It's Friday, June 09, 2017. Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.  As this week wraps up we’re getting you ready for E3, and digging into Boston Dynamics’ new owner. Plus: A peek inside the new iMac. It's going to be a busy week.  E3. It's the gaming world’s equivalent of the Super Bowl, the Oscars and a presidential election rolled into one. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo stand out as the hardware heavyweights, while EA, Ubisoft and Bethesda lead the third-party-publisher tussle. Throw in Square Enix, Activision and the occasional Capcom appearance, and you have the makings of a truly special show. Did we mention the army of indie developers that show up too? Nick Summers breaks down all the rumors and teasers in the run up to E3 2017. | | The Japanese company has a 'vision of catalyzing the next wave of smart robotics.'  It's been over a year since Google's parent company Alphabet said it wanted to sell its robotics company Boston Dynamics, and now it has a buyer: Softbank. The Japanese company has been working on its own robots for years, including the helpful Pepper, and now they'll be under the same umbrella as Handle, Big Dog, Atlas, WildCat and all the rest.
| | So many leaks that the company put out their own images.  It's only been two days since OnePlus announced the June 20th launch date for its upcoming OnePlus 5 flagship phone, but it didn't take long before leaks started to appear. With that dual camera, LED flash, antenna bands and shade of gray, commenters were quick to point out the heavy resemblance between this device and the iPhone 7 Plus, which is presumably why OnePlus decided to post the above image to make a point. Indeed, from this angle, the OnePlus 5 appears to feature a unique outline running from the side to the top. But, well, besides that, it still looks a lot like an iPhone. | | It’s not done yet  NASA showed off a futuristic-looking concept of the Mars 2020 rover with a shiny black body and intimidating wheels at the Kennedy Space Center. If you think that it looks like it popped right out of a superhero movie or a video game than an actual vehicle meant to explore the red planet, then you're right. | | The ultimate GoPro  The first action camera from GoPro made for shooting 360-degree video is this Fusion. It has a 5.2K resolution but is still only a shade larger than the Hero5 Black. Despite this early preview, key facts like how much it will cost are still unknown. | | Throw-and-go aerial selfie revolution isn’t quite here just yet. James Trew has been waving his arms at drones for the last few weeks. No, his brain hasn’t finally broken -- he was testing out the DJI Spark. The drone, which can be controlled by gestures. may have an innovative new control method, but James believes it's not quite the spontaneous, simple experience it needs to be for new drone owners. | | But it isn’t easy and it will void your warranty  While we tested what it’s like to use one of Apple’s newest all-in-ones, iFixit took their usual route of pulling one apart to see what’s inside. They found CPU and RAM that aren’t soldered to the motherboard which is a good thing for upgrades and repairs, but there’s just one small catch. Accessing them requires removing the screen and voiding your warranty. | | And new ‘collaborative gameplay’ is on the way  We’re coming up on one year since the launch of Pokemon Go, and after some ups and downs, it’s time to celebrate. The game’s developers are planning events worldwide as well as in game. More importantly, they also mentioned that gyms will shut down temporarily while they work on some new “collaborative gameplay” features that could bring head to head battles into the app. | | It’s all CG, but it’s a start.  The makers of Life is Strange, Don't Nod, has decided to go full-tilt fantasy on its new game, Vampyr. A new trailer shows more of the studio's supernatural take on 1918 London and confirms a November release date on PS4, PC and Xbox One.The new teaser, however, doesn’t reveal much in the way of gameplay, only showing pre-rendered footage of people lurking moodily in dark places. With the developers promising players a semi-open world, fast-paced combat, and an environment where every in-game action carries a consequence, it’s all sounding rather ambitious. | | But wait, there's more... | |
