Author: Mobile Syrup

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Windows 11 is now available to download

Microsoft has finally started rolling out the next version of its desktop operating system, Windows 11.

According to The Verge, the update will begin appearing for users gradually, but people with newer pre-built computers and laptops are more likely to get the update first. Microsoft says that it expects all eligible PCs to get the update by the middle of next year.

Since Windows 11 went live in New Zealand, anyone can technically download it now. However, not anyone can install it. Specifically, custom-built computers may need to be updated or include features like secure boot enabled in their BIOS before they’re eligible for the new update.

The update includes a striking new look, a centred taskbar, better touch screen support and several other improvements over Windows 10. You can learn more about it in our prior coverage of the operating system.

You can also try to download the update here, but it may not work on all Windows 10 machines.

Source: The Verge 

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Mobile Syrup

OnePlus gears up for Android 12-based OxygenOS 12 with new beta

After Google released the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) version of Android 12, OnePlus also dropped a blog post outlining some of the new features users can expect with the latest update.

This includes a revamped notes app, several new design tweaks, improvements to system search and a new work/life balance feature that’s similar to the iOS 15’s Focus mode.

At first glance, this seems to be an above-average OnePlus update. Still, the blog post doesn’t mention if OnePlus is adopting Google’s Material You design principles, which is a shame considering how great it is with Google’s Pixel. That gripe aside, it makes sense that OnePlus might be behind on adopting the new guidelines since it revamped its visual identity quite heavily last year.

New design, sort of

 

The company says that it’s using a new design that plays with light and shadows to create space in its apps, and it uses the recently updated Zen Mode app as an example of this. To me, this is a bit of a step backwards in design, especially since the company pushed into new space with the quite pleasing and flat OxygenOS 11 update. Only time will tell if OnePlus can pull off the new aesthetic without looking too much like the old skeuomorphic iOS apps.

In my time with it so ar the update feels like a different device. It’s not that much different but it’s noticeable and doesn’t exactly feel like OnePlus anymore. Things like notifications seem improved, but there are fewer colour customizations now and a new font that makes the phone feel a little less OnePlus than it did before.

Even when you choose the home screen launcher for the phone now you’re choosing between Oppo’s Color OS and any other launchers you might have installed on the phone. It appears that the shift to Android 12, was a very clear shift off OxygenOS as we knew it before.

The company will also start using a new set of icons and symbols throughout its operating system with bolder looks that OnePlus says should be more universally recognized worldwide. The company also added shadows and lighting effects to some of its app icons. This change is relatively subtle but shows how the company plans to add depth with shadows throughout the OS.

New system search

The most exciting change for me is the launch of OnePlus Scout in global markets. This is OnePlus’ system search feature that’s advanced enough to search for files and the web. It’s been available in India for a while now, so it’s exciting to see OnePlus bring it to the rest of the world.

The updated system search functionality on Android 12 is a lot better in general. It’s unclear if OnePlus is rebranding the feature or if it’s actually using its own software.

Work/life balance

This is another feature that has been available in India but is finally going global with OxygenOS 12. This feature allows users to set two notification profiles on their phones so they won’t be bothered by work notifications after work or play notifications during the workday.

This mode can even be set up so that it switches based on where you are.

Release date

OnePlus isn’t sharing much about the release date for this software update other than the fact that it’s coming to the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro today. You can download the update now, but be warned — there are often lots of bugs in OnePlus software updates.

OnePlus says that it will come to devices as old as the OnePlus 7T at a later date. OnePlus has been promising faster updates now that it’s fully incorporated within Oppo, but only time will tell if it will be able to follow through on this promise.

Source: OnePlus 

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Mobile Syrup

Several Echo and Ring devices are currently discounted on Amazon

Amazon Canada is currently offering a solid deal on the third-gen Echo Dot.

Regularly priced at $69.98, the Echo Dot is available for $27.49 right now and comes with a free Sengled Bluetooth bulb ($15 value).

The Echo Dot has an LED panel that can display time, outdoor temperature and timers.

While the third-gen Echo doesn’t share the spherical design as the new one, it still functions the same and has a bunch of accessories, including this Baby Yoda stand.

Other Amazon products are on sale on the website too. Check them out below:

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: Amazon

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Mobile Syrup

Apple’s refreshed MacBook Pro reportedly on track to release later this month

Apple’s September event was jampacked with new products, however, the MacBook Pro, which has long been rumoured to get a refresh, didn’t get its time to shine.

Now, in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter (paywall), Mark Gruman reiterates that the new M1X chip MacBook Pro is expected to release within the next month during a Mac-centric Apple event, and considering that historically Apple has held its Mac-focused events around October or early November, the timeframe makes sense.

“We’ll likely see it show up first in a new range of MacBook Pros in the next month and a higher-end Mac mini at some point,” reads the newsletter. “The M1X has been developed in two variations: both with 10 CPU cores (eight high-performance and two high-efficiency) and either 16 or 32 graphics cores.”

Regarding Apple’s other Macs, Gurman claims that the company is working on a high-performance processor for a future Mac Pro, as well as an M2 for the MacBook Air, iMac, and lower-end MacBook Pro models.

The updated M1X MacBook Pro is rumoured to have an SD card slot, an HDMI port and MagSafe compatibility with an entirely new design with minimal bezels.

Source: Bloomberg

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Mobile Syrup

October Android 11 security patch now hitting Pixel devices

Unfortunately, Android 12 didn’t drop today on Pixel devices like many expected it would, so here’s the next best thing — Android’s October security patch.

The update is available for the Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 5, and Pixel 5a devices.

You can check out the October 2021 Android Security Bulletin, here. The bulletin indicates there are no actual updated features and that it offers 20 security fixes. The vulnerabilities range from moderate to critical.

You can download the update over the air or via factory image.

Source: Android Security Bulletin 

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Mobile Syrup

YouTube adds new ‘continue watching’ feature to web app

Users have discovered a new way to resume content on their mobile devices that they previously watched on the web or vice versa. The catch is that you need to use YouTube’s website instead of its app to enable this feature.

When you watch content through the web version of YouTube on a desktop or an Android/iOS tablet, you get access to a mini-player that keeps your content playing while you browse around looking for something else to watch.

If you were watching something on another device, now that tiny player appears as soon as you open the YouTube website and asks if you want to continue watching. For example, if you watched something on your phone or tablet, this window would also appear on your desktop.

Of course, you need to be logged into the same Google account across the devices for this feature to work.

While not the most game-changing feature, it’s still a good demonstration of a minor feature that makes the viewing experience more seamless on Google’s video platform. While convenient, it will be interesting to see if the company brings this functionality to its mobile apps or if it adds some sort of Netflix-like ‘Continue Watching’ area to YouTube’s homepage.

As someone who watches a lot of YouTube, this is pretty handy and a lot easier than being forced to dive into my history every time I change the device mid-show.

Via: 9to5Google

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Mobile Syrup

Apple Health app now supports vaccination QR codes from several provinces

With the release of iOS 15.0.1, Albertans can reportedly add their COVID-19 vaccination QR codes to the Apple Health app on their iPhones.

According iPhone in Canada, Alberta’s vaccination QR codes support the ‘SMART Health Card’ spec, which is why they work with the Health app. Unfortunately, they don’t work with the Apple Wallet app yet.

Further, Twitter users noted that both Saskatchewan and B.C. QR codes also work, while commenters on the iPhone in Canada article note Quebec’s QR code doesn’t.

For those in Ontario, the government’s vaccine verification app won’t arrive until October 22nd. However, other online services allow Ontario residents to turn their digital vaccination receipt into a QR code that can be saved to Apple Wallet. Alternatively, some people have created shortcuts to the digital vaccination receipt on their phone’s home screen for easy access.

Apple previously said that the feature would be available in an “upcoming software update,” which was presumed to be iOS 15.1. That’s still partially the case — support for the SMART Health Card spec in Apple Wallet will probably arrive with that update.

To add a vaccine QR code to the Apple Health app, iPhone users just need to point their camera at the official QR code provided by the government. A yellow ‘Health’ button should appear in the Camera app — tapping it will walk users through the steps to add the code to Health.

Image credit: Apple

Source: iPhone in Canada

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Mobile Syrup

How to Watch Lamar Odom vs Ojani Noa in Canada

For whatever reason (🤑), celebrity boxing bouts have rapidly become one of the most prominent and visibly marketed sporting events in the world, with previous iterations, such as Logan Paul vs. Floyd Mayweather and Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley selling a million and half a million Pay-Per-Views respectively.

Although questions about the sport’s quality going down the drain and the fighters’ lack of integrity have been raised, the numbers speak for themselves, and something about two celebrities going at each other seems to garner a lot of interest from casual boxing fans.

Hence next on the list is NBA’s 1999 fourth-round draft pick and 2-time champion Lamar Odom (41) going up against Cuban actor, producer and personal trainer Ojani Noa (47), who interestingly enough, also happens to be Jennifer Lopez’s first husband.

Schedule

The PPV event is set to take place tomorrow, Saturday, October 2nd at the James L. Knight Center, Miami, FL, with four undercards, starting at 8pm ET. Here is a list of fights taking place before the main event:

  • Natalie DiDonato vs. Maria Escobar
  • Paul Apostolides vs. Michael Gonzalez
  • Javante Carter vs. Wideneck
  • Paulie Malignaggi vs. Corey B

How to stream the event in Canada?

Canadians can tune into Fite TV (exclusive) to catch the PPV event for $29.99 USD ($38.09 CAD). Fite TV can be streamed on your browser and its app is available on iOS, Android as well as on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox and PlayStation. You don’t need to have a pre-existing or new subscription, just pay for the PPV and watch. Learn more or purchase the PPV here.

It’s worth noting that Canadian carriers usually have boxing events available on PPV, however, there seem to be none for this event.

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Mobile Syrup

Study finds algorithm can use smartphone sensor data to detect cannabis use

Researchers from Rutgers University in New Jersey say they can use smartphone data and machine learning to detect cannabis intoxication.

The project started as a proof-of-concept way to passively detect cannabis use rather than rely on existing testing measures like blood, urine or saliva tests. The researchers published their findings in the Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal (via CTV News).

The study involved an experiment with 57 young adults who reported using cannabis at least twice a week. Researchers asked participants to complete three surveys a day over 30 days. The survey asked about how high participants felt at a given time, when they had last used cannabis and the quantity consumed. Participants reported a total of 451 episodes of cannabis use.

Additionally, researchers asked participants to download a smartphone app that analyzed GPS data, phone logs, accelerometer data and other smartphone sensor data and usage statistics.

The researchers found that when looking at the time of day, a machine learning algorithm could detect an episode of cannabis use with 60 percent accuracy. With just the smartphone data, the algorithm had an accuracy of 67 percent.

But with both time-of-day data and sensor data combined, the algorithm accurately predicted cannabis use with 90 percent accuracy.

The researchers said that GPS and accelerometer sensor data were the most important in detecting cannabis use — the study found that participants didn’t travel as far while high, while the accelerometer could be used to measure body movements.

While certainly interesting results, there could be potential concerns with applying the algorithm in real-world scenarios. For example, bias in the algorithm (unintentional or otherwise) could skew results. Another problem could be the accuracy — 90 percent is impressive, but if you fall in the 10 percent where the algorithm gets it wrong, that could cause problems.

The researchers say that this is the first study to examine how smartphone sensors could help detect cannabis intoxication. However, some of the researchers were involved in a similar 2018 study that investigated if smartphone data could be used to detect heavy drinking episodes.

Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence Via: CTV News

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Mobile Syrup

Here’s what’s coming to BritBox in October 2021

BBC Studios and ITV have revealed what content is coming to BritBox, the companies’ British programming-focused streaming service, in October.

BritBox, which costs $8.99/month (or $89.99 per year), offers access to series like Doctor Who, Emmerdale and Five by Five and will add Vera Season 10, The Museum, The Lucan Mystery and more in October.

Check everything coming to the streaming platform next month below:

October 1st

  • 8 Out of 10 Cats: season 2 (BritBox Exclusive)

October 8th

  • Our Cops in the North: part 2 (BritBox Exclusive)

October 12th

  • Brideshead Revisited: Remastered in 4K (BritBox Exclusive)

October 15th

  • House of Cards Trilogy

BritBox is available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Android, Apple TV 4th Gen and more.