Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup – 4/25 – 5/1

Tech gifts even Mom would loveGoogle Photos on Android gets Sharpen and Denoise editor tools 

Twitter Spaces gets a wider rollout on Android 

'Battlefield' will get a standalone mobile game next year 

Roku might no longer offer YouTube TV amid standoff with Google 

Spotify gets a new mini player in Facebook's mobile apps 

Apple releases slew of software updates 

The City of Calgary and Waze partner for Cities Data Program 

Apple Music introduces Top 25 song playlists for over 100 cities 

'Super Mario Party' finally gets new online modes 

Samsung launches Galaxy Book, Galaxy Book Pro, Galaxy Book Pro 360 

Samsung unveils new Galaxy Book Odyssey gaming laptop 

Google Stadia for Web finally gets search 

Spotify redesigns Your Library on mobile 

Huawei FreeBuds 4i comes to Canada for $139 

Apple: Older Magic Keyboards are 'functionally compatible' with new 12.9" iPad Pro, but may not fit when closed 

Instagram Live goes after Clubhouse with options to mute, turn off video 

iOS 14.6 beta 1 spotted potential Apple Music HiFi support with Dolby Audio mentions 

Facebook acquires Downpour Interactive, the studio behind VR shooter 'Onward' 

Facebook acquires Downpour Interactive, the studio behind VR shooter 'Onward'

Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash

Facebook continues to grow its Oculus Studios stable with its latest acquisition. The company has just bought Downpour Interactive, the developer behind the virtual reality shooter Onward. Facebook hasn't revealed the deal's financial terms, but it mentioned that it purchased the entire studio.

According to Downpour and Facebook, they plan to support Onward on all the platforms it is currently available, which includes Steam. Downpour intends to work on new projects, but it won't share any details on what these might be. But its team hopes to "bring those experiences to as many people as possible."

Source: Engadget

iOS 14.6 beta 1 spotted potential Apple Music HiFi support with Dolby Audio mentions

Photo by Thomas Kolnowski on Unsplash

Rumours have been going around that Apple plans to introduce a HiFi plan on Apple Music. And that plan might be in the works. 9to5Mac spotted mentions of "Dolby Atmos," "Dolby Audio," and "Lossless" in the first beta build of iOS 14.6. Apple already has its own HiFi audio codec (ALAC), but the Music app has never offered any support for Dolby Atmos or Dolby Audio. 

As 9to5Mac pointed out, though, the references only showed up in that beta build. It wasn't spotted in iOS 14.5 or iOS 14.6 beta 2, which came out this week. It suggests Apple might be trying to hide something. We hope to find out soon enough.

Instagram Live goes after Clubhouse with options to mute, turn off video

Instagram

We know Facebook is adamant about taking on audio-only chat app Clubhouse, and it looks like the company found a way through its popular app, Instagram. Instagram Live is getting a new feature that will let users mute their microphones or turn off their video while they're on Live. According to Instagram, these features are meant to give hosts "more flexibility" during their live stream while taking off the pressure of having to look or sound some way while broadcasting live. But as TechCrunch observed, it's just one more way for Facebook to use Clubhouse's playbook for its platform.

Right now, hosts can't turn on or off for their guests or mute them as well. But Instagram said it is working on "offering more of these types of capabilities" to broadcasters. And these features are reportedly coming out soon. Instagram tested these new features during a recent Instagram Live between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram Head Adam Mosseri.