about games and share news to consumers at home, but that isn’t as necessary in a massively digital age. Nowadays, though, companies can produce tightly edited, more cost-efficient presentations like Nintendo Directs which can be released at will — no glossy, June-specific press conferences are needed.

To that point, PlayStation bowed out of E3 in both 2019 and last year’s digital-only show. (No event was held in 2020.) The company has instead held its own Direct-like streams over the past couple of years. Canada’s own Geoff Keighley, the creator of The Game Awards, also stopped producing shows for the ESA in favour of his own Summer Game Fest event, which runs for weeks at a time before, during and after when E3 is normally held. Summer Game Fest is slated to happen sometime this year, with Keighley promising updates in the coming months.

And outside all of this alternative gaming programming, the ESA’s reputation took a big hit among the industry when it accidentally leaked the private info of 2,000 media. Last year’s all-digital event, which attempted to create a virtual show floor for fans to explore with a digital avatar, also drew significant criticism for feeling barebones and oddly structured.

All of that is to say that it remains to be seen whether E3 will be held this year at all and, beyond that, in the future.

Source: IGN

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung Display shows off Flex G and Flex S form factors at CES 2022

Berlin, Germany- September 6.,2017., Samsung exhibition pavilion

Samsung showed off a few pretty cool prototype foldable smartphones at CES 2022. Based on what we know so far, these prototypes sport the South Korean tech giant’s Flex S and Flex G panels and come in multiple forms.

According to SamMobile, the Flex S is a tri-folding phone that can fold in and out in the form of an S. This allows for the smartphone to fold into a large tablet. The Flex G, on the other hand, is more compact. It’s also tri-folding and folds inwards so that no part of the display is visible when fully folded.

While I love using the Z Fold 3, I’m sometimes worried about the outer display since it’s always exposed. This G-shaped form factor keeps the device’s display protected when you’re not using it.

It’s important to point out that these are prototype devices, so it’s possible that this display technology may never be actually featured in a commercial Samsung smartphone. That said, the inwards tri-folding design could be pretty cool.

You can check out more news from CES 2022 here.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: SamMobile, Abhijeet Mishra (YouTube)

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Mobile Syrup

Here are Nvidia’s GeForce Now additions for January

Nvidia has just announced the eight games it will be adding to its GeForce Now cloud streaming service over the course of January.

Check out games releasing this week below and scroll further to check titles releasing later in January:

Releasing this week

Releasing later in January

  • The Anacrusis (New release on Steam, Jan. 13)
  • Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction (New release on Ubisoft Connect, Jan. 20)
  • Mortal Online 2 (Early access on Steam)
  • Ready or Not (Early access on Steam)
  • Fly Corp (Steam)
  • Garfield Kart – Furious Racing (Steam)

Find titles added to GeForce Now in December here.

Additionally, a bunch of other titles that weren’t mentioned in previous lists by Nvidia made their way to the cloud streaming platform in December. Check them out below:

Nvidia’s cloud gaming service offers two membership options. The first is the free route that will give you standard access to the platform with a one-hour gaming limit per session. Once the hour passes, you can queue again to get another hour of free gaming in, although you may have to wait a while.

Nvidia also offers a paid membership option that gives you priority access to gaming servers without any session length limit. This subscription will cost you $12.99/month or $129.99/year.Nvidia’s free Crysis Remastered promotion is still active for new subscribers to Nvidia’s GeForce Now RTX 3080 tier or the six-month priority tier.

Learn more about Nvidia GeForce and its subscription options here.

Image credit: Origin

Source: Nvidia

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Mobile Syrup

We’ll finally see the electric VW Microbus in March

Volkswagen has been slowly but surely shifting its lineup to electric vehicles (EVs), and it appears that the next EV is an electric Microbus.

It was five years ago that VW showed off the ID buzz, a concept car based on the iconic VW Microbus. After a lot of positive feedback, Volkswagen decided to actually produce the car. Then in November 2021, the automaker revealed a heavily camo’d out version of the vehicle.

Once the vehicle is officially revealed on March 9th, we’ll likely get a view of the finalized design both inside and out, plus the automaker might drop information related to the van’s range and charging features.

Volkswagen’s other major electric vehicle, the ID.4, has been available for a year and is expected to receive a wider release in 2022. While the new van/bus will utilize the same MEB battery platform as the ID.4, given it’s larger, it might be able to store more batteries.

You can check out more news from CES 2022 here.

Image credit: Volkswagen

Source: Volkswagen

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft testing improved AirPod support in Windows 11 Insider build

Microsoft rolled out a new Windows 11 build to ‘Dev channel’ Insiders with a few minor new features. Most notable among them is an improvement for Apple’s AirPods earbuds and headphones.

Spotted by XDA Developers, Windows 11 Dev channel build 22526 brings added support for wideband speech across AirPods, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. That should mean users will enjoy improved audio quality for voice calls when using AirPods devices with Windows 11.

Of course, the change might be a ways out from hitting the stable Windows 11 channel. XDA notes that the changes in ‘build 22526’ are not tied to a specific Windows OS release, which means they could arrive in any future update (for example, the fall feature update).

Other small but notable changes include Microsoft experimenting with showing ‘Alt+Tab’ as windowed instead of fullscreen and an experiment to index more file locations to improve search in File Explorer.

Source: Microsoft Via: XDA Developers

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Mobile Syrup

Nintendo’s New Year 2022 sale offers Switch games for up to 80 percent off

Itfeels like the deals never end.

Nintendo’s New Year 2022 sale is offering a variety of Switch games for up to 80 percent off in the eShop. These deals are available until January 17th at 2:59am ET (January 16th at 11:59pm PT).

Below are some of the top offers:

Check out all of the deals here.

Image credit: Nintendo

Source: Nintendo