Apple to ship orders from stores for some Canadian, American customers

Embed from Getty Images

Apple will be making it easier and quicker for some customers in Canada and the US by shopping directly from its retail outlets. The company usually ships from distribution centres or straight from China. But now, those who live near Apple Stores could get their purchases from the nearby retailer. You won't get to choose where your order will come from, though. Apple's operations team will make the decision, and they will only ship to locations within 100 miles from an Apple Store.

In Canada, Apple will ship through United Parcel Service Inc., and you can receive your order as early as the next day. Apple began testing this new program when it started re-opening stores following the COVID-19 shutdown. It's not available at all its locations yet. This program can help keep stores operational even if they aren't open because of the pandemic. Apple reportedly told staff they could reduce costs and potentially increase profit margins with this practice.

Source: Engadget

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. 

Click to read more ...

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.