Google rolls out new Nest Aware plans in Canada

The simplified, more cost-effective Nest Aware plans are now available in Canada, which comes seven months since Google introduced these new subscriptions. Nest used to charge $5, $10, $30 per month and camera, depending on how many days of video history users wanted. Now, you can avail of either Nest Aware or Nest Aware Plus subscriptions. Nest Aware costs $8 per month or $80 a year, including 30-day "event video history." Nest Aware Plus costs $16 a month or $160 annually, including 60-day event video history and 10-day 24/7 video history. Event video history is the recordings of motion and sound captured by Nest cameras.

Both plans cover all Nest camera devices you have as well as products like Nest Mini, Google Home and Home Max, Nest Hub and Hub Max, and Nest Wifi Point. Both plans also offer "intelligent alerts," which will let you know when a Nest camera detects sounds or a person, and "activity zones," which you can define and then have Nest alert you when something happens in those areas. If you have an existing subscription, you can upgrade through the Google Store.

Source: MobileSyrup + iPhone in Canada

Epic Games Store crashes because people want to get 'GTA V' for free

Epic Games seems to have accidentally pre-empted the news that it'll be offering GTA V for free with this now-deleted Twitter ad

News broke last night that the Epic Games Store will be offering the popular Rockstar game Grand Theft Auto V for free. And it seems that's causing issues with the digital storefront. An hour or so ago, Epic Games tweeted: "We are currently experiencing high traffic on the Epic Games Store. We are aware that users may be encountering slow loading times, 500 errors, or launcher crashing at this time and we are actively working to scale. We'll provide an update as soon as we can." The company hasn't acknowledged a now-deleted Twitter ad that teased the upcoming release. But players who were waiting for 11 am ET for the game's release seemed to have crashed the site because of it. 

As The Verge reports, it looks like it's causing trouble for other Epic services, too. An official Fortnite Twitter account tweeted they are "investigating issues" on the PC and Mac. Hopefully, Epic Games resolves the issue soon so players can get their hands on the game. But you have to make sure you enable two-factor authentication within the app store. That's now a requirement Epic Games is enforcing. GTA V will supposedly be available for free until May 21.

Google Chrome introduces tab groups in beta version

It's a common occurrence to have one too many tabs open on Google Chrome. The company is finally doing something to help you organize your tabs. Chrome's beta version is getting "tab groups," which you can organize, label, and colour-code. The stable release will come starting next week. If you have access to the new feature, right-click on a tab and select "Add tab to group." You will then be given an option to choose an existing group or create a new one, which you will need to name and label. You can even use emojis to add to your labels. Google says the rollout will be done slowly to make sure it doesn't affect Chrome's stability and performance. So, you'll have to be a bit patient if the feature doesn't make its way to you immediately.

Source: TechCrunch

Google Pixel sales have plummeted, while key executives exit the team

Google's line of Pixel smartphones were once promising flagship competitors to Samsung Galaxies and Notes as well as Apple iPhones, but now it seems that interest and sales of these devices is cratering. Recent reports state that Google has sold only 2 million Pixel devices in the first two quarters of the year. There have also been defections within Google's Pixel team as two key executives, camera expert Marc Levoy and general manager Mario Queiroz have departed the team signaling some unrest within the smartphone division.

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