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Nothing in the Apple world has the impact of the annual iPhone launch, but the company’s yearly WWDC developer conference comes close.

Last year saw the launch of iOS 18, which brought with it a revamped Control Center, a new Passwords app, in-depth Home Screen customization, and much more. Yet iOS 18 also continued a worrying trend for Apple in terms of stability.

I’ve used the iPhone for over a decade, and while I love the direction Apple is taking with new features, the stability of iOS has me concerned. An increasing number of bugs and a more general feeling of complexity go against the reasons I fell in love with iOS in the first place, and ultimately make the iPhone far less competitive.

Apple is rumored to be launching a redesign of iOS 19 at WWDC 2025, possibly shifting its branding ahead to iOS 26 to partially align with the update's release year. Here’s why I hope the company's next software overhaul is far more than just a redesign, and that Apple rebuilds iOS with a focus on stability, not just aesthetics.

The success of the iPhone over the past 18 years has undoubtedly been due to Apple’s approach to both hardware and software. Android phones are widely renowned for having better specifications, at least if one looks at the specs on paper, but Apple has proven that software optimization is just as important.

Legendary founder Steve Jobs famously described the Apple ecosystem as “it just works”, but the stability of iOS 18 has continued a worrying trend that bucks that phrase. Many of the new hero features were somewhat buggy at launch, and crucially, if you transferred from an old iPhone into the iPhone 16 series, these bugs impacted the overall experience.

My iPhone 16 often freezes and either needs a restart, or I have to wait for it to respond. This is not an isolated issue, since the same complaints are being made by hundreds of users in communities like Reddit. I've also noticed significant battery drain on my iPhone 16, and enabling battery saver has a detrimental impact on performance.

Then there’s Apple Photos and the universal dislike for its complete overhaul in iOS 18. It’s rare that Apple customers universally dislike an official Apple app, but the redesigned Photos app leaves a lot to be desired, especially when Google Photos is such a compelling alternative. Yes, there are ways to make Apple Photos more like the previous version, but this experience is yet more indicative of Apple’s software challenges.

The success of Apple’s products has been widely attributed to the company's remarkable ability to integrate software and hardware into a seamless experience.

Over the past few years, though, the company’s hardware ambitions have not been matched by the same level of success in software, which became apparent with the launch of Apple Intelligence.

The A18 Pro processor in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max is incredibly powerful, and builds upon the success of Apple's M-series computing chips. The cameras used in the iPhone can capture great photos, and the Camera Control feature is surprisingly useful. But a year on from Apple’s big AI debut, many of the highlighted features that were noted as coming within a year have been significantly delayed.

The stability of iOS 18 has only partially improved a year later, despite being on the fifth major launch build. Conversely, the Action Button and Dynamic Island are two rare hardware features where the software completes the hardware experience, proving that Apple can still deliver a compelling package.

Apple’s current software challenges feel familiar, and that’s because we’ve seen this story before. To find the answer to its own problems, Apple needs to look no further than its chief rival, Samsung.

I’ve reviewed phones for nearly 20 years, and while Samsung’s One UI is one of the best user experiences on Android right now, this wasn’t always the case. Before the launch of One UI in 2018, Galaxy phones ran TouchWiz, and while I was a fan of Samsung’s software at the time, I recall being in the distinct minority.

The biggest challenge facing Samsung’s software team at the time is also a cautionary tale for Apple and other phone makers.

TouchWiz was launched just two years after iOS, and both platforms have undergone considerable changes as smartphone users evolved and new habits formed. Like Microsoft has faced with Windows, this usually leads to software that is continually being added to, and the experience will inevitably suffer.

The Vision Pro and Vision OS show that Apple can still build a phenomenal integrated experience.

The answer for Apple is the same approach that Samsung took back in 2018: a complete rebuild. One UI took years to develop, and it removed large portions of the legacy experience in favor of the features required for current and future smartphone form factors, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

For Apple to successfully launch new hardware and software form factors, such as the rumored iPhone Fold, the company needs to rebuild iOS from the ground up, not just redesign the existing codebase.

The Vision Pro and Vision OS show that Apple can still build a phenomenal integrated experience – now it just needs to do the same for the iPhone.

• iOS 19: the 5 upgrades I'm really hoping for at WWDC 2025
• Here’s why I think a lack of AI at WWDC 2025 wouldn’t be catastrophic for iOS 26
• 3 Apple Intelligence features we know are coming at WWDC 2025 and 3 I’d like to see as well

"I don't care if it becomes the Terminator," I heard from somewhere behind me at the deli counter. While I'm not in the habit of eavesdropping, this guy was speaking full volume and, as I quickly ascertained, talking about AI. That wasn't what caught my ear, though.

Young and fit, the man was regaling his buddy, who worked behind the counter, with tales of his dating life, which currently involved "a few girls".

They were laughing about his amorous adventures. Having been out of the dating scene for decades, I was intrigued. I knew that people my adult children's ages tended to rely on Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, and other assorted dating apps, but the man standing just a few feet away from me was animatedly talking about making the love connection and how he uses ChatGPT to open and smooth the road.

I proceeded to place my order while keeping one ear tuned into "Love in the AI Age."

"I don't have words," he said. I silently agreed.

Then he explained that he'd started using ChatGPT to craft texts to send to his potential paramours. From the sounds of things, it'd been helping him close the deal on dates.

I'd heard whispers about this elsewhere and was not all that surprised. We are, after all, increasingly turning to AI chatbots like Gemini, Claude AI, Copilot, and, especially, ChatGPT for everything from job interviews (have ChatGPT running alongside the Zoom window listening so it can craft responses you can say out loud) and emotional support. These LLMs' abilities to engage in natural conversation have connected deeply with average consumers who would normally wait years before welcoming cutting-edge technology into their lives.

More alarmingly, some in the Gen Z set appear ready to skip the whole human dating thing and marry an AI, instead. At least this guy was not that far gone.

Without stereotyping him, this gentleman did not look or strike me as a technologist. His insistence on dropping articles from his sentences was my first clue.

Our dater in question, though, apparently discovered a ChatGPT relationship superpower: Instead of ghosting women, he was using ChatGPT as "the closer" to text "the letdown."

"I was dating this girl, and I want to send a breakup text," he explained to his friend.

This is when he noted that "words" were not his specialty.

Instead of ghosting the woman or sending an incomprehensible text, he said he creates a prompt in ChatGPT with his "feelings" and the "issues", and I assume the need to say "this over."

He especially liked that ChatGPT would ask him how he wanted the text to come across: "Want it to be warmer?" Naturally, the guy said yes and got the perfect breakup text.

"I send it and done!"

The deli guy behind the counter didn't say much. I'm not sure if he was astounded at his friend's AI savvy or concerned.

"Thank god they don’t know me," the guy said, chuckling at his cleverness, "I don’t use half of these words."

With his AI-powered digital breakup revealed, the guy grabbed his sandwich and left. I stared at my sliced cold cuts and pondered the state of the world.

On the one hand, there is some comfort in the fact that he didn't break someone's heart with silence. Back when I was dating in the 1980s, I did the equivalent of a ghost by not calling up a woman I'd been dating for a few weeks. I knew I was being a coward, but could not figure out how to say on the phone or to her face that I wasn't feeling it (I'm pretty sure she wasn't either). A couple of weeks later, she called me and yelled...a lot.

Perhaps this is better. Ghosting someone creates a vacuum that you can't easily fill with feelings of resignation, understanding, anger, or confusion. So perhaps you fill it with all of them.

This guy, while clearly lazy and as cowardly as I once was, at least had the decency to turn to something that could take his jumbled and grammatically imperfect thoughts and put them into something readable.

Perhaps the woman on the receiving end at least felt a sense of closure. I do wonder, though, what would happen if they ever saw each other again. What if she were to reference the "considerate" breakup text? He didn't write it, would he even remember what "he said"?

If I write something, I remember it. But this guy just copied and pasted ChatGPT's breakup text suggestion. He might stare at her and mumble, "Uh, yeah. Sure thing." Oh, the gallantry.

The first word in AI is "artificial". It refers to the state of algorithmic intelligence, but when AI is used in this fashion, it might as well be talking about the artificiality of feelings. Even if this guy didn't "have words", the words he texted would have been his own. That's surely worth something.

As it is, I hope the woman he broke up with didn't feel too disappointed. She probably dodged an arrow (through the heart, of course).

• Can ChatGPT really replace a therapist? We spoke to mental health experts to find out
• How does ChatGPT know so much about everything? Here's where AI gets its knowledge from
• Would you marry an AI? A recent survey says most Gen Z-ers would - here's why that's a ridiculous idea

• The Outer Worlds 2 officially launches on October 29 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC
• Obsidian Entertainment revealed a new story trailer packed with gameplay at the Xbox Games Showcase
• The Outer Worlds 2 Direct also offered a more in-depth look at the game

Obsidian Entertainment has announced that The Outer Worlds 2 will launch on October 29 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. It will also be a day-one release for Xbox Game Pass.

The studio unveiled the release date as the first major announcement of the Xbox Games Showcase, and offered a new glimpse at the sequel with a gameplay trailer.

This won't be the last we hear about the first-person shooter tonight. Immediately after the Xbox Games Showcase, The Outer Worlds 2 Direct will begin, which will presumably offer an in-depth look at the game.

We also have a new game description: "As a daring and most likely good-looking Earth Directorate agent, you must uncover the source of devastating rifts threatening to destroy all of humanity.

"Your investigation leads to Arcadia, home of skip drive technology, where the fate of the colony, and ultimately the entire galaxy, rests on your decisions-your strengths, your flaws, your crew, and the factions you choose to trust."

Like the first game, players can build their character with the abilities and choices that reflect their playstyle and craft a narrative of their own.

Pre-orders are now live.

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• Nintendo Switch 2: review in progress

• A new Pixel Watch feature has been spotted
• It would auto-lock your phone if your watch was disconnected
• We're not sure when the feature may launch

Code spotted in the latest Pixel Watch app for Android suggests there's a new feature on the way for the Google Pixel Watch 3 and older models: the ability to have your phone automatically lock itself when it's out of range of your smartwatch.

This code was found by the team at Android Authority, and while it hasn't been enabled yet – and there's no word yet on when it might be – the feature would be a useful security upgrade if you pair a Pixel Watch with an Android smartphone.

The idea is that if someone should swipe your phone without you knowing, or if you should happen to leave your handset behind without realizing it, you'd have the reassurance that your phone would automatically lock itself.

According to the newly discovered code, this feature could be called 'lock on disconnect' or something along those lines. With a little tweaking, one user has managed to make the setting show up in their Pixel Watch app.

This isn't something that's currently offered by any other wearable at the moment – including the best Apple Watches – though you can of course remotely lock an Android phone at any time using the Find My Device service from Google.

With no official announcement about this feature, it's difficult to predict when we might see it rolled out. Nothing was said at the recent Google I/O 2025 conference, but Google does tend to roll out software updates all across the year.

Presumably, once the feature goes live for Pixel Watch devices, it might then be pushed out into the code for Wear OS. That would then enable wearables like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra to take advantage of it.

What you can already do with your Pixel Watch is use it to unlock your smartphone: so if the watch is nearby, you don't need to keep unlocking your phone. This would be a useful extra function to add to that, once it eventually rolls out.

• We've seen leaked Google Pixel Watch.4 renders
• OnePlus Watch 3 vs Pixel Watch 3
• Your Pixel Watch is now a better phone remote

• Corsair One i600 comes in a choice of wood and metal finishes, combining beauty and performance
• It's powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor and Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5080 GPU
• It has a full range of ports for pro-grade tasks and whisper quiet liquid cooling

The Corsair ONE i600 is a compact workstation PC that, that for me, really stands out in both design and performance.

There are two finishes available – Metal Dark and Wood Dark. The latter is the most eye-catching and combines dark recycled aluminum with real FSC-certified walnut wood side panels. Every panel has a unique grain, giving each unit a slightly different finish.

It’s not just the outside where the Corsair ONE i600 shines of course. Inside there’s Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K processor, paired with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5080 GPU. The system is built for heavy creative workloads, gaming, and AI applications, with 64GB of DDR5-6400 RAM.

Storage is spread across two M.2 NVMe SSDs, 2TB each for a total of 4TB, configured to separate system and project files or gaming libraries. There's also an additional 2TB secondary drive, giving users even more options for local data storage.

To keep temperatures in check, Corsair includes dual 240mm liquid coolers, one for the CPU and another for the GPU. Corsair says this setup runs quietly, even under heavy load, with fan noise typically staying under 35dBA.

A tri-spoke vent design helps maximize passive airflow within the micro-ATX chassis.

On the outside, users get access to a full suite of ports. Up front, there are two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, and a combo headphone/mic jack. Around back, connectivity includes a USB 20Gbps Type-C port, a USB 10Gbps Type-A port, four USB 5Gbps Type-A ports, and two legacy USB 2 ports.

Networking options are 2.5G Ethernet, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4 support included as standard.

The system draws power from a 1000W SFX 80 PLUS Gold power supply and runs Windows 11 Home out of the box. It weighs 15kg and ships with a two-year warranty.

With customizable front-panel lighting and Corsair’s control software for thermal and lighting management, the i600 is aimed at those who want power without compromising on form. It’s priced at $4,999.99 and available now.

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• HP's Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 395 laptop with 128GB RAM goes on sale everywhere in the US

• The Persona 4 remake is official and known as Persona 4 Revival
• No release date yet, and with only a short teaser here, it could be a ways off
• It looks like it'll be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one

Following months of rumors, Atlus has formally announced the Persona 4 remake, now known as Persona 4 Revival.

Revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase, Persona 4 Revival is officially coming to PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC, and it's confirmed to be a full remake just like Persona 3 Reload.

Unfortunately, there's no release date yet, but from the short teaser trailer, we know that the game won't have a fixed perspective camera like the original game, and will now allow players to explore their surroundings with a full 360 camera.

The small fictional Japanese town of Inaba has never looked better, and we even got snippets of the game's iconic soundtrack. These don't seem to be remixed versions in the trailer, but I do expect a remixed soundtrack here similar to how Atlus did with Persona 3 Reload.

The short teaser trailer for Persona 4 Revival also has an Xbox Game Pass logo at the end, suggesting the game will be available on the subscription service on day one. While it's just Xbox platforms that have been confirmed for release at present, Persona 4 Revival will most likely release on PS5, PC and perhaps Nintendo Switch 2.

It also remains to be seen if Persona 4 Revival will contain all the bonus content and extra story content from the Persona 4 Golden re-release. Hopefully, we'll learn more about this upcoming game later this year.

• Best Xbox Series X games 2025: smash hits for Microsoft's top console
• Best RPGs 2024 - top role-playing games for PC and consoles
• Nintendo Switch 2: review in progress

Whether you're a devout Xbox fan or just wanted to see the reveals of some of the most exciting games on the horizon, the Xbox Games Showcase was worth tuning into.

This show was part of Summer Game Fest 2025 and followed the main show the day before. The biggest reveals included the announcement of Persona 4 Revival, Grounded 2, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

There were also plenty of cooler smaller games, like Mudang Two Hearts, There are no Ghosts at the Grand, and At Fate's End. We also finally learned about the long-rumored upcoming Xbox handheld, the Xbox Asus ROG Ally and Asus Rog Ally X!

Read on for a full list of everything shown, plus live reactions as it happened.

Here is a list of everything major revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase in June 2025.

• The Outer Worlds 2, October 29
• High on Life 2, Winter 2025
• Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
• Xbox Asus ROG Ally and Asus Rog X
• The Blood of Dawnwalker, 2025
• Super Meat Boy 3D, 2026
• Ninja Gaiden 4, October 21, 2025
• Indy: The Order of Giants, September 4, 2025
• Beast of Reincarnation, 2026
• Clockwork Revolution, Coming in due time
• Grounded 2, July 29 (Game Preview)
• Cronos The New Dawn, late 2025
• Aphelion, 2026
• There are no Ghosts at the Grand, 2026
• Age of Mythology Retold - Heavenly Spear, Fall 2025
• Mudang Two Hearts, 2026
• Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf, 2026
• Fallout 76: Gone Fission
• Solo Leveling Arise Overdrive, 2025
• Aniimo, 2026
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4, July 11
• At Fate's End, 2026
• Gears of War Reloaded, August 26
• Persona 4 Revival
• Sea of Thieves Smuggler's Tide update, August 2025
• Invincible VS, 2026
• Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 16 coming to Xbox
• Keeper, October 17, 2025
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, 2025

You can catch up on the Xbox Games Showcase below.

The Xbox Games Showcase took place on June 8 at 1PM ET / 10AM PT / 6PM BST / 7PM CEST.

While there is no exact schedule, the Xbox Games Showcase will be followed immediately by The Outer Worlds 2 Direct - a deep dive presentation on the upcoming Xbox RPG.

There's also no official word on length right now, though I would expect the Xbox Games Showcase and The Outer Worlds 2 Direct to last around two hours in total, though this is just a prediction.

Hello everybody and welcome to the very, very beginning of my Xbox Games Showcase 2025 coverage!

If you're reading this, it means you're on the of the very first people to join me as I cover the upcoming Xbox event.

Stay tuned, as I'm just about to hit you with some of my biggest hopes and predictions...

As the Xbox Games Showcase gets even nearer, I've been thinking a lot about the games that I expect (and want) to see.

First and foremost, it's hard to ignore all the chatter about a potential Persona 4 remake. This is a game that I've been hearing about through some of my contacts for months and I honestly I expected it to have been announced by now.

The latest rumors suggest that it is set to be shown off at the Xbox Games Showcase, with a version for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in addition to PS5 and PC. It will likely be something similar to the Persona 3 Reload, so a complete from-the-ground up recreation.

That aside, there are plenty of other games that I think are very likely to show up.

Remember Clockwork Revolution? That cool looking steampunk action game showed off by Xbox studio inXile Entertainment last year? I would be shocked if we don't get another trailer, and maybe even a release date.

There's another big Xbox game in the works too that I think will definitely make an appearance: Fable. With the game now set to come out in 2026 following a delay, I'm expecting a pretty beefy trailer to help keep everyone excited.

In a similar vein, State of Decay 3 really needs some new details. It feels like the open world zombie adventure has been in the works for absolutely ages, so it's really about time that we got a good look at it.

Some safe bets here: we'll almost definitely see something of the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle DLC, plus new content for The Elder Scrolls Online from Bethesda.

On the Activision front, we'll surely get a trailer for a Diablo 4 update or expansion.

There's also a chance that we might get our very, very first tease for the next Call of Duty game. It's likely to be another entry in the Modern Warfare subseries, which I'm hoping is the case as I just can't resist any Call of Duty game with my Task Force 141 boys.

On to what I'm hoping to see... Well, a new Xbox controller would be absolutely amazing. I'm heard some slightly rumblings of an Xbox Elite Series 3 pad, which would make me very happy.

It's about time that Microsoft's dated, but still super expensive, pro controller got an update - especially considering the arrival of the DualSense Edge over on the PlayStation side of things.

With the high likelihood of an Xbox handheld announcement, I'm also praying that we will be shown some updates coming to the Windows 11 gaming experience.

Have you ever tried to play an Xbox game on the Microsoft Store or via PC Game Pass? It's absolutely horrible, and if the company wants to compete against the likes of the Steam Deck it's time that the Windows gaming experience got serious.

Will we see a Hollow Knight: Silksong trailer today?

Normally, I would have said that it's a near impossibility - though after the game's surprising (and brief) appearance in the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal stream I think that it could show up.

Surely developer Team Cherry has something to show off by now? It's been more than five whole years after all. As far as I know, the game is still set to come out in 2025 - so we have just got to see something soon.

Now, some thoughts from my colleagues on what they're looking out for...

After the crushing announcement of its delay, News Managing Editor Roland Moore-Colyer is still holding out for fresh look at Fable.

"As a gamer in his late thirties, I've been a fan of Xbox since the original chunky model, and one of the games that defined Microsoft’s first console for me was Fable. I’m really hoping today’s showcase finally gives us a proper look at Fable 4 gameplay.

Given the work Playground Games has done with the Forza Horizon series, I’m bubbling to see what the developers can do with the Fable name. My hope is a charming open-world that one’s actions can influence that is steeped in very British humor.

I have my fingers crossed."

Roland also had a bit to say about the upcoming Blade game from Arkane, something that I had honestly forgotten was even announced...

"Arkane is working on a take on Marvel’s Blade, and as things have been relatively quiet from the developer Dishonored and Deathloop, in my humble opinion), I’m cautiously hopeful we’ll hear more about it.

I’d even take a punt on saying we could see some clips of gameplay, though that could be wishful thinking. Arkane is one of the masters of immersive sim games and I’ve been twiddling my thumbs for something that’ll have me pulling all sorts of tricks to sneak past enemies or creatively dispatch foes.

It’s my utmost hope that whatever Arkane does with Blade that it won’t abandon its immersive sim roots."

He's also excited for some potential Elder Scrolls 6 information. It's been six years now, so I think it could happen - but part of me feels like it's still a little early.

"It’s been six years since Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls 6, and in that time the company was snapped up by Microsoft.

That sort of worked out well for Starfield, which launched rather bug-free compared to previous Bethesda open-world games, though the ambitious space adventure didn’t quite live up to a lot of people’s expectations,

So I’d love to see what’s happening with The Elder Scrolls 6, as I feel that’s still one of the few games that could draw some hype from Grand Theft Auto 6. I also reckon that Bethesda is better off focusing on fantasy open-world games that have a narrower scope rather than an entire galaxy."

There is just over 20 minutes to go until the Xbox Games Showcase begins.

Grab any snacks and drinks that you want to have on hand and get comfortable, because the show will be here before you know it.

Currently, the stream is showing a live countdown with some relaxing Fallout 76 fishing gameplay in the background.

The big event is almost here!

We have just ten minutes to go until the Xbox Games Showcase begins.

Do you have any last minute predictions? I'm going to add on a quick one to my list: I think we might get some news about a potential Halo release on PS5...

Just before we get into the show, I feel like I should also say that there's also been a little bit of talk of a potential Sunset Overdrive remake or remaster.

The source for this one is extremely strenuous and the game was never that successful in the first place, so I'd take this one with a mountain of salt.

Hold on to something! The Xbox Games Showcase is starting right now...

The Xbox Games Showcase 2025 is officially underway!

And the first game I'm seeing on my screen? It should come as no surprise that it's The Outer Worlds 2!

We're getting a deep dive into this game right after the show in The Outer Worlds 2 Direct, so it should come as no surprise that it's one of the first things that we are shown too.

This certainly looks like a follow-up to The Outer Worlds, with the same whacky sense of humor and expressive art direction.

I'm liking the look of the combat though, which seems a lot more impactful in this entry.

The Outer Worlds 2 is launching on October 29. And what's that? It's coming to PS5 in addition to Xbox and PC? Interesting....

Now on to the next title, and it looks a lot like a new High on Life game. I'm being bombarded with images of guns with eyes, a knife with eyes, enemies with eyes. Everything has eyes, basically.

Yep, that's High on Life 2 - coming in Winter 2025.

Another World Premiere, with quite a cool fantasy tone this time. Hang on, looking a bit closer - it seems like it might be set in ancient Rome... What could this be?

It's Resonance A Plague Tale Legacy - definitely not what I was expecting based on that trailer!

Yep, that's the Xbox handheld that I was predicting - an Asus Rog Ally with Xbox branding!

It's got impulse triggers, which is pretty cool. Honestly, I'm liking the look of this a lot - and it's coming later this year!

There will be two models available, an Asus Rog Ally and Asus Rog Ally X.

Now we're hearing some chatter about the handheld. We saw some clips of Hollow Knight: Silksong too, which is set to release on the same day as the Xbox Asus Rog Ally later this year!

Now we're moving on to the The Blood of Dawnwalker, an upcoming Bandai Namco published fantasy RPG.

It looks seriously creepy, with a super-powered vampire protagonist.

That's coming out some time in 2026 for Xbox, PC, and PS5.

And now we have Super Meat Boy on screen! And he's 3D! This looks like a lot of fun, with fast-paced platforming challenges and no shortage of brutal, meaty deaths.

It's Super Meat Boy 3D, and it's coming in 2026. Day one on Xbox Game Pass too!

A Xbox published game now! With Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja working on it. I'm thinking that this will be a Ninja Gaiden game, but let's wait and see...

It's Njnia Gaiden 4! And you'll be able to play it on October 21, 2025.

A bit of Indiana Jones news now! I'm betting that it will be that DLC I mentioned earlier...

Yep, it's the The Order of Giants expansion - which is going to take place in Rome. Will that mean returning to the fantastic Vatican level from the main game? I hope so!

It'll be out on September 4 on all platforms where the game is currently available.

A Game Freak title here! That's unexpected. If you don't know, that's the developer of the Pokemon series.

Whatever is being shown, it looks an awful lot like some kind of souslike with massive bosses.

It's called Beast of Reincarnation! Coming in 2026, with a PS5 release confirmed too.

Another Xbox Games Studios project here, definitely Clockwork Revolution.

The game will be set in 1885, with plenty of steampunk weapons and big robots.

It looks very RPG-like, with a character creator and customizable stats.

I also saw lots of weapon customization and it sounds like there will be some kind of time travel narrative.

That was a pretty lengthy trailer, but it didn't end with a release date unfortunately.

Matt Booty on screen now! Revealing a new game from Obsidian...

I'm getting Grounded vibes here. Some kind of sequel?

Yep, this is almost definitely a Grounded follow-up. I'm seeing lots of miniature characters in a giant garden world, big scary ants, and so on.

It's official then: Grounded 2, coming to Game Preview on July 29!

Okay, this is Cronos: The New Dawn! I interviewed the developers of this game some time back, so know quite a bit about it.

It's a survival horror game, with big Resident Evil vibes. Expect shooting, inventory management, and lots of weird moment when it arrives in late 2025.

The Elder Scrolls Online now! To me this looks like it's just a general trailer, trying to attract new players to the game rather than show off anything specific.

I really like The Elder Scrolls Online to be honest, it's one of my most played MMOs ever - so I'd definitely recommend checking it out. It's regularly on sale and fantastic value for money in my book.

We've got a new game from Don't Nod up now! One of my favorite studios ever, so I'm locking in for this one.

It looks like a sci-fi action game, though knowing the studio I am willing to bet that the narrative will be important. It's called Aphelion!

A stylish looking game here, with a catchy musical number. It seems to be a hotel renovation type game, with the protagonist inheriting a dilapidated hotel with a sinister twist...

It's called There are No Ghosts at the Grand, releasing in 2026. It will be on Xbox Game Pass day one.

Another Xbox Game Studios title, and it's giving Age of Mythology.

Yep, that's a DLC for Age of Mythology Retold focusing on Japanese mythology! It's titled Heavenly Spear.

A third-person shooter game now, set in Korea by the looks of it. I'm seeing shooting, explosions, and super-powered bosses.

It's Mudang Two Hearts, coming in 2026.

A world premiere now, published by Thunderful and coming in 2026.

It looks like a super pretty platformer, with a super familiar look. I'm thinking that it's got to be a sequel but I can't quite put my finger on the name of the original.

Planet of Lana 2 Children of the Leaf! It was just at the tip of my tongue. It's coming 2026, with a Nintendo Switch release confirmed too interestingly enough.

A Fallout 76 trailer now, showing off the upcoming fishing mechancs.

We're back with another world premiere: Solo Leveling Arise Overdrive. It's an action-RPG with four play co-op, based on the webcomic and anime.

It will release later this year.

Another world premiere, with cute animals and characters. This looks like a gacha game to me, hopefully it will be something free-to-play.

It looks open-world to me, with the ability to capture creatures and take control of them in combat.

It's called Animo, coming 2026.

Now a new trailer for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, which is going to release on July 11 - so really not that long to go now.

As you might expect, this remastered collection looks pretty sweet!

There's a demo coming today! I'll be downloading that right after the show then...

This game looks pretty good! It's coming from the team behind Spiritfarer, which was a fantastically, if not slightly emotionally devastating, game.

It looks like something of a metroidvania almost, with a focus on family secrets.

It's At Fate's End!

We're getting some Gears of War: Reloaded goodness now, with confirmed cross-progression and 4K 120FPS visuals. We're also getting split screen co-op and Xbox Play Anywhere support.

It was previously announced that it will come out on August 26, 2025.

Yep, that sure looks like a Persona 4 remake!

It's called Persona 4 Revival, though sadly we haven't got a release date for now.

Still, I can't wait to see Adachi in all his glory one last time.

Sea of Thieves sure is getting an update, it seems. Players will be getting a new class and new loot to steal.

It's a new season, called Smuggler's Tide dropping this August.

A new game from Skybound Games here, based on the Invisible series. I'm not a huge fan of the source material, but I can at least say the art style here is pretty nice and seems very faithful to the show's look.

It's a fighting game, called Invisible VS with 3v3 tag team combat!

A Final Fantasy announcement now! I'm thinking we're about to get Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade for Xbox!

And that's confirmed now! Plus we're getting Final Fantasy 16 on Xbox - nice!

A Double Fine game now!

With you playing as what looks like a sentient lighthouse, spider type thing. It's a little weird, but I'm really digging it.

It's called Keeper, and it's coming sooner than you might think: October 17 this year.

The show is almost over, but we're getting to see one more reveal... Let's see what it is.

It's some kind of sci-fi game, with a futuristic robots and a very sinister undertone.

Oh hang on, that's a Call of Duty game! A new Black Ops game - Call of Duty Black Ops 7 to be precise!

I'm pretty glad the franchise is going back to the future, it's about time we got a new entry with lots of fancy gadgets to play around with.

So, that's the Xbox Games Showcase finished. What did you think? I quite enjoyed it, especially compared to the relatively bland Summer Game Fest main show.

Didn't catch the announcements live? Here's a list of everything that was shown in the order that it happened.

• The Outer Worlds 2, October 29
• High on Life 2, Winter 2025
• Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
• Xbox Asus ROG Ally and Asus Rog X
• The Blood of Dawnwalker, 2025
• Super Meat Boy 3D, 2026
• Ninja Gaiden 4, October 21, 2025
• Indy: The Order of Giants, September 4, 2025
• Beast of Reincarnation, 2026
• Clockwork Revolution, Coming in due time
• Grounded 2, July 29 (Game Preview)
• Cronos The New Dawn, late 2025
• Aphelion, 2026
• There are no Ghosts at the Grand, 2026
• Age of Mythology Retold - Heavenly Spear, Fall 2025
• Mudang Two Hearts, 2026
• Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf, 2026
• Fallout 76: Gone Fission
• Solo Leveling Arise Overdrive, 2025
• Aniimo, 2026
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4, July 11
• At Fate's End, 2026
• Gears of War Reloaded, August 26
• Persona 4 Revival
• Sea of Thieves Smuggler's Tide update, August 2025
• Invincible VS, 2026
• Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 16 coming to Xbox
• Keeper, October 17, 2025
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, 2025

The Xbox Games Showcase has now transitioned into The Outer Worlds 2 Direct. I'll be leaving things here for now, but you can catch that below.

Some TV manufacturers are now offering more models within their full TV lineup, with smaller gaps between them when it comes to features and price, and this can make things confusing for potential TV buyers. Naturally, if an entry-level TV has a similar feature list to a step-up model, it’s the better deal, right? Well, that’s not always the case.

I recently tested two 2025 UK mini-LED TVs from TCL, makers of some of the best TVs. The models are the entry-level C6K and the mid-range C7K, which earned 4 out of 5 stars in my TCL C7K review. When I first saw the 2025 C-series mini-LEDs, the C7K looked to be the sweet spot in terms of value, delivering the best picture quality and features for the price.

As I had both these TVs available, I decided to compare them side-by-side just to see whether the extra cost of the C7K was worth it.

For a price reference, the 55-inch C6K costs £599, and the 55-inch C7K costs £849. I compared the 55-inch C6K with the 65-inch C7K for my testing, however. If you’re in the US, the closest direct models are the TCL QM6K vs the TCL QM7K.

Both of these TVs use mini-LED backlights, meaning you’re getting higher brightness than with a standard LED TV. But, crucially, there are often brightness differences between entry-level and mid-range mini-LED models.

When I measured the peak brightness of both TVs (on a 10% white HDR window in Filmmaker Mode), the C6K hit 705 nits, while the C7K hit 1,790 nits – a significant difference. But how did this translate into real-world viewing?

The first area of note was color, where the best mini-LED TVs often excel. Watching a 4K Blu-ray of Wicked, with both TVs set to Dolby Vision Dark (which I found to be a more accurate picture preset than Dolby Vision IQ), the benefit of the C7K’s extra brightness hit was apparent.

In the Wizard & I scene, the green of Elphaba’s skin, pink flowers, blue wall inlays and even the beige walls looked much punchier and more vibrant on the C7K. The C6K didn’t look bad, but it also didn’t have the same level of definition I expect to see in a movie like Wicked, with the C7K adding more color depth.

Even in the climax of the scene where Elphaba runs across a wheat field, the yellow of the field and the sun were more impactful on the C7K. This showed that peak brightness, which is typically higher in more premium mini-LED TVs compared to entry-level models, is a crucial factor for delivering more vivid colors.

TVs with a backlight, such as mini-LED models, use local dimming to enhance the contrast between light and dark areas on screen. The more local dimming zones a TV has, the more precisely it can dim and brighten sections of the screen based on what’s being shown.

The 55-inch C6K has 180 local dimming zones compared to the 65-inch C7K’s 1,008 local dimming zones. Screen size does have an impact on the number of local dimming zones in a TV, but the C7K’s 55-inch model still has 720 zones, so there can be a significant difference even in same-sized models.

Watching a 4K Blu-ray of Nosferatu, again in Dolby Vision Dark, scenes with extreme contrast, such as a blackened room lit only by a torch, fireplace, or the Moon, looked richer and more accurate on the C7K. Light areas were brighter and the black tones were deeper, creating a much more dynamic and textured image.

The same was true in The Batman, with the flashbulbs of cameras and wall-lamps better contrasting with the dark surroundings on the C7K. Even smaller details, such as light reflected off Batman’s cape, showed stronger contrast, with a greater difference between the light and dark tones.

The C7K's higher number of local dimming zones also allowed it to show better shadow detail. In Nosferatu, as Hutler walks towards the carriage to Count Orlock’s at night, the C7K showed more of his face in the darkness, whereas the C6K crushed that level of detail.

Things got even more interesting when viewing black and white movies. Watching the black and white scenes from Oppenheimer, the C7K still showed greater contrast between deep blacks and white highlights, and had a wider range of gray tones in between.

However, I noted that the C6K had better screen uniformity (the ability to evenly display the same color across larger areas of the screen) compared to the C7K. This was an issue I’d noted as an issue in my C7K review, and it made me prefer the C6K when watching black and white content.

To sum up, comparing these two TVs side-by-side proved that it does pay to pay more. Yes, the C6K may have had the upper hand with black and white images, but the C7K outmatched it in color, contrast, black levels and also detail, with the C6K taking on a softer look in a side-by-side test.

That’s not to say the C6K is a bad TV. For its price, it did a solid job with every movie I threw at it, and it was a perfectly fine TV for casual viewing. But this is one example where, given the small £250 gap in price of the respective 55-inch models, it’s worth investing in the more premium option.

• I compared mid-range mini-LED and OLED TVs, and while it’s closer than you might think, OLED wins in one vital area
• I saw LG's latest QNED mini-LED TV and it might finally compete with Samsung, Hisense and TCL
• The best 65-inch TVs

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, June 8 (game #462).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… What you see isn't what you get

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• DANCE
• CARD
• NOSE
• CONE
• FOAM
• SKIDS

• Spangram has 10 letters

First side: top, 3rd column

Last side: bottom, 3rd column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

The answers to today's Strands, game #463, are…

• MASK
• CAMOUFLAGE
• DISGUISE
• CLOAK
• COVER
• FACADE
• SPANGRAM: FALSE FRONT

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 1 hint

Fittingly, today’s search words were well hidden and I needed a hint to get started. The word MASK confirmed what we were looking for – so I immediately started looking for CAMOUFLAGE and DISGUISE.

The spangram was not a term I was familiar with, but is one that I have seen in action in London. Here, there is a beautiful old theater I watched turn from thriving to derelict that has been under development for years to become apartments.

As is the case in many cities, the back of the building was demolished – leaving just the FACADE. However, along the way something structurally most have gone wrong as the propped-up facade was then completely replaced by a new facade, copying the art deco style of the original. So now, not one brick of the original building remains, which maybe was the plan all along. Either way, not once but twice, a FALSE FRONT.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

• CAST
• SCORE
• LIGHTS
• SINGING
• DANCING
• COSTUMES
• SPANGRAM: ITS SHOWTIME

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.