Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup – 10/4 – 10/10

Apple hides AR Easter egg on iPhone 12 event site

Here's your first look at the 'Monster Hunter' movie 

Microsoft opens sign-ups for 'Flight Simulator' VR beta 

Google offers Chromecast with Google TV bundle for $120 

Apple sues GEEP Canada for allegedly reselling 100,000 iPhones, iPads, Watches meant for recycling 

Apple TV can finally play YouTube videos in 4K—sort of 

Google Meet to add Q&A, polls for G Suite paid users 

Instagram introduces 'Stories Map' to make it easier to find old posts 

Spotify on mobile now lets you look for songs using lyrics 

Facebook Portal devices get support for Netflix, Zoom 

Health Records on iPhone is now available in Canada 

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will now just receive quarterly updates 

OnePlus 8T's low-light camera performance gets teased 

Netflix Canada to raise prices for standard, premium plans 

Apple extends free trial for some of its TV+ users 

Google tipped to launch a cheaper Nest Thermostat with gesture controls 

Instagram Reels tries to catch up with TikTok with new audio features 

Pixar's 'Soul' will head to Disney+ on Christmas Day

COVID-19 has affected everyday life, including going to cinemas. And so, Disney is adapting some of its releases to reach audiences who still aren't comfortable visiting movie theatres these days. Its new Pixar film Soul will be released exclusively on Disney+ on December 25 in markets where the streaming service is available. 

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Instagram Reels tries to catch up with TikTok with new audio features

Source: Instagram

Instagram is playing catchup with TikTok with the new features coming to Reels. This TikTok-like experience within Instagram will now let you save audio so you can use it to create what you want. Reels also now has an audio browser that gives you access to personalized recommendations and trending songs. It's also now possible to share audio pages in DMs. All these features are already available on TikTok. But if you're more of an Instagram user, you might appreciate these showing up on the Facebook-owned app.

Google tipped to launch a cheaper Nest Thermostat with gesture controls

Embed from Getty Images

If this new report is accurate, Google is supposedly developing a new Nest Thermostat that will come with gesture controls and will be its most affordable version yet. According to Bloomberg, the new Nest Thermostat will retail for US$129, and it'll arrive "in the coming weeks." The lower price tag might make it more enticing, but the differentiator really is the promise of gesture controls.

It will supposedly be similar to the gestures available on the Pixel 4, which used the Soli chip to detect motion at close range. There were previous reports that claimed Google would use the same technology for the new Nest Thermostat. But now, we have a clearer picture of how it might work. The report claims users can "swipe their hand up or down near the device to control the temperature or move their hand toward or away to navigate menus."