Author: Mobile Syrup

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Telus widens 5G network on Vancouver Island

Telus has extended its 5G internet network to five communities on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Residents and businesses in Campbell River, Comox, Courtenay, Cumberland, and Saanich now have access to the carrier’s 5G internet services.

According to the press releases, this expansion is funded through a $13 billion investment from Telus announced back in May 2021.

The purpose of the investment is to improve the west coast telecom giant’s infrastructure and operations, specifically in B.C., from now through to 2024

The press releases also state that Telus has invested over $47 billion in “technology and operations” in B.C. since 2000.

Telus’ last B.C-based network expansion was announced on September 27th, and included the regions of Bulkley-Nechako, Fort St. James, Houston, Parksville, Port Hardy, Qualicum Beach, and Richmond.

Source: Telus, (2), (3)

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Apple’s 3rd-gen AirPods vs the 2nd-gen AirPods

Here’s how Apple’s new 3rd-gen AirPods stack up against their 2nd-gen predecessor.

The first thing worth outlining is Apple’s full AirPods lineup. At the bottom end, there are the AirPods ($179). Above that are the new 3rd-gen AirPods at $239, and then at the top of the spectrum, there are the AirPods Pro at $329.

Outside of this trifecta, there are also AirPods Max and several Beats earbuds with similar features.

But for now, let’s compare the 2nd-gen AirPods to their new 3rd-gen successor.

The looks

Compared to the original AirPods, the new wireless earbuds are a little smaller and sit at a bit more of an angle in your ears than the AirPods Pro.

You could easily mistake them for AirPods Pro from a distance, but up close, you’ll notice that they don’t feature a silicone tip and are a little smaller. This will likely make them less effective at keeping out background noise, but they’ll also take up less pocket space.

The new AirPods (3rd gen) also feature a slight indentation on each stem that’s lets you squeeze them to ‘play/pause’ your music or hold to access Siri. While this new control method doesn’t add more functionality, it’s definitely a less convoluted way to control audio than an ill-defined touch-sensitive zone.

Features

Apple says that its new AirPods feature better sound and have a more accurate mic than their predecessor. This is likely an accurate claim given how old the audio architecture and design of the original AirPods are.

Further, the new Buds and their case are IPX4 water-resistant, ensuring they should be able to withstand a few drops of rain just like the AirPods Pro. The new AirPods also include dynamic head tracking and a MagSafe compatible Wireless charging case.

All of the buds, including the originals, support Hey Siri and feature Apple’s H1 chip for seamless connections to Apple products.

3rd-gen AirPods

Where the new AirPods excel is that they have the longest battery life of all of Apple’s AirPods. Each earbud can last for 6 hours on its own and 30 hours total with the charging case.

They also feature skin sensors in each ear designed to ensure they’re better at auto-pausing and playing audio when they’re in your ears. Apple says the old optical sensor can be fooled by being placed in a pocket or on a table, emphasizing that the new design works more effectively.

Source: Apple 

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Roku acquires Canadian-made ‘Children Ruin Everything’ for US streaming

Roku has acquired the Canadian series, Children Ruin Everything, an eight-episode show that’s created by Schitt’s Creek‘s co-executive producer Kurt Smeaton, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  

This is Roku’s first-non U.S. and Canadian acquisition and is the first 30-minute acquisition by Roku since its Quibi takeover from earlier this year. In Canada, Bell Media holds the international rights for the series, which will air on CTV. The series is set to air in 2022.

Children Ruin Everything stars, Meaghan Rath, from Being Human, Aaron Abrams from Blindspot, Ennis Esmer from Schitt’s Creek and Nazneen Contractor from Star Trek: Into Darkness. Additionally,

“Children Ruin Everything was inspired by my own parenting experience, where every plan my wife and I made was thwarted by our kids in surprising and funny ways,” Smeaton said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to partner with Roku on this project and bring the show to the U.S.”

Roku Originals are available for free on the Roku Channel for free for more than 25,000 free movies and programs.

While this is Roku’s first Canadian series, Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas will shoot in Vancouver.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter 

Categories
Mobile Syrup

TikTok can now read your text in the voice of Scream’s Ghostface

One of the signature elements of the late Wes Craven’s Scream films is a creepy stranger (‘Ghostface’) playing mind games with a character over the phone.

Now, Ghostface has come to TikTok. Through an official partnership with Paramount, Roger Jackson, the original voice of Ghostface, has lent his voice to TikTok’s text-to-speech feature. This means that you can have the iconic slasher flick villain read your words.

To use the Ghostface voice:

  1. Film your video
  2. Add text
  3. Tap on the text and select the ‘Scream voice’

The Ghostface TikTok voice not only comes right on time for Halloween, but shortly after the release of the trailer for the series’ fifth film, simply titled Scream. Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not), Scream follows a new generation of Woodsboro teens as they’re targeted by a new Ghostface.

Notably, Guelph, Ontario’s own Neve Campbell reprises her original Scream series role of Sidney Prescott, while Courteney Cox and David Arquette also return as Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley, respectively. Some of the series newcomers include Jack Quad (The Boys), Jenna Ortega (You) and Dylan Minette (13 Reasons Why).

The new Scream will hit theatres on January 14th, 2022. TikTok, meanwhile, is available on Android and iOS.

Image credit: Paramount

Via: Bloody Disgusting

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder among delayed MCU movies

Marvel fans will have to wait a little longer to see their favourite heroes battle it out.

Disney has pushed back the release dates of many forthcoming movies, including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness from March 25th to May 6th, 2022; Thor: Love and Thunder from May 6th to July 8th, 2022; and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever from July 8th to November 11th, 2022.

The ripple effect continues well into 2023; The Marvels has been pushed back to early 2023, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has been pushed back from February 17th to July 28th, 2023.

As a result of the scheduling changes, there will only be three Marvel movies next year, rather than the intended four, with the Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels now set for February 17th, 2023.

However, the biggest delay has been sustained by a non-Marvel movie. The fifth Indiana Jones installment, which was supposed to appear in theatres on July 29th, 2022, has been pushed back to June 30th, 2023.

Further, four unnamed 2023-expected Marvel films have been removed from the schedule, while one untitled Marvel film has been moved from November 10 to November 3, 2023.

What effect these changes in schedule will have on Disney+ remains to be seen. Disney has committed to an exclusive theatrical window for its films before they’re accessible to stream for the remainder of 2021, but it hasn’t said anything about how things will operate in 2022 and beyond.

Image credit: Marvel Studios

Via: Variety

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Apple’s M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro laptops support up to four external displays

Apple’s new M1 Pro and M1 Max-powered MacBook Pro is capable of handling output to up to three external displays.

To start, the refreshed laptop and its accompanying powerful chip can output to two external displays with up to 6K in resolution at 60Hz. Taking things a step further, it can also handle three external displays at up to a 6K resolution at 60Hz and one 4K screen at 60Hz.

In comparison, M1 MacBook (2020), on the other hand, can run just one 5K monitor like Apple’s Pro Display XDR, for example, or a single 4K monitor through its USB-C port.

Back when the M1 MacBook Pro first launched, I ran into a lot of difficulties connecting it to my 4K HDR monitor at 60Hz. I was forced to switch from using USB-C to the standard HDMI port and an official Apple USB-C AV adapter in order to solve the issue.

Hopefully, Apple’s new M1 Pro and M1 Max-powered MacBook doesn’t suffer from the same issue.

Apple’s new MacBook Pro features an SD card slot, an HDMI port, the return of MagSafe and adopts a fresh new design with squared-off edges.

For all of our coverage from Apple’s event, follow this link.

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Telegrams banks on Facebook outage, reaches 1 billion downloads

After the recent Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp outage that left billions without access to the social platforms, many people have started looking for alternatives.

Telegram, a cross-platform messaging app, has now surpassed 1 billion downloads on the Google Play Store, a jump most likely fueled by the Facebook outage. The outage alone accounted for 70 million new users joining Telegram (via SamMobile).

Further, it’s worth noting that Telegram is also available as an APK via the developer’s official website, and those downloads do not count against the Play Store number. So the actual number of downloads is likely much higher than the 1 billion mark.

While the jump in the number of downloads is impressive, Whatsapp and Facebook are sitting at 5 billion + downloads, so Telegram definitely still has some catching up to do.

Via: SamMobile

Categories
Mobile Syrup

New wireless Beats Fit Pro earbuds leak in iOS 15.1 update

The latest iOS 15.1 update includes product images of a new pair of unreleased Beats earbuds.

The new earbuds, reportedly called the Beats Fit Pro, look similar to the Beats Studio Buds, but with some sort of stabilizing hook piece. This suggests that these might be the successors to the PowerBeats Pro, Beats’ more workout-focused buds.

9to5Mac report also mentions that the new buds feature Apple’s H1 chip for fast pairing, an accelerometer and noise-cancellation. On top of that, the earbuds will reportedly offer seven hours of battery life and 30 in total with the charging case.

There’s no mention of how much the Beats Fit Pro will cost, but they’ll reportedly be revealed the week of November 1st and will come in four colours: Black, grey, a pinkish-lavender and white.

Between the Beats Fit Pro, the Beats Studio Buds and the 3rd-gen AirPods, it looks like Apple will likely be selling a lot of wireless earbuds this holiday season.

Source: 9to5Mac

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Apple launches $25 ‘Polishing cloth’ for display cleaning

During its event, along with the new MacBook Pro and 3rd-gen AirPods, Apple also revealed what will surely go down as its best product yet — a $25 ‘Polishing Cloth’ designed for cleaning its displays.

In all seriousness, as someone who cleans their iPhone 13 Pro and MacBook Pro (2020) multiple times a week, I’m actually planning to purchase this cloth.

“Made with soft, non-abrasive material, the Polishing Cloth cleans any Apple display, including nano-texture glass, safely and effectively,” reads the cloth’s description on Apple’s website.

The tech giant lists the Polishing Cloth as being compatible with nearly all of its products that feature a display, including the pricey Pro Display XDR, the iPhone 13 series, the Apple Watch Series 7 and more.

While the fact that Apple is charging $25 piece of fabric is undeniably funny, if you’ve applied as many screen protectors as me, you’ll know that not every screen cleaning cloth is built the same. If Apple’s Polishing Cloth doesn’t scratch my screen and is durable, I’d be willing to drop $25 on it.

When my cloth arrives later this month, I plan to write a short review of it, so keep an eye out on MobileSyrup.

Also during its October event, Apple announced its long-awaited MacBook Pro refresh and the 3rd-gen AirPods.

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

Image credit: Apple
Categories
Mobile Syrup

Apple shakes up second-gen AirPods with lower price, AirPods Pro with MagSafe

According to some changes on Apple’s website, the second-gen AirPods are now cheaper, while the AirPods Pro now ship with a MagSafe charging case — both interesting changes if you’re not sold on the company’s fancy new AirPods.

Starting with the second-gen AirPods, the price has dropped from $219 to $179, making it cheaper than ever to get into AirPods. Unfortunately, the new, lower price doesn’t include the wireless charging case for the AirPods 2.

It’s still available separately (for a hefty $99) if you want, but at $278 total before tax, you might as well just get the new third-gen AirPods for $239.

Speaking of charging cases, the comparison page for Apple’s AirPods lists the AirPods Pro as having a ‘MagSafe Charging Case.’ The same is listed under the ‘What’s in the Box’ section on the AirPods Pro store page. It’s not clear if this means the AirPods Pro now ship with a MagSafe-compatible charging case, since technically the AirPods Pro case worked with MagSafe before.

MagSafe charging pads offer backwards compatibly with the Qi standard, which means that AirPods Pro and other Apple devices that support Qi wireless charging, but not MagSafe, can still charge with them.

It’s possible Apple’s just branding this behaviour as ‘MagSafe,’ but considering the third-gen AirPods charging case actually supports MagSafe, I don’t think it’s a stretch that Apple stealth-updated the AirPods Pro case too.