E3 is canceled this year due to both the pandemic’s effects on development schedules and the success of events elsewhere in the year, like The Game Awards. As such, expectations are higher than ever for Summer Game Fest (SGF). It’s now the biggest mid-year opportunity for developers to reveal new games and hype up their upcoming releases. At the same time, you might not see absolutely everyone. Don’t worry if it’s all a bit overwhelming — we’ll let you know how to watch, and what you’ll likely see when Geoff Keighley and partner studios take to the stage.

Who’s coming to Summer Game Fest

Most major game developers will attend Summer Game Fest in some capacity. Former E3 mainstays Activision, EA, Microsoft, Sony and Ubisoft will be there. You can also expect well-known studios and technology companies like Amazon Games, Bandai Namco, CD Projekt Red, Capcom, Epic Games, Gearbox, Netflix, Razer, Samsung and Valve.

Keighley’s team hasn’t shared many specifics of what to expect, but there have been a couple of clues.You should see the first gameplay footage from the fighting series reboot Mortal Kombat 1, while Remedy should show more of its action horror sequel Alan Wake II. We also wouldn’t be surprised if CD Projekt Red showed more of its Cyberpunk 2077 add-on Phantom Liberty given promises of news this month.

Don’t expect a dedicated PlayStation event at SGF. Sony held a Showcase livestream on May 24th that showcased much of what the company and its partners are working on, including the Project Q handheld streaming device and Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 3 remake. Nintendo also isn’t poised to appear, and might instead hold a Direct presentation. That’s not surprising when The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is already out, and the only big first-party game in the pipeline is Pikmin 4 this July.

The Summer Game Fest schedule and how to watch

Bethesda

The tentpole event is Summer Game Fest Live on June 8th at 3PM Eastern. You can watch this through the presenters’ many social channels, including YouTube, Twitch, Twitter and TikTok. This is billed as a “cross-industry showcase,” and will likely include announcements from a wide variety of publishers. This will likely include some creators that have their own events later, such as Microsoft.

The first company-specific events follow almost immediately afterward. Double Fine and iam8bit are holding their customary “Day of the Devs” indie game presentation at 5PM Eastern on the 8th. Devolver, meanwhile, is streaming its announcements at 6PM. Its show is sometimes a treat even if you don’t care for the games — Devolver is fond of telling a wacky story alongside its announcements.

Each subsequent day has at least one event. The Tribeca Festival is showing exclusive gameplay clips and interviews from its official selections on June 9th at 3PM Eastern. On June 10th, you can tune into a Wholesome Direct at 12PM that puts the spotlight on indie games.

For many, June 11th will be the highlight. Microsoft is hosting an Xbox Games Showcase at 1PM Eastern where it will likely discuss titles from its in-house studios. As soon as that’s done, a Starfield Direct will show more of Bethesda’s sci-fi epic. PC Gamer’s The PC Gaming Show follows at 4PM with two hours of introductions that include over 15 new games.

And while it’s not technically part of Summer Game Fest, Ubisoft Forward is scheduled for June 12th starting at 1PM Eastern. You’ll have to watch on Ubisoft’s YouTube and Twitch channels, but you can expect updates on Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, The Crew Motorfest and other upcoming releases.

The last Summer Game Fest event was only announced this week: Capcom will host a brief stream on June 12th starting at 6PM Eastern. The 38-minute event will feature “roughly 36 minutes of news and updates” on the company’s latest games.

You’ll also want to stay tuned to Engadget throughout the event. While Summer Game Fest isn’t an E3-style trade show, we’ll be on the ground with news, analysis and hands-on impressions. We’ll let you know what games are promising and pinpoint the trends from this year’s lineup.

Until now, you've had to buy a Seagate card if you wanted to augment the fast internal storage of your Xbox Series X or S. Now, however, you have a slightly more affordable option. Western Digital has released a WD Black C50 expansion card line that starts at $80 for a 500GB model. That's $10 less than the recently price-cut Seagate equivalent, and easier to justify if you only need room for a few extra games. A 1TB card sells for the same $150 as its comparably-sized rival.

You'll need one of these proprietary add-ons if you want to add space for ready-to-play Xbox Series X/S games, which require solid-state drive cards that are as quick as the SSD built into the console. Conventional external USB drives can only be used to archive games or play Xbox One titles. That's fine if you only have a handful of active games at a time, but you'll want an Xbox-native card if you want access to many titles at short notice.

These cards are still costlier than the NVMe SSDs you can buy for a PlayStation 5. However, the price gap is now small enough that the storage format probably won't affect your choice of system. It's only an issue if you want 2TB of additional capacity. Western Digital doesn't offer a 2TB C50 card, and Seagate's $280 Xbox option is decidedly more expensive than PS5 options like Sabrent's $160 NVMe drive.

Apple is supposed to release an iOS 17 public beta in July, but some recent changes made the developer betas more accessible this year. The iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma betas were released yesterday and for the first time, those with free developer accounts can access these preview software. As AppleInsiderexplains, Connor Jewiss and other users have noticed that the iOS 17 developer beta was available to install in the Beta Updates section of Settings whether or not you paid. The macOS Sonoma and watchOS 10 previews have been available this way, too. 

For some context — previously, to access the various OS betas right after the WWDC keynote, you'd have to be have a paid developer account, which cost about $100 a year. While a free tier was always available, the developer betas weren't included in that option. 

That technically means that since you won't have to pay for a developer account for access to these betas, you can probably sign up for Apple's Developer Program to check them out. But you likely won't want to install them. These are the first pre-release versions available to people outside of Apple, and they're the most likely to include bugs and app compatibility issues. That could cause problems if you install them on must-have devices. Unless you're a developer who wants to start preparing app updates, you're probably better off waiting until either the public beta or the finished version releases this fall.

iOS 17 is an iterative upgrade, but it adds more than a few features you might appreciate, such as live voicemail transcripts, easier sharing, more intelligent autocorrection and a journaling app. MacOS Sonoma adds perks like desktop widgets, Safari privacy updates and a Game Mode, while watchOS 10 is a significant revamp that centers on quick-glance widgets. For the most part, there's no rush to try them right away.

Update (at 9:50pm ET): This article was edited to correct some mistakes around how and why access to these developer betas is now available for free. We also added context to explain the difference this year. We apologize for the error.

Apple is supposed to release an iOS 17 public beta in July, but the company inadvertently gave users an early peek. As AppleInsiderexplains, Connor Jewiss and other users have noticed that the iOS 17 developer beta was available to install in the Beta Updates section of Settings whether or not you paid for the necessary account. The macOS Sonoma and watchOS 10 previews have been available this way, too. 

We wouldn't count on any of the developer betas being available as we write this. As it is, you likely won't want to install them. These are the first pre-release versions available to people outside of Apple, and they're the most likely to include bugs and app compatibility issues. That could cause problems if you install them on must-have devices. Unless you're a developer who wants to start preparing app updates, you're probably better off waiting until either the public beta or the finished version releases this fall.

iOS 17 is an iterative upgrade, but it adds more than a few features you might appreciate, such as live voicemail transcripts, easier sharing, more intelligent autocorrection and a journaling app. MacOS Sonoma adds perks like desktop widgets, Safari privacy updates and a Game Mode, while watchOS 10 is a significant revamp that centers on quick-glance widgets. For the most part, there's no rush to try them right away.

Apple's iOS 17 makes it easier to share content, but it also has new safeguards to prevent abuses of that newfound power. The company has revealed that its upcoming software will add a Sensitive Content Warning feature that helps adults avoid unsolicited nude photos and videos. If you receive something potentially concerning, you can either decline it, agree to see it or learn about ways to get help.

Communication Safety also protects kids beyond the Messages app. The feature will use machine learning to detect and blur sexually explicit material sent and received through AirDrop, Contact Posters, FaceTime messages and the Photos picker. The technology can now recognize videos in addition to still shots. If this content arrives, children can message trusted adults for help or find useful resources.

Both Sensitive Content Warning and Communication Safety process media on-device. Apple also says it doesn't have access to the material. Communication Safety requires that you enable Family Sharing and mark certain accounts as belonging to children.

Apple unveiled its plans to curb unsolicited nudes in 2021 alongside a plan to flag photos uploaded to iCloud when they contained known child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The company scrapped this plan at the end of 2022 amid concerns governments could pressure it to scan for other image types, not to mention risks of false positives. Communication Safety and Sensitive Content Warning don't have those issues — they're only meant to prevent creeps from traumatizing others.

Legislators have aimed to criminalize unwanted nudes, and individual services have their own anti-nude detection tools. In that light, Apple is mainly filling gaps in the deterrence system. In theory, shady characters won't have much success blasting iPhone users with rude texts and calls.

To say that Apple's WWDC 2023 keynote was packed would be an understatement. The company introduced the Vision Pro, its first foray into mixed reality headsets, as well as a 15-inch MacBook Air. There was also an updated Mac Studio and Mac Pro, both of which use the equally new M2 Ultra chip. As you'd expect Apple announced significant upgrades to all its software platforms.

Apple Vision Pro

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

It's safe to say the Vision Pro was Apple's marquee device at WWDC. It's a standalone mixed reality headset with very powerful specs, including an M2 chip (plus an R1 companion chip), 4K displays for each eye and nearly a dozen cameras and sensors that allow for hand gesture input and 3D photography. There's even an external screen that shows your eyes and notifies others when you're using apps.

The Vision Pro runs visionOS, a new platform designed from the ground up for spatial computing. It centers on a mixed reality 3D interface that makes apps, FaceTime calls and other tasks effectively float in physical space. You can control your Mac, play games and run iPad apps using a virtual screen. Disney is even planning a suite of experiences that include a Disney+ app.

The headset won't be cheap. Apple will sell Vision Pro for $3,499, and it won't be available until early 2024. This is a wearable computer for developers, and Apple is pricing it accordingly.

15-inch MacBook Air

Apple

Apple's first hardware announcement at WWDC might also have been the most important one for everyday users. The company launched the 15-inch MacBook Air, its first truly large laptop aimed at everyday users. It has the same fanless M2 chip, MagSafe connector and twin Thunderbolt 4 ports as its 13-inch counterpart, just with a 15.3-inch display and a longer 18-hour battery life. It's billed as the "world's thinnest" 15-inch laptop at 0.45in thick, and relatively light at 3.3lbs.

The 15-inch MacBook Air ships on June 13th starting at $1,299. And if it's larger than you need, Apple has cut the price of the 13-inch Air to $1,099.

Mac Pro and Mac Studio with M2 Ultra

Apple

It took three years, but Apple has finally finished transitioning its computer line to in-house silicon. The company has introduced a Mac Pro that uses a brand new M2 Ultra system-on-chip at its heart. While the workstation shares the same cheese grater look as its Intel-based predecessor, the 24-core CPU, 76-core GPU chip is reportedly up to three times faster. You can't upgrade the RAM yourself, unfortunately, but seven PCIe slots and eight Thunderbolt 4 ports promise the expansion heavy-duty users demand.

The Mac Studio, meanwhile, is a straightforward refresh of last year's compact pro machine. It comes in M2 Max and M2 Ultra configurations with a higher-bandwidth HDMI port that supports up to an 8K resolution and 240Hz refresh rates.

Both systems are due to ship June 13th. The upgraded Mac Studio starts at $1,999, while the Mac Pro begins at $6,599.

iOS 17

Apple

Apple unveiled iOS 17 at WWDC, and this upgrade focuses as much on basic apps as it does extending the iPhone's functionality. Calls now include contact-specific "posters," with live transcripts for voicemail. Messages offers a sleeker interface, transcripts, a more powerful sticker feature and location-based check-ins with friends. FaceTime lets you leave video messages. Sharing has improved with proximity-based data and contact sharing, plus AirPlay sharing in hotels and to in-car infotainment systems. Siri is more powerful with support for back-to-back commands that don't involve the "Siri" keyword, and autocorrect includes sentence-level correction as well as predictions.

A new Journal app in iOS 17 lets you document your activities and thoughts, while mood tracking in Health can help you identify medically relevant emotional changes. Your iPhone can also double as a smart display through StandBy, which shows useful info on widgets while your phone is in landscape mode.

iOS 17 is due in the fall, although a developer preview is available now. A public beta will be ready in July. Notably, Apple is dropping support for the iPhone 8 and iPhone X with this release.

iPadOS 17

Apple

If iOS 17 is about revamping the iPhone experience, iPadOS 17 is about catching up. The newly-announced iPad update adds iOS 16-style lock screen customization, complete with widgets. Those widgets are now interactive on the tablet, though, letting you take actions without jumping into apps. Health is also available on the iPad for the first time, and takes advantage of new iOS features like mood tracking.

The Notes app will let you annotate and collaborate on PDFs for the first time. Stage Manager multitasking will give you more control over windows, and you can use an external monitor's webcam for video calls. iOS 17's Journal app, contact posters and Messages refresh will be available here as well.

iPadOS 17 doesn't arrive until the fall, but a developer preview is available now. A public test release is expected in July.

WatchOS 10

Apple

The Apple Watch is getting its first true interface overhaul with watchOS 10. The new OS includes a Smart Stack of widgets for timers, podcasts and other content you can quickly access by spinning the Digital Crown. Key apps like Activity and World Clock are adding more functionality, too. Cyclists will appreciate bike sensor support as well as heart rate and power data, while hikers may like automatic waypoint creation for emergencies as well as topographical maps (including trail searching) and 3D waypoints.

Other additions are more in line with iOS and iPadOS. The Mindfulness app now includes mood tracking, and you'll get outdoor time tracking to help prevent nearsightedness. You can view FaceTime video messages and join FaceTime group audio chats. If you're a Fitness+ subscriber, you'll have custom workout and meditation schedules.

A developer preview of watchOS 10 is available now, with a public beta arriving in July. The finished upgrade surfaces this fall.

MacOS Sonoma

Apple

Mac software upgrades tend to both match iOS releases while introducing a few new tricks, and that's certainly the case for the just-announced macOS Sonoma. The refresh adds interactive desktop widgets that can sync with your iPhone. Video calls get an upgrade with a presenter overlay, reactions and improved screen sharing. Safari adds stricter anti-tracking measures in Private Browsing as well as web apps in the macOS dock. Gamers will appreciate Game Mode's performance prioritization, and there's even Apple TV-style video screensavers. Accessibility is improved, too.

Developers can try a macOS Sonoma preview today, while a public beta is slate for July. The finished product is due this fall.

Apple TV and AirPods

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

There were a few nice-to-have updates across the ecosystem. Apple TV users running tvOS 17 will get FaceTime calls using an iPhone. Control Center has been redesigned, and you can use Siri to find a lost remote. If you own the second-generation AirPods Pro, you'll have a new Adaptive Audio feature that adjusts active noise cancellation and transparency mode based on your environment. The earbuds will even predict your volume preferences, and automatically lower the volume when you start speaking to someone else.

Apple's Vision Pro headset will introduce a new approach to security in the company's products: your eyes. The mixed reality device will use an Optic ID system that studies your irises through invisible LED light exposures, and compares it against your enrolled eye data to sign you in. You can use it as a password replacement and to make purchases in the App Store or using Apple Pay.

The company stresses that your eye data is encrypted and isolated in the headset's Secure Enclave. It never leaves the device and isn't available to apps. As with Face ID, then, there won't be actual images of your eyes or ways for intruders to abuse them.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Follow all of the news from Apple's WWDC 2023 right here.

Apple's efforts to bring high-profile games to the Mac appear to be paying off. Hideo Kojima has revealed that Death Stranding: Director's Cut is coming to the Mac later this year. Future Kojima Productions games will be available on the platform, too.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Follow all of the news from Apple's WWDC 2023 right here.

Apple has introduced iOS 17, and some of its most important changes revolve around fundamental apps. Incoming calls can now include custom posters for certain contacts, and you'll get Google-style live transcripts. Messages, meanwhile, offers easier replies, audio message transcripts, in-line location info and a "check in" that automatically lets people know if you've arrived or are delayed. There's a revamped sticker interface that lets you turn emojis into stickers, add effects and even add stickers to third-party apps.

Sharing is easier, too. NameDrop lets you share contact details just by bringing your iPhone close to someone else's device. You can share photos that way, too, and leave AirDrop transferring content even when you have to step away. A developer framework will expand access to sharing in other apps, too.

Even typing is better. New AI modelling improves keyboard autocorrection, and you'll see in-line predictions for what you're writing. If there's an unfamiliar word, iOS 17 will recognize it over time.

And yes, rumors of a life journaling app are true. The new Journal app lets document how you're feeling, complete with suggestions for writing prompts based on events like trips. Developers can tap into these suggestions.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Follow all of the news from Apple's WWDC 2023 right here.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is acting on concerns crypto giant Binance may have broken the law with its US operations. The regulator has filed 13 charges against Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao accusing the two of violating securities laws. Most notably, officials claim Binance knowingly undermined its own international compliance controls to help US investors keep trading on Binance.com when they were only supposed to rely on the separate Binance.US system. Zhao and his company also controlled Binance.US "behind the scenes," the SEC alleges.

The Commission also maintains that Binance and Zhao mixed and diverted customers' assets at will, including with the Zhao-owned Sigma Chain. The company and its US affiliate are further accused of running unregistered exchanges, broker-dealers and clearing agencies, with Zhao serving as the control. They also allegedly sold unregistered crypto assets, the SEC adds.

The SEC aims to not only force Binance to comply with the law, but to bar Zhao from helming any domestic securities issuers. It also wants the company to disgorge its financial gains from the alleged violations, and to pay additional penalties.

We've asked Binance for comment. Reuters investigators reported that Binance commingled $20 million from a corporate account with $15 million for a customer-oriented example. The company denied the allegation, saying that the relevant accounts were only used to "facilitate" cryptocurrency purchases and that the funds were exclusively corporate.

The SEC allegations come a few months after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed its own charges against Binance and Zhao. It too accused the crypto firm of skirting US regulations and offering unregistered crypto assets. Unlike the SEC, the CFTC charged former compliance officer Samuel Lim.

The action against Binance is the latest phase in a broader crackdown against the crypto industry. FTX and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried are facing numerous charges over alleged fraud and bribery. New York State has sued former Celsius chief Alex Mashinsky over purported fraud, while the SEC has charged Terraform Labs with running a "multi-billion dollar" fradulent operation. Combine this with Congress' efforts to shape crypto policy and there's intense pressure on crypto exchanges to alter their practices.