Mastercard's Click to Pay comes to more Canadian sellers

Checking out purchases online can be a hassle. According to Mastercard, 40% of Canadians still prefer to use guest checkout, where they have to manually enter personal payment information each time. But as many as 38% admit this "process is pain," and one in four Canadians will abandon an online shopping cart because of a slow or complicated checkout process.

Mastercard's solution is bringing its Click to Pay tech to more Canadian merchants. Canadian Tire, Mark's, and Sport Chek just joined a growing list of major online retailers in Canada (including Pizza Pizza, Lowes, Roots, and many others), enabling their customers to click to pay. This tech brings secure, password-free online checkout by mirroring the checkout process in physical stores where one terminal accepts all cards. On the merchant side, it offers a smoother digital checkout experience that helps lower shopping cart abandonment. You can find out more details here.

Instagram wants to take on TikTok by offering full-screen video content

Instagram doesn't want to be known as the "square photo-sharing app" anymore. At least that's what Instagram head Adam Mosseri is saying. The Facebook-owned social network wants to lean more into entertainment and video, not unlike its competitor, TikTok. Aside from offering features like IG TV, Reels, and Stories, Instagram's plans involve "embracing video more broadly," starting with "full screen, immersive, entertaining, mobile-first video."

The company also plans to test recommendations over the next few months, showing content on your Instagram Feed that you might not be following yet. According to Mosseri, Instagram users plan to experiment more in this area "over the coming months."

Source: Adam Mosseri | Via: MacRumors

Square Enix is set to release first three 'Final Fantasy' pixel remasters on July 28

Square Enix

On July 28, PC players can get their hands on the pixel remaster versions of the first three Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, and Final Fantasy III are coming to Steam first and then Android and iOS the day after, on July 29. You can now pre-purchase the games individually, with pricing starting at USD 12 (around CAD 15), or via a bundle of all six games for around USD 96 (around CAD 119).

There will be three soundtracks and two unique wallpapers for each pre-purchased title. But Square Enix hasn't revealed when the fourth to sixth installment will come out. But they are scheduled for sometime this year.

You can expect completely new graphics and "improved ease of play" with a modernized UI and auto-battle options. There will be extra features like a bestiary, a music player, and an illustration gallery. The soundtrack has been rearranged, but its process was overseen by original composer Nobuo Uematsu.

Source: Engadget

Nothing ear (1) earbuds to launch on July 27

After delaying its launch, Nothing is ready to introduce its first product on July 27. We don't know much about what the Nothing ear (1) earbuds will be like. But OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei is gearing up to launch his new company's first product. The new product is backed by GV and investors like Tony Fadell (inventor of the iPod) and Casey Neistat (creator at YouTube), the message to media read.

According to GSMArena, these buds will be sold by Smartech at Selfridges' offline store and website. Beyond that, we'll have to wait until the 27th to hear more.