E3 2019: New game launches and technological upgrades

Most Popular games

Every year in the month of June video game industry gathers for E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) to celebrate the upcoming blockbuster games and sequels to the most popular franchises. The big game developers and publishers like Nintendo, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Square Enix and more reveal the details of their games and technological upgrades for consoles like the PlayStation and Xbox. A week prior to E3 2019 Google disclosed the details about its cloud-based game streaming project Stadia sharing its pre-order info, price, and other things.

E3 2019 has been going on right now in Los Angeles, California and will continue till 14th June 2019. On the first day of E3, a number of games were announced from various developers and publishers making it hard to remember each one of it except the most favourite games. However, the following are the most popular games and sequels introduced in E3 2019.

Avengers:

It is a multi-player action adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal under the multi-game partnership between Marvel and Square Enix. Captain America, Thor, Black Widow Iron Man, Hulk, Ant-Man are the few characters displayed during the reveal.  According to Marvel’s Avengers, it will have an expanding universe with a customizable and growing number of heroes without loot boxes. Every hero added will be free to play. Official release date of the game is 15th May 2020 and will be available on PS4, Xbox One, Stadia, and PC worldwide.

Cyberpunk 2077:

It is developed by CD Projekt which will be released on 16th April 2020. Keanu Reeves disclosed the official release date in person at the end of the trailer. You can pre-order one of the best looking RPGs (role-playing games) in physical edition and collector’s edition.

Final Fantasy VII Remake:

At E3 2019 Square Enix announced a fully re-imagined and modern looking version of Japanese most loved game of all time Final Fantasy VII Remake. The game will span two Blu-ray disc on PS4 and a collector’s edition will be offered through online stores. It will be available for gamers on 3rd March 2020.

Final Fantasy VIII Remaster:

Square Enix announced Final Fantasy VII Remaster for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC this year. The game is not like the remake of Final Fantasy VII but an enhanced version. Everything is the same as previous but the graphic fidelity has been increased to make it compatible with modern HD TV’s. Makers of the game did not provide the release date but said it may arrive this year.

Gears of War 5:

For Gears 5, gamers do not have to wait for too long as the release date is 10th September 2019. It will be released a few days early for the subscribers of Xbox Games Pass. A new co-op Escape mode was displayed in the conference which includes player creation angle where players can create gauntlets for other players.

Project Scarlett:

Microsoft is going to launch two new consoles in 2020, Xbox One S codenamed ‘Scarlett’ and other will be similar to Xbox One X. This new project of Microsoft will support 8K gaming up to 120fps. Not many details were disclosed by the company but it says that the console is four times more powerful as compared to Xbox One X.

Bleeding Edge:

This game is developed by the multi-Bafta-winning developer Ninja Theory. It is a competitive brawler where each combatant in the game has a unique ability. From the trailer, it looked like a team-based shooter game like Team Fortress 2.

Way to the Woods:

It is a game about magic deer set in a post-human world. It was introduced last year’s in E3 2018 and was set to release in early 2019. The trailer shown in E3 2019 is somewhat the same as of last year with some new touches such as boarding an abandoned subway and exploring a shopping centre. It is expected to launch in 2020.

Deathloop:

This game is developed by Arkane Studios, the developers behind Dishonored. Deathloop is an action-packed game which takes place in a lawless island called Black Reef, where a giant and mysterious loop can be seen. There are urban regions which are inhabited by the masked individuals who are against the hero. No official date has been given for the launch of this game.

Doom Eternal:

The game is developed by id Software which is a sequel to 2016 series reboot. A multi-player mode has been added called as Battlemode where two players will control the demons to take on the slayer. It will be launched on 22nd November and available for PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.  

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order:

The game is developed by Respawn a studio behind Apex Legends and Titanfall series. It can be pre-ordered with two editions: a standard edition and a deluxe edition. The game will be released on 15th November 2019.

Elden Ring:

From Software developed Elden Ring in collaboration with Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin and Sekiro’s creator Hidetaka Miyazaki. Basically, the game has a dark, mythic fantasy feeling that’s very much like the Dark Soul series. No official release date has been given but it will be coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC and can be pre-ordered right now.

Death of iTunes and other updates from WWDC 2019

Image of Worldwide Developers Conference

Apple embarked its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose on 3rd June 2019. The conference will go on till 7th June 2019, where Apple will show off everything it has been working on. At WWDC 2019 the biggest news for Apple fans was that iTunes will no longer be available.

Apple TV:

Apple announced an update for the operating system of Apple TV i.e. tvOS. The design of the home screen has been slightly changed with the addition of auto-playing full-screen previews. Apple Arcade, a video games subscription service which was announced two months ago, now users will soon be able to use Xbox One and Playstation Dualshock controllers alongside Apple Arcade as Apple TV will support those controllers. Apple TV will provide a more personalised experience with multi-user support. Every member of the family can have his/her own profile on Apple TV for personalised recommendations.

Watch OS 6:

Apple Watch new updates will make you forget your phone which will come to your watch by the end of 2019. This update will be compatible with Apple Watch 4/3/2 and series 1.

  • Inclusion of an App Store on the watch is the biggest update that Apple has brought with Watch OS 6.
  • Apple has launched three new apps with this update. First is Apple Book which will allow you to listen to audiobooks using Bluetooth headphones. Voice Memos will allow you to speak into your wrist to makes notes. The official Apple application Calculator app has been included for the very first time.
  • Audio Streaming API will allow your Apple Watch to directly stream audio away from your phone.
  • Hearing Health a new feature that can listen to what you are hearing and monitor the decibels warning you about the hearing damage.
  • Watch Faces will change the appearance of your watch. According to your preference you can choose from these faces: Modular Compact, Solar Dial, California, Gradient and Numerals.
  • Activity Trends will show the history of fitness data for last 90 days compared to the previous year.
  • Cycle Tracking which is also coming to the Health app on iPhone will allow women to track their menstrual cycle on their watch.

iOS 13:

Sign in option:

Apple is providing a privacy-focused sign-in option for those who don’t want to share their email address with any service. Instead of creating a new username and password for every service, this sign in solution will allow you to log in to a service using your Apple account authenticating with FaceID. This new login system will be compatible with iOS, tvOS, MacOS, and WatchOS apps.

Dark mode:

This mode replaces the light screen with a dark screen and comes in core apps of iOS 13 such as calendar, music, and photos app.

Swipe keyboard:

Finally, Apple has launched a swipe keyboard called QuickPath Typing for iOS users. It is very much faster and accurate also you get spelling suggestions along with it.

Portrait lighting:

With this feature, you can remove duplicate photos and highlight the best shots. Portrait lighting adds a lighting effect to smooth your skin and also changes the intensity and location of light for portrait lighting. If you accidentally shoot the video in the wrong orientation you can rotate it and apply new filters and video effects as well.

Find My:

Apple has combined its two apps Find My Phone and Find My Friends to a single app called Find My. The most important feature of this app is to find your missing devices. According to Apple, the tools are encrypted and anonymous and it won’t let someone install or reboot the phone unless you activate it.

Memoji:

With the new update, Apple Messaging app will get support for Memoji profiles, which puts an emoji on your face into the messaging app. Customize your face by adding makeup over it or braces to your teeth.

Siri:

Siri gets an audio update in iOS 13. With the help of new AI Software, Siri will speak with fewer pauses and non-human sound modulations.

Apps in iOS 13:

  • Mail gets new fonts.
  • Notes get a new gallery view and support for shared folders.
  • In Reminder, you can add details for when and where to remind you.
  • With Maps, you will be able to see roads, benches, parks, buildings, and tag a place as Maps will get Apple Carplay support by the end of 2019.

iPadOS:

Apple has introduced a new OS for iPad based on iOS called iPadOS. With new iPadOS you will get tighter home screen app grids, you can pin widgets on the home screen, 30 new keyboard shortcuts, flash drive, and memory card support to Files app, refreshed copy and paste gestures- pinch with three fingers to copy, spread to paste and swipe to undo. Apple has made these changes to the iPad to make it feel more like a desktop computer.

New Mac Pro:

Apple has introduced its new and the first most expensive Mac Pro with stainless steel desktop machine that supports up to 28-core Intel Xeon processors, 1.5 TB of RAM, 8 PCI expansion slots and modular configuration.

MacOS Catalina:

Apple has brought Usage Monitoring System to MacOS which was introduced to iOS last year. Users can use their iPad as an external screen on their Mac using its new Sidecar system. Apple’s Project Catalyst is the biggest addition to Catalina which allows iPad developers to port their apps to MacOS. Apple uses this system for its Apple News, Stocks, Home, and Voice Memo apps. Catalina is the one who breaks up iTunes into three new apps Music, Podcast, and TV.

iTunes:

Almost after 18 years of iTunes first launch, Apple has disclosed that it is going wind up the iconic music platform. Apple took this decision against iTunes and in favor of its newer apps Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Podcasts. Other content of iTunes like movies and TV shows will be moved to the Apple TV app. With colorful sidebars and clear menus, these new apps are easy to navigate as compared to iTunes.

ARKit 3:

ARKit 3 is the developer’s tool for creating AR applications on iOS. It offers real-time body tracking in the scene and in obstruction allowing AR object to be placed convincingly in front and behind of people. At a time Face tracking can support three people when viewed in the front facing TrueDepth camera. Developers can also access both face and world tracking on the front and back cameras at once.

SwiftUI:

Apple has updated Swift with new UI and features. This updated SwiftUI can reduce hundreds of line to just a few and helps developers to simplify the workflow. SwiftUI will also support features like screen rotation, and dark mode. It will be available across all platforms with a common API.

All you need to know about Google I/O 2019

Google i/o 2019

Search giant Google hosted its annual developer conference I/O 2019 at Shoreline Amphitheatre, California. This annual event was for three days starting from 7th May up to 9th May. On the day one of Google I/O 2019, the company announced consumer-focused keynote followed by developer-focused keynote. Google began its I/O 2019 developer conference just a day after Microsoft started its Build 2019 developer conference. In three days of the developer conference, Google made many revelations from Artificial Intelligence to the latest Android Q and Augmented Reality.

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

Project Euphonia:

Google is launching a new initiative in order to make speech technology more accessible for those who are vocally impaired and the company named it as “Project Euphonia”. It includes a wide range of research and collaboration with non-profits and volunteers. Speech software’s such as Google Assistant is built to respond to the normal voices of humans and not to those with vocal impairments. The focus of Euphonia will be to collect more and more voice data from people with impaired speech. Hence, collecting data will improve its algorithms and eventually integrate the updates into Google Assistant.

Live Caption and Live Transcribe:

Now there will be a live caption for the media on your phone including saved podcasts and videos you have recorded. Android will be able to add subtitles to the media playing on your phone. With a feature called “Live Relay”, Google is adding Live Caption to phone calls by adding a Live Transcription to the current conversation for the people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Live Relay is still in the research phase and there is no time confirmation from Google as to when it will be released to the public

Project diva:

Project Diva stands for DIVersely Assisted which will help people to give commands to Google Assistant without using their voice. A person with a vocal disability and limited mobility can use an external switch device to command Google Assistant. Various trigger commands were examined including pressing a button with their chin, foot or even a bite. After months of efforts, the team came up with a solution which was a box that you plug in an assistive button into using a 3.5 mm jack. The signal received from the button was then converted to a command sent to the Google Assistant.

Google lens:

Now Google Lens will soon be able to show the top meals in a restaurant by simply pointing the camera at a menu as well as it will highlight other information such as online ratings and reviews. You can also translate a text, split a bill, or calculate a tip through Google Lens by pointing your camera at printed content after a meal.

Google Duplex for web:

The Duplex was launched for phones as an AI-powered customer service tool which helped small businesses to take more phone calls, answer common questions and schedule reservations. Now at I/O 2019, Google has introduced Duplex for the web which will be able to do more things such as renting a car, filling up your information and make purchases in a few taps. Duplex on the web will be made available for Android phones later this year.

Google “next-gen” Assistant:

Google has shrunk its voice recognition models from hundreds of gigabytes to half a gigabytes, making them small enough to fit on a phone. To eliminate the latency involved in the back-and-forth pings to the cloud Google stored it locally making conversations with Assistant almost instantaneous. It can also work even in airplane mode. Google tested the speed by firing off voice requests rapid fire, with a very little delay between commands and resulting actions. According to Google, the next-gen Assistant will hit new Pixel phones later this year.

Features of Android Q:

Gestural Navigation:

This mode hides the navigation bar area and allows other apps and games to use the full screen. Rather than visible buttons, you can now swipe through the edges to go Back, Home and Recent windows.

Focus Mode:

With Focus mode, you can select and disable particular apps that you want to avoid for a certain time period and enable them by turning off the Focus mode.

Privacy:

This feature gives you control over the apps asking for the location. Now you will have a choice to allow the apps to access your location while using the app, all the time or never.

Encryption:

Android Q supports TLS 1.3, the latest version Transport Layer Security, which succeeds the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. TLS 1.3 helps securely send information over the internet which brings major improvements in security, privacy and performance. Latest version of TL 1.3 is used for all TLS connections made through Android’s TLS stack conscrypt regardless of target API level.

Dark Theme, Project Mainline, Smart Reply are some of the other features which Google has introduced in Android Q Beta 3.

Devices from Google:

Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL:

Google newly introduced Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are budget-friendly phones of the flagship Pixel 3 family. Although they still feature the Google’s signature Pixel camera they are a bit step down regarding specifications by using plastic rather than glass for the rear along with basic Snapdragon 670 processor and maximum storage limit up to 64 GB omitting wireless charging and certified water resistance. The good thing is that with Pixel 3A Google has brought back the headphone jack.                      

Nest Hub Max:

Google announced a new product Nest Hub Max which is a combination of Nest camera, Google Home Hub, and the Google Home Max and also offers a security camera, smart display, and loudspeakers all in a single gadget. The camera can perform facial recognition to bring up personalized results in family members. The Nest Hub Max is set to arrive later this summer.

Augmented Reality in Search:

Google Maps AR mode rolls out to Pixel phones:

Google released its augmented reality directions but only for Pixel phones. The feature offers real-time navigation through phones camera, just hold it up and you can see arrows and directions overlaid on your surroundings. This feature is available for the Pixel 3a as well as older Pixel phones. Previously Google had said that it would roll out AR walking directions as the feature gets ready but still, we are not seeing a full roll out.

Privacy and security:

Incognito mode in Google Maps:

Just like the incognito mode in browser Google has introduced new incognito mode in Google Maps which prevents your destination searches or routes from being saved in the history of your Google accounts. You just need to tap the profile icon, then choose “turn on incognito mode”, and the app will stop tracking you.

Inside the Microsoft Build 2019 Developer Conference

Microsoft Developer Conference

It is time for the technology giants to host the big developer conferences to launch and announce their upcoming products and technological updates. Facebook hosted its F8 developer’s conference last week at San Jose, C.A., now it is Microsoft and Google’s turn. Just a day ahead of Googles annual developer conference I/O 2019, Microsoft is hosting its annual Build developer conference at Seattle this week. Following are the announcements which Microsoft made on the day one of its Build developer conference:

Quantum Computing:

Microsoft is working hard to build the tools to program future quantum computers. The company announced both Q#, a programming language for writing quantum codes and a compiler for this language as well as a quantum simulator. It also said that it will open-source these efforts in the coming days. With this move, Microsoft has made quantum computing and algorithm development easier and more transparent for developers.

Autonomous Robots:

Microsoft announced a new Azure-based platform that is partially built on Bonsai a start-up which was acquired by Microsoft which will help developers to train the models necessary to power these autonomous physical systems. This platform is combining Microsoft tools such as machine learning and machine teaching with simulation tools like AirSim or third-party simulators to train models in a realistic but safe environment.

Microsoft Word Online to use Machine learning:

As Microsoft announced Word will soon get a new feature called Ideas this will help writers with their documents. It will help them to write more concise and readable text. It uses machine learning to suggest a rewrite when you make a mistake. Ideas can automatically extract key points from a document which is more interesting for a reader than a writer. It will also have “Word Designer” to the Word processor which will help writers to style different parts of the document including tables.

Braille-enabled controller:

Microsoft is developing such type of controller for visually impaired gamers to play some games. This is very much like an ordinary Xbox One gamepad except on the back there are six paddles correspond to the six dot positions on a Braille coded character which is a Braille display. Although the difficulty can’t be entirely reduced but kudos to Microsoft and Xbox for taking some concrete steps towards its development.

Microsoft and GitHub:

On October last year, Microsoft acquired GitHub by a huge amount $7.5 billion. At the Build developer conference, Microsoft announced a number of integrations between its existing services and GitHub most of them focussing on identity management. This allows GitHub Enterprises users to use Azure Active Directory to access GitHub. Developers will also be able to log into Azure Portal and Azure DevOps by using their existing GitHub accounts.

Visual Studio Online:

Visual Studio Online is an online code editor to which Microsoft is positioning as a companion to Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code. Services are based on Visual Studio Code, Microsoft’s popular free and open source code editor. Visual Studio Online will support all the extensions that are available for Visual Studio Code as well as features like Visual Studio Code workspaces.

React Native for Windows:

Microsoft is implementing React Native to Windows rewriting many components in C++ to get maximum performance. This gives freedom to developers to target any Windows 10 device, including PCs, tablets, Xbox, mixed reality devices and more. As Microsoft is supporting this project, developers will be able to provide users with faster and more fluid apps.

IntelliCode:

Microsoft has made its AI-assisted coding tool IntelliCode available which supports C# and XAML in Visual Studio and Java, JavaScript, Typescript and Python in Visual Studio code. IntelliCode is the next generation of intellisense which is Microsoft’s most popular code completion tool. IntelliCode makes developers life easier, increases productivity, and reduces the probabilities of bugs.

Kubernetes:

Kubernetes autoscaling or Kubernetes-based event-driven applications (KEDA) is a new open source collaboration between Red Hat and Microsoft which helps developers to deploy serverless, event-driven containers. It also allows users to build their own event-driven applications.

Microsoft Edge:

Microsoft Chromium-based Edge browser was released a few weeks ago and now the company has announced three new privacy settings for the browser: Unrestricted, Balanced and Strict. These settings will influence the tracking ability of third parties across the web. Businesses which rely on legacy applications and only run on Internet Explorer will now be able to run on IE tab in the new browser.

Fluid Framework:

It is a new software development kit that will help developers faster and more flexible applications which will change people perspective towards document and collaborative editing. Users will be able to edit documents in applications like Word and then share a table from that document in Microsoft Teams and other third-party applications. Microsoft is also planning to integrate Fluid into some of its Office 365 applications later on.

Windows Terminal:

Windows 10 is getting a new terminal for command line users which will be launched in the midst of June. Windows terminal will be a major update of the existing Windows Command Prompt and PowerShell experience. The Terminal will be the default environment for PowerShell, Command Prompt and Windows Subsystem for Linux. The features of the new terminal include a faster GPU-accelerated text rending and emoji rich fonts. Windows terminal will also support shortcuts, tabs, tear away windows, theming as well as extensions. It will also support Unicode and East Asian fonts.

ElectionGuard:

It is a more secure and transparent method of voting as compared to the traditional systems which according to Microsoft will be made available this summer and be piloted during the elections of 2020. ElectionGuard is not a complete voting machine but a platform for handling voting data through which existing systems can be empowered or new ones can be built on top of it. It is a part of defending democracy program and a sister product of NewsGuard and AccountGuard.