CBC launches music and podcast app CBC Listen

In an age where Spotify and Apple Music exist, broadcasting company CBC thought it fit to launch its own music and podcast app called CBC Listen. If you want access to all kinds of Canadian content, this might be an app worth checking out. It has over 200 free music playlists and all of CBC’s podcasts and live radio content. Just as you can expect with other streaming apps, you can “Favourite” content to listen to later. It also lets you download podcasts for offline listening, which unfortunately doesn’t extend to music as well. If you want to play your content on a connected speaker, the app supports both AirPlay and Chromecast. CBC Listen is a free, ad-supported app. It’s available on both iOS and Android as well as through a web app.

Source: MobileSyrup

Instagram takes out ‘Following’ activity tab for all users

Some of you may have already noticed that Instagram has introduced a new change to its app. The company has started rolling out an update that gets rid of the "Following" tab. It's previously accessible through the Activity section within the app. So, now when you select on the heart icon at the bottom of the screen, it'll only show your activity. Instagram started taking this feature out for some users since August, but now it'll begin rolling out to all users. 

According to Vishal Shah, Instagram's head of product, the decision to remove the Following tab was so the app has a simpler look. Shah said, "People didn't always know that their activity is surfacing. So you have a case where it's not serving the use case you built it for, but it's also causing people to be surprised when their activity is showing up." 

 Source: Buzzfeed News

Google Pixel 4’s ‘Raise to talk’ feature for Assistant could come to Canada ‘soon’

With the improvements being brought to Google Assistant, one of the new features Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL users can expect is a “Raise to talk” feature. It’s designed to activate Assistant in a more intuitive, fluid way. Basically, you could just lift the phone and immediately ask Assistant a question or issue a command. As long as the command or question is said directly after raising the device, Assistant will acknowledge it. Otherwise, the virtual assistant will ignore it.

It might raise some concerns about the lack of hotword activation and how it could just take in everything that’s being said. But with the new Google Assistant, speech recognition will be handled entirely on the device. The company shrunk its voice recognition and comprehension model from 100GB to just 0.5GB so that it can run on phones. This also allows you to issue back-to-back commands or questions without almost any latency.

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'Call of Duty: Mobile' surpasses 35 million downloads worldwide in its first 3 days

In the first three days since Activision and Tencent's Timi game development division launched Call of Duty: Mobile, the free-to-play shooting game has been downloaded over 35 million times worldwide. According to mobile analytics company Sensor Tower, the game has reached 20 million downloads in the first two days. Activision claims the game has gotten the no. 1 ranking on the Apple App Store in over 100 countries.

As for how much revenue the company has earned so far, Sensor Tower claims the game has racked up around US$2 million (approximately CA$2.7 million) in the same two-day period. Like a lot of mobile games, Call of Duty: Mobile comes with in-app purchases that range from $1.39 to $139.99.