Month: June 2016

As has become tradition at WWDC, Apple has announced the next version of its Mac operating system: Sierra. Of course, the real change is that, after fifteen years, Apple has finally ditched the "OS X" moniker. All things old are new again, and the new operating system will simply be called "macOS." We don't yet know if Sierra carries a "10.12" version number, but with developers getting their hands on the OS later today, we should soon have that question answered.

Apple's Craig Federighi ran through a whole bunch of new features to be included in the revised operating system. He started by mentioning Continuity and Auto-Unlock, which now combine to let you seamlessly unlock a desktop or laptop Mac merely by bringing your Apple Watch close, using what Federighi described as "time-of-flight networking" to detect the watch's proximity. It was unclear from the presentation whether or not this feature is an Apple Watch exclusive; Federighi did not explicitly say that Auto-Unlock would work with iOS devices.

Another Continuity-based feature showing up in Sierra is Universal Clipboard, which answers a longstanding complaint of Mac and iOS users. Copying and pasting now works automatically between an iOS device and a desktop Mac device. This appears to be a bidirectional service; you can copy an item to your iOS clipboard and see it on the desktop, and vice versa.

Eddy Cue is an Apple senior vice president. (credit: Apple)

Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue announced Monday that there will be new content available for the Apple TV platform.

At the company's WWDC 2016 conference in San Francisco, Cue showed off new support for Sling and Siri. Apple TV will also now allow "single sign-on" to cable networks, but Cue did not explain exactly how that feature would work.

Apple's new "Live Tune-In" uses Siri to allow users to simply say aloud what channel they want to watch; for example, Cue quickly popped into a soccer game on ESPN 2. That voice search feature also includes searching YouTube as well, so you can watch Steph Curry sink threes all day.

Minecraft for iOS, Android, Gear VR, and the version in the Windows 10 store, got a big upgrade today: Realms. Worlds built in the game can now be shared cross-platform, allowing users of the different versions to explore each other's creations.

Later in the year, these versions of the game will gain support for extensions, such as new skins that replace the zombies with fireball-shooting aliens, and mods. These capabilities will also come to the console version next year.

Today at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, the company announced watchOS 3, the latest version of its operating system for the Apple Watch. Apple's main focus with this watchOS update is making the device easier and more intuitive to use.

First, Apple's Kevin Lynch showed off how much faster watchOS 3 is compared to the previous version. Watch apps now launch instantly, rather than taking a few seconds to load. Overall, watchOS 3 is about seven times faster than watchOS 2, which should make all activity on the watch more seamless.

Apple also added a number of UI updates to the watch to make it easier to use and more "familiar." There's a new dock where you can set your favorite apps for quick use, and a Control Center you can access by swiping up from the bottom of the Watch's display. When it comes to texts, you can now see "smart replies" on the display as well, so you can choose a reply to send to someone to answer their message.

(credit: Microsoft)

When announcing Gears of War 4 at its E3 event today, Microsoft unveiled a new gaming feature called Xbox Play Anywhere. Essentially, this initiative allows a gamer to purchase a title once but still have the option to play on console and PC.

As perhaps the headlining feature of Xbox Play Anywhere, multiplayer across platform will become a reality. With Gears of War 4, for instance, the co-op modes will support this crossplay between Windows 10 and Xbox One users. Progress and achievements will be shared on Xbox Live across these platforms at no additional cost.

In addition to Gears of War 4, Microsoft announced that Forza Horizons 3 will be another upcoming Xbox Play Anywhere title. Additionally, the game will allow for four player campaign co-op for the first time. And this version of the game will feature "the largest car roster ever seen in Horizon," according to Ralph Fulton from Playground Games.

A leaked promotional image for the Xbox One S confirms news that Ars had gathered ahead of this year's E3 conference. (credit: Microsoft)

It leaked yesterday and now it's official: the Xbox One S, a slimmer, lower power, white Xbox One, is coming in August. Prices will start at $299.

Microsoft confirmed the information from a weekend leak at the company's E3 event today. The new Xbox supports 4K video output, including support for 4K Blu-ray discs, and high dynamic range (HDR) imagery. The system is 40 percent smaller than its predecessor, and it also does away with the bulky power brick that the first generation hardware uses.

With the streamlined Xbox comes an updated controller: it adds a texture to the back, extends the range, and also supports Bluetooth in addition to proprietary wireless.

Sebastian Anthony

The Range Rover Evoque Convertible, roof down, with Wales in the background.

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Land Rover, one of the oldest and most recognisable car brands in the UK, is adventuring off the beaten path with the Range Rover Evoque Convertible. As far as I can tell, it's the world's first convertible compact luxury SUV. And despite the intrinsic engineering tradeoffs from trying to straddle three different automotive segments, I'm surprised to report that it's a rather nice car indeed.

Well, it's a nice car if you have at least $50,000 burning a hole in your pocket and you're looking for a convertible SUV at least.

Engines, storage, rear seats, etc.

Starting at $51,470 and ranging up to about $58,270, the Evoque Convertible is certainly not a cheap acquisition, but you do get quite a lot of car (and technology) for your money. There are only two engines available: a decent 2.0L TD4 diesel that puts out 180hp (134kW) and 317 ft-lbs (430Nm) and a 2.0L petrol engine that puts out 240hp/179kW but only peaks at 250ft-lbs/340Nm of torque. Both engines are attached to a ZF nine-speed automatic gearbox. In theory the diesel does 0-62mph in 10.3 secs; the petrol, 8.6 secs.