Category: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

Google’s Pixel Tablet reported to launch with 8GB RAM and four colour options

Google’s Pixel Tablet, which was first revealed at its 2022 I/O event, will likely release in June or July.

While we already know a lot about the upcoming tablet, many are still eagerly waiting for details regarding its specs and design.

Now, sources familiar with the Google tablet (via 9to5Google) have revealed new information about the Pixel Tablet, including RAM and colour options.

According to these sources, the Pixel Tablet will be available in a total of four colours, two of which have already been shown off by Google: a green rear case with a black bezel, and a white bezel with a beige/cream rear. The other two colours remain unclear for now.

Further, the Pixel Tablet will reportedly feature an aluminum body with a nanoceramic finish designed to provide a “soft matte look and textured feel.” It will also reportedly come equipped with a Tensor G2 processor, run Android 13, along with 8GB of RAM and two storage options.

Interestingly, the Pixel Tablet will ship with a Charging Speaker Dock. This dock will charge the tablet via the rear pogo pins, with power coming from a jack on the rear. This means that Google will likely not include a USB-C charging brick in the box.

Finally, sources have confirmed that Google will offer an official case for the Pixel Tablet.

With its powerful specs, sleek design, and innovative features, the Pixel Tablet promises to be a game-changer in the tablet market if Google truly commits to the space this time around. We’ll likely learn more about the tablet during Google I/O on May 10th. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

Source: 9to5Google

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Mobile Syrup

New on Disney+ Canada: May 2023

Disney has revealed the full list of movies and shows that are coming to its Disney+ streaming service in Canada in May.

This month’s highlights include the second season of the acclaimed Star Wars: Visions animated anthology series, American Born Chinese featuring Everything Everywhere All At Once‘s Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Shu and James Hong and The Kardashians Season 3.

May 3rd

  • Ed Sheeran: The Sum Of It All [Disney+ Original]
  • Pandora: Beneath the Paradise (New Episodes) [Star]
  • Pose (Season 3 Premiere – All Episodes Available) [Star]
  • Psy Summer Swag 2022 (Premiere) [Star]

May 4th

  • Star Wars: Visions (Volume 2) [Disney+ Original]
  • Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures (Disney+ Original]

May 5th

  • Entrelazados Live!
  • FX’s Great Expectations (New Episodes) [Star]
  • Planners (Season 1 – Premiere) [Star]
  • Queen Elizabeth II: A Royal Life – A Special Edition of 20/20 (Premiere) [Star]
  • Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Season 2 Premiere All Episodes Available) [Star]
  • Three Ways (Feature Film Premiere) [Star]

May 10th

  • Dois Tempos: (Season 1 – All Episodes) [Star]
  • FX’s Class of ’09 [Star]
  • Homeland (Season 8, all episodes) [Star]
  • Impuros: (Season 3 – Premiere)  [Star]
  • Lambert Contre Lambert: Au Nom De Vincent (Season 1, all episodes) [Star]
  • The Muppets Mayhem (Season 1) [Disney+ Original]
  • Race (Season 1 – Premiere) [Star]
  • Secrets of the Zoo: Tampa (Season 4, all episodes)

May 12th

  • Crater [Disney+ Original]

May 19th

  • White Men Can’t Jump [Star]

May 24th

  • American Born Chinese (Season 1, all episodes) [Disney+ Original]
  • Abbott Elementary (Season 2 – All Episodes Available) [Star]
  • Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life (Season 2) [Disney+ Original]
  • The Clearing [Star]
  • Crazy Love (Season 1, all episodes) [Star]
  • Entrelazados (Season 2 premiere, all episodes)
  • Link: Eat, Love, Kill (Season 1, all episodes) [Star]
  • Secrets of the Elephants

May 25th

  • The Kardashians (Season 3) [Star]

May 31st

  • Aktris (Season 1, all episodes) [Star]

A Disney+ subscription costs $11.99/month or $119.99/year.

The full list of movies and shows hitting Disney+ Canada in April can be found here.

Image credit: Disney

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Mobile Syrup

If you’re a Telus or Koodo customer, check your messages – you might have a $70/50GB promotion

Telus and its flanker brand Koodoo are currently offering their 50GB plan for $70 a month.

The 50GB plan normally costs $90 with Telus, while Koodo doesn’t have plans above 20GB listed on its website.

The discounted plan pricing isn’t available on the carriers’ websites. MobileSyrup editor-in-chief Patrick O’Rourke received the promotion pricing from Telus/Koodo via text.

If you’re a Telus or Koodo customer, check your messages, you might have the promotion available to you as well.

The promotion is available online at Koo.do/TelusOffer and at Telus and Koodo stores.

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Mobile Syrup

Apple’s WWDC might feature new MacBooks, watchOS updates and more

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is approaching fast, with the event set to take place this June. The keynote has been highly anticipated, with rumours of Apple’s own mixed reality headset originally rumoured to premiere at the conference.

However, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reports that the event could feature more launches than we thought, including new MacBooks alongside expected updates like a new version of the Apple Watch’s watchOS software.

Looking at MacBooks, Gurman doesn’t directly state which model he believes will launch at the WWDC in June. However, he does mention a handful of devices that are slated to release later this year or in early 2024. These include an updated 13-inch MacBook Air, a “high-end” MacBook Pro and an all-new 15-inch MacBook Air. There are even reports of the new MacBooks featuring OLED displays.

The report states that “at least some of the new laptops” will appear at the event. Despite this being great news for MacBook users looking to buy a new laptop, the bad news is that the new models are unlikely to run Apple’s next-generation M3 chips.

Although some Mac Studio computers featuring the M3 chips are in development, it’s unclear when they’ll be released.

As for software, watchOS will reportedly receive a major update that includes an overhauled interface. Apart from that, this year’s event could be quiet for operating system updates. Gurman did report that work allowing sideloading on iOS to comply with upcoming EU legislation is ongoing, despite some company backlash.

The most anticipated reveal is likely Apple’s mixed reality headset rumoured to be called the ‘Reality Pro.’ The headset will reportedly run a brand-new operating system known as xrOS, with the company expected to pitch developers on making software for the headset at the WWDC.

It was reported by Bloomberg back in January that the device would feature hand and eye tracking, a digital crown to switch between AR and VR and digital avatar support for FaceTime calls. Finally, it’s expected to have a price of around $3,000 USD (approximately $4,021 CAD).

With exciting developments across the board, this year’s WWDC could be far more packed than earlier rumours indicated. WWDC 2023 runs from June 5th – 9th.

Image credit: Apple

Source: Bloomberg Via: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Sega is planning to acquire Angry Birds developer Rovio in new deal

Sega is planning some big moves with the company looking to take over Rovio, the Finnish company responsible for the Angry Birds series.

The Japanese entertainment giant announced its plans to takeover Rovio recently with The Wall Street Journal marking the nearly $775 million deal as “close to completion.”

Sega has clarified that it is looking to grow its position in the mobile gaming world, a market that Rovio knows very well. They are planning to use the Finnish company’s experience to help bring Sega’s intellectual property to the mobile world.

The deal has been approved by Rovio’s board and shareholders and puts a $775 million price tag on the studio. Once acquired, Rovio will join companies like Creative Assemble and Sports Interactive as part of Sega Europe.

Sega is confident that the deal will be completed by September 2023.

In a press release, the company said that it expects mobile gaming to grow to 56 percent of the overall gaming market by 2026, making this the ideal team to team with Rovio.

Sega is looking to help Rovio too, with the company planning on helping the Angry Birds developer expand its reach to other platforms besides the mobile world. Sega also noted that both companies have been active in multimedia, with both Angry Birds and Sonic the Hedgehog adding movies to their franchises.

Rovio is of course known for its 2009 Angry Birds app, the hit mobile game was one of the touchstones of the mobile game revolution that took over the App Store during the early 2010s.

Since then, however, the company has struggled to grow itself following the popularity of Angry Birds. Sega’s acquisition will look to take what Rovio does best with mobile gaming and scale up the company in return.

Sega’s takeover will follow a handful of other blockbuster deals in recent memory, such as Sony’s multi-billion dollar acquisition of Bungie and Microsoft’s ongoing purchase of Activision Blizzard.

Whether it’s Sonic the Hedgehog coming to mobile gaming or a new Angry Birds launch in theatres, Sega’s planned purchase of Rovio looks to bring exciting new plans to both teams.

Source: Sega Via: Polygon

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Mobile Syrup

Legendary Halo designer joins Netflix to create original AAA game

Joseph Staten, one of the key players behind the original Halo games, has joined Netflix to create a new IP.

The developer recently tweeted that he is now the creative director on a “brand-new AAA multiplatform game and original IP” at Netflix. While Staten had confirmed earlier this month that he had left Microsoft, we’re only now finding out where he ended up. No further details on the Netflix project were provided.

Staten is a major get for Netflix’s burgeoning games division, as he served as a writer and the director of cinematics on Bungie’s Halo games. After working on Destiny for Bungie, he left the company to join Microsoft proper as a senior creative director, writing the likes of ReCore and Crackdown 3. Microsoft would later bring him on to help 343 Industries ship the long-delayed Halo Infinite in 2020. However, Halo Infinite‘s post-launch support has been rocky, while 343 itself has lost a lot of staff, so it makes sense that Staten was looking elsewhere.

Netflix Games, meanwhile, is very much still in its infancy following a November 2021 launch. Currently, there are around 55 games on the platform, which offer several mobile titles to Netflix subscribers at no additional cost. Last month, Netflix also confirmed that there are nearly 100 games in development for the platform, with 16, in particular, being made in-house.

As part of those first-party efforts, the company has purchased a handful of studios, including Oxenfree developer Night School Entertainment, while also opening one in Helsinki, Finland. Netflix is also early in development on a cloud service that would bring its game to other platforms its service supports, such as smart TVs. It remains to be seen how Staten will factor into Netflix’s gaming ambitions.

Image credit: Xbox

Source: Joseph Staten

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Mobile Syrup

Google’s Pixel 7a might release in May close to Google I/O

Google’s Pixel 6a and 5a were both released in the third quarter of 2022 and 2021, respectively. The Pixel 6a released in July of last year, while the Pixel 5a dropped in August of 2021.

However, the upcoming Pixel 7a will likely release in the current (second) quarter, deviating from Google’s original timeline.

According to leaker @_snoopytech_, the Pixel 7a could release around Google I/O, which is scheduled for May 10th, 2023.

SnoopyTech said that the Pixel 7A is “set to arrive at retail-stores” within the next two weeks, which might indicate a reveal/release at or around Google I/O.

A previous leak suggested the Pixel 7a will launch alongside the upcoming Pixel Fold in mid-June. However, SnoopyTech’s tweet indicates that there’s no sign of Pixel Fold units headed to retail stores at this point.

Additionally, SnoopyTech added that there is no fourth ‘Jade’ colour of the Pixel 7a, as was previously hinted at, and colour options will be limited to ‘Black,’ ‘White’ and ‘Blue.’

From what we know so far, the Pixel 7a is expected to look very similar to its predecessor and the Pixel 7, borrowing the metal camera visor design that differentiated the Pixel 7 series from the Pixel 6 series. The phone will feature a 6.1-inch OLED display, reportedly with a 90Hz refresh rate. It will run on Google’s Tensor G2 chip, just like the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, and sport 5W wireless charging.

The Pixel 6a sells for $599 in Canada, and the 7a will likely cost roughly the same price.

Source: @_snoopytech_ Via 9to5Google

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Mobile Syrup

Ericsson and federal government invest in research, new jobs, at provider’s Montreal and Ottawa facilities

The Government of Canada and Ericsson have entered a five-year partnership focusing on research and development.

The investment is valued at $470 million and will help Ericsson create jobs that center on 5G Advanced, 6G, AI, Cloud RAN, and Core Network technologies.

Funding will go towards the Ottawa and Montreal facilities, which will also help expand the Montreal-based Quantum Research hub.

“We are already seeing the benefits of next-generation technologies such as 5G and AI, yet we are still in the early days of their potential to transform our work, leisure, and social lives,” Börje Ekholm, Ericsson’s president and CEO, said.

“Ericsson’s R&D investment partnership with the Canadian government, supported by world-class talent in Ottawa and Montreal, will boost innovation and ultimately help to improve the lives of millions of people.”

Image credit: Shutterstock 

Source: Ericsson

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Mobile Syrup

Google races to modernize Search Engine with AI features to meet competition

In March this year, Google realized that its search engine is facing the biggest threat that it has in 25 years.

It learned that Samsung was considering replacing the default Google Search engine with Bing on its devices, as reported by The New York Times.

According to internal messages reviewed by the publication, Google’s first reaction to the news was “panic,” and rightfully so. If Samsung switches to Bing as its default engine, Google’s $3 billion (roughly $4 billion CAD) in annual revenue would be at stake. “An additional $20 billion is tied to a similar Apple contract that will be up for renewal this year,” wrote the publication.

To counter the competition, Google is currently racing to build an all-new search engine powered by AI technology.

Codenamed Project Magi, designers, engineers and executives at Google are reportedly working in so-called sprint rooms to tweak and test the latest version of the AI search engine. According to the publication, the new search engine would offer users a far more personalized experience than the current search engine.

Lara Levin, a Google spokeswoman, said in a statement that “not every brainstorm deck or product idea leads to a launch, but as we’ve said before, we’re excited about bringing new A.I.-powered features to search, and will share more details soon.”

The new AI tools for the Google Search engine are anticipated to be made available to the public next month, with further updates and features scheduled for release in the fall. The report also suggests that the company will release the tool to roughly one million people initially and expand to 30 million by the end of 2023. In the beginning, the feature will remain exclusive to U.S. users.

Read the full The New York Times report here.

Source: The New York Times

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Mobile Syrup

Bell provided the fastest mobile and fixed broadband services in Q1 2023: Ookla

Bell offered the fastest mobile operating speeds in Canada in the first quarter of 2023, Ookla reports.

The company’s Q1 2023 Canada Market Report shows Bell offered a median download speed of 111.11Mbps. The last quarter listed Telus as providing the top download speed. While the Vancounver-based company’s speed did improve to 102.47Mbps in the most recent quarter, it didn’t match Bell’s pace.

While Rogers offered the slowest mobile download speeds, it ranked first in upload speeds. The company’s speeds were 13.14Mbps, compared to 11.12Mbps at Bell and 10.98Mbps at Telus.

Bell also offered the best 5G connection, with a 5G media download speed of 183.29 Mbps. Telus offered the second fastest speed at 158.56Mbps and Rogers was third with 125.64Mbps.

Devices

There are many smartphones available for Canadians to pick from. However, according to Ookla’s Q1 results, a singular device doesn’t statistically stand out as being better than the others.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max, for example, offers a download speed of 148.75Mbps, an upload speed of 21.20Mbps and a latency of 36ms. In comparison, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a download speed of 139.94Mbps, an upload of 21.06Mbps, and a 36ms latency.

There was also no “statistical winner” in the manufacturers or chipset developer categories.

Fixed Broadband

On the fixed broadband side, Bell also scored the highest, with its fibre network providing a download speed of 281.94 Mbps. Rogers ranked second with 270.84Mbps, and Shaw third with 242.29Mbps.

Bell’s fibre network also had the fastest media upload speeds at 235.72Mbps. Telu’s fibre network ranked second with 175.45Mbps and Shaw third with 75.55Mbps.

Source: Ookla