Apple earmarks $300 million for sustainable energy projects in China

Apple just announced a $300 Million  renewable energy fund in China to connect suppliers with renewable energy sources. Apple manufactures the majority of its products in China.

The fund will invest in and develop clean energy projects totaling more than 1 gigawatt of renewable energy in China, the equivalent of powering nearly 1 million homes.

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Ontario government shuts down EV and hydrogen vehicle incentive programs

Vehicles purchased on or before July 11 are eligible and still have 60 days to apply.

Ontario's new conservative government has shut down all incentives for electric vehicle charging stations according to the Ministry of Transportation. The timing of this comes just as the sales of EVs and hybrids are at an upswing with more models. The arrival of the more affordable Tesla Model 3 has generated a lot of sales but a lot of those buyers were counting on the provincial incentives to help defer the costs of their vehicles. This is a step back towards the adoption of EVs in Canada.

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Apple updated MacBook Pro line with a focus on pro-level performance and features

On the heels of reports that Apple is planning on updating and releasing a whole slew of products come September, we receive news that the MacBook Pro line gets a revamp with more power and performance targeting pro-level users.

As Apple puts it, "The new MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar feature 8th-generation Intel Core processors, with 6-core on the 15-inch model for up to 70 percent faster performance and quad-core on the 13-inch model for up to two times faster performance — ideal for manipulating large data sets, performing complex simulations, creating multi-track audio projects or doing advanced image processing or film editing."

Starting at $2,399 CAD and $3,199 CAD respectively, the updated 13-inch MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar are available today through Apple.com/ca and in select Apple retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers later this week.

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Hisense shows off its 100-inch Laser Ultra-HD TV in time for the World Cup semifinals

Hisense has brought their impressive 100-inch Ultra HD Laser TV to Canada and showed it off along with other products that are coming to Canada. This monolithic TV and its companion Laser Projector bring 4K UHD images even in less than ideally lit conditions (like the hotel where the demo was taking place, which was bathed in summer brightness despite the blinds being drawn).

Hisense, who is a sponsor of the 2018 World Cup (but who backed the non-participating Team USA) is looking to seize the moment with a range of compelling TVs priced just under the more popular Korean stalwarts that dominate the high-end TV market. The 100-inch Laser TV is the centrepiece, proof that a new player (albeit, one that's appropriated some of Sharp and Toshiba's TV IP), can make a splash in North America.

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