Author: Mobile Syrup

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Pokémon Go is making several gameplay adjustments in the coming months

Pokémon Go is testing several gameplay adjustments in the coming months, according to a new blog post from Niantic.

Some of the features that will soon be available include:

  • Nickname suggestions for new Trainers
  • An expanded set of Trainer Tips
  • New PokéStop features
  • Egg hatch updates, including the option to skip the hatch animation
  • A Special Research story that introduces new Trainers to the world of Pokémon Go

Additionally, Pokémon Go’s Halloween content will run from October 15th to 31st with two separate parts. The first part focuses on Psychic and Poison-type Pokémon and marks Galarian Slowking’s debut in the mobile game. The second part that starts October 22nd stars Ghost-type Pokémon.

The above video plays the Lavender town theme song, which is a creepy ghost town from Pokémon’s Kanto region. Be careful with this music around kids… (not actually).  

Pokémon Go available on both iOS and Android.

Source: Pokémon Go Blog

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Mobile Syrup

CRTC provides final $53.4 million for Nunavik high-speed internet project

Nunavik’s Kativik Regional Government (KRG) announced that the region’s first-ever high-speed internet expansion is officially fully funded.

The infrastructure project was originally announced in August 2018, following a pledge from the federal and Quebec governments to each invest $62.6 million — a total of $125.2 million — to provide folks living in the remote northern Quebec region with access to high-speed internet.

In addition to $500,000 from the KRG, the initiative was recently bolstered by a final contribution: $53.4 million from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), as reported by Nunatsiaq News.

Installation began on Nunavik’s first-ever undersea fibre optic cable network in August of this year.

The cable runs north along the coast of James Bay, starting in Chisasibi and connecting through to Kuujjuaraapik, Whapmagoostui, Umiujaq, Inukjuak, all the way up to Puvirnituq.

According to Nunatsiaq News, KRG telecommunications advisor Dan Pellerin says this stretch of the fibre network should be ready to use by January 2022.

In 2022, the plan is to expand the undersea cable network further along the Hudson Strait, in order to connect to the communities of Akulivik, Ivujivik, Salluit, and Kangiqsujuaq.

The entire project is expected to be completed towards the end of 2023.

Image creidt: Shutterstock 

Source: Nunatsiaq News

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Mobile Syrup

The Source ‘Early Holiday’ sale discounts Apple’s M1 MacBook Pro

Following Microsoft, The Source has also launched its ‘Early Holiday Shopping‘ sale with discounts on laptops, TVs, peripherals, including the 2020 Macbook Pro, Surface Laptop 3, Samsung’s 65-inch The Frame TV and more.

Check out some of the deals below:

Laptops

TVs

Audio

Everything else

Find all products under The Source’s ‘Early Holiday Sale’ here. It’s worth noting that different product categories have a different ‘sale end’ day. If you’re going to sit on the idea of buying something from the sale, make sure you check when the sale ends by peeping under the price tag.

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: The Source

Source: The Source

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Mobile Syrup

Facebook’s AI research might one day teach you how to play drums

A new research project led by Facebook’s AI team envisions future AI tech that continually analyzes people’s lives using first-person video by capturing everything they see, hear, and do to assist them with daily tasks through, most likely, augmented Reality (AR) glasses.

The project, called Ego4D, allows AI to comprehend and interact with the environment in a first-person perspective the same way humans do. According to Facebook’s team, AI generally learns from third-person pictures and videos, but its next-generation AI will learn from recordings by stepping into your shoes.

“We brought together a consortium of 13 universities and labs across nine countries, who collected more than 2,200 hours of first-person video in the wild, featuring over 700 participants going about their daily lives,” reads Facebook’s blog post about the project. Facebook says that participants, including residents of the United Kingdom, Italy, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United States, Rwanda and Colombia, recorded videos of themselves doing daily tasks, like playing sports, shopping, gardening and more.

Beginning next month, Facebook researchers will be able to gain access to this data to develop Ego4D. According to the social network, this data is the world’s most extensive collection of unscripted first-person films.

Facebook has developed five benchmark challenges for developing smarter and more useful AI assistants, including:

  • Episodic memory: What happened when? (e.g., “Where did I leave my keys?”)
  • Forecasting: What am I likely to do next? (e.g., “Wait, you’ve already added salt to this recipe”)
  • Hand and object manipulation: What am I doing? (e.g., “Teach me how to play the drums”)
  • Audio-visual diarization: Who said what when? (e.g., “What was the main topic during class?”)
  • Social interaction: Who is interacting with whom? (e.g., “Help me better hear the person talking to me at this noisy restaurant”)

At the moment, no AI system can fulfill the tasks listed above. However, Facebook sees this type of capability as the future of AR computing with Ego4D. According to the social network, systems trained on Ego4D might one day be implemented in wearable cameras and in-home helper robots, which rely on first-person cameras to navigate their surroundings.

While the technology sounds intriguing and helpful, privacy is always an issue with projects like this, especially when it comes to Facebook. AI recording and analyzing every step a person takes effectively turns the user into a human surveillance machine.

However, according to a Facebook spokesperson (via The Verge), the project is still in its early days and “privacy safeguards” will be introduced in the future.

Source: Facebook

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Mobile Syrup

You can buy a ‘like-new’ Pixel 4 XL at Public Mobile for $540

I doubt this is a device many people are looking to purchase in 2021, but if you want a Pixel 4 XL, Google’s smartphone is currently available at Public Mobile.

Public Mobile sells used “like-new” Google Pixel 4 XLs in ‘Clearly White’ for $539. However, only the 64GB of storage variant is available.

If you’re worried about a ‘Certified Pre-Owned’ phone, below is how Public Mobiel describes its ‘Like New’ smartphones:

“Someone opened the box on these phones and then changed their mind: it’s as close to perfect as you can get with a pre-owned phone.”

I reviewed the Pixel 4 XL back in 2019 and felt it was a relatively incremental update over the Pixel 3 XL. It’s also worth noting that the smartphone is almost two years old and that Google will reveal the Pixel 6 series next week.

Still, it’s cool Public Mobile is still selling Pixel 4 XL, especially considering Google stopped selling the device a year ago.

Source: Public Mobile 

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Mobile Syrup

Ontario rolls out vaccine QR code scanner app without QR codes to scan

Ahead of its October 22nd launch, the Ontario government has released its COVID-19 vaccine verification app, ‘Verify Ontario.’

The app allows fully vaccinated Ontarians to verify their vaccination status through a QR code when entering businesses and other establishments. The app will also work with QR codes from B.C., Quebec and the Yukon. It’s unclear if support for more provinces will be added to the app in the future.

That said, vaccination certificate QR codes are not yet available in the province. It remains unclear how the province plans to roll out vaccine QR codes. It’s also worth noting that the app doesn’t support some of the existing methods for generating QR codes from Ontario vaccine receipts.

The Ontario government says that it won’t collect personally identifiable information related to user location, visitors, or businesses through the app. The app displays proof of vaccination for 30 seconds and then deletes it.

However, the Ford government has confirmed that it will collect “anonymized” data related to the number of completed scans, scans’ date/time, and positive/negative scans.

A green checkmark indicates that someone has been verified, a yellow checkmark means there is an issue and an ‘X’ relates to invalid vaccination certification.

Verify Ontario is available in the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store.

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Mobile Syrup

Rogers to expand fibre internet network in the Ottawa area

Rogers is growing its fibre internet offerings in southeastern Ontario through a recently announced 24,000 location network expansion.

The 24,000 locations are mostly situated in the National Capital region, in the cities of Ottawa and Clarence-Rockland, the municipality of North Grenville, and the town of Carleton Place.

The press release provided no specific timeframe as to when residents and businesses in these locations can officially expect to gain access to Rogers’ high-speed fibre-to-the-home broadband.

The expansion is funded through a $188 million investment from the Toronto-based telecom carrier.

Earlier this week, Rogers announced that its 5G network is now available to 90 communities in 11 cities and towns in Quebec, including Beaconsfield, Boucherville, Brossard, Dorval, Drummondville, Longueuil, Mascouche, Mont Tremblant, Saint-Constant, Saint-Lambert, and Terrebonne.

Source: Rogers

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Mobile Syrup

Here’s what to expect from Apple’s October 18 ‘Unleashed’ event

Just as rumours predicted, Apple will hold another hardware event on October 18th. However, unlike its previous events, this latest invite doesn’t hint at what we might see beyond the word “Unleashed.”

However, several leaks and rumours point to the tech giant finally revealing its long-awaited MacBook Pro refresh and several other Mac refreshes.

Here’s everything we expect to see at Apple’s October 18th event:

MacBook Pro refresh

Out of all of the rumours circulating surrounding Apple’s event, this one is likely the most reliable. According to Bloomberg‘s often-reliable Mark Gurman, Apple’s next-generation MacBook Pro will release in two variants, including a 14-inch and 16-inch version powered by an upgraded version of the M1 chip called the M1X.

The redesigned MacBook Pro is also rumoured to feature reduced bezels, support for up to 32GB of RAM and adopt an entirely new squared-off design that falls more in line with Apple’s other devices like the iPad Pro and the iPhone 13 series.

There are also rumours sourced from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo related to an SD card slot, HDMI port and MagSafe making a return to the MacBook line with this redesign.

While Apple is also reportedly working on a refresh of the MacBook Air, rumours point to the new version of the lightweight laptop being revealed in 2022.

Mac mini and iMac

Along with the MacBook Pro, several rumours point to Apple showing off a new Mac mini powered by its M1X chip. It’s unclear if the tiny computer will also get a redesign, but a report courtesy of MacRumors points to additional ports and an increase to 32GB of RAM.

Though we haven’t encountered any concrete rumours regarding a new iMac Pro, there’s a possibility we could see Apple’s high-end all-in-one computer get a refresh. The new iMac Pro will likely feature a design similar 24-inch iMac Pro (2021), including its squared-off design. That said, given this is Apple’s high-end iMac, and the company has a history of offering its more powerful devices in fewer colours, we likely won’t see the M1X-powered iMac Pro in hues like ‘Yellow,’ ‘Blue’ or ‘Orange.’

3rd-gen AirPods

After months of rumours, there’s a possibility that Apple could finally reveal its 3rd-generation AirPods at its upcoming October 18th event.

At this point, an entry-level AirPods refresh has been rumoured for years, with speculation pointing to the new version of the wireless earbuds featuring some form of noise-cancellation and a design similar to the AirPods Pro.

Since the last AirPods refresh was way back in 2019, the wireless earbuds are long overdue for an update, and if Apple plans to drop the wireless buds before the holiday season, this is likely the company’s last opportunity.

Keep an eye on MobileSyrup on October 18th for all the news direct from Apple’s big event.

Source: Bloomberg, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, (2)  

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Mobile Syrup

Telus expands 5G service in nine Alberta locations

In a hefty single-day press release drop, Telus announced that its 5G internet services are now available to more Albertans in nine different parts of the province.

The cities and towns in question are Bonnyville, Fort McMurray, High Prairie, Hinton, Jasper, Okotoks, Vegreville, Vulcan, and Wetaskiwin.

This chunky expansion is funded by a $14.5 billion investment from Telus aimed at improving its 5G infrastructure and services in Alberta specifically between 2021 and 2024.

According to all nine press releases, Telus has invested “$51 billion in technology and operations” in Alberta since 2000.

Prior to today, Telus’ last network expansion update for Alberta was a 5G announcement on September 8th for the regions of Lethbridge and Rocky Mountain House.

Telus says it has spent “nearly $240 billion nationally in network infrastructure, operations and spectrum” across the country.

The Vancouver-based telecom carrier continues to claim that over 70 percent of Canadians will have access to its 5G network — which can reach speeds up to 1.7 Gbps — by the end of 2021.

Source: Telus, (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9)

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Mobile Syrup

Toronto-based Nanoleaf unveils new ‘Lines’ modular smart lights

Toronto-based smart lighting company Nanoleaf unveiled a new set of modular lights called Nanoleaf Lines.

Unlike the company’s previous Shapes panels, Lines are, well, lines. They’re about 28cm long (just shy of 11 inches) and the ends clip into hexagonal connector pieces. Each bar is made of white plastic and features a strip of RGBW LED lights along the bottom of the bar that illuminate and reflect off the surface you mount the bars on.

Moreover, Nanoleaf says each bar features a ‘dual colour zone’ that lets users “paint with two colours are once.”

The Lines come with 19 preset ‘Scenes,’ which includes seven Rhythm Scenes that react to sound. However, people can use the Nanoleaf app to access more scenes or create their own. Further, Lines support Nanoleaf’s ‘Screen Mirror’ feature, allowing users to sync the Lines with on-screen colours.

Nanoleaf also says that the Lines support the Thread ecosystem and will act as Thread Border Routers for other Thread-enabled smart devices. Plus, Nanoleaf designed the Lines with the Matter ecosystem in mind, and says the Lines will work with it after a software update due out next year.

The Nanoleaf Lines will be available for pre-order from Nanoleaf’s website starting October 14th. There will be a ‘Smarter Kit’ with everything you need to get started — it costs $279.99. You can also buy Expansion Packs that include three extra Lines and accompanying connectors for $99.99, but it needs a Smarter Kit to work. Nanoleaf says products will ship by the end of November.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Nanoleaf Lines, keep your eyes on MobileSyrup for a review coming soon.

Images credit: Nanoleaf