Pokémon Go creator Niantic accused of ‘systemic sexual bias’ in lawsuit

James Bareham / The Verge A former Niantic employee filed a lawsuit against the AR gaming company on Friday, alleging that it devalued the work of female employees and women of color, denied equal pay to women employees and women of color. The lawsuit, ... more - theverge

The MLB will debut a new ‘virtual ballpark’ this weekend

The MLB virtual ballpark. | Image: Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) has a new “virtual ballpark” coming to the web, opening to the public this Saturday for a celebrity softball game. The MLB says it will have a social component, letting ... more - theverge

Apple considered a finger-worn controller for the Vision Pro

The Vision Pro almost had a dedicated controller. | Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple’s new Vision Pro headset, which is coming later this year, will use hand-tracking and eye-tracking for control, but at one time, Apple considered a finger-worn ... more - theverge

Sony’s Mocopi system is bringing affordable motion tracking to the US

Mocopi is fully wireless and only requires a Bluetooth connection to your phone, so you can use it anywhere. | Image: Sony Sony is introducing Mocopi, its wireless, phone-based motion capture system for controlling virtual avatars, to the US following ... more - theverge

IRL’s ex-CEO says he’s ‘shocked’ about the company’s fake users

IRL’s company logo. | Photo illustration by William Joel/The Verge I have a packed issue this week, starting with the implosion of a once-hot social media startup called IRL. It raised $200 million at over a $1 billion valuation, and now its board is ... more - theverge

Niantic lays off staff and shuts down games as it focuses on Pokémon Go

Photo by Sam Byford / The Verge Niantic is making some major organizational changes, including layoffs, game shutdowns, and the closure of its Los Angeles studio, according to an email from Niantic CEO John Hanke shared on the company’s website. The ... more - theverge

Google has reportedly killed its Project Iris augmented reality glasses

This is a Google prototype, but is it the one Google killed? | Image: Google Last January, we revealed Google was building an AR headset, too — “Project Iris” would be the company’s bet against the then-yet-to-be-announced headgear from Meta and Apple. ... more - theverge

Why CEO David Baszucki is ready for Roblox to grow up

Roblox , the virtual world and game platform, has 66 million daily users who spent 14 billion collective hours on it in just Q1 of 2023. If you have kids, you’ve probably heard of Roblox . If you haven’t heard of it, Roblox CEO David Baszucki wants to ... more - theverge

Meta launches Quest Plus subscription for VR games

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg just announced Quest Plus, the company’s new “virtual reality” subscription that gives users access to “the best titles on the platform.” In a post on his Instagram broadcast channel, ... more - theverge

The Apple Vision Pro could come with a ‘travel mode’ for plane rides

Image: Apple The Apple Vision Pro may come equipped with settings specifically for plane rides. When digging into the first beta of visionOS, MacRumors found that the device’s operating system may have a Travel Mode option that you can use during a flight. ... more - theverge

Meta is increasing the performance of its Quest 2 and Pro headsets

The Meta Quest 2 is about to get performance enhancements (and not a new strap). | Image: The Verge Mark Zuckerberg announced the Meta Quest 3 VR headset at the beginning of this month, which should bring enhanced capabilities for those who want to upgrade ... more - theverge

Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino will be at the Code Conference

It’s a big year for the Code Conference — Vox Media’s annual tech-and-media gathering founded by Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg has a new location and new hosts: CNBC’s Julia Boorstin, Platformer’s Casey Newton, and... me. It’s going to be a big one, ... more - theverge

Meta is lowering the minimum age for the Quest to 10 years old

The Meta Quest 3 headset ships later this year. | Image: Meta Government scrutiny of how tech companies handle their underage users is continuing to heat up. A flood of bills in Congress on this topic seeks to strengthen the power of regulators and even ... more - theverge

Meta is adding public text-based chat to Horizon Worlds

A voice chat feature is already available in Meta’s Horizon Worlds platform, but the new world chat will work more like a text-based group message. | Image: Meta Meta is introducing a public, text-based social feature to its Horizon Worlds VR platform. ... more - theverge

Phasmophobia is coming to Xbox Series S / X, PS5, and PSVR 2 with crossplay

Image: Kinect Games Do you love hunting creepy ghosts in the dark with friends? Good, because Phasmophobia is coming to Xbox Series X / S, PS5, and PSVR 2 in August. The paranormal horror game will even include optional crossplay support so console and ... more - theverge

Assassin’s Creed Nexus brings first-person assassinations to VR

Image: Ubisoft Assassin’s Creed is heading to virtual reality. At its Ubisoft Forward event, the publisher properly unveiled Assassin’s Creed Nexus , which is coming to the Meta Quest 2 and 3 (it’s launching “holiday 2023”) and will be the first game ... more - theverge

Meta is testing Reels on Quest

Image: Meta Meta is testing a way for users to watch Reels on its Quest headset. In a post on Meta’s broadcast channel, CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared a video of how a Reel will look when viewed in VR. Much like when you open other apps on the system, it ... more - theverge

Here are the features Apple didn’t announce in the WWDC keynote

WWDC 2023 was chock-full, but there was still a lot Apple didn’t say. | Illustration: The Verge Apple held a monstrous WWDC this year, and a ton of what was rumored, it turns out, will actually see the light of day. There’s the new 15-inch MacBook Air, ... more - theverge

Apple’s third-gen AirPods have returned to their best price to date

The latest AirPods tout great sound quality, not to mention some of the best voice call quality you can get in a pair of earbuds. | Image: Chris Welch / The Verge As expected, Apple’s WWDC keynote came and went without Tim Cook & Co. announcing a ... more - theverge

Apple made a VR headset, but it’ll never admit it

I’m supposed to believe this isn’t a VR headset? | Image: Apple As Apple CEO Tim Cook was winding up to reveal the company’s new Vision Pro headset on Monday, I was struck by his very particular choice of words: “So today, I’m excited to announce an ... more - theverge

Apple’s view of the future is a lonely one

Screen for one, please. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Vision Pro is all about the ‘experience’ as you watch videos, FaceTime family, and get work done. But that experience looks awfully isolating. Continue reading… ... more - theverge

Apple has bought an AR headset startup called Mira

Mira’s Prism headset from 2017. | Photo by James Bareham / The Verge Apple has acquired Mira, a Los Angeles-based AR startup that makes headsets for other companies and the US military, according to a post from the CEO’s private Instagram account yesterday ... more - theverge

For better or worse, Apple is avoiding the AI hype train

At this year’s WWDC , the focus was squarely on Apple’s new Vision Pro headset. | Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Five minutes into Google’s I/O conference in May, Verge staffers started taking bets on how many times “AI” would be mentioned onstage. ... more - theverge

What’s so ‘pro’ about Apple’s Vision Pro headset?

Image: Apple Apple needs developers to make the case for its new augmented reality headset. Continue reading… ... more - theverge

I wore the Apple Vision Pro. It’s the best headset demo ever.

Apple’s new don’t-call-it-a-VR-headset is the best riff on some very familiar ideas, but still searching for a purpose. Continue reading… ... more - theverge

The iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X aren’t getting iOS 17

Sorry, iPhone X owners. | Photo by James Bareham / The Verge Apple’s just-announced iOS 17 won’t be coming to the iPhone X, the device that ushered in the era of Face ID. It was announced in 2017 along with the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which will also miss ... more - theverge

Apple Vision Pro first look: the mixed reality future is (almost) here

What does the Apple Vision Pro look like? Imagine a pair of ski goggles. The fanciest, most sci-fi ski goggles you’ve ever seen. There, you’ve got it. Apple just announced the Vision Pro headset at its WWDC developer conference, during which executives ... more - theverge

Microsoft Word, Excel, and Teams are all coming to Apple’s new Vision Pro headset

Word, Excel, and Teams on the Apple Vision Pro. | Image: Apple Apple has just announced its new $3,499 Vision Pro augmented reality headset, and Microsoft is ready to bring its Word, Excel, and Microsoft Teams apps to Apple’s new platform. Apple briefly ... more - theverge

Apple WWDC 10 biggest announcements: Vision Pro, MacBook Air, iOS 17, and more

Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge This year’s Worldwide Developers Conference didn’t disappoint. During today’s keynote, Apple showed off its highly anticipated mixed reality headset for the first time, confirming many of the rumors that have ... more - theverge

Disney Plus is coming to Apple’s Vision Pro headset

Image: Apple We finally got our first look at Apple’s highly anticipated mixed reality headset at today’s WWDC event, including a sneak peek at a new immersive way to watch your favorite Disney sports, shows, and movies. While most of the hype surrounding ... more - theverge