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Happy holidays. If you’re looking for a phone deal a user on RedFlagDeals says that Rogers sent them an email with a promo code for a $50 plan that includes 20GB of data.
The code is ‘ELRZZL70‘ and the form post says it expires on January 3rd. It also says that this is for new customers to Rogers only. There also doesn’t appear to be any way to redeem this online. So you’ll have to call the Rogers number at 1-844-882-0593.
Source: RedFlagDeals
CES 2022 is due to be held between January 5th through to January 8th and the show’s biggest partners continue to drop out. As COVID-19 Omicron variant numbers continue to rise, Microsoft is the latest to withdraw itself from having a presence on the show floor.
In a statement the company shared with The Verge, Microsoft will no longer be attending the upcoming event in person. “After reviewing the latest data on the rapidly evolving COVID environment, Microsoft has decided not to participate in-person at CES 2022,” a company spokesperson said.
Rather than have a presence on the CES 2022 show floor, Microsoft will be migrating its efforts to hosting itself digitally for the Microsoft Partner Innovation Experience and the Automotive Press Kit.
Microsoft is the latest exhibitor to drop out as the landscape of an in-person show continues to become worrisome. Large companies such as Google, Amazon, Twitter, and Meta have all withdrawn their presence. Each of them has taken notice of the rise in Omicron cases and decided against sending staff members to the show.
Other companies that have chosen to withdraw include Intel, Lenovo, Hisense,
Over 2200 companies are confirmed to participate in person at CES 2022 in Las Vegas. Our focus remains on convening the tech industry and giving those who cannot attend in person the ability to experience the magic of CES digitally.
— CES (@CES) December 24, 2021
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Earlier this week, CES organizers confirmed that the Las Vegas, Nevada show will indeed be held early on in the new year. In a statement posted on Twitter, the organizers stated that “focus remains on convening the tech industry and giving those who cannot attend in person the ability to experience the magic of CES digitally.”
CES 2022 will see many COVID-19 health measures in place. All attendees will be required to show proof of full vaccination. Additionally, masks are to be worn while inside the event space. Rapid tests will also be provided to attendees.
Source: The Verge
For today only, Remedy Entertainment’s Control is free on the Epic Game Store as a part of an ongoing holiday promotion.
Control, which was first released in 2019 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One was met with a positive reception from critics and players alike. Remedy went on to support the game by releasing it on Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia, and next-gen consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Additionally, Control was also brought to the Epic Game Store.
Epic Games has been holding an ongoing promotion over the past 10 days. Each day, players can log into their Epic Game Store account and redeem the free game of the day. Control follows Arkane Studios’ Prey (2017), which was available on Christmas Day. The other games that have been available as a part of this promotion include Vampyr, Second Extinction, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and Shenmue 3.
As with Prey (2017) and the others, players will only have 24 hours to redeem Control before it is unavailable. The game will then be accessible in perpetuity as long as the Epic Games account remains active.
On Twitter, Nibel pointed out that the Epic Game Store promotion will indeed continue past Boxing Day. A ‘Mystery Game’ is listed as being available tomorrow. However, it remains unknown what the game will be.
Control is available (again) for free on the EGShttps://t.co/fzfQY2Nnw7 pic.twitter.com/oWiXnyGosa
— Nibel (@Nibellion) December 26, 2021
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If you have an active Epic Games account, it’s always worth redeeming any free game offered. Even if you don’t intend on playing it right away. Control offers a unique world to explore and some incredibly enticing pieces of DLC.
Fans of Remedy’s iconic Alan Wake would be wise to try Control’s AWE expansion, which offers crossover content with the titular character. Especially after Remedy announced the development of Alan Wake 2, there’s no better time to get reacquainted with the character.
The online tech and PC gear retailer Newegg would never miss a moment to present shoppers with deals so here are some of the deals we think are worthwhile this boxing day.
Source: Newegg
TikTok has become a titan within social and viral content in 2021. So much so that the ByteDance-owned platform has overtaken Google as the most visited website of 2021.
CloudFlare, a security company, released this year’s annual rankings. It was discovered that Google has finally been usurped as the number one most visited website by users around the world. Google now sits as number two, opening up the top spot for TikTok.
The top 10 most popular domains of 2021 are as followed:
In comparison, TikTok ranked number seven in 2020’s rankings. While still largely popular, TikTok sat behind websites such as Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, and Amazon in the seventh spot. However, over a mere 12 months, the popularity of TikTok escalated to the point where it was able to overtake each aforementioned website.
CloudFlare’s data does not specify if it includes traffic from Douyin, TikTok’s sister app, available in China. Additionally, the use of TikTok has been banned in India, which was once the app’s top global market.
According to the data, the first day TikTok held the number one spot was February 17th, 2021. It then fluctuated between March and May gaining that spot once more a few days during that period. However, come August 10th, 2021, TikTok managed to hold that spot for the majority of the year, including Thanksgiving in the US and Black Friday.
It’s an impressive feat by TikTok in 2021. Though, it is slightly scary considering how popular and accessible Google is as a website. Google is a ubiquitous website that for all intents and purposes is the internet to many. Though, I suppose that can not compete with TikTok’s apparent 1 billion monthly active users.
Source: Cloudflare
If you’re looking for a PlayStation 5 console with a disc drive, multiple accessories including a headset and a spare controller and Spider-Man Miles Morales there are a few in stock at Newegg in Canada.
The listing is here and they cost $999.
Source: Newegg
Although unconfirmed by Apple, the existence of an AR headset device developed by the iPhone maker continues to stack. Apple has reportedly hired Meta’s former AR communications and public relations lead, Andrea Schubert.
News of Schubert’s new role was first reported on by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in the latest Power On newsletter (seen by 9to5Mac). Gurman states that Schubert’s hire is the latest move by Apple as it prepares itself to launch its first AR headset sometime in 2022.
Schubert has worked at Meta since 2016. Her role largely revolved around leading the AR, XR, Portal and Research comms teams at Reality Labs, Meta’s consumer hardware division. She was largely involved in the launch of Oculus Rift & Rift S, Oculus Go, Oculus Quest & Quest 2.
Previous reports have said that Apple’s AR headset will be a more premium device in the company’s catalogue. It’s said to feature two 8K high-resolution displays. Advanced eye tracking is also said to be another core feature of the headset. As far as processing power, Apple’s AR headset is believed to use an M1-based chipset. Apple’s headset may also need to be tethered to an iPhone, Mac, or iPad, similarly to early versions of the Apple Watch, in order to function. The price for the headset is rumoured to be around the $3,800 CAD price point.
With Apple entering a brand new segment of technology, it’ll be important to nail the messaging behind the headset. Schubert has a proven history in launching AR/VR devices so her expertise could be invaluable to Apple in the new year and beyond. The hype over AR and VR has dwindled down a bit compared to previous years. However, with interesting software to go along with it, Apple may be able to offer a tantalizing new device.
Source: 9to5Mac
If you got a new phone over the holidays and you’re looking for a new plan to complement it, look no further than one of the big three flanker brands. Fido, Virgin Plus, and Koodo offer identical online plans that include 17GB of data for $55 per month.
This is a huge discount, and if you can snag it, an actual fair valuation for price per data in Canada. I can say it’s tempting me back away from Telus.
These new plans only seem to apply to new activations, so I’d aim for Virgin or Koodo first, but if you’re already with them or live in an area that has better Rogers coverage, its flanker brand, Fido is really a fine alternative.
Both the Rogers’ owned carrier and Koodo even offered me a $50 bill credit when I went through the motions of signing up when writing this deal.
The carriers are also offering 12GB for $50 if you don’t need as much data and want to save a bit of cash throughout the year.
You can find the deals below:
2021 has been one of the least interesting years for smartphones in Canada in recent memory.
Relatively well-known manufacturers like Asus pretty much bowed out of the Great White North entirely, LG gave up on smartphones altogether, and Motorola just didn’t make a splash. In short, the Canadian smartphone market has become pretty stagnant.
Like last year, a variety of high-quality Samsung smartphones, four new iPhones, two Google Pixels, a couple of OnePlus handsets and even Microsoft’s new Surface Duo 2 came to Canada. However, I decided not to include either the OnePlus or Duo devices in this list after speaking to Brad Bennett and Jon Lamont, who wrote our MobileSyrup reviews of the OnePlus 9 Pro and Surface Duo 2, respectively.
With this in mind, unlike in years past, this list won’t be that long, as it only includes devices from the three prominent companies that sell their smartphones in Canada: Samsung, Apple and Google. While there are other devices you can purchase through Amazon from manufacturers like Vivo, Oppo and Asus, these smartphones are sold by third-party sellers and can’t be bought from their manufacturer or a Canadian carrier, significantly limiting their availability.
Samsung, just like last year, has three phones on the list, but this year, two of them are foldable.
While Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 is one of the best smartphones available in Canada, it’s unfortunately very expensive. That said, with two displays, high-level specs and an optimized user interface, it’s a formidable smartphone. The handset offers a 7.6-inch foldable screen with a 120Hz variable refresh rate. Additionally, this display features an under-display camera that’s hidden by pixels. While this effect doesn’t always work well, it’s cool to see Samsung experimenting with new technology.
The 6.7-inch Cover Display, on the other hand, features a normal Infinity-O, and unlike last year, offers a 120Hz refresh rate.
The foldable also features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB of RAM, and a trio of great 12-megapixel rear shooters. And while a new Note smartphone didn’t release this year, the Z Fold 3 works with Samsung’s S-Pen stylus, though you need to purchase it separately.
Unlike the Z Fold and the Z Fold 2, the Z Fold 3 doesn’t feature any significant compromises. It may be foldable, but it’s also an all-around great smartphone at the same time.
In my review, I said, “The Z Fold 3 is water-resistant, more durable, $500 more affordable than its predecessor, has two good 120Hz refresh rate displays, a top-of-the-line processor, 12GB of RAM, and a user interface that is near perfect.”
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 costs $1,999.99 in Canada.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 doesn’t offer the same specs as the Z Fold 3 or even usability, but it’s still a really good device. On the inside, the Z Flip 3 features a 6.7-inch 1080 x 2640-pixel resolution display with a 120Hz refresh rate and an Infinity-O hole-punch camera.
This handset only features up to 8GB of RAM and only offers two 12-megapixel shooters. The Cover display is larger this time with a 1.9-inch panel, making it far easier to use than the tiny screen included in its predecessor. There’s also a side-facing fingerprint scanner and a relatively small 3,300mAh battery.
The flagship doesn’t feature a telephoto lens or long battery life, but is relatively cheap, especially when compared to other high-end smartphones.
In my review, I said “Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a flagship smartphone, and while it’s not the most affordable phone on the market, its price tag is comparable to other high-end devices out there.”
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3 costs $999.99 in Canada.
While the S21 Ultra isn’t a flashy foldable, it still offers top-of-line specs and the best cameras out of all Samsung phones this year.
This top-tier flagship features a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and Gorilla Glass Victus. The device also sports Qualcomm’s high-level Snapdragon 888 chipset, and up to 16GB of RAM.
There are also four cameras in the S21 Ultra, including a 108-megapixel primary shooter with an f/1.8 aperture, a 10-megapixel periscope camera with 10x optical zoom, another 10-megapixel telephoto shooter with 3x zoom, and a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide shooter.
Out of this whole list, the S21 Ultra features the best telephoto camera and the highest resolution in its selfie shooter at 40-megapixels.
According to MobileSyrup‘s Patrick O’Rourke, “the S21 Ultra takes the Note 20 Ultra’s best features and builds on them in meaningful ways.”
Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra costs $1,129 in Canada.
Though the iPhone 13 Pro and Max are nearly identical, the Max variant features a larger display and a bigger battery.
The iPhone 13 Pro Max offers a 6.7-inch display with a 1284 x 2778 pixel resolution and, for the first time in an iPhone, a 120Hz refresh rate. The device also sports HDR10 and Dolby Vision, making it great for watching content.
Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro devices also have three 12-megapixel shooters and a LiDAR scanner for depth. A stand-out feature for the iPhone 13 Pro (at least for me) is the ‘Cinematic Video’ mode that adds an exaggerated but still very cool depth-of-field effect to video.
Additionally, thanks to Apple’s powerful A15 Bionic chipset, the smartphones boast the highest benchmarks of any device listed in this story.
And while the iPhone 13 Pro series doesn’t feature the biggest battery, it can outlast nearly any smartphone available in Canada, with the handset typically making it to a day and a half depending on usage:
According to MobileSyrup‘s Patrick O’Rourke, “The devices look nearly identical to last year’s iPhones, and it’s really only under the hood where anything has changed.”
Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro costs $1,399 and the iPhone 13 Pro Max costs $1,549.
Google’s Pixel 6 Pro, the company’s flagship smartphone, offers top-of-the-line specs, including a 5,000mAh battery, its proprietary Tensor processor, 12GB of RAM, and a 120Hz refresh rate screen. The sleek-looking smartphone is my favourite device that launched this year because it has impressive cameras that offer ‘Real Tone,’ a feature that accurately captures my skin tone. Features like ‘Long Exposure,’ ‘Action Pan,’ ‘Face Unblur,’ and ‘Magic Eraser’ are also great.
Finally, Google’s excellent ‘Material You’ and Android 12 combine to offer one of the most solid Android smartphones out there.
In my review, I said, “If you’re after a pure Android experience paired with solid hardware, look no further than the Pixel 6 Pro.”
Google’s Pixel 6 Pro costs $1,179 in Canada.
MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links that helps fund the journalism provided free on our website.
Best Buy’s official Boxing Day sale is now live, and we’ve compiled the best home-theatre deals from the massive site-wide event to help you get the jump on the best discounts.
Check out all of the deals below, or view the full Boxing Day sale on Best Buy’s site.
JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam 250-Watt 5.0 Channel Dolby Atmos Sound Bar for $399.99 (save $50)
Onkyo TX-RZ840 9.2 Channel 4K Ultra HD Network AV Receiver for $1,299.99 (save $600)
Onkyo TX-NR696 7.2 Channel 4K Ultra HD Network AV Receiver for $799.99 (save $300)
Polk Audio True Surround III 5.1 Channel Home Theatre System for $649.99 (save $50)
Samsung HW-A650 430-Watt 3.1 Channel Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer for $349.99 (save $150)
Samsung HW-Q900A 406-Watt 7.1.2 Channel Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer for $999.99 (save $700)
Sony 4K UHD Blu-ray Player for $199.99 (save $100)
LG SN4 300-Watt 2.1 Channel Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer for $199.99 (save $100)
Sony HT-G700 400-Watt 3.1 Channel Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer for $599.99 (save $100)
LG SP8YA 440-Watt 3.1.2 Channel Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer for $799.99 (save $200)
JBL Bar Deep Bass 300-Watt 2.1 Channel Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer for $299.99 (save $150)
Elgato Stream Deck MK2 for $179.99 (save $20)
Sony 3D 4K UHD Wi-Fi Blu-ray Player for $249.99 (save $150)
Good luck with your Boxing Day shopping!
Photo source: Best Buy
MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links that help fund the journalism provided free on our website.