Author: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

Best Buy is back with their limited-time Smart Home sale

If you’re ready to take your lair (home) from smart to supervillain levels of intelligence, Best Buy has the sale for you. You can finally find out whose dog is leaving surprises for you every morning with the latest Wi-Fi security cameras, or light up your life with an LED light strip with the Smart Home sale from the Canadian retailer.

Top deals include Philips Hue Smart Bulbs, Swann Security Cameras, and a Samsung 75-inch QLED TV.

Check them out below:

Eufy 2k Wi-Fi Video Doorbell
$229.99 (save $50)

EufyCam 2 Pro Wireless Security System with 2 Bullet 2K Cameras
$399.99 (save $80)

EufyCam 2 Wireless Security System with 2 Bullet 1080p Cameras
$349.99 (save $80)

MYSA Smart Thermostat for Electric Baseboard Heating
$129.99 (save $10)

Arlo Pro 4 Wire-Free Outdoor 2K Add-On Security Camera
$229.99 (save $40)

Philips Hue A19 Smart Bluetooth LED Light Bulbs – 3 Pack
$119.99 (save $40)

TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Lite – 4 Pack
$19.99 (save $25)

Google Nest Hub Smart Display with Google Assistant
$69.97 (save $30)

Tzumi auraLED ColorStrip Smart Bluetooth LED Light Strip With Remote – 6.5 ft.
$19.99 (save $10)

Swann Wired 8-CH 1TB DVR Security System with 8 Bullet 1080p Cameras
$329.99 (save $170)

Samsung 75″ 4K UHD HDR QLED Tizen OS Smart TV (QN75QN88AAFXZC) – 2021
$3799.99 (save $300)

Check back for more deals from Canadian tech retailers.

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

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Mobile Syrup

Amazon could have plans to reveal wall-mounted Echo, soundbar and more

A new leak-filled report from Bloomberg suggests that Amazon is on the verge of releasing at least three new Echo devices, among other Alexa features.

Around five years ago and after the failure of the Fire smartphone, I would have never expected Amazon to be such a dominant player in the tech space, but the company has proven me wrong with its expansive line of Fire TVs and smart home hardware.

The retail giant has a new hardware event coming up on September 28th, so it stands to reason that we’re about to see several new Echo devices, and this leaked report outlines exactly what we should expect.

Alexa soundbars

The report states that Amazon is working on a new soundbar with Alexa integration and a camera. This would ideally be used to make video calls from your TV, similar to Facebook’s Portal TV device.

This wouldn’t be the first soundbar with built-in access to Alexa, but it would offer users pretty substantial value as a soundbar. It will be interesting to see if it also runs Fire TV or something more akin to an Echo smart display.

Wall-mounted Echo smart display

Amazon has finally done it… reportedly. The leaks also mention that the company is working to port over a 15-inch smart display into some sort of wall-mounted smart home controller. I think this is a really smart idea, even if people don’t naturally gravitate towards buying it.

In my apartment, the moment I raised my smart display from table height to counter height, I started interacting with its touchscreen on it a lot more. I think this is simply because now I don’t have to bend over to use it.

That said, the leak indicates Amazon’s device will feature a 15-inch screen, which seems a little large. Still, I’ll reserve any more judgement until I see what it’s like if Amazon actually reveals it next week.

New Echo Auto

Alongside the other two new pieces of hardware, it looks like Amazon isn’t giving up on its in-car smart assistant dreams.  The latest update may include a way to charge a user’s smartphone.

I always found the Echo Auto a bit of an awkward device, so it will be exciting to see if Amazon has innovated on the previous version in any meaningful way if this leak ends up being true.

We might not see the Alexa robot

Over the past few years, there have been several rumours that Amazon is working on a smart home robot akin to the Samsung Ballie robot, at least in concept. However, the latest report claims that some Amazon engineers are against the product and are not sure that it’s actually something people want.

They might be right.

Karaoke feature on Alexa

The report also mentions a scrapped Karaoke machine that featured Alexa. This sounds hilarious and kind of useful if you could ask Amazon’s assistant to play songs back for you to sing along to.

Overall, this is stacking up to be a pretty lacklustre Amazon show, but perhaps the company will have a few surprises that will steal the headlines. The event takes place on Tuesday, September 28th at 12pm ET/9am PT.

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft promises Surface Duo will get Android 11 by end of year

Although a lot of attention has been on the shiny new Surface Duo 2 Microsoft announced this week, some came out of the announcement wondering about the original Duo.

Namely, will it ever get Android 11? It kind of seems like a no-brainer — Microsoft is launching Android 11 on the Duo 2, so it shouldn’t be hard to bring it to the O.G. Duo too. Right?

Well, the good news is that the Surface Duo will get Android 11 (yay!). The bad news? There’s no official date for it, although Microsoft did tell The Verge it would be before the end of the year:

“We remain committed to providing updates to Surface Duo, and we’re working to bring Android 11 to existing customers before the end of this year.”

While it’s good to know that Android 11 is coming, a few questions still remain unanswered. For one, we’re not sure what features and improvements Android 11 will bring to the Surface Duo. That said, Android 11 does have native support for dual-screen devices, so that alone may significantly improve parts of the software experience.

The Verge also notes that during its hands-on time with the Surface Duo 2, the multitasking system seemed largely unchanged with only some minor tweaks. It’s not clear how much of that will come to the Duo, or whether it will fix the bugginess that has plagued the device since launch.

There’s also a concern about how long it took Microsoft to bring Android 11 to the original Duo. It’s not uncommon for Android phone makers to roll out a major update roughly a year behind Google’s annual upgrade cadence, but when you’re paying the amount of money Microsoft charges for the Duo or Duo 2, that shouldn’t be the case. Hopefully the Surface Duo update process isn’t indicative of the Duo 2.

Source: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro could sport significantly improved camera hardware

It looks like Google will finally offer improved camera hardware in a smartphone with the upcoming Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.

Don’t get me wrong — Pixel phones have always had great cameras. But Google has used the same 12.2-megapixel IMX363 sensor since the Pixel 3. As good as Google’s software wizardry is, that sensor has started to show its age.

However, according to details from XDA Developers, the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro could bring a significant camera hardware improvement. The publication obtained an unreleased version of Google’s Camera app and details about the new Pixel camera system.

Starting with the main camera, the hardware will leap significantly to 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 in photos and videos (except 4K, where zoom is capped at 7x) and 4K/60fps video recording.

Although certainly some exciting hardware, it wouldn’t be a Pixel camera without software enhancements to match.

The Pixel 6 cameras will reportedly allow for manual white balance, giving photographers more control over how their images look. There’s also a ‘magic eraser’ feature, which sounds like it could be a tool for removing objects from an image. Android Police points out that this could be a version of the object removal promised (but never delivered) for Google Photos.

XDA highlights a few other possible camera features, including a ‘face deblur’ feature already confirmed by Google. It works to deblur faces in HDR images by capturing multiple photos with the main and ultra-wide sensors and combining the information to fix faces.

Finally, there were mentions of ‘motion blur,’ ‘portrait spotlight,’ ‘nima aesthetic’ and ‘baby mode,’ which might work as follows (based on the limited information we have so far):

  • Motion blur: in-development feature will add “creative blur effects to your photos.”
  • Portrait spotlight: Not entirely clear what it is, but XDA notes the feature is enable in Pixel 6 and 5a configuration files.
  • Nima aesthetic: Appears to be related to existing ‘Top Shot‘ feature, but unclear what it does.
  • Baby mode: Possibly a feature meant to detect babies and capture photos of them, but unclear.

All in all, it sounds like the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro could have really powerful camera hardware and software, a welcome change for the Pixel line. Of course, it’s essential to keep in mind that these are leaks, and some of the information may be inaccurate or could change in the future.

Source: XDA Developers Via: Android Police

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Mobile Syrup

Quebec, New Brunswick: PlayStation 5 bundles to be available at Tanguay at 2 pm EST

Tanguay, a Quebec-based website, announced via its Facebook page that it’ll have PlayStation 5 bundles available in a “very limited quantity” today, September 24th, at 2pm EST.

While there is no mention about which bundle will be on sale, the photo suggests it’ll be a Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War bundle with two DualSense controllers.

It’s also worth noting that this offer is available to Quebec and New Brunswick residents only, as Tanguay only delivers in those two provinces.

Source: Tanguay Via: @Lbabinz

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Mobile Syrup

Enter for a chance to win a free Surface Laptop Go and Nest Hub Max

This contest is pretty different from our previous ones as we’re giving away, not one, but two items a Surface Laptop Go and Nest Hub Max. 

The Surface Laptop Go features the 10th gen Intel i5 processor with 128GB of storage, and 8GB of RAM and this one comes in Ice Blue.

In MobileSyrup’s writer Jon’s review he said:

I really want to love the Surface Laptop Go. It’s so close to being perfect for me. It’s lightweight and extremely portable. It has some of the best keyboards and trackpads I’ve used on a Windows laptop. It looks way more premium than it is. I can even forgive the sub-par display, but for the price, the corners Microsoft cut just aren’t acceptable.

However, since the device is free it’s definitely worth entering this contest. Subscribe to our newsletter using the form below for your chance to win:

Now, the Nest Hub Max offers a bigger design than the Nest Hub and offers a bigger, more visible display and a better speak, which Patrick says was a “pleasure to use.” 

The contest ends October 21st and the winner will be announced shortly after.

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Mobile Syrup

The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War launches on Android and iOS

A new mobile game based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved The Lord of the Rings series has been released.

Developed by NetEase (Diablo Immortal) in partnership with Warner Bros., The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War is described as a “geo-strategic seasonal wargame” in which you manage an army and pursue The One Ring.

To do that, you’ll be able to assemble iconic LOTR characters like Gandalf, Aragorn and Gollum. Notably, the game is set in the Peter Jackson LOTR film universe, rather than a new take on Tolkien’s iconic fantasy series.

In terms of gameplay, Rise to War appears to be quite similar to most other kingdom-building titles. It’s also got purchases that use real money to acquire in-game resources, like many other mobile games.

Rise to War can be downloaded for free on Android and iOS.

Image credit: Warner Bros.

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Mobile Syrup

Here are the Netflix Originals launching in October 2021

Each month, Netflix adds new original content to its platform.

This October, TV shows and movies like Army of Thieves, On My Block season 4, Bright: Samurai Soul, Sex, Love and goop, Locke & Key, Dynasty season 4 and You season 3.

This list is curated for Canadians who primarily subscribe to Netflix for its original content. If you’re looking for all of the shows and movies coming to Netflix in October, click here.

Below are all the Netflix originals coming this month:

Coming Soon

  • A World Without — Netflix Film (Indonesia) 
  • An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts — Netflix Series (Italy) 
  • Call My Agent: Bollywood — Netflix Series (India)
  • Inspector Koo — Netflix Series (South Korea) 
  • The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea — Netflix Documentary 

October 1st

October 3rd

October 4th

October 5th

October 6th

October 7th

October 8th

October 9th

October 11th

October 12th

October 13th

October 14th

October 15th

October 16th

October 19th

  • In for a Murder / W jack morderstwo – Netflix Film (Poland) 

October 20th

October 21st

October 22nd

October 26th

  • Sex: Unzipped — Netflix Series 

October 27th

October 28th

October 29th

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Mobile Syrup

Here’s everything that was revealed during September’s Nintendo Direct

If you didn’t know, Nintendo’s highly anticipated fall Direct just wrapped up.

Altogether, the show ran for just over 40 minutes and brought with it a slew of Switch game announcements and other reveals.

You can watch the show above. Of course, there was quite a bit shown off at a breakneck pace, so here’s a far quicker rundown of everything was featured, in order:

  • Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak expansion — releasing summer 2022
  • Mario Party Superstars — new boards revealed (game releasing October 29th, 2021)
  • Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars — a new card-based RPG from Nier creator Yoko Taro (free demo tonight, full game releasing on October 28th)
  • Disco Elysium: The Final Cut — releasing October 12th
  • Age of Calamity Guardian of Remembrance DLC — releasing October 29th
  • Chocobo GP racing game — releasing exclusively on Switch in 2022
  • Final Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character reveal is coming October 5th at 7am PT/10am ET
  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land — 3D Kirby game officially revealed following a leak for a spring 2022 release
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons-focused Direct coming in October
  • Mario Golf: Super Rush — getting new courses and other free content tonight
  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic coming to Switch on November 11th
  • Dying Light 2 coming to Switch via the cloud in February 4th, 2022
  • Triangle Strategy (Square Enix strategy game formerly known as Project Triangle Strategy) is coming exclusively to Switch on March 4th, 2022
  • A new look at Metroid Dread, releasing October 8th
  • N64 and Sega Genesis games are coming to Switch Online, including Ocarina of Time, Mario 64, Castlevania Bloodlines and Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • N64 and Sega Genesis controllers are being released
  • Shadowrun Trilogy coming to Switch in 2022
  • Castlevania Advance Collection releasing today
  • Act Raiser Renaissance (remake) is out now
  • Deltarune Chapter 1&2 coming to Switch today for free
  • Shigeru Miyamoto comes out to reveal Mario movie coming December 2022, alongside cast announcements like Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong and Chris Pratt as Mario
  • New look at Splatoon 3, coming in 2022
  • The show ended with the first-ever gameplay reveal for Bayonetta 3, nearly four years after its announcement — releasing 2022

And there you have it! That doesn’t account for the upcoming Smash and Animal Crossing streams, or other notable releases like Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (November 19th) and Shin Megami Tensei V (November 11th).

The Switch OLED is also set to release on October 8th alongside Metroid Dread. Stay tuned to MobileSyrup for full coverage on the Switch’s stacked release calendar.

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Mobile Syrup

Google clarifies Assistant Driving mode is baked into Android, coming soon

The long, drawn-out saga that is Google Assistant’s Driving Mode might finally be coming to a close.

Google has outlined its in-car info strategy for the fall, and it’s finally committing to a release window for the smartphone-based driving mode.

Google says that the feature is rolling out in the coming weeks to the U.S., Canada, Ireland, India, and other countries. Once it’s available, drivers can say a phrase like “Ok Google, Let’s drive” to launch the system. If you say this phrase currently, the operating system tosses you to Google Maps, where you’ll see the app launcher from Assitant Driving Mode, but nothing else.

Once Driving mode launches, it takes over your screen and transforms into a more straightforward distraction-free interface. This includes large touch targets for buttons and restricted access to most apps. This time, the user-interface is designed to be accessed through voice first.

While I’d argue that this does look better than the phone-based version of Android Auto, it’s not exactly what Google showed off in 2019. It also matches the in-car Android Auto interface that appears when you plug your phone in, which is a nice touch.

What Google is less clear is what sort of update this feature requires. For example, will this be something that only Android 12 users can utilize, or will it roll back to an older version of the OS through an app like Android Auto did in its early days?

Source: Google