Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup 4/16-4/22

Review: 2017 Cadillac XT5 Platinum

Only a few Windows-powered phones will be getting the Creators Update

Puzzle game ‘Fez’ coming to iOS this year

Instagram takes cues from Pinterest with new feature called Collections

The Handmaid's Tale coming to Canada on May 1 via iTunes

Apple expected to launch three iPhone models this fall

Microsoft does away with passwords, employs new phone-based login system

Instagram announces Android to get offline mode

Reservations get collaborative with OpenTable's bot for Facebook Messenger

Spotify brings half-price student discount to Canada

Microsoft debuts Wunderlist replacement

Apple celebrates Earth Day 2017 by sharing its various green initiatives

Bell Mobility first in North America to deliver Quad Band LTE Advanced speeds

Google Home now has multi-user support for up to six accounts

Apple and Nike release limited edition Apple Watch NikeLab

Airbnb quietly tries out new paying scheme for guests

Samsung partners with Google to make Play Music default music player and service on its devices

Mercedes-Benz vehicles get Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support

Get Instagram photo backgrounds on your Michael Kors smartwatch

In a couple of days, the My Social app for Michael Kors will let you use photos from your Instagram feed to become your watch face. That is, if you own one of the brand’s Access watches, specifically the Dylan and Bradshaw models.  The app will be coming to these smartwatches via an over-the-air update on April 25^th. The video above shows just how you can make the change. You just need to sign into your profile, select the photo you want to use and the filter for it, and then select the watch style.

There’s no word yet if they plan to integrate other social networks into the app or if more models will be added. It makes sense to start with Instagram though as the app has visually stunning images with some users opting to use the service as a visual portfolio of sorts.

Source: Engadget

Mercedes-Benz vehicles get Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support

Those in the US that have a 2016 or 2017 Mercedes-Benz are getting new functionalities for its car. Mercedes-Benz is bringing support for Google Assistant via Google Home speaker and Amazon Alexa via Amazon Echo line of speakers. As the video demo shows above, you can have these smart assistants do things such as start the car, turn off any appliances left on when you leave the house, and help with navigation. The feature also brings the ability to remotely lock the car.

Aside from having the smart speakers at home, you’ll need to have an active “Mercedes me” account as well as an active Mbrace subscription that costs around US$280 per year. According to the car maker, it plans to bring Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support to Europe later this year.

Source: Android Authority

Google takes down from Play Store a fake ‘System Update’ app

You can’t always trust what you download, even on official app marketplaces like the Google Play Store. An app called System Update has been taken down by Google because it was actually spyware. Unfortunately, it has already been downloaded millions of times in the past. The spyware was discovered by security firm Zscaler and alerted Google about its existence. The app was launched back in 2014 and it sent data about a device’s location to whomever created the app. It was also able to look at certain incoming text messages. According to Zscaler, if you installed and tried to use System Update, it’ll look like it stopped working and display the message “Unfortunately, Update Service has stopped.” But it’ll actually still work in the background.

The app’s Play Store page was actually telling of how fake it was. There were no screenshots there nor a proper description of the app. It had negative reviews as well. From your end, make sure you scrutinize the new apps you plan to download to your devices.

Source: Android Authority