Reality

Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2021)

Our Verdict It might be aimed primarily at creative types, but the new iPad Pro 12.9 is also the best tablet there’s ever been if portable cinema is your thing For Stunning picture quality Great sound with headphones Hugely powerful Against Expensive for a tablet At this stage, each new iPad feels like an incremental… Read more

Oculus to Test In-Headset Ads in Select Games

Home News (Image credit: Oculus VR) Looks like immersion doesn’t quite beat monetization — Facebook is going to start putting in-headset ads in certain Oculus games within the next few weeks. Welcome to the digital frontier! Instead of the Gateway Arch, we have a McDonald’s billboard. Don’t expect to have to karate kick pop-ups quite… Read more

Bungie is actually releasing a Destiny-themed toaster

A year after Bungie said it would explore making an official Destiny Toaster during a charity livestream, our bread-based dreams are finally becoming a reality. The Destiny Toaster is now available to preorder from Bungie’s online store for $84.99. It’s not due to ship until at least December, but Bungie says that once it does… Read more

Facebook will start putting ads in Oculus Quest apps

Facebook will soon begin testing ads inside its Oculus Quest virtual reality system. In the coming weeks, ads will start appearing inside the Resolution Games title Blaston as well as two other unnamed apps. Facebook will later expand the system based on user feedback, saying it aims to create a “self-sustaining platform” for VR development…. Read more

The Twitch streamers fighting to keep minority languages alive

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Minority languages are often associated with aging rural communities, thought to have fallen out of use or confined to textbooks. Defined simply as a language spoken by less than half of the population in a country, they… Read more

Deezer launches ‘360 Sessions’ to showcase Sony 360 Reality Audio

Home News (Image credit: Deezer) There’s been plenty of excitement about Apple Spatial Audio in recent weeks but now it’s the turn of Deezer to step into the spatial audio limelight. The music streaming service has revealed it will offer HiFi subscribers a series of ‘360 Sessions’ – live performances reformatted in Sony 360 Reality… Read more

The latest tool in fighting wildfires is homes that won’t burn

A home Homebound Inc. is rebuilding stands under construction after it was destroyed in the Tubbs Fire in the Fountain Grove neighborhood of Santa Rosa, California, on September 16th, 2020.Photo by Michael Short / Bloomberg via Getty Images Building codes are on the frontlines of California’s fire fight With wildfires raging more uncontrollably in the… Read more

Flexound Pulse seat concept delivers a cinema experience without speakers

Home News (Image credit: Flexsound) We’ve had surround sound, 3D sound via Sony 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos, and now comes multisensory audio. It’s a technology that adds a sense of touch to the mix, supposedly letting the viewer feel what they’re hearing. It might sound crazy, but it has its roots in therapy… Read more

Razer is releasing its Project Hazel mask in limited drops in the fourth quarter of this year

Razer had a few announcements timed for E3 2021, including its new Razer Blade 14 with AMD’s Ryzen 9 processors, and an updated Raptor 27 gaming monitor along with a 130W GaN charger. We weren’t expecting to hear about anything else, but Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan announced that its Project Hazel mask will actually go… Read more

Microsoft Confirms ‘Cool’ Mini Fridge With ‘Velocity Cooling Architecture’

Home News (Image credit: Microsoft) Some thought that it was an April Fool’s joke that went too far but the relationship between the hot console and the chilled beer repository is a complex one, and the comparisons just won’t go away. So imagine our excitement when we saw the Xbox Twitter account confirm that Microsoft… Read more

Pokémon Go creator Niantic is making a Transformers game

Niantic is expanding from cute critters to giant robots. Today, the game developer announced its next project: a location-based augmented reality game called Transformers: Heavy Metal. The game is expected to launch globally this year, with a soft launch in select countries “soon.” Niantic says that it has partnered with Seattle-based studio Very Very Spaceship,… Read more

Unplugged lets you play air guitar in VR this fall

The studio behind the upcoming virtual reality air guitar game Unplugged gave an update at the Upload VR Showcase on Saturday and revealed one big band that will be part of the soundtrack. Unplugged uses hand tracking technology to let you rock out on a guitar in VR, no gloves or special guitar controller needed…. Read more

Facebook just bought the Fortnite of VR

Facebook has acquired yet another developer of a popular virtual reality game, announcing on Friday that BigBox VR, makers of the battle royale VR title Population: One, will be joining Oculus Studios. “POP: ONE stormed onto the VR scene just nine months ago and has consistently ranked as one the top-performing titles on the Oculus… Read more

Apple admits why its own Files app was ranked first when users searched for competitor Dropbox

In 2019, facing down extensive investigations by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times that showed Apple’s App Store clearly and consistently ranking its own apps ahead of competitors, Apple claimed it had done nothing wrong — a secret algorithm containing 42 different variables was working as intended, top executives told the Times,… Read more

Elon Musk demos Cyberpunk 2077 on new Tesla infotainment system with ‘PS5-level performance’

Elon Musk teased that Tesla’s new Model S Plaid would be capable of running Cyberpunk 2077 earlier this year, and he’s now demonstrated the car’s “PS5-level performance.” The refreshed Model S includes a new Tesla infotainment system, powered by AMD’s Ryzen processor and a discrete AMD RDNA 2 GPU. “There’s never been a car that… Read more