Weather app Dark Sky on Android is no more

If you're an Android user and a fan of the highly localized weather app Dark Sky, we have bad news for you. You may or may not have heard that Apple acquired the company back in March. And now, Apple has shut down its Android and Wear OS apps as promised. The company extended Dark Sky's availability on Android for an extra month, after initial plans of shuttering it on July 1. Those with subscriptions should be cancelled already, and the developers promise a "full refund" to its Android subscribers. 

The website is still live, but we don't know how long that will be. But embedded material doesn't seem to be an option anymore. Any third-party apps that use Dark Sky's data have until the end of 2021 to transition to other services.

Source: Apple Insider + Engadget

Apple reportedly buys Montreal-based Mobeewave for US$100m

Apple's rumoured recent acquisition is Montreal-based startup Mobeewave, specializing in developing tech that can turn mobile phones into mobile payment terminals. Mobeewave's technology can let shoppers tap their credit card or smartphone on another phone to process payments. It doesn't require any hardware beyond a Near Field Communications (NFC) chip and the accompanying app. iPhones have had NFC chips since 2014. A demonstration on Mobeewave's site shows a user typing in a transaction amount, and then the customer taps their credit card on the phone to process the payment.

Apple is known to acquire startups to integrate its technology into its devices. We're hoping to see iPhones of the future that can become mobile payment terminals, which can be particularly useful in the COVID-19 age where going digital or cashless is the preferred or safer payment method. Apple supposedly paid around US$100 million for Mobeewave, which has a dozen employees that the tech giant will retain. The Mobeewave team will reportedly continue to work out of Montreal.

Source: Bloomberg

Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup – 7/26 – 8/1

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G renders get leaked 

Apple CFO confirms new iPhones coming late by a 'few weeks' 

The Weeknd will host an AR virtual concert on TikTok on Aug. 7 

Ubisoft's 'Beyond Good & Evil' will become a Netflix film 

'Battletoads' coming to Xbox One, PC on August 20 

'Battletoads' coming to Xbox One, PC on August 20

Battletoads is finally making a comeback with this new title coming out later this month. The game, which was last seen in the mid-90s, will bring its distinct hand-drawn look to 2020. It promises different genres, including shoot 'em up, platformer, and beat 'em up. With support for a three-player couch co-op, you can play this chaotically fun game with your family and friends. 

It will have 2D and 3D levels and a new take on the difficult Turbo Tunnel stage. Battletoads is coming to the Xbox One and PC on August 20. Xbox Game Pass members can pre-load the title now.

Source: Engadget