Half-Life: Alyx is a must-play VR game for $36

Image: Valve Half-Life: Alyx belongs in every VR headset owner’s library of games, especially when it costs 40 percent less than usual. This game was released right at the start of the pandemic in early 2020 for $60, and while it’s worth every bit of ... more - theverge

Here’s the tech behind the Carolina Panthers’ giant AR cat

Image: Carolina Panthers This past weekend marked the first Sunday of the 2021 NFL season, and while it was full of exciting highlights, one may have towered over them all: the Carolina Panthers’ viral video of a giant virtual panther leaping around ... more - theverge

Apple says it every year, but the iPhone 13 cameras do seem much improved

Cameras continue to be one of the biggest differentiators in smartphones, and Apple’s iPhone lineup is no different. Apple says the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini have the company’s “most advanced dual-camera system ever,” while the 13 Pro and Pro Max have “our ... more - theverge

Apple drops the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone XR from its lineup

iPhone XR | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge As a slew of new iPhones come in, several models go out. This year, Apple pulled the plug on a couple of familiar standbys to make room for the iPhone 13, as MacRumors points out. The iPhone 12 ... more - theverge

Xiaomi shows off concept smart glasses with MicroLED display

Xiaomi has announced a pair of smart glasses called Xiaomi Smart Glasses. A company spokesperson tells The Verge that there’s no plan to actually put them on sale, but Xiaomi has provided enough detail to make the concept product seem somewhat plausible ... more - theverge

Zoom is adding live translation services and coming to Facebook VR

Zoom plans to expand its support for automatic live transcriptions with the addition of live translation, and turn its whiteboard feature into a more of a fully-featured app, among several other changes the company announced at its Zoomtopia conference ... more - theverge

A short history of every time Apple CEO Tim Cook praised augmented reality

Cook has been singing the praises of AR for five years Continue reading… ... more - theverge

The biggest announcements and best trailers from Sony’s PlayStation Showcase 2021

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony is the latest video game company to put on a big virtual event, and its PlayStation Showcase 2021 didn’t disappoint. It was a chance to show off some of the biggest games coming to the PS5, and while there were ... more - theverge

Sony buys The Playroom developers to bolster its PlayStation Studios

A screenshot from The Playroom . | Image: Firesprite Sony announced that it will acquire UK-based studio Firesprite, the developers of The Playroom and The Playroom VR. It’s unclear what Firesprite might be working on in its new first-party capacity, ... more - theverge

DC’s latest superhero crossover: Batman x FaZe Clan

Batman x FaZe Clan | DC Comics Ahead of DC’s FanDome event next month, the comics company celebrates Batman Day with a slew of superhero-themed items for fans. That includes a new ten-episode scripted podcast on HBO Max, an augmented reality app, and, ... more - theverge

Facebook and Ray-Ban tease smart glasses announcement on September 9th

Ray-Ban Facebook and Ray-Ban are teasing an announcement around their upcoming smart glasses on September 9th. Ray-Ban posted a promotional page with a silhouette of a pair of glasses, the date “09.09 2021,” and the text “sign up now to get your release ... more - theverge

Apple’s rumored AR/VR headset might rely on a nearby iPhone or Mac for processing

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple’s rumored AR/VR headset is designed to rely on another device, and may have to offload more processor-heavy tasks to a connected iPhone or Mac, according to a report from The Information . Apple is reportedly ... more - theverge

TikTok’s parent company acquires VR headset maker Pico

TikTok parent company ByteDance is acquiring Chinese virtual reality headset maker Pico. CNBC confirmed the news today after it was rumored last week and verified by Chinese publication Nweon . ByteDance told CNBC in a statement that Pico’s “comprehensive ... more - theverge

Snapchat’s new AR features can identify the world around you

Video still by Weston Reel for The Verge The next generation of a feature called Scan can identify similar clothes, dog breeds, plants, cars, and more Continue reading… ... more - theverge

I Expect You To Die 2 is the most fun I’ve had solving puzzles this year

Schell Games You’re not really a secret agent until you put on a funny hat and fake mustache while you’re trying to stop an evil conglomerate from filling a theater with poison gas. At least, that’s what I Expect You To Die 2 posits, and I think it’s ... more - theverge

Acer’s stellar 2-in-1 Chromebook Spin 713 is $200 off at Best Buy

Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge If you’re looking for a Chromebook that rises above many other models in terms of build quality, features, and performance, you should check out Best Buy’s deal on the Acer Chromebook Spin 713. It normally costs $629 ... more - theverge

The manual for Facebook’s Project Aria AR glasses shows what it’s like to wear them

Image: Facebook A manual uploaded to the FCC gives us a look at Facebook’s experimental Project Aria AR glasses, which apparently go by the codename Gemini (via Protocol ). Facebook announced Project Aria in September 2020, with a message big on vision ... more - theverge

You can buy the Oculus Quest 2 again following a pause in sales

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge You can now buy the Oculus Quest 2 again following a nearly monthlong pause in sales to outfit the headsets with new silicone covers. Facebook halted sales because the foam part of the facial interface that ... more - theverge

TikTok follows Snap and Facebook by testing new augmented reality developer tools

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge TikTok is testing an experimental set of developer tools that might one day let creators build augmented reality effects for the popular app. The platform is called TikTok Effect Studio and is currently in private ... more - theverge

Facebook tries adding video and voice calls back into its main app

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook is testing adding voice and video calls to the main Facebook app, Bloomberg reports. The features are currently part of the standalone Messenger app, which Facebook originally spun out of its big blue ... more - theverge

New Oculus Quest feature can automatically sync VR photos and video clips to your phone

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Oculus has begun rolling out a set of new software features for Quest and Quest 2 virtual reality headsets. The v32 update introduces some small, but important tweaks to the in-headset user experience, as well ... more - theverge

Bose’s QC35 II wireless headphones are $100 off at Woot

The Bose QuietComfort 35 Series II, often referred to in shorthand as the QC35 II, are just about the cheapest they’ve ever sold for today. Woot has new, black-colored units with a one-year Bose warranty for $195. According to pricing data from CamelCamelCamel, ... more - theverge

Inside Facebook’s metaverse for work

Facebook Facebook is bringing the office to VR with Horizon Workrooms Continue reading… ... more - theverge

SteamVR beta lets you arrange desktop windows inside your virtual world

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge As of its latest beta release, Valve’s SteamVR software can add floating desktop windows inside VR games, letting you keep an eye on other apps without leaving VR. It’s a helpful addition, allowing players to keep ... more - theverge

Sony’s next-gen PSVR was reportedly detailed at a developer summit

Sony’s original PSVR. More and more details for Sony’s planned next-generation PlayStation virtual reality headset appear to be popping up. According to YouTube channel PSVR Without Parole with further corroboration from UploadVR , Sony held a developer ... more - theverge

Facebook can project your eyes onto a VR headset, and it’s exactly as uncanny as it sounds

Facebook Reality Labs Facebook Reality Labs wants to help people see your eyes while you’re in virtual reality — even if the results sit somewhere between mildly unsettling and nightmarish. Earlier this week, FRL released a paper on “reverse passthrough ... more - theverge

Buying an Oculus headset to help get your Facebook account back is a risky move

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Some Facebook users stymied by the company’s seemingly impenetrable support channels have turned to an interesting — and expensive — loophole to get access to their locked accounts: buying an Oculus Quest headset, ... more - theverge

Facebook’s next hardware launch will be its Ray-Ban ‘smart glasses’

What exactly the glasses will look like or how they will function is unclear. Facebook’s next hardware launch will be its long-awaited Ray-Ban ‘smart glasses,’ CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed on an earnings call this week. When exactly the glasses will ... more - theverge

Watch Valve’s Gabe Newell explain why the Steam Deck exists

Image: IGN Valve president Gabe Newell has given a rare interview to IGN , where he talks about why the company’s upcoming Steam Deck handheld exists and the philosophy the company had when designing it. The interview is worth a watch to see Newell and ... more - theverge

Facebook is giving the Oculus Quest 2 a storage bump and recalling its foam face masks

Facebook is pausing worldwide sales of the Oculus Quest 2 while it upgrades the headset’s storage and replaces its foam facial covers with a new silicone design. Starting August 24th, all Quest 2 virtual reality headsets will come with a minimum of 128GB ... more - theverge