Wednesday
Nov132019

Toronto-based Foodymart supermarket to use facial recognition payment system

A Toronto-based Chinese grocery store chain wants to use a facial recognition payment system to make the checkout process a bit quicker. Foodymart, which has six locations in Toronto and two in British Columbia, plans to buy facial recognition machines from SnapPay with hopes of having the system in one of its stores by early 2020. SnapPay is another Toronto-based business specializing in bringing international payment methods like AliPay and WeChat Pay to Canadian retailers.

SnapPay launched this facial recognition technology earlier this month. They want to lessen the time you need to pay for goods. The system will take a photo of your face when you're about to pay for your items. What you need to do beforehand is submit a three-dimensional scan of your face and link this to your payment account. 

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Tuesday
Nov122019

Apple reportedly aims to release AR/VR headset in 2021

The excitement over augmented and virtual reality seems to be dying down, at least in the public eye. But a new report from Bloomberg claims Apple is developing its own AR/VR headset with a scheduled 2021 release. And then a couple of years later, the company will supposedly release its own smart glasses. The focus for the AR and VR headset will be around gaming, watching videos, and virtual meetings. The headset were supposedly supposed to come out in 2020, but it got pushed back.

Tuesday
Nov122019

Google Chrome plans to let users know if a site loads slowly

What might be a headache to site owners will be beneficial to Google Chrome users. Google plans to show badges on sites that load slowly. The company didn’t talk about specifics in the blog post they released about the topic, but it described what you could expect to see in the future. Fast-loading sites get a green loading bar, while those that load slowly get a notice that says, “Loading… Usually loads slow.” Consumers win out with this development as it pushes developers to optimize their sites. It could also mean that Google might push users to visit faster loading sites.

Google says it plans to take a look at a site’s historical load times to determine if they load at a reduced pace all the time. They also want to check if a site loads slowly because of network speeds. Eventually, they might also show the loading times in the context menu when you click on the hyperlink. But nothing is set in stone yet.

Monday
Nov112019

Next iPad Pro tipped for a 2020 release, features 3D sensors and dual cameras

If rumours are to be believed, we can expect more sensors on the next iPad Pro. The wait might be for a while, though. The tablet is expected to drop sometime in the first half of 2020. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the 2020 iPad Pro will have a dual-lens camera setup as well as a time-of-flight 3D sensor. Gurman claims this sensor will be the "centrepiece" of Apple's AR plans and could be the evolution of the tech powering Face ID. It could be used to 3D reconstruct rooms, people, and objects.