JBL’s Quantum One delivers a VR-like audio experience, minus the immersion

A headset with a head-tracking gyroscope seems cooler than it is Continue reading… ... more - theverge

The Last of Us Part II delayed indefinitely due to novel coronavirus

Image: Naughty Dogg Sony announced on Thursday that it has delayed Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II “until further notice” because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The game had been previously scheduled to launch on May 29th. “Logistically, the global crisis ... more - theverge

Here’s how to look at life-size animals in AR through Google search

Image: Andrew Liptak / The Verge Back in May 2019, at its I/O developers conference, Google announced that it was bringing a neat feature to its search results: augmented reality models, which allow users to take a look at a 3D image of a search result. ... more - theverge

Half-Life: Alyx gives us a big hint about Gordon Freeman’s future

Image: Valve Half-Life fans have gotten used to uncertainty over the fate of hero Gordon Freeman. Gordon last appeared in Half-Life 2: Episode Two , an extension of the 2004 game Half-Life 2 . But the follow-up Episode Three was canceled. The newly released ... more - theverge

Half-Life’s Alyx Vance, explained

It’s been a tumultuous couple of weeks for residents of Earth. City 17, formerly one of our planet’s finest remaining urban centers, has been destroyed. A nearly spontaneous uprising has destabilized the Combine Empire’s two-decade stranglehold on humanity. ... more - theverge

The best games of 2020

Illustration by Alex Castro. 2020 is a year in which we could all use an escape. There’s so much going on in the world, and so much of it is overwhelming, that even an hour away from the doom and gloom can be a welcome respite. It’s a time when video ... more - theverge

Never buy hardware today based on a promise of software tomorrow

Photo by Brennan King / The Verge The headline on this story — never buy hardware today based on a promise of software tomorrow — doesn’t really apply to the new iPad Pro, which I reviewed yesterday. But I’ve been thinking about it ever since I hit the ... more - theverge

Apple iPad Pro review 2020: small spec bump, big camera bump

An iterative year-over-year update Continue reading… ... more - theverge

HP is teasing a new VR headset in partnership with Valve and Microsoft

HP HP is teasing a followup to its Reverb virtual reality headset made in collaboration with Microsoft and Valve. The announcement coincides with Valve’s release of Half-Life: Alyx , the year’s most anticipated VR game. There’s little detail, but HP’s ... more - theverge

Half-Life: Alyx is a satisfying return to City 17

Valve Prepare for unforeseen consequences Continue reading… ... more - theverge

Oculus developer page leaks a new VR headset codenamed ‘Del Mar’

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge A leak on Oculus’ website suggests it’s making a new virtual reality headset codenamed “Del Mar.” Recently, some Oculus developers noticed a new infobox for “Oculus Del Mar Development.” It references a developer ... more - theverge

Which VR headsets can you actually buy at the launch of Half-Life: Alyx?

Image: Valve It’s 2020, and the selection of VR headsets has never been more varied — or more sold out. If you haven’t been keeping up with the onslaught of news, most virtual reality headsets that will be compatible with the game from the likes of Oculus, ... more - theverge

Magic Leap wants workers to use its headsets while they’re stuck at home

Mixed reality startup Magic Leap has been fairly quiet for the past few months, but the company is trying to tempt potential buyers with a package for people stuck working from home. The “Collaboration Package” is a 45-day trial of four Magic Leap headsets, ... more - theverge

The new iPad Pro’s LIDAR scanner can turn a living room into an AR game of Hot Lava

Image: Apple The new iPad Pro’s LIDAR scanner can turn a living room into an augmented reality version of Hot Lava , a video game based on the childhood pastime where you jump on furniture to avoid imaginary lava on the floor. The announcement was included ... more - theverge

Apple announces new iPad Pro with trackpad support and a wild new keyboard cover

Apple is announcing a new iPad Pro, available online for either $799 or $949, depending on which size. Apple’s headline feature is that it has a LiDAR scanner to go along with its camera for depth sensing and AR, but what most people are going to notice ... more - theverge

Facebook reveals overhauled Oculus Quest system UI

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge With the Game Developers Conference not taking place as planned, Facebook is instead making a series of Oculus-related announcements this week through what it’s calling the Game Developers Showcase. The first ... more - theverge

Facebook is shutting down MSQRD, the AR selfie app it acquired in 2016

Photo: MSQRD Facebook will shut down MSQRD, its AR face-filtering app, this April, the company announced today. On April 13th, Facebook will remove the MSQRD app from both the Android and iOS app stores. Facebook purchased MSQRD in 2016, and the AR app ... more - theverge

Instagram cracks down on coronavirus AR effects

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram is attempting to stop the spread of misinformation about the novel coronavirus pandemic that’s surfacing through its augmented reality effects. In an update to its AR creators Facebook group, the company ... more - theverge

The Oculus Quest is back in stock

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Oculus Quest untethered virtual reality headset is available on Oculus’ website. The ship date at the time of publishing is March 16th. This model, along with many other VR headsets, has been out of stock ... more - theverge

Black Mesa is the perfect way to get into Half-Life before Alyx

Upon its release in 1998, Half-Life instantly became my favorite game of all time. That wasn’t saying much, really, since we’d only just set up our first family computer, and I’d barely started playing video games. But history has proven my hot take ... more - theverge

The Persistence will finally be playable without a VR headset

Photo: Firesprite Games Sci-fi survival horror game The Persistence will come to PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One this summer, according to an announcement trailer uploaded by the game’s developer, Firesprite Games. With its bone-chilling tension ... more - theverge

Rare Nintendo Play Station console sells for $360,000 at auction

Heritage Auctions A prototype of the Nintendo Play Station, a console that never came to market, fetched $360,000 at an auction over the weekend, CNN reports. Greg McLemore, founder of Pets.com and Toys.com had the winning bid, beating out other collectors, ... more - theverge

Nreal is adding hand tracking to its mixed reality glasses

Image: Nreal Nreal is adding hand tracking to its upcoming mixed reality headsets. It’s partnering with a company called Clay AIR, which makes a camera-based system for tracking gestures like pinching, pointing, grabbing, and swiping. That gives the ... more - theverge

Valve explains one of Half-Life: Alyx’s first levels in this video tour

Image: IGN You can now check out perhaps our best look yet at the VR-only Half-Life: Alyx , the next game in Valve’s seminal franchise, thanks to a new video with 13 minutes of uninterrupted gameplay posted by IGN . The video takes the main character ... more - theverge

Valve’s Index VR headset will be back in stock on Monday

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Valve’s new Index VR headset has been sold out for weeks, but the company just informed customers that the product will finally be on sale again on Monday, March 9th, starting at 1PM ET. Here’s the Index product ... more - theverge

Valve shows off how you’ll fight and move in Half-Life: Alyx

Valve’s much-anticipated virtual reality game Half-Life: Alyx debuts on March 23rd, and it just offered a little more detail on what we’ll be playing. It released three short videos today showing off combat and puzzles in Alyx , as well as the game’s ... more - theverge

Facebook restricts social visitors to its offices over coronavirus concerns

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The world’s biggest social network is restricting social visits to its physical offices, as Facebook tries to protect its employees from coronavirus exposure, Business Insider reports. A Facebook spokesperson tells ... more - theverge

New Google Pixel features coming this month include more emoji, dark mode scheduling, and Google Pay improvements

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Near the end of last year, Google outlined a new strategy of bundling together new software tricks for its Pixel phones into “feature drops” instead of trickling those features out individually. Today, the company is ... more - theverge

Apple and Samsung dominate top selling phone lists for 2019

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple produced the two top selling phone models in the world last year, the iPhone XR and iPhone 11, according to reports by Counterpoint Research and Omdia. The iPhone 11’s second place position was particularly ... more - theverge

Steam just added new search features, including a price filter

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Valve is adding new features to its Steam storefront’s search system, letting users filter out games they already own, set a maximum price, and avoid seeing VR-only games if they don’t have a virtual reality headset. ... more - theverge