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Google pushes out first Feature Drop of 2023

Google has released its first Pixel Feature Drop of 2023 rolling out to devices now and over the next few weeks.

Faster ‘Night Sight,’ a previously Pixel 7 and 7 Pro exclusive feature, is making its way to the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Google says it can do this thanks to the power of its Tensor chip.

Magic Eraser is coming to more Pixel phones as well. The feature allows users to remove distractions like photo bombers, and lets you change the colour of an object to make it blend in with the image better. Oddly, Google doesn’t state what Pixel devices are getting the feature.

The Pixel now has Health Connect built-in, which allows users to store, connect and share data from compatible health and fitness apps. Health Connect lets users store data on-device and provides a central set of controls to manage health and fitness data.

Further, users can see timers across all their Pixel devices without unlocking the handset. This means if you set a timer on your Nest Hub, ‘At a Glance’ will also show the countdown on your Pixel device.

The Pixel Watch now has fall detection, which can detect if you’ve taken a hard fall and then connect users to emergency services. Once connected to emergency services, the watch will play an automated message to request help wherever you are. It’s worth noting that the Apple Watch also offers similar features.

In the coming weeks, the Pixel Watch will offer new sound and display settings on Wear OS 3+, making it easier to customize audio and visual experiences on the Pixel Watch.

Google is also bringing existing features to more regions, languages and devices.

For instance, Fast Pair is now available on select Chromebooks, Hold for Me is now available in Japan, you can now use two eSIMs on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro.

Source: Google Blog 

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Starlink to begin testing satellite-to-cellular service ‘this year’

Elon Musk’s Starlink has been working on its satellite-to-cellular offering, and the company is now reportedly ready to test the service.

Last summer, Musk and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert had announced “Coverage Above and Beyond,” a joint initiative that aimed to bring Starlink satellite coverage compatible with T-Mobile devices. Now, during a panel at the Satellite Conference and Exhibition 2023, Jonathan Hofeller, the vice president of Starlink enterprise sales said that the company plans to “start getting into testing.”

“We’re going to learn a lot by doing — not necessarily by overanalyzing — and getting out there, working with the telcos,” said Hofeller.

While Hofeller did not mention which carrier service it plans to work with, the timeline does match Musk’s original vision for the T-Mobile partnership. In August last year, Musk announced that Starlink and T-Mobile are joining forces to connect smartphones to satellites and eliminate dead zones “worldwide.”

At the time, T-Mobile said the satellite-to-cell service will be available “everywhere in the continental U.S, Hawaii, parts of Alaska, Puerto Rico and territorial waters” and is expected to launch by the end of next year [2023] in “select areas.” Read more about the partnership here.

Via: Engadget

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Miss The Last of Us? Here are other Pedro Pascal movies and shows to stream in Canada

After nine exciting weeks, the first season of The Last of Us has officially come to an end on HBO Max and Crave.

While we know that at least one more season of the hit HBO series is on the way, it’s unclear when we’ll actually get that.

Naturally, then, we’re now all left with a Pedro Pascal-sized hole in our Sundays. While a predominantly helmeted Pascal can currently be seen in new episodes of The Mandalorian, that doesn’t help the many people who want to actually see the internet’s favourite daddy.

With that in mind, we’ve rounded up some of the prolific Chilean-American actor’s movies and TV shows. Naturally, this isn’t a comprehensive list, considering his career spans a few decades, but it does contain his biggest hits. Read on more where you can stream more Pedro Pascal content in Canada.

Crave

Game of Thrones

Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones

Image credit: HBO

Pascal’s breakout role came during another HBO series, Game of Thrones (notably, the same is true for his The Last of Us co-star, Bella Ramsey). His short but memorable seven-episode stint on the series saw him play the vengeful and lustful Oberyn Martell.

Stream Game of Thrones here.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Pedro Pascal in Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Image credit: Lionsgate

While Tom Gormican’s 2022 action-comedy is focused on a fictionalized version of Nicolas Cage, critics agree that Pascal basically steals the show. His character, billionaire and Cage superfan Javi Gutierrez, hires the actor for a birthday party, leading them to develop a bit of a bromance amid increasingly wild antics.

Stream The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent here. The movie is also available on Prime Video via Starz.

Disney+

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Pedro Pascal in Kingsman

Image credit: 20th Century Studios

In Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service sequel, Eggsy and his allies must protect the world from a CEO and her drug cartel. While the movie as a whole received a mixed reception, Pascal certainly was one of its better aspects, portraying the fun lasso-wielding American spy, Agent Whisky.

Stream Kingsman: The Golden Circle here.

The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian

Image credit: Lucasfilm

Of course, this is the most obvious answer. For many, this is the actor’s defining role, and the one with the most crossover with The Last of Us. In the Jon Favreau-created Star Wars series, Pascal plays the titular bounty hunter as he goes on adventures with a little creature named Grogu.

Stream The Mandalorian here.

Netflix

The Equalizer 2

Denzel and Pedro Equalizer 2

Image credit: Sony Pictures

In Antoine Fuqua’s second Equalizer movie, retired marine Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) seeks revenge after the murder of a friend. Notably, Pascal plays the villain, Duke York. Denzel and Pedro — what a combo!

Stream The Equalizer 2 here.

Narcos

Pedro Pascal Narcos

Image credit: Netflix

Inspired by true events, this acclaimed Netflix series explores the rise of the cocaine trade in Columbia and the efforts of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to combat it. Pascal has one of the main roles, Javier Peña, who’s a real-life DEA officer, appearing in all three seasons.

Stream Narcos here.

Triple Frontier

Triple Frontier Pedro Pascal

Image credit: Netflix

J.C. Chandor’s 2019 action-adventure flick follows a group of former U.S. soldiers who reunite for a South American heist. In the movie, Pascal plays Francisco “Catfish” Morales, the pilot of the group, which also includes Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam and Garrett Hedlund.

Stream Triple Frontier here.

Miscellaneous

Dishonored 2

Dishonored 2 Paolo

Image credit: Bethesda

Given that we cover gaming on MobileSyrup, I’d be remiss not to mention that Pascal’s first and only video game role was in 2016’s Dishonored 2. In the acclaimed first-person stealth-action game, Pascal voices a gang leader named Paolo.

Dishonored 2 is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Wonder Woman 1984

Pedro Pascal WW84

Image credit: Warner Bros.

Patty Jenkins’ 2020 follow-up to her acclaimed 2017 Wonder Woman movie was largely panned, but most people agree that Pascal absolutely stole the show here as the charismatic businessman, Maxwell Lord. Life is good, but with Pascal as a delightfully unhinged villain, it can definitely be better.

The movie isn’t actually on any subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, so your only option is to rent or buy on platforms like iTunes and Google Play.

What are your favourite Pascal performances? Beyond The Last of Us, what are you hoping to see him in next?

Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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Tesla App allowed Vancouver man to gain access someone else’s vehicle

A recent incident in Vancouver involving the Tesla mobile app let a person drive off in someone else’s Tesla.

As reported by Global News, Rajesh Randev, an immigration consultant, was getting into his Tesla in a hurry on Tuesday, March 7th. All went smoothly, and he got into his vehicle and drove off. Unknown to him, the Tesla he got into wasn’t his, and the vehicle adjacent to the one he drove off in, which was the same make and the same colour, was his car.

Randev opened the door to the wrong Tesla with his phone app, got in, and drove off, not realizing something was wrong until he noticed a crack on the windshield and his charger was not in its usual place. Further, after receiving a text message from the actual owner of the Tesla asking if he was driving their car was when Randev understood that the vehicle he was driving wasn’t his. The two met up to set things right, and the incident ended in a peaceful manner.

Randev said he doesn’t know how it happened, but he suspects it may have been due to a glitch in the Tesla app.

“We were both laughing and I called the police as well,” he added. “The police said they have my statement but they cannot give me a file number because nothing happened but if something does happen to let them know and they will investigate.”

The owner of the Tesla that Randev drove off was able to contact him thanks to a document that had Randev’s number printed on it, and it was visible in his parked Tesla. “I was surprised how I was able to drive someone else’s car, by mistake, for an hour-and-a-half while his car was in his hand,” he added.

Randev has contacted Tesla with the video evidence of the incident, but he is yet to hear back from the company. The incident has raised questions about the security of Tesla’s app, with some speculating that the app may not be as locked down as it’s touted to be.

Source: Global News

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Activision says it’s ‘committed’ to Call of Duty: Mobile, despite Microsoft’s earlier comments

Activision and supporting developers have quickly come forward to confirm they are “committed” to Call of Duty: Mobile as “part of the entire Call of Duty franchise.” This statement comes days after Microsoft said the contrary to regulators.

On Twitter, the official page for Call of Duty: Mobile posted a statement regarding the longevity and support of the title. In an effort to quell the worries of fans, the statement says that the team intends “to continue supporting the game with a robust roadmap of fresh new CODM content, activities, and updates for the long haul.”

This ordeal comes as part of the ongoing saga of Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Last week, Microsoft informed U.K. regulators that Call of Duty: Mobile “is expected to be phased out over time with the launch of Warzone Mobile.” Of course, with that statement, Microsoft did not divulge how long it would take for Call of Duty: Mobile to be phased out. However, the statement alone was enough to send fans into a panic.

Call of Duty: Mobile is one of Activision’s most popular mobile titles. In 2022, the game crossed the 650 million downloads threshold. However, Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is projected to become another tentpole mobile title for the publisher. The battle royale has already seen a lot of popularity across consoles and PC.

It remains to be seen whether Microsoft’s comments were misrepresented or ill-informed while speaking to the U.K. regulators. However, as of now, it appears as though Call of Duty: Mobile will continue for the foreseeable future.

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is slated to launch sometime this year. Pre-registration is already available on iOS and Android.

Microsoft is continuing its pursuit to acquire Activision Blizzard. The company recently signed a 10-year “binding” agreement with Nintendo and Nvidia to avoid anti-trust concerns. However, the acquisition continues to face pushback from the likes of PlayStation and the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). However, the CMA is due to deliver its final ruling on April 26th.

Image credit: Activision

Source: @PlayCODMobile

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Samsung Galaxy A53 is now $180 off

Samsung’s Galaxy A53 is now available at a discounted rate. Until April 6th, you can get the mid-range smartphone for $409.

The $409 price tag is $180 off the regular price, which is a pretty sweet deal. The Galaxy A54 is rumoured to launch on March 16th, so it makes sense that this might be the last offer before Samsung retires the handset.

You can also get 50 percent off a two-year Samsung Care+ plan by purchasing select smartphones. However, you can only get the two-year Care+ plan until March 28th.

The Galaxy A53 is a solid mid-range device with a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and an FHD+ resolution. It also sports a mid-range Exynos 1280 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, a quad-camera setup with a 64-megapixel primary shooter and a 5,000mAh battery.

I reviewed the Galaxy A53 last year and found that the smartphone struck a reasonable balance between performance, style and cost.

You can buy the handset from Samsung’s website, here.

Source: Samsung

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Pixel Watch helps Google reach second place in wearable market

Many have been waiting years for Google to finally release a smartwatch, and it looks like a lot of people feel the Pixel Watch was worth the wait.

Canalys, an industry analyst company, reports Google shipped 880,000 Pixel Watch units in Q4 2022, the first three months of the smart watch’s availability. According to Canalys, this brings Google to second place in the smartwatch market by giving it 8 percent share. While this is behind Apple’s massive lead of 28 percent, it’s still surpasses Samsung’s 5.9 percent share.

Image credit: Canalys

However, it’s important to point out Google doesn’t only offer the Pixel Watch. The tech giant’s wearable lineup also includes Fitbit devices, which comprise most of the four million units the company sold in Q4 2022.

Apple, on the other hand, shipped slightly under 14 million smartwatches, and Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi hit roughly three million units.

Canalys indicates that overall, wearable shipments have been dropping 18 percent year-over-year. Samsung saw a 35 percent drop, Apple a 17 percent drop and Google even experienced 25 percent drop. The Pixel Watch did boost Google’s sales by 16 percent, though.

With all of this in mind, the Pixel Watch app strangely only has 500,000 installs, according to the Play Store, which is less than the number of Pixel Watch units sold.

Source: Canalys Via: 9to5Google

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The Last of Us had to fill 350 dump trucks of snow for Waterton, Alberta episode

HBO has released a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of The Last of Us to coincide with the March 12th season finale.

The featurette, appropriately titled Making of The Last of Us, reveals a bunch of tidbits about the province, which took place between 2021 and 2022 across Alberta. Naturally, the cast and crew had quite a few anecdotes to share about the production.

*Warning: light spoilers for The Last of Us Season 1 to follow* 

Perhaps the biggest fun fact had to do with the series’ eighth episode, “When We Are In Need.” With Joel (Pedro Pascal) wounded, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is forced to hunt for food and resources, putting her in contact with a deadly group of survivors. While this takes place in Colorado, HBO actually shot these scenes in the beautiful Waterton Park.

However, things didn’t go so swimmingly.

“We went to Waterton because it was known to have a massive amount of snow. And what happened was there was no snow,” said Joel Whist, special effects supervisor, with a laugh.

“There were drifts up against some buildings but all the roads, all the grass — everywhere you looked — the snow was gone. You couldn’t bring snow from outside the park. I had to use whatever was in the town. So in three days, we did 350 dump trucks of snow — shoveling, brooming, raking, snowblowers — to cover 10 city blocks. That night, it snowed.”

Pascal added that there were “three or four house-sized wind machines” to help sell the stormy weather.

Elsewhere, the crew talked about the big human-infected battle in the fifth episode, “Endure and Survive,” and the work that went into building an entire town onto a large Calgary parking lot.

In particular, we see some neat behind-the-scenes looks at all of the human extras who played clickers and the digital effects work to enhance them, as well as a spotlight on Toronto’s Skye Cowton, a young contortionist who plays the child Clicker that tries to kill Ellie in a car. “She could move her body very, very effectively and do all sorts of Clicker-y, kind of stuttery motions,” noted Sean Nowlan, VFX producer.

Another highlight has to do with the finale, “Look For The Light.” One of the key emotional beats of the episode, which was lifted straight from the game, is when Ellie excitedly discovers a group of giraffes in the middle of the overrun city. It’s a tender moment between the teenager and Joel, and Ramsey said it was “like a spiritual experience” to shoot.

Notably, the crew reveals that the giraffe, Nobu, was actually real. “Yes, you can create a giraffe in visual effects, but it’s just not the same,” noted Matt Palmer, location manager for Episodes 8 and 9.

“Fortunately, the one thing Alberta does have is a zoo with giraffes,” added production designer John Paino. “And we spent quite a while putting things in the enclosure so we could shoot it and get the giraffe acclimated. Like, panels with blue screen so that we could get just go in there and shoot the giraffe and have Ellie feed the giraffe.”

On the whole, the special offers a fascinating look at just some of the work that goes into such a big show. (With a reported Game of Thrones-esque budget of over $100 million USD, The Last of Us is believed to be the biggest TV production in Canadian history.)

The full 31-minute Making of The Last of Us featurette and the main nine-episode season are both now streaming on Crave.

In related news, series creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin have confirmed that they’re planning to adapt The Last of Us Part II into at least two seasons.

Image credit: HBO

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Volkswagen’s first north American EV battery plant to be built in Ontario

Volkswagen Group has committed to building its first North American battery factory in southwestern Ontario, Canada.

The announcement is undoubtedly one of the biggest milestones in Canada’s efforts to establish itself as a major part of the electric vehicle manufacturing process.

Volkswagen said it and its battery partner PowerCo had considered locations in both, the United States and Canada, and finally decided to go with a location in St. Thomas, Ontario. The gigafactory is expected to start production sometime in 2027.

“Today’s announcement by Volkswagen is a true testament to our highly skilled workforce and Canada’s strong and growing battery ecosystem,” said François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.

Industry insiders had previously speculated that the U.S. was offering more incentives to automakers to invest in the country through the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s currently unknown exactly how much money the federal and Ontario governments are putting up for the project. For other projects in the country, including Stellantis NV and LG Energy Solution in Windsor, the governments have put up roughly $1 billion.

Canada has been cited as an attractive location for automakers due to its supply of critical minerals, labour market advantages, and clean-electricity supply. The new commitment by Volkswagen significantly bolsters Canadian claims to be able to establish a full EV supply chain in the country, all while accelerating mining plans and creating opportunities for smaller domestic manufacturers, such as parts suppliers.

“Our North American strategy is a key priority in our 10-point-plan that we’ve laid out last year. With the decisions for cell production in Canada and a Scout site in South Carolina we’re fast-forwarding the execution of our North American strategy,” said Oliver Blume, CEO Volkswagen Group.

Image credit: Volkswagen

Source: Volkswagen

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Lexus RZ 450e EV to offer Steer-by-Wire technology

The RZ 450e is Lexus’ first pure battery electric vehicle (EV) for global markets and city driving.

The Nagoya, Japan-based, Toyota-owned automobile brand showed off the EV to several journalists at Château La Coste, a winery and hotel about an hour north of Marseille in France.

The automobile company reportedly stated that it believes its steer-by-wire technology aims to bring in a new dawn for electric vehicles. For those unaware, the steer-by-wire technology seeks to do away with the physical connection between a vehicle’s steering wheel and its wheels and instead employs electrically operated motors to alter the wheels’ direction.

The RZ 450e is built on Toyota’s E-TNGA platform and boasts a 230kW power output, with a dual-motor four-wheel-drive system. While the RZ 450e’s isn’t the fastest vehicle of the bunch, the company claims that its Direct4 system, which distributes force to ensure the car remains planted on the road, offers a better sense of driving than its rivals.

Lexus points out that the RZ 450e isn’t just a rejigged Toyota bZ4X. There are differences between the two vehicles, however. The RZ 450e’s boot is larger than the Toyota bZ4X’s, and its interior and paint job options outshine the bZ4X as well.

The RZ 450e features a 71.4kWh battery with a range of  roughly 394km (about 245 miles) with 20-inch wheels and approximately about 426km (roughly 265 miles) with 18-inch wheels. However, it’s worth noting that the battery size is not variable. Further, the RZ 450e has an 11kW charger that can recharge the battery to 80 percent in 30 minutes using DC fast charging.

In Canada, as shared by autotrader, the RZ 450e will be available in three trims starting at $64,950. We’re uncertain when exactly the vehicle will release here though the automaker has said that the vehicle will go on sale “this winter.”

Image credit: Lexus

Source: Engadget