Apple reportedly buys Montreal-based Mobeewave for US$100m

Apple's rumoured recent acquisition is Montreal-based startup Mobeewave, specializing in developing tech that can turn mobile phones into mobile payment terminals. Mobeewave's technology can let shoppers tap their credit card or smartphone on another phone to process payments. It doesn't require any hardware beyond a Near Field Communications (NFC) chip and the accompanying app. iPhones have had NFC chips since 2014. A demonstration on Mobeewave's site shows a user typing in a transaction amount, and then the customer taps their credit card on the phone to process the payment.

Apple is known to acquire startups to integrate its technology into its devices. We're hoping to see iPhones of the future that can become mobile payment terminals, which can be particularly useful in the COVID-19 age where going digital or cashless is the preferred or safer payment method. Apple supposedly paid around US$100 million for Mobeewave, which has a dozen employees that the tech giant will retain. The Mobeewave team will reportedly continue to work out of Montreal.

Source: Bloomberg

Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup – 7/26 – 8/1

Apple posts double-digit earnings of $39.7B behind products and services

Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' smashes first day streaming records 

Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 tipped to support hand gestures to answer calls 

YouTube Music gets Android TV integration through YouTube app 

Pixel 4a tipped to come out on August 3 

Samsung teases five new devices in new Unpacked teaser 

Adobe Photoshop for iPad gets better edge selection with Refine Edge 

BMW to offer fully electric versions of 5 Series, 7 Series, X1 

Oprah's new Apple TV+ series tackles racism, other 'impactful' topics 

Spotify desktop app now lets you start a Chromecast session 

Samsung, Google reportedly in talks to replace Bixby with Google Assistant 

New Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, S7+ press renders leak 

Huawei Canada reveals winners of Next-G video contest 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G renders get leaked 

Apple CFO confirms new iPhones coming late by a 'few weeks' 

The Weeknd will host an AR virtual concert on TikTok on Aug. 7 

Ubisoft's 'Beyond Good & Evil' will become a Netflix film 

'Battletoads' coming to Xbox One, PC on August 20 

'Battletoads' coming to Xbox One, PC on August 20

Battletoads is finally making a comeback with this new title coming out later this month. The game, which was last seen in the mid-90s, will bring its distinct hand-drawn look to 2020. It promises different genres, including shoot 'em up, platformer, and beat 'em up. With support for a three-player couch co-op, you can play this chaotically fun game with your family and friends. 

It will have 2D and 3D levels and a new take on the difficult Turbo Tunnel stage. Battletoads is coming to the Xbox One and PC on August 20. Xbox Game Pass members can pre-load the title now.

Source: Engadget

Ubisoft's 'Beyond Good & Evil' will become a Netflix film

The next video game adaptation for Netflix will be Ubisoft's Beyond Good & Evil. The streaming service shared the update on Twitter. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film project is in early development, with the production team still looking for writers. Detective Pikachu director Rob Letterman is supposedly at the helm of what might be a hybrid live-action/animated movie. Ubisoft Film & Television's Jason Altman and Margaret Boykin will be the film's producers.

Beyond Good & Evil came out in 2003. The action-adventure game follows Jade, an investigative reporter who becomes part of an underground resistance movement trying to expose a government conspiracy involving the invaders. It takes place in the year 2435 on a planet that's under alien attack.

Source: Engadget