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Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches in early 2024

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The release date for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the follow-up to the acclaimed RPG remake, has been announced. It will launch on the PS5 at the beginning of 2024.

The second game in the Final Fantasy VII remake series, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, explores the tale of the legendary fantasy game that reinvented the RPG subgenre in three different games.

Final Fantasy VII
Image Source: gematsu.com

After escaping the dystopian city of Midgar, the enduring heroes Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith, and Red XIII are rejoined in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. They then set out on a quest to find Sephiroth, the furious swordsman from Cloud’s past who was believed to have perished.

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Players will experience an expansive universe in this stand-alone adventure, which has been built expressly to take advantage of the PlayStation 5 console’s capability and features a new level of graphical richness.

Players will experience a compelling narrative filled with puzzles to solve as they follow each party member’s personal journey and forge stronger ties with one another as they take on formidable foes.

Final Fantasy is a long-running and highly popular role-playing video game franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and published by Square Enix.

The series originated in 1987 with the release of the first Final Fantasy game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in Japan. Since then, the franchise has expanded to include numerous mainline entries, spin-off games, sequels, prequels, and other related media.

Each mainline Final Fantasy game typically features a new world, characters, and storyline, although certain elements such as recurring creatures, spells, and themes may be present across multiple titles.

The series is known for its engaging narratives, memorable characters, intricate battle systems, and beautiful music composed by Nobuo Uematsu.

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The franchise has been a pioneer in the RPG genre, introducing various innovations and setting high standards for storytelling and gameplay mechanics. Some of the most notable entries in the series include Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy XV.

The games often blend fantasy and science fiction elements, offering rich and immersive worlds for players to explore.

Final Fantasy has had a significant impact on the gaming industry and has garnered a dedicated fanbase worldwide. It continues to be a prominent and influential franchise, with new titles and remakes being released on various platforms, including consoles, handheld devices, and PC.

Health Features

How Exciting Is The New Apple Health Features?

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On Monday, Apple unveiled new health features for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and watchOS 10, increasing the scope of the Health app to include eyesight and mental health.

While the new vision health features encourage good behaviors to reduce the risk of myopia, the new mental health features provide users the ability to track their feelings and moods. The most recent Apple software announcement won’t transform the healthcare industry.

health features
Image Source: cnet.com

As a result of their active approach to self-care and monitoring, consumers who don’t need significant healthcare services are instead encouraged to make little improvements.

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The Apple Health app in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 and the Mindfulness app in watchOS 10 provides users with an appealing and user-friendly platform to consider their mental condition. Users can browse among multidimensional shapes to communicate their emotions, which can range from happy to terrible.

Two essential behaviors for kids are advised by eye care professionals to help lower the likelihood of myopia. These actions include spending more time in the sunlight and viewing objects like devices and books from a greater distance.

Apple Watch’s ambient light sensor can now track how much time users spend outdoors thanks to watchOS 10. On iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, users can check the amount of sun exposure time that their Apple Watch has detected.

Children can connect their Apple Watch to their parents’ iPhones using Family Setup, allowing parents to track their children’s exposure to sunshine through Health Sharing.

The TrueDepth camera is used by the new Screen Distance feature on the iPhone and iPad to prompt users to move their gadgets farther away after holding them up close for an extended period of time (closer than 12 inches). Myopia can be brought on by reading or using a device too closely, according to studies.

Younger users can benefit from screen distance by developing good viewing habits that reduce their risk of myopia, while older users can lessen digital eyestrain.

The demographic who needs healthcare the most frequently does not use the services that Apple Health provides for proactive health management. According to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, around half of American adults had trouble paying for health care.

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About 40% of American adults delayed or skipped getting medical care in the past year due to financial concerns. Adults without insurance, Black and Hispanic adults, and those with lower incomes are disproportionately affected by the high cost of healthcare. A larger percentage of American adults avoided or put off getting medical care in each of these groups because of the cost.

The target group who requires gadgets to manage their health proactively cannot afford Apple gear, despite it having technological advancements that might considerably help people manage their health.

Apple

Apple Plans Major Retail Push With New Stores Across China, US

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Apple will not just refurbish its current stores but will additionally build new ones in an attempt to reenergize its offline retail footprint throughout the world.

When referring to its actual retail locations, Apple hardly totally disappears; instead, it frequently updates, modifies, or even adds new sites. However, the corporation will concentrate on reviving the in-person purchasing experience during the span of the following four years.

apple
Image Source: bqprime.com

Bloomberg describes the business’s efforts to embark on a more aggressive push into China as well as remodeling several sites in the US in an article recently published detailing Apple’s prospects for retail locations. Apple has ambitions for Paris and London so it won’t just overlook Europe.

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In addition to five brand-new shops in Europe including the Middle East, four newest shops in the United States alongside Canada, and an overall 15 more retail locations in the Asia-Pacific area, Apple is apparently in talks to open these new stores.

Regarding the refurbishments, the source claims that Apple will move or modify 13 locations in North America, about six in Asia, as well as nine in Europe. In total, this would mean that during the next four years, Apple will be constructing 53 new, relocated, or renovated stores.

If the preparations for real retail outlets go according to plan, Apple will achieve a minimum of a single goal along the way. This includes establishing three stores in India and building its first outlet in Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur.

Apple is aiming to establish an additional location close to Battersea Power Station situated in London in addition to upgrading the Opera shopping area in Paris.

According to reports, an additional store will open in Miami, Florida, along with Apple may open a new retail location in Shanghai’s Jing’an Temple Plaza.

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A refurbishment is anticipated for the Shinsaibashi site of the future store, which is also scheduled to open in Osaka which is the Grand Front Plaza mall in Japan. According to the report, several of these situations are currently in the debate stage as they work with plans and estimates.

Given this, it’s probable that Apple’s bold intentions for its physical shop footprint won’t turn precisely as they are described here.

In Tysons Corner, Apple officially opened its first Apple Store ever to exist in the United States. The newly opened shop is not distant from the old one, but it has a completely different design and greater room for customers.

Apple

Why Apple is changing the ‘Hey Siri’ trigger to just ‘Siri’?

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Apple announced plans to change the wake phrase used to activate the voice assistant from “Hey Siri” to just “Siri” at this year’s developers conference.

Apple is replacing “Hey Siri” with the simple phrase “Siri.” The modification, which is a feature of iOS 17, will make it simpler to call Siri on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other devices. It comes in response to a Bloomberg story from November that claimed Apple was working on simplifying Siri’s wake phrase.

Apple
Image Source: beebom.com

Since the underlying technical and training work is simpler versus a two-word trigger phrase, Apple has been utilizing “Hey Siri” up to this point. Even though it may appear straightforward, switching to a single wake phrase is a substantial change.

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Even Microsoft allowed simply “Cortana” as a wake word before discontinuing its voice assistant on iOS and Android in 2021. Amazon users can activate the Alexa assistant with “Hey Alexa” or just “Alexa,” and Alexa users can trigger the assistant using just “Alexa.”

Instead of using a single “Google” wake word, Google Assistant still supports the “Hey Google” or “OK Google” utterances. Google would have to carefully consider how to stop the assistant from triggering during talks when Google is mentioned if it were to switch to a single wake phrase. After all, Google has evolved into a transitive verb as a result of its dominance in search.

There will be one more tweak to Siri that will somewhat alter how you use it. Users may now ask Siri many inquiries without using the trigger word each time thanks to a recent update from Apple. Now, you just need to speak “Siri” once to activate the assistant and ask subsequent inquiries back-to-back.

With the most recent software update, all devices now support both of these new Siri features. Unfortunately, despite what many enthusiasts might have anticipated after seeing recent advances in AI like ChatGPT, Apple did not make any improvements to the way Siri reacts to customer inquiries.

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The WWDC developer conference began on June 5 and will run through June 9. During the event, the company is anticipated to reveal its first-ever mixed-reality headset, new Macs, and updates to iOS and macOS, among other things.

“Hey, Siri” is a phrase used to activate the voice-controlled personal assistant feature on Apple devices. Siri is an intelligent virtual assistant developed by Apple Inc. It is available on various Apple devices such as iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and HomePods.

Summer Game Fest

Summer Game Fest 2023 and games conference schedule

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Summer Game Fest is a digital gaming event that was first organized in 2020 by Geoff Keighley, a prominent figure in the gaming industry. It was designed to be a season-long celebration of video games, featuring a series of announcements, reveals, and demos from various game developers and publishers.

Summer Game Fest
Image Source: shacknews.com

During Summer Game Fest, viewers can expect a mix of live-streamed events, gameplay showcases, interviews, and other gaming-related content. The event aims to bring together the gaming community and provide them with exciting updates and news about upcoming games.

In previous years, the fest has featured major game announcements and presentations from companies like Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and many others. It has served as a platform for showcasing new titles, unveiling trailers, and sharing insights into the development process.

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At 12 p.m. PDT/3 p.m. EDT/9 p.m. CEST on Thursday, June 8, Summer Game Fest will stream live from the YouTube Theatre in Los Angeles. Live streams of the program will be available on SGF’s YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Steam channels.

Multiple shows will be part of Summer Game Fest throughout the summer. At the time of writing, the showcases listed below have received formal confirmation.

Summer Game Fest 2023 Opening Showcase- 8th June 2023

Devolver Digital Presentation- 8th June 2023

Wholesome Direct- 10th June 2023

Future Games Show- 10th June 2023

Xbox Games Showcase & Starfield Direct-11th June, 2023

Ubisoft Forward- 12th June 2023

A significant live-streamed presentation with fresh announcements, videos, gameplay clips, and other nuggets from the newest independently made games are scheduled to open the Guerrilla Collective Online Showcase in June 2023. Black Voices in Gaming and New Dames 4 Games have been confirmed as participants.

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Guerrilla Collective will also highlight additional organizations in addition to a typical showcase during the course of a week of online and offline events. New trailers and teasers from organizations including Ubisoft, Xbox, PlayStation, CD Projekt, Disney, EA, Netflix, Square Enix, Capcom, Warner Bros. Games, and many more will be presented at this year’s expo.

Geoff Keighley hasn’t said much about what will be revealed during the Opening Showcase, but we do know that this year’s Summer Game Fest will feature more than 40 companies. While some of these publishers, like Devolver Digital and Xbox, do hold conferences during the events, it’s probable that others will attend this particular exhibition.

Apple

Is Apple AR/VR headset the future?

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When it comes to new products, Apple prefers to wait and see rather than enter the market first, but the wait will soon be over. Apple’s headset is anticipated to be unveiled during WWDC 2023, the company’s developer conference, in 2023.

Apart from a few statements made by a few of Apple’s senior executives and a consistent stream of rumours, there is not much concrete proof that the headset actually exists despite years of rumours.

Apple
Image Source: tomsguide.com

Apple has most certainly not confirmed the headset’s existence. Analysts and enthusiasts, on the other hand, have been closely monitoring Apple’s operations and have been able to unearth hints regarding the headset’s specifications.

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The AR/VR gear, which is rumoured to cost around $3,000, will reportedly function with current iPadOS apps like the Camera, FaceTime, Books, Home, Messages, Photos, Safari, and more, according to a recent Bloomberg article.

It is anticipated that the Apple AR/VR headset will prominently emphasise gaming, maybe as a new way to access Apple Arcade, and will include a new Fitness+ experience, similar to the Meta Quest Pro, HTC Vive Cosmos, and Sony Playstation VR.

According to reports, Apple is preparing to introduce fresh collaboration tools via the Apple Freeform app, which will enable users to talk about and collaborate on material together, as well as the ability to utilise the AR/VR headset as a separate display for a connected Mac in the workplace. Users will be able to have lifelike avatars in virtual meeting rooms with immersive videoconferencing in mixed reality.

The article also states that the headgear should be able to operate a wide range of games, reading apps, and health services, as well as hundreds of thousands of other third-party iPad apps, with little modification.

As the possibility of a metaverse is discussed, more businesses are creating AR/VR headsets, and interest in the field is rising. As is customary for Apple, the tech behemoth waited for other businesses to test the waters and for public interest to grow before entering the fray.

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The Oculus Rift, the first contemporary AR/VR headset, went on sale in March 2016. Since then, Meta—which purchased Oculus in 2014—has continued to create and release VR/AR headsets, culminating in its most recent model, the Meta Quest Pro, which will be available in 2022.

When Apple ultimately made the decision to enter a market in the past, it revolutionised and dominated it, igniting interest and building expectations for the product. When the headset launches, it is reasonable to believe that Apple will have the same impact on the AR/VR space.