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Apple appears to offer both versions of Safari in macOS Monterey

It appears that after some backlash, Apple is offering users a choice regarding the look of macOS Monterey’s version of Safari.

When Apple revealed the upcoming macOS update, it showed off a colourful new Safari redesign with smaller tabs that blend more seamlessly into the webpage you’re currently visiting. For example, in the beta version, the browser even took on a red shade when visiting MobileSyrup.

Apple then reverted the design in a recent beta build of the software, giving users the old look as the default, with the option of switching to the new one if they want.

Now, on the official macOS Monterey page, the company is again using the older design in a promotional image alongside several larger images. This suggests that the new design I really like is once again slated to be the default option, but with the layout featured in the beta in mind, I’m not totally convinced.

I hope the new design is the default moving forward since I enjoyed the colour-changing aspects and the smaller tab designs.

Beyond a Safari browser that’s barely getting updated, macOS Monterey is coming out on October 25th with Focus modes, SharePlay and more.

Source: Apple 

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Apple’s AirPods Pro available for $249 at Best Buy

Now that Apple’s 3rd-gen AirPods have been unveiled, Best Buy Canada has decided to discount Apple’s high-end wireless AirPods Pro.

Currently available for $249, the AirPods Pro are $80 off from the Apple Store’s usual price of $329.

The AirPods Pro feature IPX4 water, sweat and dust resistance along with improvements over the 2nd-generation AirPods, including impressive active noise-cancelling and better sound quality. They support adaptive EQ, a transparency mode and 4.5 hours of battery life with one charge and up to 24 hours with the charging case.

When MobileSyrup’s Patrick O’Rourke reviewed the AirPods Pro, they received an impressive 9/10 score.

Purchase the AirPods Pro or learn more about the Best Buy deal here.

It’s worth noting that London Drugs and Visions Electronics also have the AirPods Pro listed for $249.99 each.

Follow the links to head to Best Buy, London Drugs or Visions Electronics.

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links.

Source: Best Buy

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Microsoft Flight Simulator: Game of the Year Edition launches as free update on November 18

Microsoft Flight Simulator is getting a Game of the Year Edition that adds a slew of new content.

Launching on November 18th as a free update for existing players (including Game Pass subscribers), the Game of the Year Edition adds five new aircraft, eight new airports, new Discovery Flights and tutorials, Reno Air Races and most-requested community features like DX12 support.

Flight Simulator launched on PC in 2020, with an Xbox Series X/S port following this past July. The otherwise current-gen exclusive will eventually be playable on the last-gen Xbox One through Xbox’s Cloud Gaming service.

Microsoft made the announcement of Microsoft Flight Simulator: Game of the Year Edition in a larger blog post recapping the highlights of notable “back-to-back” Xbox Game Pass releases for the last few months of 2021. Alongside Flight Simulator Game of the Year Edition, these include the Canadian co-developed Age of Empires IV (October 28th), Forza Horizon 5 (November 9th), the just-announced Minecraft Caves & Cliffs expansion and Halo Infinite (December 8th).

All of these games are launching on Game Pass on day one. The service starts at $11.99/month for an Xbox Game Pass for Console or PC membership, while a $16.99/month Game Pass Ultimate subscription includes Game Pass for Console and PC, as well as Xbox Live Gold, Cloud Gaming and EA Play.

Finally, Xbox is teasing a fun, digital broadcast on November 15th to celebrate the 20th anniversary of both Halo and the larger Xbox brand. The company confirms there won’t be any new games shown off during this stream, but it will offer “a special look back” at 20 years of Xbox. More details on specific plans for the event in the coming days, the company says.

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Mobile Syrup

Dbrand resurrects Darkplates with new design, baits Sony to sue again

Toronto-based Dbrand, a company that makes vinyl skins for smartphones and other tech, announced that it’s bringing back its PlayStation 5 replacement panels called ‘Darkplates.’

If you haven’t followed along with the drama, Dbrand announced over the weekend that Sony had threatened legal action over Darkplates. Considering Dbrand boldly baited Sony to sue when it launched the Darkplates, the threatened legal action wasn’t a total surprise.

While the whole “company dares another company to sue them, then gets threatened with a lawsuit” bit is rather funny, Dbrand’s bait wasn’t why Sony threatened legal action. As Dbrand pointed out in a new Reddit post, the entire basis of the lawsuit is that Sony registered a patent for the design of the PlayStation 5 side plates. Dbrand said that Sony didn’t have a registered design patent for the PS5’s side panels when it launched Darkplates.

“We didn’t think they’d ever get one,” Dbrand wrote in the Reddit post. “They did.”

Dbrand Darkplate

The original Darkplate design

It’s also worth noting that in the company’s previous Reddit post, Dbrand said that it received a cease and desist letter from Sony’s attorneys months ago but only complied after learning that Sony had gotten a patent in Canada.

Not to be deterred, Dbrand also announced a new version of Darkplates in its Reddit post. This time, the side panels sport a different design (primarily by ‘cutting corners’) and new air intake vents. Dbrand cited a video from Gamers Nexus that analyzes the thermal design of the PS5 — if you don’t have time to watch the full 37-minutes, the relevant information is basically that removing the side panels makes the PS5 run about five degrees cooler.

The new Darkplates come with optional mesh grills to help prevent dust from getting into the console for those worried about dust.

Dbrand unveiled new colour options for its revamped Darkplates as well, including white for those who like how the PS5 currently looks and ‘Retro Gray’ that’s “colour-matched to a retro console which shall remain nameless.”

Finally, Dbrand announced ‘Lightstrips,’ which are strips of semi-translucent coloured vinyl that are “designed to precisely cover the diffused LED light strips flanking the sides of your PS5, tinting them with one of eight high-saturation hues.”

To wrap it all up, the company notes that Sony will “probably” sue them, but notes that this time, Dbrand has created an original design “for which [Sony has] no basis to allege infringement.” Confident as ever, Dbrand also said that if Sony wants to try, “they’d better be ready to pay our legal fees.”

You can learn more about the new Darkplates here.

Images credit: Dbrand

Source: Dbrand (Reddit)

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Mobile Syrup

TekSavvy TV is now available across Canada

TekSavvy’s internet protocol television (IPTV) service is now available across the country.

According to the press release, TekSavvy TV can now be accessed in “select regions” in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, PEI, and Saskatchewan.

This is in addition to the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, where the IPTV has been up and running for a few years now.

TekSavvy TV offers 150 live HD channels, plus video on demand. PVR services are also available, for an extra charge of $10/month for 50 hours of cloud-saved recordings, and subscriptions start at $20 per month for basic service.

To access the service, you need to already be a TekSavvy residential internet customer with a plan packing a download speed of at least 15Mbps.

Hardware-wise, TekSavvy TV says it runs on most Amazon Fire TV devices, Apple TV (Version 4 or higher), iPhones and iPads (iOS 10.3 or higher), Android TV (Xiaomi Mi Box 3, Nvidia Shield, Chromecast with Google TV) and Android phones and tablets (Version 5 or higher).

Otherwise, the indie telecom company also rents out a “TekSavvy TV Box ” for $5 per month. The box features HD 1080p resolution (though it claims to be 4K ready), HDMI output, an SD card slot, and USB 2 ports.

This Canadian IPTV service is a joint venture between two Ontario companies: TekSavvy, which is based out of Chatham-Kent, and Hastings CableVision in Madoc.

Together, the two groups launched TekSavvy TV in February 2019, specifically in Chatham-Kent, Ontario.

The service later expanded to include Ottawa and the Greater Toronto Area, before rolling out across Ontario in July 2019.

TekSavvy TV later became available in select regions of Quebec in March 2020.

Source: TekSavvy

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Mobile Syrup

How to watch Google’s ‘Pixel Fall Launch’ event and Pixel 6 reveal

After months of leaks and rumours, Google is finally ready to launch its latest Pixel 6 lineup with its in-house Tensor chips.

Dubbed the ‘Pixel Fall Launch; event, the showcase is expected to stay true to its name as we don’t expect any other major announcement other than the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.

Scheduled for October 19th at 10am PT/1am ET, the event will go in-detail about the new Tensor Chips, show what the new device’s cameras are capable of and how they’ll perform when paired with Google’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) models. Google finally revealed the smartphones’ pricing and availably is also expected.

The event will be broadcasted live on the Pixel Event website and its YouTube channel with ASL interpretation.

Here’s when people in different time zones can watch the event:

  • 10 AM PT  – Canada and USA West Coast
  • 1 PM ET – Canada and USA East Coast
  • 6 PM BST – London
  • 7 PM CEST – Europe
  • 10:30 PM IST – India
  • 1 AM CST – China
  • 4 AM ACT –  Australia

From what we know so far, the Pixel 6 Pro is expected to feature a curved screen, similar to the S21 Ultra and Samsung’s ISOCELL GN1 50-megapixel sensor. The ultra-wide camera will use a 12-megapixel IMX386 sensor, while the 4x optical telephoto camera on the 6 Pro will use a 48-megapixel IMX586 sensor.

The phone will reportedly support up to 20x zoom with photos and videos (except 4K, where zoom is capped at 7x) and 4K/60fps video recording. However, we still don’t know how the new cameras will perform when paired with Google’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) models.

Further, the new Pixel devices will reportedly be capable of 33W wired charging. For reference, Google’s Pixel smartphones currently only support cable charging up to 18W.

If you can’t tune in live on October 19th, make sure to follow along with MobileSyrup. We’ll have the latest news and updates from Google on our homepage as well as on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For everything we expect to see during Google’s Pixel event, follow this link.

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Pokémon Unite’s Halloween event runs from October 20 to November 7

Pokémon Unite is getting a little spookier thanks to a new Halloween event running from October 20th to November 7th.

The Festival will offer several cool costumes for you and your Pokémon, as well as what looks to be a possible additional game mode and new playable Pocket Monster, Greedent.

Additionally, the ‘Remoat Island’ stage will gain a new nighttime overlay that includes pumpkins and other spooky decorations.

Check out the trailer for the event above.

Source: @PokemonUnite 

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Pokémon shows off Post Malone and Katy Perry trading cards

Since the beginning of the year, the Pokémon Company, Nintendo and Game Freak have been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon series.

As part of the celebration, the Pokémon Company has revealed new trading cards modelled after Post Malone, Katy Perry and J Balvin. The cards are being unveiled as part of a promotion for Pokémon 25: The Album.

Katy Perry is partnered up with the electric mouse, Pikachu, Post Malone has Butterfree and Dragonite, and J Balvin is teamed up with the Fire, Flying-type Pokémon Charizard.

These cards also feature attacks, HP, retreat costs and weaknesses. There’s also the ‘P25’ logo and what looks like the Pokémon number, but is actually the featured artist’s birthday in the bottom right corner.

Unfortunately, these aren’t official cards that you can actually purchase, but you can check them out on the Pokémon 25 website. If you want to listen to Pokémon 25: The Album, click here.

Source: Pokémon

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Epic Games Store offering $10 coupons with email subscriptions

Epic Games Store customers can receive a $10 coupon for the digital storefront by signing up to Epic’s email and alerts program.

This promotion runs from October 15th to November 15th and is open to both new and existing subscribers. Those who are already subscribed will automatically receive the coupon.

If you’re not yet subscribed, you can do so by heading to your account settings and looking under communications preferences. You’ll receive the coupon within 24 hours of doing so.

Naturally, only one coupon can be claimed per EGS account. The coupon can be used on any game priced at $14.99 or higher.

Source: Epic Games

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Apple’s new MacBook Pro features HDMI 2.0 and not HDMI 2.1

Instead of adopting the more recent HDMI 2.1 port, Apple’s M1 Max and M1 Pro-powered MacBook Pro features an HDMI 2.0 port and not HDMI 2.1.

This means that the port supports a 4K display with a resolution of up to 60Hz. HDMI 2.1, on the other hand, would have allowed the powerful laptop to run a 4K screen at a 120Hz refresh rate. HDMI 2.1 is becoming increasingly popular in the high-end television space because it’s required to play Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 titles in 4K at 120Hz refresh rate.

The lack of HDMI 2.1 is a strange omission from what is otherwise a pretty solid, yet pricey laptop offering, especially considering the latest Apple TV 4K (2021) that released earlier this year features an HDMI 2.1 port.

Along with an HDMI 2.1  port, Apple’s new M1 Max and M1 Pro MacBook Pro features an SD card slot, three USB-C/Thunderbolt ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack and the return of MagSafe, the tech giant’s magnetic charging cable/port.

In comparison, M1 MacBook (2020), on the other hand, can run just one 5K monitor — like Apple’s Pro Display XDR — or a single 4K monitor through its USB-C port. The new MacBook Pro, on the other hand, can output to two external displays with up to 6K in resolution at 60Hz, three external displays at up to a 6K resolution at 60Hz and one 4K screen at 60Hz.

Source: @tapbot_paul Via: MacRumors