Category: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

Apple reportedly delaying product releases to cut costs

In an effort to avoid the mass layoffs other tech giants have opted for amid the looming recession, Apple reportedly plans to push the release of several 2023 projects to next year at the earliest.

In Mark Gurman’s latest Bloomberg Power On newsletter, the frequently reliable source of Apple leaks says the tech giant’s often-rumoured HomePod with a display has been pushed back to “allocate its research and development budget to more pressing projects.”

Gurman says these delays are part of a company-wide effort to reduce costs to avoid layoffs. Other measures include certain Apple teams only getting one bonus this year, a hiring freeze and reduced travel budgets, just to name a few examples Bloomberg cites.

Apple is expected to reveal several high-profile projects in 2023, including a new M series chip-powered Mac Pro and its mixed reality headset, a device that’s been rumoured for nearly half a decade.

Though Gurman doesn’t say what devices will be delayed beyond the HomePod with a screen, it’s possible these products will be pushed back to a 2024 release. Earlier rumours point to Apple revealing its AR/VR headset at WWDC, which is typically held in early June.

You can find Bloomberg’s full report here.

Header image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Bloomberg

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Mobile Syrup

Eastlink to increase roaming costs on April 20

Eastlink is the latest provider in Canada to up the cost of its roaming services.

Under easyTravel, Eastlink customers can use the same plan they have at home for $12 a day if they’re travelling to the U.S. and $15/day internationally.

But come April 20th, the prices will increase to $13/day for the U.S. and $16/day internationally, according to information a reader shared with MobileSyrup.

Eastlink is following a trend that saw Telus and Koodo increase their costs on March 8th. Bell and its flanker brand Virgin Plus also implemented a $1 increase on March 9th.

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Mobile Syrup

This tool prevents artists from having their work copied by AI softwares

AI has taken the world by storm over the last year, and AI-generated art has been one of the several areas at the forefront.

The technology, which creates art using prompts provided by users, has also been a source of controversy. As recently as January, AI firm Stability AI was sued by Stock content giant Getty Images, stating that the firm unlawfully copied and processed “millions” of Getty’s images that were protected by copyright without a license. Stability AI’s ‘Stable Diffusion’ was allegedly using material picked up from the internet and from Getty’s catalogue without permission.

Before the legal action taken by Getty, Stability AI was already facing a class action lawsuit in the United States. It was reportedly filed by three artists claiming the AI tool is using their images, and their copyright has been infringed (via Barrons).

To prevent such theft of intellectual property, researchers from the University of Chicago SAND Lab have created a tool called Glaze that aims to prevent artists from having their art styles learned and imitated by AI software, as shared by MakeUseOf.

Essentially, the tool adds a “very small change” to an artist’s artwork before it is shared online. The small change, which Glaze calls ‘Cloaking’ is barely visible to the human eye, and the cloaked version of the art looks nearly identical to the original, all while preventing AI models from copying the art or its style. Changes made by Glaze are more visible on art with flat colors and smooth backgrounds. “We refer to these added changes as a “style cloak” and changed artwork as “cloaked artwork,” wrote Glaze.

Further, with Glaze, an AI model trains on cloaked versions of an artist’s art and learns a different style from the artist’s original visual style. When it’s asked to mimic the specific artist’s art, the AI model produces art that is distinctively different from the artist’s style.

University of Chicago SAND Lab’s research paper on Glaze can be found here. Glaze Beta2 is now available for download.

Image credit: Glaze

Source: Glaze Via: MakeUseOf

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Mobile Syrup

March security patch starts rolling out to Pixel 6 series after delay

The March 2023 security patch is now rolling out to Google’s Pixel 6 series of phones, including the Pixel 6, 6 Pro and 6a.

The update was initially delayed, with other Pixel phones getting it on March 13th — a week later than usual. However, the Pixel 6 devices were mysteriously absent from the 13th release.

There’s some speculation that the delay was related to the first-gen Tensor chip since it’s a common element across all three Pixel 6 devices. Plus, there’s the recent revelation that exploits in Samsung-made modems could allow malicious actors to access things like phone calls or text messages using just your phone number.

A patch for the exploits rolled out in the March security update for Pixels, but since it was delayed for the Pixel 6 series, some have wondered if there was an issue related to fixing those flaws on phones with the first-gen Tensor chip.

Of course, we don’t know for sure if that’s the case, though it seems possible. Regardless, the update is rolling out now. You can get it by heading into Settings > System > System update.

Aside from security fixes, the March patch includes some changes to the appearance of Quick Settings and minor tweaks to the Pixel Launcher. There are also tons of other bugfixes for the Pixel 6 series, including extra tuning for haptics, a fix for a bug that stopped the bootloader from unlocking in certain conditions, and a fix for a problem that stopped the devices from booting to Android.

Source: 9to5Google

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft’s Xbox mobile gaming store could release as soon as 2024

Microsoft envisions a future where Apple will be forced to open up its App Store to third-party storefronts and hopes to take advantage of this changing tide with its own Xbox mobile marketplace.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said that Microsoft wants “to be in a position to offer Xbox content from both us and our third-party partners across any screen where somebody would want to play.”

“Today, we can’t do that on mobile devices but we want to build towards a world that we think will be coming where those devices are opened up,” said Spencer.

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of Xbox’s mobile gaming ambitions. Back in October, Microsoft detailed plans to build its own mobile apps store in a filing to the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority tied to its pending purchase of Activision Blizzard.

The Xbox mobile store will likely feature notable Activision Blizzard-owned mobile games like Candy Crush Saga, Call of Duty Mobile, Diablo Immortal and more.

While Microsoft could easily launch an Xbox storefront on Android right now, it needs regulators to push Apple to allow alternative stores on the iPhone and iPad. Through the EU’s Digital Markets Act, this could become a reality in the coming months.

“The Digital Markets Act that’s coming — those are the kinds of things that we are planning for,” said Spencer. “I think it’s a huge opportunity.” Microsoft has a small presence in mobile gaming right now, and the Xbox maker admitted that in a filing with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last year: “Microsoft currently has no meaningful presence in mobile gaming and the [Activision Blizzard] transaction will bring much needed expertise in mobile game development, marketing and advertising,” said Spencer during the interview.

Microsoft’s Xbox App Store will also likely be tied to its Xbox Cloud Gaming platform that allows players to stream dozens of titles, which is available through a native app on Android and via a browser on iPhone. With this in mind, it likely wouldn’t be difficult for Microsoft to adapt this app into a more unified app store on Android, and then port it over to iOS.

Source: Financial Times Via: Polygon

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Mobile Syrup

Toronto ranks one of the least likely Canadian cities to survive The Last of Us-style apocalypse

How would Canadian cities fare during a zombie apocalypse?

It’s a question that online rental platform Rentola Canada has been looking to answer amid the popularity of HBO’s The Last of Us in a new ranking. Notably, Edmonton took home the top spot, while Toronto came in quite low.

To compile the report, Rentola looked at Statistics Canada data for 35 of the country’s metropolitan areas in five different categories:

  • Vulnerability — population density, perceived physical and mental health
  • Hideouts — average household space, green spaces, vacancy rate
  • Supplies — everything from fuel and weapons to food and medicine
  • Safety — crime rate and number of firearms
  • Mobility — the prevalence of walking, running and cycling, the number of roads

Min-max normalization was then used to index the data sources on a 1-10 scale, with 1 representing worst and 10 representing best.

Overall, Edmonton received high marks across the board, leading it to claim the top spot with an average of 7.6. In particular, the Alberta town got 10/10 in both hideouts and mobility. Saskatoon, meanwhile, came ever so slightly in second with 7.95, while Guelph, Ontario rounded out the top three with 7.0.

Toronto, for comparison, scored a dismal 4.66, particularly due to 1.0 for vulnerability and 2.0/10 for supplies. It did score fairly high (8.45) in hideouts, though.

See below for the full rankings:

1. Edmonton
2. Saskatoon
3. Guelph, Ontario
4. Calgary
5. Regina
6. Winnipeg
7. Kelowna, British Columbia
8. Greater Sudbury, Ontario
9. Kingston, Ontario
10. Abbotsford, British Columbia
11. London, Ontario
12. Windsor, Ontario
13. Oshawa, Ontario
14. Ottawa
15. Peterborough, Ontario
16. Brantford, Ontario
17. St. Catharines, Ontario
18. Halifax
19. Hamilton, Ontario
20. Barrie, Ontario
21. Thunder Bay, Ontario
22. Vancouver
23. St. John’s
24. Quebec City
25. Kitchener, Ontario
26. Victoria
27. Lethbridge, Alberta
28. Moncton, New Brunswick
29. Toronto
30. Saguenay, Quebec
31. Sherbrook, Quebec
32. Montreal
33. Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
34. Belleville, Ontario
35. Saint John, New Brunswick

It’s especially interesting that Edmonton and Calgary are two of the top cities, given that The Last of Us series was partially filmed in those cities as part of a year-long shoot in Alberta. Therefore, it’s almost poetic that the province that stood in for such a major interpretation of the post-apocalypse would, hypothetically, end up being well-prepared for a real-life one. The second season of the series is also expected to film in Alberta either this year or next.

What cities are you most surprised to see ranked where they are and why? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: HBO

Source: Rentola

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Mobile Syrup

Google tests Messages tweak that adds contact photos to chats

Google likes to test all kinds of little tweaks and changes in its apps, and the latest is a small update to Messages that would add a contact photo to the top of your conversations.

Currently, the Messages app shows a contact’s name at the top of the screen when viewing the conversation, along with icons to start a video call, phone call, or search the chat. However, in Messages version ‘20230313_01_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic,’ the top bar gets the contact photo on the left side of the name.

Unfortunately, the addition of the contact photo means the search function gets relegated to the overflow menu. That could be a major inconvenience if you often search your conversations.

On the whole, I think having the contact photo is a net positive. It should make it easier to parse who you’re talking with at a glance.

Interestingly, Android Police notes that the contact photo change isn’t showing for people who download the beta, indicating the roll out could be limited in some way or another. That’s hardly a surprise though, given Google A/B tests just about every minor addition to its apps.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Android Police

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Mobile Syrup

Man-child Musk sets Twitter’s press email to auto-reply with poop emoji

We already know that Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that he doesn’t believe in “manipulating public opinion,” and hence he disbanded Tesla’s Public Relations (PR) department back in October 2020.

Now, with his new venture Twitter, Elon Musk is taking a different route. Instead of completely disbanding its press email, Musk Tweeted that any emails sent to press@twitter.com will now be auto-responded with the poop emoji.

MobileSyrup can confirm that the development is true, and sending an inquiry email to the press account does indeed lead to an auto-reply with the poop emoji.

It’s worth noting that Twitter’s PR team was dedicatedly active until Musk took over the social media company in October last year. He then decided to lay off more than half of Twitter’s employees in a bid to cut costs and the social media company’s communication team was one of the first to go.

The same is true for Musk’s other companies, including Starlink.  Company investors have begged Musk to reinstate a PR team for Tesla and Starlink, but he doesn’t think such a department is necessary.

The best way to get word from the company is to spray and pray Musk on Twitter, and hope he replies.

In other Twitter-related news, the company is forcing users to switch from SMS 2FA to other authentication methods like a dedicated authentication application.

Source: @elonmusk

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Mobile Syrup

Federal investment will help bring high-speed internet and mobile connectivity to Saskatchewan

Canadian flag waving with Parliament Buildings hill in the background Ottawa,Ontario, Canada

The Government of Canada has committed $37 million to projects improving connectivity in Saskatchewan.

The investment will bring high-speed internet access and mobile connectivity to 5,000 homes. Impacted communities include Northern Saskatchewan, Prince Albert, Saskatoon–Biggar, Regina–Moose Mountain and Yorkton–Melville. Nearly 2,700 of these homes are in Indigenous communities.

“We all know that internet and mobile connectivity are no longer a luxury–they’re a necessity,” Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development, said.

The funding is part of the federal government’s initiative to connect 98 percent of Canadians with high-speed internet access by 2026 and 100 percent by 2030. The government has made similar announcements in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia.

Image credit: Shutterstock 

Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

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Mobile Syrup

Amazon to lay off another 9,000 employees

Amazon is reducing its staff by 9,000 over the coming weeks, eliminating positions in AWS, PXT, Advertising and Twitch.

CEO, Andy Jassy, said economic uncertainty played a role in the decision.

“The overriding tenet of our annual planning this year was to be leaner while doing so in a way that enables us to still invest robustly in the key long-term customer experiences that we believe can meaningfully improve customers’ lives and Amazon as a whole,” Jassy wrote in a memo posted on Amazon’s website.

The company previously laid off 18,000 employees in January. Jassy said the 9,000 layoffs weren’t announced alongside the last because some teams were not done analyzing their plans for the future.

More layoffs are possible, and some teams are still finalizing their decisions, the memo notes.

“Being leaner while doing so in a way that enables us to still invest robustly in the key long-term customer experiences that we believe can meaningfully improve customers’ lives and Amazon as a whole–I believe the result of this year’s planning cycle is a plan that accomplishes this objective,” Jassy wrote.

Source: Amazon