It was a big day for technology fans, as both the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference and the Electronic Entertainment Expo began yesterday.
Apple, now under the direction of Tim Cook, unveiled iOS 7, a complete overall of the iPhone and iPad interface set to be available this fall. The new icon designs are much more colorful and simplistic, according to Apple.
A few of the apps have been given new functionality, too. The stock Camera app now has filters that can be applied right from the phone, allowing you to create Instagram-esque portraits without even opening it. There is also a new multitasking system that highlights each app that is open, as well as opening apps in the background that you use frequently.
A new feature named “Control Center” made its debut and allows you to swipe up from the bottom and have quick toggles for airplane mode, bluetooth, brightness and other options. Siri is now integrated with Wikipedia and Twitter, and now has greater access to iPhone features, giving it much greater functionality. Apple also showed off the long-rumored Apple Radio, basically Apple’s answer to Pandora, which will be integrated directly into the Music app.
The new Mac operating system, OS X Mavericks, and a redesign of the desktop Mac Pro were also shown.
Over at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the new Xbox and Playstation took center stage. Though both were announced weeks ago, details, like prices and release dates, have been scant.
Microsoft revealed that the new Xbox, dubbed the Xbox One, will be released sometime in November at a price point of $499. Several sequels for the new console were revealed, like a new Halo, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Dead Rising 3 and Forza Motorsport 5. There were also a few new franchises announced, such as Crimson Dragon and Rhyse: Son of Rome. The Xbox One will come packaged with Kinect, Microsoft’s motion sensing camera. The conference was used by Microsoft as damage control, due to the controversy that arose following Microsoft’s announcement that the Xbox One would not be able to play used games and would have always have to be connected to the internet. It was revealed yesterday that it would only have to be connected to the internet once every 24 hours to function and that used games would in fact work.
While Sony did not release a price or release date other than “Holiday 2013,” it did unveal the design of the Playstation 4. For Sony, yesterday was less about the hardware and more about the software.
Square announced that the long awaited Kingdom Hearts 3 is currently in development for the Playstation 4, ending months of speculation whether it would make it to current or next gen consoles. It was sequel heaven for Sony also, with Gran Turismo 6, Infamous: Second Son and new Killzones games revealed.
Keeping with the trend of recent years, this fall will be another mass release of all things tech and gaming.
Casey Holliday is an English and journalism major from Horn Lake. Follow him on Twitter @Casey_Holliday.
