Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup - 3/5- 3/11

Nothing teases Ear (2) earbuds launch on March 22

Apple might release M3-powered iMac in the 2nd half of 2023 

Microsoft experiments with a redesigned Windows 11 audio mixer

Apple 15" MacBook Air, Apple Silicon Mac Pro reportedly in the works

Apple's new post-apocalyptic drama 'Silo' to debut on May 5

Apple iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus gets a yellow colour option

Fujifilm launches INSTAX mini 12 with a new lens and design

Slack has a ChatGPT app, too

TikTok Series puts premium content behind a paywall

Microsoft Edge tests the option to upscale web videos using AMD, NVIDIA GPUs

Microsoft launches a 'velocity green' Xbox controller 

'Alto's Odyssey' creator teases 'Laya's Horizon' game coming to Netflix 

Microsoft released a 'velocity green' hoodie, too 

'RoboCop: Rogue City' release gets pushed back to Sept. 2023 

Spotify redesign includes vertical video feeds

Apple's rumoured HomePod with a display might come in 2024 

Meta's 2023 layoffs may match the scope of last year's 

Meta's 2023 layoffs may match the scope of last year's

Photo: Muhammad Asyfaul/Unsplash

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg refers to 2023 as the "year of efficiency," and part of that means more layoffs. The first wave of cuts is expected to be announced next week, with non-engineering roles being hit hard. The company is expected to shut down projects and teams in conjunction with these job cuts. Facebook's parent company is expected to do multiple layoff rounds over the coming months, resulting in another 13% cut of its workforce.

Last year, Meta cut approximately 11,000 jobs or around 13% of its employees. Among the projects expected to get axed include wearable devices in the works at its Reality Labs (Meta's hardware and metaverse division).

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Apple's rumoured HomePod with a display might come in 2024

Photo: Apple

We've heard about Apple's plans to release a low-end iPad that serves as a smart home display. But it looks like that isn't the only IoT (Internet of Things) device in the works. Rumours suggest we may see a HomePod sporting a display. Apple analyst Ming-Chu Kuo reports the company is working on a HomePod with a 7-inch panel, which we could see within the first half of 2024. Chinese supplier Tianma will reportedly manufacture its display. And the device "could enable tighter integration with Apple's other hardware products" and signify a "significant shift in the company's smart home strategy."

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Spotify redesign includes vertical video feeds

GIF: Spotify

Earlier this week, Spotify held its Stream On presentation to preview what's coming to the audio streaming service. The major changes include a revamp of its app design. It's what some have called the "TikTok-ification" of Spotify. Instead of getting a static carousel of playlists and recommendations, you get visual and audio previews of albums, playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks in this endless feed. This style and the previews will be integrated into the search function, too.

Spotify also plans to integrate a pre-save feature within the app, which is what artists have used through third-party services before to gather data and contact information on people excited about their music. One of the recent changes, Spotify made to the app is the beta launch of a personalized AI guide named DJ, which is being tested here in Canada.

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