The Matrix Resurrections has an incredibly smart take on showing video games in movies

Warner Bros. Movies and TV have a notoriously tough time depicting video games. They tend toward presenting games as either generic arcade titles or as impossibly full-featured virtual realities, neither of which captures the typical experience of playing ... more - theverge

Our favorite apps, games, and entertainment from 2021 for all of your new tech

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge Our staff lists their choices for the best of the year Continue reading… ... more - theverge

Former Google and Meta executive launches at-home COVID-19 test

Detect A new medical testing startup called Detect began selling at-home molecular COVID-19 tests through its website last week. The company also announced its CEO — Hugo Barra, a former executive at companies like Meta and Google who previously worked ... more - theverge

Elon Musk: metaverse isn’t ‘compelling’ and Web3 ‘more marketing than reality’

Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images The metaverse and Web3 are two trends supposedly set to revolutionize the digital world. But the richest man IRL, Elon Musk, is not keen on either. In a recent interview, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO ... more - theverge

FTC opens antitrust probe into Meta’s purchase of VR fitness app Supernatural

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened an in-depth antitrust probe of Meta’s plan to buy the popular VR fitness app Supernatural, according to a new report by The Information . The probe means that antitrust regulators are starting to scrutinize ... more - theverge

We didn’t need an AR version of Snake, but AT&T just gave us one anyway

Warp Speed Worm is an AR filter for Instagram and Messenger and has tenuous connections to 5G at best. AT&T has re-imagined the classic Snake game in a new, interactive, and wholly unnecessary way in an effort to promote the capabilities of its 5G ... more - theverge

VR workrooms app Spatial is now an NFT art platform

Spatial Spatial, an early player in virtual reality workroom apps, is changing its focus to virtual art galleries showcasing non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. The company announced the news yesterday alongside a $25 million funding round. It’s a potential ... more - theverge

Snap launches Story Studio, a standalone video editing app for mobile

Promo images of Snap’s Story Studio. | Images: Snap Snap has launched a standalone video editing app called Story Studio, which is meant to give creators more precise editing control over vertical videos and allow them to add elements like text, trending ... more - theverge

Google staffs up to build OS for unknown ‘innovative AR device’

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is hiring an “Augmented Reality OS” team focused on building software for an “innovative AR device,” according to job listings spotted by 9to5Google . The team is led by Mark Lucovsky, who announced he’d ... more - theverge

Oppo announces Air Glass ‘assisted reality’ device

Oppo has announced the Air Glass, an AR device that’ll go on sale early next year. Oppo describes the Air Glass as an “assisted reality” product, as opposed to augmented reality, meaning it projects 2D information into your field of view rather than ... more - theverge

Vergecast: Matrix Unreal Engine 5 demo, Snap’s first AR Spectacles, and Android games coming to Windows

Photo by Amanda Lopez for The Verge Every Friday, The Verge publishes our flagship podcast, The Vergecast , where co-hosts Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn discuss the week in tech news with the reporters and editors covering the biggest stories. This week ... more - theverge

Among Us is getting a VR version

Innersloth Social deception game Among Us is getting a virtual reality adaptation. The VR edition will launch on Meta Quest, PlayStation VR, and SteamVR, and it’s being developed by Schell Games, creators of the acclaimed I Expect You To Die series. ... more - theverge

The biggest news and trailers from the 2021 Game Awards

Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images Another busy night Continue reading… ... more - theverge

Meta opens up access to its VR social platform Horizon Worlds

More than two years and a company rebrand later, Meta is finally opening up access to its VR social platform Horizon Worlds. Starting Thursday, people in the US and Canada who are 18 and up will be able to access the free Quest app without an invite. ... more - theverge

Apple’s AR headset reportedly uses 3D sensors for hand tracking

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple’s widely rumored upcoming mixed reality headset will make use of 3D sensors for advanced hand tracking, according to analyst Ming-chi Kuo, whose latest research note has been reported on by MacRumors and ... more - theverge

Sony shows off a robot grabber, 4K OLED panels for VR, and more

Image: Sony Sony’s holding its Technology Day event to show off what it’s been working on in its R&D labs, and this year, we got some great visuals of tech the company’s been working on. Amidst the rehashes of the PS5’s haptics and 3D audio and a ... more - theverge

How Snap is sidestepping the metaverse

AR creator Andre Elijah in Spectacles. | Photo by Snap More than other recent years, in 2021 the tech industry focused a great deal of its energy on a single question: who will build and own the next generation of the internet? In one corner you have ... more - theverge

Snap’s first AR Spectacles are an ambitious, impractical start

Mainstream AR glasses are still years away Continue reading… ... more - theverge

I regret to inform you that Digital Human as a Service (DHaaS) is now an acronym

Science fiction movies have prepared us for the distinct possibility that artificial intelligence will walk among us someday. How soon? No one can say — but that isn’t stopping a raft of companies by trying to sell “digital humans” before that whole ... more - theverge

Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack is down to its lowest price yet

Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack is compatible with all iPhone 12 and 13 models. | Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge Today marks one week since Black Friday (good riddance). The shopping weekend and Thanksgiving holiday may already feel as though they happened ... more - theverge

Why the metaverse is more than Mark Zuckerberg’s dream

Grayson Blackmon / The Verge The company formerly known as Facebook has bet big on the metaverse. CEO Mark Zuckerberg hyped the already popular term in October, when he changed the company’s name to Meta and led viewers through its dizzying vision of ... more - theverge

The latest Quest update brings cloud backups and a mixed reality view

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta has delivered a new batch of features for Quest headsets in an update rolling out today. The changes include cloud backups, a mixed reality camera mode, and other settings that round out the Quest’s already ... more - theverge

Apple’s AR headset coming next year with ‘Mac-level’ power: report

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple’s first AR headset will be released in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a research note from analyst Ming-chi Kuo seen by MacRumors and 9to5Mac . Kuo predicted back in March that the headset would ... more - theverge

Make your Oculus Quest 2 fit — and sound— better with these discounted mods

This is what your headset will look like with these discounted modifications. The Oculus Quest 2 is an all-around solid piece of hardware, and it’s a very popular holiday gift since there are some great deals happening now. But anyone who already owns ... more - theverge

Early Black Friday 2021 gaming deals: games, accessories, and more

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Gamers are served up all kinds of great deals throughout the year. It’s not uncommon for recently released games to drop as much as 20 percent off in the first few months of release or to snag the occasional one-off ... more - theverge

Niantic and a crypto debit card company made an AR game where you earn Bitcoin

Have you ever played Pokémon Go and thought, “I wish this game let you earn small amounts of Bitcoin by engaging with internet finance memes and a cryptocurrency debit card system?” If so, I don’t believe you, but I have good news. Fold AR is a new augmented ... more - theverge

Hitman 3 VR is coming to PC in 2022

Photo by IO Interactive Hitman 3 VR will become available on PC next year, according to an announcement by game developer IO Interactive, which outlines the roadmap of content that players can expect in Hitman 3 ’s second year. We're excited to announce ... more - theverge

Walmart is now delivering diapers and food by drone (if you live close to this Arkansas store)

Just last week, Walmart made headlines by launching its first commercial US drone delivery service within a 50-mile radius of Pea Ridge, Arkansas — dropping parachute-laden packages from an autonomous Zipline plane to a “hand-selected group of recipients.” ... more - theverge

Leaked Resident Evil 4 VR video suggests free Mercenaries DLC will arrive in 2022

Capcom A leaked video suggests that Resident Evil 4 VR may be getting a free update that adds The Mercenaries mode in 2022, first spotted by UploadVR . According to the report, a trailer for the highly-requested Mercenaries mode briefly appeared on the ... more - theverge

The Oculus Quest 2 comes with a free $50 gift card starting today

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Oculus Quest 2 standalone VR headset is a great value at its regular $299.99 price. It comes with 128GB of onboard storage, and once you log in with your Facebook account, there’s little else standing in ... more - theverge